NBA Playoffs 2020: Mamba Out

[DireWolfSpirit]

Miami hung in there longer than I thought they could.

Looking forward to Durants return next season and seeing how he and Irving will work together?

[Relic]

Well, it was nice having basketball back in my life. Its weird that its October 12th and the NBA Finals just finished, but at least we got the draft and free agency to look forward to. 

I hope that we can put the whole LeBron not succeeding enough debate to rest, by the way. Dude just had his best Finals at age 35. Let him be. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Relic said:

Well, it was nice having basketball back in my life. Its weird that its October 12th and the NBA Finals just finished, but at least we got the draft and free agency to look forward to. 

I hope that we can put the whole LeBron not succeeding enough debate to rest, by the way. Dude just had his best Finals at age 35. Let him be. 

I think every basketball fan owes a lot of appreciation and respect  for all the players, coaches, support staff etc., who were willing to spend months in the bubble for our entertainment. 

 

[DanteGabriel]

25 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I think every basketball fan owes a lot of appreciation and respect  for all the players, coaches, support staff etc., who were willing to spend months in the bubble for our entertainment. 

 

True enough.

Also, congratulations to the Lakers, especially LeBron and Rondo, but mostly fuck the Lakers.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

9 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

True enough.

Also, congratulations to the Lakers, especially LeBron and Rondo, but mostly fuck the Lakers.

More improvable lovable character, Rondo the vet or Snoop Dogg, hosting shows with actual felon Martha Stewart?

[DanteGabriel]

1 minute ago, Tywin et al. said:

More improvable lovable character, Rondo the vet or Snoop Dogg, hosting shows with actual felon Martha Stewart?

Well, I've been shipping Martha and Snoop for a long time. I was sad that their potluck dinner party show went away.

[Relic]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

I think every basketball fan owes a lot of appreciation and respect  for all the players, coaches, support staff etc., who were willing to spend months in the bubble for our entertainment. 

 

Agreed 

[Wilbur]

Thinking Basketball says that in the end, the LAL had the two best players in basketball.

So I guess no one should be surprised to see the Lakers win the championship.  

[Relic]

5 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Thinking Basketball says that in the end, the LAL had the two best players in basketball.

So I guess no one should be surprised to see the Lakers win the championship.  

They def had the best duo. 

[KingintheNorth4]

This Lakers team honored Kobe in the best way possible: by winning it all. Congrats on their title win. 

[Red Tiger]

I can't breathe

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Good for Stan:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30162378/sources-stan-van-gundy-agrees-multiyear-deal-coach-new-orleans-pelicans

[Calibandar]

Ive been looking at some of these top draft prospects and listening to some podcasts on the Ringer, this seems like quite a good draft actually.

It doesnt have a Zion to really stand out but...Killian Hayes from France looks like an excellent player, he's not as hyped up as Lamelo Ball because he's not a Ball and not an American but if you watch footage of these two, looks great players either way.

James Wiseman could actually be great fit for Golden State. They are expected to trade the pick for a win-now player...but they have a gaping hole at center and Wiseman would be able to contribute in that role right now. I expect the other top candidates like Edwards, Hayes, Ball make less sense for GSW unless they are looking to the future instead of helping Klay and Steph win now. The thing that really stands out about Wiseman is the sheer size of him at 7'1 and how enormous he is around the ring. 

Personally though I was most impressed by Anthony Edwards, looks like a fantastic shooting guard and very athletic. He would be my number 1 pick. Aside from that, he is just what Minnesota needs. They just got Russell as the PG, mixing him with Ball seems to make sense to no one. So I dont see them picking Ball unless they feel he is actually a big upgrade on Russell and then think they can trade Russell ( again lol). Wiseman playing alongside Towns.....doesnt seem likely in today's league. Edwards looks excellent and would be a great fit.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 hours ago, Calibandar said:

Personally though I was most impressed by Anthony Edwards, looks like a fantastic shooting guard and very athletic. He would be my number 1 pick. Aside from that, he is just what Minnesota needs. They just got Russell as the PG, mixing him with Ball seems to make sense to no one. So I dont see them picking Ball unless they feel he is actually a big upgrade on Russell and then think they can trade Russell ( again lol). Wiseman playing alongside Towns.....doesnt seem likely in today's league. Edwards looks excellent and would be a great fit.

 

Idk, I'm not super high on any specific prospect. At this point the best plan may be to trade back a few spots and pick up a top 3 protected pick next year that would turn into an unprotected pick in 2022. Wiseman is probably the best prospect, but he and Towns like you said would make an odd pair in today's game. But that said, I don't see much difference between the top six to eight prospects besides fit. 

[Argonath Diver]

In my eyes, four of the first six teams likely would want to trade down or out of this draft. I think Charlotte and Cleveland are locks to keep their picks. Minn definitely sounds like they've looked to move down. It makes complete sense for GS to get current NBA talent for next year, and none of the top three are necessarily perfect fits for their team immediately. I spend far too much time trying to figure out what the fuck Karnisovas has plans for the Bulls, but I definitely think he'd be swell with a trade down. I've heard people absolutely insistent that Atlanta is actively shopping the pick for a vet. 

It's a shit market for high picking teams this year. I've heard milquetoast #1 hype about maybe 8 different guys. I've heard vehement insistence of busting about all those guys. I want the Bulls to move down to, for instance, the Knicks #8, but they haven't got shit to give, nor would they pay 2019 value anyway, when they're in a buyer's market.

For the Bulls, I think Advija is the most likely pick. Like Tywin I ain't sold on anyone, though there's literally eight guys I could be convinced are atop AKs whiteboard. I think I'd be the happiest with . . . Hayes? [Charlie voice]

[Rhom]

I dunno... I’ve just been bummed out by all the “On this date xx years ago, this superstar debuted...” that I have seen this week.  Knowing this should be the start of the new season just makes me sad.

I’m sure they want to get out by Christmas to have those games, but I really think they’d be better served starting after the scheduled All Star break.  Play half a regular season and a normal post season to set us back up for a normal 21-22 season.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

15 minutes ago, Rhom said:

I dunno... I’ve just been bummed out by all the “On this date xx years ago, this superstar debuted...” that I have seen this week.  Knowing this should be the start of the new season just makes me sad.

I’m sure they want to get out by Christmas to have those games, but I really think they’d be better served starting after the scheduled All Star break.  Play half a regular season and a normal post season to set us back up for a normal 21-22 season.

They can't. They need to get a minimum number of games in otherwise loads of contracts get voided. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

This might get ugly:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30246577/adam-silver-boosts-urgency-deal-nba-pre-christmas-start

It sounds like there's a rather large rift between the players and the league. The players are right to say they need a longer offseason, but the league is also justified in pointing out how much money will be lost. God knows what would happen if the latter use a clause to trigger the end of the CBA.

[Rhom]

35 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

This might get ugly:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30246577/adam-silver-boosts-urgency-deal-nba-pre-christmas-start

It sounds like there's a rather large rift between the players and the league. The players are right to say they need a longer offseason, but the league is also justified in pointing out how much money will be lost. God knows what would happen if the latter use a clause to trigger the end of the CBA.

There’s no easy answer here.  Players are already chafing about the money going into escrow.  What do they think is going to happen if they can’t get the revenue back up and going?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

43 minutes ago, Rhom said:

There’s no easy answer here.  Players are already chafing about the money going into escrow.  What do they think is going to happen if they can’t get the revenue back up and going?

The NBA is unique in that the league, the owners and the players see themselves as true partners. That could be shattered if the owners use this situation to rip up the CBA.

This is why people hate lawyers. Everyone involved including the T.V. networks should just agree to be flexible to weather storm and hope things return to normal next year, but cut throat lawyers with dollar signs in their eyes will absolutely advocate using this situation to null the 50/50 split.