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The 2019 NBA off-season was one of the biggest and richest off-seasons in recent history, with a plethora of superstar players as well as a lot of Tier-A stars were available on the free agency market, with a bunch of teams looking to emerge as contenders for the NBA title in the 2019-20 season.
There were some moves which made teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers jump up to title contenders and the return of the power duos in the NBA has changed the whole landscape. Here are 5 off-season moves that shouldn't have happened this summer.
#5 Derrick Favors to the New Orleans Pelicans (via trade)
The Utah Jazz were looking like front runners to keep Derrick Favors for the 2019-20 season as well since he had proved himself really well in the reduced role he had off the bench, averaging 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 58.6 per cent from the field and was a defensive enigma next to Rudy Gobert.
When the Jazz signed Bojan Bogdanovic in the off-season for a four-year, $73 million contract, they had to let someone go to get under the cap space and Favors' $16.9 million expiring contract seemed like the player they needed to let go.
Favors was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for just two second-round future draft picks, via the Golden State Warriors. He was an influential player for them and leaves the frontcourt slightly undermanned now, given that Gobert and their new acquisition Ed Davis are the only two established players that can play there.
The Jazz should have also tried to get a better deal for a player that could be such a good influence for another team. The New Orleans Pelicans now have an experienced veteran in Favors to show Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes the ins and outs and can make both of them even better than they are right now. He might be a huge steal for the Pelicans and seems like a horrible deal for the Jazz.
#4 Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers (Free Agent)
Tobias Harris seems to have struck gold with the 76ers, as he returned back with them on a massive five-year, $180 million deal. After they narrowly missed out on the Eastern Conference Finals, losing the semifinals 3-4 to the Toronto Raptors, the 76ers decided to run it back and bringing Harris back seems to be the first step.
While Harris was an integral part of their run last season, it seems like the 76ers have spent a little too much in trying to make him a part of their squad. Harris enjoyed a career year last season, averaging 20 points and 7.9 rebounds last season and played every single game of the season.
While he was great for them, he does not seem like the player that can take over a game. He seemed to shy away from the ball when given a chance to break the team out of a slump. He seems like exactly the player they need on paper, a stretch 4 who can shoot from beyond the arc and also defend well.
They had to let go of Jimmy Butler in order to keep Harris, with Butler being the main reason why the 76ers took the Raptors to 7 games. Harris could only average 15 points per game and played 37 minutes. He shot poorly under pressure as well and while he could turn out to be an amazing deal for the 76ers, he just does not seem like the player to spend a maximum salary slot on.
#3 Rajon Rondo to the Los Angeles Lakers (Free Agent)
After Kawhi Leonard announced that he will be joining the Los Angeles Clippers and not the Lakers, there was a flurry of activity all around the NBA, with teams looking to sign up the remaining players on the free-agent market. The Lakers decided to spend their remaining cap space to get Rajon Rondo back to the roster.
Rondo, 33, is an elite passer of the ball and that is probably all he bringing to this Lakers squad. He was a monstrous defender and loved to get stuck in and lead his roster from the front. This is all now in the past as Rondo has now become just a shell of his former self, struggling to stay relevant in the modern NBA.
Defenders blow past Rondo with ease and with a below-average 3 point shot, tend to sag off him on the offensive end of the floor. He still is an elite passer of the ball but what the Lakers need around LeBron James and Anthony Davis is more floor spacing, something which Quinn Cook will provide more than Rondo.
He is a decent backup PG at best and while he is on a veteran's minimum, he will not be much of a bother in the lineups. But if he does play more than 15 minutes a game, he will hamper the game for the Lakers rather than be a part of its improvement.
#2 Nikola Vucevic to the Orlando Magic (Free Agent)
The Orlando Magic pulled off one of their best moves (so it feels to them) when they re-signed their All-Star Center Nikola Vucevic to a 4 year, $100 million deal to stay with the Orlando Magic. Even though it seems like on paper, the Magic want to run it back and return to the playoffs again, it might not be the same.
Even though Vucevic was an All-Star last season, he has only had 2 good seasons, his 2014-15 season and the 2018-19 one, where he averaged a superb 20.8 points and 12 rebounds. It also only his first season where he managed to play 80 games in 1 season, showing some question marks over his durability.
The Magic had drafted Mo Bamba last season at #6 as well and he was seen as the successor to Nikola Vucevic. Now with Vucevic agreed to a new deal, it makes matters bleak for Bamba, who would probably request for a trade, in order to join a team to get more playing time.
Though the Magic have re-signed Vucevic and Ross, along with Aminu and Carter-Williams, it does not make them favourites for anything. They might just squeak into the playoffs this season as well and lose in the 1st round. Getting stuck in playoff purgatory is probably the worst thing to happen to a team and the Magic seem to have doomed themselves to it by re-signing Vucevic.
#1 Ricky Rubio to the Phoenix Suns (Free Agent)
Ricky Rubio got a huge payday in the 2019 NBA Free Agency when the Phoenix Suns came calling to make him their starting point guard for the near future. Point Guard was the most undermanned position at the Suns and while acquiring Rubio makes sense on paper, it might just be one of the worst moves the Suns made in the off-season.
The Phoenix Suns have Devin Booker as their franchise star and last season, Booker showed immense skill at handling the ball as well as being a superb off the ball shooter as well. Booker improved his scoring statistics from last season and still was able to become more of a facilitator on the ball.
His improvement towards becoming someone like James Harden will be hampered to some extent with the presence of Rubio on the court, who will demand more touches on the ball and will look to facilitate the game.
Rubio, over the years, is one of the most beloved players, even though he was not been able to set the court on fire. He has not shot the 3 well his whole career and has not been a consistent scorer either. The Jazz let him move on as he did not seem to fit into their plans and Rubio does not seem to fit in here either, on paper at least.
Rubio signed a 3 year, $51 million contract with the Suns, a huge number for a point guard who can just pass the ball well, is neither great at scoring or defending and will just take the touches away from Booker. This seems like a move that will not favour the Suns any which way we look at it and seems like just bad business.
Guess the Lakers players!
