2023 NBA Offseason Thread

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The Celtics dumped Marcus Smart and ended up with Porzingis and two first round picks. Not sure how but that's what happened.

 

I don't know if paying Kristaps $36M is a good or bad thing for Boston. If I had to guess, bad.

 

Marcus Smart in Memphis kind of makes a lot of sense, though Tyus Jones might be the better player.

[who do you think]

We've seen the best of Smart already, it's very possible that he drops off soon (nine years with his playstyle is a lot), and Derrick White is just better at this point, so I get wanting to flip him for something while you can. If Draymond leaves and GS doesn't replace him with anything substantial, that pick could be semi-decent.

 

But all this for Porzingis? The guy who's always hurt for half the year? The 7-3 shooter who's not actually that great of a shooter and has never been on a good team? The guy Dallas traded right before finishing their 21-22 season strong and going to the conference finals? Latvian Bargnani? That's the missing piece? Where's that anime meme I posted a while back that pissed everyone off?

[LMU]

Going back to the possibility of the Pels moving to Seattle... could there possibly be a more unnecessarily convoluted franchise lineage?

 

The Seattle SuperSonics, not to be confused with the original Seattle SuperSonics who relocated to Oklahoma City, form as the former New Orleans Pelicans, formerly the Hornets who split off their pre-2002 history and sent it back to Charlotte where the Bobcats reassumed the Hornets moniker and who themselves played two seasons in Oklahoma City.

 

 

[Digby]

5 hours ago, who do you think said:

But all this for Porzingis? The guy who's always hurt for half the year? The 7-3 shooter who's not actually that great of a shooter and has never been on a good team? The guy Dallas traded right before finishing their 21-22 season strong and going to the conference finals? Latvian Bargnani? That's the missing piece? Where's that anime meme I posted a while back that pissed everyone off?

 

Between him and Rob Williams and an Al Horford who's older than the head coach, I guess the play here is getting enough bigs to let you play those lineups despite constant injuries. I guess I get the need to reshuffle the tilt of the team's depth chart a bit but idk.

 

Really hurts to lose Marcus Smart. Which I can't believe I'm saying considering how often he pissed me off in the first two-thirds of his Boston career and I'd shout for him to get traded. To his credit he really cut down on the infuriating mistakes the last few years and sharpened his game, although the consistency was never really what you'd want from a championship team's starting PG. But the "heart and soul" thing was real on a team that always seems to lack any of it from its stars when it matters. Even if Smart often rubbed people the wrong way for that reason.

 

Also a generally good dude who's been very involved in the community, and the only one left who connected back to Isaiah Thomas (god how long ago does THAT era feel) and Rajon Rondo.

[tBBP]

9 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

The Celtics dumped Marcus Smart and ended up with Porzingis and two first round picks. Not sure how but that's what happened.

 

I don't know if paying Kristaps $36M is a good or bad thing for Boston. If I had to guess, bad.

 

Marcus Smart in Memphis kind of makes a lot of sense, though Tyus Jones might be the better player.

 

Depends on one's viewpoint, but...I'd say it's relative. Would I have preferred the Grizz to hold onto Jones? Yep, because he's a good young solid backup--and could actually be a decent starter on several squads right now. However, 1/ Desmond Bane is still around (who I've always preferred to run the point anyway as he's a better facilitator) and 2/ it's clear Memphis was/is looking to add some veteran leadership to that locker room, and Smart gives them that, while also fitting in with Memphis' defense-first mentality. I see the business sense of it, but...it still bites either way. If anything, Memphis could use a veteran big--but I don't know who's out there that they could get without sacrificing one of either Stephen Adams or Brandon Clarke. (Because they AIN'T giving up JJJ.)

 

I'm curious a/ how Smart will adapt in Memphis and b/ how his hair will look in Beale Street Blue...

[BBTV]

11 hours ago, LMU said:

Going back to the possibility of the Pels moving to Seattle... could there possibly be a more unnecessarily convoluted franchise lineage?

 

The Seattle SuperSonics, not to be confused with the original Seattle SuperSonics who relocated to Oklahoma City, form as the former New Orleans Pelicans, formerly the Hornets who split off their pre-2002 history and sent it back to Charlotte where the Bobcats reassumed the Hornets moniker and who themselves played two seasons in Oklahoma City.

 

 

 

The best way to handle it would be to "dissolve" the Pelicans franchise, award an expansion team to Seattle, and just move the ex-Pelicans there.  Basically the Cleveland deal, but without New Orleans getting anything in return.

 

At least that way you could say that there was only Sonics 1.0 (now Thunder), and Sonics 2.0.

 

What they'd probably try to do is splinter the Thunder from the original Sonics, split off the new Sonics from the Pelicans (and whatever they've been in the past), and try to merge the history of the old Sonics with the new ones, with an empty gap in between.

 

Fans are going to do that anyway (if a team has the same name and colors of a former team there that has played within recent memory, as a fan, I'm going to merge them regardless of what the record books say) but the record books should be done in a way that makes at least some sense.

 

Even if you disagree with the Cleveland deal, it can be explained.  The Pelicans/Hornets nonsense is just that - nonsense.

[Gary]

Wizards are flipping CP3 to Golden State for Jordan Poole

[DG_ThenNowForever]

26 minutes ago, Gary said:

Wizards are flipping CP3 to Golden State for Jordan Poole

 

Jordan Poole and his 4-year $140 million contract.

 

I can't believe anyone in the league would take that contract on, bail out the Warriors, and only get an additional late first round pick.

 

Washington doesn't have to be the garbage can of the league, but they sure seem happy to.

[FiddySicks]

Haha yeah, definitely not a fan of that move, but it makes sense! The Warriors just got older, slower, and inexplicably even worse on defense. I also have no idea how they’re going to pair him with that starting lineup. But it’s also a savvy move to get out from under Poole’s ridiculous contract while still getting at least something for him. Also, the Warriors bench has been an absolute tire fire, so if they can just use CP3 off of the bench that may stop them from completely falling apart when the starters have to sit. 
 

I dunno, that’s a weird one. It doesn’t really make the Warriors any better IMO (maybe ultra short term, but CP3 also can’t stay healthy) and it’s hard to justify trading a guy as young as Poole for a guy as old as Chris Paul. Plus, I and most Warriors fans :censored:ing HATE Chris Paul, so this has potential to be real awkward. 

[Digby]

16 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

I don't know if paying Kristaps $36M is a good or bad thing for Boston. If I had to guess, bad.

 

 

I think he's only got a year left and could conceivably restructure to get an extension at a lower AAV. Smart's deal was going to be up in a couple years and that was likely to end up in a very awkward standoff given how much he'd want vs. how much they're going to be cap-tied with Brown and Tatum. I think getting Porzingis, a brand-new first, and an upgraded first (from a second) in exchange for Smart and two guys that didn't play... that's a good piece of business on-court, just not sure about if it'll work out off-court.

 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

45 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

Plus, I and most Warriors fans :censored:ing HATE Chris Paul, so this has potential to be real awkward. 

 

Sports fans have short memories when it comes to that stuff.

 

On the off chance Draymond comes to the Lakers, a lot of bad blood would be immediately forgiven.

[Lights Out]

1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Jordan Poole and his 4-year $140 million contract.

 

I can't believe anyone in the league would take that contract on, bail out the Warriors, and only get an additional late first round pick.

 

Washington doesn't have to be the garbage can of the league, but they sure seem happy to.

 

CP3 is 38 years old, can barely move out there anymore, and is still overpaid.

 

At least the Wizards can talk themselves into Poole regaining his form now that he's away from the toxic environment where everybody blamed him for getting punched.

[SFGiants58]

46 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

Plus, I and most Warriors fans :censored:ing HATE Chris Paul, so this has potential to be real awkward. 

 

Eh, I'm legally not allowed to complain about the Dubs for many years, especially after that 2022 title. It'll be hilarious to see CP3 there and produce some fun friction - I like it purely from a drama standpoint.

 

Also, if Draymond was right about Poole, it'll be even more hilarious!

[The_Admiral]

5 hours ago, BBTV said:

Even if you disagree with the Cleveland deal, it can be explained.  The Pelicans/Hornets nonsense is just that - nonsense.

 

I honestly would have been content to see the Bobcats continue with teal, purple, pinstripes, and Rockwell Bold Condensed while the New Orleans Hornets continued with some more local, less teal identity. Sure, it would have been a little confusing, but [gestures broadly] this isn't?

[Germanshepherd]

On 6/21/2023 at 7:00 PM, BBTV said: 

Granted it's summer, but I simply can't believe that this lineup makes more than a team would (though obviously a team has higher operating expenses / salaries.)
https://www.t-mobilecenter.com/events

I am beyond floored that DaBaby booked an arena show half a year after he literally couldn’t give his own tickets away at a Cheesecake Factory. 
 

 

[BBTV]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

 

I honestly would have been content to see the Bobcats continue with teal, purple, pinstripes, and Rockwell Bold Condensed while the New Orleans Hornets continued with some more local, less teal identity. Sure, it would have been a little confusing, but [gestures broadly] this isn't?

 

Except in rare instances, I'm now of the mindset that any relocation should be treated as a new franchise being started and that histories apply to the [city]-[nickname] combination, regardless of how we get there.

 

So the New Orleans team could never have been the Hornets, and would have started a new lineage.  The Bobcats would never have started, and would have just picked up where the OG Hornets left off. 

 

There's probably some worthy exceptions to this, but they're few and far between.  

[who do you think]

Poole sucks and never should have gotten paid. Washington is going to be really bad for the next few years, and they wouldn't have it any other way. Also, the finalized Beal trade: 

 

 

Imagine emptying the entire vault (all future draft picks plus any depth and/or prospects you had lying around) for mid-30s Kevin Durant and any-age Bradley Beal. The Suns are mesmerizingly stupid.

[FiddySicks]

11 hours ago, who do you think said:

Poole sucks and never should have gotten paid.  

Yup. I’m seeing a lot of Warriors fans kinda freaking out about Poole’s “potential upside” and I’m just like lol, did you actually watch him in the playoffs this past season? He was basically to that team what Harrison Barnes was in 2016 (but worse defensively). A liability that had to go. Wish him all the best, but he wasn’t going to find that with the Warriors. 

[gosioux76]

14 hours ago, BBTV said:

 

Except in rare instances, I'm now of the mindset that any relocation should be treated as a new franchise being started and that histories apply to the [city]-[nickname] combination, regardless of how we get there.

 

So the New Orleans team could never have been the Hornets, and would have started a new lineage.  The Bobcats would never have started, and would have just picked up where the OG Hornets left off. 

 

There's probably some worthy exceptions to this, but they're few and far between.  

 

This makes sense for the purposes of brand preservation, but if I'm a billionaire who just bought a team, I'm going to name it whatever the hell I'd want to name it, and I don't think the league would stand in the way of a reasonable alternative. 

[MellowTheMyth]

The Washington Wizards and Capitals are looking at options for a new arena, with an option on the table to move into Virginia.

 

Wizards, Capitals Officials Have Discussed Move to Virginia, per Report