Arena The NBA Thread

that wasn't just you tom, that has been literally everyone that's ever said anything about this in the media.

 

KD was on Jimmy Kimmel last night and around the 5:53 mark of the video, Jimmy asks KD about free agents signing with the Dubs to win a championship, and KD says that some players won't consider Golden State because of the backlash. And Jimmy says that the backlash would go away if you win a championship trophy and KD agreed and said that would be my pitch to free agents.

 

He's probably wrong, though.

GS doesn't really have any significant room to sign free agents. Any free agents that go there will likely have to take minimum salary or perhaps the MLE, which is what Nick Young was on this season. These players aren't likely to be "star" players that can command greater salaries, anyway. Backlash for signing with the Warriors really only applies to star players, not minimum salary guys. No one is going to care if some old ass guy who is well past his prime signs with the Warriors for a chance to a win a championship. I don't think anyone cared when David West did it, especially when West had already tried it with the Spurs. West was old, long past his prime and almost certainly not capable of winning a championship unless he was on a team with several players significantly better than him. Yet West represents the best case scenario as far as who the Warriors can afford. No one cared that Nick Young did it because literally no one cares about Nick Young.

No one cares if players like Zaza and Leandro Barbosa join up with the Warriors.

The following free agents or potential free agents can hop on with no fear of backlash: Vince Carter, Jamal Crawford, Seth Curry, maybe Jason Terry, maybe Gerald Green, Belinelli, Joe Johnson, James Ennis, Luke Babbitt, Corey Brewer, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Mario Chalmers, Amir Johnson, Anthony Tolliver (I'd miss him, but not blame him), Ersan Ilyasova, Trevor Booker. GS wouldn't be interested in many of these guys, but if they signed, no one would care.

Guys like JJ Redick, KCP and Brook Lopez might be able to join with little to no backlash, too. KCP is a relatively unknown role player, JJ is about to turn 34, and Brook is an old 30 with multiple major injuries in his past and is coming off a rough year.

Backlash is not a factor unless you're on or near KD's level. Lack of money, lack of actual roster space (look what happened to Casspi) and lack of minutes are probably bigger factors. I think a player's own personal pride, which is separate from backlash, is probably a bigger factor, too.

Free agents who would face backlash: LeBron James, Paul George, Chris Paul, maybe Boogie, maybe Tony Parker because of loyalty, maybe Derrick Favors (but who cares about Favors, really), Trevor Ariza because loyalty, IT4 because lol, maybe Tyreke, obviously D-Wade because loyalty, and maaaaaybe guys like Calderon and other Cavs players or former Cavs players because loyalty, and probably Rondo. Like, that's it. That's the entire list. I'm betting LeBron, Paul George, Rondo and others have no interest for reasons other than backlash.

It's not backlash, other players just have pride, or want more money/role than what GS can offer them.

 

Reportedly, Trevor Ariza would consider taking less money to sign with the Warriors.

 

In an article clearly targeted at me, apparently LeBron is coming to Denver.

 

So I guess that article has plenty of nuggets of information, right?

 

Any time you bring up Denver nowadays, there's got to be a Joker

 

Well, the thought of LeBron signing with the Nuggets seems like a joke to me, and I don't think Boykins has any kind of inside knowledge. But it certainly would be a surprise to everyone if James ended up there.

I've been listening to pundits talk about potential places where LeBron may sign in the offseason. The odds are on the top speculated teams, which are LA and Philadelphia, reasons being that LA because they could bring in another top talent like Paul George to go along with their young talent, LeBron has two houses there, and rumors that his kids will enroll in school there this fall. The Sixers because of their young talent and it's an easier path in the Eastern Conference to get to the NBA Finals.

There is speculation that LeBron could end up in Boston, which would have the Celtics trading back Kyrie to Cleveland because Uncle Drew doesn't want to sign an extension this summer.

Other speculation is the LeBron could end up in Houston or San Antonio. Houston because they are obsessed with dethroning the Warriors, but for them to get LeBron via trade, LeBron would have to not opt out of his contract with Cleveland with the understanding that they'll trade him, and Houston would need to find a team to take on Ryan Anderson's $41 million contract or buying him out. San Antonio, is a perfect attraction for LeBron with a Hall of Fame coach in Greg Papa and established and "smart" players (something LeBron mentioned in a post game conference). There's also the potential, if things aren't patched up between the Spurs and Kawhi, that the Spurs could be looking to trade him. But, ideally for the Spurs, they would like obviously like to pair LeBron with Kawhi and Lamarcus. Personally, I wouldn't like LeBron ending up in either Houston or San Antonio.

I hope LeBron stays in Cleveland.

 

the spurs would almost definitely have to move lamarcus to fit lebron under the cap, though some of that depends on what danny green and rudy gay do with their options. i don't think lebron would want to go there if kawhi is gone. lakers then cavs are still my top two guesses, but i do think he'd like to play for pop.

 

why can't Lebron tip-toe?

cuz his Cavs can't support him

 

Everyone wants to talk about how plans for the summer hinge on LeBron, but a lot of it also hinges on Kawhi, maybe even more than LeBron.

If Kawhi and Pop can "patch it up" and he stays in San Antonio, not only does it make San Antonio a possibility for LeBron, it takes Kawhi off the board for several places that would like to trade for him. If they decide they cannot, and the Spurs decide to move on from him, not only are there Kawhi/LeBron team-ups, but there's a domino effect - if Kawhi ends up in, say, Boston, for a package centered on, say, Kyrie Irving and some young pieces, the East is in no way a cake walk for LeBron - is he more likely to go West? If the Lakers can land Kawhi, and have space left to sign both LeBron and Paul George, is there any way LeBron doesn't go to the Lakers? Maybe a 5% chance? Could Cleveland find the right deal to bring Kawhi to the Cavs and pair him with LeBron? (Love to Portland, McCollum to Spurs seems like a deal that could make that happen, and you'd need Leonard to say "I want to go to Cleveland").

And, let's be honest: if LeBron says he wants to go somewhere, Cleveland is going to find a way to make that happen for him. The cap juggling will occur in the background. And, that's not just LeBron, that's almost any top-level superstar. Chris Paul did it last year, opting in and getting a trade to Houston.

 

If Kawhi ended up in Boston for Kyrie, the Celtics would be a prime team for LeBron to also join.

 

I would stop watching all sports forever except women's soccer and the Cleveland Spiders if that happened.

 

Well, during the last part of the season, Pop and certain players on the Spurs were voicing their opinions on the seriousness of Kawhi's injury and the ability of him playing. So, there's a lot to mend between the Spurs and Kawhi. And if the relationship can't be repaired, I don't see the Spurs trading him away and not getting even value for Kawhi. At least, not during the off season. So, I don't think teams should hold their breath on Kawhi. I mean, the Spurs kind of went through the same thing with Lamarcus awhile back.

I think the NBA's free agency should start before the draft, like the NFL does, as it allows teams to better determine what they'll do with their draft picks. Take Cleveland for example, they are kind of in limbo in what to do with their 8th pick until LeBron makes a decision or the draft clock starts running on them. So, I wonder if LeBron will tell Cleveland what he wants to do before draft night. He certainly would do right by the Cavs if he did.

I saw that Charles Barkley doesn't think Philly is a good fit for LeBron in terms who will be handling the ball on the court. Both LeBron and Simmons dominate the ball when running the team's offense. It was noted that Simmons doesn't have an outside game. IIRC, he only attempted like four 3-pointers and most of his point are near or around the paint. So, if LeBron comes into Philly, Simmons would need to find an outside shot or his points production and development would go down.

 

I think it’s more likely LeBron is asked to play more off the ball in that scenario. Also possibly a reason LeBron doesn’t choose the Sixers.

 

I think Adam Silver is eventually going to have to step in to modify or block the creation of superteams, mainly because the NBA risks becoming a league of basically two or three genuine contenders and about 29-30 other teams whose seasons are DOA in October.

Yes, the league has had de facto supremacy from a small number of teams throughout its history, but those teams were built mainly through drafts and skill in finding supporting talent.

 

^ It's very doubtful the that players union would ever allow any new restriction on free agency.

It's certainly amazing how much leverage LeBron has, in that, he is pretty much a GM. I would totally be impressed if he could force the Spurs to trade away Kawhi to the team he wants to play for.

I figured it wouldn't be long for Dwane Casey to find a job. Hopefully, he'll be able to turn around the Pistons. For now, I can't say Nick Nurse is an improvement over Casey in Toronto, but I will say that Toronto didn't seem to have a plan when the fired Casey with the hiring of Nurse. I mean, Nurse doesn't have the resume to get the Raptors to the next level. However, he might be able to beat the Cavs in the playoffs, should LeBron not be on the team. At least Nurse is not a retread.

 

Well, it's breaking news on ESPN that Kawhi definitely wants out and prefers the Lakers.

Kawhi is this super introverted guy, so maybe he didn't appreciate everyone in the Spurs organization having something to say about him publicly. He kept his mouth shut the whole time and they didn't. They were kinda hypocrites to do that, going against their own rules.

It's a very strange situation to see the Spurs alienate a superstar player. And they almost did it with LMA, too.

Could sorta be the beginning of the end for the Spurs as we know them, especially since Pop, Parker and Manu are all on their way out sooner than later.

 

The Spurs had about a 20 year run. That's extremely long in the modern era of sports. I mean, even the traditional dynasties like the Celtic and Lakers couldn't manage that type of success over the last 20 years.

It would be difficult for me to see the Spurs trading Kwahi to a team in the Western Conference, especially the Lakers. The Lakers and Spurs would definitely have to make some kind of magic for that to happen. And I won't jump the gun just yet, unlike the Cavs, I don't see the Spurs trading away Kwahi in conference unless they get equal value. I think the Spurs would like him sit out, like he did for the majority of this last season.

 

i'm pretty sure Pop isn't trading him for the Ball family. i doubt the Lakers have enough, Spurs should just make him sit.

 

Tunes, enjoy a very narrow championship window with no margin for error. James/George/Leonard is going to be the best trio in the league, but will not be an obvious favorite

 

Now the word is the Celtics are dropping their hats into the ring for Kwahi.

 

Tossing around trade ideas.

Can Boston sign and trade Marcus Smart (say, for $10 mil a year) along with Tatum for Kawhi? There are a lot of sign and trade restrictions and I'm not sure if they apply to Smart.

Funnily enough, Cleveland can trade LeBron to SA for Kawhi (plus another contract like Patty or Green/Gay if they opt in) if LeBron opts in.

Blake Griffin for Kawhi, Patty and all you can eat 1st round picks until the end of time. Nyuk nyuk nyuk. Or LMA for Blake. Whatever. Someone take Blake.

Middleton, Maker and Brogdon (and whatever picks)?

Covington and Fultz plus the 10th, 26th, 38th, 39th and 56th picks in this year's draft (all of which Philly owns)?

Kawhi to Phoenix for Josh Jackson, Jared Dudley (salary) and the #1 and #16 picks in this year's draft?

Kawhi to SAC for Fox, Skal, Shump (salary) and the #2 pick? DEATH TO KAWHI. That'll send a message.


Okay, that's enough. If I'm SA, I'm not forcing Kawhi to stay. I'd take the deals from Boston, Cleveland, Phoenix and Philly, in that order, if they're offered.