The Bottom Line: NBA should still have good season


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With the NBA season underway, it appears that more people have become disinterested with the league, since the Golden State Warriors winning the title is a foregone conclusion.

The Warriors are one of the most impressive NBA teams of all time. When healthy, their likely starting five of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and now DeMarcus Cousins consists of 25 total All-Star appearances, with at least three for each player. With LeBron James now out of the Eastern Conference, it is debatable that this starting five could beat a team fielded with the five best players from the Eastern Conference. It would be a close contest, but it seems unlikely that anyone will stop this team from its fourth title in five years.  

The cheap acquisition of Cousins, one of the best big men in the game, only made them more dominant than before. While I will never begrudge a team for having a good front office, I will state my frustrations toward the NBA for allowing this to happen.

The Warriors were completely in their rights to sign Cousins and pay him less than his true market value because he was injured. However, it seems illogical that a 28-year-old four-time All-Star is allowed to take a mid-level exception for $5.2 million to fit the salary cap needs of one of the best teams of all-time. The lack of a rule preventing All-Star caliber players from taking less than they are worth defeats the whole purpose of having a salary cap system in the first place, and it allows the rich to get richer. In turn, this makes the NBA less competitive and the championship winner even more of a foregone conclusion.

With that being said, there are still many storylines in this NBA season that make basketball worth watching. People don’t only watch sports because they want to know who will win. People watch sports for the love of the game and the desire to be entertained, and basketball will still be entertaining this season.

First and foremost, “Showtime” basketball is back in Los Angeles with the start of the “LA-Bron” era. It will be interesting to see how James will deal with the strong Western Conference as opposed to the East. Moreover, James has never played with a young core of players, so it will be interesting to see how his leadership abilities enhance the talents of players like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma.

With Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving coming back from their respective injuries, and the promising displays of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in last season’s playoffs, the early summer declared the Boston Celtics as the clear favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. However, following the Kawhi Leonard trade, the Toronto Raptors can contend for the Eastern Conference, and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers also shouldn’t be overlooked.

Jimmy Butler has caused a lot of stir in Minnesota recently. The Olympic gold medalist has been outspoken about his disapproval of the NBA. After a lot of speculation over the past few weeks, it seems like he will stay in Minnesota for the season; however, it will be interesting to see how his locker room responds to his actions. It was reported that Butler held a “players only” meeting to voice his frustration to his teammates. He believes the team needs to play with more passion and commitment. The Timberwolves finished eighth in the West last season, but Butler only played 59 games due to injury. On paper, the Timberwolves have one of the most talented rosters in the NBA with Butler, Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins, so there should be high expectations for this season.

For USC fans, the prospect of watching former Trojans like De’Anthony Melton, (Phoenix Suns) and Chimezie Metu (San Antonio Spurs) take the court for the first time will be fun to follow. Trojan fans did not get to see much of Melton last season, as the University suspended him indefinitely following the fraud and corruption charges against former USC assistant coach Tony Bland. Metu, on the other hand, was First Team All-Pac-12 last season averaging over 15 points a game. Following the leadership of coach Gregg Popovich, Metu will look to take his game to the next level as he enters the NBA.

Fans shouldn’t be discouraged from watching the NBA this season just because it seems inevitable that the Warriors will win. As with all sports, the winner isn’t always the best or the most interesting storyline.

Robby Aronson is a sophomore majoring in journalism. His column, “The Bottom Line,” runs every other Wednesday.