Post by jupee on Sept 15, 2023 8:34:21 GMT -6
Drafts and free-agency are the time which really forms the upcoming season. GMs making moves, players changing organizations results in some teams increasing their chances to win the title, while other – destined to go fishing early. Let me break down few off-season moves that I liked the most.
Blazers trade down to draft Hal Greer
It’s actually not about the player they have picked, but the way they used the draft lottery success to get the most out of it. So the Trail Blazers already had their C/PF set (Milicic and Julius Randle) and needed to fill perimeter positions. This draft had number of similar talent players to offer. Recognising this situation, Michael collected two future first round picks, 500 GM cash and talented two-way guard Kerry Kittles before making his draft pick - Hal Greer. And, to be honest, Hal would have been good pick even at #1.
Suns draft Dennis Rodman at #7
Dennis could have been Top 5 pick, but the reason I like this most - Rodman is great addition to bigs they had at the moment, Porzingis and Bosh. Both of them are more scorers than grit and grind players, so adding defensive monster / rebounding machine from SE Oklahoma State definitely made Phoenix roster more complete.
Hornets draft SG Nate McMillan with pick #20
With late first round pick, Hornets got themselves someone who can develop into John Lucas/Slick Watts/Foots Walker type of PG, who controls team and provides though defence. Nate does not have enough potential to become an all-star, but important piece of play-off team? For sure. Therefore if I made a mock draft prior to it, I’d definitely had McMillan higher than 20th.
I am not saying that other picks were bad, in fact, I believe most of them were placed well given the time of the pick. Just those three really stood out for me. But now let’s move to Free Agency. Here I will not single-out individual signings, but rather be looking at overall performance, emphasizing not only shift of power but also price/value rate.
Nuggets brings in Joel Embiid and Joe Smith
… and Sam Lacey on minimum deal. As of today, Nuggets have frontcourt equally good, if not better, than last season’s Western champions Kings. They also signed Randy Foye on MLE, however, I am not the biggest fan of the guy who led the league in turnovers, committing almost 5 per game. It was a 2nd season in a row with over 4 TO average, therefore I hope that Kirk Hinrich will remain the main floor general. Of course, Kirk had some problems with turnovers too, as he was 7th in the league in this index. So please, do not play Foye and Hinrich at the same time – what will be the point of premium bigs, if the ball would keep being sent out of bounds? Anyways, tanking in Denver is over.
Rockets adds scoring
Bryant Reeves is definitely the most hyped name here, however Rudy Gay also deserves more minutes than he had in Suns last year. Two more scorers (with decent defense) acquired by Rockets are combo guard Grant Riller and forward Donny Marshall (16 PPG+7 RPG last seasons in Orlando). What makes it a good deal, three last mentioned players combined will receive salary of a bit more than 4,5 M – so the value of one MLE. Houston used situation of players who were too optimistic in the beginning and had to settle for leftovers eventually.
Sonics brings back Loren Meyer and acquire Paul Westphal
Last season I have already mentioned Meyer as one the most efficient players under minimum contract. For this season, Sonics repeat the same deal! Loren had a bit more profitable offers during FA, but waited for more and ended up going back so Seattle – which is great news for Sonics fans. They are also about to see why Paul Westphal was so valued in Utah – additional playmaker on the court, with double-digit scoring, and, most importantly, one of the toughest perimeter defenders in the league.
What Sonics did during FA went under the radar, but they already have all their scoring from Bargnani and Giannis, so it’s all about collecting solid role players around them – and this is who Meyer and Westphal are.
Honorably mentions to Suns and Trail Blazers. Phoenix did make quite a few perfect last-day grabs, but I have questions if they are going to be able to fully exploit it. No doubt Portland improved their team significantly, but maybe did overpay in few cases.
Blazers trade down to draft Hal Greer
It’s actually not about the player they have picked, but the way they used the draft lottery success to get the most out of it. So the Trail Blazers already had their C/PF set (Milicic and Julius Randle) and needed to fill perimeter positions. This draft had number of similar talent players to offer. Recognising this situation, Michael collected two future first round picks, 500 GM cash and talented two-way guard Kerry Kittles before making his draft pick - Hal Greer. And, to be honest, Hal would have been good pick even at #1.
Suns draft Dennis Rodman at #7
Dennis could have been Top 5 pick, but the reason I like this most - Rodman is great addition to bigs they had at the moment, Porzingis and Bosh. Both of them are more scorers than grit and grind players, so adding defensive monster / rebounding machine from SE Oklahoma State definitely made Phoenix roster more complete.
Hornets draft SG Nate McMillan with pick #20
With late first round pick, Hornets got themselves someone who can develop into John Lucas/Slick Watts/Foots Walker type of PG, who controls team and provides though defence. Nate does not have enough potential to become an all-star, but important piece of play-off team? For sure. Therefore if I made a mock draft prior to it, I’d definitely had McMillan higher than 20th.
I am not saying that other picks were bad, in fact, I believe most of them were placed well given the time of the pick. Just those three really stood out for me. But now let’s move to Free Agency. Here I will not single-out individual signings, but rather be looking at overall performance, emphasizing not only shift of power but also price/value rate.
Nuggets brings in Joel Embiid and Joe Smith
… and Sam Lacey on minimum deal. As of today, Nuggets have frontcourt equally good, if not better, than last season’s Western champions Kings. They also signed Randy Foye on MLE, however, I am not the biggest fan of the guy who led the league in turnovers, committing almost 5 per game. It was a 2nd season in a row with over 4 TO average, therefore I hope that Kirk Hinrich will remain the main floor general. Of course, Kirk had some problems with turnovers too, as he was 7th in the league in this index. So please, do not play Foye and Hinrich at the same time – what will be the point of premium bigs, if the ball would keep being sent out of bounds? Anyways, tanking in Denver is over.
Rockets adds scoring
Bryant Reeves is definitely the most hyped name here, however Rudy Gay also deserves more minutes than he had in Suns last year. Two more scorers (with decent defense) acquired by Rockets are combo guard Grant Riller and forward Donny Marshall (16 PPG+7 RPG last seasons in Orlando). What makes it a good deal, three last mentioned players combined will receive salary of a bit more than 4,5 M – so the value of one MLE. Houston used situation of players who were too optimistic in the beginning and had to settle for leftovers eventually.
Sonics brings back Loren Meyer and acquire Paul Westphal
Last season I have already mentioned Meyer as one the most efficient players under minimum contract. For this season, Sonics repeat the same deal! Loren had a bit more profitable offers during FA, but waited for more and ended up going back so Seattle – which is great news for Sonics fans. They are also about to see why Paul Westphal was so valued in Utah – additional playmaker on the court, with double-digit scoring, and, most importantly, one of the toughest perimeter defenders in the league.
What Sonics did during FA went under the radar, but they already have all their scoring from Bargnani and Giannis, so it’s all about collecting solid role players around them – and this is who Meyer and Westphal are.
Honorably mentions to Suns and Trail Blazers. Phoenix did make quite a few perfect last-day grabs, but I have questions if they are going to be able to fully exploit it. No doubt Portland improved their team significantly, but maybe did overpay in few cases.