Month: June 2023

After trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert last offseason, everyone expected Utah to be in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Instead, they were in the playoff hunt throughout the season before shutting things down in the final weeks on their way to a 37-45 record. Lauri Markkanen evolved into an All-Star (25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds per game) along the way, Walker Kessler appeared to be a steal as part of the Gobert trade, Collin Sexton looked good in limited action, and Will Hardy has the look of a very good NBA coach.

This summer, Utah could find itself with the second-most cap space in the league, pending player option decisions from four players — although, one would expect them to try and re-sign Jordan Clarkson quickly — and a trio of non-guaranteed deals they (likely) will waive. That makes them a major player for top free agents, as well as a team that, should the right player end up on the trade market, can make some very intriguing offers to bolster their roster quickly given the draft pick haul they brought in last summer.

With so many potential open roster spots, this is a team that could really shuffle the deck if Danny Ainge wants to. We’ll see exactly how patient he is with spending that money on long-term deals, but in the immediate, Utah is riding high after turning over their roster while taking a much more minimal step back than anyone anticipated.

Roster Needs: Wing depth, Point guard

Taylor Hendricks (No. 9 overall), A-: Utah is in an interesting phase with a ton of picks, both this year and in the future, to complement a young roster that is still rebuilding. Scouts are split on Hendricks’ overall upside, but he brings definite intrigue as a defender and floor spacer with size. He projects as a potentially devastating role player that can fit just about anywhere.

2023 Free Agents:
Udoka Azubuike (UFA)
Juan Toscano-Anderson (UFA)
Johnny Juzang (Two-Way)

Roster:
Collin Sexton
Lauri Markkanen
Jordan Clarkson (player option)
Kelly Olynyk
Talen Horton-Tucker (player option)
Rudy Gay (player option)
Ochai Agbaji
Simone Fontecchio
Walker Kessler
Damian Jones (player option)
Kris Dunn (non-guaranteed)
Luka Samanic (non-guaranteed)
Vernon Carey Jr. (non-guaranteed)

Finally, after weeks, months and years of assumptions, Victor Wembaynama went first overall in Thursday’s 2023 NBA Draft, selected by the San Antonio Spurs. Wembanyama has been the presumptive top pick for years and his first NBA home had assuredly been determined since San Antonio won the lottery in mid-May. After he was selected first overall, Wembanyama, donning a black and grey Spurs hat, spoke with ESPN’s Monica McNutt and was moved to tears before he even said a word.

“Accomplishing something of I’ve dreamed of my whole life. Hearing that sentence from Adam Silver, I’ve dreamed of it so much,” Wembanyama said. “I gotta cry, man.”

Wembanyama was not the lone member of his family to cry during his interview, as his brother joined in the emotional waterworks before he, his brother and his sister embraced with a heartwarming hug.

Wembanyama seems like an imminent superstar and his candid emotions throughout interviews in recent weeks have been a joy to witness. The Spurs will absolutely revel in his game and personality in the coming years as he hopefully becomes San Antonio’s next great big man, following behind David Robinson and Tim Duncan, both of whom were also No. 1 picks. It should be a treat to watch him dominate the league and further share who he is with the public down the line. The Draft is a night where so many dreams come true and it started with Wembanyama at No. 1 in 2023.

The Indiana Pacers were a team some considered a tank threat entering the 2022-23 campaign, but instead they mostly stayed the course and put together a 35-47 year.

The Pacers leaned heavily on their first-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton (20.7 points, 10.4 assists per game) and veteran center Myles Turner (18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks per game), and surrounded them with some intriguing young talent, with a pair of All-Rookie Team nods going to Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard. As this offseason arrives, Indiana still has a clear need for more two-way talent, as they were among the worst defensive teams in the NBA despite having one of the league’s best rim protectors on the back line. Striking a better balance between their offense which could, at times, pile up points, and a defense that gave them up just as quickly is paramount.

That starts with finding an upgrade both at the point of attack and on the wing, while adding some depth in the frontcourt behind Turner. They’ll have some significant cap room to chase some of those upgrades on the free agent market, with the ability to get to $27 million in room, and hold the seventh pick in the draft to try and further infuse the roster with young talent. Haliburton is a budding star and gives Indiana a bit of a runway to work out who is a core piece around him, but they’ll want to continue building the talent pool around him to take advantage of his considerable gifts.

Roster Needs: Frontcourt depth, Perimeter defense, 3-and-D wings

Jarace Walker (No. 8 overall), B+: Indiana was able to extract extra capital from Washington and still got the player they likely would have taken at No. 7. Walker isn’t a terribly sexy prospect offensively, but he is a very strong passer for his size with an emerging skill level that brings on intrigue. His primary appeal is defense, with an NBA-ready physical strength and feel to defend multiple positions, which fits Indiana’s considerable need on that end of the floor.

2023 Free Agents:
George Hill (UFA)
James Johnson (UFA)
Oshae Brissett (UFA)

Roster:
Myles Turner
Buddy Hield
Daniel Theis
TJ McConnell
Bennedict Mathurin
Tyrese Haliburton
Aaron Nesmith
Jalen Smith
Chris Duarte
Jordan Nwora
Isaiah Jackson
Andrew Nembhard

The Washington Wizards have been awfully busy making trades in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, as the team sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and then moved the biggest name they got back in that deal, Chris Paul, to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole. The team has also been in pick accumulation mode across these moves, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the first trade at the start of the Draft involved them cashing in some picks to move up.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Indiana Pacers surprisingly selected French wing Bilal Coulibaly seventh overall. But the twist, according to Charania and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, is that Coulibaly won’t stay with the Pacers, as the Wizards made a trade to move up one spot and take him.

The move was confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

While the exact picks remain to be seen, Charania noted that Indiana would receive a pair of second-round picks for facilitating the deal, and after the dust settled, they made up their mind on Jarace Walker, the tenacious forward out of Houston.

Coulibaly’s been an ultra-fast riser in recent weeks, and is the sort of long-term project of a player with a high ceiling who should signal a rebuild in the nation’s capital.

The Washington Wizards are the first team to commit to fully shaking things up this summer. Prior to their front office shakeup, the expectation was for them to look to run it back and shuffle up the supporting cast, but for the first time in a long time, Washington has decided to break free of the morass of the East by making some significant roster changes after another middling season at 35-47.

Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis have been traded (as has Chris Paul), and Washington has had their hands in just about every move made so far this summer. That continued on Draft night, as they moved up in a trade with the Pacers to land the seventh pick.

Roster Needs: Roster clarity, Point guard, Perimeter defense, Rim protection, Young talent

Bilal Coulibaly (No. 7 overall), B: This is an aggressive move and choice from Washington. While this range of the draft is perceived as relatively flat, Coulibaly was seen as a fringe first-round pick only a few weeks and months ago before a meteoric rise. His athletic and physical tools are outstanding, and Coulibaly could be a tremendous defender as a result. The questions come more on offense, where he has operated in a very small overall role playing with Metropolitans 92.

2023 Free Agents:
Kendrick Nunn (UFA)
Taj Gibson (UFA)
Kyle Kuzma

Roster:
Jordan Poole
Tyus Jones
Danilo Gallinari
Mike Muscala
Landry Shamet
Daniel Gafford
Monte Morris
Delon Wright
Deni Avdija
Johnny Davis
Corey Kispert
Anthony Gill
Xavier Cooks

As of today, it’s been about two years since Young Thug released a project with that being his fall 2021 effort Punk. Since then, we’ve heard him on albums from the likes of Metro Boomin, Gunna, Future, Lil Baby, Yeat, and others, but outside of that, Thug’s career has been stunted by his spring 2022 arrest. He, along with other members of his YSL collective, were arrested on racketeering and conspiracy charges. Now, for the first time since that arrest, it appears that the music world will get a new body of work from Young Thug.

The rumored project appears to be titled Business Is Business thanks to posts on Young Thug’s social media pages. The project was first announced last week with a countdown, and with just a few hours left on it, we now have the artwork for Business Is Business. Posted by Thug, Metro Boomin, and Drake, the artwork depicts Young Thug seated in a chair with his body turned to face the camera. Beside him on each side are four men who are facing frontward.

Metro Boomin and Drake also shared the Business Is Business artwork with Metro writing, “BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE TONIGHT!! YOU CAN’T STOP WHAT GOD HAS PLANNED!! #FREETWIN I LOVE YOU BRO.” Drake wrote on Instagram, “you owe me this time… midnight @thuggerthugger1.” Young Thug’s Instagram page replied to Drake’s post, writing, “U will be paid.”

You can view the artwork for the upcoming Business Is Business release above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Orlando Magic took a step forward in 2022-23, emerging from the NBA’s basement after a rough start to be a competitive group (34-48) that carries optimism into the 23-24 campaign. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Paolo Banchero, earned Rookie of the Year honors as he led the team in scoring at 20 points per game, adding 6.9 boards, and while there’s work to do in terms of being more efficient, the flashes of brilliance and immediate translation of his skills and physical presence was apparent.

While Banchero is the centerpiece, Orlando has a number of recent top-10 picks that are intriguing as well. Franz Wagner continued to show his growth as a two-way wing, averaging 18.6 points per game on terrific efficiency, and Wendell Carter Jr. brings them an interior scoring presence (15.2 points/8.7 rebounds per game). This offseason is a fascinating one for Orlando, because they are a team seemingly in position to make a move towards being a playoff contender, but haven’t had much of an opportunity to see their full group on court together. Only Banchero, Wagner, and Bol Bol topped the 60-game mark this past season. While guard play is the apparent area of need, they can’t quite be sure what they have in former top-5 pick Jalen Suggs, as his career has been injury plagued to start, and Cole Anthony likewise was a recent mid-first round investment. They also have their highest priced player, Jonathan Isaac, figuring to return in full this fall after coming back at the tail end of this past season in limited action.

One would expect them to seek out a veteran scoring guard this offseason, with the sixth overall pick providing a chance to gauge trade opportunities as well as an opportunity to continue add young talent. At some point, the Magic will need to consolidate some of that young talent to take the next step, but after already improving over the course of last year, patience wouldn’t be the worst thing for this Orlando team.

Roster Needs: Backcourt scoring, wing depth

Anthony Black (No. 6 overall), B: This was a tricky spot for Orlando. Not only did the Magic enter the night with two of the top 11 picks, but some of the top-rated players remaining on the board were somewhat duplicative with Paolo Banchero and/or Franz Wagner. As a result, Anthony Black is the choice, and he is a versatile, talented perimeter player. Black’s primary question mark on the offensive side is his perimeter shooting, which could be a clunky fit in Orlando, but Black gives the Magic another ball-handler with the size to be a menace defensively.

2023 Free Agents:
Mo Wagner (UFA)

Roster:
Jonathan Isaac
Markelle Fultz
Wendell Carter Jr.
Gary Harris (non-guaranteed)
Paolo Banchero
Jalen Suggs
Cole Anthony
Franz Wagner
Chuma Okeke
Michael Carter-Williams (team option)
Bol Bol (non-guaranteed)
Goga Bitadze (team option)
Caleb Houstan
Admiral Schofield (team option)

The Detroit Pistons weren’t expected to post the worst record in the NBA last season, but after Cade Cunningham suffered a season-ending injury amid a difficult start to the season, Detroit shifted their attention fully to the future. The result was a 17-65 campaign that was not rewarded by the ping pong balls in Chicago, as they fell to fifth in the Draft order.

Cunningham’s return provides some reason for optimism, and it’s clear that the goal is for some solid improvement next year after giving Monty Williams a record-setting contract to take over as head coach. Still, there are a lot of holes to fill on this roster and some congestion to clear up, particularly in the frontcourt. Jalen Duren, James Wiseman, Isaiah Stewart, and Marvin Bagley III all want to operate in similar space, and at some point the front office will need to make some decisions as to which of those they’ll consider core pieces. In the backcourt, Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are unquestionably the planned centerpieces, but depth behind them is shaky, as Killian Hayes has not panned out as hoped as a former top 10 pick.

The wing is where their need to upgrade talent is clearest, as Bojan Bogdanovic (21.6 ppg) was their leading scorer a year ago and is a terrific veteran presence, but beyond him they don’t have much. What we don’t know right now is how patient Detroit is looking to be after a few years at the bottom of the East. The fifth pick could bring a chance at another high-upside swing, but if the goal is to make a stride in terms of competitiveness next season, they might not be interested in another boom-or-bust pick. How they approach that pick will give us the clearest indication of what their immediate goals are this summer.

Roster Needs: 3-and-D wing, Frontcourt clarity, Point guard depth

Ausar Thompson (No. 5 overall), B-: For many evaluators, the No. 5 spot represents the first slot with real, tangible uncertainty. Ausar doesn’t quite match the obscene athleticism of his brother, Amen, but he is a tremendous athlete in his own right with size and versatility. At this juncture, Ausar plays more like a wing and could provide key flexibility for Detroit on both ends of the floor.

2023 Free Agents:
Hamidou Diallo (UFA)
Cory Joseph (UFA)
Rodney McGruder (UFA)

Roster:
Bojan Bogdanovic
Cade Cunningham
Marvin Bagley III
James Wiseman
Alec Burks (team option)
Jaden Ivey
Killian Hayes
Isaiah Stewart
Jalen Duren
RJ Hampton (non-guaranteed)
Eugene Omoruyi (team option)
Isaiah Livers (team option)

The Houston Rockets have had one of the NBA’s two-worst records for three consecutive seasons, going 22-60 in 2022-23. This year, that landed them fourth in the lottery, where they figured to be among the teams considering moving their pick in an effort to land some more immediate help to a very young team.

Jalen Green is the centerpiece of the Rockets rebuild, leading the team a year ago with 22.1 points per game, and with new head coach Ime Udoka in town, the expectation is for a step forward in 2023-24. The question for Houston is how they put the pieces together and what players are considered part of their core. How do they view Kevin Porter Jr.’s fit alongside Green? Is Alperen Sengun their long-term option at center? Those specific questions will be answered in time, but what we do know is the Rockets will soon want to start consolidating some of their young talent and adding veterans who can help them be more competitive.

Roster Needs: More talent, Rim protection, Passing

Amen Thompson (No. 4 overall), B+: Thompson isn’t without flaws by any means, but he brings tremendous upside to the table. Amen projects to be immediately be one of the best athletes in the NBA on arrival, and his combination of on-ball playmaking and defensive potential is tantalizing. The big question is whether he’ll develop a solid jump shot, which could determine his ultimate ceiling.

2023 Free Agents:
Boban Marjanovic (UFA)
Willie Cauley-Stein (UFA)
Frank Kaminsky (UFA)
DJ Augustin (UFA)

Roster:
Jalen Green
Kevin Porter Jr.
Jabari Smith Jr.
Jae’Sean Tate
Alperen Sengun
Tari Eason
Usman Garuba
Josh Christopher
TyTy Washington Jr.
KJ Martin (team option)
Daishen Nix (non-guaranteed)

The Portland Trail Blazers are facing a summer where they need to decide on a franchise direction for the immediate future. Damian Lillard put forth one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 32.3 points and 7.3 assists per game, but was shut down for the second straight year towards the end of the season so the Blazers could tank their way into better draft position, posting a 33-49 record.

The result was vaulting into the third-overall selection, which gave them a chance at selecting a very talented young player or trade it for some veteran help immediately. Lillard has, unsurprisingly, been vocal about his desire not to go through any sort of a rebuild, so we know what side he is on, but it takes two to make a trade and finding a team looking to use veteran players to move up only makes the task more difficult. If they choose to make the pick, it will only raise further questions about whether this will be the offseason they finally consider trading Lillard, despite both his and the team’s insistence neither party wants that to happen.

Whatever the case, Portland is in need of picking a direction and going all in, because the past few seasons have not gone according to plan. They either need a considerable talent upgrade this summer to try and build a competitor around Dame, or to go in on the youth movement and shift their focus to trying to contend in the more distant future.

Roster Needs: Picking a direction, Frontcourt upgrade, 3-and-D wings

Scoot Henderson (No. 3 overall), A: In the majority of drafts over the last two decades, Henderson would’ve been the No. 1 overall prospect. With Victor Wembanyama involved, that wasn’t the case in 2023, but Henderson slipping to No. 3 on the board provides incredible value for Portland. Granted, the Blazers may have some interesting decisions to make in the future with Damian Lillard, but Henderson is too good to pass on with this pick.

2023 Free Agents:
Jerami Grant (UFA)
Cam Reddish (RFA)
Matisse Thybulle (RFA)
Justise Winslow (UFA)
Drew Eubanks (UFA)

Roster:
Damian Lillard
Anfernee Simons
Jusuf Nurkic
Shaedon Sharpe
Nassir Little
Kevin Knox (team option)
Keon Johnson
Trendon Watford (non-guaranteed)
Jabari Walker (non-guaranteed)
Jeenathan Williams (non-guaranteed)