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

[briantw]

46 minutes ago, Maithanet der Mannschaft said:

I'm not sure the price of Leonard is necessarily that high. 

The Spurs aren't trading him to the Lakers without raking the Lakers over the coals.  The price for Leonard won't be that high for an Eastern Conference team, but for the Lakers they'll probably have to sell the farm if they want to trade for him.  I legitimately think that Pops might just let him walk in free agency rather than trade him to the Lakers.  

I saw some tweets about how the Lakers tried to call the Spurs about Kawhi and the Spurs weren't even interested in listening to their offer.  Like, the call didn't even make it to an offer or bargaining.

47 minutes ago, Esmenet said:

 

@briantw, in your opinion who and what dobthe Cavs need to do, to 1)Get a star to play with him and Love and who will that star be, in your opinion. 2) What 3 and D guys are out there to get to play with Bron?

Personally, I think flipping Love for a comparable star is probably their best bet.  Like, some sort of Love for Beal trade would probably work for both teams.  Wall and Beal don't like each other, so a change needs to happen there.  Love would be a great fit next to Wall's top-tier passing ability, and Beal would be a better fit for the Cavs against the Warriors, as he's a versatile, sharp-shooting wing.  The Cavs probably have to add something else to the deal to get it to work, but I think that's a type of deal that could happen.  Love+ to Portland for McCollum seems like it could be possible too.  Portland is a treadmill team and should probably look to make some sort of change.  Plus, Love is from Oregon so that would be a nice story.

I also like both of those deals because they also work even if LeBron leaves, as it allows the Cavs to get a little younger in exchange for dealing their second best player and one of the best floor stretchers in the league to a team looking to keep competing.  

I don't think the Cavs trade Sexton.  Seems like they're very high on him, so I'm inclined to believe they're keeping him, especially since they're not getting any sort of long-term commitment from LeBron even if he does come back this year.  Unless LeBron is signing a five year deal, I don't think you can trade Sexton at this point.  The Cavs need to be protective of their future and can't keep letting LeBron hold them hostage.  Sexton is also a great candidate to lead the eventual post-LeBron rebuild, as he's a high character, hard working guy who always plays with a chip on his shoulder.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

One thing to keep in mind with regards to Kawhi. He has said he wants to go to LA, not specifically the Lakers. There's a lot of reporting  circling that implies he'd be OK with the Clippers too. 

1 hour ago, Esmenet said:

Me either, tbh. But, Lowe had an article a few days ago where it could happen. Problem is, they would be gutted of their role players and have tontake a bunch of league minimum vets.

It can't feasibly work w/o two sign and trades, and that is highly unlikely and the cost could be too high. Sure you'd have the best player, the best two way player and a top 15ish player, but there would be nothing behind them. If you're a Lakers fan, you should just get two of the three and develop your young players.

[sperry]

The fact that Paul George is starting to make a production out of his "decision" is starting to make me believe the talk about OKC is just to build some fake drama for when he announces for LA. We'll see, but the type of guy who will sign in OKC doesn't seem like the type that is going to go for a dog and pony show.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Yeah, I agree Sperry. If he was going to stay, it would already be done and the city and state would be throwing a party in his honor. 

[briantw]

Didn't the first video start with George saying he always wanted to play for the Lakers or something?  I didn't watch it but I think I saw a tweet that said that.

If so, I have to think that maybe it's a swerve and he goes back to OKC.  Hard to imagine starting out the thing with that line and then actually going to the Lakers, and in general I'd like to think that NBA players learned at least something from the LeBron Decision backlash.  If you're going to go on national TV and make a spectacle of your free agency decision, you best be staying with your current team or you're just a giant asshole. 

[briantw]

https://twitter.com/Hawk/status/1012079392804229120

[James Arryn]

Is there any chance Lebron ends up taking Kennedy’s spot in Washington?

[Calibandar]

13 hours ago, Esmenet said:

Just wanted to see the opinions of the board, which i respect the overall knowledge here. I do believe Be in will stay in Cleveland. But, if the Lakers could shop a package for Leonard, I think they have a real chance of getting James and George too. And, I think they would fit well together. James needs a lock down defender in Kawhi to beat the Dubs, George is no slouch either. I just hate that Kuzma would likely be part of any package for Kawhi. Kuzma would blossom under Bron, and he's the type of guy he needs on his teams. Ball is a decent defender also. That's a team that could compete right away, I believe. And, from Lowe's article yesterday its doable. Interested to see what happens. Because, the Spurs know Kawhi is bolting, and I dont see the Spurs letting him walk away without getting anything. 

So, I don't think he will stay in Cleveland. I think many signs were to be read in the playoffs that he is done.

I can only see him staying if there is a significant addition to the Cavs team. I do not think he would this "complacent" to stay in Cleveland just because it is so comfortable to stay there, he has a few good years left ( let's say 2 or 3) in which he wants to win titles and with this Cleveland teams he is not even getting out of the East anymore.

At this point, him going to another team that is not the Lakers would be a massive surprise. I still say Rockets would be best but that is hard to pull off. I am looking at it from a "what is best for the league and for me as a viewer" perspective. If he goes to the Lakers and manages to build a competitive team for Golden State that is fine with me, and for that to happen the Lakers also need to land Kahwi and Paul George ( and even then.....). So I hope the Lakers get at least Kahwi and LeBron from a viewer perspective. Paul George, I would like him to stay at OKC so that they at least remain a competitive team with a lot of potential to get far. If LeBron and Kahwi go to the Lakers and Paul George stays with Westbrook, Adams and a glimmer of Carmelo in OKC then you have 4 high calibre teams in the West. If George leaves OKC, OKC is bound for mediocrity and that would suck. On the other hand the Lakers need George as well to get even better, more competitive.

There's some other interesting guys out there as well. What happens with Capela, Deandre Jordan, Cousins.

 

[James Arryn]

From what I understand, if he wants Houston, it can be done. Gordon’s gone and they’ll have to sweeten (with futures) a deal for someone to take on Anderson, but the key is Paul could opt out. Then sign LeBron, then go over the cap to RE-sign Paul and possibly Capela, which is allowable for your own free agents. Basically if there’s one man you’d trust to get the numbers to work, it’d be Morey.

[briantw]

4 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

From what I understand, if he wants Houston, it can be done. Gordon’s gone and they’ll have to sweeten (with futures) a deal for someone to take on Anderson, but the key is Paul could opt out. Then sign LeBron, then go over the cap to RE-sign Paul and possibly Capela, which is allowable for your own free agents. Basically if there’s one man you’d trust to get the numbers to work, it’d be Morey.

Even if Paul opts out, he still has a cap hold.  Capela has one too.  Houston has no cap space.  

[Esmenet]

@Calibandar, I agree if he lands anywhere, its the Lakers. And, they'll have to get Kawhi at least to entice him. You know, I don't think that team needs George, if you could hang onto Kuzma also. But, thats doubtful as he would be in any Kawhi deal, id assume. Ball plays good D actually and get a few 3 and D guys inatead of just George alone, and I think that roster would fill out nicely.

Myself, I hope he stays in Cleveland and they give him the pieces to make it work and improve the squad. I think switching teams again, will tarnish his image a bit, he'll be known as The Ring Chaser.

[Calibandar]

KD has already copyrighted that so it would have to be another nickname

For me, if LeBron left Cleveland now, it would not tarnish him one bit. I don't think it would for most people actually.

[dbunting]

Why is KD looked at so roughly? Did people react this way when Payton and Malone went to LA? Or when James and Bosh went to Miami? It's strange how this season James, George, Kahwi are all being talked about heading to LA together, but no one seems angry about them joining forces? Talk about James to Houston...a team that led the league in wins last year, just like GS did when Durant went to them and yet hadly a bad word about "if" James goes to Houston.

People seem to bag on Durant for leaving OKC and I don't understand why. OKC let Harden go because they wouldn't pay him, essentially telling Durant that this was as good as we are going to be. So in his mind he wanted to win and went to the place where he could do it. Hell I would have left too.

I am just a casual, very very casual NBA follower and read this forum today and was surprised to see the hatred for KD.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

7 minutes ago, dbunting said:

Why is KD looked at so roughly? Did people react this way when Payton and Malone went to LA? Or when James and Bosh went to Miami? It's strange how this season James, George, Kahwi are all being talked about heading to LA together, but no one seems angry about them joining forces? Talk about James to Houston...a team that led the league in wins last year, just like GS did when Durant went to them and yet hadly a bad word about "if" James goes to Houston.

People seem to bag on Durant for leaving OKC and I don't understand why. OKC let Harden go because they wouldn't pay him, essentially telling Durant that this was as good as we are going to be. So in his mind he wanted to win and went to the place where he could do it. Hell I would have left too.

I am just a casual, very very casual NBA follower and read this forum today and was surprised to see the hatred for KD.

Because the Warriors were already great, and KD was still in the prime of his career. Different than superstars joining forces on an existing lousy team and also different than over-the-hill players latching onto a great team as end of the bench guys. KD jumped into the boat with an existing powerhouse team, and in doing so made winning at least one championship a foregone conclusion.

There's nothing technically wrong with what he did. It was just a very bad look, particularly for a guy who had spent years elevating a small-market team to contender status. 

[DanteGabriel]

The schadenfreude when that Payton/Malone superteam lost to the "no stars" Pistons in 2004 was pretty epic. Even so, they were not comparable to KDT. Those guys were on the downslope of their careers and not top 15 or 20 guys at that point. KD was the second best player in the league, choosing to go to an overwhelming champion.

I don't know how many times the difference between KD and other ring-chasers has to keep being explained. You get it or you don't.

I'd be pretty pissed if Kawhi, LeBron, and PG ended up on the Lakers. But I think league wide criticism would be more muted, because KD to the Warriors has already so warped the competitive landscape of the league that everything else can seem like an understandable reaction.

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

I'd be pretty pissed if Kawhi, LeBron, and PG ended up on the Lakers. But I think league wide criticism would be more muted, because KD to the Warriors has already so warped the competitive landscape of the league that everything else can seem like an understandable reaction.

Indeed, under normal circumstances I would hate such a team up (particularly for the Lakers), but right now any team that can realistically scare GSW is worth it to me. 

The reason that everybody hates on Durant is because the #2 player in the league joining the team that was already the most talented team leaguewide has literally never happened.  It is hard to even come up with a scenario where a top 3 player even had that option.  It would be like Allen Iverson joining the Lakers after his Finals loss.*

*  That team would have probably self destructed by midseason, but if all three of them survived to the playoffs, they'd almost assuredly win the title anyway. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Sounds like George and Durant have told their teams they won’t opt out while LeBron is expected to do so at some point today. Also, the Spurs and the Lakers are reportedly talking again about Kawhi. Obviously this is all speculation, but it’s what the ESPN insiders are saying.

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Sounds like George and Durant have told their teams they won’t opt out while LeBron is expected to do so at some point today. Also, the Spurs and the Lakers are reportedly talking again about Kawhi. Obviously this is all speculation, but it’s what the ESPN insiders are saying.

George already opted out.  

[DMC]

23 minutes ago, Maithanet der Mannschaft said:

It would be like Allen Iverson joining the Lakers after his Finals loss.*

*  That team would have probably self destructed by midseason

Those three wouldn't have got outta preseason.

[IamMe90]

7 minutes ago, Maithanet der Mannschaft said:

George already opted out.  

Yeah, though from what I understand it was pretty much already assumed he was going to do this regardless of whether he stayed in OKC or not, since a new deal would increase his salary. I'm really not sure what he's going to do at this point. Windhorst reports that LA is "panicking" about the prospect of him staying in OKC, but also this whole production he's making of the decision is just weird. Maybe he just wants to make OKC really love him when he announces that he will stay by making a big media hullabaloo out of it. At this point, it's all just speculation.