Around the League

[buzzkilloton]

Crazy that PG13 led the Clippers to the finals with Mann/Zubac/Beverly+ three formers Pistons in Luke,Morris, and Jackson. I get it was just the past two games no Leonard but damn. To bad we never have had anyone on Georges level during those teams we might of made the 2nd round haha.

[DBC10]

Crazy that PG13 led the Clippers to the finals with Mann/Zubac/Beverly+ three formers Pistons in Luke,Morris, and Jackson. I get it was just the past two games no Leonard but damn. To bad we never have had anyone on Georges level during those teams we might of made the 2nd round haha.

Turns out, all we needed was a Terrance Mann to get over the hump during 2016-2018

[pistonsbball]

What is the perceived value of Ben Simmons? In one series, it looks like BS' value has plummeted after being the focal point in a potential James Harden trade...just this year

Ben has been basically what Drummond was to us, literally no improvement from his rookie years. Especially on his offense, his defense I will give him that, that he has the physical tools to be a top defender quite handily

His skillset on offense will never be fully utilized as long as he's playing with Embiid. He needs to get out of there and maybe he's known this for a while. He needs 4 shooters around him and a team that can run in transition. I don't think his value will be super low as there's probably a few GMs that think they can unlock him with the right pieces.

Grant, Joseph and Jackson works, I would do that deal, maybe throw in a 2023 first. He's 24 and locked away for 4 seasons. If Simmons puts it together then your team's ceiling is really high, he's essentially a PG that can guard 1-5. It maybe helps the tank for the next couple of seasons as we gather pieces around him. Hayes has shown some good signs and you can still develop him from the bench, but Simmons' size and athleticism puts him on another level. If Hayes develops a consistent 3ball then you're able to play 2 big high-iq playmakers on the perimeter.

This of course goes against everything Weaver is trying to do in building a culture, you're bringing in an unproven former no. 1 pick and are likely going to be pandering to him. I wouldn't be mad if he didn't do it. I think Simmons ends up in Toronto for FVV or maybe a Lowry s&t.

[DBC10]

What is the perceived value of Ben Simmons? In one series, it looks like BS' value has plummeted after being the focal point in a potential James Harden trade...just this year

Ben has been basically what Drummond was to us, literally no improvement from his rookie years. Especially on his offense, his defense I will give him that, that he has the physical tools to be a top defender quite handily

His skillset on offense will never be fully utilized as long as he's playing with Embiid. He needs to get out of there and maybe he's known this for a while. He needs 4 shooters around him and a team that can run in transition. I don't think his value will be super low as there's probably a few GMs that think they can unlock him with the right pieces.

Grant, Joseph and Jackson works, I would do that deal, maybe throw in a 2023 first. He's 24 and locked away for 4 seasons. If Simmons puts it together then your team's ceiling is really high, he's essentially a PG that can guard 1-5. It maybe helps the tank for the next couple of seasons as we gather pieces around him. Hayes has shown some good signs and you can still develop him from the bench, but Simmons' size and athleticism puts him on another level. If Hayes develops a consistent 3ball then you're able to play 2 big high-iq playmakers on the perimeter.

This of course goes against everything Weaver is trying to do in building a culture, you're bringing in an unproven former no. 1 pick and are likely going to be pandering to him. I wouldn't be mad if he didn't do it. I think Simmons ends up in Toronto for FVV or maybe a Lowry s&t.

I would've agreed with you at the start of the season and would've been for that type of trade had it been offered. But now, I'm against it.

Mainly for the fact that you can't have a primary ball handler with that high of usage rate% and not know how to play half court offense. As we see in the playoffs right now, it's mostly half court execution instead of the run and gun style that happens a lot in the regular season. Ben just doesn't seem to have have any good half court offensive skills, he doesn't post up, doesn't know when to shoot a jumper and is too passive on the offensive end now that teams will just sag off knowing he's not going to shoot at all.

And plus I wouldn't want the constant speculation that he's "developed" a jumper every year in the offseason plaguing us only to be completely let down by mid season. Similar to again, how we viewed Drummond's supposed improvement year over year. It's just not worth the disappointment

[vege]

Yessssssssssssssss Brooklyn are out, now I don't care who win the title.

[Snakebites]

I still don’t want the Clippers. Fine with any other team remaining.

[tradez401]

I'm glad the con artist Griffin aint win **** the easy way.

[The Moose]

I still don’t want the Clippers. Fine with any other team remaining.

Likewise

Every other team remaining has been built organically and grown together

[tmorgan]

Bucks/Suns final would be good ball.

[chrbal]

It’s funny when history repeats itself in sports. And you get an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy

[Snakebites]

It’s funny when history repeats itself in sports. And you get an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy

Different though.

This time the stars the Nets have are still great players and the team is contender-level even when one of their 3 stars is out with an injury.

I doubt they regret dealing for Harden, unlike the insta-regret of the KG/PP trade.

[440BB]

Well, Blake Griffin gave up $13 million to play for a contender, and was on the court in the last minutes of a game 7. I wonder if he thinks it was worth it?

[chrbal]

It’s funny when history repeats itself in sports. And you get an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy

Different though.

This time the stars the Nets have are still great players and the team is contender-level even when one of their 3 stars is out with an injury.

I doubt they regret dealing for Harden, unlike the insta-regret of the KG/PP trade.

Sequels are never exactly the same and I’ll give you their big 3 Johnson Williams Lopez, aren’t on the Nets current big 3. But it’s more comparable than it seems.

[Snakebites]

It’s funny when history repeats itself in sports. And you get an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy

Different though.

This time the stars the Nets have are still great players and the team is contender-level even when one of their 3 stars is out with an injury.

I doubt they regret dealing for Harden, unlike the insta-regret of the KG/PP trade.

Sequels are never exactly the same and I’ll give you their big 3 Johnson Williams Lopez, aren’t on the Nets current big 3. But it’s more comparable than it seems.

The other key difference is the Nets could still come back next year. History really hasn’t repeated itself yet.

When the first Nets superteam flamed out everyone knew they were done for a little bit into the first season. KG was washed completely. PP was a role player. Deron didn’t care. JJ was just okay. Etc.

Here? All still all-NBA performers. I don’t know if they’ll ever pull together a healthy enough season to win it all. But they still could.

Heck, they came within one shot of still having that window open THIS year even with all those injuries.

[DBC10]

It’s funny when history repeats itself in sports. And you get an opportunity to just sit back and enjoy

Different though.

This time the stars the Nets have are still great players and the team is contender-level even when one of their 3 stars is out with an injury.

I doubt they regret dealing for Harden, unlike the insta-regret of the KG/PP trade.

Sequels are never exactly the same and I’ll give you their big 3 Johnson Williams Lopez, aren’t on the Nets current big 3. But it’s more comparable than it seems.

KD and Kyrie by themselves are better than that entire starting line up which were well past their primes anyways or stopped caring about basketball in any meaningful capacity.

You add Harden to that mix along with any other ringchasers? It's a supreme luxury that any team would kill for right now. I fully expect them to destroy the season next year when they're all healthy and actually develop chemistry instead of playing like what, less than 100 minutes together for the whole season?

[chrbal]

I guess I’m sorry I brought it up.

No one is on Durants level, but I still see it as a flawed group of talented to very talented players.

[Snakebites]

I guess I’m sorry I brought it up.

No one is on Durants level, but I still see it as a flawed group of talented to very talented players.

I mean, I get what you were saying. There’s a superficial similarity in that both teams were assembled inorganically and through sacrificing picks.

I thought (hoped?) it wouldn’t work before the season. None of the 3 are good defenders at this stage, Irving and Harden too ball dominant, etc. But I was forced to eat crow as the season went on. They didn’t lose to the Bucks because of their “flaws”- they lost because of injuries. Might those injuries rear up again? Sure. But they still have every chance of winning next year. Heck, as long as one of the guys out isn’t Durant, with the right ring chasers they could win even if one of the big 3 goes down in the playoffs again.

I HOPE they don’t win it all in the next few years, but to label it a failure like the previous team feels premature and unsupported by what we’ve seen.

[chrbal]

I guess I’m sorry I brought it up.

No one is on Durants level, but I still see it as a flawed group of talented to very talented players.

I mean, I get what you were saying. There’s a superficial similarity in that both teams were assembled inorganically and through sacrificing picks.

I thought (hoped?) it wouldn’t work before the season. None of the 3 are good defenders at this stage, Irving and Harden too ball dominant, etc. But I was forced to eat crow as the season went on. They didn’t lose to the Bucks because of their “flaws”- they lost because of injuries. Might those injuries rear up again? Sure. But they still have every chance of winning next year. Heck, as long as one of the guys out isn’t Durant, with the right ring chasers they could win even if one of the big 3 goes down in the playoffs again.

I HOPE they don’t win it all in the next few years, but to label it a failure like the previous team feels premature and unsupported by what we’ve seen.

On another note, i honestly thought kyrie was at least 32-33.

Two bonafide alphas, Durant and Harden OR Irving should work. I feel like 3 is almost always going to go bad. *I don’t think of Klay or Draymond as alphas*

[Snakebites]

I guess I’m sorry I brought it up.

No one is on Durants level, but I still see it as a flawed group of talented to very talented players.

I mean, I get what you were saying. There’s a superficial similarity in that both teams were assembled inorganically and through sacrificing picks.

I thought (hoped?) it wouldn’t work before the season. None of the 3 are good defenders at this stage, Irving and Harden too ball dominant, etc. But I was forced to eat crow as the season went on. They didn’t lose to the Bucks because of their “flaws”- they lost because of injuries. Might those injuries rear up again? Sure. But they still have every chance of winning next year. Heck, as long as one of the guys out isn’t Durant, with the right ring chasers they could win even if one of the big 3 goes down in the playoffs again.

I HOPE they don’t win it all in the next few years, but to label it a failure like the previous team feels premature and unsupported by what we’ve seen.

On another note, i honestly thought kyrie was at least 32-33.

Two bonafide alphas, Durant and Harden OR Irving should work. I feel like 3 is almost always going to go bad. *I don’t think of Klay or Draymond as alphas*

KD has a game that fits really well with other ball dominant players (and no, I’m not referring to the Warriors- I’m talking about his game in general). He’s not even really what I’d consider to be super “ball dominant”- or at least he doesn’t need to be to be the best scorer on the court. He and Steph were alike in that way which is one of the things that made the Warriors so hard to beat in the playoffs.

With Kyrie and Harden I think it’s true that they’re less than the sum of their parts. But I also think that they still bring value. If nothing else they make the other harder to double team and reduce the general workload they have to shoulder. If you stagger their minutes it means you have an elite scorer/playmaker running the offense for 48 minutes a night- not many teams have that.

And no, they won’t be as good as the Warriors with all their stars were- of course not. In fact I’ve always disliked the “well the Warriors made it work with all their stars so...” arguments. Klay, KD, and Steph were all great off- ball players so they easily were the sum of their parts. Dray has star level impact but wasn’t a star in terms of demands for the ball at all- more of a super-duper role player. But being as good as the Warriors isn’t the bar here.

The 3 is still better than the 2. It certainly won’t be worse. And the 2 is still a threat with the right veterans around them.

[ComboGuardCity]

Really wish we would’ve drafted that kid from Grand Rapids