The 2019-2020 Around the NBA thread

AzStevenCal

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I still don't get the Knicks trading this guy away.

I didn't "get" the trade they actually made but I certainly understood the decision to trade the guy. A troublesome relationship with the guy's "manager" brother, a history of nagging injuries in addition to his ACL tear along with the worrisome medical history of players his size and the fact he demanded a trade and had previously shut off communication with the front office sets the table for a trade AFAIC.
 

Superbone

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I didn't "get" the trade they actually made but I certainly understood the decision to trade the guy. A troublesome relationship with the guy's "manager" brother, a history of nagging injuries in addition to his ACL tear along with the worrisome medical history of players his size and the fact he demanded a trade and had previously shut off communication with the front office sets the table for a trade AFAIC.
Not to mention the rape allegations.
 

Phrazbit

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I didn't "get" the trade they actually made but I certainly understood the decision to trade the guy. A troublesome relationship with the guy's "manager" brother, a history of nagging injuries in addition to his ACL tear along with the worrisome medical history of players his size and the fact he demanded a trade and had previously shut off communication with the front office sets the table for a trade AFAIC.

I think it was mostly because of the Knicks continued misconception that stars are desperate to play there and that they needed the cap space to land a superstar free agent or 2.

Now that reality has given them it's bi-yearly slap in the face I suspect they'd give up a kidney to undo that trade.

But I would like to note that I think those "JACKED UP!" pictures of guys in the middle of a workout are a farce. Anyone looks a helluva lot stronger during and after an intense workout than before they start.
 
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Mainstreet

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I still don't get the Knicks trading this guy away.

In terms of acquiring a star, the Mavericks stole Porzingis from the Knicks. As Phrazbit notes, I bet they wish they could undo the trade. Mark up another smart move for Mark Cuban.
 
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Mainstreet

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The Lakers DeMarcus Cousins suffers possible knee injury.


Adrian Wojnarowski‏Verified account @wojespn


Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a possible knee injury and will undergo further testing today in Los Angeles, league sources tell ESPN. Cousins was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court, sources said. He signed a one-year deal in July.

8:10 AM - 15 Aug 2019
 
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Mainstreet

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Well that is not good news.

Agree, not good news for Cousins. I never wish injury for a player

As for the Lakers.... no sympathy for them.

I still can't believe they traded Zubac for next to nothing.
 
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Mainstreet

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Watch them go sign Nene, now.:mad:

Wow. Never realized Nene was still out there. Good luck with that. His stats have really dropped off.

Maybe they play Anthony Davis at center. :wink2:
 
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AzStevenCal

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In terms of acquiring a star, the Mavericks stole Porzingis from the Knicks. As Phrazbit notes, I bet they wish they could undo the trade. Mark up another smart move for Mark Cuban.

I think they acquired the "chance" of a star more than an actual star. I believe the deal made sense for them, they got out of a small mistake with Dennis and brought in someone that has shown the potential to be a special player. Right now, IMO, Dallas won the deal. But KP is not without his share of warts, on and off the court, so I suspect we will revisit who won this deal in a few years.
 

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I still don't get the Knicks trading this guy away.

One of those weird meaningless stats I saw about Porzingis was that he has missed more consecutive games than MJ did when he retired to go play baseball. Knowing that, I can see why the Knicks didn't want to shell out the max for him, which is what it would have cost them this summer. They always dream of having max space to dangle out there to their fanbase as hope.
 

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Wow Cousins tore his acl

I feel for Cousins. He can't catch a break. It couldn't happen to a better team though. Screw the Lakers.

I wonder if Cousins regrets not taking that smaller deal with the Pelicans last offseason. I think it was said to be 2 or 3 years at $30 million total. It wasn't a lot, it had a player option so it was sort of a "prove it" deal but who knows how things would have played out if he did stick around to try and get healthy there. AD might not ask out when he did. Cousins might not get hurt again because he doesn't play deep in the playoffs like he did last year with the Warriors.

It sucks that we're seeing a "What If" situation play out right now with him. He was a 4 time All-Star in his first 7 years and 2 time All-NBA 2nd Team. I know some considered him the best Center in the game before he got dealt to New Orleans. He was definitely top 3 and top 15-20 talent in the league.
 
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Mainstreet

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I think they acquired the "chance" of a star more than an actual star. I believe the deal made sense for them, they got out of a small mistake with Dennis and brought in someone that has shown the potential to be a special player. Right now, IMO, Dallas won the deal. But KP is not without his share of warts, on and off the court, so I suspect we will revisit who won this deal in a few years.

Agree the trade will need to be revisited.

However, I think the Mavericks downside in making the Porzingis trade is minimal while the upside is off the charts.
 

AzStevenCal

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Agree the trade will need to be revisited.

However, I think the Mavericks downside in making the Porzingis trade is minimal while the upside is off the charts.

Except that it put the onus on Dallas to give him a max deal so they are now locked up for about 32 per for 5 years. That's a lot of risk IMO given his overall health profile even though it's somewhat tempered by his almost Embiid level up-side. Dallas swung for the fences, I'm glad it wasn't us. But if I were a Mavs fan I'd be thrilled with the trade because I'd know that even if it failed, the owner would do whatever he could to try and put them back into the relevance conversation.
 

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So does LA get to waive Cousins or such? And does this open up another roster spot for them? Might be a good thing.
 
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Mainstreet

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Except that it put the onus on Dallas to give him a max deal so they are now locked up for about 32 per for 5 years. That's a lot of risk IMO given his overall health profile even though it's somewhat tempered by his almost Embiid level up-side. Dallas swung for the fences, I'm glad it wasn't us. But if I were a Mavs fan I'd be thrilled with the trade because I'd know that even if it failed, the owner would do whatever he could to try and put them back into the relevance conversation.

I was mostly looking at from the perspective of the fan and the franchise going for the home run relative to assets traded.

Excellent point about the money.
 

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So does LA get to waive Cousins or such? And does this open up another roster spot for them? Might be a good thing.

They could waive him. I guess we'll see if they do or not. They could probably get the disabled player exception that allows him not to count as a roster spot but since he didn't play for them, they won't get any sort of cap relief. I think he signed a minimum deal anyway so the money doesn't really matter. The roster spot is what will be a factor for them. I suspect he'll be kept on their roster up until training camp. No need to waive him now because teams can carry more than 15 players right now. After camp is over they would need to trim down to 15.
 
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Mainstreet

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They could waive him. I guess we'll see if they do or not. They could probably get the disabled player exception that allows him not to count as a roster spot but since he didn't play for them, they won't get any sort of cap relief. I think he signed a minimum deal anyway so the money doesn't really matter. The roster spot is what will be a factor for them. I suspect he'll be kept on their roster up until training camp. No need to waive him now because teams can carry more than 15 players right now. After camp is over they would need to trim down to 15.

Cousins is on a one year $3.5 million contract with the Lakers.
 

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I feel for Cousins. He can't catch a break. It couldn't happen to a better team though. Screw the Lakers.

I wonder if Cousins regrets not taking that smaller deal with the Pelicans last offseason. I think it was said to be 2 or 3 years at $30 million total. It wasn't a lot, it had a player option so it was sort of a "prove it" deal but who knows how things would have played out if he did stick around to try and get healthy there. AD might not ask out when he did. Cousins might not get hurt again because he doesn't play deep in the playoffs like he did last year with the Warriors.

It sucks that we're seeing a "What If" situation play out right now with him. He was a 4 time All-Star in his first 7 years and 2 time All-NBA 2nd Team. I know some considered him the best Center in the game before he got dealt to New Orleans. He was definitely top 3 and top 15-20 talent in the league.

The Lakers are now free from the pressure of playing him, they're probably better off. He was a statue last year and looked terrible in the playoffs outside of one game.

I think the idea of Cousins being a legit superstar went out the window when the Pelicans got better and made that playoff push only after Cousins got hurt.

I do feel bad for the guy though. A couple seasons ago he was probably expecting to easily make another 150+ million dollars in his NBA career, now that figure might cap out around 10 million. A lot of athletes in his situation, despite having made a fortune, have saved nothing, expecting even larger contracts down the road. I hope Cousins isn't from that mold... which I think he isn't, I heard he did a lot of charitable work in Sacramento.
 

Russ Smith

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I feel for Cousins. He can't catch a break. It couldn't happen to a better team though. Screw the Lakers.

I wonder if Cousins regrets not taking that smaller deal with the Pelicans last offseason. I think it was said to be 2 or 3 years at $30 million total. It wasn't a lot, it had a player option so it was sort of a "prove it" deal but who knows how things would have played out if he did stick around to try and get healthy there. AD might not ask out when he did. Cousins might not get hurt again because he doesn't play deep in the playoffs like he did last year with the Warriors.

It sucks that we're seeing a "What If" situation play out right now with him. He was a 4 time All-Star in his first 7 years and 2 time All-NBA 2nd Team. I know some considered him the best Center in the game before he got dealt to New Orleans. He was definitely top 3 and top 15-20 talent in the league.


Feel bad but not really surprised. It was apparent last year he just wasn't moving freely when he came back. in hindsight the numbers he put up in the regular season were pretty good but his defense was awful and he just seemed like he couldn't move. I wasn't surprised when he got hurt in the playoffs and not surprised now. I feel terrible for the guy but it just seems like he's got to lose quite a bit of weight and with all the rehab again that's not easy to do.
 
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