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

[Proudfeet]

14 hours ago, briantw said:

Well, I am officially glad LeBron left now.  Had he stayed, they would have traded all their assets to win now only for fucking Boogie to just sign with the Warriors.  Fuck that.  Would prefer to ride this bullshit out and build in the draft than have LeBron spend half the season pouting to force trades only to lose to the Warriors regardless. 

Eh, he might have signed with the Lakers instead if they waited another day. Instead Golden State basically get to swap McGee for Cousins because the Lakers signed McGee first.

[Red Tiger]

3 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

It ends after next season anyways. They're out of cap space and have to resign a lot of guys, plus there are a ton of rumors that Durant is leaving, especially if they win another title. 

Curry, Klay and Draymond will have 4 rings and Durant 3. Like you said before, these players will want huge fucking paydays afterwards. I say they'll lose Draymond and Klay, at least.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

46 minutes ago, Red Tiger said:

Curry, Klay and Draymond will have 4 rings and Durant 3. Like you said before, these players will want huge fucking paydays afterwards. I say they'll lose Draymond and Klay, at least.

Assuming they win another championship next year, their legacies are set in stone and they’ll have nothing left to prove. I think Curry is a Warrior for life. I also think Draymond will stay, but there won’t be too much of a home town discount. Klay is all but gone in my eyes. He’s the one that has the most to gain by leaving, both financially and to show that he is a true star in his own right. Durant might hang around for another year, but I can’t see him staying after the 2019-20 season. And then their run will be done, because Curry and Green aren’t enough to compete unless they luck into another superstar.   

[Red Tiger]

58 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Assuming they win another championship next year, their legacies are set in stone and they’ll have nothing left to prove. I think Curry is a Warrior for life. I also think Draymond will stay, but there won’t be too much of a home town discount. Klay is all but gone in my eyes. He’s the one that has the most to gain by leaving, both financially and to show that he is a true star in his own right. Durant might hang around for another year, but I can’t see him staying after the 2019-20 season. And then their run will be done, because Curry and Green aren’t enough to compete unless they luck into another superstar.   

I agree.

I am certan GS wins this year and I think that the Lakers win the year after. They might get Kawhi this year or the next, but I think they can get Anthony Davis next year as well.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

44 minutes ago, Red Tiger said:

I agree.

I am certan GS wins this year and I think that the Lakers win the year after. They might get Kawhi this year or the next, but I think they can get Anthony Davis next year as well.

The only reason I wouldn’t say I am certain is because you never know about injuries, and Curry is injury prone. If they stay healthy I’d be shocked if they don’t win it all, but you never know.

As far as the Lakers go, I agree that they’ll add another elite piece to pair up with LeBron, but you have to wonder when he’ll finally break down. It should have already happened by now, yet he seems to be getting better (at least on the offensive end). He can’t keep doing this forever.

[IamMe90]

Good lord, I can't imagine how boring the playoffs are going to be next year. Fuck Boogie, fuck the NBA, but most importantly, fuck Golden State. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

15 minutes ago, IamMe90 said:

Good lord, I can't imagine how boring the playoffs are going to be next year. Fuck Boogie, fuck the NBA, but most importantly, fuck Golden State. 

Why? First, there’s decent chance that Boogie won’t be ready until April or May. He says he wants to be ready by the start of the season (0% chance of happening), the team is optimistic that he’ll be back by the All-Star break (possible, but less likely) and commentators are saying it could be anywhere from late March to May (most likely). Boogies impact will probably be minimal. Second, as I’ve said before, injuries could derail this team. If two of the three All-Stars not named Green go down, they’re done. The West is really stacked, and teams 3-10 aren’t separated by all that much.

Is Golden State the overwhelming preseason favorite? Of course. But that doesn’t make it a lock, and I’m curious to see what Boston looks like at full strength. They’re actually perfectly built to play against the Warriors.

[Calibandar]

I tend to agree that Cousins' move may not be much of a difference maker.

It all depends on how much he can play and at what level if he does. After that, he very likely can't stay with Golden State.

Some other moves just in:

Dwight Howard to the Wizards on a 1-year deal, replaces Gortat. Probably an upgrade for the Wiz.

Wilson Chandler traded to the Sixers.

Tyreke Evans ( who apparently had a bounceback year last season after years of misery) signs with Pacers, who look set for another strong year IMO.

Personally I most want to know what happens with Kahwi. Spurs would love to keep him if it could be worked out, but since that apparently can't be done, the Lakers should make a significant offer. I'm not loving the deals they made yesterday, it's ok but it looks random and not a strengthening of the team. Trade for Kahwi and help LeBron now that he is still in his prime and himself a contender for Rockets, OKC, Golden State.

[James Arryn]

Rockets just added Michael Carter-Williams, who if he added an outside shot would be a helluva player if he could do more than shoot from the outside.

Your move, Golden State. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

Personally I most want to know what happens with Kahwi. Spurs would love to keep him if it could be worked out, but since that apparently can't be done, the Lakers should make a significant offer. I'm not loving the deals they made yesterday, it's ok but it looks random and not a strengthening of the team. Trade for Kahwi and help LeBron now that he is still in his prime and himself a contender for Rockets, OKC, Golden State.

Why? They should wait a year and save their assets. They're not going to beat GS this year anyways. Either way though, the Spurs are going to get burned. 

[IamMe90]

19 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Why? First, there’s decent chance that Boogie won’t be ready until April or May.

...which is the playoffs. 

19 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

He says he wants to be ready by the start of the season (0% chance of happening), the team is optimistic that he’ll be back by the All-Star break (possible, but less likely) and commentators are saying it could be anywhere from late March to May (most likely). Boogies impact will probably be minimal.

Again, I'm talking about the postseason. I will enjoy the regular season regardless of Golden State's fuckery, because I'm a Bucks fan, and they always have to try pretty hard during the regular season to help bolster their playoff prospects. 

And while Boogie's impact personally may be minimal, I'm just framing it in these terms: the NBA playoffs this year were already pretty boring, outside of a few good series, and the finals series especially was almost unwatchable after Game 1. The addition of Cousins can only make this more inevitable, assuming he adequately recovers from his injury; at the least, it won't negatively impact the team. That leaves us with, still, a really fucking boring finals, the conclusion of which we all pretty much know beforehand.

20 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Second, as I’ve said before, injuries could derail this team. If two of the three All-Stars not named Green go down, they’re done. The West is really stacked, and teams 3-10 aren’t separated by all that much.

This is a silly argument that you could use every season irrespective of the addition of Cousins; the fact that is that, injury prone or not, Golden State has won 3 of the last 4 NBA championships, and the only one they lost, they almost certainly should have won. 

22 minutes ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Is Golden State the overwhelming preseason favorite? Of course. But that doesn’t make it a lock, and I’m curious to see what Boston looks like at full strength. They’re actually perfectly built to play against the Warriors.

I hope you're right, and Boston at full health will definitely be a bigger threat than last year's Cavs were, but if Golden State is healthy minus Boogie, they stand no real chance of taking the series. If Golden State is healthy including Boogie, I don't even think they take one game. That's just me, though. 

[Red Tiger]

1 hour ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Why? First, there’s decent chance that Boogie won’t be ready until April or May. He says he wants to be ready by the start of the season (0% chance of happening), the team is optimistic that he’ll be back by the All-Star break (possible, but less likely) and commentators are saying it could be anywhere from late March to May (most likely). Boogies impact will probably be minimal. Second, as I’ve said before, injuries could derail this team. If two of the three All-Stars not named Green go down, they’re done. The West is really stacked, and teams 3-10 aren’t separated by all that much.

Is Golden State the overwhelming preseason favorite? Of course. But that doesn’t make it a lock, and I’m curious to see what Boston looks like at full strength. They’re actually perfectly built to play against the Warriors.

Dude, come on man, just stop. Golden State will win 100%, we all know it.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

31 minutes ago, IamMe90 said:

...which is the playoffs. 

I know, but it's unlikely that he'll be 100% and game ready. Keep in mind he suffered one of the worst injuries you can for na thlete, especially for a 7 footer.

Quote

Again, I'm talking about the postseason. I will enjoy the regular season regardless of Golden State's fuckery, because I'm a Bucks fan, and they always have to try pretty hard during the regular season to help bolster their playoff prospects. 

And while Boogie's impact personally may be minimal, I'm just framing it in these terms: the NBA playoffs this year were already pretty boring, outside of a few good series, and the finals series especially was almost unwatchable after Game 1. The addition of Cousins can only make this more inevitable, assuming he adequately recovers from his injury; at the least, it won't negatively impact the team. That leaves us with, still, a really fucking boring finals, the conclusion of which we all pretty much know beforehand.

I guess this is a YMMV situation. I think the Finals soured what was an otherwise fun playoff run. Cavs-Pacers was a blast, as was Cavs-Celtics. Watching the little engine that could Celtics was great too. I didn't expect them to upset Philly. And in the West, Rockets-Warriors was great. Some of the first round upsets were really intriguing. You got to see that the Jazz found a diamond in the rough. All in all, given that most of us assumed the Warriors would walk through the playoffs to a championship, seeing them tested against Houston plus some fun series really wasn't that bad, even if it ended with a thud.

Also, keep in mind that Boogie could be bad for the locker room. A fractured locker room can undo a great champion (see LA in 04). 

Quote

This is a silly argument that you could use every season irrespective of the addition of Cousins; the fact that is that, injury prone or not, Golden State has won 3 of the last 4 NBA championships, and the only one they lost, they almost certainly should have won. 

The point is that three games separated the three seed from the ninth seed. The West is going to be rough this year, and if Curry or Durant gets hurt, there's a lot of teams that will be gunning for them.

Quote

I hope you're right, and Boston at full health will definitely be a bigger threat than last year's Cavs were, but if Golden State is healthy minus Boogie, they stand no real chance of taking the series. If Golden State is healthy including Boogie, I don't even think they take one game. That's just me, though. 

If we can assume that Kyrie and Hayward come back completely healthy any that what we saw from Brown and Tatum was real, they'd be the biggest challenge the Warriors will face. While they do lack a LeBron caliber star, they have waves of wings to throw and GS and a PG that nearly cancels Curry out. And they play great defense. Even with Boogie, I'd say Boston could take a couple of games from them, and if that happens, you never know. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

14 minutes ago, Red Tiger said:

Dude, come on man, just stop. Golden State will win 100%, we all know it.

They were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from not even making it to the Finals. Didn't you have some doubt right up until Paul came up lame at the end of game 5? 

[Red Tiger]

1 hour ago, chiKanery et al. said:

They were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from not even making it to the Finals. Didn't you have some doubt right up until Paul came up lame at the end of game 5? 

No. This shit happens all the time, a team manages to drag shit out to 7 games, but eventually the team with fresher legs win. It doesn't matter to me if a team wins by 4 or 7 (hence why I didn't give a crap when LeBron got blown out this year), I only care if it's by blowouts. Paul has been in this situation before, the Spurs and Hornets back in the day went to a game 7 too and I felt that Hornets were just prolonging their demise.

[Red Tiger]

Im not clear enough in that post. Another reason why I had little faith in the Rockets is that Paul tends to break down as the season goes on, that is one of the reasons I felt it was so important that he got a guy like LeBron next to him. Regardless of whether they would mesh well, Paul has almost always taken too much of a load on him, in passing, defense and scoring, he always seems to run out of gas. Getting a guy like LeBron to run the offense and give Paul a break on making plays would have benefited him greatly, but now I believe he will not win anything in Houston, unless they make another significant signing.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I get the point you're making, and you're right about Paul and his health issues. I just think the Rockets could have won that series, but the moment I saw him pull up, I knew that it was a wrap. 

[BigFatCoward]

1 hour ago, Triskjavikson said:

But now Boogie is going to GS.  Incredible.  Will we ever even get a chance to even learn if Kerr is a good coach?

Part of being a good coach is managing ego's, getting superstars to buy into a reduced role for the good of the team is not easy. 

[briantw]

Gotta appreciate how Clay Bennett totally refused to pay the luxury tax when he had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on the same team and just made the Finals, but now they're going all in with a team of Westbrook and Paul George in a conference where they have no chance of getting out of the second round.  That's a bold strategy, Cotton. 

[Calibandar]

14 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

They were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from not even making it to the Finals. Didn't you have some doubt right up until Paul came up lame at the end of game 5? 

I always felt that Golden State would win that series with Houston, even if Paul had not been injured.

So in that sense to me it is not what decided that series, but we will never know. I *was* surprised it went to 7 games though, but it always felt to me as if GS had another gear when really required.

In the same way I always felt the Cavs would beat that depleted Boston team even though it went to 7 games and they were 3-2 down. I just thought LeBron would not let that happen.

7 hours ago, briantw said:

Gotta appreciate how Clay Bennett totally refused to pay the luxury tax when he had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on the same team and just made the Finals, but now they're going all in with a team of Westbrook and Paul George in a conference where they have no chance of getting out of the second round.  That's a bold strategy, Cotton. 

I was thinking about exactly this when they re-signed Paul George and I heard about the luxury tax repeater bill.

Then they signed Nerlens Noel and I thought about Harden again.

Now they've signed Felton and I heard about the 300 million and I thought about it again.

If only they'd been willing to spend as much back then. It almost feels like ownership is overcompensating now doesn't it, as if they want to show everyone money is not the issue.

15 hours ago, chiKanery et al. said:

Why? They should wait a year and save their assets. They're not going to beat GS this year anyways. 

I don't agree. I think the Lakers should give up some assets and get Kahwi now.

They'll be better for it now, and perhaps significantly, and that matters. I want to see this team at its best right now, not as a possible eventuality a year from now.