2017-18 official NBA discussion thread

[thxfrthmmrs]

In case if anyone wonders if Gar does his homework before making a trade:

 

“We knew the second practice [after he was acquired] that he couldn’t play at [an NBA] level,’’ said a source close to the situation. “The only reason it took two practices was because we thought maybe it was nerves in the first one.

 

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/24731...er-2nd-Practice

[Heads22]

Gars totem is a Iowa State basketball spinning

 

hey

[SoxFan2003]

Houston Rockets purchased for $2.2 Billion.

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2058860...rice-22-billion

 

JR and his investors are going to be very very rich once they decide to sell.

[Chisoxfn]

Haven't seen anyone talk about it, but Lauri Markkanen is destroying it in the Euro tourney. #1 player on Finland and has been straight balling. Below are some excerpts from an article in the ringer.

 

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/9/6/1625...anen-cedi-osman

The 20-year-old Finnish big man is averaging an impressive 22.5 points per game in group play, behind only Dragic and Dennis Schröder, two established starting point guards in the NBA. Markkanen has one of the heaviest burdens in the tournament, utilizing nearly 21 possessions per game for his Finnish team. He’s also been one of the most efficient players, scoring 1.18 points per possession, fifth among high-usage players (more than 14 possessions per game), according to Synergy Sports.

 

EuroBasket is something of a utopia for Markkanen’s talents, and a clear demonstration of what makes him so intriguing. He is a walking mismatch—a stretch-5 who is comfortable striking from deep or taking midrange jumpers out of the post over the top of smaller defenders. Markkanen’s efficacy in the tournament makes these games feel as though they were being played in 2014.

 

There are no new strengths or weaknesses to disclose here. He is still an all-world shooter currently operating on 56-50-88 splits, and he’s still an upright runner who lacks a significant degree of defensive talent. The biggest shift Markkanen has experienced over the past week is that of perception. (The last time we’d seen him in action before EuroBasket was a disappointing Sweet 16 performance—nine points on nine field goal attempts in 40 minutes—against Xavier, where he was completely ignored by his teammates in the game’s pivotal final minutes.)

 

Questions still remain about his ability to adapt to an NBA game that’s shrinking and speeding up, but Markkanen has left no doubt that he is already going to be a devastating mismatch in certain situations. Group play has re-instilled the optimism in Markkanen’s game that maybe should never have left in the first place.

[Kyyle23]

Haven't seen anyone talk about it, but Lauri Markkanen is destroying it in the Euro tourney. #1 player on Finland and has been straight balling. Below are some excerpts from an article in the ringer.

 

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/9/6/1625...anen-cedi-osman

 

Sounds like the reports we got about Niko about 4 years ago

[bmags]

Sounds like the reports we got about Niko about 4 years ago

 

Ole Ice Bucket Kyyle

[Kyyle23]

Ole Ice Bucket Kyyle

 

 

Not much to be excited about. Everything this front office has touched in the past 4 years has turned to ashes.

 

But my Niko comment stands. He tore up the league he was in at a very young age

[southsider2k5]

Sounds like the reports we got about Niko about 4 years ago

 

Thanks. Just when I had forgotten about Niko.

[joejoedairy]

Thanks. Just when I had forgotten about Niko.

 

Did he ever sign with anyone?

[southsider2k5]

Did he ever sign with anyone?

 

Still an RFA.

[Dick Allen]

Just in time for the Bulls' tanking...lottery reform.

[Chisoxfn]

Just in time for the Bulls' tanking...lottery reform.

NBA needs to do it. Tanking is bad for sports.

[Y2Jimmy0]

NBA needs to do it. Tanking is bad for sports.

 

 

It's really hard in that sport to get better without high draft picks though. Like really, really hard.

[Y2Jimmy0]

http://hoopshype.com/2017/09/11/here-is-wh...tem-looks-like/

 

I don't think it will be pass honestly. There's no incentive for small market teams to vote yes on that.

[Chisoxfn]

The Miami Heat, La Lakers, Boston Celtics, and San Antonio Spurs have made the vast majority of NBA championships post the Jordan era and none of those teams really built themselves by a prolonged tanking strategy. Golden State is the new dominant team and their best players were drafted 7th overall (Steph), 11th overall (Klay), 35th overall (Draymond) and Durant (Free Agency).

 

I already know everyone is going to say, well the NBA doesn't work that way anymore, but all of those teams won a ton of championships without truly "tanking". Wade / Duncan were the two highest picks drafted by any of those teams, but neither were part of a prolonged tank. Duncan was a pure luck of a Spurs team that had its best player dealing with a back injury (David Robinson) and Wade was drafted 5th overall and very quickly the Heat were back out of the lottery (they were only in the lottery the year before they got Wade, when they drafted Caron Butler @ 10 overall).

[Kyyle23]

The Miami Heat, La Lakers, Boston Celtics, and San Antonio Spurs have made the vast majority of NBA championships post the Jordan era and none of those teams really built themselves by a prolonged tanking strategy. Golden State is the new dominant team and their best players were drafted 7th overall (Steph), 11th overall (Klay), 35th overall (Draymond) and Durant (Free Agency).

 

I already know everyone is going to say, well the NBA doesn't work that way anymore, but all of those teams won a ton of championships without truly "tanking". Wade / Duncan were the two highest picks drafted by any of those teams, but neither were part of a prolonged tank. Duncan was a pure luck of a Spurs team that had its best player dealing with a back injury (David Robinson) and Wade was drafted 5th overall and very quickly the Heat were back out of the lottery (they were only in the lottery the year before they got Wade, when they drafted Caron Butler @ 10 overall).

 

Prolonged or not, those teams tanked

[Dick Allen]

The Miami Heat, La Lakers, Boston Celtics, and San Antonio Spurs have made the vast majority of NBA championships post the Jordan era and none of those teams really built themselves by a prolonged tanking strategy. Golden State is the new dominant team and their best players were drafted 7th overall (Steph), 11th overall (Klay), 35th overall (Draymond) and Durant (Free Agency).

 

I already know everyone is going to say, well the NBA doesn't work that way anymore, but all of those teams won a ton of championships without truly "tanking". Wade / Duncan were the two highest picks drafted by any of those teams, but neither were part of a prolonged tank. Duncan was a pure luck of a Spurs team that had its best player dealing with a back injury (David Robinson) and Wade was drafted 5th overall and very quickly the Heat were back out of the lottery (they were only in the lottery the year before they got Wade, when they drafted Caron Butler @ 10 overall).

Yes, but Miami and LA did it basically with free agent signings. Milwaukee, OKC, they can't compete for these guys if offered the same money. SA has done a great job, but they did get luck and were bad when Robinson came out, then he was hurt and Duncan set them up for years.

 

Tanking is a problem. I wouldn't mind seeing everyone who misses the playoffs with the same odds at the #1 pick. Maybe pick 3 or 4 or 5 ping pong balls, then slot everyone else by record.

 

It's just typical this may happen right when the Bulls go into full tank mode, although they have had a lot of very high picks and really didn't do what they had to do with them. Plus there were some really bad drafts when they had these picks.

[Chisoxfn]

Prolonged or not, those teams tanked

When did the Lakers tank? They traded Vlade for Kobe. They never tanked or had any top pick. They signed Shaq with free agent money, traded for Kobe, and then traded for Pau (for Marc Gasol).

 

When did Miami tank? They drafted Wade @ 5 (and did not do any form of tanking to get there). They already had Zo on the roster (and obviously he had some health issues).

 

Spurs were a very good team who lost its best player, David Robinson (who statistically was worth 20 wins on his own) and then had Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson (who were both quality players the year before) royally suck. Even then they had the 3rd worst record in the league at the time and won the lottery. They are the closest you can call to "tanking" of the teams on the list.

 

The Warriors were just a bad team. They weren't tanking. Tanking is intentionally being bad / trying to be the worse in the leauge. The warriors were just a bad team for a long time and even then, it wasn't with super high picks that they excelled, it was with good picks, but nothing legendary. They drafted well and I think everyone on this board would say the Bulls failed at "tanking" if they ended up with a 7th and 11th overall pick in this year / next year's draft (which is what the Warriors did with Curry / Klay). Good teams get better because they drafted well...not because they just crazily tanked.

 

The exception to this is the Cavs, who maybe tanked, but they also royally sucked and obviously won LBJ.

[Dick Allen]

When did the Lakers tank? They traded Vlade for Kobe. They never tanked or had any top pick. They signed Shaq with free agent money, traded for Kobe, and then traded for Pau (for Marc Gasol).

 

When did Miami tank? They drafted Wade @ 5 (and did not do any form of tanking to get there). They already had Zo on the roster (and obviously he had some health issues).

 

Spurs were a very good team who lost its best player, David Robinson (who statistically was worth 20 wins on his own) and then had Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson (who were both quality players the year before) royally suck. Even then they had the 3rd worst record in the league at the time and won the lottery. They are the closest you can call to "tanking" of the teams on the list.

 

The Warriors were just a bad team. They weren't tanking. Tanking is intentionally being bad / trying to be the worse in the leauge. The warriors were just a bad team for a long time and even then, it wasn't with super high picks that they excelled, it was with good picks, but nothing legendary. They drafted well and I think everyone on this board would say the Bulls failed at "tanking" if they ended up with a 7th and 11th overall pick in this year / next year's draft (which is what the Warriors did with Curry / Klay). Good teams get better because they drafted well...not because they just crazily tanked.

 

The exception to this is the Cavs, who maybe tanked, but they also royally sucked and obviously won LBJ.

Miami and the Lakers did get Shaq. As long as the money is anywhere near equal, you can cross off at least 20 NBA teams that would ever be able to land a free agent that big.

 

Something does need to be done to make teams at least a little less motivated to be so horrendous. Being as bad as possible shouldn't be automatically rewarded. Unfortunately, it is.

Edited September 12, 2017 by Dick Allen

[Y2Jimmy0]

Miami and the Lakers did get Shaq. As long as the money is anywhere near equal, you can cross off at least 20 NBA teams that would ever be able to land a free agent that big.

 

Something does need to be done to make teams at least a little less motivated to be so horrendous. Being as bad as possible shouldn't be automatically rewarded. Unfortunately, it is.

 

 

There shouldn't be a salary cap for players leaving a city. For example, New Orleans should be able to pay Anthony Davis $300 million if it wants to while other teams pay a max of like whatever the max is. This should also not count against their cap somehow. It's maybe one way of getting guys to stay. They are trying this with the All NBA team contract escalators right now. It could be taken further.

[Quin]

I like Bill Simmons lottery tournament idea

[Kyyle23]

When did the Lakers tank? They traded Vlade for Kobe. They never tanked or had any top pick. They signed Shaq with free agent money, traded for Kobe, and then traded for Pau (for Marc Gasol).

 

When did Miami tank? They drafted Wade @ 5 (and did not do any form of tanking to get there). They already had Zo on the roster (and obviously he had some health issues).

 

Spurs were a very good team who lost its best player, David Robinson (who statistically was worth 20 wins on his own) and then had Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson (who were both quality players the year before) royally suck. Even then they had the 3rd worst record in the league at the time and won the lottery. They are the closest you can call to "tanking" of the teams on the list.

 

The Warriors were just a bad team. They weren't tanking. Tanking is intentionally being bad / trying to be the worse in the leauge. The warriors were just a bad team for a long time and even then, it wasn't with super high picks that they excelled, it was with good picks, but nothing legendary. They drafted well and I think everyone on this board would say the Bulls failed at "tanking" if they ended up with a 7th and 11th overall pick in this year / next year's draft (which is what the Warriors did with Curry / Klay). Good teams get better because they drafted well...not because they just crazily tanked.

 

The exception to this is the Cavs, who maybe tanked, but they also royally sucked and obviously won LBJ.

 

The lakers tanked last year. The Spurs say they didnt tank but they ran crap lineups out and sat Chuck persons pretty much all season after Robinson and Elliott went down. The Warriors did tank, even as bad as they were prior to that season. They benched Lee and NateRob for scrubs, they traded Monte Ellis mid season.

 

https://www.cheatsheet.com/stocks/5-nba-tea...html/?a=viewall

 

Tanking isnt an art, there is luck to it because your pick isnt guaranteed by your record(hello Derrick Rose), but acting like it has to be a prolonged tank is not correct. Some teams fold up late in the season and "protect" their better players in order to give themselves a chance at a higher pick.

 

 

[Chisoxfn]

The lakers tanked last year. The Spurs say they didnt tank but they ran crap lineups out and sat Chuck persons pretty much all season after Robinson and Elliott went down. The Warriors did tank, even as bad as they were prior to that season. They benched Lee and NateRob for scrubs, they traded Monte Ellis mid season.

 

https://www.cheatsheet.com/stocks/5-nba-tea...html/?a=viewall

 

Tanking isnt an art, there is luck to it because your pick isnt guaranteed by your record(hello Derrick Rose), but acting like it has to be a prolonged tank is not correct. Some teams fold up late in the season and "protect" their better players in order to give themselves a chance at a higher pick.

I'm referring to the Lakers when they won championships (Kobe era). The Lakers have tanked for a few years and have very little to show for it thus far...Ball might actually be something but Russell is already gone, Randel is mediocre, and Ingram was a giant bust until he went on a late season run that maybe gives Laker fans some optimism.

[Steve9347]

Bulls Blew the Jimmy Butler Trade, and They'll Pay the Price for Years

[Jordan4life_2007]

Bulls Blew the Jimmy Butler Trade, and They'll Pay the Price for Years

 

Following the eurobasketball17 tourney, (sick talent all around btw) I've sorta fallen in love with Lauri Markkanen. His skillset is legit. Obviously the speed and physicality of the nba compared to other leagues is otherworldly. So he's going to have to adapt. But he's a legit prospect in my opinion. If Lavine comes back strong and builds off of the season he was having before his acl tear, I kinda like what we've got here. Dunn turning into even a solid rotation piece would be almost a bonus. I'm gonna be as positive as I can this upcoming year. We are going to blow so much ass. But the top of that "18 class, good god, it's gonna be worth it.