The Upcoming NBA Season
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:51 pm
We're all Wolves fans on this Board, so not surprisingly we've been posting all sorts of thoughts on the Wolves - Rosas, hiring Ryan Saunders, the Wolves draft and free agent signings, etc. But I think most if not all of us are also NBA fans. As an NBA fan myself, I have to admit I'm excited about the upcoming season.
Why am I excited? Mainly because this is the first season in a long time when we don't have a preordained Western Conference champion. The Warriors lost Durant and, more importantly, have lost Klay Thompson until January or February. The Lakers thought they would step in as the new anointed super team when they acquired AD to team with LeBron. Meanwhile, they cleared additional cap space thinking they had a good chance of landing Kawhi. And if they didn't add him, they figured he might stay in Toronto.
Then the Clippers pulled a surprise. They not only signed Kawhi (which wasn't all that surprising); they also shocked the world by acquiring Paul George as well. From that moment it became clear that the Lakers would have at least one rival for an advance claim on the Western Conference title.
Not too long after that, we all heard the news that the Houston Rockets acquired Russell Westbrook. They now have a core of Westbrook, Harden and Capella along with some excellent complementary players in Eric Gordon and Tucker. So now I think it's fair to say we have at least three teams in the West who will challenge one another for the Conference title.
And you can't sleep on the Denver Nuggets either. When you look at how well they did last season and factor in their youth, you have to consider the possibility that they'll be in the mix to come out of the West.
Finally, let's not completely dismiss the Warriors. They had the best record in basketball with a core of Curry, Green and Klay. They will start the season with two of those three and they picked up D'Angelo Russell. They lost Iggy, but he isn't what he was back before Durant signed with the Warriors.
Yes, the Wolves appear headed back to the lottery next season. Yes, I'm disappointed that the Wolves failed to draft the guy I think they should have drafted and were unable to sign D'Angelo Russell. But as an NBA fan, I'm looking forward to seeing the emerging rivalries in the West and what should be a hotly contested battle for supremacy in the West. Meanwhile, the Sixers, Celtics and Bucks should be really good and could present a formidably challenger to the winner in the West.
As for the Wolves, I take some solace in knowing that we appear to have a front office that has it's act together, methodically implementing a coherent plan to build fo the future around KAT. I'm intrigued by what we might see from Culver, Nowell, Vonleh, KBD and Bell. While disappointed in Okogie's lack of offense development displayed in Vegas, he still brings it defensively and is young enough to give us hope he can eventually take a big step forward.
So there you have it. I'm looking forward to this upcoming NBA season. My expectations for the Wolves are limited. But my expectations for the League are high.
Why am I excited? Mainly because this is the first season in a long time when we don't have a preordained Western Conference champion. The Warriors lost Durant and, more importantly, have lost Klay Thompson until January or February. The Lakers thought they would step in as the new anointed super team when they acquired AD to team with LeBron. Meanwhile, they cleared additional cap space thinking they had a good chance of landing Kawhi. And if they didn't add him, they figured he might stay in Toronto.
Then the Clippers pulled a surprise. They not only signed Kawhi (which wasn't all that surprising); they also shocked the world by acquiring Paul George as well. From that moment it became clear that the Lakers would have at least one rival for an advance claim on the Western Conference title.
Not too long after that, we all heard the news that the Houston Rockets acquired Russell Westbrook. They now have a core of Westbrook, Harden and Capella along with some excellent complementary players in Eric Gordon and Tucker. So now I think it's fair to say we have at least three teams in the West who will challenge one another for the Conference title.
And you can't sleep on the Denver Nuggets either. When you look at how well they did last season and factor in their youth, you have to consider the possibility that they'll be in the mix to come out of the West.
Finally, let's not completely dismiss the Warriors. They had the best record in basketball with a core of Curry, Green and Klay. They will start the season with two of those three and they picked up D'Angelo Russell. They lost Iggy, but he isn't what he was back before Durant signed with the Warriors.
Yes, the Wolves appear headed back to the lottery next season. Yes, I'm disappointed that the Wolves failed to draft the guy I think they should have drafted and were unable to sign D'Angelo Russell. But as an NBA fan, I'm looking forward to seeing the emerging rivalries in the West and what should be a hotly contested battle for supremacy in the West. Meanwhile, the Sixers, Celtics and Bucks should be really good and could present a formidably challenger to the winner in the West.
As for the Wolves, I take some solace in knowing that we appear to have a front office that has it's act together, methodically implementing a coherent plan to build fo the future around KAT. I'm intrigued by what we might see from Culver, Nowell, Vonleh, KBD and Bell. While disappointed in Okogie's lack of offense development displayed in Vegas, he still brings it defensively and is young enough to give us hope he can eventually take a big step forward.
So there you have it. I'm looking forward to this upcoming NBA season. My expectations for the Wolves are limited. But my expectations for the League are high.