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Eric Apricot's avatar

FYI, I have put together a simpler version of void's old Big Board at this Google Form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc67-C3fDIe223zrGPU5ldfcujwo8ICafVIswC8Zn42gYZm1A/viewform?usp=header

Here you can rate some or all of the prospects in the Tourney on a 5 point scale and I'll make the results publicly accessible. This will be the proof you need so that in the future you can tell other people I TOLD YOU SO.

(Don't reply directly to this... make a new comment if necessary)

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void's avatar

Hey all, if anyone's wondering about the draft vote website I usually put up, unfortunately the DB provider I was using decided to spontaneously shut down, and I missed the 1 email they sent, so the service is gone as is all previous data 😒

Thanks to all who participated! maybe I'll rebuild it for next year.

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Arash's avatar

Just read a highly critical of Kerr and highly supportive of Kuminga piece. I didn’t agree with everything, but it’s still an interesting read so I’m curious what yall think?

https://sprewellwasright.substack.com/p/jonathan-kuminga-has-played-long?r=10qjgt

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Eric Apricot's avatar

I found it hard to read. You have to read way around stuff like

[[ It is not that hard to figure out what is going on here and what a coach should do with this roster. Most of the fanbase and nearly ALL of the local media have been hypnotized by the coach-lord's changing tune. ]] Both those sentences are disqualifying if you want to be taken seriously as analysis and not as hot take fluff.

But to distill some of the basketball, I did notice:

[[ You see a hyper athletic apex predator wing dribble the ball up the sideline in semi-transition. You know there is not a damn thing in the world you can do stop the guy because he can go left or right, he’s huge, and he’s faster than you. The best you can hope for is to foul him.

However, you have two things in your pocket that make you feel safe. You know this guy is not allowed to take a pull-up three, nor is he allowed to take a two-dribble step-back pull-up in the lane. So you can play him for the drive. ]]

So the author is arguing that Kerr is committing malpractice by not encouraging JK to take pull up jumpers in transition.

The first paragraph directly contradicts the second. If JK is unstoppable (and I agree in this optimal situation he is), then WHY WOULD YOU WANT HIM TO TAKE A PULL-UP? He’s a below-average jump shooter (one analysis has him as one of the very worst jump shooters in the league by points over expected value) and an elite transition finisher regardless of defense. In semi-transition, defenses can’t load up for the drive anyway.

And Kerr has been publicly begging JK to emphasize playing in transition and not to hero ball it in the half court, so Kerr is actually emphasizing this exact optimal situation.

So, there are legitimate critiques of Kerr’s use of JK, but I didn’t see them in that piece. Maybe someone could extract more. But I would guess I’ve already seen it argued much better and clearer by you or other commenters here.

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Abaddon's avatar

Next up: why Giannis is being criminally misused by not pushing him to take more midrange jumpers.

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Hoops2518's avatar

The writer is obviously extremely biased and a huge JK fan.

With that being said I believe that Kerr is a really good coach and I also believe he will look back one day and say his handling of Kuminga was not ideal.

Wiggins, JB and DG also just do not compliment JK well. It was just a bad fit and the Warriors never should have drafted him. A terrible decision based on what the team needed in a win now situation.

Dunleavy has impressed me and it will be interesting to see what our roster is come October.

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vignette17's avatar

If we start with the premise that Steve Kerr is an idiot, and then pick out only the samples where Kuminga has performed well, we can reach the conclusion that Steve Kerr is an idiot and Kuminga only performs well.

If an article can't acknowledge that JK has serious flaws as a player beyond just lack of playing time and opportunity, it's hard to take it seriously.

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GreenDray's avatar

"Sprewell was right" having bad takes? Inconceivable!

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Arash's avatar

While I have large disagreements with the piece, it’s a decided misrepresentation to claim that they “pick out only the samples where Kuminga has performed well“.

He selected sample sizes of Kuminga getting large scale minutes on a consistent basis with the starters/best players.

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vignette17's avatar

There's some nuance, but I really don't think it's a decided misrepresentation. IMO, the causal relationship is backwards anyways. When JK is playing well, he typically gets rewarded with more minutes.

Before we all forget, Kerr literally started JK as a rookie in 3 playoff games. Of course, they did lose the last of those games by 50. Kerr has also multiple times said JK is now a starter only to reneg. JK has had opportunities. He's just lost them through his own play. Unless you believe Kerr intentionally self sabotages (or is an idiot).

I do appreciate a different point of view occasionally though.

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Arash's avatar

I mostly agree with this critique.

Kuminga gets larger scale consistent minutes when he’s playing well, that’s why his stats are good during these stretches. Hence, those stats are not necessarily representative of Kuminga’s actual skillset/impact with larger minutes.

With that being said, regarding Kerr being an idiot/self sabotaging, I’d actually put forth a third possibility lmao. That possibility being that Kerr has a preference for a specific style of player (aka a quick and good decisionmaker when it comes to scoring/passing) and requires it as a baseline. Kuminga, who doesn’t have that skillset, is sidelined in favor of players who do Anthony Lamb/Wiggins. My critique of Kerr would be that while Kuminga didn’t have that skillset, his other skills that he does have allow him to perform superiorly to Lamb and 2022 Wiggins who was terrible. He should get minute over them as a result and those minutes would hopefully allow Kuminga to develop the skillset that Kerr values.

So yeah, I almost entirely agree with Kerr’s handling of Kuminga (and honestly largely agree with Kerr on almost everything to the point of being a yes man) except for those two decisions (Lamb and 2022 Wiggins). I don’t have to think he’s dumb (as this article implies) to think he made some mistakes here.

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Sleepy Freud's avatar

You can pretty much write him off from the strawman opening (“many Warriors fans … salivate at the idea of [Kuminga] scoring 20+ points for a franchise that is actually trying to lose”). But if, for kicks and giggles, you want a caricatural example of bad internet hot-takery, right down to the crappy spelling and poor writing, you might find it worth a two-minute skim.

I found the contrast between his hagiography of JK (“hyper athletic apex predator wing … there is not a damn thing in the world you can do stop the guy”) and his dismissal of Podz (“terrible”) particularly amusing.

Mild brownie points for calling out Fitz as “ridiculous,” but it’s an otherwise juvenile and simple-minded hit piece. Basically, Jim Park in prose form.

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Arash's avatar

Your lack of genuine engagement with the article is frustrating. Disagreements are fine—I have my own—but ignoring its core arguments in favor of critiquing minor points leaves much to be desired.

One major critique is that Kuminga's plus minus stats aren't representative of his genuine impact because he's often been stuck with our poor bench unit. When given consistent large scale minutes with our starters/best players, hes thrived averaging "14 ppg, 63% fg, 50% FROM THREE AT 1.27 MAKES A GAME, 70% efg% %, 4.2 reb .8 stl, .5 blocks 9in 24 min over an 11 game stretch]," and "19.1 points, 52% shooting, 77% ft, 54 efg%, 5.3 reb per game 1 stl. .7 blks [30 min per game over 30 game stretch]. Agree or not, this is an interesting point to engage with, but you instead prefer to focus on a throwaway comment on fan psychology that takes up less than 4 sentences of the entire piece.

Another major critique raised in the piece is Kerr’s management of Kuminga’s minutes. From inexplicably playing Anthony Lamb over Kuminga, to keeping Kuminga benched while he consistently outperformed Wiggins (until pressure from his agent and public discourse forced Kerr’s hand), to the delayed decision to bench Klay despite months of poor play, the article challenges Kerr’s decision-making. It also pushes back on Kerr’s claim that Kuminga couldn’t play with Butler, Draymond, and Curry pointing toward his performance during the playoffs even without the spacing/scoring Curry provides. Agree or not, this is a meaty topic to engage with but you instead laugh at how differently he describes JK/Podz.

There’s real substance here beyond bad internet hot-takery. I just wish you'd engaged with it and faciliated an interesting convo instead of focusing on the garnish.

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Sleepy Freud's avatar

I’ve seen and engaged with the stats/substance part of it many times, both in defense of JK and in critique of him. I didn’t think the writer brought any substance to the table that I haven’t seen and pondered many times before; only his one-sided cherry-picking of the evidence, sloppy writing (e.g. “Michael Jorden”, “Trace Jackson Davis”), and just generally breathless, juvenile, and hyperbolic tone undermined whatever credibility he might have had, in my eyes.

I also take a dim view of broad-brushed anti-analytical statements like “plus-minus is a garbage stat” particularly if you’re then going go turn around and underline JK’s “DOMG 50% FROM 3!!!” in a tiny, cherry-picked sample.

Anyway, you asked for people’s opinions about the article, and I gave mine.

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Arash's avatar

Yeah you gave ur opinion on random asides rather than the actual meat of the discussion.

Whatevs, if the extent of ur contribution to the discussion will be snarky dismissal then that’s up to you. But to be honest, that’s pretty similar to the snarky/vacuous article you’re deriding.

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Sleepy Freud's avatar

No snark: I’m sincerely expressing my feeling that the writer’s Trumpian qualities (exaggeration, hyperbole, strawmanning, sanctification of some people and demonization of others, poor writing, etc.) make it impossible for me to take anything he says seriously.

You can certainly call it dismissal, but it’s not snarky dismissal. And while it lacked basketball “meat” it’s no more “vacuous” than your replies to me have been. You asked for my take on the piece and I gave it, so I think we can end this conversation here. Peace.

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

"[Stein] Word is that the Hawks, at roughly $30 million below the luxury-tax line, are expected to register interest in a sign-and-trade deal with Minnesota to try to acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker"

Wow, Daniels and NAW?

"[Charania] "Them phone lines are ringing in Boston. My understanding is the Celtics are getting offers, calls on both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Their preference has been to keep both players. They are listening, but will a team get there?"

"[Charania]: The Mavs are expected to open up the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception by signing Irving to this deal, sources said. Potential targets for that salary slot would have included Dennis Schroder, D'Angelo Russell, Chris Paul and Malcolm Brogdon, sources said."

$5.7 mil isn't that bad for any of those players

"[Lewenberg] Multiple league sources have confirmed to TSN that the ninth pick is believed to be available | They [Raptors] have both made and received more calls than in recent years leading up to the draft."

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WCoastD's avatar

I apologize, I’m not completely understanding -

Are we choosing the draft prospect WE LIKE for the Warriors, or the player we THINK the Warriors will select?

Like, how do you win?

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Eric Apricot's avatar

You pick the prospect you like best.

You win when your pick plays the best out of all possible picks.

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WCoastD's avatar

I will not win.

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Eric Apricot's avatar

It’s okay, the real prize is the friends we make along the way. And $10 store credit at the Apricotville Gift Shop

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SabWrites's avatar

r/Mavericks

1 min. ago

MAVS_COM1CAL

Luka Doncic

[Shams Charania] BREAKING: Dallas Mavericks nine-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving is declining his $43 million player option and intends to sign a three-year, $119 million contract with the franchise, sources tell ESPN. The deal includes a player option in the 2027-28 season.

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ServantOfLuna's avatar

The Boston Celtics are now out of the second apron by $4.5M. The Celtics are $7.4M over the first apron and about $15.4M over the luxury tax.

https://bsky.app/profile/keithsmithnba.bsky.social/post/3lsf7chtb622z

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Per Shams:

In a 3-way deal, the Hawks acquire Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick from Celtics.

Nets receive Terance Mann from Hawks plus the Hawks’ 2025 #22 pick.

Celtics acquire Georges Niang from Hawks plus a 2031 second-round pick originating from the Cavaliers.

This trade plus the Jrue Holiday trade get Boston $4.5M under the second tax apron.

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SabWrites's avatar

The Nets have 5 first round picks in the draft. Everything about the NBA is getting more and more unwatchable.

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ServantOfLuna's avatar

#8, 19, 22, 26, and 27 picks.

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g8tgod's avatar

So, they could draft an entirely new starting lineup?

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WCoastD's avatar

KOC’s view has a lot of overlap with EA’s. Helpful evals imo.

https://youtu.be/-FoeuVMTBMo?feature=shared

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

If JK asks to leave or wants too much money, I've half talked myself into Patrick Williams, #12, #45 , and Portland's (1-14 protected) 2026 pick (my trade, not KOC's). We don't need picks, but they can be flipped. Maybe that's too much for the Bulls, though. Hopefully Williams would just need a change of scenery: he the potential to be a less-athletic but better-shooting and cheaper Wiggs.

Poetl would be great, but probably not feasible. Haven't heard the Raptors mentioned for JK much before this video.

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WCoastD's avatar

I think PW has a really high salary for what he delivers. I hate settling.

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

I not my #1 (or even #10) trade (more like an Alonzo Mourning Head Shake Meme trade), but $18 mil won't be a huge amount, especially in 2 years. If we flip the picks, that could be better than some other JK offers I've seen, especially because we probably wouldn't have to trade anyone but JK. And there's the (small) chance that Williams actually becomes a decent asset. But yeah, not a super amazing trade, although maybe some potential if Chicago is desperate to get rid of him.

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WCoastD's avatar

Oh, I thought it was much more. I get it now, especially if picks come here. Seems like it’s gonna be an unpredictable next 36 hours for the league. Strap in!

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Eric Apricot's avatar

Haven’t seen it yet, but it’s not ME that Kevin has to reckon with, it’s Clunky Comps and APRIBOT after the robot takeover

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Eric Apricot's avatar

Okay, gave a quick look and yes all of KOC’s draft picks are in our Tourney.

I could live with any of those, but I’m a bit more worried about Kam Jones than before. In the course of watching the Combine, he looked pretty bad. Didn’t have the burst to create off the dribble.

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

"[Charania] BREAKING: Boston, Atlanta and Brooklyn are finalizing a three-team trade that sends Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Hawks, Terance Mann and Atlanta's No. 22 pick to the Nets, and Georges Niang and a second-rounder to the Celtics."

Niang is going to be really good in Boston, but considering what they originally paid for Porzingis and Holiday . . . (but of course, they won a title)

Stein and Jake Fischer apparently were strongly hinting earlier today that the Hawks were getting involved.

According the Marks, the Celtics saved $180 mil in tax, and are under the 2nd apron

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GlueAndBold's avatar

Seems like an extremely light return for the Celtics. How the heck does this work in the trade machine?

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BayesGT's avatar

I will always remember Niang as a playoff brick layer from the Jazz days

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Eric Apricot's avatar

For those who like the drama, KD disliked the Logan Murdock quote about KD not wanting to return because of Kerr.

https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/kevin-durant-trade-report-steve-kerr/1857644/

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GlueAndBold's avatar

In Court of Gold, didn't he have absolutely glowing things to say about Kerr?

I swear some journalists make themselves the story just so they can get something to cover.

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Loofus's avatar

I think Murdoch isn’t that type of reporter.

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belilaugh's avatar

Murdock literally mentions that Kerr and Durant have since reconciled in the same paragraph.

Sorry but this reporting from Murdock is definitely what happened, there’s a reason KD was sarcastically talking about “playing with joy” during that last season. His biggest issue was the Warrior system, it was never about Draymond it’s just Draymond is an easy scapegoat because not many are willing to expend energy to defend him.

Just because journalism points to potentially controversial things doesn’t mean it’s inaccurate. There was a lot of “bullshit media” talk about those Wolves reporters saying that there was tension between Butler and Towns and look what happened there.

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Arash's avatar

KD's criticism of Kerr's system, from his own mouth, was simply that in the playoffs the ball movement system tends to falter and therefore we require more simple actions like pick and rolls and iso's in order to function.

It wasn't a wholesale indictment of the Kerr's offensive system, just a relatively mild critique of it. Yet, fans leap to this reason without much justification despite minimal evidence toward this reason.

I find it quite odd.

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vignette17's avatar

I don't truly know KD, but from my view, It's always been about Steph overshadowing him. Not Kerr, not Draymond. He just wasn't loved like Steph was.

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tempprofile's avatar

I'm not sure I even buy that as in the Olympics final he passed the ball to a double covered Steph for him to make an impossible, for anybody else, shot. KD had to know that if that shot went down it was going to seal 2024 as the "Steph Curry Olympic team".

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belilaugh's avatar

The one thing I’ve come to learn about KD over the years is he is unreliable when it comes to explaining his own motivations.

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Loofus's avatar

The other thing I’ve learned is that he’s not much of a leader, unless we’re talking about scoring leaders.

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Human Nature's avatar

I agree. The eternal problem: bus rider or bus driver

Even Charles Barkley agrees

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JZAlvarado's avatar

I wonder how much the Wolves could have netted in a sale if they became available for sale this offseason

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WCoastD's avatar

Intending question. They just sold - it was hard to tell ‘cause the seller wouldn’t let go of the team lol. Deal was struck in 2021 for $1.5, below market rate obv.

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

Rumors/Trades 6/24 #2:

"[Charania] The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell ESPN."

Wow. CJ's contract is expiring, so a salary dump for Washington?

"[Charania] Portland Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle is picking up his $11.5 million player option for the 2025-26 season, sources tell ESPN."

Not super surprising, but he can offically be traded

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TwoRingTest's avatar

I guess I can sorta see it from NO side. If you could get Poole back to his 2021-2022 form, he'd be a nice addition to NO. If nothing else, he should play more games than CJ.

Washington, I assume the big thing for them is getting off of Poole's last year.

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DFiB's avatar

CJ's just gotta keep playing, man, and not worry about what goes on at the top of things.

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belilaugh's avatar

Wizards give up on Poole two years after trading for him (and two years after the Warriors gave up on him). The league couldn't be making it clearer how little they think of Poole.

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Abaddon's avatar

Warriors shipped Poole out because we wanted to keep Dray and the Wizards are dysfunctional. Hardly a League indictment. He is overpaid, tho.

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belilaugh's avatar

The return the Warriors got for him was a clear indictment, they had to give up a top 20 first all to get a guy that was probably going to be bought out. It was a salary dump. Now a bad young team is getting rid of a 25 year old for CJ McCollum, what does that tell you about what they think about said 25 year old?

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JZAlvarado's avatar

Throw Anfernie Simons into that mix.

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Andy Lee's avatar

Tyler Herro was the winner of that player archetype.

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belilaugh's avatar

From what I recall the comparison group was Poole, Herro, and Maxey. Sometimes Simon thrown in there too.

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Andy Lee's avatar

Ah, Maxey's the clear winner in that case.

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Abaddon's avatar

Poole contributed meaningfully to an NBA championship. That’s not nothing. But yeah, Maxey is pretty great.

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vignette17's avatar

The Wizards officially have a bunch of players I sorta like, but don't love: CJ, Olynyk, Middleton, Kispert, Marcus Smart. Like they're all OK, but I still expect them to suck overall.

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Mr.Plow's avatar

Portland East

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hammystyle's avatar

yeah the Wizards now have almost no salary on the books after next year. They could scoop up a ton of picks facilitating trades.

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Captain Jack's avatar

Washington Retirement Home

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Eric Apricot's avatar

My initial gut reaction is "what an odd little trade that moves each team sideways". I'll look forward to analysis of why each team did this...

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Shawyer's avatar

I would love to have Poole back, as impossible as that is

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g8tgod's avatar

Not until after his contract expires. And sadly, probably not then...

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Never.

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

Maybe Washington sees an opening in the East over the next few years. They'll tank this year, have insane amounts of cap space next off-season, and go from there? The guards in Washington's draft range this year I think are bad at defense, so maybe Carrington is their starter going forward? At the very least, they got rid of a big salary, and can fully commit to defense starting next year.

New Orleans got something for McCollum, and Poole's style is a better fit. All-in-all, not a horrible trade.

Edit: If you're the Wizards, do you delay the rebuild for a year and take Beal for Middleton and CJ (if Beal has finally had it with Phoenix and would waive his No Trade Clause for his former team - the trade doesn't work as is, but would with 3+ teams)?

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SabWrites's avatar

?

r/nba

7 min. ago

u/dpatel211

emoji:hou-2: Rockets

Nuggets’ President Josh Kroenke: “The wrong person gets injured and very quickly you’re under a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that’s trading [Nikola Jokic].”

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1ljjpsq/nuggets_president_josh_kroenke_the_wrong_person/

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Loon Gehrig's avatar

'Steph, if Dray or Jimmy get hurt we might trade you. Don't want to, but might have to . . . by the way, you're going to sign that extension soon, right?'

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Arash's avatar

If Podziemski maintains his play from the Post All Star Break at 16 pt/6 rbd/3 ast per game over the course of the entirety of next year, would y'all consider him as a lock for the starting SG position?

Personally, if he maintains that level of scoring along with his good defense/passing/rebounding than he's our SG for the forseeable future especially when you take into account his potential for further improvemement given his youth.

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belilaugh's avatar

I don't think he's starting caliber unless he takes a leap with his shooting. Not enough size/speed/athleticism for that 2 guard spot against the top teams of the league. Last year was discouraging for me from the perspective of wanting to see growth from him as a play initiator, he failed pretty hard at that until the Warriors got Schroder and then Butler to do that for him. I'd prefer a "connector" to have more size or shooting or something, so hopefully his shot can be more dynamic than what we've seen so far.

Personally hope they are able to bring in someone to start over him next season. Or if the Warriors aren't able to address their center position in a meaningful way and get a non-shooter, I expect they'll go with a Curry/Hield backcourt to account for a Butler/Green/Center frontcourt (although I see an argument for bringing Green off the bench to better balance lineups but so far they haven't broached that subject).

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fzwinter's avatar

I think Podz, barring injury, will be slotted into the starting lineup as the 2 for many years to come. Yes, he's not gonna do well as a backup PG as he doesn't have the ability to break down the defense and get downhill. But I would only expect his shooting to get better (he's a career 37.8% on threes, so no slouch there, and he improved his FT% from 70% as a rookie to 75% last year). And he brings high BBIQ, toughness, hustle, and rebounding which don't always show up in the stats but contribute to his high plus/minus (+523 in two years; for comparison Steph was +488 over the same period). There's no way Kerr won't play him at least 30 minutes a night. Still think he'll be an All Star in 2-3 years and has a shot at the 2028 US Olympic team.

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belilaugh's avatar

We'll see, at the beginning of last season it was clear the Warriors wanted Melton to be their starting 2, not Podz.

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fzwinter's avatar

Ironically, the fact that Podz is a Dub might prevent Melton from signing with the Dubs on a vet minimum as he might be able to get more minutes elsewhere

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AttilaTheHun's avatar

Podz could be a starter unless we get someone like a healthy Melton but I think he would be more valuable off the bench. I wouldn't underestimate Podz. He's got plenty of grit. He played through multiple injuries this past season and still did a pretty fair job overall. His shooting started slow but was coming around nicely before he got his face bashed, and it started coming back afterward (remember he had dizziness for awhile, per 'Buike). I think he's going to be a good shooter this coming season. He's already one of the better rebounding guards, and he's a solid defender, not stellar, but he'll do fine. And remember he's the youngest member of the team at 22. Quite possibly he will be younger than whoever we draft. He's still developing.

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belilaugh's avatar

> He's got plenty of grit. He played through multiple injuries this past season and still did a pretty fair job overall.

That's actually another thing that concerns me about Podz, I'm not sure how sustainable his playstyle is long term. It seems like it relies on him putting himself in harm's way a lot to fight for rebounds with big men or draw charges on players who weigh 50 pounds more than him. I think it is an admirable way to play but is it a smart way to play? I dunno.

> I think he's going to be a good shooter this coming season

That's his path to becoming a starter imo. Hopefully the core muscle injury isn't too damning, I don't think Lillard or LeBron have looked quite the same after they suffered that injury but they are also much older so maybe it was simultaneous natural decline.

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Shawyer's avatar

Yeah, he’s best suited as a bench guy for the duration, barring some incredible leap

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Hoops2518's avatar

Please do not trade for Porzingis. The last thing we need is a guy who is totally unreliable.

However, he could be very good if by some miracle he was able to play all year.

I guess we need an Otto Porter like situation but the problem of course he doesn’t make OP money.

Let’s face it. We need to have some incredible good fortune to really contend. That means our current old guys turning back the clock and a great pickup or two.

So many elite players are already injured and who knows what is to come. Kyrie, Lillard, Tatum, Haliburton.

Maybe someday the greedy players and greedy owners will realize they are playing too many games with the incredible stress that is being put on their bodies.I think the highest paid player in the WNBA is making $250,000. Steph has made $250,000 by the end of the third quarter in game one of the season.

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