The NBA thread

[Am_I_Anonymous]

I wasn't at the parade.

Just the after party

[naff]

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/746059543579340800

(Image removed from quote.)

  plz someone explain, does this have something to do with the browns?

[jakefromstatefarm]

Ibaka getting dealt to Orlando for Oladipo, Ilyasova and Sabonis

talks between Minnesota and Chicago to deal Jimmy look unlikely right now

[Phoenix Dark]

Valentine to Chicago. Trade one PG with bad knees in order to draft a PG with (allegedly) bad knees brehs

hope it works out for him. Good guy.

where is jakefromstatefarm. Thoughts on Buddy Hield? I was on the hype bus during the season but I'm not sure his game translates to the NBA like that.

[jakefromstatefarm]

where is jakefromstatefarm. Thoughts on Buddy Hield? I was on the hype bus during the season but I'm not sure his game translates to the NBA like that.

there's no way his jumper doesn't translate. Oklahoma played a relatively pro style offense; he handled the ball in the PnR, was depended on to score in iso. Adequate size for a sg, strong, not too quick. I'm a believer, mostly because he's a legit elite shooter and that won't ever go out of demand, same reason I like Jamal Murray. I think him in New Orleans with Alvin Gentry is about as good a situation he could've hoped for outside of Boston. Gun to my head, Hield is the 3rd best player right now in this draft

[jakefromstatefarm]

Overall it's a weak draft, which is why I don't really mind Boston taking a flyer on Brown at 3 or Minnesota doing the same with Dunn at 5*. Simmons and Ingram are the only sure things, and even those guys each have a handful of question marks

I like the Valentine pick, he fits into Chicago perfectly and he's an actual known commodity; it feels like a lot of teams are just punting on these international players

spoiler (click to show/hide)

*the issue here is Minnesota doesn't realize it's a flyer, which is a problem

[close]

[TakingBackSunday]

Ibaka getting dealt to Orlando for Oladipo, Ilyasova and Sabonis

talks between Minnesota and Chicago to deal Jimmy look unlikely right now

damn.  who the fuck do the thunder have as a third man now

[jakefromstatefarm]

damn.  who the fuck do the thunder have as a third man now

tbf, this has been the question for 4 years now.

out of all the replacement shooting guards tried out since Hardon left -Martin, Lamb, Waiters- I like Oladipo the most by a wide margin. I didn't like how Ibaka's game developed these past few years, but he's still a good fit on that team if only as a versatile defender at the 4, which is really important. Now who do you start? Kanter? Durant (if he stays)? They just got a lot worse defensively and I like all the guys they got in return for Serge.

what's the deal with Deyonta Davis, anybody know? I remember benji saying he was the best player on MSU this past season and yet...

[jakefromstatefarm]

yo, evidently Skal averaged 6 and 3 on 15 minutes a game as a 7 footer at fucking Kentucky

[dkdk]

skal had no heart and he also sucked. terrible combo as you can imagine.

[jakefromstatefarm]

Golden State just picked up Onuaku from Milwaukee. Festus is so gone

e: wrong pick, they took a wing out of UNLV

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Lakers win this draft. Watch.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Ibaka getting dealt to Orlando for Oladipo, Ilyasova and Sabonis

talks between Minnesota and Chicago to deal Jimmy look unlikely right now

damn.  who the fuck do the thunder have as a third man now

Third man?

Bestbrook: PG
Oladipo: SG
Durant: SF

[TakingBackSunday]

And nothing in terms on inside offense

[jakefromstatefarm]

Isaiah Cousins over Gary Payton Jr. is legit one of the dumbest picks of the night

Denver did well, Boston did not so well, Lakers did really well

boring draft and it took 5 hours

[El Babua]

Fell asleep during the middle portion of the first round.

I think Lakers made the right pick, we shall see tho

[benjipwns]

Davis apparently had terrible individual workouts.

That's not really too surprising as the things he does well are all those things you have to do in a game situation, sneaking in for offensive boards/putbacks, covering up defensive holes your teammates left all over, cutting straight to the hoop because the entire other team is trying to trap Valentine and Forbes, etc.

He doesn't have great ballhandling and his jumper is decent but he's not really a stretch four, etc. all the things people would want from a PF nowadays. And he's not strong enough to play center against real ones.

Could be one of those DeJuan Blair type picks especially since he's going to Memphis. Z-Bo and Gasol will make him bulk up.

Valentine's got a good chance of being labeled a bust now that he became a lottery pick, is going to the Bulls post-Rose, exists in the wake of Draymond, that new facial hair, etc.

Speaking of Draymond, I was kinda hoping Davis would go there when he started cratering.

[benjipwns]

I really like that Ibaka deal. Oladipo fixes their biggest hole and gives them that third playmaker who has options other than "shoot" which makes Waiters actually seem worth keeping around since they can get away with pairing the two. They won't really be too much worse off up front consider they've already got a shit load of bigs and they added two more with Ersan and Sabonis who can do that little stretch four thing. And Durant can play there too. It also means they can stop pretending Andre Roberson is a two guard. Or any kind of perimeter player.

Pacers deals are a little odd to me, but so was signing Monta Ellis. Not that Hill and a pick for Young and Teague is a bad swap or anything, just that it's kinda an odd swap. Like when they dealt for Evan Turner, it doesn't really seem to fit with their system. But I guess that will change with Vogel out.

I absolutely love that the Sixers are going to play Simmons as a point guard damn the consequences. Also, their fans had the best signs by far.

Nuggets had a sneaky little draft I thought, adding in some nice fits. It probably won't make them much better as they still haven't had any of their guys break out to that next level they need, Mudiay might, but I like that they're continuing with that "waves of depth" concept they went with post-Melo.

yo, evidently Skal averaged 6 and 3 on 15 minutes a game as a 7 footer at fucking Kentucky

He was actually rebounding even worse for the first half of the season. Everytime I'd look at Chad Ford's latest update I'd be like...why is a 7 footer who gets 2 rebounds a game in college your #2 guy?

He doesn't really block shots either. And they kept calling him a stretch four...except his range is like 12 feet or some shit.

 

[benjipwns]

Forman says he still hasn't spoken to Derrick Rose.

[benjipwns]

Skai by month, so he did turn into a more legit big man at the end of the season...and he also did better blocking than I recalled...per 36 min, roughly the same amount of games in each month except March which is affected by their tournaments length obviously
pts/rebs - blks
Nov: 20.0/6.7 - 3.33
Dec: 8.5/5.5 - 3.39
Jan: 15.4/4.8 - 3.86
Feb: 8.3/8.3 - 3.24
Mar: 18.7/10.7 - 5.00

Just for comparsies, UK's also rail-thin frosh Noel:
Nov: 13.7/9.5 - 3.62
Dec: 11.5/12.4 - 5.11
Jan: 10.0/9.9 - 6.66
Feb: 13.4/12.0 - 3.14

Deyonta
Nov: 20.2/10.4 - 4.36
Dec: 13.9/12.2 - 4.42
Jan: 13.7/11.7 - 3.62
Feb: 11.2/10.2 - 3.41
Mar: 12.9/8.0 - 1.85

[benjipwns]

Joakim Noah says he's not returning to the Bulls.

Chandler Parsons is going to seek a max contract starting at $22 million.

Apparently the Dellavedova bidding will start at $10 million a year.

[Stoney Mason]

Chandler Parsons is going to seek a max contract starting at $22 million.

Apparently the Dellavedova bidding will start at $10 million a year.

 

[Kara]

Lakers got a good draft. Just wondering who they'll sign now. I'm not delusional enough to think we'll get Durant this off season but a man can dream.

I'm all for Horford in spite of drafting a Center. Who from what I hear isn't a very good defensive Center.

Nothing long-term, don't let Jim Buss shit up the team more than he already has before he resigns.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Lakers got a good draft. Just wondering who they'll sign now. I'm not delusional enough to think we'll get Durant this off season but a man can dream.

I'm all for Horford in spite of drafting a Center. Who from what I hear isn't a very good defensive Center.

Max contract chandler Parsons ahoy.

[dkdk]

Lakers got a good draft. Just wondering who they'll sign now. I'm not delusional enough to think we'll get Durant this off season but a man can dream.

I'm all for Horford in spite of drafting a Center. Who from what I hear isn't a very good defensive Center.

Id rather get young Whiteside

[eleuin]

Is a team really going to pay barnes the max despite his disappearing act in the finals

[Mandark]

There's a TON of cap space, a weak FA class, and short contracts.

Players are going to get paid and people are going to freak out about it.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Is a team really going to pay barnes the max despite his disappearing act in the finals

Dude put up 11 & 5 with a 12 PER in the season. Fuck the Finals, he just isn't a very good player.

How good do you expect him to be as the 4th option on offense, at best?

[Stoney Mason]

Teams have to fill their salary caps. And players have to get paid. So I don't begrudge anybody making bank. It's just funny to think of players like Barnes and Parsons getting the max and teams trying to build around them.

But more power to em. Maybe they will surprise me.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Teams have to fill their salary caps. And players have to get paid. So I don't begrudge anybody making bank. It's just funny to think of players like Barnes and Parsons getting the max and teams trying to build around them.

But more power to em. Maybe they will surprise me.

The thing with Barnes is he ha has so many chances to be the man, since college. And has never stepped up. I just don't think he's hungry enough to be anything but a nice 7-8 man coming off the bench for a solid playoff team.

[Kara]

Much as I don't care for PER, being below 15 for any reason is a huge red flag.

[Stoney Mason]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHHvqrwA28h/

[Am_I_Anonymous]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHHvqrwA28h/

Yeah. Us Cleveland people know this. Future coach figure.

[Stoney Mason]

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Still going undefeated.

[dkdk]

barnes is taking up the token white guy spot.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

barnes is taking up the token white guy spot.

Thompson is the 3 point shooter with limited D.

[Joe Molotov]

barnes is taking up the token white guy spot.

Thompson is the 3 point shooter with limited D.

Some guys are growers, not showers.

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/_MarcusD_/status/747463590592946176

Fred Hoiberg excited to coach Brook Lopez

[benjipwns]

The Philadelphia 76ers intend to make a serious push for Golden State Warriors restricted free agent Harrison Barnes when the NBA's offseason marketplace opens Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET, according to league sources.

And from ESPN's Most Overrated FA's article:

Harrison Barnes

For most of this past season, Barnes was described in NBA circles as someone likely to command max money this summer.

Of course, his market value may have taken a hit after his disappearing act in the NBA Finals. With a championship on the line, Barnes shot a woeful 5-for-32 in Games 5, 6, and 7 combined, even as the Cavs repeatedly left him open and simply dared him to make plays. Suffice it to say that he came up short.

Barnes devotees will point to the fact that the 24-year-old is still young enough to see some improvement over the next couple of seasons. But we have a hard time identifying attributes that could make the former Tar Heel a max-level player. His 11.7 points per game certainly weren't anything to write home about. Neither were his subpar rates (per 36 minutes) of steals (0.7), assists (2.1) or blocks (0.2).

And while Barnes' 3-point production last season -- 38.3 percent accuracy on 214 long-range attempts -- gives the appearance of competence, a deeper dive suggests it might be a mirage. According to player tracking metrics on NBA.com, when Barnes launched 3s without being wide open (i.e., when there was a defender within six feet of him), he connected on a putrid 30.6 percent of his attempts.

Put Barnes on nearly any team besides Golden State -- that is, any team where open looks aren't the norm -- and he will almost certainly suffer a massive drop in shooting efficiency.

One of the few offensive metrics in which Barnes truly shines is his turnover rate, which was very low last season. Then again, he simply hasn't had to create much of his own offense on an elite Warriors team.

Yes, the Warriors outscored opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions with Barnes on the court last season. But he has shared ample court time with some of the best players in the league. When you have teammates such as Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, it's nearly inevitable that you'll post an impressive raw plus-minus number.

That's one of the major reasons we developed the RPM metric -- to provide an estimate of player impact after adjusting for the strength of his teammates and opponents. The resulting adjustment in Barnes' case is sobering: He had an anemic RPM rating of -1.3 last season.

In fact, the Warriors didn't miss a beat whenever Barnes went to the bench. They were actually two points better in net efficiency without him. So if they have to pay him anywhere near the maximum salary to entice Barnes to stay next season and beyond, the Warriors will almost certainly have overpaid.

Hassan Whiteside

Kevin Pelton makes the case that the Los Angeles Lakers (and perhaps other teams) should gamble on Whiteside. Pelton lists the pros and cons of signing Whiteside, with good evidence on each side. For our money, though, the cons outweigh the pros.

Back in January, Whiteside joked that he was "just trying to get his NBA2K rating up." The truth, of course, is often told in jest, and Whiteside often played as if his top priority was beefing up his box score stats.

And he did put up some truly monstrous numbers -- including 4.6 blocks and 10.6 defensive boards per 36 minutes of play. Unfortunately, playing defense isn't just about blocking shots.

Sometimes -- especially for a 7-footer -- it's more effective just to stay in a solid defensive stance. When bigs are too eager to block shots, they end up biting on pump fakes and can actually make it easier for opponents to score. They also pick up lots of goaltending calls -- a category in which Whiteside nearly "led" the league.

The Miami Heat were actually worse defensively -- they allowed more points per possession -- with Whiteside on the floor last season. If we just look at his impressive block totals, Whiteside's on-off efficiency numbers with Miami make no sense.

But while Whiteside should be looking to emulate legendary bigs like Tim Duncan, who predicate every move on its ability to make the team better, he seems instead to have modeled his game after stat grubbers such as JaVale McGee.

Again, it's possible to put up huge numbers without actually helping the team all that much.

Consider: Whiteside is one of only nine players in the history of the NBA to dish out 30 or fewer assists in a season in which they played more than 2,000 minutes.

So, despite his gaudy numbers, Whiteside's lackluster predictive RPM value of 0.32 rates him as just a league-average player for his overall impact on the game. If he doesn't start playing fundamentally sound basketball next season -- an unlikely prospect, in our opinion -- his team will be left puzzling over their lackluster defense with Whiteside on the floor, and will end up realizing that Whiteside's new max contract was money poorly spent.

[Stoney Mason]

http://thelab.bleacherreport.com/would-you-pay-dwight-howard-31-million/

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Personally I wouldn't pay that team crippling permanent 16 year old acting soft ass nicca 3.1 dollars. But that's just my real talk.


Skittle that, fuckhole.


He's a living example of "gimme that check and I'm out"

[Am_I_Anonymous]

If he could hit his free throws, he'd be worth it.

Or rebound anymore, or not be a jelly belly ass bitch, or not impregnate every woman he meets, or shoot from beyond 6 feet, etc.

Nah bro, he's a cancer. I can't wait until he's out of the league. No use for bad rubbish.

[dkdk]

hey he didnt impregnate any women while he was in houston and given the talent down there i DAMN sure didn't think that was possible.

so perhaps he might be getting better 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Full disclosure.

There are 3 people in life I can safely say I've had enough time to talk with to figure them out that I hate.

That list consists of

Dwight Howard
Barry Bonds
The man who shot my best friend growing up.


So take my disdain with this note.

[agrajag]

If you're Don Riley, what do you do? Give Whiteside the Max, or let him walk? Throw money at Wade? Try to trade Dragic and let Whiteside walk, try to go after KD? He better not try any shenanigans with Derozan or Dwight 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

If you're Don Riley, what do you do? Give Whiteside the Max, or let him walk? Throw money at Wade? Try to trade Dragic and let Whiteside walk, try to go after KD? He better not try any shenanigans with Derozan or Dwight 
[/quote
Who's Don?



Whiteside can't be replaced in this market. You keep him.


Time for Wade to go do his year with Lebron out of respect anyway. He owes him that.

[agrajag]

the Land doesn't have cap space for D Wade

[Am_I_Anonymous]

the Land doesn't have cap space for D Wade

He'll come cheap, watch *wink

[Phoenix Dark]

Man remember the 2004 draft. Dwight's dad, who is a preacher iirc, was doing various interviews talking about how religious his son was. Meanwhile Dwight did interviews and said he had never seen an R-rated movie before. Now he's got like 7 kids with 8 women or something. God works in mysterious ways.

I was a huge Emeka Okafor fan lol, watched him all through college. Ben Gordon too. I remember thinking Orlando made a mistake by drafting Dwight.


All that being said Okafor is a REALLY good dude. One of the few NBA players I really really wanted to meet.

[dkdk]

oh man i felt so bad for Bobcats fans. not getting #1 set their franchise back to this day.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Man remember the 2004 draft. Dwight's dad, who is a preacher iirc, was doing various interviews talking about how religious his son was. Meanwhile Dwight did interviews and said he had never seen an R-rated movie before. Now he's got like 7 kids with 8 women or something. God works in mysterious ways.

I was a huge Emeka Okafor fan lol, watched him all through college. Ben Gordon too. I remember thinking Orlando made a mistake by drafting Dwight.


All that being said Okafor is a REALLY good dude. One of the few NBA players I really really wanted to meet.

OK is a great dude.

As for Howard dad, do some research. That's was all a ploy. Trust me.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

All you need to know about Skittles


Go back many years

AiA "Man you kinda remind me of Alonzo"

Skittles "who, oh you mean kidney beans?"

AiA "yeah that classy"

Skittles "it's money and hoes man. Fuck them statues"

[Phoenix Dark]

Man that was back when I was heavily into the NBA alongside NCAA shit. One of my classmates at the time was from NY and a huge Sebastian Telfair stan, and I had another friend who was a huge Duke stan. I still remember them bitterly arguing over who would be the better NBA point guard, Telfair or Chris Duhon.

dkdk: don't forget the Bobcats also drafted Bernard Robinson. One of many U of M busts...

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Man that was back when I was heavily into the NBA alongside NCAA shit. One of my classmates at the time was from NY and a huge Sebastian Telfair stan, and I had another friend who was a huge Duke stan. I still remember when bitterly arguing over who would be the better NBA point guard, Telfair or Chris Duhon.

dkdk: don't forget the Bobcats also drafted Bernard Robinson. One of many U of M busts...

Man you just gotta take Blue shots

Always loved Telfair myself.

B's problem was he couldn't lay off them painkillers FYI.

[dkdk]

Man that was back when I was heavily into the NBA alongside NCAA shit. One of my classmates at the time was from NY and a huge Sebastian Telfair stan, and I had another friend who was a huge Duke stan. I still remember them bitterly arguing over who would be the better NBA point guard, Telfair or Chris Duhon.

dkdk: don't forget the Bobcats also drafted Bernard Robinson. One of many U of M busts...

fuck 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Man that was back when I was heavily into the NBA alongside NCAA shit. One of my classmates at the time was from NY and a huge Sebastian Telfair stan, and I had another friend who was a huge Duke stan. I still remember them bitterly arguing over who would be the better NBA point guard, Telfair or Chris Duhon.

dkdk: don't forget the Bobcats also drafted Bernard Robinson. One of many U of M busts...

fuck 

Easy to say that now man.

[Phoenix Dark]

Man that was back when I was heavily into the NBA alongside NCAA shit. One of my classmates at the time was from NY and a huge Sebastian Telfair stan, and I had another friend who was a huge Duke stan. I still remember when bitterly arguing over who would be the better NBA point guard, Telfair or Chris Duhon.

dkdk: don't forget the Bobcats also drafted Bernard Robinson. One of many U of M busts...

Man you just gotta take Blue shots

Always loved Telfair myself.

Breh it's not a shot lol. That shit depresses me. All those Mr. Basketballs that never amounted to anything. When I was a kid I got to go to one of Michigan's bball camps, run by Steve Fisher. I met Robert "Tracker" Traylor, Maurice Taylor, Maceo Bastion, all those guys. That team was stacked. All of them were pretty nice but I remember Louis Bullock being kinda stand offish.

I got to learn post moves from Robert Traylor which was fun. RIP.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

RIP

[benjipwns]

I played in a pickup type capacity with Marcus Taylor once, was shocked he was ever considered lottery talent.

Dudes from Waverly were oddly eager not to be on his team.