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You certainly would not qualify the offseason of the annoying 2018 NBA : the world's best player, LeBron James, changed the team dramatically a day after the Lakers had lost against a guy who announced a year he wanted to sign with the Lakers as a free agent. In response to all this, the best team in the NBA, the Warriors, signed an All-Star at the mid-level just because they could.
But as a show of fireworks, the gain on the accumulation was unfortunately regrettable.
The only big domino left to do is a potential swap of Kawhi Leonard, but the Spurs seem barely in a hurry to do anything (unlike the Cavaliers with the Kyrie Irving saga last year). But for the main free-agents still restricted on the table (Clint Capela, Zach LaVine), this NBA summer could really be a game.
We were worried that the offseason would be boring. It was not exactly, although the excitement lasted three days. Strange times.
The Risky Game of Pelicans
Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Advocate wrote a good column on the risky strategy that the Pelicans chose, and how it returned Monday when DeMarcus Cousins is gone for the Warriors. Kushner says the draft pick for veterans is riskier than organic construction, but that's a reasonable choice for New Orleans given the goal of keeping Anthony Davis forever.
For me, pelicans worsened by treating Cousins as a free agent also ran once he had fallen with injury. Losing cousins for Julius Randle, perhaps, will not hurt much this critical season, given Cousins' injury. But Kushner's full story about how everything happened – the Pels did not send people to meet Cousins while the free agency was starting, and were anti-aggressive trying to hold him back – is a signal that want to send to Davis.
This signal: if you are healthy and contributing, you are the world for us. If you are hurt, do not expect us to stumble to chase you away. Now Cousins is not Davis, in the talent or status within the Pels organization. But that's the signal, and that thing matters. New Orleans has not just botched Cousins' free agency. They got cold and calculating in the process, which can not give the impression that they want the Davis, often hurt, to have to move on.
It was always a tricky navigation, the free agency of Cousins. The Pels hit the rocks.
Galore Links
(There are not many links because July 4th was madly slow in the NBA.)
Harry Giles' train is full and leaves the station. (It's always nice to see good people so happy to have their chance.)
The latest apology from the NBA for refusing to consider abolishing conferences in terms of the playoffs is she adds that this would add 40,000 miles of trips to teams' itineraries. Note that the NBA will not consider shrinking the regular season to reduce the trip or create the calendar cushion that would facilitate the playoff trip.
A ja Wilson tears it up.
I am all about This quote from Deandre Ayton about the meeting of Diana Taurasi .
100% were in agreement: Slamball was ahead of his time.
Be excellent to each other.
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