Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 144

The Phoenix Suns looked like a team dead in the water from late December to early January; their offense was sputtering, and their supporting cast was not able to weather the lengthy injury absence of Devin Booker. But the Suns put their foot down on Thursday midnight ET, and pulled off one of the biggest […]

The Phoenix Suns pulled off one of the biggest trades in NBA history when they sent Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks, and one pick swap for Kevin Durant, one of the greatest scorers of all time. Simply put, the Western Conference playoff race is heating up. The Suns’ addition of Durant […]

It was only a matter of time before the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with Russell Westbrook, and that day finally arrived on Wednesday. The Lakers were able to parlay Westbrook’s expiring contract, along with a top-four protected 2027 first-round pick, into three solid pieces that fit more seamlessly alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis […]

Russell Westbrook wowed the entire world with his performance in the 2020-21 campaign, tallying 38 triple-doubles as he carried the mediocre Washington Wizards to the eighth seed. It was clear then that Westbrook still had what it takes to keep a team afloat with his floor-raising capabilities, as the Wizards were able to overcome a […]

The Miami Heat added Kyle Lowry during the 2021 offseason, looking at him as one of the final pieces to their championship puzzle. At the very least, Lowry would be a huge upgrade over Goran Dragic, who was showing clear signs of decline by then. With Jimmy Butler leading the way, Lowry fit the Heat’s […]

The Portland Trail Blazers took their first step towards retooling around Damian Lillard after trading away starting small forward Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailuk, Ryan Arcidiacono and a protected future first-round pick. For a team trying to remain competitive as they look to maximize the remaining years of […]

It has been a long time coming, but the inevitable has finally happened. Russell Westbrook is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. After a tumultuous one and a half-year stint with the purple and gold, the Lakers finally cut their losses and traded away Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick (protected from […]

The Milwaukee Bucks, despite having to deal with injury problems to Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis, have remained one of the best teams in the league with a 37-17 record at the time of writing. However, the Bucks know the value of adding some much-needed insurance to help protect them when the injury bug strikes […]

The Portland Trail Blazers started off the season on the right foot; it looked like adding Jerami Grant to the core of Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and Josh Hart was enough to return the Blazers to, at the very least, their former playoff contending glory. However, the Blazers have fallen all the way […]

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder during LeBron James’ record-breaking night is well and truly the epitome of their 2022-23 campaign. The story of James carrying his substandard Lakers squad with an incredible performance only for it to go to waste due to poor defense and inability to take care […]

It’s not often that a window for title contention opens for any team in the NBA. Just ask the early 2010s Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that never won a championship despite boasting an embarrassment of riches, and the recent iteration of the Brooklyn Nets, whose vaunted Big 3 only played in 16 games together […]

Since July 2019, fans of the Los Angeles Clippers have had plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their team’s chances of competing for an NBA championship. After all, staging the free agency coup of Kawhi Leonard by trading for Paul George meant that the Clippers, indeed, meant business as they added two of the […]

The Toronto Raptors, despite finding themselves involved in almost every trade talk that could alter the landscape of the league prior to the NBA trade deadline, have stood pat, choosing not to deal their core players, none of whom are more productive at the moment than Pascal Siakam. And try as other teams might, the […]

The Golden State Warriors appeared to have all the makings of a team that would make a rousing second half run. With Stephen Curry back from his midseason hiatus due to a shoulder injury (and perhaps a minor trade or pickup here and there to shore up the team’s weaknesses), the Warriors had all the […]

There was a ton of hullabaloo after the Brooklyn Nets decided to send Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks following the polarizing point guard’s trade request. But teams around the league know that the real trade prize remains locked into a long-term contract in Brooklyn until the end of the 2025-26 season. Thus, it’s no […]

The Brooklyn Nets are the ultimate case study in just how fast a title contending window can close in the NBA. This time last year, the Nets still had Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving in town. Sure, they were struggling amid Durant’s injury-related absence, but when healthy (and when the vaccine restrictions in […]

There has been considerable uncertainty surrounding the Phoenix Suns in recent weeks. They almost pulled off a blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving, and they are one of the most notable teams that have thrown their hat into the ring for a potential Kevin Durant trade. Even then, Suns players who could be on their way […]

Kyrie Irving who? The polarizing point guard, now with the Dallas Mavericks, threw a wrench into the Nets’ plans when he demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week. The Nets, perhaps fed up with Irving’s antics, granted him his wish. However, trading away a player of Irving’s caliber could do nothing but […]

For four seasons, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (along with Chris Bosh) joined forces in South Beach to terrorize the league with their incredible scoring prowess and eye-popping athletic capabilities. Their four-year partnership was a fruitful one, resulting in four straight NBA Finals appearances, two of which ended in the ultimate triumph – a championship. […]

Kyrie Irving’s trade request certainly sent front offices around the NBA scrambling for their phones or laptops to convene on a conference call to determine if trading for the polarizing Brooklyn Nets point guard is worth the risk, given his penchant for off-court trouble, injury risk, and impending free agency. But for the Phoenix Suns, […]

Kyrie Irving made waves on Friday afternoon when he formally requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, threatening to leave the team in free agency should they keep him. As is the case with every superstar on the trade block, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves linked once more in a trade for the polarizing […]

Kyrie Irving made waves once more, but this time, it’s for taking a page out of his Brooklyn Nets teammate Kevin Durant’s playbook. Irving, the mercurial point guard, requested a trade from the Nets – threatening to leave for nothing in free agency if they decide to keep him in town. As a result, plenty […]

The Brooklyn Nets, despite losing Kevin Durant to injury in mid-January, appeared to have righted the ship following a tumultuous start to the season. As one may recall, the Nets have had to weather a trade request from Durant, an anti-Semitic Twitter saga from Kyrie Irving, and pressing questions regarding Ben Simmons’ commitment to winning […]

There seems to be more trouble for the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets than it seems on the surface. Fans started to grow suspicious that there may be more locker room turmoil in the Mile High City than they’re letting on, especially after the Nuggets made second-year guard Bones Hyland available for trade. And Jamal Murray’s […]

What a difference a year has made for the Charlotte Hornets. It wasn’t that long ago when the Hornets won 43 games, good enough for a play-in berth. With the Hornets on an upward trajectory led by the nascent LaMelo Ball, it seemed like the only way to go for Michael Jordan’s franchise was up. […]

The Miami Heat began the 2022-23 campaign playing lethargic, uninspired basketball unbecoming of a team that won an Eastern Conference-leading 53 games last season. It looked as if the Heat were playing like they were out of gas on a nightly basis, as evidenced by their populous injury report that seemed to affect their core […]

The Utah Jazz came out as one of the biggest winners in the history of NBA trades after they shipped out Rudy Gobert for a package consisting of four first-round picks, a pick swap, and three solid role players in Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Patrick Beverley (in addition to Leandro Bolmaro). And now, they […]

In Game 4 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ matchup against the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2021 postseason, the Clippers appear to have seized momentum in the series. With only five and a half minutes left, the Clippers were leading the Jazz by 17, 105-88. They looked like they were in complete […]

The Indiana Pacers are currently moving in rapid descent at 9.8 m/s², losing 10 of their past 11 games entering their Friday night battle against the Los Angeles Lakers thanks in large part to Tyrese Haliburton’s absences due to knee and elbow injuries. However, head coach Rick Carlisle and the rest of the Pacers faithful […]

The Milwaukee Bucks seemed to suffer a bit from the odd late tip-off time of their Thursday night clash against the Los Angeles Clippers. Through the majority of the first three quarters, the Bucks, outside of a dominant Giannis Antetokounmpo, looked lethargic. Even Jrue Holiday, the 2023 NBA All-Star selection, was not able to bring […]

The Denver Nuggets are currently in the position they are in the Western Conference standings – first, with a 36-16 record – thanks to the nightly, MVP-caliber exploits of Nikola Jokic. Amid his continued dominance, fans may be starting to find themselves becoming a bit desensitized to Jokic’s eye-popping performances. Even then, the Joker continues […]

The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves mired in a wretched funk as of late. They have lost ten of their past 12 games without Zion Williamson, including nine straight entering their Thursday night battle against the Dallas Mavericks. With these two teams jockeying for position in the standings, this game could have major implications in […]

At the time of writing, the Atlanta Hawks are the definition of a bang average team. After their resounding win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night that respawned a hilarious meme, the Hawks are now 26-26, one of only two teams in the NBA with as many wins as losses. An easy scapegoat for […]

More than 60 percent of the season has passed, and yet here the Utah Jazz remain as one of the contenders for a playoff spot in the congested Western Conference. Many expected the Jazz to fall off precipitously from their hot start, but Lauri Markkanen’s All-Star caliber season and the Jazz’ group of underrated hard […]

OG Anunoby has found himself as the subject of plenty of trade rumors over the past year or so. And for the Toronto Raptors, the best course of action for them may be to cash in on the 25-year old forward as a trade asset, given that he could net them a considerable return. Moreover, […]

The Dallas Mavericks appear to be in a bind as of late, despite Luka Doncic’s MVP-caliber play. Christian Wood, acquired by the Mavs this past offseason to give Doncic a reliable co-star, has missed the Mavs’ past six games due to a fractured thumb, which further complicates the Mavs’ plans leading up to the NBA […]

The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors, on the surface, appear to be ideal trade partners. The Clippers, ever since the dawn of the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, have been looking to bolster their floor general situation, while the Raptors, currently at 23-30, appear willing to finally face the music and sell off some of […]

It wasn’t that long ago when all was going well in the New Orleans Pelicans’ world. On January 2, the Pelicans were sitting comfortably within the Western Conference top three alongside the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies with a 23-14 record despite suffering two straight losses at that point. However, Zion Williamson suffered a hamstring […]

The Dallas Mavericks are an interesting case study on how to properly (or improperly) build around a generational talent like Luka Doncic. Doncic, much like LeBron James in the early 2000s, became too good, too soon (not a bad thing, mind you) that their teams (the Mavs and the 2000s Cleveland Cavaliers) were unable to […]