2024-2025 Around the NBA Thread

[Hoop Head]

It looks like Monty Williams will be coaching high school basketball, where his son is a student.

This should be a good fit and where he will be happy.

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Good for him. He is a good coach and may find he works best with teenagers versus rich 20 and 30 somethings. It seems his issues stem from trying mold the character of those who played for him in the NBA while that will be more of a plus in a high school.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think BPA is usually the right approach when drafting but not for rounding out a roster. Fit becomes even more important than actual talent when you're talking about the end of bench players. Nothing wrecks a team faster than locker room problems and nothing creates more locker room problems than disgruntled players. To be clear, I'm not saying this about Lonnie Walker specifically as I have no idea what kind of a fit he'd be in Phoenix. Nor am I suggesting that talent doesn't matter for those final spots, it just shouldn't be the only consideration.

Its also most important when you are putting together the final pieces for a championship team--even if those final pieces are starters. The five best players on your team are not always the best unit to put on the floor. Sometimes you even trade a better player for a lesser player who has the specific skills necessary to make the team better.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Eurohoops makes a stat comparison of Lebron James and Luka Doncic during their first six years in the NBA.

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And then there is defense . . . .

And with that, LeBron is still the better player.

 

[Hoop Head]

Year 6 Lebron vs year 6 Luka is a joke. Stats can say whatever they want but there isn't a GM that would sign off on trading LeBron for Luka, period. Even now I think the Mavs would consider the swap. Luka is great and he's competing with Jokic now to be the Euro in NBA history, which is crazy considering how good Dirk was. LeBron is on another level and trying to surpass MJ as the GOAT. If you don't put LeBron in top 3 all time then you're biased. I won't get into the headache he is off the court because that's irrelevant to the discussion.

 

[Raindog]

And then there is defense . . . .

And with that, LeBron is still the better player.

And really, a different era, too. The NBA is totally catch and shoot now, where in Lebron's early career, you still had to play all the way to the hoop and it hence was a more physical game. Just look at the scoring (and defensive) trends between now and then.

 

[Ronin]

Evan Sidery

@esidery
·
2m

The Magic signed Jalen Suggs to a five-year, $150.5 million extension, per @ShamsCharania.Orlando had been working all offseason to lock in Suggs alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner long-term.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Timberwolves announce they have released Keita Bates-Diop.

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[Ronin]

Evan Sidery

@esidery
·
1h

The Warriors will not reach an agreement with Jonathan Kuminga on a long-term extension, per
@ShamsCharania.Kuminga will be a restricted free agent in 2025.

 

[Mainstreet]

Alperen Sengun gets paid nicely by Houston on a five-year, $185 million extension.

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[Mainstreet]

Jalen Johnson gets paid, 5 years, $150 million guaranteed by the Hawks.

Salaries seem to have gone up or I'm suffering sticker shock.

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[JCSunsfan]

Alperen Sengun gets paid nicely by Houston on a five-year, $185 million extension.

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It will be interesting to see what kind of player Oso can be if he can add 20 lbs of muscle to his frame. He looks like he has the frame to do it. This post about Sengun made me think about that for some reason.

 

[Mainstreet]

It will be interesting to see what kind of player Oso can be if he can add 20 lbs of muscle to his frame. He looks like he has the frame to do it. This post about Sengun made me think about that for some reason.

No matter the weight, Oso will need to improve his shot. Even his push shot has very limited range at the moment.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Jalen Johnson gets paid, 5 years, $150 million guaranteed by the Hawks.

Salaries seem to have gone up or I'm suffering sticker shock.

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While I understand that the salaries go up as the cap goes up, some of these dollar values are still mindboggling to me.

Jalen Suggs: 5yr/$150.5M
Jalen Green: 3yr/$106M
Alperen Sengun: 5yr/$185M
Trey Murphy III: 4yr/$112M
Jalen Johnson: 5yr/$150M
Corey Krispert: 4yr/$54M

 

[Mainstreet]

Aaron Gordon agrees to a 4 year, $133 million dollar extension with the Nuggets.

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[Hoop Head]

Aaron Gordon agrees to a 4 year, $133 million dollar extension with the Nuggets.

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They had to do it. He probably could have milked more money out of them. He's worth more than MPJ and paid less. The Nuggets are going to hurt this year if Braun doesn't make a significant jump, which I don't see happening. Maybe Malone ends up on the block if they fall in round 2 again also. Lot's of issues in Denver.

I'd say Mike Malone should have more leeway but it's a real question as to how he's using guys when 40-60% of their starters can't stay healthy. He was carried by Jokic to a title.

 

[Phrazbit]

I just saw that with Hayes getting waived by the Nets, the Detroit Pistons allocated over 40% of their playing time last season to guys who are not even in the league. Monty was playing the worst of the roster over guys the Pistons had recently drafted and needed to develop, there were a couple dudes the GM waived and traded mostly to get them out of Monty's rotations.

 

[GatorAZ]

While I understand that the salaries go up as the cap goes up, some of these dollar values are still mindboggling to me.

Jalen Suggs: 5yr/$150.5M
Jalen Green: 3yr/$106M
Alperen Sengun: 5yr/$185M
Trey Murphy III: 4yr/$112M
Jalen Johnson: 5yr/$150M
Corey Krispert: 4yr/$54M

The only mind boggling ones are Johnson and Suggs IMO.

 

[Phrazbit]

The only mind boggling ones are Johnson and Suggs IMO.

I don't get the Jalen Green one. He is a chucker who doesn't shoot well. There are a LOT of guys who could put up his scoring numbers if they were given the leeway he takes on offense, and he's a bad defender and he doesn't pass.

The Rockets were significantly better when Green was resting on the bench last season... I'd argue he's actually been pretty bad so far in his career. They kinda limit their exposure with the 3 year deal, but if I'm them I'd have been looking to move on. Dump him off on some dumb team that is bad at recognizing fluff... like the Kings or Blazers.