2024 NBA offseason thread

If someone can explain what the Hawks are doing......

 

NHL Draft, which you may have heard at some utterly random point is at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

 

I'd love to see the Lakers low-ball LeBron. Offer him the league minimum, plus $1 - but we all know they'll just give him a blank check and tell him to fill it in. I mean, they have ultimate leverage now.

 

Evergreen post right there.

 

The Hawks are one of the most mystifyingly moribund teams in the NBA. Here in Portland we always hear, oh Free Agents never want to come here, we don't have a large black community, the weather etc. And then you have Atlanta, which has a large black community, a lot of strip clubs, and now a huge TV/movie production community. Its actually BETTER than LA - and yet, they still don't seem to be a destination city for NBA free agents.

 

Maybe it's something about the 66 years since they made an NBA Finals.

 

NBA players don't want to go to terribly run franchises. Portland and Atlanta are terribly run franchises and have been for years.

Atlanta concluded that having Trey Young and Dejounte Murray together didn't work and they needed to trade one -- particularly after drafting a wing with the number one pick. They traded the wrong one and got very little in return. It's vintage Atlanta.

The Blazers cling to that whole "free agents don't want to come here" thing like it's a life raft, because it covers the real problem - the front office is a joke. They managed to wait on the Dame Lillard trade until they had as little leverage as possible. They still managed to do OK by getting Jrue Holliday in the deal... and then traded him for two disabled guys and two shitty draft picks. Yeah, Portland is a shitty place for Black people, but players would be more open to it if there was a chance to make the playoffs during their career.

 

Very true about the Blazers. Grew up a Warriors fan. Amazing what happens when an owner who gives a crud shows up.

 

Man, whenever I think I have a handle on this team …

 

George was probably the best player available in free agency, but it is a definite "winner's curse" situation, where four years and $212M has a high chance of going really bad. If you're the Sixers, probably worth doing it and hoping the collapse happens in year three or four, vs. year one or two. The Celtics still look really good, and the Knicks significantly upgraded with their own moves. I'm not sure if the Sixers had a better move available to them, but this contract could be "hold your nose" bad at any point, given George's injury history over the years.

 

Signing George made a whole lot more sense the first time the Sixers tried to do it, five years ago.

At least we got to stick it to James Harden one more time.