NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2018-19 Thread

ButtersSuki

So Luke Walton found out LeBron was playing against the Clippers from the media on Thursday, and found out he wasn’t playing against GS last night - AFTER the pre game team meeting.

Complete dick moves by LeBron, no matter how much some of you defend him,

kmart6

That's brutal if true and can't see Pelinka or Magic doing anything about it!

ButtersSuki

He wants a coaching change. His entourage and Paul/Klutch etc. have been very vocal about it.

That’s one thing, but to do what he did the last two games is spoilt child crap.

Carcharodon

ButtersSuki wrote: »

He wants a coaching change. His entourage and Paul/Klutch etc. have been very vocal about it.

That’s one thing, but to do what he did the last two games is spoilt child crap.

Obviously don’t know the ins and out but on the surface you are absolutely right, it’s total crap, Luke Walton is a pretty stand up guy and in my opinion a good coach, magic and LeBron will make a fool out of him

jonok28

Carcharodon wrote: »

Obviously don’t know the ins and out but on the surface you are absolutely right, it’s total crap, Luke Walton is a pretty stand up guy and in my opinion a good coach, magic and LeBron will make a fool out of him

Let's be honest Magic and Pelinka wanted Luke gone long before Lebron came, he wasn't someone they brought in, he was a Jim Buss signing and they only reason the didn't fire him last season is because Jeanie Buss loves him and the had little to no expectation last season. It definitely doesn't help that Lebron has ramped up the expectation and its now championship or bust. Lebron wants a proven coach in there who has been to the highest level. He probably wants Tyronn Lue as the next coach. I think Luke is a good coach and I think with a little bit more experience and learning he could be a really good coach but he made numerous mistakes right away. He brought in a coaching staff of people from Arizona the school he went to, there was alot of complaints that he could have done alot better with his assitant coaches. I think he makes it to the summer and is then let go.

ButtersSuki

jonok28 wrote: »

Let's be honest Magic and Pelinka wanted Luke gone long before Lebron came, he wasn't someone they brought in, he was a Jim Buss signing and they only reason the didn't fire him last season is because Jeanie Buss loves him and the had little to no expectation last season. It definitely doesn't help that Lebron has ramped up the expectation and its now championship or bust. Lebron wants a proven coach in there who has been to the highest level. He probably wants Tyronn Lue as the next coach. I think Luke is a good coach and I think with a little bit more experience and learning he could be a really good coach but he made numerous mistakes right away. He brought in a coaching staff of people from Arizona the school he went to, there was alot of complaints that he could have done alot better with his assitant coaches. I think he makes it to the summer and is then let go.

One of my regular pods (can’t rebember exactly which one) said they had it from a reliable source he (LeBron) wants Spoelstra.

LeBron played with Walton, you think he’d have some sort of working relationship with him? But to not even bother to let him know whether you’re playing or not is a dick move, and just designed to show his teammates who’s really in charge. Completely undermines Walton and tbh I can’t see how it endears his teammates to him either - that on top of being on the trade block to appease him of course. I’d say team chemistry isn’t amazing there right now.

ButtersSuki

Just watched the Boston OKC game in full there. Westbrook made a couple of bad plays in the last minute, but still had a triple double. Wouldn't say those cost them the game as Boston were the better team and mostly in control to be fair.

ButtersSuki

Woj:
Portland has agreed to a deal to acquire Cleveland forward Rodney Hood for guards Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future second-round picks, league sources tell ESPN.


That’s an awful lot for Rodney Hood.

ButtersSuki

There is 1 (one!) report saying the AD to LA deal is done with Lonzo going to the Suns. Don’t know whether to put any faith in it tbh.

jonok28

ButtersSuki wrote: »

There is 1 (one!) report saying the AD to LA deal is done with Lonzo going to the Suns. Don’t know whether to put any faith in it tbh.

I wouldn't really believe any report unless it comes from Woj or Shams, they always seem to be the first to break these trades. Unless the Suns offered Ayton, Devin Booker or their first round pick this year then I wouldn't engage with the Suns in any shape or form.

ButtersSuki

jonok28 wrote: »

I wouldn't really believe any report unless it comes from Woj or Shams, they always seem to be the first to break these trades. Unless the Suns offered Ayton, Devin Booker or their first round pick this year then I wouldn't engage with the Suns in any shape or form.

It was Shams, and it was a 3 team with AD still going to LA (not the Suns). Sorry for not being clearer first time.

Osmosis Jones

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Woj:
Portland has agreed to a deal to acquire Cleveland forward Rodney Hood for guards Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future second-round picks, league sources tell ESPN.


That’s an awful lot for Rodney Hood.

It's basically just 2 second round picks, Stauskas has fallen completely out of the rotation and Wade was never in it. Hood will actually get minutes and is a better scorer than anyone on Portland not named Lillard, McCollum, or Nurkic.

It also clears up a roster spot for the buyout market and I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to bring back Wes Matthews after he almost definitely gets bought out in New York.

jonok28

ButtersSuki wrote: »

It was Shams, and it was a 3 team with AD still going to LA (not the Suns). Sorry for not being clearer first time.

The only website I'm seeing with that trade is express.co.uk and a website called Arizona Sports that pulled the story pretty quickly after putting it up. The Suns would have to offer picks in any deal because there is no way they part ways with Ayton or Booker, Josh Jackson isn't much of a trade asset anymore.

Supposedly the Pelicans are preparing a counter offer and the counter includes the Lakers taking a contract back, my guess is Solomon Hill or E'Twaun Moore. I'm fairly certain the Lakers would say no to that deal because they desperately need the cap space to even have a chance at a third star. I can see a third team coming in to take on he bad contract. I think the Pelicans are slightly under pressure and do want to get a deal done with the Lakers as they don't really want Davis on the roster when they want to lose games and get a better draft pick.

Paully D

ButtersSuki wrote: »

He wants a coaching change. His entourage and Paul/Klutch etc. have been very vocal about it.

That’s one thing, but to do what he did the last two games is spoilt child crap.

Pat Riley’s book is actually a good read for the LeBron insights especially.

I suppose it was public knowledge at the time anyway, but I’ll always have respect for Pat Riley for standing up to LeBron on many occasions, especially with regards to his attempts to get Spoelstra fired.

jonok28

Paully D wrote: »

Pat Riley’s book is actually a good read for the LeBron insights especially.

I suppose it was public knowledge at the time anyway, but I’ll always have respect for Pat Riley for standing up to LeBron on many occasions, especially with regards to his attempts to get Spoelstra fired.

Riley was the perfect person to deal with Lebron having worked with Magic and Kareem he knew how to handle stars and knew that giving into a players demands all the time will lead to a player thinking he can run the organisation.

I'm not 100% sure whether Magic is cut from this same cloth, I suppose only time will tell.

ButtersSuki

Paully D wrote: »

Pat Riley’s book is actually a good read for the LeBron insights especially.

I suppose it was public knowledge at the time anyway, but I’ll always have respect for Pat Riley for standing up to LeBron on many occasions, especially with regards to his attempts to get Spoelstra fired.

Haven't read that Paully....is it any good? I see he has quite a few, is it this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pat-Riley-Leadership-Basketballs-Basketball-ebook/dp/B07KJVBSX2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549292996&sr=8-2&keywords=pat+riley

ButtersSuki

jonok28 wrote: »

Riley was the perfect person to deal with Lebron having worked with Magic and Kareem he knew how to handle stars and knew that giving into a players demands all the time will lead to a player thinking he can run the organisation.

I'm not 100% sure whether Magic is cut from this same cloth, I suppose only time will tell.

He's most definitely not - nowhere near as smart as Riley. Magic's dropped the ball a few times and has "loose lips", can't help but get himself (and LA) into trouble with tampering talk. One of my regular pods (think it was Open Floor) said they were doing an interview with him recently that's dropping this week from memory and Magic had a PR/Legal guy there interrupting him repeatedly saying "you can't say that, that's tampering" and Magic over-ruling him and saying it was fine. Too blasé.

Actually blasé is a good word to sum up the Lakers front office. They haven't learned from low-balling on the Leonard and Paul trades and had their bluff called. They[re too arrogant about thinking that just "being a Laker" is enough to get it done from the player's perspective and not valuing the team's role in the decision. I hope they don't get AD, but I'm a little biased as I'm a Celtics fan.



Last one for now - funny tweet reply to one of Woj's tweets re. LA's offer:
LeBron f*cking up another team's long term future so he can lose in the Finals again.

jonok28

ButtersSuki wrote: »

He's most definitely not - nowhere near as smart as Riley. Magic's dropped the ball a few times and has "loose lips", can't help but get himself (and LA) into trouble with tampering talk. One of my regular pods (think it was Open Floor) said they were doing an interview with him recently that's dropping this week from memory and Magic had a PR/Legal guy there interrupting him repeatedly saying "you can't say that, that's tampering" and Magic over-ruling him and saying it was fine. Too blasé.

Actually blasé is a good word to sum up the Lakers front office. They haven't learned from low-balling on the Leonard and Paul trades and had their bluff called. They[re too arrogant about thinking that just "being a Laker" is enough to get it done from the player's perspective and not valuing the team's role in the decision. I hope they don't get AD, but I'm a little biased as I'm a Celtics fan.



Last one for now - funny tweet reply to one of Woj's tweets re. LA's offer:
LeBron f*cking up another team's long term future so he can lose in the Finals again.

What I meant by not sure he is cut from the same cloth as Riley is that will he push back against Lebron or give into Lebrons demands to make him happy. Riley is a HOF executive and Coach.

Magic and Pelinka are relative amateurs in being members of a Front Office. They were very silly to refuse Jerry West when he offered to come in in a consulting role similar to what he did with Golden State. They need someone with experience to point out the pitfalls and how to safely and navigate the murky waters of a NBA Front Office.

ButtersSuki

jonok28 wrote: »

What I meant by not sure he is cut from the same cloth as Riley is that will he push back against Lebron or give into Lebrons demands to make him happy. Riley is a HOF executive and Coach.

Magic and Pelinka are relative amateurs in being members of a Front Office. They were very silly to refuse Jerry West when he offered to come in in a consulting role similar to what he did with Golden State. They need someone with experience to point out the pitfalls and how to safely and navigate the murky waters of a NBA Front Office.

Oh I know, I took that part as a given! I can't in my wildest dreams imagine them saying "No" to LeBron. The best they will do is delay, fudge and procrastinate, but they'll ultimately cave. Walton is a dead man walking.

When Jeanie Buss was on with Zach Lowe a few weeks back and when pushed on it (re. Walton being ousted) she refused to give unconditional support for Walton and said "Magic is responsible for basketball decisions" - as if she had nothing to do with it as owner (sanctioning it/disallowing it).

I don't rate Walton highly at all, certainly not in the elite of the elite from a coaching perspective. To be clear, I have no issue with them firing Walton for a better/more proven coach. Like so many things LeBron-related, I just don't like the way he's going about it.

jonok28

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Oh I know, I took that part as a given! I can't in my wildest dreams imagine them saying "No" to LeBron. The best they will do is delay, fudge and procrastinate, but they'll ultimately cave. Walton is a dead man walking.

When Jeanie Buss was on with Zach Lowe a few weeks back and when pushed on it (re. Walton being ousted) she refused to give unconditional support for Walton and said "Magic is responsible for basketball decisions" - as if she had nothing to do with it as owner (sanctioning it/disallowing it).

I don't rate Walton highly at all, certainly not in the elite of the elite from a coaching perspective. To be clear, I have no issue with them firing Walton for a better/more proven coach. Like so many things LeBron-related, I just don't like the way he's going about it.

I listened to that Podcast with Lowe also and she made a very intelligent comment that she is smart enough to admit she doesn't know what she doesn't know and as a leader she has to defer to members of her staff who have experience in that field. She is right in that regard, She has to trust the staff that she hired to do the job she hired them to do. I think Magic and Pelinka deserve time to roll out their master plan, landing Lebron has bought them atleast 5 more years (well Magic 5 more years, I wouldn't be shocked if Pelinka is fired).

I like Luke as a coach, he is beloved by his players and they want to play hard for him but Luke needed to surround himself with coaches who will not only help the players develop but help him in areas where he hasn't fully developed as a coach yet. I liken it to what Leinster did for Leo Cullen, they brought in Graham Henry for a short term period to help him in certain areas and show him what he needs to do to become a top coach and then they brought in Stuart Lancaster to provide that experienced head to help Cullen through the growing pains.

Luke if he wants to save his job which at this point is going to be a tough ask is to agree to finding strong assistant coaches who will help the Lakers and him develop. Otherwise I'd say Ty Lue pretty much has the job.

ButtersSuki

jonok28 wrote: »

I listened to that Podcast with Lowe also and she made a very intelligent comment that she is smart enough to admit she doesn't know what she doesn't know and as a leader she has to defer to members of her staff who have experience in that field. She is right in that regard, She has to trust the staff that she hired to do the job she hired them to do. I think Magic and Pelinka deserve time to roll out their master plan, landing Lebron has bought them atleast 5 more years (well Magic 5 more years, I wouldn't be shocked if Pelinka is fired).

I like Luke as a coach, he is beloved by his players and they want to play hard for him but Luke needed to surround himself with coaches who will not only help the players develop but help him in areas where he hasn't fully developed as a coach yet. I liken it to what Leinster did for Leo Cullen, they brought in Graham Henry for a short term period to help him in certain areas and show him what he needs to do to become a top coach and then they brought in Stuart Lancaster to provide that experienced head to help Cullen through the growing pains.

Luke if he wants to save his job which at this point is going to be a tough ask is to agree to finding strong assistant coaches who will help the Lakers and him develop. Otherwise I'd say Ty Lue pretty much has the job.

All valid points, but he (LeBron) wants Spo apparently. he'd be making a huge mistake if he went for Lue IMO. Don't rate him at all. LeBron was calling the important plays and basically tolerating Lue by the end.

As for Walton being loved, apparently there was a "falling out" with several players after the GS loss last week. How serious that was who knows? But it doesn't help. None of this does.

Hitch2222

Luke Walton is not the type of coach that the Lakers need given they have acquired LBJ. Walton was brought in in order to develop a young developing roster with an emphasis on a LT rebuilding process.

Now that LBJ has been acquired this timeline has been flipped. I don't like the idea of a coach being forced out but I suspect LBJ largely acquiesced to the idea of Walton at the beginning and would have far preferred a much more experienced coach at the helm.

I don't mind parting with Walton given the expedited timeline but the method of getting there could have been a little better.

jonok28

ButtersSuki wrote: »

All valid points, but he (LeBron) wants Spo apparently. he'd be making a huge mistake if he went for Lue IMO. Don't rate him at all. LeBron was calling the important plays and basically tolerating Lue by the end.

As for Walton being loved, apparently there was a "falling out" with several players after the GS loss last week. How serious that was who knows? But it doesn't help. None of this does.

Spo shouldn't leave the Heat, he has a cushy number there and I doubt Pat Riley would let him go which is what it would take to get him. Lue is "My guy" according to any tweet Lebron mentions Lue in in the past. Coaches I can see the Lakers going after are: Monty Williams, Ty Lue, Ettore Messina, Jay Wright, Stan Van Gundy and Scott Brooks, long shots in Quinn Snyder, Mike Malone or David Fizdale.

The falling out was meant to be completely blown out of proportion, there was a verbal altercation between a few players ( McGee, Hart and Beasley).

According to Tania Ganguli of the LA Times who is very clued into the Lakers:

"Walton addressed the players on the subject of unselfish play. Michael Beasley, Josh Hart and JaVale McGee had a heated exchange with the coach. According to two sources not authorized to speak publicly, the incident never escalated to a troubling level or came close to becoming physical." Also the three players have a reason to argue with Walton. Javale and Hart got stripped of their starting spot and Beasley was promised big minutes with the Lakers and hasn't gotten them.

It seems to be players taking exception to a coaches criticisms which isn't that uncommon.

Osmosis Jones

Well, there it is. I'm almost certain he just included the Bucks to make it look like he doesn't just want to join a big market team, he knows they don't have the assets to make a trade for him.

Anthony Davis’ representatives have informed the Pelicans that he would sign long-term with the Lakers, Knicks, Bucks and Clippers if he is traded, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1092505032199688192

ButtersSuki

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Well, there it is. I'm almost certain he just included the Bucks to make it look like he doesn't just want to join a big market team, he knows they don't have the assets to make a trade for him.



https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1092505032199688192

They (Klutch) should not be allowed to do this kind of thing with 1year+ left on the contract.

Hitch2222

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Well, there it is. I'm almost certain he just included the Bucks to make it look like he doesn't just want to join a big market team, he knows they don't have the assets to make a trade for him.



https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1092505032199688192

Or he sees Giannis as being a player that is one of the most likely to help deliver him championships.

If Tobias Harris was locked in on a team friendly deal for another couple years that could have been interesting. I suspect Clippers will attempt to get a package around Shai Alexander and bring in a 3rd team. If AD ends up there, Raptors have no hope to keeping Kawhi

ButtersSuki

Per clutch sports (not that Klutch....:pac:):

According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers are willing to give Pelicans cap relief for Anthony Davis by taking on the contract of small forward Solomon Hill. LA is reportedly offering New Orleans Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley and two first-round picks for Davis.

:eek:

Incredibly tempting on the surface, but you can say goodbye to Rondo, Stephenson and Beasley in the summer as they're all on 1 years. The whole trade is still there in the summer though, so no need to move now.

Hitch2222

The goalposts have moved given the news breaking that he is willing to sign LT in a number of locations now.
I didn't think they'd need to part with anything close to that type of offer but it seems that's what it will take now.

I assume Wesley Matthews and/or DeAndre Jordan take a buyout to join Melo and Davis at the Lakers.
Who knows what this roster will look like over the next few days

LaVar calling for Suns over Pelicans for Lonzo which makes more sense tbf. I assume Suns will try and get rid of Ryan Andersons contract while parting with some sort of Dragan Bender or Josh Jackson. Bender still only 21 so must have some value

Paully D

Are the Lakers planning on playing the remainder of this season with 4 players or something?

Hitch2222

Paully D wrote: »

Are the Lakers planning on playing the remainder of this season with 4 players or something?

They're automatically the 2nd best team in the West if that trade occurs largely irrespective of who they're surrounded by.

It's still not enough to get by GSW but a couple of buyouts and vet mins/trades for late 2nd round picks should fill out the roster enough to threaten GSW. It's really just a matter of what round they meet in