Makes total sense to freeze out teammates when the media brings something from OUTSIDE the team to you in a question.
There was a stretch from November 26 to the infamous Lakers game where there was a lot more good than bad. Yes, a lot of it was against a weak schedule, but the team played the right way against that weak schedule, and played some good teams well (Toronto, Philly, OKC).
Klutch Sports kept lobbing grenades into the Boston clubhouse to create exactly this situation. It’s why I want no part of Davis no matter how talented he is. Some guys aren’t worth the baggage.
The conspiracy theory would be that AD told Kyrie something along the lines of "there's no fucking way I'm signing with Boston long term" (or that this got to Kyrie through the NBA grapevine). If that happened, of if Kyrie believes that to be true, he may have already made his decision to leave and is just playing out the string.
Brain freeze there. The Sixers didn't cover themselves in glory in the second round last year, and of the new additions, Butler had some playoff success on his resume, getting to the second round twice in six tries as a rotation player. Harris was swept in his one playoff appearance. Jonathan Simmons got to the WCF as a 20 mpg guy with the Spurs two seasons ago. For the Bucks, only new additions George Hill, Ilyasova and Mirotic have been out of the first round,
It's gonna be weird around here if they make a postseason run. Like, pretty much the entire regular season (outside of 2 stretches) was miserable up til now. But if they run to ECF again or beyond do we look back more fondly on this? I have no idea.
If they make the finals and people are upset, that's ridiculous. I guess "fondly" is different but I have a hard time believing people wouldn't get behind any team in the finals, regardless of how unlikable they are.
Yeah, if they make the ECF I'm throwing a party because that's the sort of thing that could help move Durant to forcing his way here.
The good news is we should have a favorable draw in the opening round vs Philly, who is seemingly as dysfunctional as we are. One fan base will gain some false hope from that series.
I invite @nighthob to speculate on if this makes it more likely that Durant Chis Pauls his way to the Celtics this off-season.
I mean, they are just garden variety positive comments about Golden State's next opponent but talk about timing is interesting.
The Warriors host us tomorrow. Durant is a smart veteran. He is going to say nice things about every next opponent. Big nuthinburger here.
You are likely right but again, if Durant (and Irving) had designs on joining forces in NY, it cannot be lost on them that LeBron may be sitting home when the real season begins because he simply doesn't have the horses to get there.
Realistically? No. But I think there is a way to do it if you send Hayward out to match Durant’s salary and then Tatum/Rozier/Filler/Picks for AD.
As far as I can tell the key is unloading GH somehow. That clears enough space. I always assumed it meant you'd have to pair GH with JT and /orpicks to get it done but as mentioned above maybe there are other creative sign and trade scenarios.
If the owners are willing to venture to payroll levels only experienced by the Thunder, sure. But realistically, no, because they’re not spending $300 million per year.
It’s silly because if Durant says “Trade me to Boston or I’m leaving” they aren’t getting Tatum, Brown, or a lottery pick. They’re going to take what they can get because the Warriors are otherwise faced with the option of replacing Durant and Cousins with a Morrii. But, who knows, maybe they’re fine wasting the rest of Steph’s prime.
Its not silly.
I'm guessing that GS would much rather let Durant go away for nothing than take on Hayward's awful deal. I think DeJesus is right that we'd need to sweeten although I don't think Tatum would be needed. Would GS really pass on, say, Hayward/Brown?
I don't think that's fair at all. Nobody will confuse Semi with Manute Bol, but you could say the same for Morris. He doesn't affect many shots. Semi would at least run some guys off the line and stay in front of a few people.
I wonder how much of that was retribution for DA tanking the LAL deal. Sorry if I'm late to the party in that theory.
I think the Warriors would prefer something if Durant leaves but I think Hayward, especially given his contract, is more of a liability than anything for them.
I agree. Teams have no problem getting exactly where they want against this defense in part because of soft guys like Morris. Semi can at least clog up some space and body a guy with that big ol' barrel chest. Maybe make some teams think twice about how easily they can take what they want from the C's defense. Either way I'd rather go down swinging with people who give it all they've got.
I'm not sure how much more Ojeleye I want to see, but I'm not stapling him to the bench on the grounds that we need Marcus Morris out there bothering shots.
There is no scenario where we get Gordon’s old self this season. Just watch old video and see the difference - it looks like he’s glued to the floor by comparison. He needs time to train while not suffering from the bumps and bruises of competitive basketball. If we move him before next season, we are unfortunately selling very low.
Then factor him being a complete zero offensively and you currently have a rea bad NBA player. This Semi over Morris thing is giving me flashbacks to the Jae Crowder is better than Paul George crew.
Boston would be over the luxury tax line and so can’t receive a player in a sign & trade. The way it has to work is the way the CP3 to Houston deal did, Durant offers to pick up his option if the Warriors trade him to Boston. Outside that the likelihood is that Irving and Durant team up on one of the many teams with the cap space to sign them.
The leaks started from the very day of the trade demand. The Lakers didn’t have much to offer New Orleans, so the only way that Klutch could get Davis to their team was to damage the other bidders for his services.
I'm just pointing out that you're not sacrificing shot blocking if you play Semi over Morris. Morris gives you a little more credible post defense, but he's not running anyone off the line whatsoever.
Unfortunately, AD to LAL is still the most likely IMO. If Kyrie bolts, I can't see Ainge offering up Tatum for AD. In this scenario, we are comparing Brown + salary + picks vs Ingram + Ball + Kuzma + picks (one of which would be this years pick which is likely pick # 11'ish. I think I pick LAL package over BOS
Apologies - I was unclear. This is the scenario I was referring to in my post.
To be brutally frank I’m hoping that Ingram plays well enough in a losing cause and that the Lakers end up with a high enough pick that Davis to LA becomes a fait accompli and that Boston can finally move on.
But that’s not a sign & trade, it’s just a trade. And they don’t occur because the player picks up the option out of the goodness of his heart. It would be conditional on the team completing the deal before the deadline (which is the week before the draft if memory serves).
I know the bolded is the preferred narrative on 93.7/98.5 these days, but I'm not sure the relationship between Kyrie and the team is irreparable just yet. Kyrie seemed much more positive about his relationship with Brad Stevens and the team during yesterday's interview. The timing of the Klutch/Davis crap and the losing streak is more probable than not just coincidence.
I think Hayward is going to be terrific.... next season. This year seems like a washout but I think he'll be ready to go next year.
I don’t listen to radio at all, so I’m unfamiliar. I’m looking at the play on the court, and since Klutch began its rumormongering campaign Boston’s on-court results have been ugly. And it’s understandable, their talented young players were faced with the knowledge that they were gone the minute Boston could trade them. And Irving hasn’t dealt well with the situation. (But this isn’t Irving’s fault, the whole Klutch Killer Klown Show would try the patience of Jesus. It’s why I want no part of Davis no matter how talented he is.)
At this point the only way that Boston could trade Irving would be if he wanted to sign with a team without sufficient cap space. Or to a team that needed to create more. For example, if the LA Clippers wanted to sign the Irving/Durant tandem, they’d need to clear some more space in order to add pieces around them.
If an influence like that can so impact a team the NBA might need to think about bigger sanctions.
