NBA free agency/LeBronapalooza 2018

[HOFCeluck]

Hot take: what Lebron does with Cleveland, title or not, will have a more positive impact on his LEGACY than leaving and winning a title with the Rockets.

 

[Trueblue25]

If Lebron wants to win a title his best option is Boston.

Rozier
Brown
Lebron
GH
Horford

Tatum
Smart
Anyone


Better than the warriors imo.

 

[Alsacs]

I don't understand what LBJ sees in the Lakers. You don't need to be in LA to pursue Hollywood if you are LeBron. Even if they add Paul George are they winning the West in the next few years? Does he really trust that the Laker front office is good enough to get him to the promised land? If his basketball jones is still thriving, the Lakers don't make sense to me.

Cleveland isn’t winning a championship either.
The roster is garbage and can’t really upgrade thanks to GM LeBron.
Philly if they moved Simmons is a fit but they don’t want to move the 21 year old kid for 33 year old LeBron. LeBron and Simmons together is just an awful fit.
Houston isn’t a good fit either.
Thus Lakers are the best option just for a lifestyle and the fact Magic can lure FAs

 

[Trueblue25]

Stephen A’s takes on his radio show on Lebron are spot on

 

[Alsacs]

Rozier
Brown
Lebron
GH
Horford

Tatum
Smart
Anyone


Better than the warriors imo.

It definitely would be a legit series but Ainge isn’t pursuing LeBron he doesn’t want to piss off Kyrie.
I heard Ainge is offering Rozier/Morris/Yabusele and 2 lottery picks for Leonard.
Not sure why as I don’t like the fit.

 

[rrlbees]

I think the Wizards can work it out.
Cousins makes sense there.

I think cousins ends up with the pelicans or lakers.

 

[Trueblue25]

It definitely would be a legit series but Ainge isn’t pursuing LeBron he doesn’t want to piss off Kyrie.
I heard Ainge is offering Rozier/Morris/Yabusele and 2 lottery picks for Leonard.
Not sure why as I don’t like the fit.

Id be ok with that deal if he’d come im 100% healthy. Thats a contender right there.

Kyrie/Smart
Brown/Tatum
Kawhi/Tatum
GH/...Ojeleye/Horford?
Horford/Williams

 

[RF2044]

Cleveland isn’t winning a championship either.
The roster is garbage and can’t really upgrade thanks to GM LeBron.
Philly if they moved Simmons is a fit but they don’t want to move the 21 year old kid for 33 year old LeBron. LeBron and Simmons together is just an awful fit.
Houston isn’t a good fit either.
Thus Lakers are the best option just for a lifestyle and the fact Magic can lure FAs

Let's face facts -- NOBODY is winning the championship if GS stays healthy and keeps that nucleus together. So the notion that Lebron just walks onto a roster and they are suddenly going to be the favorites probably isn't realistic.

The Lakers might have a lot of intrinsic pull -- but you are overlooking that NE Ohio does, as well, for Lebron. Maybe he just doesn't want to start over again, and Cleveland fills "closer" to being able to contend.

Lebron isn't going to find LA nearly as attractive if they somehow don't add George / Leonard -- neither of which are sure things.

 

[Melancer46]

Zach Lowe on his most recent podcast:

"The Bucks want to extend Middleton and he is going to tell them 'no thank you'".

He also mentions that Jabari is terrible fit with Budenholzer, but at the same time, the Bucks have been "intermittently worried" that Jabari will accept the qualifying offer, which seems crazy to him after Jabari has torn his ACL twice and turned down an extension of roughly 3 years, $54 million.

A couple other mentions from the podcast is that Kevin Arnovitz strongly believes the Bulls will be a player for Anthony Davis in the future/a major player in free agency in the very near future and they both think that LeBron should consider going to Denver if he wants to win a title.

 

[Alsacs]

Let's face facts -- NOBODY is winning the championship if GS stays healthy and keeps that nucleus together.

The Lakers might have a lot of intrinsic pull -- but you are overlooking that NE Ohio does, as well, for Lebron. Maybe he just doesn't want to start over again, and Cleveland fills "closer" to being able to contend.

Lebron isn't going to find LA nearly as attractive if they somehow don't add George / Leonard -- neither of which are sure things.

Boston could beat GS next year.
Remember Pat Riley’s disease of more.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are going to be gunning for all-NBA next year so they can get super max contracts. They have sacrificed now because they have had more years on their contracts but if Klay wants that supermax he needs a huge year and that stuff could hurt them.
Boston with Kyrie and Hayward healthy have the depth to compete.
Remember the Rockets were up 3-2 this year.

 

[Alsacs]

Zach Lowe on his most recent podcast:

"The Bucks want to extend Middleton and he is going to tell them 'no thank you'".

He also mentions that Jabari is terrible fit with Budenholzer, but at the same time, the Bucks have been "intermittently worried" that Jabari will accept the qualifying offer, which seems crazy to him after Jabari has torn his ACL twice and turned down an extension of roughly 3 years, $54 million.

A couple other mentions from the podcast is that Kevin Arnovitz strongly believes the Bulls will be a player for Anthony Davis in the future/a major player in free agency in the very near future and they both think that LeBron should consider going to Denver if he wants to win a title.

If and when Anthony Davis becomes available Ainge cashes in all of his available assets without gutting the team.
I can’t see Chicago putting a better package than Boston can.

 

[Trueblue25]

A healthy Boston, as is right now, could win 60-65 games in next years east

 

[OrangeDW]

Boston could beat GS next year.
Remember Pat Riley’s disease of more.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are going to be gunning for all-NBA next year so they can get super max contracts. They have sacrificed now because they have had more years on their contracts but if Klay wants that supermax he needs a huge year and that stuff could hurt them.
Boston with Kyrie and Hayward healthy have the depth to compete.
Remember the Rockets were up 3-2 this year.

I don’t see that with Klay. He’s an elite shooter and strong defender, and he will get paid for that. Trying to do more than he’s capable of won’t get him paid more and I think he’s smart enough to know that.

 

[Alsacs]

A healthy Boston, as is right now, could win 60-65 games in next years east

Yeah there O/U is projected to be 58.5

 

[Alsacs]

I don’t see that with Klay. He’s an elite shooter and strong defender, and he will get paid for that. Trying to do more than he’s capable of won’t get him paid more and I think he’s smart enough to know that.

He needs all-NBA to get a supermax.
Which is 200 million plus.
If he doesn’t get all-NBA he would lose 40-60 extra million and could decide to go the Lakers or another team theoretically.
Same for Draymond he needs all NBA or being named DPOY to get that extra money and they both know it.

 

[RF2044]

Boston could beat GS next year.
Remember Pat Riley’s disease of more.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are going to be gunning for all-NBA next year so they can get super max contracts. They have sacrificed now because they have had more years on their contracts but if Klay wants that supermax he needs a huge year and that stuff could hurt them.
Boston with Kyrie and Hayward healthy have the depth to compete.
Remember the Rockets were up 3-2 this year.

I think Boston losing game 7 at home was a function of general roster inexperience with playoff pressure as much as anything. They were awful on the road in the playoffs -- but now this crew will be playoff veterans, after going to game 7 of the eastern finals.

Will be interesting to see how they develop. Hard to envision Lebron going there without them gutting the team to accommodate his salary -- which might not be a good thing, with the talent they are amassing. Boston needs to just let it ride and see where Taytum, Brown, and Hayward can lead them. They could be good for an extended period of time with that group and the backcourt talent / depth, instead of sacrificing it to chase for a year or two.

 

[RF2044]

I don’t see that with Klay. He’s an elite shooter and strong defender, and he will get paid for that. Trying to do more than he’s capable of won’t get him paid more and I think he’s smart enough to know that.

He's also a WINNER -- and knows that his "value" will be more enhanced by winning another title than trying to average 3 more ppg.

 

[Melancer46]

He needs all-NBA to get a supermax.
Which is 200 million plus.
If he doesn’t get all-NBA he would lose 40-60 extra million and could decide to go the Lakers or another team theoretically.
Same for Draymond he needs all NBA or being named DPOY to get that extra money and they both know it.

The "supermax" still confuses me, but I thought there was a stipulation that each team could only sign two guys to supermax deals, in which case Steph is one and presumably Durant would be the other unless he decides to leave the Warriors. If Durant wants to stay, does it really matter if Klay/Dray makes All-NBA?

 

[Alsacs]

The "supermax" still confuses me, but I thought there was a stipulation that each team could only sign two guys to supermax deals, in which case Steph is one and presumably Durant would be the other unless he decides to leave the Warriors. If Durant wants to stay, does it really matter if Klay/Dray makes All-NBA?

Durant isn’t eligible for a supermax. He wasn’t drafted by the Warriors.
Klay and Draymond both can get the 2nd one.

Draymond knows he gave the Warriros a discount last time. He doesn’t want that again.
Same for Klay.
Klay is a FA next year. He wants all-NBA next year and he will be gunning for it. Same for Draymond.

 

[Melancer46]

Durant isn’t eligible for a supermax. He wasn’t drafted by the Warriors.
Klay and Draymond both can get the 2nd one.

Draymond knows he gave the Warriros a discount last time. He doesn’t want that again.
Same for Klay.
Klay is a FA next year. He wants all-NBA next year and he will be gunning for it. Same for Draymond.

So is the 5 year, $219 million contract that Durant is eligible for next offseason not technically a supermax? This is the confusing part to me; that would be the largest contract in NBA history but might not technically count towards the two-supermaxes per team limit?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Granted, I'm a #LeBronhater, but unless something weird happens the stories around the team he goes to are all going to be crappy.

Stays with Cavs - been there, done that, we know what the drama's going to be
Goes to Lakers - not that interesting, not really a contender, we see the Lakers ship out their young core to bring in crusty vets Lebron "trusts"
Goes to 76ers - usurps "The Process"

Snooze-a-rama, sports fans.

 

[Alsacs]

So is the 5 year, $219 million contract that Durant is eligible for next offseason not technically a supermax? This is the confusing part to me; that would be the largest contract in NBA history but might not technically count towards the two-supermaxes per team limit?

Sources: KD to opt out, redo deal with Warriors

Durant isn’t getting a 5 year extension this offseason.
He can’t get 5 years till after next year when he hits 10 years and GS has his Bird rights.

 

[OrangeDW]

He needs all-NBA to get a supermax.
Which is 200 million plus.
If he doesn’t get all-NBA he would lose 40-60 extra million and could decide to go the Lakers or another team theoretically.
Same for Draymond he needs all NBA or being named DPOY to get that extra money and they both know it.

He can get all nba playing the same way he’s always played though. He’s gotten it twice, and his numbers have basically been the same for 4 straight years. That’s what he is and what he’s capable of IMO. Whether he sneaks on to 3rd team or not will probably depend more on what kinds of seasons other guys around the league have(Butler, CJ, Beal, etc.) because it’s hard to see Klay’s numbers really going up or down much at this point. He’s as steady of a 21, 3, and 3 with elite shooting and solid D as you can get.

 

[Melancer46]

Sources: KD to opt out, redo deal with Warriors

Durant isn’t getting a 5 year extension this offseason.

He's eligible for a 5 year, $219 million contract next offseason per that article that you linked to.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Green needs to find his 3 point shooting if he wants all nba. It's gone in the tank the past 2 years.