Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Every year it catches me by surprise, the first day of free agency is always nuts. This year was no different, and it all started with Kevin Durant asking out. It sent shockwaves through the league and it was a trigger point for some other teams to start blowing up their current rosters. Obviously other teams are taking advantage of it, but the cost of doing business this season seems really high. In this week’s show we take a closer look at 3 teams that are looking to dump their biggest stars, and we also focus on some of the better moves that have been made over the last week. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. KD dropped a bomb on the NBA Free Agency at the start of the first day, when he asked the Brooklyn Nets to be traded away. Nobody really knew how KD was feeling, especially after the Nets were struggling with Kyrie to get an extension organised. When Kyrie finally opted in to his player option, the writing was on the wall. This meant that their negotiations had failed and Kyrie was already looking elsewhere, he was even told by the front office to try and arrange a sign-and-trade with other teams but there were no buyers for Kyrie. It seems now that that was the last drop for KD, who apparently has been mad at his front office from before the Playoffs.
Looking at their first round series against the Boston Celtics, this Nets team was not going to be able to beat them. Yes, all four of those games were close and surely, with a bit more luck, the Nets could have won some of those games, but they didn’t play like a team that has everything figured out and everyone is happy. Now, news is coming out that KD was already upset and the sweep only made things worse. He completely lost faith in the front office when they couldn’t come to an agreement with Kyrie for his contract extension. So, he asked out and has mentioned he would ideally go to Miami or Phoenix. The beautiful part for us, the fans and the media is that he is still under contract and the Nets can technically trade him anywhere they like. Whoever can put the best package on the table is most likely to get KD.
That has opened up a whole heap of teams that could sign KD. Thinking about what the Nets want to do, if they lose both Kyrie and KD, my preference would be to make a trade with OKC. You can throw in SGA and some other guys to make the contracts work and a buttload of picks. The idea of KD going back to the Thunder is also very sentimental and would be a storybook ending to an eventful career. He left OKC because he thought he couldn’t win, went to the Warriors to win alongside Curry, left the Warriors because he wanted to win on his own. Tried to do it in Brooklyn alongside one of his closest friends but that didn’t work out so he returns to his old stomping ground and ends up winning another title. How amazing would that be? And for those of you who would accuse him for copying LeBron, who returned to Cleveland and won a title, there is nothing more special than winning a title with the franchise that has drafted you.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz. To quote Brian Windhorst: “What is going on in Utah?” This is the biggest murder mystery of the last 10 years. It started when they traded away Royce O’Neale. That was the writing on the wall. Even though he didn’t play a great season, O’Neale is one of the core players around Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. And they didn’t get a player in return, they just got a pick in next years’ draft. Then, the big news dropped. They traded away Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves for 4 current players, one of the Wolves newly drafted players and 4 future first round picks. A massive haul, but not really anything in there that will help Donovan Mitchell win now.
That brings up the question whether or not Mitchell himself will be traded too? I love the comparison Windhorst brought up, obviously Danny Ainge is calling the shots in Utah right now, and he has done this before. When they hired Brad Stevens in Boston, a young, new coach, they traded away Pierce and Garnett in that same offseason and started a fresh rebuild. Now, Ainge has signed a young, new coach in Will Hardy. Rudy Gobert has already been traded, it is not a far stretch to believe that Mitchell will follow him out the door soon. To start a rebuild around one of your star players, you sort of need them to sign off on that and Mitchell hasn’t been very happy in Salt Lake City recently, even when they were winning, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he asks Ainge himself to be traded.
It will be interesting to see what will happen in Utah over the next few weeks. When Quin Snyder left, questions were asked what would happen to the roster, we now have some answers. Without Rudy, this team is nothing defensively. Adding Patrick Beverley is not going to change that. And they don’t have enough offensive firepower to make up for that lack of defence, we saw that in the Playoffs. So, if the Jazz want to be of some kind of importance next season, they need to flip these picks into some quality players and soon, otherwise, flip Mitchell in some more draft stock and compete with Houston and OKC for that bottom spot next year.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Dejounte Murray and the San Antonio Spurs. Murray was one of the best players on the Spurs roster and they traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari, 3 first round picks and a swap. They waived Gallinari almost immediately so only the picks remain. This was mind-boggling. Is this team, that has refused to tank for all these years, starting a complete rebuild in Pop’s final years as head coach? Is the 73-year old, record-holding coach really going to lose the majority of his games in what could well be his last season of his career? I don’t believe it, I don’t want to believe it. Yes, I agree that the Spurs didn’t have a good enough roster in the last few years to even compete for the Playoffs. But once they pulled the plug on Aldridge and DeRozan, why didn’t they start the rebuilding process then? Instead, they let it drag on for a year. You would have imagined that Popovich would have announced his retirement at the end of the season, so the Spurs can start fresh but no, he’s still there. Maybe he wants to lead this rebuild himself? I don’t know.
Anyway, the other side of the trade is pretty interesting. Murray, who is pretty good on both ends of the court, is going to be playing alongside one of the biggest offensive talents in the NBA, Trae Young. Together, these guys can be a lethal backcourt that will be able to compete with pretty much any other team in the NBA. But the Hawks need more than just Murray. At the start of last season, it seemed like they had a loaded roster and were going to compete for top spot in the Eastern Conference but it didn’t work out. Pretty much on every position, they fell short and barely made it into the Playoffs. They didn’t stand a chance against Miami in the first round. So upgrades were needed, and with Murray the first move is a good one. We just need to wait and see what else Hawks President Travis Schlenk can pull out of his hat.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week are the best moves in the Eastern Conference. Let’s start in Boston. The Celtics have added Malcom Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari to their roster without having to give up too much, Theiss and Nesmith being the biggest names. They were clearly in need of some pieces that can contribute during the Playoffs and Brogdon and Gallinari are just that. Then we’re moving to Cleveland, they haven’t made too many moves but resigning Darius Garland on a max and bringing back Ricky Rubio and adding Robin Lopez are 3 solid moves their fans can be proud of. The Cavs are building towards something great and we’ll see the fruits of that really soon.
Another team that is making some good moves are the Philadelphia 76ers. Or at least, they’ve made 1 really good move with some others around it. Convincing Harden to sign for less to open up more cap space is really the best thing that could happen for Philly. For now, it allows them to bring back pieces Harden was successful with in Houston, with PJ Tucker and Danuel House. They had already brought in De’Anthony Melton, who can be a fantastic shooter off the bench. If Embiid is happy to play Clint Capela, this team could well make it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals this year. Haha, no, I’m joking. Daryl Morey is trying hard to make this roster competitive and I think they will be.
Where there are winners, there are some losers. Let’s start with the Knicks. Even though I think that Jalen Brunson is a good player and a great addition to the roster, he is an overpay. Granted, the Knicks need to start somewhere, but without any other moves, they’ll be fighting for a Play-In spot again next season. The Wizards aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, even though Bradley Beal has signed his max contract. Or is it in spite of? The Hornets look like they’re falling apart with some questionable coaching changes and potentially losing one of their best players in Miles Bridges. Other teams have made smaller moves or have yet to make any and might be holding off until the Kevin Durant situation becomes a bit clearer, I'm looking mainly at Miami here.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week are the best moves in the Western Conference. The biggest winner in the whole of the NBA has to be Zion Williamson. After playing only 85 games in his first 3 years in the league, he has signed a max deal this week, which will pay him 230 million dollars. That’s not a bad day at the office. And he can return to a solid roster that has performed really well towards the end of last season and potentially has one of the better trade packages for Kevin Durant. Talk about being spoiled! Another mover in the West is the Minnesota Timberwolves, adding Rudy Gobert to their roster. Not sure whether I’d class them as a winner or loser right now, we’d have to see how well this move turns out. If they didn’t have to send half their roster and 100 picks to Utah in return, this would have been a winner for sure, but again the Timberwolves overpay in what they class a good trade.
The Jazz probably made a good move shipping Gobert off, but we have to wait and see what happens with Donovan Mitchell. In the meantime, Denver and Portland are both building back better around their superstars. Denver re-signed Jokic to a monster-deal and brought in Bruce Brown. When Jamal Murray and MPJ return, this team will be stronger than ever. And Dame has been surrounded by Jerami Grant and Gary Payton II, while Nurkic and Simons return. Not quite a Playoff giant yet, but guaranteed to be better than last year. Another team that will be better than last year are the Sacramento Kings. Especially after adding Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to an already decent looking roster.
Among the teams that have struggled to sign players are, surprisingly, the reigning champions, Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have had to say goodbye to GPII, Beljica and Otto Porter Jr. Not the biggest names, but these were solid bench players throughout the whole playoffs. Obviously, the Lakers are struggling to add players as long as the Westbrook-contract is restricting their financial capabilities. Dallas is another team that I have my doubts on. Yes, they have been able to sign some guys, but they’ve not been able to fill the hole yet that Brunson has left. One final mention here and that’s the LA Clippers. Not that John Wall is a major acquisition, I think he will do more harm than good, but just having Kawhi and PG return for a full season will send some shivers throughout the league.
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!
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