Figured this would need it's own thread.
The first big trade is between Portland the Clippers. It doesn't make sense for Portland unless it's a prelude to other moves.
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It will be interesting to see if the Bucks deal DDV or Semi or Hood for a big. Or some combination.
@MikeAScotto: The Milwaukee Bucks and free agent center Greg Monroe have agreed to a 10-day contract, a league source told @hoopshype. Monroe had multiple 10-day offers on the table before choosing the Bucks.
@Tschmack posted:It will be interesting to see if the Bucks deal DDV or Semi or Hood for a big. Or some combination.
Hood at least is somewhat playable.
If Semi is on the roster when the buyout guys are done moving around, we'll know that saving money is the most important thing this year, but I guess we already know that with the Cousins situation.
I thought it was an absolutely terrible decision to let Tucker go to Miami, and it may have handed the Eastern Conference title to the Heat. But you can at least begrudgingly see some sense in not paying 30 million a year for him (due to luxury tax payments). It did show these guys still want to make money doing this.
https://clutchpoints.com/bucks...pj-tucker-walk-heat/
Ojeleye is making the minimum, but the reason they kept him over Cousins is that his money is already a sunk cost and signing Cousins and releasing him would have cost even more on the luxury tax. However, the cost to keeping Cousins would have been 2 million dollars. That's a lot different than 30 million for Tucker and it was just an embarrassingly bad decision. The Bucks have been pounded by big guys since Cousins was let go. Keeping him likely would have meant 2-3 more regular season wins already even if he wasn't going to be in the playoff rotation.
They aren't getting a better big than Cousins in a any trade for Semi or Hood. Unless they use their cap numbers to make a trade work with DDV or Nwora for a bigger salary, having them sit the bench for the rest of the year is just saying we'd rather save another million or two than actually try to optimize winning this year (whether Lopez is back or not).
I was frustrated on the Cousins move as well but we need to acknowledge he’s really limited defensively, and from all indications he’s got a bad knee. Just not a good situation.
The current landscape of the East is fascinating. Brooklyn appears ready to implode. Rumors of dealing Harden. Kyrie is still an idiot flake and KD won’t be healthy for weeks. You think they can challenge Milwaukee?
Then there’s Chicago and Miami. The Bulls are a good story but they cannot beat this team 4 out of 7 assuming the Bucks are relatively healthy. The Heat are an even worse matchup with or without Tucker.
If the Bucks are able to flip DDV and Hood and Semi for more frontcourt help, well, good luck other teams in the EC.
@Tschmack posted:I was frustrated on the Cousins move as well but we need to acknowledge he’s really limited defensively, and from all indications he’s got a bad knee. Just not a good situation.
The current landscape of the East is fascinating. Brooklyn appears ready to implode. Rumors of dealing Harden. Kyrie is still an idiot flake and KD won’t be healthy for weeks. You think they can challenge Milwaukee?
Then there’s Chicago and Miami. The Bulls are a good story but they cannot beat this team 4 out of 7 assuming the Bucks are relatively healthy. The Heat are an even worse matchup with or without Tucker.
If the Bucks are able to flip DDV and Hood and Semi for more frontcourt help, well, good luck other teams in the EC.
The Nets are a threat only if Durant comes back healthy, no matter who else is on that team. If they end up with Simmons and Durant (and they are both healthy and motivated), they are infinitely better than with Harden and Durant. But I agree that the rest of that team is incredibly weak and you (almost) have to feel sorry for Durant playing out the end of his career on that team after Irving and Harden leave or are traded.
The Bulls are a team that probably needs to a year or two of playoff seasoning to be a real threat.
I disagree on Miami. They are the team to beat in the East right now. Adebayo, Butler, and Tucker as front-court defenders are absolutely elite. That might be among the best defensive front-lines in league history. Butler and Adebayo have each made All-NBA defensive teams multiple times. We all know about Tucker's defense. Kyle Lowry is also a very good defensive player. Their biggest weakness is that Robinson and Herro are both defensive liabilities, but it's not like the Bucks have guys playing the #2 spot to make them pay (Bryn Forbes going off in that series last year is what lead to the sweep instead of longer series).
The Bucks aren't going anywhere in the playoffs without another big guy. If Lopez is even 80%, that may be enough. But we have no idea where he's at. Given the Bucks secrecy about injuries his availability could range anywhere from suiting up when they come back from the all-star break to announcing his retirement during the season.
I'm not sure what DDV can give them, but they need a guy that can score off the bench and virtually all their backcourt guys other than Holiday are the same type of player (Connaughton, DDV, Allen, Hill). They all are streaky shooters from 3 that play above-average defense, but can't handle the ball well enough to trust in a playoff series to spell Holiday (maybe George Hill is best suited for that), and often turn into turnover machines if they have to drive to create offense.
I don’t feel sorry for Brooklyn at all. Forget Harden you mess with Kyrie and it will end up badly for you. He’s a POS of epic proportions .
People keep overlooking and dissing the champs. Why? They still have the best starting lineup in the East if Lopez can go. Their bench is pretty good.
Milwaukee is the rare team that can go big or small, yet has a group that plays elite defense across multiple positions. That’s what gets it done.
@Tschmack posted:I don’t feel sorry for Brooklyn at all. Forget Harden you mess with Kyrie and it will end up badly for you. He’s a POS of epic proportions .
People keep overlooking and dissing the champs. Why? They still have the best starting lineup in the East if Lopez can go. Their bench is pretty good.
Milwaukee is the rare team that can go big or small, yet has a group that plays elite defense across multiple positions. That’s what gets it done.
Brooklyn deserves what it gets. I said I "almost" feel sorry for Durant. I think he's a decent guy that can't win no matter what he does.
He played for OKC for 9 years and got criticized because he couldn't win a title. His ownership group cheaped out on the luxury tax and traded Harden to Houston for pennies on the dollar and then got to watch Westbrook launch contested jumpers at crunch time in a lot of payoff games.
He gets criticized for going to Golden State and winning titles (even though he was clearly the best player on those teams).
He comes back too early to try to help them win a third and tears his Achilles.
He's a top 10 player all-time, probably the most unstoppable offensive player I've ever seen, and he doesn't really have a "home." He's hated in OKC, he's not really considered a core Warrior, and he's a mercenary on the Nets. At least LeBron has the Cleveland title that means more as it's in his hometown.
Durant not winning in OKC, or not choosing to stay in OKC I think had everything to do with Westbrook. That guy is a chemistry killer and is the most selfish and unpredictable star player in NBA history. He’s basically Eric Bledsoe times 1000 but at least Bledsoe was an elite defender.
Now he’s stuck with that flake Kyrie and I’m 95% convinced that Harden is out of Brooklyn after this season. If they don’t somehow win the title this year it’s the biggest failure of assembled star players ever. Even more so than those OKC teams or Houston teams with CP3 or Clippers teams with CP3.
It will never happen but could you imagine Durant on the Bucks of playing alongside Giannis?
@Tschmack posted:Durant not winning in OKC, or not choosing to stay in OKC I think had everything to do with Westbrook. That guy is a chemistry killer and is the most selfish and unpredictable star player in NBA history. He’s basically Eric Bledsoe times 1000 but at least Bledsoe was an elite defender.
Now he’s stuck with that flake Kyrie and I’m 95% convinced that Harden is out of Brooklyn after this season. If they don’t somehow win the title this year it’s the biggest failure of assembled star players ever. Even more so than those OKC teams or Houston teams with CP3 or Clippers teams with CP3.
It will never happen but could you imagine Durant on the Bucks of playing alongside Giannis?
I think Westbrook is a lot worse than Bledsoe in terms of being a chemistry killer. Bledsoe's biggest problem was that when it came playoff time he was afraid to take open shots. It wasn't that he was jacking up contested jumpers, it was that he would hesitate to take shots with no one within 10 feet of him. And once he got into that mindset, his mediocre shooting percentages cratered to Semi Ojeleye levels.
Westbrook would routinely jack up 25-30 shots a game when he was playing with Kevin Durant.
McCollum to the Pelicans for a protected 1st rounder and a couple of 2nd rounders.
No idea what Portland is thinking other than a complete tear down.
@Tschmack posted:McCollum to the Pelicans for a protected 1st rounder and a couple of 2nd rounders.
No idea what Portland is thinking other than a complete tear down.
They also got Josh Hart and some other filler, but I agree, I looks like a tear down. If Lillard is out the rest of the year, now is the time to do it.
Speaking of draft picks, it will be interesting to see if OKC does anything with the 17 first round picks they have in the next 5 drafts.
From Woj.
I really like this trade for Indiana.
The Indiana Pacers are trading center two-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings for a package that includes guard Tyrese Haliburton, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
The Pacers are including Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Haliburton, guard Buddy Hield and center Tristan Thompson, sources said.
That’s nuts if you are the Kings.
Yes you had a crowded backcourt, but you just basically traded Hield and Halliburton for Sabonis.
Haliburton is on the books and is really affordable next year and has a 6M team option the year after that. Hield isn’t cheap, but he’s signed for 20M the next 2 years and he’s a reliable 40% career 3pt threat.
So if I understand correctly, Bucks now have Serge Ibaka and 3 players are gone, DDV, Semi, and Hood. Sounds like a step in the right direction if true.
@wojespn: ESPN Sources:
Full trade participants:
Kings: Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson.
Bucks: Serge Ibaka, two future second-round picks, cash.
Clippers: Rodney Hood, Semi Ojele.
Pistons: Marvin Bagley Jr.
I love this trade. DDV is redundant with Allen, Connaughton, G. Hill, and Matthews.
Ibaka is a perfect fit as the backup big. 36% 3-point shooter, played in two NBA finals (OKC and Toronto), and historically a tremendous defensive player. He can't give you 35 minutes anymore, but 15-20 should be doable.
Getting two 2nd picks sets them up to do a smaller deal for someone else as well.
On another note - WTF is Sacramento doing? They have a logjam in the backcourt so they trade a guy on a rookie contract who is future all-star to get Sabonis and then immediately recreate a logjam in the backcourt by getting DDV that is weaker at everything than Haliburton that they'll have to play 3X as much for next year?
Nets trading James Harden & Paul Millsap to 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond & 2 1st round picks.
Wow reporting that it looks like Harden for Simmons trade was finalized.
Nets trade Harden and Paul Millsap
Sixers trade Simmons, Seth Curry, Andrew Drummond and two first found picks.
Is Harden really that good? I'm actually more scared about the Nets now if Durant comes back healthy.
Earlier in the week I was thinking that it would be nice to see them get another big that could help if Lopez can’t go or isn’t 100%. Ibaka was one of the guys I immediately thought about.
What I like about him is he’s a willing and able rebounder, a solid outside shooter, and has a lot of playoff experience. Plus, he flat out competes and play hard.
He may have lost a step, but he’s a major upgrade over Semi and getting the picks back is icing on the cake.
On paper this is almost as good impact wise as adding Tucker last year.
As for Philly, that’s a lot to give up for a guy (Harden) that might bail after the year anyway.
@Tschmack posted:As for Philly, that’s a lot to give up for a guy (Harden) that might bail after the year anyway.
Harden opted into his contract for next year as well as part of the deal.
There should be some clause put in by the NBA that the Nets and Sixers have to meet in the first round of the playoffs. Simmons quit on the Sixers and Harden quit on the Nets. You have to believe their receptions in those games are going to be similar to Grayson Allen's in Chicago.
