With the Christmas season quickly approaching many NBA general managers have been visiting shopping mall Santa’s and writing letters to the North pole all in hopes that their Christmas wishes come true. While some GM’s have lengthy wish lists there are others who have simple needs.
In hopes of saving these poor ol’ Santa’s from having any more NBA executives seek them out, we at EDraft have been fortunate enough to be privy to some NBA team’s Christmas wishes.
Our Christmas wish list moves on to the Eastern Conference where many teams are just wishing for a happy and healthier New Year for their key players. Here is a quick rundown of some teams Christmas wish list and glimpse of what many NBA general managers are hoping to find under their tree come Christmas morning.
Dallas Mavericks
For the Dallas Mavericks to truly have a ‘Frohe Weihnachten’ which is German for Merry Christmas they are going to need their big German, Dirk Nowitzki, back in the lineup and in game shape ready to go for the stretch run. O.J Mayo and Co. have been valiantly trying to hold down the fort so to speak; however, the walls are collapsing and help is desperately needed. One more wish would be for Mayo to opt in for his 2013-14 player option at $4.2 million; now that last one is a Christmas miracle that even ol’ St. Nick can’t deliver.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets must be wishing for super talented rookie Royce White to just get his head straight and come back and play basketball. This draft day gamble has been a losing proposition thus far and unless White straightens himself out this one will have been a wasted pick.
Memphis Grizzlies
For the Grizzlies they are wishing for lightning in a bottle come playoff time. They view themselves as having the pieces necessary to content for a championship. I don’t necessarily disagree; however, every single person on the squad is going to have to have a stretch of games where they play at their absolute best to make it happen. So, if Santa could somehow see to that, then that is all the Grizz need.
New Orleans Hornets
The Hornets will likely get their Christmas wish as Eric Gordon is slated for return sometime in December. It remains to be seen how effective he can be after such an injury and lengthy time away; however, anything will certainly help improve on their lowly five win total thus far.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs wish for David Stern to take his $250,000 and shove it right up his pipe then he can butt out of any coaching related decisions involving who plays, when they play and where they might play.
Denver Nuggets
For NBA executives in the Mile High City they have to be asking for a career resurgence out of Andre Igoudala. The time thus far in Denver for Andre has been disappointing in terms of production and with next season being a $15.9 million player option; one can bet Igoudala is going to be back next season whether they like it or not.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are also getting their Christmas wish; actually it seems to be coming early, perhaps this Friday to be exact. Ricky Rubio is expected to suit up for the first time this season and is expected to get the start at point guard. Since this one doesn’t really count as a present under the tree; Santa just might give some mediation sessions for Wolves general manager David Kahn and owner Glen Taylor to share with superstar Kevin Love in hopes of calming the waters between the trio.
Portland Trailblazers
The Christmas Season is full of joy in Portland, partly because the people are so damn friendly but also there is true reason for optimism in the City of Roses. Draftee Damian Lillard is the real deal and has already shown his ability to lead and contribute on a nightly basis. The Christmas wish is twofold; a playoff berth and a ROY award for Lillard.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The wish here for OKC is a simple one. They want to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy come year end. I know that every team is ultimately wishing for this; however, being realistic some teams have much better chances than others and the Thunder are serious contenders for the year end hardware.
Utah Jazz
The good folks in Salt Lake City are wishing for some good press that will entice free agents to their team. The Jazz have the most payroll flexibility of all come next season as they have only just over $25 million committed in salary. With this flexibility the jazz can rebuild quickly; throw in a trade involving either Derrick Favors or Paul Millsap and this team could get really good in a hurry.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are hoping that their Christmas present will include a healthy seven foot Australian manning their paint come playoff time; the reality of the situation is that this is a long shot. Andrew Bogut has been rehabbing his ankle injury for months already and there still is no definite timetable for a return. Bogut himself recently stated “I definitely think I’ll be back”. OK, great, which is it? You definitely will be back or you think you’ll be back. Bogut is truly only the short term solution; long term there are some serious financial woes ahead as Bogut, Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson are far underperforming on their lucrative contracts and only one can be amnestied off.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are hoping for continued strength in their bench play. The starters can roll with anyone in the league; however, it is the supporting cast of Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Eric Bledsoe and Lamar Odom that will get them deep into the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are hoping that the New Year brings about some team cohesiveness. The Lakers are talented enough to make a deep playoff run but without some team play on both ends of the floor this Lakers team might just find themselves on the losing end of a first round series. Of course a healthy return of Steve Nash to the starting lineup should go a long way to bring some cohesiveness but one man can only do so much; it is going to take a total re-think on the part of many Lakers players to get this team righted.