***OFFICIAL THREAD- NBA 2018 to 2019***

[ubercow]

nice tracker here: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/c ... t_tracker/

edit: ugh knicks ownership is garbage

[Parkpill]

Personally, I'm happy with what the Sixers have done in FA thus far. Defensively, they will be an absolute terror, and remain a frontrunner in the East.

[ubercow]

kawhi and george to the clippers. i like this mix of talent on all the teams, screw these guys stacking teams

[808]

kawhi and george to the clippers. i like this mix of talent on all the teams, screw these guys stacking teams

I thought Leonard and George play the same position. No? Same question I had when the Thunder acquired both George and Carmelo Anthony.

[Parkpill]

Today's NBA isn't necessarily defined by the traditional set positions. It's more a guard/forward driven league now.

This season will definitely be exciting. The West frontrunners will be Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, Denver, Golden State. The East should be Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Boston.

[wyokie]

Just heard of the Paul George swap between OKC and the Clippers. It reminds me of the infamous Herschel Walker trade back in the very late '80s between the Voikings and Cowboys.

Sweet Jesus the Clippers gave up a lot to get him.

[wyokie]

Found the trade details for the Paul George swap...

Clippers got Paul George

Thunder gets...(all picks are in the first round)

2021 Miami (unprotected)
2022 LAC (unprotected)
2023 Miami (top 14 prot.)
2023 pick swap
2024 LAC (unprotected)
2025 pick swap
2026 LAC (unprotected)

AND
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (G, Kentucky)
Danilo Gallinari (F, Italy)

[bandits1]

^^^Yup, it's a LOT. But the Clips had to do it, and quickly, to get Leonard or he might've went to Lakers. So those many assets were in exchange for George and Leonard and also to avoid total So Cal dominance by the Lakers for years to come.

And as others have pointed out, it's largely a "position-less" NBA nowadays. 6'10" point guards, 7'0" centers fully expected to be able to step out to the 3-point line to space the floor for others, etc... I just hope Westbrook is finally realizing that he's the problem down there in OKC. Hog-cheese, hardheaded and inefficient is not a good combination for a so-called leader who supposedly has championship aspirations. Even Jordan couldn't do it alone.

[cabanalane]

This reminds me of the old days when the Heat, Knicks, and Pacers were at their best. No one could really get out of the East because of the Bulls. It's like they never had a chance for history to remember how good these teams were.

Similar now to now LA. For the sake of this example, if it's Lakers or Clippers, only one of them can represent the WEST. But overall, I think these trades-moves are better for the NBA. I think talent and competition is better spread out now. I don't really know who will win or been in the Finals next year. So the not-knowing should be exciting.

In last few years, you can just go with GSW, and won't be wrong.

[Parkpill]

This reminds me of the old days when the Heat, Knicks, and Pacers were at their best. No one could really get out of the East because of the Bulls. It's like they never had a chance for history to remember how good these teams were.

Similar now to now LA. For the sake of this example, if it's Lakers or Clippers, only one of them can represent the WEST. But overall, I think these trades-moves are better for the NBA. I think talent and competition is better spread out now. I don't really know who will win or been in the Finals next year. So the not-knowing should be exciting.

In last few years, you can just go with GSW, and won't be wrong.

I agree. Having this many title contenders is great for the league.

[bandits1]

Another benefit of having more parity around the league, with the weakening of the Warriors and recent dispersal of all-star talent both to the Eastern and Western conferences, is more teams are likely to fight for that 7th and 8th seeds instead of avoiding them and tanking their way into the draft lottery. That's the advantage of having no "unbeatable" teams(until proven otherwise).

Teams I'm excited to see play include, of course, the Clippers, but more so the Jazz, Mavericks(they get Porzingis back) Pelicans and Nuggets, in that order. From the East, it's the Hawks, Bucks and to a lesser extent the Pacers after Oladipo returns, which could be by Dec.

[ubercow]

westbrook for cp3 and picks. crazy off-season

[gopunahou]

This coming year might be like 2009, when six or seven teams from the West were capable of going to the finals. Two of them gave the Lakers all that they could handle.

[bandits1]

Last chance for Westbrook to show that he can work and play well with others. With his style of play his body should start really breaking down soon, and then he'll have to rely more on his limited basketball skills and IQ to get by -- good luck with that, HOU. Kind of a last chance for Harden, too, at least with the ball-dominant style that he plays with and his still low-effort defense -- although he seemed to try a little harder on that end last season. A little. Like it used to be zero effort and now it's maybe level 5 out of 10.

Chris Paul is very nearly over-the-hill so I can't really say it's his last chance; that came and went with his run in HOU. Dude has all-world, HOF skills, I.Q. and drive, but he can't seem to get along with other stars. That's why I enjoyed watching him when he was with the CHA/NO Hornets where he was the only star on the team surrounded by hard-working role-players. He can't win it alone so that pretty much wraps up that part of his career, at least as far as being a big, major piece of a championship team goes. He might be able to latch on to a true title contender when he's old(er) and coming off the bench in more of an advisory and locker room-presence type role.

Excited for the NBA season to start.

[cabanalane]

I do feel bad for cities like OKC. They were that close to being a powerhouse team with young core players. Imagine if they all mature together. This goes back to the James Harden days at OKC - I know they could not keep (afford) him, but let's imagine.

The rich gets richer.

I get it, but this is not the 1960s, 70s, or even the 90s. It almost does not matter where you live (play), the modern internet, marketing, and social media bridge all distances. They all got homes in L.A. and spend their summers there. So it's not like they are really stuck in cold Milwaukee.

Chris Webber once said he does not want to be in Sacramento, because there were no clubs. I think there are plenty of clubs (now) - enough for young guys with a lot of $$$ to enjoy.

Back to OKC, what will it take for OKC to attract players, short of moving the team to Las Vegas. We can name several teams that will NEVER win a title because of their location.

OK, what about Toronto..one may say. But that was a one-time stop, really against his will.