2019 NBA off-season

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BottenFieldofDreams
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2019 NBA off-season

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

I'm bummed for Bol Bol and his family. His dad was a good dude, and a goat herder in Sudan, for crying out loud. I liked the nostalgia and story. I hope he pops for Denver.

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33anda3rd
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by 33anda3rd »

ATL just went from the #24-28 range on my LeaugePass preferences to #8-12. They took two guys in Hunter and Reddish who are 6'7"-6'8" and have 7-foot wingspans to put with Collins to switch around a bunch on D and keep Trae from getting too overexposed defensively on good wings. Add Collins and Huerter to that mix and they're really on to a good young core of guys.

I love Coby White for Chicago and can't wait to see him. They got the 2nd best PG in the draft after Ja. I like that he's aggressive, fast, pushes things on O. He's got that dog in him, and I like it.

PHO was laughably awful yesterday. They gave TJ Warren and a draft pick to Indy because all their high picks are at the point where they need to start getting paid, even though the team is still awful. So they take TJ, a very good player who gets buckets and shot a bit over 40% from 3P last year and plays D and could be in a contending team's 7-man rotation, and give him away then draft Cam Johnson with the 11 even though Cam Johnson is projected way lower and even though Cam Johnson's best possible outcome is....drumroll....a TJ Warren type who shoots 40% from 3P and plays some D.

Why did the Pels in a very short time exercise Okafor's option, draft Zion, then draft Jaxson Hayes, a good player but another center? Who shoots threes on this team? Not Jrue, Lonzo, Ingram, Zion, Hayes, Okafor and Josh Hart is a bench guy. There was shooting, they needed shooting, they took a center. I don't like that pick for them. I do like Alexander-Walker later in the draft, but he's not much more than a 3-and-D guy who doesn't yet have an NBA three.

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thrill
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by thrill »

If all of ATL's talent hits, they're going to be ridiculously fun.
33anda3rd wrote:I love Coby White for Chicago and can't wait to see him. They got the 2nd best PG in the draft after Ja. I like that he's aggressive, fast, pushes things on O. He's got that dog in him, and I like it.
I just hope Boylen changes his offense to suit the athletes he has. That young talent needs to get out and run.

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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by Socnorb11 »

"Nugg Life" as we fans have known it, is officially over. Kroenke gave just paid cash for a draft pick. Actually paying for talent has been unheard of, until now. We've turned a corner.

Denver had the 2nd best record in the west last year with the youngest roster in the NBA. They have two lottery-level players on the roster (MJP and Bol) waiting in the wings. I'm going to be devastated if this doesn't turn into something.

I can't wait to see where all of these guys land in free agency (most of it is predictable, but not all of it).

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

Lillard and Marvin Bagley are trading diss tracks. It's pretty fun.

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33anda3rd
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

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Socnorb11 wrote:Denver had the 2nd best record in the west last year with the youngest roster in the NBA. They have two lottery-level players on the roster (MJP and Bol) waiting in the wings. I'm going to be devastated if this doesn't turn into something.
Just remember: the NBA changes on a moment’s notice. KD was the best player in the NBA and his free agency would hinge the offseason. Then he got hurt and a week later Kawhi was the best player in the league and his free agency will hinge the offseason. A year ago the Celtics wouldn’t trade Jaylen Brown in a deal for Kawhi, everyone thought Boston had the most assets, and now they look like a lottery team. The Lakers dumped Russell because he snitched on Swaggy P for cheating on his girl and Russell became an All-Star who’s getting a max deal, the Lakers suck, and Swaggy P is....somewhere? Philly was 30th in Bill Simmons’s power rankings (it’s Simmons, sure, but still) in November of 2016. LeBron was going to make the Lakers great. The Knicks were going to get KD and Kyrie and maybe win the lotto for Zion. Jimmy Butler was going to bring some edge to MIN. Jimmy Butler did bring some edge to Philly, they probably were better than Toronto, but Kawhi made a shot and now Drake is more insufferable. This league changes really fast, so I’d try not to get my hopes too high and enjoy the ride with MPJ coming on. Bol Bol I don’t know. A 208 pound center with a broken foot in a league that values athletes who fly up and down the floor?

I should add, big winner in the draft: Portland. Getting a guy with Little’s length, strength, and athleticism that late in the draft was a steal. And the Dame/Bagley stuff has been the most fun part of today.

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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by Socnorb11 »

I'm well aware, 33.......... too aware. Trust me.

Most of those teams didn't trust the process though. Teams like Denver, NO, Portland and even Golden State can't rely on landing guys like Durant and Kawhi to get to the top. Those guys....... all of them......... are going to big markets. Golden State had to draft damn near flawlessly, and be patient with their assets. That's where Denver is at right now. They probably could have put together a package for Anthony Davis, but that's just putting all your chips on red. Patience is key, I think. That's where Boston flawed, I believe. They had a good thing going pre-Kyrie. Then they rushed the process, threw Kyrie into the middle of it, and then had to re-calculate to work with/around Kyrie and his ego.

It's just really really hard for a team to have patience and build a winner. That's why GS is so impressive. Toronto too (although I'm not sure they're built for a long run). With teams like New Orleans and Utah coming on in the West, it's going to be brutal. I think that Denver has done everything that they can, in literally the only way that they're able to though. That still doesn't mean that it will work but it's refreshing to see how they've bought into what they have to do, and have committed to doing it.

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33anda3rd
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

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Boston was a game away from the Finals in 2018--I think CLE outscored them by < 10 points in that 7-game series--so I'd disagree that they rushed anything. Philly took The Process as slow as possible, with Simmons sitting a full year, Embiid missing two then getting slowly brought along. They were arguably a Kawhi miracle away from the Finals.

I think the flaw is falling in love with assets. Everyone--especially the east coast wing of the NBA media--needed for us to believe that Boston was great because Boston had assets. But name a NBA mini-dynasty where we said a few years before they popped "Oh, they're gonna be huge, they got all these assets." I can't name one. I don't recall in 2013 when the Dubs snuck to the W Conf Semis in a 47-win season anyone going "Look at these assets! Draymond Green is an asset!" 2013 we were amidst the LeBron in Miami era. Then we were in the Dubs era. Before the LeBron in Miami era we were in the Spurs and Lakers win like 9 out of 12 era. None of those sprung out of asset collection. Smart drafting, sure, but not a team stockpiling draft picks. Each of those teams had superstars, not a collection of B+ or better role players.

I love Denver. I just want Jokic to go ahead and embrace being a Top 15 Player. I want him to do less of that thing where he receives the ball and immediately looks for someone to pass the ball off to. I want him looking for the rim. Smaller guy on him? Own him. Wide open 17-footer? Pop it, there's no reason to wonder "hey, where's Monte Morris right now, maybe he's open?" He has to be the man. Somebody on a championship team has to be the man and Jokic is the guy with the tools for it.

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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

Post by Socnorb11 »

So in your estimation, what happened to Boston? They were STACKED a year and a half ago. Now, not so much. What went wrong?

It's true that we didn't really see GS coming so much. It's also true that 100% of that team was set up through smart drafting, good coaching, and patience. Same for the San Antonio teams. That's literally the only way for a team outside of NY & LA to build a winner. (Granted Toronto won this year by going all-in on Kyrie, but I'm not sure that's sustainable).

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33anda3rd
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Re: 2019 NBA off-season

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Toronto added a top-3 player and Marc Gasol. The Sixers added Jimmy Buckets and Tobias Harris. The young Bucks matured. The Celtics stood pat, thinking they were there.

Tatum and Brown didn't really take a step forward, Tatum probably was worse. Gordon Hayward, the nicest thing I can say about him is that the John Wall contract means the Gordon Hayward contract is not the worst in the NBA. Lots of money for a 7th man, that Gordon Hayward contract. Rozier got pushed far enough down the pecking order that he lost interest. Robert Williams (averaged over 5 blocks and 10 boards per 36 minutes) was a defensive impact player who frustrated and disrupted every opponent when on the floor, yet he barely played behind more "stable" veterans like Baynes and Theis.

And then people who fed this whole thing a year back ended up looking really foolish:
Boston wasn't really that stacked. Who was their 2nd best player going into this year? Horford? Tatum? That's not stacked. Marcus Smart isn't good offensively. Kyrie just isn't Special-with-a-capital-S. Horford as your #2 guy is just the Atlanta team from a few years back with him and Millsap: meh. Everybody, and I'm guilty of this, was under this illusion that Boston's huge collection of assets--young guys and draft picks--meant they were there.

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