Basketball Insiders Week in Review 8/30

Will Health Hold the Cavs Back?

By Moke Hamilton

Even without Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers came within two wins of winning the 2015 NBA Championship.

And as we look toward the commencement of the 2015-16 season, in light of the Cavaliers coming to terms with J.R. Smith on a two-year, $10 million deal this past week, the Cavaliers appear all but certain to return to the NBA Finals this coming season.

That is, of course, so long as their health permits.

Click Here For More

Who Should Have Serious 2016 Cap Space?

By Steve Kyler

In the next year, the NBA is going to see perhaps the largest jump in the salary cap in its 32-year history. The cap has swelled in recent years from $35.5 million in 2000 to what could be as much as $89.5 million or more next July, which would be a $19.5 million jump from this year’s $70 million cap line.

While actually projecting future cap space is not easy, there are dozens of variables that impact a team’s cap space such as which players a team opts to retain rights to, which team options get exercised and what kinds of cap clearing trades a team makes between now and the trade deadline.

However, Basketball Insiders’ salary cap guru Eric Pincus has been adding cap space projections to the individual team salary pages, and it seemed prudent to take a look at what kind of space teams have next summer, assuming they keep everything they currently have on their books right now.

Click Here For More

Searching for an All-Star: Central Division

By Joel Brigham

All-Star Weekend 2016 is a scant six months away, but now is as good a time as any to start discussing which players might find their way to the big midseason exhibition for the first time this February.

This isn’t a list for players like Kevin Love or Derrick Rose, who have made All-Star teams in the past but took a step back in recent seasons for whatever reason; this is about players who have not yet made an All-Star team at all. This week we’ll go division by division to take a look at which players might have their big breakout campaigns, and we’ll start today with the Central Division.

Here’s a look at a handful of players from the Central who could make their first All-Star team this winter:

Click Here For More

Udoka Helped the Spurs Land Aldridge

By Alex Kennedy

In early July, LaMarcus Aldridge truly had a hard time making his free agency decision. Narrowing down his list of teams wasn’t too difficult, but he struggled with his choice once he was down to two potential suitors. He was torn between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns.

“That was what I was weighing: Go to Phoenix, be the face and the guy, or go to San Antonio and probably win sooner and be more blended in,” Aldridge told Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports. “That was my issue.”

Aldridge would obviously go on to choose San Antonio, but initially he had doubts about how he’d fit within their system, whether he’d get enough touches and if he’d have to change his style of play. He didn’t have those concerns about Phoenix, where he’d be the top option and focal point. The Suns even went out and signed Tyson Chandler (and brought him to their meeting), which intrigued Aldridge since he prefers playing alongside defensive-minded centers.

Click Here For More

Searching for All-Stars: Pacific Division

By Eric Saar

This week, Basketball Insiders will be sifting through each division for first-time All-Stars. Yesterday, we looked at the Central Division. Today, we’ll be delving into the Pacific Division, which is made up of the reigning champion Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Phoenix Suns, the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mainstays

Barring either a significant injury or bizarre drop-off in production, the following players are practically guaranteed to represent the Pacific Division in the All-Star game (either by fan vote or on the court production), causing there to be fewer spots for up-and-coming players.

Click Here For More

Do the Pelicans Have Enough to Compete?

By Cody Taylor

The summer of 2015 will go down in the books as one of the most memorable in NBA history. We saw the salary cap rise from $67.1 million to $70 million (with an enormous jump expected next offseason), which enabled teams to hand out some big deals.

The estimated price tag of contracts handed out after just the first day of free agency was $1 billion. A big chunk of that number belonged to New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis. The Pelicans wasted no time locking up Davis, as his deal was the first reported once free agency began on July 1 and among the first that was officially signed once the moratorium period was lift on July 9.

Click Here For More

Are The Wizards Primed to Get Over Hump?

By Lang Greene

While the Cleveland Cavaliers will head into the 2015-16 campaign as the clear frontrunners to come out of the Eastern Conference, the remaining members of the upper tier remain largely debatable.

The Atlanta Hawks had the East’s best record last season but fizzled in the conference finals. The Chicago Bulls have the talent, on paper, but will have to adjust to a new head coach. The Toronto Raptors have emerged as a force in the East the past two seasons but have yet to make it out of the first round of the playoffs when games matter most. The Miami HEAT have had a strong summer but are banking on a couple of free agency bargain bin pickups to provide a high return on investment. The Indiana Pacers will have a fully healthy Paul George back in the fold, but are transitioning to an up tempo style of play so expect a learning curve.

Click Here For More

Searching for All-Stars: Northwest Division

By Ben Dowsett

Today, we continue our running Basketball Insiders series, searching through each of the divisions in the NBA to find potential first-time All-Stars. We move to the Northwest Division today, featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mainstays:

With the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge to San Antonio in the Southwest Division, the Northwest now contains only four players who have made an All-Star game in their career: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard and Kevin Garnett.

Barring further health issues, Durant and Westbrook are sure things to make the team once again. Garnett is on the other end of the spectrum at 39 years old, certainly past his prime – but he made the All-Star game 15 separate times, so we won’t feel too sorry for him.

Click Here For More

8 Players Anticipated to Return from Injury

By Jessica Camerato

From early in the regular season to late in the playoffs, teams lost high impact players to injuries across the NBA. As training camp approaches, many are gearing up for a return to game action for the first time in months. Take a look at some key players who are on track to suit up this season after the road to recovery.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers are far removed from championship contention, but Bryant won’t stop fighting. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer tore his torn right rotator cuff in late January. Even though his 19th season was over, the same couldn’t be said for his career. Last weekend he posted a photo on Instagram announcing he was taking shots for the first time since his surgery. Bryant averaged 22.3 points (37.3% FG), 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35 games last season.

Click Here For More

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Extension is a Steal for the Hornets

By Jesse Blancarte

Earlier this week, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Charlotte Hornets. Drafted second overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, Kidd-Gilchrist was eligible for a rookie extension prior to the start of the 2015-16 season. By agreeing to this extension, Kidd-Gilchrist is passing on becoming a restricted free agent next offseason, where he could have potentially landed a max offer sheet in the range of four-years, $90 million.

There are many who will argue that $52 million over four years is plenty of money for a small forward that has missed 47 games over the last two seasons, averaged just 10.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and did not attempt a single three-pointer last season. But as new methods of evaluating player performance are developed, we are better able to assess how much a player is worth based on his actual impact on winning games, rather than just box score numbers.

Click Here For More