Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

I went to sleep last night feeling like the Mavs were coming off of an NBA Finals appearance, had just had a good draft (considering) and had made a truly inspired trade to get a player they were interested in using in order to dump the contract of a player they weren't, opening up all sorts of possibilities that might make them better.

Tonight, I will go sleep feeling like the Mavs are about to be a play-in team, and not a damn thing has actually happened since last night other than chatting with other fans.

[KillerLeft]

I don't mind wild or unsubstantiated rumors. I just hope people don't take them too seriously. FYI -- these types of accounts are also notorious for throwing 1000 things at the wall and simply deleting the predictions that didn't happen.

Sure, but we factually KNOW that more than half of these nuggets leaked to the "real" reporters are plants meant to gain leverage and negotiate publicly, and we all seem to take those seriously. We eat the cheese every single time.

[audiosway]

I went to sleep last night feeling like the Mavs were coming off of an NBA Finals appearance, had just had a good draft (considering) and had made a truly inspired trade to get a player they were interested in using in order to dump the contract of a player they weren't, opening up all sorts of possibilities that might make them better.

Tonight, I will go sleep feeling like the Mavs are about to be a play-in team, and not a damn thing has actually happened other than chatting with other fans.

If it helps, Denver has taken a step back. KCP moving on would be a huge hit for them. They also traded Reggie Jackson. He was huge for them as depth.

Conley makes Minny run. He's a year older.

Boston just lost KP for 6 months.

Yes OKC could be looked at as getting better with the Caruso trade. While he has good percentages he isn't a volume shooter. 

The Clippers just took a step back.

Dallas added a player they didn't have in Grimes. Resign DJJ and with growth in the roster alone will help them be better than last year.

Then again I'm an optimist. lol

[KillerLeft]

I saw a pretty prominent twitter reporter (think it was that Claire chick who covers the lakers, but not sure) post something the other day about how a PR director (like from a real, live PR firm) reached out to ask if she'd write an article about how well Tobias Harris would fit with some team using analytics they had ready to provide.

Even these people's OPINIONS aren't real.

[audiosway]

I saw a pretty prominent twitter reporter (think it was that Claire chick who covers the lakers, but not sure) post something the other day about how a PR director (like from a real, live PR firm) reached out to ask if she'd write an article about how well Tobias Harris would fit with some team using analytics they had ready to provide.

Even these people's OPINIONS aren't real.

Absolutely, nothing is real anymore. The media at this point is like girls on Instagram. Filters make them look 100% better than real life.

[Jym]

I saw a pretty prominent twitter reporter (think it was that Claire chick who covers the lakers, but not sure) post something the other day about how a PR director (like from a real, live PR firm) reached out to ask if she'd write an article about how well Tobias Harris would fit with some team using analytics they had ready to provide.

Even these people's OPINIONS aren't real.

Just be glad they asked a reporter and didn't just throw the talking points into chatgpt

[LukaMVP]

real games hold more truths than those opinions and that is why DJJ is our priority.

[KillerLeft]

Just be glad they asked a reporter and didn't just throw the talking points into chatgpt

That's probably already happening, isn't it?

[KillerLeft]

If it helps, Denver has taken a step back. KCP moving on would be a huge hit for them. They also traded Reggie Jackson. He was huge for them as depth.

I must admit, I feel bad for Denver fans. Their window is going to end up being much shorter than it should've been, if it's not closed already. Following a small market team must really suck.

[Tyler]

Sure, but we factually KNOW that more than half of these nuggets leaked to the "real" reporters are plants meant to gain leverage and negotiate publicly, and we all seem to take those seriously. We eat the cheese every single time.

Yeah, I get that. But when it's known reporters talking, you can at least interpret their words through the lens of their known motivations. LA reporters spread the LA line, Windy loves LeBron, Woj and Shams get tips by spreading agent propaganda. That's all normal. It's the endless flood of anonymous Twitter insiders that wear me out sometimes, as they just follow the SEO for clicks and change identities every year to avoid anyone checking their accuracy. 

I always think back to DFWSportsGuy who was big a few years ago. I actually bothered to read his history and it was clear it was just a dude who knew nothing and switched personas when FA came around. When I pointed it out, he deleted the old posts. And eventually he just vanished, likely adopting a new handle. 

Another example is the HawkSquawk forum that used to be often quoted (and I still read sometimes for kicks). They had so many "insiders" posting conflicting fake info that the mods actually had to crack down on it.

Long story short, I love this time of year just as much as anyone else and read rumors all day, too. I just think it's fair to point out which sources are credible and which ones really aren't.

[LukaMVP]

Denver's starters outside of Jokic and Murray get paid too generously which traps the team in such a terrible financial situation where they have to let legit players walk. as a small market team you can hardly maintain a starting lineup consisting of five all-round star players or marginal stars like Boston. DJJ and Thybulle may be limited in offense but their prices are more friendly to small market teams and can be held for long terms.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Nobody thinks LA is a threat except Dan, who secretly hopes Jones is gone so he can keep his Josh Green dream alive as long as possible. 

Ha.  You know me too well.  

You really need to chill a bit.  No need to be depressed.  The THJ trade was brilliant.  The flexibility it provides is really nice.  Who knows who will come (or come back), but we have access to quite a bit of optionality.  

Personally, I’m excited to see what Nico has up his sleeve.  The key is net improvement, not whether this guy or that guy is still here.  We have paths to net improvement.

[speedkilz88]

Pretty much sounds like the Lakers are the clear cut favorite for our insider: 
https://twitter.com/nbainsidergoat/statu...41231?s=46

I guess anonymous Twitter insiders posting inside knowledge of deals only after the search terms trend is an honored free agency tradition.

And if you read the tweet and the following comment he is actually just saying that the Lakers lead the way with showing the most interest.

[Jason Terry]

If it helps, Denver has taken a step back. KCP moving on would be a huge hit for them. They also traded Reggie Jackson. He was huge for them as depth.

Conley makes Minny run. He's a year older.

Boston just lost KP for 6 months.

Yes OKC could be looked at as getting better with the Caruso trade. While he has good percentages he isn't a volume shooter. 

The Clippers just took a step back.

Dallas added a player they didn't have in Grimes. Resign DJJ and with growth in the roster alone will help them be better than last year.

Then again I'm an optimist. lol

There’s plenty of good that can happen. We need a few of these West teams to blow up. Any winning players that move east is good for us. Hopefully Paul George and KCP and others all go east

Re-sign DJJ and we are in perfect position. Grimes trade was phenomenal

All of these other teams (Denver, Minnesota, LAC etc) have major questions much more troubling than ours potentially 

The only team I’m worried about now and going forward is OKC

[F Gump]

1 DJJ
As I noted weeks ago, I think DJJ strongly prefers Dallas because he has been on the other side of the situation, where he doesn't fit in the rotation, can't get minutes, and doesn't enjoy it at all. Now that he has found a place where he fits well, and where he really fits as a teammate and in the group, he wants to continue being here.

The Mavs went out and showed they feel the same way, making a trade to pay him more than they started with. And they are saying he's their top priority. Everybody sees what the Mavs have made possible.

I don't think he's even looking elsewhere. Why bother? And he and Mavs have undoubtedly talked and know the situation.

2 KLAY
The big mystery is what money he wants. LA is in that Apron trap like Dallas, where they are scrambling to squeeze out a way to pay him, but the Mavs aren't limited to the MLE in their thinking, and LA isn't either. Like DAL, they can expand the size of their offer if they can do a SNT that moves money to GS or elsewhere as they acquire Klay. 

Part of the question in evaluating LA's chances is who they would trade to make it happen. Provided they end up (and stay) under the Apron, they could do a 200% trade (limited by a spread of about 7.8M) but LJ's 50M salary will be whittled by the numbers in the mix, so there is a significant limit to what he will entertain. The Lakers can't money-whip the situation to offer everyone whatever they want, so the Hard Cap World is playing a real role in the outcome as everyone is being forced to make hard choices.

They seem to have a lot of "everyone gets about MLE, or more" players on their roster (a cautionary tale re DJJ, I would say). Would GS take Russell, Reaves, or Hachimura (and would LS offer them) to up the salary for KT? Or is LA's offer going to be based on a LJ salary reduction, and be limited to the MLE?

[audiosway]

I must admit, I feel bad for Denver fans. Their window is going to end up being much shorter than it should've been, if it's not closed already. Following a small market team must really suck.

I know. I actually feel bad for them. They should have won at least a couple. But, I think they may be done.

[audiosway]

Ha.  You know me too well.  

You really need to chill a bit.  No need to be depressed.  The THJ trade was brilliant.  The flexibility it provides is really nice.  Who knows who will come (or come back), but we have access to quite a bit of optionality.  

Personally, I’m excited to see what Nico has up his sleeve.  The key is net improvement, not whether this guy or that guy is still here.  We have paths to net improvement.

I have to admit that I'm enamoured with Nico. That dude is good at his job. He is 3 steps ahead.

[Scott41theMavs]

I know. I actually feel bad for them. They should have won at least a couple. But, I think they may be done.

As Luka said, before Jokic thought he stuttered, he can always come play with Luka in Dallas.

[Tyler]

They seem to have a lot of "everyone gets about MLE, or more" players on their roster (a cautionary tale re DJJ, I would say). Would GS take Russell, Reaves, or Hachimura (and would LS offer them) to up the salary for KT? Or is LA's offer going to be based on a LJ salary reduction, and be limited to the MLE?

I'm sure LA would offer Russell in a heartbeat but Golden State has already been there done that with him. I don't think LA would trade Reeves for KT. I'm honestly not sure about Rui from either side. 

I would guess that a S&T involving LA would probably require a 3rd team to take Russell. Not impossible, but also not simple. If there was a major market for him he would have opted out.

[LukaMVP]

Jokic joining luka would make the biggest ever super star combo.