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UTDD

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Everything posted by UTDD

  1. We will agree to disagree on this one mostly because I am confident Boston won't trade for AD unless he commits to more than one year so I definitely think it matters what AD wants for Boston specifically. Boston also has a title contending team right now and won't risk blowing it up for even AD as a one year rental. They just won't take that risk and OKC/Toronto were willing to take those risks because their situations were quite different. Toronto probably wanted to get rid of DeRozan as it is, but also getting to gamble on Kawhi to boot (and also D Green) was a great risk to take. OKC took a good risk on PG13 because their team was not anywhere close to competing without him, and they are not Boston as a brand/franchise and being able to attract other free agents. Boston can win the NBA title or get very close right now, and they know it. Of course they want AD, but they won't mortgage such a good roster on the chance AD signs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it with Ainge specifically. But having said all this, that means AD would have to turn down a LOT of money which of course is tough. We shall see.
  2. I had to rep you just for the Fatman mouthpiece reference -- more true for some people deep in professional basketball circles than one might think... I think AD should consider the Celtics, I'm just not convinced he will when it's all said and done. I personally think he would win big there if he did though. If I'm New Orleans I don't even want Ingram, his trade value right now (even down some this year) is probably more than his true value long-term. I'm not sure I want Smart or Brown either though as Brown looks bad this year. Definitely not Hayward, that would be incredibly foolish for New Orleans given his injury, age, and contract. That will be a bad deal very soon. If I'm New Orleans at minimum I'm opening with Boston's other three first round 2019 picks (IF they pan out they are protected in different ways) + Tatum and Williams as a throw-in developmental big man as a minimum start and work from there with more stuff. I'd try and ask Boston to try and move Horford to a third team for an additional good draft pick too.
  3. Definitely agree about the assets and what a great situation it could be for AD. If AD wants to go to Boston beyond one year, he will end up there. If he doesn't, he won't.
  4. Yeah agreed in principle -- of course if I'm New Orleans would rather deal with Boston and for draft picks, but their real problem is if AD won't sign with Boston long-term. Boston is not a realistic option and trading partner one on one unless AD says he will sign there long-term so they really are at the mercy of AD's desire on that end. Ainge won't risk so much capital without assurance beyond 2019. He's probably too smart for that, I would bet it's not likely to be a Kawhi/Toronto or PG13/OKC scenario where they take the risk because they would have to give up so much for AD and as is right now they are already such a strong team that is a title contender. I'm not sure what else New Orleans could do if forced to deal with LA but one thing they could do is force LA to work with a third team to get draft picks. If I'm New Orleans I'd maybe want Kuzma, a lot of draft picks, maybe Hart if value is good, but not Ingram for sure. I'd actually as New Orleans hope NY or Chicago could even be viable for AD because those teams might have some draft capital as well and it won't force them to deal with the Lakers. Maybe New Orleans could force LA into making prior or simultaneous trades for a lot of good draft picks going forward, plus still being able to maybe force even more of a dump of more of their own contracts they don't want long-term for a true blow up.
  5. I saw a recent donation by one self-named as "Pelosi and Schumer" so I had to laugh at that one. Up to 850k now, I can see now why the aliens don't want to initiate contact with the general public heh...
  6. I think as of right now it's either you get a potential first round grade, potential second round grade, or neither of these. So only three classifications.
  7. Not the worst loss, Denver is really good. Jokic is already an amazing player, but I think he is about one year away from taking it to an even higher level with a little more scoring overall. Sleeper MVP type player. Dallas is in great shape with Luka, this whole year to me is just a year to enjoy watching some growth and development towards the future and anything beyond that (playoffs) is gravy.
  8. It's definitely going to get old. Fast. AD I think is 90% to leave New Orleans mostly because he is probably convinced already he can't win a title there and he wants to expand his brand in a major market. He is a little more wired like Kobe and Kyrie versus LeBron or Durant, and I think he's tailor made for certain major markets. I think it's only LA, NY, or Boston with Chicago an extreme deep sleeper possibility since he is from there. AD controls where he goes -- if he insists LA or bust, New Orleans will offer the max this summer and AD will turn it down. Then New Orleans will likely have to demand at minimum Lonzo, Kuzma, and Ingram+ and try and do a sign and trade. Boston can offer a good package if they are willing to include Tatum but they won't unless they know AD will sign there long-term, so again it's all up to AD anyway. I think in some ways AD doesn't need LeBron there as much as the prior history of Lakers big men and being the future face of that franchise post-LeBron as big motivators. AD has a summer home already in LA, but that in itself isn't conclusive either. Rich Paul of course is a factor in that AD chose him over any other agent on the planet for his specific reasons, but those reasons don't necessarily mean LA. AD controls his future, not Rich Paul or anyone else, and it will go down in the end how AD wants. I personally think he is going to LA long-term but it might not be next year.
  9. I hope so.
  10. I'm much more concerned about the simple fact (if true) that Cain was talking to Beck the night before and NOT Drayton because that alone to me says something.
  11. It's obviously a concern when you look at the RB situation which seems right now to be a prime opportunity for playing time, but I'll still bemoan Bragg/Leal much more because these were clearly realistic opportunities that did not pan out.
  12. He should wait, even if he doesn't sign with Texas, I guarantee he can get a better situation than Baylor when this signing period ends.
  13. I think the Warriors are more talented overall and would favor them in more scenarios (era, rules, etc), but it's really hard to compare eras because a lot of variables are involved. For one, I believe if Shaq and Kobe were born when KD/Curry were and vice versa, they would be somewhat different players almost by necessity given the emphasis/rules of that particular era. Even as much as I advocate and believe in very advanced analytics and this extreme emphasis on it for me has even allowed me to make a living at it instead of being a corporate lawyer anymore, I largely don't think stats from different eras are as easy to compare as one might think. It's often much more valuable to compare dominance among one's own peers in the same era versus comparing different eras. A classic example being maybe ERA in baseball, which varies widely by years and even league but one pitcher being a significant deviation below everyone else is very impressive no matter whether the league average is say 3.25 or 4, etc.
  14. George is playing really well, Westbrook is not right now. That is ok so far but they need a little more from Russ long-term to really become a viable playoff team that can do some damage.
  15. I watched about 20 minutes of this game and saw the Lonzo dunk. I really wonder why (well I guess I don't wonder that much, he really stinks at free throws) he isn't strong more often to the hoop because he seems to have the speed, length, and ability to do more in the paint than he does right now.
  16. Well to be fair in my opinion I think the game was called too tightly but I also think the Rockets had legitimate gripes last year in the WCF too.
  17. I'm becoming a mild believer that Sanders is actually possible. Hope springs eternal...
  18. Where this will go long-term should be interesting in Supreme Court jurisprudence... https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2018/12/12/why-did-justice-kavanaugh-take-a-pass-on-two-planned-parenthood-cases
  19. Best public site in my opinion is the basic NBA site you can add custom filters to almost anything but you have to play with it a bit to get used to it. Here is an example: (with 20 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists for this season) https://stats.nba.com/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&dir=-1&CF=PTS*GE*20.0:REB*GE*7:AST*GE*5&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular Season Use the "advanced filters" function and you can knock yourself out on different seasons, players, etc.
  20. I think they did a great job attacking Curry on both ends of the floor to try and wear him out and even having some post-ups on him too. Maybe Warrior fans know this better but every Warrior game I have seen (maybe four games) so far, Green doesn't look like the same player. Health?
  21. He really is the Golden Child of the league. Even with what he said, it somehow turns into something cool for him. I highly doubt they give that same courtesy to a lot of other NBA players saying the same thing.
  22. That's all part of the long-term goal of acquiring Anthony Davis. Bend over backwards for Rich Paul.
  23. https://tenor.com/view/bricks-laying-gif-11905010
  24. Very true although Duke may not be quite the same without in my opinion their ace card in Jeff Capel who was an incredible recruiter that adjusted to the one and done in frankly outstanding ways.
  25. I buy this but much worse I buy the idea that some, if not more than half of all current college coaches could take this current roster and add college prime Magic Johnson (of course the key being many coaches would alter their system to fit Magic's unique gifts) and immediately feel like they are a Top 10 team and real contender. I would not feel that confident with our current coach at all.
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