Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[AGDukesky]

That Denver-NO box score was a joy to read - wish I had seen the game

[Truth&Justise]

Huge game by Okafor tonight. 23 points on 7-11 from the floor and 9-11 from the line. He and Ingram and Jackson all on the court to close out win #1 for the Pels.

Jahlil finished 10-13 from the free throw line. WOW! Always happy when he plays well.

[Troublemaker]

I doubt the Pelicans let him walk unless they really sour on him this year. He is a restricted free agent so they can match any contract offer he gets. The Pels are projected to have $30+ mil of cap space in the off-season. They will be perfectly fine using some of that on Ingram, I suspect.

Well, they're not going to sour on him in the scenario discussed -- where he plays well enough to be dangled a max contract offer by a desperate-for-talent team like Cleveland. I just don't think they'll match. I wouldn't. (But I would be very happy for Brandon for getting it).

[budwom]

Jahlil finished 10-13 from the free throw line. WOW! Always happy when he plays well.

nice to see, with all the hard work he's put in.

[Troublemaker]

And Kendrick Nunn, an undrafted rookie for the Heat who spent a couple of years in the G League, looked way better than Cam in two straight Heat-Hawks games and is averaging 22.4 PPG.

So why am I talking about Kendrick Nunn in a Duke board? Because he was Jabari Parker's HS teammate, of course. Jabari looked really good in both games and made some highlight reel dunks, which was good to see after all of his injuries.

To be fair to Cam, Nunn is playing better than *every* rookie so far, not just Cam. (Nunn is also a fake rookie as he was in the G-league last season and originally part of the 2018 draft class [going undrafted]). Just another great development job by the Miami Heat.

[phaedrus]

Cam finally made a 3; but 2 of 11 overall last night. Shooting 20% from the field for the year.

Cam is putting up some of the worst numbers in the NBA right now... yet getting consistently high minutes on a decent (right?) team. I can't tell if they are just giving him minutes hoping he will improve soon, whether they value his play despite the numbers, or something else.

[TruBlu]

I doubt the Pelicans let him walk...

If he wants to walk, he needs to channel his inner Tyler Hansbourgh. 😝

[AZLA]

Cam is putting up some of the worst numbers in the NBA right now... yet getting consistently high minutes on a decent (right?) team. I can't tell if they are just giving him minutes hoping he will improve soon, whether they value his play despite the numbers, or something else.

Meanwhile Okafor went off last night for 26 Points on 8 of 14 and 5 rebounds against the Nuggets. He's looking more physically and mentally fit. Getting steals, high energy, running coast-to-coast. Definitely a good turnaround story happening in NOLA. The post-move center position is so ripe for a comeback in general in the modern NBA game where it's so spread out, everyone is facing the basket, and people are forgetting how to defend a low-post banger.

And Reddick is winning a new type of (costume) award: https://youtu.be/eRV-D4zkhWI.

"Everything is awesome when you're part of a team..."

[JasonEvans]

Well, they're not going to sour on him in the scenario discussed -- where he plays well enough to be dangled a max contract offer by a desperate-for-talent team like Cleveland. I just don't think they'll match. I wouldn't. (But I would be very happy for Brandon for getting it).

D'Angelo Russell got a max contract. Chandler Parsons has one. Harrison Barnes got one a few years back. So did Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter. Hassan Whiteside, Otto Porter, Andrew Wiggins, Stephen Adams.

There are a ton of guys on max contracts who are good but not great players. Ingram, who was among the youngest players in his draft class (just turned 22 in September), is a max no-brainer in my opinion. You are talking about owning his 23-27 year old seasons -- the heart of his prime -- for a guy who isn't far from being an All-Star at this point. For a team that has plenty of young dudes making the cap easy to manage, this will be an easy choice for Trajan and the Pels front office.

-Jason "the fact that the 2020 free agent class looks weak makes it an even easier decision as I cannot imagine the Pels would find someone else to use Ingram's money on who would be better" Evans

[53n206]

Meanwhile Okafor went off last night for 26 Points on 8 of 14 and 5 rebounds against the Nuggets. He's looking more physically and mentally fit. Getting steals, high energy, running coast-to-coast. Definitely a good turnaround story happening in NOLA. The post-move center position is so ripe for a comeback in general in the modern NBA game where it's so spread out, everyone is facing the basket, and people are forgetting how to defend a low-post banger.


"Everything is awesome when you're part of a team..."

Okafor (and Plumlee) played with so much energy it seemed like we were watching a college Final 4 game.

[Billy Dat]

D'Angelo Russell got a max contract. Chandler Parsons has one. Harrison Barnes got one a few years back. So did Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter. Hassan Whiteside, Otto Porter, Andrew Wiggins, Stephen Adams.

There are a ton of guys on max contracts who are good but not great players. Ingram, who was among the youngest players in his draft class (just turned 22 in September), is a max no-brainer in my opinion. You are talking about owning his 23-27 year old seasons -- the heart of his prime -- for a guy who isn't far from being an All-Star at this point. For a team that has plenty of young dudes making the cap easy to manage, this will be an easy choice for Trajan and the Pels front office.

-Jason "the fact that the 2020 free agent class looks weak makes it an even easier decision as I cannot imagine the Pels would find someone else to use Ingram's money on who would be better" Evans

The Kings just passed on Harry's 4th year option at $4MM.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/ki...ss-harry-giles

Around the recent contract extension deadline (for the draft class of 2016), there was talk about the blow-up with China potentially impacting the long term cap and teams wanting to lock-in players now:
https://www.si.com/nba/2019/10/21/wi...act-extensions

I bet if that deadline had come a week or two later, the Pels, based on Ingram's start, would have extended him.

[Troublemaker]

D'Angelo Russell got a max contract. Chandler Parsons has one. Harrison Barnes got one a few years back. So did Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter. Hassan Whiteside, Otto Porter, Andrew Wiggins, Stephen Adams.

There are a ton of guys on max contracts who are good but not great players.

Don't those teams and their fans regret all those contracts, though?

Ingram, who was among the youngest players in his draft class (just turned 22 in September), is a max no-brainer in my opinion. You are talking about owning his 23-27 year old seasons -- the heart of his prime -- for a guy who isn't far from being an All-Star at this point. For a team that has plenty of young dudes making the cap easy to manage, this will be an easy choice for Trajan and the Pels front office.

-Jason "the fact that the 2020 free agent class looks weak makes it an even easier decision as I cannot imagine the Pels would find someone else to use Ingram's money on who would be better" Evans

I think the idea is that they don't need to use 2020 free agency to fill a max slot; save the space for the future or for trades that might pop up. The new model for team building seems to be 2 max guys + depth, and I'm not sure Brandon should be one of the two max guys if you're aiming to contend deep into the playoffs.

Zion's rookie contract does give them some flexibility, so the devil is in the details. If they can maintain cap flexibility after maxing out Ingram to the point that they can build Ingram + another max guy (someone better than BI) + Zion + depth, then I could see it.

I don't think it's a no-brainer, though.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

@DukeMBB posted that it’s only the second time that three players on one team from the same college all scored 20+ points. Only other was Houston in 1997. Looks like Olajuwon, Drexler, and Sam Mack?

[JasonEvans]

I think the idea is that they don't need to use 2020 free agency to fill a max slot; save the space for the future or for trades that might pop up. The new model for team building seems to be 2 max guys + depth, and I'm not sure Brandon should be one of the two max guys if you're aiming to contend deep into the playoffs.

Zion's rookie contract does give them some flexibility, so the devil is in the details. If they can maintain cap flexibility after maxing out Ingram to the point that they can build Ingram + another max guy (someone better than BI) + Zion + depth, then I could see it.

I don't think it's a no-brainer, though.

I think we can agree it all depends on how Ingram plays this season. The early returns are extremely promising and while no one expects him to keep shooting 50% from 3, if he can be close to 40% while taking 3+ threes per game then he's going to be a max player.

Also, to your point about having 2 max players plus a supporting cast, it is worth noting that the Pels already have one max guy in Jrue Holiday. His contract comes up in 2022, after they will have had to make decisions on Ingram, Lonzo, and Ingram. Though having Zion on a sweetheart rookie deal is nice, the Pels are going to have to make some tough decisions in the next couple years... either that or they may just decide to keep guys around and pay the tax for a year or two.

-Jason "as the Warriors show, it is not easy to keep a winning core together in the modern NBA" Evans

[Billy Dat]

Amile on a fresh 2-way
https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/artic...14822_30421598

[Edouble]

Amile on a fresh 2-way
https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/artic...14822_30421598

Article says it's a two year deal, not a two way. They need a contract to get the roster from 13 up to 14 players, per league rules.

[JasonEvans]

Article says it's a two year deal, not a two way. They need a contract to get the roster from 13 up to 14 players, per league rules.

Huge news for Amile. I am sure it is a non-guaranteed deal and could be terminated at any time but for the moment, Amile is making NBA money... not bad!

[Billy Dat]

Article says it's a two year deal, not a two way. They need a contract to get the roster from 13 up to 14 players, per league rules.

Ack...good catch and correction. A good deal for one of the really good guys. When the Knicks played the Magic earlier this week, I was watching the post game handshakes and the MSG camera was following RJ as he was making a determined march to one end of the court and then the camera revealed his target - Amile in street clothes - where they exchanged a bro-hug and properly dapped up. I loved it.

[Furniture]

Article says it's a two year deal, not a two way. They need a contract to get the roster from 13 up to 14 players, per league rules.

EXCELLENT NEWS!!!Well done Amile!!

[Truth&Justise]

Amile on a fresh 2-way
https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/artic...14822_30421598

Fresh off signing that contract, Amile made his season debut with the Magic tonight. He scored 4 points (2-2 shooting) with 1 rebound and 2 assists in 6 minutes. Already killing it with those per-minute efficiency stats!