official offseason thread

[spurspl]

Only reason we have championships is we Tanked for David Robinson and then we Tanked for Timmy Duncan forget this death from a thousand cuts. Just blow it up if it is possible trade LMA, DEROZZ, Gay, and Murray if we get a decent return ie picks.

exactly <3

[ace3g]

Shams Charania ShamsCharania

1m
The NBA and NBPA have agreed to push back key dates such as Oct. 16 draft, Oct. 18 free agency and 2020-21 season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. New dates will be determined later.

[ace3g]

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
57s
ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension.

[Robz4000]

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
57s
ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension.

Thats surprising. Wonder if Chris Paul had something to do with it?

[exstatic]

The team didn't tank for Robinson. They were legit bad.

They also set a then NBA record for player games missed with like 280 in the lost season before a Tim. David played just a handful of games, Sean missed half the season, and Avery missed like 60 games.

[DAF86]

Is coach Bud a cute regular season coach?

[Sugus]

Is coach Bud a cute regular season coach?

Absolutely, he had his flaws shown in the past already but got completely exposed this series by Spo and Miami. I don't understand posters who call for him... Same people rooting for DeMar when he's the player version of Bud. Good but with a very evident and sizeable ceiling. That won't get you anywhere that matters, just waste your time... I'd rather try out ten new coaches, in search for a Nick Nurse, than stay with a Dwayne Casey just because I know he can take me to the playoffs.

[gambit1990]

Thats surprising. Wonder if Chris Paul had something to do with it?

donovan's contract expired. report i read said both parties mutually agreed to not extend.

[gambit1990]

also this:

"We had planned to sit down at the end of the season and discuss the best way to move forward for both of us," Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. "After those discussions, it became apparent that we couldn't provide him the information on the future direction of the team over the next several seasons to give him the level of clarity that he understandably desires at this stage of his career.

pretty interesting quote.

[Robz4000]

donovan's contract expired. report i read said both parties mutually agreed to not extend.

I read all that too, but I wonder if Donovan decided not to return because of disagreements with CP3 or if they reported it was mutual to help Donovan save face.

[gambit1990]

I read all that too, but I wonder if Donovan decided not to return because of disagreements with CP3 or if they reported it was mutual to help Donovan save face.

i think the quote from presti means they're gonna end up moving cp3 and stick with being young / not get better and not compete.

i didn't see any indications of disagreement with cp3 and donovan but yeah, could've played a part if that happened. who knows.

[cd98]

Spurs should retire Pop and hire Donavan.

[KobesAchilles]

Spurs should retire Pop and hire Donavan.

[Kurik]

Spurs should retire Pop and hire Donavan.

[BackHome]

They also set a then NBA record for player games missed with like 280 in the lost season before a Tim. David played just a handful of games, Sean missed half the season, and Avery missed like 60 games.

It is called Tanking we sat players to loose any injury was mandatory 3 weeks out every team was tanking trying to get Timmy.

[exstatic]

i think the quote from presti means they're gonna end up moving cp3 and stick with being young / not get better and not compete.

That seemed to be the trend on Twitter. This could be a situation like coach Bud leaving ATL, where he just didn’t have the stomach for a teardown and rebuild.

[exstatic]

It is called Tanking we sat players to loose any injury was mandatory 3 weeks out every team was tanking trying to get Timmy.

Uh, no. David was never the same after playing those few games that year. His back never recovered. Sean’s quad issues and medications led directly to his kidney failure. Avery wouldn’t play that tanking game, and in fact, when he returned, led the to like a .500 record in 10-15 games.

[ace3g]

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
1m
The league has informed teams of a potential revised 2020 NBA Draft date of November 18, sources tell ESPN. The NBA and NBPA have been negotiating on that new date.

[Dex]

[TD 21]

I read all that too, but I wonder if Donovan decided not to return because of disagreements with CP3 or if they reported it was mutual to help Donovan save face.

Why is your first instinct generally to blame the resident black superstar/star? There's no reason for Paul to want Donovan out or for the organization to coalesce to a 35 year old who's just passing through and will probably be traded this off season.

This was clearly a simple case of a supposedly in demand coach having other options and not wanting to coach a re-build. No black guy to blame or white guy to credit here.

[ace3g]

Shams Charania ShamsCharania
4m
NBA’s league office informed Board of Governors today that the 2020-21 season won’t begin earlier than Christmas Day, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Nov. 18 Draft date, 20-21 start date remain fluid.

[timvp]

"The NBA is investigating a potential improper visit to the Grand Floridian Hotel on Disney’s campus by a coronavirus testing staffer, focusing on Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. potentially violating protocols, sources have told The Athletic. A woman entered the Rockets’ team hotel on Monday night, passing multiple security checkpoints before being flagged for her entry, sources said. She exited the hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and the league cited early data points that implicated two members of the Rockets, House and Tyson Chandler, sources said. When the woman was questioned by NBA security, she did not implicate House’s name and it is uncertain whether she remains on campus, sources said. She claimed to have contact with Chandler and another player, not named House, according to sources.

According to sources, the Rockets’ entire team had to enter a quarantine period on Tuesday due to the potential exposure. Those sources said there appears to be no video connecting House and the woman; only the flagging of her entering and leaving the hotel, and the possibility of a door opening and closing to match those timelines. The NBA has informed involved parties that it has cir stantial evidence implicating House."

@ Rockets getting done in by a night nurse.

Honestly, though, assuming the "coronavirus testing staffer" was getting tested herself, not sure it's fair to House to basically end his season. A couple days of quarantine and missing a game sound fair. But, yeah, if she wasn't getting tested, I could see why he's toast.

[cd021]

I think he's a floor-raiser as well. I don't think the Blazers consider that valuable at all. They need a ceiling-raiser. DeRozan is that. HE doesn't need to dominate the ball all the time. He played with a high-usage PG for years. He can add play-making to the Blazers that they don't have (even Lillard is way more of a scorer). He also give them the option to explore a McCollum trade to look for the defensive players they'll need. That's a way better use of their assets.



The Spurs are in the fortunate position of being able to keep their guys together while dodging the tax. Many clubs are caught flat-footed, so the tax payments should be high. There also should be an active trade market, which might help the Spurs as sellers, but could also help them as buyers too. They have expiring contracts and assets to trade. They will likely be much better this year too. I don't get why you're projecting them to be the same and for the other teams to get better. Some teams are going fall off as they lose talent and don't have the financial resources to replace it. Some will have worse lucky with injuries. Without trades, only the Clippers, Lakers and Nuggets are stable playoff teams. Dallas is probably up there too, but they'll likely be avoiding any contending moves until 2021's off-season. The Spurs are going to have their chances to make the playoffs. Hopefully they don't piss away gimme games against teams like Chicago next season.



It's not at all about what SA wants. I wasn't talking about next season. I mean that he'll want to sign a guy in 2021's summer and them look to trade for a fourth star using whatever assets he has (Herro, Robinson, 2021's pick). Or he might think Butler/Adebayo/FA is enough and will be glad he's kept his assets for depth/future trades. In trading the pick for LMA or DMDR, he knows he's probably burning it for a chance at a quicker le. That might be worth it, but it's really easy to see why it wouldn't be.



Poeltl isn't good enough to push Aldridge off the team. I don't really care if he wants to start. Let him go if that's the case. That's my own stance though. I think the Spurs will be willing to pay him as a starter and make an effort to work him into the rotation more before eventually settling back into something close to what he saw last year. Maybe then they'll look to trade Jakob away, likely for a dumb return.

As far as Aldridge goes, I think he has what he wants most from the NBA: A good contract, his own team and undisputed touches. If DeRozan moves on, then there's no reason why Aldridge won't be the face of the Spurs until he retires. That's why he left Portland in the first place. While I think he's matured to the point where he wouldn't run from a new Lillard, I think he's enjoyed his maturation as part of the Spurs, becoming the elder statesman of a club known for its elder statesmen. He also has his HoF chances to consider. A ring would help a lot, but swinging and missing at a ring has a cost. If he can stay for a few years in SA and put up good numbers where he can get higher up on their leaderboards and the team finds a way to have some playoff success, then he goes from long shot to "depends on who else retires that year". By far his best path is to stay, have one of the young guys develop and have SA be aggressive in free agency and trades to take a shot. That could happen.

-I don't exactly consider DeRozan to be a ceiling raiser, I think he's a floor raiser. Maybe it could work but weren't the Lowry and DeRozan pairing a negative for pretty much the entire time that they played together? I don't know if that's a great fit. He certainly adds wing scoring and play-making but would be an issue. He may technically fill a position of need but he isn't the best fit for that position for Portland.

-The Spurs can skirt the luxury tax, which I agree, definitely puts them in a better position than other teams but I'm confused as to how a stagnant cap and tax line will result in playoffs teams becoming significantly worse. Are teams really going to be forced to trade away key players to get under the luxury tax?


-I'm not as high on the Spurs chances. I think that getting rid of Beli and Forbes should give them a chance to be a average defensive team while they should be fine as an offense. That, in theory, could put them back in 40 win territory--which is closer to the playoffs but I really don't see the significant drop off of several playoff teams. If anything, it seems that the floor will be raised in the west with bad teams getting better--not necessarily playoff better, but still.


-I'm not a fan of Aldridge staying beyond next season, nor do I think that he plans to play for that long. He's hinted in the past that he doesn't intend on playing that much longer, next season he'll turn 36 ahead of his free agency. I do think that Aldridge will at least have some demand in FA, though price could obviously be an issue. I think if he hits FA, there's a decent chance he leaves.

I like Jakob's game and think that he can be a good starter, albeit not a irreplaceable one. I think it would be foolish of the Spurs to alienate Poeltl by re-signing him only to have him to continue to backup Aldridge for another season or two. I'm of the mind that the Spurs should shop Aldridge now, for a return, and proceed with Poeltl.

[Chinook]

-I don't exactly consider DeRozan to be a ceiling raiser, I think he's a floor raiser. Maybe it could work but weren't the Lowry and DeRozan pairing a negative for pretty much the entire time that they played together? I don't know if that's a great fit. He certainly adds wing scoring and play-making but would be an issue. He may technically fill a position of need but he isn't the best fit for that position for Portland..

A bad fit is hoping Lillard constantly scores 50 points by dominating the ball and hitting long threes. Even when that works, that makes it harder for everyone to get into rhythm. They need play-making, period, and they aren't going to get that from the three-and-D forward that people think of when talking about fit.

-The Spurs can skirt the luxury tax, which I agree, definitely puts them in a better position than other teams but I'm confused as to how a stagnant cap and tax line will result in playoffs teams becoming significantly worse. Are teams really going to be forced to trade away key players to get under the luxury tax?

I'm not as high on the Spurs chances. I think that getting rid of Beli and Forbes should give them a chance to be a average defensive team while they should be fine as an offense. That, in theory, could put them back in 40 win territory--which is closer to the playoffs but I really don't see the significant drop off of several playoff teams. If anything, it seems that the floor will be raised in the west with bad teams getting better--not necessarily playoff better, but still.

Yes, some teams will either let guys walk or avoid using the MLE to bring in new guys. The Spurs could easily finagle the space to get an MLE. I don't think teams are going to be dumping stars to save money, but some will dump stars to rebuild, and some won't want to take on stars or high picks due to the contract. Like the Spurs might be able to get up to the second-overall pick just by taking on Wiggins for Murray and Gay, because no one else wants to take on that kind of salary right now. The Spurs can definitely handle it, especially if they don't intend to play the market in 2021.

Teams also will fall off. Like Phoenix was awful all year and just randomly caught fire. That doesn't mean they're actually going to challenge for a playoff spot. Memphis on the other hand was playing about their talent level were actually helped by the break even though they looked bad. Utah, OKC and Houston may well shift direction completely and trade away key players. The Spurs have the means to push for that fourth spot if they really want to go for it. But the question is going to be whether they are willing to pay the cost of making that run. I think they'd rather be sellers, but they're in the position to be buyers for the first time in a while.

-I'm not a fan of Aldridge staying beyond next season, nor do I think that he plans to play for that long. He's hinted in the past that he doesn't intend on playing that much longer, next season he'll turn 36 ahead of his free agency. I do think that Aldridge will at least have some demand in FA, though price could obviously be an issue. I think if he hits FA, there's a decent chance he leaves.

I like Jakob's game and think that he can be a good starter, albeit not a irreplaceable one. I think it would be foolish of the Spurs to alienate Poeltl by re-signing him only to have him to continue to backup Aldridge for another season or two. I'm of the mind that the Spurs should shop Aldridge now, for a return, and proceed with Poeltl.

I don't think LMA's on the team after next TDL if he doesn't sign an extension. I don't think the Spurs are thinking about this upcoming season as a le run, so they're probably not going to really want to play out the string with him unless they're more than content to let him walk. I think he'll play through his age-38 season. I don't think he's losing all this weight with the goal of retiring in mind. If that's true, and he has three more years in him, then there's zero reason to care about Poeltl's youth. He simply isn't good enough to worry about losing. Like if the team had everything put together and needed to know the five was locked down with their young perimeter core, that could make sense. Jakob is not a wing; him being an okay starter with good defense and efficient but sporadic offense doesn't automatically give him decent value. An extended LMA is the better short-term and long-term play. Of course, I was pushing for SA to trade Poeltl away to move up in the draft last year. So I definitely recognize the advantage of getting value out of guys you aren't going to keep. I just don't see a reason to prioritize making the lesser player happy.

[gambit1990]

more and more i see less of a point for the spurs to hang on to la.

i actually think he still has gas in the tank... but what's the point, spurs aren't contending next year and he's not getting younger. no reason to trade him right now though, let him get his value up.

> move demar quick.