HIT OR MISS!! NBA Free Agency

Dude…

The NBA is in the dead season. Professional basketball players are hanging out in Cancun with their friends and family. Basketball lovers struggle to find stuff to watch. Let alone write about. I can’t watch baseball because the Royals are proving yet again why it’s a bad idea to be a fan of their franchise. As I sat around the pool, sipping on a beer, and enjoying blowing up fireworks to celebrate our independence; I wondered what I would write about. The Dudes have baseball covered thanks to K Stelt. MMA is heavily covered by P4 Tha Dogg, so I struggled to find what I would cover. Then I remembered about Free Agency. When teams switch up, new players join a new city, and destroy young fans' hearts as their favorite players may leave for good. Don’t worry, basketball is right around the corner. The NBA Summer League has started up as we get to see the next stars taking their first reps in the NBA. Until we get there, and with free agency almost wrapped up, I have my favorite signings, and my head scratchers. Welcome to HIT AND MISS!

HIT

Bruce Brown Signs a 2-year contract with the Pacers- Bruce Brown has proven to be one of the best role players in the NBA. He came off the bench for the NBA championship Denver Nuggets. Brown demonstrated to be a valuable asset by scoring just over 11 points a game, shooting almost 50% from the floor, and 35% from 3. Brown also was an energy player who provided incredible depth for the Nuggets. He was so valuable, the Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone, said he wasn’t going anywhere next season. No one told the Pacers this. The Pacers are young. They are also extremely talented. With Tyrese Haliburton leading the way, Bruce Brown adds some depth for the Pacers. He could even start next to Haliburton. With Bennedict Mathurin coming into his sophomore season, he is looking to continue to improve his game. These three make up one of my favorite young back courts coming into the 2023-2024 season. Myles Turner adds veteran leadership with their first round draft pick, Jarace Walker lining up next to Turner in the frontcourt. Brown adds incredible shooting that will allow Haliburton and Matherurin to attack the rim. Brown and Hield will chuck up a ton of threes, but I expect for a lot of them to go in. Watch for the Pacers to be good. With the addition of Brown, don’t be surprised if the Pacers pull a Kings move, and find themselves as a dark horse to make a deep playoff run in the weak Eastern Conference.

Derrick Rose Signs with the Memphis Grizzlies- The Grizzlies were a mess. Ja Morant loves to pretend he’s a thug and gets suspended for 25 games. Dillon Brooks made the franchise a laughing stock. It looked like the Grizzlies may take a step back. Not anymore. D Rose may not be the same MVP player he was before his knee injury, but he brings something more valuable to Memphis. Some GODDAMN MATURITY. I mean come on. Ja buddy. Let’s put the guns away. D Rose will demonstrate how to be a professional in the NBA. D Rose also helps with Ja being suspended because he’s going to be able to hold the fort down until Ja gets out of timeout. D Rose also fills the void in their backup point guard role when the Grizzlies traded Tyus Jones. The Grizzlies continue to reload with splashes in free agency to build their young core up. Guys like Marcus Smart will be a better version of Dillon Brooks (by a long shot). Watch Guns and Roses make a splash again in the loaded Western Conference.

MISS

Dillon Brooks Signs a 4 year contract with the Houston Rockets- Am I a Dillon Brooks hater. Absolutely. Screw that bum. However, the move to Houston makes ZERO sense. Houston has sucked. They have great young guards in Jalen Greene and their first round draft pick Amen Thompson look to make a splash in their first inaugural season together. This young team got a classy veteran in Fred VanVleet to bring leadership to this young squad. Then they brought in bum ass Dillon Brooks. WHY??! I mean now you have a guard heavy roster with no room for Amen to grow into the star the Rockets want him to become. You want him to learn how to play in the NBA from THAT GUY?? The guy who called out Lebron?? The guy who continually choked in the playoffs? I understand. He’s an NBA vet and can bring some value to the team, but for $80 MILLION??? ARE YOU JOKING?? There were plenty of other seasoned vets that could be a role player behind Amen to be a mentor for the kid who is considerably one of the most athletic prospects in the draft. You think Dillon Brooks is the ANSWER??? DID THEY WATCH THE PLAYOFFS?? I don’t know. That’s why the front office people get paid to do this and I write for my 10 viewers. I just don’t get it. Houston will be young and small, I expect them to be just as bad this year as they were last year.

THE WHOLE PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS OFFSEASON- It’s official. No NBA player should be loyal to a franchise. Ever. The Portland Trail Blazers weren’t good this past season. They landed the 3rd overall pick and were looking to sell to get some pieces to really make a run with Damien Lillard. They passed on selling and chose Scoot Henderson with the 3rd overall pick. I don’t blame the Blazers picking Scoot. He’s an amazing talent with incredible upside. However, they said they were going to make some moves in free agency to show to Dame that this was going to work out. They would sign some vets and get help around Dame and their young guards. You know who they signed. Jerami Grant. No vets. No help for Dame. So, Dame waited around for MULTIPLE YEARS for the Trail Blazers to figure their shit out. When that didn’t happen, Dame did what he had to do. He demanded a trade. Now you would think, Dame could pull a Lebron. Go to the Heat, win a few rings, allow the young talent in Portland to develop, and return to help the Blazers win a championship. The Heat offered Tyler Herro and multiple draft picks. The Blazers said no. Now, Dame is threatening to sit out the entire season if he doesn’t go to Miami. Now the Blazers find themselves in a huge jam. Their star hates them, they haven’t gotten any assets, and their young talent is still EXTREMELY young. Portland is screwed. They shot themselves in the foot. Look for them to be bad again this upcoming season once again.

NBA free agency is hectic. It chaotic. However, it brings interest back into the sport of basketball even in the dead season. I’m just happy I have something other to talk about then the Royals.