- The Portland Trailblazers are entering an interesting offseason. They need to decide the direction their franchise will take. It all starts with Damian Lillard. He is signed for two more years at over $45 and $48 million. Needless to say that cuts heavily in to the salary cap. It is admirable that he wants to retire a Trail Blazer but if he stays the question Portland needs to ask is can that team with him on it compete with the top teams in the league. There is a definite market for him, think both New York teams, and if they are going to do something the time is this offseason because his market value is high.
- The New Orleans Pelicans are another team that needs to examine their situation. The team, if they are healthy, are one of the better teams in the Western Conference but that’s the problem – it seems that one of them is always injured, particularly Zion Williamson. Zion has played only 29 games this year and the Pelicans have had players injured for over 250 games thus far this season. Do the Pelicans stay as they are and hope they get through a season healthy or do they make changes?
- The Miami Heat are another interesting team. It looks like it’s time for an overhaul though that may be a difficult task. When you look at their future salary cap situation it doesn’t look too good. When you look at Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry‘s salary which totals more than $47 million next year you see the problem. Unless Miami can dump salaries they are way over the cap and changes will be difficult.
- Nick Nurse appears to be coming to the end of his time in Toronto. He should get another job because he won a title and until this year done a good job with the Raptors. Nurse is one of the most innovative coaches in the league but it seems he can wear on a team. Toronto still has talent but are not performing up to what their talent is.
- The Los Angeles Clippers are another interesting team. Tyronn Lue is one of the best coaches in the league but coaching a team when you don’t know if your best player is going to play can be tough even for a good coach. It seems the Clippers will be a fourth or fifth seed for as long as this team stays intact. The question, is Steve Ballmer happy with that and if not what do you do?
- Mikal Bridges is growing into a star player. Not only is he an outstanding defender but he has made the leap as a scorer. This year was his best year in terms of scoring average. He averaged 17. 2 points per game with Phoenix before being traded to Brooklyn. Since he joined the Nets in twenty-five games with the Nets he is averaging 27.4 points per game.
- The Atlanta Hawks need to develop a personality as a team. They are not physical nor do they defend well. They can score but that’s about it. Quinn Snyder and management need to evaluate their fit as a team. The smart play may be to trade some of that offense for some physical defenders.
