2023 Offseason

[Jeffx]

Draft Night Trade Tracker - shocked at the Celtics trading Marcus Smart. KP plays no defense.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/378 ... ls-2023-24

[Jeffx]

Free Agent Tracker..damn, Miami took a big hit, losing Gabe Vincent & Max Strus. Denver's going to miss Bruce Brown.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/378 ... zz-reports

[mp3]

Yeah that's a big loss to them, I also think the Nuggets losing Jeff Green and Bruce Brown was a major loss for them, both solid role players

[Andrew]

I'm a little surprised they weren't keen to return and look to be a part of an effort to repeat. If the money is better elsewhere though, you certainly can't fault them for taking the higher offer. Tough losses for the Nuggets, for sure.

[mp3]

I think that Mike Malone parade speech aged well saying Bruce was going nowhere... run it back !

Then they lose Green, Brown, Bryant and probably Reggie Jackson

[Andrew]

Some of Mike Malone's trash talk after they won was on the money. That one...yeah, like milk.

[mp3]

Haha yeah I think he sounded like he had a beer or 2 at the parade and rightfully so after the year they had and to just think he did really good work with the Kings and was sacked when he was the one coach that could get Cousins to listen and play harder

[Jeffx]

What do you all think of Wemby? Looked a lot better last night. Of course it's summer league and he's only 19, but he definitely has a skill set.

[Andrew]

The skills are there, but I'm not sold on him being a dominant force yet; at least not consistently early on. It'll be interesting to see if he does end up getting outmuscled at the NBA level, against real competition as opposed to Summer League hopefuls. While his handles are impressive for a player his height, a lot of people seem to act like he's Allen Iverson with the ball, and he's definitely not that good! I could see elite defenders swooping in and stripping him in the post a fair bit, at least until he gets better at protecting the ball.

A lot of promise, though. It's funny to see fans of teams that missed out on the top pick claiming he is or will be a bust; some sour grapes there for sure! I highly doubt he'll be anywhere close to a bust, but I'm not sure about him dominating right away, or putting up Hall of Fame numbers as a rookie. I think he'll be very good, but his insistence that he doesn't need any bulk is questionable, as we've already seen him moved out of position by weaker competition. He might be in for a shock, though again, I think he will still hold his own and be quite good. I doubt he'll be quite as good as rookie David Robinson or Tim Duncan, but I could well be proven wrong about that once the season tips off.

[Jeffx]

I have one word for this in-season tournament - FUGAZY!!!

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/379 ... tournament

[Andrew]

It just feels too gimmicky to me. That it's seen as something that's needed to spice up the regular season - something that was never an issue years ago - speaks volumes about the state of the league and how far it's plummeted under Adam Silver's "leadership".

[mp3]

Let's fix the regular season... said no one!

If anything players and coaches have been crying for a shorter season so why throw in a gimmick just like the all-star game the way its set up picking teams and now there is talk of going back to the old way which I think it should be and should never of been messed with

[Andrew]

That's what gets me. The format of the All-Star Game was never the problem. It was the attitude. Players stopped trying and caring, stopped treating it with any seriousness or dignity. Switching up the format didn't change that. I also disagree with people who suggest that the ELAM approach makes things more exciting. If anything, games are contrived to end the same way. It's also cheap to call the game-clinching basket under the ELAM approach a "game winner". It's technically correct, but it carries undeserved connotations.

[Jeffx]

It's good to be Jaylen Brown...and he's not even the best player on the Celtics, lol.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/jayl ... er-report/

[Andrew]

Crazy that he and Mike Conley Jr. have set the records for biggest contract in recent years.

[mp3]

That's just an insane amount of money to be paying one player, when I became an nba fan back in 1991 you could buy a whole team for less than that!

[Jeffx]

Dame traded to the Bucks!

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/damia ... ks-blazers

[Andrew]

Dame and Giannis are going to be quite a formidable duo. It's a shame to see him leave Portland after all this time and all the talk of loyalty, but I understand his desire to move on. As much as I appreciate players who spend their entire careers with one team, loyalty is a two-way street, and teams often aren't as loyal to players as they demand players be loyal to them. It's a business, and all that.

Although, apparently Dame tried to rescind his trade demand earlier this month, and the Blazers told him there was no coming back from it, to his surprise. As much as I can't blame Dame for wanting to move on, I can't blame the Blazers for pressing on when he seemingly had a change of heart. Dame's original "Miami or bust" demand couldn't have made things easy for them, and simply demanding out is usually torching the bridge anyway, so he probably shouldn't have been surprised that they took at him at his word that it was time to part ways.

[Jeffx]

Anyone catch the Heat/Spurs game? I know it's only pre-season and the competition isn't top-notch, but Wemby looked pretty good. Definitely has a nice skill set.

Like Reggie Miller said, he has to adjust when opponents get up in his chest and are more physical with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QY3sEUErhQ

[Jeffx]

I'd say Philly made out great in the Harden trade;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbHsg5bctJ4

[Andrew]

Seems to have worked out for both sides, so pretty good trade all around. Not that the 76ers had much choice when Harden made it clear that he wasn't going to play for them anymore, but still.