Mapping out a road to East’s top spot
With Nets set to rise, other contenders may need to make moves
The NBA’s Eastern Conference is more open than ever, coming off a season in which an upstart fifth seed made it to the finals. At least one team is virtually guaranteed to vault into the top tier from mediocrity: the Brooklyn Nets, given that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are expected to return from injury for the 2020-21 season. But otherwise, it should be a slugfest from start to finish.
There will be lots of eyes on the plight of Giannis Antetokounmpo and his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, not to mention the beginning of the Doc Rivers era in Philadelphia. And, hey, maybe this is the year the New York Knicks make progress?
To all the Eastern Conference general managers, here is a suggestion for one thing your team has to do this off-season. We’ll hang up and listen.
THE CONTENDERS
Miami Heat: The Heat, coming off an unexpectedly strong season, are in a great position. They have young talent, a star in Jimmy Butler, significant cap space and the 20th pick in the draft. But if the Heat are to make it back to the Finals, they will need more consistent playmaking outside of Butler. They have three significant players entering free agency: guard Goran Dragic, centre Meyers Leonard and wing Jae Crowder. The cap space, however, gives the Heat flexibility to pursue another playmaker to team with Butler — Victor Oladipo, perhaps? Brooklyn Nets: The Nets have no cap space, but they essentially get to see their off-season moves from last summer come to fruition now, with Durant and Irving returning from injuries. Their big acquisition this summer was Steve Nash, their new head coach. Unless the Nets are willing to trade some of their young talent, there is no third star coming. That means the Nets need to re-sign Joe Harris, an unrestricted free agent and a sharpshooter on the perimeter. Boston Celtics: Boston needs scoring help off the bench. Much of its off-season hinges on whether Gordon Hayward opts into his roughly $34-million (U.S.) contract for next year, so the one way to concretely get playmaking help is through the draft, where Boston has picks Nos. 14, 26 and 30. Danny Ainge, the team’s president of basketball, should explore trading up. Philadelphia 76ers: Solve the Al
Horford problem. According to the NBA’s tracking numbers, there is some evidence that playing Horford and Joel Embiid together can work. The team’s most-used lineup of Horford, Tobias Harris, Embiid, Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons outscored opposing lineups by 8.5 points per 100 possessions. But the league is trending toward smaller lineups, and it is not clear that doubling down on multiple bigs on the floor is going to work over a full season. It didn’t last year. Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol are all unrestricted free agents. Kyle Lowry is entering the last year of his contract. At the very least, the Raptors have to re-sign VanVleet, and likely will. Milwaukee Bucks: Build a Giannis Antetokounmpo statue outside the arena now so he feels too guilty to leave in free agency next summer.
THE MAYBES
Indiana Pacers: Trade Victor Oladipo. He has not publicly asked for a trade, but there is enough smoke flying around that there is probably fire. At 28, he isn’t a top-tier star and has made just two all-star games. The Pacers had the right idea in acquiring him in the 2017 Paul George trade with Oklahoma City, especially because they also received Domantas Sabonis, 24, in the deal. Sabonis may end up being the better player. Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have lots of cap room, the seventh pick in the draft and a stillin-his prime star in Blake Griffin with lots left to prove. They need to either trade Griffin and commit to rebuilding or use the cap space to land a star. Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell would be an ideal target. Atlanta Hawks: They were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year, so if the
Hawks want to vault, they need some help on that side of the ball. Signing someone like Dwight Howard would be ideal. Same for Gordon Hayward if he opts out of his deal with Boston.
THE MAYBE-NOTS
Orlando Magic: The Magic have lots of talent but none in the top-tier. It is hard to jump to championship status without it, and Aaron Gordon isn’t cutting it. They won’t have much, if any, cap space this summer, but it is time to see what the trade market is for Gordon. Charlotte Hornets: Michael Jordan needs to nail the third pick in the draft. If he doesn’t, everyone should point it out so he takes it personally, returns as a player and wins another championship. Washington Wizards: The Wizards may have a little bit of cap room to play with this fall, even with nearly $70 million committed to John Wall and Bradley Beal. But that is only if the Wizards don’t pay Davis Bertans, who is due for a big raise as an unrestricted free agent. Chicago Bulls: Even in what is said to be a weak draft, there is likely long-term cornerstone potential in this pool. The three most talked about prospects are James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. Arturas Karnisovas should consider trading the No. 4 pick, and package it with one of the younger prospects on the team to see if either Minnesota, Golden State or Charlotte will bite. Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love and Andre Drummond, who opted in to the last year of his contract after being traded from Detroit, are not going to work playing together. Free Kevin Love! New York Knicks: Go three months without feuding with Spike Lee.