Now that we’ve reached August, high school basketball will slow down for a brief period before the start of next season. During this time featuring fewer events, we will start looking at other topics worth discussing (typically in the basketball space) during this “Friday Five” series. Whether it’s players capturing headlines, stories in the media, or something completely unrelated, we will (hopefully) produce five excerpts each week. For the first edition, we will take a closer look at five things worth monitoring this NBA season…
Is Charlotte Building the Most Fun Sub-40 Win Team Ever'
Being a resident of North Carolina, it feels like the dismay of the Charlotte Hornets gets talked about a lot. It’s been discussed on podcasts, written in articles, and even occasionally brought up by national media outlets, yet nothing has changed. No matter how much the organization tries to pivot, it never seems to work. This current roster is no different. Regardless of how much excitement he brings, LaMelo Ball is simply not the answer. Yes, he’s unbelievably talented and widely loved by many, but the reality is he’s played in 231 of 410 potential games over five total seasons. Last year, the Hornets were 16-31 in games featuring Ball (bringing his total record to 98-133). While it’s unfair to blame him for the lack of surrounding weapons, he certainly doesn’t help matters. To take it a step further, he logged the 23rd highest usage rate in history last season…for a team that went 19-63. The names ahead of him' Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Demarcus Cousins, Dwyane Wade, and Jermaine O’Neal (!'). Sadly, the Hornets are slated to be over the cap unless they shed salary. The one saving grace is they’ll free up roughly 30 million between the Jusuf Nurkic and Pat Connaughton expiring contracts following the season. Nurkic is almost a guarantee to get hurt, leaving Moussa Diabate and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner as the only big men on the roster. So, the core of Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel should be fun…but can they reach 40 wins'
Will Cam Johnson Be the Difference-Maker for Denver'
Earlier this summer, the Denver Nuggets agreed on a trade that would send Michael Porter Jr. (and unprotected first-round pick in 2032) to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. In the moment, everyone immediately called this a massive win for the Nuggets. Nearly a month later, and it’s still a homerun deal for Denver. This is largely due to Porter Jr. being too expensive rather than the gap in talent. Porter Jr. is a better rebounder and shot-blocker with better size (and two years younger). However, the newfound financial flexibility allowed Denver to make several massive moves that would’ve otherwise been impossible (adding Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas, and Tim Hardaway Jr.). With all due respect to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic is still the best player in the world and this roster will give him another few chances to legitimately contend for a title. Does he care' It’s unclear.
Milwaukee Bucks Doing Their Impression of the 2009 Cavaliers'
Perhaps the most pitiful, saddening situation in the NBA is how Milwaukee basically ripped apart a title team in favor of short-sighted moves. Even though folks were in favor of the move when it happened, the ideology of moving Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard somewhat epitomizes what is wrong with basketball. The stylistic fit was never there, and that became evident as they struggled to find cohesion on the court. Both guys want and need the ball as much as possible to maximize their effectiveness. It doesn’t work. Then, they trade a declining Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma in a nice effort to save some money. Unfortunately, Kuzma is just another guy getting in the way of Giannis. Just when they can’t be any more unpredictable, they stretch Damian Lillard’s contract (basically paying out 23 million for the next five seasons) and use the “leftover” money to sign Myles Turner. Alright. So, a team of Kuzma, Turner, Cole Anthony, Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, AJ Green, and Andre Jackson is supposed to…do what exactly' Because it’s certainly not keeping Giannis in Milwaukee. It feels incredibly similar to Cleveland’s pathetic last-ditch effort to put a meaningful team around LeBron James in 2009, trading for a washed Shaquille O’Neal and later acquiring Antwan Jamison (the “Lillard” in this situation). Can Milwaukee salvage this situation before it’s too late'
Can New Orleans Find a Direction'
It’s difficult to feel anything other than sorry for New Orleans. Although they’ve struggled to get out of their own way at times, the organization has actually done some positive things over the last ten to fifteen years. They were basically forced to trade away Chris Paul, yet manage to net Anthony Davis in the draft. Then, Davis wants out. No problem, they’ll just get another top pick and draft potential superstar Zion Williamson. Since then, Williamson has shoulder-shrugged his way into being the most frustrating franchise cornerstone maybe ever. The guy could easily be a top-ten player in the NBA, yet cannot be bothered to care. However, there are still several nice pieces on this roster. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III would each warrant calls from 29 teams if they were available. Jordan Poole quietly had a really productive year for Washington, Yves Missi showed promising flashes as a rookie, and Jose Alvarado is a useful rotation piece. Jordan Hawkins will need to take a step after a down year from beyond the arc (33%). It’s unclear when Dejounte Murray will return after tearing his meniscus in January. However, there’s a lot of buzz (both positive and negative) surrounding the incoming rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. There’s no telling what this team will look like from one game to the next, but they should at least be pretty fun and able to answer internal questions regarding their potential pathway to success.
Is Portland Shaping Up as the Top League Pass Team'
Each year, a new NBA League Pass team emerges. For those who don’t know, the top League Pass team is typically an extremely fun, non-contender usually armed with young exciting players throughout their roster. It’s pretty obvious that the Portland Trailblazers will be entertaining, but how much success will they have' Parting ways with Anfernee Simons hurts (particularly as a guy they drafted out of high school and developed), but getting rid of DeAndre Ayton should improve their general morale and cohesion. Even if Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen aren’t ready, the reps will be valuable for their respective developments. Shaedon Sharpe quietly had a breakout season, Toumani Camara emerged as one of the league’s best defenders, and Deni Avdjia continued to blossom as a young piece on a highly favorable contract. Jerami Grant’s production fell off a cliff last season, so it’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back. Add in another year of development (and teaching under Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday) for Scoot Henderson, and there’s so much to monitor.