2025-26 NBA

[IthacaMatt]

It's just the beginning of the off-season, but the draft is over, and free agency is upon us.
Big news out of the gate is LeBron James picking up his Lakers' player option for $52M, and then telling them if they don't build a good enough team, he's looking for a trade.

Rich Paul Gave Lakers, Luka Doncic Advanced Notice On LeBron Statement, Rest Of NBA Surprised

Rich Paul Gave Lakers Luka Doncic Advanced Notice On LeBron Statement Rest Of NBA Surprised - RealGM Wiretap

basketball.realgm.com

No offense to LeBron, but that was a greedy and dumb move. Don't you have enough money already?

If you want another ring, you just killed it, because there won't be enough money left to build a team around you without them shipping out half their talent.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yeah.

Weird move by King James.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah.

Weird move by King James.

He wanted the money. Some team would have happily paid him, say, $30M, and still had enough money left to build a team around him.

He has earned $581M in the NBA, not counting his investments and endorsements.

I mean, come on, man. I guess you don't want to win another ring THAT badly, or else you wouldn't have taken all the cake for yourself.

 

[Melancer46]

Once I'm back in a state where it's legal, I may need to take a look at Atlanta eastern conference odds.

 

[jordville]

Bucks in a shocker get Turner away from Pacers while also waiving/stretching Dame. And Giannis is not happy about the Dame decision.

 

[Eric15]

I don't really understand the Bucks personnel decisions over the past few years. They win a title in 2021, lose a hard fought 7 game series to Boston in 2022, and then have the #1 seed in the East in 2023 but got tripped up by that Cinderella Heat team. Instead of just staying the course and being patient, it's like they panicked, blew everything up, and haven't been the same since.

 

[jordville]

I don't really understand the Bucks personnel decisions over the past few years. They win a title in 2021, lose a hard fought 7 game series to Boston in 2022, and then have the #1 seed in the East in 2023 but got tripped up by that Cinderella Heat team. Instead of just staying the course and being patient, it's like they panicked, blew everything up, and haven't been the same since.

Yup. And they’ve been very busy so far. Seems like only a matter of time before the Giannis trade is announced…

 

[Melancer46]

Yup. And they’ve been very busy so far. Seems like only a matter of time before the Giannis trade is announced…

Maybe it'll happen someday, but Giannis is staying for now at least. Giannis is the one that got Turner to sign with the Bucks.

 

[Newhouser]

I don't mind the Dame dismissal. Didn't like the trade from the beginning actually. Not sure I love the Turner signing either as he was awful in the Finals. I guess the money isn't too bad for a starting center.

 

[Melancer46]

I don't really understand the Bucks personnel decisions over the past few years. They win a title in 2021, lose a hard fought 7 game series to Boston in 2022, and then have the #1 seed in the East in 2023 but got tripped up by that Cinderella Heat team. Instead of just staying the course and being patient, it's like they panicked, blew everything up, and haven't been the same since.

They didn't really blow anything up though. The core of the championship team was Giannis, Middleton, Jrue, Brook, and Portis. They basically swapped Jrue out for Lillard, who Giannis had been trying to partner up with for years and rode with the rest for as long as they could. Lillard is possibly finished at this point, so they moved on and got probably the best fit in the league at C for Giannis.

Most Bucks fans are annoyed that they haven't shaken things up more lol.

 

[Melancer46]

Also, I think the Bucks still have the full MLE available to them to add one more significant piece if they want. I really can't believe how well Horst was able to maneuver all of this.

 

[Knicks411]

Once I'm back in a state where it's legal, I may need to take a look at Atlanta eastern conference odds.

They have...gotten a lot better. Real frisky team.

Also, I think the Bucks still have the full MLE available to them to add one more significant piece if they want. I really can't believe how well Horst was able to maneuver all of this.

If they sign Turner with cap space (they are) they cant use any exceptions other than the room (which I presume will be what Kevin Porter goes into)

 

[Melancer46]

They have...gotten a lot better. Real frisky team.



If they sign Turner with cap space (they are) they cant use any exceptions other than the room (which I presume will be what Kevin Porter goes into)

Yeah I realized after the fact you're correct. We could theoretically turn the Turner signing into a sign-and-trade to keep the MLE but that feels very unlikely.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I want Lillard on the Jazz to mentor their young guards.

 

[Melancer46]

I want Lillard on the Jazz to mentor their young guards.

That feels extremely unlikely but good luck! If he's not going to sign with a contender (or whatever you think Miami is), I would imagine he just goes back to Portland.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That feels extremely unlikely but good luck! If he's not going to sign with a contender (or whatever you think Miami is), I would imagine he just goes back to Portland.

People gotta have dreams.

 

[Eric15]

They didn't really blow anything up though. The core of the championship team was Giannis, Middleton, Jrue, Brook, and Portis. They basically swapped Jrue out for Lillard

They also got rid of Coach Bud for Doc Rivers which is baffling.

I think that Jrue for Lillard swap severely hurt the overall chemistry of the roster. Obviously I'm not privy to the dynamics of the locker room, but it felt like pre-Dame the team had very clear roles where Giannis was the alpha, Middleton was the guy at the end of games with the ball in his hands on the perimeter, and Jrue was the defensive stopper. But once Dame arrived it started feeling like one of those hastily assembled super teams like Brooklyn or Phoenix. And they haven't been out of the first round or won more than 50 games since.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I like what Denver is doing. Brown was great for them off the bench when he was there. Johnson is more versatile than MPJ and Valanciunas gives them hope when Jokic sits.

 

[Knicks411]

I think they had reached the end of the line with Jrue; the offense was just really bad in the playoffs.

 

[Melancer46]

They also got rid of Coach Bud for Doc Rivers which is baffling.

I think that Jrue for Lillard swap severely hurt the overall chemistry of the roster. Obviously I'm not privy to the dynamics of the locker room, but it felt like pre-Dame the team had very clear roles where Giannis was the alpha, Middleton was the guy at the end of games with the ball in his hands on the perimeter, and Jrue was the defensive stopper. But once Dame arrived it started feeling like one of those hastily assembled super teams like Brooklyn or Phoenix. And they haven't been out of the first round or won more than 50 games since.

Hard to say really because the Dame/Giannis lineup kicked ass when they played but never got to play in the playoffs. People were disappointed in their individual play (even though Giannis has arguably never played better), but their starting lineup when healthy was like top 1-3 in the league. They simply never made it to the playoffs healthy.

And Jrue was bad more often than good in the playoffs for Milwaukee.

 

[Knicks411]

Hard to say really because the Dame/Giannis lineup kicked ass when they played but never got to play in the playoffs. People were disappointed in their individual play (even though Giannis has arguably never played better), but their starting lineup when healthy was like top 1-3 in the league. They simply never made it to the playoffs healthy.

And Jrue was bad more often than good in the playoffs for Milwaukee.

He shot about 40% from the field and 30% from 3 in the 3 playoff runs in Milwaukee. It was rough

 

[Melancer46]

He shot about 40% from the field and 30% from 3 in the 3 playoff runs in Milwaukee. It was rough

Yeah, had some absolutely gigantic plays in the playoffs with us, and the defense was generally very good (ignoring the last loss to Miami here), but man did he shrink offensively. His TS% dropped from 59% in the regular season to under 48% in the playoffs. His 2PT% and 3PT% both dropped 10% in the playoffs. He was just a legitimately terrible offensive player for us once we got into the postseason.

 

[Melancer46]

Seems like LeBron to the Knicks is quickly gaining steam (or is just the new story for the media to milk for awhile, could go either way).

If LeBron does decide he wants to go to the Knicks, I guess the main question is whether or not the Lakers are even interested in Towns (or I guess a Bridges/OG type of package, but idk if the Knicks would do that).

 

[Cusefan0307]

Seems like LeBron to the Knicks is quickly gaining steam (or is just the new story for the media to milk for awhile, could go either way).

If LeBron does decide he wants to go to the Knicks, I guess the main question is whether or not the Lakers are even interested in Towns (or I guess a Bridges/OG type of package, but idk if the Knicks would do that).

Oh ffs please no

 

[IthacaMatt]

Seems like LeBron to the Knicks is quickly gaining steam (or is just the new story for the media to milk for awhile, could go either way).

If LeBron does decide he wants to go to the Knicks, I guess the main question is whether or not the Lakers are even interested in Towns (or I guess a Bridges/OG type of package, but idk if the Knicks would do that).

No thanks. LeBron can't get out of the 1st round by himself anymore. Trading away Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson and Mikal Bridges (which is what it would take, salary-wise) would leave the Knicks as probably the worst defensive team in the league. That rumor is totally being pushed by LeBron's representation. They think the Knicks would bite, but it would destroy the team. The team with the most cap space is the Nets. Why don't you go there, LeBron?