NFL
Six teams have separated themselves from the pack as true title contenders in the NBA over the first two months of the season. However, each roster could use one or two more pieces to make a big playoff run. Let’s see which players may be available to those teams in the coming weeks.
Written by: Jordan Vitkauskas
76ers – Wing depth
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a blistering 20-11 start and sit atop the East and are not lacking for too much assistance at the moment. Joel Embiid has been an MVP front-runner early on, while Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry are all filling their roles at extremely high levels. New head coach Doc Rivers has shown his usual ability to have stars playing well and the Sixers have shown up in big wins against the Heat, Celtics Lakers and Pacers.
With that said, longtime veteran Trevor Ariza would be an ideal candidate to join the roster given his three-and-D ability and vast playoff experience (champion with the 2009 Lakers). If not Ariza then other veteran options include George Hill (currently out for a few weeks due to injury) or Otto Porter Jr. could be worthwhile additions to a defensive-minded roster put together by Daryl Morey.
Jazz – Bench depth
Let’s start at the top. The Utah Jazz hold the best record in the NBA through the first 30 games – yes you read that right. Anyone who picked Utah to be at the top of the league resides strictly in the Salt Lake City area, and they must be loving life currently. The Jazz have come out firing, winners of 21 of their last 23, and do not have too many flaws the be nitpicked. Donovan Mitchell is averaging a career-high in points, assists, and three-point percentage. Rudy Gobert is playing his usual stifling defense (pun intended), Mike Conley Jr. is back to his usual strong play, and Jordan Clarkson is far and away the leader for Sixth Man of the Year with his career-best 18.2 points per game (38.2% 3PT mark as well). In summary, it is pretty hard to find holes that the Jazz need to fill before the playoffs.
If I had to nitpick, it would be the lack of depth that comes as the biggest concern for Utah’s title chances. Currently, Quinn Snyder’s group has seven guys that play 26+ minutes a game. Not a bad thing to have seven guys you can count on, but having eight or nine would be ideal, especially heading towards the playoffs. As currently constructed, one injury to Mitchell, Gobert, or Conley Jr. would force Georges Niang or Derrick Favors into heavier minutes, which is not optimal against a Lakers or Clippers squad.
Trevor Ariza and Blake Griffin come to mind as possible buyout guys or Pat Beverely / Lou Williams if either is made available for a cheap price near the deadline. Andre Drummond is going to either Boston or Brooklyn if he is bought out and also does not fir the culture that Utah has worked so hard to build.
Lakers – A versatile backup big man
As seen in their loss to the Brooklyn Nets last Thursday night, the Lakers need to add another big man able of easing the scoring load for LeBron James, who became the youngest player ever to score 35,000 points in that contest. James is having an MVP-caliber season once again but is averaging almost 38 minutes a game over the last month, and Los Angeles needs to prioritize keeping him fresh for the postseason, where he does the most damage. With Anthony Davis out at least through the All-Star break (Achilles/calf injury), general manager Rob Pelinka needs to find a big man to fill that role and ease the load for James and company. Montrezl Harrell is capable of scoring in bursts as a small-ball center but is a non-factor outside of 12 feet, while Marc Gasol is only on the court for his passing and help defense at this point.
Ideally, the Lakers could use a guy of Blake Griffin’s talents if he could round back into playable form. Griffin’s slide down the player rankings has been well documented. He’s shooting just 37% from the field for a bad Detroit team this year, has lost almost all of his explosiveness, has not dunked in over a year. The Pistons are sitting Griffin until they either trade or buy him out and this could be a case of the former Rookie of the Year needing a change of scenery in order to be effective again. Griffin is only two years removed from averaging 24 points and eight assists a game as a devastating pick and roll player (as either option too).
The Lakers would not need him to come in and try to replicate that exactly; they just need a big man who can help facilitate the offense and hit some jumpers. Plus, the notion of getting to play in Los Angeles again and against the team that traded him after proclaiming they would have him for life in the Clippers could prove too juicy an opportunity to pass up for Griffin. Los Angeles will remain title contenders as long as James and Davis are on the roster, but it never hurts to add as many pieces as possible.
Clippers – A better combo guard or defensive center
The Clippers have gotten off to another strong start after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in last seasons’ playoffs. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are making MVP cases, while their overall offense is in the top five in the association. The issue for the little brothers in Los Angeles is the defense, which is just in the middle of the pack currently. Leonard and George are strong pieces, but Patrick Beverley has slipped on that end, Lou Williams is a liability, and Serge Ibaka has a negative rating on the defensive end so far this season. Los Angeles can get by in the regular season with teams not preparing as much night-to-night, but they will run into problems against Steph Curry, Dame Lillard, Nikola Jokic (see last year’s playoffs), Anthony Davis, and others come the postseason.
If Ty Lue and company move in the direction of acquiring a guard, they have some really juicy options available that can make immediate and long-term impacts. Longtime Raptor Kyle Lowry (in the last year of his deal) and Lonzo Ball have been rumored to be on the market recently, and both could be had for a reasonable price. Lowry and Ball would immediately provide strong defense at the guard position, as well as capable shooting from the perimeter (Ball is shooting 47% from deep in the month of February). Lowry would probably be preferred since he has championship experience with Leonard in 2019, but his $30 million salary would be trickier to match than Ball’s $11 million one.
As for big men, that becomes a little less enticing but there are still serviceable players out there. Ed Davis is playing under 15 minutes a game for Minnesota and can do a good job of rebounding and providing extra rim protection. Additionally, Robin Lopez may become available via trade if the Wizards continue to lose games (something that seems very realistic) and knows where to go on defense
Bucks – More bench depth
It’s the same old story for Milwaukee as it has been over the past two seasons. Led by two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are one of the most efficient teams in the NBA on both ends of the court and will be top-3 seed in the East heading into the playoffs. Khris Middleton and newcomer Jrue Holiday are playing at strong levels so far but Milwaukee is lacking in the bench area following the Holiday trade as well as the botched Bogdan Bogdanovic deal. Sitting as just 18-13 currently (they had 17 losses all of last season), they are relying on Bobby Portis (one-dimensional), Brynn Forbes (ditto), Pat Connaughton, and an aging D.J. Augustin to come off the bench and provide strong play, which has not been the case this year.
If the Bucks are looking for a cheap and reliable upgrade to their bench, it would be best to look at their old backup point guard in George Hill or an Otto Porter Jr. type. The key for Milwaukee is to add efficient outside spacing and defense without getting in the way of Antetokounmpo’s game, which has failed to grow beyond 15 feet, and those two players mentioned above can do just that. The Bucks will always be a really good regular season team as long as Giannis is in uniform for them, but the only thing fans and experts care about now is what they can do in the postseason.
Nets – Rim protection / a big man
The Nets can score, and score a ton. That much is evident after watching five minutes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden together on a court. Brooklyn has looked sharp against the best teams in the league, having just swept the NBA’s Pacific Division during the course of their current road trip and are 11-2 versus teams over .500 this season.
The obvious need for Brooklyn is a big man, considering they are really only playing a washed DeAndre Jordan at the center position after the Jarrett Allen trade. Andre Drummond will be the big name linked to the Nets if he ends up bought out from Cleveland, and he could provide the necessary rebounding on the inside. However, his defense has never been anything above average and the Nets really need rim protection if they are to compete against the Bucks, Sixers, and Lakers. With that said, JaVale McGee may be a better option for Steve Nash’s crew, as the 3x NBA champion provided just that in past years for the Lakers and Warriors.
____
All stats/records are accurate as of 2/23/2020
All stats/notes are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com/ESPN.com
