What are fair expectations for Wembanyama and the Spurs next season?
It's official, The Spurs have what looks to be their franchise cornerstone in Victor Wembanyama after one of the most anticipated drafts in NBA History. San Antonio has not had a player with this much hype since drafting Tim Duncan with the first overall pick in 1997. However, no player in NBA history has had this level of hype other than the legendary Lebron James. Similar to Lebron is the fact that with the incredible hype comes unbelievable levels of expectation. Still, with the Spurs still rebuilding and their likely best player in Wembanyama being a rookie their may be some obvious growing pains next season.
To start, I do expect Wembanyama to play well which should likely allow him to runaway with the rookie of the year award considering all the hype around. Although I do think its a bit of a stretch to expect him to be an all-star or any all-NBA teams in his rookie season. For the Spurs, they have a solid chance to improve on their win total from the 22-23 season where they won just 22 games. However, it will take time for the Spurs to build a strong enough supporting cast around their young star in order to have a chance to make even a realistic run at the play-in tournament.
How much better are the Suns after acquiring Bradley Beal?
On June 18th, the Suns made the biggest splash move of the offseason so far by trading for 3-time all star Bradley Beal in a blockbuster deal. With this move, the Suns now have their own big 3 in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. They also managed to keep their young talented center Deandre Ayton which makes the Suns arguably one of the most talented starting fives in the league. However, has the move put them among the best teams compared to other championship contenders?
So far, the Suns are definitely a more talented team after acquiring Beal but they have not done anything to fix the issues that plagued them last season. Those problems being their glaring lack of depth and defense. With the combined salary of their 3 stars at about 130 million, the Suns could struggle building a quality roster to compete with teams like the Nuggets and Kings. Another issue could be how they handle injuries to their best players as Beal, Durant, and Booker all missed at least 29 games last season. Due to this, they likely will increase their win total of 45 from last season but I don't see them having a high level of playoff success.
Does the addition of Chris Paul put the Warriors closer to another NBA Championship?
After the Suns traded away Chris Paul to acquire Bradley Beal, there were reportedly several teams in the mix if he were to be bought out or traded again. Teams like the Clippers and Lakers were anticipated options until the Warriors swooped in to acquire him in exchange for Jordan Poole. With the move, the Warriors are clearly in win now mode after trading one of their star young players in exchange for a future hall of fame veteran in Chris Paul.
The decision to acquire Chris Paul is a move that will take some time to get used as both visually seeing Paul in a Warriors jersey and coming off the bench will be quite the adjustment. Perhaps the biggest benefit of this move for the Warriors is their future financial flexibly after getting off Poole's four-year 128 million dollar contract that was set to start next season. On the court, the trade benefits both sides as Paul could shine in a role off the bench and contribute in a major way. As for the Warriors they can benefit from having a leader on the floor who can help to stabilize the second unit and minimize turnovers in a way Poole was inconsistent at. The trade for Chris Paul is clearly a gamble but with the way last season ended it was obvious a change needed to be made. With the change, Paul is once again in position to contend for a title while the Warriors appear ready to show the dynasty run is not quite over yet.
תגובות