NBA Season 2021-22

[celticsclay]

Lebron isn't leaving, it means Pelinka is gone and frankly, he should be.  He did a terrible job with the roster, though it seems a lot of that is ownership getting cheap.  I mean there is no reason they couldn't have re-signed Caruso, Drummond, and Schroder (even after acquiring Westbrook) or done a better job in trying to keep Gasol from retiring.  There is no reason they had to sign guys like Jordan to roster spots.  Even if Lebron pushed them towards Westbrook, the rest of the roster is a mess that was entirely avoidable.  And if the reports are true that they could have traded Westbrook, THT, and the 27 1st for Wall and Wood, but didn't do the trade to save money, that is just crazy town.  Wood would be fantastic for them and Wall can't be a worse fit than Westbrook is.  And Lebron obviously wanted them to do something like that and they ignored him then to save money.  That doesn't even account for them not including THT in the Lowry trade last year.  How much different does last post season go if they had Lowry on their team (who would almost certainly still be there).  When you hire an agent to run your team, you get this (the Knicks are a mess also - coincidence, I think not).  Pelinka is gone not Lebron.  That seems pretty obvious.

Are we really just gonna pretend all the moves were not tied to Lebron? They let a lot of the guys you mentioned go because Lebron wanted Jordan, Anthony,  and Rondo. They are his buddies and he always has liked former stars. They recently shared a story of how in Lebron's year in Cleveland they had him sign off on all the trades at the deadline. Lebron then hit a game winner and IT went to high five him and Lebron turned his back on him because he knew IT had already basically been traded. This is Lebron's career, which has been great. And if you want to say the GM should be fired for giving into Lebron that is fine, but this has been the case his entire career for everyone outside Pat Riley (and some think that is part of the reason he left there).

Also the reports were that Pelinka wanted Derozen and/or hield instead of Westbrook and Lebron demanded westbrook. Can you imagine how good the Lakers would be with both those guys. Demar might make first team all NBA. 

[SparzWizard]

This could be an interesting off-season for
Lakers https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/265932/Source-Likens-Situation-Between-LeBron-James-Lakers-To-The-Early-Days-Of-A-War

As much as I'm loving this it would have been so much sweeter if they hadn't gotten that 2020 championship. 

In a way this worked out perfectly for laker fans (as it is right now).  They got a championship and Lebron is still one championship shy of tying Kobe.  Yes it sucks to not have assets but in the end things will inevitably work out for the lakers.

And now Lakers fans can say they have as many championships as the Celtics, so that argument can't be used freely anymore.

Means Brad Stevens need to start making moves to improve roster and win a championship soon.

[Roy H.]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

[Goldstar88]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

[RJ87]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

[Goldstar88]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather Kemba sit out for the rest of the year than play. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

[Celtics2021]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

Yeah.  It’s unfortunate, but he’s cooked.

Relatedly, I don’t see Stevens ever trading for Lillard.

[RJ87]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

[Celtics2021]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

[RJ87]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

Which isn't surprising because Thibs is defense first coach. They signed him for the feel good "hometown kid returns" story but it was a rocky fit from the outset. Management went all in on an offensive backcourt that completely clashed with it's coach's philosophy.

Again, I'm sure there will be at least one team that can talk themselves into "we don't need him for the regular season, only the playoffs. We can manage that" and chalking this up to Knicks doing Knicks things.

[sgrogan]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

At least going forward. The Knicks are 12th 3.5 games out of the play-in. Why play him?
He'll probably get traded and bought out next year, and then play the rest of his career on vet mins. Sad to see how quickly it went away.

[Celtics2021]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

Which isn't surprising because Thibs is defense first coach. They signed him for the feel good "hometown kid returns" story but it was a rocky fit from the outset. Management went all in on an offensive backcourt that completely clashed with it's coach's philosophy.

Again, I'm sure there will be at least one team that can talk themselves into "we don't need him for the regular season, only the playoffs. We can manage that" and chalking this up to Knicks doing Knicks things.

Just because a desperate team might convince themselves of this, doesn’t mean he isn’t in fact cooked.  The Lakers could trade for him over the summer and drop him from the rotation by Christmas.  And it might even make sense for them to make a trade even with a lot of reservations, as trading Kendrick Nunn and Stanley Johnson for Kemba would allow them to trade two players for one and have a single salary that could take back more matching salary in a trade than Nunn and Johnson combined.  If Kemba works, great.  If not, they’re no worse off and have more options at the deadline.

[gouki88]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

It's a real shame. He was such an electric player. So many highlights.

He and IT both went from All-Star to benchwarmer so quickly. Sucks.

[Goldstar88]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

Which isn't surprising because Thibs is defense first coach. They signed him for the feel good "hometown kid returns" story but it was a rocky fit from the outset. Management went all in on an offensive backcourt that completely clashed with it's coach's philosophy.

Again, I'm sure there will be at least one team that can talk themselves into "we don't need him for the regular season, only the playoffs. We can manage that" and chalking this up to Knicks doing Knicks things.

Knicks were reportedly shopping him hard and there wasn’t a team willing to add him for the playoffs.

[sgrogan]

Kemba shut down for the rest of the season.

Just saw that. He’s cooked.

I don't think he's cooked, he's still shooting 37% from three. He's just not a guy you can run your offense through anymore. I believe he can still give you a scoring pop off the bench and a positive voice in the locker room. I could see him ending up with Lakers this offseason.

The Knicks are under .500 and they’d rather him sit out for the rest of the year. His slightly above averaging shooting from 3pt doesn’t make up for his inability to play defense. It’s just like IT, both can shoot the ball, but that’s not enough.

I consider it a little closer to the Al/OKC thing last season. The team's going nowhere, he's a vet who wants to compete, no need to risk an injury. His salary going into next season is $9.1m. I think a team who feels pressured to do something but doesn't have an overflow of disposable assets will take a chance on him. The Lakers fit the bill.

This is the second time the Knicks have benched Kemba tho.  He was out of the rotation for about a month until Covid and Derek Rose’s injury necessitated playing him again.  Now they’re done with Covid and Rose is returning to action this week, so Kemba is shut down again.  This doesn’t feel like asset preservation; this is the Knicks think Kemba isn’t good enough to help them win.

Which isn't surprising because Thibs is defense first coach. They signed him for the feel good "hometown kid returns" story but it was a rocky fit from the outset. Management went all in on an offensive backcourt that completely clashed with it's coach's philosophy.

Again, I'm sure there will be at least one team that can talk themselves into "we don't need him for the regular season, only the playoffs. We can manage that" and chalking this up to Knicks doing Knicks things.

Knicks were reportedly shopping him hard and there wasn’t a team willing to add him for the playoffs.

At the deadline, he will be a name if bought out. I think the Knicks keep him into the off season.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.