Around the NBA 2017-18

[Koopa Troopa]

Thats interesting since Thibs was JVGs assistant during the Layden era so they have known eachother forever. I guess its really likely that Layden was just the scapegoat for Dolan's failures since GM after GM the Knicks kept doing the same boneheaded stuff

[shakespeare]

Read this article regarding Kawhi Leonard and peeped this quote:

And there will be more plot twists in the coming weeks and months. The Spurs have the option this summer to offer Leonard the “super-max”: a five-year contract worth $219 million. If he were to be traded to another team, he would receive a substantially reduced salary, perhaps as much as $80 million over the length of what would be a four-year deal. Financially, it makes sense for Leonard to want to remain in San Antonio.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... -1.3954575

No way Kawhi walks away from [what amounts to] $40 million per for the next 5 years.

[spree#8]

Did you guys realize that Scott Layden has been the GM of the Twolves since 2016??????

What? How is it that he hasnt traded away all their first rounders yet?

Yep, he was Thibs choice for GM. Before that he was assistant GM in San Antonio. He actually has a good reputation in NBA circles, just NY fans are still bitter.

[spree#8]

Because the T-Wolves owner isn't an impulsive idiot like Dolan...........I've always said Layden is nothing more than a puppet, and basically that Layden's entire Knicks GM tenure was basically Dolan making all the moves.

It also helps that Thibodeau is actually the T-Wolves President of Basketball Ops. as well

I don't think Dolan was making the moves, but give Layden a pass for a lot of moves because he was trying to keep a good but aging team relevant. That's a totally different task than the GM('s) after who took over a bad team and instead of realizing that and going young decided to put us on life support - wasting a lot of the Knicks' time.

[shakespeare]

Raptors may fire Casey, but why? http://nba.nbcsports.com/2018/05/07/rum ... ane-casey/

[spree#8]

The coach of the year curse is back.

[shakespeare]

The coach of the year curse is back.

Yup.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2347 ... -7-seasons

[spree#8]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2350 ... g-searches

Mike Budenholzer has emerged as the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors' coaching searches, and the two teams are preparing to spend the coming days competing for him, league sources told ESPN.

The Raptors opened talks with Budenholzer over the weekend, and those conversations were continuing Monday, league sources said. The Bucks considered Budenholzer their front-runner after the opening round of interviews and are working to re-engage him in talks that will include an ownership stake, league sources said.

Budenholzer, the 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year, has shown significant interest in examining both job opportunities.

Former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has garnered interest from both the Raptors and Bucks, sources told ESPN. AP Photo/Tony Dejak
After the dismissal of highly successful coach Dwane Casey, Toronto is selling the returning core of a 59-win Eastern Conference No. 1 seed, a past NBA Executive of the Year in Masai Ujiri and a streamlined ownership group with immense resources and a willingness to spend.

Milwaukee is selling a transcendent young star in Giannis Antetokounmpo, a solid supporting cast and the opening of a new downtown arena next season.

For Budenholzer, the Bucks and Raptors represent the opportunity to return to Eastern Conference contention. Budenholzer and the Atlanta Hawks parted ways in April, after the two sides could no longer see a path together with the franchise's rebuilding plans and new management structure.

[spree#8]

Budenholzer made the right choice IMO to go with Antetokounmpo instead of Lowry/DeRozan. More upside talent and age/window wise. Bucks made a good hire to get up into the 3-6 range in the East and with the stability Bud should bring, we face one more team to catch.

[Don Che]

Budenholzer made the right choice IMO to go with Antetokounmpo instead of Lowry/DeRozan. More upside talent and age/window wise. Bucks made a good hire to get up into the 3-6 range in the East and with the stability Bud should bring, we face one more team to catch.

100%

but....if they lose in the 1st round next year....I'm putting some blame on the Greek Freak if there isnt an obvious excuse.

cuz if KP was playing against Boston minus their 2 best players and we lose...this board would of rioted against him.

[Koopa Troopa]

Bucks still need to make changes. How is Giannis supposed to work when the paint is packed all day because nobody can shoot? You cant even have cutters to the rim for the same reason. The team is just flawed.

Too redundant. Bunch of defensive players with mediocre jumpers. Imagine Philly without Embiid, Bellinelli, Redick, etc etc etc and it was just Ben Simmons. Thats the Bucks. When Middleton and Brogdon are your biggest outside threats you have a major problem.

[spree#8]

Middleton is a 39% career three point shooter, Brogdon a 40% career three point shooter, Tony Snell a 38% three point shooter. Of course they need changes, but they certainly don't lack capable 3point shooters.

[Don Che]

agreed...the team isnt far off..i still find it nuts that they lost to Boston. they should of put up a much better fight.

[spree#8]

Nah, Boston is better than them. But a good coach like Bud might get them closer.

[shakespeare]

For what it’s worth, Scottie Pippen believes Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest, also adds it’s impossible to compare MJ, LeBron although he’s said otherwise in the past https://nba.nbcsports.com/2018/05/20/sc ... omparison/

[taowave]

No doubt Wilt was the greatest of his era,just like MJ and LeBron were/are..

The big O should be in there as well.

If that's the measuring stick,it's Wilt by a landslide.He was that dominant...

[dcapodic]

No doubt Wilt was the greatest of his era,just like MJ and LeBron were/are..

The big O should be in there as well.

If that's the measuring stick,it's Wilt by a landslide.He was that dominant...

If the 2017-2018 playoffs have done anything for me, it is to convince me that many of yesteryear's stars would be dominant in today's game. With the advent of the 3 point line (and the strategies around it) and probably more important, the no hand check rules and just general "touch foul" calls, the former players discussed in this thread, Jabbar, Wilt and Jordan would be unstoppable. You need to judge players by the era they play in but it is fair to make logical assumptions (how else can you even begin to compare players from different eras) and people love to say today's athlete is SO much better that the past. Well, drawing along similar logic, those 3 players mentioned would be unstoppable in today's game. In a way, I am penalizing Lebron because his dominant play comes at a time where there is no defense played and a physical player like him can run rampant in a league where only sheep are allowed to play. As great as his stats are, they should be even better given the conditions.

I just finished watching the Houston/GSW game 5 and this is the playoffs where the game is supposed to be allowed to be played more, not controlled by the whistle and there were calls that were beyond soft. This "defensive" battle is dominated by guys hoisting 30 footers and missing....boring, as amazing as it seems for such a prime matchup. Yet, the foul calls are beyond me and the thing is, they are legit for today's game, no one even argues them.

Jabbar, Wilt and Jordan (and others from the past) would be unstoppable by today's standards and so far outdo what Lebron does currently that it is like this.....

end discussion.

(Yea, I am semi-enjoying these playoffs but can't take the way the game is currently played and officiated)

[Koopa Troopa]

If the 2017-2018 playoffs have done anything for me, it is to convince me that many of yesteryear's stars would be dominant in today's game. With the advent of the 3 point line (and the strategies around it) and probably more important, the no hand check rules and just general "touch foul" calls, the former players discussed in this thread, Jabbar, Wilt and Jordan would be unstoppable. You need to judge players by the era they play in but it is fair to make logical assumptions (how else can you even begin to compare players from different eras) and people love to say today's athlete is SO much better that the past. Well, drawing along similar logic, those 3 players mentioned would be unstoppable in today's game. In a way, I am penalizing Lebron because his dominant play comes at a time where there is no defense played and a physical player like him can run rampant in a league where only sheep are allowed to play. As great as his stats are, they should be even better given the conditions.

I just finished watching the Houston/GSW game 5 and this is the playoffs where the game is supposed to be allowed to be played more, not controlled by the whistle and there were calls that were beyond soft. This "defensive" battle is dominated by guys hoisting 30 footers and missing....boring, as amazing as it seems for such a prime matchup. Yet, the foul calls are beyond me and the thing is, they are legit for today's game, no one even argues them.

Jabbar, Wilt and Jordan (and others from the past) would be unstoppable by today's standards and so far outdo what Lebron does currently that it is like this.....

end discussion.

(Yea, I am semi-enjoying these playoffs but can't take the way the game is currently played and officiated)

Alright lets put Kevin Durant up against Bryon Russel and Jeff Hornacek and see what his PPG are vs Utah in the 98 finals. Hand check all you want buddy, KD is scoring a million per game.

What the guys of today lack in hand checking they make up for with size and athleticism. Theres so many guys in the NBA right now that have longer wingspans than their actual height. And those same guys are giants that move with absolute grace. Theres sometimes when Im watching a game, especially a Bucks game and Im looking around and there is literally no driving lane cause these dudes are covering ALL the damn ground just by standing there with their arms out. Makes me wonder if they have to move the 3 point line even further back to give players more room to operate.

Remember that Steve Kerr said in the playoffs a few games ago that he could not play in todays NBA. He was there. He knows hes too goddamn slow and unathletic for todays league. Of course Jordan would be fine since he was an elite athlete, but I think the hand checking thing is overblown.

Plus while we are romanticizing the past lets not forget the terrible Illegal Defense rule. Either you committed to a double team or you had to glue to your man. You couldnt sag off. The defenses of today are way more intricate than the ones of the past. It was easier to ISO with illegal D. And it was easier to hit the open man if you got doubled.

AND to be quite honest I would have loved to seen TMAC and Kobe in the 90s. Put Tmac in the east in the 90s. McGrady had blocked Kobe's fadaway in the past, which you cannot deny was picture perfect MJ. No shooting guard was rivaling Jordan in the 90s. The athletes and defenders didnt exist at that position. You say LeBron thrived in the no defense era and I say OK as if this wasnt the Ron Artest, Bruce Bowen era. Tmac in Orlando was a monster on defense (the first few years there). How many SG's in the 90s averaged a block a game? Plus even in todays game guys go to the rim, theres a ton of contact and oftentimes no call is even made. Again the glorification of the past. I can see the argument already about guys getting clobbered in the paint, but that was dirty BBALL. You praise guys getting in dirty hits cause it was the good old days but say JR Smith should be ejected in the next breath for pushing Horford out of the air right? AND no matter what anybody says, LeBron is 6'9 280. Dude would go into the paint and destroy the guys trying to tackle him out of the sky. He is actually a tank with impeccable conditioning.

just to reiterate the original point... Knicks were sending out grocery store clerk John Starks at 6'2 to guard Jordan. But its better than todays defense cause he could hand check huh. Honestly I could keep going...Tell me what Jordan would do if Anthony Davis got switched onto him. He aint falling for the pump fake, and hes just as fast as MJ. MJ cannot shake him with his handles and he cannot post him up. So what will he do??? Plot armor of 90s basketball wont save him. And then lets flip the script. Put Anthony Davis in the 90s and let him hand check Jordan on the perimeter as well. Then what?

BBall has evolved now to the point where only the most elite athletes can enter. And by elite athlete we dont just mean body but mind as well. Its more complicated than ever with more olympic level athletes at every single position. No stiffs allowed. No random tall guys that can barely walk. No out of shape players succeed. The only way 90s players could compete is if they were elite athletes in their time and were given a chance to re learn bball growing up in todays era. Those skillsets of the past are dated and wont work effectively vs todays league, but if they had the skills and training methods/equipments/trainers of todays guys it would be a different story.

Now dont get me wrong...theres a lot of 90s guys that would beast in todays league. Hakeem for example would be an absolute terror. A lot of the 90s bigs were forces to be reckoned with. Im moreso talking about the guards. The guards of today are bigger faster with insane skill sets and with the same or even higher level of IQ.

[dcapodic]

Chris Paul, Alpha to the core. Great player, team leader type, get in your face type, plays with emotion, etc.

Harden, superstar....great player that does it all but not a rah, rah type, more of a lead by example type, doesn't show a lot of emotion, etc.

Side note....I know most people here don't seem to like MD for whatever reason but seeing his style and a guy like Harden meeting....it is just really fun to watch.

If games 5, 6 and 7 of the Western Conf finals proved anything, it was this. Yea, Harden did not play that well but even moreso was the way he just drifted into the background and Paul naturally became the leader. Every clip or shot into the Houston huddles showed Paul rooting on guys and his play on the court in game 5 was literally inspirational when they needed it. He got them to the brink then once again his body let him down. Almost shockingly, was how many times he had to try and pump Harden back up when things were going bad.

I have been a big Harden fan and supporter but this series kinda dropped me a bit in my opinion of him.

Drop the mic on this discussion about who the true "leader" of the Rockets is....it is Paul, of that there is no doubt left.

[shakespeare]

LeBron James and the NBA Need Another Summer Shakeup https://www.si.com/nba/2018/06/05/lebro ... -cavaliers

Definitely needs another shakeup this offseason. I can’t stomach another Warriors vs Cavaliers Finals, cause there’s nothing Cleveland can do to dethrone Golden State.

I was thinking what if LeBron signed with Houston? Would the Rockets sign LeBron, Paul and Capela to long-term deals? That’s a very, very expensive salary cap tax hit. I’m sure most will say letting Capela go is a no-brainer if it comes via adding LeBron, but that’s me wondering who provides the rebounding and shot blocking in the paint if Houston loses Capela?

I thought about 6ers, but I can’t see LeBron thinking Simmons and Embiid are experienced enough to dethrone Godlen State, not to mention Philadelphia’s current front office woes and Embiid’s immaturity/inability to stay healthy.

He says he wants to play “off the ball,” so it appears Rockets are the best bet with Harden and Paul, it would seem to the best bet. He’s about his legend and legacy at this point, so Rockets offer it all. I think.

LeBron to Lakers? That would be crazy, in my humble opinion. Not sure if Luke Walton is even head coaching material and they’re way too young to challenge Golden State. If he went to Lakers, he’d still end up being the playmaker when it came down to the nitty gritty, so, you know.

I think he’s gonna sign with Houston.