How the league has changed

[JCSunsfan]

This past season and then the summer has brought cataclysmic changes to the league. It might be important to notice.

1. It is no longer the Warriors' league. Even when Klay gets healthy the Warriors will contend but no longer be runaway favorites.

2. It is no longer LeBron's league. While Klutch sports and LeBron still hold a lot of power, Kawhi scorning them indicates a shift.

3. It is no longer "big threes". The league now is about dynamic duos. Kawhi and PG, LeBron and AD, Harden and Russ, Kyrie and KD. I suppose one of these teams might be able to add a third star, but it seems like it is going to be harder and harder to do.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This past season and then the summer has brought cataclysmic changes to the league. It might be important to notice.

1. It is no longer the Warriors' league. Even when Klay gets healthy the Warriors will contend but no longer be runaway favorites.

2. It is no longer LeBron's league. While Klutch sports and LeBron still hold a lot of power, Kawhi scorning them indicates a shift.

3. It is no longer "big threes". The league now is about dynamic duos. Kawhi and PG, LeBron and AD, Harden and Russ, Kyrie and KD. I suppose one of these teams might be able to add a third star, but it seems like it is going to be harder and harder to do.

it definitely feels a lot more like the league is set up in the 90's with dynamic duos... and right now, there doesn't seem to be an MJ there to deny every single one of them. If this was prime LeBron and Davis they'd probably win the lion's share of titles, but it's not.

should make for a lot of great match-ups, especially in the West, but people shouldn't sleep on the East. Philly is going to be very good, Milwaukee still has the MVP and if he takes another step forward and develops his jumper they'll be even tougher, Boston has a team that Brad Stevens can finally coach again and I think the Pacers can be a super-sleeper and crank out 50 wins, making some great moves to bring in two more scorers with Brogdon and Warren, but Brogdon's D will help a lot also... plus they get back Oladipo.

 

[JCSunsfan]

it definitely feels a lot more like the league is set up in the 90's with dynamic duos... and right now, there doesn't seem to be an MJ there to deny every single one of them. If this was prime LeBron and Davis they'd probably win the lion's share of titles, but it's not.

should make for a lot of great match-ups, especially in the West, but people shouldn't sleep on the East. Philly is going to be very good, Milwaukee still has the MVP and if he takes another step forward and develops his jumper they'll be even tougher, Boston has a team that Brad Stevens can finally coach again and I think the Pacers can be a super-sleeper and crank out 50 wins, making some great moves to bring in two more scorers with Brogdon and Warren, but Brogdon's D will help a lot also... plus they get back Oladipo.

Yep. Eastern duos. Embiid and Simmons, CP3 and Jimmy (if that happens). You do have a few teams with one star and a couple "almost-ers": Kemba/Tatum/Hayward, Freak/Bledsoe/Middleton.

There are also up and coming duos. Zion and Jrue, Book and Ayton.

 

[Muggz]

Cmon we all know 2 years from now its gonna be the Leque solo league.

Just waiting for the hammer to fall.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Cmon we all know 2 years from now its gonna be the Leque solo league.

Just waiting for the hammer to fall.

Sure. That is the way to do it. Each team gets one max contract. Can't wait to see what the players union would do with that one.

 

[Raindog]

Undoubtedly. As the max contracts get bigger, nobody can afford them... or at least, can afford the risk to their payroll structure. We are now in the era of the two-star teams because no one can afford three stars on super-max or max contracts. It's inevitable that will be whittled down to one with time.

Which is probably good for parity, and really for the NBA overall. I think more fan bases are excited about next season than in a long time. Going into a season knowing only one or two teams have a chance to win (as we have had for the last decade or more) makes the entire sport a drag.

 

[devilalum]

Yep. Eastern duos. Embiid and Simmons, CP3 and Jimmy (if that happens). You do have a few teams with one star and a couple "almost-ers": Kemba/Tatum/Hayward, Freak/Bledsoe/Middleton.

There are also up and coming duos. Zion and Jrue, Book and Ayton.

Booker is currently the Suns best player and he is still young but do you really believe will ever be in that elite top super star tier?

 

[Chaplin]

Booker is currently the Suns best player and he is still young but do you really believe will ever be in that elite top super star tier?

Why not? This is a player that has improved every single year he's been in the league. If he ever gets his head on straight regarding defense, he will absolutely be in that superstar tier.

And don't forget, this is the first year in his ENTIRE CAREER that he will have an elite playmaker next to him.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Why not? This is a player that has improved every single year he's been in the league. If he ever gets his head on straight regarding defense, he will absolutely be in that superstar tier.

And don't forget, this is the first year in his ENTIRE CAREER that he will have an elite playmaker next to him.

You are so correct here. It's actually crazy how good he is at 22. His rate of growth is phenomenal.

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/advancedstats/_/id/3136193/devin-booker

 

[AzStevenCal]

Booker is currently the Suns best player and he is still young but do you really believe will ever be in that elite top super star tier?

Well, assuming good health, absolutely. So far though, as far as basketball is concerned, good health and Booker are strangers.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Booker is currently the Suns best player and he is still young but do you really believe will ever be in that elite top super star tier?

Sure. I cannot see why not. He is really close to that level right now. The real question is whether he can produce like that on a winning team.

 

[Azlen]

Sure. That is the way to do it. Each team gets one max contract. Can't wait to see what the players union would do with that one.

I wonder what would happen if they kept the salary cap at the same percentage that it is now but dumped the max contract completely. The only way you could get two top ten players is if both took less than market value. In today's environment, they are both able to get max contracts.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I wonder what would happen if they kept the salary cap at the same percentage that it is now but dumped the max contract completely. The only way you could get two top ten players is if both took less than market value. In today's environment, they are both able to get max contracts.

That is an intriguing idea. The problem with having a max contract number is that everyone thinks they deserve it. If they did this, they would need a hard cap, or at least a harder cap than they have now.

As it is, the supermax is something that teams seem to be trying to avoid. They need to dump that. If you don't offer it to your home grown star player, he feels slighted and you have to trade him--this basically happened with Cousins and Kemba. I do not think Booker will ever be deserving of a supermax, but we might have to make that decision at some point.

Maybe a simple correction would be that Bird rights do not transfer with traded players. Bird rights only apply to the team that issued the initial contract.

 

[Phrazbit]

The Sixers have a strange roster. Josh Richardson is going to be their only starter who isn't a big man. If Ben Simmons doesn't learn how to shoot, even at a below average level, they're going to have a rough time in close, late games. I'd also hate to be paying Tobias Harris 30+ million a year. Yikes.

 

[Phrazbit]

That is an intriguing idea. The problem with having a max contract number is that everyone thinks they deserve it. If they did this, they would need a hard cap, or at least a harder cap than they have now.

As it is, the supermax is something that teams seem to be trying to avoid. They need to dump that. If you don't offer it to your home grown star player, he feels slighted and you have to trade him--this basically happened with Cousins and Kemba. I do not think Booker will ever be deserving of a supermax, but we might have to make that decision at some point.

Maybe a simple correction would be that Bird rights do not transfer with traded players. Bird rights only apply to the team that issued the initial contract.

If Bird rights didn't transfer it would be a mess. That would make it reeeally difficult for struggling teams to rebuild as the players they are trying to trade would be virtually worthless if they're on short term deals.

I think they should eliminate sign and trades entirely.

Don't mess with the cap, I think the soft cap is working alright. The luxury tax is absolutely brutal, as intended and a small market team like the Bucks was able to keep it's roster largely intact despite a boat load of free agents.

This coming season should be really wild, there are a more potential contenders than we've seen in ages. 1994 was probably the last time that there has been so much hope around the league.

 

[Proximo]

Booker is currently the Suns best player and he is still young but do you really believe will ever be in that elite top super star tier?

I do.

Look at his career stats and compare them to Harden's. He is almost on the same exact path - except Booker is actually getting better faster in every way but rebounding.

Edit:
Actually upon further review Booker's defense is actually much worse statistically then Harden's was at this stage of their careers. But I would submit this season is probably the first time he is going to get good defensive coaching so we will see how much that improves.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I do.

Look at his career stats and compare them to Harden's. He is almost on the same exact path - except Booker is actually getting better faster in every way but rebounding.

Edit:
Actually upon further review Booker's defense is actually much worse statistically then Harden's was at this stage of their careers. But I would submit this season is probably the first time he is going to get good defensive coaching so we will see how much that improves.

by the time Harden was 23, he was pretty much singlehandedly carrying the Rockets to the always tough West playoffs. So far, the biggest reason reason I question whether Booker can be an elite superstar is that he can't really wreak havoc on either side of the court. He's a very good scorer, but he's not an elite creator where defenses can't stop him from both scoring and getting others involved and he just ain't even close to being a good defender.

Booker's just about to turn 23 this season. Let's see if he can make a Harden-like impact in the win column like Harden did for a pretty talent deficient team in his first year in Houston.

 

[BC867]

Well, assuming good health, absolutely. So far though, as far as basketball is concerned, good health and Booker are strangers.

It will be interesting to see what happens next season with Booker playing o n l y Shooting Guard.

Whatever the result is will do the talking.

Booker's just about to turn 23 this season. Let's see if he can make a Harden-like impact in the win column like Harden did for a pretty talent deficient team in his first year in Houston.

In the comparison of Harden and Booker, Book coming in second to Harden would be pretty good for Suns fans.

It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, following our decade of being in the dregs.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I more excited than I have ever been for this NBA season to start. Its more about the league itself than the Suns. For once, there is no dominant team and there are so many unknowns about which pairing will work. There will be LOTS of teams worth buying tickets to see.

I do wish a few more of them were in the Eastern Conference though.

I just saw Charles Barkley on an interview saying that CP3 should try to get to the Bucks. Not sure that is even possible, but Chris Paul on the Bucks would be interesting.

 

[AZCrazy]

Harden's defense is comical as well.
At least as Harden was leading his team to playoffs as a 23 year old, he wasn't surrounded on the court by teenagers a year or two out of high school as his teammates.

 

[Mainstreet]

I more excited than I have ever been for this NBA season to start. Its more about the league itself than the Suns. For once, there is no dominant team and there are so many unknowns about which pairing will work. There will be LOTS of teams worth buying tickets to see.

I do wish a few more of them were in the Eastern Conference though.

I just saw Charles Barkley on an interview saying that CP3 should try to get to the Bucks. Not sure that is even possible, but Chris Paul on the Bucks would be interesting.

The trend seems to be more towards more super teams with two stars but if Ayton and Booker can be those players, perhaps the Suns can join them.

 

[GatorAZ]

Harden's defense is comical as well.
At least as Harden was leading his team to playoffs as a 23 year old, he wasn't surrounded on the court by teenagers a year or two out of high school as his teammates.

Contrary to the narrative Harden plays defense. If Booker commits to playing defense and Rubio continues being solid on that side of the floor we could really have something that translates into legitimate winning basketball. We know what Book is offensively but Kobe really started becoming a force on defense in his 4-5th NBA season and that’s what I want (in a lesser regard) from Book.

 

[devilalum]

The trend seems to be more towards more super teams with two stars but if Ayton and Booker can be those players, perhaps the Suns can join them.

This 2 star model is a result of several things including the cap. It also means there are more teams in the mix to actually compete for a title next year that any of the last 10.

 

[devilalum]

What was the last team to win a title that didn't have an elite, All Star level TWO-WAY player?

 

[Phrazbit]

What was the last team to win a title that didn't have an elite, All Star level TWO-WAY player?

The Mavericks.