Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 273. (Read 902843 times)

That's a huge disparity, I think I'm late with the news as I just found out about this issue today. I saw the video on tiktok about the Raptors coach complaining which some agrees on him, while some dislike his statement. But I guess that's how the NBA works, it's nothing new IMO.



Honestly, If we believe that NBA is rigged it shouldn't be the ref that should be blamed, it's a league in overall. There are numerous conpiracy theory we can see online, and time and time again, this kind of scenario will just come out, but still NBA remains his reputation intact, at least for majority of the fans.

---

I also read some comment that the coach was acting like a sports bettor who lost his bet.

Yes, I also think that he is not a bad player but he didn't fit in well with the team. And I think other teams might be interested in him even after him not being very well in his current team. And that is the reason I think his team might push to trade him, and it might work out well for both parties included. For me it makes sense.


when the player has expressed the intention of staying in the team it will be better for the team to keep him in the team. Because probably now the player feels good in the team and if they bring in a new player he won't be able to do as well as him. And it is always a risk. Now if they get a player that is really good like AD, then it makes sense as you said but otherwise, I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to be honest.

I believe it will be better if they keep him. If they take an initiative to actually trade him it might not be the best decision because the player clearly doesn't wanna leave.

The Lakers have been far too mediocre this regular season. So they will probably have very little chance of any success in the playoffs, even if they get there. Honestly, I'm not sure they need Mitchell because he's unlikely to make much of an impact on the Lakers' results. And trading players like Russell, Reaves, and Rui doesn't sound like a good idea for the Lakers.

And the fact they Warriors have won championships even after he left would have taught him that while everyone have seen what the Phoenix Suns were a few seasons ago even with Mikael Bridges and Cam Johnson being their very next 2 go to guys, and now that they have what seemed like just a lot whatifs and buts while teams that look the best to win the championship really are those building their chemistry over seasons and not just overnight.

He learn it the hard way when he did get out of the Warriors move to the Nets and then he thought that they have build a good and championship caliber team with Kyrie and then James Harden. However, they don't have the a solid team, with Claxton still very raw talent that time and the Joe Harris, on and off with injuries.

So had matured already and we all know that he is not getting any younger that another trade might take him 3-4 years of rebuilding a championship team. It's a good mentality for him to stick around with the Suns and him and Booker trying to bring the best of each other.

D'Lo, Rui or anyone not name Bron and AD, of course it will disrupt the  team again just like when what happen to the Suns when they got Durant, all their wingman, their perimeter defenses are gone and go to other teams. So this will be the likely scenario for a Lavine or Mitchell trade for the Lakers.

Maybe they will add Vando or Cam Reddish who's developing to be a good wing defender.

So they will be left with a couple of good players and it will take a lot of time to see either Mitchell or Lavine (whichever they got), to blend with the team and this might cost them the playoff.

Yeah, doesn't make sense for him to ask for a trade again and then it will take years to build his chemistry with a new team. So what if the new team that he will go turns out to be as bad? He had Booker and Beal to him him out, perhaps just a few tweaks in the middle to help Nurkic.

They need a couple of years to build that chemistry and trust the process. So hopefully there will be no trade for Durant and see how far him and Booker can bring the Suns. And obviously it will be the finals.

I guess I can say Kevin Durant practically understands that to build a championship team now is not about trying to buy one outrightly and more about building around perhaps a few, but core franchise players and looking back at last few trades and how much is left of his career, he’ll never be able to find the needed chemistry if he keeps getting traded at every deadline and only plays about 30-40% with supposedly co-championships worthy players that are being trade for as well.

They are too thin when it comes to "disrespect" as they call it but when it comes to calls they are not respecting the player's cry for getting an and one or just a foul to take him to the line. 8/13 against 28/36. Almost triple the amount the Lakers had been on the line against the Raptors. The NBA must look deeper into this game. Some magic had been happening and referees seems like they are not getting the right punishments for this kind of mistake. If they think it's just a mistake.
I would not be surprised if one day there will be a report that one relative of these officials is making large bets and they have a high percentage of winning.

Anyway, here's an addition to what Darko Rajakovic said.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/raptors-coach-darko-rajakovic-lays-into-shame-of-nba-refs-after-loss-to-lakers-watch-entire-heated-rant/
Now, I would not be surprised if Darko will be the one who will get suspended more than those officials. He can be emotional but if I remember it right, you cannot make a statement like that in front of the media. The NBA doesn't like to be questioned and they punish those who tell bad things against them.

Yeah I'm not sure if they have the assets to swing that trade.  Outside of Bron and AD no current players really scratch the itch.  And if they keep Bron and AD and add someone like Mitchell their first round picks won't seem all that valuable since they will more than likely be in the 20s

It makes sense because Mitchell has already made it clear he won't resign with the Cavs, so it's a trade him or lose him scenario.

An interesting statement from Kevin Durant saying he doesn't want to be traded.  I guess he's been doing a lot of complaining lately and wanted to make it clear that he wants to be on the Suns now that trade rumors are starting to heat up and even mock trades happening online.  There's an article about it I've pasted below.  I don't think the Suns will trade KD unless it's for AD from the Lakers which won't happen.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/kevin-durant-i-don-t-want-to-get-traded/ar-AA1mLjnu

The referee situation is not unique to the NBA.
Unfortunately, the same situation applies to Euroleague referees, who sometimes officiate disgraceful matches.
When the first half of the Fenerbahçe Partizan Euroleague match played yesterday ended, the Fenerbahçe spectators almost came to the field. There was a huge reaction to the referees. (Sometimes referees can make decisions that drive people crazy.
I think Toronto Coach is right, sometimes it is necessary to beat the referees, but Toronto failed to do this.
Lakers are a team I like, but they don't need wins like this (referee support).

I am not sure what Lakers could offer to get Mitchell, or Lavine to be fair but at least Lavine is not doing anything so he could be traded for not much in order for Bulls to potentially tank, whereas it doesn't make sense at all for Mitchell to leave, Cavs are doing fine.

This is why I am guessing that it is not going to be all that easy to handle for Lakers to convince them for a trade. In the end, Lakers already lost the title, it is not even a discussion anymore, they are not going to win it, no matter what kind of trade they do, no realistic trade in the world could make them better. They need to realize that they didn't build the squad around Lebron like they should, and now they are facing the troubles of that.

The Grizzlies really screwed me yesterday. Who’s have thought they’d beat the Mavericks without Ja Morant. I read they signed Isiah Thomas, that was an unexpected move.

The Lakers game last night with that extreme fouls discrepancy in the 4th is pretty suspect. I call shenanigans.

Speaking of the Pistons, they just blew up an 18-point first-quarter lead against the Kings and lost to them by 21 points. How ridiculous is that?
You lead by 18 points coming into the second quarter, got outscored in the 2nd quarter 39-18, and then got outscored again in the 4th quarter 33-15? This 2023-2024 Pistons team is one of the worst teams if not the worst team in NBA history.

Cunningham doesn't need help from his teammates. He needs to get traded to another team. His talent is being wasted on this shitty team. I just don't know why in the hell isn't he requesting a trade. I mean his talent can be more helpful when he's on another team or at best a championship-caliber team. A PG who's good at defending, and he's tall in his position as well. Like what you said, the Pistons will just pile up losses, with or without Cunningham.

---

I'll just speak out my frustration about the Bucks this season. They're the 8th worst team right now defensively, and Lillard who they got last off-season is playing way worse than when he's in Portland. If you look at his stats, there are times when he's shooting very awful. Having a bad night right? Probably, but when it happens multiple times, you need to be better in offense especially if you know yourself that you're a liability in defense. Lillard can't defend pretty well that's why they're now at the bottom of the list defensively.

Speaking of struggles, we heard Giannis comment on their struggles, and I saw this meme online. Just harsh I would say.

The coach is right with what he was complaining about.
Many calls in the game, especially in the 4th, have been very questionable.

23 : 2 free throws is just crazy. They also called so many strange fouls on Toronto, like offensive fouls and so on, but almost nothing versus the Lakers.
That Toronto still managed to stay in the game was almost a miracle. 

The NBA clearly has a ref problem. So many games where the refs decide who is winning. All those ejections as well where the refs have their feelings hurt and therefor kick out the player, it's not funny anymore.

Yes, this is one of the possibilities...

Well I believe... a player that the Lakers need to have to be more consistent and improve the team's performance is a high quality PG/SG.
LAL has 2 allstar players in different positions, for example, LeBron James (SG/SF/PF) and AD (PF/C), a type of player that could fit into LAL would be a high quality PG/SG, This way, LJ could play as SF or PF and help with the team's rotation by playing in other positions.
D'Angelo Russell is a good player, but in my opinion I believe he didn't fit in very well with the Lakers as expected (of course that's my opinion).

Russell, I guess is the guy accompanied by other players to get the trade that they are aiming, I'm pretty sure if they'll going to offer
it's not going to be D'Lo alone.

I was in the impression that D'Lo was fit with how LeBron and Davis played the game, a good outside shooter who can really take advantage
of that kick outside.

But we are seeing the result of each game they are playing seems that they are not organize and they mostly rely with how LeBron and
Davis will play each game.

Los Angeles Lakers won the match, but Darko Rajokovic's statements after the game left their mark on the night: "This is nonsense. How does Scottie Barnes only foul twice? If they won't let us win, let them tell us not to go on the field. "What happened today was a disgrace," he said.
 While the Lakers went to the foul line 36 times, Toronto went to the foul line 13 times. It was an interesting and competitive match. Although Toronto was leading 51-53 at the half, they lost the match 132-131.
Thus, the Lakers got their second win in a row.
We have to give credit to Anthony Davis, who scored 41 points and had a double-double with 11 rebounds in the match.

Is not Russell the one to trade? I think it will be better if they trade him instead of the other players.
But of course, do let me know if I am wrong. The age difference is not a lot between them, right? They are basically almost the same age as each other.

So that should not be something to take into consideration in my opinion. The quality is the only thing everyone is probably going to look for. And of course, every team is going to try to get/keep the best players for themselves. And this is definitely an interesting situation.