2018 NBA Offseason Thread -- News, Free Agency, Trades, Etc

[kopp0e 1,135]

10 hours ago, satyanash said:

Thought this was interesting

 

Well, the owners of the team could just prohibit phones before each game right..? But that still is pretty silly to even have to think of needing to do with grown men...

[Goo Punch 4,275]

14 hours ago, formermav43 said:

I think the point was that KD didn’t grow up on Twitter/Facebook/etc the way current rookies did. Even though he joined early on, he was already a grown man. Social media didn’t shape him the same way-or at least, it shouldn’t have, for a man who turns 30 in a few months.

superstars age more slowly than the rest of us. while the rest of us were going through college or getting jobs, they were being adored by fans worldwide, with only a fraction of the responsibility/realities that the rest of us face. i'm a month older than LeBron James and that dude is a million times more of a millennial than i, or any of my friends are. basketball stars in particular are all over social media. my best guess is that it's due to social media being dominated by black/pop culture, which obviously leads to basketball teams/players being heavily involved.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Goo Punch
trying to choose better words

[Goo Punch 4,275]

4 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

How is "what should I be doing" not part of becoming a better player?  I would think the only thing that would "benefit" them is getting better, and a lot of that is finding ways to help your team win. 

back when i was in school i got to intern for a local news station here and i filmed some hs football games. i got a great shot of a girl getting run over by a bunch of players, and it used to be that if you went to youtube and typed in "pflugerville football" my video was the first to pop up, with one or two other options available. it was like that for years. the one day i went and searched "pflugerville football", and my video was gone from the first page of searches. in its place were dozens of highlight videos of pflugerville football players, and worse, a whole bunch of videos of some local internet radio station interviewing a bunch of pflugerville players like they were stars. this team went 5-5 and gave up *48 points per game*, and they were interviewing these kids like they were professional stars. none of these kids even so much as got a d-1 scholarship, yet because of social media they were being treated like stars. it's such a disservice to our kids.

now i see it every year with guys who i coach or mentor, and every year i take a day or two to lay down the law for them, to explain to them what it was like when i was growing up, and to get them to understand that the best way to get the social media attention they want is to become the best player they can be, to listen to their coaches, and to worrying about being a teammate and a winning player more than they worry about twitter mentions and ig shoutouts. it's just the world we live in now.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Goo Punch

[Goo Punch 4,275]

oh yeah, may as well post the video i referenced:

 

 

[d2o 1,602]

 

1 hour ago, Patrick Bateman said:

 

hmmmmm...........where have I heard this before?

[immortal13 4,059]

4 hours ago, Goo Punch said:

oh yeah, may as well post the video i referenced:

 

 

Very rude

[Slacks 6,821]

Just my opinion, but Shaq should be on this list too...

I thought so at first, but then realized he never carried a team to a title. I'm not even sure he was the best player on the titles teams (Kobe, DWade are both on shooting guard mountain....)

[Vic Mackey 47,082]

I thought so at first, but then realized he never carried a team to a title. I'm not even sure he was the best player on the titles teams (Kobe, DWade are both on shooting guard mountain....)

The Lakers 3 peat were his teams. Kobe was along for the ride.

Now by the team he was on the Heat, he wasn't as dominant.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

They were Mad Dogs teams

 

 

[d2o 1,602]

48 minutes ago, Snacks said:

On 7/13/2018 at 4:25 AM, kopp0e said:

Just my opinion, but Shaq should be on this list too...

I thought so at first, but then realized he never carried a team to a title. I'm not even sure he was the best player on the titles teams (Kobe, DWade are both on shooting guard mountain....)

Edited July 15, 2018 by d2o

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1,566]

58 minutes ago, Snacks said:

On 7/13/2018 at 3:25 AM, kopp0e said:

Just my opinion, but Shaq should be on this list too...

I thought so at first, but then realized he never carried a team to a title. I'm not even sure he was the best player on the titles teams (Kobe, DWade are both on shooting guard mountain....)

Post Shaq Lakers sucked for 3 years.  Those were absolutely his teams. 

 

Heat was Dwaynes team. 

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

2 hours ago, Snacks said:

On 7/13/2018 at 3:25 AM, kopp0e said:

Just my opinion, but Shaq should be on this list too...

I thought so at first, but then realized he never carried a team to a title. I'm not even sure he was the best player on the titles teams (Kobe, DWade are both on shooting guard mountain....)

Easily the best player on the first two Lakers championships.  Probably the best player in the league.  3rd one there is a small argument for Kobe but it's pretty weak.  Miami was definitely Wade's team.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Patrick Bateman

[HtownHorn 14,724]

2 hours ago, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

Post Shaq Lakers sucked for 3 years.  Those were absolutely his teams. 

 

Heat was Dwaynes team. 

There is no denying it. Without a legit big, Kobe was an after thought in the playoffs. His inclusion is awful. Least efficient super star ever. West should easily be there.

[Goo Punch 4,275]

Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis get into a fight with some dudes:

 

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh4Py4mjkw0JCjOwfO

[Vic Mackey 47,082]

There is no denying it. Without a legit big, Kobe was an after thought in the playoffs. His inclusion is awful. Least efficient super star ever. West should easily be there.

Spot on.

[Surlybastard 65]

On 7/15/2018 at 12:17 PM, HtownHorn said:

There is no denying it. Without a legit big, Kobe was an after thought in the playoffs. His inclusion is awful. Least efficient super star ever. West should easily be there.

Every team Kobe ever won a title with was a top 5 rebounding team in the league. That's a big part of why he could get away with how he played. A couple of them led the league. Shaq's ability to convert what would should have been a loss of possession into an easy two points was like a stomach punch to other teams.

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

They were rumored to have gone after RC Buford (Spurs) too, but also turned down.  I'll give them this.....  they're aiming high.

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

Wow.... pretty surprising.  He can play too.  Pretty late notice....

 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,550]

16 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

They were rumored to have gone after RC Buford (Spurs) too, but also turned down.  I'll give them this.....  they're aiming high.

They have arguably the best GM job in the league right now. They should aim high.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

28 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Wow.... pretty surprising.  He can play too.  Pretty late notice....

 

hes good..has his moments. probably more serviceable in euroleague tho

[Dutchrudder 11,141]

@wojespn
Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send forward Garrett Temple to Memphis for Ben McLemore, Deyonta Davis and cash, league sources tell ESPN.

 

lol.... wtf?

[Orca of Peace 109]

3 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

@wojespn
Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send forward Garrett Temple to Memphis for Ben McLemore, Deyonta Davis and cash, league sources tell ESPN.

 

lol.... wtf?

the league will never be the same again

[Goo Punch 4,275]

23 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

hes good..has his moments. probably more serviceable in euroleague tho

i'm bummed. he definitely showed flashes and i was looking forward to having him.

[d2o 1,602]

Just now, longhornmatt said:

Didn’t Sacramento draft McLemore where he was a huge bust?  I guess they believe in second chances.  Did Portland ever bring back Sam Bowie to rekindle old flames?

yes, I have a feeling they wont be keeping Mclemore though.   This smells like a set up for another deal.    They cleared some additional space with this deal.

[Dutchrudder 11,141]

They only saved 1 million in cap space with this deal, so it can't be that big of a difference for a future trade. Maybe they are going to clear more space to take on Melo or Deng's buyout.

[d2o 1,602]

42 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

They only saved 1 million in cap space with this deal, so it can't be that big of a difference for a future trade. Maybe they are going to clear more space to take on Melo or Deng's buyout.

yep, particularly with Melo they need have as little as possible to send back to OKC.    Additionally, the cheaper they are raises the likelihood that they can reroute those guys elsewhere.

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by d2o

[Chapo 104]

I don't think this is for Melo.  OKC would have just taken on Temple if that was the case, he can actually help them. Deng also only makes ~18MM.

An extra million doesn't really help for Hood/Smart/ other remaining RFA bid, they got plenty of cap for that.

However, an extra million get them to 20.5MM......The Rockets have been wanting to trade a Sacramento native that makes 20.4MM.

[d2o 1,602]

2 hours ago, Chapo said:

I don't think this is for Melo.  OKC would have just taken on Temple if that was the case, he can actually help them. Deng also only makes ~18MM.

An extra million doesn't really help for Hood/Smart/ other remaining RFA bid, they got plenty of cap for that.

However, an extra million get them to 20.5MM......The Rockets have been wanting to trade a Sacramento native that makes 20.4MM.

No agenda there hahahahahahahhahaahaha.  OKC doesn't want a player in return for Melo.   They just wanna dump him while taking on as little salary as possible while giving up as little as possible to do so

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

Sacramento could be trying to get space for a lot of reasons.  It could just be to have space to facilitate moves in-season too.  They may be the only one with a lot of cap space to do so and could be a major player as we get closer to the deadline.

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

Interesting timing......

 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Seems smart

[Goo Punch 4,275]

that's a good move by the C's. he's a huge part of  what looks to be a legitimate title contender. worth the money imo.

[Patrick Bateman 3,917]

Sure..... no problem.  He'll be in the starting lineup on opening night.

 

[aggie08 21,505]

14 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Sure..... no problem.  He'll be in the starting lineup on opening night.

 

Don't be so cynical. The "this latest back surgery has finally fixed at the lingering issues, including those caused by other back surgeries" line of thinking has worked out great for Tiger Woods.

[BigOrange1 6,442]

rank the west after the kawhi trade:

1. golden state
2. houston
3. utah
4. san antonio
5. oklahoma city
6. lakers
7. denver
8. new orleans
9. portland
10. minnesota
11. memphis
12. clippers
13. dallas
14. phoenix
15. sacramento

holy shit the west is stacked!  spots 6-12 are a total crap shoot.  gotta give lebron the edge there though.

[immortal13 4,059]

2 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

rank the west after the kawhi trade:

1. golden state
2. houston
3. utah
4. san antonio
5. oklahoma city
6. lakers
7. denver
8. new orleans
9. portland
10. minnesota
11. memphis
12. clippers
13. dallas
14. phoenix
15. sacramento

holy shit the west is stacked!  spots 6-12 are a total crap shoot.  gotta give lebron the edge there though.

No way San Antonio should be that high

[Chad 1,728]

18 minutes ago, immortal13 said:

No way San Antonio should be that high

Time will tell. You can't make the claim the Spurs are worse off than they were last season when they narrowly missed out on 50 wins and finished as a 7 seed with one player carrying the team. I could see the Spurs securing a 3 or 4 seed now that LMA has a legit All-Star who can score 23-25 ppg to help shoulder the load and won't have to carry the team on his back. A lot of people are critical about DeRozan, but he did lead Toronto to a #1 seed despite vanishing in the Cleveland series. Are the Spurs among the elite ready to challenge GS? No. Are they going to disappear? No. A starting lineup of Murray, DeRozan, Gay, LMA and the shell of Pau Gasol or Poeltl isn't all that bad and will be an improvement over last season.

[BigOrange1 6,442]

yeah, the spurs won 47 games without kawhi last year and they are adding derozan to that.  not to mention the fact that they always over perform in the regular season.  

[Orca of Peace 109]

1. GS

2. Hou

3. Utah

4. Lakers

5. OKC

6. Portland

7. Denver

8. PHX 

[immortal13 4,059]

5 minutes ago, Orca of Peace said:

1. GS

2. Hou

3. Utah

4. Lakers

5. OKC

6. Portland

7. Denver

8. PHX 

Did you forget the Spurs?

[Orca of Peace 109]

1 minute ago, immortal13 said:

Did you forget the Spurs?

no, i see some bad things happening to them, major injuries mostly. Losing so much talent aside from KL is a big deal too. I know they should make the playoffs but i have a hunch this is a bad year for them, going on a premonition. 

[texasstrong12 4,668]

1 hour ago, Chad said:

Time will tell. You can't make the claim the Spurs are worse off than they were last season when they narrowly missed out on 50 wins and finished as a 7 seed with one player carrying the team. I could see the Spurs securing a 3 or 4 seed now that LMA has a legit All-Star who can score 23-25 ppg to help shoulder the load and won't have to carry the team on his back. A lot of people are critical about DeRozan, but he did lead Toronto to a #1 seed despite vanishing in the Cleveland series. Are the Spurs among the elite ready to challenge GS? No. Are they going to disappear? No. A starting lineup of Murray, DeRozan, Gay, LMA and the shell of Pau Gasol or Poeltl isn't all that bad and will be an improvement over last season.

People don't realize how many injuries the Spurs had last year either. 

Gay and Parker missed long stretches. White broke his wrist early in the year and was never really integrated into the lineup. Danny Green only played 70/82 games because of injury issues. This of course doesn't include Kawhi's nonsense. 

LMA really doesn't get enough credit for how he carried this team last year. Beyond the lack of talent the roster was a mess because of injuries. 

 

Edited July 19, 2018 by texasstrong12

[texasstrong12 4,668]

I think there's a real chance the Lakers miss the playoffs. Here's a guess on the starting 5s. 

Pelicans starting 5:  Payton, Holliday, Moore, Randle or Mirotic, and  Davis

Blazers starting 5: Lillard, McCollum, Turner, Aminu, and Nurkic

Jazz starting 5: Rubio, Mitchell, Ingles, Favors, Gobert. 

Spurs starting 5: Murray, DeRozan, Gay, LMA, and Gasol or Poeltl. 

Timberwolves starting 5: Teague, Wiggins, Butler, Gibson, KAT

Nuggets starting 5: Murray, Harris, Hernangomez, Millsap, and Jokic. 

Thunder starting 5: Westbrook, Roberson, George, Grant, and Adams. 

I know Lebron is unreal but I'm not sure if I like the Lakers starting 5 more than any of those teams and that doesn't include Golden State and Houston. 

The Lakers are going to be way below average at the 5 with either McGee or Zubac. Kuzma and Ingram are decent young players but are certainly in the development phase of their careers. I  wouldn't consider either  an average defender at this point in their careers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Josh Hart at the 2 isn't terrible but certainly isn't elite by any means. Rondo or Ball at PG has some upside with lots of limitations from a shooting perspective. Unless players like Kuzma, Ingram and Hart make significant jumps this roster is very meh to me. Only with a player like Lebron would we be talking about the Lakers being a playoff team next year in the West. 

The other question is are we sure Luke Walton is a decent head coach? He's at best the 5th or 6th best head coach in the West.

Edited July 19, 2018 by texasstrong12

[kopp0e 1,135]

Melo could be in a trade to Atlanta...

Carmelo Anthony trade to Hawks for Dennis Schroder a possibility

https://nypost.com/2018/07/18/another-team-emerges-to-buy-out-carmelo-anthony/

15 hours ago - Atlanta would buy out Anthony, freeing him to sign another team. The Rockets are considered the favorites to land the ex-Knick.

[Vic Mackey 47,082]

Lakers with Lebron are not missing the playoffs. Stop.

[HtownHorn 14,724]

4 hours ago, kopp0e said:

Melo could be in a trade to Atlanta...

Carmelo Anthony trade to Hawks for Dennis Schroder a possibility

https://nypost.com/2018/07/18/another-team-emerges-to-buy-out-carmelo-anthony/

15 hours ago - Atlanta would buy out Anthony, freeing him to sign another team. The Rockets are considered the favorites to land the ex-Knick.

That's actually a better return than I thought possible.

[HookEm 2,467]

I see Portland as being likely the odd team out this year. Here is my West:
1. GSW
2. OKC
3. Houston
4. Lakers
5. Utah
6. Denver
7. Spurs
8. New Orleans (unless late AD trade)
9. Portland
10. Dallas
11. Minnesota
12. Phoenix
13. Memphis
14. Clippers
15. Sacramento

[d2o 1,602]

47 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

That's actually a better return than I thought possible.

definitely

[d2o 1,602]

58 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Lakers with Lebron are not missing the playoffs. Stop.

this.   a thousand times this

[Dutchrudder 11,141]

@ShamsCharania

Restricted free agent Marcus Smart has agreed to a four-year, $52M deal to return to the Boston Celtics, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.