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 Who Will Win the NBA Finals and All the Other Awards

Lots of game balls to give out

I finished my 10 day NBA preseason countdown yesterday, so today, I will give you my finals prediction, award predictions and some surprises, be they good or bad, that I think will happen this upcoming season.

Let's start with the finals.

I don't see how this is not part three of Cavs-Warriors. They are both the superior teams in their respective conferences. They have no real challengers. Some will say the Cavs will be pushed by the Raptors, Celtics or Pacers. The Raptors are perpetual underachievers. The Celtics don't have a super star, ball dominant, get you the tough points when you need them type of guy. The Pacers have no one that can defend both LeBron and Kyrie Irving. The Cavs are just so much better than any team in the East. The Warriors have no one, and I mean no one, that should slow them down one bit. They have the 3 of the 4 best players in the league in their starting five. They have scorers and playmakers all over the floor. As far as the Spurs being a threat, Kawhi Leonard can only guard one of those guys. The Clippers can't stop a pick and roll to save their lives, and the Warriors own them. OKC lost KD, and Westbrook will not be able to beat them alone, even though he will certainly try. The Trailblazers are just not on their level. The Warriors have such an easy path, it's ridiculous.

As stated, we will have a third straight rematch. The Warriors should win this title in no less than 5 games. LeBron will get one, he always does, but the Warriors are absolutely stacked, and anything less than a title would be deemed a disappointment. They will try and talk down the high expectations, but with a team like this, they should be huge, huge favorites.

As far as MVP goes, I mean, LeBron should probably win every year, but he won't this season, unless he wants to. All he has to do is try and play hard every night, and he could walk away with it. But, he has a ton of mileage on his legs, so I don't think he will play as many games this year that would be needed to win the MVP. As far as other contenders, Steph and KD and Klay will all cancel each other out. Those three on the same team will be lethal, but none will separate themselves as MVP. James Harden will score a ton, but he will play no defense, so that will not get him many votes. Russell Westbrook may put up ridiculous numbers, but he will play out of control a lot, shoot too many shots and that will cost him the MVP. He will be fun to watch, but I bet very infuriating at times as well. All these guys are great, but I think that Kawhi Leonard will take the next step and win the MVP this year. The Spurs are now his team, I think he will take that next step offensively and he is the best defender in the league. It may sound crazy, but I think Kawhi is going to become that superstar that we all expect him to be.

Coach of the year is going to go to Tom Thibodeau, unless the T'Wolves fall flat on their faces. Everyone has already penciled him in, so the award is his to lose. The T'Wolves have looked really good in the preseason, and if they finish above .500, he is a shoe in for the award.

I think Kawhi Leonard will double down and not only win the MVP, but also defensive player of the year. As I have said too much the past two days, he is the best defender, hands down, in the NBA. There is no equal.

Rookie of the year is going to go to Kris Dunn. He will usurp Ricky Rubio as the starter in Minnesota, and he looks ready to play right now. I do like Buddy Hield, he will score a ton, Joel Embiid, he has looked unstoppable in preseason and Brandon Ingram will get looks, but he is too skinny and needs to toughen up. But, Dunn will pass all these guys and play important minutes on a team that could possibly push for the playoffs, and he will play well.

As far as some surprises, I think OKC will struggle, but still get in the playoffs. Losing a player like KD is going to hurt a hell of a lot more than they are letting on. Westbrook will play like a man on fire, but he needs help from guys that haven't had this much on their plates in their NBA careers. The Celtics will be the third best team in the East. A lot of people have them as the surefire 2 seed, behind the Cavs, but I think the Pacers will snatch that 2 seed from them. The Pacers have scoring all over the floor, and with Nate McMillan as their new head coach, they will run up and down the court and score tons of points, while playing high level defense. The dunk contest won't be as good as last year, but it is starting to become must watch TV for NBA fans again. The dunk contest was in the toilet for almost a decade, but last year was one of, if not the, best dunk contests ever. I also love that Vince Carter is saying that he might enter this year. I'd love that.

And one last thing, the NBA is so watered down, I would suggest to everyone out there, only watch the Cavs, Spurs and Warriors, as well as your team. There is no point, if you are not a fan of either of these teams, to watch a midseason game between the Nets and Hornets. Neither of those teams will make any difference in the final outcome, so who cares. There are only 3 really good teams, then the rest. Get ready for a third straight rematch, and a lot of the same stuff we have seen for the last few years.

That's it for the NBA. Thanks for reading, and tomorrow, I will have my NCAA men's basketball preview. I will also have my "Eric Andre Show" and "Bar Rescue" recaps next week for everyone, I have just been hyper focused on basketball, since the season is right around the corner. It's very exciting.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The NBA may be watered down, but Ty believes in drinking plenty of water. Make sure you get the good stuff. The Warriors would be like the Fiji of bottled water. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Pelicans, Mavericks, and the Bulls

Day 4 of my NBA countdown features teams 21, 20 and 19. These teams are good, but they could be better, or it is just a weird collection of players that I don't think will work out that well, or they are way too old to be highly competitive anymore.

Coming in at number 21, I have the New Orleans Pelicans. This team should be so much better than what they put out there on the floor. I know they had a ton of injuries last year, but that doesn't excuse their horrendous start, and the total lack of defense they "played". I really like their coach, Alvin Gentry, but I think he is better fitted to be an assistant as opposed to the head coach. He did great things while in Phoenix, but that was another team that he was the head man for, and they never reached their full potential. The roster has some great players, but they either get hurt too much, play hero ball or just haven't figured it out yet. Look, I'm about as big an Anthony Davis fan as there is. He is the new wave of centers. He can score in the post, rebound, block shots, run the floor, shoot the three and guard multiple positions. But, he has not been able to stay healthy for one full season since he has been in the league. I think he is a legitimate MVP candidate, if he can stay healthy. Unfortunately, that is a big if. He has all the tools, he just needs to not get injured. I really like their pick of Buddy Hield. As you all know by now, I would have taken Hield over any of the "one and done" players in this most recent draft. I love his game, he can score at will, and he will learn to play defense. He and Anthony Davis should make a fine pair. But, as I look at the rest of the roster, I don't see much. Omer Asik is done. He is garbage now. He can't score, he can't rebound and he doesn't defend like he used to. He and Davis were supposed to be the ultimate rim protectors, but Asik has not lived up to it. Tyreke Evans is not that good either. Sure, he can go for 30 one night, but the next night, he will go for 5 or 6 points on 2 of 15 shooting. He is exactly like Jeff Green. Has all the tools, but can never put it all together for a full season. Jrue Holiday is a very good point guard, but he too, much like Davis, just can't stay healthy. Kendrick Perkins was washed up in OKC, Solomon Hill is, at best, a tenth man off the bench, Norris Cole is a waste of a roster spot, Langston Galloway shouldn't even be in the NBA and they signed Lance Stephenson. Why on Earth would anyone want him on their team? He is a team killer. Their other pick in the most recent draft, Cheick Diallo, barely played in college, so who knows what he brings to the table. This team has one super star, one rookie that should be good, and nothing after that. The Pelicans will hover around 35 wins, depending on health.

So Ty, how will the Pelicans win the title? The only way they win the title is if Davis stays healthy and is the MVP, not impossible, Holiday stays healthy and continues to be lightening quick and the rest of the roster plays the best basketball of their lives, impossible. I feel sorry for Anthony Davis because he is a great player stuck on a mediocre team. Maybe Buddy Hield will be the guy they need to be Davis' sidekick.

At number 20 I have the Dallas Mavericks. This team would be much lower, like near the 76ers and Lakers, if Rick Carlisle wasn't the coach. He is one NBA coach that is near Poppovich's level. The Mavs still have Dirk, but isn't he like a trillion years old? How much game does he really have left? I know he is a great shooter, but he is a total liability on defense, he can't rebound and his legs are going to give out on him soon. Wes Matthews played pretty well last year, coming off a torn ACL, but he may be the new first option for the Mavs. Can he handle that? I don't think so. He is a good spot up shooter and a good slasher, but to be the main guy, that doesn't suit his game. They did end up with Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, after the whole KD signing, but does that even matter? Barnes looked atrocious in the finals. He couldn't make anything, and he was wide open. He also got abused on defense, but the Mavs gave him a max deal. Maybe he needs a change of scenery, but I just can't shake how bad he was in the finals. Bogut is a fine rim protector, but he is always injured, he cannot run anymore and his offense is non existent. He brings nothing to this team. Seth Curry, not Steph, signed with the Mavs, but he is, at best, your tenth or eleventh guy off the bench. The Mavs will look for more out of him, and I don't think he can do it. Deron Williams is still there, and while he played okay last year at times, his career was over while he was in Brooklyn. The rest of the roster has guys like Charlie Villanueva, Jose Barea, Justin Anderson, Devin Harris and Dwight Powell. Anderson and Powell are young, but not really all that good, and the rest of those guys, they are dinosaurs when it comes to NBA age. The Mavs will step back to about 30-35 wins, at best, this year.

So Ty, how will the Mavericks win the title? They can win the title if they find a fountain of youth, everyone drinks from it, returns to their primes and Harrison Barnes plays like a completely different player than what we saw in the finals. It's too far fetched.

At number 19, just missing out on the playoffs, I have the Chicago Bulls. This team is so much like the Knicks, with one major difference, it is scary. First off, I loved when they moved Derrick Rose to New York for Robin Lopez. I thought that was one of the best offseason decisions, but everything after that, total chaos. To go out and sign Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rando made absolutely no sense at all. First off, those two guys hate each other. Go back and watch some old Boston-Miami games, they despise one another. Second, they are both ball dominant players. Spoiler alert, there is only one ball, so only one guy can have it at a time. Third, Wade is only good for about 41 games of full effort now and Rando, he couldn't hit the ocean with a pebble. This may end up being a disaster. The only reason they aren't as low as the Knicks is Jimmy Butler. He is a much, much, much better all around player than Carmelo Anthony ever was/is/will be. Butler is a great defender, a great scorer, a great slasher and an awesome teammate. I would take him one hundred times out of one hundred to be on my team over Carmelo. He is the one reason the Bulls aren't as low as the Knicks. But, how will he fare playing alongside Rando and Wade? Will he get the touches he has earned? Who knows, but Jimmy Butler deserves better. He is an awesome basketball player. From there you have guys like Doug McDermott, average shooter, horrible defender, Nikola Mirotic, great shooter, even worse defender than McDermott, Taj Gibson, good glue guy, but not great at any single thing, Robin Lopez, good big man, but not even the best Lopez brother and Bobby Portis and Tony Snell, neither has had a real chance to play all that much. Not a loaded roster. I think Denzel Valentine could be good for them, but I don't know how often he will see the floor, considering all the three point shooters they seem to think they already have. He is a much better defender right now than both Mirotic and McDermott though. The Bulls could be the first team to crack 40 wins, or they could totally implode with this odd roster and only win 25 games. I'll go with the 40 wins because I think Jimmy Butler is that good.

So Ty, how will the Bulls win the title? The Bulls could win the title if all these weird pieces find a way to coexist and play team basketball, and the Cavs or Celtics or Raptors suffer catastrophic injuries to their star players. I just think teaming up Rondo and Wade, while you already have a great, young star, is going to blow up in their faces. What an odd offseason the Bulls had.

That does it for today. come back tomorrow for the next three teams. We are finally at the playoff eligible teams. Woo hoo!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What a difference a year makes. Both New Orleans and Chicago were in his top ten teams last year. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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In the Barren Landscape of Summer Sports, the NBA Summer League is No Oasis

Not much to look at.

I've been watching summer league basketball because there is, basically, nothing else sports related that I can get into. Sure, baseball is fun and all, and they have hit the 90 game mark, but that means there are still, at least, 70 games left to play. I mean, the Cardinals, my team, are barely over .500, but they still have a chance at the wild card spot if they finish barely over .500. Baseball is only fun, for me, when it gets down to the very end of the regular season, and the post season is great. I don't watch car racing, golf, soccer, tennis, all of that does not interest me.

But, basketball, and more specifically, NBA basketball, I enjoy quite a bit. Summer league seemed like a cool thing that I could watch to get me over my sports blues this summer. I had never really paid much attention to it until now. But I figured, better late than never. Well, I'm here today to tell you fine people that summer league is an absolute waste of time.

This doesn't mean that I will stop watching. I plan on watching one of the summer league's championship games tonight when the Bulls face the Timberwolves. But, after watching it for about 2 weeks straight now, it is so much worse than the D League or any other "pro" basketball that I have watched. I get that this is a good starting point for the rookies. They need to get their feet wet, and what better way than to play some games in the summer. I don't think any of the top rookies played more than 5 or 6 games, which is a nice start for them.

The competition these players are facing in the summer league is nowhere near what they will face when the regular season tips off. I watched a 76ers-Lakers game earlier this summer because I wanted to see Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram play. Besides the two of them, the only players I recognized where Larry Nance Jr and D'Angelo Russell of the Lakers and Nik Stauskas of the 76ers. Those are not big time NBA players by any stretch of anyone's imagination. Russell has the ability to be a star, but he hasn't proven it yet, and most of the top picks from last years draft, Karl Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor weren't playing in summer league. I think it's a little telling that Russell was playing. Maybe the Lakers aren't as high on him as some thought. But, the rest of the players that filled up the Lakers and 76ers rosters were guys that are on their last shot, undrafted rookies or guys just trying to make, at the very least, a D League team. I love the NBA and college basketball, but I hadn't heard of 65 to 70 percent of these other players. And, their games were not that good anyway.

One of the main problems I have with summer league is the fact that some of these guys are trying to get a full contract, so they play hero ball and shoot every time they touch the ball. It's no fun to watch players I've never heard of constantly go one on one and miss shot after shot. Then, the rookies, Ingram and Simmons, didn't really impress. I don't think Simmons was going full speed. I'm pretty sure he is saving himself for the regular season. But, he still does not have any jump shot, and until he finds one, he will be just an average NBA player. Possibly, a fringe starter. Ingram looked good at times, but he also looked really passive and tense at times as well. He passed on open threes, he didn't attack the rim and he got beat a lot on defense. He was probably going half speed as well, but still, he was getting beat by no names. That never looks good. Then, the other day, I watched a Pelicans summer league game to watch Buddy Hield. He looked fine, but his jumper seemed rushed, he seemed rushed and he didn't play much defense. His passing was fine, but it's summer league, and as I have already stated, the competition is not so good. The Suns were on the other day and I watched them because Devin Booker was playing, but so was Dragan Bender and Tyler Ulis. Booker looked great, but he should. He proved during his rookie year that he can score against NBA competition, so I expected him to dominate. Tyler Ulis looked decent, but competition, once again, is poor. He was fast and darted around the court, but what about when he has to go up against Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook? They will eat him up because he is very short and isn't much of a threat on offense. Then there's Bender. He is supposed to be like Porzingis, but he is not. He looked lost, got beat consistently by Jake Layman in a game, couldn't score and seemed more interested in his personal look than his game. Bender was disappointing. Other than those guys, nothing really important or mind changing happened. We have the players I mentioned, but guys like Denzel Valentine looked fine. Kris Dunn was up and down. Jaylen Brown has all the athleticism in the world, but he can't finish. Jamal Murray was non existent. The Greek center the Kings drafted looked awful. It was everything I expected, which was a bummer.

I was excited to give the summer league a chance, but it is very, very mediocre basketball at best. I'm just aching for the NBA and college football to come back, so this was a nice, albeit very garbage way, to watch a sport I love. I wouldn't read too far into anything other sports and pop culture writers are saying about the "winners and losers" from summer league. No one knows how good these guys will be until they play real competition in a real NBA game. The summer league is a tease. I won't stop watching it, but I won't stop complaining about it either.

At least I get to watch Olympic basketball in a few weeks, if that is any real consolation.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Who does Ty think are the 10 Greatest Athletes of the 21st? Download the latest X Millennial Man Podcast to find out. When you are done listening, follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

A Bunch of the Wrong Kids will be Picked at the Top of the NBA Draft

We do not think the future of the NBA is the kind of bad kid sneaking smokes.

With the NBA draft one week from today, I have a few thoughts I'd like to float about this draft.

First off, publications like Deadspin, ESPN and Fox Sports need to stop giving Ben Simmons a free pass on everything. Simmons came out the other day and said that he did not want to work out for the 76ers. I'm sorry, but when did every single draft eligible player become so entitled that they get to choose which team they want to lay for? You should be extremely excited that you are about to be paid millions of dollars to play a game. Sure, the 76ers are really, really, really bad, but so are the Lakers, Nets, Timberwolves and Suns. Why do these guys want to be playing for some other moribound franchise. Sure, The Lakers are in LA, but the Lakers are just as bad as the 76ers, and they have a much worse team chemistry. The Nets are in Brooklyn, but they are horrific, and unless they trade some of their ancient "assets", they don't have a pick in the next couple of drafts. the Timberwolves are kind of looking like they may turn it around, but Thibodeau wants to trade that pick to bring in a veteran leader, maybe Jimmy Butler. The Suns have no one else besides Devin Booker, so why do these young guys want to play in the desert? It's extremely hot in Phoenix, all the time. So, especially Deadspin, whose owners filed for bankruptcy protection, need to stop giving this kid a pass and saying it is his right. Sure, he can say who he wants to play for, but if he gets picked by the 76ers, that's his team. I despise guys like John Elway and Eli Manning because they did this exact same thing. They bitched and moaned and griped until they got their way, like spoiled, rotten, bratty little children. It's so childish. If I was the GM or owner of the 76ers, I'd pick Simmons out of spite.

Next, why are Simmons, Brandon Ingram and Jamal Murray the only "top" prospects. the three of them are all 19 or 20 year old that didn't get past the round of 16 in the tournament. Jamal Murray's team, Kentucky, was bounced in the round of 32. Brandon Ingram and Duke lost to Oregon in the round of 16. And Ben Simmons, they didn't even play in the NIT, so none of that sounds desirable to me. Of these three players, I think Ingram has the most upside, but he is a ways away from being a big time NBA player. I don't care how many jump shots, with no defense being played, that they make in individual workouts, for the guys that workout. I don't care about their vertical or their cone drill speed, all this combine stuff is as useless as the NFL combine results. What I care about is the in game stuff. I watch a tone of NBA and college basketball, so I have seen these three guys play. Murray was lost among the loaded Kentucky team. When you have 5,6 or even 7 players that can be picked, it is hard to stand out, unless you are an Anthony Davis or Karl Anthony-Towns. Brandon Ingram was good to great at times for Duke, but he is rail thin and he tends to settle for way more jumpers than he should be taking. He also takes possessions off sometimes on defense, and I don't like that. Ingram can, and probably will, get bigger, but he has to fully engage before I deem him a star.

Then there is Simmons. While he looks like an NBA player, he is big, can handle the ball and has great court vision, he also did not lead LSU to any tournament and as the season wore on, he looked tired and not as aggressive as he was at the start of the season. Everyone told me that I had to watch this kid play, so I started with his game against Oklahoma, and I came away very unimpressed. A lot of that is coaching, but if Simmons is the superstar that people are making him out to be, he should have willed that LSU team to, at the very least, 20 wins and an NCAA tournament bid. Simmons doesn't look like he will live up to the hype, at least in my opinion.

Finally, why aren't more people talking about Buddy Hield and Denzel Valentine as top 3 to 5 picks. Both guys had illustrious college careers. Both guys are gunners from the three, which is where the NBA is trending. Both guys play formidable defense, Valentine more so than Hield, but when they engage, they are close to lock down. Both have led their respective teams to a final four bid. Both scored 20 plus points per game. Both ran their teams offense at the most crucial times during their college careers. But the main thing, both are 22 years old. They have matured over 4 years of college. They may not be as good, who am I kidding, there is no way they'll be as good, but Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing and Magic Johnson all spent four years in college. Did that hinder their careers? Did they miss out on their prime of basketball by staying in school for four years? No and no. They all had great, hall of fame careers. This new era of the NBA drafting 18, 19 and 20 year old kids is watering down the NBA. The only one and done player from last years draft worth his salt in the NBA is Karl Anthony-Towns. Ever other freshman drafted last year, who knows.

If I had a team with a lottery pick, I'd definitely take Hield, but I'd also consider Valentine before I consider Simmons, Murray or Ingram. I prefer seasoned basketball players that are mature to teenagers that may or may not be ready for a big boy job. Basketball is a year round job and these young kids, who have never been pushed, are going to have a tough time adjusting. Take Hield or Valentine, not the freshman, your team will be better off in the long run.

Also, the draft is a waste of time and nobody should watch it, it's boring and ridiculous.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is available to be the gm for any NBA team, he knows most of the league could use a new GM. Reach Ty by following him on twitter @tykulik.

The 76ers are the Best at Being the Worst Basketball Franchise

Let me know when the 76ers are good and then I will fly away.

This week will be all basketball talk from me, specifically NBA talk. I love basketball and this is the time of year where things are beginning to happen, or at least, people are talking about things that may happen. This time of year is basically basketball fans favorite time of year. Coaching changes, players being moved either via free agency or trades, talk of players being traded and the ramp up to the finals, which start tonight.

What I want to focus my time on today is the talk of players being moved. More specifically, I want to address the talk that the 76ers, the moribound, useless, once proud, but are now a joke 76ers, have made it known publicly that they would be willing to part ways with either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor. I mean, WTF Philadelphia. How do they ever expect to put a team that is competitive out there if they continue to trade away all this young talent that they tanked so hard to get. A few years back they had the rookie of the year winner in Michael Carter-Williams. Sure, that rookie class wasn't that great and Carter-Williams did most of his damage on a terrible team and when he played against real defenders he got locked down, but he still did enough to win the rookie of the year. One year later, they traded him to the Bucks for some more draft picks.

This was all Sam Hinkie's doing. He told all the 76ers fans to "trust the process", he assured them that what he was doing was the right thing and they would soon be highly competitive again. With the pick he got from Milwaukee, he took Joel Embiid. Who can guess how many professional basketball games Embiid has played in his first two seasons? Anyone? He has played 0, and I'm including preseason and summer league games. He may even miss the beginning of this season and the front office has already stated that he will not play summer league as they are "taking every precaution imaginary". So, you trade away the reigning rookie of the year, in hopes of landing the next great big man, but you take a player that had known foot issues during his one season at Kansas, and he still hasn't played one single second in the NBA. What a joke. Also, the year before they drafted Embiid, they took Noel, who is now apparently on the trading block, and he tore his ACL during his one year at Kentucky. Two years in a row and the 76ers drafted injured players that had to sit out at least one full season before even stepping foot on a court. Yeesh, that is brutal.

Last year they took Okafor. Okafor "fell" to them at number 3. This pick perplexed me because they already had Noel and Embiid who play the same position and, I don't know if the front office watches modern basketball, but big men aren't the commodity they once were. But, I was willing to look past it because, you take the best available player, that's what teams do in the draft. And, to give Okafor a little credit, he played in about 60 games his rookie season and he was not terrible. Well, he was terrible defensively, but offensively, he was okay. He scored in double figures and was an average offensive rebounder and has some decent low post moves. But, he is also a 19 year old hot head that may not be ready for the responsibility of being a professional. Just look at the incidents he got involved in, at bars, during his rookie year. He may be a loose cannon. I guess not to worry 76ers fans because he may be gone as well.

This is what bugs me. Yes, I know that they won the draft lottery and that they plan to take either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram, but why are they making two of their young, half way decent players available for trades? Nerlens Noel has shown flashes of being an elite defender and, if he works on his low post game, he could be an all star. And yeah, Okafor plays no defense, but if he becomes, at the very least, a capable defender, he could also be an all star. He has the offense, he just needs to put it together on defense. Who knows with Embiid, but they seem to be putting all their eggs into his basket and they expect him to be immediately better than Noel or Okafor. I don't think that I would take that bet. I want to see Embiid play 30 or 40 games before I would even consider getting rid of any big men I have on my roster. Other people will tell me that Simmons and Okafor's game don't mesh or that Noel would clog the lane for a guy like Ingram. I say, who cares. At least Nerlens Noel has proven to be a decent enough defender and Okafor has shown that he can score double figures night after night.

The 76ers sound like they want to blow it up again, and that is not fair to the fans. They will not be able to attract any star players there because, whenever someone does something good on a basketball floor, the 76ers want to trade them for draft picks. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry aren't going to want to go play for this franchise. Why would they want to waste the prime of their careers playing for this terribly run team. I naturally assumed that when Sam Hinkie stepped down that the 76ers would start to resemble a real basketball franchise, but the new people in charge are just doing the exact same thing. They want the fans to, once again, "trust the process". That's bull shit. That's unfair. Does the GM and the other higher ups making decisions realize how brutal it must be to be a 76ers fan right now? This team is an absolute joke. They are barely better than some of the D League teams. Hell, they may not even win the D League if they were relegated to play there because they are such an embarrassment to the NBA.

Which brings me to my final point and why I think this nonsense of making Noel and Okafor available is so stupid. First off, they want to take another 19 year old to be the face of the franchise. Well, its been reported that Ben Simmons would much rather be a Laker, and me personally, I don't think this kid will live up to the hype. He is an over privileged, spoiled brat that has never been pushed or told no by any coach and he carries himself with an arrogance he hasn't even come close to earning. He already acts like a Laker. Then there's Brandon Ingram. I think he will be a good pro, he could be a poor mans Kevin Durant, but it is going to take a few seasons, maybe even 4 before he is an all star caliber player. He has to put on weight, put in tons of time in the gym and become a much better defender before he is any kind of threat to the real stars in the NBA. I think Ingram will be a much better pro than Simmons, but I also think it will take much longer before he gets to that elite level. Just look at Durant's first few years in the league. It wasn't until James Harden and Russell Westbrook were drafted that Durant elevated his game and became the dominant player he is today.

If I were running the 76ers, I would either trade the top pick, not Noel or Okafor, for some established, semi decent pros, or I would take Buddy Hield. Hield would fit kind of perfectly with guys like Noel, Okafor and Embiid. He could come in and score points right away and his defensive game is underrated. But, since the 76ers only value assets, they will trade one of both of the guys I mentioned, draft either Ingram or Simmons, and be terrible for the next decade or so. The 76ers are the worst run team in any professional sport that I have ever seen. They are an embarrassment to the NBA and their fans.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He desperately wants to focus on good basketball and not bad management. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

D'Angelo Russell, Nick Young, and the Disaster that is the LA Lakers

Current state of the LA Lakers

I was going to write about one of my favorite TV characters today, but that will take a backseat until next week because I have to talk about this insane LA Lakers story that broke yesterday. If you don't already know, rookie D'Angelo Russell released a recording of him talking to teammate Nick Young, I refuse to call him by his stupid nickname, of Young basically saying that he cheated on his fiancée.

Now, where to start with this whole can of worms? First of all, what Young may or may not have done or been accused of doing or joking about what he said he did, it was wrong. Don't cheat on people that you have promised to spend the rest of your life with. Only scumbags do this and it makes you a terrible, gross person. Cheaters are some of the worst people on Earth. I HATE everything when it comes to cheating. It's gross and causes a distrust you can never earn back, no matter what you do and say.

With that being said, let's get to part two. What D'Angelo Russell did was one hundred percent unethical and is every bit as wrong and as bad as cheating on your significant other. You want to talk about losing trust and faith from people, go out and secretly record a conversation with a friend and a colleague. See how much trust you can get back when you do something this shady. This is so wrong on every level. Why would Russell record this conversation? What did he stand to gain from this? Does he want to be with Young's fiancée? Does he not really like Nick Young and did he think if he leaked this conversation people would think he was a saint and a hero? There are so many questions that I would love to personally ask Russell. Let's look at each of these questions I posed here.

Number one, why record this? The only reason I can really think of, he wants Young off the team because Russell was the number two pick in the last draft and was told that the future of the Lakers would be built around him. Well, I don't know how many free agents the Lakers will attract now, when the "future" of this team is secretly recording contracts. If I was a big time free agent next year, like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Andre Drummond, DeMar DeRozan, Al Horford or Harrison Barnes, I would stay away from the Lakers with a very wide breach. I wouldn't even give them a meeting, as long as Russell is still on that team. Now, these guys most likely wouldn't say stupid shit like Nick Young did, but I wouldn't want to walk into that locker room everyday fearing that someone was secretly recording me. No way.

Question two, what did he think he'd gain from this? This one, I have no idea. I don't know if he thought he'd be looked at like a good guy or a guy that catches cheaters in the act, like that host from the show "Cheaters". Side note, that show is entertaining as hell. This one question, I believe, only Russell knows the real and true answer and he will never reveal it to the public.

Question three, does he want to be with Young's fiancée? I'd say, sure, why not. She is a famous rapper with a lot of money. She is also an attractive young lady. She has a lot going for her, so why wouldn't he want to be with her. But, how many girls that were cheated on go out and be with the guy who told her that her old boyfriend was cheating? As I said before, Russell recording this conversation is as bad as what Young said he did. Why would she trust Russell when her fiancée and his teammates can't even trust him. It's a no win situation.

The fourth question seems, at least to me, was the main reason he released and recorded this conversation. He wants Young off the team. Young is a ball hog that plays no defense and has shown no signs of turning his game or attitude around. He plays with a swagger that he doesn't have. Young thinks he is a star, but he is one of the worst players in the league. He is supposed to be a shooter, but he is not very good at that. He should be in the D League, but he is a starter in the NBA for some unknown reason. Young isn't good, but neither is Russell. One, he's a rookie. Two, he also shows no sign of wanting to play defense or share the ball and he's a point guard. He'd rather drive to score than drive to pass. He is a very, very poor man's version of James Harden. Russell has shown flashes, but he has a very long way to go before he is any kind of threat in the NBA. He is not very good right now and he will need a lot of time to develop his game. He is not on other rookies from his draft class level like Karl Anthony-Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Devin Booker or even a Trey Lyles. Those guys are so much better and have improved so much more over the year. Russell needs a lot of work, a lot more than the guys I just mentioned.

All this brings me to my main point and main problem with the current and future state of the NBA. D'Angelo Russell is 20 years old. He is still a kid, but he was given the keys to this historic franchise at way too young an age. He has also been surrounded by the Kobe Bryant retirement circus. How is any young player on that team going to develop when Bryant still wants to be the main star and story of the franchise? It's impossible and that's the way Bryant likes it. He doesn't care how bad or how much of a hole he has put the Lakers in, as long as everyone tells him how much they love and adore him. But, aside from Bryant, the only other players that are any good on this team are Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. Young stinks, as I have mentioned a couple times, Roy Hibbert stinks and is a billion years old, Brandon Bass best days are behind him, Lou Williams doesn't want to be there and hogs the ball too much and the rest of the roster is filled with guys that should be in the D League. And, the front office gave the keys to a lying, sneaky and conniving 20 year old when they drafted Russell number two overall last year. This was a HUGE misstep from a front office that has made misstep after misstep for the past three or four years. The Lakers have been a joke for a couple of years now, but they are becoming a dumpster fire. They seem to be worse off than the much maligned and much ripped apart 76ers right now. If I were a big time player, I'd rather go to the 76ers than the Lakers right now. At least on the 76ers I know my teammates won't be secretly recording me. If I were a player in the upcoming draft, I would hope and pray that the Lakers passed on me. I can't think of a worse situation for a player like Buddy Hield or Ben Simmons than to be drafted by the Lakers and have to be on the same team as D'Angelo Russell.

If I've said it once on this site, I've said it one thousand times, don't draft teenagers to be your franchise player. Teenagers and early 20 year olds do stupid shit like secretly recording conversations with their teammates because they think they can gain something from it. The whole NBA is guilty of this new trend of drafting based on potential, but with potential comes childish behavior. Like I said before, if I were a big time free agent I'd be very wary of signing with the Lakers this summer because I would not trust or want to play with Russell. He has lost any credibility that he had, if he had any at all. These established players don't want or need to worry about what a child does and this story will make it very tough for the Lakers to become relevant again. No big named free agents will sign there because of this and, as long as Russell is still there, it will be tough for the Lakers to compete again. I don't buy his "apology" that he gave yesterday, and when you get me siding with Nick Young, you've clearly done something horribly wrong and horribly shady. I'm not a Lakers fan and this story makes it that much easier for me to dislike this team. They are interrible, big time hole that may take years for them to dig out of. They stink and their players are shady people.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will be very happy when Kobe and is 9% shooting nights are gone from the NBA. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Oklahoma's Buddy Hield has Earned the Top Pick in the NBA Draft

This is the number Buddy Hield has worked for

I've done enough previews and predictions recently about the men's tournament and I was on and off with my predictions. The Big 12 and the ACC both made me look stupid. Syracuse made us all look dumb. Gonzaga really crapped the bed. Kansas blew their most recent, best shot at a title. And on and on and on. But, we have our final four of Villanova, UNC, Syracuse and Oklahoma. Today though, I'm not going to do a prediction, I'm going to talk about one player that has looked absolutely incredible and why he should be the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. That player is Oklahoma's Buddy Hield.

I love everything that this kid has done throughout this whole tournament. I'm not an Oklahoma fan, but I'm sure as hell a Buddy Hield fan. In an era of "one and done", I couldn't be more happy that a senior, who came back to school to better his game and himself, is dominating this tournament. In fact, if you look at the final four, most of the teams important players are all upperclassmen. That's awesome. But, the best upper classmen, by a very wide margin, has been Hield. He simply cannot be stopped on the offensive end of the court. Just look back at his 8 threes and 37 point performance this past weekend against Oregon. Everything he did, be it getting open, driving to the basket, cutting to the basket, moving without the ball to get open, everything was exceptional. He looked like a man among boys, and Oregon has an older team. He played a wonderful game against Oregon. Heild also came up huge against VCU. He had a slow first half, but without him in the second half, Oklahoma would not have made the final four. He wasn't shooting well from the outside, so he drove to the basket more to score, but he also drove to pass. He did what was needed to help his team win that game. Then, when his shots started to fall, it was over for VCU. He was outstanding, especially in the second half of that game. When they played Texas A&M in the round of 32, he took total advantage of a young, inexperienced team. He scored when he wanted, he passed when he wanted and they won with ease. He was easily the smartest player on the court for, not only that game, but all of their games. And in their first round game, against CSU Bakersfield, he scored the most nonchalant 20 plus point game I'd seen. At one point, he had 4 or 5 points, I looked up ten minutes later and he had already surpassed 20 points and he did it with relative ease. He toyed with CSU Bakersfield.

Now Buddy Hield will he get to go up against a pretty good Villanova team. The Wildcats play good defense and they just beat a team that Oklahoma could not beat in Kansas. Now, Oklahoma did not beat KU this year, but Buddy Hield went off all three times they played. Nothing compared to the first showdown, the double overtime, 40 plus point performance he put up, but he still played pretty great all 3 times against a very good team. I'm very curious to see how he comes out against Villanova, but I can almost guarantee, he will get 20 plus points. This kid is just a flat out scorer.

Now, before I continue to go on about Buddy Hield's offense, he plays formidable defense, but no one knows that because his offensive prowess is phenomenal. But, he can more than hold his own on defense. He made a great block in the VCU game, perfectly timing his jump and swatting an easy layup. He is a good defender. But, he is a once in a lifetime scorer. This kid fills it up and then some. He also does well against top competition. I mentioned the KU games earlier, but he put up big games against Texas, Texas A&M and LSU among many others. He scored against everyone, no matter how they defended them.

This, among many other reasons is why I think Buddy Hield should be the number one overall pick in the draft. First of all, it's so stupid that the league has gone towards this "one and done" culture, drafting based on potential, rather than what they've shown over four years. The GM and owners all want teenagers that they can mold. But, what about guys like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Draymond Green and Steph Curry. All these guys spent, at least, 3 years in college and they are all great pros. In Hield's matchup against LSU, and the preconceived number one pick, Ben Simmons, Hield absolutely torched him, and he looked like the best player on the floor by a wide margin. Hield led his team to a victory, and when things got close, Hield was the one that came up big and scored the big baskets when they were needed. Hield was in control of that game and never looked flustered. Simmons, he was scared to shoot at the end of that game. He looked intimidated by Hield and his confidence. Hield looked light years ahead of Simmons, but it won't matter come draft time.

The very sad thing about this draft, Hield has had to play lights out all year just to be considered a possible lottery pick. When you look at guys "big boards" or "top draft prospects", it's filled with unproven talent like Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Skal Labiessere, Jamal Murray, Amile Jefferson, Damantos Sabaonis and on and on. Buddy Hield has finally made his way into the top 20, but why isn't he number one? He has clearly proven that he is the best player in men's college basketball, but to the "experts" that talk about the draft, his name almost never comes up. What the hell? Why aren't Hield or Perry Ellis or Denzel Valentine on the top of draft boards? All three have had very successful careers that span four years of college. They are all more ready to play in the NBA than any of these 19 year old kids. I don't care what Bill Simmons or Chad Ford has to say, I'd much rather have a 22 year old that has proven himself than a 19 year old that has only 20 or 30 games under their belt. They've gotten better against better competition and have very much improved their overall games. If I were the 76ers or the Lakers or the Nets, I'd take Buddy Hield in a heart beat before I'd take Ben Simmons, especially if I wanted to win sooner, rather than later. He can help turn a team around in his first season because he has a lot more experience than a teenager and he has been through harder and tougher times. These teenagers have never been told no or been criticized by a coach because they are prized recruits and you only get them for one year, so they have to treat them with kid gloves. Buddy Hield had to go through rough patches with his team and coach, making him a much tougher and a much better prepared player than a spoiled five star, blue chip recruit.

Take a look at last years draft. Some of the "one and done" players are decent, Karl Anthony-Towns and Justise Winslow come to mind, but some of the others still need four or five more years before they even sniff an all star team. Guys like D'Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones could have all benefited from, at the very least, one more year of college basketball. Basically, for me, I prefer players that have experience and maturity. They make for very good NBA players much quicker than a 19 or 20 year old does. Just look at recent 3 or four year college guys like Ray Macallum and Damien Lillard. They are the two main cogs to a Trailblazers team fighting for a playoff spot when they shouldn't be even close to a playoff bound team. Then, look at the 76ers, a team that only drafts based on potential. They are historically bad because the majority of their team is immature and has very little experience. They can't or don't know how to compete with grown men in a grown man sport. So yeah, if I had the number one pick in the 2016 draft, I wouldn't even flinch. I'd grab Buddy Hield and I'd be happy and comfortable to know that my team will be better much sooner since I have a more seasoned college player that has been through thick and thin and knows how to handle himself as opposed to a teenager that has never been told no. Experience is so much more important than potential, especially in basketball.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If any NBA scouts are looking for an early thirties well seasoned rec league player, Ty is available to help your team. Make sure you are one of Ty's followers on twitter @tykulik.