Around the NBA, 2018-19 Season thread

[vincecarter4pres]

Chris McCullough cut yet again. I remember when there were fans straight crying when he was included in the Bogs deal.

Brian Colangelo was pretty pissed off about that, wasn't he? Good times.

Probably.

[MrDollarBills]

Well I was totally wrong about that Murray injury. TheNetsFan, you were right bud. Murray tore his ACL, done for the year.

If Pop would like some assistance at point guard, all he has to do is send a 1st rd pick this way

[MrDollarBills]

Sean Marks about to fleece them Suns...

Read on Twitter

Marks is not playing games.

I love the dude, but anyone who comes up off of their first rounder can get Spencer tomorrow.

[TheNetsFan]

Spurs, Suns, & Magic are still lacking in the PG department. Who blinks first? My guess is Phoenix. Having just fired their GM, it wouldn't surprise me if the owner makes a rash trade for a PG. Personally, I really liked White before he was drafted.

Both the Suns & Spurs have an extra 1st. The Milwaukee pick (likely to convey in 2020) is much more appealing to me than the 2019 Toronto pick.

I wouldn't mind getting players instead of picks, and would add for the right young player. Jackson, Poeltl, White & Okobo are all intriguing.

[TheNetsFan]

Sean Marks about to fleece them Suns...

Read on Twitter

Marks is not playing games.

I love the dude, but anyone who comes up off of their first rounder can get Spencer tomorrow.

The Toronto pick owned by the Spurs is not good enough.

[MrDollarBills]

I want the Spurs' 1st. Toronto will be better than them this year, feasting on a weak East.

[Claud]

We have a plethora of capable guards while there are more than a few teams looking to improve that area of their team.. get it done Marksman!

[vincecarter4pres]

Man that Milwaukee pick would be money for Dinwiddie.

[vincecarter4pres]

Kind of crazy to think about, but prime AK47 might have been the best power forward in the NBA in today's game if you consider Anthony Davis a center.

[MrDollarBills]

Kind of crazy to think about, but prime AK47 might have been the best power forward in the NBA in today's game if you consider Anthony Davis a center.

Take a look at AK47's career output versus Anthony Davis.

you're comparing an above average player to a god tier level stud.

[NyCeEvO]

Chris McCullough cut yet again. I remember when there were fans straight crying when he was included in the Bogs deal.

Really? Can you pull those convos up/link them? I don't recall anyone being overly pissed or upset that he was dealt.

EDIT: Actually, I went back and found the C-Mac - The Chris McCullough Thread. At most (on page 16), one poster (Aussienet) wanted CMC to get some playing time so he could develop more. While most of us were resigned to the fact that CMC just wasn't good enough, Aussienet thought he could use some PT because "6'11" shooters don't grow on trees".

At least in that thread, I don't see anyone clamoring or crying over CMC. Maybe you're confusing here with ND?

[Prokorov]

Spurs, Suns, & Magic are still lacking in the PG department. Who blinks first? My guess is Phoenix. Having just fired their GM, it wouldn't surprise me if the owner makes a rash trade for a PG. Personally, I really liked White before he was drafted.

Both the Suns & Spurs have an extra 1st. The Milwaukee pick (likely to convey in 2020) is much more appealing to me than the 2019 Toronto pick.

I wouldn't mind getting players instead of picks, and would add for the right young player. Jackson, Poeltl, White & Okobo are all intriguing.

Poetl to me is low end who will cost you an overpay and isnt really a nets type of big. plus we have allen. i love jackson and white.

id prefer to trade Dlo... if they are desperate and looking to make a splash we could really add some assets/young kids and clear cap all in one fell swoop. but if they want diniwddie for the milwaukee pick im all in on that too

[Prokorov]

I want the Spurs' 1st. Toronto will be better than them this year, feasting on a weak East.

no need to chose, make it conditional "the best of the toronto/spurs" pick

anything can happen. i can see a scenario were spurs win 50 and toronto wins 40.

look at us. no one expected the picks we gave boston to be lotto let alone top 3

[MrDollarBills]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/251330/Jahlil-Okafor-Reveals-Struggles-With-Depression-Anxiety

Shortly after Jahlil Okafor was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets, he sat down with a staff member of his new team who helped him realize he might have been dealing with depression and anxiety.

“I didn’t know I was dealing with depression and anxiety myself,” Okafor told The Athletic. “When I was in Brooklyn after the Philly trade, I started to talk to somebody there. That was the first I heard about it. Then, during the season, I didn’t act on it.

“I was in a dark place, man. I didn’t act on what was told to me, and I ignored it and shut it down.”

Okafor appeared in only 26 games for the Nets and before the end of the season, he had an epiphany about his situation.

“A week before the season ended, I looked at myself in the mirror and knew I not only had to get my body right but my mind right,” Okafor said. “I went straight to Miami and changed my diet and worked out. But most importantly, I started talking to a therapist to help me get through the depression and anxiety that I was going through, and it’s something I’m still dealing with. But I’m coping with it a lot better, and I’m learning ways to continue to feel good.

Glad to see that he is doing better. It's hard to judge him for not acting on it at first. Kudos to the sports psychologist on the staff for bringing it to his attention.

Remember when folks were wondering about his body language on the bench? You never know what someone is dealing with. I feel bad for having a bad opinion about him when he first came in here stemming from him beating down a dude in a street. His condition doesn't excuse the behavior, but it definitely probably played a part.

[MrDollarBills]

I want the Spurs' 1st. Toronto will be better than them this year, feasting on a weak East.

no need to chose, make it conditional "the best of the toronto/spurs" pick

anything can happen. i can see a scenario were spurs win 50 and toronto wins 40.

look at us. no one expected the picks we gave boston to be lotto let alone top 3

I recall a few folks on here and ND ringing the alarm about those picks being included and they proved to be prophetic. I wasn't one of them.

[Prokorov]

Kind of crazy to think about, but prime AK47 might have been the best power forward in the NBA in today's game if you consider Anthony Davis a center.

Take a look at AK47's career output versus Anthony Davis.

you're comparing an above average player to a god tier level stud.

think he is saying if you DONT consider Davis and Kirilenko the same position. not that he is comparing the 2

[Prokorov]

Chris McCullough cut yet again. I remember when there were fans straight crying when he was included in the Bogs deal.

Really? Can you pull those convos up/link them? I don't recall anyone being overly pissed or upset that he was dealt.

EDIT: Actually, I went back and found the C-Mac - The Chris McCullough Thread. At most (on page 16), one poster (Aussienet) wanted CMC to get some playing time so he could develop more. While most of us were resigned to the fact that CMC just wasn't good enough, Aussienet thought he could use some PT because "6'11" shooters don't grow on trees".

At least in that thread, I don't see anyone clamoring or crying over CMC. Maybe you're confusing here with ND?

people LOVED CMC... just not at the time of the tread. go back a year or so and anytime he was proposed in deals people were up in arms.

[Prokorov]

I want the Spurs' 1st. Toronto will be better than them this year, feasting on a weak East.

no need to chose, make it conditional "the best of the toronto/spurs" pick

anything can happen. i can see a scenario were spurs win 50 and toronto wins 40.

look at us. no one expected the picks we gave boston to be lotto let alone top 3

I recall a few folks on here and ND ringing the alarm about those picks being included and they proved to be prophetic. I wasn't one of them.

ok so maybe not no one, but general concensus was that those picks would be in the 20s. point is alot can change in a short time

[MrDollarBills]

no need to chose, make it conditional "the best of the toronto/spurs" pick

anything can happen. i can see a scenario were spurs win 50 and toronto wins 40.

look at us. no one expected the picks we gave boston to be lotto let alone top 3

I recall a few folks on here and ND ringing the alarm about those picks being included and they proved to be prophetic. I wasn't one of them.

ok so maybe not no one, but general concensus was that those picks would be in the 20s. point is alot can change in a short time

yeah. that was a hard lesson to learn

[NyCeEvO]

Kind of crazy to think about, but prime AK47 might have been the best power forward in the NBA in today's game if you consider Anthony Davis a center.

Take a look at AK47's career output versus Anthony Davis.

you're comparing an above average player to a god tier level stud.

Re-read his post.

1) He's not comparing AK47 to AD. He's saying that if you don't consider AD a PF, then AK47 would've been the best PF in the league. (And if you think AD is a center, AK would've been the #2 PF.)

2) I'd have to take more time to reflect on the weaker parts of AK's game to see whether they would be more glaring in today's game or not, but my first thought/kneejerk reaction is "No, there are probably a few to several PFs I'd take over AK in today's game".

With that said, you are greatly underrating AK's ability if you're simply looking at box score metrics. I don't know anyone who watched his peak in Utah who would call him just "an above-average player". Lonzo Ball's rookie season stats are comparable to Draymond Green's yet everyone knows the massive difference in on-court impact Green has over Lonzo. You can't just look at numbers and just assume he wasn't that good.

AK's prime season (2003-2004) was arguably the worst statistical season for NBA teams in decades, maybe ever if you weight pace against ORTG. He wasn't a 1st option on offense, but he did everything, except shooting and passing, better than just about anyone else on his team.

Like Draymond, he was a defensive terror; 2x All-NBA Defensive team (03-04, 04-05) and then was on the 1st team in 05-06. His main competition in this era was KG (if you consider Duncan a C). During his peak, he was the true definition of a jackknife player.

At 6'9", he had 6 seasons where he averaged 1.9 blocks or more and 2 seasons where he averaged more than 3 blocks per game. The combination of his standing reach, quick agility, and fantastic second jump always caught people off guard. He was a nightmare to face if you were the opposition's main offensive player. Utah should've been a horrible defensive team, but he made them somewhat respectable.

AK's main problem was that he couldn't stay healthy. He wasn't a superstar but he was definitely on that second tier of players who you'd rank top 10-20 in the league depending on how much you valued individual defense and his contribution to the team's overall defense. In his prime, he was a few classes higher than above-average player.