Well suffice to say I think this may be the craziest offseason ever. We have not one, not two, but three superstars changing teams they were part of for a long time, on top of all the normal transactions and trade craziness.
Derrick Rose: Say what you will about him (I certainly have), but you can't deny he'll be a great presence on the Knicks. I can definitely see this getting the Knicks into the playoffs. Even if they don't last long it will be a refreshing break from their usual mediocrity. Unfortunately I simply don't see Rose returning to his former glory even if he staves off injuries.
Dwyane Wade: Look, Wade is one of the best players in the league right now. He always has been. Someone like him has every right to feel disrespected over a bad contract. But I'd have never figured he'd leave the team he molded and defined almost on his own. Winslow, Whiteside, or even Dragic must step up and lead the Heat (lord knows Bosh can't anymore) or else they're in for a slump and if they're especially unlucky, outright rebuilding. I can see Dwyane Wade replacing Rose's' role-player position nicely, which is good for the Bulls but bad for my health as a Raps fan.
Kevin Durant: I may be late to the hate train but I'll say it. It's one thing to be a great player leaving a bad team to get rings, but it's a whole new level of bad to leave a great team as a great player to start a superteam- on the same team that beat you in the playoffs by one game. I'm not calling him selfish because he's proven he really does care about OKC, but it's a terrible idea from a professional standpoint to do this. Durant's framed himself as a villain even though he knows he can't handle being seen as one. For the sake of NBA viewers, I just hope there's a team that can stand up to these Warriors. On the plus side, Ill enjoy watching Westbrook go full god-mode (do it Russ! It's your DESTINY).
I'd also like to talk about other trades, transactions, signings, the draft, and my predictions for next season.
The poor Atlanta Hawks just can't catch a break. They finally have a breakout season after so long of essentially being the Nets 2.0, get swept, lose twelve more game next season, get swept by the same team, and then lose two of their best players. Oh, and they'll probably lose Millsap too (come to Toronto pls). But hey, at least they have a well-past-his-prime Dwight Howard. Try to stay away from Magic City, K, Dwight? Your Atlanta's only real hope right about now.
The Raps lost Bismack Biyombo. ;( I just hope Jakob can replace you well.
Speaking of which, how's everyone feel about the draft? I have this gut feeling Simmons won't have that great of a year and that the RotY will go to Ingram. That's if the summer league is anything to go on, which it might or might not be. All the other picks were pretty solid except for Thon Maker. Jokes and speculation aside, I think Thon is a great choice for the NBA Giant's Club Bucks. Hey, at the very least, they can save us from the Warriors again (or so I hope).
Now as for exactly what's going to happen next season, I have my predictions:
Golden State Warriors: Perfect Season? Probably not. But they will almost certainly make history and will likely seize the ring. I'd say they're breaking the 73-9 record unless their lack of a good center is exploited (and assuming that spot isn't filled by another all-star).
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers now have two great young players and so can probably hope to break 30 wins this season. They won't be in playoff shape, but it's a start.
San Antonio Spurs: Timmy D is gone, and so will the Spur's' relevancy soon. It sounds harsh and premature, but it's not too far-fetched. Manu will probably retire soon and Tony Parker is in his mid-30s and posted his worst season since 2002. They got Pau Gasol, who's got at most three years left in him. Aldridge and Kawhi.....OK they're good, but they can't carry the team. SAS may have one last hurrah this year but they'll then spend the next few years hovering around 6-8 seed or maybe even dropping out of the playoffs entirely.
OKC Thunder: Russ activates beast mode, Steven Adams shows us what he's really made of, Enes Kanter will recover from his slump, and OKC vs Golden State games this year will go down in sports history as the greatest of all time. 'Nuff said.
Utah Jazz: I also like the Jazz for some reason and I just want to say they'll make the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Either they finally get off the lottery train and start balling hard or they ride it for another year. I don't know what will happen, but I do know KAT will take another step towards superstardom.
Indiana Pacers: Now that they have Teague, I can really see the Pacers becoming ECF material. They'll certainly be an interesting match against the Cavs.
Philadelphia 76ers: It's hard to get much worse than ten wins, so the Sixers improving is a virtual guarantee. Who knows, they might even get to 8th seed now that Embiid's actually playing (PLEASE don't quote me on that).
Toronto Raptors: It sucks to lose dad, but I think JV will be able to fill in his position just fine. Very happy we got DeMar back, however expensive it was. With the experience we got this year, I can see us getting to first seed, back to the ECF, and maybe even beating the Cavs. Fat chance, I know, but I can dream.
The teams I didn't predict I didn't see a need to predict. Well suffice to say I think this may be the craziest offseason ever. We have not one, not two, but three superstars changing teams they were part of for a long time, on top of all the normal transactions and trade craziness.
Derrick Rose: Say what you will about him (I certainly have), but you can't deny he'll be a great presence on the Knicks. I can definitely see this getting the Knicks into the playoffs. Even if they don't last long it will be a refreshing break from their usual mediocrity. Unfortunately I simply don't see Rose returning to his former glory even if he staves off injuries.
Dwyane Wade: Look, Wade is one of the best players in the league right now. He always has been. Someone like him has every right to feel disrespected over a bad contract. But I'd have never figured he'd leave the team he molded and defined almost on his own. Winslow, Whiteside, or even Dragic must step up and lead the Heat (lord knows Bosh can't anymore) or else they're in for a slump and if they're especially unlucky, outright rebuilding. I can see Dwyane Wade replacing Rose's' role-player position nicely, which is good for the Bulls but bad for my health as a Raps fan.
Kevin Durant: I may be late to the hate train but I'll say it. It's one thing to be a great player leaving a bad team to get rings, but it's a whole new level of bad to leave a great team as a great player to start a superteam- on the same team that beat you in the playoffs by one game. I'm not calling him selfish because he's proven he really does care about OKC, but it's a terrible idea from a professional standpoint to do this. Durant's framed himself as a villain even though he knows he can't handle being seen as one. For the sake of NBA viewers, I just hope there's a team that can stand up to these Warriors. On the plus side, Ill enjoy watching Westbrook go full god-mode (do it Russ! It's your DESTINY).
I'd also like to talk about other trades, transactions, signings, the draft, and my predictions for next season.
The poor Atlanta Hawks just can't catch a break. They finally have a breakout season after so long of essentially being the Nets 2.0, get swept, lose twelve more game next season, get swept by the same team, and then lose two of their best players. Oh, and they'll probably lose Millsap too (come to Toronto pls). But hey, at least they have a well-past-his-prime Dwight Howard. Try to stay away from Magic City, K, Dwight? Your Atlanta's only real hope right about now.
The Raps lost Bismack Biyombo. ;( I just hope Jakob can replace you well.
Speaking of which, how's everyone feel about the draft? I have this gut feeling Simmons won't have that great of a year and that the RotY will go to Ingram. That's if the summer league is anything to go on, which it might or might not be. All the other picks were pretty solid except for Thon Maker. Jokes and speculation aside, I think Thon is a great choice for the NBA Giant's Club Bucks. Hey, at the very least, they can save us from the Warriors again (or so I hope).
Now as for exactly what's going to happen next season, I have my predictions:
Golden State Warriors: Perfect Season? Probably not. But they will almost certainly make history and will likely seize the ring. I'd say they're breaking the 73-9 record unless their lack of a good center is exploited (and assuming that spot isn't filled by another all-star).
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers now have two great young players and so can probably hope to break 30 wins this season. They won't be in playoff shape, but it's a start.
San Antonio Spurs: Timmy D is gone, and so will the Spur's' relevancy soon. It sounds harsh and premature, but it's not too far-fetched. Manu will probably retire soon and Tony Parker is in his mid-30s and posted his worst season since 2002. They got Pau Gasol, who's got at most three years left in him. Aldridge and Kawhi.....OK they're good, but they can't carry the team. SAS may have one last hurrah this year but they'll then spend the next few years hovering around 6-8 seed or maybe even dropping out of the playoffs entirely.
OKC Thunder: Russ activates beast mode, Steven Adams shows us what he's really made of, Enes Kanter will recover from his slump, and OKC vs Golden State games this year will go down in sports history as the greatest of all time. 'Nuff said.
Utah Jazz: I also like the Jazz for some reason and I just want to say they'll make the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Either they finally get off the lottery train and start balling hard or they ride it for another year. I don't know what will happen, but I do know KAT will take another step towards superstardom.
Indiana Pacers: Now that they have Teague, I can really see the Pacers becoming ECF material. They'll certainly be an interesting match against the Cavs.
Philadelphia 76ers: It's hard to get much worse than ten wins, so the Sixers improving is a virtual guarantee. Who knows, they might even get to 8th seed now that Embiid's actually playing (PLEASE don't quote me on that).
Toronto Raptors: It sucks to lose dad, but I think JV will be able to fill in his position just fine. Very happy we got DeMar back, however expensive it was. With the experience we got this year, I can see us getting to first seed, back to the ECF, and maybe even beating the Cavs. Fat chance, I know, but I can dream.
The teams I didn't predict I didn't see a need to predict.
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