2022-23 NBA Season Discussion

[ShotCreator]

GP2 to the Blazers? Couldn’t think of a more pointless team for him to sign to.

GP2 would quietly make an 8th seed decent, a decent team good, and a good team the Warriors.

GS is not better than LAC after this. GS was only really looking vulnerable when GP2 was out in the latter rounds.

Absolute peak Tony Allen level defense with Deandre Jordan level cutting and finishing…from a guard who could spot up and drain everything.

Golden state had a superstar level impact guy in a simple role. Probably never again in Curry and Draymond’s careers. Though I imagine GS doesn’t believe in what I said to some degree. Otherwise he’s not leaving for less than $10M a year.

I am high on payton but wouldnt go that far

Warriors still finished off the grizzlies and beat dallas soundly without him, they definetely will miss him tho

The Warriors were mostly outplayed or matched by Memphis without him. W/L just went their way.

Their ceiling is capped unless those young guys are legitimately great.

[parsnips33]

At least Lacob can afford to put a third hot tub on his yacht now

Ballmer puts all the other owners to shame

[sp6r=underrated]

Durant should get it retired for the Warriors

Okc is weird, because from an achievement standpoint for sure but it’s hard when the entire fanbase hates you and you say they have to do it, making them not want to do it more (he might’ve said it for the Warriors too but they don’t really care)

Yeah and OKC's fanbase hatred for him is unreasonable IMO. He played at an elite level on multiple championship level squads. He also was a good soldier in OKC and never denigrated the franchise or the city the way the some superstars in small towns have. The owners put together a terrible CBA that made it impossible to pay player like KD their deserved share of the cap. That is going to lead to a lot of superstars bolting out of the Oklahomas for Chicagos/Atlantas/SFs and of course NYC/LA.

As examples, Melo thought mgmt., did a poor job building around him in Denver. Which was nuts. He also didn't like living in Denver. I 100% defend him on having a NYC preference. But he was a little too open about it which is a problem. Most fans like living were they do, or they'd move, so a guy acting like your town sucks will piss them off. Dwight Howard burned bridges with kerosene on his way out the door. I'd never hold a ceremony for him.

I'd look at KD's tenure in OKC as a less accomplished version of Kareem in Milwaukee. Neither guy may have particuarly enjoyed their city. But both em gave tons of elite seasons and were mostly respectful.

This is one if I was Owner I'd spend $$$ brainwashing fans to forgive him.

[parsnips33]

I like what Portland is putting together

[MartinToVaught]

Yeah and OKC's fanbase hatred for him is unreasonable IMO.

It's very reasonable, IMO. He choked and quit while up 3-1 in the WCF, then joined the 73-win team he had just choked and quit against, then got caught using burner accounts on social media to throw the Thunder organization under the bus ("KD can't win with these cats") even though they had consistently surrounded him with stacked superteams. He couldn't even be honest with Russ on his way out the door. What part of any of this is deserving of respect from the franchise and fanbase he screwed over?

[Texas Chuck]

At least Lacob can afford to put a third hot tub on his yacht now

Ballmer puts all the other owners to shame

Hurts to lose quality depth for sure. But he's definitely paid up on the roster.

I also wonder if Payton thinks he might get a bigger role on Portland? The Porter signing makes no sense. Toronto has like 5 other PF's(Siakam,Barnes,OG, Boucher, Thad) already. I get OG can play some SF and several of those guys will play small ball 5, but its just odd.

[parsnips33]

At least Lacob can afford to put a third hot tub on his yacht now

Ballmer puts all the other owners to shame

Hurts to lose quality depth for sure. But he's definitely paid up on the roster.

I also wonder if Payton thinks he might get a bigger role on Portland? The Porter signing makes no sense. Toronto has like 5 other PF's(Siakam,Barnes,OG, Boucher, Thad) already. I get OG can play some SF and several of those guys will play small ball 5, but its just odd.

Yeah I'm half kidding, Lacob spends more than damn near anybody.

Clearly they have faith in the young guys being able to take on a bigger role, but it would have been nice to keep one of Payton/Porter just for continuity sake if nothing else.

Now if we let Looney walk I'm showing up to Chase with my pitchfork

[sp6r=underrated]

Yeah and OKC's fanbase hatred for him is unreasonable IMO.

It's very reasonable, IMO. He choked and quit while up 3-1 in the WCF, then joined the 73-win team he had just choked and quit against, then got caught using burner accounts on social media to throw the Thunder organization under the bus ("KD can't win with these cats") even though they had consistently surrounded him with stacked superteams. He couldn't even be honest with Russ on his way out the door. What part of any of this is deserving of respect from the franchise and fanbase he screwed over?

You are way too extreme in your takes. Doc's been gone for half a decade. Let it rest

I get you hate superteams but the NBA CBA encourages them. You get paid the same in Oklahoma or Oakland. Most people prefer Oakland. Steph Curry gets paid same as Russ. Most would rather play with Steph. The owners CBA, and it is an owner dominated documented, created the superteam beast. You can't blame players being rational actors and following the incentives. You love Lebron and he's been a superteam guy too. Your guy usage of mouthpieces like Windhorst isn't that different than KD's twitter.

Overall Durant was a great player up until his final day in the uniform. Much more like Lebron's exits than Howard, Melo and so many others. So yes I regard the hatred as irrational.

And again choking. GIVE ME A BREAK. Oklahoma went 7-6 against 2 10+ SRS teams back to back. That is one of the most impressive accomplishments in NBA history. The idea it was a disappointment is absurd. Durant played quite similar in the first 3 to the last.

[sp6r=underrated]

So Kyrie has a 83% HOF probability according to B-R. I'd be a hard no if he retired today.

[sp6r=underrated]

At least Lacob can afford to put a third hot tub on his yacht now

Ballmer puts all the other owners to shame

Hurts to lose quality depth for sure. But he's definitely paid up on the roster.

I also wonder if Payton thinks he might get a bigger role on Portland? The Porter signing makes no sense. Toronto has like 5 other PF's(Siakam,Barnes,OG, Boucher, Thad) already. I get OG can play some SF and several of those guys will play small ball 5, but its just odd.

If you're stock piling talent for a trade it make sense. Remember this is the club that stepped up for Kawhi. I could see them trying to land Durant

[parsnips33]

At least Lacob can afford to put a third hot tub on his yacht now

Ballmer puts all the other owners to shame

Hurts to lose quality depth for sure. But he's definitely paid up on the roster.

I also wonder if Payton thinks he might get a bigger role on Portland? The Porter signing makes no sense. Toronto has like 5 other PF's(Siakam,Barnes,OG, Boucher, Thad) already. I get OG can play some SF and several of those guys will play small ball 5, but its just odd.

If you're stock piling talent for a trade it make sense. Remember this is the club that stepped up for Kawhi. I could see them trying to land Durant

I'd be very surprised if they didn't make a play for KD

[parsnips33]

Seems like Brooklyn owner is putting his pride ahead of winning

[sp6r=underrated]

Hurts to lose quality depth for sure. But he's definitely paid up on the roster.

I also wonder if Payton thinks he might get a bigger role on Portland? The Porter signing makes no sense. Toronto has like 5 other PF's(Siakam,Barnes,OG, Boucher, Thad) already. I get OG can play some SF and several of those guys will play small ball 5, but its just odd.

If you're stock piling talent for a trade it make sense. Remember this is the club that stepped up for Kawhi. I could see them trying to land Durant

I'd be very surprised if they didn't make a play for KD

Even leaving aside basketball I'd be really surprised if he wasn't interested. Toronto is an enormous financial market. I could easily see that being intriguing to him given his business activity.

[MartinToVaught]

Yeah and OKC's fanbase hatred for him is unreasonable IMO.

It's very reasonable, IMO. He choked and quit while up 3-1 in the WCF, then joined the 73-win team he had just choked and quit against, then got caught using burner accounts on social media to throw the Thunder organization under the bus ("KD can't win with these cats") even though they had consistently surrounded him with stacked superteams. He couldn't even be honest with Russ on his way out the door. What part of any of this is deserving of respect from the franchise and fanbase he screwed over?

You are way too extreme in your takes. Doc's been gone for half a decade. Let it rest

I get you hate superteams but the NBA CBA encourages them. You get paid the same in Oklahoma or Oakland. Most people prefer Oakland. Steph Curry gets paid same as Russ. Most would rather play with Steph. The owners CBA, and it is an owner dominated documented, created the superteam beast. You can't blame players being rational actors and following the incentives. You love Lebron and he's been a superteam guy too. Your guy usage of mouthpieces like Windhorst isn't that different than KD's twitter.

Overall Durant was a great player up until his final day in the uniform. Much more like Lebron's exits than Howard, Melo and so many others. So yes I regard the hatred as irrational.

And again choking. GIVE ME A BREAK. Oklahoma went 7-6 against 2 10+ SRS teams back to back. That is one of the most impressive accomplishments in NBA history. The idea it was a disappointment is absurd. Durant played quite similar in the first 3 to the last.

I don't see what's so extreme about any of the facts I stated. Yes, he did choke the series away:

Watch on YouTube

The Thunder consistently surrounded him with great teams throughout his time there and it's revisionist history to pretend otherwise. They even had Al Horford lined up to sign if KD had decided to stay. Their reward for all that was Durant accusing them of giving him nothing but cats he can't win with, just because the stars didn't align for them to add a prime MVP to a 73-win team.

You can blame the owners all you want, but KD is a grown man who can make his own choices and be criticized as a result. OKC fans have no reason to like a player who not only joined their rival at the peak of their powers, but then badmouthed the Thunder after he left.

[ShotCreator]

Rudy Gobert is a flat out better player than KD.

Getting Nwaba/Porter/Gobert would’ve done Phoenix infinitely more for them than getting whatever it takes to get KD.

Disappointed by the moves and trends so far. I hope Gobert goes somewhere like Toronto or LAC. Even the Lakers.

Atlanta and Minnesota is just not moving the league needle much as far as entertainment and playoff quality.

[Outside]

It hurts the Warriors to lose GPII, but taking the bigger contract is the sensible move for him. He'll be 30 in December, hasn't been able to catch on in the league until this year, and found the perfect situation to showcase his talents and hide his flaws. His contract is small by NBA standards, but this could very well be his one shot at a contract like this.

Hate to see him go, wish him well. He'll always be a fan favorite in Golden State.

[Outside]

The Kyrie and KD situation is just a continuation of the bizarre. They somehow think they'll be able to play together somewhere other than Brooklyn? That's not just sage they're smoking.

Kyrie is about the largest collection of red flags in what should be an elite player that I can think of. There's a reason nobody but the Lakers were interested in him, and even then only because they have LeBron to be his handler and only at the mid-level exception. I don't blame the Nets for playing hardball with him, because his lack of commitment to the team was unacceptable and they knew there was nobody interested in him at anything approaching what he thinks he should get.

It's fine that KD values his friendship with Kyrie, but by hitching his career to someone with all those red flags, that's a huge red flag.

[sp6r=underrated]

The Kyrie and KD situation is just a continuation of the bizarre. They somehow think they'll be able to play together somewhere other than Brooklyn? That's not just sage they're smoking.

Kyrie is about the largest collection of red flags in what should be an elite player that I can think of. There's a reason nobody but the Lakers were interested in him, and even then only because they have LeBron to be his handler and only at the mid-level exception. I don't blame the Nets for playing hardball with him, because his lack of commitment to the team was unacceptable and they knew there was nobody interested in him at anything approaching what he thinks he should get.

It's fine that KD values his friendship with Kyrie, but by hitching his career to someone with all those red flags, that's a huge red flag.

Great post. I've soured Durant more than Kyrie. Kyrie is a lunatic. Kyrie established he was lunatic years ago. Durant is his friend, fair enough. But as you said being willing to follow him around or thinking it is management's fault they're pissed at Kyrie shows terrible judgment. It also shows poor basketball IQ. What has Kyrie given the NBA the last 6 yrs?

Only parallel I can think of would if been if Robinson was pissed at management for trading away Rodman.

[parsnips33]

I like Nuggets getting Bruce Brown. And Celtics getting Brogdon

Warriors big add will be healthy Wiseman I guess

[Dr Positivity]

I love the KCP and Brown pick ups for Denver. I would have definitely preferred a guy like Brown or Porter if I was Lakers than Walker.