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Staples Center: The new Mecca of the NBA?

After a week of constantly checking social media pages for Kawhi Leonard rumors, the 2019 Finals MVP finally came to a decision at the eleventh hour signing with the LA Clippers.

Leonard’s decision could have ultimately been the cause of the massive earthquake that hit LA late last night, but he took just the right amount of time to handicap the Lakers from acquiring another big name free agent in July and ultimately did the same to Toronto.

Now, I spoke with one of my good friends yesterday on the phone and we both thought that the Claw had another trick up his sleeve. I’m not saying that we knew it was the Clippers, but with the way the last three NBA summers have gone, you couldn’t really assume anything. Leonard put an end to two super teams and his personality just wouldn’t let him join an already assembled team. His heart definitely wanted to be back in LA, and for his childhood team the Lakers, but with LeBron James and Anthony Davis there, it made his decision a lot more challenging. He wanted to play at home, but only if he could lure another big name with him to help compete for multiple titles.

Insert Paul George here.

Leonard to the Clips didn’t necessarily shock the league, but it was the fashion in which the inferior LA franchise acquired him. After snubbing the Lakers in back to back summer’s, PG quietly demanded a trade from the Thunder to the Clippers within the last few days. It was the one rumor that was never leaked and that nobody saw coming. The same George that got his own holiday in Oklahoma City after re-signed in 2018 (July 8), just slapped Russell Westbrook and the entire state in the face in one night. THIS move was what sent shock waves across LA and Twitter.

I can’t really blame PG for the demand, but it was just so out of the blue. Well, to a degree. I believe that if Kawhi was somehow traded to the Lakers last July, then George would have teamed up with him and LeBron and signed in LA, not in OKC. But when the Spurs took weeks to move their all-star forward, PG decided he would just re-sign and run it back in 2018-19.

All in all, Leonard’s decision was hanging in the balance of acquiring another play maker, one of who he wanted to join forces with in 2018, and it just took a week to get it done. In the process, and maybe unintentionally, he put his former team and new cross-town rival in a tough spot after both franchises waited for Leonard to decide.

I wrote about this earlier this summer, but I figured one superstar was going to sign with the Clippers. I just thought it should have been Kevin Durant (pre-Achilles injury). However, after his injury I felt that the Knicks should have been his main focus, not Brooklyn. That’s neither here nor there now, but my thought process was for the red, white and blue to acquire Durant and then another notable free-agent. It would have been two of the best players in the game (LBJ and KD) competing for the LA throne, as well as bragging rights for best player in the game today. Now that would have been must-see TV and ratings would have been through the roof.

Fast forward to this morning and the same type of scenario has somewhat played out. Over the past month we saw KD surging towards dethroning James as the best NBA player in today’s game, but then an Achilles injury put a halt to that argument for at least another year. Now, we very well could have the same type of debate that virtually came out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere, but…yeah, kind of nowhere.

Kawhi missed nearly the entire 2017-18 season with a thigh injury and his return was unknown. Would he be the same player he was in 2016? Was he purposely sitting out? Is he refusing to play so that he gets dealt to the Lakers? The list went on and on, but these were all questions swirling around the two-time Finals MVP.

Within one season up north, the former San Diego State alum put every negative rumor to bed en route to one of the best postseason runs in the past several decades. Leonard’s run in Toronto and his championship level play elevated him into the newly discovered debate – who actually is the best player on the planet? And the list now focuses around the Claw and the King, pushing KD out until he returns.

Forming a super team doesn’t always mean consistent titles (look at Heat 2010-14 & Warriors 2016-18) as injuries and poor play can derail any organization, but Leonard to the Lakers would have assembled the strongest Big 3 of all time. Now, would they have won this year? We will never know, but the 2019 Raptors proved that you can take down a dynasty by committee and depth at the bench position, which is something the purple and gold would have lacked.

The West in the span of one week has gotten even stronger with all of the offseason moves, but it was the city of LA that really lucked out. Although it isn’t the ideal scenario with Durant and LeBron competing for the city, the AD/Lebron versus PG/Kawhi duel will be extremely entertaining this fall.

Kawhi choosing the Clippers came down to three things. Landing a long-term maximum contract in his hometown, becoming the main guy on his OWN team, and luring another superstar along with him that plays both ends of the floor. In the process, the move makes even more sense because he will be playing under an elite coach in Doc Rivers.

Every team that Kawhi has played on has had unbelievable coaching, which can sometimes be an overlooked position in today’s game. Greg Popovich, arguably a top-5 coach of all time, developed Leonard’s game and made him play both ends of the court. Nick Nurse became Nick Nurse without anybody other than the Raptors knowing his game managing skills, and helped further Leonard’s career after a brutal injury via the load management tactic. And now, Kawhi gets Rivers at the helm to help push his career to the Hall of Fame level in just his ninth season in the league.

Leonard signing with the Clippers further creates parity across the entire NBA and for the first time in five years nobody knows who will represent the West in the Finals next June. A dozen teams have at least two 1st Team through 3rd Team All-Star caliber players, along with role players that can compete for the next few seasons.

I truly believe that both George and Kawhi did not want to play with James due to all of the drama and backlash that comes with playing alongside the King. The Clippers in the span of a week gave the two all-star talents an alley to return home to LA, without being overshadowed by LeBron, and to compete for what every NBA player wants in today’s game – the Larry O’ Brien.

With the Knicks missing out on the biggest free-agent class yet again, Madison Square Garden is no longer the Mecca of the NBA universe . LA’s Staples Center has hijacked the nickname altogether and the league now runs through Southern California. The hottest ticket in the game will shift out West as both the Clippers and Lakers have the greatest title odds in 2019-20.

Even though everybody complains about how the NBA is run by the players, it is truly the most fascinating sport in the world today. Super teams or not, the ratings will continue to rise and the game will continue to grow. But for now, the city of Los Angeles is on top of the basketball world.

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Do the New York Knicks make sense for KD?

An early season slump followed by a mid-game feud with teammates back in November allowed for rumors to swirl about the future of Kevin Durant.

Was this the beginning of the end of a three-year era for KD in Oakland or was it just white noise for analysts to discuss over coffee in the morning? For many, it appeared to be a legitimate debate, but for some it was just a small hurdle for the two-time reigning Finals MVP to get over.

The way I saw it (and see it currently) was a team in the middle of a slump trying to figure out what the hell was going on. How could the W’s currently be taking L’s to teams far inferior than them, and by double digits for that matter?

It all stems from the original roster from pre-KD. The team that won an NBA record 73 games in 2016 and fell one win shy of claiming back-to-back titles after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team that had Stephen Curry become the first unanimous MVP, and the team that won the Bay its first championship in over 40 years.

Here is where things get dicey when it comes to the 2019 state of the team.

Draymond Green was pivotal in both runs leading to the Finals and was somewhat of the mastermind behind convincing KD to sign with Golden State. His phone call in the parking lot after the Game 7 loss in which he begged OKC’s soon-to-be free-agent to join the historic Warriors was just the beginning. It was the trip to the Hampton’s where the other starters lured Durant to the team and shocked the NBA world for the next three seasons.

With or without Durant on the Warriors, Green has always been scrutinized for his behavior on the court. Accumulating technical after technical, and flirting with suspensions throughout the playoffs and the regular season has overshadowed just how important he is to this team. Before 2017, nobody other than Steve Kerr attempted to mitigate his anger issues. Now, well let’s just say Durant wasn’t shy about stepping out of his own lane.

When a ship is on the straight and narrow out at sea nobody tends to panic. But when a strong wind rips through the mainsail, then everybody aboard must help man the sail. For the first two seasons with Durant the Warriors were smooth sailing, dominating the league and resting stars via the new “load management” tactic. When things got tough (which was rare) they stayed afloat and found ways to win. But in 2018-19, the team started slow and Green began calling out KD and vice-versa. That’s when the losses started to pile up, arguments in the huddle started, and also when Kerr let the players come up with their own plays. Things just weren’t the same.

Golden State had injuries to both Curry and Durant in the regular season, but it seemed like this year was different than the two prior. The deep June runs had finally caught up to this unit and a “calf” injury to KD in the second round kept him sidelined for what SHOULD have been the remainder of the playoffs.

With that being said, what happened after KD didn’t suit up and what always seemed to happen after he didn’t dress, was Warriors success. The same core 4 from the pre-KD era swept the Blazers in the conference Finals after beating the Rockets the series prior. Analysts started chiming in saying that the dubs never needed Durant and he was just the icing on the cake to secure repeated championships.

Whether that was accurate or not, the Warriors limped into the Finals and saw both KD (torn achilles) and Klay Thompson (ACL tear) suffer brutal injuries that could sideline them for the 2019-20 season.

Today, we are just four days from free-agency and thousands of reports and rumors have been plaguing Twitter. Is he gone for good? Will there be a new super team out East? Are the Knicks out of the running? The list goes on and on, but these are legitimate questions across the league.

As many expected he would do, Durant declined his $31.5 million player option, thus opening the door for him to pursue a new franchise.  Just think about that for a second. A 30-year-old, 6 ft 9 in forward, coming off a torn achilles has just turned down $31.5 million. That tells you just how dominate this star is and also tells you that he either has a new massive deal awaiting by the Warriors (doubtful) or he will be taking his talents elsewhere.

I will take the latter rather than the former, although neither decision would shock me (nothing in the NBA really shocks me anymore).

Brooklyn appears to have a leg up on the competition as far as max contract situations go, while the Kyrie Irving to the Nets rumors are at an all time high. Since January, these two have been linked together for next fall. The public has already painted this picture that the two will team up, but where that is remains to be seen.

Personally, I think it makes no sense for Irving to sign in Brooklyn. He had arguably a similar situation in Boston with younger talent and proved that he cannot win on his own, yet he has expressed that he has matured and does in fact want to win again.  The Durant injury forces me to say that the Nets are most certainly not a good fit for the former number one overall draft pick.

If the thought process is to win in two years then that’s fine. Nobody should knock you for that based on how KD’s achilles blew up a week ago. But that is IF, and only IF, Durant agrees to join you, wherever that might be. If you are going to take that risk, then why not do it with the Knicks where the lights are the brightest and where MSG is always sold out?

I will admit that I did think Durant would leave, but I thought he would sign south of the Bay in LA. For the Clippers that is, not for the Lakers. He could stay in California and compete with LeBron James for the keys to the city, but this time he could do it by his personally formed team and on his terms. He wouldn’t need a super team or a team loaded with all-stars, and he would have a Larry O’Brien winning head coach in Doc Rivers along with another max contract slot for assurance.  To me that sounds like an unbelievable opportunity to elevate himself among all-time greats.

Now, all bets are off. The achilles injury could and might possibly alter the free-agent pool before it even gets going. When he returns healthy he will be 31 and coming off a major injury that is difficult to come back from. Are players likely to join him and wait a year or will the top free-agents change plans for their own future endeavors?

The play that now makes the most sense would be for KD to sign in New York. Sign with the championship deprived Knicks who will take you in with open arms and where you will have the highest selling jersey in a year that you don’t even play in. We all know how he has “ties” to Manhattan and owns an apartment somewhere in TriBeca. We all know that he LOVES social media and would do anything for the snake nickname to be erased. And we all know that he wants to be the main guy. New York is his best bet at doing just that.

Durant is already in the conversation with LeBron for the best NBA player in the world today, but his injury will force him out of that debate…for now. The only way for him to actually attempt to leapfrog the King would be to take another franchise to the Finals, just as James is attempting to do in LA.

If the former Texas Longhorn can take the Knicks to the Finals, and win for that matter, then he will quiet every hater who once continuously called him out and force everybody to forget that he even signed with a 73-win franchise in 2016.

KD has the opportunity to free himself from Steph’s shadow and become his own superhero with New York, and by doing so he can denounce his status as the league’s biggest villain altogether.

The Knicks have both the cap space and the environment to lure multiple stars. The question now becomes–will it be enough?

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How the Lakers Won by Not Landing AD

The NBA Trade Deadline came and went on Thursday, but the LA Lakers failed to land Pelicans star Anthony Davis. Wednesday night looked as if the deal was going to get done, but New Orleans countered Thursday morning with an offer that only an insane GM would accept.

Selling the farm for a perennial All-Star top-5 NBA player sounds like a sure thing, especially adding him to a roster with LeBron James, but the reality of it is that it would have actually been the worst decision LA could have made. The Lakers would have had to give up their entire young core (Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram) as well as three first-round picks and three second-round picks.  Yes, you read that correctly…

How could a team that lost four players who log significant minutes possibly function by adding just one injury-prone superstar? The answer to that question is that they wouldn’t…at least this year.

Now, looking at the big picture, maybe the trade would make sense. Land AD, make LBJ happy, open up cap space to land a notable free-agent in July all with the mindset of dethroning the Golden State Warriors. Sounds simple enough…right?

Not so fast! The NBA is changing and has changed drastically over the past decade. It’s a shooters league now and the only way to win in this league is if you have players who can hit from beyond the arc. The only way to be the best is if you beat the best and the Warriors have three stars who shot over 41 percent from downtown in 2017-18. Thursday night’s win on the road at Boston simply demonstrated why the Lakers needed to keep some of their younger pieces.

Kyle Kuzma not only went toe-to-toe with the C’s point guard, but he made numerous big time buckets from deep when LA needed him the most. He is second on the team in PPG and is shooting over 31 percent from three. Kuz has taken big strides this year and has played very well through the trade talk rumors. His performance in Boston is why LA needs to keep him around and why he will be a piece to this puzzle they are trying to put together.

The Rajon Rondo buzzer-beater was the type of moment that the Lakers can rally around with the current roster and possibly shake some things up in the West. LeBron’s injury is the only reason they aren’t currently in a playoff spot, but if this team can find a way in (which they will…they have the King), I would not want to be the team facing them in round 1.

As far as missing out on AD, the Lakers are not in any rush to win this year. The goal was to never win this year…it was to develop their core, see who they can elevate and trade, and then bring in one or possibly two free-agents in July. The plan wasn’t to panic and throw the kitchen sink at the Pelicans because Davis suddenly wanted a trade. The plan all along or what it should have been all along was to get Kawhi Leonard on July 1, and then take a bid at Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson. Disrupting Golden State’s roster is the single most important play in the signing of James, and if that fails…then you must re-load.

This apparent rumor that Kyrie Irving is going to reunite with LeBron in LA is pretty comical, but you never know for certain. His public comments about being frustrated along with him announcing that he called the King about leadership is something to be noted…but I just don’t see them teaming up again unless it is in the All-Star Game! I’m not saying that it won’t happen because the NBA is the one league that it could…but it all depends on how Boston finishes in June or even May for that matter.

The game is changing and you need a combination of play-makers and shooters, not an injury prone power forward in exchange for depth and talent. Davis is one of the game’s best players, no question, but the only way to disrupt the Bay’s dynasty is to either lure one of the Big 4 away or stock up on positions that can compete with them and not selling the farm in the process.

Sure, if LA had to give up the silo and a few tractors to nab the Brow then it would have been a no brainer, but you simply cannot sell the farm for anybody in today’s game. A little patience goes a long way sometimes and this time it will almost certainly pay off.

Durant did what he left OKC to do–win titles. So he will likely be on the move in July. DeMarcus Cousins signed a cheap one-year deal to win a ring and win or lose he will be gone. If the Lakers can lure Thompson, which will be a stretch because he seems to love it in Oakland, then they will have successfully completed what they set out to do. But that is a big stretch to say the least!

The Lakers basically have three years to figure this out and win a title, but it all starts with landing Kawhi this July. If the Lake Show can land the Claw then they will be able to make the farm trade for AD. It cannot be the other way around because who knows what could happen. Toronto makes a run and he feels they can win and signs another year. Or Durant decides to stay or Irving stays…it is not a guarantee. Nothing is a guarantee, which is why you need some form of security in your back pocket.

Missing out on Davis at the deadline was a blessing in disguise for LA and only strengthens their championship rebuild plans even further. Magic Johnson just better create some noise in July or this entire plan burns to pieces before year two even begins.