NBA 2024-2025 General Discussion Thread

Hard to imagine there not being another deal coming for the lakers. If not, they are going to be terrible defensively. Reeves, Doncic, LeBron, Hachimura and Finney-Smith. Elite 3 point shooting like JJ wants but no defense and no rim protection. Gotta think they’re gonna make a deadline deal for a rim protector. I just think they should’ve struck while the iron was hot and included Finney-Smith or even Reeves in the deal to get Gafford or Lively.
The way most of the NBA is reacting to the deal, it's possible the Lakers did not want to give the Mavs a chance to come to their senses by trying to add Gafford or Lively to the mix.

Even if the Lakers get an elite rim protector, the Lakers would still be porous on defense unless JJ can work a miracle.
 
Thinking about the Mav’s side of this trade, there are 2 related questions. First, should they have even considered trading Luka? I’m willing to accept that there’s some publicly unknown factor that makes getting rid of one of the NBA’s top-5 talents at 25 years old make sense. The second question is did you maximize his trade value? The answer to this question is clearly no—like not even close. Paul George and James Harden went for 4+ picks/. A single 1st round and a 31 year old Anthony Davis isn’t close to fair market value for Luka. Criminally bad trade by the Mavs.

clearly the Laker brass would like some of that LeBron health ethic to rub off on Luka

The only way this works out for Dallas is if Lebron's habits don't rub off on Luka and he ends up declining sooner than expected because of his fitness and health. I suppose that's what Dallas is betting on, but Miriam Adelson is a multi-multi-billionaire and the difference in the supermax contract is a drop in the bucket for her. I would not have made that bet. When I woke up this morning on saw the notification I thought it was a joke.
 
The only way this works out for Dallas is if Lebron's habits don't rub off on Luka and he ends up declining sooner than expected because of his fitness and health. I suppose that's what Dallas is betting on, but Miriam Adelson is a multi-multi-billionaire and the difference in the supermax contract is a drop in the bucket for her. I would not have made that bet. When I woke up this morning on saw the notification I thought it was a joke.
Yeah Rudy Gobert fetched 5 first round draft picks when he was traded last year. The Mavs trade Luka, who is in another universe from Rudy, and get 31 year old AD and just one first round pick?
 
Yeah Rudy Gobert fetched 5 first round draft picks when he was traded last year. The Mavs trade Luka, who is in another universe from Rudy, and get 31 year old AD and just one first round pick?
To be fair I think Minnesota would love a do-over on this one. Rudy is just not good at basketball. 😆😆😆
 
...but Miriam Adelson is a multi-multi-billionaire and the difference in the supermax contract is a drop in the bucket for her.
Not to pick on @cruxer, but statements like this keep coming up. I have not found that multi-billionaires, who pretty much by definition are concerned about money, feel that a multi-million-dollar annual outlay is trivial. People who trivialize expenditures tend not to accumulate a lot of wealth.

It's very similar to how institutions manage their endowments. You just don't "spend down" an endowment, because that's how you end up with no endowment. Expenses matter.
 
WHY DID DALLAS DO THIS???

Seriously, this is the worst trade I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Not only is Luka a better, more exciting player than Davis, he’s a full six years YOUNGER. And Davis has an extensive injury history and Luka does not. Not to mention the fact that Luka is one of the premier personas in the entire league and was the absolute face of the Dallas franchise.

Like what in the actual f#@% is going on??? Please somebody help me understand. I beg of you. Someone, anyone??
 
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Not to pick on @cruxer, but statements like this keep coming up. I have not found that multi-billionaires, who pretty much by definition are concerned about money, feel that a multi-million-dollar annual outlay is trivial. People who trivialize expenditures tend not to accumulate a lot of wealth.

It's very similar to how institutions manage their endowments. You just don't "spend down" an endowment, because that's how you end up with no endowment. Expenses matter.
You aren't wrong, but this is the economy of sport. This is the world where Daniel Snyder can buy the NFL franchise in Washington, completely bollocks it up, and be forced to sell it for $6B.

Frankly, in a professional organization like the NBA, each ownership group has an obligation to spend enough to keep the league competitive. We should slag on Jimmy Butler for not fulfilling his rich, guaranteed contract because he's mad at Pat Riley. And we should slag on Adelson if she decided the shaft one of the top players in the league over an amount of money that's trivial to her. Paying top players max deals and staying competitive is part of being an NBA owner, which she signed up for. Not to mention this may tick off the fanbase enough to seriously erode revenue beyond this year. If you're a Mavs fan, would you buy season tickets or their dedicated streaming package when ownership makes these types of decisions?
 
It may have already been remarked upon but the vid of various NBA games in progress last night and the reactions of various benches as the trade news broke was pretty funny.
 
And we should slag on Adelson if she decided the shaft one of the top players in the league over an amount of money that's trivial to her.
But as I said, it isn't trivial to her. If it causes a downward bump in revenues, though, now that's language that will likely penetrate.
 
WHY DID DALLAS DO THIS???

Seriously, this is the worse trade I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Not only is Luka a better, more exciting player than Davis, he’s a full six years YOUNGER. And Davis has an extensive injury history and Luka does not. Not to mention the fact that Luka is one of the premier personas in the entire league and was the absolute face of the Dallas franchise.

Like what in the actual f#@% is going on??? Please somebody help me understand. I beg of you. Someone, anyone??
Only the Lakers. I’ve never seen a franchise get the better of so many deals in my lifetime. Well, maybe except for the Dallas Cowboys. 😉
 
BTW, Dallas has given up 50 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter of their game today! Anyone think the players are making a statement?

50-19 at the end of the first quarter.
 
BTW, Dallas has given up 50 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter of their game today! Anyone think the players are making a statement?

50-19 at the end of the first quarter.
Kyrie is probably pissed. I hope he doesn't jump off the edge of the earth.

Looking at their lineup today, it is a bunch of nobodies other than Klay. Most fans couldn't pick most of these guys out of a lineup.
 
Yes, in terms of the value received by the Mavs, it sort of reminds me of when the Wizards traded a young Chris Webber to Sacramento for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe, two old players. Obviously, Luka is better than Webber and Davis is better than Richmond and Thorpe, but still . . .
Wizards owner Abe Pollin didn't want a player who had been arrested on possession of marijuana. There were other off-court issues, but I always thought MJ was thrmain one (he was found innocent, BTW). Another time and age....
 
I don't think Luka has severe structural issues like Walton and Zion do, but I think it's clear he hasn't chosen to keep his weight in check, so I think the Cabrera analogy is apt. At some point he's going to have to take care of himself if he wants to play another ten years.
OTOH I really don't have a dog in this hunt, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out...time will tell.
As a relatively neutral observer (I want the Dukies with both teams to succeed, so am actually biased in both team’s favor, which roughly cancels out), I am very interested to see how this plays out over time.

I could see being concerned about giving a super max contract to someone has not demonstrated a serious dedication to conditioning and overall physical health. Doncic is young, but he does have some mileage on his body already.

I’m interested in what the GM sees unfolding. Will Kyrie and Howard pair well together?
 
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