Around the League: Week 25 (4/3-4/9)

[Flagrant Fowl]

Nationally televised games this week

Tuesday, April 4th
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers 8:00pm EST on TNT

Wednesday, April 5th
Chicago Bulls @ Milwaukee Bucks 7:30pm EST on ESPN
Los Angeles Lakers @ Los Angeles Clippers 10:00pm EST on ESPN

Thursday, April 6th
Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers 7:30pm EST on TNT
Denver Nuggets @ Your Phoenix Suns 10:00pm EST on TNT

Friday, April 7th
Memphis Grizzlies @ Milwaukee Bucks 8:00pm EST on NBATV
Your Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers 10:30pm EST on NBATV

NBA News

NBA CBA 101: Everything to know about new agreement, from salary cap to free agency and beyond
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba- ... nd-beyond/

Finalists announced for 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award
https://www.nba.com/news/finalists-anno ... ship-award

[Flagrant Fowl]

[carey]

I'm so proud of Mikal. Such a genuine dude & so easy to root for.

[ShelC]

If Mikal really turns out to be Kawhi or better, I'm still not sure it'd have been enough with Book to compete for a title. Am I wrong here? Would Mikal have been able to transition into that scoring role next to Book and elevate us to legit contenders? KD is KD but also, at 7feet, is such a gamechanger defensively. Mikal's a premier defender but I'd still be concerned over the lack of size in the frontcourt.

I guess it's a matter of whether you think a 2/3 combo (PG/Kawhi or Tatum/Brown) can be a dominant, contending team.

[Split T]

I think we could have been very good, but Booker is more of a #2 on a title team and Mikal a #3. Don’t think you’d win with them as your 1 and 2. So we definitely upped our title chances these next couple years…the question is whether it was worth the decrease in our title chances in years 4-8. We probably could’ve had an 8 year window with Booker/Bridges as our core and much more ability to add to it.

I think we probably would’ve grabbed the 3 seed if we didn’t make the trade, but I wouldn’t have felt super confident in any playoff series. I’m still very curious to see how Mikal handles a playoff series as the featured offensive player. He’s gonna have PJ all over him.

Book/Mikal/KD would’ve been an absolute dream. Too bad Ayton didn’t have enough trade value.

[wpmiller42]

If Mikal really turns out to be Kawhi or better, I'm still not sure it'd have been enough with Book to compete for a title. Am I wrong here? Would Mikal have been able to transition into that scoring role next to Book and elevate us to legit contenders? KD is KD but also, at 7feet, is such a gamechanger defensively. Mikal's a premier defender but I'd still be concerned over the lack of size in the frontcourt.

I guess it's a matter of whether you think a 2/3 combo (PG/Kawhi or Tatum/Brown) can be a dominant, contending team.

It's tough to say, because I think we were legit contenders prior to the KD trade. Bridges playing at the high level he was and continuing to develop, I think if DA ever starts to play at his 2021 playoff level consistently, or say he ended up getting traded for a high level power forward... I think that also gets you to contending status. I guess that's a long way to say, yes, I think a 2/3 combo can be a contending team as long as you have competent pieces around them.

[Split T]

But if we’re just gonna bring Mikal back as a free agent in 2026, we essentially gave up 4 picks to upgrade from Mikal to KD for 4 years. That’s a major win. Hopefully the front office is smart enough to keep the cap clean going into 2026…not even necessarily for Bridges, but that’s the year we need to make a huge splash to replace KD.

[Mori Chu]

I think KD is likely to fall off much sooner than 2026. We have about 2, maybe 3, years to try to make a run. I don't see KD at age 39-40 putting up 30 ppg; he's too frail and gangly. Have to make the most of him these next few years while we still can. And as for getting Mikal back in 2026, sure I'd love it, but that may be a tall order. He'll have risen to stardom in Brooklyn, and most players don't really want to go backwards in their career. Here's hoping we can convince him.

[Split T]

2026 is just when KD’s contract expires…conveniently when Ayton comes off the books and when Mikal will be an unrestricted free agent. Also if you haven’t checked out the list of free agents that year, you should…it’s insanely loaded. Like the most loaded class I’ve ever seen. Certainly some guys will sign extensions and others will fall off, but this looks like 2010 with LeBron/Wade/Bosh/Amare etc. And should be after the new media deal so we also could have a cap spike and lots of money to spend. Only Booker is on the books for us.

[Split T]

Here’s the list:
KD, Butler, Curry, Giannis, SGA, Tatum, Mitchell, Bam, Fox, Ayton, Gobert, Randle, JJJ, Simons, Mikal, Aarón Gordon, Jarrett Allen, smart, John Collins, McCollum, Huerter, DFS, WCJ, Robert Williams….those are all unrestricted…the restricted class will be this years rookie class, so Paolo, Chet, Jalen Williams, Kessler, Ivey, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith, Mathurin, etc

[Split T]

So who we rooting for tonight? I think we are Jazz and Thunder fans(and of course suns fans). A Lakers and Warriors loss would be nice though and you’d get the added benefit of making it harder for Dallas to make the play-in

[SunsSince92]

So who we rooting for tonight? I think we are Jazz and Thunder fans(and of course suns fans). A Lakers and Warriors loss would be nice though and you’d get the added benefit of making it harder for Dallas to make the play-in

I'm definitely rooting for the Thunder. Anything to make it harder for Dallas to make the play-in is good with me. They have two of the most unlikeable stars in the league, and I've still not forgiven them for last season!

[Mori Chu]

I'm rooting for anyone who can help eliminate the fucking Mavs.

[Superbone]

I'm rooting for anyone who can help eliminate the fucking Mavs.

They are all but gone, man. It's not a matter of if but when.

[Split T]

Ya probably…OKC is only a game ahead, but they have the tiebreaker, so basically 2 ahead

[Split T]

Tragic number is 2 for Dallas…so they have to go at least 2-1 to have a chance and hope OKC goes 0-3. If OKC goes 1-2 then Dallas has to win out. If OKC goes 2-1 or 3-0 it doesn’t matter what Dallas does.

[Shabazz]

If Mikal really turns out to be Kawhi or better, I'm still not sure it'd have been enough with Book to compete for a title. Am I wrong here? Would Mikal have been able to transition into that scoring role next to Book and elevate us to legit contenders? KD is KD but also, at 7feet, is such a gamechanger defensively. Mikal's a premier defender but I'd still be concerned over the lack of size in the frontcourt.

I guess it's a matter of whether you think a 2/3 combo (PG/Kawhi or Tatum/Brown) can be a dominant, contending team.

It's tough to say, because I think we were legit contenders prior to the KD trade. Bridges playing at the high level he was and continuing to develop, I think if DA ever starts to play at his 2021 playoff level consistently, or say he ended up getting traded for a high level power forward... I think that also gets you to contending status. I guess that's a long way to say, yes, I think a 2/3 combo can be a contending team as long as you have competent pieces around them.

I don't know how you can realistically say this. We lost in the second round last year and then Paul got worse, Jae stayed home and Ayton either regressed or, at best, stayed the same. Mikal's improvement couldn't overcome all of that.

[Split T]

The west is a mess, so I could see maybe getting lucky and sneaking through to the finals, but I have no idea how we’d beat any of the east finals teams.

[wpmiller42]

If Mikal really turns out to be Kawhi or better, I'm still not sure it'd have been enough with Book to compete for a title. Am I wrong here? Would Mikal have been able to transition into that scoring role next to Book and elevate us to legit contenders? KD is KD but also, at 7feet, is such a gamechanger defensively. Mikal's a premier defender but I'd still be concerned over the lack of size in the frontcourt.

I guess it's a matter of whether you think a 2/3 combo (PG/Kawhi or Tatum/Brown) can be a dominant, contending team.

It's tough to say, because I think we were legit contenders prior to the KD trade. Bridges playing at the high level he was and continuing to develop, I think if DA ever starts to play at his 2021 playoff level consistently, or say he ended up getting traded for a high level power forward... I think that also gets you to contending status. I guess that's a long way to say, yes, I think a 2/3 combo can be a contending team as long as you have competent pieces around them.

I don't know how you can realistically say this. We lost in the second round last year and then Paul got worse, Jae stayed home and Ayton either regressed or, at best, stayed the same. Mikal's improvement couldn't overcome all of that.

Well, the big assumption I make is DA returning to his 2021 playoff level. I think Cam J more than filled in for Jae, and Mikal continuing to improve puts us into that contender status. I personally think Paul's decline, while noticeable, is overblown in terms of impact to our title chances.

[carey]

Kidd gets fired if the Mavs miss the playoffs, right?