2024 NBA Offseason News

[liam]

The Boston Celtics endured the first loss to their championship-winning roster after Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz dug into the free agency market.

Utah signed guard Svi Mykhailiuk to a four-year deal worth $15 million on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski

Why is Utah giving a fringe roster player a four year deal?

He can shoot.

[Who]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

[Phantom255x]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

If I had to rank it, I'd go Boston-OKC-New York-Philadelphia-Denver-Minnesota-Dallas.

I think KCP is a sneaky big loss for Denver. They also lost Holmes (their draft pick) for the season and he was supposed to help their PF/C rotation too.

I might have Minnesota too low but I'm still not as sold on KAT as the 2nd option and he really did cost them in the WCF. Obviously him and Gobert did well against Denver but the West as a whole is also getting tougher.

[SparzWizard]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

[BitterJim]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

You mean like last year, when they beat Philly?

[SparzWizard]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

You mean like last year, when they beat Philly?

Embiid was playing injured. Fully healthy 76ers would've been different

[TheBig3]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

You mean like last year, when they beat Philly?

Embiid was playing injured. Fully healthy 76ers would've been different

Have to agree with BitterJim, still constitutes getting past the 1st round.

[BitterJim]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

You mean like last year, when they beat Philly?

Embiid was playing injured. Fully healthy 76ers would've been different

At least Embiid played. Meanwhile Randle missed the entire series, and they took the Pacers (probably the toughest team we played in the postseason) to 7 games despite losing even more players during their postseason run. I'm not ready to put them above OKC, but they proved last postseason that they're legit. And they should be better this year (at least until Mitchell Robinson gets injured...)

[Vermont Green]

I wonder if Boston, Philly & New York are the three best teams in the league. All in the East.

OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver the top teams in the West. Maybe Phoenix. I like the East teams better individually than any and all of those Western teams.

I'd put OKC and Minny ahead of NYK. Until the Knicks can get past the first round, not sold on them yet. They have it on paper tho. Same with 76ers albeit these aren't the Doc Rivers/Brett Brown 76ers anymore. Nick Nurse is much more competent than those two. They got some solid additions but they'll be stuck in the East with Boston and New York. Basically keep them close on your radar but don't let em off the hook. The three best teams in the East made up from the Atlantic division yeah.

Denver will regress due to lack of depth. Sure adding Westbrook may help a bit but losing KCP and Bruce Brown hurt them more. Dallas is eh, they played inexperienced playoff teams before they met with a team that was built to dismantle them.

You mean like last year, when they beat Philly?

Embiid was playing injured. Fully healthy 76ers would've been different

At least Embiid played. Meanwhile Randle missed the entire series, and they took the Pacers (probably the toughest team we played in the postseason) to 7 games despite losing even more players during their postseason run. I'm not ready to put them above OKC, but they proved last postseason that they're legit. And they should be better this year (at least until Mitchell Robinson gets injured...)

Many fans do that.  I remember a lot of people were saying DEN would never win a title.  They were a regular season team, not built for the playoffs, and so on.  But all they needed to do was get healthy.  It is easy to say, *I will believe it when I see it*.  I Expect NYK to be good.  They added Bridges, we shall see if Anunoby and Randall can stay healthy.  And I am not sure if Brunson can continue to play at such a high level.  I have no doubt that they can be a team that gets well past the first round if they stay largely healthy and things otherwise go their way.  They have enough depth and versatility to overcome some level of injuries or other problems, that is part of what makes them a threat, but like any team, they can only go so far without good health and good fortune.

[Phantom255x]

I think last year's Sixers-Knicks series was sort of a result of the East "cannibalizing itself". Truth be told I think those two teams should have had the ECF representative facing Boston, but one had to knock the other out AND the Knicks just got even more hurt during the Pacers series which helped IND as well.

Minnesota and OKC can definitely rise. Even just the growth of Ant will help MIN along with adding Dillingham. Caruso was a very underrated addition for OKC and they also added Hartenstein to the frontcourt with Chet. That was an area of weakness for OKC, where teams like LAL/DEN/MIN with their bigs could typically just feast on and outrebound OKC often. Now they have an answer for that along with SGA (still just 26 years old) and the group only getting better.

[Donoghus]

Al Attles passed away.

NBA
@NBA
The NBA family mourns the passing of Golden State Warriors legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Alvin Attles.  As a player, coach, executive and team ambassador, Alvin made a lasting impact on the Warriors and the league during his more than 60-year career.  Alvin was admired throughout the NBA not only for what he accomplished in the game but also for his kind spirit, loyalty and sense of community that he helped build.

https://x.com/WarriorsPR/status/1826295776370405381/photo/1

[Vermont Green]

NBA Central: Here's the full top 100 list of NBA 2K25 player ratings:
 1. Nikola Jokic, 97 overall
 2. Luka Doncic, 97 overall
 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 97 overall
 4. Joel Embiid, 96 overall
 5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 96 overall
 6. LeBron James, 95 overall
 7. Stephen Curry, 95 overall
 8. Jayson Tatum, 95 overall
 9. Kevin Durant, 94 overall
10. Anthony Davis, 94 overall
11. Anthony Edwards, 93 overall
12. Devin Booker, 93 overall
13. Jalen Brunson, 93 overall
14. Donovan Mitchell, 92 overall
15. Jaylen Brown, 92 overall
16. Kyrie Irving, 92 overall
17. Kawhi Leonard, 92 overall
18. Victor Wembanyama, 91 overall
19. Tyrese Haliburton, 90 overall
20. Ja Morant, 90 overall
21. Damian Lillard, 89 overall
22. Jimmy Butler, 89 overall
23. Paolo Banchero, 89 overall
24. Paul George, 89 overall
25. Trae Young, 89 overall

This list isn't surprising.  Past champions in bold.

Teams with 2 in the top 25:

DAL:  2,16
MIL:  3, 21
PHI:  4, 24
LAL:  6, 10
BOS:  8, 15
PHX:  9, 12

[Celtics2021]

NBA Central: Here's the full top 100 list of NBA 2K25 player ratings:
 1. Nikola Jokic, 97 overall
 2. Luka Doncic, 97 overall
 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 97 overall
 4. Joel Embiid, 96 overall
 5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 96 overall
 6. LeBron James, 95 overall
 7. Stephen Curry, 95 overall
 8. Jayson Tatum, 95 overall
 9. Kevin Durant, 94 overall
10. Anthony Davis, 94 overall
11. Anthony Edwards, 93 overall
12. Devin Booker, 93 overall
13. Jalen Brunson, 93 overall
14. Donovan Mitchell, 92 overall
15. Jaylen Brown, 92 overall
16. Kyrie Irving, 92 overall
17. Kawhi Leonard, 92 overall
18. Victor Wembanyama, 91 overall
19. Tyrese Haliburton, 90 overall
20. Ja Morant, 90 overall
21. Damian Lillard, 89 overall
22. Jimmy Butler, 89 overall
23. Paolo Banchero, 89 overall
24. Paul George, 89 overall
25. Trae Young, 89 overall

This list isn't surprising.  Past champions in bold.

Teams with 2 in the top 25:

DAL:  2,16
MIL:  3, 21
PHI:  4, 24
LAL:  6, 10
BOS:  8, 15
PHX:  9, 12

Glad Jaylen got bumped to a 92.  I think he was at 90 last year.

[tazzmaniac]

In a better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you a fool than to open your mouth and prove it situation. In a Wall Street Journal article, Anthony Edwards was asked about today's players versus older generations. 

He started off responding with:

I didn't watch it back in the day so I can't speak on it,

Okay that's no problem.  Maybe acknowledge what the older players did allows you to make a ridiculous amount of money playing a game and then move on to the next question. 

They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don't think anybody had skill back then. (Michael Jordan) was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that?s why when they saw Kobe (Bryant), they were like, Oh, my God. But now everybody has skill.?

Oh no.  You first admit your ignorance and then go ahead and prove it.

Magic Johnson didn't take too kindly to it.

?I don?t never respond to a guy that?s never won a championship,? Johnson said. ?There?s not nothing to really say. He didn?t win a college championship, I don?t know if he even won a high school championship.?

And neither did Isiah Thomas. 

?The only skill ?emphasized? more is the 3-point shot, creating the illusion that the athlete and skills have magically evolved into another athletic species,? Thomas posted on Aug. 22.

They look faster today because of the rule change, which prohibits holding and hand-checking to impede progress. In football, for example, wide receivers can play in the middle of the field without fear and rack up more yardage. Today, the rules favor quarterbacks and receivers

To top it off, Edwards said the following:

Additionally in his interview with the WSJ, Edwards said he isn?t in much of a rush to win that first title, saying it doesn?t necessarily need to arrive this coming season.

?I don?t know too many guys who won a championship super young, besides Kobe,? he said. ?Other than him, everybody took years and years of losing to get there. I just want to keep taking the next step.?

Which continues to prove his ignorance of the past while giving TWolves fans another reason to bang their head against the wall. 

Celtics fans ought to be very grateful to have JT leading this team. 

[Kernewek]

I think there's a solid point buried in there - it's not particularly controversial to say that the skill floor in the NBA has never been higher - but regarding his commentary, I agree with you.