Phx-Suns.Net

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:27 pm

4 picks plus 4 swaps is just insane. You are trading away almost a decade of your team's future for a fat unhappy star. If they don't win a title in the next 2 years they'll really come to regret this deal.

I wonder if deals like this one will lead the next CBA to include a rule similar to the Stepien rule, this time forbidding including more than N draft picks in the same trade, or no more than N years in a row of (traded away pick + traded away pick-swap). It's just ridiculous that some future GM might have to come in and not have his own draft pick for 8 years.

Reminds me of Brooklyn a number of years ago. Didn't work out so well then.

I am sick of putting rules in place to stop stupid GMs from being stupid.

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:27 pm

4 picks plus 4 swaps is just insane. You are trading away almost a decade of your team's future for a fat unhappy star. If they don't win a title in the next 2 years they'll really come to regret this deal.

I wonder if deals like this one will lead the next CBA to include a rule similar to the Stepien rule, this time forbidding including more than N draft picks in the same trade, or no more than N years in a row of (traded away pick + traded away pick-swap). It's just ridiculous that some future GM might have to come in and not have his own draft pick for 8 years.

There already is a rule, think you can’t trade a pick more than 7 years out, which is why 4 picks is always the most you see traded.

And it’s a lot, but Brooklyn’s window is now, I don’t think it’s that crazy. The picks will probably be low and the swaps probably won’t even happen because Houston will be drafting higher. There is a risk this blows up in their face, but it’s not exactly the same as trading your picks for KG/Pierce. Those dudes were like 38, it was all in for like 1 shot at being a pseudo-contender.

Harden/Durant/Kyrie are all in their prime still. They all want this, they’ll figure out how to make it work.

Indy wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:04 pm

I am sick of putting rules in place to stop stupid GMs from being stupid.

I would rather the system work to protect fan bases than GMs. A GM has short-term incentives and not as strong an interest in protecting the long-term health of a franchise. Fans still have to be there after the GM is long gone.

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:16 pm

Indy wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:04 pm

I am sick of putting rules in place to stop stupid GMs from being stupid.

I would rather the system work to protect fan bases than GMs. A GM has short-term incentives and not as strong an interest in protecting the long-term health of a franchise. Fans still have to be there after the GM is long gone.

Isn't that the owners job? I mean, he is the guy signing off on the moves and signing the checks. Shouldn't he be looking out for the long-term goals of the org? Besides, Silver works for them, not the other way around.

I would think an owner would be looking out for the long term goals of the team. There are a lot of different goals. One slashed salary to survive Covid times and stockpile picks? They will suck and get better picks, ala Suns. Maybe a worthy long term goal. The other see’s their chance to get a Championship now and is willing to go all in and risk it all to make that happen. Another worthy goal.

What does a GM want? He wants to build a successful team as quick as possible. Maybe looking out for right now more than long term.

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:34 pm

No, not Rodions Kurucs! Am I right, INF?

Not one of my guys.

O_Gardino wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:35 pm

Allen would have been a significant piece for them.

I have no idea how Houston didn't get Allen in that deal. Big miss for them.

INFORMER wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:58 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:34 pm

No, not Rodions Kurucs! Am I right, INF?

Not one of my guys.

I never heard of him so I assumed he was. My bad.

He doesn't suck. He has shown some flashes here and there. But I believe he got involved in some domestic violence within the last year or so.

Superbone wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 6:08 pm

INFORMER wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:58 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:34 pm

No, not Rodions Kurucs! Am I right, INF?

Not one of my guys.

I never heard of him so I assumed he was. My bad.

carey wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:11 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 6:08 pm

INFORMER wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:58 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:34 pm

No, not Rodions Kurucs! Am I right, INF?

Not one of my guys.

I never heard of him so I assumed he was. My bad.

You know how every time you go to bbref it has 8 pictures from NBA players in the left corner? I always try and see how many I can name by their pictures alone. I bet INF could nail that for any player after like 1995. Thousands of guys.

Indy wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:21 pm

carey wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:11 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 6:08 pm

INFORMER wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:58 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:34 pm

No, not Rodions Kurucs! Am I right, INF?

Not one of my guys.

I never heard of him so I assumed he was. My bad.

You know how every time you go to bbref it has 8 pictures from NBA players in the left corner? I always try and see how many I can name by their pictures alone. I bet INF could nail that for any player after like 1995. Thousands of guys.

I bet you're right! He wasn't one of his guys but he knew who he was and that he had some problems with the law.

INF would be a killer "Who He Play For" contestant, I bet.

BKinSJC wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:56 pm

INF would be a killer "Who He Play For" contestant, I bet.

Yep. He would smoke that whole panel.

I think "Who He Play For" is a dirty game. I don't care whether Charles Barkley knows what team a bunch of end-of-the-bench guys play for. He generally knows a decent amount about those players, just not what random roster they've signed up to play for this year. The bit is pretty played out by this point, with Charles almost always getting them all wrong and not caring much about it.

I watched most of Harden's debut game with Brooklyn against the Magic. He looked a little off and a little overweight but decent overall. He ends up with a triple-double, 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. He was even hustling on defense a little; clearly trying to make a good first impression.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267350

"Who He Play For" and other stuff like it are just just comedy bits. He's not supposed to get them right even if he actually knows the player.

Inside the NBA is still the best NBA TV show because the humor is usually pretty funny, but I had to learn to completely ignore Shaq and Chuck when they're talking about which teams are good or who should/will win such and such game or series. For the most part, they're not watching games every night. They can really just provide insight about a game that just happened.

They can talk about why "Player X" is struggling or what they're doing well because they've played and trained at the highest level for thousands of hours. But they have almost no grasp on team dynamics from game to game, which is why they can't be taken seriously with identifying players or which teams are real contenders in January. Instead they turn their ignorance into "Who He Play For" comedy bits. I've read some Twitter opinions of people who think it's disrespectful or unprofessional of them, but I think those people are missing the context I described.

Mori Chu wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 17, 2021 2:43 am

I watched most of Harden's debut game with Brooklyn against the Magic. He looked a little off and a little overweight but decent overall. He ends up with a triple-double, 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. He was even hustling on defense a little; clearly trying to make a good first impression.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401267350

Not saying you expected him to, but Harden isn't going to suck in Brooklyn. The guy is easily a top 5 player in the league who was just sandbagging it in Houston for the last month. Put aside your feelings about that and it's pretty clear that he's going to be his MVP level self pretty much every night.

I watched a fair bit of Harden’s BKN debit as well. They are going to be very hard to stop offensively but I found it pretty boring to watch - just Harden and Durant taking it in turns to go one-on-one against the defence. I’m sure it would be different if they were playing for Phoenix but as a neutral observer it was, to me, a bit of a yawn fest.