NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 3

[Meliorus]

The Raptors are looking really good. Both of their deadline acquisitions are already playing in crunch-time. Beat a Boston team without Lowry. Hurts for me to admit that Toronto looks good.

[CobraCommander]

The Wizards win the next 3 games - Phoenix, Sacramento and Denver.... and Boston loses to GSW and Clippers...and we are in Second place alone! Lets go Clippers and GSW....and the wiz can take care of these 3 teams...cant we??

[CobraCommander]

The Wizards win the next 3 games - Phoenix, Sacramento and Denver.... and Boston loses to GSW and Clippers...and we are in Second place alone! Lets go Clippers and GSW....and the wiz can take care of these 3 teams...cant we??

Clippers Beat Celtics, Atlanta lost to Golden State and Cleveland lost Bogat and then lost to Miami...PLUS Chicago and Indy lost...we won by not playing tonight! Gained ground on leaders and streatched lead over chasers!

Good night for the Wiz without even firing a shot!

[TGW]

Pelicans keep losing. Looks like that trade wasn't a good one for them so far.

[FAH1223]

Kawhi Leonard put himself above Harden for MVP.

He does it on both ends.

He might pull a Jordan/Hakeem for DPOY and MVP.

Read on Twitter

[Rafael122]

Pelicans keep losing. Looks like that trade wasn't a good one for them so far.

I think them making the playoffs this year was a pipe dream. The roster needs an overhaul. They have no outside shooting and Moore, Asik and Hill are making about $31 million next season, that's insane.

[dobrojim]

Pleased to see BOS lost evening us up with them in the loss column.
Should we face them in the playoffs, having home court would be a lot
better than not having home court. Not counting on catching them though.
Their schedule is at least a lot more home friendly than ours.

[nate33]

Kawhi Leonard put himself above Harden for MVP.

He does it on both ends.

He might pull a Jordan/Hakeem for DPOY and MVP.

Read on Twitter

[J-Ves]

Kawhi Leonard put himself above Harden for MVP.

He does it on both ends.

He might pull a Jordan/Hakeem for DPOY and MVP.

Read on Twitter

I still think Gobert should win DPOY but Kawhi Leonard is easily my MVP. Lebron and Harden are the only other two even close.

[nate33]

Kawhi Leonard put himself above Harden for MVP.

He does it on both ends.

He might pull a Jordan/Hakeem for DPOY and MVP.

Read on Twitter

I still think Gobert should win DPOY but Kawhi Leonard is easily my MVP. Lebron and Harden are the only other two even close.

I wouldn't be so quick to put Kawhi ahead of Harden. Both guys have been amazing and have dragged teams with mediocre talent to a very successful season.

I agree that Gobert should be DPOY.

[CobraCommander]

Kawhi Leonard put himself above Harden for MVP.

He does it on both ends.

He might pull a Jordan/Hakeem for DPOY and MVP.

Read on Twitter

Harvested his SOUL....damn thats cold blooded indeed!

[I_Like_Dirt]

I think them making the playoffs this year was a pipe dream. The roster needs an overhaul. They have no outside shooting and Moore, Asik and Hill are making about $31 million next season, that's insane.

I think so, too, but you've just explained why the trade wasn't so good for them. They were never going to make the playoffs this season. Next season, they don't have cap space, and the last time they had cap space, it got them you're aforementioned combo of Moore, Asik, Hill and the like, so we know that doesn't help. They aren't going to get players taking a discount to play for that franchise for a team where they won't be a top 2 offensive option, but there will be an abundance of bad players looking to get paid more than they're worth for the opportunity to get more minutes than they should on any team actually trying to win.

And if they don't build a playoff team this offseason, they suddenly have Cousins as a UFA (does anybody think he'll stay happy there that long if they aren't winning?). If Cousins leaves, they'll have a bunch of cap space, but a losing dysfunctional franchise and 2 more seasons before Anthony Davis can leave for nothing - that's actually about the point where a lot of stars start asking for trades on teams that have frustrated them, too. Meanwhile, they only 1st round pick they actually kept since drafting Anthony Davis was Buddy Hield, who they just traded along with another 1st rounder for Cousins. They seem to be insistent on treadmilling in the lottery without keeping their draft picks. It's the oddest scenario.

Meanwhile, I feel the Kings won the deal, and their value was sneaky underrated. All the good/smart teams who it would have potentially made sense for to take a flyer on Cousins were doing just what they should have been doing in waiting the Kings out, but the wildcard was the Pelicans coming in and saving the Kings from themselves, which is also why teams tend to hold out to the last minute to make these trades. The Pelicans essentially just got 2 top 10 picks (counting Hield) and a bunch of cap space for a guy who was leaving a season from now, which I'm not convinced was a trade that was ever on the table from any trade. Hield suddenly looks good in Sacramento, not to mention Cousins' reputed treatment of younger players on the roster, which at least shouldn't be a problem in New Orleans. Provided the Kings don't rush out to pay more players like Koufos, Temple and Tolliver with their cap space this offseason, they could come out of this much better. The people panning this trade for them are simply showing they value optics and names over actual winning basketball, imo.

[nate33]

I think them making the playoffs this year was a pipe dream. The roster needs an overhaul. They have no outside shooting and Moore, Asik and Hill are making about $31 million next season, that's insane.

I think so, too, but you've just explained why the trade wasn't so good for them. They were never going to make the playoffs this season. Next season, they don't have cap space, and the last time they had cap space, it got them you're aforementioned combo of Moore, Asik, Hill and the like, so we know that doesn't help. They aren't going to get players taking a discount to play for that franchise for a team where they won't be a top 2 offensive option, but there will be an abundance of bad players looking to get paid more than they're worth for the opportunity to get more minutes than they should on any team actually trying to win.

And if they don't build a playoff team this offseason, they suddenly have Cousins as a UFA (does anybody think he'll stay happy there that long if they aren't winning?). If Cousins leaves, they'll have a bunch of cap space, but a losing dysfunctional franchise and 2 more seasons before Anthony Davis can leave for nothing - that's actually about the point where a lot of stars start asking for trades on teams that have frustrated them, too. Meanwhile, they only 1st round pick they actually kept since drafting Anthony Davis was Buddy Hield, who they just traded along with another 1st rounder for Cousins. They seem to be insistent on treadmilling in the lottery without keeping their draft picks. It's the oddest scenario.

Meanwhile, I feel the Kings won the deal, and their value was sneaky underrated. All the good/smart teams who it would have potentially made sense for to take a flyer on Cousins were doing just what they should have been doing in waiting the Kings out, but the wildcard was the Pelicans coming in and saving the Kings from themselves, which is also why teams tend to hold out to the last minute to make these trades. The Pelicans essentially just got 2 top 10 picks (counting Hield) and a bunch of cap space for a guy who was leaving a season from now, which I'm not convinced was a trade that was ever on the table from any trade. Hield suddenly looks good in Sacramento, not to mention Cousins' reputed treatment of younger players on the roster, which at least shouldn't be a problem in New Orleans. Provided the Kings don't rush out to pay more players like Koufos, Temple and Tolliver with their cap space this offseason, they could come out of this much better. The people panning this trade for them are simply showing they value optics and names over actual winning basketball, imo.

I agree that the Pelicans will regret this trade. Cousins will probably be traded by the Deadline next year.

I won't praise the Kings though. They could have gotten a much better deal if they weren't so incompetent.

[Rafael122]

I think them making the playoffs this year was a pipe dream. The roster needs an overhaul. They have no outside shooting and Moore, Asik and Hill are making about $31 million next season, that's insane.

I think so, too, but you've just explained why the trade wasn't so good for them. They were never going to make the playoffs this season. Next season, they don't have cap space, and the last time they had cap space, it got them you're aforementioned combo of Moore, Asik, Hill and the like, so we know that doesn't help. They aren't going to get players taking a discount to play for that franchise for a team where they won't be a top 2 offensive option, but there will be an abundance of bad players looking to get paid more than they're worth for the opportunity to get more minutes than they should on any team actually trying to win.

And if they don't build a playoff team this offseason, they suddenly have Cousins as a UFA (does anybody think he'll stay happy there that long if they aren't winning?). If Cousins leaves, they'll have a bunch of cap space, but a losing dysfunctional franchise and 2 more seasons before Anthony Davis can leave for nothing - that's actually about the point where a lot of stars start asking for trades on teams that have frustrated them, too. Meanwhile, they only 1st round pick they actually kept since drafting Anthony Davis was Buddy Hield, who they just traded along with another 1st rounder for Cousins. They seem to be insistent on treadmilling in the lottery without keeping their draft picks. It's the oddest scenario.

Meanwhile, I feel the Kings won the deal, and their value was sneaky underrated. All the good/smart teams who it would have potentially made sense for to take a flyer on Cousins were doing just what they should have been doing in waiting the Kings out, but the wildcard was the Pelicans coming in and saving the Kings from themselves, which is also why teams tend to hold out to the last minute to make these trades. The Pelicans essentially just got 2 top 10 picks (counting Hield) and a bunch of cap space for a guy who was leaving a season from now, which I'm not convinced was a trade that was ever on the table from any trade. Hield suddenly looks good in Sacramento, not to mention Cousins' reputed treatment of younger players on the roster, which at least shouldn't be a problem in New Orleans. Provided the Kings don't rush out to pay more players like Koufos, Temple and Tolliver with their cap space this offseason, they could come out of this much better. The people panning this trade for them are simply showing they value optics and names over actual winning basketball, imo.

I agree that the Pelicans will regret this trade. Cousins will probably be traded by the Deadline next year.

I won't praise the Kings though. They could have gotten a much better deal if they weren't so incompetent.

Yeah if the Kings played this right, they probably could have gotten at least one of the Nets picks, but it is what it is. The Pelicans pick is top 3 protected, and Philly has the rights to swap picks. Best case scenario is Philly lands the top pick, Sacramento lands the 4th and 5th pick and pray that a Josh Jackson type falls to them. They would be better off long term if this happened.

[Tricky_Kid]

Hoping for another Celtics funeral lol

[I_Like_Dirt]

I won't praise the Kings though. They could have gotten a much better deal if they weren't so incompetent.

I don't think they got an amazing deal, but I think all this talk about the Kings having been able to get a much better deal is totally misunderstanding the offers that were being made. There always are all these rumours about how much better deals were available, but if that were true, at least once or twice one of those super lopsided deals would get made, and that never happens for attitude issues with a bit over one season left on their contract. Teams like the Celtics and Lakers have every incentive to play it cheap on the trade market and make a pitch in free agency in 2018 if things don't work out. Personally, I think Cousins never really established his value to where his talents should have established it, because his attitude kept getting in the way, and then it never actually recovered from the George Karl mess. While they probably could have gotten a bit better of an offer by playing things differently, I see that difference in offers as largely immaterial. The real win for them was getting rid of Cousins without taking on any negatives back, and opening up a chance to start fresh. I do think the Celtics would probably have parted with the Nets 2018 pick, but I'm not convinced that pick is actually better than the Pelicans pick this year. I'll believe the Celtics are willing to trade the Nets pick this year along with a starter or two when they actually pull the trigger on such a deal.

[europeanfan]

Cavs lost, Spurs are losing, no team seems untouchable at the moment.

Will probably change the minute Love and Durant are back but the POs feel so open right now.

[Tricky_Kid]

Mods - can U put this tread up? I mean where our game treads are. I am using RealGM app it would be easier than searching it with all other treads

Sent from my HUAWEI CAM-L21 using RealGM mobile app

[FAH1223]

Cavs lost, Spurs are losing, no team seems untouchable at the moment.

Will probably change the minute Love and Durant are back but the POs feel so open right now.

Spurs lost for the first time in 3 weeks. And without a few of their players.

[nate33]

The Hawks beat the Raptors. The Celtics are down by 14 to the Nuggets late in the 3rd.