i'll be very curious to see how all this shook out. did houston just not want to deal with philly due to the morey connection? because if simmons was ever on the table, that was the deal. i know he's not everyone's favorite, but he's a big, athletic, two-way, unselfish young player who's been healthy since that first injury. victor oladipo and a bunch of picks...i just don't know.
i think philly could make small moves and feel they have a shot. boston needs to figure out what to do with kemba. is he playable in the playoffs? if beal wanted out of washington, brown wouldn't be a bad centerpiece, and i think beal fits better with tatum. boston would obviously have to pony up more, but i don't want to see that particular deal, as i think it makes boston legit. toronto's got nothing, imo. should have sold high on siakam. i was never sold on him as a star, and after doubting myself last year, i think i'm vindicated now. my dad thinks they overestimated van vleet and lowry lost another step. i also think gasol/ibaka might have helped make that team more than the sum of its parts with their complementary skill sets and veteran savvy.
it's going to be weird to watch when all three on the floor and healthy. harden and kyrie really like to pound the ball. durant's the best player of the three, apparently even post-achilles, which is saying something. and his life will be incredibly easy with the other two drawing two defenders on every single trip down the floor. i am interested in who's going to defend, though. feel like you can penetrate at will on that team, and deandre ain't what he used to be back there.
KD Beard Kyrie The latter two have to share the same role and KD is better than either, better than both on some nights. Two big questions: When is Kyrie rejoining the team? How long will it take Beard to play like he cares about basketball again (been awful since his injury)?
And DJ is only playing 17 minutes, they can probably get another 7 out of him a night (24). But then what? Are they going to pray Ariza and McGee types are there in the buyout market? I don't see them stopping anyone. If Boston could get even a slight bump via trade, I think they win. I think Bucks can knock them out too. Both have defenders to limit two of their players and you just let the other one guy go off. Since they're not getting stops, that one guy won't beat either team.
Who wants that drama? For $33m and his emotional baggage? I might give a few late 1sts (mid 20s) and an expiring contract but that's it. He's a guy who I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up and read he retired. You can't invest in that. He's even talked about how hanging it up early.
guys like levert and prince were perfect depth options for KD and kyrie. now with those two gone, the nets depth is pretty lousy plus, allen was a good defensive presence down low and they'll definitely miss him. jordan is not the player he once was
Nets are going to score 150 every game, its going to depend on if they can put together enough defensive guys around those three to not give up 160.
Durant. If not, he'll be pissed. But I can't imagine how Kyrie will handle this. He's always felt underappreciated, and he deserves 8 postups a game lol. Should be fun to watch, but I don't see the right combination of characters to reach a big enough peak. The overriding factor might have been having the right coach, but is that Steve Nash in his first year? I'm not so sure we have evidence to suggest that is true.
dang, I haven't been paying attention since I've been focuses on Trump's 2nd term coming up. Those are absurd numbers. Still just a kid.
On top of that, he's playing much better D than last year. No doubt in my mind, kid is gonna be MVP one day.
The soap opera potential here is tantalizing. All 3 are cowards, all three want the spotlight, of course, maybe these commonalities will give them bonding material, I don't know. None of them are particularly heralded as good teammates. Despite the happy face Durant wore while talking about Curry it was well known he was jealous of him and he hated Green on the dubs. Steve Adams straight-up called Durant out as a bad teammate in his book. Kanter and Perkins hated him as a teammate. Harden couldn't make it work with CP3 or Westbrook and apparently had little affinity for either. Boogie just called him out as a bad teammate. Stephen Jackson just called him out as a bad teammate too (albeit from a commentator viewpoint). Dwight Howard said the same. Kobe said Jame's style of play can't win a championship. Let's see how much KD and Kyrie like watching 24 seconds of Harden dribbling. Kyrie is just a freak. Said anonymous C bag player: " Hard to play with. It's all about him." Hated being with Lebron and even admitted being a terrible teammate on Cleveland (admitting doesn't mean you've changed and though it is a baby step no doubt, didn't he also eventually turn his back on that and talk trash about Lebron?). So it's the 3 misanthropes in a social experiment of putting 3 megalomaniacs in a jar together. Should be fun, wish they'd make a reality show out of it. Poor Steve Nash. His NBA record as a coach is gonna be good now but I doubt he has a hair left on his head after this season.
i think his defensive issues were always overblown. he's not quick, so he's never going to take the other team's best perimeter guy in isolation or anything, but he's a good team defender and he competes. no reason, harden, for example couldn't do what he does. but you have to want to. the only thing that hasn't come around for luka (maybe aside from a few too many TOs, which is common for young guys who have the ball that much) is the three point shot. he can shoot the ball, and you shouldn't leave him open, but his percentages should be better from out there. some of that is shot selection, but he also just misses too many makeable threes, too. anyway, i expect that to get more consistent and there to basically be absolutely nothing you can do against him defensively. it's already pretty close. you just hope he's not hitting. if you double, he almost always makes the right pass and generally sees it coming. dude's a bona fide superstar--hofer barring significant injuries.
I take it this is for real ..... Harden really has a restaurant in Houston? Hilarious stuff being said if the case. He's earned every last bit of it. Just can't see this working. All 3 of those guys made their names and fortunes in the NBA with the ball in their hands most of the time, scoring. It's who they are. Not cutters and movers without the ball. LOL. Nash was freaking ball dominant himself. Who does he pick, that the other two have to now play so differently than their whole careers? Better yet good luck to this 1st year coach teaching a style of sharing with these guys that he never played himself as far as handling the ball split 3 ways .... and getting them to buy in. Nash is not Frank Vogel in that regard. Yet or maybe ever, because Vogel is incredible with that. Hell, Irving just let it be known publicly he didn't even want him as a coach.
