119th Article at the Independent

4th of July and NBA free agency festivities

CHRIS DRUMMOND

cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

The first weekend of July not only brings pre-Fourth holiday festivities but also some fireworks made by National Basketball Association teams at the start of the free agency period. It is always amazing to see who is going to get a nice contract from a team that is well deserved or who has never had a big time contract before. This particular year I am going to share my thoughts on the results of free agency so far and what events took place for me enjoying my Fourth of July weekend as a two-part column piece this week.

NBA free agency

Most of the moves made in free agency weren’t a shock as some of the top names in the game re-signed with their own teams. Shooting guard Zach LaVine re-signed with the Chicago Bulls for a max deal of five years, $224 million. It’s definitely a solid move for the Bulls as they were building something strong there last season before injuries ravaged their team and they were forced in a bad matchup in the first round against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, where they lost in five games. With a healthy point guard in Lonzo Ball and also a big addition in Andre Drummond, the Bulls will be back challenging for a spot in the Eastern Conference. Another re-sign that was key was Zion Williamson, forward for the New Orleans Pelicans. He signed for a five-year, $193 million contract. It is a great move for him and his representation, however he is simply getting paid off of potential in my opinion. Williamson has missed more games in the league than he has played in his career and with the addition of CJ McCollum last year, the Pelicans pushed the defending Western Conference champion Suns to six games without him. If he comes back right and lives up to his potential, the Pels could be a dark horse in a competitive conference.

There were two moves that were head scratchers to me, the first being the Rudy Gobert trade. Gobert, a center now for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was traded to them over the holiday weekend for four first-round draft picks plus five players including Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley. Simply put, I don’t think Gobert is worth all of that. He will improve the defense efficiency of the Wolves and rebounding as well, but the Wolves have a perennial All-Star already in Karl-Anthony Towns better know as KAT who happens to be seven feet tall too. Playing these two together will be interesting and a mystery to how it would even look, but definitely it’s more of the package of the trade than the players which is bewildering in itself.

The next move is the bold statement of superstar forward Kevin Durant proclaiming that he would like to be traded. This is a head scratcher because I immediately correlated it to the guy who has a Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, and Mercedes but says I need a Tesla as an everyday car to drive. No matter what it just isn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough for Durant to make three straight finals, win two finals MVPs, beat LeBron in two finals and be on one of the greatest teams ever assembled. It wasn’t good enough that the Warriors offered Kevin Durant five years over $220 million despite his injury to stay with the team to win more championships. It wasn’t enough to play for a Hall of Fame coach and three potential Hall of Fame players to continue to cement his legacy in this game. Durant wanted the Tesla too, which to the common folk, wouldn’t make much sense why he’d want that but he got it and now since he’s been in the Tesla, metaphorically speaking, he’s won one playoff series, has a losing playoff record and was on the only team in this year’s playoffs to not win one game. I guess the moral of that is what my father has always said: A bird in the hand is worth more than two in a bush. When you are blessed, count your blessings because the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. We still don’t know where Durant will land but wherever it is, it won’t be as great as the situation he left in San Francisco.

4th of July festivities

I had a very solid weekend where I took some time to fly out to New York on a quick weekend seeing my dad and family out there enjoying the beautiful weather as well. Of course anytime you’re flying, the word synonymous with that is delayed and that’s exactly what I was heading from Chicago to Rochester, NY. I finally arrived and as a ritual to what we used to do when I was there, we watched a TV series and one of my favorites to watch is Stranger Things. We were able to watch the entire fourth season in my time there. Also I attended three parties in three consecutive days. The atmosphere of all three parties were amazing with great weather and of course great food. I never played in an Olympics before in my life but now I can cross that off the list as one of the family parties hosted an Olympic-style party with various games and prizes given to the winners. I played cornhole over the weekend and even got to swim in my dad’s pool and had a good time with family and friends which is what the holidays are all about. It always goes so quick but it was incredible spending time with my dad understanding that because of work I may not see them for awhile again. Hopefully everyone had a great holiday weekend and I’m looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer.

— Chris Drummond is a sports reporter for

the Marshall Independent.

Email: cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

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