Around The NBA: 2019-20 RESTART

[Southpaw]

I will say this though: Miami might be the best in the entire NBA when it comes to player development. Some of these no-name players they have putting up numbers on a nightly basis is incredible.

I think the Raptors are the best but the Heat are great as well. The Raptors since Masai took over has been developing great role players to now a superstar in Siakam, seemingly from nowhere. Their d-league program is great.

[dice]

The Sixers choosing Horford and Harris over Jimmy was a terrible call from Elton Brand. It was clear that Jimmy was the engine that made the team work last year but they let him go.

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

[MrSparkle]

Am I the only one that doesn’t believe in the Clippers?

I’d like to see them win it all, but there’s something about that roster that I just don’t see it.

I don’t trust George to consistently perform come playoff time. I don’t understand the addition of Morris, I get that he’s an upgrade offensively over Harkless but they didn’t address the real issue they’re going to have come playoff time which is a presence in the middle. Zubac & Harrell are nice, but neither gives you the kind of interior defense you’re going to need against a big team like the Lakers, also how small do you go if either gets in foul trouble?

They’ve got a LOT of guys that can score, but I think they should have consolidated some of that into a rebounding, athletic defensive big.

No matter how much the nba is going towards jacking up endless 3’s those guys are still valuable and you see it in the playoffs with the offensive and tap back rebounds. I think the Clippers and Rockets are relying too much on everything going their way if they’re to beat the Lakers 4 out of 7 times, and I don’t care what’s happening in the regular season

I also don’t see the Bucks winning it all, no matter how good their regular season record and point differential

I REALLY hope I’m wrong but unless Lebron or Davis are injured I still think the Lakers are the favourites

George just looks a gear worse than last year. He started the season late so I wouldn't make conclusions, but so far, at the cost of Gallinari, SGA and many FRPs, LAC might've been better off without that trade... but Kawhi might've chosen LAL or TOR in that case, so really, it is what it is.

I will admit the Clippers don't look like they have the chemistry this year to beat LAL... but we're still a long ways away from that series. As it stands, I still don't see any other team in the West who has the top 1-2 punch to beat either (healthy) LA team. HOU and DEN have a long-shot chance, but either the WCFs or 2nd rd are going to be an LA showdown.

It is really hard for me not to pick LAC. Their playoff depth chart is way better, despite the Lakers' impressive season.

[dice]

Do you think Giannis replacing Jimmy in Miami with a similar cast will make Miami win the championship this year? Or, even Kawhi?

Absolutely, I do. They're both vastly superior players. Just like I think there is no way in hell Toronto even comes close to sniffing a championship with Jimmy Butler instead of Kawhi Leonard last year.

Jimmy is a great player, but he's clearly a tier below the true elites in the league. It's not impossible to win without one of those guys, but the odds are not in his favor.

for what it's worth, here are the top 30 cumulative RPM players who have played over the last 6 seasons (since jimmy broke out as an all-star):

7.86 lebron
7.81 curry

6.64 cp3
6.30 harden
5.78 kawhi
5.69 draymond
5.33 westbrook
5.12 KD
5.04 jimmy
5.03 lowry
4.78 AD
4.54 cousins
4.46 millsap
4.35 PG
3.96 gobert
3.79 giannis
3.67 lillard
3.27 love
3.16 middleton
3.12 covington
3.00 jrue
2.97 danny green
2.89 bledsoe
2.84 horford
2.82 griffin
2.68 conley
2.60 rubio
2.43 kyrie
2.41 oladipo
2.29 kemba

[PaKii94]

Do you think Giannis replacing Jimmy in Miami with a similar cast will make Miami win the championship this year? Or, even Kawhi?

Absolutely, I do. They're both vastly superior players. Just like I think there is no way in hell Toronto even comes close to sniffing a championship with Jimmy Butler instead of Kawhi Leonard last year.

Jimmy is a great player, but he's clearly a tier below the true elites in the league. It's not impossible to win without one of those guys, but the odds are not in his favor.

for what it's worth, here are the top 30 cumulative RPM players who have played over the last 6 seasons (since jimmy broke out as an all-star):

7.86 lebron
7.81 curry

6.64 cp3
6.30 harden
5.78 kawhi
5.69 draymond
5.33 westbrook
5.12 KD
5.04 jimmy
5.03 lowry
4.78 AD
4.54 cousins
4.46 millsap
4.35 PG
3.96 gobert
3.79 giannis
3.67 lillard
3.27 love
3.16 middleton
3.12 covington
3.00 jrue
2.97 danny green
2.89 bledsoe
2.84 horford
2.82 griffin
2.68 conley
2.60 rubio
2.43 kyrie
2.41 oladipo
2.29 kemba

In my eyes Jimmy has always been Kawhi with a bit less length. His short arms affect his shot and guarding longer players but I think if they were equal physically, their impact would be equal. Also, did you manually put this list together? I wonder what it is since the 3 alpha year where he was unequivocally the #1 on the team. The previous two years were power struggles for him.

[dice]

Absolutely, I do. They're both vastly superior players. Just like I think there is no way in hell Toronto even comes close to sniffing a championship with Jimmy Butler instead of Kawhi Leonard last year.

Jimmy is a great player, but he's clearly a tier below the true elites in the league. It's not impossible to win without one of those guys, but the odds are not in his favor.

for what it's worth, here are the top 30 cumulative RPM players who have played over the last 6 seasons (since jimmy broke out as an all-star):

7.86 lebron
7.81 curry

6.64 cp3
6.30 harden
5.78 kawhi
5.69 draymond
5.33 westbrook
5.12 KD
5.04 jimmy
5.03 lowry
4.78 AD
4.54 cousins
4.46 millsap
4.35 PG
3.96 gobert
3.79 giannis
3.67 lillard
3.27 love
3.16 middleton
3.12 covington
3.00 jrue
2.97 danny green
2.89 bledsoe
2.84 horford
2.82 griffin
2.68 conley
2.60 rubio
2.43 kyrie
2.41 oladipo
2.29 kemba

In my eyes Jimmy has always been Kawhi with a bit less length. His short arms affect his shot and guarding longer players but I think if they were equal physically, their impact would be equal. Also, did you manually put this list together? I wonder what it is since the 3 alpha year where he was unequivocally the #1 on the team. The previous two years were power struggles for him.

sadly, yes

if you want to start with the year that pau and derrick left and wade came in (i.e. the last 4 seasons), his RPM goes up to 5.55

[PaKii94]

for what it's worth, here are the top 30 cumulative RPM players who have played over the last 6 seasons (since jimmy broke out as an all-star):

7.86 lebron
7.81 curry

6.64 cp3
6.30 harden
5.78 kawhi
5.69 draymond
5.33 westbrook
5.12 KD
5.04 jimmy
5.03 lowry
4.78 AD
4.54 cousins
4.46 millsap
4.35 PG
3.96 gobert
3.79 giannis
3.67 lillard
3.27 love
3.16 middleton
3.12 covington
3.00 jrue
2.97 danny green
2.89 bledsoe
2.84 horford
2.82 griffin
2.68 conley
2.60 rubio
2.43 kyrie
2.41 oladipo
2.29 kemba

In my eyes Jimmy has always been Kawhi with a bit less length. His short arms affect his shot and guarding longer players but I think if they were equal physically, their impact would be equal. Also, did you manually put this list together? I wonder what it is since the 3 alpha year where he was unequivocally the #1 on the team. The previous two years were power struggles for him.

sadly, yes

if you want to start with the year that pau and derrick left and wade came in (i.e. the last 4 seasons), his RPM goes up to 5.55

Is that an average RPM? Because cumulative means it should go down if we remove 2 years of data. Also are you factoring in the year kawhi basically sat out? I wouldn't include that in the calculations.

If I can bother you for a few more numbers: what is it for Kawhi in the same time frame?

[dice]

In my eyes Jimmy has always been Kawhi with a bit less length. His short arms affect his shot and guarding longer players but I think if they were equal physically, their impact would be equal. Also, did you manually put this list together? I wonder what it is since the 3 alpha year where he was unequivocally the #1 on the team. The previous two years were power struggles for him.

sadly, yes

if you want to start with the year that pau and derrick left and wade came in (i.e. the last 4 seasons), his RPM goes up to 5.55

Is that an average RPM? Because cumulative means it should go down if we remove 2 years of data. Also are you factoring in the year kawhi basically sat out? I wouldn't include that in the calculations.

If I can bother you for a few more numbers: what is it for Kawhi in the same time frame?

i said cumulative so as not to confuse with straight average, which would not be minutes-weighted

basically it's just treating it as one big season, weighting each individual season by minutes

kawhi's RPM was substantially bigger in years 1 and 2, when he was more of a role player. the last 4 years he drops below jimmy. but i think that short-changes him, so i'd just assume use the larger sample size in his case. anyway, here's the data from the last 6 seasons, w/ RPM and minutes played underneath:

4.3 4.01 6.62 6.39 4.71 3.6 jimmy
2513 2474 2809 2164 2185 1549
9.34 8.51 7.41 6.65 6.84 1.47 curry
2613 2700 2638 1631 2331 112
8.78 9.79 8.42 4.96 5.44 10.39 lebron
2493 2709 2794 3026 1937 1737
8.5 4.39 4.81 6.71 7.42 6.1 harden
2981 3125 2947 2551 2867 1891
8.18 1.92 4.35 5.55 5.74 1.67 AD
2455 2164 2708 2727 1850 1553
7.57 8.07 4.08 0.81 3.26 6.77 kawhi
2033 2380 2474 210 2040 1318
7.08 7.85 6.27 5.16 2.51 1.83 westbrook
2302 2750 2802 2914 2630 1621
6.92 8.59 7.92 6.99 4.76 3.62 cp3
2857 2420 1921 1847 1857 1681
6.8 8.97 7.14 4.04 3.4 -0.33 draymond
2490 2808 2471 2287 2065 1163
6.12 4.83 4.2 3.66 2.68 0 cousins
2013 2246 2465 1737 771 0
6.06 3.76 1.4 1.4 1.89 4.06 middleton
2378 2852 889 2982 2393 1355
5.09 5.24 4.58 1.54 4.31 4.12 millsap
2390 2647 2343 1143 1895 835
4.2 6.48 5.74 3.61 4.96 0 KD
913 2578 2070 2325 2702 0
3.83 6.82 5.88 5.18 4.65 2.65 lowry
2414 2851 2244 2510 2213 1533
3.77 1.31 3.14 4.9 5.08 3.72 lillard
2925 2676 2694 2670 2838 1960
3.46 1.7 1.69 2.55 3.77 3.77 bledsoe
2800 1059 2176 2322 2272 1219
3.4 -0.6 2.05 2.39 4.23 1.56 kyrie
2730 1667 2525 1931 2214 658
3.35 2.07 3.78 2.11 3.01 -0.03 griffin
2356 1170 2076 1970 2622 512
2.71 5.31 5.03 3.4 1.37 -0.83 love
2532 2424 1885 1651 598 1439
2.14 2.97 1.82 3.89 4.43 1.52 horford
2318 2631 2193 2277 1973 1543
2.11 2.86 4.47 -0.66 3.27 -1.01 conley
2225 1761 2292 373 2342 893
2.1 1.6 3.55 5.45 2.71 2.17 covington
1956 1903 2119 2532 1203 1538
1.97 2.34 6.37 3.82 4.64 3.57 gobert
2158 1932 2744 1816 2577 1760
0.87 1.11 4.21 4.23 6.69 7.65 giannis
2541 2823 2845 2756 2358 1482
-1.44 4.93 2.58 2.9 7.63 2.87 PG
91 2819 2689 2891 2841 986
2.71 4.14 2.49 2.39 1.36 2.18 rubio
692 2323 2469 2254 1899 1448
5.41 3.25 1.26 0 4.73 1.6 danny green
2312 2062 1807 1791 2216 1278
-0.31 2.59 1.66 5.91 2.22 -1.07 oladipo
2573 2379 2222 2552 1147 146
-1.03 2.58 2.68 3.81 2.76 2.53 kemba
2119 2885 2739 2736 1684 756
3.22 1.63 1.82 3.73 4.61 2.2 jrue
1303 1831 2190 2927 2402 1557

[aguifs]

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[PaKii94]

sadly, yes

if you want to start with the year that pau and derrick left and wade came in (i.e. the last 4 seasons), his RPM goes up to 5.55

Is that an average RPM? Because cumulative means it should go down if we remove 2 years of data. Also are you factoring in the year kawhi basically sat out? I wouldn't include that in the calculations.

If I can bother you for a few more numbers: what is it for Kawhi in the same time frame?

i said cumulative so as not to confuse with straight average, which would not be minutes-weighted

basically it's just treating it as one big season, weighting each individual season by minutes

kawhi's RPM was substantially bigger in years 1 and 2, when he was more of a role player. the last 4 years he drops below jimmy. but i think that short-changes him, so i'd just assume use the larger sample size in his case

It probably does short change him with bigger load/less efficiency/less defense but I mean Jimmy went through the same thing when he took the mantle. The next thing to look at would be looking at when both became "stars" to now which in this case would be Jimmy in 2014-15 and Kawhi in 2015-16.

Are you using espn's RPM values?

[dice]

Is that an average RPM? Because cumulative means it should go down if we remove 2 years of data. Also are you factoring in the year kawhi basically sat out? I wouldn't include that in the calculations.

If I can bother you for a few more numbers: what is it for Kawhi in the same time frame?

i said cumulative so as not to confuse with straight average, which would not be minutes-weighted

basically it's just treating it as one big season, weighting each individual season by minutes

kawhi's RPM was substantially bigger in years 1 and 2, when he was more of a role player. the last 4 years he drops below jimmy. but i think that short-changes him, so i'd just assume use the larger sample size in his case

It probably does short change him with bigger load/less efficiency/less defense but I mean Jimmy went through the same thing when he took the mantle. The next thing to look at would be looking at when both became "stars" to now which in this case would be Jimmy in 2014-15 and Kawhi in 2015-16.

Are you using espn's RPM values?

espn is the only provider of RPM. there are a couple of other advanced plus-minus stats out there that are called different things

edited above post to include full data, btw

[RakimAbdulJabar]

I don’t trust George to consistently perform come playoff time.

why not?

Because he’s wildly inconsistent from game to game based on recent playoff history

Have a look back at the game logs just from 2017-2019 (it’s the same trend throughout his career) for someone nicknamed Playoff P, I don’t like the shooting numbers from game to game. Too many 5-20 type games for my liking

[RakimAbdulJabar]

Am I the only one that doesn’t believe in the Clippers?

I’d like to see them win it all, but there’s something about that roster that I just don’t see it.

I don’t trust George to consistently perform come playoff time. I don’t understand the addition of Morris, I get that he’s an upgrade offensively over Harkless but they didn’t address the real issue they’re going to have come playoff time which is a presence in the middle. Zubac & Harrell are nice, but neither gives you the kind of interior defense you’re going to need against a big team like the Lakers, also how small do you go if either gets in foul trouble?

They’ve got a LOT of guys that can score, but I think they should have consolidated some of that into a rebounding, athletic defensive big.

No matter how much the nba is going towards jacking up endless 3’s those guys are still valuable and you see it in the playoffs with the offensive and tap back rebounds. I think the Clippers and Rockets are relying too much on everything going their way if they’re to beat the Lakers 4 out of 7 times, and I don’t care what’s happening in the regular season

I also don’t see the Bucks winning it all, no matter how good their regular season record and point differential

I REALLY hope I’m wrong but unless Lebron or Davis are injured I still think the Lakers are the favourites

George just looks a gear worse than last year. He started the season late so I wouldn't make conclusions, but so far, at the cost of Gallinari, SGA and many FRPs, LAC might've been better off without that trade... but Kawhi might've chosen LAL or TOR in that case, so really, it is what it is.

I will admit the Clippers don't look like they have the chemistry this year to beat LAL... but we're still a long ways away from that series. As it stands, I still don't see any other team in the West who has the top 1-2 punch to beat either (healthy) LA team. HOU and DEN have a long-shot chance, but either the WCFs or 2nd rd are going to be an LA showdown.

It is really hard for me not to pick LAC. Their playoff depth chart is way better, despite the Lakers' impressive season.

I hope you’re right, but the George comment is based on previous playoff performances not just this season

Another factor I forgot to mention is that if we get Clippers vs Lakers, the Clippers won’t have any home court advantage which I believe plays some kind of role in a game albeit a small one

[dumbell78]

The Sixers choosing Horford and Harris over Jimmy was a terrible call from Elton Brand. It was clear that Jimmy was the engine that made the team work last year but they let him go.

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

The playoffs showed us all who deserved the full max available and it sure wasn't Tobias Harris. Jimmy was head and shoulders above anyone in a Philly uniform. Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

I get that Tobias is young but he is half the player Jimmy Butler is. Elton Brand is about to run over Brent Brown with a semi for being handcuffed by management.

[dice]

The Sixers choosing Horford and Harris over Jimmy was a terrible call from Elton Brand. It was clear that Jimmy was the engine that made the team work last year but they let him go.

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

again, not the case. there are reports that he was offered the full max. maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. he says that he had problems with management and will eventually speak on it

Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

horford got 4/109. jimmy got 4/141 from miami

[Mech Engineer]

The Sixers choosing Horford and Harris over Jimmy was a terrible call from Elton Brand. It was clear that Jimmy was the engine that made the team work last year but they let him go.

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

The playoffs showed us all who deserved the full max available and it sure wasn't Tobias Harris. Jimmy was head and shoulders above anyone in a Philly uniform. Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

I get that Tobias is young but he is half the player Jimmy Butler is. Elton Brand is about to run over Brent Brown with a semi for being handcuffed by management.

Looking at Jimmy's tweets with Embiid, they seem to be "ok" with each other. I wonder if there were issues with Ben and Jimmy as Ben was not improving his game or something else was going on. Or, was it Tobias as you wrote getting paid which pissed off Jimmy.

But, I thought the 76ers offered a full 5 year contract. Is that not true?

FWIW, Jimmy is not the greatest jumpshooter but he is good enough not to leave him open. He is no LeBron in athleticism and many other things but is LeBron a better jump-shooter than Jimmy? He is a better jumpshooter than Giannis and maybe as good as Kawhi. But, the bottom line is none of these athletic wings are not great jumpshooters.

I am not sure what Brand was looking for because an athletic wing type star is the toughest player to find and is the best option to win with the current rules. And, no wonder, most of the teams having success have one of those guys.

[dumbell78]

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

The playoffs showed us all who deserved the full max available and it sure wasn't Tobias Harris. Jimmy was head and shoulders above anyone in a Philly uniform. Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

I get that Tobias is young but he is half the player Jimmy Butler is. Elton Brand is about to run over Brent Brown with a semi for being handcuffed by management.

Looking at Jimmy's tweets with Embiid, they seem to be "ok" with each other. I wonder if there were issues with Ben and Jimmy as Ben was not improving his game or something else was going on. Or, was it Tobias as you wrote getting paid which pissed off Jimmy.

But, I thought the 76ers offered a full 5 year contract. Is that not true?

FWIW, Jimmy is not the greatest jumpshooter but he is good enough not to leave him open. He is no LeBron in athleticism and many other things but is LeBron a better jump-shooter than Jimmy? He is a better jumpshooter than Giannis and maybe as good as Kawhi. But, the bottom line is none of these athletic wings are not great jumpshooters.

I am not sure what Brand was looking for because an athletic wing type star is the toughest player to find and is the best option to win with the current rules. And, no wonder, most of the teams having success have one of those guys.

Everything I read says they didn't give him the full 5 yr he wanted. If any one can point me to an article where they did offer it, Im open to being corrected.

[dumbell78]

that's not what happened. jimmy had a problem with management and wanted his own team. philly wanted to re-sign jimmy

brand would not have traded for a one season rental of jimmy. i feel that he made a mistake trading for tobias, whose role overlapped w/ jimmy's. maybe had he not done that jimmy would've stuck around

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

again, not the case. there are reports that he was offered the full max. maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. he says that he had problems with management and will eventually speak on it

Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

horford got 4/109. jimmy got 4/141 from miami

Still an awful move by Brand, just a terrible fit for 4 years. Even if Jimmy is not the guy, you cant tell me Al was the prize they needed to get over the hump.

[Mech Engineer]

The problem is much the same as Chicago one, they didn't buy into him completely. They didn't want to give him the last year he wanted and he felt short changed. Embid and Ben get what they wanted (no brainer) but then they give Harris the full term/max he wanted and Elton brand tried to short change Jimmy (in Jimmy's eyes). Jimmy would have easily stayed.

The playoffs showed us all who deserved the full max available and it sure wasn't Tobias Harris. Jimmy was head and shoulders above anyone in a Philly uniform. Elton Brand followed that up by signing 33 yr old Horford to a 4 yr 140 mil+ contract but Jimmy somehow couldn't happen for 5 years.

I get that Tobias is young but he is half the player Jimmy Butler is. Elton Brand is about to run over Brent Brown with a semi for being handcuffed by management.

Looking at Jimmy's tweets with Embiid, they seem to be "ok" with each other. I wonder if there were issues with Ben and Jimmy as Ben was not improving his game or something else was going on. Or, was it Tobias as you wrote getting paid which pissed off Jimmy.

But, I thought the 76ers offered a full 5 year contract. Is that not true?

FWIW, Jimmy is not the greatest jumpshooter but he is good enough not to leave him open. He is no LeBron in athleticism and many other things but is LeBron a better jump-shooter than Jimmy? He is a better jumpshooter than Giannis and maybe as good as Kawhi. But, the bottom line is none of these athletic wings are not great jumpshooters.

I am not sure what Brand was looking for because an athletic wing type star is the toughest player to find and is the best option to win with the current rules. And, no wonder, most of the teams having success have one of those guys.

Everything I read says they didn't give him the full 5 yr he wanted. If any one can point me to an article where they did offer it, Im open to being corrected.

This quote from Friedell's ESPN article doesn't mention the years ...but, I am assuming max means 5 years. I don't know if the impasse means 4 vs 5 years or something else.

The Sixers had interest in bringing Butler back on a max extension, according to a league source, but after negotiations hit an impasse, they opted to lock up Tobias Harris on the first night of free agency.

[kulaz3000]

The Sixers had interest in bringing Butler back on a max extension, according to a league source, but after negotiations hit an impasse, they opted to lock up Tobias Harris on the first night of free agency.

Well his quote does state that the Sixers were "interested" in bringing back Butler on a max contracts, but perhaps they were attempting to lowball and Butler just walked away. Saying that the max contract was on the table, and there was "interested" in offering it, are totally different things.