The NBA Thread

Meanwhile Spurs fans are melting down that all we've done is draft players and add Tobias Harris in free agency... a proven vet who, if we had him in Keldon Johnson's role, would have made us 2026 NBA champions.

PG: Fox | Harper
SG: Castle | Harper
SF: Vassell | Harris | Bryant
PF: Champagnie | Harris
C: Wembanyama | Kornet/ Reed Jr (think there's a real chance Reed Jr is a playoff calibre back up centre as a rookie, advanced analytics love his impact on team rebounding & he does other possessionmaxxing stuff too)

Bryant is the wildcard but even if he's kind of unplayable deep in the playoffs again I think there's a clear 8 player rotation that can win a title. Harris is massively underrated as a team defender & besides Keldon turning into a pumpkin, the biggest issue we had was when Wemby sits it's Kornet trying to stitch together an all guards/small wings lineup with very little rim protection & post defence support. Harris I think can fix the backup centre minutes at PF. He's a good player.
 
Pretty happy about the Lakers....don't really think it's a championship roster, and I don't know that they have the capital to make one, but it will be way more interesting than this season. It's time to move on from the LeBron era...of course, his announcement that he was leaving was about 5 minutes after Bronny's deal ticked over to guaranteed...lol

PS. I know he'll sell t-shirts and still can be an elite attacking player, but watching LBJ not run back in defence during the playoffs makes me wonder who really could use him?
 
Seano said:
Pretty happy about the Lakers....don't really think it's a championship roster, and I don't know that they have the capital to make one, but it will be way more interesting than this season. It's time to move on from the LeBron era...of course, his announcement that he was leaving was about 5 minutes after Bronny's deal ticked over to guaranteed...lol

PS. I know he'll sell t-shirts and still can be an elite attacking player, but watching LBJ not run back in defence during the playoffs makes me wonder who really could use him?
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I think it's a disastrous off-season. I am flabbergasted by the decision-making.

The only thing I can think is that Pelinka reckoned he could repeat the 2019 season where yeah they kind of did magic up a championship level roster out of thin air to surround LeBron/AD with, but it is genuinely rare for role players as good as Danny Green and young KCP to make it to free agency now. An asset that good, a team *always* signs them and moves them in exchange for picks now. Also Rondo was still only 32, overqualified to lead a second unit and content to take a pay cut to ring chase. And even at that age LeBron was still a bit of a walking finals berth, Luka doesn't have the aura yet. LeBron, AD, KCP, Green, Caruso, Rondo was an underrated championship level core that only needed cameo vet min role players to round out... honestly if not for injuries and the Schroeder trade which I kind of never got, I think they repeat in 2021. They moved Jaden McDaniels in that Schroeder trade too. Man. What could have been there.

Honestly I think a lot of the free agents they're losing are better than the ones they added. Mamu, I like him a lot, but he'll be a catastrophe on that team, he would have had some of the easiest defensive matchup difficulty in the league playing with Scottie Barnes and CMB. I am flabbergasted by giving up what they did for Kessler. If they were going to really shell out for an RFA I would have chased Peyton Watson, athletic defenders on the wing who can shoot are way more important for a Luka team than anything else - the centre needs to be able to defend too, yeah, but you trust Luka to elevate average big men rather than overpay for a slightly above average one (I'm not really a Kessler guy, could you have guessed that?). I have no idea why they wanted Sexton. Grimes is the least bad signing but not good enough on D to be the primary POA/wing stopper and I think there's a very good chance that's what his role will be. Yuck.

I really wanted Rui on the Spurs (happy with Tobias though) and maybe they can put some lipstick on the pig and dump Vando in order to retain him. Then maybe it's less of a disaster. Say what you like about him, he sure hits the strings.

But yeah I am flabbergasted by Pelinka's process. He gives up draft picks for guys and lets them walk a few months later in free agency. And their scouts have been good at finding undervalued talent in the second round, too! The one team where maybe they should keep and use those picks. And then once he's interrogating the free agent market he's betting too heavily on... does Sexton help them more than Mahcus Smaht? Mamu better for them than (cheaper) Kelly Oubre? Mamu over (cheaper) Dean Wade? Grimes over (cheaper) Keon Ellis?

Maybe this won't age well but I think they're a better team if they just retain most of their own free agents than chase new ones.
 
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Wow...maybe I'm less happy now...lol.

I never understood why that championship roster fell apart so quickly, or the Schroder trade or the Russ trade, for that matter, especially when they couldn't find a way to effectively use him. And I've been hoping they'd find a way to keep Rui.

And I've not been a fan of the trade-everything-to-win-now.... Winning is great, but then if you doom yourself to play-in mediocrity for a decade or more, is it worth it? Especially when teams like OKC and the Spurs have set themselves up to remain constant contenders just by wearing a few seasons of pain.

Still, I can always switch to the Bulls. :)

PS. I am hoping Kessler will be a bit better than slightly above average in a better team, and with a good run with injuries, he's only 24.
PPS. Still happy to see some change at the Lakers; now we get to see if JJ can really coach.
 
I know you only have to play with what's in front of you, but yeah at the time and even now I'm feeling the same way I really did not like their moves at all. The Walker Kessler trade gives them zero tradable first-round picks until 2034. Which means you have 12 months to play with convincing Luka that your roster is competitive and capable before any 'trade talks' rise. Ironically enough the glaring hole there is Small Forward and lack of versatile wing depth.
The podcast guys already think Kessler is an overpay, I don't disagree. Likewise with Grimes and Mamukelashvili. I also thought Sexton was an overpay but not by as much, went from having no market to attaching a second rounder just to get rid of him to that. Smart/Kennard for the deals they got elsewhere aren't that ridiculous.
At the 5 even if they got something like a Robert Williams III Portland deal I wouldn't have minded that, he was outperforming Clingan and I thought he did okay in the first round of the playoffs.

Seano said:
I never understood why that championship roster fell apart so quickly, or the Schroder trade or the Russ trade, for that matter, especially when they couldn't find a way to effectively use him. And I've been hoping they'd find a way to keep Rui.
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I think it was two things, firstly, AD just never being reliably healthy over long of a stretch and in fact i'll say the opposite. 2020 was lucky as hell with the big midseason break, and it was the perfect chance to seize the opportunity for the championship, on top of the Clippers choking where 2020 or 21 could have been either of their years if Ingles doesn't injure Kawhi in the Semis. It created a false perception that they were an elite contender when they really weren't...very good but looking around at the years it was basically some sort of AD injury at some point. There's a reason why it's always called the bubble ring and has less of a prestige as the ones around it (Not their fault of course but it is what it is)

And second the Russ trade definitely just killed any chance of them continuing things. Should have never had happened. Being hamstrung because without Lebron falling into their lap none of what happens in the 2020s happens but at the same time you have to do what's best for the team. And sometimes be like Pat Riley and tell the players to play while the office makes the decisions. Had the outlier in 2023 (again getting the right matchup) before AD's continuing failing health. If you don't give up assets to get Russ and then to get rid of him, you can work around that and whatever happens, happens.
 
I'm actually more interested in the difference between the public's perception and the league's perception around Jaylen Brown's value. Philly should have paid more to get Paul George off their books (who's fine when healthy) but still really unreliable, and that age continuing to tick.
We see a Finals MVP, All 2nd Team etc, they see differently...

I totally get Brown's contract is huge and possibly would have gotten bigger if he stayed which does hamstring Boston's cap flexibility but I guess Boston is thinking of long term around Tatum, not wanting a 1A and 1B on huge dollars. Even if Brown's numbers dip with Tatum back I don't know if it's that much with who else is on the roster. If Philly get the 24-25 version of Brown at the least they're laughing and can figure out the dollars later.
 
Brown is the ultimate NBA fan civil war guy, hooper who puts up great counting stats who a lot of people would rank top 10, but analytics say he's like the 87th best player in the league. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Seano said:
Wow...maybe I'm less happy now...lol.

I never understood why that championship roster fell apart so quickly, or the Schroder trade or the Russ trade, for that matter, especially when they couldn't find a way to effectively use him. And I've been hoping they'd find a way to keep Rui.

And I've not been a fan of the trade-everything-to-win-now.... Winning is great, but then if you doom yourself to play-in mediocrity for a decade or more, is it worth it? Especially when teams like OKC and the Spurs have set themselves up to remain constant contenders just by wearing a few seasons of pain.

Still, I can always switch to the Bulls. :)

PS. I am hoping Kessler will be a bit better than slightly above average in a better team, and with a good run with injuries, he's only 24.
PPS. Still happy to see some change at the Lakers; now we get to see if JJ can really coach.
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Kessler will probably be an analytics darling with Luka spoonfeeding him offence, and he's a very good rim protector, so yeah it's not like the team isn't better with him at centre vs Ayton. I just look at it like: Most analytics also said Gafford and Lively were fkn MONSTERS... in Luka's minutes. Without him, they're fine. From that I conclude that two decent 24 minute centres will do the job when you have Luka.

Also think Kessler will be very vulnerable to teams that can force him to defend on the perimeter but that's just a thing with most centres now. But for me that's why you need the athletic wing/forward who can also offer rim protection etc so that tactic doesn't destroy you.

And yeah the Russ trade was something LeGM pushed because his whole career he's wanted a co-star who's a lead ball handler so he can play a more varied role on offence. Did not realise Russ was the wrong guy & they have terrible synergy. Not the first time in his career he scanned the table of possible guys he could play with and prioritised talent over fit, to his detriment.

R_A said:
I think it was two things, firstly, AD just never being reliably healthy over long of a stretch and in fact i'll say the opposite. 2020 was lucky as hell with the big midseason break, and it was the perfect chance to seize the opportunity for the championship, on top of the Clippers choking where 2020 or 21 could have been either of their years if Ingles doesn't injure Kawhi in the Semis. It created a false perception that they were an elite contender when they really weren't...very good but looking around at the years it was basically some sort of AD injury at some point. There's a reason why it's always called the bubble ring and has less of a prestige as the ones around it (Not their fault of course but it is what it is)
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I still lean towards them going back to back if LeBron & AD stay healthy. They beat Phoenix and Milwaukee.

"If AD stays healthy" always the big "if" though of course.
 
If you want some positive Lakers takes, I had Cam Carr as a lottery pick, so IMO he's going to be a massive steal. Things are a bit less bleak if he turns into a Vassell or Mikal Bridges level wing.

Actually I'll fire off some draft takes:

My top 4 was: 1 Boozer 2 AJ 3 Caleb 4 DP. I think DP is a complimentary star & some will be mildly disappointed by him. I think people are just in love with the smooth jumper and are projecting advantage creation tools & playmaking ability which isn't there. People think this is Kobe but I think Ray Allen is the high end outcome. Ray Allen was awesome so that's not a disaster but I don't get people trying to tell me he's an all time great guard prospect (there's some character concerns I can't ignore as well).

Of the logjam of guards the ones I liked were Acuff - but I think he'll be a problematic non-tryer on D - and I really really like Flemings, I think he's going to be really good & has gone to a perfect team for his skill set.

I don't see it with Wagler & Mikel Brown.

Morez going 9 is a sign a lot of front offices are getting smarter, ditto Yaxel to a lesser extent. Such a valuable skill set on a contender, very projectible good players, yet somehow these guys back in the day would always slide out of the lottery.

I thought Dailyn Swain & Ebuka Okorie both mocked too low. I thought the Bulls had a great draft.

Bucks passing on Swain for Ament is bizarre and indefensible. But I like Burries.

And yeah Cam Carr might be the guy in the draft with the biggest gap between where he went and where he should have went, unless Quaintance can get over his health stuff, but Jayden's injuries understandably limited the teams who were in for him.
 
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HarVeeGee13 said:
Brown is the ultimate NBA fan civil war guy, hooper who puts up great counting stats who a lot of people would rank top 10, but analytics say he's like the 87th best player in the league. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.
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Yeah for sure, He lit it up for the Celtics, at the start of the season the Ringer had him at 14th I think.
5-10 is a little optimistic as it takes into account that Giannis/Steph/Tatum not included either due to age/health. I would have him switched with Cade at 9 only for last year, as even if Cade has more upside – Jaylen is producing right now.

Other deals may have looked underwhelming due to age/health/short term option
Jaylen has no questions regarding that

In terms of team building – signing guys to max deals that don't deserve max deals IS a team killer
I think that Jaylen is safe from that
Lamelo/Duren getting close to 50mil is more dangerous than paying Jaylen 57mil i think
or guys that are definitely a step below the 40mil range; Julius Randle, Ingram etc.

Then you look at the haul for Gobert which was 3 picks 2 assets. Gobert was never top 10 player; he was top 20 at his peak (maybe even generous on that part)
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2072816269095567549

Oh I love this. Needed a more offensive-minded assistant coach & Donovan's been really adaptable & imaginative (improved a lot of big men AND has had good teams running weird 3 guard lineups like the bubble Thunder - has never needed orthodox roster construction).

Thought Donovan wasn't the best at in-series adjustments so that's still an issue, but I'm banking on Wemby/Harper/Castle developing to a point on at least one playoffs run soon that they're just so much better than everyone else it doesn't matter. Having better offensive systems & more ability to vary approach depending on lineup will help with that and I think that has to and will be the emphasis during the next regular season.

And yeah if Mitch has another bad playoffs, a good replacement is already in the house...
 
IDK what the Wizards are doing other than bailing teams out on bad players. Glad to see Ayton moved on.
 
Having seen some analysis of the Lakers' trades, I think the consensus is that Perlinka has mortgaged the team's future and overpaid for a bunch of players who won't form a winning roster. Essentially, predicting Luka will leave in 2 seasons when his deal is up without a championship.
 
Awesome, the Lakers have signed Matisse Thybulle. Great news for me, as there's an Australian playing for the Lakers (and I was over LeBron). I hope he can stay fit and build up some court time. Hopefully leading into an option for next year's FIBA World Cup and the 28 Olympics as well. Was stupidly left out of the last World Cup team so that we could take too many past-it veterans.

Edit: It's only a one-year vet minimum, and the Lakers will have to shed a contract to keep him *cough* Bronny *cough*. But hopefully he stays.
 
I wonder whether the Warriors are still a legit option for Lebron. Doesn't seem to be as much talk about them now. Green still has not re-signed after opting out, and Curry remains unsigned. They must believe they are in with a shot if the other two are willing to take a bit of a paycut to make their offer a bit more tempting. Then whatever's left work out minimal deals with Spencer/Payton II etc and then sign up your best Summer League Champions guys.
 
Alex Toohey played for our junior basketball club (he played seniors for us as well but was still a junior, I believe). Was picked up in the 2nd round by the Warriors a couple of seasons ago but had a significant knee injury after a bright start and was waived. Looks like he's back with their Summer League team. Fingers crossed for him!

Edit: Probably more significant to his career that he played for the Sydney Kings before being drafted, but not for us down here...lol
 
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So many loaded 76ers teams that couldn’t make it past the second round dating back to rookie season Ben Simmons, can they add another one or two to the tally? Quite possibly lol.
His second year is a player option…interesting
 
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