NBA Topics from the Past Week or Two

Over the last week or so, there have been a few topics I wanted to discuss, so this is a post where I discuss each of these topics.  I haven’t been able to fit them into a post at any point, so I compiled them into their own post.

 

Meyers Leonard

This past week, Miami Heat big man Meyers Leonard shouted an anti-Semitic slur during a video game livestream event.  He was suspended indefinitely from the team while the NBA investigated the situation.  The NBA’s punishment was a week-long suspension and a $50k fine, which was the maximum he could be fined under league rules.  Several stream sponsors cut ties with him as well.  Both the league and the Heat have condemned his comments and Leonard has apologized for them, mentioning that he did not know the meaning behind the word.  One thing to note is that he will not forfeit any money as a result for missing games because he is injured and out for the remainder of the year.

One of my initial opinions was that I didn’t understand why he would say a word he didn’t understand; that just tends to be a level of either ignorance or stupidity.  Obviously, it is not something that should be treated lightly, but I’m not sure what the exact right path is; while he has apologized and has said he wanted to make a commitment to get better, it still obviously isn’t right and would moving on with this make everyone realize this?  I know several people have asked the question, “what would we do if a different word was said?”, but I think that’s not the right approach; as much as we want to think that way, we have to remember that a word that is extremely offensive and a horrible slur was used as the name of a football team in Washington until prior to last year.

Several have called for the Heat to waive him, but I can guarantee that they won’t do that yet.  Miami is desperately looking for some more help to try to help them compete, as they have disappointed thus far after winning the East last year.  While they also have Kelly Olynyk and Andre Iguodala (Team Option) who can be free agents after this season for a sizeable amount of money, Leonard earns a little less this year (9.8M this year, team option next year) than the other two and is perfect to include in a trade as a result.  He would likely be waived outright after being traded (unless a team trading for him is over the tax, but I don’t expect this to happen), but that wouldn’t be a statement about the actions as it is about the business side of basketball.

 

Blake Griffin

On March 8^th, Blake Griffin signed with the Nets after being bought out by the Pistons.  While many are making a big deal about this and are declaring the Nets the immediate champions, Griffin at this point in his career isn’t going to move the needle a large amount.  He is no longer an All-NBA point forward and has shifted more attention to behind the 3-point line, where he has struggled the last couple years (28.1% on 6.2 attempts per game since the start of last season).  That said, he could probably do select things off the bench offensively; he could likely be a secondary ball handler or even be a primary one in select situations where their big 3 are on the bench.  There is also hope that his 3-point percentage will increase closer to what it was in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons (35.5% on 6.3 attempts per game) with more attention on Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and even Joe Harris behind the arc.  However, Nic Claxton and Jeff Green have both been solid, so I’m not sure that Griffin is an upgrade over either of them at this point due to how poor he likely will be defensively.  That said, he signed for a minimum deal so it is probably worth a shot.

 

LaMarcus Aldridge

On March 10^th, it was announced that the Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge had agreed to part ways and are going to attempt to trade him.  Aldridge is another player who many are going crazy over his availability, but he has had one of his worst seasons so far, averaging 13.7 PPG (lowest since 2007, his rookie year), 25.9 MPG (lowest since 2007), 1.7 APG (lowest since 2016), 4.5 RPG (career low), 11.8 FGA (fewest since 2007), and 46.4 FG% (lowest since 2014).  That said, he is attempting a career high 3.6 3’s a game while shooting 36.0% from deep, so he could still fit with a team, even as a starter.  I initially expected he will be bought out (unless Miami is dead set on getting him), so I figured Miami, Portland, the Lakers, Boston, and Denver to be frontrunners for him.  I also thought Phoenix, Dallas, the Clippers, Golden State, Toronto, Memphis, Atlanta (if they trade John Collins), Toronto, Brooklyn, Charlotte or Washington to consider looking into acquiring him.  Now, I have seen reports that Miami, Boston, and Portland are all interested in him, and each likely have the pieces to make the salaries add up (it might be a little more difficult for Portland however).  While we could see a bit of a bidding war, I think it will depend on how much the Spurs value contract fillers rather than a trade exception and who each team is willing to give up.  I wouldn’t be surprised if most teams wait until he is bought out unless the Heat get really desperate.

 

Joel Embiid

On March 12^th, Joel Embiid had to leave the 76ers’ game against the Spurs due to a knee injury.  While there was initial fear that it would be a severe injury, he will be reevaluated in around two weeks.  I do feel bad for him since he was an MVP candidate leading up to the injury and was likely a frontrunner, but it is good that he is only going to miss a couple weeks rather than an entire season.  They were able to beat the Spurs without him, but they will have games against the Lakers and Bucks in that span, and a game against the Clippers shortly after.  In the game against the Spurs, Tony Bradley started in his place and he and Dwight Howard got most of the minutes (Vincent Poirier played the last few minutes in garbage time, but he won’t contribute in a major way for them).  I don’t think it would make sense to acquire a center for the short-term (unless they reevaluate him shortly before the trade deadline and realize he needs to be out for longer), but I think they should consider looking for a player who can score on the wing or as a combo guard.  I have previously written that I think they needed more wing help anyways (I like Seth Curry more coming off the bench due to his defensive limitations and ability to create shots and I think Danny Green should be coming off the bench since he’s not good enough at either end to justify starting every night for any reason other than necessity), but I also think it would be nice to have an additional ball handler as well.  Unless they’re able to acquire someone like Kyle Lowry or Victor Oladipo, I think a role player is more reasonable to expect.  If they can make it work, I think Evan Fournier and Buddy Hield are the two that come to mind in that regard and are perfect for what I’d like them to go for, but a guy like J.J. Redick or Alec Burks might be a more achievable player.  I also wonder if they would try to obtain George Hill, Lou Williams, or Lonzo Ball instead.  If they opt with a wing player in general, they could try to get Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Danuel House, or Garrett Temple; Otto Porter or Trevor Ariza might be available on the buyout market.  That said, I wouldn’t overreact unless it sounds like Embiid is going to be out longer than the two weeks.  In the short term, they might look at Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry to score more in the starting lineup.

 

Vaccines

While the league has discussed vaccination with players at length throughout the pandemic, Adam Silver announced on March 6^th that while he expected “most players” to get the vaccination, it would not be mandatory.  I have long been curious about how this would work out this one, considering around 75% of the league is black and there has historically been a history of distrust towards public health from the African American community due in large part to the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study.  I do not expect there to be a strong support of players that are willing to receive the vaccine on their own, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they try to find some ways to negotiate or reward players who get it.  For instance, one that I have heard suggested is that the league might consider rewarding players who get the vaccine by allowing them more freedom with what they can do.  The only thing I might see some pushback regarding is if players are resistant because it would reveal (or imply) who has received the vaccine, which some might be uncomfortable with.

 

Caris LeVert

Caris LeVert made his Pacers debut on March 13^th after having surgery to remove a small mass off his kidney in January.  He was traded to the Pacers on January 16^th in the James Harden trade and an MRI revealed the mass in a physical.  He underwent surgery for it on January 25^th and it was confirmed to be a case of renal cell carcinoma, which is a type of kidney cancer.  He recovered from it and LeVert himself acknowledged that this trade likely saved his life.  And how did he do in his debut?  Well, it was clear that he is still getting into basketball shape, but there were bright spots.  He played just shy of 27 minutes scored 13 points on 5-14 shooting (0-4 from 3, 3-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, and was a -3 for the game in the 122-111 win over the Suns.  He was better in the first half, with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and +6 in the half, so there was likely some fatigue that came in the second half.  That said, he does look like he will be a good fit with the team and, more importantly, it looks like he is doing well after the surgery.

 

What do you think about these?  Is there anything else in the NBA that has caught your eye recently?  Let me know in the comments!