[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Thought we should have this as a topic going since we’re about starting free agency.

Joe Harris is a Piston now.

Lots of rumors and Chris Duarte was involved in a trade. Not sure of the details yet.

[OhCanada-Participant]

I hope Toronto resigns Poeltl but wouldn’t it be crazy if he resigned with the Spurs. That would be his best career move imo, get nice and cozy with Wemby. Toronto would lose their 2024 pick for nothin and Spurs come out laughing.

I find it hard to believe anyone who properly scouted FVV would give him a 2 year contract. He’ll be working for that next contract immediately looking for forced assists and shot attempts.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Poeltl with Toronto, good move!

[OhCanada-Participant]

Suns pick up Drew Eubanks which is a sneaky excellent deal. Very effecient player.

Bruce Brown 2yr 45 mil to Pacers

[OhCanada-Participant]

Duarte to the Kings who are loaded.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Lots of guys are getting over paid to stay put. Draymond is a crazy deal. Austin Reaves pay day. Jerami Grant pay day. sheesh.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Kyrie now overpaid to stay in Dallas

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Keita Bates-Diop is a sneaky Suns find.

[ZouldiersParticipant]

Taurean Prince to the Lakers is a steal

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

what’s your thoughts on Eric Gordon to Lakers?

[ZouldiersParticipant]

It hasn’t happened yet so I’m not sure dude haha

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Cam Johnson’s stayin’ with the Nets.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Jevon Carter to the Bulls is sneaky good

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Tre Jones staying put with the Spurs. I wonder if they’re quite a playoff team yet?

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Gabe Vincent to Lakers…

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Shake Milton to Minnesota, not bad.

[ZouldiersParticipant]

Milton is easily an upgrade over Nowell so this is a good one for the Wolves easily

[OhCanada-Participant]

Looks like Toronto lost FVV to Houston because the Rockets haven’t signed anyone else. Poeltl maybe gone too.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Is he getting traded? Poeltl signed with the Raptors. 4 Years 80 million

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

FVV to Houston’s official

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Dennis Schroder a Raptor now

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Seth Curry on the Mavericks

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Derrick Rose to the Grizzlies is going to be good.

[HitsterParticipant]

Draymond left some money on the table by not opting in and I guess Steph would be huge in wanting him back too.

Poeltl is a fair retain for the Raptors although the chance of playing alongside Wemby must have been tempting as there is talk Wemby wants to play at 4 initially in the NBA but Spurs already have Sochan to go alongside Wemby so may not have been as keen on the move as Poeltl was.

I think the Rockets have overpaid for FVV personally could they not have got Harden back for similar or less but FVV gives the Rockets a proven ball handler and shooter plus with Amen in the roster there is suddenly serious depth and if the individuals who were filling the stats sheet can gel then their future is bright.

Desmond Bane’s deal loos too generous to me especially compared to what JJJ is on but if they will save money from Ja’s suspension then it possibly makes sense plus their young 3 core of Ja, JJJ and Desmond are all tied down.

Haliburton gets potentially the biggest deal so far as the Pacers look to continue their rebuild. His trade with Sabonis has been a win win for both players really.

Kyrie if he can keep his toys in the pram was always going to get paid but there is as much downside as upside there but Mavs have to give Luka sme support.

Jerami Grant gets that big deal with the Blazers which shows they want to try and contend again. Dame wanted some veteran support so they really had to resign him. Portland with Dame, Scoot, Simons, Grant, Sharpe etc now have a very good core and some depth and will have good upside with the youngsters to contribute around Dame. They should be above 0.500 next season IMO.

Khris Middleton does a compromise deal with the Bucks and probably makes more money long term so good for both sides.

Finally as regards the Spurs and the play offs next season I don’t see it unless Wemby has a really amazing rookie season and becomes an All Star/All NBA player right away. I think they will improve but anything over 30 wins would be a bonus. I think Pops will give Wemby time to settle, they have tons of cap space so in 24/25 or later they can add a quality FA if needed. I see them being near 0.500 in 24/25 and play in contenders then.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Khris Middleton taking a pay cut was super sneaky good for the Bucks.

I think Wemby could be that legit year 1 as in a top 20 player already. The issue I have with Spurs making the playoffs (I think they just miss play in) is the time management factor. Pop is so worried about time management on his team and injuries, etc. I love Tre Jones staying put.

I like what the Raptors have done. Schroeder is underrated and a good price. FVV’s new contract is atrocious for the Rockets.

The Mavericks lost their free agency by bringing back Kyrie and all 7 games he decides to play in this year.

The guy were waiting for to move is James Harden. Where’s he going to be traded?

[OhCanada-Participant]

Agreed, Toronto kept cool all offseason and didn’t make any rash decisions. Schroeder and Dick in FVV out and you save $30 mil a hear. Not bad. Schroeder is a solid pickup. 2 way player, plays with pop, and has played with Russ, Bron, AD etc. He understands how to fit in.

Congrats to FVV. His market value imo is 25 to 30 mil and he just got 43 mil per for 3 years in a no tax state. Incredible. The taxes in Toronto are amongst thee worst along with California and New York so this is a huge payday. Great opportunity for him to take another step forward in his career as well.

I think Wemby will be inefficient early in his career.Other than that yeah, top 20 or so talent sounds right. Spurs could be a play in team if they don’t tank midway through the season.

[HitsterParticipant]

Hareden if he was interested in going back to the Rockets could have opted out and tried to go there in FA. Plus the Rockets have picks due from Brooklyn so could have sent something for Harden in a trade.

I do wonder if Harden would have wanted to be win-now chasing the ring whilst FVV has a champ already so can be on floor general for the young core as they develop.

As regards Harden apart from the Clippers I don’t see an obvious contender for him to go to. If he wanted to take a punt then the Magic with their array of bigs and their upside could be an idea?

Wemby as you know I’m a huge fan of but I was looking at what other hugely touted rookies have done in their first season and I have Wemby down as at about 20ppg, 10rpg, 2bpg before you consider game and time management. The Spurs have never been a team to really sit players but Wemby going fromunder 40 games per season to 82 in and eventually over 100 with play off runs, Int commitments will need load management.

The Spurs thinktank will evaluate him and maybe be a bit catious with him. Their key objective will be to keep him sound and get him to plsy 70 odd games as they let him find his NBA feet.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Harden to Orlando is a good fit to me, just not sure about the timeline. But OKC would fit that same criteria. Don’t know if he would go back there. I think Harden’s probably going to the Clippers. I don’t like their chances of contending either.

[HitsterParticipant]

OKC have Giddey and SGA as their ball carriers so that would be my concern with them taking Harden. Okay you go to 3 guard line up with Dort as the 6th man. They were just below 0.500 last season and if you add Harden and with Chet to come in I see a team nearer 50 wins. So if you get ball carrying sorted it could work.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Sasha Vezenkov could be a good pickup for the Kings. Euro League MVP.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Free agent Max Strus has agreed on a four-year, $63M sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. In three-team deal, Heat get a second-round pick and Spurs acquire Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and a second-rounder.

[HitsterParticipant]

I agree Vezenkov could be one of those good Euro pick ups. He is probably near his peak and if he can be a good NBA rotational player the Kings have filled a roster spot for a fairly modest outlay compared to other signings.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Vasilije Micic now with the Thunder. Euro league is making a splash.

[HitsterParticipant]

I guess with prospects taking time to be NBA ready teams will be looking at guys they have stashed away who may be cheaper options than the available veterans or younger and with more longevity on their side.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

So some a lot more movement has happened. Between free agency going on and a few minor trades, here are some updates on rosters…

CLIPPERS
Russell Westbrook – for super cheap
KJ Martin – via trade

RAPTORS
Jalen McDaniels – not bad pick up.

THUNDER
Jack White – some Aussie I don’t know much about.

ROCKETS
Jock Landale – smh
Dilon Brooks – really smh
Patty Mills
Trevor Hudgins (2 way)
Alpha Kaba – salary dump

CAVS
Ty Jerome – sneaky pick up.
Damian Jones

HEAT
Thomas Bryant
Jamaree Bouyea (2 way) I’m really rooting for him
Dru Smith (2 way)

MAVERICKS
Dwight Powell – ??? why ???

BUCKS
Jae Crowder
Brook Lopez

MAGIC
Mo Wagner

LAKERS
Austin Reaves
D’Angelo Russell
Rui Hachimura
Jaxson Hayes

KINGS
Kessler Edwards

SPURS
Sandro Mamukelashvili – sneaky good

GRIZZLIES
Josh Christopher – maybe

HAWKS
TyTy Washington – We’ll probably never know what he can do on this team
Usman Garuba – same with him.

PACERS
Obi Toppin

KNICKS
Donte DiVincenzo – another Villanova cat.

to be continued…

[HitsterParticipant]

Dilon Brooks is a nice pick up for Houston and gives them even extra depth.

Dame has requested a trade but that doesn’t impact the Jerami Grant new deal apparently. I do wonder what the market for Dame is as Harden who is less than a year older and without that huge contract is also on the block. Portland will want more for Dame than 76ers can get for Harden I assume.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Lakers got some good.players. Jaxson Hayes and Gabe Vincent should be great for them.

20 mil a year for Brooks? Why. How does he help your team? Next 3 years they a owe 190 mil to Brooks and FVV…They aalso signed Jeff Green which is a good move. Rockets definitely wanted to add a bunch of vets.

I like the Raptors McDaniels pickup. Been a fan since SDSU.

[ZouldiersParticipant]

Josh Richardson and Kevin Love go back to the Heat for 2 years/ Vet Min. Josh is a steal for the Heat after losing Gabe and Max and might be better than both off the bench

[HitsterParticipant]

K-Mart Jnr has moved on but Brooks is on a pretty hefty salary and could that affect the development of Amem and Cam. I like Jeff Green as a veteran pick up for Houston, he has a title and over the years has played with a lot of elite yoing players so that gives a locker room veteran for the guys to have.

Do people see the Rockets starting 5 as FVV, Jalen Green, Amen/Brooks, Jabari Smith and Segun or do they go FVV, Porter, Jalen, Jabari and Segun?

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

I think the starting lineup to begin the season is FVV/Jalen/Brooks/Jabari/Sengun but I also see Mills/KPJ/Amen/Whitmore/Eason all get possible around 20 minutes a game. They’re still missing rim protection, but have about everything else, especially depth now. I can see Brooks losing his starting role mid season. Tate seems like the odd man out.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Yeah Brooks starts over Amen. Porter is probably the odd man out, he will be told to fit into a role which doessnt suit him. Green light for FVV and Green. Sengun will be a role man. Everyone else is a spot up shooter.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Pretty much, but… Sengun has a chance to make another leap. He’s been their best player and has a chance to become a star. But then, his role could be reduced. Not exactly sure I like these veteran signings. They could stunt the growth of the youngsters by a couple of years. I guess it depends on how they mesh together.

[HitsterParticipant]

The Rockets added Jock Landale and is Boban still there if they need a huge guy under the basket for short spells. The depth and talent is there as people have always been high on Eason, Cam was a possiblr top 6 pick on a ,ot of our mocks, Green, Smith and Amen are all very high picks, Segun is already an NBA level starter so the young core is very impressive.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Landale and Boban shouldn’t even combine for 20 minutes a game. They’re pretty salty. The Rockets just missing face up rim protection I should say that’s not a liability on the floor. Boban and Landale are liabilities. Heck, they shouldn’t even be in the league to me. I’d rather give Dwight Howard or Hassan Whiteside another chance. Even Tacko Fall.
As for Tari Eason, he could split minutes with Jabari. Atm he’s probably a little better than Jabari still.

[HitsterParticipant]

I’d like Eason tp see decent minutes to be allowed to develop as the top big off the bench. There was talk about Jabari sliding to SF with Eason at PF but the new signings won’t really allow that now depth wise.

Sabonis gets a huge extension with the Kings but was All Star and All NBA 3rd team last season so merits it.

As regards Dame’s trade request he has expressed a preference to go to the Heat but the Heat if they know he wants to go there wion’t want to give up too much plus Dame is 33 soon and Butler will turn 34 in off season so do they want those guys both on huge salaries.

There is talk the Blazers want to move Nurkic in a deal with Dame so I’d assume Lowry, Herro, Jacuez or Jovic and so draft assets go other way..

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Looks like Mills is going to the Thunder instead of the Rockets. Cason Wallace has his work cut out for him… Eric Gordon is going to the Suns.

[HitsterParticipant]

Happy to get Gordon for bench depth as a Suns fan.

The most interesting thing for me is where Harden and Dame possibly land and what could happen with 76ers and Embiid.

The most interesting Dame rumour I heard was the Spurs but I don’t see them wanting to take on his huge deal. Might they be willing to have a year of Harden to be the playmaker for Wemby though?

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Cody Zeller on the Pelicans. He can do what Jaxson Hayes did maybe. Getting old now.
Lonnie Walker on the Nets.

[HitsterParticipant]

Portland match $33 million 3 year offer sheet Matisse Thybulle signed with the Mavs. This makes sense given his defensive ability and age, at worse he’ll have decent trade value to a contender in due course.

[r377Participant]

Never been a lillard fan. Could never get the job done.portland overpaid him, now as a thank you he is holding this team ransom. He could have 3 teams as a preference….

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

To be honest he could’ve asked out a lot earlier. Portland has been satisfied with mediocrity and never really has been committed to going all out to put a true contender around him since he’s been there. I certainly don’t blame him for not wanting to spend the last years of his prime wasting away on a rebuilding team.
But then again, if winning was really that important to him he could’ve easily seen that the franchise wasn’t truly committed and gotten out of there a lot earlier. He had numerous chances to test free agency or put pressure on the team to upgrade, and he basically just kept signing extensions and seemed to be content to just be the face of a mediocre team. Portland is under no obligation to send him where he wants to go.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

The Blazers have not been a well-run team. They gave away a future 1st (that still has not been paid) to get Larry Nance, and then included him in the CJ McCollum trade less than a year later. They traded 2 first round picks for Robert Covington, and in little more than a year was included in the Norman Powell trade. They turned a future 1st and CJ McCollum into a lot of nothing (maybe that is harsh on Cam Reddish, but they have up on him quickly) that turned into Matisse Thybulle. They moved the guy they traded two first rounders and Norman Powell (who they previously dealt Cary Trent Jr. for) into a lot of nothing where the last vestige is Keon Johnson. Not all of this has been Joe Cronin (though he was on staff the whole time), but it is more on him than Damian Lillard. They wanted to remake the team around him to better give themselves a chance to win with him, and they turned it into a mess. He has been patient with them. When they chose to keep the 3rd pick with Scoot, I get why that was the last straw. Trying to turn Lillard into the bad guy here isn’t fair. He bought into their talk and assurances. He committed to what they wanted to do. Yes, the extension gave him huge money. It was also done by the front office, presumably, to assure other players that Lillard will be there in the long-run to help recruiting. Well, they loved Simons, Sharpe, and Scoot more than who they can get back. Fine. They are entitled to make those decisions, but it does mean that they led Lillard on. Maybe it works out for them. Just don’t try to blame Lillard for responding to being led on by taking a hard line.

[HitsterParticipant]

Portland have only had one season above 0.500 over the last 4 years. Terry Stotts had made them a play off fixture but then they bought Chanuncey Billups in and I’d have thought that was when they would have hit rebuild. Dame’s long time running mate CJ McCollum was traded so that might have been when Dame wanted out too. They gave him that huge extension last summer, resigned Jerami Grant this summer and now Dame wants out so it is a mess.

I guess with Dame it was Wemby or bust, if they’d landed Wemby and Dame had wanted out then Portland would just have said see you. If Scoot had gone second I could have seen Portland looking to move Miller for a veteran but Scoot was too good to move on for a possible win now.

Maybe Portland should have tried to have got a return on Lillard last summer even if he was coming off an injury hit 21/22 season. Now he wants out but with not having a NTC he could wend up anywhere. Harden is also on the block and FVV took one FA destination so the market for Dame is less than it could have been. You also have to factor in him being 33 and having huge money on his contract plus he has never won a title so isn’t a proven winner.

Dame never asked for an NTC and is a stand up guy but everyone has been backed into a corner. Portland if they get a return on Dame still have Scoot, Sharpe and co to build around.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

There seems to be almost no market whatsoever for Christian wood, which seems to be pretty surprising considering how productive he has been in recent years. Although he is known as a lackadaisical defender and there have been rumors of attitude problems, bigs with his skill-set just don’t grow on trees. If a team like the lakers can get him on a non-guaranteed vet min (which seems like a distinct possibility) it’s hard for me to see how you could pass that up. If it isn’t working out you can always cut him and move on.

[HitsterParticipant]

With a player like Wood are they holding out to see what offers might come in rather than committing to a veteran minimum deal as it will be a huge salary drop. I agree he’d be a no brainer pick up for a team looking for a bench scoring big and if he was on a contender then his attitude would surely be okay as he has the chance of winning and getting a better deal again in the future.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

Wood was not good in Dallas, which is why there hasn’t been any movement. He was bad defensively, and didn’t seem to grasp he can’t get away with what Luka and Kyrie do on that end. He butted heads with Jason Kidd for defense, knowing the plays, and effort. Teams take notice of that before giving them money. Teams can live with a center with skill being slow of foot defensively, but they can’t be clueless. He has been in the league 7 seasons over 8 years, and never been in the rotation of a team that had a winning record. Being on the dregs of the league for as many years as he has sometimes means guys never learn what the standards are for playing winning basketball. I get the hesitation. My guess is he wanted to get paid as someone who scored 16.6 PPG and shot 37% from three. He isn’t going to get Brook Lopez, Jakob Poeltl, or Isaiah Stewart money. I doubt he even get Moritz Wagner money, because Wagner at least gives effort on both ends. If he signs for the minimum to two-to-three times the minimum, he would be fine, because he can easily be benched. The seeming divide over his value means he will wait.

[r377Participant]

I just cannot get excited anymore. The NBA is like musical chairs. Players just swap teams so easy now

[HitsterParticipant]

Porzingis has signed a 2 year $60 million extension with the Celtics so they have him under contract until summer 2026. Seems a fair deal for both sides and gives them their defensive anchor for that time.

[r377Participant]

Absolute shame brogdon didn’t pass physical so they had to lose smart

[HitsterParticipant]

Smar on the Grizz if they can get Ja back on the right track gives them a very strong line up. The Celtics feel they are “almoat” there and with Brown and Tatum have two All Star/Franchise level players still in their mid 20’s as their cornerstones. Plus they had the 6th man of the year in Brogdon and an All defensive guy in Smart as well as Horford’s veteran leadership..

The big issue for them will be do they commit to that mega extension to Brown this summer as he could be a FA next year then they will have the same issue with Tatumn next summer as he would also likely be due a supermax?

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

The 76ers decided to bring over 2021 pick Filip Petrusev for next season. I am a fan of his game, and his potential, but after re-signing Harrell, matching on Paul Reed, and signing Mo Bamba, it seems like an odd decision in an off offseason for them. Unless they are going to use a big lineup, four centers and a fifth on a two-way in Toubelis behind Embiid seems a bit excessive. While one can imagine they will play somewhat differently under Nick Nurse, I am curious to see how their roster construction works. Having five former Rockets from their teams five years ago or more doesn’t seem smart, especially when all of them are on some degree of decline in their abilities. If one thinks of Tobias Harris as more of a 4 at this point of his career, they don’t really have a proper lengthy wing. Council might be able to grow into one, but two-ways don’t get minutes on contenders unless multiple regulars sit. Korkmaz would get more minutes if he could be decent defensively, but even a new coach doesn’t assure him of a greater role.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Petrusev is a good basketball player and its always good to have a surplus of talent. Maybe they think he can replace Niang as a stretch big but Niang is odd player, kind of a modern day tweener, more of a forward. Niang is also an inredibly effecient specialist andNurse has a short leash as well and its also likely Petrusev gets lost in the shuffle.

Nurse offense has always relied on playmaking bigs that can space the floor but at the endd of the day the ball goes through Embiid so not much should change.

[HitsterParticipant]

I guess Philly are trying to throw as many options around Embeast as they can as without support I can see him being the next guy to askl for a trade in due course. Where he would want to go, could go are two different things as Morey would want a big haul for the MVP but a lot of teams have traded away immediate assets apart from say the Knicks out of the bigger market teams.

The Lakers are apparently looking to extend AD as the cornerstone of their post LBJ era. That makes sense but the issue could be how long a deal both sides want. AD could want a long term deal to effectively take hom to the end/near the end of his career. But with his durability issues the Lakers may want to keep the deal shorter to give them maximum FA options going forward. I can personally see them doing a 2 plus 1 deal with AD with the final year being a player option.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

Udonis Haslem has officially retired. What a dawg.

[HitsterParticipant]

NBA has issued a memo to all teams advising that any player who threatens not to fully perform under the terms of their contract in the event of a trade will be subject to disciplinary action. Also trade requests should be made to the players team in private and not made public.

This comes due to the action of Dame’s agent Aaron Goodwin who was apparently contacting teams and asking them not to trade for Damian as he only wanted to be traded to the Miami Heat. Players can express their preferred teams but unless they have an NTC they have no official power on where they may end up.

The Dame trade saga could drag on a bit like KD’s did last year and other contending teams may emerge with interest or if Portland are in the play off mix which would be higely dependant on Dame he may be happy to stay there. But he still runs the risk of being traded as if Scoot takes off the Blazers might decide to go long term and accept a reasonable offer for Dame.

I still wonder if Dame thought pre draft they might be looking to flip 3rd pick for an All Star level running mate for him. But Scoot was drafted at 3, Grant was resigned and then Dame’s trade request came in. Looking back on it now if Blazers were always going to draft and keep 3rd pick then this should have been made clear to Dame and he put his trade rrquest in prior to draft night. If he was available then a deal could well have been done and all parties be in the right places now.

[HitsterParticipant]

Ad has effectively committed to become a Laker for life opting into his 2024/25 player option and then inking a 3 year extension worth $186 million until summer 2028. The Lakers will be paying him an average of over $60 million a year when he is 32 to 35 but him opting in for 24/25 means he has left a fair bit of money on the table. So I guess this is the going rate for a top level player going forward.

He will be the cornerstone of the post LBJ era and with him in place any future top signings will know they have an All NBA level team mate in situ if AD stays sound and his game stays near its top level.

[r377Participant]

Overpaid jaylen brown. Is not franchise and will always be second best player on all teams..

[HitsterParticipant]

Jaylen has got a huge deal but it is similar to what Dame and AD will be paid into their mid 30’s and KAT got a similar sized deal. So whilst it is overpaying it seems to be the going rate and Boston have never been reckless with huge contracts either. The only rod Boston have made for themselves is that they will likely have to pay Tatum more than Brown got in next couple of years.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

Third and fourth contracts can always be dicey, because by their nature are dealing with players either going into their double digit years or already there in the league. I don’t love the Jaylen Brown contract, but the Anthony Davis one frightens me. It frightens me even though Davis is the better player. Davis has played 60 games in one of the past five seasons. I don’t imagine that will improve three-to-five years down the line. While LeBron will probably play another two or three years, and I suspect will do so with the Lakers, I don’t see him getting to four or five. They have Austin Reeves on a somewhat bargain (assuming his stretch run was no fluke) deal for the next three years, but that coincides with one of these extension years. Investing that much of your cap so far down the line in someone whose availability is already in question is crazy. The actual money is simply reflective of the CBA. The league isn’t going broke, so I have no problem with where the max salaries are going. It is putting the money towards a player or any of the players who can’t be relied upon to be there to justify the pay is the problem. Back to Brown, tying up 60+ percent of your cap in Tatum and Brown will be fine if they stay healthy (big if as they get into contract three) and the Celtics can either draft well or develop guys in the G-League and on the two-ways. It is not a duo worth breaking up at this point. If they keep hitting their head on the playoff ceiling in a couple years, I think they should still be able to deal Brown and change up their mix.

[HitsterParticipant]

Davis on that mega money at pushing 35 is possibly more of a worry than someone like Dame who will still have his playmaking and shooting if he slows down a bit.

The Lakers haven’t got themselves into a position where they ended up giving AD a long extension taking him up to say 37 and him opting in for 24/25 has saved them money. I don’t know exactly who might hit FA over the next few seasons so possibly the Lakers feel it is better to have AD tied down than risk him leaving especially as they have very limited future trade assets during the time of his new deal.

I agree that Boston can go in either direction and a lot will depend whether Tatum decides to test FA in a couple of years or not. Brown’s contract is for potentially his prime years so there is less risk him being on this mega deal from ages 27 to 32 then guys getting a deal like this in their 30’s.

Plus Boston own pretty much their own first rounders and have some possibly due so they haven’t mortgaged their future like a number of contenders.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

The Summer of 2025 seemed as though it could have been the reset/reload point for the Lakers. While the possibility of LeBron retiring this summer never seemed realistic to anyone, I think he goes to more of a year-to-year mode after this contract. He is going into year 21, and it is a heavy 21 as he has played 11,654 playoff minutes. For comparison sake, Magic Johnson, who basically spent his entire career getting to the finals, played 7,538 playoff minutes. Michael Jordan played 7,474. Kobe Bryant played 8,641. Shaq played 8,098. Kareem played 8,851. Bill Russell played 7,497. Tim Duncan played 9,370. LeBron is so far into uncharted territory that it borders on absurd. Let’s say that he really wants to play a couple more seasons to give Bronny a chance to heal up and get into the NBA. That goes through 2025. Davis would have had his contract expire. The Lakers have Reeves on what looks like a good deal for another year. Rui and Gabe Vincent will be going into the final year of their deals. We will see how Hood-Schifino and Max Lewis develop, but neither will cost much at that point. They would have had a ton of cap room, and Laker Exceptionalism is a real thing. If the Lakers have cap room, stars will jump at the chance to go there. Davis makes that a much smaller possibility because he gobbles up so much of it. Also, in this era of parity, punting on the regular season has real costs. To be a 50-win team, you have to win 60% for your regular season games. That is basically what Anthony Davis teams have been when he has played. It is a bit of an overstatement to attribute that just to him, but he is a star who has had a great impact on the Lakers winning games. Still, he misses a ton of them. Even if we think his impact can hold up for another three-to-five years, if he misses 25-30 games per year, it will always be a challenge to stay clear of the play-in rounds where he is making up close to the 35% of the cap. I don’t get why they felt the need to rush in and extend him.

[HitsterParticipant]

Great points BTPH and very interesting about the play off minutes. LBJ is at an incredible number well over double what the current GSW 4 timers who went to another final have achieved. LBJ is over 5k minutes ahead of his nearest active rival in KD.

Magic if he hadn’t had his health issues would have probably been near to or over 10k minutes in the play offs.

AD’s impact has never been in doubt its just if he can stay healthy especially when it comes to the play offs and he needs to play a run of games playing heavy minutes.

[HitsterParticipant]

James Harden has now said he won’t ever play for the 76ers again as long as Daryl Morey is at the franchise. With James only having a year left on his deal and turning 34 soon the 76ers won’t get the sort of return they maybe hoped for. With Dame having made noises about going to Miami might the Heat consider a move and I could see Philly being keen on Herro as a longer term building point.

Philly may be loathe to trade him to a Conference rival so would there be much interest out West?

The Spurs with their rebuilding might decide to supercharge it and Harden would have a longer potential title window on Team Wemby. The Clippers are his preferred location but do they have a package to suit 76ers.

The total wildcard would be Dame for Harden but it might just work, it gets Embiid a franchise level running mate who is slightly younger than Harden. Portland get Haeden but save all the money due to Dame and it still gives them the chance to try and contend with a Harden and Scoot backcourt.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Just a bad job overall by Morey once again. Another prime example of the “who the hell qualifies as a GM” theory. How the hell do these guys have jobs. He’s terrible. The one good decision he made was to sign Harden when he was an RFA from OKC. Since then he depleted his assets in Houston to acquire various “star players” instead of building an actual team. Now he’s done the same thing in Philly, trades for the same player he failed to build around and win around in Houston. Mismanages him. Loss of assets without any postseason success.

Either way I don’t think this will hurt the 76ers this season. Maxey is that guy. I think he will be in contention for scoring titles yearly once he is in his prime. Melton has alot more to offer as well. Tobias Harris needs a larger role and should be more than a spot up shooter, he plays better all around when he is more involved. They should be very good. Especially if they get back a few assets from the Clippers. If they can get back Mann, Morris and Kobe Brown consider that a win because he could have just walked anyways. which would have been an absolute disaster.

[HitsterParticipant]

If Maxey does continue to develop and become a potential all star then he could be a long term running mate for Embeast. I agree Morey is very overrated and I never saw the need for Philly to bring him in with Elton Brand already there as a solid GM.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Exactly. Houston got to the conference finals twice in 8 years with a team poorly built around the best offensive player in the league. He bolts after losing Harden and left the team in shambles. Thats your big hire to get Philly over the edge? Houston’s had the worst record in the NBA since. Analtics genius!

[HitsterParticipant]

Giannis signed a $186 million 3 year extension with the Buck including a player option in 27/28. So the Bucks have effively tied the Greek Freak down for the bulk of hisremaining peak years and his new deal aligns with Dame’s contract.

Great news for Bucks fans as long as Giannis stays sound they have the safety net that even if he did want out at sometime they’d get a King’s ransom return for him. Plus it looks like he has totally bought in to the Dame trade and new HC as he could easily have waited a year or even had FA option in 2025.

[Author]

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