It all depends on how IT looks in practice and around the guys. I can't make decision based on a few summer league games. Sure, on paper Leandro Barbosa is better and a perfect fit for this system, but maybe the Rocket scouts and coaches know better? You need a combination of good Vets and good rookies to win a ring usually. We have a TON of Vets so I would really love to see us groom guys like IT, Troy and Zhou.
32 crazy NBA predictions from Zach Lowe Golden State wins 70 games Houston finishes second in the West The last time I predicted big things for the Rockets, they farted to the No. 8 seed. So let's run it back! The safe bet is the Spurs. They just win, and they are bringing back almost the same team once Tony Parker returns. The sexy bet is Oklahoma City. Before acquiring Carmelo Anthony, the Thunder's path to 60 wins was clear: Paul George would slither around as the slightly less wealthy man's Kevin Durant, and their defense would smother people. They had an identity -- a mix of new Thunder and old Thunder. The Anthony deal -- one you make every time -- confuses that identity. That is worth it in the long run. You need crazy scoring potency to hang with Golden State. You need to embrace variance, and risk. But Melo introduces a learning curve that might deflate the win total. He softens their defense. Snagging George and Melo in two-for-one trades depleted Oklahoma City's depth. Houston will have its own superstar integration hiccups, but adding one new guy -- even a slow-it-down yapper like Paul -- should be smoother than adding two. Houston is deep across every position; Clint Capela and Nene Hilario form a dynamite center rotation, and the Rockets are loaded with rangy, corner-shooting wings. Ryan Anderson is roadkill in the wrong playoff matchup, but he's a dangerous regular-season weapon. All these teams should be roaring in April. The bet here is Houston wins the most before then. LaMarcus Aldridge opts in ... and gets traded Kawhi Leonard wins MVP Toronto tries to trade Jonas Valanciunas One iteration: Valanciunas to Orlando, where former Toronto No. 2 Jeff Weltman is in charge, for Nikola Vucevic. The deal saves Toronto about $7 million over the next two seasons, and Vucevic comes off the books a year earlier than Valanciunas. How about Valanciunas for Tyson Chandler? Toronto gets a win-now veteran and the same years-and-money reduction; Phoenix exchanges a geezer for a 25-year-old. Eh. Unloading deals that extend past the summer of 2019, when some of the bubble contracts come off the books, is going to be really hard. The market will loosen up in July, when more cap room pops open and those deals creep a year closer to expiration. Even then, Toronto may have to attach another asset to dump Valanciunas. They might prefer exchanging Valanciunas for a non-center, anyway; Ibaka needs time there, and either Jakob Poeltl or Bebe Nogueira will be in their long-term plans. Here's a wild one: If the Raptors fall off badly -- and I don't think they will -- I wouldn't be shocked if DeMar DeRozan's name pops up in the rumor mill. The Clippers trade DeAndre Jordan if they underperform The most tantalizing candidate: the Wizards. Let's build Lob City, East! Washington could offer Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre, Jason Smith, and at least one unprotected first-round pick. Want to simplify? Just send Otto Porter for Jordan (and one teensy salary) once Porter becomes trade eligible in January. One monkey wrench: The salaries going back and forth have to match almost exactly; the Wizards is over the tax line, and the Clippers are crouched just beneath it. A huge contract for Jordan would be untenable atop Washington's other giant salaries. It's still workable, especially if a third team helps. The Mavs could open enough space to absorb Jordan sending out only Dwight Powell, Nerlens Noel and a pick, but there was that whole kidnapping thing. The Thunder have already unloaded two young players on mega-deals for superior veterans; why not flip Steven Adams for Jordan? (The answer: any talent gap between Adams and Jordan is small, and shrinking. Also, it should be illegal for any team to have two of Andre Roberson, Jordan, and Drummond.) Other suitors might come out of the woodwork. Washington faces one other obstacle: The Wizards trade a pick to shed someone in July (probably a center) The Pelicans re-sign DeMarcus Cousins Here's what I really wanted to predict: The Pelicans trade Cousins and filler to the Heat for Hassan Whiteside. That is my favorite fake trade in the league. Alas, both teams swear up and down this won't happen. I almost predicted it anyway. And who else is lavishing Cousins with the max? At least half the league has (or claims to have) an ironclad "No Boogie" rule. The Lakers might take a shot on him as an Amar'e Stoudemire Memorial Free Agency Consolation Prize if they strike out on bigger names. The Mavs aren't afraid of gambling, and they'll need a center if Noel jets. Beyond that, the market is murky. Miami trades Justise Winslow and a big salary Among my favorite versions of this: Winslow and Dion Waiters to the Pacers in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic (on a semi-expiring contract), Cory Joseph, and perhaps some throw-in to make Miami feel less crappy about punting on Winslow. Related bonus prediction: Indiana is a near-lock to flip one or both of Bogdanovic and Darren Collison, guaranteed just $3.5 million combined in 2018-19. If the Lakers send Luol Deng and Brandon Ingram to Indy for those deals (and some sweetener), the league should be very afraid L.A. knows a certain someone is in the bag.
LeBron James leaves Cleveland again There is too much smoke, even with Russell Westbrook's mega-extension snuffing one potential superstar cabal in Los Angeles. LeBron could still go there with Paul George, though the Lakers need some high-wire cap gymnastics to open up the requisite $65 million in room. And can LeBron really chase the Warriors with George, Lonzo Ball and whatever flotsam is left after L.A. sheds money? LeBron still values winning above all else. He wants another title. He needs one to challenge Michael Jordan's GOAT status. The path there with those theoretical Lakers is uncertain. Put it this way: If you forced me to name which team LeBron is on next season, I'd take the Cavs by a hair over the Lakers. But if you give me Cleveland versus the field, I'm taking the field. LeBron is dominant enough to go anywhere he wants. He could tell almost literally any team, "I'm coming as long you also sign Players X and Y," and that team would make it happen. Speaking of which: Maybe we should take the Houston threat more seriously. Harden is locked up. Paul is there. Getting off Eric Gordon is easy. Snag a pick in the process, and dumping the Ryan Anderson albatross -- the one that cost them the official Team Banana Boat photographer -- becomes feasible. Trade and renounce everyone else, including potentially Paul for cap purposes, and they are close enough to the double-max for Paul and LeBron that the Texas income tax edge might come into play. Sound crazy? So did everything that happened this summer. The league's best players have the clout to make anything happen. (I have no idea where LeBron is going. Nobody does.) Denver declines its option on Nikola Jokic -- and pays him the max Phoenix trades Eric Bledsoe to (maybe) the Nuggets How about Emmanuel Mudiay, Darrell Arthur (present for salary-matching), Juancho Hernangomez and an unprotected Denver first-round pick? The Clippers might poke around a Bledsoe reunion. The Pelicans could get desperate if Rajon Rondo's recovery from a sports hernia goes haywire. The Bucks have a long-standing jones for him, but it's unclear how they would match salaries. Don't count out some of the bad Eastern Conference teams with long-term point guard questions or untrained prospects: Orlando, New York and, especially, Chicago. Cody Zeller wins his starting spot back from Dwight Howard Charlotte sets the all-time defensive rebounding rate record The Sixers join the 16 percent club Minnesota leads the league in offensive rebounding rate Cleveland keeps the Nets pick Chris Paul re-signs with the Rockets If the Rockets are really good, odds are Paul stays with a known winning quantity. Where else is Paul getting all his money and the chance to win alongside another top-10 player? The Lakers come into play if LeBron orchestrates, but all the chatter surrounds the possible LeBron-George team-up. At 33, Paul won't quite be in the stratosphere where any team would rearrange its entire roster just to get him. He can't call his shot like LeBron. Deep in the recesses of their cold analytical souls, the Rockets surely feel queasy at the prospect of paying Paul $40 million-plus per season into his late 30s. Daryl Morey probably has a framed graph of John Stockton's aging curve in his office to make him feel better. But they are trying to win it all in Harden's prime. They will do what it takes to maximize that window, and figure out the rest later. Greg Monroe wins Sixth Man of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns goes 50-40-85 Atlanta tries to trade Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore Dallas trades Wes Matthews This might be a long shot. A bunch of teams are already up against the 2018-19 tax; they won't take on Matthews' contract without shoving some other big-ticket player out the door. Dallas will be hesitant to take on any contract that runs beyond this season -- unless some desperate team makes it worth their while. There may be only one real candidate: New Orleans, poor on shooting and all-in for a playoff spot. Would a lottery-protected pick entice the Mavs into swallowing Omer Asik and the requisite filler? That would be dumb from New Orleans, of course. The Pellies have traded most of their first-round picks assembling this mediocrity; they need building blocks. Matthews would clog their cap space in the event Cousins walks, and they need to reorient their team yet again. The filler matters here, too; the Pelicans are just below the tax, and hard-capped above it. At least one coach is fired by Christmas Marc Gasol and MIke Conley remain untouchable They aren't really untouchable. Only like three or four guys are. But barring a catastrophic first 30 games -- something even worse than 10-20 -- the Grizzlies are prepared to chase 45 wins through 2019 with their foundational stars. They cough up their pick to Boston that June; after that, the slate is clean, and Memphis can contemplate a true rebuild. The wild card: An unusual buy-sell clause that comes into play later this month, and could result in minority owners buying out Robert Pera. If that happens, the organizational priorities might shift. And trust me: you can build a lot of juicy fake Gasol trades of all stripes (to Washington, Toronto, Detroit, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and other spots). Milwaukee pays to get off Henson or Mirza Teletovic Minnesota trades Cole Aldrich and a second-round pick for Jared Dudley No more extensions Detroit trades Tobias Harris in the offseason and re-signs Avery Bradley Philly trades Jahlil Okafor to Chicago or Phoenix The Knicks finish last in points allowed per possession The eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference are ... Cleveland, Boston, Toronto, Washington, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Miami and Philadelphia. The eight playoff teams in the Western Conference are ... Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver, Minnesota, Portland, Clippers.
