Although the Sixers‘ projected starting lineup (Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre and Caleb Martin) is versatile defensively and features plenty of shooting, Martin projects to be the NBA’s shortest starting power forward this season, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, who suggests that Philadelphia could benefit from adding some more size to its frontcourt.
Philadelphia is one of five Eastern Conference threats to Boston discussed by Bontemps as he identifies one piece each of those teams is missing. Some of those pieces are positional — the Knicks could use another center, while the Cavs would like to add a two-way wing, Bontemps writes.
Other missing pieces are more general traits. For example, Bontemps says the Bucks are lacking “dynamism,” pointing to the team’s dearth of dunks by players besides Giannis Antetokounmpo last season as a sign that Milwaukee would benefit from adding more athletic, explosive pieces to its roster.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although Amazon reportedly scrapped plans to make a $115MM investment in Diamond Sports Group, it sounds like the mega-corporation and the parent company of the Bally Sports networks are still in discussions. As Josh Kosman of The New York Post reports, Amazon is exploring a deal to stream Bally Sports broadcasts of 12 NBA teams for the coming season. According to Kosman, under the proposed deal, Bally Sports would continue its local broadcasts, but Amazon would give customers the option of paying approximately $20 per month to access their home team’s games through Prime Video.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac takes a look at how the teams operating in tax apron territory approached the offseason, breaking down the moves they made and considering how the apron-related restrictions affected them.
- While few teams have a contract as onerous as Zach LaVine‘s on their books, the Bulls aren’t the only club carrying a deal they may regret. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report identifies one possible such contract on the books for all 30 teams, ranking each one out of 10 in terms of “potential regret level.” LaVine’s deal is the only one that scores a 10/10, but Pincus gives a 9/10 to Bradley Beal (Suns), Jordan Poole (Wizards), and Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets).
What a surprise Trae Young is on the bad contract list. Someone needs to tell the fanboys that the only reason ATL did not trade him is because no one wants him. He has negative trade value, figure it out.
who are you talking to? Dude gets way more hate than he should when useless players like Lillard are getting max and we have to act like they aren’t killing teams. Maybe build a roster that doesn’t waste time and money on DeAndre Hunter and John Collins for years
Lillard isn’t useless, he’s one of the best three level scorers ever. The Bucks would have no shot next season without him. How is Young any better than Lillard? He doesn’t have the shooting chops Dame does although he is a better playmaker.
Lilliards defense is like your comments, USELESS.
You do realize that since Young has been in the league, statistically he is one of the worst defenders in the NBA
Defense is one part of a players game. Making a nonsense general statement about Young based on that 1 part is USELESS and idiotic and……
Trae by far the worst defender in the NBA, and all analytics show it. To get value from him, you need to create a roster that can protect him defensively, and that’s rarely a good idea.
It might be possible with the right team, but Snyder has always been about toughness and defense first, so I can’t see it in Atlanta. Snyder, a good coach, was a bad choice by the Hawks given their commitment to Trae.
After this contract ends, the best role for him is as a Lou Williams, Jamaal Crawford style 6th man. Unless he’s willing to accept that, there’s a strong possibility he’s playing overseas in 2026.
Agreed… Too many Trae defenders…
Negative trade value… Only looks good next to a mid 30s guard who has taken a max each possible moment…
What a load of nothing. Tra has negative trade value. Top 3 point guard. Double double. Can pop in 40. Go away.
Strange that no one wanted to trade for a top 3 PG.
Top 3 PG? In the G-League maybe…
A top 3 PG gets traded for when put on the trade block… Not put on the worst contracts list…
If Kelly Oubre starts why would Caleb Martin play power forward? Another writer on here that doesn’t know what he’s talking about .
Not just the writers.
That’s funny coming from the person essentially saying that because a guy scores a lot of points and gets assists that automatically makes them an elite player, completely ignoring the other side of the ball, their subpar shooting numbers, ball-hogging tendencies/questionable decision making, and sometimes being a difficult teammate to deal with.
Does Trae sometimes get too much hate? Yes. Is he can elite player? No.
There’s a reason Murray was moved instead of Trae and it’s because his trade value was higher. The implication of that is self explanatory.
Murray’s trade value is higher mainly because he’s makes about $13 million less than Trae. That’s comes with a caveat though, yeah Murray makes less money but that’s because he’s not nearly as dynamic on offense as Trae is. Trae is a better passer, a better outside shooter and when he drives he’s looking to get to the basket or find an open teammate for a kick out.
Murray shot well on volume last season, but that’s only one season and with a playmaker like Trae setting him up. Murray also settles for far too many midrange jumpers instead of getting to the basket when he drives. He’s vaunted for his defense but while better than Young he hasn’t been all that great on that end since coming to Atlanta.
The trade package Atlanta got back for Murray also wouldn’t have been enough to land Trae. He’s worth more than two firsts, a backup PG and a rotation big. People have a short memory, it wasn’t that long ago Trae led the upstart Hawks to game 6 of the Eastern Conference championship before being eliminated by the eventual champs.
Probably because it appears that guarantees were made during negotiations in regard to position and starting minutes. Most sources say
Maxey
Oubre
Joel
C Martin
George
But most likely they will be interchangeable enough to rotate giving us more wing flexibility than we have had in the past. It’ll cost us a little (or a lot lol) in lack of rim protection and rebounding in exchange.
Trae to heat for Herro and Robinson or to nuggets for Jamal Murray works.
Teams are just afraid to trade for him which is crazy considering dudes traded for Beal, Ayton & Poole.
Very situational with those examples. One was a big contract on a team trying to tank, another was playing his way out, and the other got punched during practice. If Trae goes to the Heat there will be more love. He’s got the chops to average more than 30 and we may see a step up during his contract year (player option following this season) and with the added shot volume (Murray being traded)
Zero chance Trae goes to Miami.
If there’s one team in the league where Trae absolutely does not fit, it’s Miami. If you don’t defend like a dog, they don’t want you. The Heat players openly mocked him when they destroyed the Heat in the playoffs 2 years ago.
Trae has a lot to prove this year, many believing he’s a locker-room cancer, coach killer, etc. If he can turn that around, there may be a trade out there. Otherwise, he’s a Hawk till the end of his contract.
Maybe I’m missing something, but why would anyone pay a monthly rate $20 to stream their team via Amazon when the NBA team pass only costs about $18 a month?
You can almost purchase the entire league pass as that rate
Yeah no way it will be $20 a month for one team
From Ballys to Amazon will be just as bad for local sports fans. Come on MBA (&MLB for that matter). Fix this s**t already. Assume control and recommit to contracts with streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu Live. Or get rid of the blackouts when you have a premium league package. It’s also absurd that we pay $130 for the prime NBA (or MLB) package and have to wait three days to see our local team play unless we pay another $100/month for a cable or DSL service that’s has a bunch of shit we don’t want. Fans will eventually get tired of being screwed over like this.
They just got Yabusele why do they need more size at 4