According to an article in The Athletic, Morey spoke to Harden before the trade to see whether he was on board, and he was.

I don't know if they will get picks for Paul, I wouldn't be surprised if...

There is no doubt that Paul was stylistically a better fit than Westbrook, but if Harden and Paul hated each other, they had to make this deal.

A lot of their picks are a few years down the road. WAY too early to say the picks are going to be near the end of the first round. Do you feel confident Houston is going to be a playoff team in...

Presti turned Westbrook and his contract into 2 firsts and two pick swaps? Wasn't someone just arguing that he wasn't a particularly good GM? They'll figure something out with Paul, this was too...

How do you figure? According to that article, Thompson was one of the players most "helped" by their analysis.

One problem with that article, however, is that the "best" defenders were mostly...

In his last healthy year with NO, he averaged 25ppg, 12.9rpg, 5.4apg, 1.6spg, 1.6bpg. And those numbers were fairly representative of his career. Even added good 3 point shooting his last 2 healthy...

6'10" peak Rondo is a great way to describe him, lol.

And yes, a 6'10" peak Rondo is a max player.

Simmons is a seriously flawed player, but still deserves the max.

that's a fair point (though I disagree re KD). But still, I think Boogie showed enough to demonstrate that with an entire offseason not devoted to rehabbing the injury, he can be a good player...

nobody has any idea what that dude is thinking.

When motivated, Boogie is a much better defender than GSW saw. Not saying he wasn't motivated this past year, just that he was coming back from injury.

I will take him if the Cs sign him, he's...

Don't they need Whiteside? Nurkic may not start the season, and they just traded Leonard (for Whiteside) and let Kanter leave.

Whiteside.

And lack of shooting. They lost Reddick.

But yeah, they will be interesting for sure.

Rubio got $51M from the Suns? Holy fuck. That's gotta be right behind the Knicks in the stupid department.

Did I read the news right? Did the Knicks really sign Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, AND Bobby Portis? WTF?

Their 4 best players are Embiid, Simmons, Horford, and Harris. A center, a C/PF, a PF, and a 6'10 PG. Holy hell!

I'm not overly excited about Capela. If they can get him with cap space or a draft pick, great. If it means trading Smart or Hayward (the names I see), fuck no.

Kemba would fit, no doubt. I'd just prefer other moves with that money.

I would be so bummed if they trade Smart!

I'm fine with letting Rozier walk, I just would prefer an assortment of guys rather than Kemba. You mentioned Brogdon and Dedmon, I mentioned Beverly. One more solid PG to share with Smart, and a...

I really do not like that rumor. But it says to me that they do not want Rozier, because it seems like they could have him and some more quality players, vs Kemba and nobody.

Of course, it might...

I'm with you. At this point, they need players that won't expect to be offensive focal points. If Tatum and Brown are going to become stars, and if Hayward returns to form, another guy who needs...

or lakes in Los Angeles!

heh, yeah. Never said it made sense, just that it probably violates the CBA.

Because it would be an attempt to circumvent the CBA. They have specific rules and limitations WRT to sign and trades. This type of deal would not comply with those, and is only...

yeah, I think it's fine if KD and the Ws have an agreement re trade, but it isn't ok if the Ws and some other team have a deal in place.

That sign and trade idea is interesting, but I think it violates the CBA if they actually have it in place. IOW, if they sign him with the understanding that they will trade him, that's fine, but if...

Yeah, that's been getting a lot of play the last couple of days. I read somewhere that if they do the trade later, it results in a bigger cap hit for NO, so it's at least possible that this was an...

Capela would be through trade, he's not a FA. And no way do I want them to sign Russell, the last thing they need after this year is a ball dominant shoot first PG.

Your worst case is the worst...

100% disagree. I have no idea whether Ainge is a genius or not, but he is a good GM. Basketball is as much about luck as it is about being a mastermind. Ainge did all those things you say, but...

I just heard about the death of NBAstreams. :( Don't know how I am going to watch the playoffs next year.

Source? I have seen them mentioned as a possible landing spot, but these guys aren't even allowed to talk to other teams at this point, right? Not until July 1, IIRC.

I'm intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I expect Hayward to shut them all up next year. While everything that went down is disappointing, I still love this team, and think a starting five of, say, Smart, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and Baynes...

Dude was getting paid $30M and was coming back from a gruesome injury. The team was always going to be better long term by giving him minutes that he might not have deserved at that point in time. ...

so in all likelihood conveys in 2022, and if it hasn't conveyed by then, the Jazz are in trouble.

Still, he will help that team immensely.

What is that future pick, what are the protections? The other players are filler (I expect Korver to be released or retire), and a 23rd pick is so-so, but that other pick?

if this is sober you, you need help. seriously. not even sure what the hell you're arguing about, but obviously you're right, because you need to be right.

It's all rumors, but rumor is that Al wants 4 years and the Cs want 3, and he wants more per year than they are offering. Al is awesome, and worth the big money now, but at 33, a 4 year contract is...

Danny isn't getting fired. Though I'm seriously bummed about Al

Because the outdoor activity set is the target NBA market?

Very bad. I'm still bullish on the team, but not if he goes.

Big Al opts out (expected). We need him back.

I think it was a GREAT trade for the Pelicans. For the Lakers, meh (which makes me happy). They were over a barrel and had to do it, negotiating against themselves, but I think they gave up too...

I'm a hoop nerd, and I couldn't make it through that.

If that's the case, then cop is a dick.

If he had the credential and showed it and the guy wouldn't let him on the court, fuck that guy!

But if he had the credential and refused to show it in the heat of the moment, then fuck him,...

who knows if that is the proper "credential" and who knows when he got that. Maybe he had it all along, but didn't think he needed to show it in the excitement of the moment, and responded...