The MLB draft was this past week and teams like the Astros and The Stantons made their picks who can potentially aid in the betterment of their future, as they played somewhat meaningful games at the same time. The curious thing about MLB is that for as much talk might exist about specific individuals, they cannot carry a team to a championship. In fact, the Yankees needed four such players to click all at the same time, along with a strong supporting cast to go on their dynastic run from the late 90's to early 2000's. This is a commonality across sports: one player can drastically help you, however more often than not they cannot win a season for you. The best soccer players in the world--Ronaldo and Messi--have not won a World Cup. These brilliant players can take control of a game, but they cannot singlehandedly win a season or tournament. In the NFL players like Andrew Luck can carry a team to the playoffs through ridiculously lucky plays but even he cannot carry a team to a championship alone. There is only one sport that evades this rule to an extent: basketball.
A quick glance through NBA history shows dominant players leading their teams to championships: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Hakeem "Dream Shake" Olajuwon, Dr. J, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and most recently LeBron James. Only in the basketball can one player singlehandedly drag a team to a championship (LeBron's Cavaliers, Wade's Heat, Dirk's Mavericks), which is why the draft is incredibly important. The draft can be one team's chance to catapult to the top of the basketball world (again look at LeBron's Cavs, the best player not named LeBron on those teams is either Mo Williams or Big Z). One player can make all the difference, and for that reason we're going to discuss some moves that every NBA team should do to make themselves better.
ATLANTA:
After finishing as the 8th seed in the East this year, Atlanta faces a tough decision. It can either become the East version of the Nuggets and become a perennial 7 or 8 seed, or they can make some moves that will either allow them to become significantly better or let them tank in spectacular fashion. Right now they have a solid player in Paul Millsap who led them in four of the five basic NBA stats (I'm not kidding), but at age 29 is too old to be part of some young core moving forward. They also have three point connoisseur Kyle Korver. Therefore the Hawks should probably blow up their roster, clear cap, and pray that they draft well. So the Hawks should send Kyle Korver to Detroit, a team in desperate need of spacing for young big-man Greg Monroe.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=pc7ao4x
BOSTON:
Get Kevin Love. He wants to come so just get him there (especially because they are one of the few teams with the resources to make a deal happen).
BROOKLYN:
Well this is an interesting case, because they have more money than God at their disposal and an owner who apparently doesn't care about such trivial American concepts as the "luxury tax." Really there are no moves that the Nets can make that will be the piece that pushes them into championship contention. However apparently this works out on the trade machine, so there's that....
CHARLOTTE:
First and foremost: HUGE props to the Steve Clifford for his job with this team. Coming into the season I thought (along with most people) that the Charlotte Horncats would finish near last, so that they were able to finish as the 7th seed is a testament to both Clifford's job with this team as well as the maturation of the team as whole under Big Al's (The first name in old-school game) leadership. The best recommendation for Charlotte is to draft someone who can space the floor and help give Kemba Walker some more room to work with. The Bobnets best picks are probably either Rodney Hood or Dougie "White Boy Fresh" McDermott (Seriously go look at that link. I'll wait.)
Did you look at it?
Good.
CHICAGO:
Get Derrick Rose back. #TheReturn2015
CLEVELAND:
Don't whiff on your first round pick. Please. It was illegal that you got the pick in the first place, please just do well with it if you got it. Pick Jabari, the safest pick in this draft. Embiid could very well be the next Sam Bowe or Greg Oden, especially because he's only been playing basketball for four years.
DALLAS:
Continue to acquire all of the mid-level free agents that most teams don't touch out of fear for overpaying for them and then make them worth every single penny (See: Ellis, Monta and Calderon, Jose). Dallas has made Arnold Palmer out of the lemons the NBA free agent market has given them under Rick Carlisle and there's nothing that shows they can't do it again. This summer look for Dallas to be mentioned in possibly getting all of the big stars but end up with the likes of Gordon Hayward, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza, Spencer Hawes, or intriguingly Danny Granger. Could continue to be a strong team and will have a bright future AD (After Dirk) due to Carlisle's brilliant coaching and Mark Cuban's deep pockets.
DENVER:
Deal Kenneth Faried to a contender for picks who could use him a lot more effectively than the Nuggets do currently. Denver has truly made a mess of this situation and The Manimal needs a change of scenery.
Scary thought: the Manimal working with Pop down in San Antonio alongside Ka-why does no one pay attention to how solid he is Lenoard.
DETROIT:
Detroit has ironically made the best move it could already by getting Stan (The Center Whisperer) Van Gundy to work with wunderkind and Jennette McCurdy's ex-boyfriend Andre Drummond (RIP DrumCurdy). Detroit could also greatly benefit from adding some shooting either through trade (see Atlanta) or through free agency by signing Trevor Ariza. In a couple years this team will be downright frightening, but next year won't be the year, especially because they lost their pick in the draft.
GOLDEN STATE:
This trade. If Golden State ever gets Love to pair with the Splash Bros and Iggy, they will average 150 points a game under Steve Kerr while hoping that Andrew Bogut and Iggy will help them keep the opposing team to under 140. In all seriousness that team will have all of the offensive power in the world but exactly zero defensive capability past Iggy and Bogut.
HOUSTON:
If any stars opt-out of their contracts Houston will be on their shortlist due to Texas's bafflingly low income tax, and a championship caliber team with Dwight Howard and The Beard. Houston becomes a legitimate title contender if they add one more super star, and scary things will happen if they manage to retain Chandler Parsons as well.
INDIANA:
First: re-sign Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson.
Second: Don't try and experiment with a winning team too much. Forced moves like trading for Luis Scola, sending away Danny Granger, and signing Andrew Bynum all messed around with the locker room dynamics or deprived the team of needed depth.
Third: Get Danny Granger back.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS:
In this case there's not much they really can do other than hope that your new owner doesn't make racist tirades that cause a media firestorm to distract your team. Blake Griffin has developed to the point where the Clips have two of the top-10--arguably top-5--players in the league, and hopefully he gets better next year.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS:
Trade Pau Gasol. There's a reason this rumor has circulated for three straight years.The Lakers desperately need an infusion of new talent, and trading Gasol would provide them with possibly a lottery pick in this draft or next. But the Lakers have such a storied history and the deep pockets of the Buss family, so they could always sign a massive free agent like LeBron or the favorite son of UCLA, Kevin Love. Also: look at signing Kyle Lowry to replace the aging Steve Nash, Trevor Ariza to help get some more shooting back on the roster, Nene to replace Pau once traded, and then draft Aaron Gordon. With those four players plus a healthy Kobe Bryant, the Lakers would be able to not only compete but would be a force in the playoffs, especially with Swaggy P, Kendall Marshall, and Ryan Kelly coming off the bench.
MEMPHIS:
Umm.....well everyone thought everything was ok until they fired their CEO and director of player personnel, so clearly it's not nearly as stable as previously thought. Memphis continues to be a team of solid players that every hates to face in a playoff series, but will be overcome by the best teams like the Spurs or Thunder. Faced with that sort of fate, they could try and trade everyone who isn't tied down, but it doesn't seem like the right move.
MIAMI:
Make sure the Big Three don't leave. In other news: Jesus made an appearance
MINNESOTA:
Trade Kevin Love and get the best deal possible. Don't let this develop into the Dwightmare 2.0.
MILWAUKEE:
Draft Joel Embiid and say the rosary every night that he isn't a bust. On a team devoid of talent he will be a wonderful injection of ability, especially when you consider how talented he is for playing basketball for only four years.
NEW ORLEANS:
Trade Eric Gordon to free up cap or trade him to fill some glaring holes in the lineup The most obvious trade when looking at the landscape is an Eric Gordon for Danillo Galinari or Javale McGee swap. The Pelicans have two areas of need – a shooter on the wing and a big who can defend centers to put next to Davis. The Nuggets, meanwhile, have a glaring need for a shooting guard while possessing a plethora of small forwards and serviceable bigs. The swap would save the Pelicans approximately $4 million, giving them nearly $9 million to spend in free agency PLUS the room-level exception. Davis needs to play as a PF because he's too thin to consistently bang against the Al Jeffersons and Marc Gasols of the world, and adding McGee would allow him to do just that.
NEW YORK:
A quick glance through NBA history shows dominant players leading their teams to championships: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Hakeem "Dream Shake" Olajuwon, Dr. J, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and most recently LeBron James. Only in the basketball can one player singlehandedly drag a team to a championship (LeBron's Cavaliers, Wade's Heat, Dirk's Mavericks), which is why the draft is incredibly important. The draft can be one team's chance to catapult to the top of the basketball world (again look at LeBron's Cavs, the best player not named LeBron on those teams is either Mo Williams or Big Z). One player can make all the difference, and for that reason we're going to discuss some moves that every NBA team should do to make themselves better.
ATLANTA:
After finishing as the 8th seed in the East this year, Atlanta faces a tough decision. It can either become the East version of the Nuggets and become a perennial 7 or 8 seed, or they can make some moves that will either allow them to become significantly better or let them tank in spectacular fashion. Right now they have a solid player in Paul Millsap who led them in four of the five basic NBA stats (I'm not kidding), but at age 29 is too old to be part of some young core moving forward. They also have three point connoisseur Kyle Korver. Therefore the Hawks should probably blow up their roster, clear cap, and pray that they draft well. So the Hawks should send Kyle Korver to Detroit, a team in desperate need of spacing for young big-man Greg Monroe.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=pc7ao4x
BOSTON:
Get Kevin Love. He wants to come so just get him there (especially because they are one of the few teams with the resources to make a deal happen).
BROOKLYN:
Well this is an interesting case, because they have more money than God at their disposal and an owner who apparently doesn't care about such trivial American concepts as the "luxury tax." Really there are no moves that the Nets can make that will be the piece that pushes them into championship contention. However apparently this works out on the trade machine, so there's that....
CHARLOTTE:
First and foremost: HUGE props to the Steve Clifford for his job with this team. Coming into the season I thought (along with most people) that the Charlotte Horncats would finish near last, so that they were able to finish as the 7th seed is a testament to both Clifford's job with this team as well as the maturation of the team as whole under Big Al's (The first name in old-school game) leadership. The best recommendation for Charlotte is to draft someone who can space the floor and help give Kemba Walker some more room to work with. The Bobnets best picks are probably either Rodney Hood or Dougie "White Boy Fresh" McDermott (Seriously go look at that link. I'll wait.)
Did you look at it?
Good.
CHICAGO:
Get Derrick Rose back. #TheReturn2015
CLEVELAND:
Don't whiff on your first round pick. Please. It was illegal that you got the pick in the first place, please just do well with it if you got it. Pick Jabari, the safest pick in this draft. Embiid could very well be the next Sam Bowe or Greg Oden, especially because he's only been playing basketball for four years.
DALLAS:
Continue to acquire all of the mid-level free agents that most teams don't touch out of fear for overpaying for them and then make them worth every single penny (See: Ellis, Monta and Calderon, Jose). Dallas has made Arnold Palmer out of the lemons the NBA free agent market has given them under Rick Carlisle and there's nothing that shows they can't do it again. This summer look for Dallas to be mentioned in possibly getting all of the big stars but end up with the likes of Gordon Hayward, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza, Spencer Hawes, or intriguingly Danny Granger. Could continue to be a strong team and will have a bright future AD (After Dirk) due to Carlisle's brilliant coaching and Mark Cuban's deep pockets.
DENVER:
Deal Kenneth Faried to a contender for picks who could use him a lot more effectively than the Nuggets do currently. Denver has truly made a mess of this situation and The Manimal needs a change of scenery.
Scary thought: the Manimal working with Pop down in San Antonio alongside Ka-why does no one pay attention to how solid he is Lenoard.
DETROIT:
Detroit has ironically made the best move it could already by getting Stan (The Center Whisperer) Van Gundy to work with wunderkind and Jennette McCurdy's ex-boyfriend Andre Drummond (RIP DrumCurdy). Detroit could also greatly benefit from adding some shooting either through trade (see Atlanta) or through free agency by signing Trevor Ariza. In a couple years this team will be downright frightening, but next year won't be the year, especially because they lost their pick in the draft.
GOLDEN STATE:
This trade. If Golden State ever gets Love to pair with the Splash Bros and Iggy, they will average 150 points a game under Steve Kerr while hoping that Andrew Bogut and Iggy will help them keep the opposing team to under 140. In all seriousness that team will have all of the offensive power in the world but exactly zero defensive capability past Iggy and Bogut.
HOUSTON:
If any stars opt-out of their contracts Houston will be on their shortlist due to Texas's bafflingly low income tax, and a championship caliber team with Dwight Howard and The Beard. Houston becomes a legitimate title contender if they add one more super star, and scary things will happen if they manage to retain Chandler Parsons as well.
INDIANA:
First: re-sign Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson.
Second: Don't try and experiment with a winning team too much. Forced moves like trading for Luis Scola, sending away Danny Granger, and signing Andrew Bynum all messed around with the locker room dynamics or deprived the team of needed depth.
Third: Get Danny Granger back.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS:
In this case there's not much they really can do other than hope that your new owner doesn't make racist tirades that cause a media firestorm to distract your team. Blake Griffin has developed to the point where the Clips have two of the top-10--arguably top-5--players in the league, and hopefully he gets better next year.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS:
Trade Pau Gasol. There's a reason this rumor has circulated for three straight years.The Lakers desperately need an infusion of new talent, and trading Gasol would provide them with possibly a lottery pick in this draft or next. But the Lakers have such a storied history and the deep pockets of the Buss family, so they could always sign a massive free agent like LeBron or the favorite son of UCLA, Kevin Love. Also: look at signing Kyle Lowry to replace the aging Steve Nash, Trevor Ariza to help get some more shooting back on the roster, Nene to replace Pau once traded, and then draft Aaron Gordon. With those four players plus a healthy Kobe Bryant, the Lakers would be able to not only compete but would be a force in the playoffs, especially with Swaggy P, Kendall Marshall, and Ryan Kelly coming off the bench.
MEMPHIS:
Umm.....well everyone thought everything was ok until they fired their CEO and director of player personnel, so clearly it's not nearly as stable as previously thought. Memphis continues to be a team of solid players that every hates to face in a playoff series, but will be overcome by the best teams like the Spurs or Thunder. Faced with that sort of fate, they could try and trade everyone who isn't tied down, but it doesn't seem like the right move.
MIAMI:
Make sure the Big Three don't leave. In other news: Jesus made an appearance
Trade Kevin Love and get the best deal possible. Don't let this develop into the Dwightmare 2.0.
MILWAUKEE:
Draft Joel Embiid and say the rosary every night that he isn't a bust. On a team devoid of talent he will be a wonderful injection of ability, especially when you consider how talented he is for playing basketball for only four years.
NEW ORLEANS:
Trade Eric Gordon to free up cap or trade him to fill some glaring holes in the lineup The most obvious trade when looking at the landscape is an Eric Gordon for Danillo Galinari or Javale McGee swap. The Pelicans have two areas of need – a shooter on the wing and a big who can defend centers to put next to Davis. The Nuggets, meanwhile, have a glaring need for a shooting guard while possessing a plethora of small forwards and serviceable bigs. The swap would save the Pelicans approximately $4 million, giving them nearly $9 million to spend in free agency PLUS the room-level exception. Davis needs to play as a PF because he's too thin to consistently bang against the Al Jeffersons and Marc Gasols of the world, and adding McGee would allow him to do just that.
NEW YORK:
So well....this
trade works out. But in all seriousness the best move the team could make would be to keep Carmelo Anthony in town. Furthermore, the team needs to make moves that will encourage Phil Jackson's style of dsicipline by sending away, talented, but troublesome players such as J.R. Smith, and Raymond Felton. Additionally, finding a way to get rid of the albatross that is A'Mare Stoudemire would really benefit this team long term. Unfortunately the Knicks don't have many future draft picks, which handicap the team, due to short sighted deals under James Dolan's orders and pressure to win NOW. The future is grim for the Knickerbockers although some hope exists in the form of first team All-Rookie member Tim Hardaway Jr. has flashed some capable shooting from behind the arc.
OKLAHOMA CITY:
Get more shooters and get
rid of Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder need more shooters to help them space the
floor around the Slim Reaper, Westbrook, and Ibaka. OKC should go after a Mike
Miller or Steve Novak type who can help them. After they get shooter
(preferably a three and D guy) the Thunder should cut Kendrick Perkins due to
his complete inability to play the game of basketball.
ORLANDO:
The Magic should draft Dante
Exum and move Victor Oladipo back to his natural position at SF. This would
give them one of the most talented backcourts in the NBA between Exum and
Affalo. The other option is to draft Julius Randle and continue to have Oladipo
play the point, allowing them to have an inside presence.
PHILADELPHIA:
The 76ers will receive the
boost of two lottery picks next year when Nerlens Noel comes back after
spending the whole year on the bench, in addition to drafting presumably Andrew
Wiggins or Jabari Parker. Furthermore, the 76ers will get another boost from the
#10 pick which could be used on a true center, or they could look at some more
upside players such as Zach LaVine, Kyle Anderson, Rodney Hood, and Adreian Payne
(who has a heart of gold). This team could get very scary very quickly, watch
out.
PHOENIX:
Continue to completely
swindle the league. No team that finishes with 49 wins should have three first
round draft picks, and $22 million in cap room, on a young team that is only
getting better (See Dragic, Goran and Bledsoe, Eric) This team is
frightening.
The West's Reaction to Phoenix
PORTLANDIA:
This team is super young and
has a strong starting five with decent depth behind it, but financial concerns
could cause the team to pursue a trade breaking up some portion of the Rip City
Crew in order to get into this years draft to get some cheap talent.
SACRAMENTO:
The Kings are in an
interesting position, as they have the number eight pick in this year's draft. Whoever the pick is, that player will be joining the two franchise pillars
of Isaiah Thomas and BOOOOOOOOOOOOOGIEEEEEEEE. But the Kings have little
cap flexility. An interesting move would be to trade Rudy Gay to New Orleans
for Eric Gordon, which would give the Kings three solid starters to work with
along with the #8 pick in the draft.
SAN ANTONIO:
Keep Gregg Popovich and hope
Tim Duncan doesn't retire. Even if Duncan does retire the Spurs will continue
to quietly develop talent such as Kawhi Leonard and then take players
like Boris "Can I have more KFC" Diaw and Patty "G'day Mate"
Mills and make them above average players. The Spurs are just on a whole other
level of smart management and there's nothing anyone can do to catch up with
them.
T. (Toronto):
Cut off any association with
Drake and all things will be better.
In all seriousness the
Raptors need to re-sign Kyle Lowry no matter the cost because he was far and
away the best player on the team during the playoffs and is the central piece
in this team's future going forward.
UTAH:
Hope Trey Burke continues to
quietly wreck shop. The problem with the Jazz is that they have the number
five pick, but a logjam at PF due to Enes Canter and Derrick Favors (the
position that Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle, and Noah Vonleh all play)
complicates their draft. Realistically they should trade one of the three and
gain some assets in return, but no clear exchanges present themselves right now.
WASHINGTON:
The biggest surprise of the
year came from the nation's capital and it wasn't Joe Biden's Instagram. The
Wiz's best move is resigning Nene and Trevor Ariza, both of whom served vital
roles in the Wizards' team (Nene was a force on both halves, and the John Wall
to Trevor Ariza corner three was the best such pairing in the league).
Every team is going to make moves this summer and not all of them will be good, but the change the comes every offseason is one of the best aspects of the NBA.
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