OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA: AUGUST 2023

Says who?

 

Oh, compared to our standout crop of big men that past 4 seasons?

 

didn't you hear? It's now Lillard's fault the Blazers stunk. Blame the All-Star PG averaging 30ppg. brilliant

 

Reported!

 

Kings signing Skal Labissiere...good luck to Skal!

 

Herro has had a better Ast% throughout his career. This past year, Reaves had a 15.7% Ast%, and a 14.0 TO%. Herro was at 19.9 and 11.7. Am I missing something?

 

Yes, herro's assists look mostly like hockey assists, he does not break the defense and creates for others like Reeves as far as I can see, his assists are a result of Miami's system.

 

Can we fine people here for unsubstantiated claims of someone being a liar?

 

I have never been a Harden or Morey fan but I think the Sixers and Morey prolly did him a little dirty but we in Blazer land have our own issues so whatever i guess

 

I doubt 76ers "did Harden dirty".
I think this is more of a case of over sense of entitlement.

 

Only reason i say the Sixers might have done Harden dirty is they convinced him to opt in to his deal with the condition they would trade him but to be fair and if true as long as it's before the trade deadline then have they really broken there word ??

Also as much as this soap opera in Philly is mildly interesting but cause of the Dame stuff here hard to care too much about the Sixers.

 

Harden's options were to:

1) Opt out & loose out on $36M guaranteed to be a FA. Given the market conditions, he's likely finding a contract in the $20M range.
or
2) Opt in (guaranteeing the $36M) and try and force a trade.

He choose door #2.

 

I think the fear is him showing up and playing like every game is in Sacramento.

 

From whom?

It's easy to say that until you actually dig into what flexibility teams had entering FA.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...cap-entering-2023-free-agency-after-nba-draft

Here are the teams that had cap space:

Houston Rockets ($59.8 million) -> There were a lot of rumors that Harden will land here. I'm guessing a lot of those were coming from Harden's camp trying to get 76ers to offer a max extension. Just before FA, there were rumblings that Rockets were not interested in Harden based on Udoka's recommendations. If the Rockets were interested in Harden - he would have opted out and be a Rocket right now.... They didn't want him (at > $35M/yr).

Utah Jazz ($43.9 million) -> LOL. Can you see Harden in Utah? Besides, Utah agreed to trade for John Collins June 27th (not officially completed until July 7). This trade ate up a large portion of their cap space, so they really only had ~$25M entering FA.

San Antonio Spurs ($37.4 million) -> Harden doesn't fit their timeline.
Indiana Pacers ($32.2 million) -> Harden doesn't fit their timeline.
Detroit Pistons ($27.8 million) -> Harden doesn't fit their timeline.
Orlando Magic ($17.8 million) -> Harden doesn't fit their timeline.

And don't say that a S&T is available. Any team getting Harden via S&T would be Hard Capped at ~$172M in salaries. When someone takes time to review the particulars, there weren't many options open to Harden.

 

Always root for him, great guy.

But every time I see this guys name I just think about how he was so hyped the last year or two prior to the draft and even talked about as a possible #1 overall pick. Just shows what a crapshoot the draft can be and banking on a tanking pick can be a massive waste of a season.

 

Agreed

 

Some rumors that Houston was going to max Harden... then Ime Udoka demanded they get defenders instead, so Harden was left without a chair in free agency.

All the Harden to Houston rumors that were going on for 6 months had to be coming from somewhere. I think Harden just another in a long line of pro athletes that don't understand father time or the market that puts them in.

Dude could've stayed and signed a ~200 million deal in Brooklyn and he screwed that all up so he probably going apeshit now realizing he has no way to ever earn all that money back.