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NBA Free Agency Frenzy

Luxury suite seats overlook an NBA court

Fans will be clamoring for tickets to watch their favorite NBA teams following an exciting offseason

By Matt Lunde and Hal Schwimmer

 

NBA fans have seen almost as much action in the league during this offseason as they did during the regular season. Here are a few teams that have made a lot of noise thus far in free agency.

Golden State Warriors

We begin with the team that has and will continue to have the most buzz around the league for years to come: the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors officially awarded their Golden Boy, Steph Curry, with a whopping 5-year, $201M contract, making him the highest paid player in any of the four major U.S. sports leagues. With their leftover cash, the Dubs were able to retain most of their key rotation players, re-signing Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. The Warriors still might not be done in free agency, as rumors have surfaced that they are pursuing veteran swingman Nick Young as yet another perimeter threat.

Additionally, Finals MVP Kevin Durant inked a 2 year, $53M contract. While this is still an enormous sum, Durant actually took a $10M cut from the max he could have received, partly to help the team pursue other free agents. Take this as you will, but perhaps KD is setting a selfless precedent for his teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who are both set to become free agents in two years. Barring injury, it would appear that the Warriors core will remain intact for at least the next two years. What a terrifying prospect for the rest of the league.

Oklahoma City Thunder

In other news, the Western Conference continues to get stronger as the Eastern Conference watches in despair. Pacers All-Star forward Paul George was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Victor Oladipo and big man Domantas Sabonis. While George would normally have demanded a larger return, the Pacers had little leverage as most teams were afraid of George walking after his contract expires.

It will be an interesting experiment, as the Thunder now have two elite players in reigning league MVP Russell Westbrook and  his new running mate George. While it’s uncertain if this duo will remain together long term, at the very least this next season should be a fun one for Thunder fans.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Jeff Teague left the Pacers to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves, replacing starter Ricky Rubio, who was traded to Utah. The T-Wolves appear hungry as ever to end their NBA-high 13 season playoff drought, as they now boast a roster that includes Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony-Towns, Teague, and Andrew Wiggins. With a starting five that boasts a former all star (Teague), a current all star (Butler), and a future all star (Towns), this Wolves team should have enough talent to compete with anyone else in the league. Reaching the playoffs should be an expectation, at the very least, for Tom Thibodeau’s squad.

Houston Rockets

While the Warriors are looking to build the next great NBA dynasty, several teams have gone all in this summer to challenge the Golden State supremacy. Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets paid a heavy price when they traded for Clippers point guard Chris Paul, but the payoff may be well worth it. Paul is a future hall of famer, and one of the greatest pure point guards to ever play the game. He and James Harden are both basketball geniuses who make everyone around them better with their pin point passing and playmaking acumen. In addition to high volume scoring, Houston will also boast a significantly improved defense with Paul now hounding opposing guards at the point of attack.

Houston isn’t done making moves. While they lost most of their assets in the Paul trade, never count out Morey and his front office from finding a way to land a third star to the mix. A name being throw around currently is disgruntled Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. If any team in the west can take out the Warriors, it might be these Rockets.

Boston Celtics

In an offseason that has seen heavy westward migration, Gordon Hayward zigged when the rest of the league zagged. The All-Star forward decided to reunite with his former Butler head coach, Brad Stevens, and play for the Boston Celtics. GM Danny Ainge has finally assembled Boston’s next great big three. Hayward will play alongside all-star point guard Isaiah Thomas and former all-star center Al Horford.

The acquisition of Hayward solidified Boston’s status as the best team in the Eastern Conference that doesn’t have Lebron James. While the Celtics were overmatched by Cleveland in last year’s conference finals, Hayward projects to narrow the gap between the two teams. Boston has one of the most well-rounded rosters in the league now, and aims to return to the finals for the first time since 2010.

Philadelphia 76ers

Meanwhile in Philadelphia, 76ers fans are not just trusting the process; they’re loving it. Philly already has an uber-talented young core in Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid. The Sixers decided to surround their young big three with veteran talent as a means of expediting the growth of the team. The team brought in sharp shooting guard J.J. Reddick and hard working forward Amir Johnson. Reddick will provide much needed spacing to the offense, keeping floor defenses honest to create driving lanes for Fultz and Simmons. Johnson provides a physical presence down low and a hard-working veteran mentality the young players can learn from.

 

This whirlwind of an offseason has raised the bar for the level of excitement in the upcoming NBA season. You can see these familiar faces in new places from the comfort of a luxury suite. Book your suite today at www.suiteexperiencegroup.com. What are you waiting for?

Hal Schwimmer

Contact Hal


Posted in Sports News, Uncategorized

2016 NBA Draft Review

It seems like only yesterday that the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in an epic game 7 at Oracle Arena and now only a week later the 2016 Draft is already over. The NBA never stops even in the offseason when there aren’t any games. Here are some of the players and teams that stood out after the draft.

Oracle Arena

Oracle Arena, where the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

1. The Phoenix Suns absolutely aced this draft

With the 4th pick the Suns took Dragan Bender, a 7’ 1” Croatian power forward who reminds scouts of Kristaps Porzingis. Bender is extremely skilled and has the potential to be an excellent rim defender as he is long and mobile. Even though Bender was a great pick, their next move was the real gem of this Suns draft.

The Phoenix Suns fleeced the Sacramento Kings when they traded up to get the 8th pick. The Kings did not get even close to a fair return for the pick they gave up. For context here’s how NBA teams view the 13th and 28th pick. At the 13th pick NBA teams generally expect to get a player with the top level potential of an above average starter, but not an All-Star.   At the end of the first round, teams hope to get a solid rotational player off the bench. So let’s review this trade again.

Essentially the Kings traded a player who has the potential to be an All-Star in Marquesse Chriss, a guy who every other NBA team loved, for the chance at an above average starter, and a bench player plus a relatively unknown European shooting guard (Bogdan Bogdanovic). Chriss is a freaky athlete with a pretty jump shot, and a motor that runs extremely hot when he is engaged. If he reaches his full potential he will be one of the rare NBA bigs who can protect the rim and stretch the floor. He had the third most potential of any player in this draft, behind Ben Simmons and Jaylen Brown, but dropped to 8th because of concerns about his polish. At the 8th pick, Chriss was a tremendous value, and the Kings made a huge mistake trading him away

As an added bonus the Suns also picked up Tyler Ulis, who really should have been a first rounder, but fell because teams questioned if a 5’ 9” point guard could succeed in the NBA. Ulis should at the very least be a solid backup point guard behind Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe. In the long term this draft makes the Suns a lot more athletic and versatile, and while the Suns of next year may not contend for much yet, fans should be excited about the excellent group of youngsters the Suns drafted.

2. The Nuggets are going all in on 3-point shooting

With each of their picks the Nuggets took the best shooter available, and it worked out perfectly. They ended up with 4 of the top 5 shooters in the draft with excellent value at every pick. Jamal Murray at the 7th pick was a total steal because he shoots the lights out (he reportedly set the Boston Celtics record for 3-point shots made in a workout), and he is an elite competitor with a great feel for the game. He fell to 7th because of questions about his size and athleticism but he will be a perfect fit next to the super-athletic and long Emmanuel Mudiay.

At picks 15 and 19 the Nuggets took Spaniard Juan Hernangomez and Florida State Seminole Malik Beasley. Hernangomez is an interesting pick because he really blossomed this year in Spain, and looks like he could become one of the playmaking stretch 4’s that NBA GM’s are obsessing over. He will be a great fit next to either Jusuf Nurkic or Nikola Jokic, and is a strong compliment to Kenneth Faried if the Nuggets ever want to go small. I question the Beasley pick a bit is because the Nuggets already have a similar guard in Gary Harris who has shown some really nice potential. On the other hand, if a team can get a guy with Beasley’s potential at #19 they have to take a shot at him. Beasley actually probably would have gone higher in this draft had he not fractured his foot, which prevented him from working out for teams. The former Seminole is an electric athlete and lights out shooter, and should be really effective on a Nuggets team that will likely fast break quite a bit.

With their final pick the Nuggets took 6’ 11” French sharpshooter Petr Cornelie, who provides the team with a really interesting combination of length and shooting. This draft and the development of their young talent should push the Nuggets to be a contender for the 6th through 8th seeds in the West. Their starting lineup will probably have Emmanuel Mudiay at the 1, Jamal Murray at the 2, Danilo Gallinari at the 3, Kenneth Faried at the 4 and Nikola Jokic at the 5 spot. The Nuggets will feature a tremendous amount of shooting and athleticism on the floor at all times, which will allow them to compete with the many high-talent teams out west.

3. Jaylen Brown

Celtics fans hated this pick, but the more I think about it the more I begin to love it. Many experts thought that the Celtics should have taken a guard; either Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn, but they smartly swung for the fences. Brown has as much potential as Ben Simmons because of his rare athleticism, which we really have not seen from a player coming into the NBA since LeBron James. He comes with a ready-made NBA body at a long 6” 7’ and a chiseled 230 pounds. The Georgia native can jump with anyone in the league, and it would not surprise me if he had an over 40 inch vertical leap. The attribute that really separates him athletically is he speed and quickness. Brown has unreal speed and agility for a man his size, which is reminiscent of a young LeBron James and could translate into him becoming an elite defender.

A lot of scouts complained about Jaylen’s college production, but in reality he doesn’t fit as well in the college game as he does in the NBA. In the pros, Brown will be free to constantly attack the basket in a much more open and spaced NBA game. Also from the reports and videos I have seen Brown has made a mechanical adjustment to his jump shot, which has corrected a lot of his prior shooting issues (mainly consistency in the lower body), so look for him to have a vastly improved catch and shoot game.

Overall if Brown develops to his full potential the Celtics will be a scary team in the East who will have the talent and depth to compete with the Cavaliers and Raptors at the top of the East. At the very least Jaylen Brown makes the 2016-17 iteration of the Celtics much more dynamic and exciting than they were in the last year.

Connor Sprague

Contact Connor


Posted in Uncategorized