The championship is gone, and the giants are going to disintegrate! A short-lived dynasty team, a second Lakers is about to be born

Lao Liang commented

2024-05-26 23:19Posted in Shandong Sports Creators

In the division finals this season, the Eastern Celtics faced the Pacers, who lacked the core Haliburton, and got an early match point. They were indeed very lucky: in the first round against the Heat, the opponent's core Butler was injured; played the Cavaliers in the second round, and the opponent's core Mitchell was injured; The East final played the Pacers, and the opponent's core Haliburton was injured; Step by step, push them to the finals stage! And on the Western side, the Timberwolves played the Mavericks and lost two games in a row at home, as if it was a series with the defending champion Nuggets, using up all their energy. Having said goodbye to this season's team, the Clippers have to deal with George's possible sign-and-trade and cautious offer Harden a contract; The Suns intend to continue to bolster around the Big Three; The Lakers are involved in various trade rumors, and the goal is clear: to build a team around thick eyebrows, after all, James is really old.

And there are two most pitiful teams in the West, one is the Warriors, who spent $400 million this season ($220 million in salary, nearly $180 million in luxury tax), enough to feed the Timberwolves + Pacers two division finals teams, and there are more than 80 million left! But the Warriors themselves can't even make the playoffs, and this is the harsh reality that the dynasty team must face in the later stages: more and more decorated veterans can't match the salary, but they do contribute to the team in the past; The other is the short-lived dynasty team Nuggets, the reason why short-term is used as a prefix, because the Nuggets won the championship last year, and they were crushing all the way, and no team can threaten them! But this season, it was unfortunately eliminated by the Timberwolves in the seventh game, and the 3-2 lead was overturned! The championship is gone, and the giants are going to disintegrate!

Let's start with two inconspicuous details. Helping the Lakers win the championship in the bubble park + helping the Nuggets dominate last season, Pope, as the team's lowest-paid starter, has an irreplaceable functional role. However, he only has a player option worth $15.44 million next season, and here in the Nuggets, Jokic's salary next season is $51.42 million, and Murray should renew his contract in the contract year, plus Gordon and Porter's contracts are close to $60 million, it is difficult for the Nuggets to keep Pope with a contract with an average salary of more than $18 million! And once Pope jumps out of the player option, according to the analysis of salary experts, he can get at least a contract with an average salary of 20 million, and his championship experience, his projection and defensive efficiency, are the best championship puzzle pieces in the league! Including teams such as the 76ers + Spurs + Magic, there is enough salary space.

In addition, Porter Jr., who averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds + 40.7% three-point shooting rate per game in the playoffs, has also become a sweetheart, and Los Angeles media revealed that the Lakers are very interested in Porter and are considering using chips such as Reaves, Hachimura and rookie Schifino to seek a trade! said that he wanted to dismantle the Nuggets lineup, which was indeed a bit excessive, but the Nuggets did not have the conditions to keep Porter, Jokic's contract for the next four years was close to $230 million, and the minimum standard for Murray's contract renewal was also an average salary of 45 million, while Porter had 3 years left on his contract, which were $35.86 million + $38.33 million + $40.8 million. And Porter, who has been plagued by a back injury before, has improved his attendance this season, but he is also the second player on the Nuggets lineup after Jokic to not have a backup on the bench.

In fact, after the Nuggets won the championship last summer, Bruce Brown, an important contributor to the Nuggets' bench, was directly poached by the Pacers for 2 years and $45 million, and then sent to the Raptors as a trade chip in exchange for Sika, which made it a successful case of reaching the Eastern Conference finals this season. Including the veteran Jeff Green, after the Nuggets realized their dream of winning the championship, he was successfully poached by the Rockets with a high salary of $6 million for 1 year and returned to the Rockets for retirement! To put it simply, around Jokic and Murray, these important role players are irreplaceable, and Malone also admitted after being eliminated by the Timberwolves that the starting five have lasted too long this season, but the team also lacks enough bench personnel. Saying goodbye to Brown and Jeff Green last summer, saying goodbye to Pope this summer, and Porter is likely to leave, are they still available?

The Nuggets bench only has rookies such as Watson, Bryan, Najib, and Straussor, as well as players like Reggie and Jordan Jr., who are about to retire! After the Nuggets won the championship last year, coach Malone claimed that the team was going to start a dynasty team of its own. Jokic, as a model of the perfect center in the new era, is not greedy for the ball but has a high enough efficiency + assist ratio, and Murray has repeatedly stepped up at critical moments, but they can't keep their frame lineup! This is very similar to the Lakers in the bubble park at the beginning: after the Lakers won the championship, they directly dismantled the team, which has made many fans feel cold, and after saying goodbye to Howard, McGee, Rondo, Bradley and others, they did not keep Caruso, and then forcibly sent Kuzma, Pope, Harrell, and once asked the whole league!

In exchange, Wei Shao was also considered a tumor, and since then, it has declined directly, James and Thick Eyebrows have never been able to find a third helper, and Russell and Reeves have not reached the level. To put it simply, in the last 6 years, 6 different teams in the NBA have won the championship, and in the post-Warriors era, there is no team that is worthy of the title of a dynasty team. The Nuggets were the most qualified, but they really couldn't keep people. The competition in the West is indeed too fierce, and looking at the East, the Celtics only need a starting framework to guarantee the Finals. Sometimes, it's hard to find some fairness. Just look at how much resistance and pressure Fan Xian encountered for a fair Spring Festival.

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