Sir Charles in Charge
Fansided

NBA Roundtable: Lakers or Sixers, the MIP and the next disgruntled star

By Michael Saenz

NBA Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
NBA Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 20: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards celebrates after hitting a three pointer against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Three of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 20: Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards celebrates after hitting a three pointer against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Three of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

The next star to demand a trade will be…

Cann: The star that should be in this spot is Kemba Walker. After years of playing for a middling Charlotte Hornets organization that refuses to stop overpaying players and never seems to draft well Kemba should be plotting his exit. Instead. he doubled down o his loyalty to the organization. Which leaves no truly disgruntled stars in the league outside of Minnesota, not openly disgruntled anyways.

So how about Bradley Beal? Not only have he and fellow all-star backcourt mate John Wall clashed in the past, with Wall even saying:

"“I think a lot of the times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court.”"

The fact remains there has been plenty of talk about Wall not getting along with teammates. Ask Marcin Gortat. The run that Beal led the Wizards on after Wall went down might have him thinking about leading his own team sooner rather than later.

Kotsifis: There is one MVP caliber player in the league who continuously see his efforts wasted by front office incompetence, mediocre teammates and pure bad luck. A guy who can play virtually any forward position and excels at both ends of the court, a real franchise cornerstone in an era where this term is repeatedly undervalued.

If it isn’t apparent already, we are talking about Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans superstar. Davis is playing the best basketball of his short professional career but his team fails to support him with players who can lift some of the load. Jrue Holiday is ok and Mirotic is an above average scorer but the rest of the team is anything but special.

The Pelicans’ management are fortunate to have Davis tied to a contract until 2020 but they have to do a much better job if they want to keep him until then. There are rumors surfacing that Kyrie Irving is actively recruiting him to Boston and there are a lot of teams in line for his services, if (when) he becomes available.

Patel: Damian Lillard sure seems to be sending messages here and there. I think he sees what Portland is – home, but a team with no realistic shot at competing. They perform well in the regular season but cannot matchup with the star power come playoff time. My money is on a trade to…LeBron’s Lakers by midseason.

Allen: If things don’t go the way he wants this season in Toronto, I think you’ll see Kawhi leaving the Raptors. I do believe if he stays healthy, the Raptors could be extremely good this year. Leonard is one of the best two-way players in the league and has the ability to carry a team. If things go astray though, we could see Kawhi looking to join LeBron in LA next season.

Home/NBA News