The Official 2024-2025 NBA Season Discussion Thread

erikthredd

With the draft moving to a two day event starting on Wednesday night then Free Agency starting on June 30th before all moves can become official on June 6th, we may see alot of player movement this week. Below are some of the rumors that we're already hearing about:
1. NY may be interested in moving C Mitchell Robinson and are a potential landing spot for Paul George.
2. Milwaukee may move on from C Brook Lopez.
3. Lebron may decline his 2024-25 player option which would free him up to sign with whichever team drafts Bronny. (I'm predicting the Lakers draft Bronny with either their 55th pick in R2 or possibly with their 1st rounder, pick #17, if they don't trade it.)
4. Orlando may be interested in signing Klay Thompson, reports are that he and the Warriors aren't close on a deal. (I think he stays in GS for less money.)

This one's not a rumor, the Cavs are hiring Kenny Atkinson to be their next HC. He did a very good job developing players like Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie & D'Angelo Russell back when he coached the Nets from 2016-2020. He's been an assistant to Steve Kerr in GS since 2021 and should bring some of their playbook with him to Cleveland.

erikthredd

Word is that this draft class maybe one of the worst in many years as far as high end talent at the top. The 2013 draft saw Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter Jr, Cody Zeller & Alex Len go top five but did have Giannis at pick 15 and Gobert at 27, this maybe a similar type of class where some unexpected player stands out over time.

The Spurs own picks 4 & 8 and I'm hoping to see one from this group get picked, two would be even better.
G/F Stephon Castle (I see alot of Jayson's Tatum game in Castle)
C Donovan Clingan (would give SA a great defensive Twin Towers duo with Wemby but not much offensively)
PG Reed Sheppard (a slightly better version of Payton Pritchard)
or PG Devin Carter (son of former NBA PG Anthon Carter and maybe the most NBA ready player in this draft class)

At Boston's pick #30 I'd be very happy to see either
Virginia F Ryan Dunn (arguably the best wing defender in this draft)
Creighton F Baylor Scheierman (a Sam Hauser clone)
Duke C Kyle Filipowski (a 7-0 that protects the rim and can knock down his share of threes)

As for pick #1, no clue on who goes to Atlanta.

erikthredd

NY made the first major move of the offseason by trading for Nets F Mikal Bridges. The Knicks get Bridges while Brooklyn gets four NY unprotected 1sts, a future Bucks 1st, future pick swap and 2nd rounder plus Bojan Bogdanovic.

That NY front office really wants to rebuild those old Villanova championship teams now with Brunson, Hart DiVincenzo & Bridges. This team is going to be nasty but even moreso if they re-sign their two free agents OG Anunoby & Isaiah Hartenstein and get a healthy Julius Randle back.

galaxy27

tonight's the night

i think the top of this draft is going to consist of far more swings and misses than dawgs who flourish

just hope the Spurs connect on at least one of their top 10s

erikthredd

All of the juicy rumors are starting to come out just hours before the draft...
Atlanta & San Antonio have talked about a deal for the #1 pick that could send one or more of the Hawks future picks that the Spurs own after the DeJounte Murray trade back to Atlanta.

Multiple teams are interested in either signing or trading for Paul George, including the Warriors,Magic,76ers & Rockets (per Windhorst at ESPN.)

Houston just made a minor trade involving Brooklyn picks that the Nets just reacquired after giving them up for James Harden a few years back. The Nets get to now tank seeing that they own their own 1sts for 2025 & 2026 and the Rockets added multiple Phoenix 1sts which they intend to offer to the Suns for either Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. Rockets center Alpert Sengun maybe the centerpiece in any deal going back to Phoenix.

Marcus Smart might be another name available with Houston being the likely trade partner there.

Supposedly Bronny wasn't invited to sit in the green room at the draft and with this year's draft now being a two day affair it might be awhile before he hears his name called if it gets called at all. I'm predicting he gets picked with the Lakers 55th pick in R2.

That Knicks trade for Bridges might be the largest overpay in history for someone that has never made an All-Star team but NY is banking on that Villanova core's chemistry carrying them to deep playoff runs. If they can re-sign Anunoby then that would give the Knicks three great wing defenders in OG, Bridges & Hart to help stop Tatum & Brown in the East.

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:
tonight's the night

i think the top of this draft is going to consist of far more swings and misses than dawgs who flourish

just hope the Spurs connect on at least one of their top 10s

I'm not sure that he might fall to #4 but Kentucky's Reed Sheppard might be the perfect fit as Wemby's new PG. I've seen him called a Payton Pritchard/TJ McConnell hybrid but with some crazy hops. His only real negatives are that he's just 6-3 186lbs, which is was roughly the same size that Steph Curry was coming out of college, but he's got a very high BBIQ.

I've thought that Trae Young's best fit would be paired with Wemby but this kid looks like he's a much better all around player than Trae, maybe just not the same level of scorer. Whoever SA picks will end up in one of the best possible situations from a development standpoint.

galaxy27

the rumor here in H-town is that the Rockets are going to draft Sheppard. but yeah, he'd seemingly be a nice fit for SA -- kid shot 52% from downtown and would help space the floor to prevent teams from collapsing on Wemby

and although it would be a completely wasted pick, i'd pay real money for Boston to draft Bronny at 54 tomorrow night. just to spite his daddy. that would make my day week month year

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:
the rumor here in H-town is that the Rockets are going to draft Sheppard. but yeah, he'd seemingly be a nice fit for SA -- kid shot 52% from downtown and would help space the floor to prevent teams from collapsing on Wemby

Are the Rockets seriously willing to give Phoenix a massive haul for KD or Booker? Some of the rumors out there seem like they'd be no-brainers for the Suns.

and although it would be a completely wasted pick, i'd pay real money for Boston to draft Bronny at 54 tomorrow night. just to spite his daddy. that would make my day week month year

That's when Brad Stevens calls the Lakers front office the following morning offering him up for Austin Reeves. 😎👍

Funny thing is, Boston would probably do a better job developing Bronny than the Lakers would even with his old man running things there.

erikthredd

No KD to the Rockets. They can probably find better fits for their roster & timeline by using all of those assets elsewhere.
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/06/mat-ishbia-says-suns-are-keeping-kevin-durant.html

erikthredd

Stephon Castle to the Spurs!

galaxy27

@erikthredd said:

Stephon Castle to the Spurs!

i like it. by all accounts a beast on the defensive end, which they sorely needed

has upside with the ball in his hands but apparently needs to fine-tune his shot.......Pop's got this lol

erikthredd

He's a much better defender than Sochan but he also has an offensive game, his jumper just needs to develop more.

I'll be through the moon if they can land one of of Donovan Clingan or Devin Carter with this next pick. Dalton Knecht is a legit shooter that would also be a good choice.

edit: They go with PG Rob Dillingham instead, solid pick.

galaxy27

man I really like that Dillingham pick

wish the season started tomorrow!

edit: delayed reaction much? never mind

edit x 2: what the h is going on? they said Minny traded to 8 but Dillingham is walking up with a Spurs hat on lolol

erikthredd

@erikthredd said:

edit: They go with PG Rob Dillingham instead, solid pick.

And he gets traded to the Wolves. He'll be Ant's running mate instead of Wemby.

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:
man I really like that Dillingham pick

wish the season started tomorrow!

edit: delayed reaction much? never mind

Sorry bud he's off to the Wolves lol. No idea on what SA gets back yet.

erikthredd

Odd trade: Wolves get Dillingham/ SA gets 2031 unprotected 1st and a 2030 pick swap. The Spurs already own numerous future picks so they must have not really been high on anyone with the 8th pick.

erikthredd

@erikthredd said:

At Boston's pick #30 I'd be very happy to see either
Virginia F Ryan Dunn (arguably the best wing defender in this draft)
Creighton F Baylor Scheierman (a lefty Sam Hauser clone)
Duke C Kyle Filipowski (a 7-0 that protects the rim and can knock down his share of threes)

estang

@erikthredd said:
Odd trade: Wolves get Dillingham/ SA gets 2031 unprotected 1st and a 2030 pick swap. The Spurs already own numerous future picks so they must have not really been high on anyone with the 8th pick.

This trade is so lopsided in favor of the Timberwolves that there must be another move in the future between the two teams. Makes no sense from the Spurs perspective unless the Spurs GM thinks he has job security through the 2031 season. Good for Minnesota!

PaulMaul

From what I have heard the Knicks probably won’t be able to afford to keep Hartenstein which is a shame. Robinson is so injury prone, and other than rim protecting Hartenstein is a better player.

erikthredd

@estang said:

@erikthredd said:
Odd trade: Wolves get Dillingham/ SA gets 2031 unprotected 1st and a 2030 pick swap. The Spurs already own numerous future picks so they must have not really been high on anyone with the 8th pick.

This trade is so lopsided in favor of the Timberwolves that there must be another move in the future between the two teams. Makes no sense from the Spurs perspective unless the Spurs GM thinks he has job security through the 2031 season. Good for Minnesota!

That trade makes zero sense to me and the only thing that I can come up with is maybe the Spurs think that by 2030-31 the Wolves may become a lottery team again. If Ant decides he wants to play elsewhere then that is a possibility but who knows? 🤷‍♂️
SA needs a point guard and Dillingham was the best one on the board and they passed on him, here's hoping that he can become that guy to replace Mike Conley Jr when he calls it a day in the near future.

erikthredd

@PaulMaul said:
From what I have heard the Knicks probably won’t be able to afford to keep Hartenstein which is a shame. Robinson is so injury prone, and other than rim protecting Hartenstein is a better player.

The Knicks can always find a team with cap space and convince them to take on Robinson's 14M salary by giving up another 1st round pick, the question is will they do it?
Hartenstein was a machine on the boards during the playoffs and he's much more durable than Robinson, he'd be a huge loss especially when they won't have the cap space to go replace him with anyone other than a minimum contract.

erikthredd

One other possibility about the Spurs trading the Dillingham pick could be that they're adding additional future picks to move in a deal for a veteran point guard like Trae Young or Dejounte Murray. Both situations would require SA returning some of those Atlanta picks gained when they traded Murray to the Hawks two years ago, maybe the front office wants to have additional assets on hand if that takes place.

galaxy27

my take:

i think the Spurs did what they did at 8 for a couple of reasons. first, they have draft capital coming out of their ears. they are 100% going to use all those future picks in a trade package. they can trade 8 firsts and not even touch their own picks. and seeing as Bridges just went for 5 and KD essentially went for 9, that's what it will take to bring in an established star. second, i think it was a mini referendum on the weakness of this draft class. they were willing to roll the dice on Castle, but not another rook. now it's time to bring in a stud and ratchet things up a few notches around Wemby. i really wish they could get Murray back.

erikthredd

While SA was just trading their 35th pick to Indiana someone on ESPN's draft show made a good point about what the Spurs maybe doing with this draft class, punting so they can tank this season. Next year's draft class has alot more high end talent including Cooper Flagg, widely considered a game changer and SA has four 1st round picks in that draft.

erikthredd

ESPN analyst and former general manager of the Golden State Warriors, Bob Myers, said on the ESPN telecast of the second round of the draft that Paul is telling teams not to select James. He's also reportedly telling them that James will go to Australia if they do draft him.

This should go over real well lol.

galaxy27

if Bronny ever averages 10 PPG & 40% from the field i'll eat my shoe

hiring a guy who has never coached a game in this league, drafting a kid who has no business being on an NBA roster.........this is the showtime Lakers, but a completely different version from the one in the 80s

they aren't looking to win a championship, they are trying to create a dog and pony show

if i played for LAL i wouldn't be the least bit thrilled about next season. i'd want to go anywhere else

erikthredd

I don't know which was funnier, seeing the Lakers actually draft Bronny at pick 55 or the absolute verbal tongue bath that ESPN gave father & son immediately after.

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:

they aren't looking to win a championship, they are trying to create a dog and pony show

>
That is the 2023 NBA Play-in Tournament Champions you're talking about so you better put some respeck on their name! 😎

galaxy27

@erikthredd said:

I don't know which was funnier, seeing the Lakers actually draft Bronny at pick 55 or the absolute verbal tongue bath that ESPN gave father & son immediately after.

i saw it. i seriously felt like puking. if you look up meritocracy in the dictionary, the first antonym you'll run across is 'Los Angeles Lakers'

galaxy27

@erikthredd

and did you watch his highlight reel? did you see the breakaway where he almost came to a complete stop, then put down the most pedestrian dunk you'll ever witness? they showed that over and over as if everyone was supposed to be blown away by his otherworldly athleticism

i legit felt bad for the kid. such an embarrassment, all of it. but the NBA will squeeze every ounce of juice out of that rotten orange

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:
@erikthredd

and did you watch his highlight reel? did you see the breakaway where he almost came to a complete stop, then put down the most pedestrian dunk you'll ever see? they showed that over and over as if everyone was supposed to be blown away by his otherworldly athleticism

i legit felt bad for the kid. such an embarrassment, all of it. but the NBA will squeeze every ounce of juice out of that rotten orange

To be fair I would kind of give the kid a break on his play from last season after going into cardiac arrest and missing so much time, that player that everyone saw at USC likely wasn't close to being the finished product. That all being said,that was even more reason for why he shouldn't have been drafted and should have probably stayed another season. But Daddy runs things and was never going to let that happen, hopefully Bronny never picked up his father's cringeworthy flop game. 🤣

galaxy27

i have nothing against Bronny personally. i really know nothing about the kid outside of him being LBJ's son and the few times i watched him at USC. i just can't stomach people being given opportunities based on who they are, not what they've accomplished. and he accomplished next to nothing his first year in college. if i'm a baller who busted my hump and saw him drafted ahead of me (or, even worse, saw him drafted when i wasn't), i'd be out of my mind pissed off

Darin

@galaxy27 said:

@erikthredd said:

I don't know which was funnier, seeing the Lakers actually draft Bronny at pick 55 or the absolute verbal tongue bath that ESPN gave father & son immediately after.

i saw it. i seriously felt like puking. if you look up meritocracy in the dictionary, the first antonym you'll run across is 'Los Angeles Lakers'

Well you didn’t make that easy! I had to look up meritocracy and antonym.
I agree just pick a player that earned being a second round pick. I hope the Lakers are terrible next season.

erikthredd

Another big trade between Hawks & Pelicans.
NO: Dejounte Murray
ATL: Larry Nance Jr, Dyson Daniels, 2025 first-round pick (via Lakers), 2027 first-round pick (least favorable of Bucks-Pels)

So two salary filler players and two future 1sts. Not much at all.
Had this trade gone done last offseason NO's could have rolled out Zion,Ingram, Valanciunas, Murray & McCollum which would be a pretty good lineup but Ingram & Jonas are likely not returning.

erikthredd

Very rough start to the Warriors offseason today. First there was a report that they thought that were close to trading for Paul George but that deal fell through.
Then they waived Chris Paul which means with that move they're losing a 30M salary slot.
Then in the past hour, Shams Charania is reporting that Klay Thompson and the Warriors are parting ways which means that there's another very large salary slot that they're likely losing entirely. GS & Klay could agree to a sign & trade with some team where the Dubs may get some type of return for him but it sounds like there's some bad blood between the two which is a real shame.
The team is still over the tax line and that 70+M for CP3/Klay coming off their books will only save the owner a crapton of tax money and can't be used on improving the team.

erikthredd

Here are the more notable signings so far...
James harden back to LAC on 2yr/70M deal
Andre Drummond to the Sixers
Eric Gordon to the Sixers
Chris Paul to the Spurs after clearing waivers on a 1yr/11M salary
Jonas Valanciunas to the Wizards
Kentavius Caldwell-Pope to the Magic on 3yr/66M deal
Obi Toppin staying in Indy on 4yr/60M deal
Kevin Love staying with Heat

and some other rumors...
Paul George likely heading to Philly
Klay talking to 4 teams
LAC trying to trade Russell Westbrook

erikthredd

Really digging that Chris Paul signing with the Spurs, give him a year to teach Wemby how to be a professional in the NBA.

erikthredd

Some more of the major signings so far...
Philly lands Paul George then signs Tyrese Maxey to a max contract. I'm still struggling to see how an oft injured Embiid/PG pairing will do better than the Kawhi/PG one we've watched over for the past four years. We'll see how that goes.

OKC signing Isaiah Hartenstein maybe the most impactful signing yet, imo. The Thunder were just the #1 seed out West and added Alex Caruso & Hartenstein this offseason without costing them any draft picks.

erikthredd

Derrick White gets a new 4yr/125M deal then bought a new ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xy1AikGrR0

galaxy27

@erikthredd said:

Really digging that Chris Paul signing with the Spurs, give him a year to teach Wemby how to be a professional in the NBA.

there are reasons why i like this move, and reasons why i don't

his leadership, his experience, fewer turnovers, will facilitate the offense and no doubt put the ball where Wemby needs it........all major pluses

39 and getting smoked on the defensive end by opposing PGs gives me pause

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:

@erikthredd said:

Really digging that Chris Paul signing with the Spurs, give him a year to teach Wemby how to be a professional in the NBA.

there are reasons why i like this move, and reasons why i don't

his leadership, his experience, fewer turnovers, will facilitate the offense and no doubt put the ball where Wemby needs it........all major pluses

39 and getting smoked on the defensive end by opposing PGs gives me pause

He'll also make their offense run much more efficiently so it pretty much will balance out in the end. Plus its only for one season at 11M which is less than the MLE these days.

Hey, I'm starting a GoFundMe account to buy the Celtics, you want in? 😎

galaxy27

and then we have the Clips. new crib, no George, trying to get rid of Westbrook, resign Harden to 2 years, 70(!) mil -- a dude who is going to be a complete liability out there sooner rather than later, their marquee FA signing is a criminal off the court, and Leonard is now 33 and still cannot be trusted to stay healthy ever

what an unmitigated disaster they are now

galaxy27

@erikthredd said:

Hey, I'm starting a GoFundMe account to buy the Celtics, you want in? 😎

just checked my sportsbook account and i have 17 dollars

i can't even contribute one TD Garden beer to the cause

erikthredd

@galaxy27 said:

@erikthredd said:

Hey, I'm starting a GoFundMe account to buy the Celtics, you want in? 😎

just checked my sportsbook account and i have 17 dollars

i can't even contribute one TD Garden beer to the cause

But just think, that beer will now be served in a fancy Celtics 18th banner cup lol. (this is a guess but I wouldn't be surprised to see it actually happen. Throw a shamrock on the sh*t and this fanbase will buy it 🍀)

erikthredd

Klay Thompson is heading to Dallas on a 3yr/50M deal as part of 3 team sign & trade.
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/07/mavericks-to-add-klay-thompson-in-three-team-sign-and-trade.html

So far its:
Dallas gets Klay
Charlotte gets Josh Green
with no word yet on who is going to GS

Can't say that the Mavs front office aren't trying to make enough changes to try getting back to the Finals, so far they've swapped out Derrick Jones Jr, Tim Hardway Jr & Josh Green for three better shooters in Klay, Naji Marshall & Quentin Grimes.

edit: Reports are now saying not a done deal yet.

SanctionII

I understand Klay Thompson declined a 4 year, 80 million dollar offer from the Lakers.

If true I wonder what reason(s) he has to reject the Lakers in favor of Dallas.

erikthredd

I'm guessing its probably for a chance at another ring. It is odd though when the Lakers were his favorite team growing up.

Woj reported earlier that GS is one of the teams trying to trade for Utah's Laurie Markkenan, not sure that they have the amount of picks + younger players that Danny Ainge would want in return.

erikthredd

Jayson Tatum just signed the richest contract in NBA history to date, 5yr/314M.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40476501/sources-celtics-jayson-tatum-agrees-5-year-314m-extension

With the announcement of the Celtics going up for sale today, it looks like owner Wyc Grousbeck is hoping to pass on the huge impending tax bill onto to the next owner. I have a feeling that this team will be his for at least a few more years.

SanctionII

It will be interesting to see how Klay Thompson playing in Dallas turns out. He has been playing for 13 years in GS. Since Kerr took over as coach in the 2014-2015 season GS has played a pass and move offense where everyone is required to be in constant motion (leading to opportunities for Thompson to catch and shoot without him having to dribble much).

Dallas, in contrast, plays ISO ball with Luka and/or Irving being ball dominant (dribble the ball up the court, dribble, dribble, dribble in the half court offense to try and create an opening for them to shoot; and with 2-3 seconds left on the shot clock look for an open man who has been standing around waiting for Luke and/or Irving to do something).

Hopefully Thompson will play very well in Dallas and have a good post GS run to retirement.

As for Thompson and the Lakers, it would be interesting to learn how Thompson viewed playing for the Lakers and playing with LeBron James for the next 2-3 years. James is the alpha in the Laker organization; and Thompson may simply not want to have to deal with that reality.

erikthredd

Looks like GS ends up with two 2nds plus a trade exception for around 16-17M for Klay but IIRC the Dubs are still over that 2nd tax apron which means they can't use any trade exceptions. Still, sad to see him not finish out his career there.

I think he'll do well as a catch & shoot spot-up guy in Dallas especially when his mobility isn't what it used to be. He'll just need to knock down his looks at decent clip to prevent his defender from dropping off to double Luka or Kyrie. How he plays on the other end will be the bigger question.

galaxy27