Yeah the high scoring small forward with the turnaround J was all the rage in the '80s. Bernard King comes to mind. Adrian Dantley was one of my favorite players back in the day before I could perceive the complex nature of Team.
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Yeah the high scoring small forward with the turnaround J was all the rage in the '80s. Bernard King comes to mind. Adrian Dantley was one of my favorite players back in the day before I could perceive the complex nature of Team.
I'm obviously exaggerating somewhat. His game was very unique though, like a ton of head fakes and jab steps to the extent it looked funny to watch. Good back to the basket and face up game but a classic ball stopper. Slow release set shot. Could shoot hooks with either hand, great hesitation moves. But I will say the Bad Boys finally won their two titles after they traded Dantley for Agguire and put the ball in Isiah's hands more.
So, I do not subscribe that line of thinking though I certainly find it instructive.
No one controls the game like LeBron now, regardless of stats. He influences everything, from the opposing defense, to the performance of his teammates, to the calls of the officials. He picks his spots better than anyone else too. It is something that is very, very hard to quantify but best reflects in winning a championship and that overall quality needed to do so.
Kobe was the same guy in 2008-2010. He controlled everything, every player, every coach, every play, every second he was on the floor. Even when younger LeBron was across from him. He picked the spots much better than earlier in his career. No one doubted his status as the best player in basketball back then and he took a moderately talented Laker team to three straight NBA Finals (I think he won Olympic Gold then too, right?).
He probably deserved three MVPs in that period, but certainly during their back to back championship years. He was the definitive player in basketball, on the best team and elevated guys that were highly inconsistent outside of Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher to consistent championship level performances. Gasol was great, but not the level of a Wade or AD and possibly a Kyrie. Lamar Odom could look like the best player in basketball one game and a sixth man the next. Kobe's supporting casts then were less impressive than LeBron's have been. If that is not an MVP, I do not know what is.
Harden's offensive quality is real but so is his lack of defense from time to time (and leadership). He is much less complete overall than basically all of the great perimeter scorers that have dominated play over the past 30 years (Jordan, Kobe, TMac, Curry, Durant, LeBron, Dirk).
But, I think his offense is a lot more than just usage. The counters, the consistency, the diversity, the innovation. He is an incredibly special offensive player. He is like a cross between Curry and Kobe, insanely skilled though he lacks that Kobe style athleticism (and honestly I think healthy Curry is solidly better athletically). One of the best to ever play offensively, no doubt.
The rockets are blowing up. Westbrook wants out, and word is the Knicks (my team) are interested. I dont want Russ in the big apple. I wish the Knicks would take their time and rebuild the right way. Just once.
Perfect Rockets clearing some Cap Space to Build around the ageless wonder, Big Al Horford!
The Rockets are not going anywhere with the present mix. I think they need to move Westbrook for assets and take one more big shot around Harden. He and Harden did not fit well in OKC (I know they were young, but still), so I think it was surprising Morey took that shot (I think he was seduced more by star power than fit).
Chris Paul to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and draft pick/picks.
So the Suns gave all that up and a 1st round draft pick to get into the NBA playoffs and lose in the 1st round.
I agree - Barring serious injuries to LBJ or AD, then I look for them to repeat.
I like Schroder a lot and he gives them a deeply necessary secondary creator but giving up the 28th pick is actually a little bit steep. It's a really deep draft so having a player on a team friendly rookie deal for the Lakers would have been pretty valuable when you are looking at signing MLE players.
Steven Adams got traded to the Pelicans today. The Thunder are the team I follow most closely and it seems like the fans are pretty gutted. One of those where you knew it was coming but still kinda stings when it happens.
Good situation for him, though. Pelicans are a fun, young team with a good coach and they're not going to be actively trying to lose this year like OKC.
Good situation for him, though. Pelicans are a fun, young team with a good coach and they're not going to be actively trying to lose this year like OKC.
Yeah he really did need out of the dysfunction with OKC. Will be interesting to see where he ends up next year in free agency.
Their organization (OKC) is one of the best in basketball. They had to make these moves as they were stuck in purgatory after the Westbrook/George combination did not work how desired.
I think they will be fine with all of the accumulated assets in time and plus, they need to suck. They need to suck for 2 years to try to get some top level assets with their own picks, let alone all of the capital that they have accumulated.
There is a method to this all and at least they are starting with a really nice piece in SGA.
As far as Steven goes, if he and Zion can effectively share the post, this is a great move for NO. I am little worried though that they will have a lot of issues spreading the floor around those two. But, the great thing about Steven is that he will play whatever role they need him to play. So, if it fails, it will not be on him.
Just for that and to get a guy that guards the rim better than anyone, this is a really nice compete now move by the Pelicans.
They have gotten younger and more explosive with their scoring. They need to work on the bench, defensive and floor spreading pieces though. There is a lot of talk about them and Gasol/Ibaka right now. I think Ibaka would fit them well. They probably need KCP back but he may have priced himself out of their range with his playoff play.
This is very random but Pitt centric; I would not be at all surprised to see them have interest in Wanamaker. He is very cheap, plays competent backup PG, plays good D, hits open shots and would fit with their crew well.
I think the true success on this trade depends upon how long and well they have Schroder. He fits them perfectly, I think. But, if it is just a year and no championship, I agree with you. If it turns into something longer and they win another championship, I think it is a great move.
Oh for sure, I don't mean to say that they're actively trying to lose as a criticism. They want top 5 picks at minimum in the 2021 and 2022 drafts, which are supposed to be pretty stacked up top.
I think they'll be fine and I trust Presti to execute this rebuild. Their moves so far have been pretty reasonable -- maybe a slight overpay to move up to 17 but a lot of the OKC writers/podcasts had been saying for several months that they were all in on Pokusevski and then they needed to get ahead of the Mavs.
I get you.
Basketball is such a unique sport in that you basically have to get those premium picks to win championships unless you are a destination spot. It is extremely difficult to attract huge stars in free agency. All of the other major sports, you can build teams from the middle or ends of the rounds in drafts. In basketball, that is basically impossible.
I trust no one more than Presti with this rebuild. Other guys only reach that similar level.
He has a TON of draft capital, SGA and Bazley has a shot to be something. The question is not him building a contender but instead whether he builds a championship level squad. I have a lot of faith in him.
It does suck though for the OKC fans, who are probably the loudest and most faithful on game day in the NBA. Great, great fanbase. Hate to see them have a mediocre team for a few years but when it gets going again, they will root hard.
Michael Jordan is a terrible owner. That contract for Heyward is awful.
I was super curious to see what his next contract was after opting out of so much, but I definitely did not expect this.
Thought it would be a situation where you could tell if he was either worried about his health so would take like 3/$60M or just wanted the heck out of Boston.
Instead basically just opted out to extend his deal by 3 years. Unreal.
Agree with that logic completely but I'd still personally rather have Bane, Terry, or Maledon at 4/$10 than Schroder for 1/$15.
I agree with you on the economics and the future value relative to it. But, they are in win now mode, if it gets them another championship next year, you make the move in my opinion.
Schroder has the talent to be the difference for them. A guy that will do what Rondo did with less passing but more shooting. I like the fit better with him than Rondo and think he will mean more throughout the year.
During the season, as much as possible, they need to take the load off LeBron. They need a lot of minutes from Schroder and for him to take that stress. I think he should be able to do it pretty well and keep LeBron more fresh when it matters more.
100%
I love what the Thunder are doing. I know everyone mentions how this is “the process” part 2, but it reminds me more of the Celtics and the Nets trade, where they just had so many picks and assets.
In an ideal world for the Thunder, they get a top 5 pick this year, where a bunch of those guys, maybe all of them (Cunningham, Green, Mobley, Willams, Boston etc) all go 1st this year Easy, and then you look in future years, those pick swaps and picks from the Rockets and Clippers could be reeeally good, esp if Harden gets moved, if Kawhi-George flame out...not hard to imagine those two franchises going backwards.
And in the meantime, they’ll take a guy like Horford and his bad contract, get a pick, and then Horford will inevitably play well, play hard to get off that team, and then they flip him for another asset.
And you have SGA, you have Bazley, Poku, Dort..there are some pieces there.
Id much rather be OKC and Presti than like Detroit, or Orlando, or even Minnesota or Charlotte...teams that just seem built to hopefully be the 7-8 seed.
To me, the value that they received for Westbrook was absolutely stunning given his contract and age. Those 2024-2026 draft assets may have not have seemed like much for Houston if it worked with him and Harden, but if did not, that is a potentially disastrous amount to pay.
Because of Steve Ballmer, I have a lot of confidence that LAC will continue to be good under any circumstance and those picks will be end of the first round (including that Miami capital traded). But, the Houston situation has a lot more upside.
So, basically, Presti has his own capital (which if they tank is worth a lot), LAC's capital to build out the roster and then potential home run capital with Houston. And, he has the assets received from the Suns (and Philly and GSW). And SGA.
With all that, Presti will build a winner.
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