NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?

[Revering4Blue]

All three of those choices seem to be quality people, though I wonder how much of the modern game Van Gundy and Lucas are willing to embrace.

Silas is a favorite assistant of mine. He's been part of some quality staffs under some really, really good coaches.

With rumors about Westbrook, I could see Houston and New York making a deal wherein Randle, Dennis Smith, Jr., Mitchell Robinson, and Taj Gibson (for salary ballast) move to Houston for the enigmatic star.

The Rockets could then trot out a more traditional lineup that's still able to play fast and relatively small. (Randle would be primarily a second unit scorer, allowing Harden to play with Gordon, Covington, Tucker, and Robinson (or perhaps Gibson).

I highly doubt that Barrett and Robinson are on the table for any potential Westbrook deal. But the 8th overall pick is another story.


Westbrook to NY in exchange for Randle, Payton, Gibson, Brazdeikis and the 8th pick, perhaps.

[M2]

I highly doubt that Barrett and Robinson are on the table for any potential Westbrook deal. But the 8th overall pick is another story.


Westbrook to NY in exchange for Randle, Payton, Gibson, Brazdeikis and the 8th pick, perhaps.

I'd assume Houston would want to take a crack at unlocking Kevin Knox's game. And I could see them being interested in Bobby Portis. He's an interesting small ball 5/stretch 4 player.

[Kingspoint]

They should trade all three lesser players. Leonard's preferential treatment is based on his All-NBA pedigree.

Harrell and Williams are decent secondary players, while Beverley's a second-division starting PG. All three are eminently replaceable.

Clearly to me that's the direction West is going with the crazy contract with Lue,...going all in with Leonard and to get him to stay for at least five more years. Can never argue that West doesn't know what he's doing.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I'd assume Houston would want to take a crack at unlocking Kevin Knox's game. And I could see them being interested in Bobby Portis. He's an interesting small ball 5/stretch 4 player.

Knox strikes me as the type of player who gets coaches and GMs fired.

He shows flashes for a game or two, then reverts to form for 10.

And while Portis may sometimes try on defense (emphasis on sometimes), he's a step slow to guard PF and not big enough or interested in banging enough to defend centers.

[Rojo Rijo]

Agreed.

But was Davis landing in New Orleans really a product of luck?

That franchise was owned at the time by the league, seeking a potential owner. Landing Davis exponentially increased the value of the franchise. Hmmm.........

That said, had Davis landed in Charlotte to team with Kemba Walker --- and I cannot believe that I'm about to type this --- I'm not sure that even as MJ the owner/executive would have screwed that up, and that's saying something.

Oh I totally agree that New Orleans was handed that pick just like I believe Cleveland was helped out after Lebron left.


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[Bourgeois Zee]

My All-NBA Underrated Free Agents

Looking for a solid player that won't break the bank or cost you talent? You've come to the right place. Each of the following will absolutely play well above his contract demands and help your team to victories, provide your coach with respect, and your GM/ front office with admiration at their foresight. Mark it down. These are sure things. (That may well be sarcasm.)

G Alec Burks
Burks is a bucket-getter in a game that's evolved into that being the most important thing to be. He is a legitimate three-point threat too, with a career average at a respectable 36%. He'd be slumming it as a bench scorer but isn't likely to garner much more than the current MLE, if that. Burks can be the focal point of bench units or a fine tertiary scorer/ play maker on a playoff team (though he tends to turn the ball over a bit too much). He's not great defensively, but he's smart and he tries. Still just 29, Burks would be an excellent target for a team that needs shooting and a little veteran influence/ scoring punch off its bench.
Best fit (personal success): Memphis
Best fit (team success): Milwaukee

G John Konchar
Here's a deep cut. The deepest, perhaps. Konchar played four years in IUPUI and put up good numbers. He then spent most of the year developing before he got a (small) shot in Memphis. He played out in extremely limited minutes. Konchar rebounds really well for his position and is capable of hitting the open jumper. He doesn't beat himself. I have no clue what he can do defensively, but guys like him tend to know their limitations. If he's on your team, he'll be ready to play and more than likely do the little things to help the team while he's in. Love to see him get a real shot at backup minutes somewhere. Memphis would be perfect, in fact, if they actually played him more often.
Best fit (individual numbers): Atlanta
Best fit (team success): LA Lakers

F Justin Holiday
Holiday is older, but he's still entirely capable of being a big help in a variety of ways. Holiday had his best defensive season in four years in Indy last year and put up a 40% three-point percentage. If he's splitting time with another guy similar to him (Burks, for example), Holiday is capable of being a real plus for your team. He's steady and capable of big scoring nights-- and defending the other team's best wings. He'd shine as the primary bench scorer in a Lou Williams-like role or as a wing guy on a team with a good lead guard.
Best fit (individual numbers): Minnesota
Best fit (team success): Utah

F Serge Ibaka
Super underrated, Ibaka had a near All-Star season this year... and still nobody seemed to notice. He can play either center or power forward, take on the opposing teams' best big, play outstanding help defense, block shots, rebound, AND hit threes at a well-above average rate. He could fit with just about any team out there. He's the guy Philly needed Al Horford to be last year.
Best fit (individual numbers): New York
Best fit (team success): Portland

C DeMarcus Cousins
Nearly forgotten after a year and a half out due to three injuries to his lower extremities, Cousins is a massive gamble. No, check that. He's not. Because there's no way any team would gamble much cash on him due to that injury history. When he's right, Cousins is a game-wrecking, All-NBA type who is a mismatch for just about everyone. He can shoot, pass, and score. Defensively... he can shoot, pass, and score. And rebound. And fight. If you want a true five-out squad and still have some muscle underneath when called for, Cousins is a fun call.
Best fit (individual numbers): Washington
Best fit (team success): Miami

[Revering4Blue]

Oh I totally agree that New Orleans was handed that pick just like I believe Cleveland was helped out after Lebron left.


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Actually, the Clippers helped out the Cavs the most after LeBron left by dealing them the pick that became Kyrie Irving in a salary dump just 4 months before the '11 draft. That draft itself was crazy, as evidenced by the draft positions of several future stars/solid rotation players: http://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/2011.htm

While it certainly raised eyebrows when the Cavs ultimately won the draft lottery again in '13 and '14, even though they blew the '13 top selection, I never bought the theory presented by some - and I'm not suggesting that you believe this - that those picks were granted as a means to entice LeBron to return to Cleveland.

Even though LeBron returned to Cleveland in '14, I find it hard to believe that the league itself would not have preferred that he had remained in Miami. As one of the most, if not the, polarizing teams of all time -- NBA fans either loved or hated them, no in between -- the Heatles were an NBA ratings bonanza / cash cow.

[Revering4Blue]

My All-NBA Underrated Free Agents

Looking for a solid player that won't break the bank or cost you talent? You've come to the right place. Each of the following will absolutely play well above his contract demands and help your team to victories, provide your coach with respect, and your GM/ front office with admiration at their foresight. Mark it down. These are sure things. (That may well be sarcasm.)

G Alec Burks
Burks is a bucket-getter in a game that's evolved into that being the most important thing to be. He is a legitimate three-point threat too, with a career average at a respectable 36%. He'd be slumming it as a bench scorer but isn't likely to garner much more than the current MLE, if that. Burks can be the focal point of bench units or a fine tertiary scorer/ play maker on a playoff team (though he tends to turn the ball over a bit too much). He's not great defensively, but he's smart and he tries. Still just 29, Burks would be an excellent target for a team that needs shooting and a little veteran influence/ scoring punch off its bench.
Best fit (personal success): Memphis
Best fit (team success): Milwaukee

G John Konchar
Here's a deep cut. The deepest, perhaps. Konchar played four years in IUPUI and put up good numbers. He then spent most of the year developing before he got a (small) shot in Memphis. He played out in extremely limited minutes. Konchar rebounds really well for his position and is capable of hitting the open jumper. He doesn't beat himself. I have no clue what he can do defensively, but guys like him tend to know their limitations. If he's on your team, he'll be ready to play and more than likely do the little things to help the team while he's in. Love to see him get a real shot at backup minutes somewhere. Memphis would be perfect, in fact, if they actually played him more often.
Best fit (individual numbers): Atlanta
Best fit (team success): LA Lakers

F Justin Holiday
Holiday is older, but he's still entirely capable of being a big help in a variety of ways. Holiday had his best defensive season in four years in Indy last year and put up a 40% three-point percentage. If he's splitting time with another guy similar to him (Burks, for example), Holiday is capable of being a real plus for your team. He's steady and capable of big scoring nights-- and defending the other team's best wings. He'd shine as the primary bench scorer in a Lou Williams-like role or as a wing guy on a team with a good lead guard.
Best fit (individual numbers): Minnesota
Best fit (team success): Utah

F Serge Ibaka
Super underrated, Ibaka had a near All-Star season this year... and still nobody seemed to notice. He can play either center or power forward, take on the opposing teams' best big, play outstanding help defense, block shots, rebound, AND hit threes at a well-above average rate. He could fit with just about any team out there. He's the guy Philly needed Al Horford to be last year.
Best fit (individual numbers): New York
Best fit (team success): Portland

C DeMarcus Cousins
Nearly forgotten after a year and a half out due to three injuries to his lower extremities, Cousins is a massive gamble. No, check that. He's not. Because there's no way any team would gamble much cash on him due to that injury history. When he's right, Cousins is a game-wrecking, All-NBA type who is a mismatch for just about everyone. He can shoot, pass, and score. Defensively... he can shoot, pass, and score. And rebound. And fight. If you want a true five-out squad and still have some muscle underneath when called for, Cousins is a fun call.
Best fit (individual numbers): Washington
Best fit (team success): Miami

Thanks for the fun read. And I agree with your main point of the aforementioned players exceeding their contract demands. A couple points, though..

1) As I understand it, the Pacers intend to make every effort to resign Justin Holiday, as they do not own a first round pick and its guaranteed salary cap slot/hold, this year. Unless there's some qualifier for this list of the players signing with new teams that I overlooked, I don't see how Justin Holiday's best fit for team success is Utah, rather than Indiana.

2) First, including John Konchar in this list was/is a very astute move. But I must point out that John Konchar attended Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (now Purdue Fort Wayne or PFW), not IUPUI. Go Mastodons!

[Bourgeois Zee]

1) As I understand it, the Pacers intend to make every effort to resign Justin Holiday, as they do not own a first round pick and its guaranteed salary cap slot/hold, this year. Unless there's some qualifier for this list of the players signing with new teams that I overlooked, I don't see how Justin Holiday's best fit for team success is Utah, rather than Indiana.

The Pacers have Oladipo, Lamb, Warren, Brogdon, and the youngest Holiday in the fold. The elder Holiday might see how little playing time he might get and turn to other options. In Utah, he can take over the Jordan Clarkson role of instant offense off the bench, playing with Conley, Spider, Ingles (in a lesser role), and Bogdanovich. (He would also likely be part of the finishing squad, with Bogie playing the hybrid PF spot Quin Snyder often breaks out.)


2) First, including John Konchar in this list was/is a very astute move. But I must point out that John Konchar attended Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (now Purdue Fort Wayne or PFW), not IUPUI. Go Mastodons!

Meh, all those small Indiana colleges are the same. :evil: (My bad.)

[dubc47834]

The Pacers have Oladipo, Lamb, Warren, Brogdon, and the youngest Holiday in the fold. The elder Holiday might see how little playing time he might get and turn to other options. In Utah, he can take over the Jordan Clarkson role of instant offense off the bench, playing with Conley, Spider, Ingles (in a lesser role), and Bogdanovich. (He would also likely be part of the finishing squad, with Bogie playing the hybrid PF spot Quin Snyder often breaks out.)



Meh, all those small Indiana colleges are the same. :evil: (My bad.)

:thumbdown:

[adkindo]

F Serge Ibaka
Super underrated, Ibaka had a near All-Star season this year... and still nobody seemed to notice. He can play either center or power forward, take on the opposing teams' best big, play outstanding help defense, block shots, rebound, AND hit threes at a well-above average rate. He could fit with just about any team out there. He's the guy Philly needed Al Horford to be last year.
Best fit (individual numbers): New York
Best fit (team success): Portland

C DeMarcus Cousins
Nearly forgotten after a year and a half out due to three injuries to his lower extremities, Cousins is a massive gamble. No, check that. He's not. Because there's no way any team would gamble much cash on him due to that injury history. When he's right, Cousins is a game-wrecking, All-NBA type who is a mismatch for just about everyone. He can shoot, pass, and score. Defensively... he can shoot, pass, and score. And rebound. And fight. If you want a true five-out squad and still have some muscle underneath when called for, Cousins is a fun call.
Best fit (individual numbers): Washington
Best fit (team success): Miami

Ibaka was great this year, but I think he has to be in the right environment/team to really add value. I also would be extremely cautious on the length of any deal I offered him....1-2 years preferably. I think remaining in Toronto if they intend on being competitive next season is the best fit for him. I feel a similar way about Demarcus in that whoever signs him better have guys in the locker room that he respects, and a coach with the full support of the FO. Washington would scare me, but he would know before he signed with Miami that they expect a high level of professionalism....and they do not care who you are when it comes to their standards. The question is would he respect Butler enough to follow, or would he bring out Butler's bad side which could cause the wheels to fall off. Some "insiders" believe that Cousins is very interested in resigning with the Lakers, if they do not resign Howard or move McGee.....and the speculation is the Lakers are very interested in keeping Howard, but would be open to moving McGee if they could sign Cousins. All that said, "insiders" are pretty much worthless a few weeks after a season concludes.

[Rojo Rijo]

Actually, the Clippers helped out the Cavs the most after LeBron left by dealing them the pick that became Kyrie Irving in a salary dump just 4 months before the '11 draft. That draft itself was crazy, as evidenced by the draft positions of several future stars/solid rotation players: http://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/2011.htm

While it certainly raised eyebrows when the Cavs ultimately won the draft lottery again in '13 and '14, even though they blew the '13 top selection, I never bought the theory presented by some - and I'm not suggesting that you believe this - that those picks were granted as a means to entice LeBron to return to Cleveland.

Even though LeBron returned to Cleveland in '14, I find it hard to believe that the league itself would not have preferred that he had remained in Miami. As one of the most, if not the, polarizing teams of all time -- NBA fans either loved or hated them, no in between -- the Heatles were an NBA ratings bonanza / cash cow.

That lottery was even more sketchy to me. I would've bought the Cavs pick winning the lottery a lot easier than the Clippers pick (traded to CLE for Baron Davis) winning with only a 2.8% chance, therefore guaranteeing Cleveland two top 5 picks.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Ibaka was great this year, but I think he has to be in the right environment/team to really add value. I also would be extremely cautious on the length of any deal I offered him....1-2 years preferably. I think remaining in Toronto if they intend on being competitive next season is the best fit for him. I feel a similar way about Demarcus in that whoever signs him better have guys in the locker room that he respects, and a coach with the full support of the FO. Washington would scare me, but he would know before he signed with Miami that they expect a high level of professionalism....and they do not care who you are when it comes to their standards. The question is would he respect Butler enough to follow, or would he bring out Butler's bad side which could cause the wheels to fall off. Some "insiders" believe that Cousins is very interested in resigning with the Lakers, if they do not resign Howard or move McGee.....and the speculation is the Lakers are very interested in keeping Howard, but would be open to moving McGee if they could sign Cousins. All that said, "insiders" are pretty much worthless a few weeks after a season concludes.

With disagree about Ibaka. IMO, Ibaka can play any kind of ball with any team. He's a solid stretch four who's big enough to be a stretch five too. He can shoot and defend in space-- those are two attributes remarkably few big men have, let alone as a package. He's a little turnover-happy because he can handle relatively well. He's not a great passer either. But if you need defense and a spot shooter, he's an easy fit. And in today's NBA, everyone needs a spot shooting big who can also defend.

Cousins on the Lakers is a prescient move by Pelinka. He's a much, much better option than either McGee or Howard, IMO, and would be an outstanding third wheel behind AD and LeBron.

That said, he'd undoubtedly be a third wheel. (He's shown he's fine with that in the past. To his credit.) If he wants to rebuild value and grab some easy cash (ie, "what's best for him"), he should go somewhere where he can be a bigger spoke around which the team will revolve. He's good enough to be a secondary ball handler and distributor (as long as you can live with some high TO games). He can take advantage of that more in a place like Washington. John Wall is a next-level genius at creating scoring opportunities for others. Cousins could take advantage of that. Too, there are few willing rebounders on that team-- he could gobble up as many empty rebounds as Westbrook did in OKC. He'd have the perpetual green light from three as well. In Washington, he could go 25/14/5 in as many minutes as he wanted and never play defense if he didn't want to. He could hang out with one of his closest friends (Wall) and bring back those old college days. The team might hit .500, but he could generate value as a once-again dominant inside-outside presence similar to his days in Sacramento. If he wanted to play hero ball, he could also go to New York and get up 20 shots a night.

If he wanted to win, however, LA is a good choice. So is Miami. Milwaukee would be interesting as well. (Brook Lopez took a step back this year, and I'm uncertain how much of Lopez's defensive acumen is system-related and how much is Lopez's intelligence.) Another tour with Golden State could work too. Signing with Brooklyn would be next level trolling. (He's a good fit next to Golden State Durant. I wonder how much athleticism Durant has lost though.) Dallas would be fun to see, though I'm unsure how he'd work within Carlisle's system. (And with Carlisle's prickly coaching style.) In short, Cousins could work really, really well in any number of "good" situations to make the team better. He'd have to buy into the team dynamic, but he's done that before.

[adkindo]

^^^in regards to Ibaka, I watched him up close in Orlando and he was not good. He was unhappy and there were whispers of him not getting along with teammates, and he did not perform well. He did not choose Orlando, and I think he is a guy that has to be happy with his situation or it shows up on the court.

[texasdave]

https://www.click2houston.com/sports/2020/10/23/ap-source-nba-targeting-dec-22-as-start-to-coming-season/


The board is targeting a Dec. 22 start to what would be a season of 70 to 72 games, with the NBA Finals ending in June again as has been in the case for many years, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press Friday on condition of anonymity because no plan has been finalized, said the possibility of fans being at games would hinge on how a particular market is faring against the coronavirus at that time.

That's a quick turnaround.

[Bourgeois Zee]

What happened to the thread? We lost about four pages of stuff.

[adkindo]

What happened to the thread? We lost about four pages of stuff.

I think we are in the wrong thread?

[Bourgeois Zee]

I think we are in the wrong thread?

D'oh!