2019 NBA Summer season

[DG_ThenNowForever]

6 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

 

It’s just a rumor. Still crazy that this off season is here, now. I expected a lot, but the possibility of Westbrook getting traded before the start of next season? Uh, I definitely didn’t think that was possible. 

 

It's been the craziest off-season since 2016, for sure.
 

Those of us who are all-in on player empowerment but also LeBron James are going to need to have a reckoning on how Kawhi changed the off-season game.

 

There's a vocal contingent of eff the Lakers and eff LeBron that are okay with what Kawhi did, but somehow we're going to need to take a look at what he did to tank his value in San Antonio -- which is why Toronto got him for comparative peanuts -- and how we're supposed to feel about guys who are in year one of new max deals demanding trades. 

 

It worked out for both OKC and LAC, but eventually it won't for someone else.

[JG36]

So I haven’t been around for a bit to say my piece here but let’s say the off-season hasn’t gone exactly as I expected- yet I am surprisingly fine with that

 

The teams with a part of the fireworks this offseason:

 

Boston Celtics: I’m a bit disappointed that Horford didn’t stay and especially where he ended up, but getting out with Kemba has gotta make you feel better. The team I think is almost even from what it was last year.

 

Brooklyn Nets: From where they were 3 years ago, the worst team in the league with no draft picks, to title contenders for 2021, this is one of the most impressive moves in years. 

 

Indiana Pacers: How many people will say “Woah look at the Pacers why are they so good?” when they are 25-10 next year in January? They signed Brogdon, Oladipo will be back and they also snagged a few other role players. I like the Pacers as a sneaky upset pick.

 

Miami Heat: Is Westbrook coming? Because I’m on that train too. If they can give the Thunder some picks and shed some salary, that’s good for them and makes them a contender in the East with a surprising signing of Butler.

 

Milwaukee Bucks: This Offseason definitely went the wrong way for the Bucks. The 76ers got better and the Bucks did not, they actually lost pieces. Mirotic went back to Europe, they couldn’t keep Brogdon and they are locked into a huge contract with Khris Middleton. The Bucks could’ve done much better.

 

Philadelphia 76ers: You can go both ways. You either like them adding Horford and Josh Richardson, or you don’t like them losing Butler and resigning Harris. Somebody was giving Tobias a lot of cash, and the Sixers did so. I like them adding Horford and I think Richardson is gonna be good, but I don’t think they improved as much as they could of. 

 

Toronto Raptors: Well, they got what they asked for. Ujiri knew the consequences of trading for Kawhi, but what did they have to lose? They were one of the few franchises in the NBA without anything, even some slight history to be proud of. I think it payed off.

[dfwabel]

OKC gets another 1st Round pick.

 

 

[Maroon]

1 hour ago, JG36 said:

So I haven’t been around for a bit to say my piece here but let’s say the off-season hasn’t gone exactly as I expected- yet I am surprisingly fine with that

 

The teams with a part of the fireworks this offseason:

 

Boston Celtics: I’m a bit disappointed that Horford didn’t stay and especially where he ended up, but getting out with Kemba has gotta make you feel better. The team I think is almost even from what it was last year.

 

Brooklyn Nets: From where they were 3 years ago, the worst team in the league with no draft picks, to title contenders for 2021, this is one of the most impressive moves in years. 

 

Indiana Pacers: How many people will say “Woah look at the Pacers why are they so good?” when they are 25-10 next year in January? They signed Brogdon, Oladipo will be back and they also snagged a few other role players. I like the Pacers as a sneaky upset pick.

 

Miami Heat: Is Westbrook coming? Because I’m on that train too. If they can give the Thunder some picks and shed some salary, that’s good for them and makes them a contender in the East with a surprising signing of Butler.

 

Milwaukee Bucks: This Offseason definitely went the wrong way for the Bucks. The 76ers got better and the Bucks did not, they actually lost pieces. Mirotic went back to Europe, they couldn’t keep Brogdon and they are locked into a huge contract with Khris Middleton. The Bucks could’ve done much better.

 

Philadelphia 76ers: You can go both ways. You either like them adding Horford and Josh Richardson, or you don’t like them losing Butler and resigning Harris. Somebody was giving Tobias a lot of cash, and the Sixers did so. I like them adding Horford and I think Richardson is gonna be good, but I don’t think they improved as much as they could of. 

 

Toronto Raptors: Well, they got what they asked for. Ujiri knew the consequences of trading for Kawhi, but what did they have to lose? They were one of the few franchises in the NBA without anything, even some slight history to be proud of. I think it payed off.

 

This is a good breakdown. I think the top three teams in the East (final standings) will be Bucks, 76ers, and Pacers, and in that order. I agree that the Bucks got worse and the 76ers got better this offseason, but I think Milwaukee is the best team in the East regardless. The Pacers (and I'm biased here, but whatever) may be the best with Oladipo, but he's likely not coming back until December or January. Mind you, the Pacers starters will still be Brogdon, Lamb, Warren, Sabonis, Turner even with Oladipo out, and that's still a decent lineup. But if they can manage 25-10 without Oladipo then they'll be scary good with him. Clearly the two big question marks will be (1) if Oladipo will still be himself when he comes back from injury, and (2) if Sabonis and Turner can be effective on the court together.

[Digby]

I'd concur with all that -- early to say, I suppose. But I kind of feel like the playoff teams in the East seem likely to end up the same as last year's; swap out Detroit or Orlando for Miami if the latter lands Russ.

 

To me, despite losing Brogdon, the Bucks will remain head of the class until proven otherwise. I think it's them, and then the Sixers, and then a complete mess of teams in the mid-to-high 40s -- feels like Brooklyn's ceiling until Durant arrives, Indy should be comfortable there, I expect Toronto and Boston to hang around that zone even if they don't scare anyone. And then a Westbrook-aided team from the borderline-playoff area could easily compete there too, but seems unlikely to challenge that top duo.

[JG36]

I don’t think Brooklyn will be that much better this season, probably mid-high 40’s I’d say as well. Remember, Kyrie is the swap for D-Lo. They didn’t add anything more than DeAndre Jordan. 

 

I never did leave my Western Conference look, so here it is: The Contenders

 

Denver Nuggets: They didn’t do anything except shell out a ton of money to Jamal Murray. Yet, as I’ll mention with the Blazers, that may be a good thing. Now they go after the title. Jokic will just get better and they have the pieces to win. However, it’s crowded out west, and I think experienced teams will win out in the end.

 

Golden State Warriors: I think they got out with a steal. KD was never going to stay forever, and getting D’Angelo Russell back as either another star or a trade chip leaves the Warriors in a good place; I think people also forget how good Steph was before KD came: A title and 2 MVP awards.

 

Houston Rockets: I don’t know if this team is done making moves, so my opinion could change. The Warriors are finally not the threat they used to be, so the Rockets might finally go somewhere. Yet, with more teams coming up to the same level the Rockets are at, they will need to work pretty hard to win. However, I think they might be able to win this time.

 

Los Angeles Clippers: I WAS RIGHT. My friend is a big Clippers fan and I can only feel happy for him. The Clippers finally have a big shot, however, I do feel the slight worry about Kawhi and PG’s health, and the far future. They lost a lot for these two stars, and if it doesn’t work out, they will be in a serious mess.

 

Los Angeles Lakers: Somehow they can be the Winners and the Losers at the same time. They got Anthony Davis, but could they have just waited for him to come in a year? And without adding anyone else major, maybe Boogie Cousins, just roster filler. They’re definitely better now, just maybe not by much. Also, losing Ball, Ingram, Hart and all those picks, especially for a guy who would’ve likely signed there next year, that hurts.

 

Portland Trailblazers: They didn’t really get better or worse. However, they lost to the Warriors in the 4th quarter of that whole series, and now they aren’t that amazing anymore, and without making a huge move, that has elevated Portland into contention. Also, how could you not like Damian Lilliard? I really hope he retires having won a title.

 

Utah Jazz: Another team I want to see do good. If Mitchell plays like he’s a rookie, Gobert plays like he’s All-NBA, and Conley plays like it’s his contract year, this team is scary. However, I’m not sure I can see this team at the top. I just don’t know. However, I like the moves the Jazz made.

 

Also, I won’t forget to mention the Thunder- they got a haul. What they could do in the mid 2020s, either draft and go crazy, or flip their newfound assets for stars. This trade won’t have a winner until possibly the late 2030s.

[JG36]

I’ll also add my early predictions for the 2019-2020 NBA Season:

 

Eastern Conference

1 PHI

2 MIL

3 BOS

4 BKN

5 IND

6 MIA

7 TOR

8 ORL

9 DET

10 WAS

11 ATL

12 CLE

13 CHA

14 NYK

15 CHI

 

Western Conference

1 LAC

2 DEN

3 LAL

4 POR

5 GSW

6 HOU

7 UTAH

8 SAS

9 NOP

10 OKC

11 SAC

12 DAL

13 PHX

14 MIN

15 MEM

 

Eastern Conference Playoffs

PHI v ORL 4-0

MIL v TOR 4-1

BOS v MIA 4-3

BKN v IND 4-2

 

PHI v BKN 4-2

MIL v BOS 4-3

 

PHI v MIL 4-2

 

Western Conference Playoffs

LAC v SAS 4-1

DEN v UTAH 4-3

LAL v HOU 4-3

POR v GSW 3-4

 

LAC v GSW 4-2

DEN v LAL 3-4

 

LAC v LAL 4-3

 

NBA Finals

PHI v LAC 2-4

[habsfan1]

I predict that the Bucks make the Finals versus the Clippers.

[truepg]

Zion is shut down for the rest of the summer league after ten minutes of play in the first game. Many of the lottery and first round draft picks are not playing, including MPJ from last year. This is pathetic.

 

Fultz should be out there too.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

11 minutes ago, truepg said:

Zion is shut down for the rest of the summer league after ten minutes of play in the first game. Many of the lottery and first round draft picks are not playing, including MPJ from last year. This is pathetic.

 

Fultz should be out there too.

 

NBA Summer League as a fan attraction may have peaked. Outside of opening night, the rest of Summer League felt and feels perfunctory.

 

I understand teams protecting their assets, but if the NBA is presenting Summer League as a destination event, it needs to provide destination talent.

[Sport]

what even is summer league? I didn't know people paid attention to it until The Ringer started treating it like it was the most important sports happening on the planet that literally nobody wasn't following. 

 

Aren't these all like dleague guys and draft picks who probably won't make their team? What's there to see? 

[dfwabel]

23 hours ago, McCarthy said:

what even is summer league? I didn't know people paid attention to it until The Ringer started treating it like it was the most important sports happening on the planet that literally nobody wasn't following. 

 

Aren't these all like dleague guys and draft picks who probably won't make their team? What's there to see? 

There is little NBA practices during the season, so Summer League provides a few benefits.  It was also a more niche event and less formalized, when it was in multiple cities for a week or more. Orlando, Salt Lake, and a larger event in Las Vegas.  Now, its down just to Salt Lake and Sacramento for three days each as Orlando dropped out last year, but since Amway Center opened, games were not open to the public (they were tickets when it was at UCF in the mid-90's).  Wayne LeGarie and Albert Hall are the men behind convincing David Stern to permit them to host a summer league there.

 

 

1- It is only for players under age 25.  There are pro-am leagues, like the Larry Drew League, which are available to players over 25 to play in whether under contract or not.  Players can now have two-way contracts, so guys are competing for those two contracts per team.

2- It gives the training staff opportunity to be with the players before the start of training camp, somewhat like OTA's.

3- It provides a coaching development tool for assistants as they're coaching a team's summer roster. 

4- Provides officials additional work and training/evaluation for promotion to the NBA.  It also tests potential new rules.

5- Mid-July also used to be a heavy grassroots tournament period in Las Vegas, lots of prep players and coaches there for recruiting (like 15,000-20,000 youth), but NCAA coaches may only attend one weekend of July as opposed to three.

[Lights Out]

On 7/7/2019 at 10:33 PM, BringBackTheVet said:

Are things still not yet official in this dumb league?  Was just checking Sixers page to see about new uniform numbers and the roster has barely been updated. Almost all the departed players are still listed. Usually they're pretty good about these things.

 

Two things: nothing can be announced officially until it's called into the league and the players sign their contracts. Also, there's salary-cap implications involved in which specific order the moves get announced and when, because the NBA's salary cap is a mess.

 

The Clippers still haven't announced the Kawhi signing or PG trade. So the official Twitter account is in an odd situation where everyone knows the team just made the biggest moves in its history, but all the social media staff can tweet about right now is summer league highlights.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

4 hours ago, McCarthy said:

what even is summer league? I didn't know people paid attention to it until The Ringer started treating it like it was the most important sports happening on the planet that literally nobody wasn't following. 

 

Aren't these all like dleague guys and draft picks who probably won't make their team? What's there to see? 

 

@dfwabel gave a great write-up, but I'll add that it's also a cool way to see players and league executives and coaches in a different light. Summer League games at Vegas are held in two different venues: the Thomas and Mack Center (15,000 seats) and the Cox Pavilion (about 2,000). The Cox Pavilion is a much more intimate venue, and you feel like you're right on top of everything. There are tons of scouts, media people and league officials walking around, so you can see those interactions take place in person. I've also been in the same high school-sized gym as people like James Harden and Chris Paul in the past, and this year with Mark Cuban, Mike D'Antoni, Rick Carlile and Peja Stoyjakavic.

 

One other note about Summer League is that it's all GA seating (with some minor exceptions), so you can come and go as you please from different seats. So you can bounce around between games and catch whoever you want to see that day.

 

The flip side is that if teams are pulling out their star rookies, then it becomes less interesting to see.

 

BTW, The Ringer did have a Summer League booth and there were a bunch of people staffing it. I'm assuming they were writer/podcaster staff? But they were too cool to wear nametags or anything. And I'm not spending $20 on a Ringer t-shirt.

[BBTV]

3 hours ago, Lights Out said:

 

Two things: nothing can be announced officially until it's called into the league and the players sign their contracts. Also, there's salary-cap implications involved in which specific order the moves get announced and when, because the NBA's salary cap is a mess.

 

The Clippers still haven't announced the Kawhi signing or PG trade. So the official Twitter account is in an odd situation where everyone knows the team just made the biggest moves in its history, but all the social media staff can tweet about right now is summer league highlights.

 

The league and its CBA are dumb. It’s stupid to be a gm who’s able to pull off a blockbuster deal or signing and then not be able to answer questions about it or gloat or anything.  

[dfwabel]

19 hours ago, DG_Now said:

 

@dfwabel gave a great write-up, but I'll add that it's also a cool way to see players and league executives and coaches in a different light. Summer League games at Vegas are held in two different venues: the Thomas and Mack Center (15,000 seats) and the Cox Pavilion (about 2,000). The Cox Pavilion is a much more intimate venue, and you feel like you're right on top of everything. There are tons of scouts, media people and league officials walking around, so you can see those interactions take place in person. I've also been in the same high school-sized gym as people like James Harden and Chris Paul in the past, and this year with Mark Cuban, Mike D'Antoni, Rick Carlile and Peja Stoyjakavic.

 

One other note about Summer League is that it's all GA seating (with some minor exceptions), so you can come and go as you please from different seats. So you can bounce around between games and catch whoever you want to see that day.

 

The flip side is that if teams are pulling out their star rookies, then it becomes less interesting to see.

 

BTW, The Ringer did have a Summer League booth and there were a bunch of people staffing it. I'm assuming they were writer/podcaster staff? But they were too cool to wear nametags or anything. And I'm not spending $20 on a Ringer t-shirt.

It is basically the pro basketball version of the NABC coaches convention during the Final Four.

LeGarie originally started as a player agent to mostly guys who were playing internationally and wanted to have his guys get looks over the summer.  He's now the agent for a large percentage of the league's head coaches and GMs (Snyder, Brooks, Nurse Stotts, Carlisle, Olshey, Gentry, Casey, and his best friend Mike D'Antoni).

 

He sat down with Jackie MacMullan for an interview this weekend.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Kawhi signed a 2+1 so he can be eligible for max-er money in year 10.

 

He's doing the LeBron (maybe worse, really) thing with none of the scrutiny. I'm always interested in who gets scrutiny and who doesn't.

 

Good for him for maximizing his career though. Even if he does get a KD-esque injury in the next two years, someone will over him crazy money on 2021.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, DG_Now said:

Kawhi signed a 2+1 so he can be eligible for max-er money in year 10.

 

He's doing the LeBron (maybe worse, really) thing with none of the scrutiny. I'm always interested in who gets scrutiny and who doesn't.

 

Good for him for maximizing his career though. Even if he does get a KD-esque injury in the next two years, someone will over him crazy money on 2021.

 

He'll switch to the Lakers after LeBron retires.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 minutes ago, Wings said:

  

He'll switch to the Lakers after LeBron retires.

 

Perhaps. Or the Knicks. Who knows what Kawhi thinks?

 

I'm bitter he spurned the Lakers, but in a vacuum, I think what Kawhi is doing is great. Until the owners/governors get rid of max deals (a.k.a artificially depressed wages), players absolutely should leverage teams against each other.

[FiddySicks]

Watch Kawhi end up on, like, the Kings or Suns in two years just to :censored: with us all.