2021. I am blogging. LakersThe team failed to defend its title and traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma. Alex Caruso released free of chargeand was replaced by Russell Westbrook.
The year is 2024. I’m blogging about the NBA. The Denver Nuggets have failed to defend their title and have lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the team. Orlando Magicand potentially adding Russell Westbrook to the backcourt to replace him.
This is further proof that time in the NBA can run in patterns rather than a series of unique events. Second time 2 seasons One team reportedly slashed payroll and sent Reggie Jackson to the Hornets to make room for Russell Westbrook.
Now, obviously, the context of these situations is different. The Lakers didn’t trade Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma for Westbrook with the second apron in mind (they were cheap and unlikely to make it past the second apron, but they didn’t exist at the time). They just made a stupid trade.
The Nuggets are skimping on KCP not just for financial reasons or because they believe Westbrook is just as good or better, but also, as my friend Ryan Blackburn recently summarized nicely, to avoid the myriad roster penalties that would actually come with signing a market-price extension. Mile High Sports:
Unfortunately, writing a blank check, while certainly appealing to Caldwell-Pope, is not in the Nuggets’ best interest in terms of competitiveness. The second tax apron, a new provision agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement, is not only a financial burden but also a burden in terms of competitiveness. The Nuggets cannot make competitive trades if they are over the second apron. They cannot use the taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency. Even their 2032 first-round draft pick will be “frozen” and cannot be used in future trades if they are over the second apron at the end of the 2024-25 season. If they are over the second apron in three of the next five seasons, their 2032 first-round draft pick will automatically be sent to the end of the first round, regardless of Denver’s record.
Even though the circumstances are different, Feeling like Doctor Manhattan Watching from Watchmen as the Nuggets repeated the Lakers’ earlier mistakes. Replacing the ultimate 3-D wing with the ultimate… well, the opposite of those two qualities didn’t work out well for the Lakers. Perhaps Jokic is going to make Westbrook a champion as a last resort to beat LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers more thoroughly… but I can’t help but suspect it might be beyond his talent.
So we’ll see if this works out better for Denver than it did for the Lakers, but for now, it’s hard not to get tired of the planet. These guys. Tired of being caught up in the tangles of life.
