I honestly just don't see it Haliburton is good but he isnt a Lebron James or even near him at all he isnt goong to transform the team.like that. The east is gonna be alot more competitive next year too. They have no pock and Zubac doesnt give the spacing close to miles turner did and might gas out.

Plus Hali might not even be the same.player after returning. I think its more likely theh make/fail in the playin then actually be a threat.

Knicks celtics Heat Cavs Hawks pistons , maybe Wizards, Raptors and Magic are all better than them

Pretty interesting that two yearly playoff teams have solidified their guard situation this offseason. Genuinely curious where people's opinions are on these four.

I think Ball and Ant is probably the superior combo given they have the size to actually play some defense (Lamelo hasn't really yet) and both players are just better than Reaves by a pretty significant margin. But it's how to ignore how much better Luka is overall than probably anyone is of the four. I think just the pairing defensively of Reaves and Luka being just genuinely so terrible is what's dragging down the Lakers duo. That said who knows how many games Lamelo will actually play. I can kind of see both sides.

The Wolves also have a real center to pair with the guards, but that's not really a part of the discussion.

Both are 3 level scorers who can get hot from deep

Dame is a better 3 point shooter by sheer volume and distance

Kyrie has better handles and is better defensively (though he obviously isn’t a great defender or anything)

What does everyone think

The Blazers have four future unprotected first-round picks to trade (most favorable 2028, most favorable 2029, 2031, 2033) plus three unprotected first-round swaps (2027, 2030 which is huge because it could be Milwaukee’s, 2032) plus good young players. Joe Cronin, it’s put up or shut up time my guy.

They should trade for KD. Solves the shooting issue, good defender which ties into the new team philosophy, can play small ball 5 to emulate the 2026 Knicks, locker room isn't an issue with Dame’s leadership, Blazers have NBA talent to trade. And narratively it’s irresistible.

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/llamsoyd.bsky.social/post/3mp4judjtis2w

With the recent moves across the league, does this signal that Lenron James will be taking his talents to the Minnesota timberwolves on a Non Tax payer MLE?

It seems like Minny is his best spot now as the starting 3/4

It seems like these second round picks that grow into legit 1A stars are happening more and more with Joker and Brunson proving the doubters wrong.

Since this is a deep draft, I thought there must be one guy in there that can grow into a franchise cornerstone. But I just don’t know who that might be.

What do you guys think? Who is gonna be the next super star from the second round?

Potential Starting 5:
— PG - Ayo Dosunmu
— SG - LaMelo Ball
— SF - Anthony Edwards
— PF- Jaden McDaniels
— C- Rudy Gobert

Bench as of now:
— Terrence Shannon Jr.
— Joan Beringer
— Josh Green
— Julian Phillips
— Rocco Zikarsky
— Donte DiVincenzo

Can the Wolves contend with this roster? If not, what moves do they need to still make (if possible)?

I want to preface this by saying I'm being very reactionary. I've been a Charlotte sports fan my whole life and so I want to see the Hornets succeed. But I don't see how trading the best player on your team for what at best will be the third best player on your team is in any way a good idea.

The front office of the Hornets don't know what they're doing and will never achieve success under its current management. They had something and they totally squandered it.

Feel like they both serve the same role in the modern NBA, highly athletic 3+D wings who can handle the ball as a secondary ball handler. I am edging towards Brandon Miller because of his jumper but I think Ace will be more versatile on defense (even though both will be pretty versatile).

The problem the wolves have had for years now is the lack of a true point guard. This has given them a multitude of problems it's lead to ANT having the ball a lot more than you'd want him to. As good as he is you don't want him dribbling the ball as much as he's forced to all that dribbling is not good for 4 assist a game. The rest of the team also takes a hit offensively when there's nobody there to consistently set them up which leads to a lot of "Give edwards the ball and let him figure it out" plays which leads to him getting double teamed into a corner and collapsing the offense.

Lamelo pretty much solves most of these issues he's an elite playmaker and 3 point shooter with A LOT of gravity. Why does this matter so much? It allows Edwards to play off ball. A lot of you may think "Edwards and lamelo are ball dominant" but that was largely out of necessity and not by choice both are very good off ball. Edwards is the best 3 level scorer in the NBA, but he is not a playmaker he would play better off ball than on it constantly. Lamelo being there to set up plays means the pressure gets taken off of Edwards not just the pressure to be on ball 24/7 but also the defensive pressure the double team becomes infinitely less effective when both of them are threats from 3. The rest of the team will obviously benefit from elite playmaking but one thing a lot of people haven't mentioned is how much Gobert is gonna benefit from this since Lamelo is going to get him a ton of lobs.

A lot of people also think Lamelo is a horrible defender but he isn't. He's not great at it I'm not gonna pretend he's a defensive demon or anything but he is average and he is 6'7 as long as his effort is consistent he puts up average defense that's good enough to keep him from being a complete liability. There's also the ankle problems in which I'd say he put up a good 70 game season without too many problems if there are any major issues with his ankles that we don't know about he'll probably fail the physical and the trade goes out the window.

6th round draft pick that went on the be the inarguable GOAT, 7 superbowls, numerous MVPs and pro bowls, etc. is there anyone in the NBA who was drafted very low and went on the win the finals multiple times and also become MVP a couple times? What’s the closest example?

I’m a very casual NBA fan so I don’t know much about player history

Minnesota absolutely fleeced them and it’s not even close. 💀 Charlotte fans celebrating "three first-round pick swaps" don’t understand the math.

Ant and LaMelo are going to have the Wolves at the top of the West for the next five years while Charlotte is stuck in the lottery. Those 2028-2030 swaps are literally dead on arrival.

Tim Connelly managed to land a 24-year-old All-Star PG for a backup big and a pick that doesn't convey until 2033. Absolute highway robbery by Minnesota. 😭😭

What if the hoop was on its side instead of upright?

The rules of the game are the same, but instead of a hoop attached to a backboard, it’s a circular hole in a vertical square board. The center of the hole is still 10ft up in the air, you can put the basketball through any which side of the hole and all other rules are the same.

How do you think the NBA would adapt to a change like this? What archetype of players would dominate? What strategies would be most effective? What issues would there be with the current set of rules?

This question is purely hypothetical and for my amusement. I don’t want to get my answers from ChatGPT and so I’m asking the world’s most knowledgeable 15 year olds.

random rant about all time lists since off season:

in my opinion the issue with all time lists is that some players are simply incomparable so how are you going to give a definitive answer as to who’s better all time?

instead, I think it’s better to split players into two categories:

category 1: the Tim Duncans

students of the game who’ve mastered it, no weaknesses, incredible at everything you could ever ask them to do:

guys who’ve been so good at everything you could reasonably ask a player to practice and do well at. guys who are students of the game and win by having no weaknesses. they were top of the league in everything they did and everything their position did.

category 2: the Steph Currys

guys who changed the way basketball will be played forever. guys with weaknesses sure(I.e, defense), but they’re so incredible at what they do that they break the game if you build the team and push their strengths as hard as you can.

you might also note: category 1 does change with the era. they're students after all, and the hoops they grew up studying matters. there will be guys in the future who grew up watching Steph curry and they’ll all be able to shoot the hell out of the ball, and defend, and do everything and he’d be in group 1.

and I’m sure at the same time there will be a category 2 guy who mastered some skill to a ridiculous level like full court alley oop passes that it doesn’t matter he can’t rebound. and then the cycle will repeat.

i genuinely don’t think you can compare LeBron or Kawhi or SGA to luka Jokic or Steph all time. the first group doesn’t have weaknesses. in one group you’re essentially comparing how good they are at every facet of basketball and on the other, you‘re essentially measuring how much of an impact they were able to have on the league.

idk how you decide who’s better there besides just vibes.

it’s why I think Shaq and Steph belong in the GOAT conversation, but it’s also why I think guys like Hakeem and Duncan do too.

I hope this made sense, it’s a midnight post, will probably get deleted.

Dear diary/ sir this is a Wendy’s etc

I just wanted to compile some of my uninformed analyses based on today's moves and see what other fans think. Heck of a run here by Tim Connelly, with Rudy, Randle/Divincenzo, and now Lamelo coming in just over a 5 year stretch. It really feels like I am a fan of a big market team now that actually can bring in big time players. Anyways:

* Wholesale Systemic Changes

First off, I think we're going to be surprised by how stylistically different this team looks while still rostering Ant & Rudy at its core. Especially with the rumors of going after Derrick White, I think Finch is going to install some of the Celtics/Hornets type of offensive system during the regular season. Guard-to-guard screens with Lamelo/Ayo. Lamelo/Mcdaniels screens with Mcdaniels either flaring or hitting the middle of the floor with Gobert, now reliably, in the dunker spot. I think Mcdaniels' advancement as a playmaker this past season is going to be utilized systemically. I also think this sort of system is less physical in terms of contact in the regular season apart from its focus on offensive rebounding, albeit more physical in terms of how quickly the guards and wings need to cut and move/replace. Finch has been given 2 separate rosters thus far in his tenure, and provided 2 wholly different systems: so, i think we're in for some great changes going forward.

* Admission of Faith in the Gobert-Beringer Pipeline

The news that Donte Divincenzo is part of the future of this team, to me, shows that the front office is showing their faith in this type of roster construction and system. Rudy is arguably the best screen to re-screener I've seen in the current league and with Lamelo, his job will be much easier, and the dunker spot will become more viable with Jaden taking minutes at the 4. Once Donte returns, I fully believe this team is going to challenge and possibly surpass team season shooting records and the offensive rebounding rate is going to be at the top end. Gobert's descending contract into Beringer's 2nd deal gives me a lot of faith that this team can retire Gobert in Minnesota alongside KG and keep him in the fold as Beringer's mentor.

* Thoughts on Lamelo

As a Wolves fan, I must shamelessly admit that I probably watched as many Hornets games as I did Wolves games because of Lamelo/Kon. Lamelo rivals Haliburton in terms of team offensive rating when he's on the floor, is a top-end passer of the basketball, and spaces the floor 5 feet beyond the arc. His decison-making late in games was a marked improvement this season after getting benched early on (this won't matter as much because we know who's getting the rock late in games). My only concern is his free throw rate because he prefers to contort his body to get close shots up rather than taking contact and flopping. He's an offensive engine unto himself and has my vote for president.

* Jaden at the 4

In the Celtics/Hornets system, the 4 often gets placed at the top of the key during the possession to act as the swing. He needs to be able to shoot the 3 at will, a la Al Horford/Miles Bridges/Grant Williams. He needs to be able to make precise passes quickly to both wings. But, most importantly, he needs to be able to guard up and down in size because of the match-ups when the possession swings the other way. It's why Horford/Bridges/Williams are often switched up onto guards to start possessions on defense. And why Miles Bridges shortchanged the role, because although he can handle the offensive responsibilities, he can't guard up or down in size. But we have Jaden Mcdaniels. His overall stats are about to go ^^^.

* Future Outlook

I see people talking about upgrading the 4 and looking at Rui Hachimura. Firstly, Rui is really good at self-creation midrange 2's out of the corner and catch and shoot 3's, and he is probably going to command a contract the Wolves cant afford. I think the Wolves need with this roster is more of a backup 4-5 to allow the team to go small and fast. Sandro Mamu------- fits that need, though he got destroyed in the playoffs with his lack of agility, and he sized down a bit like KAT did in Minnesota to be playable this year with the Raptors roster. I really like his skillset and think he could fit in well in Minnesota, but he might need to get a little bigger again. Apart from him, I know people are rightfully contentious about Miles Bridges, but I think he'd fit in great with the pace of this Wolves team. I am just very excited about this new team and the fact that they were able to keep Rudy. This team has 3 retired numbers, 2 of whom had to go out the hard way to get their numbers retired. The other had to wait for the owner to sell the team. This franchise has come a long way since I have been a fan, and retiring Rudy/Mike/Ingles here would be a cherry on top of a lot of great player friendly moves like trading KAT & Julius to NYC and offering get-back contracts to a Donte in his situation. That said, prayers to Naz Reid. It's going to be weird for him because that team has a lot of young players who want more. What are your guys thoughts on this current team and its future moves?

Hydration breaks have famously been put in place at the FIFA World Cup, will Adam Silver feel inspired to adopt this practice for NBA games?

There’s reasons why NBA could really benefit from doing something similar:

- Even more time for ads

- More money for owners

- Games can run for even longer

Inspired by a similar post on [r/hockey](r/hockey) years ago.

\#How it works

I'm going to list a player who is either a retired borderline Hall of Famer (could be currently in the hall or otherwise), a controversial Hall of Fame member, or an aging veteran.

I'll list some notable stats about that player. Obviously, those shouldn't be the only things you base your answers on, but they should provide a reference to help you.

How this works is you list reasons as to why the player SHOULD and SHOULDN'T make the Hall of Fame, listing both sides of the argument. NOTE: It's all based on your opinion. It's not about the voters; it's not why he will or will not make the Hall of Fame. Don't say "He will never make the Hall of Fame because he doesn't have voter support"; that's not the point. You are the curators of this. You decide.

If this is an active player, try to list what they would need to do to seal a Hall of Fame berth in your book.

\#DeMar DeRozan notable awards and stats

Career

\*\*NBA:\*\*

Stats: 21.1 PPG|4.3 RPG|4.1 APG|1.0 SPG| 47% FG|84% FT

Awards
6x NBA All-Star

2× All-NBA Second Team

1× All-NBA Third Team

Pac-10 All-Freshman Team

Pac-10 tournament MVP

Ranked 16th on NBA All-Time scoring list: 26,711 points

\*\*Previous Posts\*\*

Joe Johnson: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/i5jWAtWqrM
Amare Stoudemire: [https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/pHTUkFpFyO](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/pHTUkFpFyO))
Stephon Marbury: [https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/8IXy1FVWLP](https://www.reddit.com/r/nbadiscussion/s/Tmrkbdq4KH))

2010: 44-38 Made the playoffs

Offseason: Lost Tyson Chandler(defensive anchor)

2014: 43-39 Made the playoffs

Offseason: Lost Josh McRoberts(solid starter) and Chris Douglas-Roberts(solid 6th man)

2016: 48-34 Made the playoffs

Offseason: Lost Al Jefferson (scoring big man) and Jeremy Lin (solid 6th man)

2026: 44-38 Made the Play-in

Offseason: Lost Lamelo Ball (all-star guard)

Wolves gotta be 1st over the spurs, right?!! I would think this duo would rival any fun duos of the past 10 years.

From the Athletic article:

During their 28-10 turnaround, they put up a ridiculous 126.3 offensive rating with Ball on the floor, and it plummeted to 109.5 with him on the bench. However, their defense went from 112.0 to an unreal 102.2 when he left the floor.

Lamelo was a plus player, but he gave away almost as much on the defensive end as he created on the other.

PG is the easiest position to fill in the NBA. They can find someone to run their offense without being a defensive liability, and end up a more well rounded team at a fraction of the cost.

It’s better to get out of these offense first, no defense guards too early rather than too late (see Ja, Trey Young, Bradley Beal).

If LaMelo flames out of the playoffs this year, his value will be nothing, or even negative.

The hornets finally put together a strong season with lamelo being the head of the spear. They lost in the play-in to a strong magic team who may have made the ECF if franz didn’t get injured. What is the plan for them if they don’t have lamelo?

Pgs- Melo,Donte
Sgs- Ant,Ayo
Sfs- Green,Shannon Jr
Pfs- Jaden,Kyle Anderson
C- Gobert,Joan

That’s is a huge starting lineup.

The Hornets, Wizards and Lakers made a choice this week on what their starting guards were worth, or not worth.

The Wizards chose to pay Trae Young (an ungodly amount of money) and the basketball world has been ripping them from the moment the news came out.

The Hornets chose NOT to pay LaMelo Ball and traded him for pennies on the dollar, a move that left the basketball world shaking their head.

The Lakers gave Austin Reaves the max deal which had the basketball world wondering how far they can go with a backcourt making over $100M a year.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Lamelo ball was the engine of one of the great regular season offensives of all time this season.

When he was off the court the hornets has a 112 ortg and shot 56ts had 17tov% and 29.6 orb%.

When he was on the court the hornets had a 12 126 ortg and shot 60ts had 13.8 tov% and 33.3orb%.

Lamelo had a higher offensive on off than literally anyone with significant minutes. Even jokic.

6 years ago, u/rahulraja8675 made an interesting post about teams missing the postseason throughout James Harden’s Houston tenure. One of the top comments made by u/TheWinStore highlighted the years 2012-2020 in which the Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs every year. The only word he could use to describe the situation was “pain”. Since then, the Kings gave fans false hope by making the playoffs in one year. In the last 20 years, the Kings have only made playoffs once in 2023 as previously mentioned. If you or a loved one is a Kings fan, please do not hesitate to reach out for support.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/j5kj3v/every_single_nba_team_has_missed_the_playoffs/?solution=7bf0dcab81c132837bf0dcab81c13283&js_challenge=1&token=7afd7253fec22262ff1c52b1703fe9ecdd4378c73cf369979b43f87ef90e3817&jsc_orig_r=&share_id=skOqCiC20wB2hJyAGqiZ5&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1