NBA 2018-2019

[Newhouser]

I know Durant and Jordan are tight, not sure where Kyrie fits in.

But here's a scenario now; Jordan is getting a lot of money, Brooklyn already has a good young center, Jarrett Allen. So I can't wait for some close games next year where Jordan plays a few too minutes over Allen, they lose, Kyrie gets pissed because KD's buddy is playing too m any minutes while KD isn;t even on the court...

Ok I need to go to bed or something

I'm in the minority but I think the Knicks did the right thing. KD off an injury that has been a career killer and 3 years of Jordan......time for Plan B

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Has anyone blamed and negative recruited Coach K for not teaching Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor how to play NBA level defense in their one year on campus?

Just curious.

Jabari is a guy I’m wondering what kind of contract he gets at this point.

Also, I like Bobby Portis. The Knicks might be...doing ok here? They’ve needed to build through the draft and smart FA signings for 25 years. I doubt they’ll see it through correctly, but once KD got hurt...this might be the way to go?

Jazz fans I know are hoping he has absolutely no market and he comes to Utah on a 1 year vet minimum to start at PF and rehab his reputation so he can hit next year's free agency as a premier guy and get a big money deal.

It won't happen, but so many people are giddy, why ruin their fun?

 

[rrlbees]

BTW what is worse what the Celtics did to Isiah Thomas or what the Warriors did to Iguadola?

IT was traded to a contender he had been with the team 2.5 years.
Iggy was traded for cap space. To a team that will waive him and isn’t close to contending. He won 3 titles for the team, was the heart of the team, he won a Finals MVP and was traded after snitching on the Warriors medical staff.

What did he snitch about?

Andre Iguodala defends Warriors training staff on how they managed him & Kevin Durant

Bay Area News Group caught up with Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala, who clarified his remarks about the team’s training staff.

www.mercurynews.com

 

[Newhouser]

We all know Kawhi is tough to read but he has the same 3 options available he always had right - sign with Raps or one of the LA Teams? His team must be deciding the length of deal he wants right? The other factors aren't that hard - money and does he trust that he can win.

 

[Cusefan0307]

That's admittedly probably the worst case scenario but who do they start in place of those two? There aren't really any better options on their roster as is and they have no money.

I read that they could dump Livingston and with the 5 guys on the roster would have $18.2M until the hard cap to fill 9 roster spots or they keep McKinnie, Graham, Shabazz, NG and have $13.1M before the hard cap to fill 6 spots.

Maybe they figure something out as they've proven to be pretty smart but there aren't many obvious options as easy upgrades to fill out the starting 5.

They could also use Russell as an asset and trade him after 6 months.

 

[Melancer46]

MCW returning to Orlando on a 1 year deal

 

[Horn88]

They could also use Russell as an asset and trade him after 6 months.

I think that's pretty much what it will come down to and that they grabbed him for trade chip purposes. See how Russell fits the first half of the year and try to stay in the playoff race then gauge what kind of return you can get for him to build around the Klay/Steph tandem and Draymond to an extent.

Warriors, as constructed with their injuries, roster and lack of cap space, will have a really tough time making the playoffs in the West. I don't think they're going to be necessarily really good or great at anything as constructed while Klay is out.

 

[chugg21]

Just took a more in depth look at what Philly has now. Thinking they might be the favorite in the east this year regardless of what Kawhi does. They essentially swapped out Butler/Reddick for Horford/Richardson. They are absurdly giant now. The Reddick to Richardson defensive upgrade is huge. Offensively it's a slight decline but Horford/Richardson have the same amount of made catch and shoot 3s over the last 3 years as Reddick/Butler so it's not going to cause a loss of floor spacing either.

 

[Newhouser]

Just took a more in depth look at what Philly has now. Thinking they might be the favorite in the east this year regardless of what Kawhi does. They essentially swapped out Butler/Reddick for Horford/Richardson. They are absurdly giant now. The Reddick to Richardson defensive upgrade is huge. Offensively it's a slight decline but Horford/Richardson have the same amount of made catch and shoot 3s over the last 3 years as Reddick/Butler so it's not going to cause a loss of floor spacing either.

Embid staying healthy enough to get to the playoffs is always my big concern about Philly. I also think for me Reddick/Butler > Horford/Richardson but that is in the eye of the beholder. Harris and Simmons came up very small in the playoff last year. going to be interesting.

 

[Melancer46]

Just took a more in depth look at what Philly has now. Thinking they might be the favorite in the east this year regardless of what Kawhi does. They essentially swapped out Butler/Reddick for Horford/Richardson. They are absurdly giant now. The Reddick to Richardson defensive upgrade is huge. Offensively it's a slight decline but Horford/Richardson have the same amount of made catch and shoot 3s over the last 3 years as Reddick/Butler so it's not going to cause a loss of floor spacing either.

Seems to me like there's a glut of 8-10 teams that have title hopes right now and Philly is one of them.

They still have to figure out the Butler sign-and-trade though. I would like to think that Miami will ultimately incentivize Dallas enough to take Dragic, but for now, Dallas reportedly has moved on and doesn't plan on taking Dragic, so there's a chance the sign-and-trade falls apart and Butler ends up going somewhere else, potentially with Philly getting nothing in return.

At any rate, assuming they ultimately push this through, like I said, they'll have title hopes. I personally don't think it's going to work out for them but we'll see; obviously can change a lot if Simmons comes back an improved player.

For now though, I don't know who is creating offense on that team. Embiid can create for himself when he's not exhausted/injured, but outside of him, it was basically all Butler and Redick in the half court last year. Redick's off-ball movement and Butler's iso-breakdown ability were what kept the 76ers afloat whenever Embiid didn't have the ball. Richardson and Horford can't really replace either Butler or Redick IMO on the offensive end and I don't really trust Horford to continue being great moving forwards at his age/physical state.

 

[OrangeDW]

Embid staying healthy enough to get to the playoffs is always my big concern about Philly. I also think for me Reddick/Butler > Horford/Richardson but that is in the eye of the beholder. Harris and Simmons came up very small in the playoff last year. going to be interesting.

Richardson is intriguing. Had easily his best season last year, has steadily improved each year, is 26, and is an excellent and versatile defender.

Was last year a career offensive year that he’ll never match again? Will he plateau? Or does he he take another step and become an 18-20 ppg scorer with some playmaking skills and a consistent and legit upper 30’s 3 point shooter?

He shot 86% from the line. That makes me think his improved shooting stroke might be legit.

He’s on a good contract for 2 more years. That could potentially be a great move. As good as Jimmy is...could Richardson be basically where Jimmy was 5-6 years ago? An elite defender and improving offensive player and future all star?

 

[Alsacs]

What did he snitch about?

Andre Iguodala defends Warriors training staff on how they managed him & Kevin Durant

Bay Area News Group caught up with Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala, who clarified his remarks about the team’s training staff.

www.mercurynews.com

Andre Iguodala: I broke my leg last year, but Warriors called it just a bruise

Raises even more questions about Kevin Durant situation

nba.nbcsports.com

He basically took a nice way of saying the Warriors medical staff misdiagnosed him.

 

[SUintheVille]

Warriors and Celtics are could do a sign and trade for Looney to Boston and Marcus Morris to Golden State

I wish the Celtics could hold on to Morris, they have lost enough players so far, but I understand they have a cap space problem and need a big. I'd be happy with Looney coming to Beantown given the available talent out there and with limited $$ to spend. Celtics will have a strong starting 5 (glad they got K Walker), but their bench will be less deep and less experienced than last year.

 

[Melancer46]

Not sure if this helps the Butler sign-and-trade or if it has no impact whatsoever, but it clears up roughly $5 million from Miami's payroll.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Not sure if this helps the Butler sign-and-trade or if it has no impact whatsoever, but it clears up roughly $5 million from Miami's payroll.

I don't really get this trade from Portland's perspective.

 

[Melancer46]

Sounds like Miami needs to move one more significant contract to clear the way for the sign and trade. Olynyk, Waiters, or one of the two guys they just acquired

 

[OrangeDW]

I don't really get this trade from Portland's perspective.

I don’t know what to make of Whiteside. He’ll put up 22 points and 17 rebounds a game for a week, and then play 10 minutes a game the next week.

 

[Alsacs]

The West is getting crazy tough.

11 teams in the West are legit playoff teams IMO.

Suns/Grizzlies/Mavs/Wolves are behind the pack but man those top 11 are good.

 

[Day2]

We all know Kawhi is tough to read but he has the same 3 options available he always had right - sign with Raps or one of the LA Teams? His team must be deciding the length of deal he wants right? The other factors aren't that hard - money and does he trust that he can win.

I’m beginning to wonder if he wants to sign with the Clippers, but his uncle is pushing him to do his due diligence with the Lakers. Uncle Dennis probably said something to the effect of, “Don’t make a decision until you hear the Lakers out. If after all that you still don’t want to sign with them, I won’t argue. Just give them a fair shot.”

Sort of like what happened with Battle and his dad after the Michigan commitment.

 

[Alsacs]

Am I crazy or is this easy money in the East.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I’m beginning to wonder if he wants to sign with the Clippers, but his uncle is pushing him to do his due diligence with the Lakers. Uncle Dennis probably said something to the effect of, “Don’t make a decision until you hear the Lakers out. If after all that you still don’t want to sign with them, I won’t argue. Just give them a fair shot.”

Sort of like what happened with Battle and his dad after the Michigan commitment.

I think what you proposed sounds way too rational for Crazy Uncle Dennis.

 

[Alsacs]

I think what you proposed sounds way too rational for Crazy Uncle Dennis.

Uncle Dennis needs a reality show.

 

[chugg21]

Am I crazy or is this easy money in the East.

Still likely the 6th seed this year I'd think. They made it by 3 games last year and have swapped out Russell, Ed Davis and Crabbe for Kyrie, DJ and Prince. As long as Kyrie plays 60+ games I'd say they are a lock.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I don’t know what to make of Whiteside. He’ll put up 22 points and 17 rebounds a game for a week, and then play 10 minutes a game the next week.

Nurkic was good for them too. He;s young and on a fair contract. Is he maybe not expected to be healthy?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Uncle Dennis needs a reality show.

I'd hate watch it.