Every summer, Woj, Shams, and the rest of the NBA take years off my life by suddenly shifting the whole landscape of the league in a matter of minutes. In no other league do you see this insane amount of superstar players changing teams so frequently. In fact, some leagues may think of players who are not on one or two teams for their entire career as “problems”.
I pray for the day that the NFL, MLB, and NHL have players tampering like it’s nothing and teaming up mere seconds into free agency. I’d kill to see DeAndre Hopkins miraculously find his way to New England so he can finally win a ring. I’d love to see Mike Trout realize that he will never win in an Angels uniform and stroll across town to the Dodgers. That being said, none of these leagues have close to the amount of drama that the NBA has.
Atlanta Hawks
Major Additions:
Jabari Parker
Chandler Parsons
Evan Turner
Allen Crabbe
Cam Reddish
D’Andre Hunter
Bruno Fernando
Major Losses:
Omari Spellman
Solomon Hill
Miles Plumlee
Kent Bazemore
Grade:
The Hawks are in full rebuild trading out quality pieces for garbage contracts and young potentially cornerstone. Their two major draft pieces, Hunter and Reddish, should fit well into an already young system that features Trae Young, John Collins, and Kevin Huerter.
For the life of me I cannot figure out why the Parker signing makes sense. Teams with SF/PF depth that includes Hunter, Reddish, and Collins should stay pat and develop those players. Signing a player who is more bust than baller at this point in his career just to eat minutes that that forward trio should be eating up boggles my mind slightly. That being said, he might become a valuable trade asset come the deadline. The Hawks should be selling HARD during that time, and I fully expect Parker to be on a plane out of ATL come February 7th.
All in all, the Hawks are on the road to success. Every team has to go through a rough rebuild before being contenders in the NBA.
Boston Celtics
Major Additions:
Kemba Walker
Enes Kanter
Grant Williams
Romeo Langford
Vincent Poirier
Carsen Edwards
Tacko Fall***
*** – God I hope so
Major Losses
Kyrie Irving
Al Horford
Aron Baynes
Marcus Morris
Terry Rozier
The Celtics’ offseason has been “ehh” in my eyes. They stayed somewhat relevant by signing Kemba Walker who I want to make very clear is a downgrade from a talent perspective from Kyrie. They lost Horford but signed Kanter who is a liability on defense and a force on offense. I see the Celtics in the NBA’s purgatory right now. They have the potential to be a top-6 Eastern Conference team, but they are far from title contenders what with Philly and Milwaukee still loaded in the East. The one wild card that could shape up to be a catalyst for the Celtics is Gordon Hayward. Last year he was without a doubt a shell of himself. He would explode for 30 against Minnesota, but then shrivel back to 6p/3r/2a per game for weeks on end. If he makes strides in the offseason to be even 85% of Utah Hayward, a starting lineup of Kemba/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Timelord may be a 3 or 4 seed in the East.
Sidenote: losing Horford to the Sixers is absolutely killer. This is the move that made me want to die this year.
Brooklyn Nets
Major Additions
Kevin Durant
Kyrie Irving
DeAndre Jordan
Wilson Chandler
Garrett Temple
Taurean Prince
Major Losses
DeAngelo Russell
DeMarre Carroll
Ed Davis
Jared Dudley
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
I think I heard Ben Simmons let out a sigh of relief when his father Jared Dudley move across the country to LA. On a serious note though, this offseason could not have gotten much better for the Knicks’ little brother. The slide in and swipe the Knicks’ free agent targets, get underrated players in Jordan, Chandler, and Temple, and have the makings of a title contender once KD gets back on the court. This year becomes a bit of a wash as they lose him to an Achilles recovery, but even so, a team of Kyrie, DeAndre Jordan, and Caris Levert/Joe Harris/Jarrett Allen has a chance to make some serious noise. Understand that this is contingent on Kyrie not making a dumpster fire of the locker room, but the Nets could be Eastern Conference Champs if they play their cards right. From a talent perspective, they are one of the top 3 teams in the East without question, but they could implode quickly if Kyrie decides to make it his show.
Charlotte Hornets
Major Additions:
Terry Rozier
PJ Washington
Cody Martin
Major Losses:
Kemba Walker
Tony Parker
Jeremy Lamb
Frank Kaminsky
The Hornets have a really bad habit of giving undeserving players huge contracts. In his eight year career with the Hornets, Kemba Walker earned $58 million dollars. They then sign Terry Rozier to 3 years, $58 million. There is a reason that UNC and Duke dominate ratings in the Carolinas – the Hornets try their very hardest to be garbage every year. I believe that Terry is a starting PG in the NBA. That being said, give him a little tryout at like $10-12 mil per season before committing $58 million to a player who scored 9 points per game last year. The Hornets salary projections are embarrassing: $19m/year for Terry, $25/year for Batum, $17/year for Biyombo – the list goes on. Until MJ stops giving out exuberant contracts, the Hornets will continue to be the cute team who wins 32 games, gives some teams a hard time, but can’t compete at the end of the day.
Chicago Bulls
Major Additions:
Coby White
Daniel Gafford
Tomas Satoransky
Thaddeus Young
Major Losses:
Robin Lopez
Well folks, it’s happening. The Chicago Bulls finally have the PG they’ve been waiting for. With a depth chart that already features Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, and Wendell Carter Jr., this team was STARVING for a point guard to run the show. White kind of came out of no where during the NCAA season this year. The real players on UNC to watch coming into the season was Nassir Little and Seventh Woods. I was very surprised when Cam Johnson and Coby White stole the show when the season started. White’s transition to the NBA should be fun to watch. Much like the Hawks, I think the Bulls are a really fun team to watch. They have young players who like to run around, some older vets to guide Lauri and White to stardom, and even one contract that should come off the books in February when the Bulls (should) shop Otto Porter and his $27 mil per year. Who knows, maybe they’ll even make a push for the playoffs.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Major Additions:
Darius Garland
Dylan Windler
Kevin Porter Jr
Major Losses:
JR Smith (Addition by subtraction to be honest)
The Cavs more or less stayed the course in their second post-LeBron era in recent memory. They drafter Vandy PG Darius Garland who had been hurt most of this past season, which surprised many people including myself. My guess is that they will try to have a backcourt of Garland and Sexton in the future, building a GSW/POR-like foundation to their team. One thing they MUST do is trade Kevin Love. With the team clearly trying to break it down to build it up, Love is only taking valuable minutes from developing players and filling box scores on an uncompetitive team. I think that sending him to a team like Dallas, Portland, or any backcourt-rich team pushing for playoff contention when the deadline comes around should be their move. With the wealth of picks that Sam Presti just received for Russ and PG, teams are showing that they are more than ready to part with their picks if it means real talent.
Dallas Mavericks
Major Additions:
Delon Wright
Seth Curry
Boban Marjonovic
Major Losses:
Trey Burke
Another team mostly staying pat in free agency was the Mavs. They are gaining a healthy Porzingis back which will call attention to the on-court relationship between Luka and Kristaps. The clear number 3 option on this team is Tim Hardaway Jr. who in my opinion could be a trade piece if Mark Cuban doesn’t think that they are close to competing quite yet. The Mavericks unfortunately suffer from being in the Western Conference. In the East, they could be a top 5 seed easily. However, with a crowded top tier of Western teams (LAL, GSW, LAC, HOU, POR, UTA), the number of playoff spots up for grabs is slim pickings, and you aren’t promised five games nevermind a chance at the second round if you are a 7 or 8 seed in that mix. Things are definitely looking up in Dallas in the post-Dirk era, but they are for sure needing help in the trade market if they want to make noise come April.
Denver Nuggets
Major Additions:
Jerami Grant
Major Losses:
Isaiah Thomas
Trey Lyles
The incumbent number 2 seed in the West has a lot of work to do if they want to retain their success. With seemingly every team around them getting better in the offseason, they have even larger roadblocks in their way when the season comes around. I think that the front office saw these moves and realized that they could not let Paul Millsap go, though I do not think he is worth the $25+mil per year they are paying him once they picked up his option. I am also looking forward to seeing what Michael Porter Jr. is when the season starts. I think many people are on the fence between role player and superstar, and not to put pressure on the kid, but he may be the “addition” to the depth chart that this team needs in order to compete in a loaded top half of the conference. The addition of Jerami Grant after the OKC rebuild took off was another addition I really like. Having a second unit of Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Will Barton/MPJ, Grant, and Mason Plumlee is not bad at all. Not many teams have trouble deciding who their 11th man off the bench will be, nevermind have an 11 man rotation.
Detroit Pistons
Major Additions
Derrick Rose
Markieff Morris
Tim Frazier
Sekou Doumbouya
Major Losses
Zaza Pachulia
Jose Calderon
Wayne Ellington
Ish Smith
Glenn Robinson
I really think the NBA is more fun when the Pistons are good. I just love to hate reading “DET on 10-2 run” and hearing “DETROIT BASKETBALL” ringing in my ears. By no means does that mean that I think the Pistons will be near the early to mid 2000s level of success, but I think they’ll beat out teams like Orlando for playoff seeding this year. Adding a bonafide point like Rose is something this team needed. I was a firm believer in the Boston College product Reggie Jackson when he was in OKC, but ever since he was traded, I think he’s a ball hogging bum who can’t make 40% from the field if the rim was the size of a swimming pool. I think Rose will flourish in this system. Ever since he left Chicago, he has proven that he can play a little off the ball, and if DET wants to play through Blake and let him take the ball up oftentimes like last year, Rose will have a great year.
I won’t lie, I don’t know anything about Doumbouya except he is lanky and fun to play with in my 2K franchise.
Golden State Warriors
Major Additions
DeAngelo Russell
Glenn Robinson
Willie Cauley-Stein
Omari Spellman
Shabazz Napier
Jordan Poole
Major Losses
Kevin Durant
Shaun Livingston
Jordan Bell
Andre Iguodala
Quinn Cook
Demarcus Cousins
Jonas Jerebko
I’ll keep this quick because I was very excited for the Warriors/Lebron era to be over, but it does not seem to be coming to a close as quickly as I’d hoped. I hate that they’re still good. I hate that they lose KD, but get Russell. They won’t be as good for sure, but they’ll still be a playoff team that could push for the conference finals. One thing we can say on July 18th is that we have no idea what teams will be in the Finals from either conference. My favorites are the Clippers and Philly, but I’m not confident enough to bet on it.
Houston Rockets
Major Additions
Russell Westbrook
Chris Clemons
Deyonta Davis
Major Losses
Chris Paul
Kenneth Faried
Nene
The West is f’ing loaded I swear. Move after move made me question Danny Ainge and want to whine like a kid after Christmas vacation when he finds out that his friend got a cool new toy and he didn’t. After rumors of a highly dysfunctional locker room and even more drama between Harden and CP3, Daryl Morey made his choice clear – ride or die with Harden at the wheel. There is definitely a debate to be had on whether two VERY ball-dominant guards will be able to coexist, and I hate the crap saying “Oh well they were able to play together in Oklahoma City”. Dude that was years ago and they’ve both come into their own. Harden wasn’t putting up 50-point triple doubles in OKC and Westbrook wasn’t AVERAGING a triple double for two years when Harden and Durant were there.
It will be interesting to see how their games meld back together after a couple years of being apart. I personally am hoping for a dumpster fire, but to each their own.
Indiana Pacers
Major Additions
Malcolm Brogdon
Jeremy Lamb
TJ Warren
Goga Bitadze
Major Losses
Darren Collison
Tyreke Evans
Thaddeus Young
Bojan Bogdanovic
Wesley Matthews
Kyle O’Quinn
Cory Joseph
The Pacers were very active in their offseason so far. They snagged Brogdon from the Bucks, traded draft rights and cash to Phoenix for TJ Warren, and signed a quality backup SG in Jeremy Lamb. Hats off really! After an embarrassingly bad sweep to Boston in the playoffs, Larry Legend has reloaded and is ready for another conference finals run.
Los Angeles Clippers
Major Additions
Paul George
Kawhi Leonard
Rodney McGruder
Major Losses
Danilo Gallinari
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Clippers and Nets were without a doubt the runaway winners of NBA free agency this year. In the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes, the Lakers and Raptors were rumored to be the favorites in the days leading up to the Woj bomb. In the regular season, the Clippers were rumored to be the favorites as no one really knew if Kawhi wanted to go to LeBron’s team and be the #2. However, two back to back Woj bombs first named the Clippers as the destination for Kawhi Leonard, and then minutes later announced that the Thunder were trading PG to LA for Shai, Gallinari, and FIVE (5) first-round draft picks.
Some people may think that five first round picks are a lot, especially from what we saw out of the Celtics-Nets trade for Piece, Garnett, and Jason Terry, but those three players were on the very last limbs of their primes. They were too old to carry a young Nets team to a championship. Kawhi and PG are different. They could own the league for years to come. Those two lockdown defenders paired with Pat Beverly and Montrezl Harrell should be the best defensive lineup in the league. I can’t wait to see how they play.
Los Angeles Lakers
Major Additions
Anthony Davis
DeMarcus Cousins
Quinn Cook
Avery Bradley
Jared Dudley
Troy Daniels
Major Losses
Lonzo Ball
Brandon Ingram
Josh Hart
Jaxson Hayes (Picked with their #4 pick traded to NOP)
Ugh. Fine, they had a good offseason. This lineup is made to win now and nothing else. The Clippers at least are somewhat built for the future with Shamet, Jerome Robinson, and Harrell. Their cross-city counterparts however have players in their prime or coming out of their prime. They definitely need more star-level talent in the backcourt as I doubt Quinn Cook, Rondo, and Avery Bradley will be able to balance out a frontcourt of Lebron, AD, and Cousins. I won’t lie – I hope this team becomes a dumpster fire and fails to crack a top-5 seed in the West. Every analyst last year at this time had the Lakers as a Western Conference Finals team, and they failed to even make the playoffs.
This year, I think they can make the Finals. I hope they don’t, but they could win it all if they play together. I think the main factor in a Lebron-led team at this point in his career is chemistry. You could watch one quarter of a 2018-19 Lakers game and see the lack of chemistry that they had. Even the Cavs a couple years ago didn’t really play together and thrived only because Lebron carried them to the Finals against a weak Eastern Conference. I’d like the Lakers to make the playoffs and get beaten by a young fun team like Dallas.
Memphis Grizzlies
Major Additions
Ja Morant
Tyus Jones
Josh Jackson
De’Anthony Melton
Brandon Clarke
Jae Crowder
Darius Bazley
Major Losses
Jevon Carter
Chandler Parsons
Avery Bradley
*Clap Clap Clap* What a great under-the-radar offseason for a rebuilding team. The additions of Morant, Clarke, and Josh Jackson are key for Memphis who are officially past the Conley-Gasol-Randolph era. We knew that the Conley trade was coming, but that the payoff wouldn’t match the talent exactly simply because his contract is so immense. However, a trade including a key role player in Crowder, and a potential NBA starter in Bazley is pretty good! They should waive Grayson Allen ASAP, as he is just not mature enough to play in a professional setting (see fight with Grant Williams in summer league). Add in the waived contract of Iguodala in a separate deal to clear up some future cap space, and the Grizzlies look very similar to the Hawks one or two years ago. It wouldn’t surprise me to see those two teams be very relevant in two or three years.
Another trade that they totally won was the Josh Jackson trade. I know he is a bit of a project and rumored to be a headcase too, but he showed huge potential at Kansas, and maybe Phoenix just wasn’t the place for him. Trading Korver and Jevon Carter is just fleecing the Suns if Jackson turns around and becomes even just a 17/7/5 guy in Memphis.
Miami Heat
Major Additions
Jimmy Butler
Tyler Herro
Meyers Leonard
Major Losses
Josh Richardson
Hassan Whiteside
Dwyane Wade
Ryan Anderson
After a disappointing end to a season in which the Heat were primarily the boat on which Dwyane Wade made his final rounds, they were also lowkey playoff contenders. They won 39 games and in the Eastern Conference, that isn’t the worst you can be. They finished in 10th place and were only two games out of the playoffs. Albeit if they did make the playoffs, I promise you they would not have been able to add Tyler Herro with the 13th pick in the draft.
This takes us into the summer in which they got rid of Goran Dragic’s aging contract and lost Josh Richardson, but added the best player the Heat have had since the LeBron era. Furthermore, if what we saw in summer league is anything close to reality, the heat struck gold with Herro at 13. He led the team in scoring and let his nuts hang a little lower with every step up three he sent through the net.
Milwaukee Bucks
Major Additions:
Kyle Korver
Luke Maye
Thanasis (Thanos) Antetokounmpo
Dragan Bender
Major Losses
Pau Gasol
Nikola Mirotic
Malcolm Brogdon
The Bucks should take advantage of a further weakened Eastern Conference even with the departures of Mirotic (Euroleague), Brogdon (Pacers), and Gasol (T-Blazers). They signed Thanos Antetokounmpo (he will be called THanos in my vocabulary until I learn how to say his name), gave Dragan Bender a second chance after Phoenix released his rights, and added the 10-year UNC veteran Luke Maye. Their one big move this offseason was resigning Khris Middleton, who was a legit number 2 to Giannis, but could have easily been a number one on a team like Detroit or been 1a, 1b to Butler in Miami. Whoever his suitors were, Middleton will be back with Milwaukee next season.
This team should be Finals or bust. I don’t see one team that they should be legitimately afraid of. Maybe Philly only because Horford is Giannis’ (and Embiid’s) biological father. But in that scenario, you have Josh Richardson guarding Middleton and Simmons (?) trying to guard Bledsoe. I don’t see a team outside of Philly or maybe Boston taking the Bucks to more than 5 games. Feed me LAC/MIL in the Finals for the lowest scoring series ever.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Major Additions
Jarrett Culver
Jake Layman
Jordan Bell
Naz Reid
Noah Vonleh
Major Losses
Derrick Rose
Anthony Tolliver
Tyus Jones
Luol Deng
Shabazz Napier
Another rough year is waiting for Minnesota and I hope KAT is having none of it. Ever since the Bennett pick a few years back, this front office has not proven once that they are serious about this team. I understand that Minnesota isn’t exactly the free agent destination that Miami or LA are, but at least throw your hat into the ring for somebody. They have Wiggins on the books for WAY more than he is worth, and just lost one of their best players from last season in Derrick Rose to Detroit. In a packed Western Conference, Minnesota will be in the fight for lottery positioning once again.
As for draft picks this year, I really like both of these pickups. I was surprised that Naz Reid wasn’t picked. He was one of the top two players for LSU this year and won me a couple bets for sure. I hope they throw Jarrett Culver into the starting lineup immediately as I think he is a great fit to play the 2/3 with Wiggins and Towns. In the East, a starting lineup of Teague, Culver/Okogie, Wiggins, RoCo, and Towns would be able to compete for the bottom half of the playoff teams, but not out West.
New Orleans Pelicans
Major Additions
Zion Williamson
Jaxson Hayes
JJ Reddick
Lonzo Ball
Brandon Ingram
Josh Hart
Derrick Favors
Major Losses
Anthony Davis
Firstly, losing AD sucks. Even though he has had one foot out the door for like 2 years, he is a generational player and a top 5 player in the league approaching the prime of his career. That being said, are we sure the Lakers won this trade? The Pelicans have added some foundational players in Zion, Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. Seven or eight of their players could start, and they are really young for the most part. David Griffin has this team pointed in the right direction for the first time since drafting Davis. That being said, they should be sellers at the deadline. Jrue Holiday is making way too much money for a rebuilding team, but he puts up numbers that teams like Utah or Indiana or maybe even Philly could be tempted to trade for in February. In return, the Pelicans should get draft picks, young talent, and/or aging (and CHEAP) vets. I won’t put my “Look out for this team” stamp on the Pelicans this year, but remind me again in a year to take a second look.
New York Knicks
Major Additions
RJ Barrett
Marcus Morris
Bobby Portis
Julius Randle
Reggie Bullock
Major Losses
Support of the fanbase
Emmanuel Mudiay
Noah Vonleh
Mario Hezonja
DeAndre Jordan
Yikes. After striking out in the lottery, Knicks fans were still confident that they would land TWO top free agents – and for good reason! The ownership was spouting off about this goldmine of an offseason for what seemed like 5 years. That idiot James Dolan was shoving the Kool-Aid down the gullets of Steven A. Smith and other diehard Knick fans forever. They will roll out a better overall roster than they had last year so I guess its a plus. Look for Morris and Portis to be trade pieces at the deadline, especially for teams like Dallas or Portland who may want some PF depth for the playoff push. The departure of Mudiay is quietly filled by another underperforming guard in Elfrid Payton, and the recently added should not be a trade piece in February. Rj Barrett was the number one prospect going into the college ball season this time last year, so don’t be too down Knick fans. See you next lottery.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Major Additions
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Danilo Gallinari
Chris Paul (for now)
Darius Bazley
Mike Muscala
Every LAC draft pick for the next 100 years
Major Losses
Russell Westbrook
Paul George
Jerami Grant
Markieff Morris
Patrick Patterson
Let the fire sale begin! After two back to back first round exits, the Thunder decided to say “Screw it let’s start over”. It clearly wasn’t working for PG/Russ in OKC. They were a fun regular season team, but always had issues in the playoffs. The return for both players was HUGE. One would think that after the Celtics fleeced the Nets for every pick for 25 years that the Clippers and Rockets would think twice before flipping all of their draft assets. Unfortunately, no one thought of this. They saw that the Warriors dynasty is coming to an end, and are looking to pounce on a trip to the Finals.
The Thunder now have a couple of tasks. First off they need to trade CP3 like yesterday. He takes up way too much cap on their team and for a club that isn’t contending anytime soon, get some young talent and even more draft picks in from Miami or even Orlando if they think they’re in contention in the East, and move on from the soon to be $40 million dollar senior citizen. Tank City in OKC right now and for the foreseeable future.
Orlando Magic
Major Additions
Al-Farouq Aminu
A mentally healthy Markelle Fultz
Major Losses
Jerian Grant
Timofey Mozgov
Pretty much no change for the Magic this offseason. There were rumors that Vucevic would go elsewhere in the East, but instead he returned to run it back in Orlando. This team made the playoffs for the first time in forever, and with a weak East, they could make the push to a 4/5 seed when all is said and done. Vucevic is a huge part of their offense with 20+points per game last year and Aaron Gordon fills out their front court beautifully. With any luck, Markelle Fultz will return to the deadly form we saw at Washington as reports are that he is making huge strides toward being a stud. Aminu adds some front court depth that they desperately need, as I don’t think that Mo Bamba is ready to be a 6th man nor a stretch 4/5 quite yet. This team is young as hell and they’re not going anywhere with the amount of quality rookie deals they have under contract for the next few years.
Philadelphia 76ers
Major Additions
Al Horford
Josh Richardson
Raul Neto
Kyle O’Quinn
Matisse Thybulle
Major Losses
Jimmy Butler
Boban Marjanovic
TJ McConnell
JJ Reddick
The Sixers backed up the Brinks truck more than they should have this offseason. I’m a huge Horford stan and I will stand by his side through thick and thin, but I do not think paying him $25 million at age 37 is great for your cap. Pee-Yew. That being said, he will be great this year and maybe next and I’m sure a Finals run will make every penny worth it to Sixers fans. The problem is that they have to get to the Finals. Furthermore, I think they paid Tobias Harris too much as well. 5 years and $180 for a top 50 player in the league? Pass. He averaged 18 points per game this year and is the 3rd best player on your team. I understand that other teams may have wanted to pay him exuberant amounts of money, but that is two stupidly high contracts that the Sixers have dished out this summer. Not much has changed in the talent development department for Philly. Simmons still can’t shoot, Embiid is still hurt for chunks of the offseason, and their rookies don’t get enough playing time for anyone to see what they really are. I fully expect them to make a leap to the 1/2 seed this year, but it wouldn’t shock me to see them lose in 5 to Milwaukee.
Phoenix Suns
Major Additions
Frank Kaminsky
Ricky Rubio
Cameron Johnson
Ty Jerome
Dario Saric
Cheick Diallo
Aron Baynes
Major Losses
Josh Jackson
De’Anthony Melton
Jamal Crawford
TJ Warren
How many years straight can the Suns smash that reset button? They traded away Josh Jackson which is understandable but the return for such a high-potential prospect wasn’t huge. I guess they finally got a respectable PG in Rubio, but I think he was more looking for a payday and the Suns were the only team willing to pay him that number. Their scoring options should be as followed: Booker, Ayton, Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome, literally nobody. These four players should have the bulk of their playmaking and while they will still stink in ’19-’20, the Suns have a respectable core that hopefully will pay off in the next couple of years.
Portland Trailblazers
Major Additions
Hassan Whiteside
Anthony Tolliver
Mario Hezonja
Nassir Little
Pau Gasol
Major Losses
Jake Layman
Al-Farouq Aminu
Enes Kanter
Evan Turner
Portland has locked up their backcourt for years to come. They are without a doubt in the top 3 most explosive backcourts in the league, and being that they’ve played together for so long, their chemistry is 1a and 1b with Steph and Klay. Ignoring Dame and CJ for a second, the Blazers have supplemented their frontcourt acquiring Whiteside for Leonard while Nurkic works his way back from his playoff injury. Small forward depth might be an issue with the Blazers because Jake Layman and Evan Turner left – that being said, Evan Turner left so his horrendous contract is finally off the books. Portland should be a top 4 seed in the playoffs this year. Year after year they’re disrespected by everyone because they’re a small market team. I think after getting to the WCF this year after beating two legit teams in the first two rounds (OKC and Denver respectively), they might finally have the respect they deserve. We all know how strong the West will be this year, but I’ll throw my money on Playoff Dame against anyone.
Sacramento Kings
Major Additions
Kyle Guy
Dewayne Dedmon
Trevor Ariza
Cory Joseph
Tyler Lydon
Major Losses
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alec Burks
Corey Brewer
Kosta Koufos
Damn it! Right when I thought that the Kings could get over the hump the West gets miles better and they’re back where they started. I thought that Fox and Marvin Bagley would make the playoffs last year, but they had a rough second half and failed to do so by a few games. That being said, I figured that the Kings would progress to a point this year where they would make the playoffs in the West and continue their climb towards contention. Unfortunately, the Lakers, Clippers, and Rockets got much better, the Nuggets, Warriors, Jazz, and Blazers are locked into playoff spots until I see otherwise, so really there’s only one spot up for grabs. The Kings, Mavs, and maybe the Pelicans will be the three teams I’ll watch to see who can rise into that 8-seed just to get plastered by the Clippers.
San Antonio Spurs
Major Additions
DeMarre Carroll
Keldon Johnson
Trey Lyles
Dedric Lawson
Major Losses
Donatas Montiejunas
Not much changed for the reigning 7-seed in the West. I think that they need some major overhaul to get anywhere close to title contention. I don’t think Pop will allow them to be sellers at the deadline, but with aging vets like Aldridge and DeRozan, buying teams (especially in the wide open Eastern conference) may give up young assets and draft capital to get some help for the playoff push. I don’t know how the contracts match up, but I’d love to see the Bucks go after DeRozan to replace what Mirotic gave them last year. Same with the Pacers with Bogdanovic. Adding Carroll kind of confused me unless they trade him away in February. Hopefully the Spurs face the music and go into full rebuild mode after being nothing short of dominant since the drafted Tim Duncan.
Toronto Raptors
Major Additions
Stanley Johnson
O’Shea Brissett
Cameron Payne
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Major Losses
Kawhi Leonard
Danny Green
Jeremy Lin
The 2019 NBA Champions are not in contention in the 2019-2020 season. I’m just stating facts. The loss of Kawhi Leonard is too great for this team to contend. They’ll make the playoffs and maybe win a series, but a team led by an injured Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam will not be a title contender. I hope they add a young piece, get Lowry’s contract off the books, and try to get Siakam some legitimate help. They’ll be back within a couple of years, but they should be sellers (of Lowry) in February.
Utah Jazz
Major Additions
Mike Conley
Bojan Bogdanovic
Emmanuel Mudiay
Ed Davis
Major Losses
Ricky Rubio
Jae Crowder
Kyle Korver
Darius Bazley (through draft rights)
Thabo Sefolosha
Derrick Favors
The Jazz have improved mightily since last season. They added a legit PG upgrade over Rubio in Conley, got a great scoring wing to accompany Donovan Mitchell in Bogdanovic, and got rid of “ehh” contracts with Crowder and Korver going to Memphis. While the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors made a lot of noise (AD, Kawhi, D-Lo) this offseason, the Jazz quietly had a great summer. They honestly could sneak into the top 3 i the West and make it to the conference finals. I really don’t see the hype around the Lakers and maybe I’m biased (I’m very biased) but the Jazz could beat the Lakers in a 7-game series. I love small market teams (SAC, POR, UTA) making noise in the crowded West which is mostly dominated by large market teams like both LA teams, Houston, and Golden State. Go Jazz baby.
Washington Wizards
Major Additions
Isaiah Thomas
Ish Smith
Admiral Schofield
Rui Hachimura
CJ Miles
Davis Bertans
Moe Wagner
Major Losses
Bobby Portis
Jabari Parker
Sam Dekker
Jeff Green
Tomas Satoransky
There was a lot of turnover in the Wizards summer. They are adamant that they want to sign Beal to an extension, but smartly Beal is delaying until after the season to see where the team is headed. We don’t know if we’ll ever see John Wall on the court again for a significant stretch of basketball, leading me to believe that IT4 is the starting PG for the Wizards. As you may have picked up on, my opinion is that there are 4 types of NBA team: 1. Contender (Clippers), 2. Young team (Hawks), 3. Buyers (Celtics) or 4. Sellers who are in denial that they are sellers but damn it just sell and start over already (Wizards/Pistons). I don’t know why Washington sells their BS to fans every year only to go 35-47, miss the playoffs by 4 games, and get the 12th pick in every draft. We’ve seen the Sixers tank for years on end and now they’re the odds on favorite to win the Eastern conference. Hell, the Celtics even tanked for a few years there but quickly came back up thanks to the Brooklyn trade. Just sell your pieces to contenders, start young, and we’ll see you in 5 years.
Anyway, this took a lot longer than I expected. I’ll see you once I get drunk off Celtics Kool Aid at the start of training camp or when Smart, Tatum, Kemba, and JB are on the court at the same time during the FIBA Championships – whichever comes first.
ReJoyce 