Official NBA General Discussion 2024-25 V2.0

[WuTang_CMB]

Say what you want about Draymond but the guy can compete and plays elite defense with a very high IQ. A future hall of famer. Comes to play when it matters most. Colin Cowherd compared him to Dennis Rodman on how he impacts the defensive end of the ball and just does all the little things. Curry / Jordan love players like this and they just compliment eachother so well - no surprise it resulted in multiple championships.

[sidsid]

At least we aren't the Heat.

They are my sleeper pick to land Masai if Riley finally steps down. Word on the street is that Mourning will never get that job, and Spo is too good of a coach to kick upstairs. They like to keep things in-house though, and Masai has no ties to them, but I think he will be in the running nonetheless.

Wouldn't they just give it to Ellisburg?

The one thing about Heat culture I believe is their internal management development. Spo is proven, I'd stick to hiring in-house for top jobs and do some poaching/grooming for the lower jobs.

[Tripod]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

And Myles Turner type C

This is just like the Paolo and Franz comment that dude made.

All he needed was a,b,c,d,

And this isn't a shot at Siakam...it's just what our situation was...and is for many teams.

[SFour]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

are Pacers a serious contender though, or will they ever be with their current roster.....sure it's fun to be in the playoffs make it to the ECF or 2nd round but everyone knows they won't get past that.

championship betting odds have them tied for 9th best right now....even behind the Lakers who are down 1-3 in the 1st round.

[canada_dry]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

B-b-but...hes a 3rd option!!

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[Tripod]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

are Pacers a serious contender though, or will they ever be with their current roster.....sure it's fun to be in the playoffs make it to the ECF or 2nd round but everyone knows they won't get past that.

championship betting odds have them tied for 9th best right now....even behind the Lakers who are down 1-3 in the 1st round.

Pacers have finished 13th, 11th, 6th, 4th in the East the last 4 years. So they have been building and time will tell what next year brings. For sure they are not top 2 unless they make more additions or unless Bos/Cavs run into crazy injuries to drop them.

They still need more moves to jump into that next tier for sure. Let's see if the role the dice and look to add this summer....and what happens with Turner.

[manjusaka]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

He had FVV who fits that description.

[Duffman100]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

He had FVV who fits that description.

Shooters being the most important part.

Siakam was dragging the 22/23 team by himself to wins to start the season. Where Trent, OG and Fred all forgot how to hit anything. He was continually feeding people wide open looks and they were being bricked over and over again.

[MiamiSPX]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

are Pacers a serious contender though, or will they ever be with their current roster.....sure it's fun to be in the playoffs make it to the ECF or 2nd round but everyone knows they won't get past that.

championship betting odds have them tied for 9th best right now....even behind the Lakers who are down 1-3 in the 1st round.

They are not a contender and nothing they are currently doing argues against that point. The Bucks are bad. They are starting GTJ, who nobody has wanted for 2 summers now (and will not want again this summer), and the guy is trending to be out of the league by age 30. Lopez is done, Dame isn't what he was. Bucks fans are already discussing how to get rid of Kuzma, whose salary isn't even that crazy and he's only been with them 2.5 months...but that is how awful he is.

Not taking anything away from the Pacers, they are still beating the pants off of them in impressive fashion. But other than the usual 1-2 posters, nobody has said Siakam sucks. He's a fantastic player. The point most reasonable people were making is that if he is your team's best player, your team is not a contender. Which is still true as of right now. IMO he is the Pacers best player, and they are not a contender. None of that is meant to be inflammatory at all, just an observation which will undoubtedly hold true.

[ItsDanger]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

And Myles Turner type C

This is just like the Paolo and Franz comment that dude made.

All he needed was a,b,c,d,

And this isn't a shot at Siakam...it's just what our situation was...and is for many teams.

A lot of us highlighted back then that the individual parts were greater than the sum. Need the right mix to maximize them.

[HumbleRen]

Pacers are a cute team but I don’t think any contender should be afraid of them.

They’re at their ceiling right now. They remind me of the Demar/Lowry Raptors but more talented.

[Agimat]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

Ask any Pacers fan — Haliburton’s their guy, but Siakam is their best player. The way he plays though, he’s not out on the floor playing like the main star. He’s more like a big part of how things run over there, compared to how his former team used him. NN made him be the scorer, which isn’t really his thing, and that just kind of highlighted his shortcomings instead of letting him thrive as that reliable outlet guy and secondary playmaker who can also score when needed.

[Agimat]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

are Pacers a serious contender though, or will they ever be with their current roster.....sure it's fun to be in the playoffs make it to the ECF or 2nd round but everyone knows they won't get past that.

championship betting odds have them tied for 9th best right now....even behind the Lakers who are down 1-3 in the 1st round.

Head's telling me Cavs, but heart's pulling for Pacers.

[HiJiNX]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

Ask any Pacers fan — Haliburton’s their guy, but Siakam is their best player. The way he plays though, he’s not out on the floor playing like the main star. He’s more like a big part of how things run over there, compared to how his former team used him. NN made him be the scorer, which isn’t really his thing, and that just kind of highlighted his shortcomings instead of letting him thrive as that reliable outlet guy and secondary playmaker who can also score when needed.

I disagree with this. When the Pacers are at their best it’s because Siakam is the engine.

Now I’m not saying Siakam is a championship calibre number one option but he’s closer to that tier than we gave him credit for I think. He just keeps developing. Hard hard worker that guy. He truly knows how to manipulate the floor now. If he was a bit better at scoring through multiple defenders then he’d be top 10. And given that he continues to develop, maybe he gets there? Some of the plays he made during that ECF run were superstar plays.

Anyway, I’m pulling for him.

[Basketball_Jones]

Houston needs way better guard play. Fred is past his prime and Green doesn’t seem to be able to hit his. On paper it should be a great pairing.

[ontnut]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

B-b-but...hes a 3rd option!!

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

On a contender, he surely IS a 2.5 option. Pacers are not a contender because he's their #1 option. Pacers are 60:1 odds to win the title lol.

On the top 4 contenders according to odds (OKC, CLE, BOS, GSW) he would absolutely be sharing duties, some night as a #2 option, some nights as a #3 option, just like he was in 18-19. Siakam is a very good player within a system. He's a great connecting piece, but he's not a #1 option, and if he's your clear cut #2 option every night (like say how Lebron/Doncic or Lebron/AD were clear #1/2, or Shaq and Kobe), I don't think you're winning a championship. Hali and Siakam are a great secondary option duo. They need a #1.

On BOS, Siakam plays like a mix between Brown and White. On CLE Garland averages more points so far than Siakam despite not being their real #1 option, so they'd be sharing duties playing off of Mitchell. On OKC he'd be sharing that spot with J Will. on GS, he might avg more points than Jimmy for the first 3 quarters of the game, but if it comes down to crunch time, I'd bet Jimmy gets the ball before Siakam does. On none of these teams would Siakam present as a clear cut #2 option.

[ontnut]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

Ask any Pacers fan — Haliburton’s their guy, but Siakam is their best player. The way he plays though, he’s not out on the floor playing like the main star. He’s more like a big part of how things run over there, compared to how his former team used him. NN made him be the scorer, which isn’t really his thing, and that just kind of highlighted his shortcomings instead of letting him thrive as that reliable outlet guy and secondary playmaker who can also score when needed.

I disagree with this. When the Pacers are at their best it’s because Siakam is the engine.

Now I’m not saying Siakam is a championship calibre number one option but he’s closer to that tier than we gave him credit for I think. He just keeps developing. Hard hard worker that guy. He truly knows how to manipulate the floor now. If he was a bit better at scoring through multiple defenders then he’d be top 10. And given that he continues to develop, maybe he gets there? Some of the plays he made during that ECF run were superstar plays.

Anyway, I’m pulling for him.

Yeah he has improved for sure, I'll give him that. His 3p has come a long way and he's figured out some new moves to get to the bucket and in the mid range. IMO his major weakness (and the difference between him being a #2 type or a near #1 option) right now is being able to play through contact on his drives and putting pressure on the rim. 13 FTA in 4 games isn't enough when the going gets tough. He's always been an efficient scorer at the rim, but he's been taking fewer of those shots in IND, almost a career low, and he's drawing fouls at his lowest rate since 18-19 basically.

[ontnut]

Houston needs way better guard play. Fred is past his prime and Green doesn’t seem to be able to hit his. On paper it should be a great pairing.

I'd love to see them get Maxey. He'd replace what both of those guys do more or less, opening up more court time for their defensive wings, or even (in later seasons) Reed to get some development.

[HumbleRen]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

Ask any Pacers fan — Haliburton’s their guy, but Siakam is their best player. The way he plays though, he’s not out on the floor playing like the main star. He’s more like a big part of how things run over there, compared to how his former team used him. NN made him be the scorer, which isn’t really his thing, and that just kind of highlighted his shortcomings instead of letting him thrive as that reliable outlet guy and secondary playmaker who can also score when needed.

I think Hali is comfortably their best player. He was leading the #1 offence in the league before the Siakam trade for a reason, he’s just unbelievably unselfish.

[Spates]

Turns out all Siakam needed was shooters and a secondary ball handler.

Controversial take, it seems.

I'd say what he needed was shooters and primary ball handlers. He's 4th in possession time behind Haliburton, Nembhard, and McConnell. Exactly where he should be with medium-high usage and touches, and shorter possessions