We did this after the first wave of agreements, but free agency has been busy enough since then to warrant another round of thoughts on subjects ranging from the new-look Los Angeles Lakers to Seth Curry joining the Portland Trail Blazers' army of small guards.
Twenty more takes about the offseason so far:
1. This isn't the first time I've referenced this David Griffin quote, but I keep thinking about what he said to Zach Lowe when LeBron James was doing absolutely everything Cavs team without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in the 2015 Finals: "We have very clear role delineation with this team, and I've learned a lot about that. LeBron needs to have the ball so much for you to be as good as you can be, and you need to be very selective about the guys who get to have it when he doesn't." The Lakers are, uh, not being selective about that. In Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson, they are employing three playmakers who do not space the floor when they are off the ball. Brandon Ingram needs touches, too, and Kyle Kuzma does not think of himself as only a spot-up shooter. I buy the idea that James doesn't want to have to carry an offense the way he did last season in Cleveland, but this seems extreme. While Luke Walton's coaching staff was blessed with this opportunity to work with LeBron, it will be a challenge to make these pieces fit.
2. After the DeMarcus Cousins news broke, Mark Deeks of GiveMeSport tweeted about the awkwardness of the Golden State Warriors calling Cousins to offer him a massively below-market deal. The reality, according to Cousins, is that they didn't even need to call him: He placed an 8 a.m. call to general manager Bob Myers himself. That detail probably drives fans of other teams crazy, but hey, it might be the best move the big man has ever made. With the Warriors, he will be a part of something special and there will be little pressure on him to be his old, dominant coming off his Achilles injury. When he returns to the court, if he can just rebound well, deter teams from switching and not cause any trouble in the locker room, this will be a success.
3. The Pelicans essentially replaced Cousins with Julius Randle. I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, you can do a lot worse than a three-man rotation of Anthony Davis, Nikola Mirotic and Randle in the frontcourt. On the other, is Randle really an ideal partner for Davis? He is tough to stop when he has a head of steam, but he is a poor jump shooter, needs the ball in his hands and is inconsistent at best on defense. Davis' presence can mask some of his weaknesses, but Davis is the kind of player who can mask almost anybody's weaknesses -- shouldn't the front office be trying to find players who complement the franchise player? (Wow, this came out way more negative than I intended. Randle will probably do fine there; I am just not sure that he will make New Orleans much better.)
4. The Pelicans also essentially replaced Rondo with Elfrid Payton. This is Payton's chance. He's on his hometown team, with a playoff-caliber roster, and he just has to be a floor general and play good defense. The latter has been an issue for him, despite his reputation as a stopper coming out of college and some flashes in his rookie season, but maybe being around Jrue Holiday will be good for him. As skeptical as I've been about Payton being a starting point guard in the NBA, he has talent and is now in a good situaiton.
5. How can Houston replace Trevor Ariza? There aren't a lot of options on the free-agent market, though I like the idea of picking up a guy like Treveon Graham or Torrey Craig and trying to develop him into a reliable 3-and-D guy. On the trade market, one option is going after Kent Bazemore, who the Rockets recruited two summers ago -- I wonder if Ryan Anderson and a first-round pick would be enough for Atlanta to do the deal. I'd also check in with the Knicks about Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas if I was Houston.
6. Tyreke Evans and Victor Oladipo on the same team is interesting because Oladipo is basically an All-NBA version of Evans. If Evans hadn't improved his 3-point shooting, this wouldn't work, but they're both good enough shooters now that there shouldn't be problems. It's still probably logical to bring Evans off the bench, though. (Sidenote: Indiana replaced Stephenson with Evans and replaced Glenn Robinson III with Doug McDermott. These aren't franchise-changing moves, but the Pacers will be deeper and better next season.)
7. Convincing JJ Redick to take another one-year deal was a clear victory for the Sixers. Using their remaining cap space to absorb the last year of Wilson Chandler's contract is interesting, and not only because they got another second-round pick to throw into a potential Kawhi Leonard deal. They could have potentially used that cap space to sign two free agents; now all they have available outside of minimum contracts is the $4.4 million room exception (unless they use the stretch provision on Jerryd Bayless).That exception probably needs to be used on a backup big man -- perhaps 2018 Hustle Award winner Amir Johnson will return.
8. The Wolves replaced Nemanja Bjelica with Anthony Tolliver, a dependable veteran who everybody loves having around. Bjelica is a younger and more versatile player, but if Minnesota wasn't going to bring him back, it desperately needed a floor spacer. Tolliver shot 43.6 percent from 3-point range last season, and he might be able to make the locker room a more harmonious place, too. (This is apparently needed.)
9. Was anyone else surprised that Nerlens Noel chose the Thunder instead of a team that needed a starting center? If he has his head on straight, he can be one of the best reserve bigs in the league. My only qualm with this is that it means Jerami Grant will pretty much never play center anymore.
10. While agreeing to re-sign with the Magic was the most boring outcome for Aaron Gordon, their front office was smart to keep him. Not sure how things will work out with Gordon, Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac sharing the frontcourt, but it would have hurt to see him blossom into an all-around star elsewhere, Oladipo-style.
11. Speaking of the Magic, why shouldn't they sign Isaiah Thomas? On a one-year deal, he shouldn't be too expensive, and they need someone who can generate offense. This must happen.
12. It's hard to imagine Avery Bradley getting a better deal than the two-year, $25 contract he agreed to with the Clippers. My favorite part about this is the idea of him and Patrick Beverley hounding opposing backcourts. Here's a quote from Austin Rivers back in February that I couldn't fit in the story I was working on: "There's a lot of good defenders, but as far as a guy like Avery? I honestly think it's only like two three guys in the league that have that. And [the Clippers] have two of them." Of course, Beverley was injured at the time and Bradley got injured shortly thereafter, so they have yet to actually play together.
13. The Clippers also added Mike Scott, and that will help their spacing. If they re-sign Montrezl Harrell, they are my leading candidate for the Fun Team That Probably Won't Make The Playoffs award. Please stay healthy this time, Danilo Gallinari.
14. Related: is ANYONE going to tank in the West? The Spurs appear to want to be good even if they trade Leonard. The Suns wouldn't have signed Ariza if they weren't aiming for respectability. The Kings look like the worst of the bunch, but they have no incentive to lose because they don't have their first-round pick. As cool as I think the Clippers could be, they might have been better off being bad.
15. Congratulations to Derrick Favors for working out a way to get $18 million next year despite an awful, team-friendly market. The Jazz are going to win a ton of games if they stay healthy for once.
16. One contract that genuinely shocked me: Seth Curry getting only $5.6 million over two seasons with the Blazers. That's a steal. He will do everything Terry Stotts wants from his guards on offense.
17. Still waiting on Portland, Toronto, and Washington to do something bold. Who wants to trade for Kevin Love? How badly do the Hornets want to move Kemba Walker? Can the Heat trade a bunch of guys for a bigger name? Trade season isn't all about Leonard, and it feels too quiet right now.
18. I have no idea what to think about Michael Carter-Williams going to Houston. Is he a third point guard who will never play unless one of James Harden and Chris Paul are injured? Do the Rockets see him as a wing? If he is a wing, how is he supposed to help them in a system where the wings mostly stand around and space the floor? This is pretty much the last team I expected to want Carter-Williams.
19. Are we sure Tony Parker is going to be a Spur for life? He didn't guarantee anything at the end of the season. Just throwing that out there.
20. Fun fact: Now that Mario Hezonja is going to the Knicks, if the Nets re-sign Jahlil Okafor, five out of the first seven picks in the 2015 NBA Draft will be playing in New York City. Pretty weird!
