The Insane NBA Off-Season is Looking for it's Dramatic Gordon Hayward Conclusion

We are now firmly entrenched in NBA free agency, and it has been wild.

First off, more things happened before midnight eastern time on July 1st, the "official" start of free agency. In fact, most of the big stuff happened before free agency started. It all began on draft night when the Bulls inexplicably traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves for nothing. The Bulls got fleeced, and I thought it wasn't going to get any crazier from there. And, for awhile, that was the case. Nothing too major happened prior to July 1st. Small things like Ricky Rubio being traded to the Jazz, which I think is a very good move by the Jazz, Rajon Rondo and Gerald Henderson being released, John Wall got offered a mega extension, he has yet to sign and Blake Griffin got the max from the Clippers after they traded Chris Paul, the other big move.

Then at about 8:30pm on June 30th my phone blew up. I thought the Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler trades were going to be the biggest deals, but the Thunder, you read that right, acquired Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantos Sabonis. I mean, WOW! The Thunder got Paul George for a second year player and a guy that hasn't lived up to the hype yet. They didn't even have to trade any future picks for Paul George! I don't care if it is just a one year thing, this is crazy.

I like this trade so much more than the Chris Paul to the Rockets trade. This is a much, much better pairing than Paul and Harden. Paul George is an excellent sidekick to Russell Westbrook. He plays excellent defense, can hit the open shot and he will take a ton of offensive pressure off Westbrook for one season. This could catapult the Thunder to the same level as the Spurs and Rockets. This doesn't make them a true threat to the Warriors, but no one in the NBA is a threat to them. I love this trade for the Thunder so very much. This makes them instantly better. I'm pretty sure it will only be for one season, I think that both George and Westbrook may bolt for LA next season, but for one year, they will make OKC almost as good as they were with KD. This trade shocked me. Especially for what Indiana got in return. They had to have had better offers, but they pulled the trigger on the trade to the Thunder. I'm sure Boston, Philadelphia or even the Rockets could have made a better offer, but we may never know. The fact that the Celtics, once again, did not do anything keeps me thinking that Danny Ainge is the boy who cried wolf, and he will continue to sit on assets forever. I'll get to more of that later.

After the shockwave of the Paul George trade, I did not know what to expect next. I woke up the next day and saw that Steph Curry got the super max from Golden State. This was well deserved and he is finally being paid like the super star that he is. The Warriors also got Shaun Livingston on a cheaper deal. David West resigned for the veterans minimum for his last season and after "flirting" with free agency, Andre Iguodala signed a three year deal to stay with the Warriors. The Warriors pretty much stayed put, as they should. They are the best team in all of basketball, and as soon as KD re signs, they are set.

I have a few thoughts on some "minor" moves. I was a little surprised to see Patty Mills re up with San Antonio, but then I saw the deal pays him almost 15 million a year for the next 4 years, and he will be a much bigger part of that team next season. Jeff Teague left Indiana after one disastrous season, and he is now a Timberwolf. The T'Wolves are making some really good moves, and I think they are preparing to be a playoff team next year. They also went out and got a veteran leader, who previously played for Thibodeau, in Taj Gibson. That is another solid signing. Taj Gibson was the only guy that helped Westbrook in the playoffs for the Thunder last year. He is not afraid of big time games. Some smaller named guys like Tony Snell, Cristiano Felicio, Nene and Kyle Korver all re signed with their current teams for average deals. Jrue Holiday signed an enormous deal to stay with the Pelicans, but I was not a fan of the move. The Pelicans need so much more help. I know they were much better with him on the floor last year, but is he really going to put this team over teams like the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Timberwolves and Warriors? No way. I don't even think this move makes them a lock playoff team. They are fringe at best, even with Holiday. Langston Galloway got overpaid by Detroit. They must have serious buyers remorse in the deal they gave Reggie Jackson last year, because of they are giving Galloway 7 million dollars a year to back him up, yeesh. That shows no faith in their point guard if you ask me. JJ Redick joined "The Process" on a 1 year 23 million dollar deal. That is an insane amount of money for one year for a guy that only shoots threes. I do not think JJ Redick puts the 76ers over the top. Sure, it will be nice for the young guys to have a vet around, but I'd rather have Taj Gibson than JJ Redick. Especially at the deal each was given. Amir Johnson also signed a one year deal with Philly. Ho hum. Michael Carter-Williams is on the move again. This dude can't seem to get it right after winning rookie of the year awhile back. He was a disaster in Milwaukee, and he was even worse in Chicago. He seems to be the 8th or 9th guy off the bench for Charlotte as long as he is there. Joe Ingles got overpaid by Utah, but they seem to keep doing anything they can to keep Gordon Hayward. Ingles had a decent playoff run, but almost 9 million a year is way too much money for him. Houston did get a good, tough vet to team up with Nene in the front court in PJ Tucker. I like what Tucker brings to this team as far as toughness goes, but I don't know how he will fit into their offensive scheme. He's a good rebounder and defender, but he may not have the skill set to run like the Rockets, and Harden, like to.

One of the biggest surprises, especially when I saw the deals, was when Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry both re upped with Toronto. Both signed three year deals, and the contracts seem to be easy to get rid of if it doesn't work out for Toronto. I thought that Lowry was going to go to Philly, but they drafted Fultz, so then I thought Minnesota was his next stop, but they signed Teague. No one else really needed a point guard, so he chose to stay. He got a great big contract, which was deserved, now lets see if he can help put the Raptors over the top. Ibaka got the same years but 35 million dollars less. I think the market was very thin for him and he took the best deal he got. This is perfect for him and the Raptors. He needs to be surrounded by great offensive guys, which he has in Lowry and DeRozan, and he can flourish. I watched him do it for about 4 years in OKC. Serge Ibaka will be just fine in Toronto.

A hidden gem of a move is the Ben McLemore deal. McLemore is finally out of the hell hole that is Sacramento, and he is now a member of the Grizzlies. I love this fit. He gives them much needed scoring from the perimeter, and it always seems when a high draft pick leaves Sacramento lately, they do much better on their new teams.

The biggest news of today, July 3rd, so far, is Paul Milsap signing with Denver for 90 million over 3 years, with a team option for the third year. That means, to the layman, that Denver can release him after the second year there if they don't like what they have seen out of him. This deal is great for both Milsap and Denver. Milsap and Nikola Jokic will make a very good front court, and Denver has basically nothing at stake. This is a win win.

The only big names really left on the market are Rondo, if you still think he is a big name, George Hill, who I hope goes to San Antonio and finally get to play for the team that drafted him, Leandro Barbosa, who is 35, and Gordon Hayward, the white whale. I personally think, and hope, that he will stay in Utah. That is a very good, up and coming team. They won a playoff series last year, they have a great young, modern NBA center in Rudy Gobert, they traded for a pass first point guard and they have a very good bench and a very good coach.

Take Utah out of the Hayward picture, there are only two other teams that seem like viable options. Does he go to Miami or Boston? If he goes to Miami, he will be "the man", and I don't think Hayward is ready for that. He is a good basketball player, but he doesn't seem like the kind of player you build around. Also, I like what the Heat are doing with youth, and taking on guys like Dion Waiters and letting them play as freely as they want. Gordon Hayward should not be the focal point of a team, and I do not think he will ever be the best player on a title contender. He needs to be part of a group of great players. He can't be THE player.

This brings up to Boston. The Celtics, and Danny Ainge, seem to think he is coming to them wrapped in a bow. His college coach is the coach there now. They have a good group of role players that are all very good at their specific set of skills. They have a good amount of money/assets to throw around. They were the one seed in the East in the most recent playoffs. Everything seems to be written in stone.

But, this is where I go back to Danny Ainge being the boy who cried wolf. Every year the Celtics are going to get some big time player. Every year they are just on the precipice of signing one of the hot free agents. Every year is the year they get guy or guys that will help them dethrone whatever team LeBron is on. And every year, they do nothing. I cannot take that team seriously anymore. This year they were going to get either Paul George, he is on the Thunder now, Jimmy Butler, he's a T'Wolve and Blake Griffin, who chose to stay in LA. So why now would they get Hayward? Nothing they have done the past three years proves to me that they can sign a big time free agent. I also think that Hayward would be better off staying put in Utah. I will believe it when I see it with Boston, but for now, I do not see Boston signing Hayward. They keep saying they are going to do things like this, they had "deals" for George, Butler and Griffin and nothing happened. They had deals in place for Kevin Love and others before him and nothing happened. So why would anything happen now?

Now that free agency has officially started,Gordon Hayward is the last big name left. Unfortunately for Boston and their fans, I think he will stay put in Utah. Now lets get a decision Mr. Hayward.

Oh, and keep on bringing the surprises NBA off-season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Ty tells you how each NBA team can win the title: Timberwolves, Suns, & Kings

I love basketball.

Continuing my NBA countdown, today I will be giving you my number 24,23, and 22 teams. We are getting to teams that are just on the outside of a playoff push. These teams are either too young, or have veterans that are too old. They may have been in the playoffs recently, but haven't been in awhile. They are still in the lottery, but in the later half of the lottery. Hell, the Heat picked in the late lottery last season. These teams are one or two players away from becoming competitive.

My number 24 team is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, they had the worst record in the NBA last season, but they were fun to watch at times. They have young players throughout their entire roster. First, they traded Kevin Love last season to the Cavs in exchange for Anthony Bennett, who they just bought out, and Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was excellent as a rookie. He showed his lock down defensive ability last season, and he found a jump shot midway through the season and he can jump out of the gym. He's probably my favorite young player to watch. Zach Lavine is a mystery to me. He has incredible hops, but can he shoot the ball? Can he play strong defense? Is he ready to take the next step? I don't know, but he's in year three, so he's either going to take a step forward, or slide back. Ricky Rubio cannot shoot the ball, doesn't want to either, but he's a wizard passing the ball. He plays out of control sometimes, and he seems to be on the trading block every year. Nikola Pecovic is not living up to his big contract. I think he's the only player on the Timberwolves that misses Kevin Love. He's been a disappointment. I think their first pick, and overall number one in the 2015 draft, Karl Anthony-Towns can slide into Pecovic's place. It's going to take time for him to develop because he's so young, but he has the look of a perennial All Star. The bench is okay, but nothing to write home about. Shabazz Muhammed has surprised me with how well he's adjusted to the pro game. He looked like a head case in college and part of his rookie year, but something must have clicked for him, and he looks like a decent bench player in the NBA. Unfortunately, for himself and the Timberwolves, they start him out of necessity. They also have Gorgui Dieng and Kevin Garnett come off the bench. Dieng was expected to make a leap last year, but it never really came together for him. He seemed nervous being the focal point of the second unit. I love Kevin Garnett, and him being back with the Timberwolves is strictly nostalgic, but he should've retired three years ago. He's going to be an excellent coach. Other than that, it's slim picking for the Timberwolves. This team is way too young to fight for any playoff spot, but give them three more years, they could be a powerhouse.

How the Timberwolves will win it all.

The Timberwolves will win the title if Wiggins becomes the elite player he will be in three years this season, Lavine becomes more than just a dunker, Pecovic regains his form from two seasons ago, and plays ten times better than that and Karl Anthony-Towns is an immediate All Star. That's not happening. The Timberwolves will be improved, but they will only get somewhere in the 20 win column. They'll be fun to watch, but give them time, about three years, they'll be legitimate playoff contenders.

My number 23 team is the Phoenix Suns. This is another team that seems to be falling apart at the seams, a la the Denver Nuggets. They were legit playoff contenders the last year and a half, but quit midway through last season. They had way too many point guards and traded Goran Dragic and Isiah Thomas for little to nothing. They did get Brandon Knight out of these trades, but I feel like they overpaid him this offseason. Who knows if he'll live up to that contract. They did sign Tyson Chandler, but that was in hopes of luring LaMarcus Aldridge, and that obviously didn't happen. Chandler is good, but who will throw him the alley oops he needs? Not Eric Bledsoe or Archie Goodwin. Bledsoe needs the ball in his hands at all times to be effective. He's really good, but not franchise player good. Archie Goodwin is young and inexperienced. He's a one and done kid, from Kentucky, so who knows what his future in the NBA holds. They did draft Devin Booker, another one and done from Kentucky, who looks to be a lock down perimeter shooter, but what else can he do? And he's not going to take shooting guard minutes away from Brandon Knight. Alex Len hasn't panned out like they hoped. He was the big man of the future, but he's been a disappointment so far. He can't guard any fives, and gets beat up by most when they're guarding him. They completely botched the Marcus Morris trade to the Pistons, pissing off his twin, Markieff in the process. I don't believe his talk of being happy now, after claiming he'd never suit up for the Suns again this summer. Other than these guys, the bench is another group of question marks. I don't understand what management is trying to do with this team. Are they going to try and make the playoffs, or are they going to tank? Who knows, but management hasn't made many good decisions the last half of this year.

How the Suns will win it all.

The Suns will win the title if Bledsoe gets the whole team involved, Knight becomes the star that they hope he will be, Tyson Chandler gets a time machine and goes back to his form during his first go around with the Mavericks, Alex Len suddenly becomes good at basketball and Booker hits 70% of his threes. They also need to trade Marcus Morris to achieve any success. The Suns are a 32 or 33 win team at best. Management needs to get their act together before this team is highly competitive again.

My number 22 team is the Sacramento Kings. Talk about a problem at the top. First of all, the coach, George Karl, doesn't like the star player, and one of the best centers in all of the NBA, DeMarcus Cousins. Their owner is out of his mind, going so far as to suggest playing 4 on 5 defense so they'll always be running fast breaks because it worked for his child's little league basketball team. And players can't wait to get out of there. They did sign Rajon Rondo, but he's not elite anymore, and he's a tough teammate. He's an extremely smart player and expects everyone on the court to be as smart as him. That's not happening, a lot of his new teammates are really athletic, and that's how they play the game, they use their athleticism. They drafted Wille Cauley-Stein number seven overall. That's way too high for a guy that only plays defense. He has no offensive ability. Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay are fine players, but not thriving within this offense. They also have Darren Collison, but what are they doing with two starting point guards. You can't play them at the same time, that won't work. They also signed Seth Curry, Steph's little brother, but he may have just been a summer league star. Who knows. The rest of the roster is not good, but not terrible. All this being said, they do have Boogie Cousins. He's a legitimate MVP candidate, and if he get his head on straight, who knows what this team's ceiling is. Unfortunately, I don't think that's happening with this team, especially after all the offseason drama. The Kings are going to win in the mid thirties once again.

How the Kings will win it all.

The Kings will win the title if Cousins becomes the newer, younger , better version of Shaq. It's possible people. They also need McLemore to continue to get better and for Rudy Gay to become a veteran leader. Cauley-Stein would have to become a double digit scorer, not happening, he's so bad at offense and Rajon Rondo somehow, some way returns to his Celtic days. That's a tall, tall order. Cousins is so good, but this team isn't ready to make the leap, especially in the West. It's just too tough. But, things can get better in Sacramento, Boogie Cousins just has to be the dominant force that he's capable of being.

There you have it, teams 24, 23 and 22. Come back tomorrow for 21, 20, 19. We are starting to get to the better teams in the NBA.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He doubled up his dependents today and all wish him the best. I said he could take a break, but NBA rankings keep him sane. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.