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

[Troublemaker]

It's not like this is the first time the COY has been fired. Forum favorite George Karl also has this dubious honor.

They made Casey the scapegoat as it's definitely easier to fire the coach than retool a team, which has a number of questionable contracts.

I don't think Ujiri was looking for a scapegoat. I think Ujiri legitimately believes he can hire a better coach than Casey and that Casey's defensive strategies were poor against Cleveland.

In the end, though, I'm not sure how much the coach will really matter. Boston and Philly are on the rise in the East, and both of those franchises seem to have higher-end talent than Toronto. Ujiri very well could hire a better coach, but it won't necessarily show up in the postseason results.

It's been admirable that Toronto has not blown it up yet all these years and will continue to try to build on top of stars that aren't top-15 players. But guys like Sam Hinkie probably have it right. If you don't have the top-end talent, you should tank until you do.

[drummerdevil]

Let this thread be the home for free agent talk and other off-season activities (excluding the draft, which will have a thread of its own).

We will get the action started with this...

The Raptors just fired Dwayne Casey...

He won NBA Coach of the Year 2 days ago.

You may be right, and I may be wrong; however, the way I understand it is that Casey's peers voted him as coach of the year. The NBA's regular season awards aren't determined until after the playoffs end and I believe that while he is a strong candidate, Casey has not won yet.

[JetpackJesus]

You may be right, and I may be wrong; however, the way I understand it is that Casey's peers voted him as coach of the year. The NBA's regular season awards aren't determined until after the playoffs end and I believe that while he is a strong candidate, Casey has not won yet.

There's an NBA Coaches Association COY award. They started it last year. That's the one Casey just won with Brad Stevens receiving 0 votes from his peers (worth noting that coaches submit only one name for this award). It's separate from the NBA COY award, which is voted on by the media.

[drummerdevil]

There's an NBA Coaches Association COY award. They started it last year. That's the one Casey just won with Brad Stevens receiving 0 votes from his peers (worth noting that coaches submit only one name for this award). It's separate from the NBA COY award, which is voted on by the media.

Ah. Thank you for the clarification.

[JetpackJesus]

Ah. Thank you for the clarification.

No worries. I had to look it up when I heard about the Stevens getting 0 votes thing yesterday because I had no idea there were two COY awards, either.

[Billy Dat]

With the explosive emergence of the Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it is interesting how quickly the conversation is pivoting to the Celtics potentially dealing Kyrie and Hayward and building around the dynamic duo instead. If the Celtics make the finals, expect this drumbeat to continue. All of this is because of the latest CBA's ability for the best players to make those Super Maxes and Sub Super Maxes. Forget about the punitive nature of over-the-cap-tax and repeater tax, teams are now terrified of committing $30MM-$40MM a year for the top players. Drafting well is so vitally important as having great players on rookie deals is, basically, a must.

[phaedrus]

And the Bucks sign Budenholzer.

I supported the Hammon candidacy (in general), but I think Bud was the best option for the Bucks.

[JasonEvans]

Oh snap... there is growing chatter that KAT wants out of Minnesota.

There are a handful of teams that could offer the young pieces needed to acquire a player of Towns’ caliber. The Suns could ship this year’s No. 1 overall pick north as part of a package for the young all-star. The Magic could offer the No. 6 pick and Nikola Vucevic to help keep Minnesota’s big man rotation stocked. The Lakers could kick-start their rebuild by putting together a deal around former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram and other pieces. If Towns is on the market, he’ll command a litany of offers.

I'd think Boston would be very interested and they have the kind of assets (both players and draft pieces) to get a deal done. Though I don't know how well Towns and Horford would fit together and I doubt Boston moves Horford (who has been their most valuable player in the playoffs).

-Jason "I could really see the Lakers trying to make a move around Ingram -- they could really sell Lebron and Paul George on playing with KAT, Lonzo, and Kuzma" Evans

[kAzE]

Oh snap... there is growing chatter that KAT wants out of Minnesota.



I'd think Boston would be very interested and they have the kind of assets (both players and draft pieces) to get a deal done. Though I don't know how well Towns and Horford would fit together and I doubt Boston moves Horford (who has been their most valuable player in the playoffs).

-Jason "I could really see the Lakers trying to make a move around Ingram -- they could really sell Lebron and Paul George on playing with KAT, Lonzo, and Kuzma" Evans

I honestly don't see a trade scenario that would work out great for the Celtics. Horford is indispensable to their culture, and seems like he'll be in Boston for the long haul. I share your skepticism that those 2 would be able to share the court effectively. Also, KAT's biggest strength is his scoring ability. His defense has been, and still is a massive question mark, which (fair or not) is a problem when you are a center. I'm not sure that's what a contending team like the Celtics, who have a plethora of other scoring options, is looking for in their franchise center that they have to pay 35+ million dollars for. Horford is kind of the ideal guy for them, even if he's far less talented than KAT. (Okay, maybe Anthony Davis is the IDEAL guy, but he's the perfect center for every team, and he's not leaving the Pelicans)

However, the Lakers do sound like a very realistic suitor for KAT. They have already openly put their entire team on the trading block, and with the amount of cap room they have available, look to be MAJOR players in the trade/free agent market this off season.

[Acymetric]

I honestly don't see a trade scenario that would work out great for the Celtics. Horford is indispensable to their culture, and seems like he'll be in Boston for the long haul. I share your skepticism that those 2 would be able to share the court effectively. Also, KAT's biggest strength is his scoring ability. His defense has been, and still is a massive question mark, which (fair or not) is a problem when you are a center.

I'm not sure that's what most teams are looking for in their franchise center that they have to pay 35+ million dollars for. He would have to land somewhere that already has a defensive anchor on the interior to fall back on.

However, the Lakers do sound like a very realistic suitor for KAT. They have already openly put their entire team on the trading block, and with the amount of cap room they have available, look to be MAJOR players in the trade/free agent market this off season.

Not just that, you have to look at who they would have to give up to make that trade work (both in terms of what Minnesota would accept and what is allowed under NBA trade rules with regards to salaries). It is hard for me to imagine they would consider such a trade worth it, and if there is a missing piece to this Boston team I'm not sure KAT is it.

Unless you are at the bottom of the league looking for someone to build around, I think just going out to grab the theoretically "best" player available without regard for fit or salary implications for your existing core down the road is bad strategy, and it is not often in recent history that you could accuse the Celtics of having bad strategy when it comes to personnel and trades.

[kAzE]

In any case, this off season has explosive potential for player movement. It's going to be super interesting to see what goes down. I'm willing to bet that there will be multiple blockbuster type deals involving all-star caliber players that no one expected.

Such is life when everyone is trying to load up to beat the Warriors. I can't wait!

[richardjackson199]

In any case, this off season has explosive potential for player movement. It's going to be super interesting to see what goes down. I'm willing to bet that there will be some blockbuster type deals involving all-star caliber players that no one expected.

Such is life when everyone is trying to load up to beat the Warriors. I can't wait!

They have to. It is absolutely a foregone conclusion that the Warriors will win these playoffs, and likely with little drama. Hopefully next year's playoff finals will be more interesting than this year's will be.

At least Quinn will earn another Championship ring.

[kAzE]

They have to. It is absolutely a foregone conclusion that the Warriors will win these playoffs, and likely with little drama. Hopefully next year's playoff finals will be more interesting than this year's will be.

At least Quinn will earn another Championship ring.

It really has been a boring playoffs, hasn't it? It sounds absurd, but it's probably fair to say that people are more excited about the off season than the NBA Finals. I know I am.

[subzero02]

The all rookie teams were announcedoing today. Mitchell and Simmons were unanimous first team selections. Tatum missed out on being a unanimous first team selection due to one voter.

The votes can be viewed at the bottom of the article.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/...mpression=true

[JasonEvans]

Reminder that this is the thread where you should be talking about stuff like where Free Agents will go and other off-season issues.

So, should we get a poll going about LeBron's destination? Aside from LeBron, who is going to be the biggest name player to switch teams this off-season?

[kshepinthehouse]

Reminder that this is the thread where you should be talking about stuff like where Free Agents will go and other off-season issues.

So, should we get a poll going about LeBron's destination? Aside from LeBron, who is going to be the biggest name player to switch teams this off-season?

My guess is Paul George.

[WillJ]

Here's what I would do if I were Darryl Morey, if it could be made to work. Sign Lebron and then trade Harden back to OKC for Paul George in a sign-and-trade. I think Lebron, Paul and Harden is one too many ball-dominant stars...I think that George makes a better third wheel for any pair of the other three.

[CDu]

Here's what I would do if I were Darryl Morey, if it could be made to work. Sign Lebron and then trade Harden back to OKC for Paul George in a sign-and-trade. I think Lebron, Paul and Harden is one too many ball-dominant stars...I think that George makes a better third wheel for any pair of the other three.

I don’t think Houston has the cap space to sign LeBron outright. It would have to be a sign and trade. And George is a free agent (so he can’t be traded unless he does a sign-and-trade) who has been heavily linked to the Lakers.

[kshepinthehouse]

I don’t think Houston has the cap space to sign LeBron outright. It would have to be a sign and trade. And George is a free agent (so he can’t be traded unless he does a sign-and-trade) who has been heavily linked to the Lakers.

They would also probably have to be willing to get rid of Capela and Gordon. They would be fine without Gordon but I’m not sure they wanna lose such a great, young, athletic big in Capela. Although, to sign Lebron I’m sure they would be willing to give up a lot. I’m not sure I would make many changes if I was Houston. They have the 3 and D to challenge the Warriors again next year if they bring everyone back. I’m not sure they should change their formula.

[WillJ]

They would also probably have to be willing to get rid of Capela and Gordon. They would be fine without Gordon but I’m not sure they wanna lose such a great, young, athletic big in Capela. Although, to sign Lebron I’m sure they would be willing to give up a lot. I’m not sure I would make many changes if I was Houston. They have the 3 and D to challenge the Warriors again next year if they bring everyone back. I’m not sure they should change their formula.

I agree that getting rid of Capela is not a good idea...he's great and I think he'll still be on an underpriced contract.