What Three Players Would You Protect From Your Favorite NBA Team If There Was An Expansion Draft?
I saw this tweet come across my timeline a little while ago and I have to say, what an awesome question. Seeing as how I haven’t been able to focus all day after the Smart news, I figured why not blow this out for every team and who I would pick as my three guys to hold on to in the event the NBA ever smartens up and adds a team in Seattle and one other city to keep it an even number. Now chances are if you’re a fan of a team I mention you may disagree, this is just my own personal opinion as to who I would keep. If you have a different list, tell me in the comments or hit me up on Twitter and let’s have a nice civilized internet conversation. Alright, let’s jump in
Atlanta Hawks – John Collins, Trae Young, Taurean Prince
To be honest all I would really care about as a Hawks fan is those first two guys, but I went Prince over someone like Bazemore because I feel like we’ve already seen the Hawks throw out Bazemore in potential trades, so I’m not even sure they would want him.
Boston Celtics – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving
Curveball here because there was like a 64% chance I put Yabu on this list. Sadly, this is a no brainer for me from a talent and age perspective. Considering how deep the talent level is on this team, it’s one of the selfish reasons I hope the fans of Seattle get a team by taking like the Magic instead of an expansion draft. I feel wrong even entertaining the thought to be honest.
Brooklyn Nets – D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie
A little repetitive with two point guards, but you can play Russell off ball if you need to. Much like the Hawks this was a tough one to find a third guy, you could talk me into Caris LeVert sure, but other than that there isn’t much to choose from
Charlotte Hornets – Kemba Walker, Miles Bridges, Malik Monk
Apologies to guys like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Frank the Tank, but in my opinion these are the three best players on CHA and that makes this a fairly easy decision. Even if Kemba is getting up there in age, you pretty much have to keep one of the best players in the franchise’s history.
Chicago Bulls – Wendell Carter Jr, Baby Dirk, Zach LaVine
Yeah, there’s a chance you may need to address the guard situation moving forward, but these three are clearly the focus of the Bulls moving forward, and sadly this means I say goodbye to Jabari Parker, Dunn, Valentine etc.
Cleveland Cavaliers – Colin Sexton, Kevin Love, JR Smith
To be honest I wouldn’t want to keep anyone outside of Sexton, but you have to include JR simply for the comedy factor. If you’re a Cavs fan you could talk me into keeping Cedi, he’s like their Yabu, and he did show flashes at times last season. Either way, I don’t think Cavs fans would be too upset if almost their entire roster never came back.
Dallas Mavericks – Luka Doncic, Dennis Smith Jr, Dirk
By rule, you have to keep Dirk. He deserves to be a Mav for life, but that means I’m saying goodbye to DeAndre Jordan, Wes Matthews and Harrison Barnes, three guys who are pretty damn good. Maybe if this draft happens after this next season and Dirk retires you can go in a different direction, but as long as he’s lacing them up he gets a spot, no discussion.
Denver Nuggets – Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray
Another team where some tough decisions have to be made, only because this means guys like Michael Porter Jr, their prized rookie, is now available. There are also other young prospects like Malik Beasley and Trey Lyles that you’d be giving up, but between the talent and age of the three I selected, I think you’d get over it pretty quickly as a Nuggets fan.
Also credit to me for being unbiased and not selecting Isaiah.
Detroit Pistons – Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Luke Kennard
Honestly things got pretty ugly after those first two guys. I guess you could argue Stanley Johnson, but I’d rather have the shooting. The good news is I’m not sure any of the expansion teams would take any of their guards, so they may be OK in that regard.
Golden State Warriors – Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green
As the tweet mentioned, this is where it gets nearly impossible. No matter how you slice it, someone awesome is getting left off. In my scenario, that’s both Klay and Boogie. I know from a talent perspective Draymond Green may not be better than those two, but I will go to the grave with my stance that he is a huge part of why the Warriors are the Warriors. I’m going to want that moving forward knowing that whoever I don’t pick is going to be snatched in this expansion draft.
Houston Rockets – James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela
OK I’m cheating a little because I’m just assuming Capela stays, but this isn’t really a debate for me. These are their three best players and while Eric Gordon has been nice, I wish him nothing but the best on his new team.
Indiana Pacers – Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis
Even though I’m very intrigued by Aaron Holiday, I’m not going to over think this. Oladipo/Sabonis are two young players who are on the rise, and Turner is already a certified beast that not enough people talk about when it comes to some of the best young big men in the league.
LA Clippers – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley
Surprisingly the Clippers do have a number of intriguing names, but I’m going these three for this reason. SGA showed me this summer he’ll probably be a monster, Tobias is my go to scorer, and Avery because I will always have love for him in my heart. So yeah, I’m saying goodbye to Gallo, Lou Williams, maybe Beverly, but that’s fine.
LA Lakers – LeBron James, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball
This sure would be tougher next summer once they bring in more free agents, but it’s already tough because you could make every case for Kuzma instead of Lonzo. I went Lonzo simply because I’d like to have his defense/passing around, and the fact that there’s no way LaVar would allow you to choose anyone over his son. If we do this next summer though you can for sure replace Ball with Kawhi.
Memphis Grizzlies – Mike Conley, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr
You know the more I think about it maybe the Grizzlies wouldn’t protect Gasol since he’s so old, and instead might go with like a Dillon Brooks or JaMychal Green in that spot, two guys who are talented as hell. I’m going Brooks simply because I love wings and my hope would be nobody even notices Green is available because he is versatile as hell.
Miami Heat – Justice Winslow, Bam Adebayo, James Johnson
I wouldn’t expect MIA to keep any of their point guards considering they are already trying to get out of Tyler Johnson and Waiters’ deals, and while it pains me to not keep Kelly Olynyk, these three are clearly the best options moving forward to make sure you protect if you’re the Heat in my opinion.
Milwaukee Bucks – Giannis, Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon
The tough one for me here was not choosing Thon Maker, who is an absolute freak. I went Brogdon instead because A) he’s really good and B) he’s probably the best point guard on their roster. The new look Bucks would definitely lose some of their length with Parker and Maker both gone, but I think this is the trio you have to roll with.
Minnesota Timberwolves – KAT, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins
I know most MIN fans probably want Wiggins gone, but you have to keep him in this scenario. Who are you going to go with over him? Plus if you have to factor in contracts, it wouldn’t shock me if no expansion teams bring that on.
New Orleans Pelicans – Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Julius Randle
Pretty easy decision here. With Boogie out of the picture I’d rather have Randle than Mirotic protected, and as good as some of their guard depth was last season, all you’d really need to protect is Holiday.
New York Knicks – Kevin Knox, Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina
It was hard for me to not protect Mitchell Robinson based on the summer he just had, but I went Fankie Nicotine simply because we have NBA tape on him. He’s still so raw I would be upset if you didn’t protect him and he went on to put it all together for an expansion team. Obviously that’s exactly what would happen because it’s the Knicks, so I’m making the choice to kill that scenario from the jump.
Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams
About as easy a choice as they come.
Orlando Magic – Mo Bamba, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac
Sure you’d be giving up a talented Nikola Vucevic potentially, but honestly you can’t not choose these three. The age, the potential, the talent, no brainer city.
Philadelphia 76ers – Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz
I’m giving Fultz the benefit of the doubt here, and while it sucks to not protect Saric, you simply can’t give up on the #1 pick just yet. It’s why we heard them not even offer him in the Kawhi deal. If the Sixers are already protecting him, then so am I.
Phoenix Suns – Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Josh Jackson
This one hurts a little because I think Mikal Bridges will be really good, but I don’t care about Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss or TJ Warren. Honestly those guys most likely wouldn’t even be drafted in an expansion draft so the Suns wouldn’t even have to worry.
Portland Trail Blazers – Damian Lillard, CJ McCollumn, Jusuf Nurkic
No real debate here for me. I like Zach Collins sure, but not more than Nurkic and like the Suns, POR would probably be able to hang onto him anyway.
Sacramento Kings – De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III, Harry Giles
You run the risk of losing talented players like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, WCS, and Justin Jackson, but my trio is who I feel like are the real franchise cornerstones for the Kings. I saw enough from Harry Giles this summer to where if he can stay healthy I’m certain he’s going to be really awesome.
San Antonio Spurs – DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, LaMarcus Aldridge
This was actually tougher than I thought, because you put talented guys like Lonnie Walker and Derrick White out there to be snatched. I almost didn’t want to go LMA, but figured seeing as how he’s their second best player it made the most sense to include him.
Toronto Raptors – Kawhi Leonard, OG Anunoby, Kyle Lowry
Another team that you could have a bunch of different combinations. Maybe you go Saikam over Lowry because you’re confident no one would take VanVleet, but I’m certainly not wasting a spot for Valanciunas or Serge Ibaka. Whoever wants em can have em.
Utah Jazz – Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles
A good collection of talent, the Jazz are pretty deep, but to me you keep these three moving forward. Joe Ingles is so underrated he may be a little overrated, but the other two are no brainers.
Washington Wizards – John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr
So I’m not even sure the Wizards even want to keep these guys, I feel like they regret that Otto Porter contract, maybe you throw Oubre Jr in there instead, but you for sure are not keeping Dwight Howard. Get him off your team if you can in my opinion.
And that’s it! Yes, I admit this was a stupid exercise but it also just helped me kill like 30 minutes at work so I apologize for nothing. Let me know what you’d change and let’s get through this Thursday together.