Losers of the Off-Season!

Losers of the Off-Season!

With teams like the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks, who look like they could win a title in the upcoming years. Putting themselves in a direction to win the Larry O'Brien trophy and adding a banner in the building. Even teams are rebuilding. Teams like the Spurs and Wizards are setting themselves up to compete. They are doing this by bringing in veteran role players. These players can help steer the team to a bright future. Franchises are always changing. With the current CBA being so tight on teams, it has led to teams not affording to extend. Teams suffer sudden downgrades as a result of this. The off-season has become make or break for NBA teams looking to compete for a title.

Denver Nuggets

From winning their first title in 2023 to now not even being a contender in this upcoming season. The CBA has fucked the Nuggets. First, they lost Bruce Brown to the Indiana Pacers, who were willing to overpay for him. Now, they have lost their key player in their starting five KCP. A championship player who helped win them a title. Pope can take on the opposing guards, which hides Jamal Murray's defensive weakness. A great 3&D player is always needed, and now Denver has lost one. It is a huge hole that hurts the nuggets. Now, the organization hopes Christian Braun and Peyton Watson will step up. They must fill in the role left behind by KCP. Also, with the recent signing of Russell Westbrook, there is hope that he can fill in the Bruce Brown role. A guy who can come off the bench and play off of Jokic and Murray. It is hard to put the Nuggets in a conversation of the top five teams in the West.

Golden State Warriors

Man, what a disappointing offseason for the Warriors. They are losing their franchise cornerstone. He helped the Warriors win not one, but four titles. Klay Thompson's leaving shows that it is the end of an era. No longer are the Warriors a title contender, but a team that is heading toward mediocrity. Steph Curry and Draymond Green are aging players. Andrew Wiggins is on a god-awful contract. It seems like the alien from Space Jam took all his talent. Along with Jonathan Kuminga, who hasn't made that jump to being a star that the Warriors need. It seems like the Warriors still insist on him becoming the face of the franchise. They do not want to trade him for Lauri Markkanen. The signing of Buddy Hield and De'Andre is the hope that they can replace Klay. I do not think Kyle Anderson is ready for a bigger role, despite his good performance last year.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are a clown show. It's like "Curb Your Enthusiasm." There are always fuckups and inconveniences. The Pistons traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. They gave up young Quintin Grimes. They could have gotten more for him. Malik Beasley was solid, as he can bring scoring. Simone Fontecchio was a great resign. He got a perfect deal for two years. Tobias Harris is the perfect signing. A perfect forward who can teach these guys how to win and run an offense. Tobias can rebuild his value as this is his last big contract. He can improve his defense and be a 20-point scorer. The hope with these moves is that they can be decent and make strides.

Phoenix Suns

The suns are stuck. They have nowhere to go. They don't stink, but they are not good enough to win a title. Devin Booker is a playoff choker. He lost to the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, and Timberwolves. Devin Booker has fallen off since 2021. It has been humiliating. Kevin Durant is looking to add another ring to his finger. But he no longer has the defensive prowess that he once had. Which has hurt them on defense. No longer are the days when KD can switch to the center position. Nurkic is on the decline of his career due to injury. Also, extending Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale brings in a seven-deep roster. Bringing in another former champion, Mike Budenholzer. Replacing Frank Vogel after one season. Bradley Beal's fit is still weird. The Suns have no flexibility to be better. It won't be a surprise to see the Suns trade players.

New Orleans Pelicans

Dejounte Murray's trade was based. A guard who played great at the end of the season, almost taking the Hawks to the playoffs. He increased his trade value, which got the Pelicans' attention. Putting Murray next to Zion is perfect. The guard who Zion can play off of is the most ideal. He can dump the ball to the post and get a basket around the rim. But the reason this off-season is an L is that they could not get rid of Brandon Ingram. They had an awful post-season run and played a similar style to Zion Williamson. It is an awkward pair as they both have similar styles. Also, not being able to move him shows that his value is dog shit. It seemed like the Kings were going for him, but they made a U-turn. Signing DeMar DeRozan to be their third or fourth-best player. New Orleans has to find a way to make the team work. Until they trade Brandon Ingram, this off-season has been an L for the team.

Chicago Bulls

Another shit off-season for the Bulls. There has been no pivot for the Bulls since 2021. They have been trash due to Lonzo Ball getting hurt. The front office has not made moves that make the Bulls better, and they have been content. The Bulls made a trade for Josh Giddey, giving away Alex Caruso. A role player that contenders would give up assets for. Especially a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are sitting on a shitton of assets. It was a meme fest seeing them get nothing! Due to the trade, DeMar DeRozan decided it was time to leave. He did not see Chicago as a team in which they could win. DeMar walked for nothing, which is a total loss. The worst part is they will not find takers for Zach Lavine. Due to his lack of defense and bad contract, few teams have their eyes on him. The Bulls are better off riding it out with his bad contract because they'll have to give up draft picks.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers have been a struggling team for the past year. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis having to play at a high level for the team to secure a late seed. The front office continues to not improve the roster. D'Angelo Russell had a bad post-season. He is back for next season. LeBron left because his son got drafted there. Rui Hachimura is their best role player. DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, and Klay Thompson did not want to sign with LA. They are from there. This shows how the league views the Lakers. Nobody wants to play there. The media scrutiny, along with the pressure that comes from LA, is unfair. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka have been incompetent. Their asses should be on the hot seat as they have hired their third head coach. The West has improved, but the Lakers are not catching up!

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers took over headlines this off-season. Losing one of their biggest stars since Paul George. Someone who claims to be a Day One Clipper fan, which I call bullshit. Now, he is calling it a B team and explaining why he decided to move. It is a huge L as Steve Ballmer prepares to have LA play in the new arena in Inglewood. It was a disagreement between the front office and Paul on how much he should get paid. But, to the Clippers' credit, they have been able to get some good role players. Derrick Jones Jr. was great in his run with the Mavs. Next to Kawhi, he would be great. Especially having James Harden be the playmaker on the team. Along with signing Kris Dunn, who is a good backup guard. Along with Mo Bamba, who is a solid backup big. And Nicolas Batum, who can bring energy off the bench and do some playmaking. He is familiar with the system that the Clippers play in. Resigning James Harden was pretty good. He can be a good second option and take on ball handling. But the question is, can Kawhi stay healthy? Because no longer are they top-heavy. They are deep, but they will need Kawhi to play most games. In the playoffs, he is always hurt. So the worry is, can he lead LA to the finals? With his injury track record, it seems like that's a no. The Clippers could prove me wrong, but their track record is embarrassing. I do not see them making a deep run.

Milwaukee Buck

A team that held the 2021 Championship is looking at its depressing decline. It was awesome to see Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the team that took a gamble on him to a championship. Establishing himself as a future hall-of-famer. Khris Middleton was an awesome underdog story. After being drafted in the second round, he emerged as the second option on a championship team. Brook Lopez was able to transform his game into a modern league. Bobby Portis became a fan favorite player and one of the best sixth men. But, the two seasons after, the Bucks could not stay healthy. Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton have missed time the past three years. Milwaukee needed a change. They fired Mike Budenholzer, who helped them win a title. Jrue Holiday was incredible in the 2021 run and got traded for a future Hall of Famer, Damian Lillard. Adrian Griffin was hired but got fired mid-season for Doc Rivers. It exposed the fact that the Bucks are incompetent. Being eliminated in the first round by the young Pacers team further proved that. Now, the Bucks do not have money to sign good players. Aging players are tying them down. Which is why they signed Gary Trent Jr., who was a disappointment. With the Knicks and Sixers getting better and the Celtics retaining their team. It is a bad spot for the former championship team to be in. Teams are moving ahead, and the Bucks are being left behind.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are not a team that anybody should care for. They are rebuilding and are tanking to get a good draft pick. But the Gary Trent Jr. and Norman Powell trade was awful. When Masai had the chance to trade Gary, they didn't. It has been a repeated offense for the past few years. Trading Pascal Siakam for a lot less than they were hoping for. The team did not trade Fred VanVleet after his All-Star season. They also kept Gary Trent Jr. when his value was high. Now, his value is dog shit, and the Bucks signed him for cheap. Masai's miscalculations have hurt the franchise. Now the hope is that he can get something out of Bruce Brown. The rebuild has started. The Raptors have to make good picks. Drafting Scottie Barnes has been their best move since the 2018 Kawhi trade. No longer can Masai Ujiri ride on the 2019 championship run. He has to build this team for a future championship!

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