1. Joel Embiid (20.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 24.1 PER) Far and away the most talented rookie from the 2016/2017 season, Joel Embiid was not able to stay on the court long enough to finish the season with Rookie of the Year honors. Regardless, Embiid proved that he was by far the most talented and impactful rookie from last season, becoming just the sixth rookie since 2000 to average 20+ points per game, joining LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Tyr

Losing has been a staple of the New York Knicks' existence in the NBA the past couple of years. The team has won 37 or fewer games each of the last four seasons including a 17-win campaign in 2014-15 that ranks as the franchise's least successful season in history. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, the team may need to lose more before becoming a winner. New York has a solid core of young players with the potential to grow together. Kristaps Porzingis looks like a perennial All-

The NBA season always throws a few surprises and curveballs at us. Heck, have you seen this offseason? If that’s a precursor as to what’s ahead of us we’re in for one wild ride. There were a few surprises last year in relation to a few teams. We had the Wizards become an elite team out East, the resurgence of the Houston Rockets under Mike D’Antoni and how could we forget the Cinderella story of the Miami Heat? Spoelstra led Waiters’ Island to a .500 season, missing out on th

Being the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year was not good enough for Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge. “Trader Danny” pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade that sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the highly-coveted 2018 Brooklyn Nets first-round pick for Kyrie Irving.* Kyrie Irving had been in trade rumors for weeks after he reportedly requested a trade from Cleveland to get out of LeBron James’ shadow. The Celtics gave up two starters from last

The New York Knicks and turmoil have gone hand in hand over the last few years under Phil Jackson’s reign as president of the team. Jackson became the team’s president in March of 2014 and his tenure was anything but smooth. Finally, after butting heads with both Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Jackson was removed from his position. Steve Mills, who was their general manager under Jackson, was promoted to the spot and is looking to turn around the fortune of the Knick

OTG’s Nick Fay and Kory Waldron breakdown the Cavs/Celtics blockbuster trade and Paul George/Lakers tampering allegations. Cavs/Celtics Blockbuster Trade - Kyrie Irving to Boston - Isiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’ 2018 first-round pick to Cleveland - Who won the trade? - Did the Celtics get better? - Did the Cavs get better? - IT’s contract situation next summer - Kyrie future in Boston Lakers Tampering Allegations - Did the Lakers tamper with Paul George?

The Boston Celtics agreed to send Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and Brooklyn’s unprotected first-round pick in 2018 to Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving. Danny Ainge finally did it. After hoarding the Celtics’ future assets for what seemed like an entire lifetime, he cashed in for the 25-year-old 4-time all-star. Thomas will be sent off after having the most historic and memorable scoring season in the history of the franchise. He became a revered ath

Last summer the Atlanta Hawks signed Dwight Howard to a 3 year $70 million contract and practically nobody cared. The previous contract he signed, with the Houston Rockets, was when he was the marquee free agent in what was considered a coup for Daryl Morey. Flash forward to 2017 and Howard is traded to the hinterlands of the NBA, Charlotte, North Carolina, to join the flailing Hornets franchise. In what looks like a mutual salary dump of two horrendous contracts, the Hawks a

Kyrie Irving sent shock waves throughout the basketball world when he requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert. This mind boggling ordeal comes after the Cleveland Cavaliers third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, one of which resulted in a championship. Now it is LeBron James who is forced to face his own future legacy. Without Irving (who averaged 25 points per game in 2017) and his clutch late-game performances, James has to wonder whether he w

For the second time this offseason the Denver Nuggets have been linked to a high-profile point guard looking for a new town. Whether or not that comes to fruition is anyone’s guess. In an announcement that threatens to shift the balance of power even further from the Eastern Conference, All-Star guard Kyrie Irving voiced his displeasure in playing with LeBron James and asked for a trade out of Cleveland. Lots of talk and little action have come since then, but with the Clevel

You have to give credit to the Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer. He’s taken a franchise that was in turmoil back in the Donald Sterling days to a team with renewed energy and direction. His recent decision to remove coach Doc Rivers from having any front office duties and promoting Lawrence Frank is one that shows intelligence and savvy. The God of NBA journalism, Adrian Wojnarowski put it best when describing the situation: “Rivers' losing his front-office duties is

DeMarcus Cousins’ has a reputation for undermining team chemistry by recurrently clashing with referees and coaches instead of focusing his efforts on winning. In Sacramento, he was characterized as a malcontent, blamed as the scapegoat for a perpetually toxic environment. Fair or not, it was obvious by February that Boogie was available via trade, but GM’s were terrified of what he might do to disrupt locker room cohesion. If you’re a small market team, you have to make some

The New York Knicks drafted their point guard of the future with the 8th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. Barring a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, which appears unlikely, the Knicks will be relying on the 19 year old rookie out of the French LNB Pro A league, Frank Ntilikina. Ntilikina won't be handed the starting role just yet though. The Knicks plan on easing Ntilikina into Jeff Hornacek's offense. Until then the team will turn to Ramon Sessions. Sessions is

The 2017 NBA free agent frenzy has come and gone. Like last year, there was plenty of money tossed around in what was the highest spending summer in NBA history. Unlike last year, the right players got paid. Well, unless you think Tim Hardaway Jr.'s contract was unforgivable. This time around, monster extensions were signed left and right. Steph Curry got the league's first super-max deal. James Harden inked an extension worth $228 million. The rich got richer. Supersta

The Golden State Warriors are the NBA Champions, and they took the NBA by storm even heading into the off-season. The dominance of the Dubs has the rest of the NBA itching to make roster changes, trying to replicate their own version of “position-less” basketball with various NBA stars. Just how will Chris Paul fare with another ball dominant player in James Harden? Or the arrival of Paul George to help the Brodie in Russell Westbrook? The young Minnesota Timberwolves with ne

The New York Knicks and free agent point guard Ramon Sessions came to an agreement on a one year contract worth the veterans minimum. The 31 year old guard is a ten year NBA veteran and has spent the majority of his career bouncing around from team to team. Sessions has played for 7 different NBA franchises in his career. Sessions holds career averages of 10.6 points and 4.1 assists in 23.7 minutes of game action. Sessions has a career shooting percentage of 43.6% from the fi

The offseason has been a salient one for the Wizards. They were just a few plays away from making the Eastern Conference Finals, and now they’ve solidified their core for the foreseeable future. The coinciding contracts of John Wall and Otto Porter to max-level deals will essentially tie up Washington’s cap space through 2021. Porter is a skilled combo wing whose defensive versatility and floor spacing have made him an irreplaceable team commodity. The 24-year-old posted a bl

Kyrie Irving has broken the Internet. Well, if not that then at least Twitter. Check out some of these absolute gems: And my personal favorites, some creations by my very own brother. The last time we saw a decision this polarizing, it was a mere twelve months ago when Kevin Durant decided to leave Oklahoma City. Durant’s decision itself wasn’t the shocking part, more so the team he chose to join. With Irving the surprise lies within the decision to actually leave. When was t

We ask: what was the worst move this offseason? Andrew Hughes/@ARJHughes: The easy answer here would be the New York Knicks signing Tim Hardaway Jr. but I actually think the worst move of the offseason was the Detroit Pistons hardcapping themselves by signing Langston Galloway to a deal worth $21 million. Galloway is a fine player in a nutshell. His signing, however, led to a chain of events that saw the team lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for nothing. Teams had legitimate int

Yes, it's been a long seven-year playoff drought for the Phoenix Suns, and the fans are getting hungry for at least a competitive team. After many seasons of the front office continually deciding to play older veteran players, it seems they are ready for the young core to get the majority of the minutes. One thing is certain, the front office’s strategy for rebuilding is becoming clear cut. The Suns have many assets, including the rights to the Miami Heat first round selectio