OT: 2018-19 NBA Thread.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

I had the, um, pleasure of watching Jonas play here with the C’s. He really seemed to regress with the Dubs. Playing minutes? But he showed more potential with the C’s. But 6th man of the year? Pass the joint, ok?

I was kind of high on Jerebko, thinking there may be an upside remembering I had heard he also had an Achilles rupture/recovery. Looked it up, 2010/11. Ages ago, so I now agree with your assessment.

[Climb01742]

The current wisdom in the NBA is that you need two, or better yet three, superstars to win a title. Did the Raptors change that? There isn't a lottery pick on the team and only one superstar (though maybe the best or top 2 or 3 player on the planet.) Will other teams try the Toronto model of phenomenally well-selected role players adding up to a perfect cast around one star? Or will they surmise that had GSW been at full health, the more the merry superstar model would have won? I don't honestly know. Could Toronto have won with any superstar other than Kawhi? Durant didn't do it in OKC. LBJ didn't do it in LA. Kyrie sure as heck didn't do it here. So...how many superstars does a team need in '19-'20 season to win?

[enr1co]

Originally Posted by bfd

The Warriors are flushed with money and Joe Lacob isn't cheap! My buddy who has season tickets about 10 rows up says he's been priced out as over the past 10 years, his tickets have gone from $70/seat including parking to $250-ish/seat including parking to like $400/seat without parking at the new Chase Center. Plus, you have to pay for the $24,000 license fee, that I believe in refundable, without interest, in like 30 years! I think he's just going to buy a bigger tv and when he really *needs* to go to a game, he'll fork out the $400/seat to get a few tickets. So much cheaper than being a season ticket holder!

So the question is what kind of team are they going to field while KD and Klay are recovering. Even if Livingston retires, his salary of around $8M/yr will go to Looney, who has earned it. I think Iguodala still has a year or two on his contract so he's here. They'll need to either:
1) get some productive players with the two picks they got at #28 and #58 or 2) hopefully there's someone on the G League team ready to step up or
3) find and be able to pay those good free agents!

Should be fun watching Bob Meyers work his magic! Good Luck!

I've been priced out of Warrior tix for many years but even if I ever come across a good deal on game tix in future, would have second thoughts on going as access/getting to Chase Center in SF is going to suck. The transit systems in SF and Bay Area are third world at best.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Thinking about this a little more, the W's need to decide if they want a) sustained above-average to goodness for the next decade, or b) 2-3 more shots at a title in the next 4 years.

If a) then the model is the Spurs - they'll have to do better in the draft, even picking in the 20s. They'll have to value draft picks as assets, even moving good players at the end of their primes (Iggy or Dray, as referenced above) to get those opportunities to develop the next franchise-carrying player. They'll have to continue their leadership (Myers/Kerr) continuity so that no matter who the next generation of players is, they'll have a consistent culture as a foundational building block. You'll almost always be in the playoffs this way, and considering how transcendent Steph is, you'll probably have a couple legit title shots, maybe with an entirely different core, over the next 5-8 years. As Toronto, Portland, and Houston have demonstrated over the past few years, there is a value in remaining at least good so you can pounce on opportunities when they arrive.

b) is also an option. This means maxing everyone out in terms of years and dollars and using vet minimums and MLE's to round out the roster. You'll punt next year (though it's not crazy to think about a real playoff run if Klay comes back in March), come back top-heavy but loaded in 20-21 and 21-22 and probably be one of the 2 or 3 favorites in each of those years. Just like this year, you'll have no depth to survive injuries, and the roster will only be getting older. The luxury tax bill will be massive, and when it all flames out in summer of 22 or 23, it will be spectacular. This is almost certainly followed by a complete teardown and rebuild, a la Philly.

I kinda think Lacob is going to choose option b)

What could they realistically get for Iggy at this point?

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

The current wisdom in the NBA is that you need two, or better yet three, superstars to win a title. Did the Raptors change that? There isn't a lottery pick on the team and only one superstar (though maybe the best or top 2 or 3 player on the planet.) Will other teams try the Toronto model of phenomenally well-selected role players adding up to a perfect cast around one star? Or will they surmise that had GSW been at full health, the more the merry superstar model would have won? I don't honestly know. Could Toronto have won with any superstar other than Kawhi? Durant didn't do it in OKC. LBJ didn't do it in LA. Kyrie sure as heck didn't do it here. So...how many superstars does a team need in '19-'20 season to win?

Zach Lowe covers it pretty well here.

The magic/lessons of Toronto are a couple things.

1) Stay good. Keep yourself ready for opportunities. Sure, they lucked into Kawhi wanting to leave at the exact time for a good price in the same year LeBron went west. They've also been consistently building such that they were ready for this in every way except having that MVP level player.

2) Load management. Because they succeeded with their star intentionally playing 75% of the season, you're going to see a lot more copycat load management next year. But not every team is built to do this in the same way the Raps are. They are deep, and they've got 3-4 guys who can carry you to win over the Knicks on a random Tuesday in January. I predict that a lot of teams (who have 1 or 2 great guys and a bunch of g-leaguers behind that i.e. OKC) try this next year and find themselves scrambling for a playoff seed or the spot in the bracket they want next March.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

What could they realistically get for Iggy at this point?

Not much. Iggy is old. I love him but he looked so worn out this year. With the new arena and willing and able to pay the luxury tax GS was executing a excellent plan that began with the salary cap bump. Well until injuries...

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

What could they realistically get for Iggy at this point?

That's tough, right? What exactly is the market for a dude with incredible locker room presence and intangibles, probably only gonna play for 2 more years max and probably only gonna play 70% of the games over that period, but will absolutely be in your playoff rotation at big moments?

The only buyers there are teams like Denver, Portland, Houston, Boston, Philly who are one or two pieces away from real contention, but I'm not sure what they have to offer, what the fit is both on court and timeline, and if they can afford 18M for a third or 4th option.

I just think you have to explore the market, because I don't think he's around for the next W's championship run.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

That's tough, right? What exactly is the market for a dude with incredible locker room presence and intangibles, probably only gonna play for 2 more years max and probably only gonna play 70% of the games over that period, but will absolutely be in your playoff rotation at big moments?

The only buyers there are teams like Denver, Portland, Houston, Boston, Philly who are one or two pieces away from real contention, but I'm not sure what they have to offer, what the fit is both on court and timeline, and if they can afford 18M for a third or 4th option.

I just think you have to explore the market, because I don't think he's around for the next W's championship run.

The problem with Iggy is hes another proof point that a wing that cannot shoot or get their own shot increasingly is at the margins.

If he had the mid range or post game of Siakam, you're talking a different series. And he's a guy the Raptors just dared to shoot 3s.

A second round pick at most? Maybe a couple of 2s if you're lucky.

He'd be ideal for some kind of player coach role if they still allowed that under the CBA.

[XXtwindad]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...as-Sportsbooks

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...as-Sportsbooks

I doubt it. It’s just that Lakers fans are a bunch of suckers and will put down a ton of money.

I’d i had to bet, I’d go with Bucks, since they are the only team that prob won’t look real different a month from now.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I doubt it. It’s just that Lakers fans are a bunch of suckers and will put down a ton of money.

I’d i had to bet, I’d go with Bucks, since they are the only team that prob won’t look real different a month from now.

Well, this take was valid for about 2 hours.

[Louis]

Wow - no comments yet about the big trade.

Are the Lakers now relevant again?

[Jaybee]

Lakers are probably a top 4 team in the W next year, but they still need to use their remaining space to add shooting. They shouldn't sign anyone this summer that can't space the floor.

The team giving up the best player is almost always a trade loser, but for a guy who didn't want to be there, tthe Pels got a great price. They essentially run the Lakers draft for the next 4 years, and have Zion plus another top 4 pick in next week's draft.

[jacobslide]

Sounds like there's a big difference in letting the trade go through of 7/6 (which is what is agreed to currently) and 7/30 with regard to salary cap space.

If the Pels don't agree to 7/30, then the Lakers don't have enough space for a max deal this year.

Going to be interesting to see how that roster gets rounded out, going to be top heavy like the Warriors were last year, and possibly even less depth. Crazy.

[jtakeda]

I’ve been out of cell reception. Holy crap what a deal for the Pelicans.

Watch them flip that #4 pick for something great. I got the pelican making it to the playoffs for sure