After the big bangs at the start of free agency, the last hours of the NBA market have brought us an avalanche of “minor” transfers and above all many contract renewals, starting with the highly anticipated one of His Majesty LeBron James.
Stellar Renewals
For many players, after the hard work of the season, free agency is the ideal time to cash in: he grasped the concept to the letter Jayson Tatumwho signed nothing less than the richest contract in the history of the league. Alongside him, the Celtics have made a considerable effort to retain Derrick Whitethe real lock pick of last month’s race for the ring.
In other places we can list many other contract renewals of important players, such as Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, Tyrese Maxey ai Sixers, Bam Adebayo in Miami and above all the highly anticipated one of the King, which we will talk about shortly.
The new Sixers take shape
How many years have we been hearing emissaries from Phila say that it’s time to become a real contender? While previous attempts have never been very credible, it must also be said that from next season they will have a whole new arsenal at their disposal to try.
In addition to the aforementioned renewal of Maxey, who has reached very high performance peaks this season, and the now well-known arrival of Paul George, the management has decisively aimed at the free agent market to acquire Andre Drummond as Embiid’s deputy and the very experienced Eric Gordon, who will virtually replace the departing Hield.
In short, the team seems truly respectable, without any particular structural defects on the surface and with very valid alternatives to a stellar quintet: we are certain that Embiid and his teammates will be able to entertain us next year.
The King’s renewal wraps up the Lakers
Pay cut, so much for it! The premises for the renewal with the Lakers, in the air for some time, were a reduction in LeBron James’ salary to favor the entry into the team of a another top playergiven the difficult contractual situation of the yellow and purple. The result is a contract of 104 million in 2 years (annual salary among the top 5 in the league), which greatly complicates the life of Rob Pelinka and colleagues.
The Lakers have calmly let a series of important free agents, notoriously liked by LeBron, pass before them, from Klay Thompson a James Harden, passando per Chris Paul and Paul George. Given the favorable figures at which many of these have gone, the most likely scenario seems to be that of a surrender by the King, who has failed to activate the management’s reinforcement plans and has ended up “settling” for signing for the highest possible sum.
At this point, the Lakers find themselves with rookies Bronny James and Dalton Knecht as the only changes from last season, which once again highlighted the incompleteness of the purple and yellow roster in terms of competing for the title.
If we add to this the fact that the new head coach, JJ Redickhe still remains a rookie on the bench, all the conditions for yet another failed season seem to be visible.
2024-07-05 07:40:10
#NBA #Market #Episode #Sixers #Lakers
