2020 NBA Catch-All: Offseason

As a Raptors fans, it's reassuring to know that all the Ujiri to Knicks smoke was a bunch of New York sportsdumbdumbs and ESPN desperately trying to drum up something.

Pistons sold Andrew Drummond to the Cavs for 2 expiring contracts and a 2nd. This is the weirdest move to me. I get that he has a huge cap hit and it's hard for every contender to work this in mid-season. Why would the Cavs give up anything at this point?

Oh, that's wild. I was convinced by Brian Windhorst's appearance on the Lowe Post that Drummond was going to be dealt to The Clippers or another contender in need of a center. What a drag for all parties involved.

Andrew Wiggins seems like a very un-Warriors player. That is a bad trade to me but they know more than I do. Maybe they'll flip him again and wanted the picks more than the player.

Vector wrote:

Pistons sold Andrew Drummond to the Cavs for 2 expiring contracts and a 2nd. This is the weirdest move to me. I get that he has a huge cap hit and it's hard for every contender to work this in mid-season. Why would the Cavs give up anything at this point?

Completely get it from Detroit's perspective but I am equally confused from Cleveland's.

I also get why Drummond had zero interest from any sort of contenders. He the quintessential empty stats guy. He is a huge big that is bad at protecting the rim, plays sub-par defense, cancels out almost all of his OReb with his turnover percentage, has no range on offense and is poor at defending the PnR or on the perimeter on defense, in a league that is rapidly requiring that. And he has a player option for $28.7M.

Vector wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

I don't understand this trade for either side.

Essentially, the Warrior traded/signed for Russell just so they could trade him for more assets down the line. He wouldn't have been a starter next season and the Timberwolves have been obsessed with pairing him with his best friend, Towns. Wiggins isn't great and is massively overpaid but has finally progressed a little this season. Factor in he plays a position they don't have any starters on. As DSGamer said, bank on the veterans, culture, and coaching staff to elevate some aspects of his game. He has all the tools to be a premier defensive player but he's now on his 5th coach in 6 years.

The Wolves are also terrible. The 5 coaches thing really isn't a Wiggins fault.

He's also 25 this month so plenty of runway for him to improve. Not sure if I get all the boooooo birds later in the thread. Overhyped player lands in terrible situation and doesn't pan out? I think that's fixable.

Seems like an absolute potential steal by the Warriors imo. They have great lock down defenders + Curry/Klay scoring tandem? They are top 4 in the West for me next year.

I'm not blaming Wiggins for the coaching changes at all. Flip Saunders died, Sam Mitchell only took the job as a favour to Saunders and the team, Thibodeau is just not a great coach, and Ryan Saunders is a rookie coach. The went from a redundant player to filling a spot with someone who is massively overpaid but can, hopefully, still be molded. It was what the Warriors had planned all along.

Edit: Holy crap the Timberwolves are absolutely historically terrible. They've had two coaches ever make the playoffs: Saunders and Thibodeau. They also rotate through coaches every other year. Saunders had 819 games and the next highest is Rick Adelman at 230. This is since 1989. Wow. The Raptors have been more successful over the same period.

Vector wrote:

I'm not blaming Wiggins for the coaching changes at all. Flip Saunders died, Sam Mitchell only took the job as a favour to Saunders and the team, Thibodeau is just not a great coach, and Ryan Saunders is a rookie coach. The went from a redundant player to filling a spot with someone who is massively overpaid but can, hopefully, still be molded. It was what the Warriors had planned all along.

Edit: Holy crap the Timberwolves are absolutely historically terrible. They've had two coaches ever make the playoffs: Saunders and Thibodeau. They also rotate through coaches every other year. Saunders had 819 games and the next highest is Rick Adelman at 230. This is since 1989. Wow. The Raptors have been more successful over the same period.

You can only control that which is in your power, your personal improvement and your effort. I think much of the criticism of Wiggins has been with regards to these two items, especially the effort part. There was the Second Spectrum data a year or two ago that he was bottom 10 in the league (basically with a bunch of slow centers) in the percentage of time on court that he "runs fast" (4.8%). That metric seemed to confirm a lot of eye tests, and juxtaposed against his elite athleticism and combined with his (1) lack of development and (2) crazy contract, provided more evidence of a player that has coasted. He has never even been the high level defensive stopper that seemed to be his floor coming into the league.

It doesn't help that another 25 year old freakish athlete who entered the league very raw, on a bad team, and played for bad coaches (until the last 1.5 years) has become what many thought Wiggins could be, a two-way, game changing MVP.

Maybe he does just need a change of scenery. Or maybe he doesn't have that inner drive that seems to separate the great ones. One thing for certain is he will have the best supporting cast and coaching staff he will have every had, so the opportunity is there.

It's amazing how rare the blend of ambition with elite talent is. MJ, Kobe, whomever is the exception. Sports are littered with examples of the highest of high athletic talent that never overlapped with the individual's desire to be everything they could possibly become.

Humans be complex yo!

Top_Shelf wrote:

It's amazing how rare the blend of ambition with elite talent is. MJ, Kobe, whomever is the exception. Sports are littered with examples of the highest of high athletic talent that never overlapped with the individual's desire to be everything they could possibly become.

Humans be complex yo!

So very true, but when you have the chance to see it, it is something fantastic to see. Mike Trout is that guy in the MLB.

I feel very, very fortunate to have gotten to see it on a regular basis the past few years with Giannis. Watching the developmental journey is so fun. His hunger to get better and never be satisfied combined with his work ethic and competitiveness is at that elite level.

We discount the head too much for sure. Certain players just have a superior mind for the sport or they’re more driven.

That said, I will be curious how Wiggins with better coaches and better teammates performs. He has to at least be a comp for peak Harrison Barnes. I don’t mean that as a slight. They won a title with him.

WOOF. I hadn't seen the details of the Gail King/Kobe kerfluffle, but jeeeeeeeeezus the response.

Was it Wiggins or Jabari Parker that said they don't get paid to play defense so why should they bother? For some reason I always get those two mixed up.

Prederick wrote:

WOOF. I hadn't seen the details of the Gail King/Kobe kerfluffle, but jeeeeeeeeezus the response.

No wonder Green Day was keeping away from Snoop and Martha Stewart on Ellen today. Yes, I know that sounds like an odd collision of the 90s.

Rat Boy wrote:

No wonder Green Day was keeping away from Snoop and Martha Stewart on Ellen today.

I read that sentence and blanked out for like 15 seconds.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Was it Wiggins or Jabari Parker that said they don't get paid to play defense so why should they bother? For some reason I always get those two mixed up.

Parker.

15
in
a
row

If only we could be at full strength, the Raptors would do even better... D:

gamerparent wrote:

15
in
a
row

If only we could be at full strength, the Raptors would do even better... D:

Right? 15 straight and only picked up one game in the standing!

Dame's got game in more than just basketball.

The NBA dunk contest is frequently bad, but when it’s good there’s nothing like it in sports.

Gordon got robbed.

He did.

It sounds like the other judges tried to rig a tie and then D-Wade bailed on the plan to give a heat player the win.

This fourth quarter is pretty good.

I like the "play to Score X" instead of a time limit.

sh*t my wife wanted to watch a show at halftime. Figured I saw the Kobe pregame and halftime tributes so ok.

Now I see Twitter blowing up how this might be the best game ever.

It wasn't THAT good. But as far as exhibition games go, it was quite compelling in the fourth.

Top_Shelf wrote:

It wasn't THAT good. But as far as exhibition games go, it was quite compelling in the fourth.

They actually started competing! It was a blast, for me. That said, you CANNOT win the damn game on a free throw.

Kyle Lowry drawing charges is the funniest thing I’ve seen in an All-Star game.

It's not a Kyle Lowry game unless he draws or tries to draw at least one charge.

PICTURED - Kyle Lowry

IMAGE(https://media.tenor.com/images/e1bcbe787a0cbdb64893b2b1f7fd7b08/tenor.gif)