Where Should Boogie Cousins Play When the NBA Restarts?

With the restart coming in the NBA, hopefully, there have been some guys that have already said they will sit out, and some players who weren't signed, or just signed before the shutdown, they are now available to be picked up by one of the twenty-two teams headed to Orlando, again, hopefully.

Davis Bertans is sitting out, and I get it. He has had his best year, he will never be as highly regarded and sought after and the Wizards are going nowhere. Trevor Ariza has opted to sit out because he is going through a nasty custody battle, and he wants to spend time with his kid. Those guys I get their reasoning. I'm sure some other players, with about as much clout as them, will decide to sit as well. But the big name I saw today, and oh, by the way, tomorrow is the deadline for players to let their teams know if they are not going to go to Orlando, so I am sure we will see some more names, was Demarcus Cousins.

So, I assumed Cousins was done for the season. Then a report came out that said he said he was going to get himself ready for next season and forego this restart. But then another story came out that said he wasn't fully committed to sitting out, and he may field some offers. That all got me thinking. First off, I thought he was done for the year, but in reality, it has been about a year. He came back last season early from a torn ACL and played, not well, but still played. He has had more time to heal now. He may be in better shape than he was at this time last season when he had to play for Golden State in the Finals. Who knows. He is also still a very, very high volume low post scorer. He was one of the best for a minute there, but injuries have slowed him down to a halt. He isn't the guy he was in Sacramento, but he is still a quality player, and an above average scorer. He can help a team immediately that needs an enforcer, rebounder and a big down low. I do honestly believe that. I am still a Boogie fan. I feel like he has been treated unfairly, and that he can still play offense, and rebound, at a high level. With all that being said, and the injury stuff, and his rehab, I also started thinking about teams that could use him if he wants to play.

The number one obvious choice is the Lakers. He was there, he knows the system, Dwight Howard may not play and LeBron likes him. He has also played alongside Anthony Davis before, and they had a bit of success. He would be a solid replacement for Howard if he were to opt out. I actually think he is a better scorer. Dwight Howard has been so much better on defense, and really accepted his role there. But, Boogie is an All Star and young and can play. Personally I'd rather have Boogie. I also think the Clippers could use him. They have good bigs, but no one like Boogie. Ivan Zubac is fine, but he is just fine. Montrezl Harrell is a super high energy rebounding machine off the bench, but he is small. Other than that, it is Kawhi and Paul George. And while they're great, I think Boogie could be a third or fourth option that they crave. I think Sacramento could use him. They have a crew of young guys, a new head coach and they need a solid big. Sure it would be weird to see him in that uniform again, but almost everything has changed since he was originally there. It is pretty much brand new. And I would love to see him paired with DeAron Fox is a pick and roll. Orlando could pair him with Vuvcevic, and that would be like the poor man's version of what the Pelicans did when they paired him with AD. Vucvevic is more of a scorer, like Boogie, so they may get eaten up in the post. But, they could each put in 20 to 30 a night, especially with all the time off every player has had. People will not want to body him. Hell, I could go on and on with teams I think could use him. Utah could pair him with Gobert, and that would be menacing. Denver could replace Paul Milsap with him and have a younger, more athletic big next to Jokic. Boston is begging for a big man, and the two have been linked prior. Toronto may even want to put him out there with Marc Gasol, and let Serge Ibaka roam for open jumpers on offense, and hunt for blocks on defense.

I feel like Boogie should be a hot commodity if the restart happens, and if Boogie wants to play. I still have faith in him. I still believe in him, and I wish nothing but the best for him. We will just have to wait and see. 

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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This Boogie Cousins Injury Sucks, Again

I was out mowing my grass today, and I got the news via my watch that Boogie Cousins had suffered a "leg injury" during a recent workout. I thought nothing of it really, he was coming off a torn ACL and torn quad, so I just assumed it was attached to one of those injuries.

Well, when I got inside, I saw that he actually tore his ACL again. I don't know if it was the same one he tore before, but, it is not good news. I do know that much. Regardless of where the tear is, this is devastating news for one of my favorite NBA players. Sure, I wasn't happy that he signed with the Lakers, but I also wasn't happy that he signed with the Warriors last offseason. He did essentially the same thing this season, a one year prove it deal to hopefully get paid next summer, but now, he is gong to miss another full season in his prime.

This stinks. I really dislike horrible injuries like this to players I am not a big fan of, so when it happens to a guy I actually like, a guy I enjoy watching play, a guy I actively root for, it makes me very unhappy. People are now going to forget how dominate, and good and agile and explosive on and off the court Boogie was a few years back. He is in Isaiah Thomas territory. Thomas came out and exploded while with the Celtics a few years back, and since getting hurt, in the playoffs, of which he shouldn't have been playing, but Danny Ainge used him anyway, and now he has been on 4 teams in three years now, just trying to get back to a fraction of his old self. When he was with the Celtics, he was an excellent scorer and a fourth quarter killer. He was that dude, and he was looking at a big time payday. Then Kyrie Irving came calling, and like I said, Thomas had a nagging hip injury, and he was relegated to being a sidekick on a LeBron Cavs team. The Celtics traded him for Irving, and since then, Thomas has never been the same. He will never get his payday, most likely. He seems destined to be a one year deal kind of guy for the next 5 or 6 years, then, he will end up overseas, or become a coach. I can see it so clearly now. I fear that is what will happen to Boogie.

Now don't get it twisted, Boogie is a much better, and much bigger star than Thomas, but he is coming off three horrid leg injuries, and he is a big man. The cards are stacked against him for a variety of reasons now. For one, the modern NBA is drifting away from a player like Boogie. He is a back to the basket big that likes to play a low post game. Sure, he can shoot threes a bit, but he is not a real threat from deep. The modern NBA doesn't want that. They want bigs like Brook Lopez or Anthony Davis. Both those guys can shoot from deep, and Davis is one of the best defenders in the league. Hell, a guy like Giannis, who isn't a good shooter yet, can still glide his way to the hoop and has some handles. Boogie doesn't have that anymore. Second, he was on this Lakers teams as a backup and a spark off the bench. That is not his game. Boogie needs to be in the flow of the game to get going. He needs to start for his ego. He needs to get touches, as all bigs do. He needs to be included to stay involved. Point blank. If Boogie doesn't get the touches, or the accolades, he loses interest. Look how poor he played in the Finals last year. Again, I love the dude, but he was awful in the Finals. That is because he wasn't looked upon as a real option. The Raptors didn't fear him, and it showed. That was going to be his role on this Lakers team. He wasn't going to start. He wasn't going to get touches in the post. He was not going to be a focal point. And now, he tore his ACL. Third, he has three leg injuries, and that is doom for a big man. Just look at Bill Walton or Yao Ming. Those guys can barely walk now, and when they got hurt, especially leg injuries, they were never the same. They suffered major setbacks. I don't see how that doesn't happen to Boogie now. Finally, he is losing such an important year for his career. I felt like he was really going to pop off this year, and blow up. I genuinely believed he was going to get a good deal from some team at the end of the season. Now, that is not happening. He is not going to get the big deal. He is not going to get even close to max money. He is never going to get the years that he wants. It is not going to happen now, and maybe not ever. It is the brutal truth. The NBA is a business, and Boogie is now getting into damaged goods territory. Signing him to a max deal now would be like if Coca Cola brought back "New Coke". That stuff was awful, and they got rid of it ASAP. I feel like that is how teams will now look at Boogie. He may get a few one year deals here and there, hell, he may even get a 2 year deal if he plays, and plays well in 2020, but that is his best case scenario.

This really bums me out. I want what is best for Boogie, and another torn ACL is very, very far off from anything good at all. This stinks. I wish top guys would stop getting hurt. It hurts the game when All Stars are missing half, or full years. And make no mistake, Boogie is a star. That is though is looking more and more like a was now.

Oof

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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NBA Free Agency Went from Nuts to Crazy With the Boogie Cousins Signing

NBA free agency is lit.

I was working out last night when I heard the news that Boogie Cousins was joining the Warriors. I was stunned. I mean, one day after the Lakers signed the biggest star in the game, the Warriors took all their mojo and squashed it. It was after this I read his contract, and that took me back even further. Not only did he sign with the Warriors, they got him at the league minimum for one year. They gave Boogie, possibly the best true center in the league right now, for 5 million dollars. That’s insane.

Cousins is clearly betting on himself coming back strong from a horrific injury, hoping to get a big deal next year. So, in the meantime, he decided to take a major pay cut to get fully healthy, dominate in the playoffs and win a title. If the Warriors lacked one thing, it is a real center. They’ve trotted out guys like Javale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Kevon Looney, and they’ve won titles with them all. Now, they have a real center. They’ve added an all star starter. They’ve added an all NBA caliber player. They’ve added a guy, when engaged, can dominate both ends of the floor. Boogie was great until he got hurt last year. People have seemed to forget that. He was going for 20 points and 10 rebounds effortlessly playing along side Anthony Davis. Then the injury happened. Offers were seemingly at the minimum, if you ask him, only 2 teams offered him, so he signed with the best one available. He signed with the team that can wait until he is healthy to trot him out there. He signed with a team that needed a real center. Sure, he plays old school, but I’m sure he will fit in just fine.

I was hoping I’d hear some dumb shits try to downplay this move. Luckily for me, I listened to The Ringer’s NBA Show today and Chris Vernon, who I like, and Kevin O’Connor, who is a typical Boston fan boy, tried to say this move made no sense. I was laughing at these 2 grasping at straws trying to downplay how big a singing this was. It was hilarious. I’m sure their boss, Bill Simmons, told them to do this. But, it was still a riot listening to these 2 morons bad mouth this move. It was already pretty well known that the Warriors were odds on favorite for the title again this year, even with LeBron going to LA. Signing Boogie just makes it official.

I do need to say, I’m not a fan of this. Again, the NBA is already confirmed and it’s only July. But, these players are free to do what they want. Everyone loved LeBron to LA, and loved when he joined forces with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade and loved when KD signed with the Warriors. Now, they seem to be pissed. That’s ridiculous to me. This is the NBA now. Super teams are the thing. Guys don’t want to just win, they want to crush you on their way to winning. So I’ve come to accept this nonsense. I do love that the Warriors completely stole LeBron’s thunder once again though. That’s hilarious to me.

Well, good luck to you Boogie. I hope you heal, get a ring and get paid, you are one of my favorite players. And, congrats on your three peat Golden State. Maybe you guys will win 80 games this year.

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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The Boogie Cousins Injury Sucks

Last weekend Boogie Cousins, a center/power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, and one of my favorite players, ruptured his Achilles. He didn't just tear it, he ruptured it. This is a brutal, brutal injury for the team and Boogie.

The Pelicans were a middling Western Conference playoff team. I believe they were in the 6th or 7th spot the night he got hurt. They have 2 All Star starters on the team, Boogie being one and Anthony Davis the other. But besides those 2, the cupboard is pretty bare in New Orleans. Jrue Holiday is a very solid point guard. He is the only other player on their roster that can get buckets and create for other guys. The Pelicans are paying him way too much money, but his deal was more to keep Davis happy, and to try and get Boogie to sign this offseason. Outside these three guys, the Pelicans roster is filled with either rookies or unproven veterans. In fact, some of the guys seeing critical minutes and starting games should be in the G League. That is how brutal this roster construct is.

Coach Alvin Gentry is doing an okay job, but he may be better suited as an assistant at this point in his career. His one saving grace, and the reason the Pelicans are clinging to a playoff spot right now, is due to his version of the twin towers. When Boogie and AD played together, the Pelicans would win games, or at least make them interesting. AD had been relatively healthy this year and he is looking like the perennial all star that many pegged him to be when he came into the league. He has extended his range, he is a great rebounder, he is one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, he is one of the best rim runners in the league and he is a matchup nightmare every night.

Boogie has been out of his mind this season. He was putting up double doubles like no one's business. He has had some games of 30 plus points and 15 plus rebounds. That is amazing. He does lack effort on the defensive end, which needs to be fixed, but he has not been the headache that he was while in Sacramento. He was also rebounding at an amazing clip. He is in a contract year, and he is playing like it.

Then, the injury occurred. I was actually watching the game when it happened. When and how it happened makes this even worse. The Pelicans were on their way to a win over the Rockets. He and AD had played very well. They were up about 4 points with about 2 minutes left in the game and Boogie was going to the line to add to their lead. He made the first free throw, but then the second one happened. When he put up the shot it looked to be short, and he tried to chase down the rebound. The shot was very short, it grazed the front rim, and Boogie tore off the free throw line to try and grab it. As he took off from the line, something looked wrong. He came up lame right away. Right after he planted and took off, it looked like he was buckling under pressure from his legs. He then tried to get up and he immediately went right back down to the floor. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. His face showed it, the trainers got him off the floor ASAP, which is never a good sign, and the reports were that he was going back for an MRI right away. None of that is good news.

The early reports would only say that the news was "not good". I assumed that he tore his ACL. That is what it looked like to me. I've watched enough sports and seen enough injuries like this, I knew it was bad. But, I did not know it was worse than a torn ACL. He ruptured that shit. That is horrific. That is a tough injury to come back from. Just ask Wesley Matthews. He was tearing the league apart, ruptured his Achilles, missed a year and now he is on a terrible Mavericks team and he is an average player. Boogie is better than Wes Matthews, but still, he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. It is going to take him months before he can even get back on a court again.

Then, it will take a few more months for him to get back into playing shape. I don't doubt that he can do it, but he may not be the player that he has been his entire career up to this point. I mean, 75 percent of what he was is still an All Star, but he was a force. He was a nightmare. He was someone that teams had to openly prepare for. He is an old school bully of a center/power forward who just happens to have modern skills. His first step is amazing, and he can shoot from outside.

I think what makes this the worst for him though, he was going to get paid this offseason. He is in the final year of his contract, and he was most definitely going to get the max. Be it the Pelicans, or any other team that needed a 4 or 5, he was going to get the 5 year 200 million dollar contract for sure. Now, I don't know. He will still get paid, but maybe more teams will be hesitant to give him the years and the money. If I were a betting man I'd say he will get a 3 year deal worth much less than 200 million dollars. That stinks for him.

I hope he gets better soon, but it will be a long while before we see Boogie on the floor. I love watching Boogie Cousins, so I am very upset by this injury. This stinks and I wish star players in the major professional sports would stop getting such devastating injuries. This is just a real bummer. Get better soon Boogie, the NBA needs you.

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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The NBA Trade Deadline Changed Nothing

The trade clock struck midnight on almost every NBA team

The NBA trade deadline came and went with a whimper yesterday. There were bigger trades a week ago, Serge Ibaka, and the biggest one happened an hour after the All Star game on Sunday night, Boogie Cousins, but yesterday there was a ton of build up, but nothing really happened.

As far as winners and losers go, I do not do that type of thing because there is not enough time in the season to declare if a team "won" or "lost" a trade. Sure, the Pelicans may have "won" the trade, they completely robbed the Kings, but what is their prize? A possible first round sweep at the hands of the Warriors if they are lucky enough to grab the 8 seed from the Nuggets, Trailblazers, Timberwolves or Mavericks. Yeah, the Celtics may have "lost" because they did nothing, but they are currently the second best team in the East, so no big deal.

Look, I thought that maybe Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony would get moved, but it did not happen. So what. Sure, it would have been exciting if at least one of those guys moved, but like most trade deadlines, nothing big happened. It really looked like George or Butler were going to be a Celtic in the waning moments of the deadline, but as is their new norm, the Celtics would not give up any high picks and did nothing. Danny Ainge always claims to have some big deal in place for a super star, but he is becoming the boy who cried wolf. I just do not believe any reports I read about the Celtics getting a big named player anymore. Someone always floats a story that the Celtics are finally going to make the move, but when the time comes, nothing ever happens. I'm sick of the stories and I'm sick of Danny Ainge always claiming that he is going to make a move.

What better time than now for the Celtics? Imagine if they got Paul George or Jimmy Butler. That immediately makes them a legitimate title threat. Pairing up either of those guys with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford gives them a legit team. Both George and Butler are top 10 defenders, and they can score. This would have made it so much easier to hide Thomas on defense in the playoffs. If they were to face Toronto in a series, stick Marcus Smart on Kyle Lowry and Butler or George on DeMar DeRozan. Then, Thomas can guard some random guy like Corey Joseph. This would have made the Celtics lethal. I know they would have had to give up the coveted Nets picks they own and some young, possible stars like Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley or Jae Crowder, but the chance to get one of these guys that are already proven, you cannot pass that up.

Sorry, that is my long winded way of saying that the Celtics missed a golden opportunity.

But, as I said, I do not pick "winners" and "losers" from the trade deadline. I like to point out which teams possibly helped themselves and who hurt themselves. We all already know that the Kings are a garbage franchise run by people who have no clue what they are doing, but they looked so god damn stupid after this deadline. They're toast. Sure, they won last night, but just wait, they will be going on something like a 10 or 12 game losing streak real soon.

I was also confused by what the 76ers and Bulls did. The 76ers have this glut of big men, but the only one they traded was Nerlens Noel. I thought for sure that Jahlil Okafor was done in Philadelphia, but he is still a 76er as we speak. The return they got for Noel was nothing too. They got Andrew Bogut, who they will buy out and release, and Justin Anderson, who may be a fine role player some day, but who knows. The Mavericks got a great defensive and rebounding big. I like this move for Dallas and hate it for the 76ers. The 76ers also traded Ersan Ilaysova for Tiago Splitter and some picks to the Hawks. Again, they traded for a big man that they're going to buy out and some second round picks. Makes no sense to me.

The Bulls, who should have moved Butler, instead sent Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Thunder for Cam Payne and some dude named Joffrey. What the hell is this trade? Taj Gibson is one of the most beloved veterans in the league, and Doug McDermott isn't great, but he will hit open threes. The Bulls got a second year point guard that never plays and a dude that was the 10th or 11th guy off the bench for the Thunder. It seems like something is missing here. This trade really helps bring some more toughness and shooting to OKC. It brings nothing but questions for Chicago. Much like the 76ers stuff, this feels like it was part 1 of a 3 or 4 part deal that didn't pan out.

The Rockets made some good moves I thought, at least for the regular season. They went out and got Lou Williams for Corey Brewer and a late first rounder, and trimmed some more cap space to possibly sign a guy like Andrew Bogut by trading Tyler Ennis to the Lakers for Marcus Huertas, who they will immediately waive. Williams gives the yet another shooter. Now, at most times on the floor, the Rockets will have James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams shooting the ball. They could go for 130 a game and I would not be surprised. The only problem, none of these guys play defense, and in the playoffs, that could spell doom. Still though, good moves for the regular season.

Besides the trades I mentioned, nothing else that big happened. Some irrelevant guys got traded for other irrelevant guys. Carmelo Anthony is still a Knick, Paul George is still a Pacer and Jimmy Butler is still a Bull. The Boogie deal was the biggest deal no matter what else happened, but I expected more from this particular deadline after Boogie got traded. I thought, especially in the East that some big time, All NBA caliber players would get moved. As I stated, Boston should have made some moves, but they are the boy who cried wolf franchise to me now. I like what Toronto did with the Ibaka trade, and don't sleep on their move to land PJ Tucker, that should look good in the long run, especially the playoffs. But, the Wizards only added one bench guy, the Hawks only added Ilaysova and every other playoff team pretty much stayed pat. I still think the Cavs are a lock to represent the East in the finals, but Toronto, not Boston anymore, looks like their biggest threat.

As for the West, no matter what the Rockets or Thunder did, doesn't matter, the Warriors are winning. Even if the Clippers added Carmelo, they cannot beat the Warriors, they proved that last night, blowing a 12 point half time lead. The Spurs never make moves because they don't have to, so them doing nothing was not surprising. The Pelicans made THE move, but, as I said, if they make the playoffs, their "reward" is a thrashing at the hands of the Warriors.

We had another trade deadline that was very ho hum, but I expected more. I expected better. Oh well, I guess we will have to wait until summer to see if some of these big names finally get moved.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty thinks the only hope for the Celtics now is if some crazy fans go out and try to kidnap LeBron James. It worked out so well in "Celtic Pride". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Biggest Trade in the NBA Just Happened Because the Sacramento Kings are a Joke

It is tiring trying to figure out the King's plan

I have many ideas for pieces this week, but something real big happened in the NBA last night. That means my NBA All Star weekend wrap up will have to wait, and my reviews of the season premiere of "Bar Rescue" and "John Wick: Chapter 2" will have to wait a few days.

As I'm sure most, if not all, NBA fans know that Boogie Cousins got traded to the Pelicans last night for next to nothing. I know that I said the biggest name was already dealt, with Serge Ibaka heading to Toronto, but this trade is, by far, the biggest trade that will happen no matter what else, if anything, happens before Thursday's deadline. Even if someone like Jimmy Butler, Paul Milsap, Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward gets dealt, doesn't matter. Boogie is the biggest name. I did not think that Boogie would get traded this year. I figured, there is only about 25 games left in the regular season, and the Kings are somehow still in the playoff race, so I just assumed that they'd ride it out through the rest of this year.

I guess I was wrong.

The timing of the deal is incredibly weird as well. I mean, this happened literally about an hour after the All Star game ended. The All Star game was in New Orleans, so Boogie technically does not have to leave, but still, very weird timing. I did think that something was a bit off because Boogie barely played, but I assumed that he had a minor injury and that he was just resting. But, after watching the All Star game, then looking at Twitter and Bleacher Report and other sports websites, all of the sudden, I see this breaking trade. I did not believe it at first. I thought it would fall through and neither team would be able to come up with an equal deal. I mean, what do the Pelicans have that the Kings covet? Nothing besides Anthony Davis, but he is pretty much untouchable. But, much to mine and everyone else's surprise, the deal went through, and the Kings got absolutely fleeced.

More on that in a minute, I want to talk about the pairing of Boogie and Davis. On paper, this looks great. This is one of the best front court's in the history of the NBA. Two young stars, in their prime, averaging a double double each and playing exceptional on both ends of the floor. It should be an absolute slam dunk. But, the pessimist in me does not think that they will be able to coexist, and they are fighting to get the 8th spot in the West, which means they will face the Warriors in the first round, and probably get swept. If that happens, I do not see anyway that the Pelicans will be able to resign Boogie this offseason. He will want to move to a team in title contention. Davis is a great, great, great player, but he is who New Orleans needs to build around. He and Boogie essentially play the same position and the Pelicans have already tried something akin to this when they signed Omer Asik. Now, Asik is not 1/1,000th the player that Boogie is, but it is the same idea. Two big guys, one scorer and one all around guy, but it just did not work out. There was not enough space in the post. Davis can float out to the perimeter, but I think he is a much better slasher and rebounder going to the basket. Unfortunately for him, Boogie is a low post player, an absolute excellent one, and he will be clogging up that lane. So, while it looks great on paper, and I really want it to work out, I just do not think it will work. There is not enough time for them to get any continuity and they will be an easy out for a higher seeded West team, that is, if they make the playoffs. Looks great on paper, I just don't see it working on the court.

Now, the Kings. My oh my did they get absolutely robbed. This deal makes the Kings front office, and mainly Vlade Divac, look so under qualified to run a NBA team. Boogie is easily a top 10, top 5 in my personal opinion, NBA player. He is a throwback center, but he has expanded his game and he plays more defense now, and can sometimes hit a mid range jumper. The trade rumors have always been around. He is a headache, a coach killer, a ball stopper, a malcontent, everything nasty that can be said about a player has been said abut him, but it always ended with the caveat that he is an elite player. So, if you are going to trade him, you need an elite level trade package, no matter what baggage Boogie may bring with him. When the rumors started a few years back, it was always Boogie for another star, or a plethora of very high, unprotected picks. It was always looked at as a blockbuster. It needed to be big time.

What did the Kings get in return you ask? They got 2 picks, a 2017 first and second rounder, probably in the high teens in the first round and mid forties in the second round, and Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans. The picks are fine, but not Boogie Cousins fine. As I said, if you are going to trade Boogie for picks, you need unprotected lottery picks, not some mid first rounder and mid second rounder. That is insane and stupid. Then, you get an unproven rookie, Buddy Hield. I really like Buddy Hield, and I think he can be a very good pro, but he is a rookie that has struggled so far. His shot is not falling and his defense is not up to task yet. Now, he is going to one of the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA. That will only hurt his game. He will not figure it out for awhile, if ever, playing for the Kings. They have not had a prospect grow into a decent NBA player, Boogie being the lone exception, in over a decade. Look at the list. Guys like Jimmer Fredette, Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Ray McCallum Jr, Thomas Robinson, Orlando Johnson and Tyler Honeycutt. By my count, only one of those guys is still on the team, McLemore, only 2 are still in the NBA, Stauskas and Robinson, and who knows about the rest. Apparently Jimmer scored 73 points in a game in China, but he was recently cut from a D League team, so I take very little stock in his high point totals. Basically, with rookies, the Kings don't have a good track record. I feel bad for Buddy Hield.

They also got Tyreke Evans, in a return to his first team, but he is wildly inconsistent and has never really put it together in the NBA. He has moments, but more so than not, he has been a very mediocre NBA player. His addition to the trade adds nothing at all. It was basically a throw on at the last moment in some kind of saving face, but it still makes this trade look really bad.

Funny side note. People have even tried to make this trade on the video game "NBA 2K17", and the game says that the trade is too unfair for the Kings. So, that means artificial intelligence is smarter than the Kings front office.

This is an absolute disaster for the Kings. This puts their franchise even further away from rebuilding. They are going to be very, very bad for what seems to be another decade now. If they couldn't win and make the playoffs with Boogie, how on Earth are they going to win with a bunch of castoffs that haven't proven themselves in the NBA in their short careers? I mean, a starting five of Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Buddy Hield, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein is worse than anything the 76ers or the Lakers or even the Nets will put out on a NBA floor. This trade is real bad and real shocking. I hope, but don't think, it will work out for the Pelicans, and I know that this trade just set the Kings back for at least another decade.

The Kings got fleeced and they don't seem to care, or even realize it. At least Boogie got out of there and he may end up loving New Orleans and playing with Davis. But if he doesn't, he is a free agent and will have his pick of teams to sign with this summer. The biggest winner, by a country mile in this very bad trade, is Boogie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is putting his name into the conversation to be the GM of the Kings. How could he do any worse. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Knicks, Kings, Bucks

Welcome back to my NBA countdown. Today, we will get teams 24, 23 and 22. We are still in the bad teams, and I think some of my teams today will surprise some readers. Anyway, on with the countdown.

At number 24 I have the New York Knicks. Some people, some respected people (ed note: Like me), actually seem to think that this team could be a threat in the East. I do not see that at all. I do not think this team will be any better than last year, and they stunk last year. I don't understand why respected journalists (ed note: Like me) think that signing Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee make them a threat. Noah hasn't been healthy for 2 plus years, and his shot is garbage. He is only good for defense and rebounding, and he is still not fully healthy. He will not return to his form from 3 years ago when he was a legit MVP candidate. Noah's attitude may be a great fit for New York, but his game is gone. Courtney Lee is not as good as others think he is. I saw him play live last year, and I did not come away impressed. He's an average shooter and defender. He is by no means a world beater. Then we have Derrick Rose. He hasn't been healthy in about 3 years as well. He doesn't go at the rim with the reckless abandon that he used to. His jump shot is trash and he is a terrible defender. He is also currently on trial for rape, which he all but admitted, by saying that every time he was intimate with his ex, he considered it consent, to doing. Then we have Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis will prove this season if he is good, or just a one year wonder. I think he will be good, but not great. Carmelo is a ball stopper, and he proved during the Olympics that he is slower and still not a good defender. He looked pretty bad, save for one game, during the Olympics, when he was the unofficial team leader. The rest of the roster is very blah to me. Guys like Kyle O'Quinn, Guillermo Hernangomez, Brandon Jennings and Lance Thomas, among others just don't; strike me as legit threats off the bench. Derrick Rose was out of his mind when he called them a "super team". The Knicks are not good, and they will be lucky to win 35 games this year. I have no faith in this team at all. I may be the only one, but I think they are going to be pretty bad.

So Ty, how will the Knicks win the title? The only way they win the title is if Noah becomes a MVP, Rose's knees don't betray him and he gets off this case, Porzingis takes a major leap and Anthony plays like he is 20 again. That is not happening. Sorry Knicks fans, this team is not good.

At number 23 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have a semi talented roster, with the best true center in the NBA right now, but they just can't figure it out. They have good players, but they are all individual players, not team players. Boogie Cousins is great, but he has become uncoachable. He just hasn't figured it out. He is incredibly talented, but until he takes some real coaching, he will continue to lose games, and his cool. I'm a huge fan of his, but he is just a big stats on a bad team guy. Rudy Gay wants out of there so bad, I wouldn't be shocked if he got traded any day now. He is also past his prime. Aaron Afflalo's time in the sun is over. He's not as good a defender or shooter as he was 3 years ago. Darren Collison is an abuser. The fact that he only got an 8 game suspension for domestic violence is a travesty. Matt Barnes is more concerned with fighting former players than working on his game. He is still a decent defender, but he is also a huge malcontent and whiner. Willie Cauley Stein has no offensive game. Good defender, but terrible offensive player. Ben Mclemore still hasn't figured out the speed of the game, and he has no jumper. Ty Lawson is on this team, and last year proved he was done in the NBA. And in the draft, they took another big. This guy is from Greece, and he got owned in summer league. The other picks, Skal Labiessere and Malachi Richardson are too skinny, young and will not be ready to contribute any time soon in the NBA. The Kings are a mess, and have been for about a decade now. They will find their way to 30 wins, they do have talent, but that is about it.

So Ty, how will the Kings win the title? The Kings can win the title if these guys on the roster completely change the way they have played their whole careers, buy into being team and leave their egos at the door. No way that happens with this roster. Hopefully Boogie gets traded. That would be best for him and the Kings.

At number 22, I have the Milwaukee Bucks. This team should be so much better. They were in the playoffs two years ago, and they completely imploded last season. They have some great talent, but I just don't see them putting it all together. I love Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he just got paid, but does he have any real help. Michael Carter Williams cannot score and his defense hasn't gotten better. Greg Monroe was an absolute bust last season, and I bet he gets traded this year. Jabari Parker cannot stay healthy and cannot play defense or rebound. Khris Middleton should be so much better than he plays. He's good for a game winner here and there, but he misses way more big shots than he makes. John Henson just doesn't have it anymore. Their two big offseason moves were bringing in Matthew Dellavedova and Michael Beasley. Matthew Dellavedova stinks. He is a worthless, way below average guard. The Bucks should have buyers remorse immediately. Michael Beasley was so good in college and in China. You know where he hasn't been that good? The NBA. I don't understand why teams still give him a chance. The bucks also drafted Thon Maker at number 10. That was crazy. No one knows how old he is, and these comparisons to KD need to stop now. He hasn't played a single second in the NBA, and he is rail thin. This team's offseason additions make absolutely no sense at all. The Bucks should be better, but they will continue to hover around 33-36 wins.

So Ty, how will the Bucks win the title? The Bucks can win the title if Antetokoumpo becomes the league's MVP, Jabari Parker starts to go for 25 PPG, MCW finds a jump shot and starts to play defense, Khris Middleton becomes a real threat and Greg Monroe starts to play with a vengeance. I just don't see that happening. Sorry Milwaukee, but stop making stupid offseason pick ups that make no sense. until they figure that out, they will continue to be average.

Come back tomorrow for the next 3 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor is confused why the Knicks, a super team, are so low in his rankings. Who is the basketball expert here? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The USA Men's Basketball Team may not be a Dream Team, but it will Still Easily Win the Gold in Rio

If Rio can build the rims, the US will dominate them.

Last night, and last week for that matter, Team USA basketball kicked off their preliminary games, en route to the 2016 Rio Olympics. I have watched both games, the first against Argentina and the second against China, and if they do not breeze to the gold medal, it will be a total and utter embarrassment.

I know the US doesn't have guys like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard, amongst other stars, but they still have Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Boogie Cousins, Kyrie Irving and a plethora of other future and current NBA all stars. The US is not hurting for talent when it comes to Olympic basketball. Sure, other foreign teams have some former and current pros, but it is nothing like what the US has. When they played Argentina the other night, I noticed that Manu Ginobli was playing. He is a great NBA player, and a possible hall of famer, but his best days were 4, or even 5 years ago. He is not the threat he once was to US basketball during Olympic competition. I didn't recognize anyone else playing for Argentina. When they played China last night, I saw one guy that looked familiar to me, but had it not been for NBATV, I would have not remembered that he played in the NBA for a few years. I don't even remember his name, and I just watched the game last night.

That US / China game last night was a complete bore to watch. I usually enjoy a good blowout, it makes the game that much less intense, but this was an absolute drubbing. Team USA won by 49 points, and it wasn't even that close. Team USA didn't shoot the three particularly well, but they didn't have to because they got to the basket at will, and China may be the worst shooting team in the entire Olympic field. They have size, but they cannot make a shot from 16 feet and out. And then, this happened to both Argentina and China, they have no one, and I mean NO ONE, that can guard players like KD, Draymond, Kyrie Irving or Boogie Cousins. KD, who is essentially a guard, is 7 feet tall. He can shoot over some of the best defenders in the world that are taller than him. I saw one play in the Argentina game where a guy under 6 feet was matched up with him on a switch and KD backed him down, and decided to shoot a fade away. The Argentine defender had no chance, and KD was laughing as he walked back down the court. Draymond is a total harbinger to what a lot of the international players see. He stands at 6'9, but he rebounds and defends like a center, and he can run the point. He will lead this team in assists one game, rebounds the next, drop a triple double in the third game, and for the hell of it, he may lead them in scoring in the gold medal game. Kyrie Irving is so much faster and such a better ball handler than any of his competition will have ever seen. He will get to the basket with little to no resistance and, now that he has a jumper, he will be able to shake bigger defenders for some of the most wide open jump shots anyone will have ever seen. Boogie Cousins is an absolute beast on the low block, and none of the international players will be able to contend with his size, his shockingly fast feet, his beautiful footwork in the post and he will out rebound anyone that comes his way. He may be a hot head, but he has seemed to have been able to keep a cool head in international competition.

After those guys, the US can throw Klay Thompson out there. He will lock down anyone on defense and he can shoot and drive with the best of them. They can throw Harrison Barnes at anyone. He is young, fast, plays defense and can get to the basket with ease. Jimmy Butler is on the team. He is another great defender that can score at the basket with some of the greatest players in the world. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry come off the bench. They can both catch fire at any moment, and with the three point line being closer, they can score in bunches very, very quickly. Paul George is back. He is another threat outside or inside on offense, and he is a very good defender.

The only 2 guys that won't really scare anyone will be DeAndre Jordan and Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo, while he plays very well in the Olympics, is old, plays no defense and only wants to shoot threes. He's on this team because he is never going to win an NBA title, so at least, he will have a few gold medals when he retires. DeAndre Jordan is only on this team because they need at least 2 big men. He is an average defender and rebounder for his size. He is a terrible shooter and free throw shooter. He is a very sub par passer. All he is good for is alley oops, that's it.

Team USA, as I stated at the top, should breeze to a gold medal. I think there are only two teams that may give them a bit of a hard time, and by hard time I mean, Team USA will only win by 15 or 20 points, are Spain and France. Spain has been a thorn in the US side since the 21st century, but a lot of their players are older and breaking down. Sure, they have the Gasol brothers, but Pau Gasol is about a million years old and Marc Gasol, he is coming off an injury that ended his season. I'm not even one hundred percent sure he is playing in these Olympics. France has some solid, current NBA players, but 2 of the three "stars" are very old and getting slower. Tony Parker is the point guard, and while he is great, he is not ready to guard Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan or Klay Thompson. And Thompson himself can lock him down on defense. Boris Diaw is one of the best passers in the league, and he may be the only guy that can guard Draymond in all of the Olympics, but he will be tasked with having to guard Boogie Cousins and being the guy that switches in pick and rolls onto KD, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, basically, any outside threat Team USA has, and they have a lot. Diaw is a very smart and capable defender, but he won't be able to get to that gear that he will need to, to keep up with those guys. Rudy Gobert is the wild card for France. He is an excellent rim protector and rebounder and a very capable low post scorer. He is also very young. But, how many block shot attempts is he really going to get when France and the US meet? I'm sure the coaching staff for Team USA will put together a game plan that all but eliminates the threat that Gobert brings, and I'm sure it will work. When you have the shooters that Team USA has, it is damn near impossible to stop them.

USA will, or at least should, win the gold medal and every game should be at least a 20 point margin of victory. I think a lot of summer league and D League teams would put up a better fight than some of the international competition will bring. This is going to be a bloodbath and one of the easiest gold medals the US will win in the upcoming Olympics. This is no 1992 "Dream Team", but it is nice to know that when 2/3 of the biggest stars in the game pull out of the Olympics, we can still field a team that is more than capable of breezing its way to a gold. I'll be watching every single blowout that I can, and if the US lets any team closer than 10 points, I would consider that a bummer. They should, and most likely will, crush everybody in Rio.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is sad that they could not find room for Christian Laettner on the team to bring back at least one Dream Teamer. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Let Me Respectfully Explain Why Your Team Stinks: Ty has a Few Words for Reggie Jackson's Thunder Criticisms

The not basketball court where Jackson forms his opinions

To continue my trend this week of talking about the NBA, I need to give my take on Reggie Jackson calling out his former team on Twitter after the Thunder got beat in game 7.

Shut your god damn mouth Reggie Jackson. You are a very, very average NBA player at your very best. The Thunder dumped you because they had enough of your whiny, crybaby, ball hogging ways. The Thunder were fed up and they traded you for peanuts. That's how much they wanted to rid themselves of you. If they didn't have to pay the money, they probably would have cut you just to get you off the team. Yeah, you got a huge deal from the Pistons last offseason, but I think they may have a touch of buyers remorse right now. Two years ago, when you had your shot to lead the Thunder, both Durant and Westbrook were out with injuries, you "led" them to a 5-13 start. That is pathetic. You became such a ball hog and a prima donna and a wannabe all star your teammates were icing you out and wouldn't pass you the ball after rebounds. You are a point guard and Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins decided they would rather run the offense than you because they knew that you were going to come down, hold the ball for 20 seconds, and shoot some piss poor jumper or do some lame ass drive, trying to draw a foul and get nothing from it. After you were iced out and leading the Thunder to 8 games below .500, you started to complain that you weren't getting your fair shot to lead. Bull shit! You had every opportunity to show your worth and you blew it big time. You are a poor mans James Harden. You are not the scorer, nor will you ever be, that James Harden is, and your defense is just as bad.

I mentioned it before and I am going to say again, you were traded to the Pistons for next to nothing, and you have been average at best. Yeah, you got a big deal, but everyone is going to get huge deals in 2 years when the cap explodes. Your 20 million a year will look miniscule next to what real superstars will be making very soon. And, how well have the Pistons been since you went there? Your first season there, you were splitting minutes with Brandon Jennings until he tore his ACL. Then you were the starter on a very bad Pistons team. Even on a bad team, you weren't the main scoring threat. Guys like Tobias Harris, Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Andre Drummond are all much better options than you. The Pistons stunk your first season there, but this last season your team barely made the playoffs, and spoiler alert Reggie Jackson, it had little to nothing to do with your play. Yeah, you had moments, but so did guys like Darko Milic, Hedo Turkoglu, Kwame Brown, Korleone Young and many more players that are out of the league, or irrelevant. But, you continued to run your mouth as if you are the best player on your team. Even after trading Tobias Harris, you are still the third best option on a mediocre Pistons team. Durant and Westbrook, who are bona fide mega stars in the league, are one hundred percent correct when stating that Caldwell Pope and Drummond are much better options. First off, Drummond is the second best center in the league, behind only Boogie Cousins, and he is an all star and a nightmare on the low post, both offensively and defensively. Then, Caldwell Pope is such a better shooter than you, he is younger and a much better defender than you have been your whole career.

Also, how did the Pistons do in the playoffs this year? You have the nerve and gall to call out the Thunder after a game 7 loss to the greatest regular season team in the history of the NBA, and your team, the team you are the supposed "leader" of got their asses swept out of the first round by the Cavs, who are atrocious defensively. Two of the games weren't even close either. Game one, you and Drummond blew. Games 2 and 3, you guys had no chance. And then game 4. You guys had a chance, specifically, you, Reggie Jackson, had the chance to win the game and extend the series. But, you threw up some garbage three point double clutch nonsense, then complained to the refs when it air balled that your were fouled, you were not fouled, then didn't own up that you stunk that entire series.

Shut your stupid mouth Reggie Jackson. The Thunder have gotten so much better since they traded your punk ass away. No matter how many times you celebrate regular season wins against the Thunder, even though you did nothing note worthy in the game, the Thunder are so much better without you on the team. They don't have to worry about some backup point guard that thinks he is way better than he truly is. The Thunder one hundred percent made the correct decision to rid the team of your nonsense.

Another thing, don't act like you are some big time star now because you hang out with Paul George in the offseason. Paul George is just being nice to you to be nice. He looks at you like a charity case. You are a blip on his radar. You are not a star Reggie Jackson, no matter what you think, say and tweet. That is also such a punk move to call them out on Twitter. It is downright cowardly. You also must have been watching the game, opining that you were still on a team that plays late into May. Reggie Jackson, you are a bum and a child. This Twitter nonsense is prime evidence that you are childish. I am so happy, being a Thunder fan, that they got rid of your punk ass. That was a great day in Sonics/Thunder history, and when you are out of the league in 3 or 4 years and Durant and Westbrook are still playing deep into May and June, I hope you look back at this time and feel shame for how ridiculous this beef and how average of an NBA player you were. Screw you Reggie Jackson, you are lame.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not appreciate it when twitter is used for childish purposes. With that said, go follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

DeAndre Jordan Does Not Belong on the NBA First Team

DeAndre Jordan should not even be warming the first team's bench

Yesterday the NBA released their all NBA teams. The teams were pretty much what we all expected. The first team had LeBron, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard and DeAndre Jordan. The second team had Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Damien Lillard, Boogie Cousins and Chris Paul. The third, and final team, had Klay Thompson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul George, Andre Drummond and Kyle Lowry.

They got it right for the most part.

As far as snubs go, maybe flip Durant and Westbrook, but I don't think it really matters, they are both great and they both deserve a spot. Anthony Davis was hurt, but when he was in there, he was great, and he lost 24 million dollars by not making the team. If Kyle Lowry made all NBA, I think DeMar DeRozan deserved equal consideration. Other than that, they got everything right except for one humongous, glaring, gaping hole on that first team.

How on Earth does a player like DeAndre Jordan make first team all NBA? He shouldn't be on any of these all NBA teams. All he is good for is rebounding and dunking. His defense isn't anywhere near elite. His offense is a joke. His free throw shooting is even worse. His demeanor on the court is garbage. He carries himself so poorly. He isn't even the best player on his team. He isn't even the second best player on his team. When you look at the other first team players, those players were the best players on their team this year, and yes, Westbrook was better all year than Durant, that is a fact. DeAndre Jordan is way behind Chris Paul, and even though he is an abusive man child that whines and complains and blames everything on everyone else and never comes up big when the Clippers need him most, Blake Griffin is still better than DeAndre Jordan. Hell, guys like Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, and at times, even Jeff Green were more crucial to the Clippers than DeAndre Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan is a problem for this Clippers team. He cannot be counted on late in games because his low post game is non existent and his free throw shooting is the worst that I have ever seen. He is worse than Drummond. Hell, he is a worse free throw shooter than Rajon Rando, and Rajon Rando is a garbage free throw shooter. His defense is not nearly as threatening as it was a year or two ago. People attacked him way more this year and would score or draw fouls on him more often than him getting a block or altering the shot. And on offense, unless it is a lob from Chris Paul for an alley oop, he is completely useless. He is a poor screener. He rolls away from the rim way too often on pick and rolls. He cannot move in the low post. He can't shoot free throws, so he obviously is no threat to shoot jumpers. When he gets the ball in the high post, he is so quick to give it up for fear of getting fouled, or having the ball stolen from him. He is a problem on this Clippers team when they have to run half court offense.

With all those problems, the people that vote on all NBA put DeAndre Jordan on the first team. What a joke. Why was he even considered? Is it the LA thing? Since the Lakers are a dumpster fire, do the writers, most of whom live in LA, feel like they need to have someone, no matter how crappy they are, from an LA team be on the all NBA first team? That's not fair. With DeAndre Jordan being first team all NBA, I'm surprised these dip shit voters didn't put Kobe Bryant on any of the all NBA teams. Then, to vote DeAndre Jordan over guys like Boogie Cousins, LMA, Andre Drummond, what a crock and slap in their faces. LaMarcus Aldridge completely overhauled his game to fit in with the Spurs, and they were a great regular season team, due to him and Kawhi Leonard. LMA definitely deserved that spot more than Jordan. While Andre Drummond is an equally terrible free throw shooter, he is a much better rebounder, defender, low post threat and teammate than Jordan will ever be. I'd take Andre Drummond 10 times out of 10 before I'd take Jordan if I were starting a team and I had to pic between the two of them for my center spot. Then there's Boogie Cousins. While he may be uncoachable and a very tough player to play with, Cousins is the best center in the NBA. He has all the tools that the old time centers had and he can also run and shoot the way the newer bigs can. Boogie Cousins is a tremendous talent that deserves that first team spot so much more than DeAndre Jordan. Cousins is a better rebounder, defender, and is so far ahead of Jordan on offense, it is almost laughable that he didn't get the first team spot. If I were Boogie Cousins I'd take this very personal and go at DeAndre Jordan every shot I get for the rest of my NBA career. Then there are guys that didn't make any all NBA teams that I would take well before I take Jordan. I'd take Anthony Davis, Steven Adams, Serge Ibaka, Bismak Biyombo, Al Horford, Paul Millsap and many more centers and power forwards before I'd even consider DeAndre Jordan.

The love for Jordan needs to stop and stop now. He is a very marginal NBA center. If he did not have Chris Paul throwing him passes, he may be out of the league, that is how overrated I truly think DeAndre Jordan is. The voters got this one terribly wrong. I don't think anyone could pose an argument that would sway me on this. This is a joke and this proves how useless and pointless all these all NBA teams are. Who in the hell cares, all the fans know who are the best players in the league, and Deandre Jordan is not one of the top five. He isn't even one of the top 25 players in the league. What a crock is truly is that he made first team all NBA. He should be getting rewarded for his mediocre play all season. This was a huge mistake.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He looks forward to the day when NBA writers value the players skill more than their geographical location. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Rockets and Kings are Coachless and Uncoachable

If this was on fire, it would represent the Rockets and Kings

As it happens every NBA season around this time, coaches are being fired and hired. It always goes on during the playoffs and, more often than not, it's usually smaller named coaches taking jobs. Guys like Kenny Atkinson taking the Nets job or Earl Watson taking the Suns job. See, not that big of names. Sure, Thibodeau took the Timberwolves job and, to a much lesser extent, Scott Brooks took the Wizards job, but that's about as splashy as it gets this time of year. And yeah, Luke Walton took the Lakers job, which is a potential disaster worse than taking the Knicks job, but most teams wait until after the playoffs, or during the finals to really get into their head coaching search.

Two such teams currently searching for a coach that I want to talk about today are the Rockets and the Kings. Let's tackle the Rockets first. This team is an absolute dumpster fire. This team has absolutely no chemistry. James Harden is becoming a world class prima donna. Dwight Howard needs to leave that team as fast as possible, and, he's not really that good anymore. The other starters, guys like Terrence Ross, Corey Brewer, Patrick Beverly and Donatas Montejunas need to try their best and get out of there because Harden is no fun to play basketball with. Also, Daryl Morey needs to be let go. He put this team together through analytics nonsense and they are a complete mess because of him. Morey was the one that figured pairing Howard and Harden was a good idea. This was the guy, and I totally agreed with him at the time, that thought bringing in Ty Lawson was a good idea. This is the guy who trades away picks and young players with the "win now" attitude and it has not worked out. Sure, they miraculously made the Western Finals last year, after the Clippers epic collapse, but they got outworked, outplayed and outclassed by the Warriors. And the true James Harden showed up. The guy that shrinks the bigger the moment gets. The Rockets are a total mess. Even their interim coach, JB Bickerstaff said he'd rather be an assistant than the head coach of this team. Bickerstaff has been with this team for a long time, got his chance to be the head coach after they fired Kevin McHale 11 games into the season, and he looked and acted like he hated every single second of it. I would too if I were him. The coach of the Rockets is basically just a figure head that has to deal with players that aren't as good as they may think. Nowhere is it truer than the NBA where the coach, for all intents and purposes, doesn't matter. The only coaches that demand the respect and attention of their players are Gregg Poppovich and Steve Kerr, other than that, none of you guys really matter. If I were a coach at any level, be it high school, college or the pros, I would not touch that Rockets job with a ten foot pole. They are going to lose a lot of players, mainly Dwight Howard, and the new coach will have to deal with all the nonsense that comes with James Harden. Harden is uncoachable and that team is going to get blown up. The Rockets will be a rebuilding project, and an established coach will not touch that job. The Rockets may have to dip into the college ranks and we all saw how well that worked out for Fred Hoiberg and Billy Donovan. Sure, Donovan won 55 games, but he has Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant at his disposal and his "coaching" didn't really play any part in their success. And Hoiberg, the Bulls, with all the talent in the world, didn't even make the playoffs in the East. So, good luck to whichever low end NBA assistant or college coach that takes that Rockets job, it's going to be tough.

Then, there is the Kings vacant head coaching job. They have reached out to some big name guys. Guys like Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson and Stan Van Gundy, but they all seem to be turning the job down, and they all seem to turn it down for one reason. That one reason is Boogie Cousins. First of all, I love Boogie Cousins the player. I think he is a wonderfully skilled big man. He can play in the low post and run the floor with equal success. He is definitely a once in a lifetime good to great low post player, but he clearly has a very bad attitude problem and he is un coachable. Not one single coach that he has had in the NBA seems to last longer than one and a half season. Hell, if he had stayed at Kentucky more than one year, I bet he and Calipari would have ended up having problems. Calipari may be the one guy that can coach him, but he isn't leaving Kentucky for a NBA rebuilding job, so those rumors need to stop. I love love love Boogie Cousins, but I totally understand why all these coaches are turning down the job. I mean, George Karl, who made it work with strong personalities like Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, couldn't reach Cousins. From the start, Cousins did not like Karl. Before they even met, he was down on Karl for some past accusations. It was a broken marriage from the jump. There have been other head coaches, but the only one that seemed to work, Mike Malone, was inexplicably fired after one season and 11 games into his second season. Malone was making it work, but Cousins went down with an injury and the Kings lost a couple of games in a row. That was enough, according to the front office, to fire him. It was a joke that Malone got fired so quickly when it seemed he was turning that team around. But, that's another problem with this franchise. The front office thinks that the team is better than it actually is. Vivek, the new owner, is an idiot. He is the one pulling the trigger so quick on coaches. He is the one that keeps drafting players that play the same position over and over again. One year he takes Ben McLemore, the next year he takes Nick Stauskas. One year he drafts Boogie Cousins. A couple of years later, he takes Willie Cauley-Stein. Vivek also said, on live national television, he wanted his team to play five on four so they could get quick fast break points because that's what his fifth grade daughters team did, and they were good. He compared an NBA team to a fifth grade basketball team. That's insane. No coach worth their mustard should touch this job with a ten foot pole as well. The Kings are a mess akin with the Rockets. The only selling point in the Kings favor is the fact that they will get a decent draft pick, but who really cares, that's just more rebuilding.

These two jobs are not good jobs. I don't think anyone with any sense is wiling to take either one of these jobs because these jobs are a stomping ground. There is no success to be had at either spot. Yes, the Rockets have James Harden, but he plays no defense, he is a ball hog, he holds the ball for 20 of the 24 second shot clock and he is a prima donna. The Rockets won't have much else going into next season. And yeah, the Kings have Boogie and Rondo, but what coach in their right mind really wants to deal with those two headaches. As I said, I love Cousins, but I would not want to deal with Rondo at all. He is past his prime and he may be a crazy person and he is too big a headache.

While other teams will fill their vacancies with relative ease, I think the Rockets and the Kings will have a long, tiring and troubling time trying to fill their head coaching jobs. Both teams are dumpster fires and no coach with a good head on their shoulders will give those jobs a second chance. Those jobs will be filled by lower level assistants, college coaches, or more likely, a crazy person.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He coaches pre K basketball and is ready to be called up by the Kings or Rockets. He fully expects to be fired in less than a year, like any other big time NBA coach would be. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

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.