I have watched the Wizs vs. Hawks yesterday night. Risacher is very good, already moves very well on court. Sarr is less ready, but more intriguing: considering he's 19, he can easily become the new Durant (but taller). One thing is undeniable: the times of easy olympic and WC medals are over, for USA, there will soon come a time when France will torch any US team you will send.
Age 26 and under, the US has Ant, Ja, Maxey, Haliburton, Jalen Williams, Scottie Barnes, Tatum, Banchero, Brandon Miller, JJJ, Mobley, Chet, et al. — with Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey et al. on their way. They may or may not fall this year or another (and I agree it’s no longer gonna be easy) but I hardly think it’s a given that France will “torch” them.
Denver Nuggets No. 22 overall pick DaRon Holmes II has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. He’s expected to miss the 2024-25 season. Devastating blow for one of the Nuggets’ promising young pieces.
Damn it. Can’t stand Dayton in conference but always pulling for A10 guys when they make the league. Hope this doesn’t derail his career and that he’s young enough to bounce back before end of his rookie contract
Small sample size perhaps (and I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on) but having watched Bronny a couple of times, he’s the only player recently that has elicited major Jacob Evans vibes. Like when you see him on the court you immediately know he’s not even the 4th best player on his summer league squad and has no business playing in the league.
For a little self torture I looked back over the last 20 years of Dubs picks. Mostly unsurprising failures, as we pretty much expect below the top 10 picks. The miracle really is getting it right enough times to build the dynasty that was. Steph, Klay and Dray, pretty damn lucky.
Did you read Eric’s detailed study of GSW draft picks relative to position? They’ve had some bad picks for sure, but but you’d need a crystal ball with 20/20 vision to do better overall.
You would have had even more fun if you had gone further back to recall such stellar choices as Todd Fuller (#11 in 1996) and my favorite loser of all time, Chris Washburn (#3 in 1986). But you did get to reminisce about the awesome Patrick O'Bryant (#9 in 2006).
Yeah it was an awful awful pick made worse by how many other players chosen almost immediately after are still in the league. But it was also a late 1st rather than the 2nd pick in the draft. I think what makes this seem similar is that there is nothing about Bronnys game that I can say directly translates to NBA
God how I hated the IST. Dubs were blowing away Kings but had to play the point differential game and altered their style of play and ultimately got beat at the buzzer for the start of a bunch of gutwrenching late-game collapses.
Just wait until a star player gets hurt in a game where he's only in because his team has to run up the score to have a chance to advance. And for what - the prestigious NBA Cup! (and a few extra thousand dollars for a bunch of multimillionaires).
And don't even get me started on those awful court color schemes!
I don't know. OKC is super tough; Suns could be a wild card depending on how well Durant, Booker, or Beal plays; Spurs could be a surprisingly tough matchup if Wemby, Vassell, CP3, Barnes, or other role players start hitting their threes; and Lakers are also a wild card depending on how well Lebron, AD, Reaves, and DLo plays. Utah is a cakewalk, though.
The Detroit Pistons are hiring Luke Walton as the lead assistant on new head coach JB Bickerstaff’s staff, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Walton spent the last two years as an assistant in Cleveland after five-plus seasons as head coach of Lakers and Kings.
-Clippers are interested in Tyus Jones. They can dangle some combination of the expiring contracts of PJ Tucker and Russell Westbrook and could offer draft pick compensation or Bones Hyland to the Washington Wizards for helping to facilitate a potential sign-and-trade trade.
-Luke Kennard is expected to stay with the Grizzlies.
-Knicks are interested in Bertans and Shamet. They are also interested in Kessler, but it was reported that Utah turned down offers from teams for two first-round picks.
-Precious Achiuwa remains open to return to the Knicks. New York can do this by using the $5.2 million taxpayer mid-level exception.
-Shamet is drawing interest from Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks.
-Apparently, Jaylen Brown is not happy with not being picked as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard in Team USA.
To be fair, this is a pretty significant slight. He plays the same position as Kawhi, just got finals MVP, but can't make top 12+ in his country and was replaced by a role player from his same team.
I don't really have an opinion on whether the roster decision makes sense or not, but I don't think it's an insignificant thing.
Well, his best skill is scoring the ball and they already have too many mouths to feed. They need connectors and his Boston teammates are better options than him
Correct. Kerr's the coach and he likes players who can pass. They aren't planning to have a lot of iso, which is Jaylen Brown's game. I'm a Cal fan and remember that team with Rabb, Matthews et al. Best chance ever to go somewhere in the tourney. All he could do was drive, drive, drive....sigh
Hot rumor: Draymond maintains a photo gallery of NBA punchable faces and players who deserve to be throttled on a wall of a secret room in his house. Whether he considers it an, er, hit list, is not known. Dillon Brooks' photo is allegedly on that wall.
In an attempt to become a more diverse and international team, GSW now includes players from Congo, the Netherlands, Canada, the Kiowa Nation, Brazil, USA, the Bahamas, and a variety of Pacific islands and atolls. Do we now need someone from the far Nordic regions?
MDJ: Yeah I think with all those guys. First and foremost, just good basketball players. They have certain skillsets we're looking for. Buddy with his shooting. De'Anthony with his shooting and defense. Kyle was a guy we recognize as a really good player, he ended up being on the board a couple days in. We was like 'Man. If we could have the opportunity to get a player like this. Grab him.' And he was all in on board. When you add good basketball players to a mix, I think we have confidence in them being able to figure it out. Steve'll weave in them into what we already have. We just felt at the end of the day to grab 3 guys who have experience, can play, know how to play, play both ends. Got to do it
Slater: You did add Buddy, but you lost Klay. Shooting was something you identified going into the summer. How do you feel about the shooting and do you see a weakness on this team?
MDJ: Yeah from the shooting standpoint, adding Buddy really helps with losing Klay. But on top of it, there's room for others to step up. In terms of volume and accuracy, we need guys to shoot the 3 more. Moses, Wiggs, BP, JK, all those guys I think can make shots. We'll have to improve our 3-point shooting as a team. I would've said that with Klay back anyway we have to. With Klay & Steph, there's just a high volume of 3s those guys produced and everybody else's was just a bit lower. I like to get that up. Everybody else being a bit more even. Being more threats from outside. We can do that, but at the same time, we'll always look to improve and add more
They did add Hield but if he is playing as many minutes as Klay did something is very wrong. I think the big issue if they don't make the Markkanen trade is that it seems like they are headed toward having at least two non-shooters on the floor at all times. That's a pretty intense load to put on Curry's back offensively with how much resulting attention he's going to get.
Banking on someone to become available at the deadline (especially a 2nd option caliber type of player) isn't a safe bet either IMO. People keep pointing to the Mavs last year as an example of trade deadline success but Washington and Gafford are role players. Dallas already had their top dogs locked in. Looking for a 2nd scoring option is a much tougher task
In a largely unprecedented financial concession to give roster flexibility to a contender, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed on a four-year, $156.5 million extension, his agent Sam Rose of CAA tells ESPN --- $113M less guaranteed than he’s eligible to receive in one year.
You have to think a winning NY Knicks team in that market could easily generate $113 mil in more money off the court for Brunson. Me thinks he is smarter than the average guy. Or it could be bagels for life. Who knows.
It makes more sense for Brunson than a lot of fans seem to think. First of all, the full deal with the addition $113M is what the Knicks could (but are not bound to) offer next summer, not now. Should Brunson wait until summer 2025 and have a catastrophic injury this season, he could end up with nothing, so this deal ensures he will be financially set. Plus this deal has a player option so he can opt out the last year and then sign a much larger deal in a couple of years (when he's 32) that will make up a lot of the difference. So he's taking a discount but it might not end up being nearly the discount people are talking about, and with significant insurance against disaster. At the same time it enables the Knicks to build a better roster around him. So that's a win-win.
Even if Dolan did want to pay up (he doesn’t) the second apron destroys any roster flexibility you can have to stay competitive. As we found out ourselves.
AMAZING. KNICKS FANS are delirious over BRUNSON taking 113 million pay cut to help his team contend for a 'Ship; want to build a statue of him, retire his jersey....
The Ownership Cartel's wet dream just came true: star player taking less than his market value so the team can stay competitive while ownership keeps their full share of the take. This will put social pressure on other stars to do the same.
Official reason for new CBA: 'competitive balance'
True reason: Billionaires keep more of the money for themselves for sitting on their ass and stiff the guy who actually does the hard work
Also hard to argue this is the owner’s being greedy because the NBPA signed off on it and, if I remember right, had a lot to do with negotiating the terms to the detriment of big market teams
Imo I don't see why people are talking up France as a bigger threat to the USA than Serbia. I feel like Wembanyama hype has gotten out of control, Jokic is way better than him and Serbia finished second in FIBA last summer without him playing.
But I don't know the majority of these players so it's just an educated guess lol.
Because of the over 38 rule, Curry is eligible for a one-year $62.6M extension that would begin in 2026-27. Kuminga and Moody can extend for up to 5 years and 25% of the cap in 2025-26. Deadline for all 3 players is Oct. 21.
Is that a set amount per the over 38 rule or can it be more? Tatum will be making $62,786,682 (Spotrac) on his new contract. Warriors should pay Steph more, right? Who's his agent? Didn't I just read MDJ saying anything he wants? Too much? 🤓
I have watched the Wizs vs. Hawks yesterday night. Risacher is very good, already moves very well on court. Sarr is less ready, but more intriguing: considering he's 19, he can easily become the new Durant (but taller). One thing is undeniable: the times of easy olympic and WC medals are over, for USA, there will soon come a time when France will torch any US team you will send.
Age 26 and under, the US has Ant, Ja, Maxey, Haliburton, Jalen Williams, Scottie Barnes, Tatum, Banchero, Brandon Miller, JJJ, Mobley, Chet, et al. — with Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey et al. on their way. They may or may not fall this year or another (and I agree it’s no longer gonna be easy) but I hardly think it’s a given that France will “torch” them.
You forgot Podz, Moody and TJD, but whatever 😁
Denver Nuggets No. 22 overall pick DaRon Holmes II has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. He’s expected to miss the 2024-25 season. Devastating blow for one of the Nuggets’ promising young pieces.
https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1811987179834683887
Holmes is the Nuggets rookie PF/C. This really sucks for Denver....
Damn it. Can’t stand Dayton in conference but always pulling for A10 guys when they make the league. Hope this doesn’t derail his career and that he’s young enough to bounce back before end of his rookie contract
Ugh, what a shame for him. Hate to see it happen. Hoping for a full recovery.
Another horrible off season for Denver.
Video of the injury:
https://streamable.com/2cxs3l
Bummer! It doesn't look like a contact injury, he just landed wrong.
Reed Sheppard is going to be pretty damn good
Moses Moody has just been added to USA's "Stay Ready Team".
Who else is on the team?
What is that? Google could not tell me.
It's the team made up of the best NBA players who get nailed to the bench by their coaches. LOL
Thnx
Small sample size perhaps (and I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on) but having watched Bronny a couple of times, he’s the only player recently that has elicited major Jacob Evans vibes. Like when you see him on the court you immediately know he’s not even the 4th best player on his summer league squad and has no business playing in the league.
At least Bronny wasn't a first round pick like Evans. 🙄 Not one of Bob Myers' better decisions.
For a little self torture I looked back over the last 20 years of Dubs picks. Mostly unsurprising failures, as we pretty much expect below the top 10 picks. The miracle really is getting it right enough times to build the dynasty that was. Steph, Klay and Dray, pretty damn lucky.
Did you read Eric’s detailed study of GSW draft picks relative to position? They’ve had some bad picks for sure, but but you’d need a crystal ball with 20/20 vision to do better overall.
Yes, and agreed. I think the Dubs have picked just fine. Some successes, some failures, mostly mid. Not throwing stones.
You would have had even more fun if you had gone further back to recall such stellar choices as Todd Fuller (#11 in 1996) and my favorite loser of all time, Chris Washburn (#3 in 1986). But you did get to reminisce about the awesome Patrick O'Bryant (#9 in 2006).
To me the Todd Fuller pick epitomized how low the Warriors FO had sunk.
Well, this started before my time and it's been posted before, but ... here, "enjoy"
https://grantland.com/features/how-annoy-fan-base-60-easy-steps/
oops. sorry for deleting my comment. I decided it didn't add much and didn't see your reply.
Yeah it was an awful awful pick made worse by how many other players chosen almost immediately after are still in the league. But it was also a late 1st rather than the 2nd pick in the draft. I think what makes this seem similar is that there is nothing about Bronnys game that I can say directly translates to NBA
Fun facts: Melton was chosen in 2018 after Evans. So was Brunson.
They didn’t select him because they think he’s going to be good. Cost of doing business with the King.
https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-cup-group-draw-results
West Group A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Trail Blazers
West Group B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs
West Group C: Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors, Grizzlies
East Group A: Knicks, Magic, 76ers, Nets, Hornets
East Group B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons
East Group C: Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards
God how I hated the IST. Dubs were blowing away Kings but had to play the point differential game and altered their style of play and ultimately got beat at the buzzer for the start of a bunch of gutwrenching late-game collapses.
Just wait until a star player gets hurt in a game where he's only in because his team has to run up the score to have a chance to advance. And for what - the prestigious NBA Cup! (and a few extra thousand dollars for a bunch of multimillionaires).
And don't even get me started on those awful court color schemes!
They didn’t have to, they chose to… then they almost blew the Spurs game because they chose to as well. Hope they learned their lesson
Gee I had totally forgotten about the NBA Cup. Now that I've been reminded, I'll forget again.
Can GSW switch with the Timberwolves?
Dubs vs Mavs.. the league knows what it's doing.
West B the biggest cake walk possible, West C a nightmare lol
I don't know. OKC is super tough; Suns could be a wild card depending on how well Durant, Booker, or Beal plays; Spurs could be a surprisingly tough matchup if Wemby, Vassell, CP3, Barnes, or other role players start hitting their threes; and Lakers are also a wild card depending on how well Lebron, AD, Reaves, and DLo plays. Utah is a cakewalk, though.
The Detroit Pistons are hiring Luke Walton as the lead assistant on new head coach JB Bickerstaff’s staff, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Walton spent the last two years as an assistant in Cleveland after five-plus seasons as head coach of Lakers and Kings.
https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1811917372137308370
https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-team-usa-clippers-76ers-suns-grizzlies-knicks-nets-magic-pistons/
-Clippers are interested in Tyus Jones. They can dangle some combination of the expiring contracts of PJ Tucker and Russell Westbrook and could offer draft pick compensation or Bones Hyland to the Washington Wizards for helping to facilitate a potential sign-and-trade trade.
-Luke Kennard is expected to stay with the Grizzlies.
-Knicks are interested in Bertans and Shamet. They are also interested in Kessler, but it was reported that Utah turned down offers from teams for two first-round picks.
-Precious Achiuwa remains open to return to the Knicks. New York can do this by using the $5.2 million taxpayer mid-level exception.
-Shamet is drawing interest from Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks.
-Apparently, Jaylen Brown is not happy with not being picked as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard in Team USA.
> -Apparently, Jaylen Brown is not happy with not being picked as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard in Team USA.
This dude is 100% following the MJ "find every single possible slight to motivate yourself" school of thought.
To be fair, this is a pretty significant slight. He plays the same position as Kawhi, just got finals MVP, but can't make top 12+ in his country and was replaced by a role player from his same team.
I don't really have an opinion on whether the roster decision makes sense or not, but I don't think it's an insignificant thing.
Well, his best skill is scoring the ball and they already have too many mouths to feed. They need connectors and his Boston teammates are better options than him
Correct. Kerr's the coach and he likes players who can pass. They aren't planning to have a lot of iso, which is Jaylen Brown's game. I'm a Cal fan and remember that team with Rabb, Matthews et al. Best chance ever to go somewhere in the tourney. All he could do was drive, drive, drive....sigh
>>All he could do was drive, drive, drive....sigh
...to the right?
Everyone knows 3 right drives make a left!
>> Knicks are interested in Bertans and Shamet
Why? Is there some sort of in-season award for the team with largest collection of punchable faces?
Hot rumor: Draymond maintains a photo gallery of NBA punchable faces and players who deserve to be throttled on a wall of a secret room in his house. Whether he considers it an, er, hit list, is not known. Dillon Brooks' photo is allegedly on that wall.
Just a rumor mind you. It COULD be true. Or not.
Hilarious.
Jokic got a round house punch to the face last year…I guess he made the wall
Rumor also has it that the wall includes photos of Nurkic, Gobert, and Poole with red X's across their faces. Not that I ever spread rumors of course!
It’s there…in his secret shrine behind the clothes in his closet
Free agent guard Jamal Cain has agreed on a two-way deal with the New Orleans Pelicans
https://x.com/wojespn/status/1811873720669176105
Trayce mic’d up at Olympics scrimmages: https://youtu.be/POLpaFfjPo4?si=JLstIiTs0Ct8JDio
Always so interesting, articulate, good natured, competent,… Need I say more?
In an attempt to become a more diverse and international team, GSW now includes players from Congo, the Netherlands, Canada, the Kiowa Nation, Brazil, USA, the Bahamas, and a variety of Pacific islands and atolls. Do we now need someone from the far Nordic regions?
Don't forget that Li Kaier (aka Kyle Anderson) is Chinese.
And I forgot Day Day is Indonesian.
It wouldn't hurt us to get someone from the Balkans. If we trade for Markkanen, that will give us the Nordic player.
The more the merrier.
MDJ: Yeah I think with all those guys. First and foremost, just good basketball players. They have certain skillsets we're looking for. Buddy with his shooting. De'Anthony with his shooting and defense. Kyle was a guy we recognize as a really good player, he ended up being on the board a couple days in. We was like 'Man. If we could have the opportunity to get a player like this. Grab him.' And he was all in on board. When you add good basketball players to a mix, I think we have confidence in them being able to figure it out. Steve'll weave in them into what we already have. We just felt at the end of the day to grab 3 guys who have experience, can play, know how to play, play both ends. Got to do it
Slater: You did add Buddy, but you lost Klay. Shooting was something you identified going into the summer. How do you feel about the shooting and do you see a weakness on this team?
MDJ: Yeah from the shooting standpoint, adding Buddy really helps with losing Klay. But on top of it, there's room for others to step up. In terms of volume and accuracy, we need guys to shoot the 3 more. Moses, Wiggs, BP, JK, all those guys I think can make shots. We'll have to improve our 3-point shooting as a team. I would've said that with Klay back anyway we have to. With Klay & Steph, there's just a high volume of 3s those guys produced and everybody else's was just a bit lower. I like to get that up. Everybody else being a bit more even. Being more threats from outside. We can do that, but at the same time, we'll always look to improve and add more
https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1811818849005908135
So, last year were were 7th in 3P%, 4th in 3PA, and 2nd in 3PM. I get that we can get better, but was 3pt shooting itself really the problem?
They did add Hield but if he is playing as many minutes as Klay did something is very wrong. I think the big issue if they don't make the Markkanen trade is that it seems like they are headed toward having at least two non-shooters on the floor at all times. That's a pretty intense load to put on Curry's back offensively with how much resulting attention he's going to get.
Banking on someone to become available at the deadline (especially a 2nd option caliber type of player) isn't a safe bet either IMO. People keep pointing to the Mavs last year as an example of trade deadline success but Washington and Gafford are role players. Dallas already had their top dogs locked in. Looking for a 2nd scoring option is a much tougher task
Free agent forward KJ Martin has agreed on a two-year, $16 million deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers
https://x.com/wojespn/status/1811871049992343726
In a largely unprecedented financial concession to give roster flexibility to a contender, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson has agreed on a four-year, $156.5 million extension, his agent Sam Rose of CAA tells ESPN --- $113M less guaranteed than he’s eligible to receive in one year.
https://x.com/wojespn/status/1811867780884627697
You have to think a winning NY Knicks team in that market could easily generate $113 mil in more money off the court for Brunson. Me thinks he is smarter than the average guy. Or it could be bagels for life. Who knows.
It makes more sense for Brunson than a lot of fans seem to think. First of all, the full deal with the addition $113M is what the Knicks could (but are not bound to) offer next summer, not now. Should Brunson wait until summer 2025 and have a catastrophic injury this season, he could end up with nothing, so this deal ensures he will be financially set. Plus this deal has a player option so he can opt out the last year and then sign a much larger deal in a couple of years (when he's 32) that will make up a lot of the difference. So he's taking a discount but it might not end up being nearly the discount people are talking about, and with significant insurance against disaster. At the same time it enables the Knicks to build a better roster around him. So that's a win-win.
I object on Jalen Bruunson's behalf! The billionaire owner should pay up.
Even if Dolan did want to pay up (he doesn’t) the second apron destroys any roster flexibility you can have to stay competitive. As we found out ourselves.
AMAZING. KNICKS FANS are delirious over BRUNSON taking 113 million pay cut to help his team contend for a 'Ship; want to build a statue of him, retire his jersey....
The Ownership Cartel's wet dream just came true: star player taking less than his market value so the team can stay competitive while ownership keeps their full share of the take. This will put social pressure on other stars to do the same.
Official reason for new CBA: 'competitive balance'
True reason: Billionaires keep more of the money for themselves for sitting on their ass and stiff the guy who actually does the hard work
Players get 51% of revenue. Doesn't make a difference in terms of the salary the Knicks will payout but does in terms of team competativenes.
Also hard to argue this is the owner’s being greedy because the NBPA signed off on it and, if I remember right, had a lot to do with negotiating the terms to the detriment of big market teams
Brady of the NBA?
Tom Brady, Marcia Brady, or Brady Klopfer?
Based on the gamble he's taking, I'd say Brady Hawkes.
Seems like a smart guy. Hopefully there's a player option so he can opt out earlier and coup more during the next TV deal.
I think the last year is a player option, yes
Watching Serbia vs France friendly. Serbia is uber aggressive and handsy on defense. France falls down a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akU9ETGWM_8
Is it too soon to dub Gobert-Wembanyama "The Maginot Line?"
So the answer is to just go around them where they don't expect it?
Brutal
Imo I don't see why people are talking up France as a bigger threat to the USA than Serbia. I feel like Wembanyama hype has gotten out of control, Jokic is way better than him and Serbia finished second in FIBA last summer without him playing.
But I don't know the majority of these players so it's just an educated guess lol.
Yeah but France has Rudy GOATbert, unstoppable force that he is.
Maybe more immovable object lol
Because of the over 38 rule, Curry is eligible for a one-year $62.6M extension that would begin in 2026-27. Kuminga and Moody can extend for up to 5 years and 25% of the cap in 2025-26. Deadline for all 3 players is Oct. 21.
https://x.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1811815328311312622
Is that a set amount per the over 38 rule or can it be more? Tatum will be making $62,786,682 (Spotrac) on his new contract. Warriors should pay Steph more, right? Who's his agent? Didn't I just read MDJ saying anything he wants? Too much? 🤓
$62.6M buys a ton of Curry 12s for the kids.
Not after taxes. I worry for the family.
do you know how much a permit for a privacy fence costs in Atherton??
I shudder to think