OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: SEPTEMBER 2024

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kjironman1 said:
I think they will make the playoffs this year? They should add 10-15 wins at least?
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they might make the play-in...but the west is pretty loaded. CP3 and Barnes might help quite a bit, but CP3 can't stay healthy, and he's 39. Those two additions signal that the Spurs might not tank again, at least not till near the trade deadline
 
wizenheimer said:
they might make the play-in...but the west is pretty loaded. CP3 and Barnes might help quite a bit, but CP3 can't stay healthy, and he's 39. Those two additions signal that the Spurs might not tank again, at least not till near the trade deadline
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Seriously I don’t see them tanking. They will improve and they will make the playoffs is my bet.
 
kjironman1 said:
Seriously I don’t see them tanking. They will improve and they will make the playoffs is my bet.
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the threshold for the west playoffs last season was 47 wins. I don't see them going from 22 wins to 45-47 wins
 
Charcoal Filtered said:
The difference between getting a top 3 pick by having the worst record and that of one 6th or 7th is not that big. To get a top pick, you have to get lucky. Wished we could just tank and it be determined solely by record. It is not and we should not act like losing will guarantee a high pick.
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I wonder how much the value of the Spurs went up the moment they won the Wemby lotto... billions? In a season with a LeBron/Shaq/Duncan/Wemby in the following draft, teams would make an even more blatant mockery of the sport then we currently see to insure their nightly drubbings. Isn't the whole point of the lottery to prevent franchises from overtly tanking?

The difference between winning the lotto by having the worst record and that of the 7th worst is 14% vs 6.9%. I'd consider twice as good of chances big. Of course you're correct that losing the most doesn't guarantee a high pick, but it helps.

I suspect that if the Blazers "tank" this year it will be similar to how they've done it in the recent past. Play their top players a lot at the begging of the year but still lose a lot. Play hard but continue to suck. Then pull the plug on vets as the losses mount and the season winds down but give Shaedon and Scoot every opportunity throughout. Those two are only going to be more physically impressive but both need to learn how to play. Any chances of this not being a tank year hinges on them leveling up.

STOMP
 
Phatguysrule said:
That's kind of the point though. You're going to get injuries. You're just going to lose guys.

You need enough talent to overcome that if you want to actually be competitive.
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So true. Even though Wes was hurt, we should’ve won more than one playoff game. Our 2 All Stars were healthy.
 
BIG Q said:
I agree with Minny management completely. Moving KAT gave the keys to Ant. Adding Randle to the mix along with Naz and Gobert is a smart move. Not sure if Dillingham is gonna be much of a factor running the show, but then Ant will be dominating the ball so having a speedy guard to help him could be a brilliant add.
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How come Ant has the keys playing with All Star Randle but does not have the keys playing with All Star KAT?
 
I can't wait to see how well Thibodeau puts up with KAT. Really doesn't feel like a great personality match
 
KingSpeed said:
How come Ant has the keys playing with All Star Randle but does not have the keys playing with All Star KAT?
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Because all-star KAT was a #1 overall (like Ant), and was there first. It was KAT's team before Ant was drafted, and he hasn't really done anything to necessarily justify him taking a backseat. Randle may be an all-star, but the pecking order with him coming in will be unquestionable.
 
wizenheimer said:
the threshold for the west playoffs last season was 47 wins. I don't see them going from 22 wins to 45-47 wins
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I do. They threw away 15 games at least last year. I also feel that threshold will be around 44 games this year but it certainly could be higher again beings more teams might be trying to lose again.
 
This is a salary dump. Minnesota wanted out of his massive contract. Was that smart? I guess you can argue it was. But NY is the one that got better. They filled a hole that desperately needed filling.
 
kjironman1 said:
I was at the game Wes went down and a couple more after. Aldridge quit as soon as Wes wasn’t there lighting a fire under everyone’s ass to play tough.
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That's how I remember it as well. And, while I love Wes for that, we need more talent to be more resilient. And the right talent.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
Because all-star KAT was a #1 overall (like Ant), and was there first. It was KAT's team before Ant was drafted, and he hasn't really done anything to necessarily justify him taking a backseat. Randle may be an all-star, but the pecking order with him coming in will be unquestionable.
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But why? Randle has been All NBA. Meanwhile, Ant wasn’t even top 40 in PER last year.
 
Pinwheel1 said:
This is a salary dump. Minnesota wanted out of his massive contract. Was that smart? I guess you can argue it was. But NY is the one that got better. They filled a hole that desperately needed filling.
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Gonna be fun to be a Knicks fan this year.
 
KingSpeed said:
How come Ant has the keys playing with All Star Randle but does not have the keys playing with All Star KAT?
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This is not difficult. Because KAT has longevity with the Minny organization. He WAS the franchise player, UNTIL Ant exploded this past season as they were hoping to. KAT's ego is too big to play second fiddle to Ant in Minny. But, Kat is moved to NYK, gets to be the man there with a loaded starting roster. Randle moving to a new team, in this case Minny, knows they are giving the keys to Ant and he is second fiddle. I can go on but it is pretty in ones face what is at play. And for good reason. The NBA wants to feature Ant, Randle, not so much.
 
KingSpeed said:
But why? Randle has been All NBA. Meanwhile, Ant wasn’t even top 40 in PER last year.
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Everyone see's the ascension of Ant in Minny. Star's like KAT do not want to play second fiddle in the city they were drafted in to a young up and comer. Minny is smart to nip an inevitable power struggle in the bud. They got a fair deal for KAT. Ant, in my opinion will be a bigger star than KAT in the long run. Will they translate into titles? We shall see. But that is the bet Minny is making. I am pretty sure that Minny management spoke with Randle prior to consummating the trade to assure he was good with playing second fiddle to Ant, because that is exactly what he will be doing. Ant will be a ball dominating two guard. Just the facts. Randle is still good at what he does, but Ant is a game changer.
 
BIG Q said:
This is not difficult. Because KAT has longevity with the Minny organization. He WAS the franchise player, UNTIL Ant exploded this past season as they were hoping to. KAT's ego is too big to play second fiddle to Ant in Minny. But, Kat is moved to NYK, gets to be the man there with a loaded starting roster. Randle moving to a new team, in this case Minny, knows they are giving the keys to Ant and he is second fiddle. I can go on but it is pretty in ones face what is at play. And for good reason. The NBA wants to feature Ant, Randle, not so much.
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The Knicks are Brunson’s team. Kat won’t be The Man.
 
BIG Q said:
Everyone see's the ascension of Ant in Minny. Star's like KAT do not want to play second fiddle in the city they were drafted in to a young up and comer. Minny is smart to nip an inevitable power struggle in the bud. They got a fair deal for KAT. Ant, in my opinion will be a bigger star than KAT in the long run. Will they translate into titles? We shall see. But that is the bet Minny is making. I am pretty sure that Minny management spoke with Randle prior to consummating the trade to assure he was good with playing second fiddle to Ant, because that is exactly what he will be doing. Ant will be a ball dominating two guard. Just the facts. Randle is still good at what he does, but Ant is a game changer.
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If Ant is game changer, how come he wasn’t even in Top 40 in PER? PER isn’t everything but you need to be Top 20 to even being considered as a star.

Did KAT and Ant not get along? They play different positions. Why would KAT not want talented teammates at the other positions?
 
All offseason long, about 5 times rumors emerged that Ainge had several offers for some Jazz star (teams were named), but was negotiating for more. Then silence, as reporters forgot that Ainge's hardball wasn't working. Then 2-3 weeks later, again. Each time, reporters covered the repeating cycle with a self-important enthusiastic article, as if this were the first time this summer.

Now the Utah GM says, "When those opportunities come up, we’re ready for it. There weren’t any."

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2024/09/27/what-happened-big-game-hunting/

No reporter piped up, "So you were lying?"
 
BIG Q said:
Everyone see's the ascension of Ant in Minny. Star's like KAT do not want to play second fiddle in the city they were drafted in to a young up and comer. Minny is smart to nip an inevitable power struggle in the bud. They got a fair deal for KAT. Ant, in my opinion will be a bigger star than KAT in the long run. Will they translate into titles? We shall see. But that is the bet Minny is making. I am pretty sure that Minny management spoke with Randle prior to consummating the trade to assure he was good with playing second fiddle to Ant, because that is exactly what he will be doing. Ant will be a ball dominating two guard. Just the facts. Randle is still good at what he does, but Ant is a game changer.
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Sounds familiar…. (Aldridge/Dame)
 
BIG Q said:
I am pretty sure that Minny management spoke with Randle prior to consummating the trade to assure he was good with playing second fiddle to Ant, because that is exactly what he will be doing. Ant will be a ball dominating two guard. Just the facts. Randle is still good at what he does, but Ant is a game changer.
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We will find out eventually, but it seemed to me that they kept it pretty quiet. Did they really talk to Randle first?
 
The KAT trade happened primarily because of cap reasons. Minny literally had to trade somebody or lose players like the insanely popular Naz Reid. The fact that they couldn't get a better haul than NY offered them tells you all you need to know of KAT's value. Minny will be fine - New York is the one taking a big risk.
 
KingSpeed said:
If Ant is game changer, how come he wasn’t even in Top 40 in PER? PER isn’t everything but you need to be Top 20 to even being considered as a star.
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holy shit!....you're really working OT trying to convince everybody what they saw from Edwards last season, especially in the playoffs, wasn't real

* during the regular season, Ant averaged 26-5-5. In the playoffs, he averaged 28-7-7
* during the regular season, his PER was 19.7 and his TS% was .575. In the playoffs, his PER was 22.5 and his TS% was .598
* regular season, his winshare/48 was .130, and his BPM was +3.3. In playoffs those marks were .172 and +6.7

he's been in the playoffs 3 seasons and in each season, his scoring, assists, and efficiency increased in those playoffs. That's rare

he was the unquestioned leader and #1 option on the Wolves last season and he led them to the 4th best record in the NBA, only one win behind 2nd best record, and he led his team to the conference finals

and he did all that when he was 22, in his 4th season, and still on his rookie contract. That's a hell of a lot better resume than "wasn’t even in Top 40 in PER"
 
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kjironman1 said:
I think they will make the playoffs this year? They should add 10-15 wins at least?
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I CAN tell you that whatever the ally-00p record is…..they will shatter it by allstar break. CP3 > Wembanyama is going to be fun to watch. DVR already set for everyone of their games.
 
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