Ongoing pro/college basketball thread (2023-24)

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I would usually do this to make fun of the idea that Player X will be forever know as an NBA champion. Guys like Ish Smith and JaVale McGee being introduced as NBA champions for eternity is just hilarious.

However even though he did it with the Celtics, I gotta give a shout out to an underrated player and someone who has seemed like a really classy guy his entire career.

Al Horford, NBA Champion.

Agreed. I was thinking almost the exact same thing and came here to post it. I am very happy for him to get that ring.

[stevew]

Monty Williams fired, it’s like the Anthony Rendon of coaching contracts.

[Ksyrup]

I would absolutely take the ignominy of being fired after 1 season for $65M.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Let the Williams to the Lakers rumors begin

[BYU 14]

Gotta say, even though I am not a huge hoops fan, BYU is killing this off-season under Kevin Young. Igor Demin, who is likely a lottery pick in 2025 draft, now Kanon Catchings, most likely a first round pick in 2025 as well, related to both Tamika and Harvey Catchings.

Young is really capitalizing on his NBA ties and the pro system the Cougars will be running next season. May be the first time ever I am more excited about BYU basketball than BYU football.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by stevew

Monty Williams fired, it’s like the Anthony Rendon of coaching contracts.

Legend at the bank!

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I would absolutely take the ignominy of being fired after 1 season for $65M.

A year plus after getting a $20 million buyout to no longer be the Suns head coach.

[Edward64]

This kid is 15 and will be playing for the Gators.

I don't know how good he is but interesting to see how teams defend against him. His dunks must be something else!

Before Olivier Rioux plays a game for Florida men's basketball, his place in the Guinness World Record books got even stronger, extending his mark as the world's tallest teenager from 7-foot-7 two months ago to 7-FOOT-9 in present day.

Florida basketball giant Olivier Rioux extends his Guinness World Record height for a teenager to 7-FOOT-9 before Gators career begins | Daily Mail Online

[Lathum]

It must be dreadful to be that tall.

[rjolley]

The Bulls are trading Caruso to the Thunder for Giddey.

I'm not mad at that trade. It gets the Bulls a ball handler and someone who can run the offense. Hopefully, the shooting coach can help improve his shooting. Good gamble.

[Atocep]

This would make OKC significantly better and Chicago a lot worse in the short term. Giddey is an interesting player, but a really difficult fit in today's NBA. I would have thought Chicago could do better, but Giddey is only 22 next season so they're betting on the upside I guess.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

This would make OKC significantly better and Chicago a lot worse in the short term. Giddey is an interesting player, but a really difficult fit in today's NBA. I would have thought Chicago could do better, but Giddey is only 22 next season so they're betting on the upside I guess.

They could have done better but their ownership demands they compete for the play-in game each season instead of rebuilding. Report came out the other day that the Bulls turned down a top-10 pick for Caruso at the deadline.

[sovereignstar v2]

how are the high school cheerleaders in Chicago?

[stevew]

Kenny fkn Atkinson.

[GrantDawg]

I think it is hilarious and somewhat fitting for the franchise. The Hawks finally have the number one pick, and no one really has any idea what they are going to do with it, except whatever they do will likely be wrong.

[stevew]

That’s Bridges trade is great for the Knicks.

[Danny]

Idk, is he better than it appears from advanced statistics? He seems like a pretty mediocre starter.

[Swaggs]

It's a good fit and a fun trade (with the three Villanova guys reuniting), but seems pretty steep on the draft picks. If a guy like him is worth 4+ 1st round picks, that seems like quite a shake up on the value of picks in trades.

[Arles]

Yeah, 5 firsts for a guy that is *maybe* a #3 (prob a #4) on a title team. And it's not like he's 23, he's 27 and has just two years left on a great deal that will probably double if you keep him at age 29.

[RainMaker]

There's so many restrictions on those draft picks that I can't tell if it's a good deal or not.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Arles

Yeah, 5 firsts for a guy that is *maybe* a #3 (prob a #4) on a title team. And it's not like he's 23, he's 27 and has just two years left on a great deal that will probably double if you keep him at age 29.

This.

Looks to me like the Nets absolutely got bailed out here, all that Bridges has really proven is that he is not "the guy" And 5 firsts for "not the guy" seems like the sort of thing that is more likely to end some front office careers than to win a title.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

This.

Looks to me like the Nets absolutely got bailed out here, all that Bridges has really proven is that he is not "the guy" And 5 firsts for "not the guy" seems like the sort of thing that is more likely to end some front office careers than to win a title.

That's kind of how I see it, too. If he is not cornerstone enough for a team like the Nets to build around (which he isn't with him presumably fully developed at his age) and isn't a slam dunk to put your playoff team over the top, that is a lot of future to mortgage.

[Atocep]

Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to spread a 2 round drafted out over 2 days?

[stevew]

nets made a trade to get a bunch of their future picks back. So maybe this time they won’t suck and give a fucking title to someone.

As far as bridges goes, he’s basically indestructible, which is good because Tibs wants guys to play into the ground. He absolutely fits the potential title window of the Knicks. I’m not sure who else they could’ve gotten with all those assets. AD would have been a dream fit but he’s not available. The Knicks enter the season with 7-8 guys to go to war with. Maybe they gave up one or two too many first round picks, but this team can absolutely win a title now.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

This.

Looks to me like the Nets absolutely got bailed out here, all that Bridges has really proven is that he is not "the guy" And 5 firsts for "not the guy" seems like the sort of thing that is more likely to end some front office careers than to win a title.

It makes me furious the Bulls couldn't get more for Caruso if that's the asking price for a nice role player.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by stevew

nets made a trade to get a bunch of their future picks back. So maybe this time they won’t suck and give a fucking title to someone.

As far as bridges goes, he’s basically indestructible, which is good because Tibs wants guys to play into the ground. He absolutely fits the potential title window of the Knicks. I’m not sure who else they could’ve gotten with all those assets. AD would have been a dream fit but he’s not available. The Knicks enter the season with 7-8 guys to go to war with. Maybe they gave up one or two too many first round picks, but this team can absolutely win a title now.

The Knicks are still well behind:
1. Healthy Celtics team
2. Healthy Bucks team
3. Healthy Nuggets team

They are comparable to:
1. Healthy Thunder team
2. Healthy 76ers team
3. Healthy Heat team
4. Healthy Wolves team

I think they are fighting for the 3-5 seed next year IF they resign OG and somehow keep Brunson, OG, Bridges, Hart and Donte healthy. I guess they have a chance in the East if Giannis, Embiid, Jimmy & Haliburton get hurt again. But their core isn't anything special compared to the other top 5-6 groups in the league. So giving up 5 firsts to better your third guy (when you already lost the top 2 in most matchups) seems like a risky move.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Arles

The Knicks are still well behind:
1. Healthy Celtics team
2. Healthy Bucks team
3. Healthy Nuggets team

They are comparable to:
1. Healthy Thunder team
2. Healthy 76ers team
3. Healthy Heat team
4. Healthy Wolves team

I think they are fighting for the 3-5 seed next year IF they resign OG and somehow keep Brunson, OG, Bridges, Hart and Donte healthy. I guess they have a chance in the East if Giannis, Embiid, Jimmy & Haliburton get hurt again. But their core isn't anything special compared to the other top 5-6 groups in the league. So giving up 5 firsts to better your third guy (when you already lost the top 2 in most matchups) seems like a risky move.

They're behind the Celtics and Nuggets. Not sure about anyone else. They solid defenders all over their roster and someone to take up the scoring load if Randle goes out again. They're following the Celtics blueprint and aren't as good, but they have impressive depth and a variety of defenders to throw at top heavy teams. They have a poor man's Celtics roster that's probably on par with OKC and the T-Wolves. I put them over everyone in the East except Boston.

I don't see much risk here. You either push your chips in and make a play for a title or you sit just outside of contention until you have to rebuild anyway. If it doesn't work out there are always teams out there ready to throw picks at you to improve. Everyone thought Houston and Brooklyn screwed themselves for years to come and Houston has one of the stronger young foundations in the league and the Nets are flush with picks to rebuild with.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It makes me furious the Bulls couldn't get more for Caruso if that's the asking price for a nice role player.

I'm not sure the Bulls understood what they had. Caruso has massive value to title contenders. For those teams with stars already in place you get a guy that can come in, knock down shots, defend, and make you clearly better without using many possessions on a cap hit of less than 10 mil per. That's something you pay a premium for when you're firmly within your window.

[RainMaker]

Just read through the details and 4 of those picks are unprotected which seems a bit insane. Like would the Nets really have turned down that trade if those picks were top 3 protected?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I'm not sure the Bulls understood what they had. Caruso has massive value to title contenders. For those teams with stars already in place you get a guy that can come in, knock down shots, defend, and make you clearly better without using many possessions on a cap hit of less than 10 mil per. That's something you pay a premium for when you're firmly within your window.

They reportedly turned down a top-10 pick in this year's draft. The Kings also offered them their 1st. Supposedly the Warriors offered multiple first last season. And Caruso was a way to dump the bad Lavine contract.

Their problem seems to be that the owner doesn't want to rebuild. He wants to just sneak into the playoffs and keep the arena full. The goal isn't titles, it's 40 wins. And trading Caruso for a bunch of future picks hurts that chance next season.

It's still criminal that they traded with a team that has like 10 first round picks in their pocket and they didn't get any. Especially when you realize the Bulls still owe the Spurs a 1st round pick.

I personally would have dumped Caruso for picks. Sign and trade with Demar for picks (a guy they should have moved at the deadline when he had a ton of value). And then pray you can get anything for Lavine. That way you're bad enough for the next year or two to keep your protected 1st too. But can't do that with the worst owner in sports.

[stevew]

I don’t understand trading the Dillingham pick for the Spurs. They have no guards.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Have the Lakers been sold to Donald Sterling and nobody told us?

[Ksyrup]

I have not dove deep into the story but this Kyle Filipowski thing is wild. Apparently he's estranged from his family primarily due to his GF who was his babysitter at one point and they may have been in a relationship from as far back as when he was 13? I don't know if her age is confirmed but I've seen anywhere from 5 to 7 years older. Someone purporting to be his brother alleged she had groomed him, she's Mormon and he ended up drafted by Utah.

Sounds like she had as much influence on his draft slot as LeBron on his kid!

Just a weird story that came out of the blue (at least as someone who watched a bunch of college bball but didn't get into it that deeply - was this out there before now?).

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I have not dove deep into the story but this Kyle Filipowski thing is wild. Apparently he's estranged from his family primarily due to his GF who was his babysitter at one point and they may have been in a relationship from as far back as when he was 13? I don't know if her age is confirmed but I've seen anywhere from 5 to 7 years older. Someone purporting to be his brother alleged she had groomed him, she's Mormon and he ended up drafted by Utah.

Sounds like she had as much influence on his draft slot as LeBron on his kid!

Just a weird story that came out of the blue (at least as someone who watched a bunch of college bball but didn't get into it that deeply - was this out there before now?).

No it wasn't. His brother broke the story on Twitter. Apparently teams saw all sorts of red flags with his interviews and had figured out what was going on but it hadn't leaked out until his brother went public with the info.

[stevew]

Weirdest shit since that ND linebacker got Catfished I think

[Atocep]

5 years and 90 mil for Patrick Williams is insane. I'm not sure what Chicago is doing and I don't think they do either. He's, at best, an average defender and his offense is well below average. He's still only 22 years old but he also hasn't improved much in 4 seasons.

[stevew]

Chris Paul out to play in SA and make his 8th team unwatchable.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Atocep

5 years and 90 mil for Patrick Williams is insane. I'm not sure what Chicago is doing and I don't think they do either. He's, at best, an average defender and his offense is well below average. He's still only 22 years old but he also hasn't improved much in 4 seasons.

That’s basically the midlevel though.

[SirFozzie]

I don't think it's just the salary, but the years as well. If he doesn't pan out, you have $18 million on the cap for the next five years.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I don't think it's just the salary, but the years as well. If he doesn't pan out, you have $18 million on the cap for the next five years.

Yep

Ball's contract comes off the books after this season and rather than working toward cap flexibility they tied up a guy for 5 years that they've been worse with on the court.

[stevew]

Glad to see Hartenstein get a bag. Still one of the more puzzling things was when the Cavs let him bounce for nothing.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

5 years and 90 mil for Patrick Williams is insane. I'm not sure what Chicago is doing and I don't think they do either. He's, at best, an average defender and his offense is well below average. He's still only 22 years old but he also hasn't improved much in 4 seasons.

The Bulls turned down 3 2nd round picks for Andre Drummond last season and just lost him for nothing.


Like I don't think the Williams contract is terrible considering what other players are getting and his upside, but the Bulls are just a disaster of an organization.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The Bulls turned down 3 2nd round picks for Andre Drummond last season and just lost him for nothing.


Like I don't think the Williams contract is terrible considering what other players are getting and his upside, but the Bulls are just a disaster of an organization.

This is where I'm at. They are 6 months too late with the moves they're trying to make. Lavine, Caruso, and Drummond should've been traded by the deadline. Probably Derozan as well if they didn't have a deal in place. Now, they'll be stuck with Lavine with just Giddey to show for the others.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by rjolley

This is where I'm at. They are 6 months too late with the moves they're trying to make. Lavine, Caruso, and Drummond should've been traded by the deadline. Probably Derozan as well if they didn't have a deal in place. Now, they'll be stuck with Lavine with just Giddey to show for the others.

Yeah, they should have unloaded everyone at the deadline last year. Would have gotten a bunch of picks back and could have kickstarted the rebuild.

Now they don't have picks and still owe a 1st to San Antonio. They're in about as bad a spot as any team in the league.

[stevew]

Anyone like Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes or Franz Wagner at the max? Or probably Jalen Green or Evan Mobley soon? Or Kuminga?

5/225ish

Like tbh I’d rather have Suggs at whatever he gets which is like maybe 4/120? Suggs has been hurt too much but he just screams defensive cog on a championship team some day.

[Atocep]

I've watched some of the warm up games for team USA and I don't think Steve Kerr is a very good international coach. It's crazy that a guy that comes from a team that really helped popularize the current 3 point era in the NBA doesn't seem to focus on shooting enough offensively and is terrible at coaching his USA teams to defend them.

I don't think Haliburton was a good choice on this team. Embiid isn't either. Lillard would have probably been the best choice over Haliburton but if they wanted a young player to get experience then Maxey would have fit this team better IMO.

Embiid was likely selected because of his status in the league but he's a poor fit for international play. I think Chet Holmgren would have been a solid choice over Bam Adebayo or Embiid. Myles Turner probably wouldn't have been a bad pick either. One thing the US seems to underestimate when they try to plug good NBA interior defenders into international play is how much more ground they're expected to cover. Holmgren's length and shooting would have been more valuable IMO.

That doesn't even get into the Derrick White selection which seems like a waste. And this seems to run counter to that comment but when they rebuilt USA basketball from the ground up after '04 the focus was on building a team that would do well in international competition. They seem to be focused too much on getting certain stars on the team again.

[stevew]

South Sudan can’t covert a six foot shot and lose at the buzzer to team USA by one point. Make Team USA great again.

[Atocep]

Germany took 42 threes today compared to the US taking 16. They probably lose by double figures without Lebron.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by stevew

South Sudan can’t covert a six foot shot and lose at the buzzer to team USA by one point. Make Team USA great again.

That would have to go down as one of the greatest upsets in sports history, right? I know it was just an exhibition, but there is no reason South Sudan should be within 20 of Team USA playing even at half speed.

[Edward64]

Nice! Now if we can work same magic on the football side …

I think the consensus is we have had alot of talent, just couldn’t make them all gel together well

Arkansas has landed its first piece of John Calipari’s 2025 recruiting class, grabbing one of the best players in the country in the process.

The player is Darius Acuff Jr., a 5-star point guard and top-10 overall recruit who plays for IMG Academy in Florida. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Acuff was also down to Kansas and Michigan before making his decision.