Offseason Thread

[ChillyWilly]

Looks like Luka is finally taking his fitness seriously. Guess he got tired of people calling him fat.


The LA Lakers star has now been pictured on a digital cover of Men?s Health magazine.

The outlet states Doncic is now ready to take his game to new levels of dominance, praising his summer of shred, where he has cut weight and become more defined.

Lets see how long it lasts.

Maybe it becomes the new 'Ben Simmons jump shot workout tape'

Yup pretty confident this is year 3 of this "taking conditioning seriously". Come January we'll see him back in holiday shape.

[Redz]

Looks like Luka is finally taking his fitness seriously. Guess he got tired of people calling him fat.


The LA Lakers star has now been pictured on a digital cover of Men?s Health magazine.

The outlet states Doncic is now ready to take his game to new levels of dominance, praising his summer of shred, where he has cut weight and become more defined.

Lets see how long it lasts.

Maybe it becomes the new 'Ben Simmons jump shot workout tape'

Yup pretty confident this is year 3 of this "taking conditioning seriously". Come January we'll see him back in holiday shape.

LeBron can hook him up with some juice.

[Donoghus]

What an idiot.  He's made millions up millions in the NBA.

NBACentral
@TheDunkCentral
Marcus Morris allegedly stole more than $250,000 from Las Vegas casinos, per
@TMZ_Sports
 

?According to court documents we obtained, the NBA player allegedly got $115,000 from the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino via bad checks in May 2024 ... and never paid it back when the checks bounced. Officials state around a month later, in June 2024, he performed a similar scam at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino ... netting $150,000 through checks he knew wouldn't cash.?

[Roy H.]

What an idiot.  He's made millions up millions in the NBA.

NBACentral
@TheDunkCentral
Marcus Morris allegedly stole more than $250,000 from Las Vegas casinos, per
@TMZ_Sports
 

?According to court documents we obtained, the NBA player allegedly got $115,000 from the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino via bad checks in May 2024 ... and never paid it back when the checks bounced. Officials state around a month later, in June 2024, he performed a similar scam at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino ... netting $150,000 through checks he knew wouldn't cash.?

Haha.  One of the twins was on social media yesterday saying the amount of money was trivial, alluding to it being around $1200.

[boscel33]

What an idiot.  He's made millions up millions in the NBA.

NBACentral
@TheDunkCentral
Marcus Morris allegedly stole more than $250,000 from Las Vegas casinos, per
@TMZ_Sports
 

?According to court documents we obtained, the NBA player allegedly got $115,000 from the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino via bad checks in May 2024 ... and never paid it back when the checks bounced. Officials state around a month later, in June 2024, he performed a similar scam at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino ... netting $150,000 through checks he knew wouldn't cash.?

Haha.  One of the twins was on social media yesterday saying the amount of money was trivial, alluding to it being around $1200.

106M earned in his career and he's bouncing checks.  OMG!

[Roy H.]

The Golden State Warriors made another push to retain Jonathan Kuminga over the past several days, but the restricted free agent is continuing to decline their two-year, $45 million contract offer, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Kuminga's decision is due in large part to the Warriors' insistence on having a team option for the second season and their unwillingness to let him maintain the built-in no-trade clause, sources said.

ESPN

His agent, Aaron Turner, presented the Warriors a few frameworks during a pair of summer league meetings in Las Vegas, including a three-year deal worth around $82 million that allowed the Warriors to stay below the second apron to use the taxpayer midlevel exception.

Yeah, I can see where the team option would be a deal-breaker. 

[Who]

"The way the cap is now, why would you spend $20 million on Quentin Grimes when you can get Gary Trent Jr for a minimum?"

"We shouldn't just sign young players because they are young ... you've got to believe Grimes is going to develop into your starting backcourt with Maxey"

League exec quote to Fred Katz of the Athletic

[Who]

The Miami Heat did not want to include draft capital to facilitate a Terry Rozier-for-Marcus Smart deal this offseason, sources told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

Some people within the Heat's organization weren't sure if Marcus Smart was a clear upgrade over Terry Rozier, per @TheSteinLine

"Sources say Miami has explored the feasibility of trading away veteran guard Terry Rozier this offseason. Jake says Miami weighed a Rozier-for-Smart swap but could not reach an organizational consensus on whether such a trade was a clear upgrade."

[Roy H.]

What's the status on the Rozier gambling investigation?

Malik Beasley's?

[Who]

The Brooklyn Nets have been hesitant to offer Cam Thomas a long-term contract during his slow-moving restricted free agency. Brooklyn's offers have not exceeded two-year proposals worth approximately $14.1 million annually with a team option.

Thomas is seeking a salary in the $30 million range annually

If Thomas doesn't sign a contract this offseason, he could accept the $5.99 million qualifying offer. This would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving him more leverage in negotiations.

So they won't go above 2yrs or the MLE level pay for those 2yrs.

[Roy H.]

The Brooklyn Nets have been hesitant to offer Cam Thomas a long-term contract during his slow-moving restricted free agency. Brooklyn's offers have not exceeded two-year proposals worth approximately $14.1 million annually with a team option.

Thomas is seeking a salary in the $30 million range annually

If Thomas doesn't sign a contract this offseason, he could accept the $5.99 million qualifying offer. This would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving him more leverage in negotiations.

So they won't go above 2yrs or the MLE level pay for those 2yrs.

Honestly, a two year MLE deal with a team option is a bit insulting, and I'm not even a Thomas fan.

[Moranis]

He only played 25 games last year and who plays terrible defense.  He is probably worth more than MLE, but I wouldn't pay him anywhere close to 30 million a year.

[Who]

While speaking on SiriusXM radio, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer speculated that the former MVP may be forced into an early retirement thanks to nagging injuries in his knees and back.

"I think Joel may know that the end is near," Pompey said. "It's kind of like explaining to people what he's been going through. Because rarely do you have a guy tell you how much pain and how much they're going through - I feel like Joel Embiid knows that, it may not be this season, but the end is near. Maybe he can't. Maybe he feels as though he can't play to the level he used to."

Pompey added a qualifier that he could be wrong and that Embiid could have an MVP season, but it is rare for a player to discuss his body breaking down openly.

And

Grant Afseth of Fastbreak Journal has reported that there is concern about Embiid ever being able to fully regain or sustain the level of play that made him a superstar. Afseth also reported that there is concern about Embiid potentially needing another knee surgery in the future.

"Sources with knowledge of Embiid's situation have privately expressed concerns to FastbreakJournal.com about whether he can fully regain, and more importantly, sustain his prior level of play," Afseth wrote. "One source also indicated there is internal concern about the possibility of Embiid requiring another procedure on the same knee down the line, which has only heightened unease about his long-term outlook."

Never heard of Afseth or FastbreakJournal.

Heard of Keith Pompey though.

[Ilikesports17]

The Brooklyn Nets have been hesitant to offer Cam Thomas a long-term contract during his slow-moving restricted free agency. Brooklyn's offers have not exceeded two-year proposals worth approximately $14.1 million annually with a team option.

Thomas is seeking a salary in the $30 million range annually

If Thomas doesn't sign a contract this offseason, he could accept the $5.99 million qualifying offer. This would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving him more leverage in negotiations.

So they won't go above 2yrs or the MLE level pay for those 2yrs.

Honestly, a two year MLE deal with a team option is a bit insulting, and I'm not even a Thomas fan.

I think that's just the going rate for that type of player right now. I expect Simons to settle around the MLE next year as well.

[tazzmaniac]

The Brooklyn Nets have been hesitant to offer Cam Thomas a long-term contract during his slow-moving restricted free agency. Brooklyn's offers have not exceeded two-year proposals worth approximately $14.1 million annually with a team option.

Thomas is seeking a salary in the $30 million range annually

If Thomas doesn't sign a contract this offseason, he could accept the $5.99 million qualifying offer. This would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving him more leverage in negotiations.

So they won't go above 2yrs or the MLE level pay for those 2yrs.

Honestly, a two year MLE deal with a team option is a bit insulting, and I'm not even a Thomas fan.

I think that's just the going rate for that type of player right now. I expect Simons to settle around the MLE next year as well.

Non-star players haven't adjusted to the new fiscal reality.  They see the contracts that similar level players received the past couple years and expect to get similar contracts.  The notion that 14 million annually is insulting or disrepecting for a player like Thomas is ridiculous.