Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open thread

Lakers sweep, LeBron's Vaguebooking, possible draft picks, etc

Helpful hint: Every commenter’s name is a link that leads back to the original comment.

DNHQ Draft Tourney. Brice Sensabaugh (5) vs… — MAY 26

young bucket-getter vs all around guy

• Janet (16 ♡):

  OT: I had the chance to shoutout DNHQ on the NBA Fan Forum when they asked which outlet provides the most excellent basketball news, stats and data. Yay DNHQ!

  • Eric Apricot (9 ♡):

    *silently nods at gentleman in black*

    *gentleman quietly writes out a coupon for 5% off at the DNHQ swag store*

    • DFiB (6 ♡):

      Any chance to get this Looney inspired 5% off deal shifted to a JTA themed 95% off situation?

      • Eric Apricot (4 ♡):

        *silently nods at gentleman in black*

        *gentleman quietly writes out a coupon for “buy 6 get 1 free” at the DNHQ swag store*

• TwoRingTest (8 ♡):

  Another rule experiment:

  The NBA may tweak the coach's challenge process (give a coach a second challenge if the first is successful).

  https://www.si.com/nba/2023/05/26/nba-exploring-new-coach-challenge-rule

  • DFiB (3 ♡):

    Another good one... but, as much as I love Kerr, it's expanding a tool that he uses way worse than other coaches. Really think Kerr needs to do a better job of using for obvious wins instead of whatever @#%@^ing logic he currently applies...

    • vignette17 (3 ♡):

      He often uses it as a way of supporting his players. And certain players (Klay is especially bad) just don't understand why sometimes they are called for a valid foul.

• Freddie (5 ♡):

  I live in the city where Nico is playing. Bologna. He is not a NBA point guard. Period. Maybe he will become a good Euroleague PG. Now he is not even in the starting five of a team who was 13 out of 18 in Euroleague Regular Season, and is on the bench even in Italian National Team.

• hammystyle (4 ♡):

  #TWELVE

  If the Warriors had the luxury of a redshirt draft spot Sensabaugh would be intriguing. He was terrible on D, he can't pass etc. But that type of frame with a really sweet jumper is an interesting mix. I get the urgency for young guys to grab the money, but he's a perfect guy who could have taken NIL money at a big school. If he improved his D and playmaking at the college level all of a sudden he's a safe lottery pick that could fit nicely as a complimentary piece around a central star. Going to a team in the teens or 20's like he is now it just seems like coaches are going to be pretty frustrated with the big holes in his game.

  So give me Jones here, but I like him a little less than some of the other older prospects. The fit is pretty nice if it all comes together for him. Combo guard who can run some PG, good defender, solid passer, and a really good rebounder.

  But he's not a great shooter, and pretty slow off the dribble. The 3P% looks OK last year, but that was on low volume and his FT% has been consistently bad. He's a better prospect than Jacob Evans was coming out, but pretty similar type of profile and it's an example how there can be a very low ceiling on guard prospects who aren't explosive and struggle to shoot. (To be fair, I think it's really likely Jones will at least be a solid defender. Evans's struggles on his shot caught most of the attention, but it seemed like his lack of confidence there spread throughout everything he did on the court.)

• vignette17 (3 ♡):

  I really like Sensabaugh's shooting upside. His FT%, 3P%, and FG% on long midrange point to someone who will eventually be able to shoot in the NBA. I haven't seen his wingspan but at 6'6 I see a Joe Harris type upside. With Jones, I get very jack of all trades, master of none vibes. Which is great to have but also might mean he might have no above average skills when he plays against the better athletes and players at the NBA level.

  I seem to be bucking the DNHQ trend, but #FIVE.

Rumored Warriors Trades, Yes or No? #1… — MAY 25

warning: I do not endorse the trades I poll.

• Asher B. (19 ♡):

  Trade Benched Kuminga for Minutes Kuminga, Scared Poole for Dynamic Poole, and Newbie Moody for Established Moody.

  The cap hit is probably pretty close, I haven’t checked the trade machine …

• DFiB (14 ♡):

  [Poole]'s absolutely the key.

  Scenario 1: He stays a Warrior, and remains as a 33% 3pt shooter who shoots a lot of 3s and doesn't play good defense = Warriors dynasty over.

  Scenario 2: He stays a Warrior, and recovers his 3pt shot up to 36-38% and becomes a mildly competent defender = Warriors dynasty continues.

  Scenario 3: Some other team believes he can recover his 2022 playoff form on their team, and trades good players to the Warriors = Warriors dynasty continues.

  He's the key, one way or the other.

• ServantOfLuna (12 ♡):

  Sources: The NBA’s Competition Committee is discussing potential of in-game penalty for flops that would result in technical foul free throw. Trial is possible at Summer League in July.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1661763790390820865

• cpt nemo (10 ♡):

  Steve Kerr mentioned in a recent interview that he likes the FIBA approach to flopping, which I think was a technical foul and ball to other team!

• jeckyllhouse (8 ♡):

  imagine Brooklyn would be fine dealing Dinwiddie, but feel like they'll need a sweeter offer than Poole to part with Claxton

• Eric Apricot (8 ♡):

  I was SO excited about that rumor in 2020 right before the draft of #2 for #4 and Wendell Carter Jr. If that was real, what a missed opportunity.

  https://dubnationhq.com/p/instant-emergency-wendell-carter

• MIAMIin6akaSab (7 ♡):

  Draymond is nothing like Trevor Bauer. Bauer lost his MLB baseball career because of sexual assault allegations. Draymond has pulled some shit professionally but personally (at least on the surface) he seems like a very good dude, and a great father and husband.

• belilaugh (7 ♡):

  > #Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther has a pre-Draft workout with the Golden State Warriors tomorrow. Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins and Wichita State’s Craig Porter Jr. will also be part of the workout.

https://twitter.com/TheoLawson_SR/status/1661904405132890112

• So far the Warriors are only looking at players who are 21 or older from what I've seen (these guys and an interview with Trayce Jackson-Davis).

• belilaugh (7 ♡):

  He would be the ideal free agency addition who I would want over anyone else, and if the Heat would have lost to the Bulls in the play-in maybe it could have happened? But at this point I can't see him leaving the Heat, he's playing 18 minutes a game for them in the playoffs.

  I really hope the Warriors tried to sign him in the buyout market and were unable to because he wanted to go to Miami. He would have been super useful against the Lakers.

• pooryorick (6 ♡):

  I don’t want to see LeBron, Westbrook, CP3, Harden, Kyrie in a Warriors jersey ever period, exclamation point. Red rover, red rover let Kevin come over if he’s humble about it.

• MIAMIin6akaSab (6 ♡):

  I would love to see Kevin Love play for the Warriors.

• Eric Apricot (6 ♡):

  This might make the NBA modernize its replay policies, with off-site automatic replay review for incorrect calls of fact and flopping

DNHQ Draft Tourney. G.G. Jackson (4) vs Bilal… — MAY 24

Very young American shot creator vs very young French shot creator

• belilaugh (10 ♡):

  Jackson is extremely young (turns 19 in mid-December), is big (and could perhaps grow some more), a good ballhandler for his size, looks pretty fluid shooting the ball, you can see the tools. On some other team, perhaps he could work out one day. But he'd be a disaster on the Warriors, that seems pretty clear. After Wiseman I'd like them to take a break from drafting selfish player projects for a bit.

  The draft and stash idea for Coulibaly could make a ton of sense. I don't really want him on the roster next season but he's intriguing. Plus he could go a long way toward eventually recruiting Wembanyama to the Warriors. It's boring but I'll just echo what everyone else has said.

  #THIRTEEN

• TwoRingTest (8 ♡):

  If we get Coulibaly, next year's team will be the "Oui Believe" team.

• Run_TMC (7 ♡):

  Not close. GG seems like the ultimate anti moneyball pick. Looks the part, but bad numbers and doesn't even look good at defense. Coulibaly looks like he could grow into a Warrior type player. Going with lucky #THIRTEEN

  Also, if the Warriors can't trade this pick for a pick a few years down the road and use that roster spot for a guy who might help the W's next season then this is the next best thing, as they can draft and stash Coulibaly in France one more year.

• belilaugh (6 ♡):

  Yeah you're right let me rephrase, I mean that I think he plays selfishly and needs to be taught how to not play selfishly. Saying he is selfish is too far, I agree.

  I think GG Jackson looks like he plays selfishly as well.

• MIAMIin6akaSab (5 ♡):

  Why would Bob go to LAC? Of all the 30 teams that want him. Why would he choose to go there? Lol.

• Eric Apricot (5 ♡):

  I think G.G. Jackson has been drifting downwards slowly in mock drafts, but his youth and frame allow people to dream big about what he can become. In some ways it was bad luck that he was matched up against another young player who’s possibly stashable.

  As for how he literally ended up at (4) in our Tourney, you can read the methodology at the link at the start of each article, but in short, it’s where he was mocked by reputable analysts at the time of the start of the series. During the Tourney, there is always movement on the draft boards, and Coulibaly is one of the fast-risers… it won’t surprise me if Coulibaly ends up drafted before Jackson.

• GreenDray (5 ♡):

  Jackson sounds like the beginning of a third timeline which won't see any time on court until the post-Kerr era.

  Bilal might be the only player in the NBA next year who has experience guarding our future WC nemesis Wemby in practice.

  #13

Quick summary of the Bob Myers situation… — MAY 23

Hoping we'll have a decision by the start of June

LeBron’s Retirement Vaguebooking

• Mycroft (17 ♡):

  In response to The Ringer's article about "10 stages of coping with Lebron's retirement comments" I present my own. I believe in response I will:

  1) Spend three hours searching sports pages in vain for someone not covering a non-story about a non-announcement; 2) Engage in a short moment of sadness on behalf of NBA refs because without Lebron they will now have no one to love; 3) Flop back on the bed as a salute to Lebron's skills; 4) Search online for good Halloween cookie recipes; 5) Commit three called fouls by not touching anyone on the way to the kitchen; 6) Lose in the finals to Golden State on NBA 2k - then do it again - and again; 7) Change into different team jerseys every hour for a day; 8) Inform my boss that I'm now in charge of saying which co-workers should be hired and fired by him (but these are just suggestions - I'm not responsible); 9) Announce that I have nothing to do with my boss's impending firing (which is fully merited given those schmucks he hired in response to my suggestions) and fully respect him as a boss and a man, even though he's terrible at his job and is holding back our performance, and a Chinchilla could do better; 10) Take my talents to South Beach.

• belilaugh (12 ♡):

  I interpret this as exerting his LeVerage on the Lakers to keep the pressure on them.

• TwoRingTest (12 ♡):

  Tell your coworkers you're going to bring them not one, not two, not three, not four .... but 5 bagels tomorrow.

• DrumRollGyro (11 ♡):

  Can we please avoid the mind numbing boredom of Lebum attention seeking bull here? It’s everywhere else already.

  Wanna get back to the more fun and meaningful stuff like JP trades?

• g8tgod (10 ♡):

  I'm not switching from the Ws for any player, but there are guys I never want to see in a GSW uniform -- Chris Paul, James Harden, Ben Simmons, Dillon Brooks, Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James... There are probably others, but I can't think of them right now. Some of those guys could undoubtedly help the Ws right now, but it would be a bitter pill to swallow.

• Bel (8 ♡):

  Lebron lost and got swept in the WCF. Instead of giving the Nuggets their freaking one day in the sun, he had to make it all about him with his “retirement” talk. He’s such a self absorbed person.

Other

• belilaugh (11 ♡):

  > We all know the impetus of the Wiseman/GP2 trade

  To trade maybe the worst player in the league for a pretty good one?

• Chasing Rings... (10 ♡):

  tone cruise

  7 hours ago

  Lebron's taco bell commercial during the wcf and getting swept by a guy drafted during a taco bell commercial is some cruel irony. Taco tuesdaaay😅

  • AttilaTheHun (9 ♡):

    It's almost appropriate in that he was so underrated at that time.

• Captain Jack (9 ♡):

  >As long as the Lakers don't win, I'm satisfied.

  Done and done

• Qin (9 ♡):

  Reaves hustles and acts like he cares.

• belilaugh (8 ♡):

  I think Denver/Boston could be an interesting Finals but it's hard for me to see the Heat beating Denver because a team led by Bam and Butler doesn't get Jokic far away enough from the rim defensively.

  Also true of a team led by LeBron and AD and really (due mainly to their approach rather than their abilities) a team led by Booker and KD. I think the Nuggets could be vulnerable to elite guard play that could take advantage of Jokic's footspeed but that matchup never really materialized. Plus Jokic damn near might be the best defensive rebounder in the league? So letting him stay near the basket is really playing to his strengths on that end (and obviously he's an all-time great on offense).

  That said, Spo is incredible and maybe he'll have something up his sleeve and I'll feel dumb for underestimating the Heat again. As long as the Lakers don't win, I'm satisfied.

• jeckyllhouse (8 ♡):

  one aesthetic loss from this approach: with so many elite players all playing together, many players wouldn't be able to reach their full individual potential

  with less playing time to go around, it would be harder for young players to develop

  with less usage to go around, many players wouldn't get the chance to expand their creation skills

  I don't think the NBA's main problem is too many teams, there's a ton of basketball talent out there right now, it's too many *games*

• ForeverFoyled (8 ♡):

  He did ask not to debate the practicalities... But I agree it would be a great spectacle to behold, maybe as a more isolated incident. Almost like the Olympics, except that there would be 6 teams with a shot instead of 1-2. I would love to see it.

  But honestly as a fan, the fallible players are often more exciting to root for. Maybe it's easier to relate to as a human. Or maybe it's just me. The Boguts, the McGees, the GP2s, the Livingstons and Looneys. Maybe they don't make an all-NBA team, but the strategy of how you fit these imperfect pieces together to achieve success, combined with their individual journeys to overcome their physical/genetic/whatever limitations to still contribute, is intriguing in its own right.

DNHQ Draft Tourney. Jalen Hood-Schifino — MAY 22

smooth PNR vs energetic defender

• Loon Gehrig (22 ♡):

  Jokic wins the Magic Johnson Trophy on the Lakers' floor.

• Nellie (17 ♡):

  This series felt a bit like when you try with all your strength and fail to open a jar, and immediately someone else unscrews it with ease. It's mandatory in those situations to claim to have loosened it for them, so in that spirit I'll say: We softened up the Lakers for Denver.

• Loonatic (15 ♡):

  Hilarious hearing Darvin Ham say he wants fairness and consistency from the refs! Flakers would never have got this far if that was the norm. Sheesh, talk about no favor goes unpunished!

• JZAlvarado (14 ♡):

  The League has no one to blame but themselves. Need Lebron outta here as soon as we can because this league and associated media members cater to his every whim. It ruins the enjoyment of the game as a third party observer.

• Abaddon (14 ♡):

  This makes me happier than I really can explain.

• ChemKoala (13 ♡):

  Lebron getting stuffed to close it out feels good tbh

• E2148 (12 ♡):

  For those of you who followed last game. I almost turned on the game when it was 107-103. I refrained.

  You’re welcome.

• Loon Gehrig (12 ♡):

  Not-Lakers are the 2023 NBA Champions!

• Loon Gehrig (12 ♡):

  Gordon avenging the Bay Area.

• WGBC (12 ♡):

  love it, ok i'm fine with the season now.

• TwoRingTest (12 ♡):

  I think it would be funny if we each put together draft summaries of ourselves.

  TwoRingTest:

  6'4", 210 lbs. 8" vertical leap, wingspan, 6'3 1/2" (unless reaching for a beer, in which case, an easy 7').

  Although weak in basketball knowledge, he makes up for it by using a lot of parentheses.

  His shot has some notables holes (the entire frontcourt). Prefers to drive and vote left. Equal ability with either hand (none). Weak rebounder for his height. His handle is suspect, but maintains a deathgrip on Chipotle take-out.

  Showed a good grasp of team concepts at UCSD, but failed to follow any of them.

• JZAlvarado (10 ♡):

  Looking at Denver and Miami i had quite forgotten the mental fortitude it takes to reach the Finals. Like no way in heck do I think the Warriors could have sustained that laser focus this year from start to finish. They were truly a very unserious basketball squad this year.

• ChemKoala (10 ♡):

  I decided to get a mile high 🔥🔥🔥

Dub Nation HQ Rooting Guide: Denver Nuggets… — MAY 21

Gosh I wonder which team Dub Nation favors

• Asher B. (18 ♡):

  This isn’t just about rooting against the Lakers for me.

  I genuinely like Denver. Jokic Murray and MPJ are a great trio.

  Not sure who is more entertaining to a true basketball fan, Jokic all the time or Murray when he’s hot. Jokic’s game is known to all, but the fun of balance smooth game of Murray deserves this showcase and the next. I can love the Warriors and like Denver. Works smoothly for me.

• Eric Apricot (16 ♡):

  I actually mostly admire [Austin Reaves], but if a sandwich is only 10% crap, you still don’t want to eat it

• Alex (15 ♡):

  Looking at Twitter* it seems more clear every year that sports talk and culture has been twisted from celebrating greatness and great moments to the vast majority of people trying to sadistically kick any team who loses over and over and over again with the same generic "they're frauds" "they choked" and the usual hyperbolic claims that everything the losing players have ever accomplished needs to be completely reevaluated, the histories rewritten, or whatever words capture the imaginations of people this dishonest.

  I'm not sure who these people are really rooting for underneath it all, hell I'm sure some of them are Warriors fans, but the way people act suggests they really think every time they open their mouth they have to take every opportunity to insult everything and everyone that's not their one true love, to hyperbolize and push everything else down like every single word that comes out of their mouth has to be a power grab in some great collective writing of history.

  I'd love for incredible outcomes in sports to be more often about the simple fact of the winners accomplishing something unbelievable again, instead of whatever the weird sicko vibes people seem to have given themselves over to as inevitable ever since they started spending hours a day on social media.

  *(famous last words, I know)

• Airgetlam (14 ♡):

  NBA: Oh my god we can have Celtics and Lakers together in the Finals competing for chip #18, what incredible ratings gold!

  Nuggets & Heat: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

• BadlyBrowned (11 ♡):

  Please basketball gods give me a Lakers and Celtics sweep this week

• Sleepy Freud (11 ♡):

  Sleepyfreude?

• Eric Apricot (10 ♡):

  I think the Celtics have tilted…

• Night Night (9 ♡):

  Started the postseason hating Reaves, and now have a healthy respect for the kid. He plays hard, smart and effective basketball. And he doesn’t flop nearly as much as his reputation warrants - especially in comparison to Schroeder, DLo, and LeBitch. And in the post season, he’s a better shooter than the entire Warriors team (45.9% FG; 44.2% 3P). Saw the kid navigate a wide variety of actions, coming off screens, pick-n-rolls, pull-ups, catch-n-shoots, mid-range, drives and the occasional floater. Smart and effective defender, on individual and team defense. Seems more like a Heat player (gritty, undervalued, and overperforming) than a Lakers player.

• Dave (9 ♡):

  Crush and sweep the mercenary Lakers.

DNHQ Draft Tourney. Jordan Hawkins (2) vs… — MAY 20

March Madness hero vs stats darling big

• Eric Apricot (19 ♡):

  Not me, I’ve enjoyed the Nuggets waxing the Floppers with all my heart.

  I don’t think we were particularly far away. Wiggins doesn’t break his ribs, Klay shoots only badly and not disaster level, and we beat the Lakers.

• WarriorsGoldenGirl (15 ♡):

  Whew, finally time to exhale. This is my finals - needed the Lakers and Lebron to lose so I could smack talk my So. Cal peeps when they try to mock the Warriors’ loss. May need to have a celebratory toast to the Nuggets right now.

• Superbuckets89 (15 ♡):

  Seriously, how sad has it got to be to be a Laker fan? Who enjoys watching free throws? And winning solely because of those free throws, without seeing actual badass basketball moves and shotmaking? I'd rather watch Steph do his Steph thing and win 10 games a season, than root for a playoff team that gets 20-30+% of their points at the line.

• ServantOfLuna (14 ♡):

  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: "We're the underdogs. We don't get enough credit for what we do. We're No. 1 in the West for a reason. And not being talked about, we don't get enough credit, and we take that personally."

https://twitter.com/harrisonwind/status/1660128307541868544

• Dan goutz (13 ♡):

  Will LeBron be irrelevant after this series? Maybe beating the Warriors in the second round was his basketball swan song. NBA would be so much better if they stopped giving a shit about his legacy

• alv66 (11 ♡):

  The Warriors have:

  -A freaking GOAT (Curry)

  -A guy who can shoot a lot whenever he wants (Klay)

  -A very solid 3-and-D player (Wiggins)

  -A guy who shot over 40% on threes this season (Curry and Klay)

  -A good defender (Draymond)

  -A very good bench player (GP2)

  - A Kevon Looney (Looney)

  (But yes, the Nuggets are really good and probably better than us.)

• Goofus (9 ♡):

  Not with Wiggins’ fractured ribs

• DrumRollGyro (8 ♡):

  Fuck yessss ♥️

  What did he say?

• Loon Gehrig (8 ♡):

  So far, this is my favorite non-Warriors playoff round since the Spurs ended the Heatles.

Dub Nation HQ Comments of Week, plus open… — MAY 19

7 days that started with hope and ended in resigned reflection and appreciation for the run (so far)

• On big $ for coaches

  • belilaugh (13 ♡):

    Not my money, doesn't get luxury taxed, don't care.

  • Nellie (12 ♡):

    And because they don't get capped/taxed, front office and coaching talent are the best competitive advantages you can get. If Bob wants to move on it's his choice, but letting it happen over money would be totally crazy.

• DFiB (11 ♡):

  So, just gotta vent a little here...

  What the heck is with the "controversy" around Russel's flagrant foul? Would it have been a flagrant foul in the 80s? No. Is it a flagrant foul now? Yes, no question.

  Draymond gets a flagrant foul for running into Ingram on a fast break, Russel definitely gets a flagrant foul for smacking a guy in the head/face on a running transition layup attempt. If Draymond Green does that, people are up in arms about why it was a F1 instead of an F2... but since it's the @#$@#%ing Lakers, the media is promoting all the "That wasn't a flagrant" narrative... so dumb.

• Mr.Plow (10 ♡):

  [On Andre not retiring]"Ahh, and now I'll just deposit my last check from my illustrious career into my trusty Silicon Valley Ba-...OH GOD!"

• Nellie (9 ♡):

  OT: Bruce Brown has been awesome for the Nuggets. Seems like his role in Denver has involved somewhat more typical guard stuff (more threes, etc) than it did in NJ, but still he and GPII have kinda pioneered a new player archetype in the league, which is cool. I wonder if more teams will be scouting for that role in the coming years.

  • Chaos_Samedi (8 ♡):

    Hoping moody can be that Bruce brown josh hart type of player for us

• E2148 (8 ♡):

  [On Bob Myers] And he’s worth every penny.

• Captain Jack (7 ♡):

  I'm rooting hard for Jimmy and Bam to win a ring. Lowry is kind of sour to me since he taints their team with all of that bull crap theatrics

• alv66 (7 ♡):

  Miami-Denver, let's go!!

• Goofus (7 ♡):

  I’ve always thought Klay could have 2 or 3 more rebounds a game if he made any effort to gather his own long-rebound misses instead of holding the shooting pose for 5 seconds.

• ChemKoala (7 ♡):

  I think the final nail was Wiggins' rib breaking, but Klay and Curry turning into a pumpkins by G6 didn't help, for sure.