NBA Playoffs - Joker's Wild

[DMC]

The funny thing about US v World is Domantas Sabonis probably should play for the US even though he'd want to play for World.

[BigFatCoward]

10 hours ago, DMC said:

The funny thing about US v World is Domantas Sabonis probably should play for the US even though he'd want to play for World.

He isn't getting much game time for the rest of the world, and your needs are greater up front. 

Since Europe could put out a decent team by itself, who would rest of world (excluding europe) starting 5 be?

Embiid, Shai, KAT, Ayrton, Siakam, Wiggins, Capela, Murray, Simmons (LOL, though he clearly has been hitting the gym and is JACKED AS FUCK), Horford, Adams, Anunoby, there's a decent squad there (i admit some of them being 'non american' is a bit of a stretch. 

[baxus]

I think Embiid switched to playing for France.

[BigFatCoward]

7 minutes ago, baxus said:

I think Embiid switched to playing for France.

He might want to switch back to get some playing time, because the argument of who is the best centre has well and truly been put to bed.  

[DMC]

4 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

He isn't getting much game time for the rest of the world, and your needs are greater up front. 

Yep that's why I mentioned him.  Good argument he should be the US' starting 5.

4 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

some of them being 'non american' is a bit of a stretch. 

I know KAT plays for the DR team, but yeah that is kinda silly.  I suppose Anunoby is a bit of a stretch, but the rest of them are legit.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Ja gets a 25 game ban. I thought it might have been half a season with 20-25 games being a possibility if he took a number of steps. Hopefully he takes some time to get the help he needs and not the BS they tried to do to get him back for the playoffs. 

Still, it's weird the NBA is acting as anyone should, meanwhile GOP elected officials and candidates benefit from posting pictures of them and their little kids waving around much larger guns. What a fucked up timeline we're in. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Tywin et al.

[Maithanet]

 I knew the wizards weren't going to get a great package for beal because of his terrible contract, injury history and no trade clause.  But this is just peanuts.  They couldn't even swing a single first round pick?!  They do know that they're the wizards, and therefore pick swaps are basically worthless because they pick #8 every year.  

Anyways, I guess the rebuild is finally on in Washington.  This is a great example of how to do a teardown completely wrong.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

That's one of the most insane trade offers I've ever seen. They got back literally nothing based on the current reporting. A year ago they could have probably gotten something close to what Holiday or Gobert fetched. And I have to believe Miami would have given up Herro and a few firsts. That's nuts.

Also, who is suppose to play PG for the Suns? They've got four legit starts locked up, but what else will they have after that and I thought they'd realize being a glass cannon team only works for a stretch of time. 

[Slurktan]

8 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

That's one of the most insane trade offers I've ever seen. They got back literally nothing based on the current reporting. A year ago they could have probably gotten something close to what Holiday or Gobert fetched. And I have to believe Miami would have given up Herro and a few firsts. That's nuts.

Also, who is suppose to play PG for the Suns? They've got four legit starts locked up, but what else will they have after that and I thought they'd realize being a glass cannon team only works for a stretch of time. 

The funny thing is while Washington gets nothing but cap room (Paul is not guaranteed) Phoenix will be absolutely fucked capwise and have even less of a defense. I assume this will get them over the second apron.  I don't think this gets them a title so does this turn them into the '13 Nets?

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Slurktan

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

9 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

The funny thing is while Washington gets nothing but cap room (Paul is not guaranteed) Phoenix will be absolutely fucked capwise and have even less of a defense.

Agreed. This just does not make a lot of sense. KD and Booker are way more than enough. Beal becomes a redundancy while they can't fill other needs. A trade to Miami made a lot of sense because their two best players aren't premier scorers. This feels unnecessary and makes Ayton even less important on offense when he's a perfectly fine third option. And I'm just not sure how they sign anyone else. We can debate if CP3 is a winning player anymore, but again they needed depth, not another star who does what their two best players do. 

I also still can't believe his trade value was that low. Unless I'm missing something he could have gone to a better situation and the Zardos could have gotten a lot more. If this was really because he was just forcing his way out I'm of the opinion that they should have said no and waited unless they thought the contract they gave him when they never should have is that bad. 

[Maithanet]

23 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

The funny thing is while Washington gets nothing but cap room (Paul is not guaranteed) Phoenix will be absolutely fucked capwise and have even less of a defense. I assume this will get them over the second apron.  I don't think this gets them a title so does this turn them into the '13 Nets?

I don't really understand why the suns would want beal.  The thing that beal provides is playmaking and shooting.  That is also what their other two stars already do (and better).  Beal is a lackluster defender, with a huge cap hit, and injury concerns.  Now that he's on the team they have even less room, and far less cap space, to improve thier depth and defense, the two things they lacked in the playoffs.  This is a trade that makes both teams worse.

Beal to the heat made sense.  They have good role players, great defense, but lack punch on offense.  Beal provided that.  

Edited June 18, 2023 by Maithanet

[Wilbur]

54 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I don't really understand why the suns would want beal.  The thing that beal provides is playmaking and shooting.  That is also what their other two stars already do (and better).  Beal is a lackluster defender, with a huge cap hit, and injury concerns.  Now that he's on the team they have even less room, and far less cap space, to improve thier depth and defense, the two things they lacked in the playoffs.  This is a trade that makes both teams worse.

Beal to the heat made sense.  They have good role players, great defense, but lack punch on offense.  Beal provided that.  

I am right there with you.

The Suns fired Monty because they didn't win a championship.  But do you know what wins championships?  Real playoff defense, which is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Beal.

Maybe I am wrong, and he will change his game and my perceptions of him by digging down to become a lock-down playoff defender.  But otherwise Maithanet's point is right on target - the Suns just got more Suns-y, not really more ring-worthy.

Let's check back again this time next year to see if we are wrong.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Wilbur
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[Maithanet]

The wizards fire sale continues.  Getting a late first rounder for a guy who is leaving anyway is a good thing.  Surprised the Celtics want to ship out brogdan.  He was 6th man of the year and seems like he gives them some flexibility.  Now they have another floor spacing big man, so presumably that means fewer minutes for time lord.  Is that good?  I don't really know.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Strange trade for Boston. Makes sense for the Clippers if the cost is cheap and yeah, the Wizards' fire sale was long overdue.

[Maithanet]

Apparently the Celtics-Clippers-Wizards trade fell apart (Brogdan health concerns for LAC), so the Celtics and Clippers brought in the Grizzlies and traded a different guard. 

• Celtics receive: Kristaps Porzingis, No. 25 overall pick, 2024 first-round pick (via Warriors)
• Grizzlies receive: Marcus Smart
• Wizards receive: No. 35 overall pick in 2023 NBA Draft, Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala

 

So now once again the Wizards are unable to pick up even a single first round pick (the previous deal they got pick #30).  I think it's like a cruel irony that after treating second round picks like candy to be thrown into any old trade, now the Wizards have to try and rebuild with a stockpile of second rounders. 

As for the actually relevant teams of the deal, this gives the Celtics a more managable rotation at both guard and forward (previously the team was ridiculously guard heavy).  However, trading away Smart is a little surprising.  He won DMVP just last year (even if he did get really exposed in the Finals). 

This is an upgrade for Memphis, at a modest costs (two low first round picks and a high second rounder).  I can see the logic for them.  They now have the last two Defensive MVPs on the roster, which should be fun. 

[Arakasi]

I don’t know if Smart is an actually upgrade over Tyus Jones.

[Maithanet]

3 minutes ago, Arakasi said:

I don’t know if Smart is an actually upgrade over Tyus Jones.

Is Jones that good?  I don't know much about him. 

[Proudfeet]

38 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Is Jones that good?  I don't know much about him. 

From what I read, he's a game manager quarterback type of player. A safe pair of hands to keep things moving. Plays conservatively and has low turnovers. Not sure about the defensive side of things, but at the least he wouldn't have Smart's versatility across positions. Maybe Washington could flip him to a contender like Denver now that Brown is likely to leave. Think Denver can't pay Brown more than other teams can.

On Memphis' side, not sure how Smart's defensive versatility helps when they have JJJ or Adams covering the paint instead of switching with Williams. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, Maithanet said:

I can see the logic for them. 

Idk, Ja, Smart and Bane playing together is a short rotation and They're three of their four best players. Memphis should have probably stayed out of this one.

2 hours ago, Maithanet said:

Is Jones that good?  I don't know much about him. 

He's considered one of the best back up PGs in the league. Idk why Washington wanted him, but he is a solid. 

[BigFatCoward]

Porzingis feels like a very potent 3rd option if he can get/stay healthy.