2017 NBA Offseason

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Farewell Friends
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Dwyane Wade has signed with the Cavs.

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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What does Wade bring the Cavs at this point? LeBron functions best in a 5-out system in which he drives and can either finish or kick it out and Wade isn't that kind of outside threat. Is Wade willing to take on a bench role and be LeBron Lite with the second unit? He might be semi-useful in that role with Korver and Crowder standing at the 3P line, but isn't that a bit redundant with Rose already in the second unit?

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Long Arm Silver got his wishes today with rest reform and lottery reform.

Rest reform, cool, fine, its' a good enough thing.

Lottery reform could end up being like the massive single-season jump in cap that went into this CBA and have the opposite of the intended impact re curtailing "tanking" (the commish's dirty word for "rebuilding").

We could have, with a month left in the season:
worst team: complacent, happy to lose
2nd worst: complacent, happy to lose
3rd worst: trying not to win too much to get to 5th worst
4th worst: trying not to win too much to get to 5th worst
5th worst: trying to lose enough to get to 4th
6th worst: trying to lose enough to get to 4th

Whereas in the past only the top 3 had a great shot at the top pick, with the worst team having by far the best odds, now the worst four have pretty flat odds:14/14/14/12.5. The more spots you put into the range that has a legit shot at the #1 pick the more you drive teams to dive into the bottom range of spots. Especially the 16 or so teams who have no shot at a good playoff spot this year and no shot at drawing any kind of star free agent player to push them toward a shot at a good playoff spot.

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Tim
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by Tim »

OKC is winning the off season

Russ gets a 5 year extension

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Tim wrote:OKC is winning the off season

Russ gets a 5 year extension
Only if you think they win this year, and I'll take the under on that b/c Dubs.

He's not big and doesn't shoot well, and athleticism is his hallmark tool. Athleticism doesn't age well as a primary tool. Even Jordan had to become a great midrange shooter in the twilight of his career to remain great when his explosiveness to the rim started to diminish. Russ will have to become a better shooter or absolutely defy the odds of the age curve to earn the ~$46 million he will make as a 34 year-old on the back end of this deal.

If PG13 bolts they're screwed. They won't have much cap space and even if they make some minor moves the best they will be able to do is free up a little bit of money in trade exceptions, but not nearly enough money to attract another star. Presti will have to hit on his draft picks in the low 20s to put something around Russ, and that's not an easy task. They'll be committed to $65MM for just Russ/Adams/Roberson, and if Melo picks up his option (he will, like Wade, because it's huge money no one else will give him) that goes to $93MM for four guys in 2018-19. If George does pick up his option they're paying tax on a huge team salary of like $157MM for three stars who are all on the backend of or past their physical plateaus.

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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themiddle54 wrote:
Tim wrote:OKC is winning the off season

Russ gets a 5 year extension
Only if you think they win this year, and I'll take the under on that b/c Dubs.
You'll take the under? Oh, the huevos. Bold. Who would you wager is going to win Kevin Durant's game of solitaire UNO with only red cards?

If Russ can recruit as passionately as he plays this is good for OKC (or would be in a league that expletiving had any doubt whatsoever that isn't exclusively built on the possibility of (in my weaker moments I'd say 'hope for') catastrophic injury), who really had no choice but to do this--even with the guy who drafted Durant, Westbrook and Harden.

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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BottenFieldofDreams wrote:
themiddle54 wrote:
Tim wrote:OKC is winning the off season

Russ gets a 5 year extension
Only if you think they win this year, and I'll take the under on that b/c Dubs.
You'll take the under? Oh, the huevos. Bold. Who would you wager is going to win Kevin Durant's game of solitaire UNO with only red cards?

If Russ can recruit as passionately as he plays this is good for OKC (or would be in a league that expletiving had any doubt whatsoever that isn't exclusively built on the possibility of (in my weaker moments I'd say 'hope for') catastrophic injury), who really had no choice but to do this--even with the guy who drafted Durant, Westbrook and Harden.
The bold already answered your question, which doesn't take huevos: the Dubs are the prohibitive fave.

Doesn't matter if Russ can recruit because if PG13 walks about the only thing Russ will be able to recruit is a player who can be had for $4-5MM in trade exception money and Russ + Melo + Adams + Roberson + That old $5MM guy in 2019 is a losing combination.

Melo's kind of a loser anyway. He won like 1 playoff series in NY and "led" his team to four straight years where they couldn't even make the playoffs in the East before being flipped for a 2nd round pick, a big who can't defend the rim, and a one-note spot-shooter.

I'm mostly arguing the point that OKC 'won' the offseason. They didn't. The Dubs did by bringing the whole team back plus Swaggy P and Casspi who both fit neatly into their floor-spacing game. Just like there's no room for doubt who's going to win this year (if healthy), there's no doubt who won the offseason: the Dubs. Then probably the Celtics, what with drafting Tatum, adding Hayward and Kyrie and Marcus Morris while trading down their 1-1 pick to add a future pick. Then probably the T-Wolves for putting Butler and Taj and Teague with KAT and Wiggins and Dieng. After that I'd probably go Rockets for putting CP3 with Harden. Then I'd take the Knicks by reduction for losing Phil and Melo.Then the Lakers for drafting Ball and Kuzma and moving that awful Mozgov contract and adding a potentially top-4 pick next year and picking up Bogut who is one of the five best passing bigs ever. Then I'd probably put in OKC for getting a great player and a formerly-great player while dealing away a lot of their depth.

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Tim
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Who improved the most this offseason?

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Tim
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by Tim »

OKC also dumped an awful awful contract when they dealt Oladipo

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Tim wrote:Who improved the most this offseason?
Just, like, in a vacuum based on change in wins next year?

I'll take Minnesota. They added Butler, Teague, Taj and Jamal Crawford, and offloaded Rubio, Dunn and Lavine. They lacked maturity and scoring in late game situations last year, losing in something like 23 games after they had a double-digit lead. Butler gives them a dynamic wing superstar, Crawford brings scoring off the bench. Taj gives them a bruiser on the blocks when Dieng is on the bench, and Teague changes the paradigm of what the PG does in MIN. It was a beautiful overhaul that didn't require changing any of their young core of KAT/Wiggins, just a remarkable off-season. If they turn that record for blowing double-digit leads around they're a 4 seed in the west a year after winning 31 games. I'll take them, in part because they have a lot more room for improvement than OKC but also because I am dead certain that Butler > George, and I think the combo of Taj/Teague/Crawford > Melo/Patterson.

Second in changes to wins should be Philly and that's really not because of anything transactional this off-season besides moving up two spots to get Fultz and adding some veteran role players around their emerging young core.

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