Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2

[Dan Z]

I dont care the seeding, Clippers are a mess and have some hard decisions to make, no matter what the outcome of this series. Similar to Phoenix in outlook. Kawhi looks like he is done frankly, you just have to count on him not being there at the end of the season.

It will be interesting to see what they do.

The only money limit is the cba rules, I don't think Balmer is ready to quit spending but he absolutely has to be frustrated beyond imagination

I never thought it was a good idea for the Clippers to sign Kawhi due to his health. Every year it's the same thing with him....hoping he'll be healthy when they really need him.

Kawhi has three more years left on his contract. What can they do besides ride it out? It makes sense to try and re-sign Paul George to a three year deal and let the two of them expire when they do.

[Dan Z]

"Alex Caruso Wins 23-24 NBA Hustle Award"

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/275561/Alex-Caruso-Wins-23-24-NBA-Hustle-Award

[DASMACKDOWN]

Bam Adebayo Eligible To Sign Three-Year, $165M Extension With Heat In Offseason

That is tough.

Now Bam is a great hub for the Heat. Plays great defense while being undersized as a center. He will be 27 this offseason, so he certainly has about 3-4 more year before drop off. Ben Wallace comes to mind...

But for 55 mil?

Now I am not a big advocate of allocating major money to centers unless they are Embidd or Jokic. MVP level players. Honestly I would rather pay Vooch 20 then Bam 55. Even though Bam is clearly a better.

Miami has a tendency to overpay their own guys so I expect Bam to get that money. But geeze.

[Dan Z]

Bam Adebayo Eligible To Sign Three-Year, $165M Extension With Heat In Offseason

That is tough.

Now Bam is a great hub for the Heat. Plays great defense while being undersized as a center. He will be 27 this offseason, so he certainly has about 3-4 more year before drop off. Ben Wallace comes to mind...

But for 55 mil?

Now I am not a big advocate of allocating major money to centers unless they are Embidd or Jokic. MVP level players. Honestly I would rather pay Vooch 20 then Bam 55. Even though Bam is clearly a better.

Miami has a tendency to overpay their own guys so I expect Bam to get that money. But geeze.

NBA salaries are crazy. Bam's a good player, but 55 million is basically what Jokic will make (51 next year, 55 after that...etc).

What choice does Miami have other than to extend him?

[MrSparkle]

Bam Adebayo Eligible To Sign Three-Year, $165M Extension With Heat In Offseason

That is tough.

Now Bam is a great hub for the Heat. Plays great defense while being undersized as a center. He will be 27 this offseason, so he certainly has about 3-4 more year before drop off. Ben Wallace comes to mind...

But for 55 mil?

Now I am not a big advocate of allocating major money to centers unless they are Embidd or Jokic. MVP level players. Honestly I would rather pay Vooch 20 then Bam 55. Even though Bam is clearly a better.

Miami has a tendency to overpay their own guys so I expect Bam to get that money. But geeze.

NBA salaries are crazy. Bam's a good player, but 55 million is basically what Jokic will make (51 next year, 55 after that...etc).

What choice does Miami have other than to extend him?

Miami might nuke it for a new direction. Would be a good time; Riley generally knows when time’s up.

[Dan Z]

Bam Adebayo Eligible To Sign Three-Year, $165M Extension With Heat In Offseason

That is tough.

Now Bam is a great hub for the Heat. Plays great defense while being undersized as a center. He will be 27 this offseason, so he certainly has about 3-4 more year before drop off. Ben Wallace comes to mind...

But for 55 mil?

Now I am not a big advocate of allocating major money to centers unless they are Embidd or Jokic. MVP level players. Honestly I would rather pay Vooch 20 then Bam 55. Even though Bam is clearly a better.

Miami has a tendency to overpay their own guys so I expect Bam to get that money. But geeze.

NBA salaries are crazy. Bam's a good player, but 55 million is basically what Jokic will make (51 next year, 55 after that...etc).

What choice does Miami have other than to extend him?

Miami might nuke it for a new direction. Would be a good time; Riley generally knows when time’s up.

It's not a bad idea...if they go that route what do you do with Butler? He has two more years on his deal.

Would they do that this off season? I'd be surprised.

[Ccwatercraft]

I dont care the seeding, Clippers are a mess and have some hard decisions to make, no matter what the outcome of this series. Similar to Phoenix in outlook. Kawhi looks like he is done frankly, you just have to count on him not being there at the end of the season.

It will be interesting to see what they do.

The only money limit is the cba rules, I don't think Balmer is ready to quit spending but he absolutely has to be frustrated beyond imagination

I never thought it was a good idea for the Clippers to sign Kawhi due to his health. Every year it's the same thing with him....hoping he'll be healthy when they really need him.

Kawhi has three more years left on his contract. What can they do besides ride it out? It makes sense to try and re-sign Paul George to a three year deal and let the two of them expire when they do.

It makes sense if you approach the cap with a green light, whatever it takes. Fwiw, it's not a God awful roster, frankly the only real problem is the new apron stuff that keeps them grounded. I can certainly say that I've always felt that "if healthy" they are contenders. I will likely say that again next season.

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

[DASMACKDOWN]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

No other team has to prove themselves first before the owners are willing to even tip toe in the tax.

Now I get it with Paxson's route. Try and get you a superstar and franchise players in the draft and do damage with them early. What Paxson was hoping for was the get lucky like OKC where all their young guys messed right away and already in contending stage. OKC will have to fork out big buck in 2 years but they are obviously at a point where they have to.

With AKME's current method, we are backed into a corner like the Suns but with a glass ceiling.

[Dan Z]

It will be interesting to see what they do.

The only money limit is the cba rules, I don't think Balmer is ready to quit spending but he absolutely has to be frustrated beyond imagination

I never thought it was a good idea for the Clippers to sign Kawhi due to his health. Every year it's the same thing with him....hoping he'll be healthy when they really need him.

Kawhi has three more years left on his contract. What can they do besides ride it out? It makes sense to try and re-sign Paul George to a three year deal and let the two of them expire when they do.

It makes sense if you approach the cap with a green light, whatever it takes. Fwiw, it's not a God awful roster, frankly the only real problem is the new apron stuff that keeps them grounded. I can certainly say that I've always felt that "if healthy" they are contenders. I will likely say that again next season.

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

It was never money that was my issue with what they did, it's hitching their future to Kawhi. He was already injury prone before they got him and since that time it's always been "will he be healthy?". My guess is it'll continue to be that way until they finally move on.

As for spending I agree with you that'd I like an owner willing to do that, but spending isn't the biggest issue right now. It's AK's plan to win now with little thought about the future.

[Dan Z]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

No other team has to prove themselves first before the owners are willing to even tip toe in the tax.

Now I get it with Paxson's route. Try and get you a superstar and franchise players in the draft and do damage with them early. What Paxson was hoping for was the get lucky like OKC where all their young guys messed right away and already in contending stage. OKC will have to fork out big buck in 2 years but they are obviously at a point where they have to.

With AKME's current method, we are backed into a corner like the Suns but with a glass ceiling.

With OKC's current success I wish the Bulls would take note and move in that direction. It's one of the better plans and OKC's ownership has let Presti see his vision through (at least so far).

I'm not necessarily talking about finding our own "SGA" (although that would be nice). What I mean is aim for a high pick when the opportunity comes about (during a bad season) and acquire as many assets as you can (often by taking on bad contracts with assets attached to do so). Then try to find the best players you can in the draft. Once you have a foundation in place you then look for ways to build on that (maybe by trading picks for a good vet).

[dice]

"Alex Caruso Wins 23-24 NBA Hustle Award"

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/275561/Alex-Caruso-Wins-23-24-NBA-Hustle-Award

little known fact: at the awards luncheon, the winner is the first of the 5 nominees to grab the trophy when the whistle is blown

[dice]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

that is clearly not true. the bulls are a mediocre product that has been permitted to go well over the salary cap the last couple of years. they also refused to avoid the tax when teams demanded a 1st to take rip hamilton off our hands. call JR stingy all you want, but it's not entirely about the money

[dice]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

No other team has to prove themselves first before the owners are willing to even tip toe in the tax.

Now I get it with Paxson's route. Try and get you a superstar and franchise players in the draft and do damage with them early. What Paxson was hoping for was the get lucky like OKC where all their young guys messed right away and already in contending stage. OKC will have to fork out big buck in 2 years but they are obviously at a point where they have to.

With AKME's current method, we are backed into a corner like the Suns but with a glass ceiling.

With OKC's current success I wish the Bulls would take note and move in that direction. It's one of the better plans and OKC's ownership has let Presti see his vision through (at least so far).

with OKC's success and the optimism over the bears, the anti-tank brigade is likely to be quiet for some time around here

and check out the OKC section:

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed

[kodo]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

No other team has to prove themselves first before the owners are willing to even tip toe in the tax.

Everyone seems to accept the AK "we can't pay tax until we're a top 4 team" rationale...but the problem is our competition is paying lux tax. Obviously the Heat are very much our competition having eliminated us from the postseason 2 years in a row...they are a massive lux tax paying team. Not only are they paying lux tax, they are past the 1st apron and at the 2nd apron. $190M to compete as a play-in team.

Butler: $49M-$52M (looking for $56M extension)
Bam: $35M (looking for extension to $55M)
Herro: $29M-$33M
Rozier: $25M - $27M
Robinson: $19M-$20M

While we let Derrick Jones walk, need to salary dump Lavine, and will probably let Drummond walk if he gets anything more than league min.

If we really want to be one of those playoff teams, they almost all will pay lux tax. Miami, Warriors, Clippers, Dallas, Memphis, Lakers, Phoenix, Philly once Maxey gets his max, etc..

[jnrjr79]

Ironically the big money: phx, gsw, lac are all in quite a pickle, but to be honest I'd rather have their pickle than ours, because at least they are spending.

While we're talking about "can't do drummond because..." Balmer is saying "if drummond helps us, figure it out "

And that is what makes all of us so frustrated.

I have stats on all the other major sports leagues for their top 5 franchises, but I am willing to bet that we are the only franchise that strictly operates as a money-making business.

No other team has to prove themselves first before the owners are willing to even tip toe in the tax.

Everyone seems to accept the AK "we can't pay tax until we're a top 4 team" rationale...but the problem is our competition is paying lux tax. Obviously the Heat are very much our competition having eliminated us from the postseason 2 years in a row...they are a massive lux tax paying team. Not only are they paying lux tax, they are past the 1st apron and at the 2nd apron. $190M to compete as a play-in team.

Butler: $49M-$52M (looking for $56M extension)
Bam: $35M (looking for extension to $55M)
Herro: $29M-$33M
Rozier: $25M - $27M
Robinson: $19M-$20M

While we let Derrick Jones walk, need to salary dump Lavine, and will probably let Drummond walk if he gets anything more than league min.

If we really want to be one of those playoff teams, they almost all will pay lux tax. Miami, Warriors, Clippers, Dallas, Memphis, Lakers, Phoenix, Philly once Maxey gets his max, etc..

“The Heat, who aren’t very good, pay the tax” is not a compelling reason for the Bulls to pay the tax for this crappy team, even though their history of staying out of the tax is depressing.

“Philly once Maxey gets his max” is not remotely a tax team. They project to have a ton of cap space! They may well end up there in a couple seasons if they keep Embiid and Maxey together, but they’re not a tax team now and don’t project to be one soon.

I agree, though, you should be willing to pay the tax for a contender. But just paying the tax doesn’t make you one and the Bulls doing so now certainly won’t. But you did see the Bulls do crappy stuff (like unload Korver) when they were better than they are now to avoid the tax, and that was dispiriting.

FWIW, Boston and Denver are paying the tax, but Minnesota isn’t. Philly isn’t. New York isn’t. OKC isn’t. Indiana isn’t. Cleveland isn’t.

I want the Bulls to be willing to pay the tax to have a good team, and I have lots of doubts whether they will (and how far into the tax they’d go in the rare instance they’re willing), but the appetite to pay the tax is not what is keeping the Bulls from being good right now.

[DuckIII]

What a first round series that was. Instant classic.

[Bullflip]

Brunson is a dawg. Dude probably gonna be the best Knick player since Ewing

[kodo]

FWIW, Boston and Denver are paying the tax, but Minnesota isn’t. Philly isn’t. New York isn’t. OKC isn’t. Indiana isn’t. Cleveland isn’t.

I want the Bulls to be willing to pay the tax to have a good team, and I have lots of doubts whether they will (and how far into the tax they’d go in the rare instance they’re willing), but the appetite to pay the tax is not what is keeping the Bulls from being good right now.

Minny has $188,920,442 in allocations, they aren't just paying tax they are past the 1st apron. Their 6 man core is $175M just for those 6 even without building out the rest of the team.

Philly's cap situation is purely because Maxey is getting paid peanuts for financial flexibility. This was the last year for that. Regardless, Philly is not a team that won't pay lux tax to compete, they've already been a lux tax team in 2022 and will do so again if it means a better team. NY is in great situation because of the Brunson contract, we don't have that luxury.

Indy/OKC are based on a foundation of young players to keep low on salary, something we're absolutely not doing. We give away draft picks for vets. If the core is based on 30+ year olds, Bulls need to be compared to teams like the Clippers & GS.

[DuckIII]

By the way, lol at the Bulls paying the tax to bolster this below mediocre roster with an aged core. Like it would matter. If I were JR I would not pay one cent in taxes for this dry toast.

[MrSparkle]

Was it me or did Maxey travel on the insane 4-point play (2nd to last make, in regulation)? I'm genuinely curious how the F* you can take 2.5 steps behind the 3P line without dribbling, switch to the left pivot foot, and then jump off the right foot? Looked at it in slow-motion several times, and if I was a Knicks fan, I'd be livid. Cause on top of that, Embiid is clearly moving on his screen (with a shoulder bump on top of it), feet definitely never set.

Otherwise , as a 3rd party watcher, it was a wild shot (not to mention the next one), and exciting ending. And despite my problem with the footwork, in real-time, that would've been dicey to call a travel for any ref, and Maxey totally deserved that MIP award over Coby (despite Coby's bigger jumps statistically). He went from MIP (fringe star) to MIP 2.0 (perennial all-star).

Maxey was a prospect I liked... along with Jrue. Sometimes these clear stud guards drop to the late first round, and it makes no sense to me. My hot take is that college FG%s need to be taken with a grain of salt. Smaller sample size with way less games and minutes, 1-and-done/quicker learning curve, wild variances in SOS, usage, tighter spacing, tighter coaching, etc.

Guess he did!

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/knicks-vs-76ers-nba-admits-tyrese-maxeys-crucial-4-point-play-in-game-5-should-have-been-waved-off/