The Dubs have no depth - something like $20Mil to fill 10 roster spots after Curry/Klay/Steph/DLo/Livingston. If you include McKinnie, Graham and Napier, they are at 13M for 7 spots. Unless they get any of these guys to come back for the vet minimum, Looney, Cook, Cousins, and probably Bell are gone.

Myers is smart, so I imagine there is a plan in place to flip DLo into depth and make another title push in 2021.

So there is one major player who still has yet to sign (or even take meetings: Kawhi, and this is very on brand for him - "feeding frenzy? nah, I'll take my time.") and the following teams still have max-ish space left:

LAC: $55M
LAL: $32M
DAL: $30M
NYK: $30M

I don't think he's going to LAC, since there is no one left to team up with. LAL or return to Toronto for him.

If he doesn't go to LAL, I think the favorite in the West is... the Jazz? Conley/Mitchell/Bogdanovich/Jingles/Gobert is a tough crunchtime 5. Even if Kawhi goes to the Lakers, they are still paper thin after their best 3 players. Having 3 of the best 8 or so players in the league though, is amazing.

Horford was/is defensive kryptonite for bigs like Embiid. He's an effective floor spacer who can play the 4 alongside Joel, and his pick and pop game would work well with a Simmons Pick and Roll. I dunno if I'd want to be paying what they're going to pay into his mid 30s for a guy who's torn both pectorals in his career, but his a criminally under-rated do-it-all big who isn't insufferable like Draymond. Philly's approach seems to be hoping Simmons will start shooting perimeter J's, and bludgeon opponents to death with size.

Favorite in the West has to be the Nuggets or the Blazers, no? Improved core with the Jazz or no, the Nuggets haven't done anything to get worse, while the Blazers have moved some pieces around and kept some core parts to the playoff run.

I still wouldn't rule out Kawhi signing with the Clippers for his own reasons. The guy's won two rings and two Finals MVPs with two different teams. He's a draw unto himself if he plants with the Clippers over the next 4-5 years. Who knows? He could find the media ecosystem around LeBron his own personal nightmare. He might hate the focus that'll come with the Lakers versus something more sedate with the Clippers.

As always with Kawhi, shoulder-shrug? I just can't wait to hear that weird laugh again.

The West is going to be weird this year. I take your point that the Nuggets and Blazers are pretty much the same teams and are really really good. I still think the Jazz have a great chance to be the 1 seed, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll come out of the WCF. Playoffs are more about specific matchups, and all 3 of those teams have had serious issues in the past trying to stop Harden. Hell, a Curry/Klay/DLo/Dray core is a pretty scary 6 or 7 seed.

Yep. With Butler gone they need a defensive anchor. He can also play center when Embiid misses games for rest or injury. They will need the veteran leadership also with Redick gone. I think they made a good move of paying Horford rather than what it would have cost to keep Butler around. I believe that his contract has several bonuses that rely on winning championships also.

Jake

It can never be a good thing when you go on national TV blasting your management for downplaying your injury... In the midst of everyone speculating you downplaying and somewhat forcing KD's hand to come back in the Finals... I m just saying.. Those types of things can't be overlooked when it comes down to business and perception.

"Last year it happened to me," Iguodala said. "I missed the last three games of the Houston series, it goes to Game 7. We barely get out of that series and now you looking at me like 'when you coming back?' And I had a fractured leg and but it's being put out there like you got a bone bruise. Like 'no, it’s a fracture.'

"So I’m fighting with the team, I'm fighting with people, I'm fighting with the media. Then my teammates ask me everyday 'How you feeling? How you feeling?'"

"So with K[evin Durant], he getting it from everywhere too: 'How you feeling? How you feeling?' — not just from the team, but from family and people close to him."

Don't even need to go that far. Guy was an absolute liability on the floor during the Finals on both ends. It was time. I'm amazed they got what they did for him, honestly.

Still possible he's on his way somewhere else at this moment as well. Who knows.

The amount the Warriors gave up for DLo (two firsts!) makes me think/hope something else is in the works. Otherwise, I'm getting some Corey Maggette vibes and I'm having flashbacks.

I mean, I'm sure Toronto doesn't want to lose Kawhi for nothing, right? RIGHT?!

If Kawhi really wants to win a title next year, I feel pretty strongly that his best chance is to run it back with Toronto. All of the East team contenders are marginally worse. There's no juggernaut waiting in the West unless he goes to LAL. If he does go to LAL, he's counting on all three of those guys, all of whom have recent experience missing full to half seasons due to injury, being ready to go for 42 min a night in the playoffs. If Toronto proved anything this year, it's that superstars are great, but you need to be able to put 7 competent pieces on the floor to win in the playoffs, no matter how good your 1 and 2 are.

If he wants to go to the Lakers, a sign and trade is pretty much an impossibility. Lakers already dumped all their players and all their picks to get Davis.

^ agreed. yes, he hit that one corner three...but that was all. sad to see him go but it was time.

I'm just wondering why people think DLO would want to return to the Lakers?

Am I missing something here? Just because Magic left, doesn't mean the drama behind his exit is non existent in his memory. The Lakers gave up on him and now he wants to go back there? It doesn't make any sense. The Brooklyn Lakers game last season was all about DLO knocking the Lakers out of the playoffs, purely from them trading him away and that was his revenge..

AD + LeBron + Max Deal - No Swaggy P = Lakers.

I thought there was a rumor/leak that he would consider playing for them, but I can't find the report anywhere now, so maybe I made it up in my head.

Can't speak to his thinking, maybe winning is a powerful drug?

Max Salary is a powerful drug..