2022 NBA Off-season

[scottdude8]

This is clearly photoshopped.

JK. Good for Zion

While probably not photoshopped, I'm sure if this was for a commercial shoot they made him look his absolute best. That said, there are very few people in the world you can make look like that with any amount of effort. If he can just be healthy, is it outlandish to say the Pelicans could contend to be a Top 4 team in the West next year?

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Somewhat predictable that Nets-Irving negotiations continue to make headlines. He's getting some pretty strong blather thrown his direction from the ESPN talking heads about his demands/expectations for length. If I'm net Nets, he's a pretty risky person to lock up long-term for a whole host of reasons. We shall see.

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/06/22...h-of-contract/

I found this article from early March (and several others from the same time) saying that he hired his step-mom as his new agent. It looks like she has a background in ad sales. I'm sure she is a bright person but of all contract negotiations, this is really one where having someone with experience negotiating large sports contracts is likely pretty helpful.

https://www.si.com/nba/2022/03/03/ky...20NBA%20player.

[SouthernDukie]

While probably not photoshopped, I'm sure if this was for a commercial shoot they made him look his absolute best. That said, there are very few people in the world you can make look like that with any amount of effort. If he can just be healthy, is it outlandish to say the Pelicans could contend to be a Top 4 team in the West next year?

I don’t think that’s outlandish at all. If the Pelicans are completely healthy for the majority of the year, I don’t see why they can’t contend for a spot somewhere between 4-6 in the West.

[DarkstarWahoo]

I don’t think that’s outlandish at all. If the Pelicans are completely healthy for the majority of the year, I don’t see why they can’t contend for a spot somewhere between 4-6 in the West.

Agreed. They gave the Suns fits without their franchise player.

[HayYou]

Agreed. They gave the Suns fits without their franchise player.

Ingram is really good, and he's one of the harder players to guard in today's game. Plus, as much as I generally respect the Suns' roster, they don't really have a great SF defender.

But I could see the Pels closer to 1 than 5 in the west. GSW, obviously, and Memphis right there. The Suns depend on a true PG, and the best one in recent years, to make their offense work. An aging PG who is losing a step and more and more injury prone. I could see them taking a step back. The Jazz are about to implode, or at least regress. I love Denver's roster, but, again, injury issues. Memphis is really good, but might be about to lose TJones (given approximate money, he might stick around in what looks like a good situation). His loss will be felt during the regular season, as I feel Jah will be a guy who misses games in the regular season, and a steady flow of them. TJones is/was a guy good enough to win 60-70 percent of the games missed by Jah. This loss could move them back in the regular season.

I could really see a scenario where the Pels push for second in the West.

That said, knocking off GSW in a seven game series is a tall task.

[JasonEvans]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1539729017326243840
Jerami Grant to Portland for Milwaukee's 2025 1st rounder (pick is top 4 protected). Portland had a huge trade exception so they did not have to send any salary back to Detroit. The move gives Detroit $43 mil of cap space and likely makes them one of the biggest players in free agency this summer as they seek to find the right pieces to put around Cunningham.

Considering this is Milwaukee's pick - and they figure to still have Giannis in 2025 - the Pistons just gave away a nice player in Grant for something like the 25th pick in the 2025 draft.

[JetpackJesus]

Taken yesterday, apparently.

Original Tweet

[bundabergdevil]

Taken yesterday, apparently.

Original Tweet

LOL at that kid's shirt. "My parents said I could be anything so I became an a**hole."

[JetpackJesus]

LOL at that kid's shirt. "My parents said I could be anything so I became an a**hole."

That's hilarious. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out. It kind of reminds me of this polaroid of kid-me with Coach K and I'm wearing an Eric Cartman "I want Cheesy Poofs!" shirt. Kids …

[scottdude8]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1539729017326243840
Jerami Grant to Portland for Milwaukee's 2025 1st rounder (pick is top 4 protected). Portland had a huge trade exception so they did not have to send any salary back to Detroit. The move gives Detroit $43 mil of cap space and likely makes them one of the biggest players in free agency this summer as they seek to find the right pieces to put around Cunningham.

Considering this is Milwaukee's pick - and they figure to still have Giannis in 2025 - the Pistons just gave away a nice player in Grant for something like the 25th pick in the 2025 draft.

My initial reaction to this trade as a Pistons fan was, “What the heck?” There was speculation the Pistons could get the Blazers #7 overall pick THIS year for Grant.

But after digesting, I realize that this was probably a lot more about the salary issue. If the Pistons wanted a lottery pick they’d likely have to match salaries. Now they have mountains of cap room, I think more than any other team. They could conceivably now go and get someone like Deandre Ashton or Miles Bridges. Or they can turn that cap room into assets.. there are rumors the Hornets may package Gordon Hayward with one (or both?) of their first round picks to get cap space. The Pistons are now one of the few teams who could absorb that hit. Long story short, this seems like a “first move” with clear follow ups to come. That, or the Pistons are being really stupid, or the market for one year of Grant wasn’t great (look at how little Christian Wood got the Rockets).

FWIW, the Pistons also moved up in the second round (up to 36 I believe), plus adding a couple 2nd round picks in later years in the deal (which is non trivial as the Pistons had depleted their future second rounders).

[Wander]

Ingram is really good, and he's one of the harder players to guard in today's game. Plus, as much as I generally respect the Suns' roster, they don't really have a great SF defender.

But I could see the Pels closer to 1 than 5 in the west. GSW, obviously, and Memphis right there. The Suns depend on a true PG, and the best one in recent years, to make their offense work. An aging PG who is losing a step and more and more injury prone. I could see them taking a step back. The Jazz are about to implode, or at least regress. I love Denver's roster, but, again, injury issues. Memphis is really good, but might be about to lose TJones (given approximate money, he might stick around in what looks like a good situation). His loss will be felt during the regular season, as I feel Jah will be a guy who misses games in the regular season, and a steady flow of them. TJones is/was a guy good enough to win 60-70 percent of the games missed by Jah. This loss could move them back in the regular season.

I could really see a scenario where the Pels push for second in the West.

That said, knocking off GSW in a seven game series is a tall task.

Healthy Clippers and a continuing improving Mavs are the other ones, but otherwise I agree, I can see the Suns and Jazz taking enough steps back to fall behind Pelicans if Zion returns and lives up to his potential.

[tommy]

My initial reaction to this trade as a Pistons fan was, “What the heck?” There was speculation the Pistons could get the Blazers #7 overall pick THIS year for Grant.

But after digesting, I realize that this was probably a lot more about the salary issue. If the Pistons wanted a lottery pick they’d likely have to match salaries. Now they have mountains of cap room, I think more than any other team. They could conceivably now go and get someone like Deandre Ashton or Miles Bridges. Or they can turn that cap room into assets.. there are rumors the Hornets may package Gordon Hayward with one (or both?) of their first round picks to get cap space. The Pistons are now one of the few teams who could absorb that hit. Long story short, this seems like a “first move” with clear follow ups to come. That, or the Pistons are being really stupid, or the market for one year of Grant wasn’t great (look at how little Christian Wood got the Rockets).

FWIW, the Pistons also moved up in the second round (up to 36 I believe), plus adding a couple 2nd round picks in later years in the deal (which is non trivial as the Pistons had depleted their future second rounders).

Why would anyone, much less a team building something for the future, want a declined Gordon Hayward plus the enormous contract he has? Deandre Ayton entering his prime sounds a lot better to me . . .

[scottdude8]

Why would anyone, much less a team building something for the future, want a declined Gordon Hayward plus the enormous contract he has? Deandre Ayton entering his prime sounds a lot better to me . . .

I actually don't quite see it that way. Hayward has two years left on his deal, and if healthy is a solid contributor and veteran, if not someone worth 30+ million. Are the Pistons going compete for a title in the next two years? Probably not. But what if by absorbing Hayward's salary the Pistons can use the Hornets pick to grab, say, I don't know, Mark Williams? Mark Williams on 5 years of a rookie contract might be more valuable than paying DeAndre Ayton the max, especially given how centers are valued in the modern game. Then in two years when Hayward's contract comes off the books, the Pistons will have prime cap space to add a "missing piece" to a young core with 2-4 years experience and go contend.

Not sure if that's how it'll play out, but it's not that outlandish to me given the Pistons' timeline. With Ayton they're still likely a 5-8 (at best) team in the East until the young core further develops... without him maybe they contend for the play-in tourney this year, but end up in position for a solid mid-first round pick if things need to further develop. Option A may be more appealing to the fan base now, but Option B may make more sense for long term development.

[JasonEvans]

Why would anyone, much less a team building something for the future, want a declined Gordon Hayward plus the enormous contract he has? Deandre Ayton entering his prime sounds a lot better to me . . .

Well, it depends on your team’s horizon. Heyward will only be on the books for 2 more seasons (at $30 mil and then $31.5 mil plus a 15% trade kicker if he gets dealt). If Detroit is eyeing 2024-25 as the season when they want to begin making their playoff push then Heyward for 2 years makes some sense if you get some good long-terms assets back for taking him on.

Jason “as usual, Scott said it better than me… his notion of Williams over Ayton is really smart too” Evans

[scottdude8]

I actually don't quite see it that way. Hayward has two years left on his deal, and if healthy is a solid contributor and veteran, if not someone worth 30+ million. Are the Pistons going compete for a title in the next two years? Probably not. But what if by absorbing Hayward's salary the Pistons can use the Hornets pick to grab, say, I don't know, Mark Williams? Mark Williams on 5 years of a rookie contract might be more valuable than paying DeAndre Ayton the max, especially given how centers are valued in the modern game. Then in two years when Hayward's contract comes off the books, the Pistons will have prime cap space to add a "missing piece" to a young core with 2-4 years experience and go contend.

Not sure if that's how it'll play out, but it's not that outlandish to me given the Pistons' timeline. With Ayton they're still likely a 5-8 (at best) team in the East until the young core further develops... without him maybe they contend for the play-in tourney this year, but end up in position for a solid mid-first round pick if things need to further develop. Option A may be more appealing to the fan base now, but Option B may make more sense for long term development.

Well, it depends on your team’s horizon. Heyward will only be on the books for 2 more seasons (at $30 mil and then $31.5 mil plus a 15% trade kicker if he gets dealt). If Detroit is eyeing 2024-25 as the season when they want to begin making their playoff push then Heyward for 2 years makes some sense if you get some good long-terms assets back for taking him on.

Jason, we're making a habit out of posting almost identical takes seconds away from each other. Something is going on here... haha

[JasonEvans]

Jason, we're making a habit out of posting almost identical takes seconds away from each other. Something is going on here... haha

[tommy]

I actually don't quite see it that way. Hayward has two years left on his deal, and if healthy is a solid contributor and veteran, if not someone worth 30+ million. Are the Pistons going compete for a title in the next two years? Probably not. But what if by absorbing Hayward's salary the Pistons can use the Hornets pick to grab, say, I don't know, Mark Williams? Mark Williams on 5 years of a rookie contract might be more valuable than paying DeAndre Ayton the max, especially given how centers are valued in the modern game. Then in two years when Hayward's contract comes off the books, the Pistons will have prime cap space to add a "missing piece" to a young core with 2-4 years experience and go contend.

Not sure if that's how it'll play out, but it's not that outlandish to me given the Pistons' timeline. With Ayton they're still likely a 5-8 (at best) team in the East until the young core further develops... without him maybe they contend for the play-in tourney this year, but end up in position for a solid mid-first round pick if things need to further develop. Option A may be more appealing to the fan base now, but Option B may make more sense for long term development.

Hayward being healthy is very much a question mark. And at his age, coming off of injuries, how much can a team reasonably expect from him?

As to the centers, I understand the value of having a guy like Mark Williams on a rookie contract. But DeAndre Ayton is a proven, still-young veteran. You already know the type of impact you are going to get from him. Mark is a rookie, and while he certainly has promise in particular defensively, he is unproven at this level. Big contract for Ayton vs. hoping Williams develops into the player Ayton already is. Different ways of rolling the dice I suppose . . .

[brevity]

I'll start a Summer League thread once we get rosters and a full schedule, but here's a nice piece of information.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

Sources: Duke's Theo John has agreed to play in NBA Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

11:44 PM · Jun 23, 2022

The good news is that Wendell Moore Jr. will also be playing for Minnesota. The bad news is that Minnesota traded for him, so he has to wait for the NBA to officially process the trade. For some reason this takes forever, so Moore may miss the first couple of summer games.

[scottdude8]

Hayward being healthy is very much a question mark. And at his age, coming off of injuries, how much can a team reasonably expect from him?

As to the centers, I understand the value of having a guy like Mark Williams on a rookie contract. But DeAndre Ayton is a proven, still-young veteran. You already know the type of impact you are going to get from him. Mark is a rookie, and while he certainly has promise in particular defensively, he is unproven at this level. Big contract for Ayton vs. hoping Williams develops into the player Ayton already is. Different ways of rolling the dice I suppose . . .

Worth recapping what the Pistons did last night instead of going the Hayward route, because in my mind it was pretty brilliant... and that's the first time I've said anything about the roster management of a Detroit sports team in far too long.

Instead of taking on 2 years of 30+ million dollars via Hayward to get pick 13 (for what it's worth, the Pistons supposedly coveted Duren, and only would've done a deal if he was available), the Pistons got their man by taking on one year and 9 million dollars of Kemba Walker's contract and shipping out Milwaukee's 2025 first rounder which they got in the Jerami Grant deal (which will likely be a (possibly very) late first rounder). So in the span of just over 24 hours, the Pistons turned Grant into a lottery pick (and not just a lottery pick, but one that got them a specific player they wanted) and 20+ million dollars in extra cap space. It really is the best of both worlds from the Grant deal... if they had shipped Grant to Portland for their #7 pick, but had to take significant salary in return, it's highly possible they would've taken Duren anyways.

You could argue the Pistons now have one of the most exciting young cores in the league in Cunningham, Ivey (still can't believe the Kings gift-wrapped him to us, especially given how much he wanted to be a Piston), Bey, and Duren. 2020 first rounders Killian Hayes (probably now a backup PG) and Isaiah Stewart (who showed promise as a starter but now is probably back in a role that fits him, as an energy big off the bench) are also on the roster. And the Pistons have the cap space to go make a max offer, potentially even if they resign Marvin Bagley.

It'll be fascinating to see if they still go after Ayton, which would give Duren time to develop in a low pressure situation as the primary big off the bench... although that would probably leave Stewart without minutes, especially with Bagley. The other hypothesized route is going after Charlotte's Miles Bridges... if that's what Troy Weaver is thinking, he essentially fleeced Charlotte on draft night by not only getting their pick, but doing so without taking Hayward's salary that may make it difficult for them to match a Bridges offer. Or the Pistons could get active on the trade market with all that cap room.

It's exciting to be a Pistons fan right now after about a decade of doldrums, and the offseason should be quite exciting.

[kshepinthehouse]

Worth recapping what the Pistons did last night instead of going the Hayward route, because in my mind it was pretty brilliant... and that's the first time I've said anything about the roster management of a Detroit sports team in far too long.

Instead of taking on 2 years of 30+ million dollars via Hayward to get pick 13 (for what it's worth, the Pistons supposedly coveted Duren, and only would've done a deal if he was available), the Pistons got their man by taking on one year and 9 million dollars of Kemba Walker's contract and shipping out Milwaukee's 2025 first rounder which they got in the Jerami Grant deal (which will likely be a (possibly very) late first rounder). So in the span of just over 24 hours, the Pistons turned Grant into a lottery pick (and not just a lottery pick, but one that got them a specific player they wanted) and 20+ million dollars in extra cap space. It really is the best of both worlds from the Grant deal... if they had shipped Grant to Portland for their #7 pick, but had to take significant salary in return, it's highly possible they would've taken Duren anyways.

You could argue the Pistons now have one of the most exciting young cores in the league in Cunningham, Ivey (still can't believe the Kings gift-wrapped him to us, especially given how much he wanted to be a Piston), Bey, and Duren. 2020 first rounders Killian Hayes (probably now a backup PG) and Isaiah Stewart (who showed promise as a starter but now is probably back in a role that fits him, as an energy big off the bench) are also on the roster. And the Pistons have the cap space to go make a max offer, potentially even if they resign Marvin Bagley.

It'll be fascinating to see if they still go after Ayton, which would give Duren time to develop in a low pressure situation as the primary big off the bench... although that would probably leave Stewart without minutes, especially with Bagley. The other hypothesized route is going after Charlotte's Miles Bridges... if that's what Troy Weaver is thinking, he essentially fleeced Charlotte on draft night by not only getting their pick, but doing so without taking Hayward's salary that may make it difficult for them to match a Bridges offer. Or the Pistons could get active on the trade market with all that cap room.

It's exciting to be a Pistons fan right now after about a decade of doldrums, and the offseason should be quite exciting.

What was it in for the hornets to make that trade?