Thoughts in General, Rumors, etc 5.0

[shangrila]

What happened to WCS? An issue with the team or just off court personal stuff?

[Texas Chuck]

Yeah no idea what eminence is alluding to. Mavs have been very supportive of him and made it clear that won't change after today.

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[dodongo]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

[tidho]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

really don't see that happening

Nets would obviously be a team to watch. He'd be great on a team with a weak bench that just needs a guy they can hand the ball to and say 'go' for 15 minutes a night. Maybe Philly?

[jayu70]

Any of you guys tried or will try this:

The National Basketball Association is offering virtual courtside seats on Meta’s $299 Oculus Quest 2 devices. The headsets were one of the most popular Christmas gifts in 2021, showing that people seem to be more willing than ever to give virtual reality a try. And businesses are trying to keep your eyeballs on their content by creating VR versions of their apps and games. The NBA experience is free and available on Meta’s Horizon Venues platform, which is a free software download for the Oculus headset. People appear as digital avatars, sort of like cartoon versions of their real selves, and watch an NBA game from a courtside perspective. It’s not Jack Nicholson’s Los Angeles Lakers seat at Crypto.com Arena or Spike Lee’s seat at Madison Square Garden, but it almost replicates the real thing.

– via Jabari Young @ CNBC

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/01/15/nba-games-in-virtual-reality-have-potential-heres-what-watching-one-is-like.html

[Resistance]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

really don't see that happening

Nets would obviously be a team to watch. He'd be great on a team with a weak bench that just needs a guy they can hand the ball to and say 'go' for 15 minutes a night. Maybe Philly?

Morey has already seen Westbrook close up in Houston, so I have Philadelphia as unlikely.


Going from what was supposed to be a Big Three in LA to coming off the bench elsewhere is going to be tough on his Ego.

[Fencer reregistered]

The Jalen Smith rumor highlights an interesting point.

If we assume Horford doesn't get paid the non-guaranteed part of his salary next year, Boston doesn't have substantive center depth behind TimeLord.

And by the way -- while I was a little early on this by T&T board standards, there's now an emerging consensus that Robert Williams is Boston's most consistent player, widely underrated, and/or part of the team's ongoing young core.

[Texas Chuck]

And by the way -- while I was a little early on this by T&T board standards, there's now an emerging consensus that Robert Williams is Boston's most consistent player, widely underrated, and/or part of the team's ongoing young core.

Is this a consensus? Because I guess I'm the one guy who doesn't think he's their most consistent player and I absolutely disagree with a guy that has gotten a ton of hype on this board for years now is underrated.

[Texas Chuck]

Is Jalen Brunson the most insignificant player that is going to require his own containment thread? And have we ever needed a containment thread for a trade of one player to one team before?

[jbk1234]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

No matter how bad it gets, the Lakers are still better off with Westbrook as an expiring contract that can be traded this summer than Westbrook's dead money on their books that cannot.

[psman2]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

No matter how bad it gets, the Lakers are still better off with Westbrook as an expiring contract that can be traded this summer than Westbrook's dead money on their books that cannot.

I think the term dumped here refers to him getting traded and then the new team is buying him out. I am not sure there is a trade that makes sense to do that but I think that is the scenario the poster is contemplating.

[jbk1234]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

No matter how bad it gets, the Lakers are still better off with Westbrook as an expiring contract that can be traded this summer than Westbrook's dead money on their books that cannot.

I think the term dumped here refers to him getting traded and then the new team is buying him out. I am not sure there is a trade that makes sense to do that but I think that is the scenario the poster is contemplating.

In that case, is there a team that Westbrook is willing to come off the bench for, and is there a playoff team willing to take on the risk on anything other than a league minimum deal? Like, I'm not seeing a Kemba situation midseason where a playoff teams clears enough space below the cap line to sign him. The buyout would have to wait until the summer. OKC could always trade for him at the deadline, give him the Horford vacation, and then buy him out this summer. Maybe some team spends part of the MLE on him.

[shangrila]

Any of you guys tried or will try this:

The National Basketball Association is offering virtual courtside seats on Meta’s $299 Oculus Quest 2 devices. The headsets were one of the most popular Christmas gifts in 2021, showing that people seem to be more willing than ever to give virtual reality a try. And businesses are trying to keep your eyeballs on their content by creating VR versions of their apps and games. The NBA experience is free and available on Meta’s Horizon Venues platform, which is a free software download for the Oculus headset. People appear as digital avatars, sort of like cartoon versions of their real selves, and watch an NBA game from a courtside perspective. It’s not Jack Nicholson’s Los Angeles Lakers seat at Crypto.com Arena or Spike Lee’s seat at Madison Square Garden, but it almost replicates the real thing.

– via Jabari Young @ CNBC

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/01/15/nba-games-in-virtual-reality-have-potential-heres-what-watching-one-is-like.html

**** no.

I might be resisting the future here but I’ll avoid crap like this for as long as humanly possible. There’s just something creepy about the whole thing.

[psman2]

No matter how bad it gets, the Lakers are still better off with Westbrook as an expiring contract that can be traded this summer than Westbrook's dead money on their books that cannot.

I think the term dumped here refers to him getting traded and then the new team is buying him out. I am not sure there is a trade that makes sense to do that but I think that is the scenario the poster is contemplating.

In that case, is there a team that Westbrook is willing to come off the bench for, and is there a playoff team willing to take on the risk on anything other than a league minimum deal? Like, I'm not seeing a Kemba situation midseason where a playoff teams clears enough space below the cap line to sign him. The buyout would have to wait until the summer. OKC could always trade for him at the deadline, give him the Horford vacation, and then buy him out this summer. Maybe some team spends part of the MLE on him.

Teams that might consider bringing on Westbrook if cut for the league min.
Dallas -Loves big names and could use a boost
NY - Westy is still a big name and will at least drive media attention again toward the Knicks.
Miami - Has the culture and Vets to hopefully keep him in check.
Nets - IF Harden and Durant want him then they will get him.
LAC- It would just be poetic if somehow Westy joins the Clips and helps them in the playoffs.

I think at least one playoff team will take a shot on him.

[Texas Chuck]

Teams that might consider bringing on Westbrook if cut for the league min.
Dallas -Loves big names and could use a boost

For the minimum Dallas absolutely should make the call. But I can't see Westbrook considering Dallas after Cuban spent years on social media and in interviews telling everyone that Westbrook wasn't a star. He went at him hard and I'm not exactly sure why.

[psman2]

Teams that might consider bringing on Westbrook if cut for the league min.
Dallas -Loves big names and could use a boost

For the minimum Dallas absolutely should make the call. But I can't see Westbrook considering Dallas after Cuban spent years on social media and in interviews telling everyone that Westbrook wasn't a star. He went at him hard and I'm not exactly sure why.

If Dallas was the only playoff team offering a deal I still could see it happen...but likely not WB's first choice. Space the floor like the Rockets did down the stretch in 2020 and let WB feast on 2nd units and he is likely still a positive player in a limited role.

[VCfor3]

Teams that might consider bringing on Westbrook if cut for the league min.
Dallas -Loves big names and could use a boost

For the minimum Dallas absolutely should make the call. But I can't see Westbrook considering Dallas after Cuban spent years on social media and in interviews telling everyone that Westbrook wasn't a star. He went at him hard and I'm not exactly sure why.

If Dallas was the only playoff team offering a deal I still could see it happen...but likely not WB's first choice. Space the floor like the Rockets did down the stretch in 2020 and let WB feast on 2nd units and he is likely still a positive player in a limited role.

Boston may try to take a swing on him too. I think plenty of teams would have interest in WB on a min deal but want to stay far far away on the current contract.

[Fencer reregistered]

And by the way -- while I was a little early on this by T&T board standards, there's now an emerging consensus that Robert Williams is Boston's most consistent player, widely underrated, and/or part of the team's ongoing young core.

Is this a consensus? Because I guess I'm the one guy who doesn't think he's their most consistent player and I absolutely disagree with a guy that has gotten a ton of hype on this board for years now is underrated.

More and more local media types are saying versions of it. Udoka is fanning that flame. So are Tatum and Brown.

But of course claims specifically of "underrated" differ in accordance with perceptions of what other people are saying. Certainly I think his implied value in many (not all) trade proposals around here amount to wild underrating of him.

[psman2]

For the minimum Dallas absolutely should make the call. But I can't see Westbrook considering Dallas after Cuban spent years on social media and in interviews telling everyone that Westbrook wasn't a star. He went at him hard and I'm not exactly sure why.

If Dallas was the only playoff team offering a deal I still could see it happen...but likely not WB's first choice. Space the floor like the Rockets did down the stretch in 2020 and let WB feast on 2nd units and he is likely still a positive player in a limited role.

Boston may try to take a swing on him too. I think plenty of teams would have interest in WB on a min deal but want to stay far far away on the current contract.

On the court they could use him, but I don't think their lockeroom can keep him in check. Horford is more of the quiet leader and their head coach doesn't have gravitas to keep him in line. Even with WB they are likely headed no where this season so to me not worth throwing gas on that fire.

[zimpy27]

If Westbrook is dumped and bought out, which contender (if any) will want to sign him?

No matter how bad it gets, the Lakers are still better off with Westbrook as an expiring contract that can be traded this summer than Westbrook's dead money on their books that cannot.

Definitely. Lakers have Westbrook and 2 FRPs to trade in offseason. They will be able to recalibrate if they need to.