You suspect the likes of LeBron James and Steph Curry were hoping this chapter in USA men’s basketball history would be remembered in the same vein as the 1992 Dream Team, but the truth is it’s been a largely uneventful run for the Americans in Paris.
They’re not going to change the game on a global scale like Michael Jordan and Co did in Barcelona, or be cherished like Kobe and the Redeem Teamers were for returning their country to the top of the basketball world in Beijing.
The Americans will (probably) win gold and (probably) win it comfortably this weekend, but they’ll join the likes of the 2000 and 2016 teams in getting the job done with a minimum of fuss.
The only semi-interesting storylines to this point have been the minor controversy over Jayson Tatum getting a DNP early in the group stage and Joel Embiid getting booed relentlessly by French crowds upset he’s not playing for them.
Which, if you know basketball fans, leads to the inevitable habit of crystal ball-gazing. Specifically, about potential NBA trades.
It doesn’t happen every four years but there’s a couple of very famous examples of superstar players joining forces after forging bonds on an Olympic trip.
LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh changed the league by uniting in Miami after winning gold together in 2008.
Redeem Teamers LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan did the same in Brooklyn after living on a yacht together in Rio, albeit with contrasting results.
So hoops fans are looking for any slight indication a player from their favourite team is becoming particularly chummy with one of his US teammates.
James and Curry were in focus when the Americans first assembled.
NBA Finals rivals for four straight years from 2015-18 – a period where there were moments you felt the King really didn’t like the three-point wizard from Golden State – James and Curry have become great buds in recent years.
They spoke often about their excitement at playing together and recent comments by Curry — where he said he wants to be a Warrior for life but “things change quickly” in the NBA — gave some life to the idea of him joining forces with the Lakers veteran.
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan forged bonds in Rio in 2016. Picture: GettySource: Getty Images
But James and Curry probably make too much money to fit on the same team at this point of their careers.
Outside of those two, Durant and Devin Booker’s situation in Phoenix is far from settled given what their owner is forking out for a team that has so far fallen short. Embiid is another who often hears speculation about his future in Philadelphia.
But the name on the lips of the most NBA fan bases is Anthony Edwards. The breakout star of this year’s NBA playoffs does not exactly play in the most appealing of destinations with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
If you gave every team the ability to sign one young American talent they’d almost all pick the recently turned 23-year-old shooting guard.
Which brings us to this photo.
Anthony Edwards and Bam Adebayo share a laugh together. (Photo by Jim Poorten/NBAE via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Edwards is a jokester who can make anyone laugh but the chemistry he appears to share with Miami Heat big man Adebayo has the rumour mill running.
To make matters worse for Wolves fans, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is in Paris too serving as an assistant coach under Steve Kerr.
“Anthony Edwards really loves Bam Adebayo and Erik Spoelstra. He loved his experience with them,” NBA media personality Bill Simmons said on a recent podcast.
“Don’t be surprised … story drop,” Simmons added. “Am I dropping it now?”
Both Adebayo and Spoelstra have spoken glowingly about the man leading this USA team in scoring.
“He’s authentically himself,” Adebayo said to The Star Tribune. “He’s not going to change.
“He’s going to be the same person every day, on the court, off the court.
“You see on TV, when some of y’all make these moments go viral. It’s really like, ‘This is just you’. This is one of the things I love about Ant. He’s himself. He’s not going to change.
“He’s one of those guys where he can say something wild, as we heard, but it’s him being himself.”
Anthony Edwards pats Bam Adebayo on the back. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“He wants to win, wants to be a part of winning,” Spoelstra added. “He’s dedicated to the process of it and he’s going to be him, and his personality.
“He’s not going to change just because he’s on a team of this caliber. I think that’s the beauty of his personality.”
Many are rightly pointing out Edwards recently signed a five-year contract extension tying him to the Wolves until 2028.
But a move doesn’t have to happen immediately. Paris might just be planting seeds that blossom down the road.
And it’s not unheard of for NBA players to push their way out of situations early. So remember this photo.
The 2024 NBA Draft is here and while there isn’t a jaw-dropping prospect like Victor Wembanyama in this year’s class, that doesn’t mean it won’t be intriguing.
In fact, there is an argument that the first round in particular could be must-watch television given the fact there is so much uncertainty surrounding how teams value certain players.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said in his draft preview podcast that he feels like “teams are going to draft by need and all hell is going to break loose”.
“Nobody really knows what is going to happen, even one day out,” replied Kevin O’Connor, who produces The Ringer’s annual mock draft and big board.
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HUGE Furphy dunk gets scouts salivating | 00:26
That is what you get when there is a lack of top-end talent in a draft class, although there seems to be some clarity around which players will be taken with the first two picks.
At this stage the Atlanta Hawks are expecting to draft Zaccharie Risacher, a 3-and-D wing out of r JL Bourg in the Betclic Elite League in France.
Fellow Frenchman and NBL Next Star Alex Sarr, who played for the Perth Wildcats, is tipped to be taken second by the Washington Wizards after declining a pre-draft workout with the Hawks.
The Houston Rockets hold the third overall pick and that is where things are expected to get really interesting.
The Rockets already have an established young core to build around and are instead set to approach this year’s draft as an opportunity to further consolidate their position in the Western Conference with win-now moves.
With that in mind, ESPN insider Jonathan Givony reported that “a lot of NBA teams think there will be a trade at number 3”.
“They’re pointing at teams like Memphis, OKC or Portland as possible options to trade up to 3 with Donovan Clingan in mind,” he added.
The Grizzlies, who are picking at ninth overall, shape as the most likely trade-up candidate given they have a glaring need at centre after trading away Steven Adams to Houston last season.
Clingan is also not expected to be on the board when the Grizzlies pick, should they stay pat.
Outside of those three, G-League Ignite’s Matas Buzelis and Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, who is the best shooter in this year’s class, are also projected as possible top-five picks.
Both players responded to the talk that the 2024 class is one of the weakest in recent memory in the lead-up to Thursday’s first round.
“How do they know? How do they know what we’re going to be? That’s the question,” Buzelis said.
“They can say what they want, but how do they know what we’re going to be at the end?”
“At the end of the day, people say what they say, I’m not going to let what they say bother me,” Sheppard added.
“I know how good all these guys are in this draft class, growing up with them and playing against them. I think this whole draft class is really good. Everyone’s kind of excited to prove [the detractors wrong].
“… This draft class is really good, and everyone in here is really good at basketball. There’s going to be a lot of people surprised.”
According to ESPN, Furphy has been generating interest as high as ninth overall but has been routinely mocked to Orlando at No.18, where he could team up with fellow Australian Joe Ingles.
He worked out with Phoenix, who is picking at No.22, before the draft but is expected to go in the second round given he is a few years away from being ready to produce at the NBA level.
WHEN IS THE DRAFT?
The first round of the NBA Draft takes place on Thursday June 27 and the second round will occur on Friday June 28.
WHERE IS THE DRAFT?
This year’s NBA Draft takes place at two different locations.
The first round will occur at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets.
ESPN’s Seaport Studios in New York City will play host to the second round.
WHAT TIME IS THE NBA DRAFT?
Coverage of the 2024 NBA Draft kicks off at 9:30am AEST, with the first round to commence at 10am on Thursday.
The second round takes place at 6am AEST on Friday.
NBA DRAFT FIRST ROUND ORDER
1. Atlanta
2. Washington
3. Houston (from Brooklyn)
4. San Antonio
5. Detroit
6. Charlotte
7. Portland
8. San Antonio (from Toronto)
9. Memphis
10. Utah
11. Chicago
12. Oklahoma City (from Houston)
13. Sacramento
14. Portland (from Golden State via Boston and Memphis)
15. Miami
16. Philadelphia
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Orlando
19. Toronto (from Indiana)
20. Cleveland
21. New Orleans (from Milwaukee)
22. Phoenix
23. Milwaukee (from New Orleans)
24. New York (from Dallas)
25. New York
26. Washington (from LA Clippers via Dallas and Oklahoma City)
27. Minnesota
28. Denver
29. Utah (from Oklahoma City via Toronto and Indiana)
30. Boston
LIVE BLOG:
Follow the latest news and every pick from the NBA Draft below! Can’t see the blog? Click here!
With his free agency potentially looming, LeBron James is no longer married to the idea of playing with his son Bronny, his agent said on Thursday.
In February 2022, James said he “would do whatever it takes” to play with his eldest son, who entered the 2024 NBA Draft after one season at USC, but things have changed since, according to Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul.
“LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny,” Paul told ESPN on Thursday.
“If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny and LeBron doesn’t re-sign.”
‘We share this s*** together!’ | 00:54
The Lakers enter the two-day draft with the No. 17 pick in the first round — generally thought to be a reach for Bronny — and No. 55 in the second.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons mentioned on his podcast earlier this week that there had been “a lot of Phoenix buzz” surrounding the elder James, who can opt out of his Lakers deal before June 30 to enter free agency.
“[Klutch Sports] seem really confident that he is getting drafted in the first round,” Simmons said.
“And if you’re Mat Ishbia and the draft sucks, and it’s like let’s get Bronny, and they’re telling us that if we take Bronny, there’s a chance that we can get LeBron too, you have to think about it.
“I don’t know how many more years LeBron has left, it’s one it’s two, it’s three; whatever he was an All-NBA guy last year… you’ve gotta explore it”
However, Paul also clarified the position from their side.
“LeBron is also not going to Phoenix for a minimum deal,” the agent said. “We can squash that now.”
Since the Suns can’t pay him the $100-plus million contract the Lakers can, the only way it would work is via sign-and-trade, although the new collective bargaining agreement makes that extremely challenging.
Paul confirmed Phoenix’s interest in Bronny at 22nd overall but said they are not interested in such a move for James as the Suns are “severely limited in the type of contract they can offer”, describing the prospect of a minimum contract as “insulting” in an appearance on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’.
Bronny had rejected workouts with multiple teams — only doing so for the Suns and Lakers — which Paul said was strategic as he tries to get his client to his preferred destination.
“This is nothing new,” Paul said.
“The goal is to find a team that values your guy and try to push him to get there. It’s important to understand the context and realise that this has always been the strategy with many of my clients throughout the years, especially those in need of development like Bronny. My stuff is by design.”
Buzzer beater puts Mavs on the brink | 00:38
That hasn’t stopped interest from other teams, Paul said.
“There are other teams that love Bronny. For example, Minnesota, Dallas, Toronto. If it’s not the Lakers, it will be someone else,” Paul explained.
“Minnesota would love to get Bronny in, but I don’t know who their owner is going to be. [Mavericks GM] Nico Harrison is like an uncle to Bronny. If the Lakers don’t take him at 55, Dallas would take him at 58 and give him a guaranteed deal. Masai [Ujiri, Raptors president,] loves him. They could take him without even seeing him at 31. Workouts aren’t everything for these teams.”
This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.
That was the overwhelming response to basketball fans realising Caitlin Clark would earn just A$119,000 in her first season as a professional player.
Clark, 22, was selected first in the WNBA Draft on Tuesday (AEST) amid expectations she will have a transformative effect on women’s professional basketball.
The Indiana Fever made it official, taking the Iowa Hawkeyes star with the first pick.
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Clark fell just short of winning an NCAA title with Iowa but has already taken women’s basketball to another stratosphere, breaking the record for the most career points by a college player, male or female.
Her long range sharpshooting ability has attracted a growing legion of fans and earned comparisons to the NBA’s all-time three-point leader Steph Curry.
Clark will earn A$527,000 over four years, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
In comparison, Australia’s Liz Cambage is reportedly earning more than A$1 million for a season in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association.
The WNBA’s salaries mean Clark will make significantly more money from endorsements, which already include Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Panini.
Clark recently declined a A$7.8 million offer from rapper Ice Cube to play in his BIG 3 league.
Caitlin Clark was taken with the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesClark made the WNBA Draft a must watch event. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
ESPN journalist and current contributor to The Atlantic Jemele Hill took to X on Tuesday in a lengthy post about the situation that the WNBA faces and responded to critics who bashed what the league was paying its newest star, Clark.
“I’m already annoyed by this conversation because for years, WNBA players have fought for more money,” Hill wrote.
“And when they were outspoken, so many of y’all told them to shut up or reminded them how they had no value The NBA has had 50+ years of investment, media coverage, etc. After 27 years, the WNBA will not be the current NBA. So stop comparing them.”
Hill went on to point out that WNBA players compete for four months and are given free housing and cars as part of their deals before suggesting that the lower salaries were “why so many women’s players play overseas to boost/supplement their income.”
“Weaponising this information against WNBA players is another form of misogyny,” Hill said.
“These women have been dreaming of playing professionally in front of American audiences their whole lives,” Hill continued. “Instead of clowning and reminding them of what they’re not — buy the merchandise, go to the games, and watch the games on television.
“Very easy to criticise when most of y’all couldn’t get paid to compete at anything.”
Hill had been complimentary of Clark’s play and said she believed it would translate to the WNBA, but she also criticised the way that Clark has been held up by the media.
She shoots like Steph Curry but will make a pittance in the WNBA. Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP.Source: AFPClark will make more money from endorsements. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Still, Clark’s impact on women’s basketball has been hard to deny after a record 2.4 million people tuned in to ESPN on Monday to watch the WNBA draft.
That number was higher than last year’s MLB draft on ESPN/MLB Network and the NHL draft, which also aired on ESPN.
Michael Rubin, CEO of merchandise seller Fanatics, said Clark had the highest selling jersey on draft night of any athlete in any sport in the company’s history.
US sports commentator Bill Simmons on his podcast said Clark has already had an effect similar to “sports shifters” Tiger Woods, Conor McGregor and the Williams sisters in elevating their respective sports to the mainstream.
The WNBA’s relatively paltry salaries have been criticised by commentators and even US President Joe Biden weighed in.
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” President Biden wrote on X.
“But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.
“It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson wrote on X: “These ladies deserve so much more … Praying for the day.”
Today show host Hoda Kotb said on Tuesday: “They’ve already sold out games. She had the highest ratings, her teams and the Final Four had the highest ratings — higher than the World Series, higher than the NBA. So, I was like, what is she going to get paid? Because finally, you can get a real paycheck. Then I saw it and was like, this can’t be right.”
Co-host Jenna Bush Hager added: “Honestly the gap is so jarring … We’re talking about equal pay. That ain’t even close.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are always an intriguing watch in the lead into the NBA trade deadline — they’re the Los Angeles Lakers.
But now more than ever.
Just like last year, the Lakers’ deadline decisions are even more fascinating given the team’s lacklustre 22-23 season despite being built to win now with the evergreen LeBron James still dominant at age 39 alongside co-star Anthony Davis at the peak of his powers.
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This season isn’t quite as dire as last, when LA was near dysfunctional and had a Russell Westbrook headache, needing to completely retool its roster … which it did subliminally to help charge Darvin Ham’s team all the way to the conference finals.
But still, the clock is ticking on the Lakers arguably more urgently than any other side, with James’ championship window shrinking. Other contenders have already made moves — even if they’ve predominantly been Eastern Conference teams — to take some of the biggest names off the market.
They include OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Terry Rozier, with Rozier a player who’s previously been linked to Lakers and would’ve made a lot of sense to help their offensive woes and bolster their outside shooting.
LeBron James’ championship window is shrinking ahead of an another intriguing trade deadline for the Lakers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
In saying that, there’s been no shortage of other names LA has reportedly had interest in at some stage in recent times — from stars like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan to the likes of Colin Sexton, Tyson Jones and 2020 championship Laker Alex Caruso as well as fellow ex-Laker Dennis Schroder.
It’s clear the Lakers realise they need to upgrade their talent to contend and have been aggressively pursuing targets to, in some shape or form, make a move ahead of the February 9 trade deadline.
After all, any team with LeBron James is in win-now mode every single season and should be busy in trying to put the best possible talent around him, while Rob Pelinka has historically been an active general manager who’s made moves every deadline.
So who’s the most realistic targets and what type of move/s could we expect? What challenges do they face and why does LeBron James’ future – and his son’s – loom large? Below foxsports.com.au has broken it all down.
POTENTIAL DEADLINE MOVES
Two players they’ve zeroed in on, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, are Bruce Brown and Dejounte Murray.
In Brown’s case, the flexible guard was recently moved from Indiana to the Raptors and now looms as one of the big trade watches for playoff sides trying to add a final piece to the puzzle. The Lakers were one of the favourites to sign Brown as a free agent last off-season after his title run with Denver before Indiana tabled him a juicy two-year, $45 million deal that dwarfed all other offers.
As for Murray, who would cost more in a deal as a riskier play and give the Lakers less long-term flexibility, LA has reportedly already discussed a trade with Atlanta involving D’Angelo Russell. Talks broke down after the Hawks wanted to find a third team for Russell instead of acquiring him, but are expected to be picked up again, with the Lakers viewed as the team most seriously pursuing Murray.
Both Brown and Murray are being widely courted throughout the league though in what will ultimately turn into an NBA bidding war of which team can offer the best package.
Bruce Brown could be on the move again (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTSDejounte Murray is on the Lakers’ radar.Source: FOX SPORTS
In terms of what the Lakers could dangle, Russell, despite strong play in recent weeks, is considered the most likely candidate to be dealt for a high-calibre player to make salaries match (he signed a two-year, $36 million contract last off-season).
Rui Hachimura is another name reports have said could be on the trading black, while opposition teams have asked the question of Austin Reaves, but the Lakers haven’t been willing to put him on the table.
Otherwise, LA’s movable first-round picks (2029 or 2030), its array of pick swaps (2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030) and four second-round picks are other currency they can use.
“They’ve already come to the conclusion they need to do something with the roster, if they can find something,” NBA journalist Brian Windhorst said of the Lakers on ESPN’s NBA Today this week.
“It has helped immensely over the last week and a half D’Angelo Russell has broken out of his slump and looked very good. They are a different team when he is so offensively involved. The thing is, it’s hard to count on him, he’s been up and down across his career.
“If they can acquire a player who can play at both ends of the court who’s multi dimensional and doesn’t have a contract that potentially burdens them – like Zach LaVine – then I think the Lakers will be in it and try to find that mix and match.
“That is what I expect Rob Pelinka has been spending a lot of time on recently and will spend these next two weeks doing. Last year he was successful in doing it and he had to do a full team remake, he may not need to do that.
“He may just be able to make a tweak here and really supercharge the Lakers for the second half of the season.”
Russell could be moved by the Lakers (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
ROSTER CHALLENGES
As nice as it is to have dream targets — and as fun as it is to come up with hypothetical moves — the NBA’s new CBA makes it hard and in some ways unwise to have two supermax contracts like the Lakers do with James and Davis.
Not only does it make it extremely difficult to fit another star into the team, but also puts a strangle on filling out the rest of the roster with a strong supporting cast and heightens the importance of nailing budget contracts.
In LA’s case, James (paid $47 million this season) and Davis ($40 million) make up for $87 million of the team’s total $166 million payroll — which already has the franchise $44 million over the salary cap and right on the luxury tax threshold.
Throw in the deals of Russell ($17 million), Hachimura ($15 million) Reaves ($12 million) and Gabe Vincent ($10 million) and the Lakers have approximately $23 million to fill out the NBA’s other mandatory eight roster spots to get to 14 before they’d go over the tax line and be subject to fines and other potential penalties.
Remember, the NBA is ultimately and business – and team owners are in the business to make money.
The Lakers faced an even tougher predicament last season when they had James, Davis and Westbrook making approximately $128 million combined, with just that trio alone already taking them over the salary cap.
Having so much money tied up to a select few names can really backfire when there’s other problems that arise on the roster that need to be addressed, as we’ve seen with LA.
It’s why you can understand the Lakers would be hesitant to bring in LaVine’s monster contract — owed over $176 million until the 2026/2027 season – given how much it could handicap them, with LA’s’ interest in the 28-year old two-time All-Star guard having reportedly cooled.
LeBron and Davis make up $87 million of the Lakers’ payroll (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
“They’re paying two max guys a combo of like $100 million a year when there’s a salary cap,” NBA analyst Bill Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast earlier this month.
“It’s really hard to have three guys (on super max deals) … so you’re going to have to hit on the fringes and you’re going to have some floor guys. You’re not going to end up with Kyrie Irving, you’re going to end up with D’Angelo Russell – that’s the way it goes when you’re paying two $50 million guys.”
Despite the ongoing talk the Lakers need to add more shooting around James, Simmons was critical of the way the team in recent years has let go some of the game’s best shooters — the very thing they now need — and otherwise role players.
“They had shooting around LeBron,” Simmons pointed out. “(Malik) Beasley is (shooting) 48 per cent from three this year – he’s second in the league – he’s making three a game. He was wasting away on their bench last year. They had Caruso, he’s at 41.5 per cent, they let him go. KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), they traded him for f***ing Russell Westbrook, he’s at 40.7 per cent threes this year.
“They had Malik Monk – he’s (now) one of the best sixth men in the league – they had an unhappy season with him and then he went to Sacramento and was immediately good.
“Maybe we’re not asking the right questions. If these shooters are going on to thrive outside of LA, why is that? What’s going on? Is it hard to play in the fishbowl of the Lakers? Is it hard to play with AD (Davis) and LeBron, where it’s their team and everybody else are these interchangeable dudes that end up in trade rumours the minute things go wrong.
“I don’t think it’s LeBron’s fault, but it’s the fishbowl he brings, some guys don’t play that well in it. Then you’re always looking at glass half empty instead of glass half full.
“This team has good shooters … what are they doing wrong I think is a more interesting question than what they need.”
L.A. land comfortable win over Portland | 01:09
LEBRON’S FUTURE … AND THE BRONNY FACTOR
Looming large over the Lakers’ plans is LeBron James’ potential impending free agency status.
LeBron has a player option for his $51 million contract next season — a season when his son, Bronny, can opt out of college – where he’s currently a freshman at USC – to declare for the 2024 NBA draft.
That’s no coincidence.
It gives LeBron an option to, in theory, opt out of his Lakers contract for 2024/25 and sign with the team that drafts Bronny — or somehow manoeuvre a way for LA to land the legend’s son.
“I think this is all about Bronny,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne told NBA Today this week.
“LeBron has given the Lakers every indication he wants to be in LA long term, this is the only time he’s given himself an out after a year and it’s because his son could potentially declare for the draft.
“It’ll be incumbent on the Lakers if (Bronny) is in the draft. You can see it already, you can feel draft night already.”
What once seemed like an outlandish dream of LeBron, now 39, saying he’d like to one day play with Bronny, 19, is now a genuine reality. However, as sentimental and romantic as that is, now that it’s become real, it’s opened up a host of practical queries.
For one, James, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, might need to take a significant pay cut at another team and/or only be able to go to certain teams that have least some sort of cap space.
Bronny James, pictured with LeBron, can declare for the 2024 NBA Draft (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Even for someone who’s made as much money over his career as LeBron, that’s a big sacrifice to make, particularly given he’d still command mega dollars on the open market. Of course, it’s no secret LeBron has plans to one day own his own NBA franchise too in a multi-billion dollar market.
Then there’s the unavoidable discord of LeBron, in the twilight of his career and trying to win more rings, and the Bronny, still in development mode and trying to carve out his own name, being on completely different timelines — or having “diametrically opposed” pathways, according to former WNBA Chiney Ogwumike.
It could compromise both players’ seasons, namely an emerging Bronny trying to write his own story.
Would Bronny be better served spreading his wings and focusing on his own career on his own team without the constant sideshow that’d surround the father-son duo? If Bronny did land at the Lakers, would he even get opportunities on a franchise that exists to win championships?
Could they instead explore teaming up a few years down the track when Bronny has learned the NBA ropes and LeBron’s game has declined to the point where he’s no longer the centrepiece of a contender? That would of course be a gamble given the unknown surrounding Bronny’s future standing in the NBA, and LeBron, despite freakishly defying father time up until now, approaching his 40s.
They’d ultimately need the planets to align for them to team up — and they could instead be content with playing against each other for the betterment of both of their long-term futures.
There’s also no guarantee Bronny declares for the 2024 NBA Draft, but he was considered a top-30 recruit entering the college ranks this season.
A 6-foot-4 guard, Bronny has averaged 5.9 points in 19.6 minutes from 11 games for USC on 38 per cent shooting from the field including 25 per cent from three-point range — with his inconsistent outside stroke one of the key knocks on his game.
“There’s two ways to look at that – trying to get (Bronny) drafted by the Lakers. Or is there a situation for a young player going to a team more of a developmental team?,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski told NBA Today this week.
“The Lakers are not a developmental program, they’re in a win-now program. So what’s going to be best for Bronny James? I don’t know if it’s as cut and dry as all of it around the idea of whether (LeBron) can play with (Bronny) or not.
“I’m not sure that’s all that’s at stake here, maybe it’s a factor. I do think for Bronny James, if he’s out (of college) this year, the idea of what’s the best place for him (is a factor) too.
“This is a wild draft this year, there is not a real clear cut consensus (top pick) as much of anything. If some other team wants to draft Bronny James, there’s no stopping them, it’s really hard to control that process.”
Westbrook on target with one-shoe shot! | 01:08
The LeBron-Bronny narrative — along with what’s considered one of the weakest NBA drafts in some time — led to an interesting debate on the Mismatch Podcast earlier this month where Chris Vernon posed an intriguing question to co-host Kevin O’Connor.
“If I told you – if you got the No. 1 pick and you took Bronny James it would guarantee you LeBron would sign with you next year, is that worth tanking like (it would be) tanking for the next great thing?,” Vernon put to O’Connor.
Again, this is a draft that doesn’t have a Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards or Zion Williamson-type talent waiting in the wings for that lucky franchise that lands the opening selection.
O’Connor was however firm that taking a punt on a Bronny-LeBron coup over a legitimate top prospect, no matter the current projections, would be an “absurd” move.
“LeBron has just turned 39. How long are you going to have him for? O’Connor said. “I love the fact (LeBron) is a supportive and loving father. At the same time, I hope it doesn’t raise expectations for Bronny so much that it becomes a disappointment and backlash for him if he doesn’t meet any of those expectations.
“(Bronny is) not a good three-point shooter right now at USC … he’s been a sub 70 per cent free throw shooter going back to high school. He just might not have shooting touch, but maybe it’ll develop over time. I just have concerns with him being an NBA guy unless the jumper gets better.
“I’d rather roll the dice with an 18 or 19-year old player who’s hopefully with your team for eight, 10 or 15 years, than LeBron, who could ask out after a year, retire after two years or decline after three years.
“To me, the upside on that is so much lower in that than what the No. 1 pick is, or trading down from that pick or trading it for another established player.”
Could LeBron joined forces with Embiid in Philadelphia? (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Despite this, O’Connor flagged that, if the Lakers’ woes continue, it’s not implausible for such a scenario to play out where LeBron offers his services to whichever teams drafts Bronny.
He named Philadelphia as the team to “watch” given the Sixers are the only true contender currently projected to have max contract space next off-season – after taking on several expiring deals in the James Harden trade – and a draft pick that’d be in the Bronny hitting zone.
Though Philly could yet make a move by the trade deadline to change that, the Joel Embiid-led franchise is currently projected to have $74 million cap space for the 2024/25 season, according to Spotrac, with only Detroit ($77 million cap space) positioned to have more.
After Detroit and Philadelphia, the teams currently projected to have the most cap space are Orlando ($62 million), Charlotte ($53 million), Utah ($52 million) and Toronto ($47 million).
The Sixers do of course need to sign breakout star Tyrese Maxey to an upgraded extension still, but if they do that after acquiring a big-name free agent, it doesn’t affect their books for next season – hence why he wasn’t re-signed last off-season.
Plus, Philadelphia general manager Darryl Morey, renowned for making blockbuster moves and targeting the NBA’s biggest superstar, is pulling the strings.
“You never know, what if this becomes a thing? What if the Lakers completely implode? What if they miss the playoffs? Which isn’t off the table,” O’Connor noted.
“LeBron decides to opt out and puts it out there: ‘I will go to your team if you draft Bronny in the lottery’. That would be amazing.
“The Sixers are the team to watch there because they have a first-round pick in the 20s, they have cap space and they need another ball handler. I’m not kidding you … they’re the team to watch there.”
For the first time in over a decade, there’s wholesale problems for the once invincible organisation – some more obvious than others – with a man by the name of Steph Curry seemingly holding it all together.
Indeed, let’s not forget this team was only recently the envy of the NBA, winning four championships from 2015 to 2022 in one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of the game — for some, the greatest ever side
Every move the Warriors have made in recent times has been to try and prolong and squeeze every last drop out of this golden era, led by Curry and coach Steve Kerr.
It’s not outlandish to think that dynasty could yet continue, particularly with Curry still in his absolute prime at age 35. One thing is however clear — what’s worked in the past isn’t working anymore, with change in shape or form needed.
Where to here for the Warriors?Source: FOX SPORTS
After already declining last season, the Warriors have been wildly inconsistent through the first quarter of this campaign. They have a 10-13 record to currently sit 11th in the Western Conference, meaning if the post-season started today, they wouldn’t be in the Play-In tournament.
The analytics (17th in the NBA offensive rating, 16th in defensive rating, 18th in net rating) suggest they’re below average at either end of the court, with limiting turnovers still a big blemish, while Curry’s dominance has probably further masked those issues.
The stars aren’t producing, Kerr is reluctant to give the young players bigger roles and they’re now engulfed in Draymond Green drama amid his indefinite suspension.
Golden State just doesn’t have the same aura it once did when it was once the most watchable, flawless team in all of basketball and made everything look easy. It’s now in fact the opposite as it desperately searches for a spark to steady the ship.
Below is a breakdown of the Warriors’ key issues, factors at play, what moves they could make and what all the big voices in the NBA fraternity are saying …
Love him or hate him, Green has been the definition of the perfect glue guy for the Warriors as a key member on all four of those championship sides. His resume speaks for itself — a four-time champion, four-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA player, eight-time All-Defensive player and Defensive Player of the Year.
Some would even say he’s the best defensive player they’ve ever seen.
And even though he’s not the player he once was, Green is still an integral member on the court for Kerr’s team and makes them significantly better … when he’s out there.
Green for the second time this season has been banned by the NBA, on this occasion indefinitely, for a spinning punch on Phoenix centre Jusur Nurkic. It resulted in Green’s third ejection this season and continued a host of recent misdemeanours from the 33-year old.
Only a few weeks ago, Green copped a five-game suspension from the NBA for putting Minnesota big Rudy Gobert in a sleeper hold. At the time, the league cited Green’s history of repeat offences as a reason for his lengthy ban.
It came after Green in October last year escaped suspension by Golden State after punching then teammate Jordan Poole during pre-season practice in a bizarre incident that some believe contributed to the team’s undoing last season and appeared to expose cultural issues.
Green was ejected from the Warriors’ clash with Phoenix after hitting Nurkic (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTSNurkic laid on the floor after being struck by Green (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
So yes, the Warriors officially have a major Green problem, with the NBA saying his open-ended ban is a result of “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts,” adding that he would be “required to meet certain league and team conditions” before he’s allowed to return to play.
“My first reaction was shock then sadness. What was striking to me was you looked at the reaction from the Warriors coaches on the bench – it happened right in front of them – and Steve Kerr’s very quick comments after the game,” ESPN journalist Zach Lowe said on NBA Today.
“There’s just a resignation at this point. There are no more defences, it’s just an exhausted organisation and exhausted defences.
“It’s just sad we’ve reached a point where a Hall of Fame level player is at least going to be half remembered for handicapping his team by being unavailable due to violent acts.
“I think the Warriors’ resignation was very very telling … I think the Warriors are sitting around today almost helpless. They don’t know what to do or what’s next.”
It comes after the Warriors only this off-season re-signed Green to a $100 million, four-year extension in a showing they still value him as a core piece to continue with … would they be regretting that now?
For however long he’s sidelined, which is a massive blow from an on-court perspective in itself, the Warriors will need to navigate with a $25 million black hole to their squad.
Green suspended by NBA ‘indefinitely’ | 00:34
It will give more opportunities to their young players, namely Jonathan Kuminga (but more on that later) and could galvanise the Warriors in some way and force Kerr to experiment with his roster —both for the now and the future.
Green’s suspension also makes him untradeable, so you can count him out of any hypothetical deals. It also impacts the front office’s impact to make other trades given how much the dynamic changes without him — unless it just doesn’t factor Green into the team’s future.
His $100 million contract however will remain in pen on their books.
What can’t be denied is the absence of Green lowers the Warriors’ floor and makes it even harder to see a path where the team gets back to looking like a contender, at least until, or if, he returns.
In saying all that, Green is only part of the problem …
IS IT TIME TO PASS THE TORCH?
Even when Green was playing, he was below his best. But he wasn’t alone.
Perhaps the biggest drawback for the Warriors this season has been the lack of production from their struggling veteran stars around Curry — a supporting cast that’s let down the two-time MVP.
It’s simply not something a team with the biggest payroll in the NBA at over $211 million can afford.
Andrew Wiggins has been a shadow of the player who helped lead the team to the 2022 championship — when he was basically the team’s second best player behind Curry.
Wiggins has averaged a career-worst 12.1 points on 41.3 per cent shooting from the field, 27.9 per cent from three and 62.7 per cent from the line with 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. It’s simply not enough production from a guy playing 27 minutes a night contracted for three more seasons for a total of $108 million (a contract that would also be hard to move).
As quickly as the romantic story came together that was Wiggins finally living up to his potential by buying into a different role, it’s vanished.
Could the Warriors trade Wiggins or Thompson? Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)Source: FOX Sports
Then there’s Klay Thompson, who though his form hasn’t been quite as dire, the sharpshooter is in a similar boat and on the decline.
Thompson, who’s on a $43 million expiring deal, meaning he can hit free agency in 2024, has averaged 15.4 points per game – his worst return since his sophomore season – on a career-low 39.7 per cent shooting from the field and 34.3 per cent from beyond the arc.
It comes amid uncertainty around Thompson’s future at the Warriors following a report from Shams Charania the team pulled a $48 million offer it had tabled to him over the pre-season and separate reports of tension between the player and organisation.
Both Wiggins and Thompson have been benched by Kerr throughout key stretches in recent times in favour of his younger options like Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. Is this a trend we expect might continue if the stalwarts aren’t getting it done?
But if not the veterans, can the Warriors genuinely rely on the likes of Kuminga to get their season back and track — and push them into the next echelon — while the majority of their salary cap sits on the bench? These are the ongoing problems the franchise would be grappling with.
Unfortunately, former Pick 6 Kuminga so far failing to take that next step as well as former Pick 2 James Widesman not panning out — culminating in his trade to the Pistons — has been a key drawbacks in the overall direction of the team given they were slated to be future stars and franchise cornerstones. That’s on the front office.
Chaos! Giannis SPRINTS into Pacers rooms | 01:19
It’s ideally now about finding the right balance between experience and the youth they do have and pushing the right buttons. That’s on coach Kerr.
“I get the impression (Kerr’s) having a hard time with the political aspect of the minutes on this team where he’s favouring his veterans. In some regards, I understand the challenge Kerr is facing, but the reality is I’m not sure those guys can be the second or third-best player anymore,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor said on The Mismatch Podcast.
“Kerr is going to have to figure out: ‘How do I figure out the best balance of giving veterans opportunities and leaning on those guys like I have for 10 years now versus giving an opportunity to young guys who look worthy of the opportunity and players who can help assist Stephen Curry in continuing to be a high level team?’
“Steph is the one guy you can’t question on the Warriors right now and the one guy who remains dominant. He’s having nearly a 50-40-90 season, he’s averaging nearly 30 points per game, so you can’t take for granted what the Warriors have still in Steph at 35 years old.
“More than anything else I think they need to first figure it out internally with the guys that should be playing and how to manage those egos of some of those guys who have fallen off.”
As O’Connor pointed out, before the Warriors contemplate any bigger moves, they first need to get a proper look at what they already have, and that can’t be deciphered over a 23-game sample when Kerr has largely leaned on his stalwarts.
Kuminga is set to get more opportunities for the Warriors (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: FOX Sports
Though we’re starting to see in real time his patience wavering.
According to ESPN reporter Kendra Andrews, frustration is starting to wane over the organisation amid its slow start and myriad of problems as it looks to pass the baton to younger players in hopes of injecting some energy onto the court.
“The locker room after (the Suns loss) was so bleak, empty and quiet – there was just no people in there,” she said on NBA Today.
“There’s a lot of frustration from every angle – Draymond not being able to be on the court, with Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins and the starting line-up struggling so much.
“They say: ‘We can’t talk about it anymore, we have to be about change’. We saw that first change when Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were both benched in the fourth quarter.
“So moving forward, we expect more Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moodey and Brandon Podziemski and less Wiggins and Thompson.
“The young guys and Steph Curry, that’s what the Warriors are leaning on now.”
CURRY FACTOR
Most other teams in a similar position to the Warriors could simply accept defeat and undergo a rebuild.
You won your championships and your guys are getting old, so push the reset button and go again
But the Warriors are still armed with a superstar in Curry producing at a MVP-like level — he’s averaged 29.1 points on 46.8 per cent shooting from the field, 42.2 per cent from beyond the arc and 93.6 per cent from the line with five triples, five rebounds and 4.4 assists.
So long as that remains (and he’s shown no signs of slowing down), Golden State will always pose a threat in the title race.
After all, they’re not that far off now.
Other teams spend years, if not decades, trying to land a player of Curry’s ilk including countless trips to the draft or all-in moves mortgaging surplus of draft picks and other assets.
History shows you simply can’t compete for the top prize without a top five caliber player. So when you have one, you hang on for dear life, and it’s central to all your decisions and dictates everything you do,
It further complicates Golden State’s situation as it’ll still be desperate to try and put talent around Curry capable of contending during the star guard’s peak. The fact he’s remained so calm and loyal during the team’s recent turmoil speaks volumes about his character, too.
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Though we did start to see frustrations boil over on the court form Curry during this week’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
It’s a frustration that would echo throughout the entire Warriors organisation right now, and as ESPN’s Zach Lowe points out, his brilliance in some ways only adds to the despair of the current situation.
“Steph Curry can still be the best player on a championship team, that’s what makes this all the more sad and frustrating. This guy is still the guy and the team around him is currently dysfunctional,” Lowe said on NBA Today.
“They’re going to try and get creative around the trade deadline, because they know they know: ‘We’ve got a guy, the guy who’s been the foundation of everything we’ve built here. Steph Curry is still that good and we are failing him’.
“I just don’t know what the solutions are.”
Curry is still performing at an elite level for the Warriors (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
NBA analyst Chris Vernon meanwhile suggested the Warriors have to stay on their current path of attempting to contend so long as Curry is in his prime — and tweak the roster around him as necessary.
“You’re never done being a contender if you’ve got one of the five best players on Earth,” Vernon told The Mismatch Podcast.
“It is a matter of building out around them, it’s what Denver has done so well. It’s the challenge we talk about every off-season when it comes to Luka and the challenge we talk about with Joel Embiid.
“The history of the NBA tells us you have to have one of those guys to be there in the end. And if you do have one those guys, you’ve got a chance.”
Well then, what moves can they make to try and make this thing work?
POTENTIAL MOVES
The Warriors technically already made their ‘big move’ — or at least key change — in the off-season when they essentially flipped Jordan Poole for Chris Paul.
But so far the 38-year old Paul hasn’t provided enough to take the team to the next level, and if anything, the veteran guard is on the decline.
Plus there’s always the risk of the injury prone Paul suffering another setback, having already missed time this season.
A kicker in the Paul trade however is that he has a non guaranteed deal for next year, meaning his $30 million salary is essentially an expiring deal — which would appeal to teams in a trade.
Green ejected for wild swinging arm | 00:54
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor believes a combination of Paul and a young player/long-term asset such as Kuminga are the best assets the Warriors can offer in a deal to rejig the roster.
“I believe they need to make some tweaks in order to sustain contention. Whether it’s trading Klay, which is the hard thing to do, because he’s Klay and he can still produce. Or trade Chris Paul, which I think is the solution, and trade Kuminga,” O’Connor said on The Mismatch Podcast.
“Some of the young guys and future picks, that’s how you help shape the team around Stephen Curry in a way that allows him to continue flourishing in the post-season.
“In reality, the issue is the diminishing talent level around Stephen Curry … they need to make a move for somebody else out there in the league.”
Trading Thompson would also be a bold call given his status within the organisation — particularly with Green’s recent behaviour. How could they possibly off-load Thompson and basically show more devotion to Green?
If Thompson leaves on his own accord as a free agent, so be it. But it’s a delicate balancing act for the organisation from a strategic point of view while trying to keep a positive culture, and most importantly, keep Curry, who according to multiple reports wants to finish his career with Thompson and Green, happy.
In a story on theringer.com, O’Connor said the Warriors should call Toronto about Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, Washington for Kyle Kuzma and Chicago regarding Alex Caruso.
Could the Warriors target Anunoby or Siakam? (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)Source: FOX Sports
Thinking bigger and as something as a hail mary, O’Connor also suggested Golden State at least asks the question of Clippers duo Kawhi Leonard or Paul George or even Utah’s Lauri Markkanen.
Meanwhile, NBA analyst Bill Simmons ultimately believes the Warriors “have the wrong roster” and are “not big enough.”
Having previously proposed a Kuminga-Wiggins for Siakam swap with Toronto, Simmons thinks the Warriors have to somehow find a way to add size to better match up with the other key contenders in the NBA.
“They don’t have enough length and over and over again they’re getting overpowered,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“The way the league is going when you’re talking about Minnesota, the Lakers, Jokic, Embiid and the Celtics – all these teams have real size.
“The 2016 model doesn’t work anymore. The league is different.
“They have to either get (Wiggins) going or trade him. They can’t wait this Curry season. If this was LeBron, he’d be going nuts right now … they don’t have enough size and they need Wiggins to go. And if he’s not going to go, you’ve got to trade him.
“I think that team is a trade waiting to happen.”
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ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski highlighted any team at the trade deadline has to weigh up “risk v reward”, suggested the Warriors would be pondering if there’s any move that can genuinely pish them into the next tier.
For if a Siakam or Anunoby, for example, aren’t going to be difference makers, Golden State would simply be giving away assets for no gain.
In the case with Siakam and Anunoby, they can also both become free agents next off-season along with other big names who are seen as gettable including DeMar DeRozan.
“If you look at the standings and being honest with yourself as an organisation and aren’t a contender, you have to ask yourself if it makes sense to trade young players and draft assets. To chase something that isn’t there anymore,” Wojnarowski told NBA Today.
“This group has to show management and ownership by the trade deadline they have righted this – they have become more careful with the basketball, stop fouling and make themselves available for games.
“Because you get to a point where it doesn’t make sense, there are only so many moves to make and only so many assets you have to make them.
“The Warriors have to believe they’re a legit contender to really go in and make some risks with the few assets they do have.”
Earlier last month after the Pelicans slumped to their fifth-straight loss, Zion Williamson made a worrying admission that may have had alarm bells ringing in the New Orleans front office.
“It’s tough right now but I’m taking a little back seat right now and I’m trusting the process,” he said, speaking after a 136-124 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’m trying my best to buy in right now.”
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Williamson may not have realised it at the time but as the face of the franchise, it was hardly a ringing endorsement New Orleans would have been hoping for in the midst of a testing period for the team.
So, an hour-long team meeting was called the next day.
The result? A statement 131-110 victory over Dallas that sparked a sudden resurgence for the Pelicans, who went on to win five of their next six games.
More important than anything else was the fact Williamson was starting to look like himself again, getting to the rim more often and finishing at a higher rate.
Williamson played in all five of those wins, averaging 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists while shooting 60.3 per cent from the field.
Things were on the way up. The team’s two biggest outside shooting threats — Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum — would soon be returning.
It was also easy to forget that Williamson himself had been sidelined from early January to the end of last season with a hamstring injury and was in the process of getting back into a rhythm of his own.
Both he and the team as a whole looked to finally be finding that rhythm.
But now two underwhelming performances from Williamson in the NBA’s in-season tournament have turned the spotlight back on one of the league’s most talented and yet frustrating players.
Zion Williamson is under the spotlight again. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Frustrating because it is a conversation that has been had several times before over the past few seasons.
That for all his talent with a unique frame and limitless potential, there is in fact a limit on that potential if Williamson does not improve his conditioning and attitude.
Stephen A. Smith made his point by comparing Williamson’s performance in the blowout loss to the Lakers to that of a 39-year-old LeBron James, who was making all the right plays and hustling on both ends of the floor in what is his 21st season.
“Zion Williamson went to the free throw line the other day,” Smith said.
“While LeBron James had dropped 30 in three quarters and completely dominated and looked in peak physical condition, looked like a stud and a superstar.
“Zion Williamson, who is more than 15 years younger but 40 pounds heavier, went to the free throw line… ladies and gentlemen, I saw a belly.”
Williamson is saying all the right things, declaring after the loss to the Lakers that he needs to be “more aggressive” and that he expects “more” of himself.
But privately it seems like a different story, with multiple team sources telling Christian Clark of The Times-Picayune that he “doesn’t listen” to constant pleas to improve his diet and conditioning.
It comes after Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin confidently told reporters this pre-season that “this was the first summer where we’ve seen Zion take his profession seriously like that and invest in it off the court on his own in a way that I think is meaningful”.
That actually appeared to be pretty accurate based on what Williamson looked like before the season tipped off.
Now though, Williamson looks to be reverting back to old habits and in the process has struggled to maintain his effectiveness on both ends of the floor.
Whether that is physical, mental or a combination of both is something only Williamson knows.
For former teammate J.J. Redick, it is about a lack of motivation or, as he puts it, Williamson not “buying into his own career”.
“I was disappointed, and overall I’ve been disappointed in Zion this season,” Redick said on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’.
“Look, we can certainly point to counting stats and say he’s having a fine season. But you can be in the building, you can watch on TV, you can be courtside and you can see he’s not in shape.
“He’s still not in shape despite everything that he’s gone through. Despite numerous conversations with legends of the game about being in shape. He gets called out on national television once or twice a year for this very thing.”
Redick is right too. Only last week both Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley voiced their concerns for Williamson, drawing on their own personal experiences in the process.
Will Zion Williamson fulfil his potential? Chris Graythen/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
“I had the same problem my first and second year. I thought I was running hard. Charles [Barkley] has talked about this,” O’Neal said on TNT.
“Because my talent’s going to get me 20 [points]. When I started getting to 30-40, it’s because I started doing certain things.
“He doesn’t create easy points for himself. He doesn’t see [open teammates]. He doesn’t demand the ball … Charles always talks about how you can’t have a little guy guard you. He doesn’t have that ‘look’. Like, ‘I’m the greatest ever.’ I know a look when I see it.
“… Once he decides to be that killer and go for it, he’s going to be a dangerous person.”
Barkley, meanwhile, took the conversation one step further, given there is a fair argument that as currently constructed the Pelicans as a team can only go as far as Williamson takes them.
“Zion is the wildcard,” Barkley said.
“They got depth, they got two All-Stars named Ingram and McCollum. I’ve said before, this team is scary on paper but it’s all going to come down to Zion. He’s got to get himself in better shape because McCollum and Ingram, man they’re a handful.”
Barkley echoed O’Neal’s sentiments, suggesting Williamson “plays the game strictly on talent”.
At the moment though, that talent is not being used to its full potential, especially when it comes to effort areas on both ends of the floor.
You only have to watch a few of the below examples from ‘X’ account Pro Pels Talk, including one where Williamson watches on as Jonas Valanciunas is double teamed.
Shades of the King – Bronny makes debut | 01:15
“He never runs on a fastbreak,” Barkley added.
“He’s kind of like jogging on offence and defence. Somebody has got to get a hold of him because he’s got so much talent… he could be special.”
And that is what the conversation about Williamson will continually come back to. The fact he was a first overall pick. The fact this is now his fourth season in the NBA. The fact the Pelicans gave him a five-year extension worth up to $231 million.
That, along with Williamson’s long history of struggling with his weight and conditioning, has Bill Simmons concerned the Pelicans may not even get fair value if they tried to move on from him.
“I think they may have missed their window now,” Simmons said on his podcast.
“I don’t know what you’d get for him because it’s a super expensive guy who is not in shape. I’ve seen a lot of NBA seasons, this never ends well.”
New Orleans bought into Williamson’s career. Now it is time for him to do the same, according to former teammate Redick.
“Earlier this season, he had a press conference where he was talking about trying to buy in what the team wanted, and the reality is Zion Williamson has not bought into his own career yet,” Redick said.
“And that is disappointing because as someone who is a fan of his, a former teammate, a fellow Duke guy, I know — we all know — how great he can be. We’ve seen those flashes of greatness.
“But to do that for an extended period of time, to reach his full potential…. he’s never going to get there if he doesn’t buy into his own career.”
If it’s not yet panic stations for the Los Angeles Clippers, it can’t be far off.
The team has fallen to 0-5 in the James Harden era since his trade from Philadelphia – an era that’s so far looked dysfunctional with an array of problems that need to be solved.
It comes amid an overall six-game losing streak – the longest such losing streak of Kawhi Leonard’s career including his high school and college days, per Clippers writer Justin Russo – to see the team sit 3-7 overall in the standings.
The main concern post the Harden trade was how a team with four stars in Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Harden and Russell Westbrook, who all need to the ball to be effective, would function together. And so far that concern has been validated.
It’s not a knock on the players – they’re all still stars (we think?) – but more around the team build and particularly the pairing of Westbrook and Harden on the court, which has created stagnation and spacing concerns. In fact, in the minutes Harden has been on the court in his five appearances for the Clippers, Tyron Lue’s team has been outscored by 70.
James Harden #1 of the LA Clippers looks on before the start of a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square GardenSource: FOX SPORTS
The chemistry has been a mess with limited movement and a lot of ‘your turn, my turn’ on offence, with both Harden and Leonard really struggling to have an impact in those last five games. It’s just too crowded and cannibalising both the players’ games and the team as a whole.
They also lack size, which is of great concern against bigger West Conference opponents like Denver, Minnesota and the Lakers, and depth – particularly on the wings – after dealing a host of role players to Philly in the Harden trade.
Plus, this is it. The Clippers went all in with this roster by trading away nearly all their draft picks for the rest of the decade.
And so they’re now basically investing all their hopes into an ageing core/rotation consisting of the big four, all of whom can become free agents at the end of the season, a combination of Ivicia Zubac and Mason Plumlee at centre (who’ve both battled injury), Terrence Mann, Norman Powell and PJ Tucker.
The numbers so far tell the story of their struggles, with the Clippers during the Harden era posting a bottom four offensive rating, while it hasn’t been much better at the other end of the floor either, with a bottom six defensive rating.
Harden did note after the team’s most recent loss to Denver he’s still “getting into shape” after missing pre-season and “learning on the fly” after only recently joining the Clippers.
But fitness aside, Harden declaring in his press conference after the trade he’s “a system” – “not a system player” – doesn’t necessarily fill you with any great confidence about him potential willingness to adapt his game – even if it means sacrificing stats – to make things work in LA.
Some growing pains were to be expected, but this has been plain ugly.
Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts against the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena.Source: FOX SPORTS
“It takes a while when you throw players together, especially really good players. You have four guys who are used to having the ball, so they’ve got to figure out that aspect,” NBA analyst Bill Simmons said of the Clippers on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“I thought the (Harden) trade was ludicrous and stupid by them, I just didn’t understand it. One of the reasons was, there’s just not enough balls, all of these guys are at their best when they have the ball … you can see it already, the standing around — that’s now how they were playing two weeks ago.
“I just don’t see how it’s going to work. I know Ty Lue is a really good coach, but I just don’t see it. The more I watch it, I still don’t see it. I don’t think they have enough size, I don’t think they can switch and I think there’s certain players who are going to kill them.
“I think they could be out of the playoff picture in six weeks.
“Then James had that press conference, which made me feel worse about everything from a Clippers standpoint … it seemed like he was complaining about how he was used last year. It’s like, you played with a guy who won the MVP (Joel Embiid) and he averaged 33 points a game. (The Sixers) were 46-19 in the last 65 games. I thought that was alarming those were his feelings on last year.
“They literally gave (Harden) the car keys and the car and there wasn’t even a backup driver … I’m dubious (about the Clippers) and I think this is going to get worse before it gets better.”
Indeed, there’s problems everywhere like a myriad of spot fires that need to be put out before this team can move in the right direction. Establishing roles and the ideal rotation and becoming a more cohesive basketball team is clearly key – and with time those things can be resolved.
However in the current NBA climate, it’s widely thought that the ideal roster construction is two superstars being surrounded by a host of versatile role players who buy into those roles and compliment the big guns. Think Denver, Boston and Philadelphia.
The Clippers have meanwhile gone in the polar opposite direction and followed the lead of past failed experiments by bunching a group of ball-dominant stars together in hopes it’ll somehow click. But that’s not how basketball nor any team sport works.
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The absence of role players on the Clippers just makes it that much more difficult for everyone else. Who’s going to set screens (especially with limited bigs), dive on loose balls, take fouls and do all the other little, selfless acts for the betterment of the team?
You don’t even necessarily wan’t to rely on your stars to do those things in season, particularly given the injury concerns to George and Leonard.
“I think they’re in a situation where, even though it’s early and you’re going to give them a chance and time, doesn’t it feel like these early signs may be some problems that aren’t solvable? Who’s to say Harden just hasn’t continued to decline physically even more than he did the last two or three years?,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor posed on the Mismatch Podcast.
“We have all these issues – the stars needing to fill into a role on certain nights, figuring out roles, a lack of depth after trading away everybody they did, Ty Lue needing to figure out rotations.
“And then there’s the lack of assets, they don’t have anything to upgrade this team from what it is today. That’s the scary part here for the Clippers, if Zubac doesn’t get healthy and Plumlee is already hurt – and it’s Plumlee, he’s nothing special – where’s your answer at the five? How do you solve some of these big, long and versatile teams?
“It’s very possible this is not just the beginning and it gets better from here, but the beginning of the end.”
O’Connor highlighted how the addition of Harden has thrown out all the Clippers’ roles after they’d been established over the pre-season, with the team now needing to “figure it out on the fly.”
He emphasised that Harden simply “isn’t producing”, with the 10-time All-Star currently averaging just 15 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game with a 16.2 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) [which is essentially how productive or positive a player is on the court] – well down on his career average of 24.3.
Harden’s 16.2 PER is worse than the likes of Malik Monk, Dennis Schroder, DeAndre Ayton, Jusuf Nurkic, Zubac and Obi Toppin this season.
“(Harden) looks like he doesn’t have the same level of burst right now off the dribble, even less so than last year. He’s not getting to the rim as much, he’s not able to create as much space and defensively he looks even more like a liability,” O’Connor told the Mismatch Podcast.
“And he’s just changing the way that offence plays because he’s still playing the way he typically always has. With Russ (Westbrook), the offence ran better, but it’s not like Russ is necessarily the answer, that’s why they got Harden …
“James Harden needs to prove he can do the little things as well, it’s on Harden to bring that back in his game. I’m going to keep hammering that point all year, because I know it’s true … it was assumed he was still going to be the same quality as last year where he helped Embiid to an MVP season.
“He was a great playmaker and still had some really good scoring nights. Harden was like top 30-35 last season, but right now he hasn’t been one of the 100 best players in the league through the small sample thus far. That more than anything else needs to improve for the Clippers.”
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NBA analyst Nick Wright went so far to label Harden “maybe the most tone deaf athlete of my lifetime”.
“Even if you wanted out of Philly, you could’ve stayed in shape and gone to training camp,” Wright said on Fox Sports US’ First Things First.
“Also I don’t think when he gets in shape it’s necessarily going to be good for the Clippers. His whole reason of wanting to be there is to get a big contract and he’s going to think he has to do that by being the James Harden ‘system’ and other people sitting around and watching him.
“So when he gets in shape he’s going to try to meet his own ends, which is his numbers go up and so somebody pays him. Which by the way, he doesn’t get it, because no one is going to pay him.
“But here’s the part of this I can’t get over – the Clippers opted into this. I understand why the Sixers traded him, they had to, and I understand why James wanted to go to the Clippers … why did (team president) Lawrence Frank do this!?
“This is an unforced error of epic proportions.”
Without doubt one of the big questions is – with so many concerns around Harden’s fit on the team even before he’d played a game for the Clippers, why did they trade for him? And mortgage more of their future assets in the process?
According to former NBA coach Doc Rivers, it was Clippers owner Steve Balmer’s huge swing ahead of the team moving into a new arena next year.
“They’re going all in and we don’t know if they went in the right way,” Rivers said on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“If you could tap into Steve Balmer’s head, his dream is to go into that new arena putting up a banner. So you get desperate at times — I don’t know if desperate is the right word — but you start making moves maybe you wouldn’t make if you wanted to be more patient.
“And they can’t be patient when you look at the ages of Paul and Kawhi. It’s been four years they’ve been together, this almost has to be the year.”
Granted, there’s still plenty of time to figure things out.
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While they’ve slumped to 3-7 overall to currently sit outside the play-in qualification, it’s just 10 games into an 82-game season – or 12 per cent of the way through.
That’s the beauty of the marathon NBA campaign, the Clippers can afford time in-season to iron out the kinks. We’ve seen struggling teams turn it around before including the Lakers recovering from a 2-10 start last season.
Former NBA player Kenny Smith on NBA on TNT said he believes the onus is on Lue to create an offence and develop a brand where their stars can coexist, saying “this is why coaches get paid.”
But the clock is ticking, and as mentioned, it’s now or never for the Clippers given they’ve gone chips in with this team.
After coming up considerably short in the playoffs with just George and Leonard, who despite being genuine superstars have struggled with health, this is effectively the team’s last chance to complete for a championship.
So what could they do in terms of roster moves despite having little trade value or rotation changes otherwise?
There’s a view that Westbrook will be made the scapegoat, whether it’s by benching him or moving him into a sixth-man role.
Lue has so far been steadfast that he has no plans of moving Westbrook to the bench – even though it’s a role he had success in at the Lakers last season. But Lue’s hand might be eventually forced if the team’s woes continue.
It’s frankly hard to see how else the teams quartet of stars – namely Westbrook Harden – can function at their and the team’s optimum. At the very least, Westbrook and Harden need to have their minutes on the court together staggered.
Or the team could force Westbrook off the court by trading him …
“They’re going to figure it out by trading (Westbrook), and he’s going to be on Miami in like three weeks. You can already see it, the bread crumbs are already being laid out,” Bill Simmons said on the Bill Simmons Podcast.
“By the way, if I was Miami I would go get him. I think that’s somebody who could really help them — he plays at a crazy intensity, he can help with the rebounding, he gives them Lowry insurance — Lowry is 37, you know he’s going to get hurt at some point.”
Just like immediately after the trade went down, there’s more questions than answers for the Clippers.
It’s supposed to be the team that acquires the star in a trade that flourishes. But in this case, the Clippers have watched Philadelphia surge in the Eastern Conference standings and into bona fide title contention after Harden’s departure opened the door for Tyrese Maxey to grow into a genuine superstar.
It was addition by subtraction for the Sixers in a complete contrast to the stumbling Clippers. After all, they say a champion team will always beat a team of champions.
Though only three weeks in, the Aussie star has had a slow start to the NBA season. Not only has Giddey struggled to make the third-year leap, he’s gone slightly backwards from his first two brilliant seasons.
The 6-foot-8 guard did set the bar high, racking up eight career triple-doubles and breaking multiple records to do things on the court beyond his years for a player who just turned 21 last month.
He’s also coming off a stellar FIBA World Cup for the Boomers, even if the team disappointed, with Giddey averaging 19.4 points, five rebounds and six assists to claim the tournament’s Rising Star Award.
But Giddey has so far posted career-lows across the board from his first 10 games this NBA season – including averaging 12 points per contest on 41 per cent shooting from the field and 21 per cent from three-point range, 5.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists. His minutes (28.3) are also slightly down from his 31.3 career average including at times getting benched down the stretch by Mark Daigneault.
Giddey in action at the World Cup (Photo by Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
It comes in a season with increased expectations and ambitions for the Thunder, who’s no longer considered a young, fun side of recent years but one with genuine hopes of making a deep playoff run.
This is if course with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander establishing himself as a bona fide superstar, the return of former Pick 3 Chet Holmgren from injury plus more development from Jalen Williams among others.
And so Giddey’s slow start can be put down to two things.
Firstly, adapting to an altered Thunder system and working out his place on a team that’s integrating different pieces.
In Giddey’s first season, it was largely him and Shai Gilgous-Alexander running the show in OKC as the two main stars, while Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 56 games due to injury to give Giddey even greater opportunities. The 24-58 Thunder were effectively still in tank mode and happy to let its young players make mistakes.
Last season, it was largely still just Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way after Holmgren’s season-ending foot injury, with Jalen Williams emerging as the season went on in his rookie campaign.
Now things are different.
Defensive force Holmgren returns like something of a star recruit, Jalen Williams has commanded a bigger role and top 10 pick Cason Wallace is backing up Giddey – the first time during Giddey’s career he’s had a genuine back up.
Secondly, Giddey just isn’t shooting the ball well nor playing efficiently. The outside shot still isn’t there, with the young gun averaging just 0.4 three-point makes per game on 1.9 attempts (21 per cent) – over one less attempt than last season. He’s also not attacking the rim aggressively and shooting 44 per cent from shots within 10 feet of the basket.
His free throw shooting has improved (80 per cent), but it’s on only one attempt per game.
Giddey in action for OKC Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Put it all together and you have a player with a 44.6 per cent true shooting percentage – well down on the league average of 57 per cent – despite Giddey still having the second-highest usage (25.3 per cent) for the Thunder.
“He’s got to find a way to get more efficient. When he has the size advantage, it’s leading to a contested floater a lot,” NBA podcaster Nate Duncan said on the Dunc’d On Basketball NBA Podcast.
“He can make that shot … but the problem is, yeah, each shot he takes from floater range might not be terrible, but when that’s all your taking, it’s just really hard to make things add up.
“46 per cent true shooting – that is killing your offence to shoot that much at that low of a percentage. Particularly when other guys are playing really well, maybe more of that usage needs to go to Holmgren or J Dub (Jalen Williams).
“Giddey is going up against smaller guys, some of those floaters need to turn into lay-ups, the threat of a layup that then forces help and a pass or free throws. He just needs to get more of a power game against these small guys.
“As opposed to: ‘I’m going to work to a spot and float something up’. You’ve got to shoot over 50 per cent on those shots and I’m sorry, he’s not Nikola Jokic. Maybe he’ll get there, but that’s a really tough way to make a living.
“If you have someone who is 26 per cent usage and 46 per cent true shooting on your team, you can’t be a great offence. I think these guys have the possibility of having a great offence if they can sort some of these things out.
“Giddey I think either needs to play better or differently if they’re going to reach the level they need to go to.”
This isn’t to raise any alarm bells or anything, but simply paint the picture of where things are at in the early parts of the season for the 6-4 Thunder and Giddey.
It comes in an important juncture of the Aussie’s career and for OKC as a whole. Next off-season, Giddey is eligible to sign a mega five-year contract extension that could be worth up to $200 million (AUD $307 million) in total under the NBA’s looming new broadcast deal.
Meanwhile the Thunder in the next seven years have a mountain of draft picks – 34 in total including 14 first-rounders, 22 second-rounders and multiple pick swaps – as the rapidly rising team looks to build a contender around Gilgeous-Alexander.
Giddy is due for a huge contract extension (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Shrewd OKC general manager Sam Presti will explore all options to upgrade the roster in the short to medium term – and potentially look to make a big trade as early this season if he thinks it can take the team to another level.
“I want to see what’s going on with Josh Giddey in about two weeks, whether it looks different than it has for the first couple of weeks,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons told The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“He’s not going to the free throw line at all and 26 per cent three-point shooting, which we knew, he cant shoot threes.
“There’s also the Chet piece of it, seems like it’s thrown (Giddey) off. I’ve watched games where they’ve taken him out in crunch time.
“I just thought he would make a leap and it feels like he’s gone backwards. It’s not just statistically, eye test wise, they seem very comfortable when he’s not out there.
“I’m just monitoring that because they have 10 million first round picks and a hundred million second-round picks. If they ever really wanted to make a move, I don’t know if they’d put Giddey on the table, but that seems like the most expendable guy.”
Again, this isn’t time to panic despite some suggestions Giddey could get moved to the bench – or even traded to another team.
Such calls are knee-jerky over a 10-game sample size, and it’s worth noting Giddey also had an indifferent start to last season.
Perhaps how quickly he emerged on the NBA scene has created a level of impatience and increased standards to live up to – and rightfully so.
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But it’s important to remember how young and raw the recently-turned 21 year old still is and to generally temper expectations for both he and Thunder. Just because Giddey started slow out of the gates, it doesn’t mean he isn’t still an elite NBA talent with superstar potential down the track.
Of course, patience has been such a key virtue for the Thunder in this current era and is a term that must be at centre of mind with regards to Giddey’s development.
“We’ve seen him play much better than this. I don’t think he simply forgot how to play,” Locked On Thunder’s Rylan Stiles observed.
“We’ve seen him play much better than this in a Mark Daigneault system. We’ve seen him play much better than this with Chet Holmgren on the court. He can do it and I think he will. Just as he started slow last year, he’s going to figure it out and play through it.
“You can have the conversation of how do you avoid these slow starts … it’s also a trend that happens game to game, just starting slow within the game itself. You can have the conversation of what line-ups best maximise what the Thunder want to do in the grand scheme of things.
“But to throw the baby out with the bathwater on this one is way too premature over a (small) sample size. A sample size that would be completely hidden away had he started off incredible strong then had a subsequent eight games where he was just terrible.
“But these eight games do not make a career or define a tenure. These eight games even within the construct of this season will not dictate how good how bad he is.
“I think he should stay in the starting line-up, but I think you could make the strong argument he should be staggered quicker and played with the bench unit more. I think think that starting line-up can still be a really good line-up in the NBA.”
Damian Lillard could only be patient for so long. Now it is Portland’s turn, although obviously it won’t involve waiting for over a decade.
But the Trail Blazers won’t be rushing into a deal anytime soon after the 32-year-old requested a trade earlier this month. There is no need to anyway.
With both the trade deadline and NBA draft now passed and free agency period already underway, there is no real pressure for Portland to accept any rival offers immediately.
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“I think what I’ve learned more than anything is patience is critical,” Blazers GM Joe Cronin said earlier this week.
“… We’re going to be patient; we’re going to do what’s best for our team. We’re going to see how this lands. And if it takes months, it takes months.”
That is especially true if you consider what the Miami Heat — the reported frontrunner to trade for Lillard — could hypothetically offer in a trade for the seven-time All-Star.
At best, Tyler Herro would headline a package that also sends veteran teammate Kyle Lowry, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., forward Nikola Jovic and two tradeable draft picks in 2028 and 2030.
Herro wouldn’t be that appealing for the Blazers anyway given young guards Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons are all expected to be given bigger roles over the years.
And then there is Jerami Grant, who the Blazers recently re-signed on a five-year, $160 million contract.
Eventually Portland could have to settle for less, as painful as it may be, although including a third team in the deal would be its best bet of getting a return that isn’t just adequate.
Which then begs the question: which team would be incentivised to get in on the Lillard deal? That is where the Brooklyn Nets and Ben Simmons come in.
The Nets had already previously been linked to Lillard since it emerged that he was looking to be traded by Portland, although the superstar guard is keen to land at a title contender.
Of course, Lillard will only have so much of a stay in where he ends up as he still has two years left on his contract with the Trail Blazers.
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Damian Lillard has requested a trade. (Photo by Carmen Mandato / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)Source: AFP
But trading for someone of Lillard’s calibre doesn’t really fit into Brooklyn’s current timeline anyway as the Nets navigate a rebuild of sorts after the failed James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant experiment.
A three-team deal though could offer the Nets an opportunity to help Miami facilitate a deal while getting something back in return, including young players like Jacquez Jr. and Jovic.
That would obviously be in addition to Herro who, alongside Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, gives Brooklyn a competitive, young core to build around in the short-term at least.
The chances of that happening would hinge on which players Portland want in return along with draft picks for moving Lillard to Miami.
That then brings us to the topic of Simmons, who still has two years and $78.2 million left on a contract which is considered one of the hardest to trade in the league right now.
Hard to trade for anything valuable in return at least. In fact, the Blazers — or any team by that matter — would likely want something in addition to Simmons to even take on his contract.
And for a rebuilding team like Portland, adding Simmons to the mix could be an unwanted distraction given the media circus that has followed him around in recent years.
There is no guarantee Simmons can get back to the kind of form that made him a perennial All-Star too, having struggled to assert himself on the offensive end in limited playing time last season.
Ben Simmons has struggled to stay healthy. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The elite defence and playmaking was still there though and the hope for the Blazers would be that Simmons can rediscover the rest with time — something Portland has plenty of right now.
They also, as already mentioned, have plenty of young talent in Henderson, Sharpe and Simons to focus on so Simmons wouldn’t need to be a focal point right away in the offence.
Although Simmons is the kind of player who needs his hands on the ball to make an impact, so the Australian may not be the right fit for what Portland is trying to build at this stage.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor though sees the value in the Blazers taking a swing on Simmons.
“As disappointing as Simmons has been in recent seasons, he’ll be only 27 next year and has just two years remaining on his contract,” wrote O’Connor.
“Simmons is the type of upside piece that could appeal to Portland if other picks are added.”
That is the issue for Brooklyn though. Surely it is worth seeing what Simmons has this season as opposed to dumping his salary for negative returns.
If it doesn’t work out, at least the Australian’s salary will be even more tradeable next season as his contract enters its final year.
“Across the league I think there is just a lot of scepticism that we’re going to see that guy [All-Star Ben Simmons] again and if that is the case that’s a lot of money to have invested in essentially a role player,” Beck said.
Not just that but, as Beck pointed out, for a team like the Nets that has multiple first-round picks up their sleeve it makes more sense to wait out for another name to hit the market.
Specifically, a younger name that better fits into their timeline as they look to remain both competitive in the short-term while building assets with an eye towards the future.
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“You’re looking out on the horizon and you’re saying, ‘Is Joel Embiid going to be available at some point?’, and the Nets have a boatload of picks to get involved in any of these,” Beck added.
“Again, this is why I think they’re going with the patient route. Maybe Giannis sours if the wheels fall off in Milwaukee. This is what the whole league is thinking by the way… you’re looking at Dallas and saying, ‘If Kyrie derails the Mavericks…’, or just keeping an eye on Luka.
“The whole league is looking at it this way. The Nets are one of the teams now that has a boatload of picks, and especially those Suns picks which will be highly valuable, and are thinking, ‘We’ve got to keep our powder dry and figure out when to go all-in’.
“I bring that up in relation to Ben Simmons because Ben Simmons is a negative asset and if the Portland Trail Blazers for instance were saying, ‘Hey, do you guys want to do Dame?’ and the Nets say, ‘Yeah, for salary matching purposes Simmons should be central to this deal’ and the Blazers would be like, ‘Alright, it’s going to cost you at least a first-round pick just to take on Ben Simmons’.
“He is a negative asset… and then more picks to make up for the Dame Lillard part of it. Is that the best way to spend a first-round pick or more, to use it to get someone to just take Ben Simmons when there is only two years left and since the Nets don’t have an urgency right now to win immediately?”
Ben Simmons still has plenty of upside if he can rediscover his old form. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
He’s right too. The Nets have the benefit of being able to wait it out and see what they have with Simmons, and GM Sean Marks certainly sounds optimistic there is still room for growth.
“Knowing that he’s mid-20s and he has still, hopefully, not reached his prime, we’re going to make sure he can get back out there and get back to that form,” Marks told reporters of Simmons this week.
“And hopefully, we see his game even evolve past that. But health is going to be key for him.”
As for the latest on the health front, the Nets are expecting Simmons to be healthy for training camp which is a relief — both if he stays put or is moved in a potential trade.
Nets teammate Spencer Dinwiddie told NBA TV that Simmons is an “All-Star, max-level guy” if healthy. It’s obviously a big if, but enough of an incentive for Brooklyn to keep the faith given what trading him would involve.
“He could completely change the complexion of our team and can make us a really exciting group, especially defensively,” added Dinwiddie.
The same, of course, goes for Portland where Simmons would team up with fellow Australian Matisse Thybulle and offer the Blazers versatility on defence.
Could Ben Simmons link up with Matisse Thybulle again? (Photo by Alika Jenner / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
The question marks on offence for both players aren’t a huge deal given the firepower Portland has on that end of the floor, as Bill Simmons pointed out on one of his recent podcast episodes.
“You have to ask yourself… is this a distressed asset who could actually become an asset for us? Let’s put him in a small market for a rebuilding team around a bunch of young players and just kind of unleash him and let him go,” Simmons said.
“It’s kind of what they need. They need a jack-of-all-trades defence, unselfish guy. There’s more than enough shots on that team already with Scoot and Simons and Grant. You don’t need more offence. Roll the dice with it.”
Heat insider Greg Sylvander though reported earlier this month that “one challenge in negotiations” between the Heat, Trail Blazers and Nets has been the fact Brooklyn is looking to move on Simmons as part of the deal.
“The sticking point being that no team is particularly interested in taking him so far,” a source told Sylvander.
And as mentioned by Cronin earlier, don’t expect the Blazers to rush into any trade anyway, regardless of whether Simmons is available or not.
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter last week that he expects it to be a “very slow trade process” as the Blazers look to negotiate with the Heat.
Ramona Shelburne, meanwhile, reported on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ that she had been told by “two teams” that Portland risks be a repeat of the Simmons holdout at Philadelphia with Lillard.
“This guy’s [Lillard] got four years on his contract,” Shelburne said.
“They don’t have to do anything. They can take their time and let’s just see if he shows up for training camp. If they want to wait until February to trade him, they can.”
It is hard to see Lillard doing that though. It’s just not his style and unlike Simmons’ split with the Sixers, the 32-year-old’s exit from Portland appears to be mutually beneficial.
Either way, it is just a waiting game at this point — both for Lillard to get traded and for Simmons to get back on the court and work his way back to a good physical and mental place.
