2019 Summer Rumors official thread

[Roy H.]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

Link

[RockinRyA]

FWIW I think the Sixers are better than us. But I don't think their team is finals locked like some Sixers fan here are implying. On paper they got a worse starting 5 but a lot better bench. How much does that move the needle? Im not sure, but I dont think its enough to go to the finals.

[hpantazo]

FWIW I think the Sixers are better than us. But I don't think their team is finals locked like some Sixers fan here are implying. On paper they got a worse starting 5 but a lot better bench. How much does that move the needle? Im not sure, but I dont think its enough to go to the finals.

I think the Sixers success will come down to how much of an effect Horford will have on Embiid. If Embiid learns from Horford and takes the next step, then overpaying Al was totally worth it.

[Roy H.]

FWIW I think the Sixers are better than us. But I don't think their team is finals locked like some Sixers fan here are implying. On paper they got a worse starting 5 but a lot better bench. How much does that move the needle? Im not sure, but I dont think its enough to go to the finals.

What moves did they make to improve their bench other than Kyle O’Quinn, who was a non-factor last year?  I may be overlooking something, but Ennius and Scott were already there, and their draft shouldn’t move the needle.

[Who]

I don't think James Ennis is a rotation player on a contender. Just too bad of a defender and not reliable / productive enough offensively to make up for his lousy defense.

He is a liability as a rotation player. Not an asset.

End of bench player. 3rd stringer.

[tazzmaniac]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again. 

[gouki88]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

[tazzmaniac]

FWIW I think the Sixers are better than us. But I don't think their team is finals locked like some Sixers fan here are implying. On paper they got a worse starting 5 but a lot better bench. How much does that move the needle? Im not sure, but I dont think its enough to go to the finals.

What moves did they make to improve their bench other than Kyle O’Quinn, who was a non-factor last year?  I may be overlooking something, but Ennius and Scott were already there, and their draft shouldn’t move the needle.

Thybulle may actually help them.  They missed RoCo's ability to create turnovers.  They also get Zhaire Smith back. 

[Eddie20]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

Truer words couldn’t be spoken. His comment of he’s probably better on D than Redick immediately made me realize his overall knowledge of the league is very limited, so his pro-Sixers agenda should be taken with brinks truck full of salt.

[RJ87]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

Idk about Butler, but Richardson is definitely a step up from Redick on the defensive end. He gives them someone who can credibly handle opposing PG's. That's been a problem for them in the past.

[tazzmaniac]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

I studied up some and various podcasters (Nate Duncan, Kevin O'Conner, etc) have said it in breaking down the trade.  He definitely isn't a downgrade from Butler and Horford is obviously much better than Redick. 

[celticsclay]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

Gouki I am giving you tommy points for a while, cause this literally happened and is ridiculous. Glad I’m not the only one to notice

[Who]

Josh Richardson is quicker and more adept at defending quick guards than Jimmy Butler is. Jimmy is bigger and far better at defending larger more physical wings than Richardson is.

Richardson fills the defensive void in the backcourt. It is his job to defend guys like Westbrook and Bradley Beal and he does that better than Jimmy Butler did.

Ben Simmons has to step up and replace the void left behind by Jimmy Butler in terms of defending big wing players like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Simmons should be a credible enough defender on those players to help Philly improve it's perimeter D next year.

[Who]

Imagine if they had of kept Jimmy Butler instead of Ben Simmons. That team would have been incredible. Everyone could shoot.

I still see Simmons' lack of half court offense as a major liability for this team. I'd love to see them trade him and see what team they could build without him. I'm sure it'd be an improvement.

[jpotter33]

Lol this is all jealousy, you can't convince me the same people downplaying Philly's team wouldn't be the same ones declaring it a champ if it was our team. They stacked that team. I hope it fails miserably but on paper that is a really good team.

I'm not even counting us out and we have average bigs, young guys and Hayward trying to get their groove back!

It’s obviously a good team, but did they improve from last year? I don’t think so.

If they can figure out how to close games, I think they are improved.  Their biggest problem last season was the huge drop off when Embiid went to the bench which they've addressed by adding Horford and O'Quinn.  Their defense should be significantly improved.  Richardson appears to be a better defender than Butler and there won't be any more exploiting Redick's defensive deficiencies.  Losing Redick's shooting definitely hurts but Harris, Horford and Richardson are better 3pt shooters than Butler.  Teams are going to have real difficulty dealing with their size.  Putting aside the difficuly of defending Embiid.  Is Kemba, Kyrie, Hill, etc going to defend Richardson?  Yikes!! 

The best thing they can do to improve their playoff chances is practice better load management with Embiid.  It was nuts that they only had him sit out 4 of their 1st 58 games.  With Horford and O'Quinn, there is no excuse for being that stupid again.

Weren’t you the other day asking if Richardson was good at defence at all? Now you’re proclaiming he’s better than Butler??

Yeah, that’s a pretty significant reach. Big Richardson fan, but he’s not a better defender than 4x second team All-Defender Butler.