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

[BigZ]

Lakers have 1.5 if you count Deng

[JNort]

He's a semi-Dukie?

We can safely round that up to 3 because they got Stevens as coach whom is of course the next Duke coach after K retires

[lotusland]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeNBA/s...137152/video/1

Good luck to the lad.

So what is Jah’s construct situation with the Nets?

[Skitzle]

So what is Jah’s construct situation with the Nets?

Jah is an unrestricted free agent.

Unfortunately it seems like the league is moving away from traditional centers. Heres an update from Rotoworld.com

Jahlil Okafor reportedly has not received interest from any NBA clubs thus far in free agency.
The former No. 3 overall pick has had a tough time adjusting to the modern NBA, and his inability to find meaningful minutes in Brooklyn this past season was a bit of a red flag. He should be able to get an offer at some point, but it won't be for much money and he'll be relegated to a backup role. It's tough to see him landing in a situation where he'd be a factor in fantasy hoops.
Source: Amico Hoops

[JasonEvans]

The interwebs are convinced that both the Sacramento Kings (aka Blue Devil West) and the Houston Rockets are talking to Rodney Hood. Cleveland is supposedly telling teams they will match any RFA offer for Hood, though there is speculation the Cavs would be interested in a sign and trade under the right circumstances.

There is also talk that after losing D'Andre Jordan, the Clips could be a landing spot for Jahlil Okafor.

Lastly, here is a Bulls fan site with a roundup of how NBA analysts rate the Jabari Parker signing... most give it a C or C-... though the sub-title of the article says,"but C’s get degrees."

Chicago entered this summer capable of creating more cap space than any other team, which figured to put the Bulls in a power position when it came to demanding draft picks or prospects to take on bad salary. Yet the combination of matching LaVine’s offer sheet from the Sacramento Kings and making this one for Parker has exhausted Chicago’s cap space. In fact, the Bulls had to rescind their qualifying offer to second-year wing David Nwaba and renounce his rights just to sign Parker.

So Parker is all they have to show for the league’s most cap space, a disappointing outcome.

-Jason "I don't get why tanking teams aren't lining up to offer Jahlil the vet minimum... if he sucks, you still get to tank and if he is good you get a young stud for cheap" Evans

[flyingdutchdevil]

The interwebs are convinced that both the Sacramento Kings (aka Blue Devil West) and the Houston Rockets are talking to Rodney Hood. Cleveland is supposedly telling teams they will match any RFA offer for Hood, though there is speculation the Cavs would be interested in a sign and trade under the right circumstances.

There is also talk that after losing D'Andre Jordan, the Clips could be a landing spot for Jahlil Okafor.

Lastly, here is a Bulls fan site with a roundup of how NBA analysts rate the Jabari Parker signing... most give it a C or C-... though the sub-title of the article says,"but C’s get degrees."



-Jason "I don't get why tanking teams aren't lining up to offer Jahlil the vet minimum... if he sucks, you still get to tank and if he is good you get a young stud for cheap" Evans

I mean, Jah isn't really a replacement for Jordan. As a matter of fact, they have no overlapping skill sets.

Jah's stint with the Nets was completely on him. The Nets were the perfect team for Jah to shine: they didn't have their own lottery pick and they wanted to play young, high potential players. The fact that Jah couldn't crack the rotation is very, very telling.

[fraggler]

I mean, Jah isn't really a replacement for Jordan. As a matter of fact, they have no overlapping skill sets.

Jah's stint with the Nets was completely on him. The Nets were the perfect team for Jah to shine: they didn't have their own lottery pick and they wanted to play young, high potential players. The fact that Jah couldn't crack the rotation is very, very telling.

It could be coach speak or obfuscation, but according to the Nets coach and Jahlil, he was doing everything off the court they were asking for. From the get go, the Nets said they had a plan for Jahlil, but it was never apparent what that was. I definitely wouldn't put it all on him unless someone with real knowledge actually says something.

https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/jahlil...earing-an-end/

[ChillinDuke]

It could be coach speak or obfuscation, but according to the Nets coach and Jahlil, he was doing everything off the court they were asking for. From the get go, the Nets said they had a plan for Jahlil, but it was never apparent what that was. I definitely wouldn't put it all on him unless someone with real knowledge actually says something.

https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/jahlil...earing-an-end/

Do as I do, not as I say. And all that.

I think Jah's inability to break through with the Nets is quite telling, indeed. In this day and age of Twitter hot takes, I don't personally rely much anymore on people "saying something".

- Chillin

[Steven43]

I prefer to reserve judgment until we hear from Kylia Carter.

Too soon.

[Billy Dat]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeNBA/s...137152/video/1

Good luck to the lad.

What I find baffling about this video is it features him hitting, almost exclusively, mid-range jumpers...a shot that is basically disappearing from the NBA.

I don't think he's done, yet, but the clock is ticking. At 22, he'll get another chance with an NBA team. He'll have to really choose wisely to make sure it's a situation where he has a decent shot at playing time.

He was never a good fit for the Nets style, which is defense first, pace and space. I think his best bet is to be a rotation guy off the bench who punishes opposing second units inside, draws fouls, and is competent on defense.

[UrinalCake]

What I find baffling about this video is it features him hitting, almost exclusively, mid-range jumpers...a shot that is basically disappearing from the NBA.

I think he wanted to show that he’s more than a pure post player. But he doesn’t have three point range.

[superdave]

Color me shocked that the Bulls made an offer this large. There were very few teams left with much cap room. This is essentially a one-year deal unless Jabari goes off and has a great season because of the team option. Why pay a guy $20 mil for a season when no one else was going to offer him $10 mil? Unless there was a meaningful market for Jabari that I am unaware of. Who has more than $10 mil in cap space at this point?

-Jason "I wanted the Hawks to use their cap space to get Jabari and Jahlil to see if either of them could be what was expected coming out of college... but the Hawks were more interested in blowing $10+ mil on Jeremy Lin... WHAT?!?!?!" Evans

Jabari was a restricted free agent and Giannis was on record as saying Jabari wasnt going anywhere. So I assume the Bulls had to write a big enough offer for the Bucks to let him walk.

If Jabari has a good season, this could be a step towards Giannis losing confidence in the Bucks.

[elvis14]

Jabari was a restricted free agent and Giannis was on record as saying Jabari wasnt going anywhere. So I assume the Bulls had to write a big enough offer for the Bucks to let him walk.

If Jabari has a good season, this could be a step towards Giannis losing confidence in the Bucks.

It'll be interesting to see how the GSW are going to restructure various contracts to sign Giannis when he becomes available. He'll make a decent replacement for Boogie.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Do as I do, not as I say. And all that.

I think Jah's inability to break through with the Nets is quite telling, indeed. In this day and age of Twitter hot takes, I don't personally rely much anymore on people "saying something".

- Chillin

Couldn't agree more. The Nets were the perfect destination for Jah: the available minutes, the lack of tanking, decent coaching staff, etc.

Also, I recommend listening to a variety of NBA podcasts from SI, ESPN (Zach Lowe), Game Theory, the Ringer, etc... they all rip on Jah's work ethic. He may have gotten screwed over by the 76ers, but his non-factor with the Nets is on him.

[luvdahops]

Couldn't agree more. The Nets were the perfect destination for Jah: the available minutes, the lack of tanking, decent coaching staff, etc.

Also, I recommend listening to a variety of NBA podcasts from SI, ESPN (Zach Lowe), Game Theory, the Ringer, etc... they all rip on Jah's work ethic. He may have gotten screwed over by the 76ers, but his non-factor with the Nets is on him.

Same here. I hate to say it, but I think Jah's best option right now may be heading to Europe for a few years to try and expand his game and rehabilitate his reputation.

[arnie]

Misleading article. The first-rounders get two years. Gary Trent got three years, but the third year is at the NBA minimum. If the first-rounders option is picked up, then they would make quite a bit more -- $1.6-1.8 million. Trent gets quite a bit less in the third year, although someone else will have to find the right table. But, in a train wreck scenario -- total bust for the first-rounder -- Trent would get more than players whose options are not picked up in the third year.

https://balldurham.com/2018/07/15/du...-helping-hand/

This writer from Balldurham site seems to have an optimistic view on Trent’s overall game. Of course I haven’t watched his play, so I don’t know how he’s looked yet.

[kAzE]

Amazing. How many college freshman have been first team all-america and then wasn't able to even get playing time in the NBA? Okafor is still only 22. This has to be unprecedented.

[JasonEvans]

This report says Okafor worked out for 4 teams last week in Las Vegas. Supposedly, the Pacers and Bulls are also interested (Bulls have a really crowded frontcourt) though they were not at the workout with the 4 other teams.

Okafor will only get the vet minimum if he signs. Cap space is basically nil around the league right now. In fact, according to Sportrac, only 3 teams have more than the mid-level exemption to offer to free agents:

Sacto - $19.529 mil
Atlanta - $8.583 mil
Dallas - $6.406 mil

-Jason "Rodney Hood to Sacto rumors remain strong... but Cleveland is vowing to match anything but a crazy offer" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Amazing. How many college freshman have been first team all-america and then wasn't able to even get playing time in the NBA? Okafor is still only 22. This has to be unprecedented.

Freshmen who made consensus first or second team All-American (some guys who were consensus 2nd team made some 1st team lists so they may be useful in this discussion):

2018 - Bagley, Ayton
2017 - Lonzo Ball, Malik Monk (2nd)
2016 - Ben Simmons
2015 - Okafor, D'Angelo Russell, KAT (2nd)
2014 - Parker, Wiggins (2nd)
2013 - Ben McLemore (2nd), Marcus Smart (2nd)
2012 - The Brow, MKG (2nd)
2011 - Jared Sullinger
2010 - John Wall, Boogie
2009 - none
2008 - Michael Beasley, Kevin Love (2nd)

Ok, that's enough. I think the guys who come closest to Okafor's thus far disappointing career would have to be Ben McLemore (who is not out of the league, but is little more than a fringe rotation player after being dealt to Sacto this off-season) and Sullinger (who is out of the league at age 26, but was a double-digit scorer and nice rebounder for Boston until he was about 25).

So, as far as I can tell, kAzE is right that Okafor's situation is pretty darn unique. Of course, the final chapter is not yet even close to written on his story.

[FerryFor50]

This report says Okafor worked out for 4 teams last week in Las Vegas. Supposedly, the Pacers and Bulls are also interested (Bulls have a really crowded frontcourt) though they were not at the workout with the 4 other teams.

Okafor will only get the vet minimum if he signs. Cap space is basically nil around the league right now. In fact, according to Sportrac, only 3 teams have more than the mid-level exemption to offer to free agents:

Sacto - $19.529 mil
Atlanta - $8.583 mil
Dallas - $6.406 mil

-Jason "Rodney Hood to Sacto rumors remain strong... but Cleveland is vowing to match anything but a crazy offer" Evans

Hood... Giles... Bagley... drafted Trent Jr (and traded to Portland)... Kings have cap room for Jah...

Sacramento is Duke West!

Duke East would be Boston (Semi, Kyrie, Tatum)