Hoops Tonight - Top 5 NBA Offseasons: Why Lakers are now ready to dethrone Nuggets

weaknesses in their roster. You guys, do the Joe before we get started. Subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at Underscore Jason lt so you guys don't miss any show announcements. And for whatever reason, you guys miss one of these videos and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish, don't forget. You can find

them wherever you get your podcasts under Hoops Tonight. Last, but not at least, you guys have heard me talk about Game Time, the fastest growing ticketing app in the United States. Now that we are out of basketball seas in hockey season and football season, we just have baseball and Yeah, it's hard to find on TV, so you might be looking for a ticket there. But this is

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and have some fun this week. Download the game Time app and to your email and redeem code Hoops for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms apply again and to your email and the code Hoops that's Hops for twenty dollars off. Download game Time today, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, let's talk some basketball. We're just gonna go down from five to one. Starting with number five. The Boston Celtics for starters, re signing Jalen Brown,

so they locked up their core. Now you have two of the top fifteen players in the league locked up long term on your roster at arguably the most important position in the league. There on the wing. They did lose Marcus Smart and Grant Williams. Grant Williams kind of inevitable under the contract number he was looking for, and Marcus Smart we're gonna get to in a second. I actually think is going to end up benefiting them in

the long run. But they added Christops Porzingis, which brings the best of both Robert Williams and Al Horford to the table. One of the conundrums that the Celtics ran into is their offense flowed a lot better without Horford on the floor because they had five out spacing right and for driving kick team that struggles sometimes with decision making, kind of widening those driving lianes makes things easier for them.

But then when they put Robert Williams on the floor, they were much much better defensively at the expense of their offensive flow. And as you looked at their numbers consistently, that was the give and take play. Rob defense is better, offense kind of falls apart play al their offense goes up a level. They don't guard as well well. Christops Perzingis brings the best of both of those worlds to

the table. He's not quite the rim protector that Robert Williams is, but he is a good rint protector or put good numbers in pick and roll last year, even though on tape I thought he didn't have his best effort season defensively, although I think that'll go up a level in Boston. But it gives you that Robert Williams archetype defensively as a rim protector. But at the same time he's a legitimate pick and pop threat that spaces

the floor really really well. Again, picking and popping is a vital thing for getting downhill because if the guy who's guarding the pick and roll has to vacate to close out on a shooter at the top of the key instead of corralling the ball handler, that's what gets opportunities for guys like Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum and Derek White to get downhill, especially if the guard has

to chase over the top of the screen. So functionally in their offense, Chris hops Ferzingis gives them a really good threat there, and he's actually I say, the best of both worlds. He's just better than Al Horford offensively, he's a much better pick and pop player, and most importantly, he's really good at beating switches in the post. He had the best season of his career attacking in the

post last year, especially against mismatches against smaller players. He's really good at sealing them and creating a passing angle and then quick turning and finishing. He doesn't settle for tough shots in those situations. Chris hops Porzingis is a

massive upgrade. We talked a lot about that beating switches thing right after the trade, but shortly after that, about a week or so after that, Brad Stevens ended up actually talking about that in a press conference and he said, you know, the thing we're looking forward to the most is having Chris Porzingis as an option to beat switches. Losing Marcus Smart obviously is somewhat sad given the history that he has with that franchise, but I think it's

gonna end up helping them a lot. First of all, he was declining defensively after winning Defensive Player of the Year the previous year, and even still that wild card offensively, that could co op possessions and take bad shots from time to time, and you know, This just kind of

alleviates that logjam at the guard position. Puts the ball in Derek White's hands more, puts the ball in Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown's hands more, which they're just better players, dere Derek White even just a better player than Marcus part at this point. Plus you ended up getting draft compensation in the deal, which gives you the opportunity to make improvements at the deadline. All right, Moving on number four,

the Los Angeles Lakers. I said going into the summer that Patients and Continuity were going to be their allies going into this coming season. And I said, if they brought everybody back, they would be good in the regular season. Their issues are playoff problems. I said, they had three major problems. The ability to knock down shots over the top of the defense, that backup center position, and then having a real athletic strong guard someone in that Bruce

Brown mold in the back court. That was what ended up getting them killed in that Nugget series. But all three of those things were not able to be addressed this summer. Kyrie was gonna have to resign with Dallas. There was no really good backup center available on the market, and then Bruce Brown went for what what twenty two and a half million a year or something like that is two years, forty five million dollar deal. You just

were out of the market for him. You weren't going to get him, and so under those circumstances, there was no really aggressive move for the Lakers to make this summer. They just needed to bring everybody back, and that's exactly what they did. They got Austin Reeves, Rehatcha, Murray, D'Angel Russell, all on team friendly deals, and then they made smart

moves on the margins. They brought in Gabe Vincent actually makes a lot more sense than Dennis Schroeder, although I think they's similar level play because Gabe is better off the ball. This is a team that's gonna be running a ton through D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reeves, Lebron James, Anthony Davis. Dennis Schroeder actually kind of as good as he is. And I'm a huge Dennis fan, and I think he went to the rafts. You guys are gonna love him. But specifically on this team, there's a little bit of

a logjam with ball handling. Decision makers gave Vinson is a much better off ball player, close out attacker. He can run some pick and roll as well if you need him too, so he's a depth piece there. I actually liked that signing Torrian Prince is a wing who can actually shoot the ball pretty well and has a little bit off the dribble pop. And then Jackson Hayes was a really good value signing on minimum contract. Again, all minimum contracts have flaws. Jackson Hayes, even though he's skinny,

even though he has some limitations. He struggled against switches last year, but he was actually the best pick and roll screen defender in the league last year to run at least one hundred possessions on a points per possession basis. So he's got a lot of length bothers people over the top when they try to shoot over him. I think he's a perfectly fine backup center at the minimum contract.

Most importantly, those are all guys that feel positions that will help them win games when Lebron and Anthony Davis need to switch. When Lebron sits, you need forward depth. When Anthony Davis sits, you need a backup center. They address those two things that's going to give them the ability to rest those guys. Also, they are loaded with

great spot up players. Almost everybody I just mentioned, including the core guys, They're all guys that were well over a point per possession in spot up situations last year. This is going to be a well spaced floor for the Lakers next year in a way it wasn't the previous season. I expect them to be much better offensively, and most of this is the other part of it too. They maintain flexibility for an aggressive deadline. Those issues they needed to fix, they can address those in February based

on how things progress. If February comes and Lebron and Anthony Davis and Austin Reeves are not making enough shots over the top of the defense, you can make a trade. If the backup center position isn't good enough, you can make a trade if you need. Maybe Chicago falls apart and you can make a trade for someone like Alex Cruzo to get that big, strong guard that you need. So they retained the core of their conference finalists roster, leaning in on continuity, which, as you can guys know,

I think is super important. They improved on the wing and at backup center, and they maintained flexibility for a mid season trade. I thought it was a really impressive offseason for Rob Polinka and the Lakers. Number three, the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was a super talented roster with one

fatal flaw. They didn't have anybody who could knock down a corner three consistently, which was a problem because they had these two great pick and roll shot creators and Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, and then they had these two great versatile two way screen and roll guys in Jared Allen and Evin Mobley. And the problem was is they run a ton of pick and roll. They run more pick and roll than most teams in the league, and you just didn't have to guard the guy in

the corner on either corner. So they were guarding pick and rolls three on two, sometimes four on two and just conceding kickout shots to guys like Isaac Korro and Chetty Osman, and it just was not working well. They ended up getting two really solid wing shooters in Max Strews and George's Knee. Max s Drews last year one point one to eight points per possession in three hundred and fifty spot at possessions. That was sixth in the entire league out of thirty plays to log at least

three under posessions. So one of the best spot up guys in the league last year. And then George's Niang was even better one point two to zero points per possession on two hundred and ninety possessions, or just missed the qualification of that list. I just made. The thing with Niang is he has to guard fours. He can't guard threes. But that's the beauty of having Evan Mobley and all of his defensive versatility. Evan Mobley can chase threes all around the floor, and so I actually think

that'll work defensively. So they added two dead eye spot up shooters and they play different positions, so you can see a version of this story where they're going to consistently have the necessary shooting on the floor to run a more productive playoff offense. Now I think they're eventually gonna have to move Darius Garland for a wing. You guys, Cavs fans know I've been saying that forever. Most of

you guys disagree with me. I just don't think you can rock with two guards, and I don't think you can rock with the redundancy of just only pick and roll. You gotta have somebody that can consistently put their back to the basket and make plays or do some other form of offense isolation, rim pressure, things that they're not getting enough of out of their pick and roll attack.

But as far as this core goes, Mitchell Garland, Mobley Allen, as far as this core goes, this is probably the best version of that what they put together this summer. That's why I think it was a really successful offseason. If you're going to give it one last good shot with that core to see which guys you want to build around, this was the way to do it. Go invest in some real spot up shooting, I thought. I think the Calves are going to be a much bigger threat next year, even if they are not a top

tier contender. Moving on to number two, the Phoenix Suns. They turned Chris Paul and Lander Shammitt into Bradley Beal. So, no matter how you feel about whether or not that gives them enough to beat Denver, no matter how you feel about their size and athleticism shortcomings, that's an improvement. If you can turn Chris Paul and Landry Shammett into Bradley Beal. You're better. It's that simple, and so just that instantly gives them a great foundation for the offseason.

But like we talked about, this is a team now that was going to be able to get discounted signings over the course of the summer because teams want because players are going to want to play for a real contender, because guys are going to want to play for a team, or they're going to get wide open spot up looks because they want to have a chance to win a championship. And they got a lot of really quality signings on

veteran minimum contracts. I like Drew Ubanks and Chimezi Metu as really athletic forwards that will help them with the dirty work you don't want. Nabby and Eric Gordon give them real shooting that also have a little bit of defensive versatility. Ke De Bates Job is also kind of an interesting scoring forward that they got that could shoot a little bit. So they got their third star and they rounded it out with quality veteran minimum role players.

It remains to be seen if it's enough to beat Denver, but they certainly got a lot better and number one. I don't think we can go anywhere else. The team that made by far the biggest improvement year over year and is set up for success into the future, the San Antonio Spurs. They get Victor wemin Yama, the best prospects since Lebron James again struggled in his first Summer League game, but I think you saw a lot in that second Summer League game to demonstrate what Victor's capable of.

That ability to knock down the important spot up shots when he's wide open, the ability to beat switches with short jump shots in the lane, the ability to impact games at a high level defensively around the basket. That overnight gives them a functional defense and a real five out spacing system for all of their ball handlers. And then they added a lot of really smart pieces on the perimeter that I don't think have been covered enough

this summer. Reggie Bullock is a block, is a really good lock and trail defender and a great spot up shooter that gives you a veteran presence. Cheddy Osmond's a guy that just a great locker room guy who works his butt off, does a lot of little things well. Campaign as a backup guard. So they got some veterans in the room now, some grown ups. And then I really liked the Julian Champagne signing. Again I covered him

in Summer League. He actually was successful last year, really efficient double figure score for the Spurs and a small sample size, but they locked him up for four years at a very very favorable number for the team. And I like it when franchises take advantage of those opportunities, because when you don't, that's when you end up in a situation like the Lakers had, where a guy finishes his two year rookie contract and then suddenly you're gonna

have to extend him at a massive number. If you have faith in a guy and you think he's gonna be good, lock him up for as long as you can, as early as you can in the process. So I

like the Julian Champagne signing. And then they signed Greg Popovich to a long term extension, again having him in the room as just the perfect guy to cultivate the beginning of a young center's career, like Victor weibin Yama, a guy that can navigate the personalities in that locker room, and I would imagine that Greg himself is experiencing another level of invigoration in his passion at this phase in his career, given the opportunity he has to start a

new era of Spurs basketball. And one summer they went from a team that had almost nothing to be excited about to a team that was one of the most that is now one of the most interesting teams in the league. So you can't beat that as an offseason. All right, guys, that is all I have for today. We're gonna be taking the weekend off and starting Monday with that Believer doing twenty five through twenty three, we

will be beginning our player rankings. So as always, I appreciate you guys' support and I'll see you on Monday. For player rankings, the volume