Eyes On NBA: 5 Young Teams And Their Potential

By @TrueGodImmortal

The NBA is currently full of young talent all throughout the league on just about every team.... except the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, and 90% of the San Antonio Spurs roster really (they have two younger players with huge potential). Despite this, literally every team has a promising young star under 25 that could really do some damage and continue to progress in the league. For some teams, it's more than just a promising young star... It's majority of the roster. Today, I wanted to take a moment to look at the younger teams today and see what their potential could be together this season and in future years. Let's get into it.

*Chicago Bulls

-This season will be an interesting one for the Bulls as it seems they are prime to tank and hopefully walk away with a top 3 draft pick. Most Bulls fans struggle with knowing what they want, but if I'm the Bulls, I want the no. 1 pick and to be smart, I take Marvin Bagley III. With Michael Porter Jr. already experiencing injury issues and the other possible picks for the team not seeming as promising, I think the plan this year will be to win 20-25 games and go for the no. 1 draft pick if they can't get it. Here's the thing that showcases a possible change in the culture for the Bulls in a year or two. Lauri, their current rookie, is doing well, and has a huge upside as he continues to develop as a player. Kris Dunn is off and on, but he's an amazing defender and Denzel Valentine seems ready to break out and shine. Imagine a Bulls team that can keep those three focused and ready, alongside Zach Lavine, an explosive scorer, when he comes back. Add a top 3 draft pick alongside maybe one or two veteran acquisitions in free agency, and this team could be knocking on the door of the playoffs within the next 3 seasons. Though Gar and Pax don't give us much to be excited about.... I'll attempt to trust the process for Chicago.

*Orlando Magic 

-Coming in just at below 26 years for the team's average age, the Magic are surprising people in a major way. They've slipped below .500 now in the East and likely won't make the playoffs, but when it all starts clicking on a regular basis for this team, they could be deadly. Aaron Gordon is proving to be an important factor for this team and he might be the driving force, while names like Evan Fournier, Biyombo, and Jonathan Simmons could prove to be impactful if they all manage to stick in Orlando. I don't see heavy playoff contention this season or next season for the Magic, but with some more adjustments and additions to the roster, the Magic could very well end up as a team clawing for that 7th or 8th seed sooner than later.

*Boston Celtics 

-The average age of this team is 25 years, but you would think this is a veteran team with the way they play so far this season. Led by the now veteran savvy of Kyrie Irving, the Celtics are poised to run the East, especially when Gordon Hayward is healthy. The improvement of Jaylen Brown and the focus of  veteran Al Horford helps them stay poised and composed, while Jayson Tatum is entering his name in the Rookie Of The Year talks with consistent olay. Terry Rozier has been solid, as has Daniel Theis, and the Celtics havr amazing defense, which has led them this season to a 16 game win streak. Their cap for this season? Likely the Conference Finals, but at very best, a 5 game loss in the NBA Finals. Still, next season, if they can all stay healthy, the Celtics should own the East and maybe years beyond.

*Los Angeles Lakers 

-Don't look now.... but the Lakers are currently in a playoff spot. They're not quite there yet, but with heavy improvement and continued focus on defense, they could make some noise in the stacked Western Conference. Led by Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram, the Lakers may have found their core three guys to run with, along with solid complementary pieces in Jordan Clarkson and Josh Hart. Julius Randle is playing decent so far, but it is likely that his future isn't with the Lakers. Still, without Randle, the Lakers can add more pieces and have enough room to add a huge free agent or two after this season. If Paul George steps into the Lakers uniform and plays alongside their young core, it could see a return to form for the Lakers that many of us didn't see coming for quite some time. They're young and prone to make mistakes so I won't crown the Lakers as a playoff contender yet, but in a year or two, they could be knocking on that 6th or 7th seed spot, aiming for a shot at greatness.

*Philadelphia 76ers 

-Coming in just a little under 25 years as their average age, of all the teams on this list, I have the most faith in the 76ers. They have two future legends in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons if they can stay healthy. If they can remain healthy and keep improving as players, the league might be in trouble. Ben Simmons looks like he's due to be an All Star sooner than later, and Embiid is more than likely going to get voted in this year, as he might be the best big in the East. If Markelle Fultz can get healthy and come back just as good as we hope he will be, alongside the solid Robert Covington, there's no telling what level of greatness we might be able to witness for this team. Add in a wild card like Saric, and the 76ers might be heading to the playoffs and making some moves throughout. I still think they are a year or two away from a Conference Finals and possible Finals appearance, but if they manage to stay healthy and keep developing their players, they have huge potential for the future. The East could be all about the Sixers sooner than we think.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 3:52 AM  No comment

Eyes On NBA: 5 Best Off-Season Moments

By @TrueGodImmortal 

The NBA off-season has been fun.... but it's almost over. From the NBA Draft to the Summer League to Free Agency and everything in between, the off-season has given us some interesting moments, some strange moments, and some hilarious scenarios over the last three months. As the NBA gets ready to begin training camp And the preseason, what better way to get you ready for the season than a look at 5 of the best off-season moments. Let's get into it.

5. Lonzo Ball Wins Summer League MVP After Being Drafted To Lakers 

-Big Baller Brand is forever. The Ball Family is clearly forever. When Lavar Ball said that his son would be drafted by the Lakers as the no. 2 pick in the draft, many doubted him. When it all came true, he looked like a genius. Lonzo has been one of the most interesting parts of the NBA off-season, from his ridiculous comments to his random need to make hip hop music all the way to his success in the NBA summer league. Lonzo would win Summer League MVP, helping the Lakers to win the Summer League championship and slowly but surely, he's being given the keys to become the franchise in LA... at least for this season. Whether or not Lonzo has a monster rookie season, all eyes have been on him this entire off-season.

4. The Bulls Ruin The Franchise....Again 

-Color me shocked. The Chicago Bulls trade away their franchise player who just came off of his best season possible. With the news coming out that the Bulls had their eye on Kyrie and that he wanted to play with Jimmy Butler, this makes the whole scenario even dumber now. However, the Bulls decided to trade away Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Tinberwolves for a deal that was actually worse than what they offered the Bulls a year prior. Jimmy Butler would have been better suited in Chicago as the clear no. 1, but the Bulls didn't see a future there........ So they decided to trade him for an injured Zach Levine, a slightly higher first round pick in the draft, and Kris Dunn, a 2nd year guy coming off of a subpar rookie season. While many of the idiotic Bulls fans praised the move, the move guarantees the Bulls won't be in the playoffs for some years to come and they have little chance of attracting big names to the franchise, which spells the end of a mostly consistent run for the Bulls to the playoffs for the last 10 seasons.

3. Paul George Traded To OKC

-I'm glad the Pacers see potential in Victor Oladipo. However, what possibly could have possessed them to make THIS trade. I'm sure there were better options and I could have even seen the Bulls doing a straight up Butler for PG trade, even if it was only a one year rental. At least get something in return worthwhile. Instead, they got two players that won't be a factor in exchange for Paul George, a top tier player. Oklahoma City won this trade, as they got rid of an inconsistent player with a huge contract and rented one of the premier power forwards in the entire game to give Russell Westbrook some help. It'll be interesting to see what exactly occurs with PG in OKC and if he stays, and that reason alone makes this trade one of the biggest off-season moments.

2. Kevin Durant And His Moments 

-So. Try and keep up. The Finals MVP has been very busy. From a parade in his hometown to saying Kyrie was better than Iverson, all the way down to his stupid diss of his teammate Steph Curry's brand Under Armour, no one has had a more active off-season than the Finals MVP. The belief is that Durant is far too preoccupied with his haters and that's completely accurate. After releasing shoes to stunt on his haters, KD was revealed to have secret personal accounts on Twitter and Instagram that he uses to converse with fans on the low and to address trolls and haters. Yes, the move is immature, insecure, and a bit childish, but KD is human and mistakes like these might happen.... but it still is weird. Why be worried about the people who hated you or told you that you couldn't do it? Why not just ignore it and not feel the need for validation? No one knows and all these things make Kevin Durant's off-season that much more entertaining and intriguing.

1. The Fallout From The Kyrie Irving And Isaiah Thomas Trade

-So, the acquisition of Chris Paul by the Rockets wasn't a huge shock as many expected him to leave LA, neither was Gordon Hayward joining the Celtics. However, NO ONE saw this coming. At all. I would have expected Kevin Love to be traded before Kyrie Irving. However, Kyrie wasn't having it. He was ready to leave and with that, he decided to make a name for himself by stepping out on his own. After his trade request was heard, many speculated he would end up in New York, or even in San Antonio, but those options didn't make as much sense. The one option I never considered was Boston because they have a star player in IT, so why would they need to do it? However, Boston decided to make this trade and include Jae Crowder and an important pick in the trade as well. What followed in the wake of the trade was shit talking from an injured IT, many social media opinions, and the realization that there is no loyalty in sports business. The culmination of this entire thing is that we knew that Kyrie just didn't want to play with LeBron, and his recent interview on First Take drove that point home. The nonchalant attitude and the honesty from Kyrie helped make this trade even more official and make me want to see the opening game in less than a month for sure. Will Kyrie and the Celtics be better than Bron and the Cavs with IT? That remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, this season is going to be beyond entertaining.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 2:30 AM  No comment

Eyes On NBA: Lonzo Ball's Summer League MVP Success

By @TrueGodImmortal

First off, it's Big Baller Brand over everything. Now that this is out of the way, I wanted to talk about the power of the Triple B's and more importantly, the play of the new star point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball. Lonzo is the 2nd pick in the draft and he was highly touted coming into the Summer League. The question was, could Lonzo actually translate his game over to the NBA level? While we have to wait a few months before we see Lonzo on the court against top tier players like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James, we got a preview of what Lonzo could bring in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League.

With the final game just ending and the Lakers securing the Summer League Title with Lonzo winning the Summer League MVP award, it seems like all doubters were put to rest with his performances. From the start, it was expected that Lonzo would get involved and have a vital role in Summer League, but I don't think many predicted the level of success that he would have. In a Summer League that had Markelle Fultz, Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, and so many more, Lonzo stood out immensely for his level of play on both ends of the floor, something that should truly be appreciated. His first appearance in the Summer League game wasn't so special, as his debut in his own pair of ZO2 shoes didn't go so well. With 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists in his debut, Lonzo wasn't at his best, but he would rebound in the black pair of his shoes, pulling in a solid triple double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a close loss to the Boston Celtics. 

After the triple double, Lonzo garnered headlines by wearing different shoes in his next outing in Summer League. Wearing a pair of Kobe Bryant shoes, Lonzo took to the court in the Nike sneakers and everyone wondered what was going on.  He preached about independence and having the freedom to play in whichever shoe he wanted to and it was on this night that he would have an awe inspiring performance against the 76ers. He finished with 36 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals while shooting 55% From the field in what I believe was the best overall performance in all of Summer League. In his next game, Lonzo would wear the James Harden Adidas shoes and notch a triple double in a big win against the Cavs. Finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and 5 steals, Lonzo struggled with shooting, but was able to contribute in big ways all throughout the game for his team garnering a victory and moving them on to the next round in the Summer League.

In his next game, Lonzo played in a pair of the new Steph Curry shoes and while he struggled shooting wise, he managed to lead the offense and get his teammates involved for a big victory over the Nets. Lonzo finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, coming up just short of the triple double.  Lonzo wasn't 100% pleased with his performance in this game and came back firing in the semifinals game against the Mavericks, starting off very well and finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists in just 21 minutes of action in a virtually easy win for the Lakers. Lonzo left the game in the 3rd quarter with a calf strain and he wouldn't play in the Finals, but his presence was felt. Lonzo helped give the team confidence and as a result of him being a leader on the floor, it carries over to the rest of the players who managed to get the job without him in the Finals. Sure, Summer League isn't too relevant, but the fact that so many eyes were on Lonzo this entire time says a lot about the future of the Lakers and his future in general.  

Lonzo finished with an amazing stat line of 16.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and a Summer League record of 9.3 APG to go with 2.5 SPG and 1.0 BPG as well in the games he played. Whether Lonzo comes into the NBA regular season and does the same thing remains to be seen, but all the talking and hype that Lavar Ball put behind his boy has paid off big time. Lonzo has a long career ahead of him and whether he's wearing Nike, Under Armour, or his own BBB apparel, the Lakers organization will never be the same again. Word to Big Baller Brand.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 12:43 AM  2 comments

Eyes On NBA: The 2017 NBA Draft

By @TrueGodImmortal

The NBA Draft is here. This draft has become surrounded by so much hoopla and interest that we've lost sight of what we have here. The future of the NBA. Since 2011, the draft has brought us too many amazing stars yet, but in time, these guys could very well develop. If there's any draft that has some potential for future stars, it's this one. For the longest time, I figured that the Celtics were set on drafting Markelle Fultz at the no. 1 slot, and while he will still go at the no. 1 spot likely, it won't be the Celtics making the pick. The Celtics trade their no. 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, who in turn have begun to build their team up with a ton of top draft picks. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons seem to be the two stars set on carrying the weight for the tram if they can stay healthy, with Dario Saric as a viable option for the future as well.

The 76ers find themselves in a great position to draft Fultz and continue their path and trusting the process. I think Fultz will amaze many people in the league and have a solid first season and he's my 2nd pick for Rookie Of The Year. Yes, he will be the no. 1 pick, but I think he has some possible competition in this draft class and one guy in particular could be coming for that ROTY award. Who might be that one guy be? Well, to give you a clear hint, he's the only Big Baller in the draft.

Lonzo Ball is expected to be selected to the Lakers with the 2nd pick, and I see a bright future for this kid. Regardless of what his father Lavar says in interviews to hype his son up, Lonzo is a special talent and he could be the point guard of the future for a Lakers franchise desperately in need of one. D'Angelo Russell probably wasn't going to be THAT guy, so, it's only right the Lakers invest in another point guard of the future. The Lakers lack of a solid PG since the Kobe title days has been their biggest issue alongside lacking a solid big man. Speaking of PG, I predict the Lakers will make a trade before the draft deadline and acquire Paul George as their new superstar player.  The logic of drafting a pass first guard like Lonzo is that he will have someone to pass it to that he can trust to score. The tandem of Lonzo and Paul George could be the jumpstart that the Lakers franchise needs to get back into the picture and the playoffs.

The biggest possible shock going forward in the draft? It all revolves around the no. 3 pick. The Celtics traded down for the no. 3 pick, which shows they had no interest in Fultz or even Lonzo. They were confident that their pick at no. 1 would still be available at no. 3 so they took a risk and made the trade with the 76ers. The strangest thing about this? I have a small feeling that the Celtics won't even end up keeping the pick by the time the draft starts. With the Knicks showing a willingness to trade Kristaps Porzingis, this is the perfect time for the Celtics to utilize the no. 3 pick and a future pick, along with a Jae Crowder to entice the Knicks and pull off a trade. The Knicks seem like they're interested in Josh Jackson and he's the projected no. 3 pick, and I honestly don't believe the Celtics want to pick him anyways. Who do I think the Celtics wanted to pick, if they keep the pick? Surprise, surprise, I think they select Jayson Tatum from Duke. It might seem like a shock, and it's possible they do take Jackson anyways, but don't be surprised if they take Tatum if they keep the pick.

The Suns have the 4th pick and they plan on shopping it for sure. My belief? If the Celtics or whoever drafts 3rd decides to take Josh Jackson, you'll see Tatum end up going to the Suns. If the Celtics take Tatum, then you'll see the Suns pick Josh Jackson to fill their need at the SF position. If the plan is to get rid of Eric Bledsoe, which is possible, you might see the Suns take De'Aaron Fox, which is a solid PG pickup for the team if they go with it. Truthfully, the 4th to 7th pick could go a ton of ways, as Fox, Tatum, Jonathan Isaac, Frank Ntilikina, Malik Monk, and Dennis Smith Jr. all are possibilities to go at one of these picks. My prediction is Tatum at 3, Jackson at 4, Fox at 5, Isaac at 6, Frank at 7, and then Monk at 8, though I'd prefer to see Monk go at 7 or even surprise everyone and go at 5. Likely though, Monk could end up at the 8th pick and that could be interesting.

Imagine a world where the Knicks end up keeping the 8th pick and get the 3rd pick as well as Jae Crowder for Porzingis. This is where I think we get a slight shocker and see the Knicks end up grabbing both Josh Jackson and Malik Monk, providing them with the possible future at SF and PG. The Knicks lineup could look very different and with mostly young players who need to grow if all goes like expected. I would prefer a world where Melo was traded to the Celtics for the third pick and Porzingis stayed in NY, but Phil Jackson is an idiot. Imagine a Knicks core with Josh Jackson, Malik Monk, and Porzingis leading the charge. That would be something special. Unfortunately, if Monk is gone before the 8th pick, the Knicks will end up selecting Frank, or possibly taking Dennis Smith Jr. earlier than projections.

In my last big prediction, I think the Charlotte Hornets end up drafting either Luke Kennard or Justin Jackson, but knowing Jordan, it would be Kennard. Either player fits well for the Hornets, but if I can be honest, I'd prefer to see Jackson go to the Bulls to provide some solid shooting. The fact remains, the draft has some huge talent this year, and we could be witnessing the arrival of the next batch of legends to the NBA. This could end up being a lot of fun.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 3:51 AM  No comment