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Official 2018 NBA Offseason Thread: the preseason cometh

I think this season/postseason raises a legitimate question around what Westbrook's market would even be at this point. If you're already an above average team with an established high-end player or two, do you even want to sign Westbrook?

Lowe makes the point in that article that Ibaka "developed more as a ball-mover in one year in Toronto than in seven seasons with the Thunder." Why would you curse the rest of your team's development by bringing in Westbrook at this point? And I say this as a sort-of fan of the guy. If you're an average-ish team trying to figure things out, okay, but I can't think of a single playoff team that would/should look at Westbrook at this point and think "yes, signing him would definitely make our organization better in both the short and long terms."

In terms of playoff teams who would have the cap to actually make an offer, he would be an absolute disaster on Philly and Utah, IMO, and we've already seen what he did to Oladipo, so Indiana seems out of the question. Maybe the Spurs could figure out a way to swing it, but that would take a hell of an intervention from Pop.

It gets worse when you look at non-playoff teams with possible cap space, too. Like, if I were a Knicks fan, I'm not sure I'd want to see what a post-Westbrook Porzingis looks like.
 
Barring major injuries, it looks like the NBA will go back to where it belongs - Sixers and Celtics battling year after year and hating each other. The REAL rivalry in the NBA!
 
RJKarl said:
Barring major injuries, it looks like the NBA will go back to where it belongs - Sixers and Celtics battling year after year and hating each other. The REAL rivalry in the NBA!
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except both teams seem kinda hard to hate right now. (celts' dukies notwithstanding) I'm rooting for a Sixers-Rox championship if I'm being honest.
 
The two teams and their fans hate each other. It won't take much to start it again.

It's like Chuck just said. When he was rookie, the Sixers and Celtics played a preseason game in Vegas. Chuck ran into McHale and Bird in a casino and tried to say hi. The Celtics shook their heads and told him he didn't get it. Then, he got it.

Doc never got mad at anyone, but he and Larry choked each other in a playoff game.

How ingrained was it? I remember an interview with Kevin McHale during his last year. The reporter if was his back or his knees. McHale (the only Celtic I could ever tolerate) smiled and said something like, "It not as much fun any more. Hell. half the guys here don't even hate the Sixers."

Once JJ leaves, I'm not sure who the Sixers bad guy will be. The Celtics have Smart and Morris. It's going to get back to where it should be.
 
RJKarl said:
The two teams and their fans hate each other. It won't take much to start it again.

It's like Chuck just said. When he was rookie, the Sixers and Celtics played a preseason game in Vegas. Chuck ran into McHale and Bird in a casino and tried to say hi. The Celtics shook their heads and told him he didn't get it. Then, he got it.

Doc never got mad at anyone, but he and Larry choked each other in a playoff game.

How ingrained was it? I remember an interview with Kevin McHale during his last year. The reporter if was his back or his knees. McHale (the only Celtic I could ever tolerate) smiled and said something like, "It not as much fun any more. Hell. half the guys here don't even hate the Sixers."

Once JJ leaves, I'm not sure who the Sixers bad guy will be. The Celtics have Smart and Morris. It's going to get back to where it should be.
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JJ isn't even a bad guy anymore. He's one of the best interviews/podcast guys there is currently playing,
 
Sixers playing their worst game since Valentine's Day.

Haven't seen Simmons play this ball all year.
 
Bron good.


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I know some of you don't want to hear it, but Jason Tatum is going to be a superstar. I don't think he's quite good enough to build a team around, but there are only 4 or 5 guys that good IMO. BTW, I think the only Celtics-Spurs trade for Kawhi that works is Brown + Rozier + Tatum + Baynes for Kawhi. I don't make that trade if I am Boston. I suppose you can replace Rozier with someone less valuable, but still, even Tatum, Brown and a bench guy for Kawhi is a lot to give up if I am Danny Ainge, unless you simply think there is no way to keep everyone happy with Kyrie and Gordon coming back next year ...
 
Tatum is going to be a perennial All-Star if he can consistently get touches as Brown emerges and Kyrie and Hayward come back. Tatum is better than I thought he'd be.
 
Brown is better.

I've been saying this throughout the season, but Brown is where Kawhi was three years ago. The parallels are sorta eerie-- they share really similar physical profiles (Kawhi is listed 6-7, 230; Brown is 6-7, 225), both struggled in college and early in their NBA careers on the offensive end, but were defensive wizards pretty much instantly. Both eventually developed the ability to create their own shots, and were forced to more or less take over the reins unexpectedly in the postseason. The parallel isn't perfect: '14-15 Kawhi was a better rebounder than '17-18 Brown, for sure, but that also comes down to scheme in a lot of ways (and again highlights their similarity in terms of versatility, with Brown playing small as needed this year), and Kawhi has always been a much better FT shooter than Brown is right now.

Factoring in contracts, age, and the uncertainty around Kawhi (who, to rehash an argument y'all had a few pages ago, I think was a top-3 player in the league as recently as last year), I wouldn't deal Brown for Kawhi straight up right now. Much less Brown, Tatum, and Rozier.

I agree that Brown and Tatum each have the potential to become superstars in the next couple of years, though. That team, with Kyrie and Hayward back, is going to be absolutely silly.
 
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Danny Ainge would crawl over broken glass to trade Brown even up for Kawhi...as would every GM in the NBA.
 
Tatum's stroke is in sort of a funk right now, too. The ball's coming really hard off of his hands, almost like he's chucking it at the rim. Very little arc on his shots, which I don't remember thinking much during the C's games I watched this season. It's a testament to his potential that he's finding other ways to score.
 
RJKarl said:
Danny Ainge would crawl over broken glass to trade Brown even up for Kawhi...as would every GM in the NBA.
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Serious question: Why?

You get one year of Kawhi, assuming he tests the market next summer (and maybe he doesn't, but everything that's unfolded this season would lead me to question that). Or you can have 2 years of Brown at wayyyyy below market value, followed by matching whatever RFA contract he signs, which likely means 6-7 total years of control. I get that the team would have considerable advantages to retain Kawhi with Bird rights, but why introduce the uncertainty, especially when it's compounded by the personal uncertainty around Kawhi's specific situation? If you believe in Brown's potential (and I do!) (and Ainge does!), why would you pay to upgrade for one year at that sort of cost?
 
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I'm not Celtics obsessed, but Tatum is going to be have a better 12 year career than Brown IMO. Brown's is playing pretty close to his potential. Tatum is only scratching the surface. If that trade were a Tatum or Brown choice, I choose Tatum. Unfortunately, you have to include both for the trade to work and I don't see why on earth Boston would do that.

I actually don't see a good trade to entice the Spurs other than a Boston one. I am not sure how 1st round picks weight it, but if I were in San Antonio, I would be looking for a way to trade Kawhi for young talent and go after Lebron hard. If it were legal to get Brown or Tatum and Rozier + a pick for Leonard, you totally do it so that you can go after Lebron.

There is a report that Kawhi's issue was a misdiagnosed quad bruise that resulted in deterioration/fatigue of the quad starting in the 2016 season. It would be pretty interesting to see a lineup of Murray, Green, Tatum/Brown, Lebron, and Aldridge with Rozier, Gay, Gasol, Anderson, maybe Manu and maybe Parker coming off the bench.
 
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