OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: SEPTEMBER 2024

Aldridge was always looking for any reason to quit, IMO. We should have traded him before that.

 

I do. They threw away 15 games at least last year. I also feel that threshold will be around 44 games this year but it certainly could be higher again beings more teams might be trying to lose again.

 

I was at the game Wes went down and a couple more after. Aldridge quit as soon as Wes wasn’t there lighting a fire under everyone’s ass to play tough.

 

Didn’t Thibs coach KAT in Minny?

 

for 3 seasons

 

Agree to disagree.

 

This is a salary dump. Minnesota wanted out of his massive contract. Was that smart? I guess you can argue it was. But NY is the one that got better. They filled a hole that desperately needed filling.

 

That's how I remember it as well. And, while I love Wes for that, we need more talent to be more resilient. And the right talent.

 

But why? Randle has been All NBA. Meanwhile, Ant wasn’t even top 40 in PER last year.

 

Gonna be fun to be a Knicks fan this year.

 

This is not difficult. Because KAT has longevity with the Minny organization. He WAS the franchise player, UNTIL Ant exploded this past season as they were hoping to. KAT's ego is too big to play second fiddle to Ant in Minny. But, Kat is moved to NYK, gets to be the man there with a loaded starting roster. Randle moving to a new team, in this case Minny, knows they are giving the keys to Ant and he is second fiddle. I can go on but it is pretty in ones face what is at play. And for good reason. The NBA wants to feature Ant, Randle, not so much.

 

Everyone see's the ascension of Ant in Minny. Star's like KAT do not want to play second fiddle in the city they were drafted in to a young up and comer. Minny is smart to nip an inevitable power struggle in the bud. They got a fair deal for KAT. Ant, in my opinion will be a bigger star than KAT in the long run. Will they translate into titles? We shall see. But that is the bet Minny is making. I am pretty sure that Minny management spoke with Randle prior to consummating the trade to assure he was good with playing second fiddle to Ant, because that is exactly what he will be doing. Ant will be a ball dominating two guard. Just the facts. Randle is still good at what he does, but Ant is a game changer.

 

The Knicks are Brunson’s team. Kat won’t be The Man.

 

If Ant is game changer, how come he wasn’t even in Top 40 in PER? PER isn’t everything but you need to be Top 20 to even being considered as a star.

Did KAT and Ant not get along? They play different positions. Why would KAT not want talented teammates at the other positions?

 

All offseason long, about 5 times rumors emerged that Ainge had several offers for some Jazz star (teams were named), but was negotiating for more. Then silence, as reporters forgot that Ainge's hardball wasn't working. Then 2-3 weeks later, again. Each time, reporters covered the repeating cycle with a self-important enthusiastic article, as if this were the first time this summer.

Now the Utah GM says, "When those opportunities come up, we’re ready for it. There weren’t any."

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2024/09/27/what-happened-big-game-hunting/

No reporter piped up, "So you were lying?"

 

Sounds familiar…. (Aldridge/Dame)

 

We will find out eventually, but it seemed to me that they kept it pretty quiet. Did they really talk to Randle first?

 

The KAT trade happened primarily because of cap reasons. Minny literally had to trade somebody or lose players like the insanely popular Naz Reid. The fact that they couldn't get a better haul than NY offered them tells you all you need to know of KAT's value. Minny will be fine - New York is the one taking a big risk.

 

holy shit!....you're really working OT trying to convince everybody what they saw from Edwards last season, especially in the playoffs, wasn't real

* during the regular season, Ant averaged 26-5-5. In the playoffs, he averaged 28-7-7
* during the regular season, his PER was 19.7 and his TS% was .575. In the playoffs, his PER was 22.5 and his TS% was .598
* regular season, his winshare/48 was .130, and his BPM was +3.3. In playoffs those marks were .172 and +6.7

he's been in the playoffs 3 seasons and in each season, his scoring, assists, and efficiency increased in those playoffs. That's rare

he was the unquestioned leader and #1 option on the Wolves last season and he led them to the 4th best record in the NBA, only one win behind 2nd best record, and he led his team to the conference finals

and he did all that when he was 22, in his 4th season, and still on his rookie contract. That's a hell of a lot better resume than "wasn’t even in Top 40 in PER"

 

I CAN tell you that whatever the ally-00p record is…..they will shatter it by allstar break. CP3 > Wembanyama is going to be fun to watch. DVR already set for everyone of their games.