On Walker Kessler and the Lakers writ-large:
Boy-O, that’s a big package. With this deal, the Lakers seem to have locked themselves into a core of Luka, Reaves, and Kessler for the next few years. Aside from their striking resemblance to NYSNC, this seems like a group that could conceivably be dragged to the finals by the Slovenian Ethan Frome1 but more likely won’t be able to break through the Thunder-Spurs-Nuggets-TWolves quadropoly in the West. Allowing the Jazz to control your 4 of your 6 draft picks from 2028-2033 is bold, and could ultimately prove detrimental to the next-next version of the Luka Doničić Lakers.
I think Sandro Mamukelashvili is a very good player and his name is really fun to say. He’ll be a standout backup 4 or 5 and I wish the Knicks could’ve signed him. 4/52 is a solid contract.
Grimes was a good-but-frustrating young Knick, and I’ve frankly been a bit of a hater ever since he left in a huff about his Thibsian utilization. I don’t think his 21 games with Philadelphia in 2024-25 (22/5/5, 27.5% usage rate[!!!]) is reasonable to expect again when you consider that that team was in a race to the bottom (#Top6ers), and this past season’s 13/4/3 with a 19% usage rate is a much more apt comp, especially with Luka’s propensity to hammer the ball into the hardwood like the world’s worst carpenter. For whatever it’s worth, in their 21 games together in Dallas before Nico Harrison saved basketball in Los Angeles, Grimes averaged 7/3/1 in 19 minutes per game.
Collin Sexton feels like a great, cheap flier – only 68 games over the past 2 seasons, but, if he can stay healthy, he should be old enough and wise enough now to accept his role as a microwave scorer off the bench.
Back to Kessler: this is a great piece of business from the Jazz. Avoiding paying your never-been-an-All-Star (and never even having particularly sniffed All-Star consideration, as far as I can remember) $35 million/year while picking up valuable draft capital is exactly the correct way to build a future contender. Ace Bailey, Keyonte George, and Darryn Peterson has the potential to be a rock-solid young core, while Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen will still be only 28 and 29 respectively to start to year.
On Mitchell Robinson:
I’ve already made my overall thoughts on Mitch pretty clear, but I won’t deny it’ll sting to see him in a Boston uniform next season (opening night???). The contract is right on the line of good possible value, but I remain adamant that going into the second apron without a clear way of getting out after one year is bad business – not just for James Dolan’s checking account, but for team building and flexibility moving forwards. Jalen Brunson has a gigantic, well deserved payday coming in a couple years, and, if the Knicks want to remain competitive after he inks his new deal, they have to start being smart and proactive right now.
From Tommy Beer on Twitter:
- This past season, Robinson appeared in 60 games for the first time since 2021-22. Over the prior two years, he’d played in only 48 out of a possible 164 [regular season] contests.
- Among the ten Knicks who logged at least 250 minutes in the playoffs, Robinson was the only player to record a plus/minus below 40. His individual +/- of +31 was the worst among all of NY’s rotation regulars.
- Mitch converted just 17 of his 58 FT attempts in the playoffs, a putrid 29%.
Mitch will forever be a beloved Knick, but remaining competitive unfortunately requires a different look at backup center. As of the time I’m writing this, we’re still waiting to see who that might be.
On Norm Powell:
Bobby Marks has the Bulls starting lineup as Giddey-Powell-Caleb Wilson-Buzelis-Claxton. It’s hard to explain why this 31 to 46 win team is different from all other 31 to 46 win Bulls teams of the past decade, but I think the affect is something completely new. It might purely be the upside of Caleb Wilson, but this roster feels like a team on the rise, smartly putting together guys who can either, 1) develop into being a part of the next Chicago Bulls team to sniff the second round of the playoffs, or, 2) act as reasonable vets on reasonable contracts. Norm Powell is certainly in the latter category, and $45 million over 2 years fits that timeline perfectly. In the new lottery-reformed NBA where mediocrity can be a path to success, the Bulls may have finally assembled a mediocre team with a bright future.
On the Pistons:
I think letting Jalen Duren walk would be a huge mistake from the gang at Little Ceasar’s Arena. Yes, he had a bad playoffs. Yes, the full 30% Rose Rule max extension would be a tough pill to swallow. But he’s 22, is coming off of an effective and efficient season in which he was named to the All-NBA 3rd Team, and is a good complementary fit with your franchise player in Cade Cunningham. Overreacting to two bad playoff series would be a tough way to cap off what has been an otherwise patient rebuild.
John Collins is, I would say, a good, but maybe a tad expensive get. He hit the coveted 40% from deep mark last season on three attempts a game, but I’d like to see some higher rebounding numbers for a team that traded away Beef Stew and seems like it might lose Jalen Duren (with the acknowledgement that I’m really just looking at simple rebounding stats, and Collins may be a better rebounder than those imply). And this signing doesn’t help with the Pistons’ need for a creation beyond Cade Cunningham.
1I’m pretty sure this makes zero sense, but something something sleds? But I don’t think I ever opened this book when it was assigned in 12th grade English, sorry Dr. Kenney.
ezra gans 