Arena The NBA Thread

my prediction: they get their act together for the 1 seed next season

then the Warriors knock them out in the first round from the 8 seed

 

Well, there was a lot of smoke coming out the Rocket's locker room when they were bounced out of the playoffs. And I think when the GM said shortly thereafter that everyone other than Harden was tradeable that created a bit of fire. I heard one NBA pundit say that the noise regarding the tension between CP3 and Harden could spark a trade, where CP3 could end up back with the Clippers, especially if they miss out on any of the big free agents this off season. It doesn't help that Mike D'Antoni is having trouble extending his contract.

Speaking of free agency, there's seem to be a lot buzz that Kyrie will end up signing in Brooklyn which would leave D'Angelo Russell as the odd man out. Which means, Russell could end up back on the Lakers.

 

From Yahoo! Sports...
Sources: Chris Paul wants out as relationship with James Harden deemed ‘unsalvageable’

 

Good luck finding many teams wanting to take that contract on.

 

How dare State Farm run all those commercials! I thought Paul and Harden were friends.

 

i think the only thing they can get back for paul is someone else's bad contract(s). so yeah, let's see how harden gels with john wall.

 

Maybe they can make a commercial where Harden trashes Paul's house and the agent calmly stand outside and says "Don't worry, I can help with this".

 

This probably goes back to that time James blew up Chris' kitchen and then pretended it wasn't him.

 

According to ESPN, the Hawks offered this to the Knicks and the Knicks turned it down. The Pelicans are supposedly listening to that offer.

 

grizz get out of conley's contract and actually get a somewhat decent haul back. plus they make room for it to be ja's team. pretty big gamble for utah, but should be an upgrade if conley can stay healthy. possibly a trade that could benefit both teams.

 

Yeah Conley has seemingly every year had some injury that kept him on the sidelines for large portions of the season. I'm sure that means Rubio is gone. This trade is probably due the West being considered wide open now that the Warriors are presumably taking a step back and somewhat of a disappointing season for the Jazz. I hop Conley stays healthy.

It was interesting yesterday that Harrison Barnes opted out of his contract and leaves $25 million of guaranteed money on the table and the same with Al Horford opting out of his $30.1 million contract at 33 years old. These are signs that these players/agents have already had contract discussions, so I won't be surprised if they announce deals one second after the free agent market opens.

I've been watching coverage on the AD deal to the Lakers. The Lakers have to still clear some cap space to make the trade work with the Pelicans, and AD's $4 million trade bonus has a big impact on the trade.

I watched ESPN's mock draft last night as to see how's projected as the Warriors pick.

 

i think the lakers only need to create space if they want to create another max slot. otherwise they can stick with what they have and use their $23 mil. in cap space to fill out the roster.

probably smart for barnes to opt out and look for a long term deal, even if it's slightly less than $25 million per year. i think he probably stays with the kings. horford on the other hand seems to clearly want out of boston. seems like a pretty dysfunctional team at the moment.

it's a weird draft for the warriors, with all the uncertainty around klay and mostly kd, but regardless they clearly need someone who can contribute right away.

 

Well, I wanted Conley, but Utah had the more suitable players to offer, and they offered two 1st round picks, which Detroit apparently refused to do. Memphis would have had to have taken Reggie Jackson, when the whole point was to get out of Ja's way. It's a good fit for Utah. He's a much better shooter than Rubio, and a slight upgrade defensively. Conley was healthy this year and quietly had one of the best years of his career. Utah's defense gets even better and more disciplined (Rubio gambles for steals a lot) and they get someone who can't simply be ignored on the perimeter like Rubio was. I think Utah should waive Favors and try to land a stretch four like Mirotic or Marcus Morris.

Detroit has said their plan right now is to stick with Blake, Andre, and Reggie. Trying to fill out the roster, which has a lot of holes. I find that disappointing, because Detroit has zero cap space. Trades may be the only path to improvement.

It's been an interesting start to the summer. Chaotic, thanks to the Warriors' injuries. Boston was looking so promising before the start of this past season, now they're imploding. Still, Boston fans shouldn't panic, Tatum and Brown are a good young core to build around. I think Tatum will be an All-Star if they get out of his way.

 

Utah is going to be very good next year, as long as Conley is healthy. That's a great trade for them. I like it for Memphis, too. Not just because of clearing the way for Morant, but because the later pick from Utah could be decent.

I'm laughing at Boston. They were stocked to the roof with assets. Had great young talent. And are about to watch two All-Stars walk and have what to show for it? Two good and interesting pieces that probably don't have a high enough ceiling to lead you to a title, and a max player who will probably never be himself again, post injury. They were going to build a ten year dynasty, and they probably peaked at "lost to Cleveland in seven games in the conference finals".

Dallas being the favourite for Horford is fairly interesting. Cuban was never going to have patience for a full rebuild, but Horford doesn't line up with the window of contention you can get from Doncic and Porzingis. Thought the Lakers might go all in, give him three years to match what's left on LeBron, and run out James/Davis/Horford for a three year window, knowing that you can then build one more time around AD.

 

Yeah, I think it's a great trade for both. Utah had to take a shot, right? They couldn't run it back, they couldn't score. The mix they had wasn't enough, not enough offense or shooting. The players they gave up are solid veterans, but they can be replaced, and they have the ability to do so. The West is a bit more open now, the opportunity to get through is there. It's a bit like the East this year without Lebron, right? Toronto made a move and won a championship. Do I think Utah will win it all? No. They'd need a crazy amount of luck to go their way, like Harden or Lebron getting injured, and even then they'd have to play out of their minds to get through. But I think they're better, can get further, and can make it more interesting. They've improved their odds, which is all a GM can do. A trip to a competitive WCF would be a successful season.

Memphis got so lucky. Conley could have easily had negative value, especially if he had been injured this season. They could have ended up needing to SEND out picks to get rid of him. They got two 1st round picks for an over 30, declining point guard, with a significant injury history and an expensive, multi-year contract, and they didn't have to take any bad contracts in return. It's really incredible. LOOK AT WHERE HOUSTON IS WITH CP3. Apparently, nobody wants him. Houston offered him for free to teams with cap space, and received no interest.

Great trade for both teams.

 

Wanted to post this 3 year anniversary earlier but the boards were blocked

...by James?

 

Yeah I couldn't find any solutions to ERR_CONNECTION_BLOCKED_BY_JAMES

 

The servers were up 3-1, and everyone assumed that was a fait accompli

 

Pistons trading Jon Leuer to Milwaukee for Tony Snell and the 30th pick. I am pleased by this, I "targeted" Snell the moment I read Milwaukee was trying to dump him. Thought they wouldn't take a contract back in return, so I'm pleasantly surprised. We're desperate for lengthy wings, and Leuer wasn't even a rotation player when Blake was injured.

 

yea, Ainge has made some obviously great moves over the years, but he's definitely held onto his 'assets' way too long at times too. they could have had Kawhi last year if they took a gamble, and they could be celebrating a title right now. they could have made better runs at George and Butler in the past too.

their core is what, Tatum and Brown, and other future picks (Memphis one may turn out good)? it's not much really after being handed that Nets haul all those years back. Tatum could become an all star but he doesn't look like a #1 option. Brown is an OK piece but not sure if he has all star material in him.

 

Well, with both Kyrie and Horford leaving, the Celtics have quite a bit of cap space ($20 million+) and can get a lot more if they renounce Rozier and Marcus Morris. I think they can get near $28 million, more if they can dump Aron Baynes. No one has really mentioned the Celtics as a major free agent player because no one thought they would lose Kyrie or Horford. I agree, though, they don't have much to show for all the assets they had.

I find the D-Lo situation very interesting. He clearly likes it in Brooklyn, and that team had a lot of fun. I wonder if Brooklyn is getting cold feet on Kyrie.

 

There were reports yesterday that Brooklyn was most interested in Kyrie as a package with Durant, and with that situation muddy, they were getting cold feet. I still say - if you can get a guy with Irving's talent to sign, you sign him. Period. And then you figure out anything else later on. That kind of talent isn't that easy to come by. Not trying to downplay Russell, but Kyrie is clearly an upgrade.

You make a good point, though, with Boston getting some money off the books. Maybe they can make a run at Russell? Just swap point guards with Brooklyn? Or cause some pain for Philly by chasing Harris?

 

Boston and Houston (reportedly) imploding helps the Warriors look better in that stock piling talent doesn't automatically equate to success. Team chemistry cannot be overrated. To use Pat Riley's turn of phrase, "the disease of me" has infected the Celtics and Rockets. For the most part, the Warriors have been a team free of "the disease of me" during their Championship run. The only real symptoms surfaced occurred during the Clippers game where Draymond and KD got into it, supposedly stemming from KD's non-committal to resign with the team.