Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors. Golden State Warriors, gracious in defeat. Let’s now talk about AD, Kyrie, and Zion.
will the Golden State make the Playoffs next year? Klay and Durant will be our for a year and they basically won't have $$$ flexibility to add support for Curry.
You're right that the team's flexibility to build a competitive team is going to be challenged if Klay is given the max contract & KD decides to keep his 2nd year option. Lacob doesn't mind pay the luxury tax as long as his team wins championships but next year looks tough for the Dubs. Not a good start for the new arena. Maybe that's the Oracle curse for leaving it. It's going to be an interesting off-season indeed!!
AD will play for the Lakers with everyone, except LeBron, getting traded, including the kitchen sink. Kyrie and PG will go to Brooklyn, and New York will be left out once again. Kawhi will stay with the Raptors and gun for a second championship, but Giannis and Co. will most likely turn around in 2019-20 to rep the East. And like @Jess said, the Lakers will be 2020 champs. When did predictions ever become true anyway?
Yeah, I'd love to see a Bucks vs. Lakers NBA Finals. One last dance for the King but I hope the Bucks win it all. Giannis is such a transcendent superstar and I'd love to see him achieve his full potential with the chip in tow.
... and it'd be against their former head coach. I too wanted Giannis to make it to the finals, but he's still too raw as a leader of a championship contender. He needs to have a go-to-move to be consistent. Also, I didn't want the Bucks to make it to the finals and win a championship a year after they fired JKidd. Wag muna. Hahahahaha. Bucks need to find another superstar to team up with Giannis if they want to get over the hump. The Raptors pulled the trigger by trading DeRozan. Maybe the Bucks should trade Middleton for that superstar. And yeah... Jason Kidd being an assistant coach to the Lakers AND Lebron James is going to be a challenge for this basketball fan.
Congrats Raptors Prediction: if Kawhi stays in Toronto they will be in the finals again and might win back to back. Guys like Siakam, Vanvleet and Lowry will even get better as players and undeniably their chemistry stronger together.
Kawhi will most likely sign a 2-year contract which will have a player's option in the 2nd year. This gives him a chance to do a championship repeat while keeping his options open to move to a better team. The Dubs will have 2-3 average years, at best. Klay & KD are out all of next year but the team carries the max contract for Klay or max contract or 2nd year option of 31.5 mil for KD. This limits the Dubs from getting new players. Iggy & Livingston may retire & most of the rest of the players are free agents. Damien Jones & Jacob Evans are the only ones signed for next year. The silver lining is that it allows them to draft some good players during this 2-3 years.
^I think D. Green is also eligible for a supermax... I don't think he'll accept anything lower than max. 4 max players, and 2 of them out for a year... If I were handling the Rockets... I'll go all in
i think it's just right....Ingram's too ISO, wish we could have kept Ball but he is one of the centerpiece of the trade, 3 first round draft picks would be at the lower part of the draft (i hope). next question is, who's next coming in LA? i'm thinking, melo might follow for a minimum or midlevel, then kyrie or kemba i hope.
I was kind of expecting they'd include Kuzma as well, due to the posturing NO has made prior to the trade deadline. But heck, LA's roster looks barren as f#@% right now.
Did the finals just ended 2 days ago? The wheels are now turning! Didnt think AD would be traded so soon but its done. Lakers gave A LOT but they kept Kuzma. They need a good PG and they seem to be targetting Kemba. Lakers already looking to be favorites next year
That’s what everybody had been saying when Lebron first came to the Lakers with a team composed of young upstart players (Ball, Ingram, Kuzma). Now with Davis on board, everybody is saying the Lakers are going to make it big and win the NBA, even without shooting a basket yet. I have no doubt LA will make a bigger stride this year. They’ll be hungry and bloody eager to start fresh. With a battered Warriors team, the Lakers will have to contend with Houston and Denver for the right to rep the West. Out East, NBA champs Toronto, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia will challenge them whichever comes out on top. Boston is a fluke, until Irving opts out then expect Brooklyn to gain ground. The bigger question is: will Zion be as dominating as a young Shaq on his first year?
Are the GSW on a path downhill from here ? Age. Injuries & Salary Cap shadows them now.. Lacob said they were Lightyears ahead.. Blackhole awaits them moving forward..
