NBA Chatter
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I think this offseason has blown the NBA wide open in both the east and west. The east I gotta think the 76ers maybe the team to beat with KD most likely not playing. It’s funny but I still like the warriors in the west, with Kawhi and PG going to the clippers, I’m not sure the Lakers will make a deep run. They should be a playoff team for sure. The real losers so far IMO are the Raptors, Thunders and Knicks.
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@kjayhawks The Warriors with Klay maybe, but he’s out too (acl I believe).
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@kjayhawks Clippers, Blazers, and Rockets should be the favorites in the west. Warriors are gonna miss Klay and he won’t be the same when he comes back next season (probably around the All-Star break, maybe even around New Year’s if his recovery is quicker than expected) and GS will probably be a playoff team, but not a contender.
In the east, Philly is definitely a contender to win the conference, but Ben Simmons has to develop an offensive game outside of 5 feet. Milwaukee is probably the favorite right now though. I also wouldn’t sleep on Boston or Indiana though.
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dylans said:
@kjayhawks The Warriors with Klay maybe, but he’s out too (acl I believe).
It is an ACL, but Klay isn’t missing the entire season unless he has some kind of set back in rehab.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 @dylans I actually forgot about Klays injury. Definitely wide open out west now, maybe that will make the NBA fun to watch again.
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Cousins to the Lakers, dont think he’s a good fit and really looks to be on his way out of the league IMO. Just a one year deal, be interesting to see if he can stay healthy.
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@kjayhawks Pelicans had their best seasons with Boogie and AD together. Boogie should be a good addition for the Lakers. A healthy Boogie is a top 5 big man in the NBA. He’s good enough from 3 that you have to respect him on the perimeter, he’s a top 3 defensive player in the post. He’s an elite passer for a big man, and he’s a monster on the defensive glass.
The Lakers are actually shaping into a pretty gritty defensive roster. Probably not better than the Clippers, but definitely a top 10 defensive squad, likely a top 5 team.
I actually really like the Lakers roster right now.
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Marcus Morris just signed a 2 year 20M$ deal with Spurs
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Brogdon will be hard to replace by committee. I do like the Greek Freak plus shooters. Hope Kyle Korver signs with them.
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Every contender in the east lost key pieces except for Indiana. Toronto lost Kawhi and Green, Boston lost Kyrie and Al Horford and only really replace Kyrie (I think Kemba is a better fit for Boston than Kyrie). Philly lost Butler. Brooklyn won’t be a contender this year without KD. Milwaukee lost Brogdon as you mentioned.
The east is going to be pretty weak this year I think. I think there’s 4 possibly 5 teams, once Klay returns, in the west better than anyone in the east right now. Clippers, Lakers, Blazers, Rockets, and Warriors with a healthy Klay are better than the east’s best which I would say is either Milwaukee or Philly right now.
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So Rodney McGruder of KSU averages nearly 10ppg?!?
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Am I the only one who thinks Paul George is way overrated?
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@dylans I think he’s top 15. I don’t think he’s top 10. Seeing what he can do with Kawhi should be a good litmus test. It’s hard to gauge next to Westbrook.
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@approxinfinity Pacers fans don’t miss him. They claim he folds in the playoffs. I don’t watch enough to know. Just curious of others opinion.
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Hard to place Paul George. He is great all around. Shooting, passing, defense, rebounding. Guy does it all. Efficiently. His rookie season is the last time he had a season with a losing record.
I would think he’s right around the 10th best player in the league… But he’s definitely that 2nd tier. I just don’t think he’s “overrated.” Definitely not the first person in the NBA I think of when I hear the word.
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Paul George is an elite level second star because he does everything well. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He and Kawhi will make teams miserable on the wings. Add Patrick Beverly and the Clippers are not going to be fun to play against offensively.
This offseason has really re-shaped the entire league.
Utah has improved. Philly probably took a small step back without Butler. Boston probably took a step back losing Kyrie and Horford. Kemba is good, but he won’t replace Kyrie’s production.
The Lakers are better, but it remains to be seen how healthy they will be. Same for the Warriors.
The Nets will be good in 2020-21. Durant is better than Dominique Wilkins ever was, and Wilkins’ entire game was based on his otherworldly athleticism. Durant at least has his shooting to fall back on. Also, Wilkins was 31 when he was injured, not 21.
It’s weird to think we live in a world where the Los Angeles Clippers are a legitimate NBA title contender. Not a hip pick. Not a sleeper pick. Legit title contenders.
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@dylans Paul George is the only reason the Pacers made back to back ECF. Pacers fans are bitter that he left to go to OKC.
George is definitely not overrated, he’s a legit top 10 NBA player. He’s the second best 3 in the NBA behind Kawhi.
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The Clippers are the kiss of death.
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The most overrated player in the NBA is Westbrook. His triple double seasons are impressive statistically, but he never made OKC a better team so his numbers are pretty hollow. Even NBA players voted Westbrook the most overrated player along with Draymond in an anonymous poll done in April.
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Sooo…what does Miami have to offer for Westbrook? 6 first round picks?
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@KUSTEVE All those picks were for George and Kawhi in a way. They weren’t getting Kawhi without George.
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@dylans OKC comes out smelling like a rose in the deal.
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KUSTEVE said:
Sooo…what does Miami have to offer for Westbrook? 6 first round picks?
For taking that contract OKC would owe Miami picks lol
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I think Mitch Kupchak has demonstrated he is the current worst GM in basketball @Texas-Hawk-10
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@approxinfinity Charlotte’s issue is that MJ doesn’t want to go into the luxury tax, that’s not on Kupchak. Dolan is the worst executive in all of professional sports.
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Dolan is human garbage.
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@approxinfinity Kupchak has also only been GM of the Hornets for a little over a year, not exactly enough time to build them into anything yet.
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None of the owners really want to go into the luxury tax, and Charlotte has too many bad contracts on the books to really compete right now. Their cap situation is a mess, with no real way to repair it until Batum and others come off the books.
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@justanotherfan Most owners have no issue going into the luxury tax in an attempt to win a championship. Only New Orleans and Charlotte have never paid the luxury tax since its inception. Owners don’t want to stay in the luxury tax because the penalty for being the in luxury tax escalates each consecutive year a team is in it.
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Texas Hawk 10 said:
@justanotherfan Most owners have no issue going into the luxury tax in an attempt to win a championship. Only New Orleans and Charlotte have never paid the luxury tax since its inception. Owners don’t want to stay in the luxury tax because the penalty for being the in luxury tax escalates each consecutive year a team is in it.
Key phrase attempt to win a championship. At no point since the tax has been created has either Charlotte or New Orleans been relatively close to championship caliber.
Now, I will grant that several other teams weren’t there, either (Knicks, Nets, Grizzlies, probably a few others), but most everyone else has either been a top 2 team in their conference or gone to the Finals during that stretch.
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@justanotherfan Teams aren’t winning a championship without going into the luxury tax. Detroit and one of the Spurs titles are the only two I’m aware of in which a title team was under the luxury tax threshold. Part of the reason some teams stay consistently bad like Charlotte is because their owners refuse to spend the money necessary to build a title contender.
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Rockets and Thunder are trading point guards. Westbrook to Houston and Paul and two future 1st round picks to OKC.
I still think Westbrook is the most overrated player in the league, but this should make both Westbrook and Harden happy. Still don’t see my Rockets winning a title though.
The west just got even more stacked. Clippers, Lakers, Rockets, Jazz, Blazers, Nuggets, and Warriors. You may have to win 60 games in the west to get home court in the first round. You may see a team win 50 games in the west and still miss the playoffs.
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Lol Gracie Allen https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27172670/grizzlies-allen-ejected-2-flagrants-tech
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OKC now with 15 first round picks over the next 6 drafts, with 4 of them having the possibility (although unlikely) of being swapped for better picks.
Can someone win executive of the year and their team also get a Top 5 pick?
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@dylans wonder what coach k says about that now?
? Once a d*** always a 
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And OKC is trying to move CP3 now lol.
I could see OKC moving him to Miami for Dragic and another piece and a couple of firsts (maybe 3).
And then moving Dragic to a contender to come in and run the 2nd squad. Philly, Utah, Spurs, and Dallas come to mind as fits. Utah makes the most sense to me. Exum is hurt and will be out most of the season I think, so OKC could tank while adding more draft picks and Utah trades a broken player for a good healthy one.
OKC is going full video game GM right now.
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@Kcmatt7 OKC is going to have a very hard time moving CP3. I seriously doubt they want to spend the money to buy Paul out who still has 3 years and $124 million left on his deal. The only two teams that can realistically trade for CP3 would be Miami or Minnesota.
Personally, I think Minnesota is the more likely option because they can get rid of Wiggins who is busting big time on his max deal. OKC would also acquire more picks from Minnesota because Wiggins still has 4 years left while Paul has 3 years left.
OKC has the draft picks to rebuild fairly quickly if they do it right.
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@dylans I lost a ton of respect for coach K with the way he handled this kid and said several times he’d never make it in the NBA for his attitude. I honestly think hes got some serious mental issues.
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I dont see Westbrook working out in Houston, him and Harden maybe the two hardest players to play with now that Kobe has retired. None of the above has ever been known for being good teammates.
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@kjayhawks Harden and Westbrook get along pretty well. I don’t see the chemistry being a big issue with those two.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 they have always got along well but they both want the ball in their hands 90% of the time. That could prove to be a problem. They both are also good offensively but dont attempt to play defense. I think the rockets take a step back this season personally.
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@kjayhawks Westbrook will be fine without the ball in his hands. His scoring was down a little bit last year because of PG13 and that’s a good thing because Westbrook is probably the worst shooting perimeter player in the NBA. Having Westbrook off the ball will allow him to do other things he does well and he’ll still get his assists and rebounds.
I think the Rockets either stay where they’re at or a small step forward. I still don’t see them winning a title because of D’Antoni and his system though and they never will.
Personally, I’m not crazy about the deal because Harden only has this upcoming season left on his deal and if Houston couldn’t beat GS with home court or without KD, they aren’t winning a title with this group. I would’ve traded for as many draft picks as possible since the Rockets have very few for the next several years and gone through a rebuild.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I agree about the trade. It will be interesting if OKC tries to get rid of Paul for picks if anyone would take him. I could see both OKC and Houston in major rebuilding soon.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Houston messed up including Harrell in the Chris Paul trade imo. That trade in general looks bad in retrospect. What happened to their first round picks last 3 years? Traded?
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@approxinfinity Pat Beverly was also included in the CP3 deal and he was the one I was more frustrated about giving up at the time. Losing Harrell doesn’t bother me too much because there wasn’t room for him and Capela and they had to make a choice. Morey has never been big about keeping draft picks, I think the next one they haven’t traded yet is 2026.
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@kjayhawks OKC is talking to teams about Paul. The two most likely deals if one happens would be Miami that would include Dragic or to Minnesota in a deal that would include Wiggins.
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Wiggins is a good NBA player. He is not a star. Unfortunately, he is on a star contract, so he is a hard player to fit into anyone’s cap situation.
As for Westbrook and Harden, they will have to figure out how to work on the court together because there is no way Houston can avoid playing them heavy minutes together in the playoffs.
