Around the NBA: 2020-21 Season

[Andi Obst]

Thing is I don't think Blake will give us more than what Thad is already giving us. I mean in terms of overall impact. A new addition to our team that's not driven by long-term plan, should be a player that addresses short term needs, filling some holes. We need a legit Center and a point guard. Blake address neither of those.

More?! Blake is significantly worse than Thad, on both ends.

He's not worse than Thad. Not by a long shot. But there is something seriously wrong with his knee and I can't see it being fixed anytime soon or him coming back for more than stretches. A couple of years ago he willed that Pistons team on his back into the playoffs. He was a beast.

Blake absolutely was a great player, but he’s definitely worse than Thad now. Don’t really see an argument for Blake here.

[DuckIII]

I would trade for Blake in a heartbeat if it meant that DET would give us a maybe top 5-8 protected or better FRP. He's only got 1 year left on his contract after this year. I'll easily take one year of Blake for an extra FRP, especially from a team that's nowhere close to contending. Short of 2 legit stars somehow wanting to join Lavine and create a super team, these are the type of moves AK should be focusing on.

The Griffin situation is bizarre. They are sitting him out to trade him, but who wants him? Bad teams would only trade for him by taking extra value. But if you were one of the worst teams in the league looking to rebuild would you package a first to dump Blake? He’s only under contract for 1 more season.

And what good, veteran team sees him as a win now piece? That’s the only type of team that would give anything up for him, and wouldn’t expect significant additional value from Detroit as sweetener. But who would that be?

Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[Dresden]

Interesting discussion on Zion v. Morant:

https://sports.yahoo.com/zion-williamson-ja-morant-nba-question-nobody-saw-coming-172634167.html

[Dresden]

I would trade for Blake in a heartbeat if it meant that DET would give us a maybe top 5-8 protected or better FRP. He's only got 1 year left on his contract after this year. I'll easily take one year of Blake for an extra FRP, especially from a team that's nowhere close to contending. Short of 2 legit stars somehow wanting to join Lavine and create a super team, these are the type of moves AK should be focusing on.

The Griffin situation is bizarre. They are sitting him out to trade him, but who wants him? Bad teams would only trade for him by taking extra value. But if you were one of the worst teams in the league looking to rebuild would you package a first to dump Blake? He’s only under contract for 1 more season.

And what good, veteran team sees him as a win now piece? That’s the only type of team that would give anything up for him, and wouldn’t expect significant additional value from Detroit as sweetener. But who would that be?

Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I don't know, I think a lot of teams in a "win now" mode would welcome a player of Blake's caliber. Similar to how the Lakers found a nice spot for Montrezl Harrell. Neither are stars at this point, but both offer their teams a very nice amount of production. Contending teams have always need players like that. Reminds me of how much David West meant to the Warriors during the time he was there.

[TheStig]

I would trade for Blake in a heartbeat if it meant that DET would give us a maybe top 5-8 protected or better FRP. He's only got 1 year left on his contract after this year. I'll easily take one year of Blake for an extra FRP, especially from a team that's nowhere close to contending. Short of 2 legit stars somehow wanting to join Lavine and create a super team, these are the type of moves AK should be focusing on.

The Griffin situation is bizarre. They are sitting him out to trade him, but who wants him? Bad teams would only trade for him by taking extra value. But if you were one of the worst teams in the league looking to rebuild would you package a first to dump Blake? He’s only under contract for 1 more season.

And what good, veteran team sees him as a win now piece? That’s the only type of team that would give anything up for him, and wouldn’t expect significant additional value from Detroit as sweetener. But who would that be?

Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I don't know, I think a lot of teams in a "win now" mode would welcome a player of Blake's caliber. Similar to how the Lakers found a nice spot for Montrezl Harrell. Neither are stars at this point, but both offer their teams a very nice amount of production. Contending teams have always need players like that. Reminds me of how much David West meant to the Warriors during the time he was there.

Are we talking about a buyout on a min contract or Blake's current contract? I think contenders would take Griffin as a 20mpg bench guy. But they can't pay him 36 and 39 mill left on his deal. They'd have to trade a lot of salary and likely a couple of guys to match that.

[TheStig]

More?! Blake is significantly worse than Thad, on both ends.

He's not worse than Thad. Not by a long shot. But there is something seriously wrong with his knee and I can't see it being fixed anytime soon or him coming back for more than stretches. A couple of years ago he willed that Pistons team on his back into the playoffs. He was a beast.

Blake absolutely was a great player, but he’s definitely worse than Thad now. Don’t really see an argument for Blake here.

Was Jeff Teague ever better than Derrick Rose or was Rose injured? There are great players who have injury issues but still have a lot of talent. Griffin is a better player than Thad. He just has one broken knee. Two years ago he was a 25ppg scorer who willed a bad team to the playoffs. He didn't just lose all that without the injury.

[dice]

Interesting discussion on Zion v. Morant:

https://sports.yahoo.com/zion-williamson-ja-morant-nba-question-nobody-saw-coming-172634167.html

ja is a nice player, but he might not ever be more than that. zion is a stud w/ heightened injury potential and room to improve his all-around game

[FriedRise]

Watch on YouTube

[Repeat 3-peat]

Big comeback(trailed by 24 pts) by the Nets vs Suns without KD and Kyrie.

Jeff Green has been the center in the 4th for Brooklyn. Basketball in 2021 is wild, 6-10 years ago that would have been laughable.

[detlef_schrempf]

Thing is I don't think Blake will give us more than what Thad is already giving us. I mean in terms of overall impact. A new addition to our team that's not driven by long-term plan, should be a player that addresses short term needs, filling some holes. We need a legit Center and a point guard. Blake address neither of those.

More?! Blake is significantly worse than Thad, on both ends.

He's not worse than Thad. Not by a long shot. But there is something seriously wrong with his knee and I can't see it being fixed anytime soon or him coming back for more than stretches. A couple of years ago he willed that Pistons team on his back into the playoffs. He was a beast.

Blake Griffin is a shell of even that player. Don’t let your memories of his past ability cloud your judgment. He isn’t half the player Thad is right now.

[Andi Obst]

He didn't just lose all that without the injury.

Or maybe he did. Because his play certainly indicates that he did.

I don't really get what you're trying to tell me. Yes, Blake Griffin is a more talented basketball player than Thad. Yes, he had a great season only 2 years ago. But he's easily been the Pistons' worst starter since Hayes went down... and the Pistons suck. When I say that Thad is better than Blake I only mean right now. And right now it isn't close.

[Indomitable]

He's not worse than Thad. Not by a long shot. But there is something seriously wrong with his knee and I can't see it being fixed anytime soon or him coming back for more than stretches. A couple of years ago he willed that Pistons team on his back into the playoffs. He was a beast.

Blake absolutely was a great player, but he’s definitely worse than Thad now. Don’t really see an argument for Blake here.

Was Jeff Teague ever better than Derrick Rose or was Rose injured? There are great players who have injury issues but still have a lot of talent. Griffin is a better player than Thad. He just has one broken knee. Two years ago he was a 25ppg scorer who willed a bad team to the playoffs. He didn't just lose all that without the injury.

You do not pay 30 million for bad defense and inefficient offense.

[TheStig]

Blake absolutely was a great player, but he’s definitely worse than Thad now. Don’t really see an argument for Blake here.

Was Jeff Teague ever better than Derrick Rose or was Rose injured? There are great players who have injury issues but still have a lot of talent. Griffin is a better player than Thad. He just has one broken knee. Two years ago he was a 25ppg scorer who willed a bad team to the playoffs. He didn't just lose all that without the injury.

You do not pay 30 million for bad defense and inefficient offense.

Oh Blake isn't worth the money. But he didn't just fall off or get fat. He had multiple knee issues that robbed him of movement and jumping ability.

[TheStig]

He didn't just lose all that without the injury.

Or maybe he did. Because his play certainly indicates that he did.

I don't really get what you're trying to tell me. Yes, Blake Griffin is a more talented basketball player than Thad. Yes, he had a great season only 2 years ago. But he's easily been the Pistons' worst starter since Hayes went down... and the Pistons suck. When I say that Thad is better than Blake I only mean right now. And right now it isn't close.

That's what I was saying kind of. He didn't just fall off or get fat or quit caring. He had multiple knee issues.

I'm not advocating for Blake. He's clearly not worth the contract with no knees. But I still think he can be an immensly talented big in the right situation when he gets bought out.

[erlim]

John Lucas III about the Lebron dunk over him...between he and Wade, it seems like Miami has a way way way way WAY better fan atmosphere than us. Also amusing that he got DRose to sit so he could extract revenge. This interview definitely makes JL3 seem funnier and more likeable than sitting through watching him play on the team back in the day.

Watch on YouTube

[HomoSapien]

I like Blake Griffin, he's a good dude and has been a bit underrated through his career. That said, unless he's able to figure out his knee issues he's pretty much done as a productive basketball player. He literally hasn't had one dunk in his last 38 games and also hasn't shot over 36% during that span. That's not good and suggests he's not going to be able to overcome his issues. Griffin has serious skill and I don't think he was good simply because of his athleticism, but he's in trouble without his mobility. I've seen people mention that maybe he can make an Antonio McDyess type of transformation, but he still was pretty mobile on the floor. Griffin's not.

[HomoSapien]

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[kulaz3000]

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Look, on the Bulls board we have debated and argued at nauseum all that mistakes Paxson has made over this time with the Bulls, but the complete overhaul he made with the roster once he was hired was some of the best moves he had made as part of the front office. With Eddie Robinson being one of the biggest problems on the team, and him not ever getting a career thereafter pretty much says it all.

At the end of the day though, this is a cut-throat business, with the key word being business, where players are moved with them having little to no control, it's part of it. That said, in recent years though, players have had more control in a way, in that they are now more regularly demanding trades, and you know what, it sucks if that player is on your team, but objectively, good for them! Make it an even playing field, if players are expected to honour their contracts, why aren't the teams also?

Eddie Robinson was a whole lot of wasted talented.

[CobyWhite0]

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Look, on the Bulls board we have debated and argued at nauseum all that mistakes Paxson has made over this time with the Bulls, but the complete overhaul he made with the roster once he was hired was some of the best moves he had made as part of the front office. With Eddie Robinson being one of the biggest problems on the team, and him not ever getting a career thereafter pretty much says it all.

At the end of the day though, this is a cut-throat business, with the key word being business, where players are moved with them having little to no control, it's part of it. That said, in recent years though, players have had more control in a way, in that they are now more regularly demanding trades, and you know what, it sucks if that player is on your team, but objectively, good for them! Make it an even playing field, if players are expected to honour their contracts, why aren't the teams also?

Eddie Robinson was a whole lot of wasted talented.

While I'm aware that the phrase "million dollar talent, 10 cent brain" wasn't invented to describe ERob, it is his picture in the dictionary next to the definition. ERob literally had All-NBA level skills.

Eddy Curry may have wasted more natural talent and ability, but he didn't care, he didn't even like basketball. ERob just wasted his skills, I'm not sure anybody knows why.

[MrSparkle]

Eh. I recommend listening to some more recent E-Rob interviews. His road to the NBA was one of the most bizarre of them all.

Fact is the post-Jordan Bulls were in no state to develop young guys. I loved the 04/05 team, but the PaxSkiles solution of axing any athletic 21yo with a head-band didn't really work out in the end. It was convenient for a "culture change" , but it was an ultra-conservative roster solution to what ultimately was just an obsolete coaching, training, development and medical staff compared to what the Suns, Mavs, Lakers and Spurs were doing.

Paxson probably would've released Artest or traded him for a 2nd round pick if he held over past Krause's departure.