NBA Free Agency

[Hawk-Lock]

Yesterday might have been the most wild free agency I've seen in any sport. I think you can make an argument that NBA free agency has become more popular than their regular season or playoffs.

Lakers seem to be going all in on Kawhi. If they don't get him, they are going to have a difficult time getting the right pieces. While they wait on Kawhi, decent players are signing with teams.

Brooklyn will be a lot of fun once KD comes back. Being a Knicks fan has to be awful right about now. Until Dolan is gone, doubt any big FA's will want to go to the Knicks.

I thought Jazz quietly had a great offseason. They get Mike Conley and Bogdanovic, I think you can make a case for them being one of the top two teams in that conference.

 

[knownone]

Portland had the best free agency (IMO).

Even if the Lakers sign Kawhi that team will struggle in the West playoffs.

The 76ers are probably the best team in basketball.

 

[mistaowen]

Poor Knicks fans. Years of mediocre seasons so they emptied the roster to land KD/Kyrie and get no one. KP trade should get them some good young players but Dolan needs to go. Man that guy has ruined the franchise.

Brooklyn will be interesting. Kyrie has all the talent in the world but proved he lacks leadership qualities with the Celtics to be the guy. At the slightest adversity he lashed out and then gave up. They'll need to rely on Durant in more than just his talent.

Kemba to the Celtics is a nice pick up. Slight drop off in talent but actually tries to make the team better. Jayson and Jaylon need to take some major steps forward to remain competitive. It's too bad how limited Gordon Hayward looked, interested to see if he has a come back like Paul George did with the injury.

Jazz look very good.

Warriors lose KD, trade Iggy, and then get D'Angelo Russell. Who knows if Klay will play much next year. Lot of pressure on Curry.

I hope Kawhi stays with the Raptors. I'd hate him going to the Lakers with two of the best players in the league already there. Plus, the East was actually interesting for the first time in years.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Portland had the best free agency (IMO).

Even if the Lakers sign Kawhi that team will struggle in the West playoffs.

The 76ers are probably the best team in basketball.

If Lakers get Kawhi they easily have the best offseason. They would add two top 10 players, and arguably the best player in the league. I understand they don’t have a lot of other pieces, but that big three would be tough to beat.

Portland had an okay offseason. They got Whiteside who has had an up and down career, but they lost some decent role players like Harkless, Kanter, Aminu and Curry.

I’m not sure how I feel about Philly. Butler is a lot of drama but he showed in the playoffs he was the go to player. I really like Josh Richardson as a replacement though. Not sure how Horford and Embiid will do as a front court, both are pretty slow, and in this new NBA, Horford is more of a center than power forward. Just not sure that team could guard a team that puts a bunch of shooters on the court.

 

[knownone]

Portland had the best free agency (IMO).

Even if the Lakers sign Kawhi that team will struggle in the West playoffs.

The 76ers are probably the best team in basketball.

If Lakers get Kawhi they easily have the best offseason. They would add two top 10 players, and arguably the best player in the league. I understand they don’t have a lot of other pieces, but that big three would be tough to beat.

Portland had an okay offseason. They got Whiteside who has had an up and down career, but they lost some decent role players like Harkless, Kanter, Aminu and Curry.

I’m not sure how I feel about Philly. Butler is a lot of drama but he showed in the playoffs he was the go to player. I really like Josh Richardson as a replacement though. Not sure how Horford and Embiid will do as a front court, both are pretty slow, and in this new NBA, Horford is more of a center than power forward. Just not sure that team could guard a team that puts a bunch of shooters on the court.

The Lakers would definitely have the best off-season if they land Kawhi. I don't think that big 3 is ideal in the West though. The West is full of teams built for pace, the Lakers are not and they'd be pretty average from 3 and average on defense (outside of AD and Kawhi) unless they get guys on bargain deals. Obviously, they'd be deserving favorites, but I am significantly less afraid of them than I ever was of Golden State the last few years.

Whiteside is a significant upgrade over Kanter. They landed a great 3/D guy in Bazemore, whose a better fit for their system than Aminu. As long as Collins takes a step forward this off-season they'll have the best big man rotation in the game and virtually no weaknesses in the playoffs.

I'm curious to see how Horford and Embiid play as well. Both guys shoot well from 3, both are great post defenders and above average perimeter defenders for their size, and they have good vision passing the ball. Philly is a frightening team to look at on paper, their smallest starter is 6'6 and everyone but Simmons can shoot the 3. I agree that they'd struggle to guard a lot of teams, but they'd dominate those teams on the boards forcing them to live or die by their shooters which only GSW have been able to do consistently. If they can stay healthy, they'll maul just about every team in the league. If Kawhi joins the Lakers, Philly is probably the reason why.

 

[Threedee]

I wonder how many teams Kawhi can win a championship with? If he goes to LA, that's an opportunity already to win with his third.

 

[IndyHawk]

I wonder how many teams Kawhi can win a championship with? If he goes to LA, that's an opportunity already to win with his third.

You nailed it..He went to LA! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Palmegranite]

It will be interesting to see the Raptors next move to fill that vacancy.
Random factoid: the Raptors were 13-3 straight up without Kawhi Leonard for the recent season, and two of those wins came against the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

What a wild offseason. This is why the NBA remains so popular and relevant even in the offseason. The NFL and MLB could take major notes from the NBA. You get NBA playoffs, then the NBA draft, followed by free agency and then summer league. You hear more about the NBA offseason than you do about the MLB regular season.

I'm happy that Kawhi chose the Clippers, as there is going to be a great rivalry between the two LA teams. Sounds like Kawhi was waiting on the Clipps to trade for George the entire time. If Kawhi chose the Lakers, it would have been the Warriors all over again, they would have been huge favorites. I think Clippers have the edge over everyone now, but the Lakers did sign some nice pieces last night.

 

[knownone]

I actually think this off season was bad for the NBA. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining, but most of your small market stars have forced their way onto big market teams. The whole player empowerment era is a novelty right now, but it's not a sustainable strategy long term.

I agree on the Clippers, they should be the favorites in the West. IMO, AD and Lebron are the better star pairing (at least this year), but they don't have anywhere close to the level of depth as the Clippers.

I'm interested in what (if anything) OKC does with Westbrook. If the Nuggets managed to land Westbrook without giving up a great deal of depth, they'd be right up there with the Clippers.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Westbrook to Houston caps one of the most entertaining offseason for any sport. You can make a case that two of the best NBA players changed teams and four top 10 players did as well. I haven’t said this in a while, but I’m regally excited for the NBA regular season.

 

[SonicHawk]

The regular season will be interesting for the first week or so, but then it will go back to boring NBA regular season.

But the playoffs are about to be absolutely lit. The west is going to be intense and it's great OKC won't be taking a meaningful part.

 

[SonicHawk]

I actually think this off season was bad for the NBA. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining, but most of your small market stars have forced their way onto big market teams. The whole player empowerment era is a novelty right now, but it's not a sustainable strategy long term.

I agree on the Clippers, they should be the favorites in the West. IMO, AD and Lebron are the better star pairing (at least this year), but they don't have anywhere close to the level of depth as the Clippers.

I'm interested in what (if anything) OKC does with Westbrook. If the Nuggets managed to land Westbrook without giving up a great deal of depth, they'd be right up there with the Clippers.

I don't trust the Lakers FO to fill out the team. It's too bad with Bron/AD. But they'll cruise their way into the conference semis. Harden/Westbrook makes Houston interesting but I'd agree that Kawhi gives the Clippers the edge.

The east will be interesting as well. I think I like Miami just for the uniforms, but Kemba in BOS, the Sixers losing Jimmy, and Milwaukee another year older should be great.

Oh yeah, and I expect NO to be a dangerous 7/8 seed.