2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

i agree that lebron's comment on that post could be construed in many ways. and if he hadn't taken so many veiled shots at his team's management in this fashion in the past, i don't think there would be such a fuss.

 

i know it sounds like a wild conspiracy theory or something, but i think the THT/bev move was largely a warning shot to indy (and potentially other trade partners) that if they don't negotiate in good faith, we'll just wait until the summer and get their guys in FA whilst giving up nothing. hence, i don't see us making any move that eats cap space unless it's for impact. iow, i don't see us blowing all our space on hield if turner isn't coming attached.

 

troubling thing about AD is we're on what, week three of the back issue now? i know he hasn't rested, but...still...worrisome.

 

AD would miss some games now if we weren't desperate.

I don't believe LeBron or AD ever leave until 2024

 

Wasn't there a rumor of THT for Gordon last season at the deadline? Knowing we end up trading THT for Bev, maybe Gordon wouldn't have been too bad. And I'd rather have him than Bev at the moment.

Trading Gordon frees up minutes and usuage for their younger forwards Tate and Eason. Nunn and Bev you can make a better argument of sitting them.

 

I honestly think AD will be traded this summer if we at least don’t make the West Finals this year.
Obviously, that means we will need to get some shooting help in here sooner than later.
It also means that he will have to remain healthy throughout the majority of the season. If he does, or doesn’t, and this team is still awful, what’s the point of keeping it together? Now, if the metrics of LeBron and AD on the floor significantly improve with some tweaks to the roster AND AD can remain healthy, AND they can somehow put together a decent playoff run, then your roll the dice for another season with this pairing.
Again, a lot has to significantly turn around for me to see AD as our long term guy moving forward.

 

yeah, i didn't like it at the time. had i known we'd just deal him for space, maybe my mind changes.

i also wanted to see how nunn looked.

again...

 

This is going to be her


Asking Biden if he has any more of those PPP loans.

 

Mfs!!
That would be great for the league, but greed speaks louder

 

i don't think lebron's worth investing in right now, tbh. that fuels most of my recent thinking. and people are REALLY overstating AD's loss of athleticism. ask anyone who tries him on defense if he's immobile. ask jokic, whom he repeatedly left in the dust in the game in question. he's gotten heavier over time (mostly on purpose, i think--and just like most big guys who didn't start out fat). this comes with slight costs in mobility unless you're giannis, who almost certainly juiced it up hard, btw.

anyway, no way i deal AD if lebron is staying. i also don't see lebron/klutch wanting that anyway.

i don't think so. i actually agree with gs defenders to some degree--you should be able to spend as much as the rules allow to keep guys you draft and develop. where gs got lucky was the one-time cap bump (which the players pushed for over a smoothed alternative, btw) that allowed for the durant acquisition, which had the downstream consequence of both wiggins and a lotto pick. they shouldn't have gotten all that, and no team will likely ever get that chance again.

anyway, i'm a believer that hard caps and things like that just help owners' pockets and competitively negate some advantages small markets can have (e.g., being bought by a rich group that doesn't care about losing money). i think the extra punitive luxury tax is largely working, and the league should just up the ante on that and get more creative with rules about the size of multiple salaries on teams, etc. (akin to those designated player contracts that can't be on the same team, etc.).

hard caps would just lead to even more rosters being full of vet mins, imo. the league would be healthier if the three-star team was basically impossible, imo. that would help stock some of these smaller markets with bona fide stars or at least give teams a chance to compete without one.

all that said, the strongest argument against instituting a hard cap is probably bkn and clips failing to deliver rings (or even top-notch teams). if you view gs as a weird fluke, it seems like maybe nothing's broken.

 

I just don't think that's a legitimate option for Jeanie. Historically, Lakers take care of their stars in order to get more stars.

 

I disagree.
You say the luxury tax is working but it doesn't seem to be true as Warriors, Nets and Clippers continue to spend. Their rosters are too stacked that it's almost not fair.
The Warriors way was different though, and there should be some certain of exceptions if you've drafted the player.
You're basically attracting billionaires who don't care about the sport to burn some money in a team while getting deals and networking to develop their own businesses. You're favouring money over competence.

I follow soccer in Europe and there's no cap. Best teams are in majority owned by billionaires, mostly from Arab countries. National competitions are won always by the same teams, the others can't compete against money.

Any cap in any sport brings more competition and less likelihood of having always the same winner.
Currently the Clippers and Warriors are spending close to THREE times (2.6) what the Rockets and Spurs are spending and almost twice the salary cap