NBA 2020-21 Thread

[rudel.dietrich]

Postponed games are starting to add up, unfortunately.

[Syd Thrift]

The league is apparently meeting to discuss taking 7 to 14 days off to “reset” after all of these positive tests.

[rudel.dietrich]

Houston is going to pull an Anthony Davis with Harden and simply hold him out of further games until they trade him.
I don't think that is very smart, but I don't think their new ownership or front office is very smart, so it's on brand.

[rudel.dietrich]

Well, maybe less stupid when it seems like they had a plan in place.

Harden goes to the Nets.

Houston gets back Caris Levert, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, FOUR first round picks and FOUR pick swaps.

Cleveland was brought in to make the deal work and get Jarret Allen and Taurean Prince.


It will take a very long time to see how this one shakes out. I thought Brooklyn was pretty deep. But Irving is AWOL and becoming an issue, and Lavert and Allen being traded gives them less depth and Dinwiddie going down to a knee injury also hurts.

But Harden is a great player when he gives a damn. Now it is just about the Nets seeing if they can make him give a damn from night to night.

[ohiodevil]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Well, maybe less stupid when it seems like they had a plan in place.

Harden goes to the Nets.

Houston gets back Caris Levert, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, FOUR first round picks and FOUR pick swaps.

Cleveland was brought in to make the deal work and get Jarret Allen and Taurean Prince.


It will take a very long time to see how this one shakes out. I thought Brooklyn was pretty deep. But Irving is AWOL and becoming an issue, and Lavert and Allen being traded gives them less depth and Dinwiddie going down to a knee injury also hurts.

But Harden is a great player when he gives a damn. Now it is just about the Nets seeing if they can make him give a damn from night to night.

You missed another piece:

The Pacers are receiving guard Caris LeVert and a second-round pick from the Nets and Victor Oladipo is going to Houston.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by ohiodevil

You missed another piece:

The Pacers are receiving guard Caris LeVert and a second-round pick from the Nets and Victor Oladipo is going to Houston.

I had incomplete information when I posted the above.
It was reported by Yahoo as a 3 team trade when in fact it is a four team trade.
Wow, those are hard to wrap my head around.

[ohiodevil]

Yeah this is nuts! Here is the full trade:

Full Trade Details:

Cleveland Cavaliers get:
- C Jarrett Allen
- F Taurean Prince

Houston Rockets get:
- G Victor Oladipo
- G Dante Exum
- F/C Rodions Kurucs
- 3 BKN first-rounders ('22, '24, '26)
- 1 MIL first (22, unprotected)
- 4 BKN 1st round swaps ('21, '23, '25, '27)

Brooklyn Nets get:
- G James Harden

Indiana Pacers get:
- G ,Caris LeVert
- 2nd rounder

[thehef]

First thoughts on the trade:

1. Is one ball going to be enough in Brooklyn? Despite his most-fragile ego, Durant can sometimes play well with others, as he demonstrated with the Warriors. But if there's one person who pummels the air out of the ball more than Kyrie, it's Harden. Will Durant enjoy watching that?

2. Do the Nets have anyone left who can defend?

3. How quickly - just a few short years - the West went from a deep, powerhouse conference, to where it's the Lakers and nobody else remotely in the title conversation (reminds me of the 80's in that respect, where the L's would feast on barely-.500 competition and then meet the tired & injured survivor from the East in the finals).

[MBarrett]

The Nets have to win it all this year or next in order to make this worth it. They've wrecked their franchise for years now and all of the Big 3 could be gone in 2 years. Terrible asset management.

[Déjà Bru]

Humorous headline:

One Basketball Might Not Be Enough for the New-Look Nets

[Syd Thrift]

Durant is a plus defender.

[Antonin]

I like our new-look Cavaliers. It has been a long time since we saw such consistent defense. Drummond will probably be traded, but I like him a lot. With Drummond, McGee and now Allen, it doesn't look like we have any weaknesses at center.

Osman and Nance have been spectacular. Okoro is a joy to watch. Sexton is coming along very nicely. Win or lose, it's a fun team to watch. They look like they are buying in to what coach Bickerstaff is selling.

[ohiodevil]

I think McGee is going to be the one they deal since there will be more teams that can fit him in their salary cap, probably for a late 1st or a couple 2nd rounders. I read yesterday that they are talking with Drummond about an extension, which I would be ok with if it was at most a 3 to 4 year deal. But they are much better than I thought they would be and certainly a lot more fun to watch than the last couple seasons.

[rudel.dietrich]

Mcgee would be the one to be dealt. Unless they sell low on Drummond or a team is stupid enough to give up a 1st round pick for him.
And Cleveland would be foolish to sign Drummond to an extension.
The $60 million over four years is about the very limit of the upper max I would offer him. But I don't see him accepting that, this upcoming FA class is drying up, and a team will overpay for him.

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by ohiodevil

I think McGee is going to be the one they deal since there will be more teams that can fit him in their salary cap, probably for a late 1st or a couple 2nd rounders.

But, you know what? I have been pleasantly surprised by McGee. I have not seen much of him in the past because it it looks like he has been playing mainly in the west for the last few years. But he's a very good player. Very smart. Very savvy on defense.

I notice that in the pregame huddle, after the introductions, McGee has been the one talking to everybody to get their blood going.

Three very good centers, one of them elite. We have not had a problem like this in Cleveland since...maybe never.

[rudel.dietrich]

Damn
I am not a very emotional person. But seeing that NBA writer Sekou Smith died of COVID hit me really hard.
I enjoyed the NBA Hang Time podcast and his writing and he had a podcast as recently as January 11th
He sounded hoarse on the podcast and I thought maybe it was the weather or laryngitis. He was only 48

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Damn
I am not a very emotional person. But seeing that NBA writer Sekou Smith died of COVID hit me really hard.
I enjoyed the NBA Hang Time podcast and his writing and he had a podcast as recently as January 11th
He sounded hoarse on the podcast and I thought maybe it was the weather or laryngitis. He was only 48

This was a very big shock to me also.

[Antonin]

Andre Drummond was held out of last night's game vs the Warriors, and the announcers said that according to the Cavs he will not be playing "going forward." So, it looks like a trade is in the works.

I like Drummond. I would make a lousy sports coach or manager, because I get sentimental about players. If a guy is a decent person and plays hard, I'm willing to have him play for us forever. Drummond seemed like a good guy during his time in Cleveland. Great player, of course, but a little too much post-up play.

I love Allen and McGee, so if we lose Drummond the center position is secure for my Cleveland Cavaliers.

[Syd Thrift]

Speaking of Drummond, Draymond Green had a lot to say about the double standard revolving around how the league treats players like him.

"Because when James Harden asked for a trade, and essentially dogged it, no one's going to fight back that James was dogging it his last days in Houston, but he was castrated for wanting to go to a different team. Everybody destroyed that man. And yet a team can come out and say, 'Oh, we want to trade a guy,' and then that guy has to go sit, and if he doesn't stay professional, then he's a cancer. And he's not good in someone's locker room, and he's the issue."

[Antonin]

Yeah, I think Draymond made some good points. Yes, I know that at the upper levels of the game these fellows are extremely well paid, but they are human beings too. They are expected to buy in to whatever the team line is, but in an instant the team can just up and get rid of them, by trade or release, without any explanation. Many of them have families who may have established themselves in whatever city they are in.

I'm sure Drummond knew his days were numbered in Cleveland when the Cavs traded for Jarrett Allen.

I read that Allen was very surprised to be traded to the Cavs. But he should know that this is a friendly city with great sports fans (regardless of what Kyrie Irving thinks) who will be happy to have him. If he likes museums we have one of the best art museums in the US. We also have a world-famous orchestra, a nice lake with decent beaches, and a wonderful park system. We have a nice Asia Town, and a strong tradition of African-American and Eastern European cuisines.

I also read that Allen loved shopping at Whole Foods when he was in Brooklyn. There's a Whole Foods not far from where I live. I'm sure it will be easy to spot him there, with that glorious 'fro!