Have you ever heard the saying, “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer?” Well, that is exactly what happened in the NBA last weekend. Seven-time all-star LaMarcus Aldridge just signed to the Brooklyn Nets to a minimum deal, officially giving the Brooklyn Nets an all-star starting five.
LaMarcus Aldridge was the cornerstone of the Trailblazers and Spurs once upon a time. Obviously, he is not in his prime. The man is 35 and is not having a great season. However, this does not mean he cannot contribute to a championship team. This year, he is averaging 14 points and five rebounds. But what is scary is that he has proven that he can have a big game. He can still be lethal from the mid-range and could take advantage of a lot of the smaller centers in the league. He fits in well with the Nets’ style of play, which is to outscore absolutely everyone.
The Brooklyn Nets now have a combined total of 43 all-star appearances on their team. With the addition of Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, they not only have a superstar starting lineup, but they have a very deep roster. Despite being former all-stars, Griffin and Aldridge will most likely come off the bench. However, I doubt they would mind considering they accepted minimum deals to join the team. Deandre Jordan will likely still start just because of his relationship with Kyrie and KD, along with Joe Harris, who at this point is a better player and fit than the former all-stars. Regardless, it is going to be hard for opposing teams to contain all of the scoring from the Nets.
Is that it? Are the Nets now just going to stroll to the championship?
While yes, the Nets are my favorite to win it all, the season isn’t a complete wash. The Los Angeles Lakers signed Andre Drummond, giving NBA fans hope of parity. I love this move for the Lakers: people love to hate on Drummond, but he is still one of the best bigs in the league. He is a rebounding monster, and he will get the Lakers tons of extra possessions, rebounding and scoring from the center position. I wasn’t a big fan of the Lakers losing Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee during the off-season. Even though they got Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell, they were losing what I thought made them special which was a dominant paint presence, and Drummond brings that back.
As much as I had hoped Drummond would go to the Boston Celtics (you know, as a Celtics fan), I was relieved when I heard Drummond went to the Lakers. The news about Drummond came a day after the news about Aldridge, so it felt like the Lakers were making a counterattack at the Nets.
This team is going to be vilified by many. When LeBron joined the Miami Heat, people hated them; when KD joined the Golden State Warriors, they did the same. This is the next team people will blame for “why they don’t watch the NBA anymore.” The way this team was constructed feels like a video game. When it was just KD and Kyrie (not to mention their depth), it was enough to win it all, and then they added James Harden, and we thought that was a lot. Now they hit us with two more former all-stars, and it feels like overkill.