BobSaccamanno

Westbrook to Houston for Paul and some picks way out in the future plus options on pick swaps. With those picks so far out in the future, obviously there’s literally zero visibility. But, it’s always possible some of these picks get liquidated into big time prospects.

Good point, Mile. I am not a huge fan of making all that public, including the price paid for a home. I suppose there is a benefit in terms of researching property taxes. However, I am in favor of the privacy side of things.

Just because a journalist can do something, doesn't mean he should do it. Journalism dogma may tell you that publishing an address is the thing to do, but I don't think it exhibits particularly refined thinking. If journalists feel under attack with their microscopic approval ratings, this type of thing will not help with their collective reputation. It's like they jump at the knee-jerk reaction instead of taking a deep breath and recognizing that restraint is often the best course of action. Say he's moving to Bloomington, which is big news, but stop short of publishing his address. There was actually a very famous singer/actress who was going to move near me and she broke the deal after the media published the address. It's a serious thing.

Lander 18 Kaufman 31 Furst 36 Wesley 88 Goode 108 J Blackmon 116 Konieczky 123 Pierce Thomas 139 Did I miss anybody?

Link https://247sports.com/Season/2021-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=highschool

Regarding Harden, this is an interesting article. I recall Bill Simmons and his cadre of basketball analysts calling the Harden trade legendarily stupid when it happened, not later. https://grantland.com/features/the-harden-disaster/

Butler may be a head case off the court, but on the court he’s a very tough two way player who makes winning plays. He’s not racking up cheap stats. He’s making critical plays that make a difference.

Without trying to sound hidebound, I’m not crazy about the players huddling and jiggering the rosters. I feel bad for the kid clutching his jersey of his favorite “home grown” player who moves on to team up with somebody else like they are all dudes picking sides at the HPER. I like the traditional team building, which is more interesting to me. At least in the current configuration, we have about ten good teams and should have some good wars in the playoffs.

I don’t know that you can win when it matters with Westbrook. Getting somebody to bite on his contract could be a challenge. I think he’s got a 40 handle on his salary soon. I like that Kawhi did his own thing, even if it’s with George, instead of following around Lebron like many other sheep. At least OKC liquidated George for something. Between New Orleans and OKC, it will be interesting if those picks turn into something down the line, e.g., where an injury bamboozles a season, etc

Best wishes and good luck with the move and changes. You’ve been noticeably missed lately but it’s understandable.

Jared Dudley is one of those guys—like Malcolm Brogdon—who plays the game the right way. Smart, team oriented, sound, well rounded, winner. I hoped Juwan could turn into that type of player but his shooting and handle need to skyrocket.

Better Toronto than the Lakers!

Regarding the 76ers, their moves are fascinating. Horford with Embiid should work great. Not only can both play off each other (they can both post and stretch) but Horford can give quality when Embiid is on the bench which was a real problem last year. They paid something like an eye popping $180 million for Tobias Harris who’s a quality starter. Yes, they lost Butler but Josh Richardson has been very highly regarded and probably underrated. They do lose shooting at the guard position which causes problems with stretching the defense out. So, all told, we don’t know how it will work, whether it’s neutral or a plus. I think the straw that will stir the drink is Simmons. Right now, it’s a real handicap that the defense can lay off of him. If he can meet expectations, that will be the key point for them IMO. The playoffs in the East may be a flat out war next year, which is good for the game.

If TJ’s are wild for the Pacers (McConnell, Warren, Leaf), maybe Treys can be wild for IU.

Interesting. I’m hardly an accounting person, but it seems like a nightmare for a pro athlete to file state income in 20 plus states? That seems like something fixable. Sure you play for Indiana and half your games take place in another state. But you still are employed in Indiana. It’d be like an Indy lawyer on a litigation and he takes a deposition in Delaware. He is still employed in Indiana. His employer is in Indiana.

I thought the Celtics were better and a more fun watch in 2018 than they were in 2019. The chemistry was better and the pieces meshed. Stevens’ moves led to winning team ball. Players like Tatum and Brown were better because they weren’t hesitant since they did not need to defer to Kyrie. Kyrie sucks out a lot of that advantage. Horford is obviously an excellent team player but 5 years at 150 million is too much at his age. I don’t blame Boston for balking at that. You’d have a chance of having cap problems down the line when Tatum and Brown come due.

Golden State was decimated with injuries, but have to give Toronto credit. Kawhi was exceptional. But, really, GS was not equipped to handle the Raptor tenacity on D. That was a great defensive performance. There is also a rising argument that the East has blown by the West. Toronto, Milwaukee, Philly and Boston is a better grouping than any four from the West when you look at Portland, Denver, Houston etc. Milwaukee looked great until they couldn't adjust to Toronto's defense. Philly and Boston have very strong rosters. Having watched the playoffs, Houston looks fatally flawed, Denver and Portland are fine but lacking. Watching them play, I was startled by how pedestrian they were in comparison to the East battles. GS deserves credit but the rest of the West was off. Now the offseason may change some balance. LeBron may become a factor again, but a one year vacation from him was fine with me (and I like him). Regardless, I see the East on an upswing and the West in decline.

I agree with you guys. I think it’s fine if the P’s are going to trade Turner, but I wouldn’t burn that asset for an old player. I’d like someone relatively young. It’s a perimeter oriented game now but Turner’s combo of size, athleticism, and youth is pretty hard to find.

I have as much GS fatigue as anybody, but what a game last night. Those shots they hit late staring at elimination were amazing. Boogie. I guess he played well earlier. But down the stretch he was a poster child for low IQ players with talent who don't know how to win.

Regarding AD, from a player's perspective, winning is far more important than playing in a huge market, as he seems to be attracted to. Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, and Vince Lombardi have been as big sports figures in fans' minds as you can find and they are from tiny Green Bay. Peyton is a monster figure coming out of Indy. I can't turn on the TV without seeing Aaron or Peyton in an ad. I live in Chicago. I doubt most basketball fans could name five Bulls without google.

Honestly, at this point, I’m prepared to say that Kawhi is the best two way player in the league, and maybe by a considerable margin. If there’s a “ludicrous” speed in the movies, maybe he’s playing at a ludicrous level. He led the way obviously, but Toronto hasn’t been known for clutch play in years past. Leonard is doing most of it, but he’s brought up some of his teammates too, as the great ones do. I am not remotely a believer in Toronto's backcourt, so I give a heavy edge to GS. I don’t think Toronto can match up well at all. They seem very happy to just be in the finals, which is a good accomplishment. Milwaukee is a good team but the history in the NBA tells you that you need to overcome obstacles before you move to the next level. They have to get better. Giannis may be able to hit some jumpers against Sacramento in January, but these playoffs show you it’s all about stepping up in small windows when it really matters. At that point, he didn’t trust his jumper. Milwaukee had a good year, though. Malcolm Brogdon could play for me any time. Middleton showed good all around ability, etc. The great thing about the NBA playoffs, in seven game series, there’s no room for excuses. By definition, the better team wins.

He looks like a defensive back losing grip on a tackle of a skinny but fast wide receiver. Tackle the ankles, no one has power there.

I’m not sure how much of an open mind Lebron has to listening to a coach who isn’t his stooge. He was mostly ok with Spoelstra, I guess. Will be interesting to see how it plays out but I hope Vogel stands up to him.

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I had no idea. Your post prompted me to google it and the Lakers tried to link Lue's deal to Lebron. Lue was offended. Hopefully he's not biting his nose to spite his face. But, in terms of principle, he is correct. Honestly, its like the Lakers did that to send a message to Lebron. Either way, the Lakers should not have done that. If Lebron were gone, then you just fire Lue if that's your wish. You may have to swallow Lue money, but that's par for the course and every team does that. In the end, the money is just the cost of doing business. Nobody would lose sleep over it. It's like a rounding error for the sums these guys are making. It was a pretty stupid thing to do, IMO. The Lakers miss Jerry West. What a class guy and smart GM he has always been.

Excellent post. From a time perspective, I don't have time to watch both college and NBA intently. I choose IU basketball as a muscle memory passion that hooked me decades ago. I read about the NBA but only spot watch it during the regular season. In the playoffs, I have more time for it with college and NFL gone. Having said all that, if I were 15 years old now, there's a good chance I would get hooked on pro hoops over college. IMO, the respective pro and college products have gone in different directions. The college game has fallen dramatically behind college football. Unlike football, you don't have many top teams staying together at an elite level and coalescing over time. I don't mean teams like the 1976 Hoosiers. I mean, in any given year, do you have wars between 10 or 12 damn good teams with veteran rosters with future pros clubbing each other? Meanwhile, the NBA game has excellent coaching and teams that play tremendous team ball. I have no problem with the three ball. Look at all the extra passes, plus all the excellent coaching when you look at guys like Pop, Kerr, Budenholzer, Stevens and others. Any of those guys could just kill it in college. We aren't talking about Shaka Smart. The NBA product is incredibly lucrative now with teams worth north of $2 billion. That's not happening because it is a crap product. Quite the opposite.