What’s goin’ on, basketball fans? Blake Silverman from SI’s NBA team back here for this week’s edition of Open Floor.
We’re on the verge of training camp, which means we’re almost there, folks! Week 2 of the NFL just started last night and everyone’s probably still worried about their fantasy teams. Why on EARTH did I draft two tight ends in the first two rounds? That, my friends, is because us basketball sickos don’t have time for fantasy football draft prep. We’re all ready for the new NBA season, merely a month away.
This week, Chris Mannix, Liam McKeone and I got together to predict every team’s record for the upcoming season and, subsequently, the way-too-early playoff picture. Who will be atop each conference? What teams could disappoint? We break it all down to start us off.
The trade that sent Kawhi Leonard back to the Raptors was finally completed this week, which took some time after the NBA handed down severe punishments to the Clippers after nearly a yearlong investigation. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer came out and said he will accept the sanctions and hopes to move on. What does moving on look like for a franchise that’s down bad, though? McKeone takes us through what the future could look like for the Clippers.
We also offer an idea for the Pistons amid All-Star big man Jalen Duren’s dragged out restricted free agency. Plus, some notable internet moments, and we wanted to go to the back of our minds and give you our long-lost NBAer of the week.
Let’s get into it…
|
|
|
Graphic: Bryce Wood/Sports Illustrated
|
Close your eyes.
Now imagine it’s early April and you’re looking up the NBA standings after the final day of the regular season. Playoff matchups are set. Ah, yes, the best time of the year.
How do those matchups look? Which teams sprinted up the standings and who fell short of expectations? That’s the exercise we completed this week on SI dot com.
Our NBA writers—Chris Mannix, Liam McKeone and Blake Silverman—all filed their predictions for records around the league.
The No. 1 seeds in each conference:
-- West No. 1 seed: Spurs (63–19)
-- East No. 1 seed: Knicks (52–30)
Where did your favorite team fall in our prognostications? Read on to find out:
|
|
|
🤔 Three Things I Think I Think |
By Liam McKeone
1. I think of all the questions still lingering around Boston’s decision to trade Jaylen Brown, how well Paul George will fit with these Celtics is not one of them. As the man himself pointed out in his introductory press conference, George found great success playing alongside another alpha wing in Kawhi Leonard. Furthermore, he recognizes his job this season (even more so than his Clippers tenure) is to help Jayson Tatum do what he does best. As an elite off-ball shooter with outstanding defensive awareness, George has the tools to be a better No. 2 to Tatum than Brown ever was in terms of accentuating his game. Whether that makes the Celtics better is the ultimate question.
2. I think the Clippers should thank their lucky stars that the Kawhi Leonard trade went through as planned. The two unprotected first-round draft picks (in 2031 and 2033) Los Angeles secured from Toronto as part of the deal are now the franchise’s most valuable assets in light of the NBA’s plan to strip them of five first-rounders from 2029 to ‘33. Those negotiations would have gone much differently if the Raptors knew the Clippers would be desperate for picks in that range and wanted to put Leonard in the rearview as swiftly as possible. But I imagine reopening negotiations in light of the cap circumvention punishment would have inspired numerous issues for Toronto and so the deal was pushed through as-is. Fortunately for L.A.
3. I think we need a total reset on the jersey market. The NBA’s new “Specter Edition” jerseys are not very good and the league seems to be trying to create its own version of the NHL’s Original Six by limiting those Specter Edition jerseys to the eight oldest franchises in the league. Enough already! The NBA is steeped in plenty of its own tradition. It doesn’t need to borrow from another league, and certainly not for the purposes of making a new round of jerseys to sell that everyone will forget about within 10 months. The disease of more has deeply infected the jersey space in professional sports and it needs an overhaul. Badly.
|
|
|
|
🤫 Anonymous scouts break down all 30 NBA teams |
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
|
Ahead of the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.
Read on for unfiltered thoughts from a scout on the Pacific Division, and head over to SI.com each morning from now until mid-October to catch the latest scout’s takes on each team.
Golden State Warriors
“Steph Curry is amazing. Other than the injuries, there’s no regression. I mean, I'm sure if you watch film from 2017 or something, you would see some differences, but he's still one, two and three on your scouting report when you play them if he's healthy. … I think they're going to have to make a trade or Butler's going to have to come back a little bit early and be really healthy. Until he comes back, I think they're going to be in trouble.” Read the full anonymous scouting report here.
Los Angeles Clippers
“The Clippers are going to be interesting to watch. But I’m not sure there will be any easy answers for them. … I'm not a big Brandon Ingram fan. I know he had some good games last year, but he backed into the All-Star Game and he has a lot of flaws. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but I don't think he's the kind of guy you can just run all the actions for, get him all the shots. He's a more complimentary guy just because you look at him, you see his size and his length. I’m not really sold on him.” Read the full anonymous scouting report here.
Los Angeles Lakers
”I think the Lakers are going to be in trouble defensively. Walker Kessler is known for shot blocking, or I guess he's known for his defense, but really he's a good shot blocker. He's not, I don't think, a great all-around defender. But he can protect the rim. So I guess step one is not to give up layups. I’ll be curious to see how he does. … Offensively, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are great. But which one of them is going to guard?” Read the full anonymous scouting report here.
Phoenix Suns
“Bridges is one of those guys that passes the eye test. Analytics test, he's not as strong. But I think he'll help the Suns just with the size. They're going to be a pretty big, physical team on the perimeter. So I would expect him to be able to switch and guard some bigger guys with him, Brooks, even Booker's not slight. Booker is not an A+ defender either, but he's no slouch and he can fight. So Bridges adds quite a bit of the same to that, so they'll be pretty hard to attack with your small-small stuff.” Read the full anonymous scouting report here.
Sacramento Kings
“Everyone expects Sacramento to be bad, and they will be. But if Domantas Sabonis is healthy, they are going to win some games. He raises the floor on whatever team he is on. He can help a bad team compete and win a game, but he's never going to get you over the level you need to win consistently. But he can get a triple-double one night, and if someone else gets hot, maybe they can win a few games that way.” Read the full anonymous scouting report here.
|
|
|
By Blake Silverman
The best things we saw across the internet recently …
1. Adam Silver can’t escape Pablo Torre, who asked a heater of a question in the commissioner’s press conference on Tuesday.
2. I can’t accentuate how excited I am about this one. LeBron James has officially brought back—clears throat—TACO TUESDAYYY! Real ones remember. Unfortunately, apparently Polymarket will pay him much more than the 76ers will this season.
3. The Hawks are hosting a, um, singles night this season? If the dating apps aren’t working, maybe you’ll find your soulmate at an early January Hawks-Pacers game.
|
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
|
By Blake Silverman
You know what’s some good ol’ fun? Taking a walk down memory lane and naming random, forgotten athletes. We figured we’d bring an NBA version of that pastime to Open Floor.
In the first edition of Remember That Guy? I humbly offer Hakim Warrick. Anyone remember the big man from Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse team that won the national title in 2003? If not, you should. Warrick had the game-winning block in the waning seconds against Kansas, which gave the Orange the program’s only national championship to this day.
Warrick was the 19th pick in the 2005 draft by the Grizzlies and spent four seasons in Memphis, mostly in relief of Pau Gasol before the Spanish forward was traded to the Lakers. Warrick competed in the slam dunk contest as a rookie, which was the first of Nate Robinson’s three slam dunk titles. The Syracuse legend was a journeyman for his final four NBA seasons after his time in Memphis ended. He then went overseas and returned to play in the G League as recently as 2019.
|
|
|
|
By Blake Silverman
Usually, a 22-year-old All-Star and All-NBA center is retained on a handsome new contract when he hits free agency. The Pistons have reportedly offered that to Jalen Duren, one of the franchise’s home-grown talents, but the two sides remain apart in negotiations with the 2026–27 season on the near horizon.
Duren, who made his first All-Star appearance and was named third team All-NBA last season, is a restricted free agent. The restricted status gives Detroit the leverage; the franchise can pay Duren more than any other team and it can match an offer sheet he signs elsewhere.
At this point in the offseason, little is left to be determined. No team has the cap space to put a significant offer sheet in front of Duren that would force Detroit’s hand. A sign-and-trade is a possibility, but the Pistons have shown a reluctance to entertain potential offers.
That leaves two options: Duren inks a new, long-term deal with Detroit or he plays out the season on a $9.6 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The qualifying offer path is a risk for both sides. Duren would leave a ton of guaranteed money on the table this season and there’s an injury risk or a potential drop in his value over the course of the year. From the Pistons’ stance, the franchise could lose their All-Star big man for nothing if he signs the qualifying offer and walks a year from now.
A new deal is in the best interest of the player and the team. However, both parties remain apart on an exact contract number. Last Friday, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson reported that Detroit’s last offer to Duren was a five-year deal in the range of $190 million, while Duren and his team hope for at least $200 million. Maybe splitting hairs, but the Pistons will need to pay Ausar Thompson, who’s currently eligible for an extension, eventually and the franchise must be tight around the margins to put a long-term contender around its superstar, Cade Cunningham.
Should neither side budge and Duren signs the qualifying offer Detroit tendered him this summer to make him a restricted free agent, the Pistons must seriously consider moving on.
|
|
|
|
We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email.
Sports Publishing Solutions Inc.
625 Broadway, 10th floor
New York, NY. 10012
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Open Floor newsletter.
You can unsubscribe here. Privacy Policy – Terms & Conditions
© 2026 Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC.
All betting and gambling content included in the Open Floor newsletter is intended for individuals 21+ (18+ in DC, KY, NH, RI, and WY). Betting and gambling content, including picks and predictions, are based on individual commentators' opinions and we do not guarantee any success or profits. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER or texting 800GAM.
|
Click this link to view the newsletter in your browser.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment