NBA 2018-2019 Season

[Pooker]

Booker played great last night. Hopefully they can get some talent around him this summer.

Also, a devastating blow for the Blazers last night. Hate to see any player go down like that, especially one playing as good as Nurkic has been.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Pooker

[Pooker]

Lakers are shutting LeBron down for the rest of the season.

[Chris2K]

Kristaps Porzingis has been accused of raping a woman in February 2018 (the same night he tore his ACL), and has denied it and filed a suit for extortion against her. The league were made aware in December around the time he filed the extortion suit, so the Mavericks knew about it when they made the trade.

[JasonM]

2 hours ago, Chris2K said:

Kristaps Porzingis has been accused of raping a woman in February 2018 (the same night he tore his ACL), and has denied it and filed a suit for extortion against her. The league were made aware in December around the time he filed the extortion suit, so the Mavericks knew about it when they made the trade.

I might be biased, but this case just feels fishy and vague at best. Not saying Kristaps could've done it, but the specifics around it all seem dubious. And seeing Kristaps made a report about it in december, and over a year later it all comes out, I don't know what to think about it all.

I'm awaiting the FBI probe, because I fully expect they'll get to the bottom of this. I know better than to believe one side or the other before all the facts are in.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Jasonmufc

[JasonM]

ESPN with more news about the Porzingis situation

It's an utterly confusing situation.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Jasonmufc

[Maxx]

Well that got super weird super fast.  They’re alleging some forgery on her part and she went to his place with a notebook to get his autograph, and now she’s got a hand written agreement with his name spelled wrong and a signature they aren’t sure is his?  

[JasonM]

51 minutes ago, Maxx said:

Well that got super weird super fast.  They’re alleging some forgery on her part and she went to his place with a notebook to get his autograph, and now she’s got a hand written agreement with his name spelled wrong and a signature they aren’t sure is his?  

Also Kristaps allegedly sexually assaulted her, but afterwards treated him with love and care. On top of that she proceeded to send him sexually explicit text messages with offers for intercourse and got confused/offneded when he wasn't answering her advances.

On top of that, she didn't want to go to the police because she's a Knicks fan and didn't want to get Kristaps in trouble, but I guess now that he's in Dallas it's different?

Also, she wants from him around 68K (Her brothers tuition) and a pair of Jordan flip flops.

I mean, all this does not disprove that Kristaps might have sexually assaulted her on that night, and doesn't disprove that he offered her hush money after the fact, but all this evidence sure as hell makes it a really weird case. And I honestly am not surprised that the Knicks FO AND the NBA legal team had no interest in humouring this situation and standing by Kristaps.

[Maxx]

And this all happened the night he tore his ACL too, strangeness all around

[gunnar hendershow]

The reign of terror is over and the Wizards have finally sent Ernie Grunfeld to a nice farm upstate.

So many catastrophic decisions. The 2009 draft, the 2011 draft, giving Gilbert Arenas $111 after he blew out his knee, giving Ian Mahimni $64 million, letting Trevor Ariza leave in his prime, oh my god it goes on and on.

[Pooker]

Russell Westbrook became the only the second player in NBA history to get a triple double with over 20 in each category.

[DMN in the House]

I need an opinion, since right now I'm able to watch ESPN for the first time in quite a while, but, man, that east coast bias.

Fandom aside, do any of you really believe that the New York Knicks are a better situation for any player not named Kevin Durant (he needs to go to a team where he's the man to really further his career/legacy) than the Los Angeles Lakers?

No disrespect to Knicks' fans, they are definitely as passionate (if differently) thank than Lakers' fans, I'm talking about the team on the court and in the front office.

(Why, yes, this was caused by everyone on First Take not named Max Kellerman, why do you ask?)

Also, much respect to Kyle Korver for his Player's Tribune article.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kyle-korver-utah-jazz-nba

[JasonM]

Honestly, on paper the Knicks is the worst destination in the league to sign your name to, and it has been for years now. They're just not good, both as a team and most importantly as a culture. Their owner seems to be pretty terrible also, which doesn't help. And then you got the Knicks fans who -despite all the punishment they suffered- still expect the team to compete for titles.

They have some good youth, sure, but none of the pieces that they currently have are particularly can't miss players that elevates the team above mediocrity. If KD joins, it'll be a nice show for KD to show if he has the chops to carry a team like Bron has done in the past. If Jordan sticks around on top of that, and they can get another player like a Kyrie, they might have a good starting lineup, but the team ends there.

What Lebron and the Lakers have proven is that just getting a big name (or two) and throwing a random assortment of rejects next to them does not a team make. They might make the Eastern playoffs, and go far there, but to actually have a chance of getting the ring you need years of smart careful building that creates not just a handful of superstars, but surrounds them with players that complement their weaknesses in ways that makes the bench a dangerous unit as much as the stars are.

The Warriors did just that, before Boogie and KD joined they already had the building blocks in place and they've carefully replaced players that left in the years since their first title. KD and Boogie's presence have only made them more formidable, but they already were the team to beat before them.

The Spurs, same with them, they've always had the culture that Popovich and Buford put down when scouting, drafting, and signing players that were more than just decent stat sheet stuffers, but players that had a mentality for winning above everything, team success over personal success.

Even the Heat had a team in place when LeBron and Bosh got signed, they just got over the hump after faltering the first time around.

So honestly, elongated rant aside. I think Lakers and Knicks are a toss up purely on what a player would want. Because this year has shown that the presence of Lebron doesn't guarantee everything if you can't get the right players next to him. And the Knicks, well the only way for them is up, but it will take as many years. The Lakers have a better base they're building on, but at this point Lebron's arrival and subsequent signing craziness have eroded that base heavily by trading away good talent for mediocre ones. 

tl;dr - No clue, but probably the Lakers over Knicks. But Knicks with a Durant probably guarantees playoffs more than the Lakers with Lebron.

Edit: And here's the bold claim... Magic and Pelinka are hacks who can't even build a decent team purely on the Lakers prestige. Sure they might get AD at some point, but honest to god they've done nothing to get the Lakers out of mediocrity since Kobe retired.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Jasonmufc

[DMN in the House]

1 hour ago, Jasonmufc said:

Edit: And here's the bold claim... Magic and Pelinka are hacks who can't even build a decent team purely on the Lakers prestige. Sure they might get AD at some point, but honest to god they've done nothing to get the Lakers out of mediocrity since Kobe retired.

You mean except sign Lebron James, arguably the best basketball player in the world and set up the cap space to go sign a other max player, right?

I'd also argue that Lonzo/Ingram/Kuz are better than what the Knicks have, but I know that isn't a super popular opinion.

Edit: not that you're exactly wrong about LA not doing very well putting a team together.

[Pooker]

LA would have been much better off just signing Lebron and letting him play with the young guys. No Rondo, Lance, or McGee.

Until New York gets a new owner, one you can completely change the culture of that team, they're screwed. Even if KD and Kyrie sign there this summer, they still wouldn't have the pieces around them to compete for the title. And both players would hate dealing with the New York media. It would just be a disaster waiting to happen.

@DMN, glad you posted that Korver piece. Everybody needs to read it, not just basketball fans. He brings up some extremely good view points, including a few I've never seen/read before. Also, if you haven't already, there's a video the Jazz put out of Korver, Niang, Udoh, and Thabo speaking about racism. It's quite a good watch. 

[JasonM]

1 hour ago, DMN said:

You mean except sign Lebron James, arguably the best basketball player in the world and set up the cap space to go sign a other max player, right?

I'd also argue that Lonzo/Ingram/Kuz are better than what the Knicks have, but I know that isn't a super popular opinion.

Edit: not that you're exactly wrong about LA not doing very well putting a team together.

I think Lebron joining the Lakers was mostly a slam dunk (pun intended) for the Lakers, and there wasn't much stopping Lebron from going to LA regardless of who was leading the front office. He had made clear his dream to be a Laker for years, and also his goal of being able to more easily tutor Lebron Jr. and train him into an NBA calibre prospect.

So giving them praise for Lebron is somewhat fair, but at the same time, all they really had to do was draft a contract for him to sign, because he was going to join anyways.

What they've done SINCE the Lebron trade shows their actual prowess. Getting Rondo was a good get, and trading away Brolo and Randle was a must to get Lebron. But Lance was a dud, McGee has been impressive due to being the team's only center, Beasley is a dud, Tyson Chandler is a dud on the court but at least a culture guy, although they didn't need one on a 1 year rent.

Trading Svi for Bullock was decent, but Bullock has been a dud and will be gone in the summer.
Then they completely went crazy and decided to trade away Beasley and Zubac, two average role players for arguably the worst center in the league...

But I think their biggest mistakes aren't just the players they got, they are the players they didn't get. Because none of the players they got actually played to Lebron's strength or covered Lebron's nigh existant weaknesses. The fact Lebron is leading the team in three pointers made is indicative of how poor the Lakers are as an offensive unit, because they have zero flexibility, it's all players that need the ball in their hands in some capacity, and none other than Lebron are capable of creating points for themselves at any given time.

Kuz and Ingram have been sutds, and JaVale has been a revelation. KCP also has provided plenty of spark on a team without much spark. Meanwhile Lonzo regressed, Rondo is Rondo, and the rest is a toss up of 'they're something' players. No real makeup, no real sense of an actual team being put there. They legit look like what would happen if you'd let NBA 2k AI pick a roster, all focus on overalls, but none on actual synergy.

There were plenty of shooters available that could've filled holes that they created through signing 'rejects' like Lance Stephenson and Beasley or trading for a victory cigar like Muscala. But they didn't, and that's a display of a severe lack of actual direction in a front office that should be able to sign ANYONE at any time because they're the goddamn Los Angeles Lakers and anyone should want to play for Showtime if the call comes.

People can point at Luke Walton's failings, but he doesn't sign contracts. He might've had a hand in picking people that would play for him, but ultimately it's the task of Buford and Magic to actually work their stuff, and they did a piss poor job of what might be one of the easiest teams in the NBA to sign players for.

Edit: And before I forget, Magic couldn't even get it done even after breaking league rules MULTIPLE TIMES in regards to tampering and trying to recruit players in an unacceptable way. (Whether you agree with it or not)

Edited April 9, 2019 by Jasonmufc

[Pooker]

I don't know why everybody is freaking out about the Lakers. The NBA will rig the draft lottery so that the Lakers get the first pick, they'll get their other superstar in Zion, sign a few key players, and be back on top next year.

[GhostMachine]

Man, I hope so.

And you're 100% right about the Knicks. They're not going to do squat as long as Dolan is their owner. I maintain my argument that anyone who willingly signs with the Knicks either cares more about money than winning, REALLY loves New York, or is delusional. (Or no other team is interested....) It makes me wonder why Anthony Davis listed them as a team he'd be willing to go to in a trade, when he wants to play for a contender. 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Magic quit his job with the Lakers last night and didn't even tell Jeanie Buss before calling the press conference. To be fair during the first weekend of March Madness he was off doing a corporate speaking gig for Oracle instead of, you know, scouting guys in the tournament like every other GM. Just never seemed like a job his heart was truly into.

[JasonM]

Well I clearly need to watch my words more carefully in the future 🤔

Anyways, saw Dirk's final homegame, and some definite onion cutting going on, glad he got to play his last home game at a high level and drop 30 points en route to a win, in addition to a Dodo/Powell Double-Double and a Luka Triple-Double.

All that's left to say is holy shit Jamal, dropping 51 points as a 39 year old and becoming the oldest guy since Jordan to do that. Insane stuff, and thankfully the rest of the Suns made up for it in suckage to give Dirk a winning send-off.

It's going to be really weird next year to not see #41 step onto the court

[Maxx]

 don't go Dirk