NBA 2020 Offseason Thread

How the hell is it pronounced I-ZAY-uh if it's spelled Isiah?

That spelling makes it sound like eye-ZAYA or izzy-uh.

 

Leaving all of the nonsense with his father aside, Lonzo has always been fun to watch.

 

We have a trade.

 

Chris PauLOL ... he's going to drift around the league in seek of glory he'll never achieve.

 

This is a great trade for the Suns. I assume they will now waive him, because that's what they do, but for the first time in ages they are taking a significant step forward.

 

I kind of like that trade for both teams - The Suns probably *do* need a grown-up like Paul in there, to play with Booker and Ayton. Paul's cap number is staggering - $41M in 2021, a $44M player option in 2022 that he'll pick up at 12:01 a.m. But he's going to continue to have a whole lot of value as long as he's shooting 85+ percent FT and 35+ percent from 3-point range. (The danger for the Suns, who haven't always been run by the best people, is if they re-upp him after his current contract at a high rate.)

The Thunder get some useful players that they can either keep and be surprisingly plucky again, or trade for more moderate assets. They also have several of the Rockets upcoming first round draft picks, which look very, very tasty if Harden insists on getting out of there. (Even if he doesn't, he's 31 and presumably can't be counted on to carry the team out of the lottery by himself for the next five years.) ETA: I also wonder what the "draft compensation" is here. It never hurts to have a future Phoenix first rounder.

 

The draft compensation is a heavily protected 2022 pick. Doesn't look to be a big deal.

On the Thunder side, the big question for me is what they do with all the assets they're gathering. At some point you actually have to build a team. For years people were in awe of the Celtics' pile of assets alongside what was already a pretty good team. The expectation was they'd cash in and get someone like Anthony Davis to add to a strong roster. It never happened.. and not they've got three first round picks in a terrible draft. It's still very early in the process for the Thunder, of course.

I'm genuinely surprised the Suns didn't have to give up more than they did. OKC must have really wanted that contract off the books.

 

Of course the big What If? ...

What if Paul had gone to the Lakers because the Lakers ALWAYS got what they wanted?

Kind of funny that they floundered, found their way back with LeBron, then Davis, and won a title ...

... and poor Chris Paul has been with the Clippers and Rockets and now Suns with nothing to show for it. lol.

 

People made way too much of that would-be trade. The Lakers were giving up Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. It was considered a "victory" for the Lakers because they didn't have to throw in superstar-in-waiting Andrew Bynum.

Paul's Clippers teams were better than what he would have had across town -- they just never got over the hump.

 

I get all that. Including the whole Clippers not getting over the hump. Because, you know, Clippers.

But the Chris Paul story is still just that: he's going to end up playing for like 8 teams and winning 0 titles.

I like him, like his game and all that jazz. But he's going to be one of those guys. It's a funny-sad story. #30for30

 

Cameron Payne seems like he can be a decent backup for Paul.