2017 NBA Offseason

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Tim
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by Tim »

Fair
I should’ve said which contender improved the most

Then again, nobody is beating GSW so are there really any other contenders?

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Tim wrote:Fair
I should’ve said which contender improved the most

Then again, nobody is beating GSW so are there really any other contenders?
I'd probably say Boston. Hayward's arguably a better player than George at this point, and Kyrie is 25 and entering his prime. Jayson Tatum looks like a legit future star and Marcus Morris helps mitigate the loss of the dynamic and awesome Jae Crowder. They're also in a position where Marcus Smart gets more minutes and Smart is a more dynamic player than Bradley, bigger and stronger and a better defender with a very good ceiling offensively. Only two teams can go to the finals and Boston has the most improved odds toward that.

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thrill
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by thrill »

Yeah, contender-wise it's Boston. Outside of that I think OKC & Minnesota.

Lonzo looks good though. The Lakers could be a sleeper on that list, even if they miss the playoffs.

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Tim
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by Tim »

I suppose I am clouded by my belief that OKC was soon to be without Russ and left pretty much empty handed.

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Tim wrote:I suppose I am clouded by my belief that OKC was soon to be without Russ and left pretty much empty handed.
I think big-picture "one star, rest of roster composed of a bunch of below-average role players" is a bad strategy. It's nothing new, save that Pistons team that upset the Lake Show back in the mid 00s, that you have to have multiple stars to win. That's been the case from The Celtics Dynasty to the Dubs. Most of those teams have some semblance of depth, usually drawn through the draft or, in the case of a LeBron team, through veterans willing to take a pay cut to make a run with LeBron. They're going to have to do more than keep Russ to compete for a championship, and they don't have a lot of draft picks or a good draft position, and as long as there's LeBron and GSW those will be the spots for veterans chasing a ring to land over Russ and OKC.

Last year OKC were 14th in attendance and an easy first-round out in the playoffs. They emptied a couple bad contracts to get Melo (who I loved as a young player but think is -EV now) and PG13 (expiring deal they might have trouble keeping on board next year) but they also lost some depth--Oladipo, Sabonis, Kanter and McDermott combined for like 6000 minutes last year. Melo and PG13 can come close to filling those minutes if healthy but still the 2nd string on that team is going to be Felton/Singler/Abrines/Patterson/Dakari Johnson, and outside Patterson that's downright ugly. They can't even begin to compete with the benches of SAS, GSW or HOU (E Gordon/Nene/Tarik Black/PJ Tucker/Isaiah Taylor is way >>>> OKC's bench) and are going to be hugely dependent on the starters to have a big margin so the bench doesn't cost them games.

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by themiddle54 »

thrill wrote:Yeah, contender-wise it's Boston. Outside of that I think OKC & Minnesota.

Lonzo looks good though. The Lakers could be a sleeper on that list, even if they miss the playoffs.
Lonzo does look good. I think if we were talking "who improved the most for the future in the last off-season" it would be:

1. Lakers. Drafting Lonzo and Kuzma, dumping Mozgov's bad deal, adding KCP for just a year to use that cap money now and clear it off the books next season.
2. Cavs. They addd a probable top-4 pick next year plus Zizic and also got Crowder in the Kyrie deal. He's one of only a few guys who were +1.5 RPM on both O and D last year, and has arguably the best contract in the NBA. If they don't keep Crowder next year, if LBJ bolts, then he's a guy/contract that could easily be flipped for some really good future assets.

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themiddle54
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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The Wiz lowkey had a decent offseason. They didn't really need anything at the top, with one of the 2-3 best starting lineups in the NBA, but they matched Otto's offer sheet (he's one of the most efficient shooters in the NBA and worth every penny) to lock that great starting five in. Their bench was terrible last year, and getting Tim Frazier, Jodie Meeks, and Mike Scott helps. Supposedly Mahinmi is in the BSOHL after losing weight and being determined to prove that his contract from last year is not a waste of money. They were just The Game Of Kelly Olynyk's Life away from the conference finals last year, where IMO they would have matched up better with the Cavs, and could take the next step this season to the conference finals if health and luck break their way.

Socnorb11
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

Post by Socnorb11 »

Lonzo looked fine in the preseason, but I'm still not convinced that he can maintain a perimeter game with that goofy-looking shot (I could be wrong), and he'll need to limit turnovers.

I'm biased, but I think the addition of Millsap, along with the maturity of young players like Gary Harris, Jamaal Murray, and Nikola Jokic (who was quietly one of the best players in the NBA last year) makes Denver a pretty dangerous team.

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Socnorb11
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Re: 2017 NBA Offseason

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Haha!

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