NBA 2019-2020 (I’m not your fwend buddy!)

[Kingspoint]

Bruce Brown's Defense alone will get him, at least, his 19.6 mpg he got last year. As he develops a shot, that will go up. He seems to have already passed Luke Kennard at the Wing position, even though Kennard is a pure shooter.

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Yep - https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/...much-from-him/

Was not a coincidence Dipo transformed his body and raised his level of play after spending a season with Russ.

Let us not forget that Orlando was a deadzone for NBA growth at the time.

[Kingspoint]

You're either going to get much, much better going up against him in practice every day or you're going to be out of the league. If you don't hit the weightroom the first day after going up against him, you're toast.

All players have their first improvement when they realize they need to dedicate themselves to the weightroom. Nobody needs Westbrook to figure it out. Going up against him in practice every day just forces you to realize it, or again, you're heading your way out of the league, as does every other player who fails to hit the weightroom. That was one of Allen Crabbe's problems. He thought he could just live off of his shooting. Now he can't stay healthy and his Defense deteriorated every year since his rookie season. He sucks now because he was lazy.

[dubc47834]

You're either going to get much, much better going up against him in practice every day or you're going to be out of the league. If you don't hit the weightroom the first day after going up against him, you're toast.

All players have their first improvement when they realize they need to dedicate themselves to the weightroom. Nobody needs Westbrook to figure it out. Going up against him in practice every day just forces you to realize it, or again, you're heading your way out of the league, as does every other player who fails to hit the weightroom. That was one of Allen Crabbe's problems. He thought he could just live off of his shooting. Now he can't stay healthy and his Defense deteriorated every year since his rookie season. He sucks now because he was lazy.

You act as if Russ can do no good. If a player credits him for something or says something positive, you always try to discredit them. It's like you're in their heads and know what they really meant to say. From a distance it's almost as if Russ has done something really really bad to you or a family member, or that he has dirt on you but you cant say what it is. Its comical man. I feel that you're super smart when it comes to basketball, but your hate for Russ loses you respect. I'm not even a huge Russ supporter, but I feel the need to back him up when you go on these rants. Like I said...its comical!!!

[M2]

You're either going to get much, much better going up against him in practice every day or you're going to be out of the league. If you don't hit the weightroom the first day after going up against him, you're toast.

All players have their first improvement when they realize they need to dedicate themselves to the weightroom. Nobody needs Westbrook to figure it out. Going up against him in practice every day just forces you to realize it, or again, you're heading your way out of the league, as does every other player who fails to hit the weightroom. That was one of Allen Crabbe's problems. He thought he could just live off of his shooting. Now he can't stay healthy and his Defense deteriorated every year since his rookie season. He sucks now because he was lazy.

Ima take Dipo's word for what playing with Russ meant to his development.

[Kingspoint]

Ima take Dipo's word for what playing with Russ meant to his development.

Anyone who doesn't get better from watching the person in front of them who doesn't commit to hard work and self-accountability, in addition to accountability to their Coaches, won't be in the league for very long, unless someone is dumb enough to give them a contract based on potential without a proven (multiple years), professional work ethic.

[Kingspoint]

You act as if Russ can do no good. If a player credits him for something or says something positive, you always try to discredit them. It's like you're in their heads and know what they really meant to say. From a distance it's almost as if Russ has done something really really bad to you or a family member, or that he has dirt on you but you cant say what it is. Its comical man. I feel that you're super smart when it comes to basketball, but your hate for Russ loses you respect. I'm not even a huge Russ supporter, but I feel the need to back him up when you go on these rants. Like I said...its comical!!!

I never said he can do no good, nor have I ever acted that way or spoke that way about him. I give him credit when credit is due, but it's rarely due. I just said today, I think he could flourish in Philadelphia. He would be surrounded by a lot of Stars, including a Super Star, and two Stars in their own right in Harris and Horford.

Anyone who tries to build a team around Westbrook is heading for one-and-done.

[ScotlandRed]

Except that it was led by George, just as the '16 team was led by Durant. Roberson would have provided the Defense on Lillard that Westbrook kept getting exposed on. OKC's entire rotation changes. But, ifs and buts are for losers. A completely healthy Portland, if we're talking completely healthy OKC, would have crushed them in 4 straight.

I mean, OKC we’re without Roberson all year and still swept the season series. Portland may well have came out on top, but let’s not be silly here when Paul George played with one shoulder and we were without our second best defender.

[Kingspoint]

First off, this is my last being-a-jerk post and I-told-you-so post, though everyone can believe it when they see it. I apologize to texasdave, to M2, to SteelSD, to betterread, to BourgiousZee, to ducIndiana, to RedTeamGo!, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some, and I apologize to you for that. I hope everyone can enjoy and should enjoy this thread if I tone it down a few notches. It's too interesting of a season coming up for me to ruin it for everyone, so I will do my best to be more compatible with everyone. Not expecting any acceptances of this, just letting everyone know that they should expect a different tone from me. Again, I apologize.

From Feb. 4th, the day they traded Stauskas, Baldwin and two future 2nd's for Hood:

Not saying Olshey would turn down an upgrade at other positions. If he could turn Turner's contract into a Kevin Love contract without giving up Nurkic, Zach, Moe or C.J., he'd do it. But, an upgrade at one of their top 6 spots that actually makes the team better based on what they give up is difficult.

From March 3rd:

I've had enough games now to figure out Rodney Hood.

He's a very sensitive man. Unlike Batum, who pouts when negativeness comes his way, Rodney loses confidence. You have to find a way to get him to smile. I really like him. The positive culture here will work well for him (as it will for Kanter). Against BOS and TOR, his confidence was really low, having missed some shots going into those two games while it was obvious he had some bad memories against them. I mentioned he looked like a deer-in-headlights after the BOS game. You could see it in his eyes. Stotts stuck with him against TOR, and that helped him. Stotts stuck with him again today even though he went scoreless in the first half. He got another stint in the 2nd Half and hit a couple of 8-10 footers and Curry ran the 2nd Unit both halves instead of C.J. and that gave Hood more opportunities. As Hood hit a couple of more shots, and the smile began appearing on his face, they gave Hood the ball and let him run the Offense. He did a great job. Hood played the rest of the game finishing with a career-high 21 points in a Quarter (the 4th) and 27 in the 2nd Half. LeBron doesn't exactly inspire smiles in his teammates and couldn't be a worse teammate for Rodney Hood.

On his decision to stay in Portland:

"What can make me happy? Where can I fit?” Hood remembers debating with his wife. “It was about long term. Where can I find a home in this league? Where can I be the best player I can be? Where is my family going to fit? All of that played into it, and it always came back to Portland. Every single time.”

With only the tax payer mid-level exception to offer Hood, it did not appear that Hood would remain in Portland. However, his values played a distinct role in his decision to stay with the team that had accepted him following a trade from the Cavaliers during the 2018-19 season.

So Hood’s signing, albeit modest, was a victory for what the Blazers hope becomes their reputation – an organization where players enjoy playing and settling with their family.

“Some of the things Rodney values are what we value in terms of situation, culture, character and finding a home,” Olshey said.

From Feb 12th:

Obviously, this Summer we get to find out which direction they go. How they perform in this year's playoffs could have a lot riding on the direction of the future. It makes so much sense to try to find a way to move C.J. It always has. Dame is really loved here and it would behoove this franchise to find a way to encourage him to resign again.

Also, from Feb. 4th, minutes later (when all the dominoes have fallen, Zach is the Starting PF next to Nurkic, as I tried telling everyone on Feb. 4th, while Zach showed in the playoffs just the tip of the iceberg of how good he's going to be Defensively...the Offense will come, as I also said on Feb. 5th. One only has 24 hours in a day, and there is time to work on strength and conditioning, sleep, practice, Defense and Offense. Rookies work on Offense last, at least in Portland and other well-run organizations.)

Olshey loves Zach Collins. Collins' upside is much higher than Love's best. Collins' upside is Love's Offense and Gobert's Defense. Zach isn't going anywhere.

...and now Whiteside and we have an upgrade over our Top-6. Whiteside is better than Aminu and Hood is better than Harkless. Whoever we get next Summer with our FA money will be better than Hood, while there will always be the possibility of retaining Whiteside and Hood as options.


From Feb. 26th:

Hood, Nurkic, Kanter, Stauskas (didn't work) and Seth all count as effort, while Zach turns out to be a calculated risk along with Layman that worked. Besides, Portland is, at least, getting to the 2nd Round.

Dame loves it here in Portland. He sincerely said the other day that winning a Championship is not his most important goal. Doing the right thing and, more or less, being a good person and helping others is far more important. He meant it and has always behaved that way. He's staying here for the rest of his career.

To sum up Portland's situation from last year and going into this year, a post from Feb. 27th:

I always pay attention to what they say. The quality of the person is more important than their talent level and most people around feel the same way.

I think the Heat fans "that matter" feel good about Riley and Spoelstra.

As Thomas and 3D said on the broadcast and I say all the time, we constantly read the mental states and attitudes of the players. Words are part of it. A million things are a part of it. We can see inside the minds of the players. If someone else can't, that's on them and their inexperience or whatever ways they use to figure out what's in the mind of someone. A lot of people can't read people. I can. I got paid a lot of money to do it. I would always be in shock when something obvious to me was oblivious to others, yet others could also see it as I could.

Dame isn't going anywhere. He's happy here. He's not a greener pastures guy. He's a great human being. They don't go running around for greener pastures because they don't like their local. They finish what they start. He and Portland will get a Championship here the old-fashioned way, not by accumulating a horde of Superstars.

Once a team gets to the level of Top-7 in the NBA, and Portland is there, they can win a Championship, but they have to go through the steps. Dame has been to the 2nd Rd twice. He needs to get to the Conference Championship.

They were 3rd in the West last year. 4 games in the playoffs does not make their season. Anyone who says that is ill-informed and doesn't understand how to measure the the work and success from a season. They are like the moron NBA fans (see half of the Heat, Lakers and Warriors fans) who wear their "gear" to the games). You take into the next season the work and success from a previous season while looking where you can improve. Last season was mostly successful. They established themselves as a Defensive team in addition to an Offensive team. The playoff series with Harkless hurt exposed their depth, in addition to Dame and C.J. allowing themselves to get trapped. All of that was addressed.

The best teams in the NBA right now are MIL, TOR, POR, GSW, DEN and OKC. When Embiid returns, add PHI. That's it. UTA, BOS, HOU and IND are in the next tier. POR gave PHI their two worst losses of the season. POR crushed UTA the last two times they've played. POR plays BOS in the garden and we'll see who is better. POR won the season series against HOU. POR crushed GSW last week and best them twice this year...once there. POR crushed MILand gave them their worst loss of the year. POR is 0-5 against OKC and DEN, but they were all close. George is a problem we (and nobody else in the league) haven't solved. We should beat DEN the next two times we play them now that we solved most of our 2nd Unit issues (they just need time together now as Kanter and Hood don't know the plays and Kanter will be an ongoing issue defensively, though he cleans up messes Offensively while stopping any runs by the opponent with his points in the paint).

There's a major difference between bench players, rotation players and rotation players that fit in mentally with the team and physically with the system. POR added the latter with Curry (he does everything great and only usage keeps him from putting up huge numbers...he's a better player than McCollum), Hood (who has been impressive Defensively) and Kanter. Layman has exploded onto the scene and is a permanent rotation player who will become a quality Starting Wing. Zach Collins is going to be a stud. He took over the Warriors game without scoring a basket. Very few people in the NBA can do that to the Warriors.

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I mean, OKC we’re without Roberson all year and still swept the season series. Portland may well have came out on top, but let’s not be silly here when Paul George played with one shoulder and we were without our second best defender.

I never felt good about our chances of beating OKC in the playoffs until I was certain that Roberson would be out.

Absolutely. Couldn't stop him with one shoulder.

[Kingspoint]

Portland is back to where they were in years 1, 2, and 3 of Portland's rebuild, no bench. The Top-6 is at it's best, probably back to where it was in Lillard's Rookie season, but that team had nobody after the Top-5. They traded Barton to get a #6, but as a Turner-type, he flopped as badly as Turner). Olshey has definitely improved as a G.M. He wasn't very good his first few years here. He got lucky a lot.

[Rojo Rijo]

And cheap ownership (refusing to pay any semblance of a luxury tax) ultimately cost them Harden.

The big picture: Presti somehow turned Ibaka into Galinari, SGA and a boatload of first-rounders, including the pick obtained today for Grant. Presti dealt George for said haul because it was the smart move, which had nothing at all to do with Russ supposedly running George off. And again, Oladipo credits his season with Russ as a major factor as to why he's become the player he is today.

Lets not forget that it was my teams (Orlando) idiot GM Rob Henigan who traded away Oladipo and the draft rights to Sabonis for half a season of Ibaka.

*He was at least flipped for Ross who has been great for Orlando

[Rojo Rijo]

100% this ^

And since we're also talking about OKC today, not sure why Billy Donovan still has a gig there.

In separate news, watching some Summer League at the moment and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (NAW) looks really impressive.

Donovan and Presti are close. If it wasn't for their friendship I think he would've been gone by now.

[WVRed]

Donovan and Presti are close. If it wasn't for their friendship I think he would've been gone by now.

I think eroding fan support and a rebuild will likely end Donovan’s tenure in OKC.

Don’t know if that means a return to college, another NBA job, or riding off into the sunset, but I’d be shocked if he’s coaching there after this upcoming season.

[Boston Red]

I think eroding fan support and a rebuild will likely end Donovan’s tenure in OKC.

Don’t know if that means a return to college, another NBA job, or riding off into the sunset, but I’d be shocked if he’s coaching there after this upcoming season.

Is Calipari about ready to retire?

[Kingspoint]

Presti has always been able to get things done. He's very talented when it comes to being a G.M. I think he's so good that I don't want to see what he can do without Westbrook in OKC. He could probably build a Championship team in just three seasons, especially considering the headstart he would get with the George and Westbrook trades.

[Rojo Rijo]

Is Calipari about ready to retire?

Nope but as a UF fan this would be my nightmare scenario