Around the League

[Kalamazoo317]

Terrible post. What were the signs of Troy's "incredible talent evaluation" and what were his "incredible draft picks"? Gimme a break. Dude was an average talent evaluator, average drafter, and terrible at just about everything else.

[Piston Pete]

So glad Weaver’s gone. He was terrible, and apparently still is….

Dumars still kills me too. The first half of his GM tenure here, he was just about the best GM in the league. His last half….he was one of the worst GMs in the league. Ugh

[chrbal]

Haven’t the Pelicans like 3 centers this offseason? Troy has a problem

I need the Pistons to make a deal with them soon

[Snakebites]

Norman Powell traded for John Collins (a guy perceived as not having trade value).

Anfernee Simons traded for old Jrue Holiday on a huge deal, AND the Celtics are still looking to drop him.

Kings can't give Malik Monk away.

I hope TL is taking notes. Non-defensive guards who aren't star level players rarely end up carrying value, particularly once they've gotten paid. If Ivey doesn't take a major leap we need to be very careful about what we pay him.

To be clear- I'm not already labeling Ivey as that type of player. But I do think that's his floor. And if that's where he's at we shouldn't pay him.

[chrbal]

Norman Powell traded for John Collins (a guy perceived as not having trade value).

Anfernee Simons traded for old Jrue Holiday on a huge deal, AND the Celtics are still looking to drop him.

Kings can't give Malik Monk away.

I hope TL is taking notes. Non-defensive guards who aren't star level players rarely end up carrying value, particularly once they've gotten paid. If Ivey doesn't take a major leap we need to be very careful about what we pay him.

To be clear- I'm not already labeling Ivey as that type of player. But I do think that's his floor. And if that's where he's at we shouldn't pay him.

Ivey and/or his agent have any common sense they hired a personal trainer that specializes in improving defensive skills.

With or without those skills is a huge canyon in terms of money difference

[VicVinegar]

A little late, but wow Booker got PAID. $72M a season? Hopefully the rumors can stop now. Idc what anyone thinks of Ivey, I'd much rather have Ivey + Assets + $50M than Devin Booker at $72M.

[bstein14]

A little late, but wow Booker got PAID. $72M a season? Hopefully the rumors can stop now. Idc what anyone thinks of Ivey, I'd much rather have Ivey + Assets + $50M than Devin Booker at $72M.

He'll be eligible to be traded in 6 months. I could see Phoenix moving off him if they are looking like a lottery team in February but they also don't own a bunch of their future picks so they'd likely want other cheaper win now pieces. It'll be interesting to see what their ownership/GM does if they are like 18-32 with little hope of being a playin team at the deadline.

[Invictus88]

A little late, but wow Booker got PAID. $72M a season? Hopefully the rumors can stop now. Idc what anyone thinks of Ivey, I'd much rather have Ivey + Assets + $50M than Devin Booker at $72M.

He'll be eligible to be traded in 6 months. I could see Phoenix wanting to be moving off him if they are looking like a lottery team in February

Fixed that for you.

Booker is good but he's being paid at MVP levels / having 2 all stars on your team. He's not that good / impactful. It's just not feasible for any team to really pay that and hope to contend with the CBA as it is. I want to believe that most of the league is already realizing this so I don't think there will be many takers.

I expect there to be somewhat surprising negotiations of future extensions of star players where there are bound to be holdouts / controversy until it ends up being the new norm. I think the days of turnkey supermax extensions are coming to an end. The cap numbers just don't work like they used to.

Then again Ishbia and his group of yes men keep making stupid financial decision after stupid financial decision and never seem to learn anything.... Something has to give.

Edit: More quasi-controversial statements for the lulz: If I look at Beal's stats (who actually was pretty efficient the last 2 years) and compare them to Booker's (who was far less efficient but had higher volume) and then weigh paying 50 million for one and 70 million for the other? I think I'd feel the same about both (that is, awful). I could see a world where I preferred Beal.

Phoenix keeps finding itself paying players far more than what they are actually worth to their team (Ayton, Beal and now Booker).

[MortSahlfan]

https://www.si.com/nba/pistons/news/denver-nuggets-vet-drops-honest-take-detroit-pistons-isaiah-stewart-01jzx50qdpef

[chrbal]

A little late, but wow Booker got PAID. $72M a season? Hopefully the rumors can stop now. Idc what anyone thinks of Ivey, I'd much rather have Ivey + Assets + $50M than Devin Booker at $72M.

He'll be eligible to be traded in 6 months. I could see Phoenix wanting to be moving off him if they are looking like a lottery team in February

Fixed that for you.

Booker is good but he's being paid at MVP levels / having 2 all stars on your team. He's not that good / impactful. It's just not feasible for any team to really pay that and hope to contend with the CBA as it is. I want to believe that most of the league is already realizing this so I don't think there will be many takers.

I expect there to be somewhat surprising negotiations of future extensions of star players where there are bound to be holdouts / controversy until it ends up being the new norm. I think the days of turnkey supermax extensions are coming to an end. The cap numbers just don't work like they used to.

Then again Ishbia and his group of yes men keep making stupid financial decision after stupid financial decision and never seem to learn anything.... Something has to give.

Edit: More quasi-controversial statements for the lulz: If I look at Beal's stats (who actually was pretty efficient the last 2 years) and compare them to Booker's (who was far less efficient but had higher volume) and then weigh paying 50 million for one and 70 million for the other? I think I'd feel the same about both (that is, awful). I could see a world where I preferred Beal.

Phoenix keeps finding itself paying players far more than what they are actually worth to their team (Ayton, Beal and now Booker).

Whenever the next negotiations are, I think the Suns will be used as the example of what went wrong with the last one

[breezypeezy]

Wow the few minutes of Cooper Flagg highlights in the Summer League, before they quickly shut him down, were super impressive.

He looks to be the real deal!

[breezypeezy]

Reporting is saying Lillard had at least a dozen other teams make offers.

[Cowology]

Reporting is saying Lillard had at least a dozen other teams make offers.

Probably all for the vet min. Teams doing their due diligence. Whatever he's getting from POR feels more like restituition for past grievances. Build some good will with the community and let him retire a Blazer. Dude may not even be able to get through a full season. We'll see.

[Invictus88]

Reporting is saying Lillard had at least a dozen other teams make offers.

Probably all for the vet min. Teams doing their due diligence. Whatever he's getting from POR feels more like restituition for past grievances. Build some good will with the community and let him retire a Blazer. Dude may not even be able to get through a full season. We'll see.

So one thing I don't understand about the Blazers and Lillard's new contract: Why was it structured like it was?

Facts:
- Lillard was originally owed 54.1 million and 58.4 million for the next 2 years.
- The Bucks waived and stretched him for 22.5 million per season for the next 5 seasons.
- The Blazers signed Lillard to a 3 year / 42 million dollar contract.

Questions:
- Doesn't 100% of the 14 million of at least years 1 and 2 of the Blazers contract just go to the Bucks (who then pay Lillard)?
- Not sure about year 3 of that contract as to whether or not that would also go to the Bucks as well? Or is it only the first two years since Dame's original contract was 2 years?

Overarching question:
What logic is there behind Portland not just giving Lillard a much smaller escalating deal for the first 2 years? (and keep year 3 as it is). Isn't Portland just throwing away money to Milwaukee that they really didn't have to spend? How is throwing away extra money away to Milwaukee showing Dame additional loyalty? He get's paid at the Milwaukee rate either way...

Thoughts or things I missed here?

[theBigLip]

https://www.si.com/nba/pistons/news/denver-nuggets-vet-drops-honest-take-detroit-pistons-isaiah-stewart-01jzx50qdpef

Nice take by THJ.

[tradez401]

Watch on YouTube

where was this fontecchio last season?

[tmorgan]

Watch on YouTube

where was this fontecchio last season?

He was here, at least on March 17th.

Simone can shoot when he gets going. Not a great fit as the 4th or 5th option off the bench, but he’s a solid player. Duncan Robinson is better suited to the role we can offer.

[The Number 9]

The first two games in this Euro, Fontecchio was not good, really not good. Interesting player but not consistent enough.

[Cowology]

Tech is a rhythm shooter. He likes to feel the ball and generally does better with higher usage & off the dribble.

We wanted him to be a Catch & Shoot threat in limited minutes and that's not really his game.

[theBigLip]

I also don’t think he was 100% healthy last year. Regardless, would rather have DRob anyway.