Despite the Blazers being my hometown team and Lillard being among my favorite players, I am happy to see this. He wasn't going anywhere with the Blazers anytime soon and, being on the back end of his career and having already proven his loyalty to Portland through thick and thin, I want to see him in contention. He is perhaps the most clutch player in the NBA and is born for the playoffs. Seems like he might be going to Philly or Miami...
He is the exact type of player that the NBA needs contending and playing for championships, to be looked up to and followed by the younger generation and incoming stars
Miami. Because that's the only way the Gabe Vincent thing makes sense! That's going to be EXCITING!
I have faith in the Heat front office, but right now it seems... less than ideal. Losing Vincent is huge, sign and trading Struss for basically nothing is also bad. They better make the Dame trade work.
As far as I've heard, it's Herro and the picks for Dame, with Robinson and Nurkić possibly being in the trade as well, and the Heat are reluctant to include Martin. The picks aren't too good either, so Portland will get fleeced no matter what - after all, Lillard is 32 and wants out after being there the whole career. I doubt they will block a trade to his preferred team unless some other offer is just significantly better.
Portland's future is questionable, besides Scoot. Herro's good and young and an ok-ish return for Dame, but I'm not convinced he'll ever be a star player in the league ("star" as in All-NBA player), despite what the Heat fans have been saying. Simmons and Herro seems like a defensive disaster waiting to happen. And they've just re-signed Grant to a huge contract... He's not a valuable asset on 160 mil for 5 years. _________________ Finally updated the overall chart
Yeah, Vincent (assuming he continues to play well) should be a huge pick up for the Lakers. Also, Prince is a steal at 4.5 million. They locked up Hachimura too, which was an obvious must. They still need to hold onto Reeves -- and hope another team doesn't drive his price up too much -- but they are having a great off-season so far. Besides trading the farm for Westbrook (a terrible move and fit) Pelinka has been exceptional and deserves more props. Lakers are looking like they have potential to be legit contenders IF IF IF IF Lebron and Davis stay relatively healthy and go into the playoffs that way. Lebron being 39 is obviously a major unknown because no one has been quite this good this late (Karl Malone comes the closest, Jordan was probably closer than we think considering the pace and defensive differences with his Washington stint being often underrated especially the first half of his first season with them when he was avging 25 if I remember correctly, the team was edging towards a good playoff seed, and he was building a pretty legit MVP case before injury ... Kareem was still really good at 38, in spurts after...) and so you just don't know if he is going to have a bigger drop off in any given year at this point because its just about uncharted territory for a player at his usage, athleticism and responsibilities on the floor. And it is still an unknown just how much Lebron's foot injury affected him in last season's playoffs OR if it really wasn't that big of a deal (and possibly being exaggerated by his camp as an excuse to cover up exhaustion?) and if it really was just his age slowing him down. And then there's the AD mystery: will he stay healthy or will he not? Will he take the mantle with a more dominant attitude or continue to be inconsistent and concede to the aging Lebron? He was certainly the Lakers best player last year but definitely not their leader and he still sort of shrunk in some games where they really couldn't afford it. How much does he want it after playing alternately excellent, then (the very next game) just so-so versus Jokic and the Nuggets last year and losing out on his chance to return to the conversation as one of the very best players in the game (and instead being a notch below that)? Does that upset him? Does he want to win an MVP, lead a team to a championship as its undisputed best player? Is he motivated to try and overtake Jokic this next year? (Laugh if you want -- and I'm not saying I would bet on him to do so -- but he has had the tools to be the best player in the NBA for years now ... there is a solid case that he may be better than Embiid WHEN he plays to his potential, particularly on defense, but of course that is always a question mark with him)
Here's Hoops Tonight's Jason Timpf's thoughts about all the major signings so far (until last night) -- not just the Lakers, but the others too:
Don't be fooled by the Lakers. James & Davis are not going to bring another title to LA. Their playoff run was deceptive because they played teams that were not nearly as good as the press made them out to be...they were handed a pretty nice road to the CF (Memphis was done by playoff time, and Golden State played awful for much of the season. And they got that spot by barely making the play in and beating a Minnesota team that had no business being anywhere near the postseason). Lebron is aging quicker than the team propping him up makes it seem...he is losing the ability to dominate for long stretches within a game...and that is only going to get worse, not better...especially later in the year. Davis has been exposed as a part time force and a part time non factor...and he played at times older than the 31 he will be before the end of next year. And the rest of that team isn't nearly enough to overcome the guys who call the shots.
And if James has real ambitions to play with his son in the NBA, he's going to make sure he stays healthy through 2023-24 to make it worthwhile for whichever team it is that gets the kid to give him a roster spot. If you think that at this point in his career winning a title with the Lakers is going to be Lebron's top priority, then be prepared to be surprisingly disappointed. Because Lebron will pick his son over you 8 days a week. _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
Yeah, Vincent (assuming he continues to play well) should be a huge pick up for the Lakers. Also, Prince is a steal at 4.5 million. They locked up Hachimura too, which was an obvious must. They still need to hold onto Reeves -- and hope another team doesn't drive his price up too much -- but they are having a great off-season so far. Besides trading the farm for Westbrook (a terrible move and fit) Pelinka has been exceptional and deserves more props. Lakers are looking like they have potential to be legit contenders IF IF IF IF Lebron and Davis stay relatively healthy and go into the playoffs that way. Lebron being 39 is obviously a major unknown because no one has been quite this good this late (Karl Malone comes the closest, Jordan was probably closer than we think considering the pace and defensive differences with his Washington stint being often underrated especially the first half of his first season with them when he was avging 25 if I remember correctly, the team was edging towards a good playoff seed, and he was building a pretty legit MVP case before injury ... Kareem was still really good at 38, in spurts after...) and so you just don't know if he is going to have a bigger drop off in any given year at this point because its just about uncharted territory for a player at his usage, athleticism and responsibilities on the floor. And it is still an unknown just how much Lebron's foot injury affected him in last season's playoffs OR if it really wasn't that big of a deal (and possibly being exaggerated by his camp as an excuse to cover up exhaustion?) and if it really was just his age slowing him down. And then there's the AD mystery: will he stay healthy or will he not? Will he take the mantle with a more dominant attitude or continue to be inconsistent and concede to the aging Lebron? He was certainly the Lakers best player last year but definitely not their leader and he still sort of shrunk in some games where they really couldn't afford it. How much does he want it after playing alternately excellent, then (the very next game) just so-so versus Jokic and the Nuggets last year and losing out on his chance to return to the conversation as one of the very best players in the game (and instead being a notch below that)? Does that upset him? Does he want to win an MVP, lead a team to a championship as its undisputed best player? Is he motivated to try and overtake Jokic this next year? (Laugh if you want -- and I'm not saying I would bet on him to do so -- but he has had the tools to be the best player in the NBA for years now ... there is a solid case that he may be better than Embiid WHEN he plays to his potential, particularly on defense, but of course that is always a question mark with him)
Here's Hoops Tonight's Jason Timpf's thoughts about all the major signings so far (until last night) -- not just the Lakers, but the others too:
Don't be fooled by the Lakers. James & Davis are not going to bring another title to LA. Their playoff run was deceptive because they played teams that were not nearly as good as the press made them out to be...they were handed a pretty nice road to the CF (Memphis was done by playoff time, and Golden State played awful for much of the season. And they got that spot by barely making the play in and beating a Minnesota team that had no business being anywhere near the postseason). Lebron is aging quicker than the team propping him up makes it seem...he is losing the ability to dominate for long stretches within a game...and that is only going to get worse, not better...especially later in the year. Davis has been exposed as a part time force and a part time non factor...and he played at times older than the 31 he will be before the end of next year. And the rest of that team isn't nearly enough to overcome the guys who call the shots.
And if James has real ambitions to play with his son in the NBA, he's going to make sure he stays healthy through 2023-24 to make it worthwhile for whichever team it is that gets the kid to give him a roster spot. If you think that at this point in his career winning a title with the Lakers is going to be Lebron's top priority, then be prepared to be surprisingly disappointed. Because Lebron will pick his son over you 8 days a week.
Sounds like we have mostly the same concerns about them, though I can possibly talk myself into picking them. They are more complete than last year, with a full season to gel. Of course the x-factor will be LBJ and AD's health. Denver is still probably the safest bet though. My only concerns with the Nuggets are if Jokic can stay motivated enough to repeat (he doesn't seem like he is as obsessed with the game and being the best like the very greatest players; so far this obviously hasn't held him back but he may need to be with the championship targets on their backs). And how they'll replace Brown's pivotal production. They still might reach the Finals without those solved as their path to it wasn't exactly all that challenged last season. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
Just to answer my own question about MJs Wizards stats from earlier:
In the 46 games that Jordan played before the injury, he averaged per game 25.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
Apologies to Romanelli, I do think there will be more Nuggets stuff as we get closer to the season opener ("Can they repeat?" etc) ... unless Lebron sabotages it by announcing his retirement or something _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
quickly put together, obviously inexpert, slapped together Top 50 25 on a whim ....
My All Time top 25 NBA player ranks:
(Players in bold are BOTH 1. still playing and 2. could conceivably move up my rankings or are probably going to - Lebron I can't see passing Jordan... but whatever not in the mood for that old debate now.)
(Players with an asterisk next to them are there DESPITE me having no clear understanding of their legend, having never watched them and never really read up on them enough to FEEL like I comprehend their greatness.)
1. Michael Jordan
2. Lebron James
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
top 3 in that order are set and were easy to type out with no thought... now it gets tough...
4. Magic Johnson
5. Bill Russell
6. Larry Bird
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. Tim Duncan
9. Hakeem Olajuwon
10. Shaquille O'Neal
11. Steph Curry
12. Kobe Bryant
13. Kevin Durant
at this point and after this tier it became more muddled and dartboard-y for me.
14. Jerry West
15. Oscar Robertson*
16. Moses Malone
17. Kevin Garnett
18. Karl Malone
19. Nikola Jokic
20. Giannis Antetokounmpo (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to put both Jokic and Giannis above that moses, KG, Karl Malone trio... but a cooler head prevailed. On Track both of them to be top 15 maybe top 10.)
21. David Robinson*
22. Julius Erving*
23. Dirk Nowitzki
24. Elgin Baylor*
25. Isiah Thomas
Notable Names I omitted despite really wanting to be a fanboy for (Pettit, as a stlouis boy), or despite KNOWING I'd get hate (Barkley) are as follows: Charles Barkley, Bob Pettit, George Mikan, Dwayne Wade, John Stockton, John Havlicek, and Chris Paul. _________________ -Ryan
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