8/3/2021: Notes

Does Injury To Myles Brennan Complicate LSU’s 2021 Redemption?

LSU’s projected starting quarterback — who missed most of LSU’s disappointing 2020 season with an abdomen injury — suffered an arm injury in practice, and according to CBS Sports, Brennan may miss all of the 2021 season.

In 3 starts last season, Brennan threw for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Most of LSU’s struggles in 2020 came on the defensive side of the ball, as newly hired defensive coordinator Bo Pelini struggled to find his footing in his return to Baton Rouge. LSU’s defense ranked 124th in yards allowed per game (492) and allowed 34.9 points per game — tied with Arkansas for 98th in the nation. Pelini’s contract was terminated in January, so perhaps a bit of addition by subtraction there.

Brennan’s injury leaves Max Johnson — son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson — as the team’s expected starter. The southpaw appeared in 6 games during his freshman season at LSU in 2020, tossing for 1,069 yards, 8 touchdowns and just 1 interception while completing 58.7% of his 150 pass attempts.

Even with Brennan out for the foreseeable future, Johnson should help LSU’s offense score enough to keep them in contention with Texas A&M for second place in the SEC West behind Alabama. Johnson, in his first career start, led LSU to a 37–34 victory over no.6 ranked Florida — a game in which he threw for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns. A week later, in Baton Rouge, Johnson threw for an LSU freshman record 435 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 53–48 win over Ole Miss.

Whether its Brennan or Johnson, LSU’s biggest question is on defense and whether or not they can return to their pre-Pelini 2.0 experiment ways.

LSU opens their season September 4th on the road at UCLA, before returning home for two softball matchups against McNeese State and Central Michigan. Their first SEC test comes Week 4 at Mississippi State, but it’s their Week 5 matchup with Auburn at home that will provide the biggest glimpse into what type of team LSU will be in 2021.

NBA Free Agency MVP: Kelly Olynyk’s Agent

Every now and then Olynyk has a flash of brilliance and you think: “hey, this guy is pretty good. I’d love to have him on my team!” That thought is fleeting, though. Which isn’t a knock on Olynyk at all; he’s not a bad player by any means.

In the 2017 offseason, Olynyk left Boston for Miami, signing a 4-year, $50 million contract. At the time, it was an absurd deal. An average salary of $12.5 million per year for a player who started just 36 games in 4 years and averaged below 10 points per game.

In Miami, Olynyk largely kept pace with what he had produced in Boston, which is still somewhat underwhelming for a 6th man. He did average a career-high 11.5 point per game in his first season in south beach, but his role seemingly diminished each season.

Surprisingly, Olynyk started 38 of Miami’s first 43 games in 2020–2021, before being shipped off to Houston in a deal that landed Miami Victor Oladipo. Olynyk had struggled with Miami, but everything changed in Houston. He played the best stretch of basketball in his NBA career, averaging 31.1 minutes per game, 8.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 19.9 points on 54.5% shooting (39.2% from beyond the arc).

That set Olynyk up for another pay day. Which, yesterday, he received from the Detroit Pistons in the form of a 3-year, $37 million deal.

You know what’s coming here. He’ll underwhelm on a bad Pistons team, be relegated to the bench before the contract expires and then be shipped off to another team in a cap-maneuvering deal.

They say you can’t change the spots on a leopard, and Olynyk’s no different. His agent, Jeff Schwartz, deserves a lot of credit. Some of Schwartz’s other fine work includes Kemba Walker’s max-contract — signed with Boston in 2019 — and the pair of horrendous contracts dished out to Harrison Barnes by Dallas and Sacramento, respectively.

If you’re curious why Olynyk’s deal might seem outrageous to some, please note that Cameron Payne — one of the league’s best role players in 2020–2021 — re-signed in Phoenix for $19 million over 3 years.

Bizarro World, Again: Knicks No Longer Doing Most Knicks Shit Imaginable

The Knicks lost Reggie Bullock — they replaced him with Evan Fournier, a substantial upgrade. Fournier’s going to fit in well alongside Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett, adding a complimentary scoring touch while shooting just under 40% from deep and scoring in the high-teens.

Fournier’s deal — 4 years, $76 million — isn’t overly steep, either. The Knicks used a little more than $50 million in cap space on Monday, re-signing Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Derrick Rose, in addition to the Fournier signing.

Last season, New York appeared in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, before falling in 5 games to the Atlanta Hawks in their quarterfinal matchup. New York went into the offseason looking to add another perimeter scorer and, shockingly, managed to acquire a quality player at a decent price.

Scott Perry and Tom Thibodeau have something interesting brewing in the city that never sleeps.