NBA Thread 2020-21 Season

[Melancer46]

I think the Kuzma deal is fine - even if he never gets any better, he still gives us 12-15 ppg off the bench, which is useful. And if guys aren’t playing, he can give us 20+ on some nights.

FWIW, I’ve generally been on the “Kennard is good and better than many realize” - but he’s gotta stay healthy to really prove it. He has had stretches of being really effective.

Yeah, I like Kennard a lot honestly, but like you said, he has to find a way to stay healthy (and also survive defensively). One of the better shooters in the league and he's a lot more comfortable operating out of the pick and roll than people expect. People type-cast him as a JJ Redick type player and he's really a lot more versatile than that.

 

[Knicks411]

Eh, 2 out of his three reasons why it's a bad deal are opinions, and the third isn't really a big deal.

I never get the "too old" argument. He's 25! Guys can still get better? Joe Ingles came to the NBA when he was 27 and made a huge leap in his age 30 season. If you want to argue the Lakers might not provide an ideal environment for player development right now since they're in win now mode still, I get it, but that wouldn't make Kuzma's extension bad.

Well, it's his column! That's where his opinions are supposed to go!

I do mostly agree with him though. Kuzma strikes me as the kind of guy who will generally be overrated. (basically, he can kinda score and not do much else) If this severely hampers their chances of including him in a trade this season for help, that might push me over the edge to not really liking it.

The other side of this would be that if he is the kind of guy who tends to be overrated, he could be the object of a big offer sheet next year the Lakers may not want to match.

Also I guess "bad" is a relative term as it goes; as long as the Buss's don't mind paying the tax and they aren't hard capped next season, I guess it's mostly fine?

 

[Day2]

Eh, 2 out of his three reasons why it's a bad deal are opinions, and the third isn't really a big deal.

I never get the "too old" argument. He's 25! Guys can still get better? Joe Ingles came to the NBA when he was 27 and made a huge leap in his age 30 season. If you want to argue the Lakers might not provide an ideal environment for player development right now since they're in win now mode still, I get it, but that wouldn't make Kuzma's extension bad.

The third is a big deal if the Lakers want to make a trade in-season. Kuzma was their best asset, as they don’t have any tradable first-round picks until 2027.

 

[jncuse]

Isn't Kuzma known as a really bad defender? Perhaps I am wrong on that.
And unless you are elite, if you are a poor defending stat stuffer you are not necessarily getting paid as much anymore (relatively). Sure he can score but perhaps that is why his deal looks like a "value".

 

[Day2]

Isn't Kuzma known as a really bad defender? Perhaps I am wrong on that.
And unless you are elite, if you are a poor defending stat stuffer you are not necessarily getting paid anymore.

Yeah, he’s not a good defender. He doesn’t pass either.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The third is a big deal if the Lakers want to make a trade in-season. Kuzma was their best asset, as they don’t have any tradable first-round picks until 2027.

They'd need to be very, very creative to get something worthwhile out of his rookie deal salary slot. Probably wasn't likely.

 

[Knicks411]

They'd need to be very, very creative to get something worthwhile out of his rookie deal salary slot. Probably wasn't likely.

I was gonna say you could use some salary from a lesser player (but higher paid) and use Kuzma as the chip to get something, but it looks like the only guys on the Lakers who make more than Kuzma are

Lebron and AD (duh)
Schroeder- $15.5 million
KCP: $12 million
Harrell: $9.2 million

So I am not sure exactly how feasible that would be, especially since they're hard capped due to getting Harrell. Honestly, the more I think about it, the less I like the Harrell signing for them.

 

[Arangeman]

I was gonna say you could use some salary from a lesser player (but higher paid) and use Kuzma as the chip to get something, but it looks like the only guys on the Lakers who make more than Kuzma are

Lebron and AD (duh)
Schroeder- $15.5 million
KCP: $12 million
Harrell: $9.2 million

So I am not sure exactly how feasible that would be, especially since they're hard capped due to getting Harrell. Honestly, the more I think about it, the less I like the Harrell signing for them.

And they aren’t trading any of those guys this year. Kuzma wasnt bringing back anyone of value for the Lakers this season in a trade at his 3.5 mil salary or whatever it is.

There was an ongoing myth of kuzma as a trade asset this year. They already traded the guy they would have attached him to, Danny Green.

The Lakers get him on a cheap deal this year and maintain him as an asset with a reasonable deal if they choose to move him next summer. I mean if he totally sucks this year or gets hurt, it’s a problem. If not, keep him or find a buyer.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I was gonna say you could use some salary from a lesser player (but higher paid) and use Kuzma as the chip to get something, but it looks like the only guys on the Lakers who make more than Kuzma are

Lebron and AD (duh)
Schroeder- $15.5 million
KCP: $12 million
Harrell: $9.2 million

So I am not sure exactly how feasible that would be, especially since they're hard capped due to getting Harrell. Honestly, the more I think about it, the less I like the Harrell signing for them.

Yeah, the way the cap mechanics work out it's just really unlikely for a rookie contract to be the main part of a trade. It involves a bunch of other moving parts, and not really stuff the Lakers have.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Layers of comedy to unpack here.

The beauty of this is it calls for a suspension and he won’t be paid for each game missed ... now this is getting good

Video: James Harden Attends Maskless Christmas Stripper Party; Violates NBA COVID Rules By Going to Party With Strippers

Social media continues to get athletes in trouble. The NBA has specifically said that players should stay away from clubs and gatherings during the season. James Harden who is trying his best to get traded from Houston took that more as a suggestion than a rule and was spotted out at a Christmas...

blacksportsonline.com

 

[OttoinGrotto]

James Harden about to get suspended.

I'm going to guess that clip is of some of the less exciting stuff that happened.

 

[Alsacs]

I'm going to guess that clip is of some of the less exciting stuff that happened.

I really don’t get Harden’s behavior here.
The team didn’t screw him.
He has 3 years left on his contract including this year. The team can’t just give him away.
His behavior is like Vince Carter tanking his career to get out of Toronto.
It’s unprofessional. He will lose money for this.

 

[MSOrange]

 

[MikeSU02]

I really don’t get Harden’s behavior here.
The team didn’t screw him.
He has 3 years left on his contract including this year. The team can’t just give him away.
His behavior is like Vince Carter tanking his career to get out of Toronto.
It’s unprofessional. He will lose money for this.

Not the actions itself, but the situation is worse for him because of social media and literally everyone having a camera in their pocket now.

Vince was terrible about it, but he essentially just mailed it in like he was zombie.

Harden is just compounding one public misstep after another and just reveling in it.

I mean, you have to be acting like a pretty big jerk for the Houston owner to be made to look like the good guy in any situation and Harden is doing a good job of that.

If I were Houston, my original idea of asking for PG13 and Lou can't be done bc PG13 can't be traded until after the deadline this year (and maybe that happens if Harden basically is paid to stay away this year). I think Hou has to ask for Ingram and picks from NO. If I'm Hou, I want a wing in return. I don't want Simmons. I would be looking at guys like Ingram, Siakim, Tatum (I know, I know - non starter) and picks out the wazoo.

All they need to find is one team that thinks they can fix him and if they find two teams that think they can, they'll get the haul of all haul's for him.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I really don’t get Harden’s behavior here.
The team didn’t screw him.
He has 3 years left on his contract including this year. The team can’t just give him away.
His behavior is like Vince Carter tanking his career to get out of Toronto.
It’s unprofessional. He will lose money for this.

Well, see, the thing is, he's a guy that has built his game on deception and fooling the refs, so, odds are good he's a jerk.

 

[MikeSU02]

This should have been our team's look for Cuse and JB. We should own the "if we have to live where it snows 200" each winter, the team is getting fur coats and doing a full photo shoot in the snow."

 

[Melancer46]

Not the actions itself, but the situation is worse for him because of social media and literally everyone having a camera in their pocket now.

Vince was terrible about it, but he essentially just mailed it in like he was zombie.

Harden is just compounding one public misstep after another and just reveling in it.

I mean, you have to be acting like a pretty big jerk for the Houston owner to be made to look like the good guy in any situation and Harden is doing a good job of that.

If I were Houston, my original idea of asking for PG13 and Lou can't be done bc PG13 can't be traded until after the deadline this year (and maybe that happens if Harden basically is paid to stay away this year). I think Hou has to ask for Ingram and picks from NO. If I'm Hou, I want a wing in return. I don't want Simmons. I would be looking at guys like Ingram, Siakim, Tatum (I know, I know - non starter) and picks out the wazoo.

All they need to find is one team that thinks they can fix him and if they find two teams that think they can, they'll get the haul of all haul's for him.

I'm still hoping for something crazy like the Bulls trading LaVine, Markkanen, etc. for Harden.

Or the Harden/Simmons swap so that we can finally see Simmons with his own team.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I'm still hoping for something crazy like the Bulls trading LaVine, Markkanen, etc. for Harden.

Or the Harden/Simmons swap so that we can finally see Simmons with his own team.

Simmons would get chewed up in the west.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Not the actions itself, but the situation is worse for him because of social media and literally everyone having a camera in their pocket now.

Vince was terrible about it, but he essentially just mailed it in like he was zombie.

Harden is just compounding one public misstep after another and just reveling in it.

I mean, you have to be acting like a pretty big jerk for the Houston owner to be made to look like the good guy in any situation and Harden is doing a good job of that.

If I were Houston, my original idea of asking for PG13 and Lou can't be done bc PG13 can't be traded until after the deadline this year (and maybe that happens if Harden basically is paid to stay away this year). I think Hou has to ask for Ingram and picks from NO. If I'm Hou, I want a wing in return. I don't want Simmons. I would be looking at guys like Ingram, Siakim, Tatum (I know, I know - non starter) and picks out the wazoo.

All they need to find is one team that thinks they can fix him and if they find two teams that think they can, they'll get the haul of all haul's for him.

Ingram ? The rockets would be lucky to get Laura Ingram after this

 

[OrangeDW]

I really don’t get Harden’s behavior here.
The team didn’t screw him.
He has 3 years left on his contract including this year. The team can’t just give him away.
His behavior is like Vince Carter tanking his career to get out of Toronto.
It’s unprofessional. He will lose money for this.

Knew he was a punk ever since Andy Rautins and Devendorf kicked his butt in the NCAAs and he just nonchalantly took it without a fight.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OttoinGrotto]

View attachment 193431

Well. That was fast.

 

[Alsacs]

Out of Boston the package Houston wants from them is Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Romeo Langford, 2 first round picks and two pick swaps.

Lol okay.

 

[OrangeDW]

I’m sure if the Knicks had anything to trade, they’d deal for Harden and make the playoffs once as an 8 seed, followed by Harden’s game suddenly and inexplicably falling off a cliff. Basically Marbury or Steve Francis part 2.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I’m sure if the Knicks had anything to trade, they’d deal for Harden and make the playoffs once as an 8 seed, followed by Harden’s game suddenly and inexplicably falling off a cliff. Basically Marbury or Steve Francis part 2.

I'd love to see Harden to the Knicks.