Community Shootaround

The Andrew Bogut experiment in Los Angeles is over, as the Lakers waived him today to avoid having to fully guarantee his $2,328,652 contract. Bogut and his agent offered his services throughout the NBA last summer, attempting to show that he was fully recovered from a fractured left tibia. However, the response was lukewarm and he wound up signing a one-year, partially guaranteed deal with L.A. shortly before the start of training camp.

The 33-year-old proved to be an awkward fit for the Lakers and averaged just 1.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 9.0 minutes of playing time in 21 games. He is expected to clear waivers Monday and hit the open market again, hoping to catch on with a contender for a playoff run.

The Cavaliers, who signed Bogut last March but lost him to the injury in his first game, reportedly aren’t interested in bringing him back. That raises the question of which contending teams might line up for his services.

The Celtics contacted Bogut in August and could be on the radar again, writes Nick Metallinos in an ESPN article, although fellow Australian center Aron Baynes already fills a similar role in Boston. Another possibility, Metallinos suggests, are the Bucks, who made Bogut the first player taken in the 2005 draft and who are expected to open a roster spot by waiving DeAndre Liggins. Milwaukee has been in need of help in the middle since moving Greg Monroe to Phoenix in the Eric Bledsoe trade, and Bogut would be an inexpensive addition. They also reportedly had contact with Bogut before he joined the Lakers.

Even though Bogut would have liked more playing time in Los Angeles, he was realistic about his situation and believes he benefited by showing the league he is fully recovered.

“The whole goal for me was just to come in relatively healthy from the broken leg, and just be ready to play,” Bogut said last month. “I knew there wasn’t going to be a whole lot of minutes [with the Lakers] because I was the 15th guy signed to the roster.”

We want your opinion on Bogut. Which team is the best fit for him, and do you believe he can still help a conteder? Jump into our comments section and leave your response.

When Markelle Fultz made his debut earlier this season, he became just the third No. 1 overall pick in history to come off the bench.  Sarah Todd of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that the other two top selections who did not start right away ended up having underwhelming careers.

Anthony Bennett, who was a surprise No. 1 overall pick, began with the Cavs’ bench unit and he never made his way into the starting lineup for Cleveland. He was sent to Wolves in the Kevin Love deal and he ended up only starting three games during his lone season in Minnesota. After a stop in Toronto where he played in just 19 games (no starts), he landed in Brooklyn for just 23 games (one start). Bennett now plays in the G League.

Andrea Bargnani spent the majority of his rookie season on the bench, though he accumulated 314 starts in Toronto over the ensuing six seasons. He peaked during the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season, sporting a player efficiency rating of 17.9, though he never made an All-Star team nor became a top contributor to a winning team.

Bennett was arguably the worst No. 1 pick in history, though Fultz’s early troubles do not mean that he will compete with Bennett for that distinction. It’s more likely that the point guard ends up rivaling Bargnani’s career—someone who plays around 10 seasons in the league, but never really lives up to the hype—than ending up in the G League like Bennett.

It’s too early to definitely say whether Fultz is a bust or whether this is simply a minor roadblock on the way to a Hall of Fame career. There’s a wide range of possibilities between a Bennett-type fall and a James Harden-type rise and there are benchmarks in between those two extremes.

Fultz could make an All-Star team. He could make an All-NBA team or he could struggle and never meet any of the expectations that come with being a No. 1 overall pick. Even if he doesn’t meet those expectations, he could remain in the league and make a nice living as a secondary player. He could be Bargnani.

How do you see Fultz’s career shaking out? Will he meet or exceed any of the expectations of being the top overall selection of the 2017 draft? Will he be better or worse than Bargnani?

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

Today is more than just Christmas; it also marks the first day of voting for the NBA’s All-Star Game. This year’s contest, which will take place February 18 in Los Angeles, will feature a new format, with the traditional East vs. West matchup scrapped in favor of two team captains selecting from a pool of players.

Fans can count on seeing perennial All-Stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and others, but every year brings a few fresh faces. Here are some candidates who are in position to make their first All-Star appearance.

• Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks — The trade of Carmelo Anthony made Porzingis the clear No. 1 option in New York and he is responding with his best season. Porzingis is averaging 24.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and has the Knicks in the middle of the playoff race. Barring injury, he seems almost certain to earn All-Star honors.
• Joel Embiid, Sixers — Embiid would probably be an All-Star every season if he could remain healthy. He has increased his minutes to more than  31 per game this year and is delivering 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Embiid may have an MVP season in his future and seems like a lock for the All-Star Game.
• Ben Simmons, Sixers — The early favorite for Rookie of the Year, Simmons has shown no ill effects from missing the entire 2016/17 season, averaging 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists through his first 31 games. He has displayed the versatility and court vision that made him the first overall pick in 2016.
• Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves — His numbers have declined this season as Minnesota added more talent around him, but there’s no denying that Towns is among the best young centers in the league. He’s on pace to average a double-double for the third straight season, putting up 20.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
• Victor Oladipo, Pacers — Oladipo is primed to win the Most Improved Player award and maybe a few other honors. He has been invigorated by an offseason trade to Indiana, raising his scoring average nearly 10 points per game to its current level of 25.3.
• Bradley Beal, Wizards — Another high-scoring Eastern shooting guard, Beal helped Washington remain competitive with John Wall sidelined by injury. Beal sometimes gets overshadowed by his backcourt partner, but he is turning in another outstanding season, averaging 23 points per night.
• Myles Turner, Pacers — Turner has become an elite shot blocker, leading the league at 2.5 per game, to go with 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. He is part of the reason Indiana has been able to stay in the playoff race without Paul George.

We want to get your input. Which of these players is most deserving of an All-Star debut this season, and are there some others who should be mentioned? Please leave your responses in the comments section below.

Through the early part of the season, the Bulls were headed in a predictable direction. After trading Jimmy Butler, not re-signing Rajon Rondo and negotiating a buyout with Dwyane Wade, last year’s “Three Alphas” were gone and Chicago seemed headed for a high lottery pick with a 3-20 record.

But things changed quickly when Nikola Mirotic returned from facial fractures he picked up in a preseason skirmish with teammate Bobby Portis. The Bulls put together a seven-game winning streak that included a victory over the East-leading Celtics. That streak has been stopped with back-to-back losses at Cleveland and Boston, but Chicago entered the night just six and a half games out of a playoff spot with plenty of time left to make a run.

Another key to the turnaround has been point guard Kris Dunn, one of the pieces acquired from Minnesota in the Butler deal. He’s averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists on the season and has hit double figures in scoring in 12 of his last 13 games. Dunn is showing flashes of the player he was expected to be when the Wolves took him with the fifth pick in the 2016 draft.

Among the believers is Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who raved about Chicago’s improvement before tonight’s game. “The last 10 games they’ve been unbelievable,” he said. “Like, they’ve been fun to watch and their half-court offense has been the best in the NBA.”

Looming on the horizon is the Chicago debut of Zach LaVine, the high-flying guard who was also acquired in the Butler deal. The Bulls have been cautious about his recovery from a torn ACL last season, but he is expected to be ready in early January. LaVine was posting a career-high 18.9 points per game before the injury.

With Chicago suddenly playing like a contender, we want to know what you think. Do the Bulls have enough talent to challenge for a playoff spot or will they fade back to the bottom of the East? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

What do you do when your “super team” turns out to be less than super?

That’s the question in Oklahoma City, where the future of Paul George has suddenly become one of the hottest topics in the NBA. Many expected the Thunder to challenge for Western supremacy after dealing for George and Carmelo Anthony over the offseason, but OKC has a losing record at 13-14 a third of the way through the season.

The Thunder knew George wasn’t guaranteed to be a long-term investment when they acquired him from the Pacers. He’s almost certain to opt out of a $20.7MM salary for next season and become an unrestricted free agent. His desire to join his hometown Lakers is well known and was the main reason Indiana chose to part with him.

If the Thunder are somehow able to re-sign George, finances will become a major issue for the team. Russell Westbrook‘s Designated Veteran Extension kicks in next season, boosting his salary to $35.35MM. Financial realities will likely force Anthony to bypass his early termination option and return for another year at nearly $28MM. Add in more than $24MM for Steven Adams, and those four contracts will put the Thunder well over next season’s projected cap of $101MM. Even if George were to opt in, OKC would be far into luxury tax territory with a potential salary topping $137.5MM.

Mitch Lawrence of Forbes believes a deal involving George may be coming before the February 8 trade deadline. He states that George, Westbrook and Anthony are all used to being used in isolation and haven’t been able to develop chemistry as a unit. The problem is that George’s trade value might be lower now than it was during the summer. Sending him to the Lakers may seem like a solution, but an unidentified Eastern Conference GM says L.A. wouldn’t be willing to part with two young players, and the rest of the league views George as a “rental.”

Taking the opposite position are Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who don’t expect the Thunder to trade George or fire coach Billy Donovan. They report that the “internal dynamic” among the three stars remains strong and there is still hope for a turnaround.

We want to know what you think. Should the Thunder try to move George now so they don’t lose him with no return, or should they wait and try to work out their salary issues next summer? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.