2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44320045/the-wonder-boy-jalen-brunson-tim-macmahon

long read, but a cautionary tale on journalism, as mcmahon clearly has an axe to grind with cuban and just grinds it the whole time. he couldn't resist giving away the obvious motive at the end, either, which is just lame, imo.

i will say that jalen brunson himself has been pretty straightforward and classy about what was a legitimate beef about not getting the respect he'd earned.

but just ignoring all the backdoor dealings in ny and his dad's freaking job is just bush league stuff.

it was clear that brunson wanted an extension after he'd been a bit of a shortcoming in the playoffs the year before. the mavs were (justifiably) reluctant. when brunson had a nice stretch with luka out, his folks tried again, and the mavs were again, justifiably, reluctant--though less so this time. after that it was clear he was signing in ny no matter what, and plenty of folks in dallas knew this, negotiations be damned.

much like the last time that cuban and the mavs let a small guard walk over a contract issue, the guard looked great individually, and the mavs actually played better without them. win/win.

 

100 millions $ yearly contracts are coming ?

 

this offseason is going to resemble 2016's craziness

 

Oh boy we can sign Mozgov and Deng again

 

Wtf

Bucks star Damian Lillard out indefinitely with same condition that ended Victor Wembanyama’s season.
Lillard reportedly has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, while Wembanyama had it in his shoulder

Lillard has been placed on blood thinning medication

 

Brutal for the Bucks. They're not a contender, but they've had awfully timed injuries every year since they won the title. Middleton in 2022. Giannis each of the last two years. And now Dame potentially out for the year.

 

that's one way to frame it. another is that they had everything go right the year they won it. just like denver. just like us in our last one. just like boston last year. it takes a lot of luck, which is part of why you don't see a lot of consecutive titles anymore. for whatever reason, top players just don't stay healthy for years in a row. you're counting on the right guys being available at the right time. this is part of why the clips not being able to pull it together in the bubble probably smarts for ballmer to this day. that was their shot, and they blew it (yay us!).

hell, just last year, the mavs had a playoff run with most of their guys, then like, every single one went down (even the ones they traded for!).

 

Oh 100%, I think that 2021 Bucks title team was probably the 4th best team in the league that year and the weakest champion since the 06 Heat. But I still feel bad for their fans that they never got to defend that title against the criticism from people like me lol. Just like how our 2021 team didn't get a chance to prove the 2020 title was legit (not that they needed to). I just like to see champions actually have a chance to defend their title, the NBA is at its best when the new champion actually dethrones the last one. I was more impressed by the fight they put up against the C Bags in 2022 than I was with their run to the championship in 2021.

 

bucks only made it to the finals that year because kyrie was hurt and KD's foot is too big. nets were winning it all if kyrie hadn't gone down

 

Lakers would have won it all of AD didn't get hurt. That was a very very good team when healthy

 

agree. the story that the 2021 team wasn't as good as 2020 is malarkey. they were better.

 

watching boston, and...hear me out...luke kornet is a UFA. boston has some rights to him, but their payroll is insane. tpmle could make them balk.

he's large and just makes good, smart plays on both ends.

 

Some of his advanced metrics like ESPN net points are bonkers good. Makes you question the stat he rates so high lol

 

i think some of the advanced stats can capture some good coaching choices and really reward guys who can be stars in their roles. and those roles can certainly be different elsewhere. i just think we'd ask him to do very similar things here, and we might be one of the few situations where he'd be surrounded by similar quality talent (our top end is actually better, imo).

 

Sounds quotaish as a Luke.

 

Shame they hate us, there's a good poaching opportunity there. I like a few of their guys.

 

yeah, i think i mentioned this a while back when people were once again on the "trade for turner" train. i said then i thought it was much more likely that they move one of their forwards (toppin is my guess, as walker is about ready to boot him from the rotation). they'll try to dump him into some team's space if possible. if they can't, it will probably be nesmith or mathurin (the latter is up for a new deal, so that's tricky).

 

The Grizzlies just fired Jenkins. Right before playoffs. Wow. Any early guesses “why” before the story comes out?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44444002/taylor-jenkins-grizzlies-coach-six-seasons

 

another udoka situation? power struggle? very odd

 

hmm...yeah gotta be something. he's consistently overachieved. if i weren't happy with jj so far, i'd say go get him, lol.