Official 2018 NBA Offseason Thread: free agency starts 7/1 - Summer League action is here!
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I think Sexton,Osman,Zizic and Preston can develop together. Some Cavs fans think Marcus Lee should be in the mix.All of them still needs some work though. Thank goodness,this team isn't a complete train wreck like last time.
Atlanta will get the pick.It came off that Kyle Korver trade.
yea gotta tank tho, can't be a 12th seed and surrender that pick to atl, giving them two top 10 picks
i like what I've seen from sexton so far, Cedi got much praise from me over the season, i actually liked when he got that starting pt.....ZiZic gets easy buckets which if he can improve with his speed and quickness that could be huge going forward....
Ty Lue wanted to coach a team where he could develop them, well here you go bro
Stephen Curry says Warriors aren't 'ruining the NBA,' tells LeBron James 'you’ve still got to beat us'
Curry doesn’t think the Warriors are ‘ruining the NBA’
The recent charge against the Warriors is that they are “ruining the NBA.” Having won three of the last four NBA championships, the Warriors went out and got Cousins, coming off a torn Achilles, on a cheap deal. They now have a starting lineup that features five All Stars.
But Curry, 30, vehemently disagrees with the “ruining the NBA” sentiment.
So everybody says how we’re ruining the NBA – I love that phrasing; it’s the dumbest phrase ever. We are always trying to find a way to get better. If we were just happy with winning a championship and staying stagnant, we wouldn’t be doing ourselves justice. Obviously with KD (Kevin Durant signing in 2016), with DeMarcus this summer, with the bench guys that we’ve been able to sign, everybody is trying to get better and we just happen to be the ones who set the pace and set the narrative around how you need to structure your team to beat us.
The Warriors are seemingly in great position to win again with a stacked lineup, but as Curry acknowledged, not trying to improve would be unwise and just wouldn’t make any sense in any context, regardless of how good the team was the previous year.
Curry doesn’t seem too worried about LeBron James
While the Cousins signing was a shocking one, it certainly wasn’t the biggest one. That belongs to James, who is leaving the Eastern Conference for the first time by joining the Lakers.
The Lakers are still very much a work in progress, with a bevy of short-term dealsbeing made to players such as JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo. But with James in the mix alongside some young talent, Los Angeles will be vastly improved. Still, Curry isn’t all too concerned about sharing a conference — and state — with the four-time MVP.
I don’t know what they’re going to be as a team, because obviously it’s brand new and they don’t have their identity. But at the end of the day they’ll come together with LeBron leading the charge… It’s going to be fun for fans, playing (more) in the regular season and who knows in the playoffs. So the West obviously got stronger with LeBron but you’ve still got to beat us.
Curry doesn’t think the Warriors are ‘ruining the NBA’
The recent charge against the Warriors is that they are “ruining the NBA.” Having won three of the last four NBA championships, the Warriors went out and got Cousins, coming off a torn Achilles, on a cheap deal. They now have a starting lineup that features five All Stars.
But Curry, 30, vehemently disagrees with the “ruining the NBA” sentiment.
So everybody says how we’re ruining the NBA – I love that phrasing; it’s the dumbest phrase ever. We are always trying to find a way to get better. If we were just happy with winning a championship and staying stagnant, we wouldn’t be doing ourselves justice. Obviously with KD (Kevin Durant signing in 2016), with DeMarcus this summer, with the bench guys that we’ve been able to sign, everybody is trying to get better and we just happen to be the ones who set the pace and set the narrative around how you need to structure your team to beat us.
The Warriors are seemingly in great position to win again with a stacked lineup, but as Curry acknowledged, not trying to improve would be unwise and just wouldn’t make any sense in any context, regardless of how good the team was the previous year.
Curry doesn’t seem too worried about LeBron James
While the Cousins signing was a shocking one, it certainly wasn’t the biggest one. That belongs to James, who is leaving the Eastern Conference for the first time by joining the Lakers.
The Lakers are still very much a work in progress, with a bevy of short-term dealsbeing made to players such as JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo. But with James in the mix alongside some young talent, Los Angeles will be vastly improved. Still, Curry isn’t all too concerned about sharing a conference — and state — with the four-time MVP.
I don’t know what they’re going to be as a team, because obviously it’s brand new and they don’t have their identity. But at the end of the day they’ll come together with LeBron leading the charge… It’s going to be fun for fans, playing (more) in the regular season and who knows in the playoffs. So the West obviously got stronger with LeBron but you’ve still got to beat us.
The NBA needs to put an end to this narrative....Stephen Curry says Warriors aren't 'ruining the NBA,' tells LeBron James 'you’ve still got to beat us'
Curry doesn’t think the Warriors are ‘ruining the NBA’
The recent charge against the Warriors is that they are “ruining the NBA.” Having won three of the last four NBA championships, the Warriors went out and got Cousins, coming off a torn Achilles, on a cheap deal. They now have a starting lineup that features five All Stars.
But Curry, 30, vehemently disagrees with the “ruining the NBA” sentiment.
So everybody says how we’re ruining the NBA – I love that phrasing; it’s the dumbest phrase ever. We are always trying to find a way to get better. If we were just happy with winning a championship and staying stagnant, we wouldn’t be doing ourselves justice. Obviously with KD (Kevin Durant signing in 2016), with DeMarcus this summer, with the bench guys that we’ve been able to sign, everybody is trying to get better and we just happen to be the ones who set the pace and set the narrative around how you need to structure your team to beat us.
The Warriors are seemingly in great position to win again with a stacked lineup, but as Curry acknowledged, not trying to improve would be unwise and just wouldn’t make any sense in any context, regardless of how good the team was the previous year.
Curry doesn’t seem too worried about LeBron James
While the Cousins signing was a shocking one, it certainly wasn’t the biggest one. That belongs to James, who is leaving the Eastern Conference for the first time by joining the Lakers.
The Lakers are still very much a work in progress, with a bevy of short-term dealsbeing made to players such as JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Rajon Rondo. But with James in the mix alongside some young talent, Los Angeles will be vastly improved. Still, Curry isn’t all too concerned about sharing a conference — and state — with the four-time MVP.
I don’t know what they’re going to be as a team, because obviously it’s brand new and they don’t have their identity. But at the end of the day they’ll come together with LeBron leading the charge… It’s going to be fun for fans, playing (more) in the regular season and who knows in the playoffs. So the West obviously got stronger with LeBron but you’ve still got to beat us.
What narrative is that?
The Warriors are ruining the NBA...its the furthest thing from the truth...
The NBA isnt pushing that narrative tho. Im not sure how they can stop it.
True...they probably cant and wont because it keeps people talking about the NBA...
Rob Pelinka: We wanted to surround LeBron James with versatile defenders
4:45 PM ET
Silver: Warriors' dominance not bad for league
While he doesn't think the Warriors' dominance is bad for the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league can create "a better system" for improving the current competitive landscape.
"If your goal is to win a championship, you've got to look at the way the champs are assembled and how you can give yourself the best chance to take them down," Pelinka said. "It is certainly part of the equation. ... Earvin [Johnson] and I had a conversation and LeBron echoed this sentiment -- I think to try to play the Warriors at their own game is a trap. No one is going to beat them at their own game, so that is why we wanted to add these elements of defense and toughness and depth and try to look at areas where we will have an advantage."
After James committed to the Lakers early in free agency, they quickly added the likes of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee while re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They seemed to load up on versatile playmakers who are tenacious defenders and add playoff experience to a young, growing core that includes Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.
The way the Lakers' management envisions it, coach Luke Walton has several versatile, multidimensional pieces that can defend, play multiple positions and create opportunities for others.
"We did not want to go out and just sign specialists, 'Oh this guy can just shoot,'" Pelinka said. "We wanted tough two-way players that can defend with a level of toughness and also make shots. Listen, the road to the NBA championship has to go through the team that won last year, and we all know the guys up north have a special group. But one of the ways to attack what they have is with defensive toughness. I think we saw that in the Houston series with some of the players that Houston has.
"And we identified with, if you look at KCP was a guy that is a tough defender and shooter, Josh Hart has proven to be a pitbull of a defender and can make shots, Rondo historically has been a tenacious, tough guy, steals. We wanted that mentality and we identified it. Lance Stephenson, he will agitate you, he will get under you, he will cause you to get out of your game and can play in the open court and score."
Pelinka also made it clear that the four starting spots around James will be open to competition. That means Rondo and Ball will be competing for the starting point guard spot.
"We feel like we are going to have an open training camp in terms of competing and figuring out what is that best five to win and go deep into the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to win a championship," Pelinka said. "Obviously LeBron James is going to be a starter but the other four spots is going to be an open training camp decision ... we are going to play fast ... you can imagine lineups on the court where everyone is 6-7, 6-8 or above. Brandon Ingram, LeBron is a positionless player. ... It is really exciting to think about the length and speed and the way we can play."
Ball has been trying to find ways to treat a torn meniscus in his left knee. While the Lakers would not comment on Ball's injury, Pelinka did say that the expectation is Ball will be ready for the start of the season.
"I'll just say I know he's evaluating with his management team a number of things," Pelinka said. "The good news is all the things they're evaluating as his options have him 100 percent ready for training camp. ... We're just excited to know he's going to be 100% available from training camp."
yea ok...
4:45 PM ET
Silver: Warriors' dominance not bad for league
While he doesn't think the Warriors' dominance is bad for the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league can create "a better system" for improving the current competitive landscape.
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Magic waited 1 hour in car before courting LeBron
Magic Johnson had to wait an hour in his car outside LeBron James' California home on June 30 after arriving early for their meeting when free agency started that evening. Johnson recounted details of the meeting on Spectrum SportsNet.
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Stephenson: It's 'actually funny' to join LeBron
After years of antagonizing him on the court, Lance Stephenson says it's "actually funny" he and LeBron James are now teammates on the Lakers.
"If your goal is to win a championship, you've got to look at the way the champs are assembled and how you can give yourself the best chance to take them down," Pelinka said. "It is certainly part of the equation. ... Earvin [Johnson] and I had a conversation and LeBron echoed this sentiment -- I think to try to play the Warriors at their own game is a trap. No one is going to beat them at their own game, so that is why we wanted to add these elements of defense and toughness and depth and try to look at areas where we will have an advantage."
After James committed to the Lakers early in free agency, they quickly added the likes of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee while re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They seemed to load up on versatile playmakers who are tenacious defenders and add playoff experience to a young, growing core that includes Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.
The way the Lakers' management envisions it, coach Luke Walton has several versatile, multidimensional pieces that can defend, play multiple positions and create opportunities for others.
"We did not want to go out and just sign specialists, 'Oh this guy can just shoot,'" Pelinka said. "We wanted tough two-way players that can defend with a level of toughness and also make shots. Listen, the road to the NBA championship has to go through the team that won last year, and we all know the guys up north have a special group. But one of the ways to attack what they have is with defensive toughness. I think we saw that in the Houston series with some of the players that Houston has.
"And we identified with, if you look at KCP was a guy that is a tough defender and shooter, Josh Hart has proven to be a pitbull of a defender and can make shots, Rondo historically has been a tenacious, tough guy, steals. We wanted that mentality and we identified it. Lance Stephenson, he will agitate you, he will get under you, he will cause you to get out of your game and can play in the open court and score."
Pelinka also made it clear that the four starting spots around James will be open to competition. That means Rondo and Ball will be competing for the starting point guard spot.
"We feel like we are going to have an open training camp in terms of competing and figuring out what is that best five to win and go deep into the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to win a championship," Pelinka said. "Obviously LeBron James is going to be a starter but the other four spots is going to be an open training camp decision ... we are going to play fast ... you can imagine lineups on the court where everyone is 6-7, 6-8 or above. Brandon Ingram, LeBron is a positionless player. ... It is really exciting to think about the length and speed and the way we can play."
Ball has been trying to find ways to treat a torn meniscus in his left knee. While the Lakers would not comment on Ball's injury, Pelinka did say that the expectation is Ball will be ready for the start of the season.
"I'll just say I know he's evaluating with his management team a number of things," Pelinka said. "The good news is all the things they're evaluating as his options have him 100 percent ready for training camp. ... We're just excited to know he's going to be 100% available from training camp."
yea ok...
If,Cedi can work on his ball handling and free throwing,he'll be fine.
Sexton plays angry and I like that but needs work on his three-point shots.
I agree about Zizic,he struggles against athletic players.I hope a certain coach plays him more often.
What type of offense you think the Cavs will have since LeBron ain't here. Hopefully,the three-point shots goes down a little.
i think the will have a run and gun type.....thats just off of the things lue said when he first got there and some of the times he'd be wanting Lebron & Kyrie to push.
i think that scheme works will for the vets thats still there......Love, Korver and mainly JR is a energy player(I'm my mind) ....almost recklessness works for him all to well....
thats why at times is bothered me there would be times when dude didn't touch the ball for 5-7 mins or Korver would finish the game with 4 attempts
so i think u can look forward to pace and much transition attempts, this about to be a building period...
it might take a while two years of top five picks should be the goal
you forget about Iggy injury when the Warriors was clearly better the Rockets
but CP3 always gets hurt; and Rockets are worst than the were last year...My boy knows him personally; real good friends with his parents; he would check his high school games out from time to time; invited me to a couple but I didnt go; he was texting me on draft like saying hes a bulls fan now lol....
Magic workin, yall sleepin.
No question about that man.
http://www.tmz.com/2018/07/02/anthony-davis-buys-california-mansion-7-5-million/
https://www.12up.com/posts/6106811-...-private-basketball-court-in-los-angeles-area
https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orl...cle_18319132-7df9-11e8-a64d-afa67ea714a6.html
https://snipdaily.com/2018/07/look-anthony-davis-buys-massive-7-5-million-mansion-in-california/
Parity promoters take note: NBA still at its best when dominant teams emerge
Warriors' signing of DeMarcus Cousins a move others could have made, but didn't
David Aldridge TNT Analyst
@daldridgetntArchive
Jul 9, 2018 11:38 AM ET
Golden State has plenty of star power to fill the seats around Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
* * *
In 1988, Mike Tyson fought Michael Spinks for the heavyweight championship of the world.
At that time, Tyson was 34-0, at the peak of his destructive, malevolent powers. He’d just annihilated his previous two opponents, former champ Larry Holmes (fourth-round knockout, and the only time Holmes was KOed in his celebrated career) and Tony Tubbs (TKO, second round). At that point in his career, Tyson had knocked out or TKOed 30 of his 34 opponents. He was brutal, unsentimental and foreboding when it came to his business. The fear in the eyes of his opponents as they climbed into the ring with him was palpable.
Tyson’s violent past -- his time spent robbing and assaulting people in Brooklyn until he fell under the tutelage of the late trainer Cus D’Amato -- seemed to be well-suited for his profession.
“My mission,” Tyson said in his post-fight interview with Larry Merchant after dispatching Tubbs, “is to go and destroy, and not to let anything get involved. You get punched, you get hurt. I refuse to be hurt, knocked down or knocked out. I can’t lose. I refuse to lose.”
Spinks had plenty of thunder in his gloves, too -- he’d just knocked out Gerry Cooney in the fifth round of his last fight before fighting Tyson. And he was undefeated as well at 31-0. But Spinks had been a light heavyweight before moving up to the heavyweight division; he’d famously put on weight before his fight with Larry Holmes by training with Mackie Shilstone two years prior, eating fruits and wheat, lifting weights and doing sprints instead of the traditional miles-long runs boxers undertook to make weight.
And while Spinks was no choir boy himself growing up in St. Louis -- “I embarrassed my mom a lot,” he told The New York Times in 1982, early in his pro career -- he’d straightened himself out, teaming with his more famous brother, Leon, to win a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Mike Tyson made quick work of Michael Spinks in their 1988 fight.
''I grabbed myself before it was too late,'' he told The Times. ''I asked for the only reality that could help me, and that was a supreme being, the Good Lord. The Good Lord was the only thing that I had to depend on to give me the confidence in myself to accomplish this feat I was challenging. And this challenge was me. I was trying to beat me. In the Bible, it says that the worst enemy you have in the world is yourself.''
These two forces climbed into the ring against one another on June 27, 1988. I was at the Capital Centre in suburban Maryland, which was one of the venues showing the fight on what was then known as “closed circuit” TV. Basically, if you wanted to see the fight live, you had to go to an arena and pay to see it. (There were a handful of cable companies around the country that were showing the fight on what is now the traditional pay-per-view model. One of them was co-owned by the late, great Lakers owner, Jerry Buss. Would you believe much of the country didn’t yet have cable?)
Anyway, I was covering the fight for The Washington Post. Of course, I wasn’t at the fight, which was in Atlantic City; I was there to document the reaction of fans to the fight, however it went.
It went quickly.
Tyson inhaled Spinks in about a minute and a half, sending him to the canvas for a first-round knockdown off a vicious left hand cross followed by a right to the body. Spinks, who’d looked like he’d rather have been anywhere else before the fight began -- “he has a look of concern,” said announcer Bob Sheridan as Spinks walked toward the ring -- popped up at the count of three, got the standard “are you okay?” inquiry from the referee, then waded back into battle, looking, quite reasonably, to duck. Unfortunately, as he lowered his head, Tyson brought an uppercut somewhere from the Catskills, which hit Spinks square in the noggin. Fans -- I am not kidding -- started racing for the exits at Cap Centre before Spinks’ butt hit the canvas.
And not a one of them, as best I can recall, said he or she was disappointed, or angry, at the lack of competition. No one said that it was so unfair that Tyson was so good, and his opponents so intimidated and queasy in the ring with him. No one said they didn’t get their money’s worth in 91 seconds’ worth of action.
No one said Tyson’s obvious dominance over the heavyweight division was bad for boxing.
* * *
Thirty years have passed since that night. But while boxing has since lost much of its luster and significance amongst much of the sporting public -- the occasional Floyd Mayweather event notwithstanding -- the NBA hasn’t. In fact, by almost every metric, the NBA is as popular a sport as it’s ever been, despite the Golden State Warriors clearly being the best team in the league, having won three of the last four NBA titles.
This was not the context in which many around the NBA greeted the news last week that the Warriors were going to sign DeMarcus Cousins, the All-Star free agent center. Cousins cold-called Golden State after not finding any offers to his liking on the first day of the free agent negotiating period. The Warriors were stunned -- “it came out of nowhere,” one member of the organization said -- but they quickly agreed to a one-year deal with Cousins for a little more than $5 million, the taxpayer exception.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated explains how the Warriors landed DeMarcus Cousins.
Players on other teams took the unusual step of publicly decrying the perceived increase in the Warriors’ advantages on the floor by adding Cousins, he of the career 21.5 points and 11 rebounds per game -- no matter that almost no one other than him expects he’ll be back on the floor any time soon to the start of next season.
And some fans, of course, took to social media in a 24/7 howl of angst at how unfair it all was, and didn’t Adam Silver have to do something about this, and that the Warriors had “ruined” basketball, and how no one would watch the NBA next season ... just like they said nobody would watch the NBA this past season.
Television ratings for Finals games were higher during the Jordan years, to be sure, and they were higher the last two years before this year’s 4-0 Golden State sweep. But there was no mass exodus of viewers during what became a fourth straight Warriors-Cavaliers Finals -- this one with almost no drama or memorable moments after the bang-bang block on LeBron James and J.R. Smith’s mental implosion in Game 1. (The sweep also muted, for at least one June, the annual convention of the Tinfoil Society, which sees every Finals as an opportunity to test out their latest ref conspiracy/league-fixing theories. What happened this year, folks? Did the NBA not need to ensure The Finals went seven games by making sure the ball was filled with boron whenever Kevin Durant had the rock?)
But what of “competitive balance,” which the league went to great pains during the last lockout to signal was in peril if the former economic system was not radically fixed? The creation of the “supermax” deal for home grown players, ratcheting up the repeater tax, hard-capping teams that went above the luxury tax apron, limiting sign and trade deals -- all of these tools were supposed to make it impossible for elite teams to hoard great players, and spread difference-making talent around the league.
How’s that working out so far?
We have used significant bandwidth over the years knocking the myth of competitive balance in the NBA out of the sky, but it appears a refresher is in order.
Once again: the NBA, with one brief exception, has never had competitive balance at any point in its 72-year history. Never. The league’s first great player, George Mikan, anchored the league’s first dynasty, the Minneapolis Lakers, which won five of the league’s first eight championships. The NBA has been, and always will be, a league in which the very best players tend to win championships, and continue to do so through the meat of their careers.
Once again: eight franchises -- the Boston Celtics (17 championships), the Lakers (16, in Minnesota and L.A.), the Chicago Bulls (6), the Warriors (6, in Philadelphia and Golden State), the San Antonio Spurs (5), the 76ers (4, in Syracuse and Philadelphia), the Detroit Pistons (3) and Miami Heat (3) -- have won 60 of the 72 titles in the history of the league. I wasn’t a math major in college, but my calculator reports that 60 out of 72 is, roughly, 83.3 percent.
So, to repeat: eight teams have won 83.3 percent of all the championships in the history of the NBA. There are currently 30 teams in the NBA. That leaves 12 more titles for the other 22 franchises over 72 years (I am not including the 17 franchises that folded in the early days of the league, all of which were defunct by 1954).
Parity was at its best in the NBA in the 1970s -- which is also when its popularity was lowest.
Once again: there was only one period in the history of the league that was, relatively, democratic, in the sense that there was no obvious dynasty dominating the game. From 1970-80, eight teams split up the titles: the Milwaukee Bucks (1971), the Lakers ('72 and '80), the New York Knicks ('70 and '73), the Celtics ('74 and '76), the Warriors ('75), the Portland Trail Blazers ('77), the Washington Bullets ('78) and the Seattle SuperSonics ('79).
And that decade was so successful, so beloved by fans, so consumed by viewers that never knew who was going to win a title in a given season ... that the NBA had to put its playoffs and Finals on tape delay to run at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time.
When the NBA had no dynasties ... You. Didn’t. Watch.
(And, before you start making excuses, there were plenty of future Hall of Famers in the game then: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Gervin, Bill Walton, Rick Barry, Walt Frazier, John Havlicek, Pete Maravich, David Thompson, Wes Unseld, Calvin Murphy, Bob Lanier and more.)
Fans say they want parity. What they really want is to be able to watch great teams like the Warriors with familiar household names: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Just as they watched Magic Johnson’s Lakers against Larry Bird’s Celtics, and watched Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and coach Phil Jackson, over and over and over.
Once again, the Warriors stood atop the NBA world following the 2017-18 season.
Some have blamed the Warriors’ hegemony on the players’ union, for not accepting the league’s “smoothing’ proposal in 2016, that would have rolled in the increase in revenues -- mainly driven by the then-new $24 billion national television deal -- gradually, rather than all at once. When the union rejected the smoothing concept, the cap spiked from $70 million in 2015 to $94.1 million in 2016, creating cap room for almost every team in the league, including the Warriors -- who otherwise would never have had the financial wherewithal to sign Durant.
I was not aware Michele Roberts held a machete to Laker management’s neck at or near July 1, 2016, when the Lakers agreed to pay Timofey Mozgov $64 million and Luol Deng $72 million.
The Lakers had the room to sign Durant, like everyone else. But they signed Mozgov and Deng. The Hornets had the room to sign Durant. But they re-signed Nicolas Batum. The Wizards had the room to sign Durant. But they signed Ian Mahinmi and Andrew Nicholson. The Magic had the room to sign Durant. But they signed Bismack Biyombo and D.J. Augustin. (The Magic traded Biyombo to the Hornets yesterday as part of a three-team deal that moved Mozgov to Orlando.)
The Celtics, too, had the room to sign Durant. They signed Al Horford.
How does DeMarcus Cousins' signing affect the power structure out West?
Cue "Sesame Street."
The Celtics weren’t yet a budding powerhouse when they signed Horford. They were a good team on the rise, but nothing that scared people. One could make the case that the Wizards were a more compelling team in the East at the time. But Boston got Horford, and Washington didn’t. It was close as Horford almost signed with the Wizards. But no one cares about close.
This wasn’t, and isn’t about smoothing. It’s about decisions. It’s always about decisions.
NBA owners have proven, consistently over decades, that there is no economic system that can be devised that will check their competitive nature -- or for their okaying really, really bad basketball decisions. And today’s NBA owners, especially the new breed of venture capitalists/hedge fund guys, are even more competitive, willing to be Processed only for so long before they again start spending like there’s no tomorrow.
Consider: six years ago, Oklahoma City was excoriated when it traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets, in large part because Thunder ownership was not willing to go into the luxury tax to keep its team together. Five years later, OKC is the first team in league history that crossed the $300 million mark in salary and projected tax payments for 2019. The tax payment portion will be cut by almost $100 million when the Thunder stretches Carmelo Anthony’s contract, but OKC’s still staring down $60 million in tax payments after getting Paul George to join Russell Westbrook in a long-term commitment.
Thunder GM Sam Presti has not been shy of late in paying top dollar for his stars.
Under the current system, everyone has to spend. But you still have to spend on the right people.
The Rockets have given James Harden two contracts since 2016 that will total $228 million, and just gave Chris Paul a new $160 million max deal. The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns have each made perfectly reasonable decisions to give extensions to their young stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo ($100 millioon in 2016) and Devin Booker ($158 million, this past weekend). The Wizards have paid premium costs to maintain backcourt continuity with their two All-Stars, John Wall ($204 million extension) and Bradley Beal ($128 million). The Indiana Pacers' ownership is famous for avoiding the tax at all costs, but the Pacers took on Victor Oladipo’s $84 million extension when they traded for him and Domantas Sabonis in the Paul George deal last summer.
Whatever you think of Dan Gilbert, he came out of pocket again and again the last four years to keep James surrounded by good players -- much better ones than in his first go-round in Cleveland. Warriors owner Joe Lacob may drive everyone around the league batty with his “light years ahead” bravado, but he’s backing it up with his treasure -- privately funding the $1 billion Chase Center in downtown San Francisco while going deep into the tax to keep his championship roster intact.
And we haven’t really seen what the league’s richest owner, the LA Clippers’ Steve Ballmer, is willing to do in Los Angeles. He presided over the teardown of "Lob City" in order for his team to be a significant player in the 2019 market, but has already spent millions upgrading offices and team facilities -- and paid top dollar to get Jerry West to leave the Warriors and join him as a consultant.
Conversely, the Kings decided not to give DeMarcus Cousins a $200 million extension in 2017, trading him instead to the Pelicans. Which is where we came in.
Cousins said no one offered him anything when free agency started, so he cold called the Dubs, looking for a gig. If so ... what are we arguing about? A guy was unemployed. No one was hiring him. He thought he could still do the work. He called a shop with a spot that he thought could use him. They agreed to hire him. No one else did. The End.
Nobody made Michael Spinks get in that ring with Mike Tyson. He made a decision, one whose central essence has been amplified over the years by one Richard Morgan Fleihr, from Memphis Tennessee. Mr. Fleihr is somewhat famous for his animated take on life.
If you want to be the man, Mr. Fleihr says, you got to beat the man.
Whining about how unfair it was that the man had all the talent on his side was nowhere mentioned.
They definitely won't be jacking up 3s all game now. If they keep Love he can play in the post more and face up. Its really would be in their best interest to move Love for expiring contracts or just trash. They'll gonna lose their draft pick like Mask said and that roster ain't that bad off and you might think. They have bad contracts in TT & JR Smith and neither of them have any value. Maybe stretch TT and move JR next year.
Silver full of shit trying to convince us what the Warriors are doing is anyway ok for the league.Rob Pelinka: We wanted to surround LeBron James with versatile defenders
4:45 PM ET
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Saying that the Los Angeles Lakers didn't want to fall into "the trap" of trying to beat the Golden State Warriors at their own offensively loaded game, general manager Rob Pelinka said the Lakers' goal in free agency was to purposely build a team "very differently than the past ones" surrounding LeBron James.
Silver: Warriors' dominance not bad for league
While he doesn't think the Warriors' dominance is bad for the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league can create "a better system" for improving the current competitive landscape.
Magic waited 1 hour in car before courting LeBron
Magic Johnson had to wait an hour in his car outside LeBron James' California home on June 30 after arriving early for their meeting when free agency started that evening. Johnson recounted details of the meeting on Spectrum SportsNet.In a clear departure from how the Cleveland Cavaliers surrounded James with perimeter shooters, Pelinka explained Wednesday how the Lakers deliberately added versatile positionless defenders equipped with toughness and playoff experience to play around James in an effort to combat the defending champs.
Stephenson: It's 'actually funny' to join LeBron
After years of antagonizing him on the court, Lance Stephenson says it's "actually funny" he and LeBron James are now teammates on the Lakers.
"If your goal is to win a championship, you've got to look at the way the champs are assembled and how you can give yourself the best chance to take them down," Pelinka said. "It is certainly part of the equation. ... Earvin [Johnson] and I had a conversation and LeBron echoed this sentiment -- I think to try to play the Warriors at their own game is a trap. No one is going to beat them at their own game, so that is why we wanted to add these elements of defense and toughness and depth and try to look at areas where we will have an advantage."
After James committed to the Lakers early in free agency, they quickly added the likes of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee while re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They seemed to load up on versatile playmakers who are tenacious defenders and add playoff experience to a young, growing core that includes Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.
The way the Lakers' management envisions it, coach Luke Walton has several versatile, multidimensional pieces that can defend, play multiple positions and create opportunities for others.
"We did not want to go out and just sign specialists, 'Oh this guy can just shoot,'" Pelinka said. "We wanted tough two-way players that can defend with a level of toughness and also make shots. Listen, the road to the NBA championship has to go through the team that won last year, and we all know the guys up north have a special group. But one of the ways to attack what they have is with defensive toughness. I think we saw that in the Houston series with some of the players that Houston has.
"And we identified with, if you look at KCP was a guy that is a tough defender and shooter, Josh Hart has proven to be a pitbull of a defender and can make shots, Rondo historically has been a tenacious, tough guy, steals. We wanted that mentality and we identified it. Lance Stephenson, he will agitate you, he will get under you, he will cause you to get out of your game and can play in the open court and score."
Pelinka also made it clear that the four starting spots around James will be open to competition. That means Rondo and Ball will be competing for the starting point guard spot.
"We feel like we are going to have an open training camp in terms of competing and figuring out what is that best five to win and go deep into the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to win a championship," Pelinka said. "Obviously LeBron James is going to be a starter but the other four spots is going to be an open training camp decision ... we are going to play fast ... you can imagine lineups on the court where everyone is 6-7, 6-8 or above. Brandon Ingram, LeBron is a positionless player. ... It is really exciting to think about the length and speed and the way we can play."
Ball has been trying to find ways to treat a torn meniscus in his left knee. While the Lakers would not comment on Ball's injury, Pelinka did say that the expectation is Ball will be ready for the start of the season.
"I'll just say I know he's evaluating with his management team a number of things," Pelinka said. "The good news is all the things they're evaluating as his options have him 100 percent ready for training camp. ... We're just excited to know he's going to be 100% available from training camp."
I just posted an article with you in mind bro, lol; read that shit and tell me what you think....Silver full of shit trying to convince us what the Warriors are doing is anyway ok for the league.
Great article. The thing that gets me and I've said this before is that it just seems as though NBA players don't want to compete anymore. It's not the first time we've seen dominance in the league before. But it's just how it's being gone about that strikes me. Jordan would never want to joint the Pistons after getting beat twice. Ewing, no way he'd want to join Mike. Bird playing with Erving......Nah. Magic on the Celtics, nope. Players don't want to build to win. They wanna run to an already established team instead of building. I hate that shit. Some fans are bitches too making excuses for this punk pussy smooth shit. I hate them too. I hate their mothers. Why watch this season? Who the fuck wants to tune into see Portland vs Orlando on a Wednesday night? Da fuck for? Only 4 out of 30 teams have a realistic chance of winning the title. Compare that to the NFL, which I would say half of the league has a legitimate shot at a title and you can see one of the reason's why people tune in so much.
I agree and disagree lol. I think you're right about MJ bird magic but don't forget magic and bird played with like 10 hall of famers. And back then the Lakers and Celtics had some very fortunate situations. But who's to say Reggie Miller wouldn't play with the Knicks and replace John Starks bitch ass? Who's to say that fat lever or others wouldn't team up to stop magic or bird? Players never had that opportunity so I can't say for sure. Now with the NFL, ratings have nothing to do with parity. It's the number of games and gambling! Imagine if there was only a 30 game NBA schedule; ratings would be thru the roof!!!Great article. The thing that gets me and I've said this before is that it just seems as though NBA players don't want to compete anymore. It's not the first time we've seen dominance in the league before. But it's just how it's being gone about that strikes me. Jordan would never want to joint the Pistons after getting beat twice. Ewing, no way he'd want to join Mike. Bird playing with Erving......Nah. Magic on the Celtics, nope. Players don't want to build to win. They wanna run to an already established team instead of building. I hate that shit. Some fans are bitches too making excuses for this punk pussy smooth shit. I hate them too. I hate their mothers. Why watch this season? Who the fuck wants to tune into see Portland vs Orlando on a Wednesday night? Da fuck for? Only 4 out of 30 teams have a realistic chance of winning the title. Compare that to the NFL, which I would say half of the league has a legitimate shot at a title and you can see one of the reason's why people tune in so much.
Ok Homer
Ok Homer
I agree with you on the gambling and length of season in the NFL part but no question parity shouldn't be overlooked. As for your other point I agree and disagree with you.
Yes, if given the opportunity more players may want to join up to stop Magic, Bird and Jordan but there was also something about being competitive and beating these guys as well. Part of the issue is teams not developing their draft picks or worst yet......trading off picks (AKA the Nets) for instant gratification that destroys the future for the next 5-7 years. Teams need to stop trading these 1st round picks with this swing and miss mentality. Sure many top picks don't work out but you have to develop people in your system. There's a lot wrong with the game besides players being faggots and dickriding for a ring. Coaches are fired too quickly. Turnover rate in the NBA is ridiculous. Coaches who shouldn't be are recycled too much. Guys who deserve a chance at coaching don't get a chance. Too many coaches as well. GM's who don't know what the fuck they are doing. 
True true true........I agree with you on the gambling and length of season in the NFL part but no question parity shouldn't be overlooked. As for your other point I agree and disagree with you.
Report: Hawks offered No. 3 pick, Kent Bazemore to Cavaliers on draft night
By Dan FeldmanJul 12, 2018, 11:15 AM EDT
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
The Hawks traded the No. 3 pick (Luka Doncic) to the Mavericks for the No. 5 pick (Trae Young) and a future first-round pick.
But, Atlanta apparently also explored using the No. 3 pick to unload Kent Bazemore(two years, $37,359,549 remaining).
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
A source said the Cavs were offered on draft night the chance to trade up to No. 3 with the Hawks in a deal that would’ve sent Kent Bazemore to Cleveland.
Presumably, the Cavaliers would have sent the No. 8 pick – which they used on Collin Sexton – to Atlanta.
But, with or without the No. 8 pick, that trade wouldn’t have satisfied salary-cap rules. Cleveland would have had to send out matching salary.
So, what else was included? Did the Hawks want Kevin Love? Would they have taken George Hill or J.R. Smith, whose 2019-20 salaries – unlike Bazemore’s – are only partially guaranteed?
We obviously don’t know the entire offer, which opens even more questions about what Atlanta wanted. The Hawks have the Cavaliers’ top-10-protected 2019 first-round pick. Did removing those protections factor into the trade offer?
The Hawks seemed set on Young, and moving down to No. 5 ensured they got him. That wouldn’t have been the case at No. 8 with the Magic (No. 6) and Bulls (No. 7) picking in between. So, not only is the exact offer unclear, so are potential contingencies it was based on. Perhaps, Atlanta would have picked Doncic then executed the deal only if Young fell to No. 8.
Could Cleveland have gotten Doncic for taking on the overpaid, but still helpful, Bazemore? Maybe – but that’s a significant oversimplification.
By Dan FeldmanJul 12, 2018, 11:15 AM EDT
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
The Hawks traded the No. 3 pick (Luka Doncic) to the Mavericks for the No. 5 pick (Trae Young) and a future first-round pick.
But, Atlanta apparently also explored using the No. 3 pick to unload Kent Bazemore(two years, $37,359,549 remaining).
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
A source said the Cavs were offered on draft night the chance to trade up to No. 3 with the Hawks in a deal that would’ve sent Kent Bazemore to Cleveland.
Presumably, the Cavaliers would have sent the No. 8 pick – which they used on Collin Sexton – to Atlanta.
But, with or without the No. 8 pick, that trade wouldn’t have satisfied salary-cap rules. Cleveland would have had to send out matching salary.
So, what else was included? Did the Hawks want Kevin Love? Would they have taken George Hill or J.R. Smith, whose 2019-20 salaries – unlike Bazemore’s – are only partially guaranteed?
We obviously don’t know the entire offer, which opens even more questions about what Atlanta wanted. The Hawks have the Cavaliers’ top-10-protected 2019 first-round pick. Did removing those protections factor into the trade offer?
The Hawks seemed set on Young, and moving down to No. 5 ensured they got him. That wouldn’t have been the case at No. 8 with the Magic (No. 6) and Bulls (No. 7) picking in between. So, not only is the exact offer unclear, so are potential contingencies it was based on. Perhaps, Atlanta would have picked Doncic then executed the deal only if Young fell to No. 8.
Could Cleveland have gotten Doncic for taking on the overpaid, but still helpful, Bazemore? Maybe – but that’s a significant oversimplification.
Report: Nets, Thunder talking Anthony trade
July 11, 2018
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets have discussed a trade centered around Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin, according to a report from Sporting News.
The Nets are looking to acquire draft picks from the Thunder and unload Lin’s contract. Lin is slated to make $12.5 million next season and will be a unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Brooklyn would buy out Anthony’s contract if they make the deal, allowing the veteran scorer to become a free agent.
Anthony met with the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat in recent days. The Rockets are determined to sign Anthony, as Chris Paul has been advocating management to sign his close pal.
With the Thunder this past season, Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points per game during the regular season and shot only 40.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.
If OKC can’t trade Anthony, they will either buy him out or stretch his contract.
July 11, 2018
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets have discussed a trade centered around Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin, according to a report from Sporting News.
The Nets are looking to acquire draft picks from the Thunder and unload Lin’s contract. Lin is slated to make $12.5 million next season and will be a unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Brooklyn would buy out Anthony’s contract if they make the deal, allowing the veteran scorer to become a free agent.
Anthony met with the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat in recent days. The Rockets are determined to sign Anthony, as Chris Paul has been advocating management to sign his close pal.
With the Thunder this past season, Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points per game during the regular season and shot only 40.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.
If OKC can’t trade Anthony, they will either buy him out or stretch his contract.
Luke Walton May Not Last with the Lakers
LeBron James is a blessing and a curse for everyone who coaches him, and that now includes Luke Walton. How long can he last? And if a change is made, who will replace him?
As someone whose lifelong ambience is the sound of a basketball colliding with hardwood, Luke Walton exudes more than enough confidence, wit, and knowledge to succeed as a head coach in the NBA. He can liaise with the most temperamental players, tranquilize media uproars, and implement modern on-court principles in an effective, executable way.
The Los Angeles Lakers have improved under his watch, more than doubling their win total since Byron Scott left; their defense in Walton’s second season was above league average, breaking a four-season streak in which they couldn’t climb out of the bottom five.
But everything changed last week, and it's only a matter of time before we know if it's good or bad news for L.A.'s head coach. LeBron James is there now, leading a matured yet young and critically flawed roster that was ostensibly constructed to dethrone the Golden State Warriors immediately (please stop laughing). Walton is LeBron’s seventh head coach, and with that responsibility comes expectations that rival those of the league’s actual championship contenders. It’s a blessing and a curse.
While finding a way for this roster—which is mostly comprised of greatness, misfits, and hype—to have success on the court, Walton must also propitiate a locker room that’s suddenly more experienced, abrasive, pigheaded, lackadaisical, and brilliant than anything he's seen as a head coach. If the Lakers struggle (which is definitely possible if LeBron doesn’t want to lead the league in minutes as a 34-year-old), Walton will probably be the fall guy. He was not hired by Magic Johnson or Rob Pelinka, two fortunate and delusional decision-makers who don’t have a ton of time on their side. There will be pressure to win right away with a team that was improperly patched together. (The Cleveland Cavaliers needed James's very best to escape the flimsy Eastern Conference, and now he's his team's only All-Star, stuck in a far more competitive bracket.)
The good news for Walton is even if the Lakers don't look right all season long, there aren’t many experienced, unemployed, highly-impressive coaching candidates who make clear sense in Los Angeles. (In an apocalyptic scenario, it’s possible to see Johnson and Pelinka being (temporarily) comfortable with Walton’s assistant Brian Shaw—as the Cavaliers replaced David Blatt with Tyronn Lue—but this type of mid-season change still feels highly unlikely.)
This forces us to turn to coaches who already have jobs but would kill for the historic chance to be in L.A. with LeBron. But nothing is apparent on that front. Almost every head coach in the NBA is either too successful or deeply rooted where he is to move, or not accomplished enough to be an explicit upgrade over Walton.
That said, one name stands out as far more intriguing than all the others, and he just so happens to already work in the same building. Doc Rivers just signed a two-year extension that makes him head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers through 2021. It’s a solid job in a great market with relatively low expectations and the potential to be great sooner than later thanks to Steve Ballmer’s financial readiness, a suddenly competent front office, and all the cap flexibility they have next summer—two max contracts will be possible.
Rivers says all the right things about overseeing the Clippers rebuild—one that, again, may or may not last very long—but he wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to coach arguably the best player who ever lived, with annual championship contention on the table. And even though Rajon Rondo is only on a one-year deal, all four of his All-Star seasons came under Rivers, who was able to establish a comfortably rocky relationship with the mercurial point guard.
If the Clippers can’t “reboot” and instead have to build from the bottom up, Rivers doesn’t make a ton of sense as a long-term option anyway (at least not when compared to someone like, say, Walton). When he left the Boston Celtics for Los Angeles back in 2013, Rivers had three years and $21 million left on his contract. The Celtics agreed to release him from it after the Clippers shipped over a 2015 first-round pick. A similar arrangement would not be impossible here. Rivers can really coach, is widely respected by players around the league, and wouldn’t flinch under the abnormal pressures that accompany a relentless limelight. To boot, imagine him, Magic, and LeBron entering a pitch meeting next summer and not landing whoever’s on the other side of the table, be it Kevin Durant, Rihanna, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, whoever.
But if Rivers is happy where he is and the Lakers want to move on from Walton, the list of qualified applicants isn’t long. Stan Van Gundy, coming off a disastrous run with the Detroit Pistons in which his own personnel decisions drowned out his shrieks from the sideline, is, in my opinion, the best guy out there. It’d be fascinating to see how the Lakers would play under Van Gundy, an expert who could finally get creative with lineups that didn’t rely on the center position.
How about hiring a retread, like Frank Vogel or Jeff Hornacek? Or making a splash with Villanova’s Jay Wright? Would LeBron have any interest in being led by his former Olympics teammate Jason Kidd? What about Monty Williams, who was just hired as Brett Brown’s lead assistant in Philadelphia?
Whenever the Lakers came up while I was in Las Vegas I liked to ask who would be their next head coach, in the event Walton curdles. My favorite response was Mark Jackson, a Klutch client who was reportedly close to becoming head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers before Lue intercepted the job. That would be...messy.
It’s easy to see Walton working out fine. He’s played with and already coached some of the most talented and infuriating players who ever lived (Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Draymond Green, etc.) He’s seen everything up close, from multiple perspectives. It’s harsh to look at his situation and assume it won’t end well, but the people who hired him are gone. And the new regime hasn’t done him any favors by treating LeBron’s decision as a superficial end game.
If the Lakers don’t live up to (somewhat unreasonable) expectations in LeBron’s first season it won’t be Walton’s fault. But he’s employed by an organization that isn’t known for being rational, and with odds already unfairly stacked against him, there’s a good chance potential successors are already eyeing his seat.
LeBron James is a blessing and a curse for everyone who coaches him, and that now includes Luke Walton. How long can he last? And if a change is made, who will replace him?
As someone whose lifelong ambience is the sound of a basketball colliding with hardwood, Luke Walton exudes more than enough confidence, wit, and knowledge to succeed as a head coach in the NBA. He can liaise with the most temperamental players, tranquilize media uproars, and implement modern on-court principles in an effective, executable way.
The Los Angeles Lakers have improved under his watch, more than doubling their win total since Byron Scott left; their defense in Walton’s second season was above league average, breaking a four-season streak in which they couldn’t climb out of the bottom five.
But everything changed last week, and it's only a matter of time before we know if it's good or bad news for L.A.'s head coach. LeBron James is there now, leading a matured yet young and critically flawed roster that was ostensibly constructed to dethrone the Golden State Warriors immediately (please stop laughing). Walton is LeBron’s seventh head coach, and with that responsibility comes expectations that rival those of the league’s actual championship contenders. It’s a blessing and a curse.
While finding a way for this roster—which is mostly comprised of greatness, misfits, and hype—to have success on the court, Walton must also propitiate a locker room that’s suddenly more experienced, abrasive, pigheaded, lackadaisical, and brilliant than anything he's seen as a head coach. If the Lakers struggle (which is definitely possible if LeBron doesn’t want to lead the league in minutes as a 34-year-old), Walton will probably be the fall guy. He was not hired by Magic Johnson or Rob Pelinka, two fortunate and delusional decision-makers who don’t have a ton of time on their side. There will be pressure to win right away with a team that was improperly patched together. (The Cleveland Cavaliers needed James's very best to escape the flimsy Eastern Conference, and now he's his team's only All-Star, stuck in a far more competitive bracket.)
The good news for Walton is even if the Lakers don't look right all season long, there aren’t many experienced, unemployed, highly-impressive coaching candidates who make clear sense in Los Angeles. (In an apocalyptic scenario, it’s possible to see Johnson and Pelinka being (temporarily) comfortable with Walton’s assistant Brian Shaw—as the Cavaliers replaced David Blatt with Tyronn Lue—but this type of mid-season change still feels highly unlikely.)
This forces us to turn to coaches who already have jobs but would kill for the historic chance to be in L.A. with LeBron. But nothing is apparent on that front. Almost every head coach in the NBA is either too successful or deeply rooted where he is to move, or not accomplished enough to be an explicit upgrade over Walton.
That said, one name stands out as far more intriguing than all the others, and he just so happens to already work in the same building. Doc Rivers just signed a two-year extension that makes him head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers through 2021. It’s a solid job in a great market with relatively low expectations and the potential to be great sooner than later thanks to Steve Ballmer’s financial readiness, a suddenly competent front office, and all the cap flexibility they have next summer—two max contracts will be possible.
Rivers says all the right things about overseeing the Clippers rebuild—one that, again, may or may not last very long—but he wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to coach arguably the best player who ever lived, with annual championship contention on the table. And even though Rajon Rondo is only on a one-year deal, all four of his All-Star seasons came under Rivers, who was able to establish a comfortably rocky relationship with the mercurial point guard.
If the Clippers can’t “reboot” and instead have to build from the bottom up, Rivers doesn’t make a ton of sense as a long-term option anyway (at least not when compared to someone like, say, Walton). When he left the Boston Celtics for Los Angeles back in 2013, Rivers had three years and $21 million left on his contract. The Celtics agreed to release him from it after the Clippers shipped over a 2015 first-round pick. A similar arrangement would not be impossible here. Rivers can really coach, is widely respected by players around the league, and wouldn’t flinch under the abnormal pressures that accompany a relentless limelight. To boot, imagine him, Magic, and LeBron entering a pitch meeting next summer and not landing whoever’s on the other side of the table, be it Kevin Durant, Rihanna, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, whoever.
But if Rivers is happy where he is and the Lakers want to move on from Walton, the list of qualified applicants isn’t long. Stan Van Gundy, coming off a disastrous run with the Detroit Pistons in which his own personnel decisions drowned out his shrieks from the sideline, is, in my opinion, the best guy out there. It’d be fascinating to see how the Lakers would play under Van Gundy, an expert who could finally get creative with lineups that didn’t rely on the center position.
How about hiring a retread, like Frank Vogel or Jeff Hornacek? Or making a splash with Villanova’s Jay Wright? Would LeBron have any interest in being led by his former Olympics teammate Jason Kidd? What about Monty Williams, who was just hired as Brett Brown’s lead assistant in Philadelphia?
Whenever the Lakers came up while I was in Las Vegas I liked to ask who would be their next head coach, in the event Walton curdles. My favorite response was Mark Jackson, a Klutch client who was reportedly close to becoming head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers before Lue intercepted the job. That would be...messy.
It’s easy to see Walton working out fine. He’s played with and already coached some of the most talented and infuriating players who ever lived (Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Draymond Green, etc.) He’s seen everything up close, from multiple perspectives. It’s harsh to look at his situation and assume it won’t end well, but the people who hired him are gone. And the new regime hasn’t done him any favors by treating LeBron’s decision as a superficial end game.
If the Lakers don’t live up to (somewhat unreasonable) expectations in LeBron’s first season it won’t be Walton’s fault. But he’s employed by an organization that isn’t known for being rational, and with odds already unfairly stacked against him, there’s a good chance potential successors are already eyeing his seat.
The Raptors are the even-money favorite to land Kawhi Leonard
Still, there’s been almost no progress on Leonard’s possible destinations over the last few weeks. Leonard grew frustrated with the Spurs’ handling of his quadriceps injury last season, and though Leonard has met with head coach Gregg Popovich, reports emerged that Leonard has also hid from his coaches during the regular season. The Spurs’ asking price for him has been astronomical. Again, there remain more questions than answers.
The Raptors are emerging as contenders
The Raptors’ ascent up the odds charts is an intriguing one, especially because James’ path to Los Angeles took a similar one among the oddsmakers.
Per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, the Raptors emerged at the NBA Summer League, which, coincidentally, takes place in Las Vegas.
The Toronto Raptors also generated buzz as a potential destination for Leonard. With LeBron James out of the Eastern Conference, perhaps Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri is willing to swing for the fences and move DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry in such a deal.
As Bontemps mentioned, though, acquiring Leonard would likely cost DeRozan or Lowry, the two stars that helped Toronto to the top seed in the Eastern Conference last year. On the other hand, that duo is yet to take the team over the hump (mostly thanks to James’ presence in the East), and with James now out West, adding Leonard could take the team to the next level.
Leonard, 27, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time All-NBA selection and an NBA Finals MVP. When healthy, he is arguably the best two-way player in the game. But his health — and his role in managing it — are red flags. He played in just nine games last year.
The Raptors, like other favorites Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia, have the young pieces to make an attractive trade package, and they also hold control of their first-round draft picks for the foreseeable future. The updated odds could be nothing. But perhaps Vegas is onto something
Still, there’s been almost no progress on Leonard’s possible destinations over the last few weeks. Leonard grew frustrated with the Spurs’ handling of his quadriceps injury last season, and though Leonard has met with head coach Gregg Popovich, reports emerged that Leonard has also hid from his coaches during the regular season. The Spurs’ asking price for him has been astronomical. Again, there remain more questions than answers.
The Raptors are emerging as contenders
The Raptors’ ascent up the odds charts is an intriguing one, especially because James’ path to Los Angeles took a similar one among the oddsmakers.
Per Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, the Raptors emerged at the NBA Summer League, which, coincidentally, takes place in Las Vegas.
The Toronto Raptors also generated buzz as a potential destination for Leonard. With LeBron James out of the Eastern Conference, perhaps Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri is willing to swing for the fences and move DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry in such a deal.
As Bontemps mentioned, though, acquiring Leonard would likely cost DeRozan or Lowry, the two stars that helped Toronto to the top seed in the Eastern Conference last year. On the other hand, that duo is yet to take the team over the hump (mostly thanks to James’ presence in the East), and with James now out West, adding Leonard could take the team to the next level.
Leonard, 27, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time All-NBA selection and an NBA Finals MVP. When healthy, he is arguably the best two-way player in the game. But his health — and his role in managing it — are red flags. He played in just nine games last year.
The Raptors, like other favorites Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia, have the young pieces to make an attractive trade package, and they also hold control of their first-round draft picks for the foreseeable future. The updated odds could be nothing. But perhaps Vegas is onto something
Jerry West not impressed by Lakers luring LeBron James: 'Not a tough free-agent signing'
Jerry West, now working for the Clippers, went out of his way to downplay the Lakers landing LeBron James. (AP)
The Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of LeBron James has been discussed ad nauseam, but when Jerry West speaks up, the NBA world tends to listen.
The Lakers icon who is currently an executive board member with the Los Angeles Clippers spoke with Sports Illustrated about James’ arrival in L.A. and appears less than impressed with his former team’s offseason work.
Jerry West not impressed
“All due respect to the Lakers, who handled everything well, but as these things go, LeBron was not a tough free-agent signing,” West told SI. “LeBron wanted to come to L.A. and he wanted to come to the Lakers. Period.
“He has a family he’s thinking about. He has a home here. He has a son whom he wants to keep in one school in Los Angeles. He will be a celebrity out here, sure, but it’s a place where, once in a while, he can get lost, be himself. You can’t do that everywhere.”
Shot from an L.A. rival?
West, a veteran executive who helped lure Shaquille O’Neal to the Lakers in 1996, isn’t exactly saying anything groundbreaking here. James has been rumored to have interest in the Lakers for a long time, and Las Vegas made the Lakers a heavy betting favorite to land James for the exact same reasons West laid out.
But for West to go out of his way to diminish the accomplishment of fellow Lakers icon and current Lakers executive Magic Johnson seems a bit odd. But maybe that’s just what you do when you work for the Clippers.
Jerry West, now working for the Clippers, went out of his way to downplay the Lakers landing LeBron James. (AP)
The Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of LeBron James has been discussed ad nauseam, but when Jerry West speaks up, the NBA world tends to listen.
The Lakers icon who is currently an executive board member with the Los Angeles Clippers spoke with Sports Illustrated about James’ arrival in L.A. and appears less than impressed with his former team’s offseason work.
Jerry West not impressed
“All due respect to the Lakers, who handled everything well, but as these things go, LeBron was not a tough free-agent signing,” West told SI. “LeBron wanted to come to L.A. and he wanted to come to the Lakers. Period.
“He has a family he’s thinking about. He has a home here. He has a son whom he wants to keep in one school in Los Angeles. He will be a celebrity out here, sure, but it’s a place where, once in a while, he can get lost, be himself. You can’t do that everywhere.”
Shot from an L.A. rival?
West, a veteran executive who helped lure Shaquille O’Neal to the Lakers in 1996, isn’t exactly saying anything groundbreaking here. James has been rumored to have interest in the Lakers for a long time, and Las Vegas made the Lakers a heavy betting favorite to land James for the exact same reasons West laid out.
But for West to go out of his way to diminish the accomplishment of fellow Lakers icon and current Lakers executive Magic Johnson seems a bit odd. But maybe that’s just what you do when you work for the Clippers.
JaVale McGee chimes in on if Lakers can beat Warriors: 'It's not going to be easy'
With gold teeth, three braids coming out of the back of his head and rim-rattling dunks, JaVale McGee brought instant excitement to the Warriors.
The McGee era is over now, but Warriors fans will still see plenty of him. After two years with the Warriors, McGee is teaming up with LeBron James and the Lakers.
The Lakers should be considerably better than their 35-47 record from this past season. Still, McGee knows how hard it will be for them to take down the Warriors.
For the past two seasons, the Warriors were represented by four players -- Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green -- at the All-Star Game. This offseason, they added a fifth in All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
Good luck, L.A.
With gold teeth, three braids coming out of the back of his head and rim-rattling dunks, JaVale McGee brought instant excitement to the Warriors.
The McGee era is over now, but Warriors fans will still see plenty of him. After two years with the Warriors, McGee is teaming up with LeBron James and the Lakers.
The Lakers should be considerably better than their 35-47 record from this past season. Still, McGee knows how hard it will be for them to take down the Warriors.
For the past two seasons, the Warriors were represented by four players -- Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green -- at the All-Star Game. This offseason, they added a fifth in All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
Good luck, L.A.
Sources: Swingman James Ennis agrees to 2-year deal with the Rockets
James Ennis shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range last season. (AP)
Free-agent swingman James Ennis has agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Ennis’ deal with the Rockets will include a player option in the second year, league sources said.
Ennis is expected to compete for a starting role on the wing. Ennis received interest from several teams, including a push from the Sacramento Kings in recent days, before deciding on a deal to join a Western Conference contender in Houston.
Ennis, 28, played 72 games last season for Memphis and Detroit, averaging 7.1 points and shooting 33.3 percent from 3-point range in 22.3 minutes per game.
After losing forwards Trevor Ariza (Phoenix Suns) and Luc Mbah a Moute (Los Angeles Clippers) in free agency, the Rockets targeted Ennis as a 3-point shooter and defender to solidify their rotation.
The Rockets also remain in strong position to secure Carmelo Anthony once he secures his release from the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources said.
James Ennis shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range last season. (AP)
Free-agent swingman James Ennis has agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Ennis’ deal with the Rockets will include a player option in the second year, league sources said.
Ennis is expected to compete for a starting role on the wing. Ennis received interest from several teams, including a push from the Sacramento Kings in recent days, before deciding on a deal to join a Western Conference contender in Houston.
Ennis, 28, played 72 games last season for Memphis and Detroit, averaging 7.1 points and shooting 33.3 percent from 3-point range in 22.3 minutes per game.
After losing forwards Trevor Ariza (Phoenix Suns) and Luc Mbah a Moute (Los Angeles Clippers) in free agency, the Rockets targeted Ennis as a 3-point shooter and defender to solidify their rotation.
The Rockets also remain in strong position to secure Carmelo Anthony once he secures his release from the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources said.
Bean: We could be worrying about nothing over Kyrie
Yet with LeBron, it made sense. There's at least a chance we're working ourselves up over nothing with Kyrie.
Irving hasn't said that he wants to stay in Boston long-term. Financially, he obviously shouldn't commit to that right now because it would cost him a lot of money. But he could at least say it. He could at least tell the "I want to be here for a long time" lie that free agents tell regularly.
That he hasn't said it is by no means him damning Boston -- he will say that he loves it here and loves playing for the Celtics. It's probably just Kyrie being Kyrie, but in the absence of a sure thing, we're left to guess what else it could be.
You've got the reports of him perhaps taking interest in the Knicks. You've got the talk of him wanting to play with Jimmy Butler. You've got that young man on FS1 who kind of looks like me if I shaved my head surmising that Kyrie might not like the media attention Jayson Tatum gets.
Let's start with that last one. Know who loves Jayson Tatum? Kyrie Irving. They freaking went on vacation together before Irving was even traded to the Celtics. Kyrie put Tatum in one of his Nike commercials during the season. The idea of Irving having an issue with Tatum is preposterous.
As for the Knicks and Butler? Sure, those could carry some level of intrigue, but going from what the Celtics have now to the Knicks would not be like LeBron going from the Cavaliers to the Lakers. It would be like LeBron going from the Cavaliers to a rec league team. We're not putting enough thought into how good the Celtics are going to be this season and what kind of impression that will likely leave on a player who already says he likes it here.
This isn't to say to discredit the murmurs of why Kyrie could be interested in leaving -- actually, let's completely discredit that Nick Wright thing -- but we're biting our nails here without considering why (money, winning, coach, etc. ) he would want to stay.
That we need this reminder in July of 2018 is not a great sign for the collective mindset of Boston sports media and fans. Nothing was going to happen with Kyrie one way or another this offseason, but we're treating Irving's final year before free agency like his final days before free agency.
We're not going to get our answer until Irving opts out of his contract after next season. If he stays, the Celtics will rule the East for years. If he leaves, it will be devastating. Which road he chooses will be crucial.
But it's a little premature to declare him gone.
Yet with LeBron, it made sense. There's at least a chance we're working ourselves up over nothing with Kyrie.
Irving hasn't said that he wants to stay in Boston long-term. Financially, he obviously shouldn't commit to that right now because it would cost him a lot of money. But he could at least say it. He could at least tell the "I want to be here for a long time" lie that free agents tell regularly.
That he hasn't said it is by no means him damning Boston -- he will say that he loves it here and loves playing for the Celtics. It's probably just Kyrie being Kyrie, but in the absence of a sure thing, we're left to guess what else it could be.
You've got the reports of him perhaps taking interest in the Knicks. You've got the talk of him wanting to play with Jimmy Butler. You've got that young man on FS1 who kind of looks like me if I shaved my head surmising that Kyrie might not like the media attention Jayson Tatum gets.
Let's start with that last one. Know who loves Jayson Tatum? Kyrie Irving. They freaking went on vacation together before Irving was even traded to the Celtics. Kyrie put Tatum in one of his Nike commercials during the season. The idea of Irving having an issue with Tatum is preposterous.
As for the Knicks and Butler? Sure, those could carry some level of intrigue, but going from what the Celtics have now to the Knicks would not be like LeBron going from the Cavaliers to the Lakers. It would be like LeBron going from the Cavaliers to a rec league team. We're not putting enough thought into how good the Celtics are going to be this season and what kind of impression that will likely leave on a player who already says he likes it here.
This isn't to say to discredit the murmurs of why Kyrie could be interested in leaving -- actually, let's completely discredit that Nick Wright thing -- but we're biting our nails here without considering why (money, winning, coach, etc. ) he would want to stay.
That we need this reminder in July of 2018 is not a great sign for the collective mindset of Boston sports media and fans. Nothing was going to happen with Kyrie one way or another this offseason, but we're treating Irving's final year before free agency like his final days before free agency.
We're not going to get our answer until Irving opts out of his contract after next season. If he stays, the Celtics will rule the East for years. If he leaves, it will be devastating. Which road he chooses will be crucial.
But it's a little premature to declare him gone.