Paul George’s Top Free Agency Destinations

Paul George’s Top Free Agency Destinations

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Paul George has been one of the best players in the NBA ever since his 2012-2013 breakout season with the Indiana Pacers, which came about due to the unfortunate circumstances around Danny Granger’s string of knee and leg injuries. The 6’9” (or 6’10”, according to The Indianapolis Star) small forward has been named an All-Star five times since then, made three All-NBA teams as well as the same amount of All-Defensive teams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to trade for George, who molded quite well with fellow star teammates Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. OKC was able to get the 4-seed with a 48-34 record, and squared off against rookie stud Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz in the first round.

Their season came to an abrupt, rough ending as Utah took out the Thunder in just 5 games. Most expected the Thunder to at least make 7 tough games out of the series, never mind coming out on top. PG is a free agent, and the rumors have been fluttering for months now. Nobody is really certain of where he’ll end up next year, and if it’s not OKC, there are a handful of perfect fits.

 

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are seemingly the top candidate (besides the Thunder) to land George this summer. In fact, it probably is a perfect match. He grew up in Los Angeles, his parents are Lakers fans (his dad even wore a Lakers cap during the OKC vs. LAL game this season), and they’ve got money to dish out. The franchise has available two max deals to work with, and the array of young talent they have is very promising. George would be a star on a fresh squad, making a load of money, all while mentoring his teammates (who are already pretty good for their ages, and Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball were named to the All-NBA Rookie First and Second teams respectively). There are also rumors of the Lakers landing LeBron, which would be hard for anybody to pass up.

 

 

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers destroyed their expectations this past season, despite winning just a game against Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The sky’s the limit for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who will most likely be announced as the Rookie of the Year in the coming weeks. Philly finished with an astounding 52-30 record just two seasons removed from their infamously terrible 10-72 record, which was good enough for a 3-seed. George would blend perfectly in Philly, and he’d join an impressive core of young guns. Other talent includes 1st-overall draft pick Markelle Fultz,  sharpshooter J.J. Redick, and Dario Šarić. The Sixers have the money for it as well, with about $25 million available in cap space.

 

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs finished this year rather roughly by their absurd expectations, not winning 50 games for the first time in 20 seasons. They still made the playoffs amid the Kawhi Leonard drama/injury combination. If Kawhi wants out, then the Spurs would definitely be able to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with the Thunder. It’s very unlikely that George wouldn’t enjoy his time under Gregg Popovich, arguably the best coach in NBA history. San Antonio has a loyal fan base and an already impressive team that includes some fantastic talent (LaMarcus Aldridge, Dejounte Murray, Danny Green, Rudy Gay, as well as veterans Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker). While they can’t flat-out afford to land PG, it is certainly possible to come to an agreement that’ll put him in a grey and black jersey.

May 24, 2018 No Comments
Unanimous Selections James Harden & Lebron James Headline All-NBA First Team

Unanimous Selections James Harden & Lebron James Headline All-NBA First Team

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The All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams were announced earlier on Thursday and it’s hard to see anyone being upset with how the voting went. James Harden & Lebron James were the only two players receiving unanimous votes for the First Team, which likely shows when the MVP award is announced that they were the only two players even considered. The remainder of the First Team was filled out by Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard.

Twitter doesn’t seem to be happy with seeing Lillard on that team but if you can put his dreadful playoff performance to the side, he averaged 26.9ppg and 6.6apg per game, while leading the Blazers to the third seed in the always tough Western Conference. No shock seeing Durant, who averaged 26.4ppg while shooting at an amazingly efficient rate and becoming an excellent defender. Also no shock seeing Davis here, who averaged 28.1ppg while being Mr. Everything for the Pelicans after DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season.

The Second Team was led by Russell Westbrook and Demar DeRozan at the guard positions. They were joined by Joel Embiid, LaMarcus Aldridge and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Again, no real surprises here.

The Third Team had Steph Curry and Victor Oladipo at the guards, while Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Town and Paul George rounded out the squad. Curry only played in 51 games this season, which clearly caused him to fall to the Third Team this season.

One of the biggest effects of making or not making an All-NBA team is the type of money a player may or may not be eligible for when negotiating their next deals.

For example, Bobby Marks reported that “Anthony Davis has now met the super max criteria (All-NBA in 2 out of 3 seasons) and is eligible to sign the largest contract in NBA history next summer (2019). The extension projects to be worth $230 million with a cap hit in 2020-21 starting at $39.7 million.”

So clearly it was a great day for Davis but the same can’t be said for someone like Klay Thompson. Since he failed to make any of the three teams, he is not eligible for the Super Max contract this summer. He could be eligible next summer but only if he winds up making one of the All-NBA teams for the 2018-2019 season. If he misses it again next season, the Warriors will save some substantial money on his next deal.

The two closest players in the voting who didn’t wind up making any of the teams were Chris Paul and Rudy Gobert. While I’m sure those players themselves, as well as the fans bases of the teams they play for felt like they were snubbed, there is really no argument to remove anyone off the Third Team in favor of them.

Written By @IamJoeSports

May 24, 2018 No Comments
NBA Announces All-Rookie Teams. Check Out Who Made It & How The Votes Broke Down

NBA Announces All-Rookie Teams. Check Out Who Made It & How The Votes Broke Down

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Earlier on Tuesday, the NBA announced the First & Second All-Rookie teams and for the most part the voting broke down how you would expect based on how the season went.

The players who made the First Team were all essentially a lock to do so. Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are both in contention for Rookie Of The Year, while Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Lauri Markkanen all played outstanding for their respective teams. Tatum is battling in the Eastern Conference Finals while averaging 18 points per game.

ESPN’s Chris Forsberg shared how the voting totals broke down.

The first thing you notice from seeing the votes is Simmons and Mitchell tied with 200 points a piece. Could be an indicator of how the Rookie Of The Year voting will go.

You can argue that De’Aaron Fox could’ve made the Second team at the guard spot but with Dennis Smith Jr and Lonzo Ball both being there, it’s hard to argue either of them should be removed for Fox. Bam Adebayo came within one point of tying Josh Jackson on the Second team.

The biggest glaring omission overall is number one pick, Markelle Fultz. The player the Sixers traded up to get didn’t have the rookie season he or the team expected but providing he is fully healthy next season, he can still prove they made the right move by taking him.

Written By @IamJoeSports

May 23, 2018 No Comments
Warriors Surpass Michael Jordan’s Bulls And Set New NBA Record With 16th Straight Home Playoff Win

Warriors Surpass Michael Jordan’s Bulls And Set New NBA Record With 16th Straight Home Playoff Win

NBA

The Golden State Warriors set a new NBA record on Sunday night after they disposed of the Houston Rockets in game three of the Western Conference Finals. The win was the Warriors 16th straight at home in the playoffs, surpassing the record of 15 straight home playoff wins which was set by The Chicago Bulls in 1990 and 1991.

The Warriors current streak started back on April 16th, 2017 with a win against the Portland Trailblazers, which was their first win on their way to the championship last season.

The last time they experienced a losing feeling on their home court in the playoffs was when Lebron James and the Cavaliers were celebrating winning a championship in Oracle after Lebron’s spectacular block of Andre Iguodala and then Kyrie Irving nailing the dagger.

The win over the Rockets on Sunday night set another playoff record at the same time, with the 41 point blowout being the Warriors biggest margin of victory in franchise history.

Written by @IamJoeSports

h/t The Score

May 21, 2018 No Comments
Kevin Durant Has A Great Response When Charles Barkley Asks About Draymond Green Being Annoying

Kevin Durant Has A Great Response When Charles Barkley Asks About Draymond Green Being Annoying

NBA

Charles Barkley thought he could sneak a question past Kevin Durant after the Warriors blowout game three victory over the Rockets. Durant wasn’t having it.

In case you somehow missed it, a couple weeks ago Charles Barkley was on “Inside The NBA” when he professed how badly he wants someone to punch Draymond Green in the face.

As you might expect, Draymond didn’t take too kindly to that comment once he was told about it.

The drama turned into a fake beef for about 24 hours or so, before Barkley wound up giving a half-sincere apology the next night. The topic has been a dead issue since but on Sunday night, Barkley tried to bring up Draymond being annoying to see what Durant would say and the reigning Finals MVP had the best response possible.

Durant pulled Barkley’s card without even really trying and the rest of the “Inside The NBA” crew all had a laugh about it. Perhaps the next time Barkley tries to be slick, he will probably think about this moment.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 21, 2018 No Comments
ESPN & Netflix Team Up For Ten Part Documentary On Michael Jordan Titled “The Last Dance”

ESPN & Netflix Team Up For Ten Part Documentary On Michael Jordan Titled “The Last Dance”

NBA

NBA fans were given a special piece of news earlier on Tuesday when it was announced that ESPN Films and Netflix have gotten together to give us a 10 part documentary on Michael Jordan’s life, including the 1990’s Bulls. The doc is called “The Last Dance” and is expected in 2019.

There are reportedly over 500 hours of never before seen footage involving his airness and Jordan himself is signed on to be a full participant in the film.

Expect it to cover everything from both his professional and private life but from the early sounds of it, the major focus will definitely be on his playing career.

This has all the makings of one of the best ESPN films ever, which is only right if you’re going to do something involving the player most people believe is the best ever.

Written by @IamJoeSports

May 16, 2018 No Comments