NBA Free agency 2018: Where's the King landing?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

12 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Trade him to Boston for Kyrie and a pick! If we're going to have one elite guy coming off a leg injury on a one year contract, I'd rather have Kawhi.

Do you really trust Scary Terry? He wilted in the Eastern Conference Finals. Also, you’ve got too many wings with that trade. You should be pushing Brown while his value his high. I’d offer the two aforementioned players and a pick or two for him, even if he won’t guarantee he’ll resign with you.

[sperry]

10 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Do you really trust Scary Terry? He wilted in the Eastern Conference Finals. Also, you’ve got too many wings with that trade. You should be pushing Brown while his value his high. I’d offer the two aforementioned players and a pick or two for him, even if he won’t guarantee he’ll resign with you.

 

You don't trade both of those guys. Having that kind of wing depth is what makes the Celtics future so scary. Spurs choice of Tatum or Brown plus one of the Celtics best picks is a fair exchange for both parties, presuming Kawhi promises to resign with the Celts and chekcs out medically.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

27 minutes ago, sperry said:

 

You don't trade both of those guys. Having that kind of wing depth is what makes the Celtics future so scary. Spurs choice of Tatum or Brown plus one of the Celtics best picks is a fair exchange for both parties, presuming Kawhi promises to resign with the Celts and chekcs out medically.

I wouldn’t part with Tatum unless Kawhi is willing to sign the moment he arrives in Boston. And again, Boston has too much talent, and they’ll lose a lot of pieces to FA, so they should trade a couple guys for Kawhi. Also, I don’t think he can be had for a player and a pick. Other teams can offer a lot more.  

[DanteGabriel]

5 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

I wouldn’t part with Tatum unless Kawhi is willing to sign the moment he arrives in Boston. And again, Boston has too much talent, and they’ll lose a lot of pieces to FA, so they should trade a couple guys for Kawhi. Also, I don’t think he can be had for a player and a pick. Other teams can offer a lot more.  

Tatum is off the table. I might consider Brown but I really like having him on my team.

I don't trust Scary Terry yet, but I think he'll be way cheaper long term than Kyrie, and I think @Jaimstoyevesky was right that he gives you 80% of Kyrie. Rozier doesn't need to be a creator on offense or the last shot guy like Irving -- Leonard and Tatum can be options 1 and 2 there.

Other teams can offer more -- but I was responding to the idea that the Spurs would take less to keep Kawhi out of the West. Philly might be my only Eastern competition then, and I think the Celtics have more assets to offer.

[Calibandar]

2 hours ago, Fez said:

It's probably a fool's errand to try to parse out LeBron's non-basketball motivations, but they will play a role in where he goes. And I think its relevant that he owns three mansions, one in Akron and two in Los Angeles (including one that was just bought last year), and I'd be surprised if a) he wants to live too far away from any of them, b) he wants to buy a fourth mansion, or c) he plays somewhere while living the whole season in a rental (he owned another mansion in Miami that he eventually sold for a profit, though it took a while). Not saying he'd only play for Cleveland or one of the LA teams, but I do think he's going to want to play for a team located near them; which would both enable him to go home for a night here and there during the season and making it easier for his family to visit him. 

 Dwyane Wade seems to think the same thing about it: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2780463-dwyane-wade-thinks-lebron-james-priority-is-family-not-teaming-with-nba-stars

 

I see what you mean but would that really matter more than teaming up with Chris Paul his banana buddy and MVP James Harden in Houston, earning big dollars tax free and presumably they would have stunning mansions there as well where he could live

In the unlikely case he finds himself strapped for cash he could sell one of the existing 3 mansions.

I agree it seems like family is important to him in this decision but he also said he wants to continue to compete for championships.

Roster wise I think Houston is the best place for that, however the Lakers could pull something off, maybe they do somehow land George or Leonard and then it becomes more interesting, and the mansions he has there will indeed be a bonus.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

25 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Tatum is off the table. I might consider Brown but I really like having him on my team.

I don't trust Scary Terry yet, but I think he'll be way cheaper long term than Kyrie, and I think @Jaimstoyevesky was right that he gives you 80% of Kyrie. Rozier doesn't need to be a creator on offense or the last shot guy like Irving -- Leonard and Tatum can be options 1 and 2 there.

Other teams can offer more -- but I was responding to the idea that the Spurs would take less to keep Kawhi out of the West. Philly might be my only Eastern competition then, and I think the Celtics have more assets to offer.

I don’t think you can say Tatum is off the table if it means getting one of the top 5, if not top 3 players in the league. You just can’t part with him for a one year rental. Brown, OTOH, can be traded for a rental, though you’d hope Kawhi would sign long term. You’ve seen more of Brown than me, but I really think he’s the byproduct of the Celtics’ system, and IMO it would be wise to sell high on him. I’m not sure he’ll ever get that much better than he is now. And as far as Rozier goes, he’s a nice player, but he’s not anywhere near as good as Kyrie. Sure he’s a serviceable replacement, but Kyrie is a top 15ish player in the league, and if you combine that with a top 5 player in Kawhi, a top 25 player Hayward, a multi-time All-Star in Horford and one of the best young talents in the league in Tatum, you have a legit chance of beating the Warriors. The only down side is you’d have to break the team up in a few years, but that would probably happen anyways because you’ve already got too many guys that need to get paid.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Swaggy P. Drug test. Collision course.

https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/swaggy-p-tmz-cocaine-legalization-13010398.php

[Red Tiger]

1 hour ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Swaggy P. Drug test. Collision course.

https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/swaggy-p-tmz-cocaine-legalization-13010398.php

.....I realize I am not the least bit surprised.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

37 minutes ago, Red Tiger said:

.....I realize I am not the least bit surprised.

I’m not surprised that he’s on that white lady, but I am surprised that he would blurt it out.

Also, I have to commend his audaciousness. Most people would start with advocating for the legalization of the herb, but ol’ Swaggy P said hold by beer.

[Fez]

3 hours ago, Calibandar said:

I see what you mean but would that really matter more than teaming up with Chris Paul his banana buddy and MVP James Harden in Houston, earning big dollars tax free and presumably they would have stunning mansions there as well where he could live

In the unlikely case he finds himself strapped for cash he could sell one of the existing 3 mansions.

I agree it seems like family is important to him in this decision but he also said he wants to continue to compete for championships.

Roster wise I think Houston is the best place for that, however the Lakers could pull something off, maybe they do somehow land George or Leonard and then it becomes more interesting, and the mansions he has there will indeed be a bonus.

See, that's why I think Houston would actually be ideal, even though its a bit further from home. You're right about the teaming up part, but there's the added bonus that there's a lot of AAU basketball in Texas and his oldest son is apparently really good at basketball. I just did a quick search and it turns out the family, including LeBron, has been down to Texas at least a few times for AAU tournaments that James Jr. was competing in.

And yes, having all his home game paychecks have no state income tax on them would certainly sweeten the deal I'd think.

[briantw]

6 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

I saw a report a day or two ago that there was no way they’d trade him to another Western Conference team, and that if they were to trade him, they’d take pennies on the dollar to send him to the East.

Which means my take from last week was right and LeBron to the Sixers and they’re trading Simmons for Kawhi.

GET HYPED!

Sixers don't even have a GM right now, and it's hard to imagine them trading Simmons for a guy who has said he's going to the Lakers next summer.  Now, maybe that's just posturing and he'll talk with other teams and give them some assurances, but right now his value is pretty low because he's a one-year rental.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

The no state income tax matters to most players, but not LeBron. The number I heard was that it will lead to saving between 8 and 12% of his salary, which is $3-4m. I’m not sure how it effects the rest of his income, but that’s like 1% of his current net worth, which will skyrocket in the years to come. I’d be surprised if that amount of savings would drive his decision.

 

In other news, I’ve heard several talking heads on the radio say that Kawhi has basically told Pop that he’s done with the Spurs and that’s final. The Spurs have to trade now while he still has value.

[Rhom]

On Kyrie.  I heard Stephen A. going on and on about him a week or two ago.  I think he was comparing him to Chris Paul and he was ranting about how the difference between the two is that “Kyrie is a CHAMPION.”

Never mind the fact that Kyrie could never get to the playoffs before LeBron got there.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

27 minutes ago, briantw said:

Sixers don't even have a GM right now, and it's hard to imagine them trading Simmons for a guy who has said he's going to the Lakers next summer.  Now, maybe that's just posturing and he'll talk with other teams and give them some assurances, but right now his value is pretty low because he's a one-year rental.

You’ve heard his voice before?

22 minutes ago, Rhom said:

On Kyrie.  I heard Stephen A. going on and on about him a week or two ago.  I think he was comparing him to Chris Paul and he was ranting about how the difference between the two is that “Kyrie is a CHAMPION.”

Never mind the fact that Kyrie could never get to the playoffs before LeBron got there.

In all fairness, the Celtics probably would have beaten the Cavs if he was healthy. But no, Kyrie, overall, is not better than Paul.

Also, SAS is so much better with Skip in his life.  

[sperry]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

On Kyrie.  I heard Stephen A. going on and on about him a week or two ago.  I think he was comparing him to Chris Paul and he was ranting about how the difference between the two is that “Kyrie is a CHAMPION.”

Never mind the fact that Kyrie could never get to the playoffs before LeBron got there.

Seriously, why do you listen to SAS?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

31 minutes ago, sperry said:

Seriously, why do you listen to SAS?

He's kind of funny, like an over the top wrestler. I always catch the opening segment of his show after Le Batard before switching over to NPR or The Economist, assuming I can listen to my radio at work at that time.

[Rhom]

Just now, chiKanery et al. said:

He's kind of funny, like an over the top wrestler. I always catch the opening segment of his show after Le Batard before switching over to NPR or The Economist, assuming I can listen to my radio at work at that time.

It’s him or Rush Limbaugh.

 

[sperry]

Podcasts y'all. You don't have to listen to the mass-produced, lowest common denominator crap anymore.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

15 minutes ago, Rhom said:

It’s him or Rush Limbaugh.

 

Icky! 

13 minutes ago, sperry said:

Podcasts y'all. You don't have to listen to the mass-produced, lowest common denominator crap anymore.

I know, but The Dan Le Batard show is really good. I'm surprised more people here don't listen to it. It fits the sensibilities of the board for the most part.

[Calibandar]

Stephen A Smith is saying that Chris Paul has told folks in Houston that LeBron James does not want to play in Houston.

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-chris-paul-believes-lebron-james-doesnt-want-houston-prefers-l-020512487.html

Apparently he would prefer  LA and does not like Houston as a city.

 

14 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Icky! 

I know, but The Dan Le Batard show is really good. I'm surprised more people here don't listen to it. It fits the sensibilities of the board for the most part.

The Dan LeBatard show with Stugotz can be great, I listen to  them.

They go on too long for my taste about all sorts of other stuff but they can be very funny.