Hardwood Knocks

Not a lot happened for the Phoenix Suns over the summer—other than them doubling down on their rebuild. They resisted the temptation to go all in on a Kyrie Irving trade, instead electing to keep the tandem of Devin Booker and rookie Josh Jackson intact. They also signed T.J. Warren to a four-year, $50 million extension, a deal that seems more like a hedge against a breakout campaign from the 24-year-old. Beyond that, plus the returns of Alex Len and Alan Williams, there isn't much to review. The Suns are facing the same question they were facing at the end of last season, following a mid-year tank job that landed them the top-three pick and right to select Jackson: Where do they go from here? Eric Bledsoe's future will say a whole lot about this team's interest in rebuilding from the ground up. He's 27, so he doesn't run completely counter to their timeline, but he'll be a free agent in 2019, at which time Booker will be a restricted free agent himself. Investing what it'll cost to keep that backcourt together doesn't make too much sense when the former's next deal will take him into his mid-30s. Phoenix's frontcourt situation is also wonky, if messy. Len, Williams, Dragan Bender, Tyson Chandler and Marquese Chriss all need time at center, while Jackson, Warren and Jared Dudley each figure to join the battle for time at the power forward position. NBA savant and Suns aficionado Ben Leibowitz (@BenLebo) joins Hardwood Knocks to run through the Suns' rebuilding project backwards and forwards while offering some insight into their more immediate endgame. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

Posting the best record in the East and earning a trip to the Conference Finals did not stop the Boston Celtics from wheeling and dealing over the offseason. Team president Danny Ainge overhauled nearly two-thirds of the minutes represented from last year's squad to form a new-look faction built around Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The names are flashy, the roster well-stocked, but this reinvention came at the expense of key core members, including Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk and Isaiah Thomas. That makes it a gamble—a big one.  That the Celtics embraced this extensive shakeup at all suggests they're not done straddling two timelines. More than that, it implies they care far more about being the next-superpower-up, rather than the foremost threat to current juggernauts like the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Indeed, the Celtics might still be that team. The Eastern Conference is a mess of sub-mediocrity below the Cavaliers, and they have the talent to run off 50-something wins without playing perfect basketball. But shifts of this magnitude take time to hash out. Ainge and Irving have already hinted this group won't jell together overnight, or even close to it. They'll labor through growing pains, perhaps struggling to match up with last year's 53-win performance. Still, they haven't thrown in the towel on 2017-18. Again: They have the talent to compete with almost anyone. As for how long it takes for them to reach their ceiling, well, that's a topic for Vice Sports' Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina). As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

After finishing the 2016-17 NBA campaign on a 30-11 tear, the Miami Heat had two options: They could lean into their half-season detonation, reinvesting in a promising squad that didn't make the playoffs, or they could pivot into a quasi-rebuild or full-scale teardown. Surprise, surprise, Pat Riley chose the former. Except, he didn't just steer into the 30-11 Heatles. He cannonballed into them.  Both James Johnson and Dion Waiters got new contracts. Then he added Kelly Olynyk. And then he signed Josh Richardson to an extension. Clearly, Riley believes his squad can recapture the magic from last year's 41-game miracle. Well that, or he knows he won't be around much longer and doesn't want to spend the next one to two years losing a crap ton of games. Whatever, though. The Heat are all-in on this season either way—and, as of now, the next two to four, since they'll be lucky to avoid the tax in 2018-19 and 2019-20. But we digress. This podcast is about 2017-18, albeit with plenty of big-picture talk. We must decide whether the Heat can bust their way into the fight for fringe contention or made a mistake doubling down on a .500 roster. We also need to talk about Goran Dragic being a god, Hassan Whiteside's trade value, Erik Spoelstra's sheer greatness and future five-time MVP Rodney McGruder, because that's what we do. Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) from The Step Back and Locked On Heat podcast joins us as we dive head first into one of the NBA's most fascinating teams. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

The New Orleans Pelicans are approaching perhaps the most important season in franchise history. This slant is neither hyperbolic or inflammatory. It's the truth. So much is riding on how the Pelicans fare this year, after missing the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Pretty much everything starts with DeMarcus Cousins' free agency. He will hit the open market in 2018, and while the Pelicans get to dangle a fifth year that no one else can, his return is hardly guaranteed. If they fall out of the playoff picture or get the sense he's itching for a relocation, they'll have to look at moving him around the trade deadline.  And if he leaves, Anthony Davis' future is suddenly shrouded in mystery, if not butter-thick panic. The notion that the Pelicans must shop him now is overblown (read: stupid). He cannot explore free agency until 2020 (player option), and the designated player exception he'll surely qualify for could keep him in town no matter what.  Lose Cousins, and the Pelicans are forced to confront Davis' future head on. They can give it another go in 2018-19, then reevaluate the situation when he's one year out from free agency; shop him around the league as a top-10—verging on top-five—player with two years left on his deal next summer; or keep him and hope for the best. All this, of course, could become a non-issue if the Pelicans make the playoffs. But will they? Bourbon Street Shots' Mason Ginsberg (@MasonGinsberg) joins Hardwood Knocks to preview New Orleans' 2017-18 go-round, and all that's on the line beyond it. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

The Washington Wizards offseason was, somehow, simultaneously hectic and not-at-all busy. On the one hand, the roster doesn't look that much different, because it had no way of looking that much different. The Wizards entered the summer with no cap flexibility, so small-time additions like Tim Frazier, Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott were their ceiling. They did, however, match the Brooklyn Nets' max-contract trade-kicker special to Otto Porter—an inevitable move that is nevertheless important. See, the Wizards must largely bank on internal improvement to build upon last year's 49-win finish. They may be a tad deeper, but they were so reliant on their starting five of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat and Porter that a little extra depth doesn't mean much, if anything. That quintet turned out to be among the most-used lineups of the freaking decade, logging nearly 1,347 minutes —nearly 500 more than any other unit last season. Getting spikes and leaps from younger incumbents is paramount if you believe they cannot count on that good fortune again. Kelly Oubre Jr., Tomas Satoransky, Porter, even the elder Ian Mahinmi—progress from these players will go a long way toward determining the Wizards' place in the Eastern Conference. So, where will Washington ultimately end up? Can this team get to or sniff 50 wins? Is regression in the cards? NBA Math's own Tony East (@TEastNBA) steps onto Hardwood Knocks' stage to offer his scalding-hot takez. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are never uninteresting. It doesn't matter whether they're getting hammered for not being as good as the Golden State Warriors or lauded for pulling off the greatest NBA Finals comeback ever in 2016. We never run out of things to discuss when it comes to LeBron James' teams. This upcoming season is no different. In fact, it's more of the same...on steroids. The Cavaliers indulged Kyrie Irving's surprise trade request, sending him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick. Though there have been mixed reactions to the Cavaliers' situation, the general consensus is this: They received a phenomenal return on Irving's departure and remain set up to blitz through the Eastern Conference. Questions remain, though. How will LeBron respond to Irving's exit? Might we see him go hard after his fifth MVP award? Or will he perhaps crack, ever so slightly, under an increased workload in his 15th season? What will Kevin Love's role look like in the Cavaliers' offense this year? Will Thomas get healthy? How much of an impact will Crowder have? Can Cleveland trade Iman Shumpert already? Is Tristan Thompson still underated? Is the Carmelo Anthony-to-Cleveland dream dead or alive? Carter Rodríguez of Fear The Sword and The Chase Down podcast joins Hardwood Knocks to wrap up the Irving trade, talk shop on the Cavaliers' 2017-18 outlook and figure out if they're now built to contend with the Warriors. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

So much for the Oklahoma City Thunder's lack of flexibility. Though they entered the summer barren of cap space and with very few trade assets, the Thunder somehow turned their restrictive position into the additions of Paul George, Patrick Patterson and Raymond Felton, morphing themselves into one of the NBA's most dangerous title contenders. Sure, they still need to take the floor. Things could go sideways. Russell Westbrook and George could clash. The freshly re-signed Andre Roberson could keep bricking wide-open threes. Patterson's athroscopic procedure on his left knee could lead to a more sinister setback. Steven Adams could fail to recapture his pick-and-roll mojo. Jeremai Grant could stop hitting three-pointers. Or, you know, everything could go down perfectly. The Thunder, on paper, are built as well as anyone to contend with the Golden State Warriors. George and Westbrook just make sense together, and the signing of Patterson unlocks deadly small-ball combinations the Thunder didn't have at their disposal even when they called Serge Ibaka a friend. The upshot: They don't have a lot of time to put things together. George is a free agent next summer, and everyone thinks he's going to the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook will hit the open market as well if he doesn't sign an extension. The Thunder need to get their crazy train rolling, and fast, lest this squad become a one-year placeholder. Will they be as good as their personnel suggests ? We turn to the Norman Transcript's Fred Katz (@FredKatz) for answers. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

SPOILER ALERT: The Brooklyn Nets are not going to be good next season. Crazy, we know. As much as they've done to revamp the roster, they still project to be one of the NBA's worst teams. But will they be the NBA's worst team? Definitely not. Maybe. We think. After finishing 2016-17 with just 20 wins, the Nets have undergone a quasi-transformation. They traded Brook Lopez over the summer while taking on Timofey Mozgov's bloated deal in order to get D'Angelo Russell. They scooped up an extra two picks from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for eating the final two years on DeMarre Carroll's deal. They landed Allen Crabbe from the Portland Trail Blazers. They drafted Jarrett Allen. They are better. Much better Hell, they might even be better than that. A full year of a healthy Jeremy Lin and Caris LeVert, coupled with all their new additions, attached to a crappy Eastern Conference, could make for some surprising returns.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Nets are still in the early stages of a thorough rebuild, and their 2018 first-round pick is still being sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers (via the Boston Celtics). Plus, by serving as the NBA's premier salary-dumping ground, they've bilked themselves of valuable cap flexibility later on. The chance exists they'll once again struggle to sniff 20-plus wins. So which is it for these Nets leading into next season: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? NBA Math's Tim Stubbs (@StubbHubb) joins Hardwood Knocks to break it all down. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

Chris Paul is a member of the Houston Rockets. Yes, that happened. No, you didn't dream it. It was a real thing that went down over the offseason. Paul and James Harden are starting in the same backcourt. The Rockets have 55-plus wins written all over them. They have overtaken the San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the new-look Oklahoma City Thunder, as the biggest threat to the Golden State Warriors. Or have they? Superstar formations take time to jell. Harden and Paul should be no different. There will be a learning curve, perhaps a steep one. But the fact that Paul and Harden wanted this matters. It means both of them should be willing to make the necessary concessions. At the very least, after opting in and delaying a long-term payday, Paul should be ready to do whatever it takes to thrive alongside Harden. Mix in the returns of Nene, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela, along with the additions of Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker, and it's hard not to see the Rockets as a budding superpower. And that's before even considering Ryan Anderson—or, if general manager Daryl Morey gets his way, Carmelo Anthony. These Rockets, on paper, are built to play any sort of style, not unlike the Warriors...right down to the ceiling on a knockoff Death Lineup that features Paul, Harden, Ariza, Mbah a Moute and Tucker. And yet, can we really call them the second-best squad in the NBA, or even the Western Conference? NBA Math's own Eric Spyropoulos (@EricSpyrosNBA) joins us to make sense of Houston's lavish makeup. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

As far as NBA offseasons go, the Milwaukee Bucks' summer was not especially active. They re-signed Tony Snell and drafted D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown. That's their sabattical in a nutshell. Standing mostly pat is taboo unless you're a juggernaut, and last season, the Bucks were no superpower. They finished with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference and gave the Toronto Raptors a little scare before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. Standard stuff. Jabari's Parker ACL injury suggests they needed to be more aggressive over the summer. But they had zero cap space and not a lot of expendable trade assets. In many ways, they were—they are—plain stuck. And that's okay. Giannis Antetokounmpo is just 22 and already closer to a top-five player than not. Mix in a fully healthy Khris Middleton, a reborne Snell and another season of development for Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and Thon Maker, and the Bucks might really have something. They're long as hell, with a Baby Death Squad to rival all the other Death Squad knockoffs. Equally important: The East remains trash. Just as pessimists can see the Bucks nearly falling out of the playoffs, it doesn't take a serial optimist to realize they could, feasibly, end up with one of the three best records in the conference while Antetokounmpo contends for MVP honors. Where will the Bucks ultimately land? Nobody knows...except NBA Math's Brian Sampson (@BrianSampsonNBA), who hopped on the podcast to discuss all things Deer. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

Few teams in the NBA are as tough to forecast ahead of the 2017-18 season as the Portland Trail Blazers. They won just 41 games last year and are not appreciably better on paper, but their 20-tilt tear with Jusuf Nurkic suggests they're on to something. Can that small-sample detonation hold? After all, the Blazers' roster setup is officially wonky. They added to their dizzying number of frontcourt volume on draft night and pawned off Allen Crabbe onto the Brooklyn Nets. Though any team led by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum will never want for offense, the Blazers' spacing feels iffy. Could they experience regression on the more glamorous end if Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu fail once again to shoot league-average clips from three-point range? How will they structure their frontcourt pecking order? Will Nurkic start beside Noah Vonleh? Have they given up on Meyers Leonard? Where does Evan Turner fit into all this, assuming he factors in at all? Equally important: Can McCollum and Lillard coax Carmelo Anthony into waiving his no-trade clause for Portland? Or is this the roster that the Blazers will be married to at the start of the regular season? And if it's the latter, do they have enough juice to clinch a playoff berth in the brutal Western Conference? NBA Math's own Michael Brock (@MichaelBrock_) joins Hardwood Knocks to break it all down, deliver his favorite Melo trade hypothetical and tell us whether he believes the Blazers are fit for a return to the playoffs in 2018. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the NBA's most facinating teams to watch leading into 2017-18.  On the one hand, they lost Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, a soul-sundering move no matter how you spin it. On the other hand, they  rebounded nicely, securing an objectively good haul in exchange for his services while retaining Blake Griffin, landing Danilo Gallinari and bringing in Milos Teodosic, the best playmaker not in the NBA. Still: How is all this going to work? What will the offense look like with Griffin as the alpha? Do the Clippers have enough off-ball shooting and speed to prop up an inside-out model? Will playing him beside Gallo spell defensive disaster? Are they somehow, after all this, still thin on the wings? Most importantly, what does the future hold for these Clippers beyond 2017-18? Does it include DeAndre Jordan? Or Doc Rivers? NBA Math's Adam Spinella (@Spinella14) joins Hardwood Knocks to make sense of it all. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

The Detroit Pistons followed up their disappointing 37-win campaign in 2016-17 with one hell of an offseason. They hard-capped themselves on Day 1—Day 1!—of free agency. They traded the two years and $10.4 million remaining on Marcus Morris' contract for Avery Bradley's expiring deal. They then renounced the rights to restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, thus allowing him to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Did they make the right decision? Should they pay Bradley long term? Will they get the expected leap from Stanley Johnson? Is Reggie Jackson healthy enough to lead an above-average offense? Is this the year Andre Drummond finally shows material improvement on both ends of the floor? Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) of PistonsPowered and Locked on Pistons stops by Hardwood Knocks' pressure-cooker to douse cold water on Dan's propensity for KCP and make sense of what comes next for Stan Van Gundy's rebuilding, but-not-really-rebuilding squad. And, finally, do they have enough juice to clinch a postseason return in 2018? As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

Pretty much every 2017 NBA free agent you care about has signed a contract—except, for some reason, JaMychal Green and Nerlens Noel. But those are topics for a different day, in a different place. Because right here, right now, in the world of Hardwood Knocks, we're turning our attention to 2018 free agency. Correct: We're getting an 11-month jump on the process, in part because we can, but also beause this stuff already matters. The league is still reeling from the spending craze in 2016. Multiple sources claimed to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon that the NBA is headed for a nuclear winter-style summer in 2018, with plenty of free agents expected to get "squeezed."  Who are those free agents? Which players suddenly aren't so likely to opt out of their contracts? Which teams will be the biggest offseason players? Where will LeBron James go? Is there any hope at all he'll stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Might he (pretty please) consider the San Antonio Spurs or Philadelphia 76ers? And what about the NBA's other top-20 free agents? Where will they all end up? (Yes, we go through all of them. You're welcome.) All this, and more, awaits you in the latest episode of Hardwood Knocks. If nothing else, come for the free-agency speculation, stay for the chance to listen as Andy and Dan fly off the rails in real-time! As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.

Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers.  So...now what? There are a lot of layers to this story. Where might Kyre Irving end up? Which types of trades are most appealing to the Cavaliers? Who should they target in return? Is Irving a good fit for the Denver Nuggets? The Milwaukee Bucks? How about the Phoenix Suns? Should you buy your Cavaliers Eric Bledsoe jersey now? Equally important: What does all this mean for LeBron James' future in Cleveland? Is he gone? Does Irving want out in part because he thinks LeBron is leaving, or does he really want to be the alpha somewhere else? And if it's the latter, can Irving be the top option for an above-average playoff team? Justin Rowan of SB Nation's Fear The Sword and Almighty Baller Radio's The Chase Down podcast stops by to break it all down with Andy and Dan. There's loads of stuff to unpack here, and rumor has it you don't want to miss a moment of it! As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio (the illustrious host of HWK). And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying.