The Nuggets, Heat and Suns have some early problems to work through. Across the NBA, other front offices are paying attention.
Howard Beck of The Ringer writes that rival executives are monitoring those teams’ struggles, with Nikola Jokic, Bam Adebayo and Devin Booker drawing particular attention.
“Nikola Jokic sounds a little testy. Bam Adebayo sounds a little aggravated. And Devin Booker? He just seems like a guy whose talent is being wasted,” Beck wrote, via an excerpt shared by NBACentral.
Those are Beck’s assessments. The excerpt doesn’t establish that any of the three has requested a trade or that their teams are making them available. Nor was he implying as much.
But it does capture how quickly disappointing starts attract interest when established stars are involved.
The Nuggets are 3-3 (through Tuesday), hardly a reason to declare their season in trouble. That said, expectations are considerably higher for a team built around Jokic, and Monday’s home loss to the Trail Blazers added to an uneven opening stretch.
The Heat are 2-5 after pairing Adebayo with Giannis Antetokounmpo over the summer. That’s a significant adjustment, and seven games won’t settle whether the partnership works. It also hasn’t produced the immediate results Miami wanted.
Meanwhile, the Suns are 1-4 and have lost three straight, including Monday’s game against the Warriors after leading by 17.
All three teams have time to improve. Again, Beck’s reporting is about the attention they’re attracting, rather than an established trade market for their stars.
Bottom line? Watching is easy. Whether any of these teams eventually gives rivals something to discuss is a separate question.
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