The NBA again gave us an eventful summer with much left to be sorted out. Here are the five biggest losers from the offseason.
- Portland Trail Blazers
Yes, it may be a good thing that Dame asked out so the Blazers can properly roster build and stop trying to patch together a team that continually isn’t good enough. Still, it’s a losing off-season anytime the best player in franchise history wants to leave the organization. When trading a star in this league, you never get equal value, but the way Dame has hamstrung the Blazers’ negotiating power by solely focusing on landing in Miami will result in Portland getting pennies on the dollar. Ideally, they’ll be able to find a third team to re-route Tyler Herro to as his fit in Portland makes little season. Additionally, we can’t forget the Jerami Grant signing that might be the worst contract of the whole offseason. A rough summer for Portland, certainly, but maybe a summer that needed to happen to usher in a new era.
- Philadelphia 76ers
Let’s not forget the Sixers were minutes away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in Game Six against Boston when the bottom fell out from under them in the fourth quarter, where a disastrous Game 7 ensued. The fall-out has been drastic, as James Harden has asked for a trade, and Joel Embiid’s standing in the organization, despite being crowned league MVP, seems shaky for the first time in his tenure. Philly lost three rotation players, Shake Milton, Georges Niang, and Jalen McDaniels, in free agency but still brought in Mo Bamba and Patrick Beverley. Amid the drama and departures, this team is still good but certainly not ready to compete in the East. With a hungry Milwaukee team, an improved Boston roster, and potentially Damian Lillard being added to Miami standing in their way, the 76ers have failed to do enough. There is still time, but they’re losers for now.
Assessing the Sixers’ NBA Championship Odds
- Denver Nuggets
It’s hard to peg the Nuggets as losers after they won the championship, but losing Bruce Brown was a massive blow. He was their sixth man and do it all player. A swiss-army knife essentially, Brown filled any and every role needed whenever called upon and was absolutely pivotal for Denver to clinch their first title in franchise history. There is no way to easily replace Brown, as Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are still young players in this league, so there will undoubtedly be growing pains. When you win in sports, you lose good players to other teams. That’s the cost of doing business.
- Toronto Raptors
What even is Toronto anymore? They fell well short of expectations last season, resulting in Nick Nurse’s departure and an identity crisis. Scottie Barnes didn’t progress, and Pascal Siakam didn’t blossom as expected. Free agency was brutal to them, as Fred VanVleet, the team leader, walked into free agency. To pour more salt on the wound, their first-round draft pick Gradey Dick struggled mightily in the Summer League. The Raptors need the self-awareness to know that they aren’t winning anything with Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, but it doesn’t seem they recognize that just yet.
Pascal Siakam: Valuable Trade Asset or Key Player to Retain?
- Small Market Teams
This is the summer when the small market team died—even considering Denver’s championship, which was nearly a decade of developing home-grown talent into championship contenders. No star signed in Denver, and they will likely not consider going to Denver. Still, with star players eyeing up big-market franchises and being able to hand-pick their next destination like Damian Lillard, I’d bet it will be several years before we see a small-market team hoist the Larry O’Brien.
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