NBA 2017: The Kings of Comedy

[Jaime L]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Idk if that's fair. LaVine was averaging 20 ppg this season, was our best shooter and was developing into one of the best pure scorers in the NBA, plus his defense was better this year. I think there is an argument to be made that he should have been coming off the bench as our 6th man, but I don't think he was holding KAT or Wiggins back. 

He's a better shooter than I thought but I still don't think he's the kind of player you want playing alongside Kat and Wiggins. OKC brought Harden off the bench and I think it's clear Minnesota should do the same with LaVine. 

Also is Kris Dunn still alive, WTF? 

[Ferrum Aeternum]

As if the Chandler Parsons deal weren't bad enough on its face, the news has now broken that he's out for the season with a partially torn meniscus in his other knee. 

In the short run this is actually a good thing for the team, as Coach Fizdale will no longer feel pressured to run him out there to play thoroughly mediocre basketball 15-20 minutes a night. In the long run, this could be a franchise killing deal for the Grizzlies. If he struggles through another season next year similar to this one, the front office will have to consider buying him out just to save some real dollars while retaining the massive cap hit. With the core of the team aging rapidly and no first round picks in this year's draft - that's a recipe to hit rock bottom a few years down the road with no help on the horizon. 

Hindsight is easy, but looking back that deal really didn't make much sense, even for peak Chandler Parsons (who has existed for maybe 50% of his NBA career). I don't know if Ryan Anderson would have come to Memphis but I'd much rather have had him, even at the time.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

34 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

He's a better shooter than I thought but I still don't think he's the kind of player you want playing alongside Kat and Wiggins. OKC brought Harden off the bench and I think it's clear Minnesota should do the same with LaVine. 

It's a tough call, but if you move him to the bench then you also have to move our starting PF to the bench too (the two of them play really well together). 

35 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

Also is Kris Dunn still alive, WTF? 

Seriously, and really, most of this year's rookie class has been bad. But with Dunn, I think the problem is that he's really a SG being forced to play PG. He's actually the exact same size as Wade, and has a similar skill set, so maybe going forward he should be used in a similar way.

[Calibandar]

21 hours ago, Jaime L said:

Well that went like I expected. Wizards had nothing left in the tank against a team of freakish 22 year olds. Looks like Rubio especially killed it. Still think you're probably kicking yourself @Tywin et al. for not making that move for D. Rose. Instead of 19 assists could've had 19 attempts at heroball as KAT glares daggers at him. 

ETA: I do think it's telling how much better the T'Wolves are without Zach LaVine in the lineup. Brandon Rush is a way better fit as someone who both plays defense and GTFO of the way when KAT and Wiggins do work. 

You may have a point here. They have certainly not regressed since he went out, that is for sure. Maybe the mix up doesn't work. At the start of the season I was hoping the Butler to T-Wolves trade would work out, for LaVine and pieces. It never materialized and that's a big shame because I see him as someone who fits there.

Nothing against LaVine though, but you may be onto something here. As for Dunn, it seems like most of that top draft class is actually not that interesting. No one has really stood out, and I think Simmons, the obvious no. 1 pick , may be the only big fish from that class.

Feel kind of bad for the Milwaukee Bucks btw. They spent the first 4 months without Middleton, their second best player after Giannis. The moment he comes back, Jabari Parker, finally back after multiple injuries and playing a breakout year, goes down with an ACL tear. Those 3 guys together are more than a decent team.

 

[Jaime L]

4 hours ago, Calibandar said:

Feel kind of bad for the Milwaukee Bucks btw. They spent the first 4 months without Middleton, their second best player after Giannis. The moment he comes back, Jabari Parker, finally back after multiple injuries and playing a breakout year, goes down with an ACL tear. Those 3 guys together are more than a decent team.

Yeah, I remain intrigued by the Bucks experiment of starting an entire lineup of guys between 6'8"-6'11", with Giannis functioning anywhere between the 1 and the 5. Love the idea of a defense that can perfectly switch on all pick and rolls. But, yes, no Jabari kills a lot of their upside. Still hope they get in the playoffs. Could always use more Greek Freak in my life. 

[James Arryn]

On March 14, 2017 at 11:40 AM, Tywin et al. said:

 

Clearing quote. 

 

Jaime, I've seen interviews with Isaiah Thomas from his Toronto days where he spoke at length about his vision for a team of guys around 6'9" with interchangeable roles, with guys like KG and T-Mac being, in his view, the direction basketball was heading. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 hours ago, Calibandar said:

You may have a point here. They have certainly not regressed since he went out, that is for sure. Maybe the mix up doesn't work. At the start of the season I was hoping the Butler to T-Wolves trade would work out, for LaVine and pieces. It never materialized and that's a big shame because I see him as someone who fits there.

 

I just don't see how Butler and Wiggins fit together. It seems kind of redundant. Also, if we brought in Butler it probably that it would be "his team" which hurts the development of KAT and to a lesser extent Wiggins.

[sperry]

Some really bad drafts talent-wise recently have been daggers for rebuilding teams. Wolves whiffing on Kris Dunn is a killer. They should have taken Hield.

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, sperry said:

Some really bad drafts talent-wise recently have been daggers for rebuilding teams. Wolves whiffing on Kris Dunn is a killer. They should have taken Hield.

The guy traded for DeMarcus Cousins?  The guy who has hit less three pointers than Cousins?  On a team that honestly had no guards?

[sperry]

1 minute ago, Rhom said:

The guy traded for DeMarcus Cousins?  The guy who has hit less three pointers than Cousins?  On a team that honestly had no guards?

 

What a bizarre, completely irrelevant statement.

[briantw]

1 hour ago, sperry said:

Some really bad drafts talent-wise recently have been daggers for rebuilding teams. Wolves whiffing on Kris Dunn is a killer. They should have taken Hield.

They should have just done the Cavs' rebuild.  You suck for a few years, fuck up half your draft picks, and then LeBron comes back and you win a title.  

[sperry]

Just now, briantw said:

They should have just done the Cavs' rebuild.  You suck for a few years, fuck up half your draft picks, and then LeBron comes back and you win a title.  

That's always an option.

[Biter]

I have a few questions...

Why are Utah among the top teams in the West? Do they have a great coach? Who are their best players?

Do you think Joel Embiid will win the Rookie of the Year Award despite getting injured?

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, Biter said:

I have a few questions...

Why are Utah among the top teams in the West? Do they have a great coach? Who are their best players?

Do you think Joel Embiid will win the Rookie of the Year Award despite getting injured?

The only player I know for Utah is Trey Lyles... and that's only because I follow UK alums.  They are actually coached by Quin Snyder who was the hotshot coach with the wavy hair for Missouri back in the late 90's early 2000's.  Got in some trouble with the NCAA and has apparently bounced around at other levels of basketball since.

As to Embiid... I was wondering this same thing the other day.  As noted, the rookie class really has not stood out at all; most years I would say that a guy who only played in about half the games would have no shot, but Embiid really could this year.

[DunderMifflin]

Gordon Haywood is everything people wish Chandler Parsons was. Rudy Gobert has a case for being the best center in the league. And the team plays very unselfishly. I'd guess the coach has more than a little to do with that being a former Mike ?Krysersewski?  protege.

 

Oops Gordon Hayward not Haywood

[Ramsay B.]

Wade out for the year. Put a fork in the Bulls slim playoff chances...and Miami is now tied for the 8th spot. You know he wish he never left them for this shit show of a team.

15 hours ago, sperry said:

 

What a bizarre, completely irrelevant statement.

Ha. Rhom will take any opportunity to throw out a Kentucky player stat.

[briantw]

12 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Wade out for the year. Put a fork in the Bulls slim playoff chances...and Miami is now tied for the 8th spot. You know he wish he never left them for this shit show of a team.

He wasn't winning a title either way.  Might as well take the money.

[Rhom]

21 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Ha. Rhom will take any opportunity to throw out a Kentucky player stat.

Oh sure... but moreso, I was really taking more of a shot at Heild.  To say that Kris Dunn has had a bad rookie season and then imply that taking Hield would have been a better choice is laughable in the context I posed.  He clearly is not having any better of a season than Dunn.

[DunderMifflin]

Them both actually going 4 years of college makes them look bad to me. Who does that???? Tim Duncan???

[Rhom]

6 minutes ago, DunderMifflin said:

Them both actually going 4 years of college makes them look bad to me. Who does that???? Tim Duncan???

Sadly, there's something to be said for that.

If you don't have the obvious potential to be drafted after one (maybe two) years; then your draft stock tends to drop significantly.  And honestly, where do we think is a better place to develop as a basketball player?  At an NCAA school that pretends you are an amateur athlete and restricts how much you are allowed to practice with a qualified coach?  Or in a professional organization?