AROUND the NBA:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://x.com/FanaticsCollect/status/195...0848609420


A collector just forked over 2.3 million on
Kobe Bryant's most valuable trading card.

[Chicagojk]

https://fastbreakjournal.com/boston-celt...-nba-news/


Celtics plan to start Payton Pritchard at PG.

Makes sense.  Supposedly there is limited market for Simons, who the Celtics may not see as a long term option.  Pritchard has played well and has earned a bigger role imo.   Simons can be a bench piece and see how he fits in.

I am really interested to see how Boston can rebuild a contender.  It is easier in the East.   A healthy tatum (if), Brown, and White is a really nice start.  They just don't have much else.   I am not sure how they can fill in their holes with their assets to become a top team in the East.   It will be interesting to watch.  They do well in trades, but it appears they may not have the good trade pieces they had in the past.

[omahen]

Makes sense.  Supposedly there is limited market for Simons, who the Celtics may not see as a long term option.  Pritchard has played well and has earned a bigger role imo.   Simons can be a bench piece and see how he fits in.

I am really interested to see how Boston can rebuild a contender.  It is easier in the East.   A healthy tatum (if), Brown, and White is a really nice start.  They just don't have much else.   I am not sure how they can fill in their holes with their assets to become a top team in the East.   It will be interesting to watch.  They do well in trades, but it appears they may not have the good trade pieces they had in the past.

They have most of their picks available for trade. They could be (intentially) really bad this season and get a good pick from 2026 draft. Other than that their best game is probably trading their draft capital for players still on their rookie deals. Similar to what Lakers tried to do with Williams.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://x.com/YahooSports/status/1956088085126513127


Philly is tied for the most back-to-backs this coming season.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/n...692415007/



Luka Doncic suffers a right knee contusion. He's not expected to be ruled out of EuroBasket.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://basketnews.com/news-229477-luka-...akers.html
https://x.com/parallelecinico/status/195...2591440122


Luka's Slovenian teammates can see a difference in his game.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://x.com/AirJordans2323/status/1958120992896647476


KD's top 10 shot creators of all time.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/28...nstruction


RC is one of the most influential coaches in the NBA when it comes to roster construction.

[Chicagojk]

I was able to read the whole article.   What do you think of Iztok's center rankings?

https://digginbasketball.substack.com/p/...est-ranked

[KillerLeft]

I was able to read the whole article.   What do you think of Iztok's center rankings?

https://digginbasketball.substack.com/p/...est-ranked

I feel Ayton and Naz Reid are both too high, but it’s otherwise a good ranking, imo.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://people.com/nba-player-dorian-fin...e-11794478


DFS ties the knot!

[SleepingHero]

Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot sustained during recent offseason workout and will miss approximately 3 to 4 months.

[omahen]

Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot sustained during recent offseason workout and will miss approximately 3 to 4 months.

Huh, tough blow. I think Cleveland can get under 2nd apron if they don't guarantee Wade and dump Strus. I wonder if this will be seriously considered under these conditions.

[F Gump]

Huh, tough blow. I think Cleveland can get under 2nd apron if they don't guarantee Wade and dump Strus. I wonder if this will be seriously considered under these conditions.

Seems extremely unlikely. That's not enough to get them under A2, and probably not close. Spotrac shows them almost 20M over A2 but they also only have 13 players and must add another (which costs 2.1M).

In addition, "if they don't guarantee Wade" - which I assume means he gets waived - saves them nothing unless they stretch his salary, because the total of payoff of his partial guarantee plus the cost to refill that roster slot would add up to about the same number as his salary they began with.

In addition, who has cap room to take Strus if they want to give him away to save money? And what would that cost in assets for that salary dump, to get someone to take and pay an injured player about 16M (with the obligation of another year at 16.6M)? His injury has a lot of iffiness in the recovery timeline - it's the same injury that looked so simple with Roddy B and wrecked his NBA career because he could never seem to get healthy again.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Huh, tough blow. I think Cleveland can get under 2nd apron if they don't guarantee Wade and dump Strus. I wonder if this will be seriously considered under these conditions.

Wade would be a nice piece, but he plays exactly the role in which we have embarrassment of riches.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4609...outperform

10 teams who could exceed or fall short of expectations in 26

[SleepingHero]

Huh, tough blow. I think Cleveland can get under 2nd apron if they don't guarantee Wade and dump Strus. I wonder if this will be seriously considered under these conditions.

Honestly I think they'd prefer to just eat the cost and wait for him to return come December. Hard for the Cavs to get around that.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.chron.com/food/article/james...029236.php


James Harden's Houston restaurant closed due to a 2.2-million-dollar debt.

[Chicagojk]

https://www.chron.com/food/article/james...029236.php


James Harden's Houston restaurant closed due to a 2.2-million-dollar debt.

Sounds like he needs some of that tree endorsement money.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Sounds like he needs some of that tree endorsement money.

Are we sure Balmer isn't a silent partner in the restaurant?