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

[closetohumping 17453]

😆

[SilasCoade 2622]

How shitty must the journalism from a fake bleacher report account have to be? 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18550]

7 hours ago, aggie08 said:

I seriously cannot wrap my head around giving a $61M/year contract extension to a guy with 3 years left on his current year coming off the worst season of his career.

Is this an overreaction to KD asking out that has them spooked? What the fuck? There is absolutely no logic in this. Sacramento wouldn't pull this shit.

It was a terrible contract before the extension. Now? It's unimaginably bad. I guess it ensures that he never leaves Portland because nobody else is taking that number on their cap. 

[Fastbreak 3989]

It was a terrible contract before the extension. Now? It's unimaginably bad. I guess it ensures that he never leaves Portland because nobody else is taking that number on their cap. 

Who cares if he leaves? He’s not Jordan or even Dwayne Wade…

[Patrick Bateman 3918]

43 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

Who cares if he leaves? He’s not Jordan or even Dwayne Wade…

Portland loves them some Dame, but that's the point..... He probably just doomed the franchise to upper mediocrity his whole career.  Maybe they could make a run this year but the light is dimming on them.  Portland must be going all in that it was the abdominal issue which made his play noticeably worse last year and with the kind of reduction, that would make some sense.  But I just can't see how a 35 years old Dame will be anywhere close to 35% of the their cap, which is what this extension is...

 

[Fastbreak 3989]

Portland loves them some Dame, but that's the point..... He probably just doomed the franchise to upper mediocrity his whole career.  Maybe they could make a run this year but the light is dimming on them.  Portland must be going all in that it was the abdominal issue which made his play noticeably worse last year and with the kind of reduction, that would make some sense.  But I just can't see how a 35 years old Dame will be anywhere close to 35% of the their cap, which is what this extension is...
 

Check the stats of

Jordan
Isiah
Magic
Bird
Tmac
Wade
Magic
Etc etc

After age 34. Hardly anyone can age like Lebron. It’s the same reason i wouldn’t give the bank for KD.

[BigOrange1 6442]

this orlando/sacramento summer league game is ridiculously fun.

[Message Board User 12395]

5 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Portland loves them some Dame, but that's the point..... He probably just doomed the franchise to upper mediocrity his whole career.  Maybe they could make a run this year but the light is dimming on them.  Portland must be going all in that it was the abdominal issue which made his play noticeably worse last year and with the kind of reduction, that would make some sense.  But I just can't see how a 35 years old Dame will be anywhere close to 35% of the their cap, which is what this extension is...

 

Just dumb decision after dumb decision here recently for Rip City.

I mean, they just drafted Shaedon Sharpe, who tore his labrum in his first competitive basketball in about 2 years after getting dominated by Ivey and is out for the rest of summer league.

 

[Underdog 28753]

Good job, Cal. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Portland and Minnesota had the worst off-seasons. 5 first round picks for 30 year Gobert is laughable

[VirginiaLonghorn 4780]

20 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

I’d say Bradley beals is worse. Dame actually has been to the playoffs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Beal make a clutch basket

FIFY

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Portland and Minnesota had the worst off-seasons. 5 first round picks for 30 year Gobert is laughable

Overrating first round picks like they’re some golden ticket is laughable. I’ll take the future hall of famer and the best rim protected we’ve seen in 30 years.

It’s a lot. Between now and 2027 there’ll be multiple ways to get back into the first round. Wolves have one of the most versatile starting 5s in the entire league

[shadow_operative 15932]

1 hour ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Portland and Minnesota had the worst off-seasons. 5 first round picks for 30 year Gobert is laughable

T Wolves badly needed defensive help so they went and got one of the best defensive players in the league. they're in win-now mode, as they should be. i believe they led the league in scoring last year, and they appear to have a true star in Ant. KAT is crazy talented and is always productive; time for him to step up and be the alpha that he claims to be. he gets to play the 4 now like he's always wanted, and depending on what other moves the Wolves make they could be serious contenders this year. i think they could end up being big winners of this offseason if they become a viable threat in the West.

also, as for Rudy's age, it's not a big deal. he's a low post, defensive center who should have 4-5 years of being as good or close to as good as he's been the last several years.

[Dutchrudder 11146]

I think the TWolves will be a good regular season team, probably 4 seed in the West if they catch a few breaks, but I don't see that team making it out of the second round without some really dumb luck.  

[Dutchrudder 11146]

This is pretty cool. A photo of Jokic as a kid in an Denver Nuggets sweatshirt!

IG Story:  Short story about destiny! This is Nikola Jokic, double NBA MVP, at about five years of age in his hometown of Sombor, Serbia. Back in 2000, when this photo was taken, he is wearing a @nuggets sweatshirt - not because he loved basketball or even knew about the Nuggets - but because he got it as a present. Chances of a kid from a small Serbian town having a sweatshirt from a lesser known American team back in 2000 were minimal (unless we're talking about famous clubs such as @lakers or @bulls). Chances of anyone knowing about the Nuggets in a small Serbian town were next to nothing. But chances of that same kid growing up to play basketball and achieve his career high, win two MVP titles and sign a historic agreement with the same club whose sweatshirt he wore at age five, were - zero. It is true that winners create their own fate, make the impossible possible and write the pages of history through exceptional dedication, hard work, sacrifice, confidence and willingness to do more than others.
But sometimes, a little destiny plays a big role in the overall outcome.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfzHg0UsnPq/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f53386e4-69f4-4211-a8c4-5c8fb567478a

[Mitch Cumsteen 18550]

10 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Overrating first round picks like they’re some golden ticket is laughable. I’ll take the future hall of famer and the best rim protected we’ve seen in 30 years.

It’s a lot. Between now and 2027 there’ll be multiple ways to get back into the first round. Wolves have one of the most versatile starting 5s in the entire league

I've come around a bit on this trade. It was good for Minnesota because they were just going to fuck up the picks anyway. Jonny Flynn is not walking though that door.

But I still don't understand the fit. You want to play big when the league is going small, ok. I get it from a zig when they expect you to zag perspective. But having two seven footers, both of whom seem allergic to posting up smaller defenders and one of whom you barely need to guard, just seems ridiculous to me. The one thing I liked about the wolves last year was that Kat spread the floor so well for Edwards to operate and get loose inside. They just took a blowtorch to that.

And one of those dudes is now going to be forced to guard somebody small on the perimeter. Townes couldn't stay out of foul trouble last year and that was when they could typically hide him on some stiff. Remember when Stephen Adams became unplayable in that series? He just became playable again. They are going to screw up their match up advantages. 

Maybe it works out but I just have a difficult time seeing the basketball fit. It's over simplistic to say hey, we've just signed the best rim protector around and now our defense is going to be great without looking how it impacts the other pieces. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4788]

10 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

 

also, as for Rudy's age, it's not a big deal. he's a low post, defensive center who should have 4-5 years of being as good or close to as good as he's been the last several years.

I’m not sure I agree a center like Gobert will age very well. If you trade as much as the T Wolves did, you better be getting an All NBA level player, and outside of the truly all-time greats, there aren’t a ton of over 30 All NBA Centers.

[HookEm 2467]

What if the TWolves traded KAT for Durant?  I’m not sure the Nets will get a much better offer than that. And Durant on the TWolves makes them a title contender.

I would even add D. Russell for Ben Simmons to the deal, but then that gives you two poor free throw shooters on the TWolves.  The defense would be incredible though.

[aggie08 21508]

Fuck it, trade Ant for KD and go all in on the big strategy.

[Patrick Bateman 3918]

14 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Overrating first round picks like they’re some golden ticket is laughable. I’ll take the future hall of famer and the best rim protected we’ve seen in 30 years.

It’s a lot. Between now and 2027 there’ll be multiple ways to get back into the first round. Wolves have one of the most versatile starting 5s in the entire league

So, this and other posts of yours have painted that this was done because the TWolves were really good at offense and mediocre to below average at defense and adding an excellent defensive 5 should improve the latter while not impacting the former.  I'm unsure it's going to work out the way you see it, because its pretty simplistic.  And I agree with you, you can get those picks back, namely when you're forced to trade Ant because he's demanded a trade.  I hope not, because the NBA needs more small market success stories, not less, and that's the dude there.  I think we were waiting for KAT to emerge as the guy, but I don't see it happening.  He's a 2nd guy.  Ant needs to be that alpha dawg to get them where they want to be.  I really want to see his development.....

3 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I've come around a bit on this trade. It was good for Minnesota because they were just going to fuck up the picks anyway. Jonny Flynn is not walking though that door.

But I still don't understand the fit. You want to play big when the league is going small, ok. I get it from a zig when they expect you to zag perspective. But having two seven footers, both of whom seem allergic to posting up smaller defenders and one of whom you barely need to guard, just seems ridiculous to me. The one thing I liked about the wolves last year was that Kat spread the floor so well for Edwards to operate and get loose inside. They just took a blowtorch to that.

And one of those dudes is now going to be forced to guard somebody small on the perimeter. Townes couldn't stay out of foul trouble last year and that was when they could typically hide him on some stiff. Remember when Stephen Adams became unplayable in that series? He just became playable again. They are going to screw up their match up advantages. 

Maybe it works out but I just have a difficult time seeing the basketball fit. It's over simplistic to say hey, we've just signed the best rim protector around and now our defense is going to be great without looking how it impacts the other pieces. 

This is a good post.  Why did the TWolves average the most points last year?  Not because they were insanely efficient, but because they pushed the pace higher than everyone else.  In short, they were top 5 in FGA and #1 in 3PA, but only 12th in eFG%.  Utah on the other hand, 10th in OPPG but 22nd in pace.  2020-21, when they were at their best, 3rd in the league in OPPG, 18th in pace.  Utah still had a pretty decent offense, they simply were efficient.  

In short, Utah's key was a good defense at a middling to low pace which used a lane feeder design and they were efficient on offense, specifically shooting 6th in the league in 2020-21.  

That's not how Minny plays.  Are they going to get more efficient on offense shooting the ball?  Probably a little when you play big but your pace will plummet.  And will KAT continue to bomb away from 3 as much?  Probably because he'll be forced outside, but is that a good thing defensively?  Again, Utah played a feeder style defensive system, trying their best to switch enough in spots to keep Gobert in the lane or near enough to protect that rim and come over and contest.  Utah actually played a small ball lineup with Bogs at 4.  He's a natural 3 and nobody is going to confuse him as a traditional post player.  How is Minnesota going to design their defense?  Can KAT keep up with small ball lineups he'll be asked to play on the perimeter?  It'll be interesting to see.  

Frankly, because of spacing, I don't necessarily see this working unless you had a great PG and floor general..... you do not.  TWolves were a pretty decent team last year.  They were expected to win 48 games last year.  Now, they'll have to re-engineer both their defense and offensive systems.  Will this lead to more wins?  Again, possibly.  Could I see a 50 win season?  Yes, that's possible, but in the playoffs, when the scheming goes up and they pull Rudy out on the perimeter and have KAT iso at the top of key, will that work defensively?  Or will you have to do what Utah was forced to do in certain spots and bench Gobert?  I like Rudy more than most around here, but the fit is odd and strategically, the TWolves don't get the benefit of the doubt..... they don't deserve to.  They'll have to put up and show out.....

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Patrick Bateman

[Patrick Bateman 3918]

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

What if the TWolves traded KAT for Durant?  I’m not sure the Nets will get a much better offer than that. And Durant on the TWolves makes them a title contender.

I would even add D. Russell for Ben Simmons to the deal, but then that gives you two poor free throw shooters on the TWolves.  The defense would be incredible though.

I would do the first part.  I think that gets you back to a badass front line...... They still need another shooter or two so I'd ask for Curry back with KD, but if I"m the TWolves and you KD would accept it, that may be a decent deal.  KAT goes back to putting up huge lines on shitty teams.

 

[aggie08 21508]

I assume KAT can be on the same team as Simmons now that he signed his new deal?

[cmontexas 3272]

Giddey and Chet are a problem for the West sooner than people think

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Gobert is a liability against teams like the Clippers and Golden State ie the best teams in the West.

Why go all in when your best player is 20? ANTs peak isn't for another four years at least.

[Kermit 3158]

1 hour ago, cmontexas said:

Giddey and Chet are a problem for the West sooner than people think

They definitely won't be tanking for Victor this season, especially with Shai healthy. 

 

Yeah, they probably will. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

I've come around a bit on this trade. It was good for Minnesota because they were just going to fuck up the picks anyway. Jonny Flynn is not walking though that door.
But I still don't understand the fit. You want to play big when the league is going small, ok. I get it from a zig when they expect you to zag perspective. But having two seven footers, both of whom seem allergic to posting up smaller defenders and one of whom you barely need to guard, just seems ridiculous to me. The one thing I liked about the wolves last year was that Kat spread the floor so well for Edwards to operate and get loose inside. They just took a blowtorch to that.
And one of those dudes is now going to be forced to guard somebody small on the perimeter. Townes couldn't stay out of foul trouble last year and that was when they could typically hide him on some stiff. Remember when Stephen Adams became unplayable in that series? He just became playable again. They are going to screw up their match up advantages. 
Maybe it works out but I just have a difficult time seeing the basketball fit. It's over simplistic to say hey, we've just signed the best rim protector around and now our defense is going to be great without looking how it impacts the other pieces. 

kat will still spread the court. But we had like 6 alley oops total as a team last year. Rudy had over 90 himself. Rudy’s roll game with someone like ant or dlo will be insane. Hell even A kat/Rudy pick and roll where Steven adams has to guard kat would be such an advantage .


Rudy’s the best screener in the game. Period. He’s so much more than just the best rim protector and rebounder in the league. His advanced stats are most top 10, even top 5.



Small ball shmall ball. Utah was a machine before they traded wing defenders for Conley and Bojanovic and Mitchell all but gave up playing defense.

Rudy needs perimeter defenders and not traffic cones…we have that with ant and Jaden mcdaniels. Outside of starting and the first 6-7 min, I’m sure there won’t be much of kat/Rudy on the floor but there’ll always be one of the 2 at all times. Pretty significant advantage having the leagues 3rd and 4th best big men on one team. Small ball be damned.

[Aqua Buddha 14599]

2 hours ago, cmontexas said:

Giddey and Chet are a problem for the West sooner than people think

In a non Presti move, they can put together a lineup of shooters now compared to the athletic non shooters they used to have.  With the draft class they have now, they can put 4 guys out there with Giddey who can all shoot, cut to the basket, and finish.  Giddey is the key to all that, too.  He can drop passes when and where they all need it.

[Message Board User 12395]

48 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

In a non Presti move, they can put together a lineup of shooters now compared to the athletic non shooters they used to have.  With the draft class they have now, they can put 4 guys out there with Giddey who can all shoot, cut to the basket, and finish.  Giddey is the key to all that, too.  He can drop passes when and where they all need it.

Jalen Williams has also looked good so far in summer league.  I think OKC and Detroit will be in the play-in tournament this season.  Crazy bright future for both of those teams.

[Michael Knight 12989]

1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

kat will still spread the court. But we had like 6 alley oops total as a team last year. Rudy had over 90 himself. Rudy’s roll game with someone like ant or dlo will be insane. Hell even A kat/Rudy pick and roll where Steven adams has to guard kat would be such an advantage .


Rudy’s the best screener in the game. Period. He’s so much more than just the best rim protector and rebounder in the league. His advanced stats are most top 10, even top 5.



Small ball shmall ball. Utah was a machine before they traded wing defenders for Conley and Bojanovic and Mitchell all but gave up playing defense.

Rudy needs perimeter defenders and not traffic cones…we have that with ant and Jaden mcdaniels. Outside of starting and the first 6-7 min, I’m sure there won’t be much of kat/Rudy on the floor but there’ll always be one of the 2 at all times. Pretty significant advantage having the leagues 3rd and 4th best big men on one team. Small ball be damned.

Maybe now the TWolves can be as good as the Jazz were all the way to losing in the 2nd round

Edited July 11, 2022 by Michael Knight

[Aqua Buddha 14599]

1 hour ago, Message Board User said:

Jalen Williams has also looked good so far in summer league.  I think OKC and Detroit will be in the play-in tournament this season.  Crazy bright future for both of those teams.

Okie City might have been able to make the play in tournament this past year but they tanked and towards the end of the season, they went hard to the paint on tanking and really tanked.  

Presti and Okie City are interesting because the way he's building the team now is completely different from the last time.  This time it's shooting, ball movement, and position less basketball.  Previously, it was an old school center, a few scores, and bunch of defensive dudes who couldn't shoot.

Will it work?  Who knows.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Maybe now the TWolves can be as good as the Jazz were all the way to losing in the 2nd round

Much better personnel and coach but yeah!

[shadow_operative 15932]

nm. bleacher report out here lying.

Edited July 11, 2022 by shadow_operative

[Fastbreak 3989]

McClung. MVP of summer league or regular season?

[SilasCoade 2622]

10 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Much better personnel and coach but yeah!

In what way is their coach superior to Snyder? Dude looks like a date rapist but he can coach ball. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

In what way is their coach superior to Snyder? Dude looks like a date rapist but he can coach ball. 

Minnesotas turn around for starters from year one to year 2. More than doubled the wins.

I thought for finches first playoff series he had Minnesota the better team. But he squandered some decisions and they lost.

I think he’s well versed in running the twin towers as he was on the pelicans coaching staff with boogie and brow.

Snyders obviously a good coach, maybe he’ll catch on somewhere or he’s burnt out. I don’t recall a coach walking from a job.

I wouldn’t trade finch for him.

[TexArcher 37989]

Breaking News: Ja Morant wishes he would've played in Michael Jordan's day and would've cooked him, per Ja Morant.

Sure,Jan.gif

Edited July 11, 2022 by TexArcher

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

I’m a play in fan. Teams gonna try extra hard to avoid the 7-10.

Also the games are mostly good.

[d2o 1602]

1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

 

 

I’m a play in fan. Teams gonna try extra hard to avoid the 7-10.

Also the games are mostly good.

 

Yeah, its been pretty good.   Definitely worth keeping around.   Though I think there probably be some provisions for when the 10 seed is more than 5 gms behind the rest of the teams.   

[Dutchrudder 11146]

3 hours ago, d2o said:

Yeah, its been pretty good.   Definitely worth keeping around.   Though I think there probably be some provisions for when the 10 seed is more than 5 gms behind the rest of the teams.   

That's a good idea. I would also add a rule that teams 9/10 must be at .500 or better to qualify.

[RexWilson 1348]

Good. Can't stand it.

[ATXbronco 4084]

Just noticed Jericho Simms is averaging 13+ PPG for the Knicks through two summer league games.
They're playing game #3 right now on ESPN.  Just started.

And he just got an assist on the very first play of the game.  

Broadcasters are talking about him an awful lot.  Nothing but good!

Edited July 12, 2022 by ATXbronco

[ATXbronco 4084]

Another interesting thing about this game is that Richard Jefferson (former NBA player) is ref'ing tonight.  

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Yeah, its been pretty good.   Definitely worth keeping around.   Though I think there probably be some provisions for when the 10 seed is more than 5 gms behind the rest of the teams.   

I definitely agree to that. And then what? 7 seed is solidified and a 1 game playoff between 8-9 if they’re within a certain amount of games? I don’t like the 8 seed who won 46 games losing in a 1 game playoff to a 9 seed who won 37. Clippers got clippered when PG had to sit

[d2o 1602]

10 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

I definitely agree to that. And then what? 7 seed is solidified and a 1 game playoff between 8-9 if they’re within a certain amount of games? I don’t like the 8 seed who won 46 games losing in a 1 game playoff to a 9 seed who won 37. Clippers got clippered when PG had to sit

Something like that.   Or maybe make the 10 seed have to beat win three times (instead of twice) to advance if they are more than 5 gms behind the 8 seed.

[d2o 1602]

22 minutes ago, d2o said:

Something like that.   Or maybe make the 10 seed have to beat win three times (instead of twice) to advance if they are more than 5 gms behind the 8 seed.

Maybe make any of the seeds beat the higher seed twice if they are more than 5 gms behind that team in the standings.    My point is I get that injuries/trades, etc can tank a teams season and maybe team is better than their record shows but the regular season should always matter.  

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

How can I bet against the Twolves in the playoffs?

Sure they will be fine in the regular season but flop when it matters.

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Kyrie Irving still believes the Earth is flat. Westbrook level being an idiot

[HtownHorn 14754]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:02 PM, MNLonghornFUKM said:

 

 

I’m a play in fan. Teams gonna try extra hard to avoid the 7-10.

Also the games are mostly good.

 

and change the games to use the Elam Ending.

[Fastbreak 3989]

Jabari looking to take the MVP from McClung?

[Francisco 2.0 32395]

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34227679/inside-secret-most-sacred-nba-summer-league-tradition-tribute-jerryoke

 

Quote

THE MOST UNLIKELY tradition of the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League began in 2009 inside a dingy third-floor ballroom of the Imperial Palace -- a mid-strip casino that has since been renamed.

About eight members of the Washington Wizards' staff -- including Flip Saunders, just starting his tenure as Washington's head coach -- were at dinner nearby when someone mentioned the Imperial Palace had a cheap karaoke bar. Jerry Walter, the team's legendary -- and legendarily quirky -- equipment manager over three decades, let it slip that he enjoyed karaoke.

 

Quote

Tim Connelly, then a Wizards scout and now the president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoped karaoke might keep Walter away from blackjack tables.

"He is the world's worst blackjack player," Connelly says. Walter once hit on 18 despite colleagues shouting in dissent, Connelly recalls. "'I feel good about this one, bud,'" Walter assured them. (Everyone is "bud" for Walter.) He busted.

 

Quote

They entered and found a smattering of about 20 people. "I guarantee you Flip Saunders is the only NBA head coach to ever set foot in the third floor of the Imperial Palace," Connelly jokes.

Walter signed up to sing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Ryan Saunders, Flip's son and then an assistant coach with the Wizards, recalls Walter scribbling down lyrics. The Wizards' staff riled up a dead crowd. They split into two groups, stood across from each other, touched their hands above their heads, and formed an aisle for Walter to run through on his way to the stage.

 

Quote

Walter is not what you might call a good singer. "You can always count on Jerry messing up a few words," Ryan Saunders says.

He is a showman. "You don't have to have the greatest voice," Walter says. "You have to belt out the song."

To the astonishment of everyone, Walter brought the small crowd to its feet. Some remember him coaxing one or two patrons onto the stage with him. His coworkers held up phones as faux lighters, the signal for an encore; the rest of the crowd joined them.

 

Spoiler

"My god, he put on a show," says Randy Wittman, then a Wizards assistant who succeeded Saunders as Washington's head coach in 2012.

They wanted to run it back the next year but found poker tables had taken over the ballroom. They were determined to keep the tradition going.

They pulled it off -- creating an event that got its own name (Jerryoke) and eventually grew so large the host venue posted security to turn away would-be attendees once it was over capacity.

It may have wrapped last night with one final blowout -- a twist that Walter, 65, did not anticipate when the Wizards furloughed him at the start of the pandemic and didn't bring him back.

If this was it, Jerryoke ended in spectacular fashion.

WALTER IS ONE of those anonymous characters who keep the NBA running. He worked for the Bullets-slash-Wizards in various capacities for about 40 years, the last 30 as equipment manager. He is 5-10 and skinny, with a gregarious personality that belies his physical stature.

He greets everyone with "top of the morning," no matter what time of day or night it is. He sometimes changes his voicemail greeting daily so that it might say, "Top of the morning! The weather today in our nation's capital is 80 degrees and sunny!" He was relentlessly devoted to the unglamourous parts of the job -- laundry, shoes, travel details, lugging giant trunks of equipment from arena to bus to plane to hotel.

Despite an insurmountable size disadvantage, Walter would sometimes challenge the Wizards' strength coaches to wrestling matches. Before one road game in Atlanta, two players gathered a stack of money and said Walter could have it if he jumped and touched the ceiling of the visitors' locker room. He tried a half-dozen times and did not come close, witnesses recall.

"In our business, you need that kind of consistent positivity with all the ups and down," says Brett Greenberg, the Wizards' assistant general manager.

Players who never suited up for the Wizards often remember the thin, bespectacled equipment guy who said hello and offered extra help.

"He always greeted me as a visiting player," Wittman says. "He likes everyone. Even if there is a player who doesn't treat the equipment guys well -- and that does happen -- Jerry sees the good in them."

When Walter's mother died in 2008, the Wizards rented a bus so staff members could attend her funeral.

"Jerry is a special person," Ryan Saunders says. "The kind of person who makes an organization great."

When Zac Walsh, the Atlanta Hawks' equipment manager, broke into the league, Walter took him to dinner and gave him advice on the job. John Coumoundouros, the Detroit Pistons' longtime equipment manager, leaned on Walter when he had to redesign the Pistons' equipment room.

Decades of goodwill is how that night at the Imperial Palace morphed into Jerryoke -- a cherished NBA insider phenomenon that settled for the past decade at Ellis Island Hotel & Casino, an off-the-strip hole-in-the-wall that hosted again last night. (I am a Jerryoke veteran but was not in Las Vegas this time. Details and video were sent to me by Wizards employees and others in attendance.)

"It's an equipment manager's type of place," Coumoundouros says. "A dive bar."

WIZARDS STAFFERS AND friends made up early Jerryoke crowds. As Wizards employees moved to other teams, word of the event spread.

By 2015, Ellis Island had to hire extra security and some NBA attendees were turned away at the door. (Ryan Saunders once had a friend pull him through security when a guard wasn't looking.)

General managers, media members, and head coaches -- Wittman, Jeff Hornacek, Scott Brooks, current Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard -- dotted the crowd. (Brooks -- Washington's head coach from 2016 to 2021 -- once coerced Walter into performing "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. "Jerry would have made Vanilla Ice proud!" Brooks says.)

Greenberg, the Wizards' unofficial Jerryoke coordinator, confers with Ellis Island staff several days prior just to make sure they are ready for the onslaught. He might also authorize some greasing of the wheels with the venue's staff to shove Walter's name up the song list -- if only to placate the Jerry Springer-style "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" chants coming from the NBA contingent. (I vaguely recall one year in which the announcer called a woman named -- I think -- Mary as the next performer, only the NBA crowd thought she had said "Jerry" and playfully rained boos upon poor Mary.)

Walter dialed up the showmanship. He tossed dice upon singing the "payin' anything to roll the dice" line in "Don't Stop Believin'." He dedicated each song -- Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" is Walter's second staple -- to "the troops." (Walter served in the U.S. Army before his career in sports.) He points out Pistons employees at Journey's reference to "South Detroit," and smells his armpits at the song's reference to "cheap perfume."

After one peak Jerryoke performance, the audience near the stage picked Walter up and crowd-surfed him to the back of the room.

For lots of people within the NBA, Jerryoke -- and thus Walter himself -- became a touchstone of summer league, emblematic of why Vegas is such a popular trip and so different from the rest of the NBA calendar.

The season is long over, and the main offseason business is usually done. You can feel the break in competition. In a party city, rivals rediscover they are really all colleagues. It is the week the NBA lets its hair down.

"It's a fun place to see everyone," Connelly says. "You're not stressed out. You're not in a rush to catch a plane. You're not in season. And Jerry is so beloved, the whole event just snowballed."

"I've met some of my closest friends through Jerryoke," Greenberg says.

As the summer league schedule filled with formal events -- various committee meetings, buttoned-up team dinners -- Jerryoke became a laid-back oasis. Walter senses it, and is proud of it.

"We all saw each other in a different light," he says. "We put aside our egos and have a club soda, or a beer, or a glass of wine, and just have fun. It was a cool feeling."

AND THEN IT ended. The Wizards furloughed Walter. (Furloughs were typical across sports and other industries after March 2020.) The pandemic tempered summer league nightlife.

When regular travel resumed, equipment managers from other teams would meet Walter for coffee or lunch in Washington. They could feel his hurt.

"He wanted to go out on his terms," Coumoundouros says. "He wanted to have one last go-round, and see everybody and say goodbye." Connelly, then running basketball operations with the Denver Nuggets, called to offer Walter temporary work supplementing Denver's staff. Walter turned him down, fearing he would struggle moving heavy trunks.

"I didn't want to give a bad performance," he says. "It's a young person's job."

When the Miami Heat played in Washington this season, they arranged for Walter to join their equipment staff for the game.

At the NBA Equipment Managers Association annual May meeting at the pre-draft combine in Chicago, Coumoundouros pitched the association on using some of its funds to fly Walter to Las Vegas for one last Jerryoke. It was a unanimous yes.

"There is not one equipment manager who doesn't love Jerry," says Joe Cuomo, the Brooklyn Nets' equipment manager and immediate past president of the association.

"It really is a fellowship," Walter says, his voice breaking. "I warned them all about my emotions."

His colleagues knew Walter might have trouble keeping it together Monday night. "Oh, he's going to be emotional," Coumoundouros said days before the event. "And we are gonna be there to hold him up."

Walter indeed had to pause and collect himself while dedicating his first song. A woman broke the silence: "We love you, Jerry!"

"I warned you all," Walter told the crowd. He paused again. "But we're gonna make it."

"We're gonna make it!" a man shouted from the audience.

Walter continued: "One more time." And then, the opening piano strokes of "Don't Stop Believin'" swept the audience into a frenzy.

Walter hopped and jumped when the chorus hit; the crowd hopped and sang along with him. The "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" chants broke out during instrumentals. Walter pantomimed the dice throw and smelled his armpits, like always.

When it was over, Connelly and Jared Jeffries yanked Walter off the stage, lifted him above their heads, and began a crowd-surfing wave that carried Walter to the back of the room. As Walter got to his feet, the NBA crowd swarmed him, chanting, "One more year! One more year!"

Walter would be open to coming out for future Jerryokes but realizes that may be unlikely.

"If circumstances allow, I'd love to do it," Walter says, "but it's understandable if, you know, this is the farewell. The older guys are on their way out. It's time, probably."