2023-24 Around the NBA Thread

[Lorenzo]

being a mavs fan it is awesome that we went from dirk to luka. dirk already fought through the stereotypes I.E. flopper, no defense, soft, etc. he shed a lot of those labels in the 2011 playoffs. nash dealt with it too btw especially in dallas and I thought he shed the labels as well by winning back to back mvp awards. with luka it's also no defense, but he's a great defensive rebounder like dirk was, yet luka is too big and too physical so he needs to lose weight. now he is working on it and that is going to hurt him because now he is going to be too light. i don't buy it. dirk has been telling Luka from day 1 to focus on his diet and that will help him improve as he gets older. Dirk always brings up that the first 4 or 5 years of his career he ate like crap and it hurt his game, but he had to change as he got older to improve. maybe luka is finally maturing..i mean he's like 24 now and he's already got so much under his belt lol, no pun intended. i do like the changes that dallas has made so far this offseason. investing in youth, size, and athletic ability. and a move that not many people are talking about is curry. he's already going to push Irving as the best 3 point shooter on the roster. also I like that they are staying patient with Irving. sometimes trades take a while to pan out, I.E. jason kidd in the late 2000's. I love spencer dinwiddie. he was one of the better trades that I can remember in regards to instant success perhaps since 02 when dallas got nick the quick. and wish that dallas could have kept dinwiddie, but Irving is on a different level and maybe it will take some time for him to adapt to being in Dallas.

 

[Phrazbit]

being a mavs fan it is awesome that we went from dirk to luka. dirk already fought through the stereotypes I.E. flopper, no defense, soft, etc. he shed a lot of those labels in the 2011 playoffs. nash dealt with it too btw especially in dallas and I thought he shed the labels as well by winning back to back mvp awards. with luka it's also no defense, but he's a great defensive rebounder like dirk was, yet luka is too big and too physical so he needs to lose weight. now he is working on it and that is going to hurt him because now he is going to be too light. i don't buy it. dirk has been telling Luka from day 1 to focus on his diet and that will help him improve as he gets older. Dirk always brings up that the first 4 or 5 years of his career he ate like crap and it hurt his game, but he had to change as he got older to improve. maybe luka is finally maturing..i mean he's like 24 now and he's already got so much under his belt lol, no pun intended. i do like the changes that dallas has made so far this offseason. investing in youth, size, and athletic ability. also I like that they are staying patient with Irving. sometimes trades take a while to pan out. I love spencer dinwiddie, he was one of the better trades that I can remember in regards to instant success perhaps since 02 when dallas got nick the quick. and wish that dallas could have kept dinwiddie, but Irving is on a different level and maybe it will take some time for him to adapt to being in Dallas.

I don't think it will hurt him to lose weight, but I think the "bully ball" aspect of his game, which he uses a lot on smaller defenders, won't work so well.

I agree that him slimming down will benefit his stamina, probably not look so cooked at the end of games and will help him avoid those minor pulls and sprains to his legs.

Dallas has had a good offseason when it comes to dumping some of their dead weight but I don't think much of what they've added. I was really worried they'd get Bruce Brown, he would have been a great fit. But moving off Bullock and Wood will be addition by subtraction.

Obviously, the real gamble is Kyrie. If and Luka don't find a way to merge their skills, they're in trouble and if he goes looney toons again they're screwed. Maybe Kyrie has figured out that he is running out of bridges to burn and will settle down, but I just don't see it.

 

[Lorenzo]

I don't think it will hurt him to lose weight, but I think the "bully ball" aspect of his game, which he uses a lot on smaller defenders, won't work so well.

I agree that him slimming down will benefit his stamina, probably not look so cooked at the end of games and will help him avoid those minor pulls and sprains to his legs.

Dallas has had a good offseason when it comes to dumping some of their dead weight but I don't think much of what they've added. I was really worried they'd get Bruce Brown, he would have been a great fit. But moving off Bullock and Wood will be addition by subtraction.

Obviously, the real gamble is Kyrie. If and Luka don't find a way to merge their skills, they're in trouble and if he goes looney toons again they're screwed. Maybe Kyrie has figured out that he is running out of bridges to burn and will settle down, but I just don't see it.

I think the stamina is the keyword, you hit the nail on that one. that is Luka's biggest weakness IMO...he is not consistent in the fourth quarter. sometimes he's amazing and other times he kind of fades away. Luka is a great first quarter player and then often slows down as the game goes on. for a player like dirk he kind of went through that too and later in his career he became arguably one of the best 4th quarter closer's IMHO. when dirk was younger he often deferred to nash or finley too much in the 4th, and when nash left dirk changed that part of his game. stamina and confidence is a key element to be a closer like that. you can easily make the case that luka is already a good closer, but he could be great if he works at it.

Luka is a very quick guy. most of his drives to the basket are more because of his ability to accelerate, not so much his pure speed. for me that's not much different than say someone like dirk or hakeem. Luka does use his size to his advantage as well, but i don't think him slimming down will cause him to be any less physical.

for me their key additions were in the draft, and adding curry to their roster. the draft won't be an overnight success, but it is going in the right direction IMO. curry is a consistent shooter and they really lacked in that area last season. If Irving and Luka can improve then that's the most important aspect of their team. another player that many do not know about is jalen hardy. he has a lot of talent and is very young.

 

[CardNots]

We need a trade to refocus on meaningful posts. Hashing the filler stuff is driving me…

 

[SeattleCardinal]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Mainstreet]

The Trail Blazers are not in a rush to trade Damian Lillard to the Heat. They are prepared to let them wait unless they get what they want.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Mainstreet]

JaVale McGee is not in the Mavericks plans.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Yuma]

I am thinking stretched and waived. I personally like the guy. I just think if you are on a team that desperately need good play from the Center spot, and they aren't playing you, that's gotta kill your value!

 

[SeattleCardinal]

I liked McGee as a Sun, but I'm sure glad that it was Dallas, and not Phoenix, that signed him to that 3-year deal.

 

[Mainstreet]

We need a trade to refocus on meaningful posts. Hashing the filler stuff is driving me…

We need something. I can't wait weeks and months for the Lillard trade.

 

[Yuma]

We need something. I can't wait weeks and months for the Lillard trade.

Did you see my post in another thread where Gambo says we are getting Bol Bol for sure next week?

 

[Mainstreet]

Did you see my post in another thread where Gambo says we are getting Bol Bol for sure next week?

I read it but I have been hearing it for a long time. We need ACTION!

 

[Yuma]

I read it but I have been hearing it for a long time. We need ACTION!

Supposedly this next week. Oh, and I did say that on draft day, that JJ and Ishbia ruined free agency for us by getting most of the roster in just a few short hours! Eric Gordon was great, but only a couple days later. So now we wait. Our GM and Owner were TOO damned efficient!

 

[Mainstreet]

Supposedly this next week. Oh, and I did say that on draft day, that JJ and Ishbia ruined free agency for us by getting most of the roster in just a few short hours! Eric Gordon was great, but only a couple days later. So now we wait. Our GM and Owner were TOO damned efficient!

Do you realize I had to wait until the 52nd pick before the Suns drafted Toumani Camara on draft day?

Efficiency is not a sometime thing.

 

[Yuma]

Do you realize I had to wait until the 52nd pick before the Suns drafted Toumani Camara on draft day?

Efficiency is not a sometime thing.

Yeah, evidently we were prohibited from buying more picks outright I think I saw from one of the ESPN guys on Twitter. So not armed with that knowledge on draft night, I kept waiting for a move. However, it did make me watch more picks and their draft highlight videos than I normally watch on draft night. I made it to the end this year. So silver lining....

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, evidently we were prohibited from buying more picks outright I think I saw from one of the ESPN guys on Twitter. So not armed with that knowledge on draft night, I kept waiting for a move. However, it did make me watch more picks and their draft highlight videos than I normally watch on draft night. I made it to the end this year. So silver lining....

I didn't know teams were prohibited from buying a 2nd round draft pick. The Suns owned number 52.

 

[Yuma]

I didn't know teams were prohibited from buying a 2nd round draft pick. The Suns owned number 52.

It had to do with the Aprons, I believe. Others could do it, just not us.

 

[Mainstreet]

It had to do with the Aprons, I believe. Others could do it, just not us.

I didn't think the new CBA was in effect then.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think the reason we couldn't buy a pick is because of the cash we sent out in trades throughout the season and then the Beal deal. I know cash was included in the Brooklyn deal, Saric trade, and Beal trade. A team only has a pot of like $6m to include in deals and once that's gone, it's gone. It doesn't replenish by receiving cash in deals. So we were sort of stuck with maybe a few thousand or so and no one sells picks that cheap.

 

[BirdGangThing]

There are nine teams over the luxury tax line.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

God bless Matt Ishbia

 

[Yuma]

I didn't think the new CBA was in effect then.

July 1, 2023 I believe it was in effect. That's why supposedly we did Beal trade before then. I don't know if the new CBA or Old CBA had really anything to do with the Beal trade. I saw some guys mention it on ESPN at the time, but IDK if they really knew for sure.

 

[Mainstreet]

July 1, 2023 I believe it was in effect. That's why supposedly we did Beal trade before then. I don't know if the new CBA or Old CBA had really anything to do with the Beal trade. I saw some guys mention it on ESPN at the time, but IDK if they really knew for sure.

Regardless, I don't think the Suns had the money to buy a pick as Hoop Head mentions even though the draft occurred before the new CBA went into effect.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Knicks will NOT be waiving Jericho Sims. Just as well because I like him and the Suns don't have any room.

Fred Katz @FredKatz

1 minute ago

The Knicks will NOT be waiving Jericho Sims before tonight’s deadline, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Once the team holds onto Sims past 11:59pm this evening, $1.2M of his 2023-24 salary becomes guaranteed. Sims’ $1.9M salary becomes fully guaranteed Aug. 20.

 

[Yuma]

God bless Matt Ishbia

So I wonder after the Payne trade how these numbers look. In all honesty, if Ishbia isn't worried, I guess we should not be.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think Omer Yurtseven is a solid signing by the Jazz.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media