Around the League / Regular Season Thread (Upstairs Version)

[exstatic]

They gave recent, fat extensions to McDaniels and Gobert. They effectively chose keeping Naz Reid over KAT.

So they could have kept KAT and moved on from some of those other guys, so they did have a choice tbh.

So, gut your bench and rotation for a soft ass ?

[LeBowen]

We were discussing Naz Reid scenarios in the summer and it was obvious that they won't be able to keep everyone.
As Mugen says, I expected them to get rid of McDaniels, but they choose KAT.
McDaniels looks like he's regressing and is becoming another negative contract.

Waiting a year still would require return salary

Randle has a player option for next year. If he continues playing like this, noone is offering him more than $30M he's due and he'll probably exercise that option.
Right now they're at $175M for next season if Randle takes that option and Naz doesn't. NAW will obviously walk.

[exstatic]

We were discussing Naz Reid scenarios in the summer and it was obvious that they won't be able to keep everyone.
As Mugen says, I expected them to get rid of McDaniels, but they choose KAT.
McDaniels looks like he's regressing and is becoming another negative contract.



Randle has a player option for next year. If he continues playing like this, noone is offering him more than $30M he's due and he'll probably exercise that option.
Right now they're at $175M for next season if Randle takes that option and Naz doesn't. NAW will obviously walk.

Players are slower than teams to figure out the new “normal”. Randle’s agent will probably counsel him to play the option year, but the reality is the agent works for the player. He could easily be foolish enough to opt out. Seen it happen before.

[LeBowen]

Players are slower than teams to figure out the new “normal”. Randle’s agent will probably counsel him to play the option year, but the reality is the agent works for the player. He could easily be foolish enough to opt out. Seen it happen before.

Anything can happen, but TWolves were too quick to make that trade because the possibility of Randle exercising that option is too high and then they're ed.
Then they'd need to get rid of both Randle and Conley, with McDaniels also being overpaid and Naz probably walks unless they overpay him since one of the tanking teams surely will. Kind of reminds me of Jerami Grant situation.

[Mugen]

So, gut your bench and rotation for a soft ass ?

Just pointing out that trading KAT wasn't their only choice. They had other options. Still TBD on how their decision shakes out.

Also I don't know if trading KAT for Randle is much of an upgrade in the softness department

[exstatic]

Just pointing out that trading KAT wasn't their only choice. They had other options. Still TBD on how their decision shakes out.

Also I don't know if trading KAT for Randle is much of an upgrade in the softness department

Trades aren’t always about player value, but point taken.

[Seventyniner]

I guess some franchises will always be garbage no matter what.

Exactly the kind of team you want to hold long-term options on.

[Mugen]

Mavs

[lefty20]

[spursgu]

Mavs and that fluky run to the finals.

They won't do again this year.

[lefty]

Wow

[Pauleta14]

Can't believe some Spurs fans dream to get Luka

[lefty]

Kinda reminds me of Westbrook’s defensive blunder when Parker hit that game winner. vs OKC

[Obstructed_View]

Way to go, fatty.

[LeBowen]

Can't believe some Spurs fans dream to get Luka

Tbh, that was a couple of years ago when people still had hope he'll get into shape and change at ude on the floor.
Jokic made a massive leap after the bubble. He got bullied by Lakers' bigs and realized he needs to be in better shape. Been ting on the entire league ever since.
Luka's conditioning was a joke in the finals, but it looks like he doesn't really care about it since he showed up out of shape yet again.

It's hillarious watching Mavs' fanbase starting to come to their senses and criticize his lack of work ethic.

[RC_Drunkford]

good analysis on volume 3-point shooting in the NBA

[ambchang]

I would make the argument that the leagues yields from 2 and 3 Pters aren’t because of the 3 opening everything up, but because travelling calls and moving screen calls (or lack thereof) is tilting the balance heavily towards offence. The league stumbled upon the formula due to the warriors and then continued to loosen the rules to allow a sickening amount of offence. Now the game is becoming unbearably one dimensional with no mid range games and limited low post games. Entire play books are around high pick and rolls, baseline screens and in and outs. It’s becoming a bland and predictable game.

[Pauleta14]

Tbh, that was a couple of years ago when people still had hope he'll get into shape and change at ude on the floor.
Jokic made a massive leap after the bubble. He got bullied by Lakers' bigs and realized he needs to be in better shape. Been ting on the entire league ever since.
Luka's conditioning was a joke in the finals, but it looks like he doesn't really care about it since he showed up out of shape yet again.

It's hilarious watching Mavs' fanbase starting to come to their senses and criticize his lack of work ethic.

It's not just his conditioning, this one just highlights his character and work ethic.

As individually talented he is, he's the type of heliocentric player that is so un-Spurs like that I never understood why so many dreamt of him.

If we had to draw a profile of the type of superstar we need to avoid it'd be Luka is so many aspects.

To play devil's advocate, there's a possibility that the Mavs could be the reason he became that way, I never heard anything when he was in Europe about his work ethic or at udes, imo Mavs tried to much too look good and made him stat padd offensively since he arrived, never sending any message on his duties for the team on the defensive end and on sharing the ball.

This is the weakest era in NBA history guys...

[Pauleta14]

good analysis on volume 3-point shooting in the NBA

I think the 3pts shooting is just one aspect and I'd put it in the correlation more than the causation box.

The real causation is the defence, the NBA made it possible for too many players to play in the league. We have a guy playing for Austin who scored 50pts... off the bench () last season who couldn't find a team ffs...

Basketball like any team sport has always been 1st and foremost a defensive game, they tried to make it an offensive game. It worked short term but now ppl see the absurdity.

Lastly in american culture, entertainment is key, it's the only reason a sport can be develpped and networks pay for it, the pb is that Sports are consequence of entertainment, when in the rest of the world it's the exact opposite (also why it's less developed tbh)

Bring back defense and fans will come back

edit/ thx for sharing tho

[Pauleta14]

Whatever the Warriors have done, the Spurs did it before.

It pisses me off so much that the average fans and medias deny the Spurs the fact that they're the ones that changed the game.

Kerr took the blueprints

[Mr. Body]

I would make the argument that the leagues yields from 2 and 3 Pters aren’t because of the 3 opening everything up, but because travelling calls and moving screen calls (or lack thereof) is tilting the balance heavily towards offence. The league stumbled upon the formula due to the warriors and then continued to loosen the rules to allow a sickening amount of offence. Now the game is becoming unbearably one dimensional with no mid range games and limited low post games. Entire play books are around high pick and rolls, baseline screens and in and outs. It’s becoming a bland and predictable game.

Bingo, imo. Everyone talks about how shooting can't be cranked back, that everyone's just a great shooter. For some reason they can't talk about how the rule set has been completely changed to create this situation.

Yes, teams sign great shooters, but they thrive because of what offenses can do and defenses cannot. Moving screens were a huge key for the Warriors team, but they should be illegal. Once you set a screen, the defender needs to have the ability to navigate. If the screener deliberately 'rolls' into the defender, that's an offensive foul. But it's allowed.

Offensive players are allowed to travel all over the place. Step-backs, side-steps that Harden and others inaugurated are travels. You cannot be at a standstill and then suddenly walk four feet away and shoot. That's literally a travel.

Now, we're starting to get offensive shooters landing into the space of defenders and getting calls. Castle got whistled when he landed well inside the three point on a contest and the shooter landed into him.

Not to mention how you're generally not allowed to touch players with the ball in certain movements.

So, it's gone really crazy. Offensive players are allowed to do a lot of stuff to their great advantage that should be violations. It's amazing how difficult it is, and that's not even discussing the sorts of physical contact that defenses could do -- normal basketball plays -- in previous eras.

[Mr. Body]

Whatever the Warriors have done, the Spurs did it before.

It pisses me off so much that the average fans and medias deny the Spurs the fact that they're the ones that changed the game.

Kerr took the blueprints

Literally false.

[Mr. Body]

I watched some of the possessions down the stretch in UTA-DAL. I have no idea what Doncic was doing in the last defensive possession. Clarkson (I think) zipped a pass to his guy standing behind him, as he was standing there turned away, who was right under the basket. I literally have no idea what he was doing.

[Pauleta14]

Literally false.

Kerr literally admitted it

[lefty]

Another one, what a lazy fatty acid