Free NBA Agency 2018: Lakers plan for LeBron James, summer 76ers and other issues around the league

Aside from the potential trades, a group of free agents restricted in limbo and a few low-level middle guys still available, much of the NBA's offseason activity is done. LeBron James is a member of an extremely strange Los Angeles Lakers team, Paul George is not, and more than two full lines of players have signed one year contracts.

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That does not mean, however, that there is nothing to ponder and speculate about the moratorium that is about to be lifted. With five questions, let's take a look at the landscape of the league:

1. If the Sixers have finished, how should we watch their offseason?

With the warning that an exchange for Kawhi Leonard (or another star) would change everything, it looks like the Philadelphia 76ers will mostly be coming back next season. They re-signed JJ Redick for a year and 12-13 million dollars, re-signed Amir Johnson for a year on a minimum veteran contract and used the exception of the hall on Nemanja Bjelica, who will replace Ersan Ilyasova . Marco Belinelli left for the San Antonio Spurs, and Philadelphia used his space to absorb Wilson Chandler, getting a second-round pick and a selection swap for his troubles. Ben Detrick of the Ringer is not impressed:

This tweet came before the news of Bjelica, and this move is significant: He is a better defender and more versatile than Ilyasova. If Bjelica and Chandler essentially replace Belinelli and Ilyasova, the Sixers will sacrifice some space to be stronger defensively in the playoffs. Johnson being ready to take the minimum rather than hold for the exception of the room was a pretty important affair, and improvement should be expected from Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and especially Markelle Fultz. Philadelphia could win more than the 52 games that it handled last season, and a trip to the final conference – or even the NBA Finals, even though the Boston Celtics are definitely favorites – does not seem out of reach. question, especially with LeBron James in the west.

At the same time, Detrick is certainly not the only skeptic of the Sixers, and the coach (and temporary head of basketball operations) Brett Brown said in the draft that they were "in search of stars". like James or George was realistic. With a kernel as young as theirs, you can reasonably argue that the money they hired for Redick and Chandler – and even Johnson last season – would have been better used on young players with more potential . It's easy to understand the A option being LeBron, but what about making aggressive offers for guys like Aaron Gordon, Fred VanVleet, Marcus Smart or the former Sixer Jerami Grant?

Personally, I will not kill the front office without GM to do what he did. I liked how Mikal Bridges would have adapted to this training, but I also liked the logic behind acquiring an unprotected Miami Heat pick in 2021 in exchange for its exchange against Zhaire Smith in the repechage. Johnson and Bjelica were signed to favorable contracts. I'm lukewarm on Chandler's deal because it's not come with a first-round pick attached, but executives are reluctant to give up first-round picks.

The Sixers basically kicked the box for another season, but they did it while retaining important players, drafting a high ceiling wing and adding new trumps. The off season was not a home race, exactly, but part of it is because the expectations were so high. By avoiding long – term contracts and becoming more versatile for the coming season, they set themselves up to succeed 2018-1919 and be in the know for a maximum contract guy. next summer. Not bad.

2. How are the Lakers going to play?

In light of ESPN's story Thursday about the Lakers wanting to make LeBron a finisher rather than a playmaker, it's worth revisiting a topic that we have treated elsewhere : How will these pieces fit together? And, more specifically, what kind of system will coach Luke Walton install?

Baxter Holmes of ESPN wrote Walton's most telling profile in February 2017, reporting that when he arrived in Los Angeles, he wanted his team to pbad 300 times per game, the same benchmark Steve Kerr challenged the Golden State Warriors. Walton adores the 1986 Celtics and worships the 2014 Spurs. He is not an isolation basketball fan and he is more interested in ball movement than by the concordance of the hunt.

If you wanted a fast and fluid basketball brand, would you sign Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo? Will James, who is resting during the games and will be 34 years old, about to embrace running and shooting now ? I'm digging into the idea of ​​relieving James of the responsibility to play – he is an incredible finisher and has become a reliable ground spaceman – but ideally, this would happen without sacrificing shooting and defense elsewhere on the list.

The Lakers are in a strange place, and that's without even getting into all the Kawhi stuff. I can understand their vision of the team, but I am not sure that James will accept it and do not think that they have the necessary support … for the moment.

3. What are Washington doing?

The Washington Wizards added Dwight Howard, Jeff Green and Austin Rivers to their offseason. No fan base is more discouraged than theirs.

Individually, every movement is in some way defensible. Howard only cost them the mini-MLE ($ 5.3 million), and after Nerlens Noel chose the Thunder on them, they had to sign someone to avoid starting Ian Mahinmi at center. The rivers will be in his own role as a combo guard on the bench, and he makes them a little deeper than they were last season. The green, as inconstant as it is, was good for the Cavs and should be the same in Washington.

As a collection, however, it is a bummer. How are wizards ready to do much more than last year? John Wall should be healthier and it is possible that rookie Troy Brown is helping, but Washington still has more global concerns. It has not been a fun and consistent group for a while now in terms of chemistry, nor has it been more than the sum of its parts on the ground. Adding Howard's personality to this mix is ​​extremely dangerous – even if you are willing to ignore the fact that it does not really run the ground anymore and still requires touch-ups, it's impossible to explain why two teams have abandoned Howard in the last two offseasons, taking the wrong contracts from Miles Plumlee and Timofey Mozgov, respectively, to get rid of him.

The good news: Washington has not signed any long-term contracts. If any of these types are bad, they will be gone relatively early.

The Bad News: It's not like the wizards are going to have flexibility to come. Even if they give up everyone next summer – Kelly Oubre and Tomas Satoransky included – they will exceed the $ 11 million cap. Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter will make together $ 92.1 million in 2019-2020, the last year of the Mahinmi Albatross contract.

That's why the concept of Wall, Beal or Porter trading is not crazy. All three were worthy of their high time slots and they work well together, but management has failed to provide them with the right kind of support. Years of trading first-round picks, the selection of Jan Vesely, the Mahinmi contract, Andrew Nicholson's contract – all this is of importance.

If Washington had a group of promising players on price-controlled contracts, it would not have had to settle for veteran rentals. It could have been a better summer, of course, but this summer was put in place by the mistakes of the past.

4. Who wants love?

This is a good place to start for potential destinations Kevin Love:

My favorite destination of the group is Oklahoma City, where he could play with his college roommate Russell Westbrook and make Thunder Road more interesting. It's so difficult to make a deal that makes sense. OKC would be crazy to include Steven Adams in a potential trade, and say you buy that the Cavs would accept an offer from Carmelo Anthony, Terrence Ferguson and a first-round pick on the condition that Cleveland would buy Anthony – you really think that the Thunder would be willing to pay Westbrook, Paul George, Love (baduming he resumes his player option) and Adams a combined $ 122.6 million in 2019-2020? They are heading for at least one season of luxury-tax hell as it is.

The love for C.J. McCollum has been discussed on the Internet for so long that it's boring me somehow. This would diversify the Blazers' attack, but I do not necessarily see them negotiating a 26-year-old for a 29-year-old when they are more of a move away from the championship dispute.

Minnesota is by far the funniest destination, especially since it was a repeat of the 2014 Love-for-Andrew Wiggins exchange. The Spurs make sense for his style of play, but I doubt that they want to play him next to LaMarcus Aldridge defensively. Maybe Milwaukee could sign and trade Jabari Parker, but these numbers will be difficult to quantify because of the basic pay.

I'm not saying that the Cavs will not exchange love or suggest that they should not. They must be terrible for two seasons to avoid sending a first – round pick to Atlanta, and knocking it down is the best way to be awful. Trades are just more cunning than you think based on the fact that it's still good.

5. How will the few cap teams use their space?

The free agency may have the impression that it's over, but there are three teams that have more work to do: the Sacramento Kings, the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls .

For restricted free agents always in limbo, it is the teams who can actually sign them to offer leaves. For teams looking to earn a salary, it is the teams that can take a bad contract in exchange for a choice. In a strange way, these lottery teams hold all the cards for the rest of the offseason.

It is clear that the Hawks and Bulls have no interest in using their captains' room to recruit players to help them win short-term games. Chicago still has not figured out what it will do with its own restricted free agent, Zach LaVine. Everyone was waiting for Kings to do something crazy, but they have not done anything yet.

None of these teams is necessarily in a hurry. All, however, will use their space for something.