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dustinmccormick15

@alexjschubauer

alexjschubauer

@dustinmccormick15 yes. I’m wearing it right now

contexfiles

eltigrechico

ball is (extraterrestrial) life

bxrxr-deactivated20190715

alexjschubauer your fav episode?

alexjschubauer

@bxrxr oh damn I forgot about this lol dope

monolithofdoubt

Scully + being so done with Mulder’s shit

Jay Z’s Reaction to Kanye: The Three Parts of a Masterpiece

If you haven’t listened to music in the last decade or have purposefullyrid your life of anything to do with the Grammy’s (I don’t blame you) then youmight not have heard about Kanye West’s altercation with Beck last night. Well here it is:

https://vine.co/v/OUvaqAPEltt

Hilarious. Awesome. Funny. Perfect. Whatever you want to call it. But while he totally wasn’t joking about believing Beyonce got hosed, again, he rightly decided the stage of the Grammy’s wasn’t the best place to say it. Very nice.

But even more interesting is what others thought in real time; like Jay Z, Kanye’s friend and mentor, for instance. Here we go. I recommend watching the following Vine at least 37 times before reading this. Then 918 more times afterward.

https://vine.co/v/OUvblVQwaI3

Part One: Confusion

Jay Z: “Wait wait wait he Kanye going up there? I think he’s going up there! No no no no no no. Dammit we all had to deal with the fallout from this the last time. He didn’t go in public for months. Nobody knows how hard it is to cheer Kanye up, it’s damn near impossible. He about cried when Pacific Rim wasn’t nominated for any Oscars and took a swing at me when I told him it wasn’t that great of a movie anyway. Jesus please don’t let my friend do this again. Dammit dammit dammit!”

Beyonce: “This may not be the best idea but dammit if Kanye isn’t the best friend in the world! Is he really going to go through all this again just to defend me and my music? How come Jay never does this for me? He’s really so sweet. It kinda seems like he even has a crush on me. This does border on obsessive. I guess it makes sense, I’ve always been hotter than Kim. I guess I’ll allow this.”

Part Two: Horror

Jay Z: “He’s actually stepping on the stage. DAMMIT. Think about this Ye! There are better places to voice your angry and specific opinions. There’s an aftershow on E! later, do it there! Okay, the two of us are totally in sync, right? Maybe if I shake my head ever so slightly back and forth he’ll sense it and come back to earth with the rest of us. Shit he’s reaching for the mic. No! Come on buddy, I can’t let you do this. My wife has 20 Grammy’s already, you can let this one go!”

Beyonce: ‘Oh my God, no.’ “This is still really sweet, but I mean really…I already have 20 Grammy’s. He can probably let this one go. We all understand that these awards are a joke, and even moreso we know that my shit was the realest this year. I don’t need an old, white academy to tell me this. Apparently Kanye does? This will just cause more problems than it solves. Think, Kanye, think!”

Part Three: Pure Joy

Jay Z: “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THANK GOD I LOVE YOU KANYE, YOU A GENIUS.”

Beyonce: “Hahahahahaha okay, this is cool too. I still have my 20 Grammy’s and I’m still hotter than Kim. Things are looking up. Except now I’ll get sucked in to a 3-hour conversation with Kanye about respect for my music. I better go get prepared, I’d like to get more than six sentences in this time.”

Kanye: “I’m still pissed off. But now when I actually go off, people will actually pay attention. Just keep smiling Ye, you’ll get your time on E! soon enough.”

Playing Time: Jacque Vaughn vs. His Players' Minutes

The Magic don’t have any truly great players, at least not yet. But they have plenty of good ones. Enough that I, and many others, think they could or should be much better than they are. You could say it’s because they’re still too young and inexperienced, that Jacques Vaughn isn’t a very good coach, or that there’s no one to take over the game by himself.

All of those are correct, I think, to a point. There’s plenty of work needed to make this team a winner. But while this may sound crazy, I think that the Magic actually have TOO MUCH talent. Yes, I understand they’re 13-25. Yes, I realize their NetRtg is -5.3, 5th-worst in the league. Just hear me out.

Just think of all the promising young guys on the roster: Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Nik Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, and Kyle O’Quinn. All these guys have proven they’re capable of NBA-level ball on a semi-regular basis. I could go deeper into why, but that can happen later. The point is that I’ve already named six good players.

A good rotation really shouldn’t have more than 8 or 9 players getting regular minutes. Too much lineup mixing and subbing doesn’t let any of the players mesh or develop a rhythm. When I saw New Found Glory in concert recently, a band opening for them had six people on stage, four of them had guitars or basses and one was doing double duty with a guitar and keyboard at the same time. That’s too many people! They’re trying to pack too much musical nonsense into one song; similar to how the Magic are forced to give out minutes.

Besides the six I’ve already mentioned have veterans Channing Frye, someone they’re paying $8-million per year, Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour, who they’re spending over $7-million on this season, and Willie Green, who’s being given a $1.5-million for some reason. Aaron Gordon is hurt but he’ll need valuable rookie-season minutes when he returns, Devyn Marble is getting shuffled back and forth from the D-League, and former rotation players Andrew Nicholson and Maurice Harkless have been put in the doghouse.

Literally every person on the roster has a legitimate claim to playing time. That just can’t work. Some are unjustly pushed to the bench for good, some keep getting minutes for no particular reason. Managing has to be difficult, and I feel for Vaughn on this. He didn’t get a sweet gig like Steve Kerr, where the Warriors lineup was more or less confirmed before he got there. He got a rebuild with an entire team of young players working to improve their games. Almost everyone is clumped closely together by level of skill. If you have three perfectly identical clones at each position, how do you decide which one to play?

Despite similar talent LEVELS, they often have totally different skill sets, making this even more difficult. Oladipo and Payton are drivers and defenders, Fournier and Gordon are shooters, while Ridnour has mostly fallen out of the rotation. Dedmon is by far the best rim protector, but is Stanley on The Office-level bad of offense. Vucevic is best in the post, while Frye goes outside the arc and O’Quinn is more midrange. They all have skillsets and Vaughn is clearly having trouble matching up the right guys for an effective lineup.

Most rebuilding teams will try to figure out the guys they feel are worth keeping around in games, slowly phasing out the guys who aren’t making the cut. The Magic don’t seem to have this strategy, or really any discernable strategy that I can see.

Nicholson has been cut off from the start, only appearing in half the games and playing eight minutes in them. He played in 76 games, averaging 15 minutes, last season. Same with Harkless, who played in 80 games and averaged 24 minutes, half the freaking game, last season. He’s also appeared in half the games, averaging 15 minutes. These guys showed a lot of promise working through last season. I understand that new guys came to the team, but why just abandon two guys you’ve developed for two seasons?

It’s probably because of Harkless’s motor? He plays more slowly and methodical than Vaughn wants. Nicholson is very similar in that regard, which could explain their absence. But this still doesn’t make sense!

First of all, the Magic have the seventh-slowest pace in the league right now. Everyone below either has dominant big men, a bunch of old fogies playing, or are terrible teams. If Vaughn wants a faster, more aggressive team, he’s not bringing it out of his team on the court.

Also, Orlando is in the bottom half of the league in turnovers, tossing away nearly 15 possessions per game. Wouldn’t a couple more patient, methodical players help the team with that?

It looks like Vaughn is trying to create a style with this team that doesn’t actually work with the players he has. He’s now bringing Frye and Fournier off the bench, which is reminiscent of Mike D’Antoni benching Pau Gasol for Earl Clark. You can’t create a system and mold the players to it, you figure out what works with the players you have. That’s how D’Antoni failed in LA, and it seems Vaughn is headed down the same road.

#nba

shelbyfero69-deactivated2017022

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alexjschubauer

This is a goddamned outrage I am dying over here

dcpierson

"Old One"

They liked old stuff.

It was an arms race between the two of them, seeing who could unearth pictures of the most obscure era, the corner of the past — past pop culture, past fashion — that seemed most indisputably like the past. They both subscribed to Twitter accounts that aggregated fascinating relics and would fling links back and forth at one another in their downtime on set, iPads on their laps. And when they showed up in the morning and left at night (or showed up at night and left in the morning, if it was a night shoot) they showed up and left in street clothes that were not from one decade in particular but were a kind of distillation of old-ness, the kind of thing that would prompt the odd barista or receptionist to say, “I love your (garment)… Totally throwback.”

He hated the term “throwback,” it reminded him of an ill-advised stint, in that perilous chasm between “child star” and “working adult actor,” as a white rapper. It was possible to be a rapper and be white and not be a “white rapper.” But at 15, it had not been possible for him.

But he was 22 now and she was 21 and he drove a matte-black early-50s pickup truck that he had found on Craigslist back when it was red, and when he’d driven it onto the lot of the Santa Monica man who was going to restore it, the balding man with a long salt-and-pepper beard had said, “Dude, that’s what I’M talkin’ about.”

She drove a late-60s BMW, sky-blue and purchased from a indistinctly European guy she later described to the makeup woman as “porn-y.”

He had been featured in a GQ fashion spread about the cultural significance and essential American manliness of the plain white t-shirt. There was a petition that went around online when she hadn’t been cast as one of the Manson girls in a forthcoming TV movie.

She was dying to see it, though. She knew the girl who ended up playing Linda and she knew for a fact the pretender hadn’t done her research.

There was a post on this Tumblr she liked about an abandoned 1950s suburban housing development on a tiny strip of land between LAX and the ocean. She forwarded it to him. He seemed to respond almost before she sent it:

We’re going.

What Are The Magic Doing?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching the Orlando Magic this season, it’s that progress is painful as hell. I’ve been fortunate enough (and ridiculously unfortunate at the same time) to watch at least part of nearly every Magic game this season. As a lifelong Magic fan living in Nebraska, that is a rare and totally joyful thing for me. At the same time, this Orlando team is so thoroughly depressing that it hurts sometimes. And it’s not because they’re playing basketball so bad on its face that it hurts, look to Philadelphia, Detroit, or even Los Angeles for that. It’s that the product on the floor is so far removed from what should be occurring.

Victor Oladipo with a year of experience. A reborn Evan Fournier excelling in a new role. Tobias Harris breaking out. Channing Frye holding all the young dudes together. Nic Vucevic solidified as the only successful portion of the Dwight Howard trade. Elfrid Payton quickly adjusting to the NBA and a few games of Aaron Gordon on the hope of his return. Kyle O’Quinn and his beard.

I realize I’m biased, but in the wasteland of the East this team could and maybe should be up around .500. But that’s the problem with large scale rebuilds like what’s happening in Orlando, you’re never sure what the organization even really wants in regards to on-court results. Would they rather stay closer to the top of the lottery this year? Is a painful loss in the first round of the playoffs worth the lower draft pick? What do the coaches and players know about their expectations? Is the team being forced to short its own talent or purpose, or is everyone just screwing it up?

Right now most teams in the East are either avoiding making a run at the playoffs or are either purposefully or inadvertently incapable of doing so. There’s room for success (relatively speaking) in the East, an opportunity for playoff experience for young players, a sense of growth within the fan base, even money to be made by hosting playoff games. Do the Magic higher-ups want that, or the better draft pick?

There’s already a bit of a logjam of young talent in Orlando, with plenty of promise but no one who truly stands out. Unless you’re positive you’re getting a rookie who can separate himself from the rest of the roster, it probably creates as many roster problems as it does solutions. Jacque Vaughn can’t figure out playing time with the current roster, don’t throw more at him.

These are the things in the back of my mind while watching every Magic game. I constantly wish I knew the specifics of the organization’s long-term strategies. It’d be nice to know exactly what to root for, or how exactly to analyze what’s happening on the court.

If they are or aren’t trying to win, I can try to understand how they’re doing either of those things. But right now the Magic are on pace for roughly 30 wins. That’s not winning or losing, that’s purgatory. Give or take eight wins, you’re probably in the playoffs or getting a top-5 pick. Unless you’re lucky, nothing great comes at 30 wins.

With all the shameless tanking around the league, the Magic could easily just slow down, trade a couple guys to get some assets, and grab the pick. Fine. I understand one more year of that.

But why sign Channing Frye to $8-million a year to keep going for 30 wins or worse? Doesn’t he and the (sigh) $6-million of veteran shooters in Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour imply some sort of plan to draw possible success out of this young team? Everyone is there to easily make a run of at least 38 wins!

Both Charlotte and New York were thought to contend for the playoffs, they’re now a big step behind even the Magic. Detroit and Philadelphia have joined them in the cellar. I’d argue that Orlando has more talent than Boston and Indiana right now. That makes the Magic a solid ninth spot in the East, but still well behind the next tier of (currently) Brooklyn, Miami, and Milwaukee. What would it take to get there? Both the Nets and Heat are downright elderly and could break down whenever. Brooklyn is actively trying to trade 75 percent of its roster; they could be out of it after the trade deadline. The Bucks have played very well this season, but they’re still only slightly less young and inconsistent than the Magic. Something could easily open up for Orlando.

But dear god, don’t fall into the playoffs. Don’t put yourselves in the record books as the team that accidentally made the postseason with the worst record in 25 years. Act like you belong. Win some games and earn your damn eighth seed. You’re going to lose the series, don’t worry. But if you’re rebuilding, a playoff appearance can really help with that “building” part.

#nba #orlando magic

Evan Heyen was one of the sweetest, kindest, greatest guys I've ever known. It's not fair that he had to go so soon, and I can't help but be selfish and wish I had more time with him and regretful that I didn't spend as much time as possible with him while I could.

I know that this kind of regret is pointless. None of us know how long we have here in this all-too-unfair life, and we all have to say goodbye to each other at some point. The best we can do is live our lives with the maximum amount of love and joy possible. That is, it goes without saying, how Evan lived his. He brought so much of those things to everyone he crossed paths with. He lived his 22 years on this unpredictable planet the right way. That's so little time, and I know he deserved more; there were so many more people who should've gotten the chance to know him and have their lives improve because of it.

But now we all have the chance to do our part in his place. We can tell everyone we know who he was, what he was about, and why it's a damn shame they didn't know him. We can live our lives and impact the others the way he did in his short time with us, and that's the best way to honor and remember Evan.

I can't describe how lucky I got freshman year of college to have Evan in the dorm room next to me. I didn't know him well for a while, but he was always friendly and had something nice to say when just passing you in the hallway or seeing you on the elevator. He was so friendly and trustworthy from the start that several kids on the floor let him give them haircuts in the dorm bathroom, including me. It wasn't the most professional haircut I've gotten, but it's by far the one I'll remember the most.

Thankfully, we ended up being good friends before the end of the year and spending a lot of time together. One of the first times we hung out, a few of us were in his room and he was playing his guitar. I was already impressed by that, but then he broke out his Bob Dylan-esque, around-the-neck harmonica holder. That's not exactly considered to be the coolest instrument a guy can play. If it were me, I'd probably be a little embarrassed and wouldn't show it off until I knew the other people really well. Not Evan. He was confident, and he was good at it. He was going to be himself and do what he loved, and you couldn't help but love him for it.

He really knew how to bring people together, especially through music.That's what I'm going to remember him by. I don't think I can listen to Dylan, or the Beatles, or Eric Church again without thinking of him. And I listen to those guys almost as much as Evan did, so he's going to be on my mind a lot. Those are some of the artists that brought us together, and I'm just happy that Evan gets to live on with me through them.

Of course, with everyone in our lives, we have to take the good and bad. Here are the worst things I can say about Evan: sometimes at parties he would kill the mood by randomly playing a '60s folk song. He could ruin a history channel documentary by telling you all the facts and events before the show could get to it. And he sent out entirely too many snapchats.

That's it. I can't, and I don't think anyone can, actually think of a bad word to say about him. How many people could have that said about them?

Twenty-two years is a criminally short time for a guy like that. We can't make any more memories with him or have him make us laugh again. He can no longer convince us to do pretty much anything, just because you'd want to see him happy. And he won't be able to completely forget about himself and try to make you happy, too.

But despite that, if you knew him, you're still one of the lucky ones; 99.99% of the people on this Earth never got to know him. You're part of the fortunate few, along with me, that did. And for that, I'll be forever thankful.

We all miss you so much, Evan. Rest in peace, bud.

johndarnielle

hi! so religion-y question, i've recently gotten really into thinking about new testament stuff, especially judas. i know you've written stuff about him before and, i'm sorry that this is weird and out of the blue of me to ask, i was just wondering if you had an idea as to why judas betrayed jesus? i think about it all the time and like, it haunts me. i just don't understand how he could do that/why he would do that. thank you so much!

Well, I should say first that I feel pretty strongly that questions of this depth demand actual in-person discussion with someone. The internet just falls short at this level. Somehow it just feels like, in contemplating the humanity of Judas, we’d need to be humans talking to each other, flesh and blood, interrupting each other, being human, to really burrow down to the core stuff. Having said that — I mean — there’s a lot in this q, key q. Do you read Judas as an independent actor with free will? Then choose door A, which talks about his intent. Never get to the bottom of door A, why a person betrays his friend, especially his friend whom he knows to be God. But Jesus knows ahead of time that it’s going to happen, so whither free will? If God can know the future then free will takes a hit, I think C.S. Lewis tries to do stuff with the idea of God seeing time differently but I can’t reconcile free will with the ability to tell the future. Seems v. either/or to me. That’d bring us to “Judas betrayed Jesus because either a) it was his destiny or b) it was God’s plan,” I don’t think these necessarily amount to the same answer but they share a ballpark, neither one satisfies though because in the absence of free will how can a person be rewarded or punished for anything? Nothing wrong with old Judas if he was just doing basically what God made him to do.

But if we go back to door A, I mean, there’s a sense in which we should have special shrines for Judas and the centurions and the Sanhedrin, because you can’t get the crucifixion without them, and if you’re buying into the whole scheme then you have to have the crucifixion, so anybody who makes it possible is kind of a saint in my reading — Jesus can’t just one day say “ok, I’m done ministering and I’m going home, everybody’s saved from here on out” — somebody has to betray him, somebody has to kill him so he can be resurrected. Maybe, in his moment of darkness, Judas senses this - that his friend must be betrayed, that someone has to do something terrible? The text does not support this reading, but it’s worth kicking around a little.

If we step outside the story further I think we have to honestly say that the weaknesses of the whole tapestry are best seen in these questions. Why must Jesus be killed and resurrected? Why must we petition a resurrected Christ for for forgiveness? Why isn’t His incarnation enough? My friend Perry has talked a little to me about not needing the resurrection at all, about being Christian without believing in the resurrection, about the incarnation being enough, but I don’t know enough about those ideas to say anything about them — they feel like something worth exploring, though. Doing away with the resurrection would fuck up the entire liturgical year, but what can you do. I feel like, and this would take that talk I mentioned earlier to really bear out but I mean it, the answer is in that old 50s (60s) tune: “Everybody plays the fool sometimes.” Like, the word “plays” is important here, there’re other religious traditions in which people attack God or His Representative because that is the part they have to play for God to be magnified/realized/amused. These traditions are worth some pretty serious consideration if considering this kinda thing is a thing you enjoy.

Shorter and probably better answer: I think the point of Judas is to make us think about Judas and ask ourselves where and when we are Judas. Everybody in the whole story is us, sometimes. One of the people who is us sometimes is a person who betrayed his friend to death for money. Who’s Judas? One of us. But an easy answer won’t lead us to the sort of reflection we need, hence the complexity of Judas’s choice.

Before the Return of Oladipo

What will the Orlando Magic do when Victor Oladipo comes back? He's missed the first nine games of the season recovering from both a sprained MCL and a fractured face. 31 min 11 shots

The Magic have replaced him with different mixtures of Ben Gordon, Devyn Marble, Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Luke Ridnour, and Willie Green. Of these, really only Fournier has been able to shoot from outside, while Payton has taken care of just about everything else. Fournier is taking four threes per game and making half of them to average 18 points per contest, and Payton has a 6/6/3/1 stat line while keeping his turnover ratio to 2.33, not bad for a rookie starting point who also defends the best opposing guard every night.

So those two theoretically ought to keep all their minutes, right? Well, Oladipo got used to being a starter last year, and he'll probably want most of his 31 minutes and 11 shots per game back. So who gets bumped?

The organization spent a lot of money on Gordon and Ridnour, and they're taking up nearly 40 minutes each game. Green plays eight per game, and has done nothing to remark on, good or bad. Devyn Marble has played five minutes in four games; his minutes are probably safe.

Gordon is shooting only 40% overall and 30% from 3, but he's fourth best at getting to the line on the team. Ridnour is slightly less efficient and gets to the line less, but has been a much better passer. Neither are anything more than competent on defense; their Net Rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points given up per 100 possessions) in their 90 minutes playing together is -10.5, worst of any guard lineup that has played significant minutes so far.

Green's eight minutes per game seems about right for him, just for the token veteran presence. The Payton/Fournier combination has scored 102.6 points per 100 possessions, best of any two players on the team. Do you want to bump that starting lineup for an Oladipo who may not be at full force yet?

Coach Jacque Vaughan has been playing Ridnour over Payton late in games, most notably the last-second loss to Toronto, which hurts the team defensively more than it helps offensively. Will those type of minutes now go to Oladipo, who now has a year's experience under his belt?

Keep in mind Oladipo couldn't crack 100 points per 100 possessions in minutes with any other guard last season, even with the offensive-minded Arron Afflalo or Jameer Nelson. So pairing him extensively with Payton, another non-scorer, could set records for defensive efficiency and offensive inadequacy. I would think lineups with Oladipo and Fournier or Gordon would work best, putting their shooting ability next to Oladipo's driving and slashing He ranked 22nd in the league 4.8 points off drives per game, tied with Mike Conley and just behind Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan. The team averaged only 6.9 PPG off his drives, down to 37th in the league, but that probably had something to do with Afflalo being the only person who could shoot the ball on the team around him. With Gordon or Fournier and a great stretch 4 in Channing Frye, the kick-outs from Oladipo's drives could actually creat points this year.

But Vaughan has been tweaking lineups in strange ways in this young season (I won't even get into the Maurice Harkless situation) and that's unlikely to change when Oladipo returns. It's going to take lots of minutes with lots of different lineups to figure out what works. Until then, you'll have to watch Ridnour playing the entire fourth quarter a few more times.

#nba #orlando magic #victor oladipo

screenshotsofdespair

I made a new friend this summer, and that friend was the Kansas City Royals. Before you call me a bandwagoning poser, let me explain. I don't have any strong feelings toward the Royals, and I'm not devastated by their loss. I am, and will continue to be, an Arizona Diamondbacks man through and through.

But I lived in Lincoln this summer, away from home for the first time, and for half of it I lived in my apartment alone. I am also terrible at being a good friend to my friends and actually like hanging out with them and stuff.

You know what's easier than being a good friend? Watching TV. Luckily, the Royals were on TV every damn day. They strangely became a friend I'd hang out with for a couple hours each day, something I don't know I could do with any of my friends in real life.

So I reconnected with Alex Gordon, I learned all about Salvy and Moose and H-D-H and Cain and Aoki, I tried to figure out Ned Yost, and listened to Joel and Hud. It was easy to do, and since I'm all about things I can enjoy without real effort, I stuck around.

They were less than compelling for quite a while, and I was splitting time with the NBA Playoffs. Then they got get better. Then they were in a playoff race. Then they made the playoffs! For the first time in 29 years! Was this me? Did I cause this? Does my attention guarantee success for whatever is receiving it?

Judging by how unsuccessful my life is compared to the people around me, that theory may not be that far-fetched. I'm just sorry I couldn't take them all the way. I guess I wasn't devoted enough.

I do feel for all the die-hard Royals fans, who've lived their entire lives waiting for something so preposterous they're not sure why they've stuck around. Like a New Yorker still going to Madison Square Garden and waiting for a train to come into what was once Penn Station.

It seemed like destiny. The lowly team in a small market that had struggled for so long goes on this magical run. The improbable comeback in the wild card playoff game; there weren't even wild cards in the MLB playoffs the last time the Royals were in the postseason. Then sweeping two teams no one thought they would beat at all.

Why couldn't the universe just complete the narrative?

Sometimes the story just doesn't end the “right” way. You can just use other baseball examples:

2008. The Tampa Bay Rays had just changed their name and colors after a laughable decade as another expansion team that Florida didn't need. But they embraced moneyball and smallball tactics, won the division with their first ever winning record and made it to the World Series. The Phillies trounced them in five games.

2007. Another afterthought of an expansion team, the Colorado Rockies, won seven straight postseason games, similar to the Royals' run, before meeting the Red Sox in the World Series. In a cruel twist, they were swept, and Boston got an end to their own narrative.

That's the problem; everyone has a narrative, which really means no one has a narrative. Shit just happens and that's the way it is, whether it works with your presumed narrative or not.

As for me, I have no idea if I'll be in Lincoln next summer. If I am, I'll still enjoy them while hoping the Diamondbacks aren't the worst team in the league again. If I'm not, will I still keep up with the Royals? Probably not. But I won't forget the summer where we tried working on our narratives together.

#royals

2014 NBA PREVIEW - WESTERN CONFERENCE

Denver Nuggets (38-44)

Draft Picks: C Jusuf Nurkic (16th), G Gary Harris (19th), F Nikola Jokic (41st)

Free Agents Gained: None

Free Agents Lost: G Aaron Brooks (CHI), F Jan Vesely (Turkey)

Trades: G Evan Fournier and G Roy Devyn Marble to ORL for G Arron Afflalo

Projected Starting Five: Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee

There’s been a stagnation of sorts since the Carmelo Anthony trade in Denver, and it doesn’t look like that will change this year. It seems like the team is just a bunch of interchangeable parts that pass through, without a superstar to lead and push them further.

Not even the return of Afflalo will change much. They’ll still push the ball, play aggressive defense, and be fun to watch a lot of the time. But the total lack of rim protection and lack of anyone to take over a game will hurt them in the West. Faried is athletic and productive, but lacks size and still can’t be paired that well down low with McGee, who is just as confusing as ever. Gallinari is back and healthy which puts another shooter on the floor, and now Afflalo can take over guarding the best wing player.

This will do well for Lawson and Nate Robinson’s drives and pick ‘n’ rolls. They’re both quick as all hell and can finish, so there are obviously fast break points to be had.

But the bench isn’t too inspiring either. Wilson Chandler and Alonzo Gee fill out the wing, and J.J. Hickson and Timofey Mozgov complete the frontcourt. They don’t bring anything more than general competence. There are pieces here to build around, and trade possibilities are abundant. The Nuggs are going to need at least one all-star to get to the playoffs, and even then they might not do damage while there. But what’s new?

Minnesota Timberwolves (30-52)

Draft Picks: G Zach LaVine (13th), F Glenn Robinson III (40th)

Free Agents Gained: G Mo Williams (POR)

Free Agents Lost: F Dante Cunningham (the void)

Trades: F Kevin Love, G Alexey Schved and F Luc Mbah a Moute to CLE, PHI for G Andrew Wiggins, F Anthony Bennett, and F Thaddeus Young

Projected Starting Five: Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Thaddeus Young, Nikola Pekovic

I feel so bad for Wolves fans. Have KG for years and squander it, have Love for years and squander that , too; is Wiggins the next squandered opportunity? Either he’ll take on a lot of pressure for replacing their all-star, or the fans will be so distraught that they’ll take whatever they can get from him. He will be able to contribute, even star, on this team, so we’ll know what he’s capable of sooner rather than later.

He and LaVine will be athletic sidekicks, but there is always a learning curve. The starters are already joined by Mo Williams and JJ Barea, with a crazy amount of wings: Shabbazz Muhammad, Chase Budinger, Robinson III, and Robbie Hummel. What do you even do with that? Trade a few of these away or something, guys. Pekovic still can’t protect the rim, but Gorgui Dieng steadily improved last year and will continue to back up well. Not sure how Thad Young and Bennett will hold down the 4, or if either of them will be happy to be there. They can’t stretch the floor like Love, but few can.

The main thing for this team is to try not to hold on to the Love years. It’s a different team that needs to go a new direction. Can Flip Saunders do that effectively? He made the executive decision to make himself the head coach, is that much control good for this team? What decisions will they make with Rubio and Pekovic, are they long term pieces? This year will probably just be to feel out all their players and deciding their future with the team. Probably only Wiggins is safe.

Oklahoma City (60-22)

Draft Picks: F Mitch McGary (21st), F Josh Huestis (29th), G Semaj Christon (55th)

Free Agents Gained: G Anthony Morrow (NOP), G Sebastian Telfair (China)

Free Agents Lost: F Caron Butler (DET), G Thabo Sefolosha (ATL)

Trades: C Hasheem Thabeet to PHI for trade exception and 2nd round pick

Retirement: G Derek Fisher

Projected Starting Five: Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins

As a fan of good basketball, I am bummed out that KD is injured. As a card carrying member of the Based Movement, I am not bummed. This is tearing me apart, but we can all agree the league is better with him. Come back soon!

Also because this team needs him. Westbrook having complete control of this offense is an amazing/terrifying idea, but that’s where they’re at. They only brought in Morrow and whatever is left of Telfair (feel-good vibes?). The rest of the backcourt? Andre Roberson and Jeremy Lamb. Yikes. Fisher’s retirement shouldn’t be a big deal, but they played him so much in the playoffs I wonder if they’ll miss him. (Probably as much as you’ll miss any warm body.) Russ plays so fast and does so much and now he has to handle even more and he might have dead legs by the time KD comes back. But look for him to come back ruthless and ready to go.

Ibaka continues to improve and his post defense is nearly NBA Street’s Stretch-ian. Perkins is still mostly dead weight and Nick Collison can only do so much better. One thing to look for is to see if Perry Jones or McGary can step up to NBA competition when the other bigs struggle (and they will). Really, I’m not worried. The injury sucks, but there’s enough pure athleticism to get them through that time. And obviously KD is always KD. I made the win predictions before the injury so that will most likely drop a few games. But if they can stay in the top five spots in the playoffs there won’t be problems. I think they still stay in the top three.

Portland Trail Blazers (50-32)

Draft Picks: None

Free Agents Gained: G Steve Blake (GSW), C Chris Kaman (LAL)

Free Agents Lost: G Mo Williams (MIN), G Earl Watson (the void)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez

This is basically the same team as last year, for better or worse. They’re still fun as hell, will push the ball, will struggle on defense, but we get to watch Lillard and Aldridge work. They basically stayed even with their offseason moves, and didn’t add to their cripplingly thin bench crew. There may not be much room to improve from their breakout season, but the same opportunities are there.

Last season, Lillard broke through and become a star, breaking the stagnation in Portland and becoming the sidekick Aldridge has desperatly wanted/needed. They’re the perfect pick ‘n’ roll/pop combination, even if either of them could handle it by themselves if they wanted to. Matthews and Batum complement well on the wings and are slightly better defensively, and if they could take another step up this year on that end it would really help. Lopez is average, I guess, and Kaman won’t do that much better because old.

Here’s the rest of the bench: C.J. McCollum, Dorell Wright, Thomas Robinson, Myers Leonard and Joel Freeland. It’s basically all the same type of people as the starters, just a few steps below in talent. A bench for a true contender needs at least one role player that can provide something a starter can’t. All these guys have a ways to go before that’s the case. McCollum or Leonard improving this year would do wonders, but I don’t see much of an impact. It’ll be interesting to see how far their starters can go.

Utah Jazz (23-59)

Draft Picks: G Dante Exum (5th), F Rodney Hood (23rd)

Free Agents Gained: F Trevor Booker (WAS), G Toure Murry (NYK), G Dahntay Jones (the void)

Free Agents Lost: F Richard Jefferson (DAL), G Brandon Rush (GSW), F Marvin Williams (CHA)

Trades: G Diante Garrett to TOR for F Steve Novak and 2nd round pick

Projected Starting Five: Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter

Unless Hayward makes a Grand Canyon-length leap this season, there’s not much different here from last year. He’s now a max contract guy, but can’t take this team anywhere as their best player. He’s very good, it’s just an unfortunate situation for him. They could be better than last season, but I’m not sure they want to be.

By most accounts, Exum was a killer pick at 5, and he’s been lights out in the preseason. That would give them three solid guards to rotate through, something that wasn’t really there last year. Losing Williams sucks but Booker is a decent replacement. He can’t stretch the floor in the same way, but there’s already plenty of shooting on the wing and Novak or Jeremy Evans can put in a few solid minutes each. Favors and Kanter keep improving and make a good young frontcourt, probably why Utah chose to save money and let Williams go. Rush and Jefferson aren’t very good, but neither is this team, which would still make them useful. The other new players don’t inspire much of anything, but look for Rodney Hood to get some significant playing time very soon.

There’s plenty of young talent here, but it just isn’t cohesive or experienced enough to make much noise. New coach Quin Snyder can’t be worse than Ty Corbin, and hopefully can come up with a more imaginitive offense to help out Hayward. This team needs another all-star or two anyway to actually be competitive in the West. Maybe Exum or Favors could improve into that, or they’re a couple of trades or drafts away. There’s a shadow of something here, but it’s not going to show on the court this season.

Dallas Mavericks (49-33)

Draft Picks: None

Free Agents Gained: F Al-Farouq Aminu (NOP), F Richard Jefferson (UTA), G Jameer Nelson (ORL), G Doron Lamb (ORL), F Chandler Parsons (HOU), F Charlie Villanueva (DET), F Ivan Johnson (China)

Free Agents Lost: F DeJuan Blair (WAS), G Vince Carter (MEM), F Shawn Marion (CLE)

Trades: G Jose Calderon, C Samuel Dalembert, G Shane Larkin, and G Wayne Ellington to NYK for C Tyson Chandler, G Ray Felton

Projected Starting Five: Jameer Nelson, Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler

Some days I think this team is elite, some days I think they have a lot to prove. They may both be true. There’s a lot of turnover from a team that overacheived to make the playoffs and scare the Spurs in the first round. But I think the moves they made were ultimately for the best. I think my final decision is that this team will be one of the best in the conference at the end of the regular season.

The move to get Chandler back was smart, gaining the rim protection they’d lost since he left two seasons ago. They’ll miss Calderon at the point, but the committee of Nelson, Ellis, Felton and Devin Harris will handle the ball just fine. Although his contract may be a bit much, Parsons will fit well on this team, providing the offense that Marion couldn’t on the wing. This will put a damper on the defense, but they can always count on Chandler to bail them out. Rick Carlisle always finds new ways to work everyone around the perenially breathtaking Nowitzki, and that will be easier this year than last.

Now, is this a championship team. No one said that in 2011 and they went ahead and did it anyway. I doubt this team could reach those heights, but I’ve learned to never count out Nowitzki, Carlisle, and crew. The age could be a problem here, without many young guys to provide fresh legs. Can they keep winning through April, May and June? They’ll definitely be better than last year, but the Western conference playoffs is just a long series of prize fights. They’ll have to find a way.

Houston Rockets (49-33)

Draft Picks: F Clint Capela (25th), G Nick Johnson (48th), F Alessandro Gentile (53rd)

Free Agents Gained: F Jeff Adrien (MIL), G Ish Smith (PHX)

Free Agents Lost: F Jordan Hamilton (TOR), F Chandler Parsons (DAL)

Trades: C Omer Asik and F Omri Casspi to NOP for F Trevor Ariza, F Alonzo Gee and G Scotty Hopson; F Alonzo Gee and G Scotty Hopson to SAC for G Jason Terry and two 2nd round picks

Projected Starting Five: Patrick Beverly, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones, Dwight Howard

Memphis Grizzlies (48-34)

Draft Picks: G Jordan Adams (22nd), F Jarnell Stokes (35th)

Free Agents Gained: G Vince Carter (DAL), F Michael Beasley (MIA, jk he left for China)

Free Agents Lost: F Ed Davis (LAL), F James Johnson (TOR), F Mike Miller (CLE)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Mike Conley, Courtney Lee, Tayshaun Prince, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph

This has been more or less the same team since their upset of the Spurs in the 2011 playoffs. That’s good, because they’ve been consistently successful, but also a problem, because they haven’t been successful enough. They made the conference finals one year, but never looked like a team that could win it all. And if you’re only offseason addition is a 37-year-old Vince Carter, it might be tough to make that leap.

After VC, neither of their rookies will be able to contribute in a big way to this already-good team. In their thin guard rotation, Adams could get minutes, but he won’t be someone to rely on. And all their lost free agents hurt; they were all productive guys who you want around a playoff team – Davis and Johnson for their toughness and Miller for the threes. They could recover easily if they had just replaced them with similar players, but that didn’t happen. I’d look for another mid-season trade to boost the lineup. Tony Allen, Quincy Pondexter and Kosta Koufos are still around, but as is the Memphis way, there isn’t much offense there.

The starters are all proven. We know what they’re capable of, they’ve been doing it for years. Conley keeps getting better, but he can only do so much in the backcourt with such a crowded paint area. Gasol needs to be healthy all season and it would help is Lee and Prince could contribute anything on the offensive end. Carter will help out there, but it won’t be a prolific scoring team, and their “grit ‘n’ grind” system isn’t going to create championship teams without more offensive creativity. That hasn’t been around before, and I don’t see it happening now. This team may be stuck in very good, but not good enough territory. Which isn’t a bad place to be, but still.

New Orleans Pelicans (43-39)

Draft Picks: G Russ Smith (47th)

Free Agents Gained: G Jimmer Freddette (CHI), F John Salmons (ATL)

Free Agents Lost: F Al-Farouq Aminu (DAL), G Anthony Morrow (OKC), G Brian Roberts (CHA), C Jason Smith (NYK)

Trades:

Projected Starting Five: Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Omer Asik, Anthony Davis

The Brow is a budding superstar, and with all the other pieces, there’s no reason why they can’t start contending for playoff spots in the West. Then all again, all the pieces are sort of mashed together, and I’m not sure if they quite fit cohesively yet. Their starters have essentially a three guard lineup, and Evans is traditionally a sixth man. Can he adjust to the starting role when he’s undersized for his position?

Gordon has underwhelmed since getting paid a couple years ago, but I think this lineup will give him what he needs to bounce back – if he’s interested in doing so. The trade for Holiday was questioned, but he works well with Asik and Davis now, especially in the pick ‘n’ roll. There is still quite a drop-off after the starters, however, with the lack of any eye-catching moves in the offseason. Smith, Freddette, and Austin Rivers are the only real backup guards, which gives almost no defense and limited offense. Ryan Anderson has struggled with injuries and offseason stuff the last couple years, but when he healthy he’s one of the best stretch fours in the league, which will work well with Asik or Davis in the paint. John Salmons and Jeff Withey both need to step up and provide minutes, but neither has provided much so far in the preseason.

This is still a generally young team, especially with Davis still growing into an NBA force. But as long as he’s there, good things can happen. If they can provide the right movement and spacing around him, including an up-tempo speed, he and the team can thrive. They should be set offensively, but they’ll have to work of defense so they don’t solely rely on their bigs to bail out their mistakes. The frountcourt isn’t dominant in that respect yet to save the Pelicans’ D.

San Antonio Spurs (54-28)

Draft Picks: F Kyle Anderson (30th), G Nemanja Dangubic (54th)

Free Agents Gained: No one that matters

Free Agents Lost: F Damion “Who?” James (WAS)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter

Absolutely not going to spend much time here. Their offseason was incredible with just how un-incredible it was. Get Duncan back, re-sign backups Patty Mills, Matt Bonner, and Aron Bynes, as well as coach Gregg Popovich. Let’s run it back! Round two, let’s go!

Anderson was a solid pick, but he won’t contribute much this year. On the bright side, he gets to learn from the best veteran team for a while. The veterans bring up a question: when will they start to show aging? It has to happen sometime. I don’t think it’s this year. If not, we know what they’re capable of, and so do they. They’ll have stiff competition again in the West, but they the San Antonio Goddamn Spurs, they’ll handle it.

Golden State Warriors (47-35)

Draft Picks: None

Free Agents Gained: G LeAndro Barbosa (PHX), G Shaun Livingston (BKN), G Brandon Rush (UTA)

Free Agents Lost: G Steve Blake (POR), G Jordan Crawford (China), F Jermaine O’Neal (“probably won’t be with us”)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Igoudala, David Lee, Andrew Bogut

Once again, it shouldn’t be difficult to predict what this season will be like for the Warriors. They’ll be incredibly fun to watch, fast breaks and heat checks will be abundant, they’ll struggle to get their defense on the same level as their offense, and they’ll find their place just below the elite teams in the Western conference.

Of course, this all depends on what new head coach Steve Kerr brings to the table. He plans to bring elements of the Triangle offense into this system, this could bring more efficiency to their half court sets than the usual hoping that one of the Splash Brothers gets a good look. Mark Jackson put more emphasis on defense, but still couldn’t quite pull it out of this team, will Kerr be able to? All of their free agent signings are greats fits on this squad; they all can slash and kick and pair up with the existing shooters well. However, I would have liked to see something to boost their frontcourt. After the starters, there is only Draymond Green, Marreesse Speights, and Festus Ezeli. All of those have a toughness this team needs, but there’s not much scoring potential there.

But if the rim protection improves to the level of the wings with Igoudala and Thompson, this could be killer. But chances are th team won’t be much different from last year, which means another disappointing playoff exit. These teams are just the Nash-era Suns for a new decade. Fun as hell and playing great basketball, but ultimately not enough. Thompson and the team are also failing to come to terms on a new contract right now, which could lead to big changes this offseason. The Warriors didn’t trade for Kevin Love so they could keep him, and now they’re unsure? Look for the front office to decide just how much Thompson is worth to them throughout this season.

Los Angeles Clippers (52-30)

Draft Picks: G CJ Wilcox (28th)

Free Agents Gained: G Chris Douglas-Roberts (CHA), G Jordan Farmar (LAL), C Spencer Hawes (CLE), C Epke Udoh (MIL)

Free Agents Lost: G Darren Collison (SAC), F Danny Granger (MIA), G Willie Green (ORL), C Ryan Hollins (SAC)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Chris Paul, JJ Redick, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan

They’re a trendy title pick this season, and not without reason. The core talent has stuck together and improved together over the last few years, and there may finally be the right talent, coaching, and front office around them to make the leap into a legitimate title contender.

Paul, Griffin, Jordan, we know what they’re going to do and how good they are. They’ve been doing it for years, it just hasn’t worked out. But Redick and Barnes know their roles in this system and fit inside them perfectly. The open threes created by Paul and the bigs’ pick ‘n’ rolls make it almost too easy. Another strength of of Clips has been their strong bench, which is no different this year. Spencer Hawes is a great addition, better as a pick ‘n’ pop option with his ability to stretch the floor and shoot threes. Scary to think what Blake and DeAndre could do with more space inside. Douglas-Roberts, Farmar, and reilable sixth man Jamal Crawford can come strong off the bench as well, the offense shouldn’t slip much with the second unit. Anything the team can get out of Big Baby Davis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Epke Udoh is just a bonus.

I’m not totally sold on this team as a championship contender. They still have to prove they can win multiple playoff series in the totally-unfair western conference. But this will be their best chance, by far, at escaping from the conference. They have a new, enthusiastic owner that the players love playing for. Doc Rivers is still their coach. The Spurs are getting older, and Kevin Durant will miss the first part of the season. They could well end up with more wins than I predicted, capture the 1 or 2 seed, and get the matchups they want to get to the Finals. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Los Angeles Lakers (31-51)

Draft Picks: F Julius Randle (7th), G Jordan Clarkson (46th)

Free Agents Gained: F Carlos Boozer (CHI), F Ed Davis (MEM), G Wayne Ellington (SAC), G Ronnie Price (ORL)

Free Agents Lost: G Kent Bazemore (ATL), G MarShon Brooks (Italy), G Jordan Farmar (LAC), F Pau Gasol (CHI), C Chris Kaman (POR), G Kendall Marshall (MIL), G Jodie Meeks (DET)

Trades: Draft rights to HOU for G Jeremy Lin

Projected Starting Five: Not Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Carlos Boozer, Jordan Hill

That is way too many wins, but I made those a few weeks before the start of season, before I saw this team’s defense in the preseason, before I knew about Byron Scott’s game plan, before Steve Nash ended his career lifting bags like he’s your 85-year-old grandpa. This team is not going to get 30 wins, maybe not 25.

Jeremy Lin will start in place of Nash, and will play defense only slightly better than the 40-year-old. His pick ‘n’ roll possibilities with Boozer and Hill could be interesting, but how often will he even have the ball? Will Scott make any attempt to encourage Kobe to give up possession? Lin specializes in getting into the lane, but kicking the ball out won’t be effective, because Scott wants only 10-15 minutes 3-point attempts per game. That would be lowest in the league, as well as a complete abandonment of a high quality shot. Young, Lin, Price, Bryant, Ryan Kelly, and Wesley Johnson are all capable shooters. Where else is this team going to get points?

We’ll get to see just how good Julius Randle really is, and if he should have dropped to 7th in the draft. He’s talented, but I’m not sure how he fits onto this roster. They got Davis for cheap and he’ll play tough in the frontcourt, making up for Boozer’s entire persona. But they’ve let everyone who could be useful go to clear up cap space over the next couple years. That may not be a bad plan, as they’re bound to get a free agent or two, but that renders this team nearly unwatchable this year. They’re more likely to see Kobe murder one of his teammates on the court than reach the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns (44-38)

Draft Picks: F TJ Warren (14th), G Tyler Ennis (14th), F Bogdan Bogdanovic (27th), C Alec Brown (50th)

Free Agents Gained: G Isaiah Thomas (SAC), F Anthony Tolliver (CHA), G Zoran Dragic (Spain)

Free Agents Lost: G Leandro Barbosa (GSW), F Channing Frye (ORL), G Ish Smith (HOU), F Emeka Okafor (the void)

Trades:

Projected Starting Five: Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, PJ Tucker, Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee

The Suns are the Bucks of the West, in that they have a lot of fun players who will play similarly styles, only they are much better at basketball. I think it’ll be tough to replicate the season they had last year; it seemed like everything played out perfectly for them to play as well as they possibly could have, they just didn’t have enough talent for the West. There were no significant upgrades, so I think the same happens this year.

The loss of Channing Frye hurts. A fantastic floor-spacing stretch 4, he created space for Dragic and Bledsoe to slash and kick and do their “Slash Brothers” things. Tolliver can work around the 3-point line, but he won’t fully replace what Frye brought. Markieff could try to fill the role, but must improve his outside shot. Their athletic wings in Tucker, Marcus Morris, Gerald Green and Warren will work on D and keep up offensively. If rookie Warren could surprise as much as Green did last season, they’d have more chances. Adding Thomas and Ennis creates a killer rotation in the backcourt, enabling the Jeff Hornacek to keep up the pace without wearing down his creators.

Again, this team will be crazy fun to watch, League Pass darlings, but I don’t think they have enough yet to make a playoff run. But perhaps they can just run people off the court enough times in 82 games to sneak their way in. And I hope they do, because no team wants to face that blur in a seven-game series. With two sets of brothers and a Bledsoe on a fresh new contract, anything is possible.

Sacramento Kings (33-49)

Draft Picks: G Nik Stauskas (8th)

Free Agents Gained: F Omri Casspi (HOU), G Darren Collison (LAC), C Ryan Hollins (LAC), G Ramon Sessions (MIL)

Free Agents Lost: G Wayne Ellington (LAL), C Aaron Gray (DET), G Isaiah Thomas (PHX)

Trades: None

Projected Starting Five: Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins

I’m still not sure what this team is trying to be, and I’m not sure if they’re sure either. There are several good pieces to build a team around, but plenty of other unfortunate contracts and roster quirks that are holding them back. They’ll most likely improve as a team this year, although I doubt that their constant wheeling and dealing will stop to create some roster stability. Mike Malone will probably just toss out playing time to a bunch of guys and see who sticks.

Obviously, you start here with Boogie Cousins, always talented yet always troubled, but possibly on the ascent. He surprised everyone with an incredible performance in the FIBA World Cup this summer, helping lead the team to a gold medal, helped out by Kings teammate Gay. Having those two is a good start, joined by McLemore, who continues to improve. Losing Thomas was tough, and he played very different basketball than Collison or Sessions. But they’re both solid guards and when combined will replace him well enough. The other additions don’t exactly help create a winning culture. Ray McCallum and Stauskas work well as shooters off the bench, but the backup frontcourt of Derrick Williams, Carl Landry and Reggie Evans all have a hard time putting the ball in the basket.

I think Sacramento will keep moving pieces around, trying to find the right fit with Cousins and McLemore. What Gay can do with his younger teammates this season will determine his future in free agency next summer. This team just needs an identity, something that the players can buy into for a whole season, but that’s a year or two away still.

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ALEX J SCHUBAUER