NBALord.com Podcast: Gordon Hayward to the Celtics and NBA Free Agency

On this week's episode of the NBALord.com Podcast, I share my thoughts on Gordon Hayward going to the Boston Celtics and the wild NBA free agency that we have experienced. Click here to listen to the podcast.




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Saturday Slam: Where do the Utah Jazz go after losing Gordon Hayward?

After losing Gordon Hayward to the Boston Celtics, the Utah Jazz find themselves in a jam. They've lost their best player and with the free agent pool largely dried up, there's not much they can add to help them replace Hayward's production. Such is the result of living in a world with free agency. 

With Hayward gone, this is Rudy Gobert's team now and that's not a bad thing. Last season, the 7'1", 245 pound center averaged 14.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game, playing in 81 games in the regular season. Gobert has the tools to be the next dominant center in the NBA and be a game changer in a way that Hayward never was. If the Jazz had to pick between Hayward and Gobert, they'd pick Gobert every time. It's not even close. That isn't to say it wouldn't be nice to have both, but the Jazz can now focus on building the team around Gobert and help him become the next face of the franchise. 

The challenge the Jazz have is that right now, they are up against a very stacked Western Conference. Teams like the Thunder, Rockets, Timberwolves, and Spurs have all gotten better while they have gotten worse. Long term, I don't think the Jazz should panic, but as far as next season is concerned, it will be tough for them to get back to the playoffs and win another series. 

The best the Jazz can do is evaluate who they have and figure out who makes sense to hang onto for the future. Derrick Favors is a guy who they'll likely take a hard look at trading at the deadline given that he'll enter unrestricted free agency next summer. He's been solid for them, but hasn't lived up to the hype, either. Unless he has a monster year, he's likely playing for someone else in 12 months or less. 

Two other guys who should be under scrutiny are Danté Exum and Alec Burks. Exum is yet to live up to the massive hype that he had coming into the NBA and after dealing with injury, it's unclear whether or not Burks can return to the level he was at before. Exum enters restricted free agency next summer and Burks enters unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019, so if the Jazz want, they can part with both guys after two seasons. 

Outside of Gobert, the only other guy who Jazz fans should really feel excited about is Rodney Hood, who is emerging into one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA, averaging 12.7 points per game on 37.1% shooting from three-point range last season. With Hayward gone, Hood will really get a chance to get more touches and prove his worth in the backcourt.

                                         (Chris Detrick. The Salt Lake Tribune) 

Gobert and Hood could evolve into a really nice one-two punch for the Jazz, but even if they live up to their potential, I'm not sure they'll be enough to make the Jazz a serious contender. The Jazz need to find another piece and what has to be of concern is it's unclear who that piece will be. At this point, all the Jazz can do is go forward with what they have and make the best moves possible to give Gobert and Hood the support they need. 

Saturday Slam is a weekly piece that focuses on a major story of the week. This blog post also appears on my Utah Jazz blog. Click here to check it out. 

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Triple-Threat Thursday: Will Lonzo Ball save the Los Angeles Lakers?

The Los Angeles Lakers are hopeful that they finally have their franchise player for the future in rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, who they drafted #2 overall out of UCLA. At 6'6", 190 pounds, Ball draws comparisons to Jason Kidd due to his combination of size, speed, quickness, and strength. He handles the ball extremely well and is a gifted passer. On top of that, he scores really well around the rim and also knows how to shoot from deep, making him a very tricky player to defend.

While there's a lot to like about Ball and what he brings to the table, is it too early to label him as the savior of the franchise? On the one hand, the answer is obviously yes because we've seen many a talented rookie fall short of their lofty expectations. You never know what will happen in the future and given that he hasn't even played in a game, Ball is yet to prove himself on an NBA floor.

At the same time, it's hard to see Lonzo Ball not living up to expectations. Nobody is calling him the next Kobe Bryant, but to see him as a guy who produces like Deron Williams in his prime seems to be pretty reasonable. Unlike with some guys, you don't need to look up Ball's statistics and use analytics to justify the hype. He passes the eye test with flying colors and I'm a believer in the eye test being the most important test.

While Ball is obviously a fantastic piece to build around, the Lakers still have a ton of work to do in order to put him in the best position to be successful. Brook Lopez has a history of getting injured, so it's no guarantee he stays healthy. Even if he does, he's getting older and can't be counted on as a long-term piece to build around. Julius Randle, who averaged 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season, looks promising, but it's still too early to label him the second coming of Karl Malone.

If the Lakers can add one more quality young piece to the mix, I think they'll really have something to get excited about. An elite point guard is practically a must in today's NBA. Assuming they have that need checked off, the Lakers are definitely on their way back to glory.

Triple-Threat Thursday is a weekly piece focusing on the NBA Draft/Rookies. 

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Wednesday Windmill: What adding Gordon Hayward means for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics landed the biggest prize in NBA free agency on Tuesday, getting a commitment from Gordon Hayward, who opted out of his contract with the Utah Jazz. Hayward's deal with the Celtics is 4-years, $128M according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports' The Vertical and other reporters.

Last week, I addressed what adding Hayward would mean for the Celtics, so I feel like somewhat of a broken record addressing this topic one week later. However, now that the Celtics have actually landed their man, I can address this topic more in full, knowing the outcome of the situation.

With Hayward now on their roster, the Celtics have just gotten a lot better. When watching them last season, it was clear that they didn't have the pieces to win a championship. The fact that they finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference was very impressive considering that their roster was inferior to the roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was pretty much the Isaiah Thomas show with Avery Bradley and Al Horford sharing some of the load.

The Celtics needed to add another piece and Hayward was as good of a piece as they could have added. He's only 27 years old and just finished his best season in the NBA, averaging 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game en route to his first All-Star season. He instantly becomes the #2 scoring option on the Celtics and gives them an elite wing, a piece that is needed to contend in today's NBA.

As for whether or not the Celtics are contenders, I think the answer is pretty clear that Hayward makes them a legitimate threat to the Cavaliers. I still wouldn't bet against the Cavaliers due to the presence of LeBron James, but I wouldn't at all be shocked to see the two teams go to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics have gone from virtually having no shot at the Cavaliers to having a legitimate shot at taking them out given the right conditions. That is a significant improvement.

Going forward, the biggest thing the Celtics need to do is figure out how else to balance out their roster. Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN are reporting that Hayward might be headed to the Celtics via sign and trade with Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Jae Crowder all discussed as possible trade chips. This is for the purpose of freeing up more cap space to sign Hayward. In addition to a sign and trade for Hayward, the Celtics might need to tinker with their roster some more to put themselves in the best position to succeed.

While the loss of Hayward is sad for the Utah Jazz, his arrival in Boston is very exciting for the Celtics. They've been in need of adding another elite player to their lineup and they have couldn't have asked for a better addition. I do want to say that Celtics head coach Brad Stevens deserves a ton of credit for this one. If he didn't have such a tight relationship with Hayward going back to their days at Butler, I don't think Hayward leaves Utah. Stevens clearly sold Hayward on the Boston experience and all that they could accomplish together.

When you think about it, that's pretty tough for Hayward to turn down. He wishes they would have won a national championship at Butler and by reuniting in Boston, the two of them get another shot at winning a ring. When you look at it that way, it's actually pretty cool things worked out the way that they did.

Wednesday Windmill is a weekly piece that focuses on the Eastern Conference. 

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NBALord.com Podcast: NBA Free Agency and where Gordon Hayward might land

                                          (Credit: Trent Nelson. The Salt Lake Tribune) 

On this week's episode of the NBALord.com Podcast, Brian Kaiserman joins me to discuss NBA free agency and where Gordon Hayward might land. Click here to listen to the podcast.



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Skyhook Sunday: Are the Oklahoma City Thunder serious contenders after landing Paul George?

A move that caught the basketball world by surprise was the Indiana Pacers trading Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Paul George leaving the Pacers wasn’t a huge shock, but Oklahoma City wasn’t a destination that was considered a likely landing spot for him. With George now on their roster, the Thunder have a legitimate superstar to pair with Russell Westbrook. The question is, do they have enough to contend for a championship in such a loaded Western Conference?

In order to answer this question, it needs to be understood that while the Golden State Warriors remain the clear cut favorites to come out of the Western Conference next season, it is not clear who should be expected to face them in the Western Conference Finals. Even though free agency is still going on, we already can put the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder in the conversation based on the trades that they have recently made. The San Antonio Spurs we also can’t leave out due to the fantastic season that they just had.

In addition to the Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs, the Minnesota Timberwolves are also making big moves and the Utah Jazz, if they can hang on to Gordon Hayward, will be another force to be reckoned with as well. The bottom line is the Western Conference will be loaded next season and the race to the conference finals will be a battle.

What the Thunder have in their favor is they have the 2017 NBA MVP in Russell Westbrook, who averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game last season, the first triple-double average for a single season since Oscar Robertson did it way back in the day. Westbrook is arguably the best player in the NBA and when you pair him with a guy like Paul George, who averaged 23.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season, you got yourself a team that can do some serious damage.

While we are still yet to see how the rest of free agency plays out, it’s already clear that the Oklahoma City Thunder will be a serious contender next season. With Kevin Durant leaving for Golden State, the Thunder had to find another elite swingman to pair with Russell Westbrook and Paul George is as good of an option as anyone out there. While they probably still need to make one more major move in order to give the Warriors a serious scare, the foundation to contend is definitely in place. 

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Saturday Slam: Did the Houston Rockets give up too much for Chris Paul?

The first major headline in the NBA this week was the news that the Los Angeles Clippers traded Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. Yahoo! Sports' The Vertical reported that in exchange for Paul, the Clippers receive Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, DeAndre Liggins, Darrun Hilliard, Kyle Wiltjer, a 2018 first round pick (protected Nos. 1-3), and $661,000 from the Rockets.

On the surface, this looks like a fantastic move for the Rockets. James Harden needs another superstar by his side to make the Rockets a contender and Chris Paul certainly qualifies as a superstar. But when you look closer at this deal, it's possible that the Rockets gave up too much for Paul. Especially when you consider the fact that depth was a major strength of theirs last season.

Last season with the Clippers, Chris Paul averaged 18.1 points, 9.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game. Those are big time numbers. When you add that to the Houston Rockets, he easily becomes their number two player behind James Harden, who averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.

                                          (Credit: Keith Allison. Click here for source)

However, Lou Williams (14.9 points), Patrick Beverley (9.5 points), Montrezl Harrell (9.1 points), and Sam Dekker (6.5 points) were all solid contributors for the Rockets last season. Especially Williams, Beverley, and Harrell. While Williams is the best player the Rockets traded away, Beverley is the most valuable. He was the only player on the team that actually played defense. He's a tough, hard-nosed perimeter defender that plays very hard on both ends of the floor. When healthy, he has the pieces to give guys like Stephen Curry headaches when they have the ball. Considering that he was the only guy who actually cared to defend, giving away Beverley is no small thing.

When looking at this trade, it's no question that the Rockets gave up a lot to get Chris Paul. They gave away their third best scorer and their top defender. But did they give up too much? At the end of the day, I don't think they did. The fact that they were able to hang on to Eric Gordon, their number two scorer from last season, is huge. Had they given him up, I think that would have perhaps tipped the scale.

The biggest challenge for the Rockets will be to figure out how to get Chris Paul, James Harden, and Eric Gordon to all co-exist in the same backcourt. Having their top three scorers play two positions is an issue that will need to be addressed. The good news is that Eric Gordon is comfortable in an off the bench type of role and shouldn't have any issue playing the role of sixth man on this Rockets team.

Assuming they can figure that part out, the Rockets project to be really good next season. They added the best pure point guard in the NBA and did so without giving up their number two scoring option. Considering what they are up against next season, this is a low-risk high-reward type of move for the Rockets. They played their cards right with this one.

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