Best destinations for each Syracuse player in the NBA

Brissett
Oshae Brissett looks on during a stoppage of play. Mandatory Photo Credit: Kicia Sears, The Juice Online.

The NBA Finals will wrap up soon, and another season will be in the books for Syracuse alumni in the NBA. Several will likely be on the move in the offseason, and we take a look at the best destinations for each.

Carmelo Anthony: At this point in his career, Anthony is chasing his first NBA Championship ring, which limits his destinations significantly. Teams in win-now mode that could use a scoring forward for 15-20 minutes per game include Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas and Golden State.

He could also ride it out with the Lakers in hopes that Anthony Davis stays healthy and LeBron James and Russell Westbrook figure out how to play together. Yeah, that sounds preposterous to me as well.

There’s been some rumors about Anthony heading back to the Knicks, but I just don’t see it. Aside from having a glut at forward (Julius Randle, Obi Toppin, Cam Reddish, and RJ Barrett all play small forward), New York doesn’t have legitimate championship aspirations.

Michael Carter-Williams: Carter-Williams missed the entire 2021-22 season after he had surgery on his left ankle and was waived by the Magic in February. The options are probably pretty limited for a 30-year old who hasn’t played more than 50 games in a season since 2018.

But the teams that might want to take a flyer on Carter-Williams are likely young teams that could use a veteran guard to mentor them that won’t take minutes away. Two teams that come to mind are the Sacramento Kings and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Kings have point guards De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell, while the Thunder have similarly situated guards in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tre Mann.

» Could Jim Boeheim’s long NBA streak in Syracuse be in jeopardy?

Jerami Grant: Grant has been the subject of the most trade speculation in the offseason, and the odds are good that Grant gets dealt on NBA Draft night. Portland and Atlanta are the teams most frequently mentioned for Grant, who is coming off a season where he averaged 19.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg.

Detroit is in a full rebuild mode, so any team Grant goes to will need to send back a group of talented young players and draft picks. Teams that fit that description include Portland, Chicago, Atlanta and New Orleans.

Elijah Hughes: The Grant trade may effect another ex-Syracuse star, Elijah Hughes. Hughes In his second season split between the Jazz and Blazers, Hughes played in a career-high 36 games. While he only averaged 3.8 ppg on 29.6 percent shooting with the Blazers, he still could project as a rotational player for the right team.

If Detroit does trade Grant, there will be plenty of minutes available at wing. Staying in Portland would be a decent option, as would the aforementioned rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oshae Brissett: Brissett appeared in a career-high 67 games in his third NBA season, and really caught on at the end of the year, making 25 starts. With all of Indiana’s trades, he ended up leading the team in every single major statistical category (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks).

That is all to say, Brissett has found a good thing in Indiana, and should stay put.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.