Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[JasonEvans]

Yeah, bad deal. I would maybe use cap filler for Jabari for a year. But unless he gets a work ethic, not thank you.

Okafor kinda has a similar first couple of seasons but seems to have flipped the switch. I hope Jabari figures it out too.

Jabari will almost certainly be a backup PF for Atlanta, spelling John Collins. There's no way he gets anything more than minimal minutes on the wing with Hunter and Reddish both needing time there. The Hawks also have promising big man Omari Spellman, who showed flashes of being good last year, but I suspect they seem him more as a small-ball 5 than as a PF. Still, Spellman could suck up some PF minutes.

I suspect Jabari will average less than 20 mpg next season for Atlanta. Why are we giving him $13 million?!?!

[UrinalCake]

I think you guys are selling Jabari short, he’s had a rough few years between injuries and the dumb comments he made publicly, but he still has the potential to be a go-to scorer and is still fairly young. To get a bench guy/borderline starter with some upside for $6.5 million per year is a decent gamble IMO. I’m surprised they gave him the player option but even in the worst case scenario he’ll be off the books in two years when the next big free agent class becomes available.

[COYS]

I think you guys are selling Jabari short, he’s had a rough few years between injuries and the dumb comments he made publicly, but he still has the potential to be a go-to scorer and is still fairly young. To get a bench guy/borderline starter with some upside for $6.5 million per year is a decent gamble IMO. I’m surprised they gave him the player option but even in the worst case scenario he’ll be off the books in two years when the next big free agent class becomes available.

Another Hawks fan here, chiming in. I think it's really the player option that is throwing Hawks fans for a loop. While ATL has bigger needs than an offense-first backup PF (I have a lot of faith in our young players on offense, but we need defenders), gambling on Jabari one a one year deal to be fully healthy and maybe a little hungry to rehabilitate his career is not a bad move, at all. If he plays well and the team still isn't great, the Hawks can try to deal him for some more assets at the deadline while making the on-court product a little more fun while he's playing. Alternatively, he could play well on offense, the Hawks can keep him all year, the team can go all season losing games 125-135, and then we get another shot at the top of the lottery to add a big piece when the team should be ready to start contending.

Adding the player option seems really risky, to me. There is a good chance he won't get any better offers unless he makes DRAMATIC improvements to his game. Meanwhile, the Hawks have set themselves up to have insane amounts of cap space available in the upcoming seasons. While ATL has not been a free agent destination in the past, I cling to the hope that this can change . . . especially if Young and Collins continue to dazzle. The last thing I want is $6.5 Million owed to Jabari to somehow eliminate the possibility of adding multiple max players next offseason. And while it doesn't currently look like next year's crop of NBA free agents will be particularly exciting save for Anthony Davis, you never know what the landscape will look like.

It's not the worst deal in the world. But I'm still not a fan. That said, I hope Jabari kills it and lands a bigger deal next offseason. I'd love to see him succeed. And I'm going to enjoy watching him suit up for "my" team again.

[Richard Berg]

Class move by JJ to take out a full page ad in the Inquirer to thank Philly. I know he really enjoyed playing here but was happy to see him get a 2-year contract in NO. He'll be a valuable addition down there --- just hope he's able to get home to Brooklyn once in a while.

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

[budwom]

Jabari will almost certainly be a backup PF for Atlanta, spelling John Collins. There's no way he gets anything more than minimal minutes on the wing with Hunter and Reddish both needing time there. The Hawks also have promising big man Omari Spellman, who showed flashes of being good last year, but I suspect they seem him more as a small-ball 5 than as a PF. Still, Spellman could suck up some PF minutes.

I suspect Jabari will average less than 20 mpg next season for Atlanta. Why are we giving him $13 million?!?!

I acknowledge all the flaws of Jabari, but pretty much choke on the notion that he'll have to make way for Reddish. Perhaps eventually, but right now Reddish's game needs a great deal of work before he displaces anyone.
And these days, in a world where Tobias Harris is worth $180 million, $13 million is chump change. Probably not a deal I would choose to make, but hardly outrageous, given the standards of the game...

[DarkstarWahoo]

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

I read that article this morning. It was nuts long before the Redicks made their first appearance and only spiraled from there. Fascinating read.

[sagegrouse]

I am trying to keep track of who will be where. There are 25 Blue Devils who got minutes in the NBA last season, per Watson. Here's what I have as their teams for 2019-2020. Please comment:

Stayed with Team
Jah - Pels
Jackson - Pels
Wendell Carter - Bulls
Bagley - Kings
Giles - Kings
Hood - Blazers
Tatum - Celts
Mason - Nuggets
Rivers - Rockets
Kennard - Pistons
Trent - Blazers
Justise - Heat

Changed Teams
Ingram - Pels
JJ - Pels
Seth Curry - Mavs
Kyrie - Nets
Grayson - Grizz
Tyus Jones - Grizz RFA for Wolves
Quinn Cook - Lakers
Miles - Grizzlies
Jabari - Hawks?
Lance Thomas - ??? Uncertain
Luol Deng - ??? Uncertain
Amile - ??? On Magic roster, no contract
Duval - ???

[Billy Dat]

@FredKatz Jun 30
If the Wizards lose free agents Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker, possible though not inevitable, that means they would have traded Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers for the grand total of a top-36 protected 2023 second-round pick.

And that’s it.

[BD80]

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

Great article, really well written.

Not an overly flattering portrayal of Chelsea Redick, but that seems to make it ring true. It doesn't sound like she was anything but sincere and helpful, but she was the focal point of the rival "faction."

Compelling read.

[tbyers11]

I am trying to keep track of who will be where. There are 25 Blue Devils who got minutes in the NBA last season, per Watson. Here's what I have as their teams for 2019-2020. Please comment:

Stayed with Team
Jah - Pels
Jackson - Pels
Wendell Carter - Bulls
Bagley - Kings
Giles - Kings
Hood - Blazers
Tatum - Celts
Mason - Nuggets
Rivers - Rockets
Kennard - Pistons
Trent - Blazers
Justise - Heat

Changed Teams
Ingram - Pels
JJ - Pels
Seth Curry - Mavs
Kyrie - Nets
Grayson - Grizz
Tyus Jones - Grizz RFA for WolvesBArrin
Quinn Cook - Lakers
Miles - Grizzlies
Jabari - Hawks?
Lance Thomas - ??? Uncertain
Luol Deng - ??? Uncertain
Amile - ??? On Magic roster, no contract
Duval - ???

Amile was extended a qualifying offer by Orlando on June 25th. He is now a restricted free agent. No terms were disclosed but it is likely a minimum deal @ 1yr/~$1.4M. I believe teams have until July 13th to pull back these restricted offers without consent of the player.

[JasonEvans]

@FredKatz Jun 30
If the Wizards lose free agents Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker, possible though not inevitable, that means they would have traded Otto Porter, Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers for the grand total of a top-36 protected 2023 second-round pick.

Well, it was not Otto Porter that they traded. What they traded was the $55 mill in 2020 and 2021 that was owed to Otto Porter. They could not have given that away for free if they had tried.

[Billy Dat]

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

I read that article this morning. It was nuts long before the Redicks made their first appearance and only spiraled from there. Fascinating read.

CO-SIGN! What a disaster. It almost makes you think this was a big reason why he is leaving NY.

[sagegrouse]

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

I read that article this morning. It was nuts long before the Redicks made their first appearance and only spiraled from there. Fascinating read.

Great article, really well written.

Not an overly flattering portrayal of Chelsea Redick, but that seems to make it ring true. It doesn't sound like she was anything but sincere and helpful, but she was the focal point of the rival "faction."

Compelling read.

CO-SIGN! What a disaster. It almost makes you think this was a big reason why he is leaving NY.

Chelsea came off OK -- as one involved in non-profits, including Duke, anyone who volunteers that much can't be all bad. The problem is that 16 of the 18 board members hate Duke, and that doomed Chelsea's friend, the director of the nursery school.

[MartyClark]

I've been travelling and somehow missed the news of Grayson being traded to Memphis.

Any thoughts on how he fits that team?

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Great article, really well written.

Not an overly flattering portrayal of Chelsea Redick, but that seems to make it ring true. It doesn't sound like she was anything but sincere and helpful, but she was the focal point of the rival "faction."

Compelling read.

I don't think it reflects well on her. It sounds like the bulk of the blame is on the school director for constantly trying to be Chelsea's BFF, but Chelsea comes across as extremely tone deaf and gauche (though she does not appear to be the only one).

I live in NYC with two young kids and know many people who live in this world. The drama involved in nursery schools is unbelievable. Meanwhile, the blocks and crayons they play with are identical to the ones used anywhere else in the world.

[cato]

His family may not be getting the warm Brooklyn Heights welcome they were accustomed to last year: https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/grace...-brooklyn.html

If I were looking for a warm welcome, Brooklyn Heights is the last place I would look, Philly and Boston excluded.

That said, I clicked through and noted this:

Then one morning in 2015, one of the school’s 3-year-old charges walked several blocks to her home, surprising her parents, and loosey-goosey started to seem like a liability.

If my three year old snuck out of school and walked home (something they would have given up on, because it’s pretty much up hill all the way, although in the modern sensibility, only one way) my wife and I would have been more than surprised. We would have been at work. And there my three year old would have been.

I must admit I lost the point of the article after they glossed over that point and started naming names that I do no know and will not remember. I never got to the tie-in to JJ. But if JJ and his wife want to move somewhere they can deal with real-life-issues like preschool without it being a news thing, I support them.

[BD80]

…

If my three year old snuck out of school and walked home (something they would have given up on, because it’s pretty much up hill all the way, although in the modern sensibility, only one way) my wife and I would have been more than surprised. ...

Back in my day, we walked to school and back at age three. Delivering newspapers on the way there, and either shoveling driveways or mowing lawns on the way home ...

[jimsumner]

either shoveling driveways or mowing lawns on the way home ...

"either?"

I grew up in North Carolina, the home of funky weather.

[brevity]

But if JJ and his wife want to move somewhere they can deal with real-life-issues like preschool without it being a news thing, I support them.

I have no idea if JJ's family plans to join him in Louisiana, but I will say that there is a distinct advantage to being ranked #48 in education and #50 overall: nobody cares. They can find a good preschool and primary school without the social pressure, as long as they are willing to pay for it.

[awhom111]

Amile was extended a qualifying offer by Orlando on June 25th. He is now a restricted free agent. No terms were disclosed but it is likely a minimum deal @ 1yr/~$1.4M. I believe teams have until July 13th to pull back these restricted offers without consent of the player.

Amile does not have enough experience in the league to no longer be eligible to have a two-way contract so I believe that his qualifying offer is just another two-way contract.