OT: 2019-20 NBA Discussions

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I doubt CP3 stays long. He doesn't fit their timeline or the fact that SGA looked like, at points, the best player on the floor for an 8 seed that gave the Warriors all they could handle (and would portend what was coming in Oakland, sadly). And the guy is of legal drinking age in the US as of today.

As Zach Lowe pointed out, one of the secret possible losers in this deal is, sigh, the Hawks. That 2022 pick they received as part of the Melo/Schroder deal is lottery protected. If the Thunder are bad, this reverts to two second round picks.

Sigh...

Full credit to Presti though. I've never seen a team do this before as effectively or as quickly.


And minor topic drift: But can we discuss Grayson Allen as the biggest goon in the NBA? Two flagrant 1s including obvious headhunting in the span of 8 seconds to get tossed from a Summer League game? Where, if Grant Williams was a less kind and more aggressive human being, would have ripped Grayson's arms off?

I'm 75% sure that CP3 gets moved for the reasons you mentioned. I'm 30% sure that Adams gets moved, and 100% sure that if neither of those things happens, that PPat or some other deep bench guy gets moved to get under the tax.

Sam Presti has done a masterful job here, and there's no reason to think he's finished. I'm excited for the SGA-Adams-Gallo Thunder! Actually more excited than I would have been to watch Russ (whom I love) and PG run it back for another 49 wins, a 5 seed and a first round exit.

Grayson is either a younger version of Ted Cruz or the reincarnated Zodiac Killer, so his goonery isn't too surprising. Nor is it surprising that Coach K enabled that bull**** for 4 years at Duke.

[jacobslide]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I'm 75% sure that CP3 gets moved for the reasons you mentioned. I'm 30% sure that Adams gets moved, and 100% sure that if neither of those things happens, that PPat or some other deep bench guy gets moved to get under the tax.

Sam Presti has done a masterful job here, and there's no reason to think he's finished. I'm excited for the SGA-Adams-Gallo Thunder! Actually more excited than I would have been to watch Russ (whom I love) and PG run it back for another 49 wins, a 5 seed and a first round exit.

Grayson is either a younger version of Ted Cruz or the reincarnated Zodiac Killer, so his goonery isn't too surprising. Nor is it surprising that Coach K enabled that bull**** for 4 years at Duke.

Always think about what could've been had they just amnestied Perk like a lot of people suggested...

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

A thought about longevity as it pertains to AD (who has been injury prone). Most of the longest tenured players (who maintained productivity late into their careers) were "grounded". Duncan, Nowitzki, Nash, etc. James is an outlier. I think the Lakers are making a big gamble. On that note, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Zion has a very unusual frame for the NBA...

I'm concerned for Zion, as I mentioned in the above quote. Hopefully, his recent injury is a minor setback. Another trainer at my gym (who also grew up playing ball) disagrees with me. He thinks Zion's athleticism and body mechanics hasn't been seen in the league since Lebron.

I don't agree. I just don't see how he forges a longer career in the NBA at 285. Not with his playing style.

[Jaybee]

So what's a "long career" mean in this context? 15 years? 20? 10? His body and resultant work load s an issue, and you know more about that than I do, bit I think it also remains to be seen how his skill development progresses. LeBron is still going partially because he's a cyborg, but also because he incredibly smart about how he expends energy and because he can own a game without ever leaving the ground .

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

So what's a "long career" mean in this context? 15 years? 20? 10? His body and resultant work load s an issue, and you know more about that than I do, bit I think it also remains to be seen how his skill development progresses. LeBron is still going partially because he's a cyborg, but also because he incredibly smart about how he expends energy and because he can own a game without ever leaving the ground .

I think the only two relevant comps (excepting James) are Kemp and LJ. And he's much bigger than either of them. Both of their primes lasted about five years. At his current weight, I wouldn't expect more than five to seven solid years. It doesn't make sense from a biomechanical standpoint.

[Jaybee]

Dammit.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Dammit.

Daaaamn!!!

That’s exactly why no team offered him a max contract!!

[donevwil]

Wow, the poor guy can't buy a break. Makes you look back and marvel at other big bodies who had long, healthy careers.

[FlashUNC]

This might be the end of the road for him, sadly.

Peak Boogie was incredible to watch, shame he was buried on a Kings team no one watched and was awful beyond belief.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

This might be the end of the road for him, sadly.

Peak Boogie was incredible to watch, shame he was buried on a Kings team no one watched and was awful beyond belief.

With the weak 2020 FA class he was poised for a max with a successful and injury free year.

I'm so bummed for him.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

With the weak 2020 FA class he was poised for a max with a successful and injury free year.

I'm so bummed for him.

Prime Boogie was pretty incredible to see if you were a League Pass junkie.

[XXtwindad]

Interesting read here:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sbn...nis-smith-dunk


One of the best quotes from the article: He’s not the only player to change his style for health reasons. Clippers star Blake Griffin wrote an article on The Players’ Tribune titled “Why Ain’t He Dunkin?” explaining why he went from about 200 dunks each of his first four seasons to just 68 last year. Minnesota point guard Jeff Teague, now 29, said he stopped dunking entirely.

I think that, in the future, more players will be evaluated for intangible "smarts" (Tim Duncan, Draymond Green, Luka Doncic) rather than sheer explosiveness.
Kind

The Lakers built their team around one injury prone superstar (AD) and one in the twilight of his career. That's a very risky move, to say the least.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Interesting read here:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sbn...nis-smith-dunk


One of the best quotes from the article: He’s not the only player to change his style for health reasons. Clippers star Blake Griffin wrote an article on The Players’ Tribune titled “Why Ain’t He Dunkin?” explaining why he went from about 200 dunks each of his first four seasons to just 68 last year. Minnesota point guard Jeff Teague, now 29, said he stopped dunking entirely.

I think that, in the future, more players will be evaluated for intangible "smarts" (Tim Duncan, Draymond Green, Luka Doncic) rather than sheer explosiveness.
Kind

The Lakers built their team around one injury prone superstar (AD) and one in the twilight of his career. That's a very risky move, to say the least.

Having watched Jeff Teague for seven years with the Hawks, I'm not buying this. I don't think Teague has ever been able to dunk.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Having watched Jeff Teague for seven years with the Hawks, I'm not buying this. I don't think Teague has ever been able to dunk.

Well, that's an even better reason to officially "stop." 😉

[HugoBear]

I was a season ticket holder for the DMC years and was one of his biggest apologists for years.
My thoughts were, wouldn’t you be pissed playing with this team?
There were times when he was dominant offensively but he gave it away on defense, attitude, etc.
We kn w that it would not end well with GS, that he would either get injured or just be a non factor.
I hope he recovers and plays well but not convinced that will happen.
If he wasn’t problematic, he would have a max contract and the Kings would have sucked for another decade.