Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 517. (Read 914668 times)

We have to wait until all the pieces are in place. There are still a lot of trades that could happen that could drastically change favorites. If nothing else moves, then definitely Boston, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Denver are contenders.


I doubt San Antonio will be a contender this year. As good as Wembanyama is, the Spurs are still a very young team. I will be surprised if they make it to the playoffs. It will take a few years to develop Wembi to NBA level and surround him with the necessary role players to complement him. It is good if they make it to the playoffs, if not, it is still good. It is a process.


They are good but they can still be matched. The Suns last season was fresh and do not have chemistry. They should be better this year with all the talent they have. Giannis was injured in the playoffs. It could have been a different story if he stayed healthy in the post season. The Nuggets are strong but other teams are getting stronger as well. The competition is still very strong.

The Miami Heat is indeed in a difficult situation to offer something meaningful to Portland Trail Blazers. They did some movements to free some space. Actually, Oladipo was also traded and it is even accompanied with 2 2nd round future draft picks to make sure Miami Heat gets a trade exception worth $9 million. Earlier Miami did not match and let go of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. I began to wonder if Miami matched the other teams' offers for Strus and Vincent, maybe Portland is willing to make the Lillard deal. But then again, I am not questioning the capabilities of Pat and Spo.

Regarding the Lillard situation, I am starting to better understand NBA's stand. Lillard still has a live contract and he is expected to perform 100% not just inside the court but off the court as well probably being an ambassador promoting the Trail Blazers' brand in getting better deals that is beneficial to the team. So Lillard can honestly tell the management his preferred next team which is Miami but he cannot say that he will refuse to play in any other teams. That's like threatening and putting his team at a disadvantage in making better deals.

It's just a documentary because he won so many rings, not because he has a life worth watching. I mean he comes from a basketball family, even his brother is in the NBA and his father was as well, and his father was known for shooting too, so he basically showed them how to since they were very little. He worked hard on the road his father opened up, and things went well and he became a good player.

Sure he ended up being the greatest three pointer ever, but just because you achieved something, doesn't mean it would be entertaining to watch how. He worked hard, that's it, what are we gonna watch his training montage? What is this, rocky? I rather go back and watch Rocky series again instead. There is no entertainment value in his life, he just did all the right things and got it.

It's too early to conclude; remember that only a few teams have won back-to-back championships, so there's no guarantee that the Nuggets will be able to repeat next season. The Nuggets have also changed their roster, although they still have the starting 5 intact, some key players have already left and signed better contracts with other teams.

In terms of talent, the competition is very tight; it only differs in chemistry and injury problems. Some teams have outstanding performances in the regular season but struggle in the playoffs due to injury issues. The Nuggets were lucky last season to have a healthy Murray; without him, I doubt they would have won.

Let's hope that we won't be seeing a lot of injuries next season so we can enjoy a very competitive season.

If you were to ask me which team I'd bet on to win the championship, I wouldn't choose the Nuggets; it's probably the Warriors or the Bucks.

Well, that is a problem. If he is under contract, he cannot just go out and tell everyone that he wants to play for another team. Of course, no owner is actually going to appreciate that behaviour. I agree that this behaviour also simply is going to screw up the plan of the owner. He should understand that when he is under contract, he is supposed to give his hundred percent to the team that he is in contract with.



Every different sport is going to have different rules. And every player should follow the rules. And in almost every sport, there are some rules that does not make sense. But that does not mean the players can go ahead and ignore the rules. As a great man said, “without rules we live with the animals”

The thing is, if he is under contract, he cannot act against it.

I agree mostly. Totally agreed about Spurs. It is too early to tell and too early for them to be a contender team. I don't think any player on earth can make that much of an effect in their rookie year. Not even Michael Jordan did, not even Lebron did, not even Shaq did nor Tim Duncan. I am very eager to see what Wemby will show us but let us not expect too much from him just yet. Also, Greg Popovich is kinda old. He is not what he is used to, naturally.

I also agree about the Nuggets. They were looking too good and I don't think anybody can be as good as them right now.

Bradley Beal as one of the worst contracts? It's just that he's one of the worst teams, and they are making him their franchise player thus, he got that huge money. I think I might disagree with that one. Robinson's contract was almost a total fail as well if only he didn't improve last season. I mean he had some developments at least that helped the team.

Gobert and KAT's contract might be a bad one especially with Gobert, but Simmons contract was the worst one among the 5. Just after a year of having an all-star performance, he went from an all-star caliber to a mediocre player who's afraid to shoot in the paint. After his contract, he might go back to Australia, and will regain his composure there, or he might stay there, and play for their national team for the rest of his basketball career.

Spurs? Will be a contender just because they got Wemby? Will not happen.
Take note that he's surrounded by young players. The Spurs right now is like the Thunder last season. A young all-star potential player, but surrounded by young, but talented players.

I also disagree with what you said that the Spurs will be a contender. Take note that a rookie can have monstrous performance for a year, but they can't carry their team all the way to NBA Finals. Remember that David Robinson was drafted in 1987, and only got a title after more than 10 years. I'm not saying that it will happen to Wemby, but the Spurs will not be a championship contender in his first year.

At this point it's really hard to tell which team will be a contender and which will be one tanking. For example, last year we didn't thought that the Nuggets will win the NBA finals, they are not the favorite by any chance.

Now we have a lot of teams that changes a lot, players moving to a new team and others.

But for sure all eyes will be in Wemby and it's going to be tough road ahead for San Antonio to even go to the playoffs. Hopefully he can withstand the pressures of the media and the players itself because he will be welcome by players, sort of baptism by like banging on him or dunking on his 7'4'' frame.

That I forgot. Yes, he is still under contract so it's like telling the Portland Trail Blazers management to do something and make it happen that he will end up with the Heat. But I think the Trail Blazers won't be doing it if the offer is not right. The Heat doesn't have enough cards to trade with them in my opinion. They are actually undermanned with so many players injured, including Viktor Oladipo and Tyler Herro.
Well, there's always the buyout option if ever he is traded somewhere else and won't like to play, that's if the other end of the line is just trying to open up some space.

We cannot tell that yet. Wemby will first show how good he is and this first-year experience will be a great learning point for him. There's a chance they might not even enter the playoffs so don't get your hopes up just yet.
Orlando Magic didn't move much so it will depend on how good Banchero will play this season. If not, they might fall to the bottom.
I won't also underestimate the OKC Thunder yet with so much talent in their roster.
Trail Blazers may actually be the ones who will get problems with all these issues about Damian.
On who will win, I think Denver Nuggets might get a back-to-back.

Lot of time ahead for the start of the season, but in your head, wich team do you thing its gonna be a contender and wich team its gonna be a tanker in the bottom of the table?

We can say surely San Antonio comes back again to be a contender after a few long years being a tank team.

If both sides already agree there's nothing that can avoid the trade to happen, in Lilard's case there's still no close deal with what
Miami is offering for the Blazers, trade ain't complete yet.

The statement from the NBA is regarding to what Lilard announces regarding with he only wants to play with Miami and nothing else.

But still depends on how Miami and Blazers will take this deal, else we might see Lilard playing to other teams
that Blazers will accept the offer.

Well, it's a slippery slope. Ideally nobody should be forced to play in a team or city that they don't want but they have huge contracts knowing that there will be consequences if not met. If he was a free agent he would have every right to reject teams but he's still under a contract and that contains any trades as well. He has to perform %100 even if he goes to other teams than Heat. But I guess we all know how it will end up. Dame will get away with a fine and play for the Heat this season.

The NBA is a little different in this regard. As in European basketball or football teams, there is no order, players cannot meet with teams and express their own opinions.
Actually, this is a bit silly. It doesn't make much sense to have such rules, every player should be able to meet with the team they want. But we know that NBA has its own ecosystem as the regulations on financial situations are different compared to other leagues

Because he isn't a free agent.  When you are a free agent you can play for anyone you want to who will pay you.  In this case he is under contract and is screwing over the owner of his team for lessening his value on the trade market.  The commissioner works for the owners of the NBA, and if this becomes the new normal than it will be huge implications for teams trying to deal their stars.  I agree he needs to shut up and deal with where he ends up later.  You signed a huge contract knowing you could be moved at anytime.

Of course, they want to take as much as they can from the trade from Dame. They paid the guy a very handsome contract and they basically get nothing from it. It was Portland's fault not to surround Dame with the necessary support he needed to give the franchise a championship but still, the amount they paid the guy, they are entitled to get it back at least from the trade they are getting. I am thinking, this is the result of the trade of Gobert Minnesota. Utah Jazz got too much from that single trade and now every team wants too much too if they trade their star player. Dame will have to wait because I feel like Portland will squeeze as much as they can from this trade. Hopefully, he lands where he wants to be but that would take a lot from the team he is going to.


I think it is right that Bronny's camp stays silent because it will have a big impact on the kid's future as a basketball player. But if they do not clear this out, it will backfire on them since teams will have doubts about drafting Bronny if they are not sure about the health of the kid.



It is not they do not have the right to join the teams that they want, but it is the team's right to trade them to whichever teams they see fit. Lillard announcing that he will not play if he is not traded to Miami is bad for NBA. It is detrimental to the NBA if players will not perform or fulfill their contracts. We already have a lot of Diva players demanding too much from their respective teams aside from the humungous salaries they are getting. Adding this to the list will make teams worse. Soon, we will see all-star players cramped into a single team. There will be no more competition. It is good that NBA is already putting a stop into this kind of publicity.

I don’t understand. Is there any problem with the player going to the team that he wants? And I just don’t understand why he cannot join the team that he wants if everything is agreed upon. What is the reason for them trying to deny him joining the team that he wants? I understand that some rules and regulations that must be followed. But when everything seems to be agreed upon, what is the problem?

Right now Bronny James is doing OK right now so there is a bigger possibility that he will return and maybe become a decent prospect but I am still doubting this because he had a cardiac arrest once so there is a chance that it could happen again, there is still no statement regarding why Bronny James had a Cardiac Arrest but many are saying that his career is over, but let's just wait on what Lebron and Bronny's doctors has to say,


There is a possibility of this because he is still young and is able to recover from it but there still he needs to take care of himself and without further explanation of what has happened to him during practice, then they surely need to wait for the test results of Bronny James, maybe that is why there are no further announcement about this matter,


It was a shame for many fans that want Dame Lillard in the Miami Heat next season well if Dame Lillard also wants to be a Miami Heat he would likely need to wait for an opportunity for that to happen, or maybe an extra sacrifice for the Miami Heat team  to acquire Damian Lillard, but right now it is for sure that he is still in Portland Trailblazers,

Portland is holding all the cards here IMO. They are not going to do a trade unless it makes sense for them as a business. I'm sure they are keeping Dame and his wishes in the back of their minds, but unless a team sends an offer that makes sense for Portland moving forward, Dame will be a Trailblazer next year.

Really? I don't think that they'll release some statement like that if they're not serious. Maybe you're right and they are not really serious at all and that's why they're just putting them like an expedite decision to make this trade happen as in everyone and every team is looking and giving an eye on it.

We don't really know if they don't want that trade to happen since with all of the publicity stunts that they're giving about this potential trade. Possible that they just want to get rid of Dame and want to take as much as trade in return for him. Well, I've seen people that are just sick and tired of this and telling that he's overrated.

Good point. I forgot about that. He also wished to be with the Clippers team and yet we didn't hear anything from the NBA after that. Inconsistency, which is why nobody listens to them.  
Past his prime, that's true but I disagree with the trading of Batum, he is still a good defender despite his age. He is long and a veteran which means the more experience the better they are at defending especially the guys at his same height. He is still a good roleplayer if they need someone to shoot outside or just focus on defending someone tall like KD or Luka.

Why? Actually, in my opinion, Duncan Robinson has the worst deal on that list. He only played half the season with limited minutes because Coach Spo doesn't trust his defense. Imagine that. You are paid high, you are healthy, and yet they won't let you play.
What he had done during the Finals will not cover for that, when Tyler Herro is back, Robinson will also be back on the bench. And, if Tyler Herro was not hurt before the Finals he will be the one showing his skills, not Duncan, he was just there because Coach Spo have no more options. I think I have already said it mid-season last year, he has the worst contract while healthy. Overpaid.