The Weekside: Mr. Smith Goes to Los Angeles

Chatting the Offseason

With the offseason now — all but over — I called up Shane Young of Hoops Habit to chat a little bit about the biggest moves, interesting transaction, and how this will all affect next year. Here is our conversation.

Jared Wade: In many ways, this has felt like the craziest offseason in memory, particularly given the DeAndre-to-Dallas histrionics. Not to mention all the insane contract figures thrown around. But, really, did much change?

Last summer we had the LeBron Goes Home story line and that obviously altered everything. LaMarcus to the Spurs was big this year, but San Antonio has been a contender for so long now that them signing their next big thing, locking up Kawhi, and retaining Danny Green just feels like business as usual. And after all the DeAndre drama, he just went back to the Clippers while Marc Gasol stayed in Memphis and Kevin Love signed up for four more years in Cleveland.

So what really happened this summer? Were there any big changes? Outside of Portland falling off, has the landscape of the league changed at all really?

Shane Young: This offseason made its hellish run to be better than last summer (when LeBron caused the world to stop turning for nearly two weeks). But, I seriously don’t believe the conferences will reflect that much discrepancy from last year. You have the obvious shakeups, of course: Miami is re-loaded because of players coming back healthier and adding talent from the draft, Indiana is unrecognizable in the front court and have a jumble of new pieces, and Oklahoma City won’t be missing the playoff for two straight years.

Those are the teams that we can pretty much say are destined/guaranteed to go from the lottery to playoff seeds.

San Antonio continues to amaze me, because of this reason: You know the old saying, “Father Time is undefeated?” Well, it is. The thing is, Gregg Popovich and company aren’t trying to defy Father Time — like Kobe Bryant. They are just re-building before their big three completely falls off the map. It’s probably an unprecedented way of retooling because, typically, it’s required that you take three or four years to re-build after your superstars retire. You just have to, because of the luck of the lottery draw, free agents spurning you, and other major factors.

By adding LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, though — 12.9 total win shares last season — the Spurs are taking a massive shortcut. Sure, West only has one year left in the league unless he decides to return for more, but coupling Aldridge with Kawhi Leonard should very well keep their 50-win streak alive for the next handful of years.

Wade: It’s funny, but Oklahoma City might represent the “biggest shakeup.” Obviously, Golden State and the Cavs and San Antonio have all the buzz now. And they should. But who’s beating a healthy Thunder? They have flaws and a college coach coming in, but the whole league has a bit of a “Forgot About Dre” vibe towards OKC. If You Da Real MVP Durant shows up next to liquid-metal Russ and 17-Foot Assassin/Alonzo light Serge, why won’t they just make the Finals on talent alone?

Then there are the Lakers. What is happening there? Their delusional first pitch to LaMarcus said a lot about the current state of that franchise. I’m very excited about, hopefully, getting a final gunslinging year of Mamba theatrics and hilarity. The way Jordan Hill talked about him is just a perfect representation of how singularly apart he is from the rest of the league now. And I guess there are the young gunners to actually have some hope about. But what a mess, overall. It will be interesting to say the least, as will the randomness of the Clippers roster next door.

Young: Durant and Westbrook still hold the title as the best duo in the league, and they will hold that belt as long as Durant re-signs (2016) and Russ follows with the same (2017). When Kanter suckered Sam Presti into matching the are-you-kidding-me offer sheet of $70 million, it pretty much solidified that OKC would have a top three or four starting five in the league. You don’t necessarily need Kanter to be an all-time, sensational defensive center when you have Ibaka roaming the paint and watching the weak side, you know?

As for the Lakers, it’s just a huge pile of waste at this point — in regards to their free agency pitches and trying to lure already-established talent in there. On the positive side, Mitch Kupchak is realizing that the best way to work around this is to draft well and nail second-round picks (Jordan Clarkson). Drafting well will mitigate the big-name free agents turning away. And, let’s be honest, they’ll be just as bad in the West next season anyway, to try and keep their top-3 protected pick.

Enough about the Lakers though. What has been the most underrated/under-mentioned move of the offseason?

Wade: It would have to be a re-signing, I think. Marc Gasol staying put or Draymond or Jimmy Butler? By holding onto these guys, each team kept themselves in the conversation and, obviously, the Warriors retaining Green maintains their By-Far-The-Favorite status. The Bulls are an interesting case. They’re flawed, for sure, but it will be interesting to see what they will look like in the post-Thibs era. Butler should be a star.

What else? Like I said, as interesting as all this seemed during the fervor of the announcements and the shock at the scale of the contracts, there really wasn’t all that much lasting excitement.

The Raptors signing DeMarre Carroll? Did that mean anything? Obviously, the Cavs look primed to walk through the East — for years to come. And Toronto was such a disappointment in the playoffs last year. The amount of disappointment can’t be overstated. But I can’t believe they are actually that bad, and adding a two-way guy as versatile as DeMarre should add another dimension. I don’t have delusions that they’ll be a real contender, but maybe they’re set up to lose to Cleveland last? Probably not. The Wizards, for one, still have to be better, I guess. Miami? Who knows? The East is just such a waste of time.

Maybe the most underrated aspect of the offseason — and it was certainly talked about plenty — is just how hilarious the Kings are. They couldn’t even overpay people to come, with the likes of Tobias Harris and Monta Ellis saying thanks but no thanks to their larger offers. And now they have Rondo and Trill Willie and Belinelli and Koufos and, man, this is just going to be a walking clown car of enjoyment, isn’t it?

Young: I can realistically see the West owning the NBA for the next four to five years. I mean, you obviously can’t predict the future and what kind of injuries will devastate some teams, but it’s not far-fetched to think the West will be able to stay top-heavy for years to come. When everyone was relatively healthy (in 2013-14), the West won a combined 674 games — an NBA record that will likely be broken this year, again.

The Southwest division alone is the equivalent to handing your life over to the devil and hoping and praying he’s having a good day.

You make a good point about Sacramento, though. Rondo joining the team for almost $10 million is a bit asinine, but you gotta agree that it’s totally the definition of a Sacramento move. There’s really only one team out there right now with such turmoil among the front office, superstar player, and/or coaching staff. Sacramento has a little bit of all three, since DeMarcus Cousins isn’t necessarily the easiest person to please and the combination of Vivek Ranadive (owner) and Vlade Divac (Vice President of Basketball Operations) creates one confusing atmosphere when it comes to evaluating talent and making decisions.

On the surface, there are people out there who believe Rondo was still somewhat productive as a point guard last year, or in recent memory. In the “Passer Rating” formula I’m currently devising for a HoopsHabit piece, Rondo ranked in the top six from last year. We all know he has a gift for making things easier for his big men and wings when it comes to setting them up.

It’s just the other components that greatly outweigh his distributing “success.” Perhaps the fact that Dallas’ offensive rating dipped 8.8 points per 100 possessions when Rondo was on the floor. Perhaps the fact that Boston was better defensively with Rondo sitting on the bench during the early part of the season. Or, perhaps it’s that Dallas slipped from a sure-fire top five seed with Brandan Wright backing up Tyson Chandler, to a fringe playoff squad with Rondo entering the starting lineup.

It was good that Sacramento only gave him one year, to see if he can rise out of the dumps and possibly return to a 13-point, 11-assist player again. I’ll be on record saying that he absolutely can amend his struggles, but I don’t think this disaster in Sacramento is the destination to do it.

When your house is smelling sour, you don’t pour gasoline on the floor. You use air freshener.

Neither Rondo or the Kings’ weird roster is a breath of fresh air.

More from FanSided

• Joe Burrow owes Justin Herbert a thank you note after new contract
• Chiefs gamble at wide receiver could already be biting them back
• Braves-Red Sox start time: Braves rain delay in Boston on July 25
• Yankees: Aaron Boone gives optimistic return date for Aaron Judge
• MLB Rumors: Yankees-Phillies trade showdown, Mariners swoop, India goes to Seattle