THERE’S seems to be a mad rush to finish things nowadays and it looks like the NBA is no exception. With the 2020-21 season penciled to begin in a month and the NBA drafts concluded just a couple of days ago, the wheeling and dealing has begun.
Several teams have already made big moves and roster shakeups and let’s see what we have in our plate so far.
WARRIORS. It seems like 2020 isn’t done casting its spell and the most recent victim is Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors who has injured his Achilles heel in a horrific accident and will miss the entire season.
Just a day after the diagnosis for Klay came out the Warriors wasted no time in acquiring forward Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a protected 2021 first round pick.
Oubre averaged 18.7 pts. and 6.4 rebounds last season, and is a career 32% from the three-point range. Not exactly in Klay’s league, but when you are running out of options, you have to decide quickly.
Oubre might not be the perfect complement for Steph Curry but at least this gives the Warriors another ready threat from the wing and gives them some athleticism.
LAKERS. It what was a bizarre turn of events, Dwight Howard had tweeted he was going to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, but a few hours later, it was deleted.
Turns out, he was not going to be there to defend their title and instead he would be going to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers in turn were able to acquire Montrezl Harrell from the Los Angeles Clippers for a two-year deal.
Is this an upgrade? It remains to be seen. Harrell, a two-time 6th man of the year award, is a beast and gives them a defensive presence, but is shorter than Howard and possesses a strong personality which might be a double-edged sword in terms of how he affects the team chemistry.
The Lakers were also able to acquire Dennis Schroeder, losing Danny Green in the process and so there are a lot of new faces in this team that will be performing crucial roles.
BUCKS. Eager to placate the league’s reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks dealt Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three first-round picks and two future first-round pick swaps for Jrue Holiday.
Holiday is a talented player who can play several positions and this gives the Bucks versatility. However, they need more shooters and, as of this writing, the trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic fell through and it remains to be seen if they can add more pieces to the puzzle.
LAST ROUNDS. Are on two good-looking lawyers from our Super Idols basketball team, Ferdinand “Bong” Pepito and Jemil Marquez.