thelesterlee
This season, it feels like anyone can win the championship. Sure, the Nuggets and Celtics have a better chance compared to like, the Bulls or whatever but with no real favorite, a few organizations whose seasons end earlier than expected will look around the building for people to fire or trade.
In the past, this would’ve been a list of like 9 teams I’d say should be blown up but I’m feeling nostalgic about the strange teams I loved growing up.
Like the Grit and Grind Memphis Grizzlies with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen bullying dudes. Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have the best two-man game. Rudy Gay was also there missing shots.
Or when Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer had an unstoppable pick-and-pop in Utah with Andrei Kirilenko swatting shots and deflecting passes like prime Champ Bailey. Shout out Matt Harpring.
Sometimes, for the sake of the culture, you have to just run a team back. Look at a franchise like the Detroit Pistons. You do not want to be stuck in a rebuild. It takes one leg injury to a potential franchise guy like Cade Cunningham and now you might have to rebuild in the middle of your rebuild.
Here are 4 teams that should run it back next season and see what happens:
1. Los Angeles Clippers
Core: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Ivica Zubac, Russell Westbrook, Ty Lue
I will never forget the summer of Kawhi Leonard’s free agency. Gave Toronto their first championship and left them on read. Every restaurant in Toronto offered him free meals for life and Kawhi said he’s got food at home.
Insiders were so frustrated about Kawhi’s ‘camp’ not leaking them any info that some guys (CHRIS BROUSSARD) started making up stories from anonymous sources. The Stephen A. special.
In the middle of the night, not long after Paul George and Russell Westbrook said they were running it back in Oklahoma City, PG was traded to the Clippers and Kawhi signed with LA.
They blew a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets in the 2020 pandemic bubble because Doc Rivers brings Doc Rivers with him wherever he goes.
Ty Lue came in and the team made it to the Western Conference Finals. 11 All-NBA’s and 15 All-Stars between Kawhi and Paul George and the closest they’ve come is a Conference Finals once in 4 years.
2024 was the first season where the Clippers truly looked like a title contender after adding James Harden’s playmaking and playing Russell Westbrook the perfect amount of minutes where he is all gas, no brakes but isn’t on the court long enough where he starts convincing himself he is still the best player on the floor and takes some of the worst shots with the most predictable results.
This was also the first season where Kawhi Leonard played more than 60 games for the first time since 2016 back when Hillary Clinton wanted you to Pokemon Go Go Go to. the. polls.
I’m 1000% down for this team to run it back. Re-sign James Harden, give Paul George the contract extension he deserves and let’s have one final run. Go get some more former MVPs too. Derrick Rose said he’s not retiring, right? Why not?
2. Miami Heat
Core: Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robison, Erik Spoelstra
Whenever the playoffs begin, I’m instantly reminded Jimmy Butler is a sicko who is currently playing a basketball game with his knee ripped to shreds. Butler signed with Miami in 2019 when the Sixers believed Tobias Harris fit their team better. Tobias Harris just got benched in the 4th quarter of Wednesday night’s play-in game. Nicolas Batum outplayed him.
The Heat treat the regular season like 82 exhibition matches for local charities and then go into the Steve Urkel transformation chamber when the playoffs start and that only works with Jimmy, Bam and the rest of the sickos on this roster.
I remember when they tried this same plan with like, Dion fucking Waiters. Not nearly as many Finals appearances, believe it or not.
Portland screwed Miami out of a special season. Miami had the best trade package for Damian Lillard and Portland sent that former husband to Wisconsin out of spite. Let’s run it back and see if they can add someone slightlyyyyyyy better than Haywood Highsmith and his 6.1 points per game.
Also real quick, it’s dope seeing Kevin Love still out here competing 17 years later. My guy was fighting for his LIFE with LeBron in Cleveland and now he’s still out here hitting big 3’s.
Let the boys play together one more year.
3. Phoenix Suns
Core: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen
This will be the hardest one to write. I have to fight my natural need to hate on Kevin Durant but this team is so strange, they literally inspired me to write this article. There are kids in middle school right now who will look back in 15 years with their buddies and say shit like “Remember when Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all played on the Suns?? Yea, it was the year Grayson Allen led the league in 3-point shooting.”
Bol Bol is an Instagram model who plays for the Suns on the side. Drew Eubanks called the police on Isaiah Stewart. Draymond was suspended indefinitely for slapping the Bosnian out of Jusuf Nurkic. Eric Gordon is here too doing whatever. Even Isaiah Thomas, who’s spent the last few years begging for employment, made the final playoff roster.
I need at least one more season of this poorly planned-experiment. Praying Phoenix somehow finds the money to get another guy whose sole mission is getting buckets to throw out there with Durant, Booker and Beal who, too, exclusively specialize in the acquisition of buckets.
For the culture.
4. Chicago Bulls
Core: DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Alex Caruso, Coby White, Billy Donovan
Prior to signing DeMar DeRozan in 2021, the Bulls missed the playoffs 4 straight seasons and ran through head coaches. They were an unserious organization incapable of getting smart people in a room together to make smart basketball decisions. They acquired 2-time All-Star, Nikola Vucevic and made him the anchor of a lineup with 4 guys who all play the same position.
And it fucking worked somehow.
I’m not ready to quit on this strange team—especially after seeing Coby White turn into one of the best scorers in the NBA and how much better this team plays when Zach LaVine isn’t pouting in the hallways and sighing whenever the coach addresses the team. Oh, I’m also waist-deep in Lonzo Ball propaganda. Did you guys see the video of him dunking? I’m Lonzo-pilled. The Bulls can be a team that matters next season.
Replace Zach LaVine’s bad vibes and even worse contract with guys who want to work there and aren’t screaming in their parked car at the back of the parking lot before wiping their tears and pulling up to their regular spot and pretending their eyes are red from shampoo.
I love watching DeMar DeRozan play. All the folks who complain about too much 3-point shooting and the game not being the same as it was when they were kids never seem to mention or celebrate what DeRozan does manipulating and slivering in the midrange like a CPA banging out their friends and family’s taxes in between their actual work. It’s almost as if people enjoy complaining and don’t even understand what they’re upset about but that’s a conversation for another day.
#SaveTheBulls
And now, let’s talk about the 4 teams who should 1000% blow it up this summer.
1. Atlanta Hawks
Core: Trae Young, Bodgan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, DeAndre Hunter, Quin Snyder
It’s been 3 whole years since Trae Young knocked the Knicks out of the playoffs and shushed Madison Square Garden while Julius Randle played like he was a random fan the team pulled from the 300 section.
The Hawks went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 after embarrassing the Knicks, ending Ben Simmons’s career and arguably only lost to the Bucks because Trae Young suffered an ankle injury in Game 3 and missed Games 4 and 5.
3 years later, the Hawks are the 10th seed going to Chicago for another play-in game.
They ranked 27th in defensive rating behind the Pistons who had the longest losing streak in NBA history and below the Indiana Pacers who do not even try to defend anyone.
Trae and Dejounte Murray are an awkward pairing, DeAndre Hunter never became anything more than a generic rotation player who doesn’t really impact the game in a meaningful way and injuries to Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu—the guys on the roster there to play defense—all contribute to a stagnant team with no way of competing with the Boston Celtics in the East.
Trae ain’t it.
Steph Curry is one of the greatest basketball players who is going to hell for tricking coaches into allowing a generation of undersized chuckers to have a green light to shotput 3’s all game long despite no one being anywhere near as great of a shooter as Steph is.
Trae Young ranks 34th in 3-point attempts this season and 91st in 3-point percentage yet every single time he brings the ball up the court, he is singularly focused on chucking a bomb at the backboard before reluctantly passing before he inevitably demands the ball back to chuck some more.
Send him to the Lakers. Or China. Trae Young is Jimmer Fredette with better PR.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
Core: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez (and sometimes his brother)
The vibes are awkward in Milwaukee. A coach went 30-13, got fired and replaced by the man hired by management to give that original coach advice. Their big offseason acquisition was a recently divorced rapper begging to be sent to a different climate.
This team is old and lacks talent which I’d argue is bad roster building but I type garbage all day so what do I know? Malik Beasley is the youngest player who gets regular minutes for this team. He’s been in the NBA since people were genuinely excited for a new Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden.
The Bucks had a great run. They stole a championship off Chris Paul’s resume and I will forever be grateful for that but not every team is meant to win multiple titles. Windows close. Milwaukee was competitive for years. Loved watching them walk off the court with their heads down as Kawhi Leonard or Jayson Tatum or Jimmy Butler beat them in a playoff series.
I can live my life without this team. I lived it. Eh. It’s over.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
Core: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Paul Reed, Nick Nurse
I hate to be the guy bringing up the process a decade later but as someone who used to defend the project Sam Hinkie and those dorks attempted, I’m watching a man who self-proclaimed himself as “The Process” lead a group of scrubs who narrowly escaped this week with the 7th seed.
It’s cool that Embiid has an MVP and All-Star appearances and all that cute stuff but the process wasn’t designed to manufacture a singular star who is incapable of making a Conference Final. It was designed to stack championship trophies and although I recognize Sam Hinkie was fired before his vision was finalized, there was still one massive hole in his plans:
THE PROCESS DOESNT WORK IF YOU DRAFT SHITTY PLAYERS.
The Sixers should be a homegrown juggernaut in the East right alongside the Celtics and instead, they’re relying on Tobias Harris and Buddy Hield.
Last offseason, Tobias Harris’s dad said his son was an ‘assassin scorer’…
Let’s check in on the assassin:
“Why do Sixer fans hate Tobias Harris?”
pic.twitter.com/NLCNHTBNWY— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) April 18, 2024
This is a dogshit team. Why is Kelly Oubre important?? Daryl Morey needs to rebuild. I also wouldn’t hate replacing Morey and rebuilding from the studs up. Trading for Paul George isn’t going to save whatever this is. Maybe get some first-round picks and like, don’t draft Jahlil Okafor this time.
4. Golden State Warriors
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to pull the plug on the Warriors yet but after losing their play-in game this week and seeing every sports media company with these sad eulogies of their team—I cannot listen to all of this AGAIN next season when they lose. People were talking about Klay Thompson like he was going into hospice care.
Draymond and Klay make a lot of sense on the Lakers. Not sure what value they could send back to Golden State but Draymond and Klay will continue to play professional basketball. No one is coughing up blood right now.
They won a shitload of games and lowkey ruined the NBA with Kevin Durant. And it all ended because Draymond punched Jordan Poole’s head off his shoulders and the worst thing that’s ever happened to any human happened to Andrew Wiggins and we’ll never know what that thing is but just know, it was super bad, apparently.
Everyone not named Steph Curry should be selling their homes.
Which NBA teams should run it back next season? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings