NBA 2018-19, Part IV: Pete and Threepeat are sitting on a fence

[Kingspoint]

Great news! I can pay for half of the 20-21 season off the sale of just the two Lakers games.

Nice haul for the Pels and congrats to their G.M. for getting the Owner to put her personal feelings aside. Good suggestion by BZ.

[Tom Servo]

I think the Pelicans did well here, all things considered.

[WVRed]

Actually, LaVar is in full meltdown and it is glorious.

Not to mention finding it out over the intercom while watching his youngest son play.

[Revering4Blue]

That's a great deal.

Memphis could then deal Hayward in another deal, if they so wish, perhaps midway through the season (once he proves he's fully "back").

And/or, assuming Morant (the widely-assumed Memphis pick), JJ Jr and the player taken 1st with their '20 re-acquired pick - assumed to be a very high pick - mesh, along with Hayward even coming close to approximating his pre-injury form, you've exponentially jump-started a rebuild in a market that can ill afford a prolonged down period.

A likely "win-win" for both teams in this proposed deal.

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Conley would be a shades of Tiny Archibald acquisition for the Celtics.

[Revering4Blue]

Were I in charge in New Orleans, I'd trade Ball and Ingram to Phoenix for the 6th pick, TJ Warren, and more picks.

I really don't think much of either Ball or Ingram. The former can't shoot free throws at all, has an unorthodox shooting stroke prone to massive slumps, and struggles to stay in front of quick guards. The latter is three years into a career wherein he knows he needs to get stronger in order to play, yet he's still as rail thin and weak as he was when he entered the league. Ingram too seems uninterested on the defensive end (55th in the league in DRPM among SF). Both players took fairly large steps backwards when asked to do less last year. That's not a good sign-- especially considering they're going to be tertiary players on their new team.

If not for Warren's propensity for injury (He's averaged 52.2 games played in his five-year NBA career), I'd honestly accept Warren and the 6th pick alone for Ball and Ingram. Be that as it may, the reluctance of Phoenix to send an additional first the Pel's way would NOT be a deal breaker.

How about this?

Ball, Ingram, pick #39 to Phoenix for Warren, pick #6, pick #31, '20 2nd round pick.

Per the '17 Bledsoe trade, Phoenix also owns the Bucks 1st next year (if it's 8-30, unprotected in '21), so they should be able to stomach losing next year's second.

[Revering4Blue]

I think the Pelicans did well here, all things considered.

It's clear - at least to my eyes - that, rightly or wrongly, David Griffin valued multiple picks over immediate impact players. If the latter had been the focus of the return for AD - and this is factoring Boston's exclusion from the conversation - the Nets and Nuggets could have topped the accepted deal.

Unless either or both of Ball and Ingram come close to living up to the billing of 2nd overall draft pick (I have my doubts in both cases, though Ingram seemed like the correct pick at the time), the picks - namely the 4th overall in Thursday's draft (IMHO, it should be Garland, no doubt) - and/or players acquired via potential trades involving said picks, will make-or-break the deal.

Another major win for the Lakers..they were not forced to take back Solomon Hill's deal in the process.

[Revering4Blue]

So, with AD off the table, should either Brooklyn or Denver make a play for Bradley Beal? You'd have to believe that either could offer the Wizards a tasty return without crippling themselves depth and asset-wise.

[M2]

AD to the Lakers.

Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks — including the 2019 No. 4 overall pick.

Meh.

NOP's likely lineup (assuming no free agents):

PG L. Ball
SG J. Holiday
SF B. Ingram
PF Williamson
C Okafor

That team makes zero sense to me. I don't even understand how it's supposed to play. Pretty sure it's going to be bad.

[M2]

Another major win for the Lakers..they were not forced to take back Solomon Hill's deal in the process.

I'm not sure what baffles me more, no Hill or no Kuzma?

Maybe the Pels will move Lonzo along to the DC in a package for Beal.

[Revering4Blue]

That team makes zero sense to me. I don't even understand how it's supposed to play. Pretty sure it's going to be bad.

It 'ent great by any stretch of the imagination, but I suspect that Griffin - unless he's pulling a Hinkie, which I wouldn't with Zion coming aboard - will pursue Dedmon or Brook Lopez (floor-stretching, rim-protection) to help space the floor.

[Revering4Blue]

I'm not sure what baffles me more, no Hill or no Kuzma?

Maybe the Pels will move Lonzo along to the DC in a package for Beal.

Last Summer, If anyone had declared that Kuzma would be more coveted than Ingram, I would have believed said person to be crazy.

As for a package for Beal, even without Kuzma, the ammo may there for the Pels, but it's going to be difficult if Washington has no interest in Lonzo.

The other two picks the Pelicans will receive are top-8 protected in 2021, which becomes unprotected in 2022, and an unprotected pick in 2024. New Orleans will also have the right to swap unprotected first-rounders in 2o23 and 2025, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.

And this, of course, in addition to Thursday's #4 overall pick.

[M2]

It 'ent great by any stretch of the imagination, but I suspect that Griffin - unless he's pulling a Hinkie, which I wouldn't with Zion coming aboard - will pursue Dedmon or Brook Lopez (floor-stretching, rim-protection) to help space the floor.

Maybe they've got Randle coming back. He added range last year.

[texasdave]

IMO, Ingram > Kuzma.

[RiverRat13]

If you're the Lakers, do you use your remaining cap space on a third star or spread it out to try to surround LeBron and AD with shooters?

[Bourgeois Zee]

Maybe they've got Randle coming back. He added range last year.

Randle is Williamson's 50th percentile projection.

You can't play them together and expect to protect the rim in any way.

Better, IMO, to sign a free agent center whose focus is defense.

Willie Cauley-Stein would be a sneaky good sign. (Fairly certain Sacramento will be looking for a reason to move on.) He's inconsistent, but a better scheme could highlight his good traits and make him, IMO, a difference-maker defensively, as well as a rim-running double-double (given the minutes).

Richaun Holmes is a more offensive player and might not play well with the style of play, but he's got some upside.

Javale McGee and Nerlens Noel, signed as a duo, would probably average 8 blocks a game. And 12 fouls. And bite on every head fake imaginable. And 5 turnovers. And at least three incredibly athletic plays no one else could make. And five remarkably stupid plays absolutely no one would make. That'd be fun in a different way.