NBA Thread 2020-21 Season | Page 46 | Syracusefan.com

NBA Thread 2020-21 Season

Hold on OIG, we all know your rockets hatred..but if they trade westbrook and harden..and bring in all these new guys, got rid of Mike D and Morey...wouldn't that just mean you hate the laundry?
I suppose this is correct. Morey annoys me. I dislike D'Antoni. Really my only remaining issue with the Rockets is my distaste for Harden. So if they dump Harden, I'd have no issue with the Rockets.

So, yeah, my issue was with the unholy trinity they had going.
 
I suppose this is correct. Morey annoys me. I dislike D'Antoni. Really my only remaining issue with the Rockets is my distaste for Harden. So if they dump Harden, I'd have no issue with the Rockets.

So, yeah, my issue was with the unholy trinity they had going.

cool...i hope they trade harden for someone you like so you can start rooting with me...or at least not actively root against
 
I suppose this is correct. Morey annoys me. I dislike D'Antoni. Really my only remaining issue with the Rockets is my distaste for Harden. So if they dump Harden, I'd have no issue with the Rockets.

So, yeah, my issue was with the unholy trinity they had going.
How many times have the Rockets knocked out the Jazz of the playoffs the last decade? It’s gotta be atleast 2 times.

That couldn’t have helped either.
 
How many times have the Rockets knocked out the Jazz of the playoffs the last decade? It’s gotta be atleast 2 times.

That couldn’t have helped either.
Oh it does, there's definitely some hate by osmosis from the community around me because of that.
 
Adams 2 year $35m extension after the deal to Pels. That's a lot to pay a center these days but will take him up to his age 30 season. Should be a moveable deal and will be gone before Zion needs to get maxed out.
 
Adams 2 year $35m extension after the deal to Pels. That's a lot to pay a center these days but will take him up to his age 30 season. Should be a moveable deal and will be gone before Zion needs to get maxed out.


I am good with it, the Pelicans were too damn soft on defense and everywhere else last year. Adams will be good for the team. Whole key is Zion and BI being healthy and productive
 
I am good with it, the Pelicans were too damn soft on defense and everywhere else last year. Adams will be good for the team. Whole key is Zion and BI being healthy and productive
If Zion has any kind of defensive motivation they could be really good on D with Lonzo/Bledsoe in the backcourt and then him and Adams. Ingram could be good since he's so long but too skinny and offensively focused.
 
Are Brandon Ingram and Bam Adabayo going to sign max extensions?

Technically I guess Ingram wouldn't be an extension, but...yes I assume.

I think Miami will try and get Bam to hold off on signing till next year though to preserve their cap space.
 
If Zion has any kind of defensive motivation they could be really good on D with Lonzo/Bledsoe in the backcourt and then him and Adams. Ingram could be good since he's so long but too skinny and offensively focused.


Yeah Ingram isn't much of a defender but he's just a damn good player on the offensive side of the ball. I don't know why the local media so concerned about WHEN he resigns. They will lock him down, curious if the gets max or maybe a bit below. I think Ingram is great fit there though and I think he likes being in a smaller market with some Southern routes He's so damn laid back but every thing I have read on him is worth ethic is fantastic.
 
Technically I guess Ingram wouldn't be an extension, but...yes I assume.

I think Miami will try and get Bam to hold off on signing till next year though to preserve their cap space.
If I am Bam that wouldn’t make me happy.
Mitchell and Tatum get max contracts right away and Pat Riley who is ruthless wants me to wait.
I would pull the Shaq I got injured on company time so I will get healthy on company routine then.
That is stupid.

Why isn’t Ingram an extension? His contract was traded to New Orleans?
When Porzignis signed with Dallas that was an extension.
 
If I am Bam that wouldn’t make me happy.
Mitchell and Tatum get max contracts right away and Pat Riley who is ruthless wants me to wait.
I would pull the Shaq I got injured on company time so I will get healthy on company routine then.
That is stupid.

Why isn’t Ingram an extension? His contract was traded to New Orleans?
When Porzignis signed with Dallas that was an extension.

The ingram thing is all semantics, but he's technically a restricted FA right now. (I guess KP signed his before FA technically opened? Again, all semantics. I'm being a jerk)

The Bam one is interesting for sure. If he gets hurt or plays worse or whatever next season, maybe the max isnt there. (then again, counter point; maybe its not there right now) It is def in Miami's best interests to hold off and keep his low cap hold for next summer. Maybe in exchange for waiting Miami will give Bam a player option on year 5?
 
My overview of the 2020 Raptors Offseason.

Key Objectives entering Offseason
- Keep Flexibility for a Max Free Agent in 2021.
- Remain Competitive, even if not a title contender.
- Retain Fred Van Vleet at an at least reasonable contract.
- Stay under Luxury Tax Threshold, to avoid repeater tax implications in a future year (as an aside I hate that this was one of the objectives, but it was clear from speculation that it was).

Analysis - they did meet all these objectives, but not as much as they hoped regarding competitive level for 2021. See my in/out impact analysis below. None of the contracts they signed (outside of FVV) had any guarantees that would impact the cap space available during summer of 2021. And that was the main objective.

What Appears to have been the Desired Plan
-
Sign FVV to "Reasonable" Deal not near max. (concern was due to what teams like Knicks / Pistons would offer)
- Offer Serge Ibaka 1/12 deal (which they did offer)
- Give most of the MLE to Aaron Baynes
- Lose Chris Boucher
- Fill in lineup with Scrubs

Analysis: It appeared from the beginning that there was mutual interest between the Raptors and Baynes for the MLE. But this forced the Raptors to make a low-ball offer.to Ibaka so they could stay below the luxury tax line. And understandably Ibaka was probably upset by this and decided to take what was probably a better contract with the Clips .. less 2021 salary, but more overall guarantee, and a player option for 2022 which allows him to get more potentially. After losing Ibaka, the Raptors decided to re-sign Chris Boucher.

The mistake the Raptors made were the following-- and they were not done in the offseason.
a) Signing Pat McCaw and Stanley Johnson to two year contracts last summer at $4M each. At the time they seemed like OK risks, and neither extended until summer of 2021 which was key.
b) Perhaps giving a few million to much to Siakam prior to beginning of 2019/2020 season. But at most it may have been a few million they could have saved. Siakam was a second team all star, played well for most of the season, but stank in the bubble. Maybe they could have got a slight discount if they waited.

In the end the Raptors could have retained Ibaka for 1/18 if they had moved Johnson/McCaw to a team with space ... that team would have certainly asked for a first round pick or a few second rounders. The Raptors passed. It's a debatable decision, but also shows they were not all in on Ibaka either.


Final Grade on Raptors Offseason - "B-"

Giannis in 2021, or another Big FA in 2021, is a longshot. That being said they positioned themselves to strike with the only cost being Ibaka. So I have to give the Raptors a "B-" on their offseason. It was meant to be a transition year and that has been maintained.

PLAYERS IN
Aaron Baynes
Alex Len
Malachi Flynn
Deandre Bembry

PLAYERS OUT
Serge Ibaka
Marc Gasol
Rondae Hollis Jefferson
Terrance Davis (???)

Key Retentions
Fred Van Vleet
Chris Boucher
Analysis of Guards (1/2)

2020 - Lowry, Van Vleet, Powell, T. Davis, Matt Thomas
2021 - Lowry, Van Vleet, Powell, Flynn, Matt Thomas

Change from Prior Year - FLAT
It was a very good group of guards in 2020, despite lacking size. I would say top 8 in the NBA for sure. They should retain that position in 2021. The big loss might be due to the anti-mask idiot Terrence Davis, a promising guard, who may well be released or traded for peanuts due to viciously assaulting his girlfriend. Despite that loss with the development of Thomas and the addition of Flynn that lose will be made up for.

Analysis of the 3/4 Position
2020 - Siakam, Anunoby, Rondae Hollis Jefferson, McCaw
2021 - Siakam, Anunoby, McCaw, Bembry

Change form Prior Year - FLAT (Bembry = RHJ for the most part)
The starters remain the same. Both at 27 or under, they should continue to develop and improve and will be part of the core entering summer of 2021. Could probably use another productive player, although Boucher plays alot of five.

Analysis of the 5/4 Position
2020 - Gasol, Ibaka, Boucher
2021 - Baynes, Boucher, Len

Change from Prior Year - DOWNGRADE
Baynes is an offset of Gasol. Essentially this becomes a trade of Serge Ibaka for Alex Len. That is a clear loss for the Raptors. That being said the Raptors were 13-4 in games that Ibaka was injured last year.

Ibaka is a fairly large defensive liability at this point, but still a net loss because of his offence.. This was no more evident than in the Celtics series when Gasol struggled, the Raptors started to use OG Anunoby at center for some minutes.

Chris Boucher will put up good numbers if you give him 20-25 minutes. But as I said its what he does to the stat sheets of opponents that is the concern. But if he gets more aware this will also offset part of Ibaka loss.

2021 Projection:
Pro-rated to 82 games the Raptors went 60-22 last season, and finished second in the East/
The Ibaka loss will hurt but I would still be surprised if we fall out of the 48-55 win range this upcoming year, and I predict they will be somewhere between 3rd in the East (high side) and 5th in the East.

The core of the team FVV/Anunody/Siakam should not be any worse. Anunoby will likely be better. The ultimate success of this team is largely Siakam. If he improved from his 2019 playoffs and early season 2020 season level, he would be a clear star player. But if he plays close to what he did in the bubble then this team will not be any better.


2021 Trade Deadline and Future
The team has established its core of FVV/Siakam/Anunoby + 2021 Cap Room.
If this team is good but not really a contender come the trade deadline (which has to be the expected scenario) it will be interesting to see what they do.

Entering the summer of 2021, they may have the option of one of the following to retain enough cap sapce... not even sure if that will be the case. But it is certainly not more than one.
- Sign Lowry to a friendly exit contract ($8M or less)
- Exercise team option on Baynes
- Exercise team option on Boucher.

Given what players received this summer Norm Powell will opt out of his $11M contract.

So will the Raptors make a whole bunch of players available as we get towards the deadline, the three most prominent being
- Lowry
- Baynes
- Powell
All of these players could presumably get some sort of first round pick (late). If Boucher plays well he could also get some draft capital since he is on a friendly team option for 2021.


They will also have a better sense on the summer of 2021 market within a few months (i.e. Giannis), so if Siakam/Anunoby progess, they may decide to run most of it back).
 
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Seems like Bam got what he deserved.
Making him wait for next year wouldn’t have been smart.

When is Giannis eligible to sign the super max? Cause it appears he is.

Eligible until Dec 22 or so.

Bam and Giannis share the same agent, if you want to connect some dots
 
Seems like Giannis is going to go back to Milwaukee as was expected last Monday (after trading for Jrue and Bogdan). But since last Monday, the Bucks took their fans for a hell of a ride this past week which certainly must have caused some concern
 
Eligible until Dec 22 or so.

Bam and Giannis share the same agent, if you want to connect some dots

1606245488597.png
 

Seems like Bam got what he deserved.
Making him wait for next year wouldn’t have been smart.

When is Giannis eligible to sign the super max? Cause it appears he is.

Well this would appear to be a very, very good sign. If they're signing this deal now, it means they'd have to get rid of everyone on the roster outside of Bam and Butler to make room for Giannis (or get rid of Butler). Versus simply telling Bam he'll get his money and then they could sign Giannis and keep basically everyone, so needless to say this would seem to be a sign that they expect Giannis to re-sign with Milwaukee.
 

So both Ingram and Bam got their max contracts.
2017 draft has 4 players get max deals
Ingram, Tatum, Mitchell and Adabayo.
 
Well this would appear to be a very, very good sign. If they're signing this deal now, it means they'd have to get rid of everyone on the roster outside of Bam and Butler to make room for Giannis (or get rid of Butler). Versus simply telling Bam he'll get his money and then they could sign Giannis and keep basically everyone, so needless to say this would seem to be a sign that they expect Giannis to re-sign with Milwaukee.

Especially as, like I said before, Giannis and Bam have the same agent.

I'm sure you'll feel a lot better when he actually signs though
 
Especially as, like I said before, Giannis and Bam have the same agent.

I'm sure you'll feel a lot better when he actually signs though

Yes haha, this news put a smile on my face but I won't feel relief until the word comes down that Giannis is 100% staying.
 
Hawks overpaid. Kings have already declined to match. Hawks get another piece to out around Trae. What did the Bucks do in place of Bogdan?
 
Kings lucked out having Haliburton land in their lap but still the Kings (and in the WC)...
 

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