Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace have been covering the NBA
since shorts were short and socks were long, but their opinions about the League
don’t always mesh. #IMHO is their weekly chance to weigh in on the most
pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week
right here.
From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 11:20 AM To: Michael Wallace
Subject: #IMHO
OK Mike, so we’ve gotten past the Playoffs and the Finals and the Draft and the
NBA Awards show or whatever it was called, and yet it feels like the NBA
offseason is just getting started. Summer league is just days away, and then as
the calendar turns to July, what is shaping up to be a free agency bonanza is
just around the corner.
We’ve heard all the names being kicked around — Leonard, Irving, Durant,
Butler, etcetera, etcetera. Which free agent do you think is the most likely to
have the largest impact next season?
From: Michael Wallace Sent: Tueday, June 25, 2019 3:15 PM To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: RE: #IMHO
To me, that’s easy. It’s the same silent assassin who took over the NBA Finals
and led an entire country to its first championship. Kawhi Leonard is the
biggest impact free agent on the market this summer. He’s coming off some huge
momentum in the playoffs and will hold much of the league hostage until he makes
his decision. Kevin Durant’s injury put a bit of a damper on the free agency
intrigue – just a bit. And Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker will
all have monumental decisions to make. But my view is that Kawhi is most ready –
and apparently willing – to relocate and help another team skyrocket into the
NBA title mix.
Lang, at the same time free agency kicks off in July we’ll also get the first
look at some of these recently drafted NBA rookies in action in summer league
play. One player we apparently won’t see in action in either the Salt Lake City
or Las Vegas summer leagues is Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, who
confirmed after the draft that he will sit out as a precaution after undergoing
a minor knee procedure a month ago. It’s a bit of a disappointment for those of
us clamoring the see arguably the most dynamic player in the draft on the court.
But is this really a big deal, or nothing at all, that the Grizzlies and Morant
are taking a cautious approach with the No. 2 overall pick?
From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 10:30 PM To: Michael Wallace
Subject: RE: #IMHO
As disappointing as it will be to not see Morant at Summer League — and I’m
guessing we won’t see Jaren Jackson, either? — I am in full support of acting
with an abundance of caution. We know Ja is coming off a minor surgical
procedure, and the date the Grizzlies should have circled to have Ja at full
strength should be whenever the season tips off, not some random game in Utah or
Vegas. Give him every chance to shine when the season gets going, not when the
games don’t count.
Meanwhile, it’s now official that Kevin Durant has opted out of his contract and
is exploring free agency, according to my main man Adrian Wojnarowski. KD has a
ton of options available to him, from returning to Golden State to teaming up
with Kyrie in New York or Brooklyn. But Mike, what if the choice was yours?
Knowing KD will likely miss most of the upcoming season anyway while he recovers
from his achilles injury, what would you do?
From: Michael Wallace Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2019 8:53 PM To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: RE: #IMHO
KD is clearly one of the most difficult to read and enigmatic NBA stars I’ve
ever been around in two decades of covering this league on a regular basis. What
he wants seems to change by the week. He’s absolutely going to end up as one of
the greatest players this game has ever seen. But he seems to always want
something more than that, something so subjective that he might ever truly
receive. KD wants to be embraced and accepted and adored by a large majority of
the basketball world. And that’s just not something he can control.
But as to what I would do if I’m in his shoes entering free agency? I’d work
with Golden State and lock up the super max deal to secure the most money I can
get at this stage of my career. At worst, he rehabs for a season, comes back
eventually as an All-Star caliber player (if no longer an All-NBA elite talent)
and ride it out with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green for another
few seasons. I’m just not convinced that Durant, coming off this level of
injury, can go anywhere else as the No. 1 option and lead a team to title
prominence. I’ll believe it when I see it.
And If I’m the Warriors, I’m almost hoping that Durant’s pride and ego push him
toward the exit and leaving for Brooklyn or the Knicks. While it doesn’t make
Golden State necessarily better next season, it’s not like KD would be available
to play anyway. And it would take them off the hook. I’m also not convinced that
many teams would be willing to part with major assets to do a sign-and-trade for
Durant, not knowing what he’ll be like after this injury. But crazier things
have happened in free agency before. So I guess we’ll see in a few days.
Lang, let’s close out on this: Giannis Antetokounmpo, by a significant margin,
was voted the league’s MVP this season. Setting aside how we all feel about the
NBA’s delayed timing of the announcement via this week’s awkward awards show, is
the Greek Freak now the best player in the league? We’ve also seen James Harden
produce numbers at a pace never seen before in the modern NBA era. We’ve seen
Kawhi Leonard dominate the postseason like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant once
did. We know LeBron James ain’t quite done just yet. And we’ll likely see
Anthony Davis and Steph Curry come back next season with major chips on their
shoulders, with plenty of points to prove. So if you’re drafting from among them
– or anyone else – to build your team around for NEXT season, who’s going No. 1?
By a slim, slim margin, I’m taking the Finals MVP (Kawhi) over the field.
From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2019 9:09 PM To: Michael Wallace
Subject: RE: #IMHO
I think there are a few candidates we should consider – although not twenty like
the Dems are running out for these debates right now. Instead, let’s make the
case for five, in inverse order of how I’m ranking them:
5. Paul George – We got a taste of what George could do a season ago, but maybe
this season he re-emerges from a quiet offseason and takes another step forward.
4. LeBron James – Wouldn’t this be a heckuva story? The guy everyone wrote off a
season ago as too old and finally over the hill makes one last run at greatness
with a supporting cast that will include Anthony Davis and… well, there’s the
problem. I just don’t know if the rest of his supporting cast will be enough to
get him there. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about LeBron though the
years, it’s to never, ever, say never.
3. James Harden – We know the Rockets’ Twitter account was salty when Harden
didn’t win the MVP, tweeting out some stats about Harden’s play before the tears
were even dry on Giannis’ face. And while their timing may have been bad, that’s
doesn’t mean they were altogether wrong. Harden is the best offensive player in
the league, and deserves consideration as the most valuable all-around player in
the league. That said, I’d love to see him give a fraction of his offensive
effort on the defensive end.
2. Kawhi Leonard – By now we all know exactly how great Kawhi is and he can be.
The only thing working against his MVP chances to me is that he sits out so many
games in the name of “load management.” How valuable can you be if your team
doesn’t need you for a quarter of the regular season? (I also realize you can
make a reverse argument here that he’s so valuable they HAVE to rest him during
the regular season so that he’s available for the postseason. But I don’t have
time for nuance right now.)
1. Giannis – The thing that gets me about Giannis isn’t how good he is, it’s how
clearly he can still improve. He was picked as the most valuable player in the
league and he shot 25 percent on three-pointers this season. Imagine if he
worked all offseason and started knocking down long shots consistently, forcing
defenders to chase him that far out on the perimeter and opening the court up
even more? Now that’s downright scary.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis
Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace are
solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its
Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors.
Their sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and they have no special
access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being
an NBA accredited member of the media.
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