NBA off-season stuff (free agents, coaching changes, trades)

[BD80]

...

-Jason "my Hawks are trying to be the worst team in the NBA again... RJ Barrett Sweepstakes, here we come! Latest word is we are talking about dealing Schroeder for Melo and then waiving him" Evans

Wow! Maybe the Hawks will sign me to a minimum contract. I guarantee I won't help them win any games ...

[jimsumner]

Wow! Maybe the Hawks will sign me to a minimum contract. I guarantee I won't help them win any games ...

But will you help them win the lottery?

[BD80]

But will you help them win the lottery?

If it gets me some time with Jamie Gertz? Sure, I'll help them win the lottery ...

[Steven43]

This is probably a terrible comparison, but I don't think it's THAT inexplicable . . . I played 3 years of varsity basketball in high school, was 42% from 3 for my career and 62% from the foul line . . . . I practiced a TON of 3s, and almost never practiced free throws. It's just muscle memory.

He'll get that free throw % up. Just gotta practice them.

You’re probably right about Brown improving his FT percentage. I would bet he will eventually reach the upper 70’s, though doubtful he will be in the 80’s. Can’t see a guy improving to that degree.

Two comments/questions:
1) Why didn’t you practice free throws?
2) It’s kind of amusing that you know your high school 3-point percentage. But in fairness had I been in high school during the 2000’s maybe I would know mine, too!

[Turk]

Quick take on the Melo deal from a Sixers point of view:

They thought they had their Ilyasova stretch-4-off-the-bench replacement when they signed Bjelica from Minny on a one-year deal. Alas, Bjelica had second thoughts and wants a multi-year deal if not in the NBA (Sacto?!?), then in the Euroleague. So the Sixers get Mike Muscala to fill that hole. At 6'11" and shooting a respectable 37.8% career 3-pt shooter, that works for me. Plus I have a soft spot for Patriot League guys who can stick in the NBA. (CJ McCollum, anyone?) Perhaps JasonEvans might care to share his thoughts on whether Muscala can shore up the second rotation for the Sixers.

As for the two players leaving, there wasn't much future for Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot. (thanks, cut-n-paste!) TLC was supposed to be a shooter and scorer, but all I saw was him doing dumb things in limited minutes. No loss there.

I will miss the fire and the fury of UVa's Justin Anderson. He had some good moments and that warrior mentality, but also some injury issues and off-season surgery, and it was unlikely he was going to be a steady rotation guy either. I hope this is one of those situations where the change of scenery does good, and I will continue to pull for him.

So yeah, I'm good with this deal.

P.S. I see a couple of links (but nothing from Woj) on discussions on a Jarryd Bayless for Kyle Korver trade. Wonderful idea: let's trade one rotting corpse for another. No, thank you.

[kAzE]

You’re probably right about Brown improving his FT percentage. I would bet he will eventually reach the upper 70’s, though doubtful he will be in the 80’s. Can’t see a guy improving to that degree.

Two comments/questions:
1) Why didn’t you practice free throws?
2) It’s kind of amusing that you know your high school 3-point percentage. But in fairness had I been in high school during the 2000’s maybe I would know mine, too!

1. I don't know, I think we all did a lot of things in high school that in retrospect were pretty foolish. I practiced them, just not nearly as much as 3s. But in fairness, I RARELY got to the free throw line (I was a 5'10" 3rd string shooting guard whose main role was to stand in the corner and shoot open 3s).

However, as an unbelievably athletic professional basketball player who regularly gets to the free throw line, Jaylen doesn't really have any excuses to not improve. I would expect him to raise that % into the 70s this year as well.

2. We had a coach who kept track of stats. We were pretty early adopters of analytics (seriously).

[jimsumner]

It's easy to make fun of the Hawks, a pretty good team only a few years ago.


But they really are playing in a tough neighborhood.


The Falcons are a legit Super Bowl contender.


The Braves opened a new stadium and appear to be heading for the post-season.


Atlanta's MLS team seems to be a rousing success.

And the not-that-far from Atlanta Georgia Bulldogs were a deflection or two away from a national title in the only sport that really matters in Georgia.

It's not like they're the only game in town.

Meanwhile, the Hawks are headed into 25-57 territory.

The best-case scenario is a few years of irrelevance and a shrinking fan base, while the Process works.

I don't want to think about worst-case.

[JasonEvans]

Perhaps JasonEvans might care to share his thoughts on whether Muscala can shore up the second rotation for the Sixers.

I mean, he's ok, but nothing special. I mean, we are talking about a guy who averaged 5 ppg for one of the worst teams in the league last year. He gets hot sometimes from 3, but has plenty of games where you barely notice him. He's not someone who will find his own shot, which should be fine playing with a great set-up artist like Simmons. He is far from athletic but sometimes seems to be able to use his size and physicality to grab some boards.

Here is his best game ever. As you can see, it is not like he is dominating out there.


-Jason "my bet is that Sixer fans won't really notice him all that much... he will fall in and out of your top 9 rotation depending on injuries and guys being hot/cold" Evans

[kAzE]

The Hawks got the best player in the whole trade: Justin Anderson. Duke fans should remember him from his time at UVA. I believe Coach K also recruited him for Duke at one point.

He's a 25 year old wing who is big, strong, an energetic defender and can score a little bit. He averaged 8.5 points 4.0 rebounds and shot 46% from the field a year ago for Philly, when he was playing around 21 minutes a game. If he could improve his perimeter shooting a little bit (33% last year, but he's a very solid free throw shooter), he'd be a very nice rotation piece. There's a lot of value in versatile wing defenders like him.

I'm a little surprised Philly would rather have Muscala than Anderson. Anderson is exactly the type of player you would want against teams like Boston and Toronto, who have elite wing scorers.

[Kedsy]

I'm a little surprised Philly would rather have Muscala than Anderson. Anderson is exactly the type of player you would want against teams like Boston and Toronto, who have elite wing scorers.

Anderson became somewhat redundant with the acquisition of Zhaire Smith. The Sixers needed an Ilyasova replacement, after Bjelica reneged on his verbal agreement to a one-year deal. Don't know if Muscala is that guy or not, but that's the rationale.

[CDu]

The Lakers just added Michael Beasley, which means Joel Berry’s deal can’t be more than a 2-way contract (they are at the limit for full contracts). But most likely it is just a training camp deal to provide extra practice bodies.

[jimsumner]

The Lakers just added Michael Beasley, which means Joel Berry’s deal can’t be more than a 2-way contract (they are at the limit for full contracts). But most likely it is just a training camp deal to provide extra practice bodies.

Michael Beasley? I bet that's got the Warriors quaking in their boots.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Michael Beasley? I bet that's got the Warriors quaking in their boots.

At least Beasley doesn’t talk about getting paid for offense and no defense.

Jabari...sigh...

[awhom111]

The Lakers just added Michael Beasley, which means Joel Berry’s deal can’t be more than a 2-way contract (they are at the limit for full contracts). But most likely it is just a training camp deal to provide extra practice bodies.

Actually, during the offseason, teams can carry 20 players on full contracts if they want to. Eric Pincus is reporting that the contract is an Exhibit 9/Summer contract, which means it is fully unguaranteed. Keith Smith reports that it is also Exhibit 10, which means that it can be converted to a two-way contract before the season and might include a bonus if he joins their G League team after being waived.

[kAzE]

Anderson became somewhat redundant with the acquisition of Zhaire Smith. The Sixers needed an Ilyasova replacement, after Bjelica reneged on his verbal agreement to a one-year deal. Don't know if Muscala is that guy or not, but that's the rationale.

So Bjelica just pulled a fast one on the 76ers, reneging on the 1 year deal with them, saying he would play in Europe, and then today signing a 3 year deal with the Kings...

Aside from getting Zhaire Smith (who I think will be a spectacular player for a long time) the 76ers are having a pretty disappointing offseason, losing some key shooters, missing out on Kawhi Leonard, and having a huge amount of cap space with not much to show for it.

[Kedsy]

So Bjelica just pulled a fast one on the 76ers, reneging on the 1 year deal with them, saying he would play in Europe, and then today signing a 3 year deal with the Kings...

Aside from getting Zhaire Smith (who I think will be a spectacular player for a long time) the 76ers are having a pretty disappointing offseason, losing some key shooters, missing out on Kawhi Leonard, and having a huge amount of cap space with not much to show for it.

Maybe (and I know you Boston fans would like to think so). They also got Miami's 2021 pick, which could be a really good asset (either to use or trade). They lost Ilyasova and Bellinelli and picked up Wilson Chandler (who shoots as well as Ilyasova), Muscala (who probably shoots better than Ilyasova) plus Korkmaz (who probably shoots as well as Bellinelli) will probably slot into the rotation. They should have their cap space again next year, when it might matter more. "Missing out" on giving away three important assets for a one-year rental of Kawhi might end up being a blessing.

I agree with you that not really improving the roster could be considered disappointing, but if Fultz has shed the yips and everyone is healthy, then that plus the year-to-year improvement of the young players should be enough to give the Sixers a decent bump from a 52 win team, with a fair shot at the NBA finals, and it's hard to be too disappointed with that.

[kAzE]

Maybe (and I know you Boston fans would like to think so). They also got Miami's 2021 pick, which could be a really good asset (either to use or trade). They lost Ilyasova and Bellinelli and picked up Wilson Chandler (who shoots as well as Ilyasova), Muscala (who probably shoots better than Ilyasova) plus Korkmaz (who probably shoots as well as Bellinelli) will probably slot into the rotation. They should have their cap space again next year, when it might matter more. "Missing out" on giving away three important assets for a one-year rental of Kawhi might end up being a blessing.

I agree with you that not really improving the roster could be considered disappointing, but if Fultz has shed the yips and everyone is healthy, then that plus the year-to-year improvement of the young players should be enough to give the Sixers a decent bump from a 52 win team, with a fair shot at the NBA finals, and it's hard to be too disappointed with that.

Well, they won’t have a big chunk of that cap space because Joel Embiid’s contract extension kicks in this season. That’s why it was so important for them to try to get a big free agent or two this offseason. And yes, I do expect them to improve because their young players will get better. But guess who has more young players? Boston

[Kedsy]

But guess who has more young players? Boston

How do you figure? Taking an admittedly quick look at both teams' likely 15-man rosters, the Sixers have eight players under 25 years old (with probably four of them starters), including six guys 22 or younger. The Celtics have seven players under 25 (probably only two starters) and four guys 22 or younger. So obviously the rosters aren't finalized yet, but I'd say the math suggests the Sixers have both more young players and more young players in prominent roles.

[UrinalCake]

I have a crazy theory that Philly will end up shipping JJ to the Lakers at the trade deadline, where he can fill the Kyle Korver role for LeBron. He’s not likely to be in their long-term plans so it would make sense to ship his expiring deal to LA in exchange for a younger asset.

[drummerdevil]

I have a crazy theory that Philly will end up shipping JJ to the Lakers at the trade deadline, where he can fill the Kyle Korver role for LeBron. He’s not likely to be in their long-term plans so it would make sense to ship his expiring deal to LA in exchange for a younger asset.

There's no incentive for LA to give up a young asset in the trade, though, especially since they don't need (or necessarily want) to contend this year and can instead sign Redick in free agency. Why on earth would LA agree?