2023 Around The League NBA Playoffs Thread

[Calinks]

I think Towns value actually goes up as the off-season gets going. There are still teams out there who need a Center upgrade and Jokic and Embiid aren't available. Towns right now is gettable, he was probably not even on the market until now (he still may not be). He just entered his prime, he has historically played great against Jokic and the Nuggets if you are thinking about playing them in the post-season. The biggest knocks on Towns are fouls, and inconsistent playoff performances. I think teams will feel they can work on those.

We forget Towns really great traits. 1. Top professional, he has never given the team any headaches like a Zion or Ja recently. 2. Extremely consistent, outside of the playoffs and injuries, Towns has been pretty much a guaranteed 20 and 10 player. That level of consistency and reliability is a huge asset. The majority of players never attain it. He can fit well into most systems, his offensive flexibility is rare, and you can get some defensive value out o him in you put him in the right position.

I think there will be teams who think an all-star center is their missing piece and they will be willing to give some value to get one.

[Battletrigger]

Jokic is in another level, both in the offensive and defensive side. You cannot extrapolate Jokic to Towns.

When people talk about Jokic, they don’t say, “but how’s his defense?”

When people talk about KAT, they always say, “but how’s his defense?”

I did not say Towns is as good as Jokic. I said there has been a long-standing fallacy in the NBA that the center position must be the anchor of a defense, and that is far more important than getting offensive production there. Jokic’s offense, both scoring and passing, and not his defense, is the main engine driving the Nuggets. If this helps end the fallacy, that’s good for Towns’ trade value.

I don't know, Jokic is a generational player, two time MVP, playing the Finals averaging almost a triple-doble. He is only magnifying his reputation.

Towns hasn't that kind of performance or reputation. He has been mocked around the league and rivals before with a reputation of soft and weepy.

The fantastic performance of the best player right now don't extrapolate to another players with far less performances.

But, until he gets traded we will not know who is right.

[urinesane]

I think Towns value actually goes up as the off-season gets going. There are still teams out there who need a Center upgrade and Jokic and Embiid aren't available. Towns right now is gettable, he was probably not even on the market until now (he still may not be). He just entered his prime, he has historically played great against Jokic and the Nuggets if you are thinking about playing them in the post-season. The biggest knocks on Towns are fouls, and inconsistent playoff performances. I think teams will feel they can work on those.

We forget Towns really great traits. 1. Top professional, he has never given the team any headaches like a Zion or Ja recently. 2. Extremely consistent, outside of the playoffs and injuries, Towns has been pretty much a guaranteed 20 and 10 player. That level of consistency and reliability is a huge asset. The majority of players never attain it. He can fit well into most systems, his offensive flexibility is rare, and you can get some defensive value out o him in you put him in the right position.

I think there will be teams who think an all-star center is their missing piece and they will be willing to give some value to get one.

You say all that and it makes it seem even worse to want to trade him. Why can't he do all that in MN?

[Klomp]

I think Towns value actually goes up as the off-season gets going. There are still teams out there who need a Center upgrade and Jokic and Embiid aren't available. Towns right now is gettable, he was probably not even on the market until now (he still may not be). He just entered his prime, he has historically played great against Jokic and the Nuggets if you are thinking about playing them in the post-season. The biggest knocks on Towns are fouls, and inconsistent playoff performances. I think teams will feel they can work on those.

We forget Towns really great traits. 1. Top professional, he has never given the team any headaches like a Zion or Ja recently. 2. Extremely consistent, outside of the playoffs and injuries, Towns has been pretty much a guaranteed 20 and 10 player. That level of consistency and reliability is a huge asset. The majority of players never attain it. He can fit well into most systems, his offensive flexibility is rare, and you can get some defensive value out o him in you put him in the right position.

I think there will be teams who think an all-star center is their missing piece and they will be willing to give some value to get one.

You say all that and it makes it seem even worse to want to trade him. Why can't he do all that in MN?

Because people are too focused on the financials. And they have the small-market mentality of trying not to lose their money rather than trying to make more money.

[shangrila]

I think Towns value actually goes up as the off-season gets going. There are still teams out there who need a Center upgrade and Jokic and Embiid aren't available. Towns right now is gettable, he was probably not even on the market until now (he still may not be). He just entered his prime, he has historically played great against Jokic and the Nuggets if you are thinking about playing them in the post-season. The biggest knocks on Towns are fouls, and inconsistent playoff performances. I think teams will feel they can work on those.

We forget Towns really great traits. 1. Top professional, he has never given the team any headaches like a Zion or Ja recently. 2. Extremely consistent, outside of the playoffs and injuries, Towns has been pretty much a guaranteed 20 and 10 player. That level of consistency and reliability is a huge asset. The majority of players never attain it. He can fit well into most systems, his offensive flexibility is rare, and you can get some defensive value out o him in you put him in the right position.

I think there will be teams who think an all-star center is their missing piece and they will be willing to give some value to get one.

You say all that and it makes it seem even worse to want to trade him. Why can't he do all that in MN?

Because people are too focused on the financials. And they have the small-market mentality of trying not to lose their money rather than trying to make more money.

...what?

I honestly don't think you could have summed up the trade KAT argument worse if you'd deliberately tried.

[Klomp]

...what?

I honestly don't think you could have summed up the trade KAT argument worse if you'd deliberately tried.

People are terrified of the second luxury tax apron. From what we've seen of Towns and Gobert to-date, there is no other logical explanation for why we absolutely cannot move forward with both of them together because we simply haven't seen enough of the pairing.

[Calinks]

I think Towns value actually goes up as the off-season gets going. There are still teams out there who need a Center upgrade and Jokic and Embiid aren't available. Towns right now is gettable, he was probably not even on the market until now (he still may not be). He just entered his prime, he has historically played great against Jokic and the Nuggets if you are thinking about playing them in the post-season. The biggest knocks on Towns are fouls, and inconsistent playoff performances. I think teams will feel they can work on those.

We forget Towns really great traits. 1. Top professional, he has never given the team any headaches like a Zion or Ja recently. 2. Extremely consistent, outside of the playoffs and injuries, Towns has been pretty much a guaranteed 20 and 10 player. That level of consistency and reliability is a huge asset. The majority of players never attain it. He can fit well into most systems, his offensive flexibility is rare, and you can get some defensive value out o him in you put him in the right position.

I think there will be teams who think an all-star center is their missing piece and they will be willing to give some value to get one.

You say all that and it makes it seem even worse to want to trade him. Why can't he do all that in MN?

Because people are too focused on the financials. And they have the small-market mentality of trying not to lose their money rather than trying to make more money.

The penalties are extremely severe, its not like it was before, it is going to be damn near impossible to add talent or even retain the talent we have with Gobert, KAT's, and Ant's contracts. Also, KAt's contract takes a huge leap after next season so its much harder to trade him then too, particularly without taking on bad money.

Its a big problem. Even if our team was amazing right now it would still be a massive problem. The fact that we were ok to solid and are facing this issue is scary. Championship-caliber teams wont want to be in that second apron, as things stand now, we could easily be struggling to make the playoffs next year healthy and we are paying out like we are winning a title once the 2024-2025 season rolls around.

The need for a trade wouldn't be so bad if CBA rules were the same.

[shrink]

...what?

I honestly don't think you could have summed up the trade KAT argument worse if you'd deliberately tried.

People are terrified of the second luxury tax apron. From what we've seen of Towns and Gobert to-date, there is no other logical explanation for why we absolutely cannot move forward with both of them together because we simply haven't seen enough of the pairing.

Yes. “People” meaning “most internet posters.”

People need to remember, we haven’t seen any actions at all from the owners yet, and keep in mind … the majority negotiated the superlux penalties into existence.

Even on podcasts that mention the new CBA, most spend the vast majority of their time talking about the severity of the penalties for crossing over the superlux, and virtually none on the fact that lux penalties and repeater taxes were actually reduced. They don’t talk about the influx of money from the new TV deal that will turn current max deals and extensions into less than 25%, 30%, and 35% of the cap (NOT TOTAL PAYROLL). The supermax rules were created to stop 1-2 super-rich owners from completely ignoring the lux, and we have yet to see if this impacts all 30 NBA teams.

[shangrila]

...what?

I honestly don't think you could have summed up the trade KAT argument worse if you'd deliberately tried.

People are terrified of the second luxury tax apron. From what we've seen of Towns and Gobert to-date, there is no other logical explanation for why we absolutely cannot move forward with both of them together because we simply haven't seen enough of the pairing.

Again, what? That isn't the trade KAT argument at all.

The argument has nothing to do with the second apron. If there's anything financial about my desire to trade KAT it's that I don't believe he's worth paying 50-60mil a season for and that, in a salary cap league, paying players substantially more than they're worth is stupid.

Not to mention that I, and many others, have been pushing for a KAT trade prior to this new CBA announcement while the concern of being unable to keep the core together dates back to the Gobert trade (so, again, before the new CBA and 2nd apron) so that's not a new thing.

But really, your post never made any sense. We "have the small-market mentality of trying not to lose their money rather than trying to make more money" which we're expressing by...advocating trading the sure thing to take a risk on something that may or may not pay out for the better? What?

Unless you meant that literally? Like anyone gives a damn about saving Lore and Arod money?

[shangrila]

Jokic is in another level, both in the offensive and defensive side. You cannot extrapolate Jokic to Towns.

When people talk about Jokic, they don’t say, “but how’s his defense?”

When people talk about KAT, they always say, “but how’s his defense?”

I did not say Towns is as good as Jokic. I said there has been a long-standing fallacy in the NBA that the center position must be the anchor of a defense, and that is far more important than getting offensive production there. Jokic’s offense, both scoring and passing, and not his defense, is the main engine driving the Nuggets. If this helps end the fallacy, that’s good for Towns’ trade value.

I don't know, Jokic is a generational player, two time MVP, playing the Finals averaging almost a triple-doble. He is only magnifying his reputation.

Towns hasn't that kind of performance or reputation. He has been mocked around the league and rivals before with a reputation of soft and weepy.

The fantastic performance of the best player right now don't extrapolate to another players with far less performances.

But, until he gets traded we will not know who is right.

Comparing KAT to Jokic or Embiid is an insult to the latter two. Towns isn't even in the same stratosphere

[shrink]

When people talk about Jokic, they don’t say, “but how’s his defense?”

When people talk about KAT, they always say, “but how’s his defense?”

I did not say Towns is as good as Jokic. I said there has been a long-standing fallacy in the NBA that the center position must be the anchor of a defense, and that is far more important than getting offensive production there. Jokic’s offense, both scoring and passing, and not his defense, is the main engine driving the Nuggets. If this helps end the fallacy, that’s good for Towns’ trade value.

I don't know, Jokic is a generational player, two time MVP, playing the Finals averaging almost a triple-doble. He is only magnifying his reputation.

Towns hasn't that kind of performance or reputation. He has been mocked around the league and rivals before with a reputation of soft and weepy.

The fantastic performance of the best player right now don't extrapolate to another players with far less performances.

But, until he gets traded we will not know who is right.

Comparing KAT to Jokic or Embiid is an insult to the latter two. Towns isn't even in the same stratosphere

Brilliant observation.

[Calinks]

AMAZING run by Denver! Jokic had one of the best performances I have ever seen all post-season. Maybe the only player who showed up big to every game. They destroyed the Lakers in 4. They handled the Heat in 5. I never felt like they were in any real trouble in any series. I enjoyed it.

[Dalvin]

Ryan Saunders is an NBA Champ!

[Calinks]

The injured Wolves had the second most success in the playoffs against the dominant champions than any other NBA team! Elite company!

[TimberKat]

Finally, it's Lurch that did it this time and not Butler (wait, he is the butler ). Although no great mystery but a great nba season. Just wish the Wolves won 2 more regular season games.

[Calinks]

*End Credits*

The Denver Nuggets Will Return!

[TimberKat]

*End Credits*

The Denver Nuggets Will Return!

Post-Credits Scene

Watch on YouTube

[Calinks]

Finally, it's Lurch that did it this time and not Butler (wait, he is the butler ). Although no great mystery but a great nba season. Just wish the Wolves won 2 more regular season games.

Thre might be another reality where we somehow made it to the conference finals, would have been an absolutely ridiculous turn around

[TimberKat]

Finally, it's Lurch that did it this time and not Butler (wait, he is the butler ). Although no great mystery but a great nba season. Just wish the Wolves won 2 more regular season games.

Thre might be another reality where we somehow made it to the conference finals, would have been an absolutely ridiculous turn around

If we follow the small market model like Cleveland and Denver, we have 12 more years to wait

[Devilzsidewalk]

Do you suppose Connelly was trying to build an anti-Nuggets roster? On paper, it makes a lot of sense to plan for them. GSW were on fumes, LAL and LAC unknowns, and Phoenix would be expected to take a step back and didn't have KD at the time, so coming into the season, if you were to identify a threat over the next 3-5 years, it'd be Denver. And on top of that, we're in the same division.

We saw how important Denver's size was against Miami, and in theory, Jokic, Gordon, and MPJ wouldn't have those mismatches against KAT/Gobert/McDaniels. The fly in the ointment was maybe TC overestimated how well he knew KAT and Gobert's strengths and weaknesses. Maybe he didn't realize how well Gordon could contain KAT's offense, and that Gobert couldn't much slow down Jokic's offense at all.