Comments on: Clippers vs Raptors Preview: Kawhi Returns to Toronto

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:01:10 +0000

Pacers are in town. They’ve been talking trade. Here’s one that works in the trade machine:

Pacers: Get Kawhi, Clips 2025 round 1 (OKC has right to swap) and 2 min salary players to meet roster limits
Clippers: Get Brandon Ingram, Myles Turner
Pelicans: Get Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Kris Dunn, 2 first round picks and 1 second round pick .

Pacers get off 2 contracts that they don’t want. They take a flier on Kawhi. Clips get 2 quality players w/size who could either be let go at the end of the year for salary flexibility or re-signed in some form. We get front court depth.

Pels get 3 picks, unload Ingram, an interesting player in Nesmith and 2 good role players in Toppin and Dunn.

By: lobc1t1

lobc1t1 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:53:00 +0000

Just saw this. Clippers may cut ties with Kawhi Leonard via trade to Raptors | Sporting News

By: Oodypkt

Oodypkt — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 10:00:27 +0000

https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/exclusive-james-harden-gets-honest-about-nba-career-legacy-with-clippers-01jk5hgba2ds
“And so for me, what goes in the back of my mind when I step in that gym every single day is building culture,” Harden said. “Building something special. Because once I leave and retire from being a Clipper, hopefully that culture can continue leading to something special.”
Other than his lackadaisical turnover, he is the best floor raiser in our team’s history
I wish him and Kawhi healthy for all postseason and let’s see how far we can go.

By: dhpat

dhpat — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 05:18:43 +0000

Coach Lue doesn’t like playing T. Mann. T. Mann doesn’t play aggressively. Front office gives T. Mann a contract extension.

Sounds like a lot of disfunction?

Would not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Cooler and wiser heads will decide.

The only way that I would trade T. Mann — to get Shai back. But, that is never going to happen.

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 01:35:31 +0000

AA did an entire show today on T Mann and whether he should be on the table to trade. I remember when all the Knicks wanted for a still-decent Carlemo was Austin and we balked at that. Then CP3 forced his way out. This is bordering on similar stupidity at this juncture for a guy who’s barely playing that we could get a decent return on. And what about all this talk about wanting to cut salary off the books? I’d be looking at trading him for a piece for this year and next only or just this year. that’s $12–$15 million right there. Maybe we trade him to the Spurs for CP3!

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 01:25:56 +0000

They gave up *50 pts* in the 1st quarter alone against Cleveland the other night. I know they didn’t have AD, but no self-respecting team gives up like that, w/ or w/o its best player. I wouldn’t even be shocked if they straight up missed the play-in, but I think their most likely outcome is a 4-0 beatdown in round 1 against OKC or whoever winds up w/ the 2 seed.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:55:05 +0000

I still think they’re one really good wing away from being a top-tier contender (e.g. swap Keldon Johnson for a Trey Murphy type), but they’re damn close.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:30:44 +0000

The Mavs easily could’ve kept (but maybe not develop, as you mentioned) Brunson. Brunson’s camp was super open about him asking for a 4-yr, $55M contract before his contract year and Dallas rejecting it – that was just pisspoor asset management by Cuban and co.

Also I know he clashed w/ Carlisle and a bit w/ KP, but I hadn’t heard anything about Luka not getting along w/ Brunson – did I just miss that story?

By: Jpo805

Jpo805 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:17:50 +0000

Luka is a generational talent that took a solid Mavs team to the NBA finals. All this talk about his weight, lack of conditioning or not getting along with coaches or players to justify this lopsided trade is pure propaganda.

He is one of top 3 players in the NBA and you don’t trade him straight up for an injury prone all star on the wrong side of 30. While AD can be a monster at times, he isn’t nearly as consistent as Luka. In addition, he wants to play PF which moves him further away from the basket. AD is much easier to defend when he is playing PF as opposed to center. This trade does not make the Mavs better in the short term or long term. It makes them worse.

Nico Harrison just ripped out the heart of this franchise Indiana Jones style. He demoralized the fan base, the players and his coach. This isn’t the case where the correct decision is not always the popular one as Jerry West used to say. This was a bad decision all around and the justification being conveyed by the media lapdogs is making this trade look worse than it already is.

AD will not rally the troops in Dallas. This Dallas team will swirl down the shitter for the remainder of the season which I guess is good news for the Clips. One less team to compete with for a playoff spot.

By: zhiv

zhiv — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:54:40 +0000

Sorting through a good bit of podcasting/conversation about Luka. He’s not Embiid for the reasons you state (Embiid was already banged up). The out of shape thing seems real but limited. He took them to the Finals and he was banged up and didn’t come back looking like he was angry and more determined; instead he had been resting and taking it easy and thought he would get in shape and grind through the regular season. But that’s not good enough in the new NBA. It’s a 12-month job. He’s on his 4th calf strain, and Goldsberry was saying that there’s an Achilles risk.

Simmons was funny, saying Luka wouldn’t be the first guy to move to California and lose 20 pounds just to try to keep up. Living here is different, and being a star here is different. The change of teams and scenery should be a significant element in how all this plays out.

Most important, it seems like the Mavs didn’t want to pay Luka 350M and keep going through all the same cycles for the next 5+ years. Also on the grievance list are his poor relationships with Rick Carlisle and K. Porzingis. They were hoping for too much from Porzingis, but still. Carlisle was a smart coach and a favorite, but he couldn’t get through to Luka and they had to let him go. And what about Brunson? It seems like Luka’s presence as the franchise player forced their hand, that they couldn’t pay Brunson (but why not?). It’s a black mark, even though Brunson was never going to be the player he is today playing alongside Luka.

I’m not sure I would completely bet against the Mavs/Nico Harrison. Taking on Kyrie seemed foolhardy, but it worked out and the run last year made it more than worthwhile. Getting Lively and the trade deadline grabs last year turned the team around and put them in the Finals. The latest is Klay, which seems relatively modest and mixed, but he’s good enough as a replacement for Hardaway.

Harrison really wanted AD, and he felt like it was time to get out of the Luka business. Have to see what adding AD to the already solid mix of their big men does to the team. It’s all pretty crazy.