The Dark Horse of the West is born
A team, the star of the house, because of injuries, only played 29 games, the second and third bosses were traded by the team, in such a situation, everyone felt that the goal of this team would become a mess. But who would have thought that they did not compromise, before the arrival of the All-Star, a wave of four consecutive wins, to the tenth position in the West, which means that they occupy a playoff place. But that may just be the beginning, as they are only 2.5 wins behind the Lakers and 4.5 wins behind the Clippers.
Such a team is absolutely qualified to be called a dark horse. That's right, this team is the Portland Blazers in the West, and with Lillard injured and McCollum and Powell being traded, the team relied on the combination of Simmons Jr. and Hart's backcourt, plus Nurkic on the inside, to get back on the winning track. Today, three people were signed in a row to make final preparations for the playoffs.
The Trail Blazers signed 3 people in a row
The first was Trendon Watford, a two-way contract player for the Trail Blazers, who averaged 12.6 minutes per game so far this season and could get 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, a performance that won the team's recognition and gave him a four-year, $5.8 million contract, and the last two seasons were insecure. Although this contract is not as high as the annual salary of the veteran's basic salary, at least he can have at least 2 years to prove himself, and he does not have to experience the turbulent life. To sign him, the Blazers cut Dennis Smith.
The second was a short ten-day contract with former Spurs center Ubanks. Only 25 years old, Yubanks was a losing draft pick and was brought into the league by the Spurs in his fourth season. In the first three years of the Spurs, although it was not too eye-catching, it was still decent. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors this season, but the Raptors' system didn't need him, so Ubanks was cut. Indeed, Eubanks is not a talented athlete, and in the NBA league, he is the typical little man.
But Ubanks has all the advantages of a small person, he is always full of energy, always positive, although playing can not save the team, but he can do his own. After the game, he is also the atmosphere group on the bench, and with him, the bench will never be cold. Coming to the Blazers, he will be Nurkic's bench, a role that is more important than the Spurs era, and I hope he can continue to move forward.
As for the last one, it was a two-year two-way contract with development league defender Brandon Williams. He's only 22 years old and averaged 22.8 points per game in development leagues, making him a decent scorer. He had previously signed a short 10-day contract with the Blazers, so this contract, for him, was an improvement.
The Lakers are in the opposite direction
The Portland Trail Blazers' seemingly directionless trade has activated the competitiveness of this team, and in contrast, it is inexplicable that the Lakers have been holding their feet in such a bad situation. Now that Anthony Davis has also suffered injuries, the Only Thing the Lakers can rely on is LeBron James. As for Russell Westbrook, the only hope for Lakers fans is that he doesn't have a negative effect on the court. It is worth mentioning that the famous Ramona Shelburne talked about the Lakers' operations in the "NBA Today" program last offseason.
The Lakers have three offseason options, Westbrook, Hield, and DeRozan. In the end, the Los Angeles Lakers chose Westbrook, and the reason why they did not choose DeRozan was only because they were unwilling to give DeRozan a three-year contract. In the end, DeRozan signed a 3-year, 82 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. As for Wei Shao, although there is only a 2-year contract left, it is as high as $92 million. I have to say that the Lakers' offseason operation is really the opposite, and it has not reached the goal at all.