2022 NBA Offseason Thread — Trades, Free Agency, Firings, Sacramento doing dumb things, etc

[Patrick Bateman 3,911]

First...

Then....

 

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1,549]

On 5/25/2022 at 10:51 PM, Murfdogg21 said:

Will Seattle get the SuperSonics back or do they get the Bud Adams butt fuck treatment?

anyone know ?   I also don't like the Vegas location at all, too close to LA and need some geographic balance in the east, midwest or south.

[Sbbruin 21,829]

6 hours ago, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

anyone know ?   I also don't like the Vegas location at all, too close to LA and need some geographic balance in the east, midwest or south.

There is no reason Seattle shouldn't have a team.  The fact that Balmer won't move the Clips there is a travesty.  

[Aqua Buddha 14,582]

1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

There is no reason Seattle shouldn't have a team.  The fact that Balmer won't move the Clips there is a travesty.  

Also, the Pelicans should move to Austin and the Grizzlies to Nashville.  The Spurts may give some blowback on the Austin move but the Grizzlies would do much better in Nashville.

[Murfdogg21 4,412]

6 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

There is no reason Seattle shouldn't have a team.  The fact that Balmer won't move the Clips there is a travesty.  

I was asking if the new expansion franchise would get the trademark rights to the SuperSonics/Sonics, not if the city of Seattle deserved or could get a team. 

[d2o 1,602]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:37 AM, Make em eat Taco Bell said:

anyone know ?   I also don't like the Vegas location at all, too close to LA and need some geographic balance in the east, midwest or south.

I dont mind Vegas.   They would just move MIN or NO to the East.  Maybe both if they add Seattle and Vegas.

[d2o 1,602]

On 6/15/2022 at 6:07 PM, Murfdogg21 said:

I was asking if the new expansion franchise would get the trademark rights to the SuperSonics/Sonics, not if the city of Seattle deserved or could get a team. 

There has been way too much noise about the Sonics over the yrs for them to give Seattle a team and NOT call it the Sonics.

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1,549]

mavs should trade THJ to GS so the Warriors have a full 5 of NBA sons -- Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Payton, Hardaway - play them together.  In exchange get Looney since Wood is always going to be hurt.  

Oh, good thing the Rockets got bigger right? 

[Fud 9,552]

Anyone got this?

 

[Kermit 3,156]

8 minutes ago, Fud said:

Anyone got this?

 

[Baboontyme 2,809]

Kyrie is the most toxic guy in the NBA. I'd rather have Ben Simmons. To think one team has both!

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Kyrie is the most toxic guy in the NBA. I'd rather have Ben Simmons. To think one team has both!

Don’t forget loser Harden.

[LTtxfan 49,144]

36 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

Kyrie is the most toxic guy in the NBA. I'd rather have Ben Simmons. To think one team has both!

 

1 minute ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Don’t forget loser Harden.

 

Just more difficult to care about the NBA.  I watched and attended less NBA basketball this year, and that trend may continue... 

[Dutchrudder 11,134]

3 hours ago, Fud said:

Anyone got this?

 

Here's a trick, go into Chrome Settings > Site Settings > JavaScript then add "theathletic.com"  to the "Not allowed to use Javascript" category, then refresh the page. Viola, all that "you must subscribe to read this" BS will go away. Do it with any site that blocks views if you want

 

Quote

With the NBA Draft three days away and free agency around the corner, trade conversations, signings and pursuits for all 30 teams have begun in earnest. Across the league, major free agents — and potential free agents — are being monitored: Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Washington’s Bradley Beal, Philadelphia’s James Harden, Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges, Dallas’ Jalen Brunson, Portland’s Anfernee Simons and more.

But one of the most anticipated free-agency situations involves Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, who has a June 29 deadline on his $36.9 million player option for the 2022-23 season. However, multiple sources tell The Athletic that conversations about Irving’s future have gone stagnant between him and the Nets. An impasse currently exists among the parties that clears the way for the seven-time All-Star to consider the open marketplace, those sources said.

Irving joined the Nets along with Kevin Durant in the summer of 2019, though Durant missed their first season together as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon. Irving made the All-Star team in 2020-21 and helped lead the franchise to the Eastern Conference semifinals alongside Durant and James Harden before suffering an ankle injury in Game 4 against the Bucks. After the past season, in which he played just 29 games and missed most of the season’s home games because of his decision not to comply with New York City’s vaccine mandate, Irving made clear that he intended to return to the Nets in the summer and continue to build with Durant and newcomer Ben Simmons. He has averaged 27.2 points, 6.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game and made 40.4 percent of his 3-point attempts in three seasons with Brooklyn, but he has appeared in 103 of 216 regular-season games.

“I don’t really plan on going anywhere,” Irving said on April 25 after the Nets’ season-ending sweep to the Celtics in the first round of the East playoffs.

Nearly two months later, it appears both sides have serious work to do in order to find a resolution that brings Irving back to Brooklyn and his co-star in Durant, who is under contract with the Nets through 2025-26. Several teams across the league have kept tabs on the situation, wondering about the future of Irving and Brooklyn.

The Lakers, Knicks and Clippers are expected to be among the interested suitors if Irving heads elsewhere, multiple sources tell The Athletic.

For the Lakers, the likely path to acquire Irving — and reunite him with LeBron James — would be Irving opting in to facilitate a trade, because the Lakers cannot realistically clear cap space to sign him themselves, and a sign-and-trade would trigger the hard cap, thus making acquiring Irving significantly more difficult. If Irving would opt in, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would have to satisfy the collective bargaining agreement’s salary-matching rules, meaning if Irving’s $36.6 million was the only incoming salary, the Lakers could send anywhere from $29.3 million to $45.8 million to the Nets and/or a third team in a legal transaction.

For the Knicks, the likely path to acquire Irving depends on what the Nets prioritize. New York is even with the salary-cap line for 2022-23 so it could clear enough space to sign Irving on a maximum contract by offloading salaries such as Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Kemba Walker. But the Knicks could also offer some or all of those players to the Nets or a third team in a possible sign-and-trade.

For the Clippers, the likely path to get Irving requires him to opt in, because they are significantly over both the luxury-tax line and the hard cap for 2022-23. To satisfy salary matching, the Clippers would need to send out between $29.3 million and $45.8 million to the Nets and/or a third team if Irving is the only salary headed their way. The Clippers’ scenario is less complicated than the Lakers, as the Clippers have a series of players making $11 million to $17 million to work with. For example, two or three of Norman Powell, Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson going out satisfies the CBA’s trade rules, and they also have a collection of young players like Terance Mann or Brandon Boston who could help sweeten the deal.

A potential Irving departure would be incredibly damaging to the Nets because of their limited ability to replace him and his salary slot should Irving sign elsewhere as a free agent. A likelier path to any departure would be via sign-and-trade. Brooklyn owes $111 million to six players in 2022-23, not including Irving, so even filling out the roster with minimum salaries would put the Nets over next season’s projected salary cap of $122 million. If Irving bolts, Brooklyn’s strongest path to adding talent would be the full $10.3 million midlevel exception. Irving is also eligible for a new deal via exercising his player option and extending his contract from there, which could land him a starting salary of $45.2 million for 2023-24.

“We’re looking for guys that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, play team basketball and be available,” Net GM Sean Marks said in May. “That goes not only for Kyrie but everybody here.”

For the Nets, the fate of Irving’s free agency is one to keep an eye on as the NBA Draft and free agency near.

More NBA news and notes

Atlanta Hawks

Hawks free-agent guard Lou Williams intends to continue his playing career, his agent Wallace Prather says. “(Williams) is not pursuing retirement, and I’ll be proactive in talking to teams during free agency,” Prather said. Williams, a 17-year veteran, averaged 6.3 points and 14.3 minutes a game over 56 contests this past season.

Charlotte Hornets

Rival executives expect Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges to command a maximum — or near-max — deal in July, and sources said there’s hesitancy from Charlotte to match a max sheet. Bridges had a breakout season in 2021-22, averaging 20.2 points, seven rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In a league that saw wings such as Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins and Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have game-changing impacts on a run to the NBA Finals, Bridges’ two-way ability on the wing has become incredibly valued toward winning.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavaliers restricted free agent Collin Sexton has been cleared for full basketball activities, sources said. Sexton underwent surgery in November to repair a torn meniscus and has made a complete recovery on the eve of entering free agency. Rival execs believe Sexton’s market could reach the $20 million-per-year range.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are seriously discussing trades centered on Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner, sources said. The Wizards and Knicks are interested in Brogdon, armed with the Nos. 10 and 11 picks respectively, sources said. The Hornets have expressed interest in Turner, those sources said. Still, Indiana, which has the No. 6 pick in the draft, could elect to continue retooling its veteran core rather than rebuild entirely around young players.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves have discussed deals around veteran centers, including Atlanta’s Clint Capela, sources said.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings are becoming increasingly comfortable drafting at No. 4 in Thursday’s draft and have described a steep price for teams behind them in the lottery who are attempting to trade up, sources said. Sacramento general manager Monte McNair has engaged in conversations around Hawks forward John Collins — among a slew of other established, productive players in the market — but there has been no involvement of the No. 4 pick in the discussions centered on Collins, and McNair will ultimately make the decision on the pick, according to sources.

Utah Jazz

Sources said the Jazz are scheduling second interview times with almost all of their 15 head coaching candidates as the next step in the process.

The 15 head coaching candidates are: Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant; current assistant Alex Jensen; current assistant Lamar Skeeter; Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin; Celtics assistant Will Hardy; Bucks assistant Charles Lee; Heat assistant Chris Quinn; Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney; Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla; Pistons assistant Jerome Allen; 76ers assistant Sam Cassell; Suns assistant Kevin Young; G League head coach Jason Terry; former Lakers coach Frank Vogel; and ex-Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts.

 

[Jive Turkey 12,594]

PJ is gonna be the belle of the ball. 

 

[Blotto 23,490]

Crazy to think PJ was out of the league quickly, didnt return until he was 27 and is now still playing (and in demand) at the age of 37. Unusual career arc for sure.

[gsoda3 3,246]

hard to imagine he gets more than a 2 year contract.  man good for him.

[Vic Mackey 47,012]

 

[closetohumping 17,435]

I don’t think kyrie is going anywhere 

[SilasCoade 2,622]

For one thing, who wants him? Great player but head case and all his comments about "comanaging the team" with KD and the ownership and "cocoaching" with KD and Nash? Who wants to deal with that even for a guy who could get you 25 and 6 every night?

Edited June 21, 2022 by Llogg

[closetohumping 17,435]

45 minutes ago, Llogg said:

For one thing, who wants him? Great player but head case and all his comments about "comanaging the team" with KD and the ownership and "cocoaching" with KD and Nash? Who wants to deal with that even for a guy who could get you 25 and 6 every night?

Possibly the Knicks and Lakers.

[conVINCEd 21,469]

1 hour ago, closetohumping said:

Possibly the Knicks and Lakers.

I don’t think there is anyone the Lakers would be willing to trade that the Nets would want.

[closetohumping 17,435]

6 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I don’t think there is anyone the Lakers would be willing to trade that the Nets would want.

I'd LMAO if they tried to package Westbrook to Brooklyn.

[Sbbruin 21,829]

1 hour ago, closetohumping said:

Possibly the Knicks and Lakers.

[Vic Mackey 47,012]

@MNLonghornFUKM

 

[Catdaddyhorn 3,444]

Kyrie is this generation's Stephon Marbury. Teams get worse when he gets there and better when he leaves. Back in the early 00s Marbury was traded from the Nets to the Suns for Jason Kidd. The Nets immediately became title contenders while the Suns record plummeted. Fast forward 3 or 4 years later and the Suns let Marbury go, signed Steve Nash, and suddenly became title contenders again. 

[Message Board User 12,395]

 

[Kermit 3,156]

26 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

 

I can’t believe he opted in.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

2 hours ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Kyrie is this generation's Stephon Marbury. Teams get worse when he gets there and better when he leaves. Back in the early 00s Marbury was traded from the Nets to the Suns for Jason Kidd. The Nets immediately became title contenders while the Suns record plummeted. Fast forward 3 or 4 years later and the Suns let Marbury go, signed Steve Nash, and suddenly became title contenders again. 

The Cavs did not get better without kyrie. C'mon. 

[Message Board User 12,395]

Great work if you can get it.

 

[SilasCoade 2,622]

John Wall might be my fucking hero.

[Aqua Buddha 14,582]

1 hour ago, Message Board User said:

Great work if you can get it.

 

Sam Bradford be like "Damn...."

[Fud 9,552]

Whoa

 

[Baboontyme 2,809]

Interesting. It will be fun to see how he fits on a contender. Can he sacrifice and become a winner? He's never really had to play that role.

Miles Bridges is my guy but I'm very curious to see what happens with him in Charlotte. Shams said yesterday that MJ would be hesitant to match a max. I can't disagree. Love the dude but his ceiling is limited to me as a borderline all star, similar to this year. Maybe he gets in a few times. I don't think he's ever going to be a great shooter despite some very good numbers in 21. And he also struggles when he has to dribble the ball more than 3x. He's a good defender, though, and he works his ass off and he's a dawg. Not sure he's a building block on a max deal. Someone will probably max him, though. 

[Message Board User 12,395]

12 minutes ago, Fud said:

Whoa

 

Isn't this just a prelude to Beal getting the supermax?

[Fud 9,552]

2 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

Isn't this just a prelude to Beal getting the supermax?

Yeah, maybe, probably 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

[mention=37]MNLonghornFUKM[/mention]
 

IIRC Steph didn’t work out for us, he was trying to get drafted by the Knicks who picked right after GS. So I mean, how do you draft a guy who didn’t work out for you?

Don’t recall the klay/love thing

[Radical Larry 28,561]

Whoa
 

[Dutchrudder 11,134]

2 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

IIRC Steph didn’t work out for us, he was trying to get drafted by the Knicks who picked right after GS. So I mean, how do you draft a guy who didn’t work out for you?

Don’t recall the klay/love thing

Oh now this is a fun article to read in hindsight...

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2107360-klay-thompson-not-worth-golden-state-warriors-whiffing-on-kevin-love-trade

[Catdaddyhorn 3,444]

6 hours ago, Llogg said:

The Cavs did not get better without kyrie. C'mon. 

You're right they didnt win a game in the the NBA Finals after Kyrie after winning only 1 game in the Finals with him the year before.  😕

[Fastbreak 3,982]

Isn't this just a prelude to Beal getting the supermax?

Do they really need him to win 35 games a year? I would pass, find a sucker team to give me some assets in a sign and trade.

[Message Board User 12,395]

5 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

Oh now this is a fun article to read in hindsight...

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2107360-klay-thompson-not-worth-golden-state-warriors-whiffing-on-kevin-love-trade

I wouldn’t be too hard on them - a LOT of people thought GS should’ve traded  Klay for Love.

I distinctly remember a Zach Lowe column in 2012 or 13 where he basically implored GS to make the trade.

Its crazy to think now, but at the time Love was considered a top 10 player in the league.

[closetohumping 17,435]

2 hours ago, Message Board User said:

I wouldn’t be too hard on them - a LOT of people thought GS should’ve traded  Klay for Love.

I distinctly remember a Zach Lowe column in 2012 or 13 where he basically implored GS to make the trade.

Its crazy to think now, but at the time Love was considered a top 10 player in the league.

Love was a bad ass in MInnesota.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Here's who SEA/OKC took in the 2008 draft: Westbrook (4), Ibaka (24), Walter Sharpe (32). A hypothetical alternate draft (with where these guys were actually picked in parentheses) that still addressed need for starting PG, quality big, and I guess a body: Love (5), George Hill (26), DeAndre Jordan (35). KD wins a title in OKC with that crew. One draft and the whole league is different for a decade. I'm not suggesting the drop off from Russ to Hill wouldn't have been significant in individual talent, but having a less dominant PG would have suited the team success better in the long run, especially if it meant getting a legit stretch 4 and a lob catching  rim protector to partner with.

[Dutchrudder 11,134]

3 hours ago, Message Board User said:

I wouldn’t be too hard on them - a LOT of people thought GS should’ve traded  Klay for Love.

I distinctly remember a Zach Lowe column in 2012 or 13 where he basically implored GS to make the trade.

Its crazy to think now, but at the time Love was considered a top 10 player in the league.

Yeah of course the argument could be made, but there were plenty of people who thought Love was just empty stats on a bad team and below average on defense. Hell there were lots of people who wanted Cleveland to keep Wiggins and not trade him for Love.

It's fun to look back at what could have been. I don't know if Cleveland wins a title if they don't make that trade for Love, but if GS traded Klay for him, I don't think they win a title without Klay.  With Love off the market and Lebron/Wiggins coming to Cleveland to join Kyrie, maybe someone else is targeted in trade, or maybe they try to make that trio work for a season. I think the Kawhi led Spurs would have snagged a title during that time, extended him on a supermax, and he would have been a lifelong Spur. SAS vs Cavs Finals would have happened at least once. OKC likely makes a Finals and might have won a title with KD/Russ, so that team may not have fallen apart.  The alternate timeline does sound much more intriguing to me than the Warriors super team years we got. 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,547]

1 hour ago, Dutchrudder said:

Yeah of course the argument could be made, but there were plenty of people who thought Love was just empty stats on a bad team and below average on defense. Hell there were lots of people who wanted Cleveland to keep Wiggins and not trade him for Love.

It's fun to look back at what could have been. I don't know if Cleveland wins a title if they don't make that trade for Love, but if GS traded Klay for him, I don't think they win a title without Klay.  With Love off the market and Lebron/Wiggins coming to Cleveland to join Kyrie, maybe someone else is targeted in trade, or maybe they try to make that trio work for a season. I think the Kawhi led Spurs would have snagged a title during that time, extended him on a supermax, and he would have been a lifelong Spur. SAS vs Cavs Finals would have happened at least once. OKC likely makes a Finals and might have won a title with KD/Russ, so that team may not have fallen apart.  The alternate timeline does sound much more intriguing to me than the Warriors super team years we got. 

I thought for sure Cleveland should have kept Wiggins at the time. He could have turned into the exact role player he is now for the Warriors and would have played perfectly off of Lebron. He could have been his Scottie Pippen, ish. They also would have had a cap pace to sign a decent big instead of Love. It was short sighted, and emblematic of Lebron's shitty GM skills. It would have set Cleveland up for years -- notwithstanding Kyrie being a fucking idiot.

Re: Kawhi... he was never going to stay in San Antonio. It was never about winning for him. He just wanted to live in LA, be close to home. 

[ocugolf 1,214]

1 hour ago, Llogg said:

Here's who SEA/OKC took in the 2008 draft: Westbrook (4), Ibaka (24), Walter Sharpe (32). A hypothetical alternate draft (with where these guys were actually picked in parentheses) that still addressed need for starting PG, quality big, and I guess a body: Love (5), George Hill (26), DeAndre Jordan (35). KD wins a title in OKC with that crew. One draft and the whole league is different for a decade. I'm not suggesting the drop off from Russ to Hill wouldn't have been significant in individual talent, but having a less dominant PG would have suited the team success better in the long run, especially if it meant getting a legit stretch 4 and a lob catching  rim protector to partner with.

Their docs also bungled a trade for Tyson Chandler (thought he had a foot issue) for basically nothing in February 2009.  Chandler went on to have great years with the Mavs, Suns, and Knicks after.  He would have been the perfect 5 for that Russ, Harden, KD, Ibaka, ____ starting 5.

[statsman 5,451]

Perkins was who they had for 5.  Yeah, Chandler might have made a difference. 
Presti gets a lot of GM credit for basically drafting hot for three years in a row, a dozen years ago. (If it counts as “drafting hot” to take Durant at #2 after Oden is taken at #1). 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,547]

24 minutes ago, statsman said:

Presti gets a lot of GM credit for basically drafting hot for three years in a row, a dozen years ago. (If it counts as “drafting hot” to take Durant at #2 after Oden is taken at #1). 

Presti is a mixed bag. They screwed up the Harden trade something fierce and had some unfortunate luck with Durant and Paul George wanting the fuck out of Oklahoma. Not that you can blame them, but he's made the most of it.

All things considered, he's been very shrewd rebuilding that franchise. He's implemented a much more opportunistic version of the process, and really they've done it in just two years. They are going to control the draft for years, especially if they keep pushing draft assets back and collecting more in return. I think they have something ridiculous like 38 first and second round picks over the next 7 years, not including swaps. They are going to have some unbelievable flexibility when/if they ever get good and start competing again.

[HookEm 2,463]

13 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

Oh now this is a fun article to read in hindsight...

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2107360-klay-thompson-not-worth-golden-state-warriors-whiffing-on-kevin-love-trade

I think the article was right in a lot of ways.  Kevin Love was a beast with Minnesota. He averaged 26.1 pts, 12.5 reb, 4.4 ast on pretty efficient shooting.  He would have fit into the Warriors system and culture perfectly.  He is a great passer and rebounder and would have kept the ball moving while also being a threat from 3.  A lineup of Curry, Iggy, Barnes, Love and Draymond still wins the title in 2015.  I'm not convinced they wouldn't have been better with Love.

Also, if Love was in GS, Cleveland obviously couldn't have traded for him.  In 2014, there weren't that many all-stars available for trade.  Other potential options would have been LaMarcus Aldridge or Dwight Howard. Maybe Carmelo Anthony.  None of them would have fit all that well with LeBron - and none could stretch the floor like Kevin Love.  I don't think in any of those scenarios Cleveland beats Golden State in 2016.  

Meanwhile, Klay would be in Minnesota doing his best Bradley Beal impersonation.