The NBA ought to create a new team just for James Harden, Ben Simmons & Kyrie Irving. Dwight Howard could return to the league as their center. Then all they'd need was Patrick Beverly to complete the starting five. On paper. Getting all five to start on the same day might be problematic and keeping them all on the court through an entire season would be a challenge, but there are a bunch of experienced ESPN announcer/coaches back on the market. How about hiring Mark Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy? Think about the clicks sports reporters could get just following that crew around. Oh my!
Slightly serious, I think any team made up of NBA holdouts and misfits is likely to be star-studded and quite capable because only those players who are good enough to have leverage over the league/owners can successfully hold out. Other players would (maybe do) just get waived and forgotten.
Speaking of which, maybe we can convince Patrick McCaw to come off the bench for this squad!
This made me curious about where McCaw is now. Turns out that on Aug. 3 he signed with a Belgian team in the BNXT League (a first-tier league in Belgium and The Netherlands).
I’d be thrilled to have him hold down the 14th roster spot. He knows the Dubs’ system and Kerr seems to know much better than Jason Kidd how to utilize him properly. He’s won three rings and a gold medal - sounds like a great guy to have around.
If we don’t get him, my second choice would be JTA.
After Feb. 15, JaVale had more DNPs than games played for Dallas ... and AFAIK, he was not hurt.
I think that's pretty telling, considering Dallas had a weak center rotation, and they were gunning for a playoff. He's only 35, but I'm not sure he has much left. I guess you could bring him in to use fouls on a big center. But then why not go get Ibaka (younger, and in theory a more versatile player)?
Personally, I see no reason to jump on a McGee signing. There seem to plenty of marginally capable centers that are essentially fungible. You might need that 14th spot for someone better (or a wing, which is probably a better fit for the roster).
It's a waive and stretch so he is still getting paid his full $11.7M for the next two seasons by the Mavs (albeit stretched over more years). So I suppose in theory he could sign for a vet min.
>>>The Thunder had a star sitting right in their lap. When either All-NBA player sat, James Harden had the freedom to put up ridiculous scoring numbers on all-time efficiency. Oklahoma City made a massive mistake and left a warning for future teams — if you are going to trade a player, make sure he is not already playing like an all-time great.
You know, you coulda said the same thing about Jordan and Curry their first few years with their eventual championship teams. It took time to put the talent around them. Winning is a process (something Steve Kerr failed to recognize last year). So not immediately winning a title in DC does not mean JP won't ever be a top 3 player on a title team. For that to happen the GM has to get to work, not just JP.
I bet Poole will put up some pretty impressive stat lines as the #1 guy in DC, but I’ll be surprised if he’s the best player on a playoff team next year or the year after.
Harden really announced himself right away in Houston and led a surprise run to the playoffs.
...his unwillingness to play defense rubbed me the wrong way. While he contributed to a championship, I'm not positive he will play championship basketball whenever he is on the court.
Not at all, the salary cap situations weren't remotely similar. The Warriors had to choose between Draymond and Poole while already paying historic luxury tax penalties under a far more punative salary cap stucture; this wasn't a situation OKC had to face, they just had to choose to go into the luxury tax.
Aug 22, 2023·edited Aug 22, 2023Liked by Daniel Hardee
Time for the season to start. The ideas getting weirder by the day. 😁 Harden? Please Daniel… I would like to have KD back. And get us Giannis, too. And somebody please find a fountain of eternal youth to dip Steph in.
Are there any stats out there that measure the frequency at which a player changes teams? Hardee's flashback to Harden's season ending turnover (https://youtu.be/It9xe9inrC4?t=55) and this article cross-pollinated into wondering about personnel turnover.
Of course, you can qualify that in different ways, but that's all the more reason to contextualize the era (e.g. Total Changes, FA changes, Trade Demand Changes, etc...)
You know it's a bad sign when you talk about a player's season-ending turnover and the one that comes to my mind first isn't even the same one.
Turns out I was misremembering, and the one I thought of (stripped by Manu Ginobili) wasn't *officially* season-ending because it happened at the end of OT in game 5 when they were tied 2-2. But seeing as game 6 of that series was a 39-point blowout in which Harden scored only 10 points and fouled out, maybe you'll forgive me for remembering the TOV as the moment their season (unofficially) ended.
So Justinian was Yugoslav who played professionally in Turkey. He mostly laid a lot of bricks there (see: Hagia Sophia), and legend has it that the 'too short' hand signal was originally developed by his opponents.
I'll gladly defer to Attila regarding the genealogy of recent Europeans, since he's likely our common ancestor. As Justinian was conveniently born a couple of generations after you plundered the Balkans, are you mayhaps claiming grandpaternity to the Emperor himself as well?
No, no, Justinian, per Wikipedia, was thought to be either Illyrian-Roman or Thracian-Roman. The Slavs just started arriving in the Balkans around Justinian's time, mid-6th century, about a century after Attila, with the larger part of the Slavic migration shortly thereafter and into the 7th century. The Thracians were enemies of the Huns. So Justinian's not my responsibility.
I get that. I was shocked and a little dismayed that we traded Poole for CP. But I can self-soothe by observing that at least Paul has tried hard everywhere he's been sent. He's been a competitor. Those other guys? Not so much.
I do not know if y'all know, but the National Teams that will compete in the FIBA World 'Ship, may have one intl player on the team that is of another nationality. With Giannis out due to injury rehab, I proposed STEPH PLAY FOR GREECE...never heard anything about it...
Wow, in addition to KD, Hard-ly, CP3, and, West-broke, that is 4 ex-OKC, future-HOF players/losers, who Dubs can make winners...shoo, THEY should pay Dubs to play with the Homegrown, Future HOF, ERA/DUB CORE...
Gold Blooded King! Id rather hear the story about your stuff getting stolen from the back of your car. Still waiting for that story! :)
Ps where’s instaboner to comment on James The Savior and Destroyer Harden?
> Ps where’s instaboner to comment on James The Savior and Destroyer Harden?
It's at the beginning of this thread ... see Mark Pinckney's comments at the very bottom of the thread.
Id rather have an article on Kelly Oubre jr
The NBA ought to create a new team just for James Harden, Ben Simmons & Kyrie Irving. Dwight Howard could return to the league as their center. Then all they'd need was Patrick Beverly to complete the starting five. On paper. Getting all five to start on the same day might be problematic and keeping them all on the court through an entire season would be a challenge, but there are a bunch of experienced ESPN announcer/coaches back on the market. How about hiring Mark Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy? Think about the clicks sports reporters could get just following that crew around. Oh my!
The Nonstars (Think Space Jam)
We could call them the GlobeNotters
It might be early to declare him for this team, but lets throw Ja on there too
Or instead of Dwight, Boogie Cousins. That would be a team of drama queens and head cases but if healthy they would be very dangerous on the court.
Great idea!
Slightly serious, I think any team made up of NBA holdouts and misfits is likely to be star-studded and quite capable because only those players who are good enough to have leverage over the league/owners can successfully hold out. Other players would (maybe do) just get waived and forgotten.
Speaking of which, maybe we can convince Patrick McCaw to come off the bench for this squad!
This made me curious about where McCaw is now. Turns out that on Aug. 3 he signed with a Belgian team in the BNXT League (a first-tier league in Belgium and The Netherlands).
20 Times Stephen Curry's Defense Dominated the Court | Golden State Warriors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozq-PZkQkao
I can't believe they didn't include Steph stripping LeBron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-5tiXq1O7E. Couldn't find a good video unfortunately.
https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1694061560598044841
Javale McGee officially waived. Is he still good for some spot minutes here and there?
I’d be thrilled to have him hold down the 14th roster spot. He knows the Dubs’ system and Kerr seems to know much better than Jason Kidd how to utilize him properly. He’s won three rings and a gold medal - sounds like a great guy to have around.
If we don’t get him, my second choice would be JTA.
At least the Dubs could bring him in for a workout and evaluate what he has left in the tank.
After Feb. 15, JaVale had more DNPs than games played for Dallas ... and AFAIK, he was not hurt.
I think that's pretty telling, considering Dallas had a weak center rotation, and they were gunning for a playoff. He's only 35, but I'm not sure he has much left. I guess you could bring him in to use fouls on a big center. But then why not go get Ibaka (younger, and in theory a more versatile player)?
Personally, I see no reason to jump on a McGee signing. There seem to plenty of marginally capable centers that are essentially fungible. You might need that 14th spot for someone better (or a wing, which is probably a better fit for the roster).
Its concerning the Mavs didn’t play him, but the Mavs also might have just made a baffling bad decision by doing so.
It's a waive and stretch so he is still getting paid his full $11.7M for the next two seasons by the Mavs (albeit stretched over more years). So I suppose in theory he could sign for a vet min.
Man. News so slow...
Mostly gossip.
>>>The Thunder had a star sitting right in their lap. When either All-NBA player sat, James Harden had the freedom to put up ridiculous scoring numbers on all-time efficiency. Oklahoma City made a massive mistake and left a warning for future teams — if you are going to trade a player, make sure he is not already playing like an all-time great.
So will Poole be a similar story in DC?
LOL. He will have a bunch of empty stats and a nice line on total points but that's about it.
You know, you coulda said the same thing about Jordan and Curry their first few years with their eventual championship teams. It took time to put the talent around them. Winning is a process (something Steve Kerr failed to recognize last year). So not immediately winning a title in DC does not mean JP won't ever be a top 3 player on a title team. For that to happen the GM has to get to work, not just JP.
I bet Poole will put up some pretty impressive stat lines as the #1 guy in DC, but I’ll be surprised if he’s the best player on a playoff team next year or the year after.
Harden really announced himself right away in Houston and led a surprise run to the playoffs.
I'd be surprised if the Wiz are a playoff team in the next couple of years regardless of what Poole does. They have a long way to go.
...his unwillingness to play defense rubbed me the wrong way. While he contributed to a championship, I'm not positive he will play championship basketball whenever he is on the court.
And Harden’s willingness to play defense impressed you?
Not at all, the salary cap situations weren't remotely similar. The Warriors had to choose between Draymond and Poole while already paying historic luxury tax penalties under a far more punative salary cap stucture; this wasn't a situation OKC had to face, they just had to choose to go into the luxury tax.
Time for the season to start. The ideas getting weirder by the day. 😁 Harden? Please Daniel… I would like to have KD back. And get us Giannis, too. And somebody please find a fountain of eternal youth to dip Steph in.
In fairness, “Dub Nation HQ’s Daniel Hardee” is an anagram for “Quits No Bad Harden Headline,” so…
Where'd the apostrophe go?
Do you have an anagram generator? Do you use a few scrabble sets to rearrange the letters till you get it?
I just futz around on “I, rearrangement servant” / “internet anagram server” till I find one that sort of fits…
of course it is...
Are there any stats out there that measure the frequency at which a player changes teams? Hardee's flashback to Harden's season ending turnover (https://youtu.be/It9xe9inrC4?t=55) and this article cross-pollinated into wondering about personnel turnover.
Of course, you can qualify that in different ways, but that's all the more reason to contextualize the era (e.g. Total Changes, FA changes, Trade Demand Changes, etc...)
You know it's a bad sign when you talk about a player's season-ending turnover and the one that comes to my mind first isn't even the same one.
Turns out I was misremembering, and the one I thought of (stripped by Manu Ginobili) wasn't *officially* season-ending because it happened at the end of OT in game 5 when they were tied 2-2. But seeing as game 6 of that series was a 39-point blowout in which Harden scored only 10 points and fouled out, maybe you'll forgive me for remembering the TOV as the moment their season (unofficially) ended.
The highlight, for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjUgDgcAIXY
Interesting news out of Europe about Justinian for anyone that is still tracking him...
https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-made-a-remarkable-discovery-in-kosovo-evidence-that-the-great-byzantine-emperor-was-of-dardanian-origin/
Sorry, couldn't resist.
More historical humor, please.
Bonus points if you work in Orban's Bombard (since we're talking about Constantinople).
User name checks out
So Justinian was Yugoslav who played professionally in Turkey. He mostly laid a lot of bricks there (see: Hagia Sophia), and legend has it that the 'too short' hand signal was originally developed by his opponents.
But maybe ol' Justinian is rebounding a bit nowadays. He was not a Slav though.
I'll gladly defer to Attila regarding the genealogy of recent Europeans, since he's likely our common ancestor. As Justinian was conveniently born a couple of generations after you plundered the Balkans, are you mayhaps claiming grandpaternity to the Emperor himself as well?
No, no, Justinian, per Wikipedia, was thought to be either Illyrian-Roman or Thracian-Roman. The Slavs just started arriving in the Balkans around Justinian's time, mid-6th century, about a century after Attila, with the larger part of the Slavic migration shortly thereafter and into the 7th century. The Thracians were enemies of the Huns. So Justinian's not my responsibility.
No. In Spanish, no. In French, non. In Russian, nyet. No James Harden, no Ben Simmons, no Kyrie Irving. Not now, not ever.
I get that. I was shocked and a little dismayed that we traded Poole for CP. But I can self-soothe by observing that at least Paul has tried hard everywhere he's been sent. He's been a competitor. Those other guys? Not so much.
I do not know if y'all know, but the National Teams that will compete in the FIBA World 'Ship, may have one intl player on the team that is of another nationality. With Giannis out due to injury rehab, I proposed STEPH PLAY FOR GREECE...never heard anything about it...
Hey Dino, did you see that your guy Mac signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Magic?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1694039427520036875
Hard-ly to the Dubs.....hm..FAK NO. We, meaning Steph, already made one former OKC player a NBA CHAMPION... Enough...
Lololol
I had to, Daniel....I knew you would appreciate my humor....LMAO...
You think...who is going to tell Steph to step back, again, to integrate Hard-ly's losing game....
CP3 is the ex-OKC player that Sab is referring to, lol
Now, I got it...I had totally missed on it...lol...thanks...
Wow, in addition to KD, Hard-ly, CP3, and, West-broke, that is 4 ex-OKC, future-HOF players/losers, who Dubs can make winners...shoo, THEY should pay Dubs to play with the Homegrown, Future HOF, ERA/DUB CORE...
OT, (but isn't everything really off topic this time of year?), Dario cooking with Croatia
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/dario-saric-2024-olympic-pre-qualifying-tournament/1649591/
IMHO Warriors stuff is always on-topic all the time regardless of thread.
If we kept Paul, we could have "Run CHP."
Nicknames like these don't make themselves, people! We need to make the trade.
Add Iggy and Steph and we get Run CHiPS
Or we could trade Paul for Haren and get Run THC
The Hash Brothers!
So good.
This one is better. OK, I'm in on the Paul for Harden trade.
It really is THAT part of the off-season, eh?
My solution (probably not most on this board): I scroll football message boards.
And watch TV networks destroy college conferences.