NBA 2024-2025 General Discussion Thread

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.
They do have like 5 guys sitting out with injuries. Sore this, sore that plus Lively’s stress fracture.
 
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?
Who’s Howard?
 
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.
Endowments generally spend ~4% per year which allows the principle, if invested properly, to contribute income and still grow with inflation. So she has ~$1.2b to spend each year on living and other expenses without negatively impacting her net worth.
 
Annual reminder that Kobe admitted to rape and is still revered as he is.

Not a shot at you SG, just….weed….admitted to rape.
Agree with you - this is a pet peeve of mine. I believe people can redeem themselves, and Kobe did many very good things in his life after that incident. But the deification of him while totally ignoring that drives me nuts. I actually recently privately called out a friend who wrote on social media a ridiculously glowing ode to Kobe and how Kobe is the perfect role model for his children. There are lots of positives to take from Kobe and one should not throw away the good with the bad. But to write something like that without including a phrase like "though he made his mistakes" or "though he had his flaws" is dishonest.
 
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....
Right, but it doesn't mean you don't try to give fair value for him.
 
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.
Yea they’re missing Kyrie, Washington, Gafford and Lively, plus all the guys they just traded. Brad Daugherty is calling that game for Cleveland and having a blast.
 
Sure, LA got the better of the trade, but I don’t think Bron and Luka will play well together. Bron had been his best when he is on the all, these days. Luka doesn’t play any defense and who the heck is going to play center. JJ may need to play Bron at the 4.
 
Sure, LA got the better of the trade, but I don’t think Bron and Luka will play well together. Bron had been his best when he is on the all, these days. Luka doesn’t play any defense and who the heck is going to play center. JJ may need to play Bron at the 4.
Likely another deal coming for a big man. My $’s on Vucivec.
 
I swear, I think there are shenanigans with this trade. Why the Lakers, when other teams could’ve and would’ve given so much more for him?

I'm soooo stuck on this point too. If you have cause to trade Luka, in what world are you not shopping him around to every other team in the league? He's a top 5 talent in his age-26 season – this despite being a near-270-pound marshmallow who can shoot and plays matador on defense.

The Mavs couldn't get more picks out of this deal? I just don't understand the closed negotiation with the Lakers unless we're missing some critical info. And no, Doncic being out of shape doesn't count.

Did Luka's team make it clear he's not signing the supermax with Dallas next season and the Lakers are his only landing spot? You'd still insist the Mavs front office extract more value than they did from the trade. None of it adds up, and I've yet to see a plausible theory to explain it. With the facts on the table as they are, this is generational mismanagement by Nico Harrison.
 
I'm soooo stuck on this point too. If you have cause to trade Luka, in what world are you not shopping him around to every other team in the league? He's a top 5 talent in his age-26 season – this despite being a near-270-pound marshmallow who can shoot and plays matador on defense.

The Mavs couldn't get more picks out of this deal? I just don't understand the closed negotiation with the Lakers unless we're missing some critical info. And no, Doncic being out of shape doesn't count.

Did Luka's team make it clear he's not signing the supermax with Dallas next season and the Lakers are his only landing spot? You'd still insist the Mavs front office extract more value than they did from the trade. None of it adds up, and I've yet to see a plausible theory to explain it. With the facts on the table as they are, this is generational mismanagement by Nico Harrison.
I would say the Mavs really, really wanted AD.
 
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