The Official 2024-2025 NBA Regular Season Discussion Thread! (Thisistheshow tribute)

How bout them Cavs - 50 points in the 1st quarter. Leads the Mavs 91-46 at the half. Once again Kyrie sits out another Cavs game.

there has to be a deeper, darker side to this trade. there just has to. i mean, if you're concerned about the looming supermax extension because he's pudgy and can't defend, i get that. but to dish the guy off out of the blue for pennies on the dollar is something i simply can't wrap my mind around. the Mavs should have received a treasure trove of draft capital, a la what the Spurs have now. instead, what they raked in for a generational offensive talent not even in his prime was a stud big man who is 6 years older but can't stay healthy, a throw-in rotational player, and a diluted 1st four years from now when the Lakers will probably be near the top again. who is this Nico Harrison guy and how many times has he been dropped on his head?

that Michael Pina guy from The Ringer put it best............removing Luka from that Mavs team, as currently constructed, is like removing the sun from our solar system

@bgr

how long have you been a Bucks fan? i liked those 80s teams with guys like Bridgeman, Marques Johnson, Moncrief, Lanier, Pressey et al

This trade just cost Luka his Supermax extension and a loss of 117M on his next contract. If that doesn't create a huge chip on his shoulder going forward I don't know what will.

De'Aaron Fox is heading to the Spurs and Zach Lavine plus three 1sts to the KIngs, per ESPN. Don't know who is going to Chicago.

Full trade details:

Spurs: De'Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin

Kings: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)

Bulls: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS

SO the Spurs got Fox without having to trade any of their top 5 players and without having to give up one of their two best 2025 draft picks. Yeah, this was a major fleecing by the Spurs.

@galaxy27 said:

@erikthredd said:

SO the Spurs got Fox without having to trade any of their top 5 players and without having to give up one of their two best 2025 draft picks. Yeah, this was a major fleecing by the Spurs.

hell yeah

insane 24 hours in the association

SA's GM crushed it in that deal but I actually think the Kings end of the deal was pretty good too. Coming out of this with a proven scorer and 6 picks is a solid return especially when they were able to dump Kevin Huerter's money too.

All this drama over the past 24hrs and we haven't even seen the one deal that everyone has been expecting, Jimmy Butler to whoever. These next fours days could get real good.

@galaxy27 said:

@bgr said:

Junior Bridgeman is an impressive person.

many former athletes go broke

Bridgeman is at the opposite end of the spectrum

He came up on the broadcast during the Bucks-Spurs game. Spurs who now get richer really pulled away at the end of the 3rd there with Lurch out there really setting the tone... and I don't mean Wemby from 40... I mean turbo Lopez.

Middleton and Lopez helping to lose the game again at critical moments in the last 3 mins. I was a big Lopez fan those first 2 seasons in Milwaukee but it’s been brutal since then. Bucks getting beat off the dribble all game. Slow and lazy.

Giannis posted his thoughts on the Luka/Ad trade and you can just see the level of respect that he has for a player like Luka.

How scary would a Giannis/Luka duo be? Talk about Yikes and as a lifelong Boston Celtics fan I'm contractually required to say "Anywhere but the Lakers." That would literally be every C's fans worst nightmare lol.😉

I was surprised OKC was up by 40 over the Bucks but then I saw most of the Bucks starters are out for this game.

@galaxy27 said:

@bgr said:

Junior Bridgeman is an impressive person.

many former athletes go broke

Bridgeman is at the opposite end of the spectrum

Vinnie Johnson is another one. When he was with Detroit, the impression I got was that he was... not the smartest guy. He now has a net worth of $500m.

There are reports that Kevin Durant is now officially on the trade block with rumors saying he could end up in another Dallas trade or possibly in a 3 team deal where KD ends up with GS, Butler in Phoenix and Wiggins plus pieces going to the Heat.
If Nico Harrison could pull of KD after making that Luka/AD deal then its possible he may actually save some face with the fanbase.

On paper it's probably a wash, but there's a better shot Kuzma is on the court so that's something. I have mixed feelings on the trade, but getting rid of Middleton was the most important thing. I assume that this also has some cap implications so maybe another move? Butler?

note: just saw butler was moved. catching up on morning news.

@erikthredd said:
No Butler trade yet although there are a ton of reports talking about the 3 team deal I mentioned a few comments up last night. Milwaukee is likely still trying to upgrade but I highly doubt that it would involve Butler going there, supposedly he's dead set on ending up with the Suns. Also any trade that would have saw him go to the Bucks would have included Middleton 31M salary.

So you're telling me there's a chance!

someone asked me an interesting question yesterday as we were discussing how little we enjoy watching basketball the last few years... He said.. "Who do you think has the best roster if the NBA got rid of the 3-pt field goal?". I couldn't even consider that question because I got stuck thinking... Wow. They should just get rid of the 3 pointer...

@erikthredd said:

@bgr said:
someone asked me an interesting question yesterday as we were discussing how little we enjoy watching basketball the last few years... He said.. "Who do you think has the best roster if the NBA got rid of the 3-pt field goal?". I couldn't even consider that question because I got stuck thinking... Wow. They should just get rid of the 3 pointer...

One) the NBA would never do that and two) basketball probably wouldn't look any different even if there weren't a 3pt line. Every offense would need players that could hit outside shots and make it possible to be able to score in the paint or you'd literally have 10 dudes standing in a 12'x19' box. That would be a pretty entertaining spectacle.

The level of basketball being played today really isn't any different than it was back then. Teams have been taking 20-40 bad shots every game going back decades, it's just that the league as a whole finally caught on that if you're going to shoot that many FGs (on plays where you weren't able to run your offense for whatever reasons) each night, you might as well shoot them from a little farther out and gain an additional point with every make.

Looks different to me.

Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson & Dennis Schroder & a pick.

GS throwing 121M at him for two more seasons must have changed Jimmy's mind real quick, just a day or two ago he wanted no part of Dubs Nation. Both sides each found out that beggars can't be choosers.

I'll have to find out when Jimmy's first game with Steph is to get a quick look of those two together.

@Steven59 said:
Good bounce back for the Cavs tonight without Mitchell. Garland hits a 3 with no time left for the win!

Cavs just got a really good 3&D wing for Caris Levert, Georges Niang and picks. He's been pretty high up on the best 6th Man list this season.
I'd be surprised if he doesn't replace Max Strus in the starting lineup but if he came off the bench, Hunter & Ty Jerome were the two best players on a really good Virginia team a short time ago and would probably have good chemistry together.
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/02/hawks-to-trade-deandre-hunter-to-cavaliers.html

Looks like KD is staying in Phoenix and after the Luka trade, Butler to GS was the next biggest move. If Steph, Butler & Green can get into the playoffs, somewhat healthy, they could be a really tough matchup for teams providing the rest of the rotation does they're part. After that though, these next two years could get rough if one or more of those top 3 players regresses even more due to age. They had to do something though, Steph may only have two more years for all we know.

As for the other trades...
I really liked the Cavs adding DeAndre Hunter, especially just two days after Boston reminded them that they needed a little more defense on the wing. Hunter is long and is pretty much having a career year.

I only caught the first three quarters of the Fox debut with SA and you can just see in that short amount of time that Fox sliding into that rotation is going to be seamless. That Spurs team is going to be so fun to watch with all those athletic wings surrounding Wemby. Between Fox & Cp3, they're going to keep pushing the ball and play at a high pace which will play right into Fox strengths as arguably one of the quickest players in the league. He's already known for winning the inaugural NBA Clutch Player of the Year award.

My guy Marcus Smart got sent to NBA SIberia in Washington which might actually be a good place for him to go rehab completely for a season after dealing with injury after injury since leaving Boston. Get right, then the Wiz would probably find him a new home at next year's deadline.

The Bucks got younger and more athletic on the wings between adding Kuzma & Kevin Porter Jr. Porter Jr had a game recently against Boston with LA's top 6-7 players out and practically carried the Clippers to a win where the game came down to the final play of OT. He's someone that could definitely create his own shot while coming off that Bucks bench. Don't know much about Jericho Sims other than he's probably going to be another big that offenses will single out while on defense.

I actually really like how the Kings look after that big Fox trade and their other deadline moves. Lavine can knockdown shots with the clock winding down and is having a career year shooting the ball. Valanciunas will be the guy coming off the bench to do the dirty work and Jake LaRavia has decent upside for a young wing. They probably won't go far in the playoffs but they should be able to at least stay over .500, maybe even be a little better if Doug Christie could keep their defense rolling.

Sounds like Luka had some say in the Lakers finding him a lob threat with the Mark Williams addition. Its crazy that they're already two steps into a total rebuild going from Lebron to Luka long term. For the short term, those two are going to brutal to defend in the halfcourt where both are capable of being on each side of a pick & roll.

Still can't fathom what Nico Harrison was thinking there. As long as AD is healthy (and its been pretty good to this point in the season) he's going to be elite on both ends, its the part about not getting enough additional future assets that has everyone baffled. Just horrible asset management on his part. Luka is already one of the best competitors in the league and you just embarrassed him in front of the world, for whatever reasoning. If this doesn't start his villain arch where he now really takes over the league I don't know what will. One way or another it should be entertaining though, maybe we'll get some Boston vs LA Finals out of it. 😉

Cavs ran up against a pesky Wizards team tonight - didn't pull away unto the 4th quarter. No Hunter tonight. Supposed to play on Monday.

I have been really looking forward to this Celtics/Knicks game tonight. It was raining Boston threes back when they met on Ring night and this Knicks lineup has had plenty of time to get to know each other since then. Round 2 should make for a good game.

Sorry Luka, Mark Williams won't be catching many lobs from you anytime soon.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43756073/lakers-hornets-deal-nixed-williams-fails-physical-sources-say

Warriors v Bulls was strange tonight. Bulls led by 24 points midway in the third quarter and ended up losing by 21. Curry had 34 points.at the end of the third quarter, including 24 points he scored in the third quarter. Jimmy Butler scored 25 in his Warrior debut.

Warriors play the Bucks on Monday,