Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 480. (Read 920810 times)

Still young compared to Howard, the Warriors can still develop this player. He may not be very offensive, but in terms of defense, I think he can help. He averaged 4.1 rebounds per game last season with 12 minutes of playing time, which I believe is okay for a backup center. For me, I would just trust the Warriors in their decision. I wouldn't speculate too much. What's important is that they made a good move by trading Poole, which was basically one of the major reasons why they failed in the last playoffs.

Rudy Gay is not done yet; he might be able to achieve his first championship with the Warriors, who knows. His minutes really dropped with the Utah Jazz, but maybe with the Warriors, this will improve. I didn't expect these players to be signed by the Warriors, but maybe they find these players more suitable for the team than Dwight Howard, who probably still thinks his value is worth more than what he is offered.

As for Rodney McGruder, he is still young at 31 years old, but he has mostly played a role player role, as his points per game (PPG) average is below 10 points in all his seasons in the NBA with different teams.

It was said that Rudy might mentor Kuminga as they have the same position and so maybe with Rudy's vast experience, who knows, maybe a couple of minutes in the game and also he might be hitting those big shots as he is also a good rhythm shooter during his time.

They also signed Usman Garuba as well, not sure if he is the replacement for Dwight Howard or not.

Another as well is Rodney McGruder, a 7th year veteran to added some depth in the back court.

Shocking news indeed. It's unbelievable. Just when the rumors that the Raptors have the best to offer for Lillard. The rumors were right thought that Lillard will be addressed by Portland this week. The same when Nurkic's name was mentioned as a Phoenix budget meal center plus more bench players instead of the more expensive Ayton. But nobody expected these to be done in a single deal.

I believe the Bucks won the deal. But it's actually a win-win scenario for the 3 teams. Portland has lots of guards now but it can trade some of them in another separate deal. The most important for them is to ship Lillard with the best deal.

It'll be a crazy season then. Hopefully Dame is happy with the deal. He is in a championship team and Giannis and Middleton are not hard to create chemistry. The city is smaller than his plan of relocating to Miami but I guess it's not an issue to him. It'll be a tough assignment for the Bucks' new coach then but we're hoping they'll be fine to make the season more interesting.

Finally an end to the Damian Lillard drama.  

How it ended up.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/damian-lillard-trade-bucks-land-all-star-in-stunning-three-team-deal-jrue-holiday-deandre-ayton-also-moved/

I don't know what I will feel about this trade. Did the Milwaukee Bucks really win the trade?
I am now intrigued by what the Portland Trail Blazers are trying to achieve. Now they are filled with guards, Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Jrue Holiday. The good part is, that DeAndre Ayton is a big steal for them.
Phoenix Suns on the other hand seems to be adding more on the defensive end since they have three assassins already.

Expecting greatness from the new duo in the East. Now this changes the odds of the outrights in NBA Winner.
The trade for James Harden seems to be getting cloudy.

I also read as well that Jrue will be traded to Boston? It's not yet official though, but I guess Nurkic might be the right fit for the Suns in exchange of Ayton. Perhaps Nurkic doesn't have the mentality of Ayton and could take constructive criticism.

But I like what Charles Barkley said though, maybe the Suns really just wanted to get rid of Ayton and so they see this opportunity and just like that, he is gone from the Suns roster and they have a new center in Nurkic.

Big news! No one saw it coming. The Bucks just surprised us, and they made the right move that could surely keep Giannis if they win a championship. We now have a big 3, all currently in their prime. Just imagine how big of a threat they are on the outside for Lillard and Middleton, both of whom are high-percentage 3-point shooters. Lillard is also unpredictable as he can attack the paint, which would help lessen the burden on Giannis.

With this news, the NBA Future odds have been adjusted, and the Bucks have now become the top favorites to win.

https://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/futures/

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.