2022 NBA Offseason

[FinsUp1214]

With the draft nearing, as well as a couple of head coach openings to fill and the Finals having wrapped up, I figured the NBA offseason thread may as well start.

 

Utah had been the only coaching opening left today until Kenny Atkinson backed out of his agreement with the Hornets, re-opening that job:

 

Meanwhile in Utah, a report from Emiliano Carchia (Sportando) indicated the Jazz had narrowed down thier finalists:

 

 

…but local writers and radio here indicate the Jazz aren’t that far along yet and likely won’t narrow to final candidates until early this coming week, so we’ll see which ends up being true. FWIW, Tony Jones (Jazz beat writer) seemed to indicate Terry Stotts was still in the running for the Jazz job for now, which would contradict the Carchia report.

 

Anyways, could be an interesting week leading up to the draft for coaching hires. Utah seems to be content taking its time and may not hire before the draft, whereas Charlotte now has to turn to a plan B with days to go.

[who do you think]

 

Assuming that Kyrie has salted the earth in Brooklyn and the Lakers could swing such a deal, this is the only situation that makes any sense. The Lakers have absolutely nothing on the horizon past LeBron and therefore nothing to lose if/when Kyrie turns the locker room inside out. In the meantime, he can't be a worse fit on the court than Westbrook. But every other team in the league would be supremely dumb to go anywhere near this guy.

[DoctorWhom]

I just don't see how Lakers could make that work cap-wise. 

Then again, the NBA already looked the other way when they were so clearly tampering to get AD. 

 

Plus I do wonder if Kyrie really wants to go back to Lebron after all this. 

[dont care]

24 minutes ago, DoctorWhom said:

I just don't see how Lakers could make that work cap-wise. 

Then again, the NBA already looked the other way when they were so clearly tampering to get AD. 

 

Plus I do wonder if Kyrie really wants to go back to Lebron after all this. 

Kyrie may have no other choice. Sure another team may want to test the waters but I doubt any team would seriously consider parting with anything significant for him

[DoctorWhom]

Yeah, but that still doesn't explain how Lakers could even afford him without breaking up most of the team. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Westbrook would be close to an even swap for Kyrie. They're both on the last years of expiring deals.

 

How to get Kyrie from Westbrook might require a future Lakers first (2027 or 2029 I think they have available), or routing him through Charlotte or New York. Though not many teams I bet want to help either the Nets or the Lakers, so they're probably stuck with only each other.

 

And if the Nets take on Westbrook, KD is probably as good as out. But that's not so bad, since Westbrook on an expiring plus whatever Brooklyn could get for KD (at least a couple of firsts plus salary match) means Brooklyn could be set up to repeat a rebuilding/reloading process in 2023. Not really the best outcome for going all-in on KD/Harden/Kyrie, but also sometimes you have to swing big.

I also often forget the Nets have Simmons for three more years. Simmons plus KD's trade parts plus a couple of developing draft picks could be not the worst team in 2024-2025. Or even those picks plus trading Simmons away for more picks in his final year.

 

Brooklyn was possible a foot on the line away from making the Finals in 2021. Crazy how it all worked out for them.

[GDAWG]

So how many trades will happen tonight in the NBA Draft only for the NBA to not announce them until tomorrow?

 

For example, the Dallas Mavericks made a trade a few days ago for Christian Wood.  They gave up the 26th overall pick for that.  Instead of doing what the NFL does and announce the trade immediately, we have to wait until the Mavericks make the 26th pick for Houston (or even tomorrow) before the trade can be official.  

[Digby]

50 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

I also often forget the Nets have Simmons for three more years. Simmons plus KD's trade parts plus a couple of developing draft picks could be not the worst team in 2024-2025. Or even those picks plus trading Simmons away for more picks in his final year.

 

At that point just move the franchise to Seattle and make Barclays the full-time concert venue it should've been from day one.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

34 minutes ago, Digby said:

 

At that point just move the franchise to Seattle and make Barclays the full-time concert venue it should've been from day one.

 

I'll take any leftovers from any franchise. Doesn't matter what their roster looks like. Orlando. Sacramento. New Orleans. New York. Give us your franchise and collection of mid-level players and I'll pay $250 to go to the games.

[BBTV]

The irony of Durant making his way back to Seattle via OKC, GS, and BKLN (did I miss anyone?) would be something to see.  It would almost soften the blow, because in a way, it'd be like the Sonics returning since the best player that left would be back. 

 

Oh also, Rick Ross, who I just learned exists, is potentially buying the 10% of the Sixers that Michael Rubin is being forced to sell.  The rumor is that Rubin, who has relations with lots of players and agents and can now offer them endorsement deals, will leverage this to steer players to the Sixers and work some otherwise rule-breaking tactics while still receiving a check from the Sixers ownership group for some BS made-up position.

[TalktoChuck]

2 hours ago, BBTV said:

The irony of Durant making his way back to Seattle via OKC, GS, and BKLN (did I miss anyone?) would be something to see.  It would almost soften the blow, because in a way, it'd be like the Sonics returning since the best player that left would be back. 

 

Oh also, Rick Ross, who I just learned exists, is potentially buying the 10% of the Sixers that Michael Rubin is being forced to sell.  The rumor is that Rubin, who has relations with lots of players and agents and can now offer them endorsement deals, will leverage this to steer players to the Sixers and work some otherwise rule-breaking tactics while still receiving a check from the Sixers ownership group for some BS made-up position.

 

You've never heard of The Boss™??

[truepg]

Is no one gonna talk about how there hardly were any current player trades and none involving any big names during the draft? What was that all about?? First time I see it go that way after annual excitement... Considering there's as much trade rumors floating as always this time in the offseason too.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

4 hours ago, truepg said:

Is no one gonna talk about how there hardly were any current player trades and none involving any big names during the draft? What was that all about?? First time I see it go that way after annual excitement... Considering there's as much trade rumors floating as always this time in the offseason too.

 

The league is waiting for Kyrie and KD dominoes to fall. They're going to set the market, so I expect it'll take until the start of free agency for things to get moving.

[who do you think]

Yeah I don't think any sort of trade was even rumored for draft night. R*ddit got pretty upset about Autistic Adam Schefter spoiling the surprise Banchero pick before the official announcement, though.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Kyrie and Westbrook both opted in. Another self-owned lost year for both Brooklyn and Lakers.

 

John Wall to the Clippers which could be great or nothing.

[truepg]

What about the Spurs having Dejounte Murray in trade discussions? How does that make sense? Why would you shop a young all-star triple-double machine franchise-cornerstone playmaker when you're a young up and coming team trying to build something and heading in the right direction? Can't see how a John Collins would be better for them.

[DoctorWhom]

2 hours ago, truepg said:

What about the Spurs having Dejounte Murray in trade discussions? How does that make sense? Why would you shop a young all-star triple-double machine franchise-cornerstone playmaker when you're a young up and coming team trying to build something and heading in the right direction? Can't see how a John Collins would be better for them.

Spurs really just want that #1 pick next year, and a guy like Murray might accidently win them a few games., I guess. 

[who do you think]

12 hours ago, truepg said:

What about the Spurs having Dejounte Murray in trade discussions? How does that make sense? Why would you shop a young all-star triple-double machine franchise-cornerstone playmaker when you're a young up and coming team trying to build something and heading in the right direction? Can't see how a John Collins would be better for them.

 

From landing David Robinson until Kawhi's little bitchfit, the Spurs had been in the business of just maintaining their title contender status for a good 30 years; they haven't had to build a team from the ground up in forever. They're in uncharted waters (for them) and I don't think they really know what they're doing. Or maybe they are just sandbagging for a pick.

 

Meanwhile, hearty laugh at the Knicks moving the earth for f***ing Jalen Brunson. I would ask who's up for a game of "Jalen Brunson or Jamal Crawford?", but I don't feel copy-pasting a bunch of stats right now.

[FinsUp1214]

So, Will Hardy is the new coach of the Jazz. I really like the hire. Sure, he’s 34, but his experience is actually pretty impressive for his age. He worked closely with Popovich in San Antonio, seemed to be a vital part of the Celtics’ success this past year, and I think the Jazz really needed a fresh perspective and voice that has experienced success like that. 
 

Plus, the more I thought about it over the last couple of weeks, the more I realized a younger coach was probably the right way to go. They needed someone who wasn’t a bridge guy (like Stotts may have been) that could see a potential rebuild through and grow with it if the Jazz mashed the eject button on Gobert and Mitchell anytime soon. 
 

Time will tell of course, but for now I’m excited by the hire. Of course I’m still tempering my expectations for the team as a whole, but I like what he can bring to the team regardless of the direction they take in the near future. 

[MJWalker45]

On 6/28/2022 at 11:27 AM, truepg said:

What about the Spurs having Dejounte Murray in trade discussions? How does that make sense? Why would you shop a young all-star triple-double machine franchise-cornerstone playmaker when you're a young up and coming team trying to build something and heading in the right direction? Can't see how a John Collins would be better for them.

He's moving to Atlanta for Gallinari and 3 draft picks. I'm pretty certain Pop won't even be around to see those guys hit the court. It's pretty infuriating as a Spurs fan because they were probably one very good player away from being a possible 6-7 seed next year.