Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: Eastern Conference Favorite

July 12th, 2019 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Unlike the decade when the LeBron James-led Heat or Cavaliers were the automatic favorite in the Eastern Conference, there are several legitimate contenders that could reach the Finals next season.

Milwaukee, with MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, will enter the season with the best odds of ending its long Finals drought. The Bucks, who had the league’s best record last season, haven’t played for the title since 1974.

The Bucks were able to re-sign some key free agents — Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and George Hill — but couldn’t afford to retain restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon. They also didn’t add any top talent. Veteran shooting guard Wesley Matthews is the most notable newcomer.

The Celtics lost free agents Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Marcus Morris. Signing Kemba Walker was a major coup and team chemistry should be better, allowing potential star Jayson Tatum to blossom. But frontcourt deficiencies could hinder their chances of going deep in the playoffs.

The Sixers lost Jimmy Butler, though the sign-and-trade brought back Josh Richardson from the Heat. They did retain Tobias Harris, albeit at a high cost, and surprisingly signed Horford. Their starting five will have a different dynamic — more size, less offensive firepower — but it should be enough for a strong playoff run if Joel Embiid can stay healthy.

It will be nearly impossible for the Raptors to repeat, though Pascal Siakam has emerged as one of the league’s top young players.
The Nets, as they wait for Kevin Durant, are probably a year away from making a run despite the addition of Irving. The Pacers acquired some interesting pieces — Brogdon, T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb — but they need Victor Oladipo to come back strong from a serious leg injury to make noise.

The Magic could make the playoffs again by re-signing Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross but may not be good enough to take the next step. The Pistons added Derrick Rose to a mix that includes frontcourt stars Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond but after getting swept by the Bucks last spring, it’s hard to see them winning more than one playoff series.

That leads us to our question of the day: With free agency winding down and most of the major trades in the rearview mirror, which Eastern Conference team is most likely to reach the NBA Finals next season?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Expansion

July 5th, 2019 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NHL expanded into Las Vegas and the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Finals during their inaugural 2017/18 season. The league will add a team in Seattle for the 2021/22 season.

Those two cities have also been prominently mentioned for NBA franchises. Despite the success of the Las Vegas Summer League and the feeling among many that Seattle didn’t deserve to lose the SuperSonics, there is no movement afoot regarding NBA expansion into those cities or anywhere else.

Commissioner Adam Silver said as much in Vegas on Thursday.

“There’s no doubt there are a number of cities in the United States that could host NBA basketball, but we analogize it to selling equity,” he said. “I think we would want to make sure at the time we expanded we felt it would help grow the entire league and not just support the NBA in that particular city.”

Since New Orleans got an NBA franchise in 2002, expansion has grinded to a halt. There are plenty of places that could support an NBA team, including cities that previously hosted a franchise, such as Kansas City, San Diego, St. Louis and Buffalo. Vancouver, former home of the Grizzlies, and Montreal would be worthy of consideration as well as other foreign cities such as Mexico City and London.

That leads us to our question of the day: When the NBA decides to expand again, which city is most worthy of a franchise?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Team-Friendly Free Agent Deals

July 4th, 2019 at 6:39pm CST by Austin Kent

It’s the fourth full day of NBA free agency and we’ve finally topped the 100 transaction mark so far this offseason. That means now is as good a time to pore through the deals that have been reported thus far and start analyzing which ones we think may prove to be the biggest bargains.

For a complete list of all the transactions I’m talking about, check out the Hoops Rumors 2019 Free Agent Tracker.

Below are a few of the bargain deals that stand out to me. I encourage you to pore through the complete list on your own and get back to us with the contracts that you think will most favor the NBA teams that inked them.

Young Bigs That Minnesota Bought Low On

MIN – Jordan Bell (1 year, $1.6MM)

MIN – Noah Vonleh (1 year, $2.0MM)

It’s safe to say that there’s a reason Bell didn’t step into significant minutes with the Warriors at any point over the course of the past few seasons. Perhaps he didn’t see eye-to-eye with the coaching staff. In any event, the Wolves will now give the 24-year-old a fresh start in a low pressure environment and perhaps the stark contrast between sunny, 60-win seasons in California and dreary, Minnesota winter slogs to the 35-win plateau will serve as a wake-up call for the talented center.

Vonleh may not have worn out his welcome with any of the teams that he’s played for, but that could be because he hasn’t stuck around long enough with any of them to do it. Vonleh had the dubious distinction of being a raw talent coming out of the draft. That, coupled with his low draft age led to high expectations. Well, we’re four years into Vonleh’s career now and while he hasn’t evolved into much more than a high energy rebound guy, he’s a pretty darn good one. Vonleh has played for four teams in five seasons and is still only 23-years-old.

Guys Who Fill The Stat Sheet When The Stars Align

WAS – Thomas Bryant (3 years, $25MM)

SAC – Richaun Holmes (2 years, $9.8MM)

Bryant didn’t end up sticking with the Lakers team that drafted him but caught on in an infinitely better environment. The 21-year-old’s low-post potential has been evident since his days as a Hoosier but he’s the type of prospect that a team would have to be in an awfully grim position to fully audition in live game action. Enter, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were so shallow at the five last year that Bryant got the call and immediately developed chemistry with club star Bradley Beal. Don’t get me wrong, I know the NBA isn’t trending in Bryant’s favor, but he averaged 19.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in games where he saw north of 30 minutes and he showed up for the team in crunch time. The fact that Washington will lock him down with an average annual value of $8.3MM is a win. He doesn’t even have to keep the starting spot to outperform that.

The Sacramento Kings suddenly have one of the league’s most interesting frontcourts. That’s mostly due to the two sophomores they’ll return in 2019/20, but also because of the addition of chronically underrated center Dewayne Dedmon and the mysterious, springy 25-year-old Holmes, whom they just poached from the Phoenix Suns. Sacramento’s bigs may not be the best in the league, but if Holmes’ is the fourth-best on the roster, then that’s some solid depth. Holmes will make less than $5MM this year to, for the first time in his career, show what he’s capable of on a team that isn’t just spinning its tires. #ThingsYouNeverThoughtYouWouldSayAboutTheKings

Former All-Stars That Maybe, Just Maybe, Have More In The Tank

DET – Derrick Rose (2 years, $15MM)

WAS – Isaiah Thomas (1 year, $2.3MM)

Rose enjoyed an almost inconceivable comeback season in 2018/19, highlighted by a 54-point performance that will go down as one of the most memorable moments of his already dramatic career. Rose’s ridiculous early season production petered off slightly when the Wolves introduced new head coach Ryan Saunders and his fancy rational rotations but we saw enough throughout the year to know that the former MVP was capable of actually contributing at an elite level again. Rose was thrown into the deep end after six seasons of uncertainty and/or chaos. He’ll provide a badly needed offensive punch for a Detroit Pistons team that isn’t afraid to go all out for a semblance of respectability.

Thomas is two years removed from an All-NBA Second Team performance. While we all should have known that 2017/18 was going to be a wash once details of his hip injury came to light, he didn’t have much more of a chance to prove himself in 2018/19 either. The Nuggets saw years of careful drafting and asset accumulation finally start to pay off last year and rode that to their best finished in a decade, there was no room for trotting out Thomas and hoping for the best. Perhaps IT can benefit from a comeback season on the Wizards like Rose enjoyed in 2018/19. The fact that we’re even considering that as a possibility makes his one-year minimum a bargain.

One-Dimensional Bigs That Earned The Room Exception

UTA – Ed Davis (2 years, $9.8MM)

BOS – Enes Kanter (2 years, $9.8MM)

Despite the ancient proverb that board men get paid, that wasn’t the case for Davis, an all around positive force on a 2018/19 Brooklyn Nets team that cleared house to bring in a pair of superstar free agents this week. Davis was reluctantly abandoned by the Trail Blazers last summer too, and will now ply his trade for yet another franchise that’s serious about being taken seriously. Davis just needs 20 minutes of action to pull down 10-12 rebounds a night. He’ll settle in just fine on a Utah Jazz squad that’s betting big on depth.

I am convinced that Kanter was overrated for so long that he became underrated. While anything Kanter does on the offensive end will ultimately be judged by his performance on the other side of the ball, that doesn’t mean he can’t still be utilized effectively on a winning ball club. Kanter averaged 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for the Blazers in the 2019 postseason. They made it to the Western Conference Finals. Complemented by returning big man Daniel Theis, whose expertise skews toward defense, and you’ve got a very interesting, very affordable committee at the five.

Community Shootaround: Biggest Winner In Free Agency So Far

July 2nd, 2019 at 11:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

It feels like half of the league’s players are in different spots than they were just a week ago and some teams have benefited more than others from the player movement. You can check out all the movement in our Free Agent Tracker.

The Nets are arguably the biggest winner. They land Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The franchise also added DeAndre Jordan and netted a first-rounder from the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade.

Russell went to the Warriors on a max deal and Golden State had an impressive few days outside of losing Durant. The Magic were able to re-sign their main guys and will bring back the core of a team that made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season.

Jimmy Butler will go to the Heat via sign-and-trade, giving the Heat a star they’ve long been in the market for. Kemba Walker heads to Boston and Terry Rozier to Charlotte in a double sign-and-trade that arguably puts a ceiling on what each team can accomplish.

The Sixers landed Al Horford and Josh Richardson (via the Butler deal) and brought back Tobias Harris. Philadelphia was one of the more active teams over the past few days, while the two Los Angeles teams remained in sort of a holding pattern as they wait for Kawhi Leonard to make a decision.

The Jazz added Mike Conley prior to free agency and made moves to complement their new core. The team added Bojan Bogdanovic on a four-year deal and brought in Ed Davis, Emmanuel Mudiay and Jeff Green to round out a strong first few days of free agency.

Our community shootaround tonight is simple: Which team has made the best signings thus far? Do you believe any team had a better few days than the Nets? Is there an under-the-radar team that isn’t being talked about enough?

Let us know your opinion in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

Community Shootaround: 2020 All-Rookie Team

June 22nd, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA general managers nailed the top of the draft last year, taking the entire All-Rookie first team off the board in five picks. Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley, Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young were all highly regarded, but it’s rare that the first five selections are instantly the best five players.

This year’s draft is considered weaker, which makes it harder to predict. That only adds to the fun of speculating about who will wind up on the 2020 All-Rookie team.

There’s a lot left to happen this offseason, but there are a few things we know about this year’s draft class that we didn’t know a few days ago.

For example, we know the Anthony Davis era is over in New Orleans and the Zion Williamson era is about to begin. Unlike many top picks, Williamson will be surrounded by a strong supporting cast thanks to the generous return the Pelicans extracted from the Lakers. He won’t have to be dominant right away, but the spotlight will be on him and his natural talent should shine through. He’s the early favorite for Rookie of the Year.

Ja Morant should get the keys to the Memphis offense right from the start now that Mike Conley is on his way to Utah. It will take a while to reach Conley’s level, but Morant’s athleticism and highlight-reel dunks should make the Grizzlies a must-see team on League Pass.

R.J. Barrett may be considered a consolation prize in New York after the No. 1 pick slipped away, but his love for the city and his sweet shooting touch should win over Knicks fans. It’s easy to envision him topping all first-year players in scoring.

De’Andre Hunter is joining a Hawks organization that is amassing the brightest collection of young talent in the league. He and Cam Reddish could help Atlanta become the team of the future.

Darius Garland seems to duplicate a lot of the talents of Collin Sexton, the Cavaliers’ top pick last year, but the team is excited about the shooting threat he brings. Cleveland may not be ready to win, but Garland and Sexton will be a treat to watch in the open court.

Those are the top five picks, but are they all destined for the All-Rookie team? Are there better players taken later in the lottery or even later in the draft? We want to get your input on next season’s top rookies. Please leave your responses in the space below.

Community Shootaround: NBA Draft Winners, Losers

June 21st, 2019 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

The concept of “winners” and “losers” in an NBA draft isn’t necessarily a flawed one, but naming those winners and losers within 24 hours of the draft’s completion is probably misguided. Three years ago, for example, how many fans or even draft experts would have called the Raptors a winner of the 2016 NBA draft for nabbing little-known forward Pascal Siakam with the 27th overall pick?

Still, the “winner” and “loser” tags are simple short-hand for assessing which teams’ drafts we like, at first glance, and which ones we don’t. With that in mind, we want to hear your thoughts on which teams you believe have a good night on Thursday and which ones you believe could have done better.

The Cavaliers are among the teams that received plenty of praise for their work on Thursday — they came out of the first round with three promising young rookies, having selected Darius Garland at No. 5, Dylan Windler at No. 26, and Kevin Porter Jr. at No. 30. Garland was long viewed as the probable fourth overall pick, and Porter was considered a candidate for the end of the lottery, so Cleveland got seemingly great value in the first round.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Results]

The Pelicans are among the other teams whose work was lauded, though it’s hard not to get high marks when you come away with Zion Williamson. Besides the No. 1 overall pick, New Orleans also came away with Jaxson Hayes at No. 8, Nickeil Alexander-Walker at No. 17, and Marcos Louzada Silva at No. 35. They also managed to shed Solomon Hill‘s contract in their trade with the Hawks.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Suns‘ moves generated some confusion. They had to give up the No. 32 pick to move T.J. Warren, whose three-year, $35MM contract didn’t look like an albatross. Then they traded down from No. 6 to acquire Dario Saric and used their newly-acquired No. 11 pick to select Cameron Johnson, a player most experts didn’t expect to go in the top 20.

What do you think? Which teams’ drafts did you like most, and which ones were you a little less bullish on? Head to the comment section below to weigh in!

Community Shootaround: Could Durant Save The Warriors?

June 8th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Warriors facing a 3-1 deficit as the NBA Finals shift back to Toronto, many media members are theorizing that Golden State’s only hope is a return by Kevin Durant. Although Durant joined his team for the trip to Canada, his status remains uncertain. The MVP of the last two Finals hasn’t played or participated in a full practice since suffering a calf strain a month ago in the Western Conference semifinals.

There’s no question that a healthy Durant would make a difference. He was magnificent as usual before the injury, posting a 26.0/6.4/5.9 line in 78 regular season games and leading all playoff scorers at 34.2 points per game. Golden State hasn’t lost a postseason series since he joined the team three years ago.

Still, it may be an overstatement to say the Warriors would be in control of the series if he were available. The Raptors might be the best team they have faced over the past three seasons and have already dispatched a talented Sixers team and this year’s probable MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kawhi Leonard has reminded everyone that he’s one of the league’s best players, and he’s surrounded by a talented supporting cast that is proficient on both ends of the floor.

Even if Durant returns for Game 5, there are questions about how effective he can be. The Warriors haven’t issued any progress reports on his condition, other than vague statements expressing hope that he’ll be back before the playoffs end. Timing would be a concern for someone who hasn’t been on the court for a month and is trying to return to the game at its highest level.

We want to get your opinion on whether Durant’s return can save the series for the Warriors. Would his natural talent be enough or would he just provide a distraction and an easy target for the Raptors to exploit on defense? Please leave your answers in the space below.

Community Shootaround: Draft, Free Agency Dates

June 7th, 2019 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The draft is coming up in less than two weeks but there are factions within the league that would like to see the June date changed in the future.

Last year, the Rockets made a proposal to move free agency ahead of the draft and some teams, including the Celtics, endorsed it.

Whether the proposal will ever gather enough steam to be enacted is uncertain. But Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge recently spelled out the benefits of making the switch.

“I think that most teams build from veteran players first,” Ainge said. “If you have a Top 5 pick, you’re most likely a rebuilding team, so free agency isn’t affecting that. … And then, all of the other teams, you more likely are fitting in draft picks in and around a veteran core group. So I think the calendar should follow our decision-making tree. So I think it should be switched.”

Draft-day decisions would become clearer if most of the free agents had already signed. It would certainly help teams this summer like the Raptors (Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green), Celtics (Kyrie Irving) and Bucks (Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez) if they already knew which key free in-house agents they re-signed or lost. It would also help a rebuilding team with cap space like the Knicks, who could base their draft-day options on how successful they were in free agency.

Salary-cap situations would also be clearer if it were already known whether players with contract options decided to stay or chose free agency.

It could also facilitate trades before and during the draft.

However, there are drawbacks. If the draft were pushed back for a month or so, it would greatly affect the summer leagues and force the acclimation process for rookies to be accelerated.

Would underclassmen get a few extra weeks to decide whether to stay in the draft? If so, it would create even more headaches for college coaches, who are already struggling with the uncertainty regarding the status of key players.

That leads us to our question of the day: Should the NBA swap the dates for free agency and the draft?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Lakers Offseason

May 31st, 2019 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers’ franchise has been in a downward spiral since Christmas Day, when LeBron James suffered a groin injury during an upset victory at Golden State that sidelined him for more than a month.

From that point, the most notable developments the remainder of the season were their failed attempt to acquire Anthony Davis, their inability to make the playoffs, and the abrupt resignation of team president Magic Johnson.

It’s only gotten worse in the offseason. The Lakers fired head coach Luke Walton and their search for a replacement gave the franchise another black eye. Then got spurned by Monty Williams and saw negotiations with Tyronn Lue fall apart before settling on Frank Vogel. They also hired Jason Kidd as Vogel’s top assistant, putting Vogel in the awkward spot of having his potential replacement in the next chair.

Then came Johnson’s bridge-burning interview on ESPN in which he labelled GM Rob Pelinka a backstabber and detailed the dysfunction and indecision within the organization. This week, a detailed ESPN story spoke of the fear and confusion among staffers that developed when Johnson and Pelinka took charge and the heavy turnover in personnel.

It also detailed owner Jeanie Buss’ odd and ineffective management structure and the undue influence of James’ agent Rich Paul and others in James’ camp.

The only good thing that’s happened for the Lakers is that they moved up in the draft lottery.

Meanwhile, the franchise heads into a pivotal summer. It’s positioned financially to chase high-profile free agents and/or make a blockbuster trade.

Unquestionably, the Lakers need to acquire at least one superstar talent to pair up with James or else this offseason will be viewed as a complete disaster.

That leads us to our question of the day: Can the Lakers overcome the dysfunction and disarray within the organization and sign or trade for at least one superstar this offseason? Or are they doomed for a disastrous summer?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Khris Middleton

May 27th, 2019 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks intend to re-sign all of their top free agents after reaching the Eastern Conference finals. But is that the best course of action?

The biggest question mark surrounds Khris Middleton, generally considered the second-best player on the team behind MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. Middleton will opt out of the last year of his contract, which would pay him $13MM, and head to unrestricted free agency.

Once marquee agents such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler come off the board, Middleton would be viewed as a nice consolation prize for teams with salary-cap space that don’t land one of the big stars. Middleton averaged 18.3 PPG and career highs of 6.0 RPG and 4.3 APG this season after posting an average of 20.1 PPG last season. Middleton is a career 38.8% 3-point shooter and, at 27, in his prime years.

The nagging question is can Middleton be the second-best player on a championship team? Middleton had a 30-point outburst in Game 4 against the Raptors but averaged 10.2 PPG in the five other games of the conference finals.

A max offer for Middleton would be an approximate $189.6MM commitment over five years; he could receive a max of $140.6MM over four years from another team. Whether he gets the max or something close to it, it’s going to be awfully expensive to retain him.

An alternative for the Bucks would be to shoot higher themselves and try to convince a big-name free agent to come their way. The other approach would be to absorb the salary of an All-Star caliber player in a trade with the savings they’ll get by allowing Middleton to sign elsewhere. That doesn’t seem to be the way the Bucks are leaning but it would be a bolder approach.

That leads us to our question of the day: Should the Bucks go all out to re-sign Khris Middleton or should they seek another star to pair up with Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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