Labar: Immediate Thoughts on the NBA Offseason

By Abby Labar
Sportmoney Columnist

Oh the NBA offseason. Celtics fans are still flaunting their 18th NBA Championship just like any passionate Boston sports fan does when they win it all. Then there are all of my new Knick’s friends here in New York that I’ve been sure to check in on everyone once in a while. I think their offseason signings have slowly masked the pain of being robbed of their playoff dreams? Don’t worry, next year is the Knicks’ year (probably).

Also, do we have access yet to a 24/7 stream of Bronny James and his life since getting drafted? All jokes aside, following the completion of the 2024 NBA Draft, the offseason began with full steam ahead on June 28th. 

Here’s the deal: I’ll never pretend like I know the in’s and outs of a sport that I’m unfamiliar with and in full transparency, the NBA is not a league I have experience covering. Growing up in North Carolina, we were a basketball family but we focused more on college hoops because the Hornets, who were then the Bobcats and now the Hornets again, were just all too confusing to follow. 

Moving to New York and working for MSG Networks, I’ve actually thoroughly enjoyed and felt the passion for the NBA up here. Between the Knicks, Nets and even Sixers fans who are close by I’ve tried to talk “ball” a little more with friends and colleagues.

Two of my closest friends and colleagues with MSG Networks attended almost every Knicks game this season and they are dialed in when it comes to the NBA as a whole. They are on-air betting analysts with a show called “Juice Bar” on MSG, in addition to hosting pregame betting segments for most of the Knicks broadcasts. So I asked them their biggest takeaways thus far (as they try to be as unbiased as possible). 

For starters, they both shared what the East and West would look like if they had to rank them right now. 

Sean Little, who also makes regular appearances for NBA on TNT programs, shared that in his opinion with the way free agency has gone thus far, the East and West are as wide open as they have been in recent years, making a case that four different teams could easily represent each conference in the finals. His four:

East
1. Celtics 
2. Knicks 
3. Sixers
4. Bucks

West
1. Thunder 
2. T-Wolves
3. Nuggets
4. Mavs

Alex Monaco, who in addition to Juice Bar and game coverage also has his own show on MSG called “The Bettor Half Hour,” gave me these rankings when I asked him to share his top four as well:

East
1. Celtics 
2. Knicks
3. Sixers
4. Bucks

West
1. Nuggets
2. Timberwolves 
3. Thunder
4. Mavs 

Okay, so I guess they are good friends for a reason. Neither knew what the other sent me. 

Little also shared that he feels the CBA has had one of the biggest impacts on free agency and signings: “It’s now feast or famine. With the new CBA going into effect which includes the different apron levels, it’s created a very top payment structure with not much flexibility. The stars get their max deals and everyone else has to fight for what’s left. Roster constructions will be very interesting going forward depending on how teams work around the new limitations.” 

For Monaco, he’s feeling the brunt of how these teams are handling it as a lifelong Los Angeles fan – he didn’t hold back: “Lakers just had the worst offseason of my millennial life and it’s NOT because Bronny was drafted. I can’t believe I watched them lock in zero free agents this off season while Pelinka sips Malibu in coffee and makes zero personnel moves. The Late Dr. Jerry Buss would be beside himself. It’s the opposite of the Lakers he built.” 

As far as favorite moves and storylines go? Little is excited about the Olympics. He says there are a lot of entertaining question marks in regard to several topics such as, whose USA squad is this? Who will the alpha on the team be, especially with LeBron and Steph? Or does Ant Man Anthony Edwards take over? And then do KD or Jayson Tatum care about it (especially now that KD has been missing practices due to a calf strain)? I agree with Little and think it’s fair to say we will be following closely as we inch closer to the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on July 26th.

Speaking of players that exemplify the league… Monaco shared his thoughts on the Jalen Brunson signing. “I personally think he’s the best leader in the NBA. The way he led by example taking $100 million less so he can bring the WHOLE Nova Knicks band back together with Mikal on drums goes to say a lot about who he is instead of walking away.”

I love the experience of going to games up here with Monaco and Little. They’re passionate about the teams and sports they cover, as well as dialed in on their knowledge. I’m going to make a point to try to squeeze in some more NBA games this fall and hopefully we can revisit a deeper dive into our early season assessments then.