NBA 2018-2019 Season

[GhostMachine]

On 20/06/2018 at 10:01, livid said:

What a weird move by the Hornets but I guess Kupchak just really, really loves Mozgov?

Howard is a cancer. Kupchak probably couldn't wait to get rid of him. No surprise the Nets are buying him out.

 

 

[JasonM]

Well, needless to say as a Mavs fan I'm about as excited as i've ever been bar maybe the 10/11 finals. After getting DSJ last season, and now getting Luka this year it's a really weird experience to know that we also retained Harrison Barnes in the process.

Dirk/DSJ/Doncic/Barnes is a pretty exciting lineup for a team that a few years ago really had little to no upward mobility, and now the future seems very secure granted if Doncic can translate into the NBA and doesn't become a rich man's Hedo Turkoglu. But having a Eurobasket Finals MVP who is 19 years old hopefully means the sky's the limit for Luka.

So yeah, great times! 

Edited June 22, 2018 by Jasonmufc

[Malenko]

We can't really compare him to Turkoglu. A lot of people feel he's not that good, because "see what happened to this other european player", not realizing he's one of the very best players in european basketball history at the time of arrival on the NBA.

There was only one, imo, that was definitely more dominant at the time of arrival, Sabonis, but he was 29 at the time and already had some knee issues way before reaching the NBA. I still think he had a good, albeit short, career before injuries made him way too slow to compete at that level.
The only one I can think of who had an amazing year right before moving across the pond and still went on to fail in the NBA was Jasikevicius, who was also 29 at the time. He was at his peak at the time and failed to adjust to the NBA game. Most players often mentioned as failures weren't that great in Europe either so why should they be great in the NBA? 

Toni Kukoc was very good in Europe, but far more inconsistent than those 2. He did appear when it was needed the most, though. He was 25 and not going to improve too much either.

Unlike these 3, Doncic is 19 and he can still improve loads, none of the young europeans who went on to have very good NBA careers were as good as he is when they arrived (not even Nowitzki or the Gasols).

He can fail to adapt. Sure he can, but I think people who are comparing him to other europeans who have failed (or at least kind of) in the NBA really don't know the gap between his talent and those they compare him to. He started playing for one of the top teams in Europe, aged 16, was starting at 17, was its best player at 18 and was the league (best national league in Europe) MVP, and the EuroLeague (best teams in Europe) MVP at 19. Who else did that? Nobody.

I still feel he may have problems facing athletic guards and all of that. The NBA has many of those. He'll have to adjust. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, because it won't, but I really feel he has what it takes to be one of the best european players ever by the time his career is over.

As for the rest of the draft i wouldn't say there were many lottery pick surprises, but I have to admit I wasn't expecting Porter to fall that much, despite his injury. The Nuggets are entertaining. I hope he gets to play a bit.

[Chris2K]

They really need to sort the trade stuff out, it's so unnecessarily confusing for the team to be announced as drafting someone that they've already traded away, and then for the same thing to happen with the other team involved in the trade. It's a scary situation when the NFL actually has the jump on the NBA on something in 2018, at least their draft trades are sorted before they're announced. 

And the Mikal Bridges trade was a heart-breaker. I'm sure his mom understands what happens in sport given her role at the 76ers, but it can't be nice to probably be involved in the paperwork that sends your own son away from the team you work for.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah that Mikal Bridges thing was the feel-good moment from the draft. I'm sure when mom saw the salary he was getting she felt a little better about shipping him away though.

[St. Dubb]

15 hours ago, Meacxico said:

Because the team with the 12th pick is likely giving you something extra in return for the guy you took at 11. 

Except in this case it wasn't really - a couple 2nds was pretty modest. Just another terrible MJ draft. Sigh.

[JasonM]

15 hours ago, Malenko said:

We can't really compare him to Turkoglu. A lot of people feel he's not that good, because "see what happened to this other european player", not realizing he's one of the very best players in european basketball history at the time of arrival on the NBA.

There was only one, imo, that was definitely more dominant at the time of arrival, Sabonis, but he was 29 at the time and already had some knee issues way before reaching the NBA. I still think he had a good, albeit short, career before injuries made him way too slow to compete at that level.
The only one I can think of who had an amazing year right before moving across the pond and still went on to fail in the NBA was Jasikevicius, who was also 29 at the time. He was at his peak at the time and failed to adjust to the NBA game. Most players often mentioned as failures weren't that great in Europe either so why should they be great in the NBA? 

Toni Kukoc was very good in Europe, but far more inconsistent than those 2. He did appear when it was needed the most, though. He was 25 and not going to improve too much either.

Unlike these 3, Doncic is 19 and he can still improve loads, none of the young europeans who went on to have very good NBA careers were as good as he is when they arrived (not even Nowitzki or the Gasols).

He can fail to adapt. Sure he can, but I think people who are comparing him to other europeans who have failed (or at least kind of) in the NBA really don't know the gap between his talent and those they compare him to. He started playing for one of the top teams in Europe, aged 16, was starting at 17, was its best player at 18 and was the league (best national league in Europe) MVP, and the EuroLeague (best teams in Europe) MVP at 19. Who else did that? Nobody.

I still feel he may have problems facing athletic guards and all of that. The NBA has many of those. He'll have to adjust. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, because it won't, but I really feel he has what it takes to be one of the best european players ever by the time his career is over.

As for the rest of the draft i wouldn't say there were many lottery pick surprises, but I have to admit I wasn't expecting Porter to fall that much, despite his injury. The Nuggets are entertaining. I hope he gets to play a bit.

I mean you're right, I was mostly being slightly hyperbolic because there are a lot of people that are saying that he simply won't be able to catch on in the NBA due to not being an athletic freak or a spectacular shooter. But this is also some new grounds for me as a basketball fan, since starting to follow the Mavs I've always been used to older established stars and the like going in and out of the team. This whole Doncic draft spectacle is like my wildest dream come true, the bad luck of missing out on a top 3 pick but then being able to trade for one on draft night to still get the guy that the Mavs were eyeing all along.

I'm dreading every possibility of him not being a bonafide star, even though all the signs are there that he will be. I'd be utterly gutted if the proverbial 'chosen one' would fail to take the torch from Dirk for the next 10+ years.

[gunnar hendershow]

Melo opted IN to his deal for next year.

[Meacon Keaton]

Because nobody was gonna pay his sorry ass anywhere near as much anywhere else.

[Chris2K]

Most of anything analytical on ESPN is behind a paywall now, so what sites do you guys use for NBA news and opinions?

[Pooker]

I mainly use the score. If I want the point of view of another fan, I go to realgm.

[JasonM]

@Twist

How about that 🤔

Edited June 26, 2018 by Jasonmufc

[Twist]

1 hour ago, Jasonmufc said:

@Twist

How about that 🤔

I have ruminated numerous times this year on that post. I was very, very wrong.

[Malenko]

He was kinda wrong too, the way I see it. The Pacers weren't shitty.

I assumed they were going to suck, to be honest. I was wrong too.

Edited June 26, 2018 by Malenko

[JasonM]

I expected the Magic, Hornets, Pistons to not be as bad as they ultimately were.

[Tyrone]

Austin Rivers has been traded to the Wizards

Edited June 26, 2018 by Tyrone

[Pooker]

12 hours ago, Twist said:

I have ruminated numerous times this year on that post. I was very, very wrong.

I saw a couple other people saying basically the same thing, rating Turner extremely high. I never saw the hype for him and still don't.

[gunnar hendershow]

51 minutes ago, Tyrone said:

Austin Rivers has been traded to the Wizards

For Gortat. Assumption is that the Wiz might make a run at Boogie and if they must, settle for Howard.

[Meacon Keaton]

Anybody else see Magic's empty promise to "step down" should the Lakers strike out in free agency? Me thinks he knows he's getting a big name (or two) in a couple weeks.

[Pooker]

I don't believe either. They might get George. Can't see Lebron going there. And there's no way he's stepping down in a few years.