Around the NBA - August 2017 Edition

Really? They would turn down the #1 pick in next year's draft? They're not winning anything with the current team and ZBO is gone.

 

Yeah, but they desperately need a PG and Conley is an all-star level PG and much better than Harris. Plus that opens up the SG spot for Jamal Murray.

 

Exactly. Two top 5 picks is a great way to restart especially when they probably won't make the playoffs next yera.

 

Here is a shocker:

"The young players on the Bulls really can't stand Dwyane. It's no secret in Chicago, they have had enough."

"This is inevitable. It's coming. It's just a matter of when not if. But right now, guys, it's just kind of a staring contest. Everybody's looking at each other saying 'OK, how much money are you willing to give up?'"

"This is a divorce that's going to happen, but it may take some time."

It's pretty interesting to hear about the young Bulls' players frustrations with Wade, though it's quite understandable that they were annoyed by Wade calling them out in the media for not working hard enough when he reportedly didn't practice on many occasions.

With Wade heading for a Chicago exit, it will be fascinating to see where he ends up. Could he go back to Miami to finish out his career with Pat Riley? Or perhaps he'll join his good friend LeBron James for one last title run in Cleveland.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...rs-fed-up-with-dwyane-wade-buyout-inevitable/

 

I guess you could do something like:
POR Gets: Shumpert
CLE Gets: Gasol, Parsons, Harris, Faried
DEN Gets: Conley, Jefferson
MEM Gets: 2018 BKN 1st, 2018 CLE 1st, Thompson, Smith, Osman, Beasley, Felder (Salary Matching Cuts - Davis, Frye, Arthur, Nelson, Connaughton)

Memphis sheds Parsons salary and gets CLE's pick as well as Beasley, making the trade more favorable for them.

 

I could see Wade going to Boston, as his lack of shooting would be fine in that starting lineup that'd have 4 shooters around him. It would allow them to trade Smart for a backup PF, and have their bench go Rozier/Brown/Tatum/Acquired PF/Baynes. They'd contend and Wade would probably be interested.

Could even start Brown at SG and bring Wade off the bench.

Or you could trade Brown for a good backup PF and sign Allen and Wade, going with a bench of Smart/Allen/Tatum/Acquired PF.

I don't think the Celtics are done.

 

Ray Allen? I don't think he's coming out of retirement. He just turned 42.

 

Tony..

 

It's not really said and done that Brooklyn pick will be top 5. They have no reason to tank and there are a lot of truly bad teams who will be tanking across the league - Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando and Sacramento are absolutely brutal, Indiana are terrible too and then you also have Phoenix who are a bad team as well. Besides, I would not say Memphis are getting a top 5 pick because they are making themselves so bad, it's not an asset to consider, you don't purposedly move on two players of Conley and Gasol quality with a view of becoming bad enough to end up higher in lottery

 

He has a $24M contract next year. Unless there's a buyout he's going nowhere.

 

They've had no reason to tank the last two years and they lost their best player. D'Angelo Russell hurts a team on both sides of the ball. All those teams you listed have more talent than Brooklyn. It's very likely they end up in the bottom 5.

The question is, would you rather have Conley and Gasol, who are past their prime, just to get the 8th seed at best? Or would you rather have two top 5 picks in the draft next year? I'd take the draft picks any day of the week.

 

That's exactly what would happen.

 

Those are not two guaranteed top 5 picks though, and Conley and Gasol are known quality already.

 

They're getting one high pick. Counting their own pick when they bottom out is silly. It's like saying, "Trading Gasol and Conley for nothing to a team with cap space is a great deal for Memphis! They get a top-five draft pick."

The actual trade return is terrible for two high level players. What they get for tanking doesn't count as part of the trade--first they need to get equal value, then it's up to them to also factor in things like how it would affect their own draft prospects.

 

Yeah I am not a fan of including your own pick becoming higher as a return you get from trade. You need to look for actual assets someone will give you.

It kind of worked out for Sacramento when they traded Cousins but a) they would have lost their own pick otherwise, b) they also got a #6 overall pick from previous draft and a #10 pick in the following draft.

Plus as I said, not that sure about Brooklyn's pick. I think Atlanta, Chicago and Indiana are all so much worse this season they could end up beneath them comfortably.

 

Indiana's underrated

 

They got an all-star, cheap versatile upper echelon role player, a young center with potential, and a likely top 5 pick... nothing to laugh about there

 

An all star who's probably a rental, a role player on a soon to be rebuilding team, a center whos shown nothing, not even in summer league, and a pick that's still TBD. I can play this game too.

 

You just like arguing don't you? Take a few months off and join us again when you turn 16 kid.

 

Looks like Schumpert has now asked for a trade......this is going to get ugly I think.