Nets
Out
Chris Chiozza (declined to tender qualifying offer), Mike James (declined to tender qualifying offer), Jeff Green (free agent), Spencer Dinwiddie (sign/trade to Wizards), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (free agent), Tyler Johnson (free agent), Landry Shamet (traded to Suns), Deandre Jordan (traded to Pistons), Reggie Perry (withdraw qualifying offer), Alize Johnson (waived), Juan Pablo Valet (traded to Pacers), Isaia Cordinier (renounced draft rights); (Nets also briefly held Jahlil Okafor, Sekou Doumbouya, Edmond Sumner, Jordan Bowden, Brandon Rachal, Josh Gray, Bryce Brown, before the end of pre-season)
You'd think a maxed out team wouldn't have room for so much coming and going, but the Nets have quite the off-season report. This team is not going to be built around youth any time soon, so a guy like Chiozza is a roster-filler not a prospect; he may be great at basketball but he was never gonna find that out in Brooklyn, so no harm done. The parade of vets that are probably washed (Deandre) is smaller than I would've thought, but the mid-level guys that the Nets just don't have room for (Dinwiddie, TLC, Jeff Green, Tyler Johnson, Shamet) is an interested collection. Perhaps they'll regret these losses (hey, man, Green was their most reliable player going into the post-season last year), but they really won't have time for regretting stuff.
In
#27 pick Cam Thomas (Louisiana State), #29 pick Day'Ron Sharpe (North Carolina), James Johnson (1yr/$2.6m), David Duke (Exhibit 10), Deandre Bembry (1yr/$1.9m), Patty Mills (2yr/$12m), Paul Millsap (1yr.$2.6m), #44 pick Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine/2-way), Elijah Millsap (status?), Jevon Carter (status?), Davontae Cacok (Exhibit 10),
Cam Thomas looks like a baller and Sharpe might be a useful big body, but I'd be shocked if either of them played at all on this team. I love picking up Patty Mills: a reliable, settle-down guy that can knock down shots and play high energy defense, Mills (like Green last year) will end up being their MVP for stretches of the season (I guarantee). I like Millsap and Johnson as much as the next guy, not sure they're gonna do much here.
Re-signed
Bruce Brown (1yr/$4.7m), Kevin Durant (4yr/$194.2m), Blake Griffin (1yr/$2.6m), LaMarcus Aldridge (1yr/$2.6m)
They treat Brown like their mascot, but he's the beating heart of the team, I hope he gets paid better next year. KD is still the shit, so the Nets are still in it. Blake and Aldridge can still be okay stopgaps (man, how many stopgaps can one team have?).
Rest of the roster
James Harden, Kyrie Irving (well...theoretically), Joe Harris, Nicolas Claxton
Harden is still amazingly efficient. Kyrie is really great (when he's out there). Joe Harris is arguably the best non-Steph shooter in the league (yeah, I said that). I like Claxton, underappreciated in this environment.
Summer '22 free agents
Brown, Aldridge, Griffin, Johnson, Millsap, Bembry, Claxton, Cacok, Duke; player options for Harden, Irving and Mills have player options
Gotta bring back Brown and probably Claxton. But all them vets might be swapped out to LA next season. I expect Harden, Kyire and Mills all back next year.
Over/Under: 56.5 (Under, 3rd in the East)
The Nets will halfheartedly glide to 3rd in the East. I think the Bucks will play with consistency and be the best, I think the Hawks are young and dumb and will collect W's the way Vietnam vets collect ears. The Nets, on the other hand, will have moments of brilliance and moments of controversy (NYC teams are built for it), and without really trying too hard they'll be better than almost everyone else. They'll do this without ever truly coming together as a team and they'll think they're just naturally better than everyone else and their inability to rise above will doom them in the playoffs.
Celtics
Out
Kemba Walker (traded to Thunder), Guerschon Yabusele (signed with Real Madrid), Tacko Fall (declined to tender qualifying offer), Tremont Waters (declined to tender qualifying offer), Evan Fournier (sign/trade to Knicks), Semi Ojeleye (free agent), Tristan Thompson (traded to Kings), Carsen Edwards (traded to Grizzlies); (Celtics briefly had Moses Brown, Kris Dunn, Ryan Arcidiacono, Juwan Morgan before the end of pre-season)
Frankly this is all addition by subtraction: Kemba turned out be the opposite of what they needed, Yabusele never did find a spot, Tacko was a fun sideshow but nothin more, Waters wasn't gonna make it, Fournier was a good idea but didn't work out, Ojeley is just hard to watch, Thompson was never what they needed, Edwards just didn't find his spot. These are plusses, not minuses.
In
Bruno Fernando (trade with Hawks), Denis Schroeder (1yr/$5.9m), Enes Kanter (1yr/$2.6m), Josh Richardson (1yr/$12.2m), Sam Hauser (2-way), Al Horford (trade with Thunder), Juan Hernangomez (trade with Grizzlies), Theo Pinson (Exhibit 10), Garrison Matthews (Exhibit 10), Chris Clemons (pre-season)
Schroeder on a bargain basement deal, reunited with Horford and Kanter, finally getting themselves a Hernangomez (Spanish for 'plumlee'), and I still think Fernando could turn into something. Not sure why they re-upped Richardson, but it might work out. Getting rid of the guys that needed to go (when the coach becomes GM, a Michael Corleone-style house cleaning was in order, right?) was such the priority that replacing those guys is just a bonus. Not sure any of these guys are the right fit but I know the guys they're replacing weren't either, so feels like a step direction anyway.
Re-signed
Marcus Smart (4yr/$77m), Robert Williams (4yr/$48m), Luke Kornet (1yr/$?)
I love Smart--a born Celtic (they'd be mad to let him go). I'm intrigued by Williams, might blow up this year. Kornet seems like a nice guy.
Rest of the roster
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Romeo Langford, Jabari Parker, Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard
Tatum and Brown will take this team as far it will go; if they're healthy the C's could be great. Nesmith and Pritchard should both get better this season, makes for good continuity in the rotation. Langford, Parker and Williams are pros, they should be reliable minutes guys.
Summer '22 free agents
Schroeder, Kanter, Parker, Fernando, Pinson, Matthews; team options on Langford, Williams, Nesmith, Pritchard
I don't suppose anyone is expecting Schroeder to re-sign next summer, this is an audition year for him (the soccer coach paradox: if he's good enough to keep then he'll be too expensive to stay and if he's cheap enough, then he's not worth keeping). Kanter and Parker (and maybe Fernando and Pinson, too) are in the journeyman phase, who knows what jersey they'll be wearing next year; I think they can both be worthwhile contributors for the Celtics this year.
Over/Under: 45.5 (Over, 5th in the East)
Tatum and Brown are still maturing, so there's upside built into this roster. I like bringing back Horford, I'm okay with bringing back Kanter. Pritchard and Nesmith and Time Lord should improve. Marcus Smart will be doing Marcus Smart things and I think Schroeder will fit in and find his spot. This isn't a perfect team but I think they're gonna be good together and come playoff time, they'll be dangerous.
Knicks
Out
Norvel Pelle (waived), Frank Ntilikina (declined to tender qualifying offer), Jared Harper (declined to tender qualifying offer), Theo Pinson (declined to tender qualifying offer), Elfird Payton (renounced free agent rights), Luca Vildoza (waived); (Knicks also briefly had Kai Jones, Keon Johnson, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Tyler Hall, Dwayne Bacon, Brandon Goodwin, Myles Powell before the end of pre-season)
Personally I kinda liked Payton last year (yeah, I was the only one) but even still he's not a big loss here since Randle/Kemba will do all the ball handling. Ntilikina just never blossomed in a Knick uniform (not sure if he's capable of blooming but it's for someone else to find out). The other guys are easy come/easy go (though Jones, Johnson, Robinson-Earl might become nice players).
In
#25 pick Quentin Grimes (Houston), Jericho Sims (2-way contract), Kemba Walker (2yr/$17.9m), Evan Fournier (trade with Celtics), #36 pick Miles McBride (West Virginia), Aamir Simms (Exhibit 10), MJ Walker (Exhibit 10), Wayne Selden Jr. (Exhibit 9), Brandon Goodwin (status?), Luka Samanic (2-way?)
Kemba on a bargain basement deal is worth it, though I kinda got my doubts about Kemba at this point (has anyone in the history of sports maxed out their potential more than Kemba?), worth a try but I don't have much faith in this working out. Fournier, on the other hand, will take a while to acclimate but once he does, I think he'll be fine with Randle and contribute nicely down the stretch. Jericho Sims actually looks more interesting to me than Grimes or McBride. The others are just others, man.
Re-signed
GM Scott Perry (2yr extension), Nerlens Noel (3yr/$27.8m), Alec Burks (3yr/$30m), Derrick Rose (3yr/$43.6m), Taj Gibson (2yr/$10.1m), Julius Randle (4yr/$117m)
The Knicks have hewed to a regular system the last few years: sign the forgotten free agents to short term deals that can be quickly re-upped if it works out (Nerlens, Burks, DRose, Taj and Julius) or quietly discarded if it doesn't (Elfrid Payton); some poo-poo that philosophy but I think it fits the Knicks perfectly (and it netted them Julius Randle, so far, so good); does Perry deserve more money? Sure, why not. I like all these guys and giving Randle long term money is such an obvious move, I'm a little surprised the Knicks didn't fuck it up.
Rest of the roster
RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson,
I like Barrett, I like Toppin, I kinda love Quickley, I like Robinson, hell I'm still in on Knox (is he paying rent on Thibodeau's dog house?). Good growth potential on the NYK bench.
Summer '22 free agents
Knox, Robinson; team options on Barrett, Toppin, Quickley.
Seems like Knox is trade bait, but I expect Robinson to definitely get re-upped. Barrett, Toppin and Quickly will all be picked up.
Over/Under: 41.5 (Over, 6th in the East)
After their disastrous performance in the playoffs last year (seriously, man, outside of Rose, they all played like shit), it's easy to think this Knicks team just fluked their way to 4th place by overachieving. Well, I'm gonna tweak that take a little bit: they fluked their way to 4th place because so many other teams underperformed last year. The Knicks were what they were--and still are what they are--but I think other teams this year will take the regular season more seriously, making the Knicks fall to 6th place while actually being just as good (if not better) than last year. Are the Knicks good? They're okay and if Kemba has a renaissance, they might even be a dangerous post-season team. And there's the crux of the biscuit: this is a pretty good regular season team that has no real shot of getting better in the playoffs. So I expect the Knicks to be pretty good, maybe even better than last year, firmly a playoff team, but then get stomped in the 1st round again. Knick fans are built to be disappointed, so telling them that their team is headed in the right direction (for the first time in decades) is cold comfort. But it's true.
Sixers
Out
Anthony Tolliver (waived), Gary Clark Jr (declined to tender qualifying offer), Mike Scott (free agent), Dwight Howard (free agent), Rayjon Tucker (waived), George Hill (free agent); (Sixers also had Haywood Highsmith before the end of pre-season)
Oh yeah, I forgot they had Tolliver. I was never a Mike Scott guy (okay, I'll say it: weirdest tats in the NBA), I can kinda see it, but not really, so he does not strike me as a loss to this ream. Howard and Hill had some veteran cache, I suppose, but I think they're both better on other teams.
In
#28 pick Jaden Springer (Tennessee), #53 pick Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Andre Drummond (1yr/$2.4m), Georges Niang (2yr/$6.7m), Shaq Harrison (Exhibit 10), Aaron Henry (2-way), Grant Riller (2-way)
I guess they didn't lose much but they didn't add much, did they? Does anyone really think Springer or Bassey is going to contribute this year? And what does Drummond do for the Sixers? I don't see a role for him at all. I like Niang but he's not a big minutes guy, hardly seems like a culture-changer. I'm all for Shaq Harrison getting another shot, but there's not much coming or going from Philly this summer.
Re-signed
Danny Green (2yr/$20m), Furkan Korkmaz (3yr/$15m), Joel Embiid (4yr/$196m),
Green knows who he is and he's won a ring before, so he's a made man, I guess that's good enough for a team with championship pretensions. I like Korkmaz, I can see him taking a step forward this year. Embiid is your cornerstone, gotta pay the man.
Rest of the roster
Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, Isaiah Joe, Paul Reed
Does Simmons play here the whole season? (I say 'yes') He'll be a distraction--could be a real big one if he wants to be--though making some free throws could turn the narrative around. Weird team, weird vibe, good talent but internal dissension, so who knows? I like Harris, I think he's underrated, he got the contract he got and that's that. Curry is fine but it feels like they rely on him a little more than they should. Thybulle is a great young defender, I bet he'll score a little more too (ha, probably more than Simmons!). Maxey and Milton are both waiting to take off, I think they'll both be good rotation guys.
Summer '22 free agents
Drummond, Harrison; team options on Thybulle, Maxey, Milton
Definitely picking up all options, definitely not bringing back any free agents. (Hmmm....a quiet summer is approaching for the Sixers, right?)
Over/Under: 50.5 (Under, 8th in the East)
I like Embiid as much as the next guy, I'm a much bigger fan of Harris than most, and I think Maxey, Milton and Thybulle make for the right kind of young core. But until they figure out Simmons, this team goes nowhere. I was never much of a Simmons guy (I've been telling you the whole time that FT% was his Achilles' heel) but now I've downright soured on him and I think the Sixers have got to move him, he just doesn't work there at all any more. I just think there's too much turmoil and it's gonna bite them throughout the season.
Raptors
Out
Jalen Harris (waived), Stanley Johnson (free agent), DeAndre Bembry (waived), Paul Watson (waived), Rodney Hood (free agent), Aron Baynes (waived), Kyle Lowry (sign/traded to Heat); (Raptors also briefly held Alex Antetokounpo, Reggie Perry, Freddie Gillespie and Josh Hall before the end of pre-season)
Well, losing their franchise cornerstone (Lowry) is a tough blow but the rest of the losses are hardly even worth mentioning.
In
#4 pick Scottie Barnes (Florida State), #46 pick Dalano Banton (Nebraska), #47 pick David Johnson (Louisville/2-way), Precious Achiuwa (trade with Heat), Goran Dragic (trade with Heat), Ishmail Wainright (2yr/$2.5m), Sam Dekker (1yr/$1.8m), Justin Champagnie (2-way), Isaac Bonga (1yr/$1.7m), Svi Mykhailiuk (2yr/$3.6m)
I penciled the Raptors in to take Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) with the #4 pick and I was kinda shocked when the zagged because I'd already begun imagining a world of Suggs as the Raptors' new go-to guy (and Barnes as the next interesting prospect to wither on the vine in Orlando); but now I see it: Barnes slides right into the rotation with everyone else and in a coupla months everyone forgets that he's a rookie. Suggs would've taken over the Raptor culture--and that may have been a good thing--but for now Barnes is a plug and play guy that should be among rookie leaders in Minutes Played. Surprised me at first but now I love that pick, makes perfect sense. I'll go ahead and admit that Goran Dragic is one of my all time favorite players, a guy that could do no wrong and the Raptors are lucky to have him. Achiuqwa (like Barnes) goes right into the rotation and plays regular minutes right away, a great pickup. Hell, I even like Svi and Dekker, I can see both of them getting run in Toronto.
Re-signed
Khem Birch (3yr/$20m), Gary Trent Jr (3yr/$51.8m)
Both of these are good deals. Trent is perhaps a little rich but I do think he has more upside than most of the rest of the roster, so I'm cool with it.
Rest of the roster
Pascal Siakam, Fred Van Vleet, OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, Malachi Flynn, Yuta Watanabe
All those dudes could be better next year. Anunoby is primed for a breakout, Siakam is primed for a bounce back, Boucher and Flynn should both improve. A lot of upside on the Raptor roster.
Summer '22 free agents
Dragic, Boucher, Dekker, Watanabe, Bonga; with team options on Achiuwa and Flynn; player option for Mykhailiuk
Dragic will probably move on, but I can see all of the other dudes returning.
Over/Under: 36.5 (Over, 11th in the East)
I know right? After all my hype, I don't even have the Raptors making the play-in game. Why? Well, I don't know. Can this team be as good as the Philly greasefire? Yeah, why not? Could the Knicks regress or the Celtics underwhelm? Absolutely. Can the Raptors make the playoffs and be dangerous? Yeah. Their kooky deep rotation usually becomes a liability in the post-season but the Raptors embrace it and could make it work. On the other hand, except for that Kawhi year, they never have made it work. So I got them 11th and out of the playoffs (yeah, all that sounds weird, don't it?).
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