Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 400. (Read 903304 times)

It's a jackpot deal for the Bucks, and I think no one expected this outcome of the Lillard drama. Lillard is probably more than happy with this deal because he will play for a team that can really contend for the title. By the way, it's also worth noting that the Bucks not only got Lillard but also potentially retained Giannis, who earlier said that he might leave the Bucks.
As for Middleton's role, he will most likely be SG in the starting lineup. There is no need for the Bucks to put him on the bench.

That's why we love the NBA, anything is possible and it's unpredictable at times.
The Bucks getting Dame makes them an offensive powerhouse. How will teams defend this? Already you at least have to double Giannis, then with some good ball movement you will always find Dame or CM outside.

Have to say though, their defense is considerably weaker now of course. Jrue was a very good defender but we also have to see he is getting older. Also he once said he wants to retire after his current contract ( but for some reason he also wnated an extension, haha), which is in 2 years.
I like Grayson Allen, even though he is not right in the head sometimes he is the type of defender you want on your team, doing some dirty work. Losing him will have a real impact as well.

Anyway, great deal for the Bucks. At least for the viewers it will be a spectacle to watch them. Hopefully they can stay healthy.

I also like

Well, this is what they're saying regarding them signing another veteran instead of Howard. That's the FB link, but here's a proof that it's real.
https://www.espn.in/nba/story/_/id/38504914/warriors-rudy-gay-agree-one-year-contract

He has been the focal point of the Grizzlies at one point in terms of offense. I still remember the line up of the Grizzlies at that time where they have Gasol, Randolph, Gay, Conley, Mayo. That line-up has made to the playoffs several times, but unfortunately they didn't win any titles.

The problem is that, Gay wasn't being given enough minutes in his previous teams, and at 37 years old, I think he can still a good contributor off the bench. It's good that he got 15 minutes in his last season, but in his last ones, he doesn't being given enough minutes to play. Anyway, he can still play at the SF spot of the team, and I just hope that this decision of the Warriors of getting a smaller player instead of a bigger one will translate to more wins for them.

Here's the link of the full details:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38505763/sources-blazers-trading-damian-lillard-bucks-3-team-deal

Well, many surprised with this trade. Many are hoping that the Heat will be the one to get him. Just a few days ago, the Raptors are the frontrunner on this trade, and now we saw the Bucks working in the dark, calling the Blazers GM, then making a trade. I already know that the Suns will be the third team that's involved with this trade, but I didn't expect that the Bucks will be the one who will get him.

On the flipside, Lillard already stated that he will not play with other team except the Heat. With Giannis playing alongside with him, I hope that this mindset of him will change. The Bucks are in a win-now situation because they're afraid that Giannis might leave the team if they will not compete for the title this upcoming season, so this move will motivate Giannis to stay with the team now that he's with another all-star already in Lillard. The question is, what will be the role of Middleton now? Will Dame be the PG of the team while Middleton will be the SG? Or Middleton will become a bench player.

Anyway, with this trade, they're I believe the top pick as the champion in the East already. It's just great to see how a single trade can change everything.
P.S. Just saw that currently, they're now the top pick to win the title this season.

Yeah, me too. Porzingis is a fragile player too and that may be the reason why he is bouncing from one team to another. This will be his fourth team and I hope it will be his new home and a trio will be called in the Boston Celtics domain that will be dominant in the years to come. Something the East teams will have to overcome so that they will also strengthen their teams. Because right now I think the West is still the most packed of superstars and the champion will also be from the West this year. But, that's my own prediction only. JT and JB are already a strong duo like the prime of Steph and Klay, they just need that one more ingredient to be the top team again.

And I like what Brad Stevens said on why they traded Marcus Smart.
I don't think they are going to use him even in the second team. They just need that veteran perspective of Rudy Gay, just like Andre. About Howard, there must be something that went bad and that's why they didn't add him. Mike Dunleavy said it's to maintain the last spot's flexibility and yet here we are. Of course, it's a lie.

Yeah, no one thought that Dame will land to the Bucks, the team wasn't even in the radar for the rumor team. And so it doesn't make sense at all in the beginning, but I guess it will be Dame time in Milwaukee moving forward.


We still have the Jokic lead Nuggets team as the defending champion. And we need someone outside of Giannis and Dame to beat that kind of team. They might still have Khris all along, but still a long way to go for them. So let's see if the odds are correct in putting them as 4-1 favorite to win.

Doesn't make sense, yeah, I do agree. Maybe Blazers is really thinking of rebuilding the team with Lillard leaving and the last of Portland supposedly helping Dame, which is Nurkic. So it's just a question on where they are going to deal Jrue Holiday? What teams needed his services or willing to trade another big name just to get him? Surprising to me is the Suns as well dealing Ayton, I thought that he is ok with the Phoenix since they will have a new coach. But I guess this is the nature of NBA, you really don't know what's going to happen until the start of the season. Now, with Dame going to the Bucks, there could be mad swing for Milwaukee to be the one of the favorites to win the NBA trophy for this season.

As far as Jrue Holiday is concerned, the Blazers are already saying they want to immediately deal him away. This doesn’t make much sense to me considering I think he would fill a need for Phoenix as a point guard now that Chris Paul is gone. I guess we’ll have to see what Phoenix does next but this deal seems like a lot of missed opportunities for the Suns to me.

Yeah, no more Dame going to Butler's Heat, and it's good that this drama is over and that Dame can start practicing with his new team. But we gonna have to see first how the two superstars will blend. Obviously, Dame now will be their main point guard with Holiday no longer with the team.

I initially thought that it will be Khris Middleton if ever there will be someone to be traded on their side. But I guess him signing a new contract extension, removes him from the picture. And again, the obvious winner here is the Bucks, they just lost Holiday and Allen and future picks.

Yeah, I was surprised to see Ayton's name to be included on that trade, although it's forthcoming as seasons ago when Ayton's didn't get a rookie max contract. But in return, Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson goes to Phoenix.

And Bucks losing Jrue Holiday? I think there were rumors as well with him. So for me I'm not also surprised that his name was included in the trade. So Dame from West to East, going to be a great season as we will see how this will translate for Giannis, specially he said that he wanted to change more ring and become a winner and a champion.

This has to make Milwaukee the front runner now. Giannis and Dame should make for an interesting year for the Bucks barring injuries. I hope Dame can get the ring he's chasing.

So there goes all the speculation lol.  No one thought Dame would be headed there and all this talk about giannis moving.  So I just checked and now Bucks are a 4-1 favorite to win it.  I'm gonna go out and say I'm not sure if this is a win for the Bucks.  Losing jrue they are losing one of the best backcourt defenders in the NBA.  2028-2030 draft picks who knows, but if this gets giannis to stick around then it's a win.

Jimmy Butler seems to be taking it well. He posted this video just after the news broke. He’s a comedian so this is obviously a joke, but still pretty funny and I’m sure some news agencies will run with it as some insider leak of facts.

https://x.com/worldwidewob/status/1707104205906063363

In the above clip you can see Butler asking the NBA to investigate the Bucks for tampering. An obvious joke.

Truly shocking, this is fire. We get Giannis and Lillard on the Bucks. Hmmm, that's an interesting line up if we're going to look at it and Giannis wants out with the Bucks but this time if this tandem is good maybe he will change his mind. But as long as he's eligible to play for the Bucks, we gonna be sure that he'll definitely want to get Bucks the best that they can for this season.

No one really. Even the headlines of the articles are saying this. LOL.

I literally just saw the news today and I wasn't expecting this. I bet nobody is expecting this! The Bucks really did something after Giannis had that statement hinting on leaving the team he won't get enough help lol. Did they gave up too much? No I don't think so, because they got Dame.
The Suns were crazy for giving up Ayton, all they have now is a bunch of power forwards with no legit center. I thought they think Ayton will not going work with how they plan to run their play next season with Bradley Beal being on the team.
But, nah Ayton was a great piece for the Suns.

It could have been "possible" but he left just in time to make sure that everyone else was starting to get older and worse, so if he stayed, Wade and Bosh wouldn't be that good anymore and they would probably not be that great anymore. Maybe one more season, but after that the age just didn't make it work.

I think Lebron left just at the right time, Kyrie was there and getting some serious minutes and gaining great experience as well, so when Lebron joined, he brought Love with him, and they had the trio there too, which made them win their first title, which was the hardest title I have seen, that was the most difficult title win ever, 3-1 down on a 73 win team? Everyone wrote them off and they still got it.

That's such a shocker deal not going to lie!

I couldn't have saw this coming, not even from a feet away, Jrue Holiday was an integral part of the Bucks roster, so I really don't know if Damian Lillard would fit perfectly into that roster, but being such terrific scorer, it would lift quite a lot of pressure off Giannis, Khris Middleton too.

De Andre Ayton being traded by the Suns was just a matter of time imo, there have been a lot trade speculation surrounding him for quite a while now going back to last season, but getting Jusuf Nurkic, Greyson Allen and Nassir Little in return feels like Phoenix getting a bit of depth that they really could use this season, imo.

Just in… Giannis is getting himself some help. Woj is reporting that the Portland Trailblazers have agreed to trade Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks!!! I’m a bit shocked at this. Giannis made some waves hinting he was leaving and the Bucks stepped up. This is the best news of the offseason so far!!!

DAME to the Bucks!

Phoenix lost Ayton and got stuck with Grayson Allen… That hurts… Not sure why the Suns did this.

This is an interesting signing by the Warriors… I don’t see Rudy Gay giving them many minutes this season, but maybe he could come in and get a few buckets when they need him to. Personally I think Dwight Howard could have helped the team much more and played a larger role, but maybe Gay has been drinking from the fountain of youth.

I just saw this on Facebook.: Rudy Gay has agreed on a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors.

https://www.facebook.com/NBA.updates4all/posts/pfbid02akbi8ucCxXD5C97zonDD6A9QHZ3WaCBRSsjbfQjKwZ9FoU1BefoxWqHRzD4gQ3ttl

I thought this guy was already done in the NBA but it looks like he still has a contract, unlike Dwight Howard who humorously claimed to be with the Golden State Warriors this season.
Rudy Gay averaged only 5 points per game while playing an average of 15 minutes last season.

I am also optimistic that the Boston Celtics will once again dominate in the East, especially during the regular games. Hopefully, Porzingis can stay healthy throughout the whole season. It would be really nice if the 76ers could trade James Hardin as early as possible so they can just focus more on their games and strategies without him. The same with the Miami Heat, they are busy trying hard to get Damian Lillard this season. The Bucks is a poor team compared to the other teams and it is located in a smaller city unlike LA, Houston, Boston, etc. They should be happy to have Giannis staying with them over the years.

Nonetheless, it will be another tough season. I have Denver and Phoenix as the top teams in the West while it might be more competitive in the East with some dark horse teams.