1.הטרייד שיהיה טוב גם ללייקרס וגם להאוקס: הלייקרס דגים את דז'ונטה מוריי עבור 3 שחקנים ו-2 בחירות דראפט עתידיות

מבוסס על מאמר ב-FADEAWAY WORLD

הלייקרס יודעת שעליה להשתפר אחרי היציאה מהפלייאוף בסיבוב הראשון. כדי לעבור את השרטון עליה להתחזק, והשחקן שיעזור לה לעבור את השרטון הוא דג'ונטה מוריי מההאוקס, שבפוטנציאל הוא סופרסטאר גדול, אם רק ישחק בקבוצה הנכונה עם השחקנים הנכונים.

עם המאמן הרוקי ג'ייג'יי רדיק הסיכויים הם גדולים שעם דז'ונטה מוריי מאחורי לברון ואנטוני דייויס, ללייקרס תהיה קבוצה שתוכל לרוץ רחוק מאד. עד כמה רחוק?

נסו אליפות!

אטלנטה תשמח לטרייד של דג'ונטה מוריי כי העונה הוכח לכולם שהוא וטריי יאנג עולים אחד על כפות רגלי השני. אטלנטה יודעת שעליה להיפרד מאחד מהשניים, ודג'ונטה הוא המועדף כי טריי יאנג הפך לשחקן אטלנטה האוקס גזעי.

פרטי הטרייד:

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2024 Draft No. 17 Pick, 2030 First-Round Pick (LAL)

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Dejounte Murray, Bruno Fernando

Atlanta Hawks: B+

Los Angeles Lakers: A

2. מה דעתכם על הטרייד הזה? הלייקרס הופכת לסופר-טים, והווריורס עושה זאת בלית ברירה!

The High-Risk Trade: Lakers Acquire Klay Thompson And Andrew Wiggins

וכמובן דג'ונטה מוריי הוט הפוינט גארד של הסופר-טים הזאת!

Trade Details

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins

Golden State Warriors Receive: Austin Reaves,, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino

הווריורס ייראו ככה:

---

ציוני הטרייד:

Los Angeles Lakers: A

Golden State Warriors: C-

הטרייד הוא לא הכי טוב לווריורס, אבל הוא טוב יותר מלעשות כלום!

3. לפני הצעות הטריידים למעלה, הלייקרס רצתה את אלכס קרוזו, אבל שיקגו בולס, בנסיון 'לשמר' את מייקל ג'ורדן כ'גדול מכולם', סירבה על הסף.

הלייקרס הציעה לשיקגו הצעה מאד נדיבה על מנת לקבל את אלכס קרוזו בטרייד. שיקגו בולס סירבה על הסף. הסיבה: הרצון לשמר את מייקל ג'ורדן כ'גדול מכולם', ולעשטת כל דבר שבאפשרות הבולס כדי למנוע את חיזוקה של הלייקרס של לברון.

4. דאלאס מכינה הצעת טרייד לפורטלנד על ג'רמי גראנט וחוזה ה-160 מיליון שלו

דאלאס מבריקס נמצאת עתה במרוץ מטורף למצוא שחקן שלישי עליון – גבוה וחזק – להשלים 'שלישיית זהב' עם לוקה וקיירי, והאדם שהם רודפים עתה אחריו הוא ג'רמי גראנט מהבלייזרס.

Grant is entering the second year of a $160 million contract he signed with the Blazers in 2023. But given the team’s rebuilding status, Grant has become one of the most sought-after trade pieces around the league.

בן ה-30 הזה עם מוטות-זרוע של 2.17 מ' הוא אחלה שחקן המסוגל לרווח את המשחק וליצור לעצמו זריקה:

Grant averaged 20.7 points on 46.3% shooting from the field and 40.2% from beyond the arc in his first two seasons in Portland. He also scored at least 19 points per game in each of his last four seasons.

הוא יעלה במקום ג'ונס.

מרק קיובן יודע בדיוק כמונו שגראנט חתם על 160 מיליון לפני שנה, אבל הוא אמר אתמול "יש לנו תכנית 'מתאימה' בקשר ל-160 מיליון. אנחנו הולכים אחריו 'בכל הכוח'"

5. המאמן כריס פינץ זוכה להארכת חוזה במינסוטה

ESPN Sources: Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has agreed on a four-year contract extension through the 2027-‘28 season. Finch led the franchise to the Western Conference Finals — his third straight postseason trip. pic.twitter.com/Y2MfEqYUN7

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2024

6. כל הקבוצות מ-2 עד 10 (לא כולל את אטלנטה האוקס) "מאד מעוניינות בזאק אדי"

7. להפתעת רבים מילווקי באקס הודיעה על שני שחקנים מקבוצת האליפות שהיא מוכנה להטריד "עבור הצעות מעניינות"

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported this week שמילווקי מציעה את בובי פורטיס ופט קנינגהאם לטרייד.

Both veterans are effectively entering contract years (as they both have player options for the 2025-26 season).

8. OG Anunoby declines player option, will become unrestricted FA

Fred Katz: OG Anunoby has declined his $19.9 million player option for next season, a league source tells The Athletic, an expected move. Anunoby will now officially become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Free agency begins June 30.

– via Twitter FredKatz

10. עשרת הפוינט גארדס של עונת 2023-24 לפי הופס-הייפ

Luka Doncic (Dallas) 

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 32.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 9.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.5 bpg, 47.7 FG%, 36.9 3P% in 92 games
Salary ranking: No. 16 ($40,064,220)

Being able to vanquish three 50-win teams without home-court advantage while not being 100 percent physically tells you all you need to know about Luka Doncic. We even named him Playoff MVP despite losing in the Finals four games to one.

Doncic did have some Finals shortcomings, though injuries are easy to blame for that, as it was clear his conditioning and defense simply weren’t up to par to cap off a championship run. Even so, Doncic was the best player in the 2024 postseason and it might not have been all that close.

Doncic enjoyed his fifth All-NBA selection in a row this season, Western Conference Finals MVP and is now moving up real fast in the list of best players ever to never win a title. But what else can he do besides maybe improve conditioning so he’s not getting hunted down in defense by some teams?

He’s still got plenty of time to do that, as Doncic is still just 25 years old.

2Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) 

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 30.1 ppg, 6.2 apg, 5.7 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1.0 bpg, 53.0 FG%, 36.3 3P% in 85 games
Salary ranking: No. 34 ($33,386,850)

As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander developed as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, many wondered just how high his ceiling might be and whether or not he could reach that MVP-level strata of NBA greats. The Canadian superstar answered those questions resoundingly this year, finishing second in the 2023-24 MVP vote, even receiving 15 first-place votes in the process, as he led the Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the West with a 57-25 record and to the second round of the playoffs. The former Kentucky standout ranked Top 5 this season in VORP, BPM, WS/48 and Global Rating, finishing as high as No. 2 overall in WS/48.

Not only was Gilgeous-Alexander an elite scorer, he also got enough votes for All-Defensive Team that he would have been on 3rd Team All-Defense if such a thing existed, speaking to his two-way value, too.

And although Oklahoma City wasted a golden chance to make an even deeper playoff run this season, as their inexperience showed in the six-game defeat against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round, with Gilgeous-Alexander having to carry so much of the load, there’s no question they’re way ahead of schedule and should be a force in the West for years to come. 

Sure, that has been said about teams before who ultimately weren’t able to take that next step, but with Gilgeous-Alexander, a proven MVP-level player, leading the way, this Thunder team should be different than the promising teams of yesteryear.

3Jalen Brunson (New York)

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 29.3 ppg, 6.8 apg, 3.6 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.2 bpg, 47.3 FG%, 38.9 3P% in 90 games
Salary ranking: No. 53 ($26,346,666)

Jalen Brunson fully dispelled the notion that he, as a small guy, can’t be the leader of a playoff juggernaut by leading the New York Knicks to the second round of the postseason while putting up huge numbers. In the playoffs, Brunson averaged 32.4 points on 44.4 percent shooting to go with 7.5 assists over 13 games before New York ultimately fell in seven games vs. the Indiana Pacers in Round 2. 

Don’t be mistaken, though: The Knicks went down because of injuries, not due to Brunson coming up short. Brunson, clearly the best American player not on the Olympic team for this summer, finished Top 5 in MVP voting this year as he led New York to a 50-win regular season while ranking Top 8 league-wide in VORP and BPM, and he’ll now head into 2024-25 with huge expectations as the Knicks will be healthy and proven to kick off the campaign.

4Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia)

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 26.2 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 0.5 bpg, 45.2 FG%, 37.5 3P% in 76 games
Salary ranking: No. 263 ($4,343,920)

2023-24 stats: 26.2 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 0.5 bpg, 45.2 FG%, 37.5 3P% in 76 games
Salary ranking: No. 263 ($4,343,920)

One of the big high risers from preseason aggregate rankings, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey was downright excellent this season, playing his way into a well-earned max deal and winning Most Improved Player as well as earning All-Star honors.

And if such a thing existed, Maxey could have won Most Improved Playoff Player, too, for his 2023-24 postseason run where he averaged 29.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists on 40.0 percent shooting from three.

Maxey has fantastic speed, the ability to stop on a dime and launch a three, great lateral quickness that helps him get by defenders and can score at a high rate from all three levels while also being a good playmaker. All-NBA just eluded Maxey this season but with another campaign like the one he just had, that distinction should be the next one he picks up.

5Stephen Curry (Golden State)

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 26.4 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.5 rpg, 0.7 spg, 0.4 bpg, 45.0 FG%, 40.8 3P% in 74 games
Salary ranking: No. 1 ($51,915,615)

The highest-paid player in the league this season and the preseason ranked No. 4 overall player according to the aggregate ranking, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry had a nice season individually, putting up a 26/5/4 stat line while shooting nearly 41 percent from three, but Golden State missed the playoffs and struggled all season to string together consistent wins.

Hence, we knocked Curry a bit in our player ranking for 2023-24, where he finished No. 17 overall, still an elite spot but not as elite as we’re used to seeing out of the two-time league MVP.

Even so, Curry finished with 3rd Team All-NBA honors and Won Clutch of the Year, so even in a slightly down year by his illustrious standards, he remained one of the game’s best offensive players.

6Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana)

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 19.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 10.4 apg, 0.7 bpg, 1.2 spg, 47.9 FG%, 36.8 3P% in 84 games
Salary ranking: No. 226 ($5,808,435)

Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was performing like arguably a Top 10 player prior to injury this season, one affecting his hamstring, and once he returned, he wasn’t quite at the same level, clearly hampered and playing through a tricky muscle strain.

With that said, Haliburton was still an All-Star in 2023-24, a 3rd Team All-NBAer and led the league in nightly assists at 10.9, likewise helping lead the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Haliburton is a quick top-of-the-line playmaker who can sink threes at a healthy rate (though his jumper did abandon him for stretches this season for the first time in his career) while using his agility to create havoc on defense jumping passing lanes.

7De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento)

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 26.6 ppg, 5.6 apg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 spg, 0.4 bpg, 46.5 FG%, 36.9 3P% in 74 games
Salary ranking: No. 37 ($32,600,060)

After All-Star, 3rd Team All-NBA and Clutch Player of the Year honors in 2022-23, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox didn’t take a step back this season but he didn’t manage to improve on the impressive campaign either. And the fact that the Kings missed the playoffs in 2023-24 despite having two Top 20 players (according to us) on their roster also didn’t help the former Kentucky Wildcat’s placing on this ranking.

Regardless, despite the ever-so-slightly disappointing 2023-24 for Fox, he remains one of the top point guards in the league, possessing lightning-speed, elite finishing around the paint and a solid pull-up jumper to keep defenses honest.

What’s more, Fox just had the second-best three-point shooting season of his career, a potential future game-changer for a player as explosive as the 26-year-old southpaw.

8Kyrie Irving (Dallas)

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

2023-24 stats: 24.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 0.4 bpg, 1.2 spg, 48.9 FG%, 40.6 3P% in 80 games
Salary ranking: No. 22 ($37,037,037)

Another postseason, another round of iconic playoff baskets for Kyrie Irving, who’s been on his best behavior in Dallas after tumultuous endings to his Brooklyn and Boston stints.

The season ended on a down note for Irving, however, as the enigmatic point guard, who has not beaten Boston since April 23, 2021, when he was a member of the Nets, averaged just 19.8 points and 5.0 assists on 41.4 percent shooting (27.6 percent shooting from three) in the five Finals games against his former team. That came after various brilliant postseason performances for Irving prior to the Finals, including a 40-point Game 4 in Round 1 against the Clippers and a 36-point closeout Game 5 performance over Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals, both wins for his Mavericks.

Ultimately, Irving’s place in this ranking was also hampered by the fact he missed a lot of games during the season (he last played 70-plus games in 2016-17!).

Despite not achieving All-Star or All-NBA honors in 2023-24, it was all in all a very successful season for the former Duke standout in 2023-24.

9Damian Lillard (Milwaukee)

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 24.7 ppg, 6.9 apg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 spg, 0.2 bpg, 42.3 FG%, 35.8 3P% in 77 games
Salary ranking: No. 7 ($45,640,084)

Given the change of scenery, health issues and personal matters that clearly affected him, the season – at least individually – went decently for Damian Lillard. It just doesn’t really feel that way given the expectations were sky-high after his trade to the Milwaukee Bucks that paired him with Antetotokounmpo.

Nonetheless, a lot of turmoil on the team, including a midseason firing of Adrian Griffin and the replacement situation with Doc Rivers, as well as injuries, sidetracked the Bucks’ season, culminating with a first-round playoff defeat in which Antetokounmpo wasn’t able to see any action due to – you guessed it – injury.

Lillard was still able to show his level as a player in the postseason despite only appearing in four games in the 2024 playoffs, putting up 31.3 points on 41.7 percent shooting from three to go with 5.0 assists. If his body holds up, 2024-25 could be a stronger season for Lillard, too, with less drama surrounding him.

10Jamal Murray (Denver) 

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 stats: 21.1 ppg, 6.4 apg, 4.1 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.6 bpg, 46.5 FG%, 40.6 3P% in 71 games
Salary ranking: No. 32 ($33,833,400)

Despite having yet to receive All-Star honors in his career (he might be on his way to becoming the best player to never make an All-Star appearance at this rate), Canadian point guard Jamal Murray is a big-time playoff riser, averaging 24.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his postseason career in comparison to 17.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his regular-season career, a stretch that includes a championship run in 2022-23.

Murray wasn’t quite able to reach those illustrious playoff highs this season, as the former Kentucky standout averaged a career-playoff-low 20.6 points in 2024 while shooting a paltry 31.5 percent from three, which in part explains why Denver wasn’t able to repeat.

Still, Murray is a very good scorer, especially from three and the midrange, and he’s as clutch as they come in the postseason, a perfect counterpart for Jokic in the playoffs.