Sports 4 Adonis Armstrong Sports 4 Adonis Armstrong

The Next Generation of NBA Stars Find New Homes

Exciting NBA draft with major trades and standout prospects, including Victor Wembanyama as the top pick, sets the stage for team improvements and sparks intrigue for the coming season. We discuss it here!

 

Victor Wembanyama during the French championship, Betclic elite basketball match between Paris and Metropolitans 92 (Mets or Boulogne-Levallois) on May 16, 2023 in Levallois, France.

Credit: Victor Velter Via Shuttertock

By: Joshua Martin

This may be the most entertaining draft we've had in some time. Trades galore leading up to draft night already had organizations putting together plans to improve their teams now and for the future. Marcus Smart now plays for the Grizzlies, CP3 is now a Warrior, Jordan Poole was shipped off to the Wizards and Kristaps Porzingis is officially a Boston Celtic. That’s a lot of moves. Despite the moving of well established, big name players, the NBA Draft is all about the young guys and this year there was a clear no-brainer for the number 1 pick.

Victor Wembanyama is a once in a lifetime prospect and was the clear favorite to go to the Spurs at 1. Wemby is a freak of nature, standing at 7’5” with a 8 foot wingspan he is the most highly touted incoming player since Lebron James. He may not turn the Spurs into a playoff team in his first year but he couldn't have found himself in a more perfect situation. In San Antonio, he will play and learn from one the greatest coaches of all time in Greg Poppavich and he will get plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills on a squad that's in desperate need of a talent influx, thus the number 1 pick. As a player comp, I can see him evolving into a more durable Porzingis with a lot more ball skills and shot creation. He also has the potential to become a defensive force, If he can add bulk to an otherwise wiry frame, the Spurs may be adding more championship banners to the 5 they already have.

Wemby may have dominated the pre draft headlines but this draft was about more than one prospect. To round out the top five, the Charlotte Hornets selected versatile forward Brandon Miller at 2, the uber athletic point guard Scoot Henderson went to the Portland Trail Blazers at 3, the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons selected two twin brothers, Amen and Ausar Thompson, with the 4th and 5th picks respectively. Despite not being known for putting the ball in the basket, both brothers are long and rangy. The game has changed so much that non shooting perimeter players really don't have a place in the modern NBA but both have the propensity to transform into legit defensive stoppers. 

Biggest Winners

Mavericks

The Mavericks started off a successful draft night by moving the horrendous Davis Bertans contract, drafting Duke center Dereck Lively II at 12 overall and acquiring former Sacramento Kings big man Richaun Holmes. The Mavs are winners because they were able to gain a little bit of cap flexibility and address some of their defensive woes with the selection of LIvely II, a mobile big man with size and the potential to become a defensive player of the year winner. 

Washington Wizards

Gone are Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis. In are former NBA champion Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, a bunch of mid level veterans and a slew of draft picks. The Wizards selected forward Bilal Coulibaly with the 7th overall pick, a defensive stopper with obvious holes in his offensive repertoire. Many may look at this as a reach but the Wizards are allowed to take a few risks, especially since they have fully embraced a rebuild that was long overdue.

Biggest Losers

It's hard to label teams as losers on a night filled with so much hope and promise. However there are two squads that left their fan bases with more questions than answers. 

The OKC Thunder had a whooping 17 1st round picks over the next 3 years heading into last night's draft. Despite a solid pick at 10 with guard Cason Wallace. Oklahoma City fans have to wonder if they are facing a forever rebuild. Shai is an ALL NBA type of talent and most teams will try to find veteran stars to maximize the talent of the younger players. Not the Thunder who seem to be adamant at stockpiling assets without actually cashing them in. Acquiring high valued prospects is never a bad thing but eventually OKC needs to make a move that will put them in serious playoff contention before they miss their window to improve in a always competitive Western conference.  

The Portland Trail Blazers took the best available prospect at 3 with their selection of Scoot Henderson but Dame Lillard has explicitly announced he doesn't plan on waiting on younger players to develop. He wants to win now and not any of the moves the organization has made this offseason has made that dream a reality. 

“I don’t have much of an appetite for bringing in guys two and three years away from really going after it.”
— Damian Lillard

Calling the Trail Blazers losers may be a little misguided but one cant help but wonder, “What are they going to do?” With rumors swirling, the Blazers could have appeased both Dame and Blazers fans with a draft day trade. I mean it's not like they didn't have the assets. The Blazers are at a crossroads and will be quite interesting to see how it all unfolds in the coming months. 

All in all, The Victor Wembenya era starts now. Good luck rookies, we will be watching!!

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NBA Players and Fans React to 2021 All-Star Selection “Snubs”

With the NBA All-Star rosters formally announced, we discuss some of the biggest snubs for this year’s All-Star game!

 
247 Live Culture
Devin Booker - Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

Devin Booker - Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

By: Tialena Evans

This year’s NBA season is nothing short of thrilling plays and down to the wire games. The way these stars have been putting on a show for fans at home just goes to show the true passion they have for the game.

In just the first half of the regular season, there have been 24 games pushed to overtime with an average team score of 112 points. This is the highest point average in the league since the 1970-71 regular season. 

While fans can’t be heard from the arena stands, their voices are still being heard loud and clear. The 2021 NBA All-Star roster was announced earlier this week and fans from all over took to social media to express who they believe deserved a sport on the All-Star roster. 

Even coaches shared their views on the snubs of this year’s selection. 

Let’s face it. Snubs happen, every year in fact. While there are only 12 spots for each conference to showcase the league's best, there just so happens to be more than 24 game-impacting players. 

But when you think about whether a player has been “snubbed” from selection, it’s only fair to ask, “who would this player replace in the roster?”. Once you think about it, it’s a lot harder to rearrange the selections. 

All 24 All-Star selections are well deserving and you could even argue swapping a starter for a reserve. A possibility in my book would be moving up James Harden to steal Kyrie Irving’s starting position, or even switching out Luka Doncic’s start for Damian Lillard. 

With all the different possibilities once could have for the selections roster, one of the biggest snubs that stuck out like a sore thumb was the absence of Devin Booker. Before it was announced that he would be replacing the Injured Anthony Davis in the reserves, Booker was originally left off the All-Star roster which had fans, and even players, questioning the decision. 

Coincidentally, Booker has received both of his All-Star selections as an injury replacement—pretty demoralizing. He's averaging 25 points, 4.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and shooting a career-high 50.3% from the field.

Alongside his fellow All-Star teammate Chris Paul, they have led the Phoenix Suns to a 20-10 record, which is the fourth best in the NBA. Booker is averaging almost 10 more points per game, yet Paul was able to steal the Phoenix reserve spot. 

Very interesting. 

Other notable player snubs include Trae Young, Domantas Sabonis, Mike Conley Jr., Brandon Ingram, and the list goes on. Trae Young would be among the top snubs, averaging 27.2 points, eighth in the league, and almost 10 assists per game, third overall in the NBA. 

The 2021 NBA All-Star game will be held on Sunday, March 7th at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. On-court action will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

It'll be exciting to watch replacement Devin Booker prove to voters, once again, what the All-Star in himself is capable of. Maybe next year he’ll find himself a part of the original roster for once.

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