NBA Offseason

[randylahey]

So it’s Rondo, Danny Green, LeBron, AD and Cousins with Kuzma off the bench?

Health risk alarm but that’s a strong team.

Its Lebron, Danny Green, Kuzma, AD, cousins... with Rondo off the bench.
Lakers playing lebron at the point. finally someone using him at the point. shouldve played there his whole career

[NDballer13]

So it’s Rondo, Danny Green, LeBron, AD and Cousins with Kuzma off the bench?

Health risk alarm but that’s a strong team.

Its Lebron, Danny Green, Kuzma, AD, cousins... with Rondo off the bench.
Lakers playing lebron at the point. finally someone using him at the point. shouldve played there his whole career

I mean, that's essentially what he has been doing. My concern would be who guards the other teams PG? I know Green usually gets billed as the 3 and D guy, but I always thought he was better at preventing a guy from getting the ball than he has at guarding a guy who has the ball.

[jfish26]

Not sure how much switching you can do with that lineup either, with Cousins and Kuzma.

[jfish26]

Mmmhmm.

[pdub]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/7/9/ ... mberwolves

Ouch.
"Still, if Lowe considers Westbrook’s deal the second worst in the league, Wiggins’s can’t be too far behind. If the Wolves have a chance to unload it, they should pounce. The five-year, $147.7 million extension was thought to be a mistake long before it was signed; it’s since aged worse than frosted tips. Wiggins is owed significantly less money than Westbrook, and at 24, is significantly younger. But one is a former MVP and has averaged a triple-double for three consecutive seasons, and the other shows up one in every five nights. Westbrook is older, more expensive, and holds the potential to be more destructive, but even in the worst-case scenario he’d still be easier to trade away in a year than Wiggins would."

[jfish26]

I honestly don't know which is the worse deal right now. No question Westbrook is the much, much better player. But (a) his deal is much, much more expensive, and (b) (I know I say this a lot, but:) it's in there somewhere for Wiggs. He's just 24. Tons of experience (which you can read in a couple different ways).

[ousdahl]

Was the Wiggins deal thought to be a mistake long before it was signed?

At the time it seemed Andrew was juuust about to be all-star status, didn’t it? It wasn’t necessarily so apparent then that he was a once-every-5-nights kind of guy.

[jfish26]

Was the Wiggins deal thought to be a mistake long before it was signed?

At the time it seemed Andrew was juuust about to be all-star status, didn’t it? It wasn’t necessarily so apparent then that he was a once-every-5-nights kind of guy.

I agree it's too much to say the deal was known to be a mistake when signed. It was a bet that a guy with all the physical ability in the world, along with crazy-for-his-age experience and enough production that you could sort of see how it looks, would put it together.

That wasn't a bad bet, necessarily, but certainly if you were to tell a KU fan that Andrew Wiggins failed in the NBA, then that KU fan would be able to describe exactly how and why this has played out.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I don't know, I think Wolves fans have a better grasp of who Wiggins is than KU fans.

More years, of course, but KU also saw a different kind of player than what he is now. Personality didn't change much, yes.

Then throw in the average KU fan's general disdain for the NBA.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Wiggins's contract was a stretch at the time, but just barely. You're in a position where you try to re-sign him at a minimal discount, which would piss his camp right off. Not really worth it.

[jfish26]

I don't know, I think Wolves fans have a better grasp of who Wiggins is than KU fans.

More years, of course, but KU also saw a different kind of player than what he is now. Personality didn't change much, yes.

Then throw in the average KU fan's general disdain for the NBA.

What I meant was that the things that could result (have resulted?) in him failing to meet expectations are things that have been evident since at least his KU days.

Which isn't to say he was bound to fail, or cannot be hoped to improve. He's 24, healthy, talented as all get out and does not have (from anything I know anyway) anything like a toxic personal situation. It's entirely a want to thing.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Thibs was a really bad fit. His pre-Thibs numbers aren’t all star, but better.

[PhDhawk]

I thought Thibs would be good for him, solely based on the fact that he's supposed to be a defensive genius, and up to that point, Wiggins looked like a prolific scorer who didn't do much else.

I was wrong.

Even within the season Wiggins numbers improved quite a bit after Thibs was fired. His scoring increased more than 2 ppg, his rebounds went up almost 2 per game, and about a half an assist more per night.

He's clearly someone who can thrive in the right situation. I think the question is what's that situation and does it even exist in the nba right now?

Going back to being a high-volume/moderate efficiency scorer doesn't justify his contract, but it's a much better player than what he showed the past two seasons.

And that doesn't even factor in the jimmy butler debacle.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I agree on the want thing, as the last 2 seasons will show.

I just don't accept the "KU Fans have known from the beginning" thing. Wasn't an issue when he was here. Played great when he was here. Played the alpha role well here. Hell, he still plays the alpha role on bad teams pretty well, and the 2014 team wasn't too great from an offensive standpoint.

I firmly believe it's the same type of human brain thing that happens when KU fans talk about Embiid being an absolute inside and perimeter beast here game in and game out. Just wasn't the case.

[jfish26]

I agree on the want thing, as the last 2 seasons will show.

I just don't accept the "KU Fans have known from the beginning" thing. Wasn't an issue when he was here. Played great when he was here. Played the alpha role well here. Hell, he still plays the alpha role on bad teams pretty well, and the 2014 team wasn't too great from an offensive standpoint.

I firmly believe it's the same type of human brain thing that happens when KU fans talk about Embiid being an absolute inside and perimeter beast here game in and game out. Just wasn't the case.

He had ten games with fewer than ten shots. He had some passivity in him here. The hands on the hips thing did not help then, and does not help now.

[jfish26]

Some Hawk-on-Hawk violence here:

[Deleted User 266]

Nice that Marcus is fucking over the Spurs?
Nicer that the Knicks are that fucking stupid that they want ANOTHER PF and pay him 15 million?
Am I mistaken that they just signed Gibson and Portis both to around 15 million a season a piece?

[Deleted User 276]

Nice that Marcus is fucking over the Spurs?
Nicer that the Knicks are that fucking stupid that they want ANOTHER PF and pay him 15 million?
Am I mistaken that they just signed Gibson and Portis both to around 15 million a season a piece?

Imo Marcus should do whatever is best for him and gets him the most money. There is no loyalty from NBA front offices towards players 99% of the time, so he should look out for himself.


As far as the Knicks roster I think they would use him at the 3, which he's more than capable of playing based on his significant past experience playing the 3 for other teams....Portis can/will play the 5 in today's NBA. Gibson will be a role player, but isn't good enough to beat out Marcus for minutes if it comes down to it.

Marcus is very underrated. If he stays with the Spurs they might be a sneaky team to watch. If he goes to the Knicks he will be one of their best players immediately.

[jfish26]

I will never begrudge a guy for chasing the money (which includes chasing stats). That said - depending on minimum contract length, this may well ensure Marcus' NBA career ends without a ring.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Nice that Marcus is fucking over the Spurs?
Nicer that the Knicks are that fucking stupid that they want ANOTHER PF and pay him 15 million?
Am I mistaken that they just signed Gibson and Portis both to around 15 million a season a piece?

Imo Marcus should do whatever is best for him and gets him the most money. There is no loyalty from NBA front offices towards players 99% of the time, so he should look out for himself.


As far as the Knicks roster I think they would use him at the 3, which he's more than capable of playing based on his significant past experience playing the 3 for other teams....Portis can/will play the 5 in today's NBA. Gibson will be a role player, but isn't good enough to beat out Marcus for minutes if it comes down to it.

Marcus is very underrated. If he stays with the Spurs they might be a sneaky team to watch. If he goes to the Knicks he will be one of their best players immediately.

This new illinois guy--I find myself agreeing with him!