Around the League: 2024-25 Season

[Idiosyncratic]

Denver is barely even guarding OKC even with Gordon on the bench lol. Wide open 3s, but the nerves are too bad for them to make anything but the dunks right now. Crazy.

[pepe1991]

Looks to be blowout

[Skybox]

Down to the final 4...any of the playoff teams look like selloff candidates?

We know BOS feels the need to address finances and maybe take a year off, but they won't blow it up.

DEN, new FO and, maybe, Coach...that's often a sign of a big overhaul...I don't recall seeing Jokic as animatedly frustrated as this year. Not really sure what they can do as MPJ is a deep negative, Jokic cannot be even discussed unless he asks out, Murray is a big contract. Maybe just run it back.

CLE, imo, will make some changes...not sure how dramatic - but I think they should move off one of their Big 4...I'd assume Garland or Allen.

I could see IND, depending on how close they get, making a big all-in move if they come up short...one big swing for a ring

NYK is always up for a wild summer, regardless of their outcome - Durant seems like a possibility.

LAL will do something....but their clout and star power may make it as simple as signing a guy like Adams, Capela or Lopez for the vet min that they would never sign for anywhere else.

ORL, despite a 4-1 finish, has to believe they're close enough to take a swing...not necessarily a star swing, but a "plug the holes" swing or two

No idea what LAC might do, but they have some vets that didn't really do much...maybe a youth movement around the edges?

HOU might swing big or just stick together...not clear at all to me. They might just re-up FVV longer term and lower salary and dive back in.

MIN came into the summer with media members saying their roster is unsustainable fiscally...If Randle is happy maybe he re-ups for a pay cut. Naz Reid is also a FA, but nobody has money and neither one of them are exciting enough for BRK to back up the Brinks truck.

[MasterGMer]

Down to the final 4...any of the playoff teams look like selloff candidates?

We know BOS feels the need to address finances and maybe take a year off, but they won't blow it up.

DEN, new FO and, maybe, Coach...that's often a sign of a big overhaul...I don't recall seeing Jokic as animatedly frustrated as this year. Not really sure what they can do as MPJ is a deep negative, Jokic cannot be even discussed unless he asks out, Murray is a big contract. Maybe just run it back.

CLE, imo, will make some changes...not sure how dramatic - but I think they should move off one of their Big 4...I'd assume Garland or Allen.

I could see IND, depending on how close they get, making a big all-in move if they come up short...one big swing for a ring

NYK is always up for a wild summer, regardless of their outcome - Durant seems like a possibility.

LAL will do something....but their clout and star power may make it as simple as signing a guy like Adams, Capela or Lopez for the vet min that they would never sign for anywhere else.

ORL, despite a 4-1 finish, has to believe they're close enough to take a swing...not necessarily a star swing, but a "plug the holes" swing or two

No idea what LAC might do, but they have some vets that didn't really do much...maybe a youth movement around the edges?

HOU might swing big or just stick together...not clear at all to me. They might just re-up FVV longer term and lower salary and dive back in.

MIN came into the summer with media members saying their roster is unsustainable fiscally...If Randle is happy maybe he re-ups for a pay cut. Naz Reid is also a FA, but nobody has money and neither one of them are exciting enough for BRK to back up the Brinks truck.

PHX pick swap with us will be interesting next season. Could it become a trade chip? Or we can also hang on to it. It is going to be Top 10 considering Suns is done with KD.

Where is KD going?

Even with Lakers, LeBron's future could also be in doubt. Will Doncic resign with Lakers?

Where is Giannis gonna go? He likes Florida Cities? lol. Do we even have a shot regarding that? Pipe dream

Speaking of Magic, we have the assets. Draft capitals and young talents. Very interesting summer. Does our Front Office have the gut to make a Win Now swing to make us a contender instead of your Plug the Hole strategy? Or counter argument is are we too anxious?

We shall see all this summer

[basketballRob]

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[pepe1991]

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Did Fry ever watched footage of himself?

[pepe1991]

Wolves v OKC first game was fun for 2 and half quarters. Than OKC rolled them

[drsd]

Wolves v OKC first game was fun for 2 and half quarters. Than OKC rolled them

Elite perimeter defense coupled to elite shooting is a path to winning a boat-load of games.

I really think we are watching year-1 of a Thunder dynasty.

[pepe1991]

Wolves v OKC first game was fun for 2 and half quarters. Than OKC rolled them

Elite perimeter defense coupled to elite shooting is a path to winning a boat-load of games.

I really think we are watching year-1 of a Thunder dynasty.

i wrote after game 7 on GB that i don't see OKC losing more than 3 games for rest of a way.

Caruzo & I Hart for draft mistakes and capitalizing on Holmgren & J Will rookie deals separated Presti from other GMs. By very wide margin.

[GelbeWand09]

Wolves v OKC first game was fun for 2 and half quarters. Than OKC rolled them

Elite perimeter defense coupled to elite shooting is a path to winning a boat-load of games.

I really think we are watching year-1 of a Thunder dynasty.

i wrote after game 7 on GB that i don't see OKC losing more than 3 games for rest of a way.

Caruzo & I Hart for draft mistakes and capitalizing on Holmgren & J Will rookie deals separated Presti from other GMs. By very wide margin.

That defense is something else. Never understood comments that we have the best defense if you watch 10 min. of OKC.
Caruso is the even better defensive version of Suggs. They have 2 of the top 5 def. Bigs in the leaque, who fit together and are able to play big minutes.
They have 4-5 elite point of attack defenders. Its like they have 4 or 5 Suggs There Superstar is at least a top 20 defender himself. They are the only team that can take away Jokic's passing game because they just swarm all the passing lanes. They have elite speed & length at ever position.
Never seen a team with such high octane pressure defense 48 min a game. Unlike us they turn their elite defense into elite offense. Normally points of turnover is so much dependent on the opponent no matter how good you are defensively but their guard pressure is so high it just happens against every opponent, every game.

Presti used the money before the big contracts to solve weaknesses and traded away talented but not fitting players. IHart & Caruso were just no brainers. IHart was a advanced stat marvel at Houston already. Lakers trading Caruso was one of the biggest brainfarts.

[pepe1991]

Elite perimeter defense coupled to elite shooting is a path to winning a boat-load of games.

I really think we are watching year-1 of a Thunder dynasty.

i wrote after game 7 on GB that i don't see OKC losing more than 3 games for rest of a way.

Caruzo & I Hart for draft mistakes and capitalizing on Holmgren & J Will rookie deals separated Presti from other GMs. By very wide margin.

That defense is something else. Never understood comments that we have the best defense if you watch 10 min. of OKC.
Caruso is the even better defensive version of Suggs. They have 2 of the top 5 def. Bigs in the leaque, who fit together and are able to play big minutes.
They have 4-5 elite point of attack defenders. Its like they have 4 or 5 Suggs There Superstar is at least a top 20 defender himself. They are the only team that can take away Jokic's passing game because they just swarm all the passing lanes. They have elite speed & length at ever position.
Never seen a team with such high octane pressure defense 48 min a game. Unlike us they turn their elite defense into elite offense. Normally points of turnover is so much dependent on the opponent no matter how good you are defensively but their guard pressure is so high it just happens against every opponent, every game.

Presti used the money before the big contracts to solve weaknesses and traded away talented but not fitting players. IHart & Caruso were just no brainers. IHart was a advanced stat marvel at Houston already. Lakers trading Caruso was one of the biggest brainfarts.

Earlier today



Their defense creates chaos on offense for every team. But as you said, it's not that surprising.
Dort- elite defense
Caruso- DPOY candidate
Holmgren - probably top 3 defender in whole league
SGA- probably top 20
I Hart- underrated defender (and player)
J Will - guy legit plays PG,SG, SF and PF and defends all positions well

[Skybox]

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Did Fry ever watched footage of himself?

Oh good, they found another source of dumb hot takes, so Perk doesn’t ALWAYS have to be wrong

Media has gotten so bad…even the front runners- Ernie, Shaq, Chuck & Kenny seem cockier & sloppier than in the past. They’re trying too hard to be funny or controversial, imo. Chuck revolutionized things by being bluntly honest…now he’s Walter Cronkite compared to a lot of the crap.

[Skybox]

Wolves v OKC first game was fun for 2 and half quarters. Than OKC rolled them

Elite perimeter defense coupled to elite shooting is a path to winning a boat-load of games.

I really think we are watching year-1 of a Thunder dynasty.

Maybe we’re on the right path, but I do think that a huge, active big like Hartenstein, at least part-time, at Center is a significant need to be able to compete with the best teams and control the rebounds…those multiple possessions are killers.

[pepe1991]

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Did Fry ever watched footage of himself?

Oh good, they found another source of dumb hot takes, so Perk doesn’t ALWAYS have to be wrong

Media has gotten so bad…even the front runners- Ernie, Shaq, Chuck & Kenny seem cockier & sloppier than in the past. They’re trying too hard to be funny or controversial, imo. Chuck revolutionized things by being bluntly honest…now he’s Walter Cronkite compared to a lot of the crap.

They also find some of biggest bums nba has ever had to talk trash about star players.

Frye was allergic to defense, couldn't rebound to save his life, avoided contact under any cost .
Perkins, talent vise, is probably 2th percentile in nba history, including guys who played and worked real jobs in 1950s.

As from "talking " itself, it's gimmick. They play heels and faces. It's scripted and somebody writes down for them what to say, much like it was case with Skip & SA Smith.

Shaq, Chuck & Co at least felt natural, felt like you are having 5 beers with friends after hard day at work, after you put kids to sleep and they talk hot garbage half buzzed until one decides to send di*k pic to his mother in law.

[Skybox]

Did Fry ever watched footage of himself?

Oh good, they found another source of dumb hot takes, so Perk doesn’t ALWAYS have to be wrong

Media has gotten so bad…even the front runners- Ernie, Shaq, Chuck & Kenny seem cockier & sloppier than in the past. They’re trying too hard to be funny or controversial, imo. Chuck revolutionized things by being bluntly honest…now he’s Walter Cronkite compared to a lot of the crap.

They also find some of biggest bums nba has ever had to talk trash about star players.

Frye was allergic to defense, couldn't rebound to save his life, avoided contact under any cost .
Perkins, talent vise, is probably 2th percentile in nba history, including guys who played and worked real jobs in 1950s.

As from "talking " itself, it's gimmick. They play heels and faces. It's scripted and somebody writes down for them what to say, much like it was case with Skip & SA Smith.

Shaq, Chuck & Co at least felt natural, felt like you are having 5 beers with friends after hard day at work, after you put kids to sleep and they talk hot garbage half buzzed until one decides to send di*k pic to his mother in law.

It used to be Ernie had the clean shave, the buttoned up look, even the name to be the straight man role…to keep things on the rails, while the other 3 riffed. Kenny is still good, measured and insightful. Chuck looks like he hardly gets a chance to speak- he was never “irreverent” or “shocking” - he was just brutally honest, which was amazing coming from a relatively recent star player. Shaq was always a mumbling mess and his constant attempts to feud with Chuck just seem tired. Ernie has gotten way too hip with his whiskers and bow ties…trying to be part of the peanut gallery, instead of the maestro, reining them in. They just talk over each other and blurt smartass stuff, cracking themselves up…but I guess that’s modern media- just a lot of noise and “look at me” stuff like some douche in his mom’s basement who lands a hot take that goes viral and suddenly he’s somehow relevant, despite knowing less than most of us on here…wait that sounds like Steven A. Whose only attribute is certainty…he never starts a rant with “maybe” or “I think”

[Fortune Teller]

A lot of posters here wanted Hartenstein and you can see why. Presti got him and did what Jeff would never do -- traded his young lottery pick Giddey for a better fit in Caruso. OKC is a step ahead and we're 3 steps behind.

Having said that I still think the Magic should look at the Pacers rather than the Thunder as the blueprint because Jeff isn't Presti and never will be. That guy has been putting on a master class for more than a decade. Jeff needs to focus on one move at a time and make it the right one. Stop holding on to your draft picks like they are rare diamonds. Nothing is sacred. Building your team, rather than just sitting on your eggs and hoping they all incubate.

[Idiosyncratic]

A lot of posters here wanted Hartenstein and you can see why. Presti got him and did what Jeff would never do -- traded his young lottery pick Giddey for a better fit in Caruso. OKC is a step ahead and we're 3 steps behind.

Having said that I still think the Magic should look at the Pacers rather than the Thunder as the blueprint because Jeff isn't Presti and never will be. That guy has been putting on a master class for more than a decade. Jeff needs to focus on one move at a time and make it the right one. Stop holding on to your draft picks like they are rare diamonds. Nothing is sacred. Building your team, rather than just sitting on your eggs and hoping they all incubate.

The Thunder traded an expiring lottery pick that they had no intention of re-signing because they played worse with him on the court for a great defender, WOW man huge gutsy move. The Thunder's entire team is nearly homegrown. They own a million picks, they can cycle through talent whenever they want. They made 3 draft picks this year, they will make picks next year. They redshirted their top pick and had a 2nd rounder make their rotation.

The Pacers to me are Thunder lite. Homegrown developed talent, depth based team. They made the big Siakam acquisiton, they got him for two picks in a crap draft because he was expiring. We cannot afford an expiring Siakam into our salary without moving Suggs (Unless you wanted to start apron hell before our guys were even in their prime?). Pacers value their 2nd round picks, they value building through the draft, which is probably the meta in the new CBA. Teams that identify good talent all over the draft are going to be way ahead of the curve.

Let's see what happens this offseason. Agree more could have been done on the fringes bringing in offensive talent, agree guys like Cole (no trade value) should have been moved and replaced with different options. But overall development mindset to me, was fine. I think we will start seeing a shift.

[Skybox]

DET is the story of the season...what prevents Franz from basically playing the Cade role?

Franz is already a far superior defender and can score with Cade. I don't think Franz' career will be categorized as "bad shooter" long-term. Cade was terrible for a couple years until the team and coaching scheme was modified to bring out his best.

Franz is much bigger and less fluid, but is still very agile and gets to the rim as well or better than anyone. I'm sure that Cade's handles are tighter, but Franz is capable of handling and, if we're playing the right way - NOBODY is pounding the ball. He's highly intelligent and seems to relish the team game - that was evidenced while Paolo was out...why is it so impossible for Paolo and Franz to play more of a 2-man PnR game? Why doesn't Franz, effectively, play PG for this team (in an unconventional way). Not iso-PG, which we see now, but a more traditional PG scheme beyond "drive and kick" and then "Ok, your turn"...I really like Mose, but we might need a new Coach soon...if things don't progress towards more than a schoolyard AAU stars only offense.

Serious question...what ability does Cade have that is unattainable for Franz?

[Idiosyncratic]

DET is the story of the season...what prevents Franz from basically playing the Cade role?

Franz is already a far superior defender and can score with Cade. I don't think Franz' career will be categorized as "bad shooter" long-term. Cade was terrible for a couple years until the team and coaching scheme was modified to bring out his best.

Franz is much bigger and less fluid, but is still very agile and gets to the rim as well or better than anyone. I'm sure that Cade's handles are tighter, but Franz is capable of handling and, if we're playing the right way - NOBODY is pounding the ball. He's highly intelligent and seems to relish the team game - that was evidenced while Paolo was out...why is it so impossible for Paolo and Franz to play more of a 2-man PnR game? Why doesn't Franz, effectively, play PG for this team (in an unconventional way). Not iso-PG, which we see now, but a more traditional PG scheme beyond "drive and kick" and then "Ok, your turn"...I really like Mose, but we might need a new Coach soon...if things don't progress towards more than a schoolyard AAU stars only offense.

Serious question...what ability does Cade have that is unattainable for Franz?

Cade is just a better processor that can create open looks for his teammates. Franz to me is pretty good at making simple passing reads in the PnR and such but he doesn't have eyes on the back of his head like Cade does.

Cade is a really good floor raiser as an offensive engine, you can win a lot of games by default having a guy like Cade. But he does have to shoot better and cut turnovers down to be a championship type 1A player IMO. Both could still level up a bit more if they improve their shooting even marginally.

[Skybox]

DET is the story of the season...what prevents Franz from basically playing the Cade role?

Franz is already a far superior defender and can score with Cade. I don't think Franz' career will be categorized as "bad shooter" long-term. Cade was terrible for a couple years until the team and coaching scheme was modified to bring out his best.

Franz is much bigger and less fluid, but is still very agile and gets to the rim as well or better than anyone. I'm sure that Cade's handles are tighter, but Franz is capable of handling and, if we're playing the right way - NOBODY is pounding the ball. He's highly intelligent and seems to relish the team game - that was evidenced while Paolo was out...why is it so impossible for Paolo and Franz to play more of a 2-man PnR game? Why doesn't Franz, effectively, play PG for this team (in an unconventional way). Not iso-PG, which we see now, but a more traditional PG scheme beyond "drive and kick" and then "Ok, your turn"...I really like Mose, but we might need a new Coach soon...if things don't progress towards more than a schoolyard AAU stars only offense.

Serious question...what ability does Cade have that is unattainable for Franz?

Cade is just a better processor that can create open looks for his teammates. Franz to me is pretty good at making simple passing reads in the PnR and such but he doesn't have eyes on the back of his head like Cade does.

Cade is a really good floor raiser as an offensive engine, you can win a lot of games by default having a guy like Cade. But he does have to shoot better and cut turnovers down to be a championship type 1A player IMO. Both could still level up a bit more if they improve their shooting even marginally.

He doesn't have to "match" Cade as a PG...Cade doesn't have a Paolo (or Simons?)