By: Brandon Lee
With NBA All-Star Weekend in full effect, we all lean back and look ahead at the final stretch of the 2018-2019 NBA Season. We see the Milwaukee Bucks sitting atop the Eastern Conference, Giannis “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo making a big case for Most Valuable Player. We also see the Toronto Raptors, with a future up in the air, in WIN NOW MODE, led by Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, as well as newly acquired Marc Gasol. We also have the underachieving Boston Celtics right behind lead by Kyrie Irving and the young studs.
Out in the wild wild west, we have the Golden State Warriors atop of the conference once again, dominating the league. Surprisingly we have the Denver Nuggets, who have come out of nowhere and have really have something to prove. Thirdly, the Oklahoma City Thunder are not too far behind. Paul George is having an MVP season and Russell Westbrook is on his way to make history yet again!
And then we have the gutter of the league, where its a race to the lottery, Tanking Season is in full effect. The New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers all eyeing that coveted number 1 pick. The collegiate ranks have an abundance of talent across the board. My personal favorite out of Indiana, Romeo Langford. You have a Jae Morant, whos stock been rising since the first game of the season, Daniel Gafford, out of Arkansas, Bol Bol from Oregon, Kevin Porter from USC, UNC’s Nassir Little, and of course the boys out of Duke Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, and Zion Williamson. But unlike the former, Zion is something of biblical terms.
Zion has been coveted since high school, he is one of those “Generational” talents that transcends beyond eras. Some compare him to Larry Johnson from his UNLV playing days or Charles Barkley out of Auburn. But many people suggest he’s the best thing out since Lebron James, some even say since his Airness himself, Michael Jordan. Honestly, he’s everything and more.
Now it’s not him being better than the King or MJ, its what he means to the team that he gets drafted to. With so much speculation at where each team lands in the draft lottery, think about it. MSG has been looking for someone as box office to be drafted since Patrick Ewing, pretty much a Knick for life. They had Carmelo Anthony who spent half his career here once he got traded from Denver. And of recent memory, recently traded Kristaps Porzingis, who spent his first 3yrs here before continuing his journey in Dallas. But since 2004, the New York Knicks, MY…New York Knicks, have been abysmal, a handful of years of relevancy and The Garden was rocking. With the transitional period that we are in we have up to 74 million dollars in cap space available this offseason, capable of signing 2 max contract players, hopefully its Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, other options are Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Kris Middleton, Alan Hahn of ESPN NY named this free agency group ” Generation K”. And with Dennis Smith Jr., Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, Mitchell Robinson, and Allonzo Trier, a nice young core and adding a player like Zion, along with the idea of Kyrie and KD?! The potential is real for box office talent. The bigger the stage the bigger the game, and this man on 8th Avenue, is big time.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are what you call in superstar recession. Back in the late ’80s and early 90’s the Cavaliers were a darkhorse year in and year out for a championship run. Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Craig Ehlo, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, and Hot Rod Williams. Always came up short against Jordan and the Bulls. Then after came Lebron, where from 2003-2010 he took the NBA by storm and when he left for Miami? Cleveland became a ghost town. When Lebron was there the city was flourishing. Baseball was a figment of the imagination, the Browns haven’t been entertaining since Jim Brown, and business was booming. When he came back home, and all those trips to the finals, the city was on fire. Now he’s gone again and the city is falling apart. They paid Kevin Love that horrendous 4yr 160 million dollar contract and instantly regret it. Having someone with the potential that is Zion Williamson would change that franchise for years.
Now we look at the Atlanta Hawks, and this team was a dumpster fire. They cleaned house and are in rebuild mode. Last year they drafted John Collins out of Wake Forest, this man can play he is a cornerstone. This past June they made the swap of Luka Doncic for Trae Young and although I felt it was a poor deal, Trae is a solid player and a great building block for this team. A poor mans Steph Curry, Young has limitless range and no fear to launch from deep. Zion on this team would add a new weapon and advance the progress to bringing this team back to relevance and consistent basketball. The late 2000s and early 10’s this franchise was consistently in the playoffs. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague Jamal Crawford, Al Horford, and Mike Bibby ran the show that was coached by Mike Woodson. Atlanta basketball is fun come playoff time so maybe Zion along with Trae and Collins will make things happen in a weaker Eastern Conference.
Chicago, Illinois, home of many things. Chicago pizza, the Monsters of the Midway that was the Chicago Bears. Home of two baseball teams in the Cubs and White Sox, both who have won a World Series in recent memory. And of course, Home of the legendary 90’s Bulls. 6 Championships in the ’90s really was incredible, one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. Once Jordan retired the Bulls were horrendous, and then came Derrick Rose and the Tom Thibodeau Bulls, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordon, Taj Gibson, Richard Hamilton, Kyle Korver, Jimmy Butler and those boys really gave Chi-Town fans hope. Sadly they never reached the pinnacle of what could have been. The front office has been horrendous, and now they may have found solid ground. Lauri Markkenan can play, Wendell Carter is a solid big man, and recently traded Otto Porter Jr. is a solid wing player in this league and Zach Lavine is possibly the future at the guard position. Adding the elite Duke prospect to the roster could give what was once magic in the windy city fresh air and new life.
Arizona, one of the more drier states in the country, and when it comes to professional basketball, you can say the same thing with the Phoenix Suns. The ’90s was a fun time, Kevin Johnson and Barkley, Dan Majerle and Jeff Hornacek, Wesley Person and A.C. Green. Even in the ’00s with Mike D’Antoni and the Run’ N’ Gun Suns, led by Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Grant Hill, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson creating the Seven Seconds Offense. But since then its been a constant shuffle with who they draft and who is the star. I mean Devin Booker is the real deal, Deandre Ayton is a legit big, TJ Warren is heavily underrated, and Mikal Bridges is a 3&D player. But the critical need for a PG is where this team should go, but if they go number 1 then why not add to your front court and create a 123 combo worth primetime?
This season has been interesting. But for a teenager who has had more limelight than most grown men in such a short period of time? I mean look at his mixtapes. Since he was 15 or 16yrs old he’s been head above the rim, LITERALLY! Casually doing windmills and 360’s on the fastbreaks. The highflying Carolina product will be one of the highest targeted players in NBA History. 6’8, 280lbs. A bull in a china shop mentality, and the potential beyond measure come June 2019? Summer is gonna start off HOT. The future is bright, and for the lottery-bound franchises that are dying for a shock into their respective franchises, well, the road to Zion runs deeper than Duke University, deeper than Durham, North Carolina.
