2017 has been a crazy year for the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers traded the #1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony all changed teams. Gordon Hayward signed a massive deal with the Boston Celtics only to have his season end after six minutes on the court. Of course Lonzo Ball was picked by the Lakers.
While it might not be quite as wild, and certainly won’t draw as much reaction in NBA circles, plenty of Portland Trail Blazers fans are surprised to see Al-Farouq Aminu playing as Portland’s third-best player two weeks into the 2017-18 regular season.