2019-20 NBA Pre-season (Pacific Division)

Clippers
Out:
Angel Delgado, Garrett Temple, Wilson Chandler, Sindarius Thornwell, Tyrone Wallace, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 2020 1st rd pick (top 14 protected), 2021 1st rd pick, 2022 1st rd Pick, 2024 1st rd pick, 2026 1st rd pick, (OKC holds 1st rd pick swaps in 2023, 2025),
With SGA and several 1st rd picks out the door, now is the time for the Clippers. There are a lot of nice players there but the new look will absorb these losses without much problem.

Re-signed:
Lou Williams (guaranteed contract through 2021), Ivica Zubac (4yr/$21m), Rodney McGruder (3yr/$15m), Patrick Beverley (3yr/$40m), JaMychel Green (2yr/$9.8m)
A lot of money (and draft picks) out but these are all good players who seem well suited for each other.

In:
Kawhi Leonard (3yr/$103m),  Moe Harkless (trade; 1yr), Mfiondu Kabengele (2yr/$4m), Paul George (3yr/$105m), Patrick Patterson (1yr/$2.3m), Amir Coffey, Terance Mann (4yr/$6.2m), Derrick Walton Jr., Johnathon Motley, Heat 2023 1st rd pick (top 14 protected), rights to Mathias Lessort
Okay...future is here. I like all these moves, I think they'll fit together, too (eventually).


Over/Under (53.5): I'm going under
Yeah, there's a lot of talent in and it seems to mesh. But George is already hurt and you know Kawhi's minutes will be monitored so the anchors of the rotation will appear and disappear throughout the season. Yes, I have the Clippers winning it all but I have them going into the playoffs as the 6th seed. I just don't think the regular season (especially road games and back-to-backs) will be that motivating to them. This team was built for the post-season, slogging through the next six months to get there might bore them.


Lakers
Out:
Lance Stephenson, Mike Muscala, Reggie Bullock, Tyson Chandler, Johnathon Williams,  Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, Moritz Wagner, 2022 1st rd pick (unprotected), 2022 2nd rd pick, 1st rd pick swap to the Pelicans,
Well, the celebrated youth movement (Ball, Ingram, Hart, Wagner, Bonga) and a boatload of future draft picks have been swapped out for a veteran squad that has more top level talent, though fewer dirty work players. This is the Laker way, it was only a matter of time before they made this choice.

Re-signed:
JaVale McGee (2yr/$8.2m), Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (2yr/$16.6m), Alex Caruso (2yr/%5.5m), Rajon Rondo (2yr/$5.2m), Kyle Kuzma (team picked up option; 2yr)
Obviously Kuzma is a keeper (and since Ball, Ingram, Hart, Clarkson, Randle, Bonga, Wagner and Nance are gone, the only youngun they still have). But the rest? McGee has his moments but you gotta expect fewer and fewer of those. KCP and Rondo are reliable-ish vets and Caruso (the White Mamba!) seems like a real nice guy. Meh.

In:
Danny Green (2yr/$30m), DeMarcus Cousins (1yr/$3.5m), Quinn Cook (2yr/$6m), Jared Dudley (1yr/$2.6m), Troy Daniels (1yr/$2m), Avery Bradley (2yr/$9.8m), Dwight Howard (1yr/$2.6m), Reggie Hearn,
Green is now in charge of taking the blame for everything Lebron wants to deflect (he better study up on Chinese economics, I reckon!). Cousins is already out for the year (another year, another bad injury for Boogie). Dudley has long been overrated, Bradley is on the downside (but could be a useful perimeter defender), and Cook will know his role. Dwight Howard is the intriguing signing here: if he really is ready to play ball then I can see him having a nice year (but wildly better than what Tyson Chandler did last year? Ehh, maybe).

2nd rd draftees, 2-way contracts, Exhibition 10
Devontae Cook (1yr), Talen Horton-Tucker (2yr/$2.4m), Kostas Antetokounpo,
If these guys do anything, it'll be a bonus.

Over/Under (50.5): I got the under (but just barely)
I'm going under because I think wherever Lebron goes he brings highs and lows: I fully expect the Lakers to have a few runs where they look unstoppable and other stretches where they look like they'd get bounced in the NCAA tournament--that's just how Lebron teams roll. I think Lebron watches his minutes and throughout the season is selective about his effort. So even though I think Anthony Davis has an MVP season, the talent around him will come and go (better than the Pelicans but not vastly better) with an eye toward the post-season rather than the regular season. I've got them winning 50 games and finishing 5th in the West and while they could be way better than that, I just think they looking to the post-season will be their focus and 50 wins will suit them just fine.



Warriors
Out:
Kevin Durant, Marcus Derrickson, Andrew Bogut, DeMarcus Cousins, Jonas Jerebko, Quinn Cook, Andre Iguodala, Damian Jones, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Bell, Alfonzo McKinnie, 1st rd pick (top 4 protected), 2020 1st rd picks (top 20 protected), 2024 2nd rd pick, 2026 2nd rd pick, 2021 2nd rd pick, 2023 2nd rd pick, rights to Miye Oni
Wow! That is the core of many championships that just walked out the door. Durant is a Hall of Famer, Cousins is an all-time badass (though beset by injuries), Iguodala is maybe the most underappreciated player of all time, Livingston was a regular 6th man candidate for many years (though he was washed last season), Bogut was the original star in this champioship run (although not a big loss at this point), Cook and Jones and McKinney and Bell were the young core that was gonna grow with the team and even Jerebko had moments where he gave a real spark off the bench. And, oh by the way, Klay Thompson is out for the season. Yipes! That is an amazing amount of talent to lose in one summer--and they've given up a handful of 1st rd picks, too! Jeez, not since the old Florida Marlins back in the 1990s have we seen a team that just seemed to drain out so much skill.


Re-signed:
Klay Thompson (5yr/$189.9m), Kevon Looney (3yr/$15m), Draymond Green (4yr/$99.7m),
Re-signing Klay is a bit bittersweet considering that he'll be out for the year, but it needed to be done, so good deal nonetheless. Looney really became a part of their offense last season and gutted out a gnarly injury through the playoffs, good move to reward him. Signing Draymond now solidifies the Warrior core for the foreseeable future (and makes that light summer 2020 free agent class even lighter), big money that must kinda hurt going into what can only be a down year, but the right move.


In:
Jordan Poole (2yr/$4m), D'Angelo Russell (trade), Alen Smailagic (4yr/$61.m), Eric Paschell (3yr/$4.2m), Omari Spellman (trade), Willie Cauley-Stein (1yr/$2.5m), Glenn Robinson (2yr/$19.m), Alec Burks (1yr/$2.3m), Marquese Chriss (1yr), (rights to Lior Eliyahu), Ky Bowman, Damion Lee
The way last season ended for them (the end of the dynasty) there was pretty much no way that this off-season could be anything other than heartbreaking. Okay, starting at the level of low expectations, I think they did pretty good here. Plucking D'angelo Russell away from the Nets was a good move that preserves some offense (I think he'll be just fine for the Warriors, he'll score and make plays), getting Cauley-Stein and Spellman (two new toys for Draymond to play with) will give them a better ability to transition than the haters will acknowledge, Poole and Paschall were good draft picks and apparently they adore Smailagic and then Burks will give them a little offensive depth off the bench. Obviously this isn't the 5-straight Western Conference champs but considering what they lost, they still have plenty of talent left.

Over/Under (47.5): I'm going under (but just barely)
That o/u seems a little high to me--but only because I would assume betters would be more pessimistic. I've got them winning 46 games and going into the playoffs as the 7th seed, which would be a pretty great season for them with plenty more to look forward to in 2020-21.


Kings
Out:
Frank Mason, Alec Burks, Corey Brewer, Kosta Koufos, Troy Williams, Willie Cauley-Stein, BJ Johnson, Vanja Marinkovic
I'm a big Willie Cauley fan (re: apologist) and I think his absence is going to make more of a difference than the haters realize: I think his transition game created a lot of open shots for Hield, open lanes for Fox and chances to gamble on defense for everyone; I get that WCS is not a stat sheet filler-upper but at all the little things you don't notice, I think he was great and transitioning forward without him may be with them all season long. Otherwise, I'm cool with losing all these guys: Mason was nice but I thought a tad overrated, Burks and Brewer really didn't fit their needs, Koufos was nice but replaceable and Williams, Johnson and Marikovic are fungible commodities.

Re-signed:
Harrison Barnes (4yr/$85m)
I'm cool with this. I thought the trade for Barnes last season was the perfect move for them and, okay, the money is a little high but he's the guy they want, so why not pay him? Barnes is not merely the adult in the room, he's the right adult for them: solid pro, handles his business, performs his role on both ends and doesn't try to do too much, exactly the security blanket this youth movement needs.

In:
Cory Joseph (3yr/$37m), Trevor Ariza (2yr/$25m), Dwayne Dedmon (3yr/$40m), Richaun Holmes (2yr/$9.8m), Tyler Lydon (2yr)
Joseph is a reliable 2nd string PG, Ariza brings veteran smarts and big play ability, Dedmon will contribute down low and fits well with Bagley, and Holmes is great big man off the bench. (Hmmm...not sure what Tyler Lydon offers, but it's a non-guaranteed deal). If the youngsters all take a step forward then these vets will have room to make good contributions and this could be the shocker team of the season.

2nd rd draftees, 2-way contracts, Exhibition 10:
Kyle Guy, Justin James (3yr/$4.2m), Tyler Ulis, Hollis Thompson,
I think Ulis is kinda perfect off the bench for the Nuggets, not sure what he brings to any other team, unfortunately.

Over/Under (37.5): I'm going over
The ceiling of this team is amazingly high: if the youngsters each get a little better and each of those vets does what they're supposed to do, this team really could be awesome. I'm guessing it'll be a tougher road than that as they are in the tougher conference and arguably the toughest division. And, again, I know this sounds crazy but they're gonna miss Willie Cauley-Stein more than they realize. And what to do with Bogdan Bogdanovic might become a problem, too: in the final year of his deal they have to decide by January whether he's in their future or trade bait. Outside of that, I don't see any moves to make, so if it starts wobbly...well, it'll stay wobbly. I think they'll be good and in the contention for the 8th seed but I think they falter down the stretch. (That said, this team has perhaps the best potential to overachieve than any other team in the league)



Suns
Out:
Jimmer Fredette, Ray Spalding, George King, Dragan Bender, Jamal Crawford, Richaun Holmes, Troy Daniels, TJ Warren, Josh Jackson, DeAnthony Melton, 2020 1st rd pick (top 7 protected),
I still don't understand the draft day TJ Warren trade (uh, giveaway), guess they thought they needed the roster space; but I always found him to be an under appreciated scoring SF and won't be as easy to replace as the Suns suppose. I'm okay with giving up on Dragan Bender (I never could figure out his game: what does he do?) but I'm a little surprised they were so quick to cut bait on Josh Jackson (who didn't get his extension picked up by the Grizzlies either) or DeAnthony Melton (dude had some good moments, could've been good in a Suns uni). I forgot they even had Jamal Crawford and they had no real use for Holmes, I guess. The other (Fredette, Spalding, King, Daniels) are easy come/easy go guys.

Re-signed:
Tyler Johnson (exercised player option for 1yr/$19m), Kelly Oubre (2yr/$30m), Deandre Ayton (team exercised option; 2yr), Mikal Bridges (team exercised option; 2yr),
Johnson is perfectly reasonable 2nd string PG (although $19m is a steep price tag for that role). Rolling with Ayton, Oubre and Bridges is where the Suns are for the next 3-5 years and I think after years of poor drafts (like recently cast off Bender and Jackson), they've finally found a young core they can build around. I don't expect a lot of W's this season but the future looks better than it has in years.

In:
Jalen Lecque (4yr/$6.1m), Aron Baynes,Ty Jerome (2yr/$4.5m), Dario Saric, Cameron Johnson (2yr/$8.3m), Jevon Carter, Ricky Rubio (3yr/$51m), Frank Kaminsky (2yr/$9.8m), Cheick Diallo (2yr/$1.7m), Jared Harper
I'm a big Ricky Rubio fan and I think the scoring potential of this team will match his efforts, but defensively he doesn't bring much and no one else does either (re: they're gonna lose a lot of 124-116 kinda games). I'm also a big Dario Saric fan but I kinda think he's likely to be frustrated by losing and could turn inward (I already do not expect him to be back in Phoenix next year). I like Baynes, he'll bring some toughness and veteran smarts that this team needs; but he won't bring enough production to really make a difference. Cam Johnson and Ty Jerome are either part of their upswing in drafting or a return to the years of busts (I'm not optimistic about either of these guys, unfortunately). Kaminsky needs a second chance but I don't see what he brings to the Suns (or vice versa), this is one of the most puzzling signings of the summer. Diallo, too, is still young enough to turn into something and unlike Kaminsky, I think Phoenix could be a good spot for him to get some low-key minutes. No idea who Lecque, Carter and Harper are.

Over/Under (28.5): I'm going under
I think they'll score a lot of points but they'll give up even more night in/night out. Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Saric and Ayton is a nice starting five but the depth gets dicey after that and the lack of fit between any of these players does not suggest cohesion will be coming. I just don't see how this team wins games at all.