NBA training camp starts Monday with media day where a lot of photos are taken, questions are asked and social media teams all act like they have a chance this season. Today I dive into the biggest storylines as we head into camp.
What in the world is going on in Minnesota?
On Wednesday, the Timberwolves fired President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. At first it looked like this was the same old Timberwolves as they fired their top basketball executive 6 days ahead of training camp. However, then The Athletic published a semi-disturbing story (written by Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski) detailing an affair that Rosas, who is in fact married, was having with a lower level team employee. It also describes the relationship, or lack thereof, that Rosas had with the other Timberwolves decision makers and how he blocked new Timberwolves interim President of Basketball Operations Sachin Gupta from taking a job with the Houston Rockets. The job would have been the same job he had with Minnesota but with a pay increase. Rosas said it was because he did not want the Rockets to have an advantage but people in Minnesota’s organization believe there were different reasons to why Rosas blocked the move. There are still more details to come out as this story unfolds.
Ben Simmons is not gonna report to camp
Before Rosas and the Timberwolves stole the show Ben Simmons was all anyone was talking about in the NBA. On Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Simmons would not report to camp and intends to never play for the Sixers again. The Timberwolves looked like they could make a deal but that seems unlikely with the other things they have going on. The Kings, Trail Blazers, and Warriors are 3 teams that have been in on Simmons, and I would not sleep on the Warriors. Andrew Wiggins, a mixture of the talented Warriors youngsters, and draft picks, is a very interesting package that the Sixers would need to consider. However, until a trade comes, all we can do is sit back and see who blinks first, Simmons, Daryl Morrey (the Sixers President of Basketball Operations), or an interested team. I will say one thing, $33 million is a lot of money to leave on the table.
New Coaches
There are 7 new coaches in the NBA, 5 of which are rookies.
Indiana Pacers: Rick Carlisle heads back to Indiana after coaching the Pacers from 2003-2007, he has spent the last 13 seasons as the Mavericks coach, and takes over for a Pacers team that missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015, when star player Paul George only played in 6 games.
Dallas Mavericks: After 13 seasons with Carlisle at the head, the Mavericks moved on and turned to Jason Kidd to be the next head coach. Kidd is an interesting hire to say the least, he was not a very good coach while with the Bucks or Nets but maybe it works with Luka Doncic as his star player and now having spent a few seasons as an assistant coach for a championship team.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans have their 3rd coach in as many seasons, as the team fired Stan Van-Gundy after one horrible season and replaced him with Willie Green. Green spent last season on the bench of the Phoenix Suns and now looks to help the progression of Zion Williamson with his playing experience.
Boston Celtics: Ime Udoka replaces Brad Stevens, who moved to the President of Basketball Operations job, after 8 seasons at the helm. Udoka is a new voice in the Celtic locker room, something they seem to need, and brings a lot of experience as a player and an assistant even though he's never been a head coach.
Portland Trail Blazers: There is a lot more drama going on in Portland then just the coach, but with Damian Lillard ready to spend this season as a Blazer, new coach Chauncy Billups inherits a good team that has made the playoffs each of the past 8 seasons, only advancing past the second round once however. Billups will look to lead Portland back to the Finals for the first time since 1992.
Washington Wizards: I’ve talked a lot about what I have liked about what the Wizards have done this offseason, and that includes moving on from Scott Brooks and hiring Wes Unseld Jr. as his replacement. Can Unseld help guide the Wizards to a better season than what we expect and convince Bradley Beal to sign a max deal to remain a Wizard next July?
Orlando Magic: Steve Clifford guided the Magic to the playoffs in his first 2 seasons on the job, then last year Orlando decided to blow the whole thing up leading Clifford to move on from the job. The Magic hired Jamahl Mosley as their next head coach, it should be a long first year for Mosley as the Magic are in a full rebuild.
Old faces in new places
Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker signed with Miami to join Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The Bulls landed DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball as they teamed up with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The Lakers added Russell Westbrook as he teams up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Knicks signed a pair of former Celtics in Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. The Celtics replaced them with Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson while also adding Al Horford. The Warriors added Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody in the draft while signing Andre Iguodola, Nemanja Bjelica, and Otto Porter Jr. in free agency. The Nets added depth around their new stars, there was a lot of roster movement this summer in the league.
Rookies!
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green were the top 2 picks in the draft and are expected to have big seasons. Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes are going to have an up and down year, as they had up and down summer leagues. Jalen Suggs seems like he's gonna be awesome. Josh Giddy is a solid prospect. There are a lot of other talented players as well like Jonathan Kuminga, Franz Wagner, Davion Mitchell, along with many many others. It was a very deep draft and one that should make a mark on the league for years to come.
With training camp on the way some of these questions will be answered and more storylines will begin to emerge. Welcome back basketball, we missed you.
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