Sneaky good move of the offseason so far, Blazers trading for Hassan Whiteside.

He could be a phenomenal stopgap until (if?) Jurkic comes back.

Let's hope he stays motivated a whole season. That guy is hot/cold mentally. The talent is there, but maybe the change of scenery and their back court will allow him to be sneaky dominant. Like a Jay Crowder or Montrez Harrell type of player. Portland may be onto something.. I give it that Dame was injured, but man those guys take super bad shots in the worst spots of the game..

GSW on a 8-0 run, Dame pulls up for 40ft.. ***? So many instances where Dame was taking really bad timed shots. Not everyone if Steph/Klay/KD who can consistently hit those kinds of shots.. The key word "Consistently".

And Dame is one of those guys. Dame hit 30-40 footers at a rate four points higher than the league average for 3s generally: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...inner-bad-shot

Dame is in that Steph/KD/Klay conversation, and was only a couple percentage points off a 40/50/90 season. When he and McCollum are rolling, they are easily the #2 backcourt in the league.

Looney is resigned.

So D lo is obviously gonna take some pressure off Steph but when Klay gets healthy then what? Make D lo have an outrageous year and trade him?

I saw the warriors retired #35 they better retire #9 as well

I’m mid way through Andre’s memoir. I highly recommend buying it.

This is insane to me.

"Thanks for 3 years of mid-career ring chasing and making us the most loathed franchise in sports* outside of our home city."

Maybe this is just me, but he never felt like an integral part of the team the way that Steph/Klay/Iggy/Dray are. It always felt like he was existing outside that ecosystem, even though the results were tremendous just due to the sheer talent. I do kinda regret that we never really got to see him really mesh with that system and Steph in a way that really maximized all the parts. I realize that sentence sounds insane considering their success. It just feels like there was a certain tension there that was never quite resolved.

He's an incredible basketball player and a very interesting person, and I think there is a story there about the intersection of modern online-ness and fame.

If you haven't listened to the most recent Lowe Post podcast with Jay Williams re: KD, it's a fascinating story.

*non-Patriots division

Heard some whispers that Durant might be suing the Warriors due to the injury, and some of this love is to try and get in front of it. Who knows how real that is.

Also, for sure they'll do the same with Iggy - but they can't until the trade is finalized and he's no longer on the team.

I'm not denying his long range capability, just his timing in the playoffs when we all know it's a possession by possession game.. They'll be down 8 points and he'll shoot a 38ft shot, which creates a long rebound and run out for the opposing team. Playoff numbers are different than regular season numbers. I literally watched him do that exact thing against the Warriors. I recall GSW was on a run and he shot a super bad shot from so far out as a heat check. Charles was even like "That's a Turrrible shot!"

That coin goes both ways. I'm an OKC fan, and every time he gathered to shoot from 37 feet, my heart would sink and I'd think "goddammit Russ, get up on him." It felt like every single one went in and they were worth 5 points instead of 3.

He's a killer, but even the best killers don't get it done sometimes.

Killers know when to strike..

Don't listen to Charles Barkley for anything other than comic relief.

And Dame clearly has the green light whenever. They were fighting an uphill battle against the Warriors from the word go. If he and McCollum aren't on and down Nurkic, they're not beating Golden State. And that includes dropping 40 a night with 37 footers.

The man shot better from 3 during the playoffs than he did during the regular season. If anything, his shooting from midrange and at the bucket took a dip as his overall FG% dropped. He shot the same percentage, essentially, from 3 during the playoffs that Curry did.

Tough to argue he's taking bad shots if he's, by the numbers for the playoffs, an equally effective shooter as Curry.

Separately, can we talk about how the Warriors are now sending a first round pick to the Nets to get Russell and make it all work?

In a vacuum if you offer Kevin Durant and a first round pick to the Net for Russell, NBA2k19 would laugh you off the system.

And yet in the NBA, this is happening. Man free agency causes some weird stuff.

This collapse has been jaw-dropping. I kinda thought the W's would be unbeatable at least through this year, then really good after that going forward. I don't think the conversation about just how bad they are beyond their starting 5 is getting enough play. In addition to the pick they sent to Brooklyn, they sent 3 picks to Memphis to get off Iggy. They haven't found a difference maker in the draft for several years, and now they barely have a chance without more moves.

Sunday was so crazy. I feel like I have less of a handle on who is playing for who than any time in the past decade.

And they let Jordan Bell walk to the Timberwolves. Who's going to get any serious run for them in the front court next year?

Does this team even make the playoffs?

Definite 47+win West teams:.
Denver
Houston
Portland
LAL
Utah
OKC

Teams that are prob better that GSW
Lac
San Antonio
Maybe NO
Maybe Minny

Lacob can't tank the first year in a new arena, right?

Teams that