Author Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto  (Read 674325 times)

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Offline Soren

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8. Masai Ujiri struck a cop. Yikes. In almost any other situation in this asinine country, a black man hitting cop has a high chance of ending with a dead black man. An unfortunate situation. Ultimately, Ujiri probably doesn’t get charged with anything, but that could have gotten much uglier.

About that.

https://twitter.com/rgilliescanada/status/1139607219547320320

There's video of Ujiri as he walks out of the tunnel into the court with his credentials in hand. This entire episode is embarrassing.
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Offline Adrock

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Not saying it is okay just don't let a section of people dictate an entire country.
I didn’t. I specifically called out Raptors fans for cheering Durant’s injury. I mentioned Leonard getting a free pass for life in Canada because this is not just Toronto’s first NBA title, it’s the entire country’s. Granted, the Grizzlies fucked off out of Canada almost 20 years ago...
About that.

https://twitter.com/rgilliescanada/status/1139607219547320320

There's video of Ujiri as he walks out of the tunnel into the court with his credentials in hand. This entire episode is embarrassing.
Keep being great, America.

Offline ejamer

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Reliable information is still spotty... but (completely unsurprisingly) there is an eye witness account that offers conflicting information.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/raptors-masai-ujiri-accused-assault-nba-final-1.5175577

Quote
Warriors' fan refutes police account of incident
A Warriors fan says he did not see Ujiri strike the deputy in the face.

Greg Wiener, a 61-year-old season ticket holder, said he was standing next to the officer when the encounter occurred.

Wiener said the deputy didn't ask for any credentials before putting his hand on Ujiri's chest and pushing him. Wiener said Ujiri shoved him back before bystanders intervened.

Wiener says he was not interviewed by authorities.

Is it bad that I'm more inclined to believe this account than what the sheriff's office says?


Stay or go, Kawhi does have a free pass for life in Canada. I mean, he didn't win the title by himself and other key Raptors players will be in a similar position... but they wouldn't have won without his strength, tireless effort, and overall brilliance during the playoffs.
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Offline Adrock

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Is it bad that I'm more inclined to believe this account than what the sheriff's office says?
No. That is the correct response.

Objectively speaking, who has more to gain by lying? A Warriors season ticket holder is defending the opposing team’s general manager. It’s encouraging that he was decent enough to speak up.

Offline nickmitch

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Police pretty much always lie when they get the first statement.  They know whatever they say will stick, despite whatever information comes out later.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Well, word on the street is that The Warriors are offering Klay & Durant both 5yr MAX Deals.
It's expected that Klay will accept his, Durant.... not sure if he'll just opt in for one more year (to rehab on the Warriors dime), and then evaluate status next season, or opt out and either bounce to another teams 4yr Max, or take the Warriors 5yr Max deal.

Knicks were looking to offer Durant the 4yr Max, but they also plan on meeting with Kawhi as well.

also Masai Ujirii is also expected to take a meeting regarding a hefty payday to go manage the Wizards...?

It's gonna be a real interesting off season.

Offline nickmitch

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I'm sure there are plenty of teams who will offer KD the max.  I worry more about Cousins who might still get underpaid if Warriors don't keep him.
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Offline ejamer

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Have you seen what the Warriors books would look like after signing both Durant and Klay? They are thin outside the top few players now, but with Draymond coming up for a new contract soon too the roster balance could get even worse. One report looked at the numbers over 4 years with and without Durant; it ended being something like 600 million versus 1.6 billion... yep, $1B difference for a single player, and that player wouldn't even be on the court for the first year. (source)  Not sure what the ROI is for winning, but luxury tax has never seemed so luxurious.

In all honesty, balancing the books and fielding a decent team looks like it could be very difficult for the Warriors brass over the next few years - despite the optimism from Warriors fans here that everyone will resign and the good times will continue to roll. Keeping three max players already creates a tough situation; keeping four simply hasn't happened yet.


As for Kawhi rumored to the Knicks... well, you can never believe rumors around the Knicks or Lakers. They are "getting major free agents wins" every year according to the rumors, but those very rarely seem to come true.  (I'm not saying Kawhi stays in Toronto; that's probably a coin filp at best. But going to the Knicks is the kind of crazy long shot that I wouldn't put any faith in until it happens.)
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Offline Soren

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AD to the Lakers in exchange for Lonzo, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, this year's #4 pick and two future first round picks.

First Woj Bomb of the off-season.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1140023139142971392
« Last Edit: June 15, 2019, 06:46:05 PM by Soren »
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Offline BeautifulShy

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Wow what a deal!!  I would of liked to of kept Hart as well to have a shooting guard but I guess since we are going into win now mode it had to be the case.  I guess we are going after Kyrie or Kemba because Rondo, Curuso, or Bongo isn't going to cut it at point guard. Maybe we deal with Brooklyn and sign DeAngelo Russell back since he is an All-Star as a last resort and spend the rest on shooters and defensive players. 
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Offline Soren

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AD will play out the year and enter free agency next season so....good luck with that one year rental LA.

https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1140029550371303425?s=20
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Offline BeautifulShy

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AD will play out the year and enter free agency next season so....good luck with that one year rental LA.

https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1140029550371303425?s=20

Except AD said that he would re sign with the Lakers since that is one of his preferred teams and hey 1 year rentals can work out. Look at the Raptors and Leonard.
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Offline BeautifulShy

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Looks like the Lakers are going after Kemba in free agency.  This makes the most sense although Kemba said he would talk with other teams before deciding on if he stays in Charlotte and if he stays he would take less than the super-max to help build around him.       https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1140026897801318400

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Offline Adrock

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AD will play out the year and enter free agency next season so....good luck with that one year rental LA.
Maybe, maybe not. Sources: Lakers reach deal for Pelicans' Davis
Quote from: Adrian Wojnarowski
Davis has long planned to sign a new contract with the Lakers once he becomes eligible for free agency in 2020, sources said.
Anyway, Lakers gave up more than I hoped they would, notably the picks which (after 2019) I'm guessing are 2020 and 2022. Since the deal can't be finalized until July 6, the Lakers will select for the Pelicans on draft night which frees up the 2020 pick from the Stepien Rule. I thought the Lakers could have stood their ground to only give up two picks: 2019 and 2020. I hope the Lakers at least managed some protection like they did with the Steve Nash and Dwight Howard trades.

Also interesting is if both teams wait until July 30 and Davis waves his trade bonus, the Lakers will have $32.5 million in cap space. As an eight year veteran, Kawhi Leonard's max contract is expected to be $32.7 million if he signs with another team (depending on the salary cap). Not saying he'll sign with the Lakers, but they'll make a run at him. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, LeBron James has started recruiting Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler to Lakers.

Offline BeautifulShy

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A few other things the Pels could do is ship the 4th pick out to some team that wants to move up for either a player or a few draft picks in this years draft like with Atlanta to fill out that center spot with like Bol Bol and Jaxson Hayes. They could also just slot in Randle at that center spot. Lots of options.
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Offline Adrock

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Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the future picks the Lakers are giving up are:

1. 2021 (top eight protected, unprotected in 2022)
2. Unprotected swap in 2023
3. Unprotected pick in 2024
4. Unprotected swap in 2025

ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggested one of the pick swaps may be the Lakers “paying” the Pelicans to postpone the trade to July 30 so they can get that extra max slot.

The Lakers are betting on re-signing Anthony Davis for the rest of his career. Barring any catastrophic injuries, he would be the draw for free agents for the next eight to 10 years in addition to whoever they sign this summer. If the Lakers win even a single championship because of this trade, it’ll be well worth it because winning one is hard enough.

The Pelicans are betting the Lakers will be bad by then. The Lakers draft very well, but they're the only team that can get away with shipping out so many picks without devastating the entire franchise for too long. Granted, they were gutter trash for half a decade and got shafted by free agents during those summers. Then what? Superstar talent will always want to play in Los Angeles. The Lakers gave up a lot of picks and I don’t love it, but it’s defensible. The picks are more valuable to a small market team like the Pelicans even if the Lakers manage to sign a third superstar next month.

People are comparing this to the 2013 Nets trade. The Nets didn’t get an at worst top seven player. Personally, I place Davis fourth.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 01:17:54 AM by Adrock »

Offline Adrock

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Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, the future picks the Lakers are giving up are:

1. 2021 (top eight protected, unprotected in 2022)
2. Unprotected swap in 2023
3. Unprotected pick in 2024
4. Unprotected swap in 2025

ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggested one of the pick swaps may be the Lakers “paying” the Pelicans to postpone the trade to July 30 so they can get that extra max slot.
According to Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli, some corrections on the future picks the Lakers are giving up:

1. Reverse protection in 2021. The Pelicans get the pick only if it’s top eight only in 2021 otherwise unprotected in 2022
2. Unprotected swap in 2023
3. Unprotected pick in 2024 with right to defer in 2025

Only one swap, not two. Bontemps apparently misunderstood the pick situation in 2024/2025. That deferment is interesting. Basically, the Pelicans are betting the Lakers will be bad in 2022 yet gave themselves an in if the Lakers are bad in 2021. If Davis re-signs a full five year max next year and stays relatively healthy, those picks probably won’t be lottery bound. Still good assets to have. Some food for thought: Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo we’re both picked 15th.

Hopefully, the Lakers will snag some solid rotation players in 2020 and (probably) 2021.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 01:55:29 AM by Adrock »

Offline Soren

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Pelicans did good with getting all those picks.
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Offline ejamer

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AD is amazing when healthy (but he's also often injured).
I feel like the Pelicans absolutely robbed the Lakers given how little leverage they actually had - Davis was leaving regardless. Two picks, two one swaps, and a few decent players isn't a bad haul all things considered. 

(Edit: Oh, it's only one swap?  That's not as good, but still seems like a decent trade when the end result was going to be inevitable.)

Suggesting that Kawhi goes there seems ridiculous based on everything he's said and done so far - just doesn't seem like a good fit for him from a positional/personality standpoint (although obviously the Lakers, like any team, would love to have him).  I still hope he signs a 1+1 w/player option contract in Toronto; that would push him to 10 years service and higher possible contracts, let him defend the championship he just won, and keep things stable for one more year in a franchise and city that will bend over backwards to support him. That said, everyone knows he misses being in LA and the Clippers could be a great fit for him.

Kemba is a much more interesting idea for the Lakers though... Seems like a great fit all around. I love the idea of Kemba, LeBron, and AD all on the same team as long as they stay injury free. You do start to worry about the number of touches to go around though.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 09:42:51 AM by ejamer »
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Offline Soren

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Also Kemba just seems like he's better suited to properly take that 3rd fiddle role and get maximum use out of it.
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Offline Adrock

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AD is amazing when healthy (but he's also often injured).
I feel like the Pelicans absolutely robbed the Lakers given how little leverage they actually had - Davis was leaving regardless. Two picks, two one swaps, and a few decent players isn't a bad haul all things considered.
Robbed is a bit of an exaggeration. We won’t know who wins this trade until all the draft picks are made because none of the players the Lakers traded are as good as Anthony Davis. The last pick is some kid who is currently in middle school.

I think the trade is pretty even given where each franchise is with the edge given to the team that gets the best player in the trade. The Pelicans weren’t getting comparable talent value for Davis even if you combine all the assets. The amount of assets they received still means they did very well. The Lakers know they don’t need those draft picks if Davis is their centerpiece moving forward. I hate when players take a discount for billionaire owners, but we know they will to play with a superstar and for a chance to compete for a title. The Lakers gave up more than they probably needed to since there were no other offers close to what the Lakers had especially with the Celtics refusing to put Jayson Tatum on the table. Apparently, David Griffin wouldn’t even pick up the phone until the Lakers offered three picks. If the Lakers played hard ball, I think they could have kept Josh Hart and/or added any protection on the 2024/2025 draft pick. As stated above, the pick swap is supposedly a sweetener for the Pelicans to delay the trade and give up $4 million in cap space to the Lakers which at this point is more valuable to the Lakers than it is for the Pelicans.
Quote
Suggesting that Kawhi goes there seems ridiculous based on everything he's said and done so far - just doesn't seem like a good fit for him from a positional/personality standpoint (although obviously the Lakers, like any team, would love to have him).  I still hope he signs a 1+1 w/player option contract in Toronto; that would push him to 10 years service and higher possible contracts, let him defend the championship he just won, and keep things stable for one more year in a franchise and city that will bend over backwards to support him. That said, everyone knows he misses being in LA and the Clippers could be a great fit for him.
Kawhi Leonard is a mystery. No one knows what he’s thinking. I doubt money is a motivating factor because he’ll get paid anywhere and if he goes to Los Angeles, he’ll make back most if not all money left on the table just by being in a larger market and especially the Lakers because they’re the “glamor franchise.” Personality wise, joining the Lakers would create a strange dynamic. The media would give LeBron James the bulk of their attention yet after the Finals, they seemed to acknowledge Kawhi Leonard as the unquestioned best player in the league (with Kevin Durant tearing his Achilles). Does Leonard get what he wants? The praise without nearly as much attention?

Positionally, any team with that much talent would just make it work. James prefers playing the small forward but should play power forward/point forward. Davis prefers playing the power forward but should play center. All three are versatile enough to switch based on the situation. Joining a super team has its pros and cons. The Raptors claimed they weren’t afraid of the Warriors, but that was easy to say with Kevin Durant injured. At the same time, a super team is top heavy and as we just saw, injuries to one of those players can be devastating.

If the Lakers managed to sign one of Kawhi Leonard/Kyrie Irving/Kemba Walker etc. and LeBron James is honest with himself (chances are he isn’t), he should be the third option and be more of a facilitator during the season then unleash Playoff LeBron® in May. The problem especially last year is that he had to do so much on offense because he didn’t have much help on that end. For years, he’s been “resting” on defense. That’s harder to do without an elite defender like Kawhi Leonard also on the team. Regardless, I’d bet on the Lakers scheduling losses by resting both James and Davis on back-to-back games as well as random nights.

If a team can land Kawhi Leonard, they should and figure out the rest later. Personally, I’m leaning toward wanting the Lakers use their cap space on great rotation players to fill out the roster around James and Davis rather than chasing another superstar.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 04:18:34 PM by Adrock »

Offline ejamer

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...
Robbed is a bit of an exaggeration.

:)
Yeah, a pretty big exaggeration. But I did think the Lakers should have been able to get a slightly better deal.

Quote
...
If a team can land Kawhi Leonard, they should and figure out the rest later. Personally, I’m leaning toward wanting the Lakers use their cap space on great rotation players to fill out the roster around James and Davis rather than chasing another superstar.

I tend to agree on both points here.  I just don't see it being a great situation for Kawhi compared to some of the other choices that will be available - of course, I don't really know what Kawhi wants, so that's just personal speculation.
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Offline Adrock

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But I did think the Lakers should have been able to get a slightly better deal.
It may even be worse. According to Woj and Bontemps, currently the plan is for the trade to go through on July 6 and for Anthony Davis to not decline his trade bonus. I have a feeling Davis will decline his bonus to help the team. More importantly, if the Lakers gave up all those assets and couldn’t even manage to get the Pelicans to bend on postponing the trade, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the summer. Rob Pelinka basically got on his knees then (fill in the rest depending on how dirty you want to make that mental image). Worst case scenario, the Lakers are working with $23.7 million in cap space. Enough to get a few decent rotation guys but not a max contract.

Offline BeautifulShy

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It could also mean that if the Lakers do manage to get a star to take up that cap space before that July 6th date then the Pels could have to wait till the 30th for the trade to go through on the 30th and Davis doesn't have to waive his trade kicker because the salary matches up for the picks and Lonzo, Ingram and Hart.  The Lakers could also pick whoever the Pels want in the draft and ship them over to them with the rest of the kids.  Another thing that could happen is that a third team comes in and gets that 4th pick and fills in the need and the space is taken care of.    Things could go either way.

Basically the deal hasn't gone through yet so some things could change.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2019, 07:52:41 PM by BeautifulShy »
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Offline Shaymin

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The population of Metro Toronto is about 3 million and I swear, every single one of them is crammed into the parade route. I did enough crowd dodging last week.
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