Welcome back to The Hoops Nerd.
I hope you had a nice summer and all, but the NBA is about to start back and it's time to lock yourself up to your couch and watch basketball for a reckless and irresponsible amount of hours. It's preseason, so every team is full of questions and has very little answers to offer yet. So to celebrate this period of effervescent incertitude, The Hoops Nerd hands out its MIP Awards to the Most Intriguing Player in every franchise. Today, we do the Atlantic Division.
BROOKLYN NETS
Williams has all the talent in the world, yet he seems to be leeching the life out of whatever team he's playing for. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov found another way to offer him the world this off-season and it's interesting how Williams will react to that and to the arrival of new head coach, legendary point guard and most beloved Nets player of all-time, Jason Kidd. There is a lot of pressure on D-Will to play at elite level this season, which he hasn't done for quite some time, now. If he doesn't return to his former self, he might be identified as the problem, next time around and get his ass traded.
BOSTON CELTICS
Mr. Tough Luck himself will FINALLY have a chance to show what he can do in the basketball wasteland of Boston, next year. Caught between serious health issues and Paul Pierce for the last five years or so, Green stepped up during the last playoffs and was a bright, shining beacon for a pathetic, lifeless Celtics team. He will have all the minutes he want this year, unless he gets traded by Danny Ainge in a bold tanking move for this year's spectacular entry draft. It's now or never for Green.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Granted he will never be again the player he once was, the starts seems to have aligned for Ama're to finally start earning his keep with the (MY) Knicks, instead of , you know, just looking fly from the bench. He was a complete non-factor last season, so if he can put his powerful frame of his to contribution, get rebounds and second chance shots, he could be an interesting X factor for the (MY) Knicks. It's been three years Ama're has been in the Big Apple and we've seen him way too little.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
I almost put Andrew Wiggins in this slot. To call this years' 76ers a basketball wasteland would be an understatement here. Young is the only pertinent, competitive player they have for this year and the interest of watching him is to see if GM Sam Hinkie will show the mercy of trading him to a relevant team and end his nightmare before the end of the season. In all logic, if the Sixers are so hell-bent on tanking and winning the lottery, trading their best asset is a logical move. We are all with you, Thad Young. You would be a great bench presence for a contending team!
TORONTO RAPTORS
I am almost never excited for a Raptors season. I mean, their most intriguing player ON COURT is Dwight Buycks, who I suspect will develop into a great role player and leave Toronto for a most functional franchise, UNLESS Masai-the-Magician turns it around. I mean, he unloaded the horrible Andrea Bargnani's horrible contract to the (MY) Knicks and got a freakin' first round pick in exchange! How did that happen? I have the feeling the Raptors will stop being a treadmill team in the near future and finally move forward. I'm most excited about seeing what Ujiri's next move will be.
Next time, I'll be going over the Southeast Division.
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