NBA Off Season 2022

[Goldstar88]

I’ve never been a fan of James Harden, but you have to give him credit for what he’s sacrificing financially in order to win. Between what he left on the table in Houston and taking a paycut now in Philly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost out on $100M. Nice to see that some of the Star players care more about winning than the money.


James Harden says he'll take 'whatever is left over' from Philadelphia 76ers in next contract

James Harden isn't playing hardball in contract talks with the Philadelphia 76ers; he just wants "whatever is left over."

"I had conversations with [team president] Daryl [Morey], and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over," Harden told Yahoo Sports. "This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That's all that matters to me at this stage. I'm willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that."

It's weird that Harden is the anti-Beal, but in a good way.

Anti-Beal and Lillard, too. Don’t let him off the hook. These guys are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Good luck getting traded to a contender when you are going to eat up 1/3 of their cap space. Those two don’t care about winning.

I still do not get the Lillard extension at all. Not sure I ever will

From ownership standpoint, I get it. Lillard is their golden goose. Without him no one is going to a Blazer game. If they can be a borderline playoff team and have a Star player (Lillard) that will be enough to draw fans in and generate revenue. Once Damian is gone, they will be back playing the lottery, since Portland isn’t exactly a FA destination.

Lillard on the other hand, clearly only cares about the money. I appreciate players being loyal, but if you go 10 or 12 years with a team and haven’t made it to say a conference final, you should move on if you have any interest in competing for a championship. At the end of the day, If you take say $30-40M/year to play on a contender vs $50-60M/year be on a team that will be lucky to make the 8th spot, wouldn’t that be worth it? Is it really going to change your quality of life making $60M/year vs $40M. Maybe he’s afraid of failing on a contender, so he isn’t willing to try. No contending team is going to gut their roster to bring in a 33 year old PG making the money he is due. He’s made himself un-tradeable.

[gouki88]

I’ve never been a fan of James Harden, but you have to give him credit for what he’s sacrificing financially in order to win. Between what he left on the table in Houston and taking a paycut now in Philly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost out on $100M. Nice to see that some of the Star players care more about winning than the money.


James Harden says he'll take 'whatever is left over' from Philadelphia 76ers in next contract

James Harden isn't playing hardball in contract talks with the Philadelphia 76ers; he just wants "whatever is left over."

"I had conversations with [team president] Daryl [Morey], and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over," Harden told Yahoo Sports. "This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That's all that matters to me at this stage. I'm willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that."

It's weird that Harden is the anti-Beal, but in a good way.

Anti-Beal and Lillard, too. Don’t let him off the hook. These guys are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Good luck getting traded to a contender when you are going to eat up 1/3 of their cap space. Those two don’t care about winning.

I still do not get the Lillard extension at all. Not sure I ever will

From ownership standpoint, I get it. Lillard is their golden goose. Without him no one is going to a Blazer game. If they can be a borderline playoff team and have a Star player (Lillard) that will be enough to draw fans in and generate revenue. Once Damian is gone, they will be back playing the lottery, since Portland isn’t exactly a FA destination.

Lillard on the other hand, clearly only cares about the money. I appreciate players being loyal, but if you go 10 or 12 years with a team and haven’t made it to say a conference final, you should move on if you have any interest in competing for a championship. At the end of the day, If you take say $30-40M/year to play on a contender vs $50-60M/year be on a team that will be lucky to make the 8th spot, wouldn’t that be worth it? Is it really going to change your quality of life making $60M/year vs $40M. Maybe he’s afraid of failing on a contender, so he isn’t willing to try. No contending team is going to gut their roster to bring in a 33 year old PG making the money he is due. He’s made himself un-tradeable.

My lack of understanding stems more from not knowing why Portland rushed into this extension. Dame's contract wasn't expiring until 2025, aged 34. Surely at least wait until the 2023-24 season to see if he is looking like the 28/8 guy at that age, or something else.

Now he'll be a 36 year-old earning $63m in one season. That's enough to make LeBron blush, who nearly won MVP aged 37.

[Goldstar88]

I’ve never been a fan of James Harden, but you have to give him credit for what he’s sacrificing financially in order to win. Between what he left on the table in Houston and taking a paycut now in Philly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost out on $100M. Nice to see that some of the Star players care more about winning than the money.


James Harden says he'll take 'whatever is left over' from Philadelphia 76ers in next contract

James Harden isn't playing hardball in contract talks with the Philadelphia 76ers; he just wants "whatever is left over."

"I had conversations with [team president] Daryl [Morey], and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players. I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over," Harden told Yahoo Sports. "This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That's all that matters to me at this stage. I'm willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that."

It's weird that Harden is the anti-Beal, but in a good way.

Anti-Beal and Lillard, too. Don’t let him off the hook. These guys are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Good luck getting traded to a contender when you are going to eat up 1/3 of their cap space. Those two don’t care about winning.

I still do not get the Lillard extension at all. Not sure I ever will

From ownership standpoint, I get it. Lillard is their golden goose. Without him no one is going to a Blazer game. If they can be a borderline playoff team and have a Star player (Lillard) that will be enough to draw fans in and generate revenue. Once Damian is gone, they will be back playing the lottery, since Portland isn’t exactly a FA destination.

Lillard on the other hand, clearly only cares about the money. I appreciate players being loyal, but if you go 10 or 12 years with a team and haven’t made it to say a conference final, you should move on if you have any interest in competing for a championship. At the end of the day, If you take say $30-40M/year to play on a contender vs $50-60M/year be on a team that will be lucky to make the 8th spot, wouldn’t that be worth it? Is it really going to change your quality of life making $60M/year vs $40M. Maybe he’s afraid of failing on a contender, so he isn’t willing to try. No contending team is going to gut their roster to bring in a 33 year old PG making the money he is due. He’s made himself un-tradeable.

My lack of understanding stems more from not knowing why Portland rushed into this extension. Dame's contract wasn't expiring until 2025, aged 34. Surely at least wait until the 2023-24 season to see if he is looking like the 28/8 guy at that age, or something else.

Now he'll be a 36 year-old earning $63m in one season. That's enough to make LeBron blush, who nearly won MVP aged 37.

Guess they are banking on Dame aging like CP3 and didn’t want to risk losing him. The alternative is a rebuild and trying to hit in the lottery. That’s a lot of lost revenue.

[Birdman]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

[Surferdad]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

Agree.  Beal and Lillard aren't even top-5 players currently.

Thing is, most teams never get a chance to have an elite superstar, so if you don't sign somebody else, you might as well sell the team and go fishing.

[Vermont Green]

Guess they are banking on Dame aging like CP3 and didn’t want to risk losing him. The alternative is a rebuild and trying to hit in the lottery. That’s a lot of lost revenue.

I think that is the point.  Lillard has "only" 10 NBA seasons, he came into the league at age 22, late by today's standards.  He has been extremely durable except for last season.  I guess Portland views that as a one-off.

It still seems like a ridiculous amount of money.  But by 2026, who knows what the cap will be and what the going rate for star players will be.

I don't knock Lillard at all.  I don't see this as him not wanting to win or anything like that. If he goes ring chasing like Durant, that get criticized too.  And ring chasing doesn't always work out in fact often it does not.

[Moranis]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

Agree.  Beal and Lillard aren't even top-5 players currently.

Thing is, most teams never get a chance to have an elite superstar, so if you don't sign somebody else, you might as well sell the team and go fishing.

currently? They never have been and never will be. Frankly they aren't top 10 players and may not even be top 15 players (Beal certainly isn't, Lillard may be).  Lillard has at least found some decent success and Portland has some nice pieces.  The Wizards are a bad team with a mish mash of role players.  The Beal contract is BY FAR the worst contract in league history

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

Agree.  Beal and Lillard aren't even top-5 players currently.

Thing is, most teams never get a chance to have an elite superstar, so if you don't sign somebody else, you might as well sell the team and go fishing.

currently? They never have been and never will be. Frankly they aren't top 10 players and may not even be top 15 players (Beal certainly isn't, Lillard may be).  Lillard has at least found some decent success and Portland has some nice pieces.  The Wizards are a bad team with a mish mash of role players.  The Beal contract is BY FAR the worst contract in league history

That would be a good debate. What about John Wall and Russell Westbrook? I think both make their team worse when on the court, where Beal makes the Wizards better.

[Goldstar88]

Guess they are banking on Dame aging like CP3 and didn’t want to risk losing him. The alternative is a rebuild and trying to hit in the lottery. That’s a lot of lost revenue.

I think that is the point.  Lillard has "only" 10 NBA seasons, he came into the league at age 22, late by today's standards.  He has been extremely durable except for last season.  I guess Portland views that as a one-off.

It still seems like a ridiculous amount of money.  But by 2026, who knows what the cap will be and what the going rate for star players will be.

I don't knock Lillard at all.  I don't see this as him not wanting to win or anything like that. If he goes ring chasing like Durant, that get criticized too.  And ring chasing doesn't always work out in fact often it does not.

Durant gets criticized because he joined a 73 win warriors team that had already won championships. There is no team like that for Lillard to join.

[Moranis]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

Agree.  Beal and Lillard aren't even top-5 players currently.

Thing is, most teams never get a chance to have an elite superstar, so if you don't sign somebody else, you might as well sell the team and go fishing.

currently? They never have been and never will be. Frankly they aren't top 10 players and may not even be top 15 players (Beal certainly isn't, Lillard may be).  Lillard has at least found some decent success and Portland has some nice pieces.  The Wizards are a bad team with a mish mash of role players.  The Beal contract is BY FAR the worst contract in league history

That would be a good debate. What about John Wall and Russell Westbrook? I think both make their team worse when on the court, where Beal makes the Wizards better.

Does he?  Last year, they were 17-23 with him and 18-24 without him.  So slightly better without him and he was just +0.1 per 100 possessions for the on/off differential.  Generally that number is a bit higher, but he has only had 1 great season on/off differential season i.e. above +10 and that 2017 when he was 23 and Wall was their best player. 

Beal is a chucker that doesn't play defense and as he shoots more and takes on more of the load, his efficiency has gone down.  The Wizards  have only really been a winning team with Beal, in the pre-Wall injury days. 

Beal got one of the richest contracts in history at over 50 million a year for 5 years when he has 1 3rd Team All NBA and just missed half the season.    He just turned 29, so firmly in his prime, but he isn't worth a max contract when he is fully healthy let alone one of the largest contracts in history on an otherwise bad team.  The Wizards were better off letting him walk in free agency then paying him that contract, and this coming from a guy that doesn't think you should ever waste an asset.  It was a terrible decision to sign him to that contract.

[liam]

These huge contracts are getting out of hand..unreal

Agree.  Beal and Lillard aren't even top-5 players currently.

Thing is, most teams never get a chance to have an elite superstar, so if you don't sign somebody else, you might as well sell the team and go fishing.

currently? They never have been and never will be. Frankly they aren't top 10 players and may not even be top 15 players (Beal certainly isn't, Lillard may be).  Lillard has at least found some decent success and Portland has some nice pieces.  The Wizards are a bad team with a mish mash of role players.  The Beal contract is BY FAR the worst contract in league history

That would be a good debate. What about John Wall and Russell Westbrook? I think both make their team worse when on the court, where Beal makes the Wizards better.

Does he?  Last year, they were 17-23 with him and 18-24 without him.  So slightly better without him and he was just +0.1 per 100 possessions for the on/off differential.  Generally that number is a bit higher, but he has only had 1 great season on/off differential season i.e. above +10 and that 2017 when he was 23 and Wall was their best player. 

Beal is a chucker that doesn't play defense and as he shoots more and takes on more of the load, his efficiency has gone down.  The Wizards  have only really been a winning team with Beal, in the pre-Wall injury days. 

Beal got one of the richest contracts in history at over 50 million a year for 5 years when he has 1 3rd Team All NBA and just missed half the season.    He just turned 29, so firmly in his prime, but he isn't worth a max contract when he is fully healthy let alone one of the largest contracts in history on an otherwise bad team.  The Wizards were better off letting him walk in free agency then paying him that contract, and this coming from a guy that doesn't think you should ever waste an asset.  It was a terrible decision to sign him to that contract.

Washington has a long history of overpaying guys who then fall off a cliff.

[footey]

JaMychal Green being bought out by OKC, to sign with Warriors. Shams

[celticsclay]

JaMychal Green being bought out by OKC, to sign with Warriors. Shams

We could have used him I think.

[footey]

JaMychal Green being bought out by OKC, to sign with Warriors. Shams

We could have used him I think.

Yeah but would have had to absorb his $8.2 mm contract. Once guy is bought out he is free to go to his top choice which is GSW.

[Roy H.]

Green will fit well in Golden State.  Adding another PF wouldn’t have made a ton of sense for us.