New Orleans Pelicans
I'm not surprised that the Pelicans are still tearing up the league, but I do think they could be even better. I have no idea why Kraig Cornett is riding the pine on this squad. Aubrey Shores is a consistent and efficient scorer, but does a team featuring two 25+ ppg scorers really need an offensive C? Cornett doesn't have to start, but he should be getting at least 20-25 MPG to give some semblance of a defensive presence down low. Paul Cassel's another one who might have something left in the tank that he isn't getting a chance to tap into.
OKCeltics
There's always two surprise teams in each conference every year, and this season's Alpha edition is the reborn Boston Celtics. To tell you the truth, I wrote this team off for this season after the Alleman trade, but Antonio Blakeney has ascended into the "I am the team" level, and he hasn't even hit his peak yet. Dieng has also done quite well for himself, but yeah, this is Antonio's squad, and I wonder just how far he can push them in the playoffs.
Utah Jazz
I really feel like the Jazz should've tapped out last season. They had a very limited window to compete, and unfortunately the Pistons glued it shut. I like the pickup of Warley, but the rest of the roster is an odd mix of talents that could do something cool…with someone else other than Kim and Wade running the show. Oh, and why TF is Armitage b/b?
Sacramento Kings
Thank goodness for Gary Rockwell. If there's one good thing SuperDog's doing, it's using the points earned from the failed Hayes run to build up the next star.
Minnesota Timberwolves
It's fine that JNR's coasting now, but next offseason's his last chance to create a team worth caring about. If he loses Lenz, very little outside of Huo going Alleman Mode will salvage this squad. Also, it'd be nice if Ortega's option was declined, just saying.
San Antonio Spurs
I honestly can't believe Galloway ended up being this good right now, he was such a slow starter. I feel like he's one case where having purple potential hurts. If he were b/b, I imagine the trade offers would be far more plentiful. Ingram's gotta be a lock for the next 10 year Spur, right?
Brooklyn Nets
Free James Andrews, holy crap. There's some serious big man talent in the league right now, but few, if any, of them are moving the needle for their teams. I do not like that Kostas deal at all unless it leads to a trade down the road. If RPF really doesn't want to move Andrews, he can't wait for Alvarado, Martin, Payton II, Ware, and Harper Jr. to all pop off, at least two of those guys need to be packaged with Kostas ASAP.
The Only Los Angeles Team, Now And Forever
This is my GMoY right here. The Clikers had an extremely small window of opportunity to improve their team, and man did Mamba slide through that opening as smoothly as can be. He Hor and Alleman were already incredible pickups, but now Canfield too? Without giving up their two late-lotto potential 2050 1sts? Man. Whatever happens at the end of this season aside, LA won this year.
Milwaukee Bucks
Adding THT is interesting. On the surface it's a last-ditch effort to get one last shot at dethroning Balls, but the fact that THT has just one season left on his deal means that unless Quail's really willing to YOLO it, he's going to have to move him. And once he goes, it only makes sense to move Manley. And depending on what he gets back for those two, Bey might not even make sense anymore. Interesting times ahead, but for now the focus is on getting past LA and the Pelicans. I think they match up well with the Pels, not so much with LA…especially now that they've picked up Canfield.
Indiana Pacers
1st Sim Pauly has become Last Season Pauly. Whatever was in Indy last season has moved on, and it might be time for Patrick Williams to move along with it. There's a chance for Pauly to turn things around quickly if he can use his cap wisely and TLW improves, but going back to Pat…dropping that $66 mil off the books next season would be an insane boost to Pauly's financial flexibility, giving him over $100 mil to work with, with RFA rights on Herb Jones and TLW/Parris already locked
in. That's just too good an opportunity to pass up.
Phoenix Suns
I'll be honest, the double whammy of Nix and Cuevas getting knocked out for a bit was a blessing in disguise from where I'm standing. The Suns were another one of those teams running in place, and at least now it seems like Black Superman knows it's time to move on. Unfortunately, the rest of the league knows it too, which is probably why the cries to trade Nix and Cuevas' expiring deals have fallen on deaf ears. Liddell/Akins/2050 1st rounder is a more than adequate starting point for a rebuild, it just would've been nice to have a little bit more.
Portland Trailblazers
Even though I wasn't a fan of the Kuric deal (both before and after the broken leg), it simply had to be done, which makes it a win. Even with the shattered leg, Bjelica isn't a lost cause by any means. I have no idea why Moody isn't better than he is, he'd be a fairly hot commodity if he just played as good as he looked, or had some clearly explainable flaw that's holding him back from reaching his full potential.
Dallas Mavericks
I get the feeling that LazyTitan's chomping at the bit to get to the offseason and put his stamp on this roster. That's cool, but just don't forget to cut off those team options in your haste to complete this season, my man.
