Around the League / Regular Season Thread (Upstairs Version)

[rascal]

Yeah, you're the guy who says Sochan isn't athletic, which is a braindead take. Just stop.

He isn't

Poor jumper, lacks athleticism vertically , He can't go to the basket and finish on a break, he'll trow it back out because he can't finish dribbling for more than a couple of feet from the basket. Also an awkward shooting style, not smooth

You're just a Sochan fan boy

[lefty]

Sochan is a good swiss army knife player to have off the bench tbh

[spurraider21]

Sochan is a good swiss army knife player to have off the bench tbh

as long as his pay is commensurate with that role/expectation, i'm good with it

[baseline bum]

https://www.basketball-reference.com...1/gamelog/2025

He averaged 15/8/3 on 55% over his first 17 games of the season. Great stats and yes, he played well.
But the thing is how much of those 15ppg were by design? As in he was almost always the least threatening player on the floor and those players usually get a lot of easy points, which he did.
His best attributes on offense were hustling for rebounds and sometimes taking advantage of size difference, which didn't happen that often.

Then the question presents itself if such offensively limited player is worth accomodating or are we better with him coming off the bench?
I said many times that I think he got the short end of the stick in both last and this season. First that horrific point guard experiment and now being forced to play as a big.

But that mostly happened because modern NBA simply has no place for non-shooting wings unless they're freaks like Giannis or Zion.

I mean where else are you going to play him? He's a guy who can finish at the rim if you dump him the ball low. Not a guy who can shoot the three, shoot the midrange, or put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. If he can't play the 4 and 5 he can't be a rotation player in this league.

[scott]

He isn't

Poor jumper, lacks athleticism vertically , He can't go to the basket and finish on a break, he'll trow it back out because he can't finish dribbling for more than a couple of feet from the basket. Also an awkward shooting style, not smooth

You're just a Sochan fan boy

Most of the things you just mentioned have to do with skill and less with athleticism.

[LeBowen]

I mean where else are you going to play him? He's a guy who can finish at the rim if you dump him the ball low. Not a guy who can shoot the three, shoot the midrange, or put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. If he can't play the 4 and 5 he can't be a rotation player in this league.

His best role is as a POA defender and I'd say fake big on offense with a C like Wemby who's a good 3pt shooter.
But as I said, it's not worth adjusting the entire rotation to accomodate an average player.

[rascal]

I mean where else are you going to play him? He's a guy who can finish at the rim if you dump him the ball low. Not a guy who can shoot the three, shoot the midrange, or put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. If he can't play the 4 and 5 he can't be a rotation player in this league.

This is spot on!

[BatManu20]

Happy for Tre. He's been playing well since the trade tbh.

Tre Jones vs Utah:

18 PTS
12 AST
3 STL
8-10 FG

First Bull in franchise history with those numbers on 80 FG%.

[Seventyniner]

Better than Jordan tbh

[Mr. Body]

He isn't

Poor jumper, lacks athleticism vertically , He can't go to the basket and finish on a break, he'll trow it back out because he can't finish dribbling for more than a couple of feet from the basket. Also an awkward shooting style, not smooth

You're just a Sochan fan boy

You just never stopped masturbating to Shaeden Sharpe. That's all this is.

[itzsoweezee]

I feel bad for Markkanen. The guy is 27 and turns 28 in May. From a general athletic historic point, this should be one of his most productive seasons, but instead he's sitting while his team tanks. I can't imagine it's building a big sense of loyalty for him.

I don’t feel bad for him. This is what he wanted.

[LeBowen]

OKC resting almost everyone against the Sixers tomorrow, Presti is going to get that pick.

[scott]

OKC resting almost everyone against the Sixers tomorrow, Presti is going to get that pick.

Presti to Morey:

[mystargtr34]

Lol the Sixers should sit Grimes as well. Ultra level tanking.

[lefty]

Warriors

Starting to reconsider my “Warriors will beat Denver in the playoffs” prediction

Nuggets have won 9 straight vs Golden State, they have their number

[Dex]

Lol the Sixers should sit Grimes as well. Ultra level tanking.

They were already under investigation for sitting PG, Embiid, and Maxey so many games...then mysteriously announced "PG got injections, out for season"

I would love to see them go full tank and accept the fines just to with Silver

[exstatic]

They were already under investigation for sitting PG, Embiid, and Maxey so many games...then mysteriously announced "PG got injections, out for season"

I would love to see them go full tank and accept the fines just to with Silver

Don’t see that happening. The progression is $100K, $250K, then add an additional million on for each additional offense.

[cutewizard]

[mudyez]

Nah thanks...we good with Castle, Fox and either Wesley or CP3 (for one more year). , we might even end up with Traore or Demin. No need for a defensive challenged guard.

[spurraider21]

struggling to think of player's i'd want less than Simons

[Leetonidas]

Just saw Goldsberrys efficiency landscape for the last 10 games and we have the best offense but worst defense during that span

[LeBowen]

struggling to think of player's i'd want less than Simons

I'd offer Devin for Simons straight up. He's got only 1 more year left on his contract.

[Dex]

[Seventyniner]

Just saw Goldsberrys efficiency landscape for the last 10 games and we have the best offense but worst defense during that span

The Mamu Effect

[scott]

Some interesting notes in the Celtics sale for $6B

1) Sixth Street, a Private Equity Firm who owns 20% of the Spurs (the maximum the league allows for a PE firm to own), are putting up upwards of $1B in this deal (probably taking 20% of this as well). A PE firm doesn't do this because they're fans. They do it to eventually bet on the appreciation of the franchise's value and then sell. I'd be curious if Sixth Street has the ability to force a sale in these agreements. This would be different than just selling their stake, but it would exert pressure on the Managing Partner to find a sale that may necessitate a majority sale. Something to be aware of with our Spurs.

2) There is some thinking that this will result in some movement on the expansion front. The NBA didn't want to do anything moving towards expansion until this deal was done, as it sets a marker on a potential franchise fee (the money of which gets split up amongst the owners). Now that this deal is done, it will be interesting to follow the expansion story.