**OFFICIAL 2019 NBA OFFSEASON THREAD**

[dman14]

lou may be like vince and play forever. he is always in shape and he is so fundamentally sound on offense

 

[dman14]

NBA is certainly an exclusive club, once you fall out of favor it is HARD to get back inside. You mean he isn't good for 5/6 fouls for any team in the league.

teams rather have a rookie and bank on potential, especially, if they already have a veteran presence in the locker room

 

[VARNELL HILL]

Damn

Cleveland’s problem is Collin Sexton, last year’s lottery pick, who projects for -7.1 WAR over the next five seasons. That’s not a typo—it’s a negative. Sexton looks like a sub-replacement player, and he has the second-worst long-term projection of any player in the NBA. Why?

He looks like a respectable offensive player. A late-season shooting surge pushed his 3-point percentage up to 40 percent, and his poor assist totals are an eyesore but not disastrously bad. On defense, though, Sexton was almost reprehensibly awful as a rookie. By real plus-minus, Sexton figured as the second-worst defender in the NBA last season, ahead of only Trae Young. By FiveThirtyEight’s new defensive stat DRAYMOND, which assesses a player’s ability to affect an opponent’s shot, Sexton was the league’s worst defender. So even taking age-based improvements into account, CARMELO thinks Sexton will be worth something like negative four points per 100 possessions on defense over the next half-decade—this after he looked like an impact defenderin the positive direction as a prospect.

 

[junglejim]

Ben Simmons 170M shot. Thoughts?

 

[trynafeelmink]

great ANOTHER equation to add to basketball.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Ryan Hollins was supposed to be Chris Bosh-lite right?

 

[addict4sneakers]

 

[deleted user 7639]

Dom Kennedy had a semi serious beef with someone in here but I don't remember if they ever actually met up.

I feel like NT hands have been thrown but can't recall anything sepcific.

Beefed with “THEREALHUNDREDS” that had to have been around 2008

RIP Stussy Hat!

 

[storm2006]

Lol

He was a borderline NBA guy from the jump. He’s not even good for 6 fouls.

He should stick to trolling, as he is in the workout video. tf he doing resistance ball handling for?

This ***** needs to be a classroom working on his broadcasting skills.

 

[ill steelo]

Best form outside of GSW

 

[P C H]

Getting a running mate like Paul George, the Clippers had been informed by Leonard’s camp, would be the key to landing Leonard.

Ballmer pushed for a Leonard-and-George pairing as soon as he realized it was possible in early July. He’s not only 100 percent owner and probably the team’s most passionate fan but also a guiding force inside the front office’s strategy sessions.

Following a deliberate two-year rebuilding process, Ballmer felt it was time to shift to contention mode, especially given that Leonard’s and George’s Southern California roots represented such a special subplot in this L.A. basketball story.

At around 10:30 p.m. PT on Friday, July 5, the Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder concluded their 48-plus-hour negotiation and agreed on the framework of a deal: George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks (two from Miami) and two pick swaps. Then came the furious five-minute finish.

The Clippers, at the goal line, told Thunder general manager Sam Presti that they were in — so long as Leonard was in, too.

Hold on, please.

President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who handled the communication during the trade negotiations, made the call to Leonard and his uncle and trusted confidant, Dennis Robertson, to confirm that this was indeed what Leonard wanted.

We have a deal ready with the Thunder for Paul George. We can pull the trigger right now. Are you in?

He was in.

The Clippers quickly informed Presti the deal was on. And in a matter of five intense and meaningful minutes, the Clippers’ future — and the greater NBA landscape — dramatically shifted. It was one of the most impressive offseason coups in NBA history.

Four days before the Clippers landed Leonard and George, they hosted a nearly three-hour meeting with Leonard inside coach Doc Rivers’ home in Malibu. Some key progress was made that Monday afternoon. Ballmer, Rivers, Frank and famed adviser Jerry West had been there on behalf of the Clippers, with Leonard, Robertson and agent Mitch Frankel the main part of the group being courted.

The Clippers pitched Leonard on multiple points, including the way the franchise had conducted its business over the past two years; Ballmer’s competitiveness and willingness to spend any amount necessary to win; Rivers’ coaching; the humble nature of the organization’s power players; their player services and player-centric environment; the benefit of being understated in Los Angeles; the front office’s shrewd decision-making and long-term plan; and the new arena the team plans to have built in Inglewood.

These are the types of questions Leonard and his inner circle asked, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania: What does the future look like to you? What does my future with your organization look like? How will your franchise shape the next phase of my career?

There is a perception that in-person meetings are the first and last chance to persuade a player, but that wasn’t the case with Leonard and the Clippers. The two sides spoke every day of free agency — ranging from two to three conversations a day — about roster hypotheticals and other questions that naturally arose. The Clippers never felt they were in the dark during the process.

The Malibu sitdown was more about getting some face time and familiarity among all of the people who could become partners very soon.

https://theathletic.com/1086977/201...lippers-pursuit-of-kawhi-leonard-paul-george/

 

[P C H]

Keep wondering how much of an interest he had w/other teams if he was talkign to the Clips everday, recruiting, etc.

On that day that forever changed a once-laughable franchise, the front office was in a familiar, and temporary, station that had been its work home since May 1: Rented corporate space in El Segundo, about a quarter-mile from the Lakers’ headquarters, because, well, upgrades and renovations at the Playa Vista practice facility were causing a bit of dust.

This was the place where they executed their offseason playbook, where long days and short nights became the norm for this front office that might be the deepest and most talented in the league.

In the days leading up to Leonard’s decision, their core group — Frank, general manager Michael Winger, assistant general managers Mark Hughes and Trent Redden, and executive director of research and identity Lee Jenkins — had barely slept.

That included a 48-hour period in which the front office strategized seemingly every avenue possible to improve its roster around Leonard. On the final few nights before his announcement, the group would call it quits in the office around 2 a.m., then be back before 7 a.m.

But considering all that was at stake, the wheels would keep turning when the group headed home. Good luck reaching an REM state with this kind of opportunity in the balance.

As the Clippers surveyed the NBA scene, it wasn’t yet clear whom they could pair with the 2019 Finals MVP. They analyzed and studied every roster and star player in the league, attempting to find out who would best fit alongside Leonard, both on the hardwood and from a personality standpoint.

The Clippers inquired about Washington’s Bradley Beal and Houston’s James Harden, according to league sources, but neither star was available.

As The Athletic previously reported, Leonard had an interest in joining forces with Jimmy Butler on the Clippers and, according to ESPN, also reached out to Kevin Durant about teaming up in Los Angeles.

Enter Paul George.

Also dispels the notion that he was for sure not coming had LAC not gotten another star

The Clippers could have stood pat, passed on trading for George, kept Gilgeous-Alexander, hoarded their assets and still possibly landed Leonard. That will always be one of the all-time what-ifs.

 

[whitemamba27]

A few days ago, I thought the pelicans may have an outside chance at making the playoffs. But they aren't gonna win 50 games or even come close.

i dont think any team can top the suns being 14 games back of the 14th seed last season

 

[P C H]

No one gets more chances than Lotto picks man

 

[bballkid11]

No one gets more chances than Lotto picks man

"Potential" SMH.

 

[alchemist iq]

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Rockets are deep. Russ and nem might win 60 this year. Only 7 more wins than last season. They've added Tyson Chandler, Chris Chiozza, Anthony Bennett and now Ben McLemore to their existing core of Austin Rivers and Isiah Hartenstein. Those are all professional basketball players as of today. MDA should be able to go 14 deep while other teams are resting their stars.

 

[nick.]

 

[the 718 truth]

 

[alchemist iq]

 

[storm2006]

Man........

Edit: @MVP Daniel from Insecure is definitely getting the call now. We are really sending Celtics Lite our there

 

[rolaholic]

Man should've taken winning anywhere/way he can get it cause he damn sure isn't winning **** in SA

 

[papichino]

Australia in 6 unless they pick 4 Celtics in the final lineup

 

[freakydestroyer]

It's going to turn into a team of G league players.

 

[lawdog1]

Ben McLemore is basically Wes Johnson 2.0 and Wes was in the NBA for like 10 years...