*** OFFICIAL *** NBA 2018-19 thread

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

he doesn't get as much credit for being as good of a player as he is...20-7-3 on 50-43-88...yeah you cant win a title with him as your #1, but fucking sign me up for him being the piece of a contender...as a Celtics fan I hate the sixers getting him...

gonna be interesting to see how harris is integrated into this system...its as if philly just puked out 4 superstarish caliber players and think that's gonna win them a title...brown was already having issues with butler and embiid not really co-existing with how much each wants the ball...now you add another piece who absolutely deserves to get shots...I have a feeling there's gonna be some unhappy campers...

wouldn't surprise me if butler isn't a sixer next year...basically using harris as an insurance policy for him going full diva or bolting or hell them even moving him before Thursday....

word is out already that philly plans on re-signing both of them, so i guess philly's going full golden state warriors payroll as they'll now have 4 max players

the good thing about ben is that is his game is so different from other stars. not only does he not need to score, he actually doesn't even want to try

this being the NBA that could change about 30 times between now and july 1...

I don't get simmons in todays NBA...hes obviously uber talented...just don't know how a PG is gonna get away with literally not attempting even ONE FUCKING 3 POINTER all year! this harris signing helps give them another stretch guy, but I gotta imagine come playoff time that his unwillingness to shoot is gonna bite philly in the ass...

[BeerAndPoker]

Tobias can certainly help the 76ers but they still got a disease on the team by the name of Jimmy Butler. That guy is impossible to deal with!

I wouldn't be surprised if Butler becomes a downer on that team like he is anywhere he goes when he's not happy with his role and the 76ers are forced to deal with his cry baby shenanigans the rest of the year.

The Bucks should have made a play for Davis. I know they aren't on his cherry picking list of teams but imagine Brow with Giannis and the Bucks have enough guys they could move to get him without destroying their team.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

lowe and woj are on ESPN2 right now and lowe made a good point...

imagine fultz was a normal #1 pick or if they chose tatum (my addition)...they then build around simmons-embiid-fultz/tatum and don't need to spunk out all that draft capital for butler and harris and they have an assload of money to spend...

interesting to see how one decision can have a snowball effect on a franchise...

[blake]

word is out already that philly plans on re-signing both of them, so i guess philly's going full golden state warriors payroll as they'll now have 4 max players

the good thing about ben is that is his game is so different from other stars. not only does he not need to score, he actually doesn't even want to try

this being the NBA that could change about 30 times between now and july 1...

I don't get simmons in todays NBA...hes obviously uber talented...just don't know how a PG is gonna get away with literally not attempting even ONE FUCKING 3 POINTER all year! this harris signing helps give them another stretch guy, but I gotta imagine come playoff time that his unwillingness to shoot is gonna bite philly in the ass...

definitely. coaches like brad stevens can make philly pay for this. not sold on brett brown yet either

[blake]

Tobias can certainly help the 76ers but they still got a disease on the team by the name of Jimmy Butler. That guy is impossible to deal with!

I wouldn't be surprised if Butler becomes a downer on that team like he is anywhere he goes when he's not happy with his role and the 76ers are forced to deal with his cry baby shenanigans the rest of the year.

The Bucks should have made a play for Davis. I know they aren't on his cherry picking list of teams but imagine Brow with Giannis and the Bucks have enough guys they could move to get him without destroying their team.

my biggest fear is that butler plays nice just long enough to get his max deal. tobias does provide a bit of insurance if butler decides to leave though

i am not seeing how the bucks have what it takes to get AD. they don't have as much to give as the lakers or the celtics (even if tatum isn't included in a deal). middleton might be their best asset but he's a free agent, but even if he's included, i'd rather have the lakers deal

[blake]

lowe and woj are on ESPN2 right now and lowe made a good point...

imagine fultz was a normal #1 pick or if they chose tatum (my addition)...they then build around simmons-embiid-fultz/tatum and don't need to spunk out all that draft capital for butler and harris and they have an assload of money to spend...

interesting to see how one decision can have a snowball effect on a franchise...

i'm going to be delusionally optimistic and say imagine if fultz becomes what we thought he would -- but with simmons, embiid, butler and harris

sick lineup

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

this being the NBA that could change about 30 times between now and july 1...

I don't get simmons in todays NBA...hes obviously uber talented...just don't know how a PG is gonna get away with literally not attempting even ONE FUCKING 3 POINTER all year! this harris signing helps give them another stretch guy, but I gotta imagine come playoff time that his unwillingness to shoot is gonna bite philly in the ass...

definitely. coaches like brad stevens can make philly pay for this. not sold on brett brown yet either

that's exactly who I was thinking of...pre-trade I was not concerned about the sixers in the least...I was uber confident that stevens would scheme to make the sixers pay for having simmons be a reluctant shooter...

my biggest fear is that butler plays nice just long enough to get his max deal. tobias does provide a bit of insurance if butler decides to leave though

i am not seeing how the bucks have what it takes to get AD. they don't have as much to give as the lakers or the celtics (even if tatum isn't included in a deal). middleton might be their best asset but he's a free agent, but even if he's included, i'd rather have the lakers deal

I think that whole MLW thing is such fucking bullshit...they were like, 'fuck we need to come up with a list of teams we can say AD wants to go to so we don't seem like we are totally pushing him to LAL even though we totally said that we were from the start'...they're trying to save face when the ship had LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG sailed on that after he said he was done in NO...

[blake]

definitely. coaches like brad stevens can make philly pay for this. not sold on brett brown yet either

that's exactly who I was thinking of...pre-trade I was not concerned about the sixers in the least...I was uber confident that stevens would scheme to make the sixers pay for having simmons be a reluctant shooter...

my biggest fear is that butler plays nice just long enough to get his max deal. tobias does provide a bit of insurance if butler decides to leave though

i am not seeing how the bucks have what it takes to get AD. they don't have as much to give as the lakers or the celtics (even if tatum isn't included in a deal). middleton might be their best asset but he's a free agent, but even if he's included, i'd rather have the lakers deal

I think that whole MLW thing is such fucking bullshit...they were like, 'fuck we need to come up with a list of teams we can say AD wants to go to so we don't seem like we are totally pushing him to LAL even though we totally said that we were from the start'...they're trying to save face when the ship had LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG sailed on that after he said he was done in NO...

i'm thinking the "we will also sign with the bucks and clippers" thing was an effort to not get the lakers losing draft picks due to blatant tampering

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

lowe and woj are on ESPN2 right now and lowe made a good point...

imagine fultz was a normal #1 pick or if they chose tatum (my addition)...they then build around simmons-embiid-fultz/tatum and don't need to spunk out all that draft capital for butler and harris and they have an assload of money to spend...

interesting to see how one decision can have a snowball effect on a franchise...

i'm going to be delusionally optimistic and say imagine if fultz becomes what we thought he would -- but with simmons, embiid, butler and harris

sick lineup

agree 100% from a pure talent standpoint, but how does that work functionally in a game? there's a total law of diminishing returns on having that much talent on the floor at once and only one ball...

the only reason this works in GS is that klay doesn't give a fuck about not being the guy, Draymond doesn't care if he scores 15-20 a game and is cool with putting up 7-10-10 every game, and KD has let it be steph's team...that has required a TREMENDOUS (cannot stress that word enough) amount of cooperation from those guys...its actually quite stunning in a game like basketball to see something like that happen...think you are starting to see the cracks forming with the KD to the knicks talk...id be willing to bet he's not long for GS if he gets more jewelry this summer...

[blake]

i'm going to be delusionally optimistic and say imagine if fultz becomes what we thought he would -- but with simmons, embiid, butler and harris

sick lineup

agree 100% from a pure talent standpoint, but how does that work functionally in a game? there's a total law of diminishing returns on having that much talent on the floor at once and only one ball...

the only reason this works in GS is that klay doesn't give a fuck about not being the guy, Draymond doesn't care if he scores 15-20 a game and is cool with putting up 7-10-10 every game, and KD has let it be steph's team...that has required a TREMENDOUS (cannot stress that word enough) amount of cooperation from those guys...its actually quite stunning in a game like basketball to see something like that happen...think you are starting to see the cracks forming with the KD to the knicks talk...id be willing to bet he's not long for GS if he gets more jewelry this summer...

again though, simmons will have the ball in his hands a lot and he is like morally opposed to shooting or something.

i also think you'll see a lot of this lineup split during the game. philly has a weak bench, but they now have the ability to have a legit scoring threat on the floor at all times

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

agree 100% from a pure talent standpoint, but how does that work functionally in a game? there's a total law of diminishing returns on having that much talent on the floor at once and only one ball...

the only reason this works in GS is that klay doesn't give a fuck about not being the guy, Draymond doesn't care if he scores 15-20 a game and is cool with putting up 7-10-10 every game, and KD has let it be steph's team...that has required a TREMENDOUS (cannot stress that word enough) amount of cooperation from those guys...its actually quite stunning in a game like basketball to see something like that happen...think you are starting to see the cracks forming with the KD to the knicks talk...id be willing to bet he's not long for GS if he gets more jewelry this summer...

again though, simmons will have the ball in his hands a lot and he is like morally opposed to shooting or something.

i also think you'll see a lot of this lineup split during the game. philly has a weak bench, but they now have the ability to have a legit scoring threat on the floor at all times

yeah that whole minutes staggering will be interesting to watch in these last 30 or so games...I don't know how many minutes of game they'll play simmons-butler-harris-jj-embiid, but in theory that's damn near a Darryl morey dream lineup...4 guys on the court that can stretch...ive seen it with Nova and how jay wright has built his teams...shit is fucking fun as hell to watch when you have 4-5 guys on the floor at the same time that can shoot 3s...

I should have added to the GS thing, they fucking have boogie too who is on the 'I don't care about being a 20-15 guy this year, I just want to show my achilles is all healed up and I deserve to get my 25 ball a year'...perfect fucking storm shit right there...

[BCR]

i'm going to be delusionally optimistic and say imagine if fultz becomes what we thought he would -- but with simmons, embiid, butler and harris

sick lineup

agree 100% from a pure talent standpoint, but how does that work functionally in a game? there's a total law of diminishing returns on having that much talent on the floor at once and only one ball...

the only reason this works in GS is that klay doesn't give a fuck about not being the guy, Draymond doesn't care if he scores 15-20 a game and is cool with putting up 7-10-10 every game, and KD has let it be steph's team...that has required a TREMENDOUS (cannot stress that word enough) amount of cooperation from those guys...its actually quite stunning in a game like basketball to see something like that happen...think you are starting to see the cracks forming with the KD to the knicks talk...id be willing to bet he's not long for GS if he gets more jewelry this summer...

Three of these guys are really high usage players also. They all love the ball in their hands. Feels like a tough mesh at first. It’s definitely a nice trade as Harris is badly needed shooting, but when you pair all these ball handlers the whole is usually lesser than the sum of the parts. It has been in the past when you put guys like this together. It takes awhile. On paper they’re the best team in the east.


Rare trade where I find it a really smart move by both teams. Clippers really fucking made out, and are in a great spot for the future with all that cap space if KL rumors are true.

This move also had the added benefit of fucking over Boston and Toronto a bit. Especially Toronto as they appear to have one year window and the Clippers cleared space while at the same time making the finals path much harder for Raptors.


I hate the Lakers package for AD. I want to see the Lakers get him just for interest sake, but I think all three of the Lakers core are junk. I wouldn’t want any of that shit if I was NO. Bad spot for them as I think his list of teams is mostly bs also just to take heat off collusion shit. I think it’s LA or bust for him and NO is going to end up losing their team to some other city if they have to try and draw a crowd which is already problematic and build a winner with those 3 Laker castoffs.

[Sanlmar]

Great posts today. You guys know your stuff. Far better than me.

I agree with BCR above. Pelicans to Vegas? It’s a thought. Take that LA trash and they will need a parachute

[Sloppy Joe]

Hate the trade for Philly.

I like Tobias but it's just so short-sighted.

Embiid and Simmons are young. Why shove all in this year and cash in assets when GSW still wins easily?

[BCR]

Hate the trade for Philly.

I like Tobias but it's just so short-sighted.

Embiid and Simmons are young. Why shove all in this year and cash in assets when GSW still wins easily?

I don’t hate it, but I guess I’m assuming they truly plan on paying everyone or else they don’t do it and I assume Durant is leaving, so I view it as more of a next year move anyway with it being a tricky mesh this year. Simmons deficiencies create unique problems. You could fix them piece meal. You don’t need Harris necessarily, but he’s efficient, and I never hate adding efficient guys. I’d like it better with a great coach because it feels like there are some great lineups in that mix when staggering minutes if you could find right balance.

[blake]

Hate the trade for Philly.

I like Tobias but it's just so short-sighted.

Embiid and Simmons are young. Why shove all in this year and cash in assets when GSW still wins easily?

the plan is to re-sign tobias and butler to long term deals. tobias is only 26 so it's not like he'll be past in his prime in a few years.

this trade helps now and in the future (assuming he re-signs).

do you all realize the sixers traded for jimmy butler and tobias harris without giving up simmons, embiid or fultz? lakers need to take note of how to do this

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Hate the trade for Philly.

I like Tobias but it's just so short-sighted.

Embiid and Simmons are young. Why shove all in this year and cash in assets when GSW still wins easily?

the plan is to re-sign tobias and butler to long term deals. tobias is only 26 so it's not like he'll be past in his prime in a few years.

this trade helps now and in the future (assuming he re-signs).

do you all realize the sixers traded for jimmy butler and tobias harris without giving up simmons, embiid or fultz? lakers need to take note of how to do this

different market...NO knows LAL are desperate to do this deal now and not in FA in 2020 when they have to keep the money around this summer AND they lose another year of LeBron...if demps doesn't get at least 3 firsts out of that deal if he deals him before tomorrow then he is doing his professional life very, very poorly...

the clippers added another nice little safety net for him...I would assume they would want to get AD if NO would listen to their offer so getting all those picks definitely lets demps not pull the trigger tomorrow on it because he'll have another team in addition to BOS (and possibly NYK) in the market...

EDIT: if LeBron was in his late 20s, demps would be fuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked in this thing because LeBron could afford to sacrifice a year waiting for AD...now he can do that but the price for him is a helluva lot higher..kinda funny that LeBron is one of demps' leverage points..

[ErickAA]

Hate the trade for Philly.

I like Tobias but it's just so short-sighted.

Embiid and Simmons are young. Why shove all in this year and cash in assets when GSW still wins easily?

the plan is to re-sign tobias and butler to long term deals. tobias is only 26 so it's not like he'll be past in his prime in a few years.

this trade helps now and in the future (assuming he re-signs).

do you all realize the sixers traded for jimmy butler and tobias harris without giving up simmons, embiid or fultz? lakers need to take note of how to do this

Simmons did a pod and was critical. He noted that Philly now has no starting caliber player on their team to cover small PGs. Also, he said that Harris doesn't really do that much on offense but take jump shots, and there really aren't that many more shots to go around. He thinks for what they gave up Philly should have tried to get Beverly too.

[ErickAA]

Also, I am fairly annoyed that 3 teams I bet Overs on for season totals that had a good shot to make a playoff run and go over (Heat, Clippers, Mavs) have decided to strip their rosters for various reasons. I'll be lucky if any of these 3 teams cover the season total now. Big negative equity swing for me.

[blake]

the plan is to re-sign tobias and butler to long term deals. tobias is only 26 so it's not like he'll be past in his prime in a few years.

this trade helps now and in the future (assuming he re-signs).

do you all realize the sixers traded for jimmy butler and tobias harris without giving up simmons, embiid or fultz? lakers need to take note of how to do this

Simmons did a pod and was critical. He noted that Philly now has no starting caliber player on their team to cover small PGs. Also, he said that Harris doesn't really do that much on offense but take jump shots, and there really aren't that many more shots to go around. He thinks for what they gave up Philly should have tried to get Beverly too.

lol, in philly, the fans are actually rejoicing when they heard simmons' take cause they take this as proof positive that he (the celtic fan and sixer hater) is actually shook. i don't get the not enough shots thing. their minutes will be staggered. you'll have at least one really legit scoring option on the floor all 48 minutes. how has the not enough shots thing affected golden state?

this is far and away the best starting 5 in the league outside of the warriors -- and should all be together for a while. i hope josh harris is ready to spend

also ben simmons is one of the better defenders in the league and can absolutely defend point guards