Robbie Stratakos Articles - Page 2

The 2021-22 NBA season is off to an ominous start for Marvin Bagley III, as it concerns his future with the Sacramento Kings. Bagley has been phased out of head coach Luke Walton’s rotation so much so that he has played just 10 minutes in the Kings’ first four regular season games. With an uncertain […]

Somehow, someway Buddy Hield is still a member of the Sacramento Kings. This bewilderment derives from the ongoing trade rumors concerning the University of Oklahoma product, Kings’ head coach Luke Walton moving him to the bench and the team’s continued playoff shortcomings. Lo and behold, we have another Buddy Hield trade rumor courtesy of HoopsHype’s […]

The NBA Western Conference is habitually stiff, which leads to a handful of legitimately competitive teams missing the playoffs. At the moment, there are six teams in the conference that are rebuilding and/or trying to turn a corner with a young core. Those teams are the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota […]

The 2021-22 NBA season is going to be a unique ride. On one hand, the Eastern Conference has more depth with a handful of young teams coming into their own last season, as well as a busy offseason for teams near the bottom of the playoff picture. Meanwhile, the NBA Western Conference is a bit […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a treasure trove of young players and future draft picks. Regarding the former, the Thunder have the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon, Ty Jerome, Josh Giddey (he was selected with the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft), Tre Mann (he was selected […]

Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have led a New Orleans Pelicans team that has been one of the more compelling non-playoff teams in recent memory. What will it take for them to finally crack the playoffs next season? That would be one of their young guards becoming a prominent scorer. There are three prime candidates […]

Though it ended in a discouraging first-round series loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks are coming off an encouraging 2020-21 NBA season. The latter went 41-31, snatching the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and saw Julius Randle become its franchise player. All the while, they were an elite defensive unit, finishing […]

Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets are as deep as any team in the Eastern Conference which is a product of their miraculous bargain-bin, void-filling NBA offseason. One of those signings fell through the cracks, however, and will have a profound impact on head coach Steve Nash’s rotation. That signing is point guard Patty Mills. […]

D’Angelo Russell might be amused by this next question. Place your bets on who will appear in a game for their team first: Deshaun Watson or Ben Simmons? Yes, it has become that hectic with the Philadelphia 76ers and their floor general of four seasons. Time is running out for the Sixers to move Simmons […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have embraced the NBA’s version of senior living: they currently have 10 players on their roster who are 32 or older. While it’s natural to doubt whether this roster can get the Purple and Gold back to the NBA Finals, the concerns surrounding head coach Frank Vogel’s team from an age […]

The Atlanta Hawks are officially a player in the Eastern Conference. This season is about the Hawks building on their stunning run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, with a goal of getting the ball rolling early after struggling out of the gates a year ago, when they began 14-20. Needless to say, third-year wing […]

The Toronto Raptors are trying to bounce back from a season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 NBA season. What’s the key to them getting back on track? Scottie Barnes flourishing in his rookie season. Toronto selected Barnes with the fourth overall pick in July’s NBA Draft. In […]

Kyle Lowry further weaponizes the Miami Heat, but if they’re going to win the Eastern Conference, let alone the NBA Finals, they need a little more oomph. That oomph is a healthy Victor Oladipo. Injuries have held back Oladipo for the better part of the last three years, as he has suffered two season-ending knee […]

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers want a divorce but can’t find a lawyer to facilitate the transaction. On Simmons’ side, there are plenty of teams with reported interest in him, but there’s one that’s an under-the-radar landing spot. That destination is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are in a funky spot. They moved […]

The Golden State Warriors have improved their roster this offseason to the extent that they should be able to contend for the NBA Finals next season. What turns that probable outcome into an inevitable one is if James Wiseman makes an enormous second-year jump. Wiseman is coming off a mixed bag of a rookie season. […]

When healthy, the Brooklyn Nets are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. That’s the key, though. Injuries are the only thing standing in the Nets’ way of making the NBA Finals for the first time since 2003. Regarding their roster, the Nets are the clear-cut best team in the NBA from top to […]

The Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers each hit their own buffer last season, so to speak. Philadelphia failed to escape the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Meanwhile, Portland was bounced out of the Western Conference Playoffs in Round 1 for the second consecutive season and fourth time […]

The Washington Wizards’ busy offseason has made new head coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s rotation 12 men deep. Whether that yields positive results in the 2021-22 NBA season comes down to how well Spencer Dinwiddie and Bradley Beal jell in the team’s starting backcourt. Dinwiddie is the most pivotal pickup for the Wizards this offseason, as […]

NBA free agency has concluded for all intents and purposes, as only a handful of players remain available who would play a significant role in a team’s rotation. Now, while the likes of Kyle Lowry (Miami Heat) and DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls) found new homes and Russell Westbrook was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, […]

Reports have continually stated that the Indiana Pacers are amenable to trading Jeremy Lamb, who has been hamstrung by injuries of late. The wing is entering the final season of a three-year, $32 million deal and has an uncertain role in new head coach Rick Carlisle’s rotation. With Lamb out of the starting five and […]

The Memphis Grizzlies continue to trend in the right direction. Last season they went 38-34 and grinded their way to the Western Conference playoffs by beating the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors in the NBA Play-in Tournament — albeit they lost to the Utah Jazz in five games in the first round of […]

The Indiana Pacers had a bizarre 2020-21 NBA season in the Eastern Conference, to put it modestly. In what was year one of the Nate Bjorkgren era, the Pacers appeared in the NBA Play-In Tournament as the ninth seed, beating the Charlotte Hornets and then losing to the Washington Wizards. Prior to the play-in round, […]

Running it back in the Western Conference is a daunting task, especially with the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Russell Westbrook and a bevy of proven players this offseason. With that said, the Phoenix Suns are still the favorites to repeat as Western Conference champions. The Suns went from being the 13th seed in the West […]

The Dallas Mavericks need Goran Dragic. The Mavs have had a respectable offseason but little more. Is it terrible? It is not. Is it phenomenal? It is not. Here’s what new general manager Nico Harrison has pulled off thus far this summer: Traded Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics for Moses Brown Picked up team […]

The Toronto Raptors are basically saying that they’re not open to trading Pascal Siakam unless someone blows them away. Translation: if some team gives them exactly what they’re looking for, Siakam could be on the move. While he and the Raptors are coming off a tumultuous season, Siakam is a highly impactful and compelling player. […]

Yes, the Houston Rockets’ abrupt rebuild likely leads to the team missing the playoffs next season and the following season. With that said, they have a foundation of compelling young players to build through, which is all the Houston hopeful could ask for. Second-year head coach Stephen Silas has four players, in particular, to be […]

The New York Knicks are in the midst of a void-filling offseason that should be enough for them to return to the NBA playoffs next season. Now they need a new dimension to their operation, and that comes from their 2019 first-round draft pick, RJ Barrett, making the jump to stardom. Barrett has gradually improved […]

The Miami Heat have a lot of crucial decisions to make over the next week, one of them deciding whether to re-sign guard Kendrick Nunn. With Nunn and Duncan Robinson being restricted free agents and the team being on the hunt for a permanent point guard solution, it’s reasonable to think a core piece of […]

Lou Williams can still fill up the cup. The 34-year-old guard and three-time recipient of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award is coming off a split season between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers. He finished the regular season averaging a combined 11.3 points on 39.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc […]

Rebuilding teams with a boatload of draft picks like the Oklahoma City Thunder should always be open to making significant trades. However, that does not mean trading away the best thing your franchise has going for itself. In other words, the Thunder would be out of their minds to move Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. There have been […]

Armed with the fifth and eighth selections in this week’s 2021 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic have the chance to add a pair of significant contributors to new head coach Jamahl Mosley’s rotation. After blowing up their veteran core at this year’s NBA trade deadline (Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier), the Magic are […]

If the Portland Trail Blazers ever genuinely indulge in trade inquiries for Damian Lillard, the Philadelphia 76ers should be at the front of the line. The 76ers need Damian Lillard more than any other NBA contender. Reality check: the 76ers aren’t winning the NBA Finals with this bunch. They can wish upon a star all […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo can’t do this, and he can’t do that. That used to define his NBA career. Now being an NBA champion at the age of 26 defines his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Greek Freak just proved that you don’t need to follow superstar trends to find success in the NBA. At every […]

In his two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Carmelo Anthony proved that he’s capable of thriving as a secondary scoring option, as well as a bench scorer. Across his last two seasons, Anthony averaged a combined 14.3 points per game while shooting 39.9 percent from beyond the arc (28.3 minutes per contest), playing alongside […]

Big man Lauri Markkanen is one of the wild cards of the upcoming NBA free-agent period. A soon-to-be restricted free agent, Markkanen’s role with the Chicago Bulls has been all over the place recently. Given them selecting Patrick Williams with the fourth pick in last year’s NBA Draft and acquiring star big man Nikola Vucevic […]

Evan Fournier continues to become more productive and impactful with age. Fournier, 28, is one of the better shooting scorers in the NBA. He’s efficient from the field, can shoot off the dribble and fills up the cup at a reasonable rate. In a season split between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, Fournier averaged […]

The New York Knicks went from finishing 24 games below .500 in the 2019-20 NBA season to hosting a playoff series the ensuing season (the Knicks finished the 2020-21 regular season as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 41-31 record, albeit they lost in five games to the Atlanta Hawks in the […]

While DeMarcus Cousins’ NBA career has been a case study, he’s still a productive player who can make a difference on a playoff team. This past season he found success with the Los Angeles Clippers after a midseason departure from the Houston Rockets. In the 16 regular-season games he appeared in for the Clippers, Cousins […]

Charlotte Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham is one of the more sneaky-good players set to hit the NBA free agent market this offseason. Across the last two seasons he has averaged a combined 16.6 points and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. It was just a year ago that Graham […]