Lol. Ainge is a snake. There's absolutely no point in believing anything he's saying. Not that I fault or blame him for that. When any GM speaks, he should be doing so in order to best the interest of his club, even if it is outright lying. Brown definitely has upside... but the best thing about him is he's still so young.
Morey's comments were made before PG publicly killed his value, so I doubt he was talking about the PG trade with the sleeve comment.
Just imagine if D-mo would of passed his physical. We would of had Detroit's pick and sitting pretty.
It's over, fellas. Paul George will not be traded here even if we now come up with those picks. The Draft is over so adding picks is a little less important to them while adding Star players or players with potentials to be an All-Star is little more important to them now. Plus Morey seem to be moving on to Free Agency now but we are in a bad position unless we can't clear cap space. We should go after Serge Ibaka if we can't get PG13, though. This still sucks because Morey is a STINKING Dork for signing Amderson to that ridiculous contract he simply can't fill. Dude doesn't even know how to run right to be playing in the NBA. He'd drive to the rim and fall down after throwing up a shot. Fat slob probably thought it was a swimming pool he's diving into. And fans look at that and shake their heads the kind of embarassement Morey brought to this squad. Morey been chasing this guy for years. When we had Howard, that was a reason to acquire Anderson but I was still vehemently against it because he just sucks. But Howard left, and there was no need for a stretch-four PF but Morey acted like we had a need for it when Capela is not a dominant force like Hakeem to require a stretch 4. And we see how that don't means anything when Capela is not yet there with a dominant post game. Morey should have sign more quality role players as those pieces can be coupled with one of our Starters and we could have gotten Ibaka last season. But this fat, stinking DORK dropped 80 millions/4 years in a ascending scale, pay-rate to a sorry-a** joke he "thought" had the tools to be a sidekick to Harden. I just can't get over it how Morey saw this pig as a legitimate sidekick to Harden. Does this fool live under a rock? You disrespect Harden by pairing him with Anderson and "thought" that s*** was gonna be the same level of duo like: - Curry/Stephen (or Durant) - Bron/Irving - Kawhi/Aldridge And tandems like that? I SWEAR Morey jeed to he SLAPPED!
Chris Mannix: Pacers were hoping that someone would approach them with a bigger offer than what they received up to that point. That didn't come. Teams are still trying to steal George for 40 cents on the dollar & believe they should. It's a risk of a rental. The Butler trade goes down, they didn't get equal value but did get LaVine, Dunn & 7. I wonder if there was a sense in the Pacers front office to let the dust settle on this trade. I do think he gets dealt if not in the next couple of days, certainly the first week in free agency. Nothing blew the Pacers away. Let's say the Celtics know they want Gordon Hayward. George apparently said he wanted to play with Hayward. Let's say there's a wink wink. Maybe Hayward is leaning towards Boston & Boston knows that. Based on the $99M we have as the cap & you have to pay him $29M, you need to have that money on July 1. How do they work out a George trade when you need $19M off the books to do it? If I'm the Pacers, I want the draft picks. If I'm the Celtics, I gotta give up money off the books. You do. There are always way to move contracts. When SA signed Aldridge, they gave away Tiago Splitter. There are always teams on the bottom end with cap space that are willing to take on your big salary if you include, say, a 2nd round draft pick. Those teams are everywhere. I don't think salary gymnastics are prohibitive in a George trade. I do think there is redundancy with George & Hayward. They're both SF who overlap somewhat in skills. I don't see any of them coming as a package. At best, one of them comes to Boston. Do you buy the Kevin Love stuff? Not a high market for Love right now. If they Cavs are gonna move him, they're looking for a Paul George type player. They'll have problems moving Love to the point where I think they've given up on that. Love is a good player but what does Indiana need Kevin Love for? Cleveland is in a tough spot to improve that team. Unless willing to move Kyrie Irving, they won't find a significant upgrade out there. You don't think George & Hayward can co-exist? It's possible, especially the way Boston plays. Horford at the 5 and conceivably George at the 4, who has done it before but doesn't love it. He could do it in a small ball lineup. The signals out of Boston I'm getting is Gordon Hayward. If they can steal Paul George, they'd do it. There is some optimism in Boston that they can get him(Hayward). A big selling point will be look at the Jazz, look at where they are, look at the competition. They made a move last night to replace George Hill. Utah will be proactive in FA. They'll still make a run at Chris Paul. If they lose Hill & end up with young players, Boston will point Gordon in that direction. You want to be part of that the next 4 years? We're a 53 win team, close to 60 with you. ... I thought if they got past the first round, that'd be a big boost for Hayward. Then it happens & they don't lead for a single minute that series vs. Golden State. ... When we get to July, he'll agonize over this decision. If he signs with Boston, he won't show up with a beaming smile. He's the type of guy who will have a rough time making the call to walk away from the Utah Jazz. Miami & Hayward? All about Spoelstra & Riley, that system & they've done it before. I don't know how to explain it because I've never been in the room but every FA/agent I talk to, they say they're phenomenal. They sell you on their program. They have a clear, concise plan. They're never gonna try to lose. That's not in their DNA & that appeals to players. Every single night, they try to win. I don't think that's realistic for Hayward but they'll be in the mix like they always are & tough for players to turn them down. Disarray in Cleveland & how much has it affected Boston's plans? What they do over the next couple of weeks will be significant. What moves do they make? Boston has a clear plan. They're going into FA with Hayward in mind & we get him, that's an "A" offseason. Do you not buy Tatum was not their pick? He might have been their guy but disagree on trading off Fultz. I wonder could Boston have made a Porzingis deal if they still had #1. Jackson wanted that elite guard. I thought they reached at 8. That's how badly they wanted that elite PG. If they still had #1, could they have gotten that Porzingis deal done? JJ Redick is on the Sixers radar. He wants to get paid. He wants $18M+. Philadelphia has that money to spend. He's an ideal fit for that team.
Just imagine for a second how much of a leap this team could take especially from the defensive end if we could have this lineup: Capela Millsap George Harden Beverley Suffocating defense. Not to mention that many of the defensive liabilities from last year (Anderson, Gordon, Lou) would be gone to make this happen.
Zach Lowe & Brian Windhorst ZL: Cavs & Pacers talked about Paul George. I think they were ongoing yesterday up until the wire. Anything happening here? BW: Cavs have been somewhat frustrated by what Love's value on the market. They were unable to get a draft pick that was good enough to get them into the Butler sweepstakes. They can get a package for Love. It's just not a great package. The Cavs are okay taking the one-year gamble. Pacers, at this point, will not. Pritchard had a fascinating press conference last night. He must have said gut punch seven times when Paul's agent called him a week ago. ZL: Lakers were made as the known destination. BW: Reason Kevin was so upset was because he had several conversations with Paul about team building & what they could do with their roster & in the draft. He indicated that not only was on the same page but enthusiastic about it. While they realized they were in a tough situation & not going to be able to extend him(super max/not making all-NBA), they thought he was still on board. Paul's comments to the media a couple of days before this happened would have made the Pacers feel OK. That's what Kevin was reacting to. Those conversations were undercut & disingenuous. A very candid press conference. He said they can trade Paul at any time. He said we have offers on the table with all-star players. I took that as Kevin Love. If you're going to rebuild, trading for Love doesn't exactly excite you. ZL: I've polled people around the league. Would you rather have Randle, Clarkson, 27 & 28 or Love? Most said Love. Clarkson is not well regarded. Picks are what they are. Randle is eligible for an extension now. BW: Lakers won't be extending him. ZL: Love is really good still. If he has a great half season there, maybe they can flip him somewhere but if teams aren't trying to win now, maybe not. I kinda like Julius Randle. I've had people say Randle on a $15M-$18M deal as dead money. I'm intrigued. I don't know what the Pacers should do. Love is out there. Celtics are out there. I don't know what's best for Indiana. BW: I wouldn't want Clarkson. He's making $12M & is a backup. I'd like him on my team as a backup but not at that price. ZL: I was surprised Indiana didn't end up with D'Angelo Russell. I guess they wouldn't discuss Mozgov or Deng. If they are trying to sign George & player X, they need to trade all of their young players except Young & Ball. Randle, Clarkson, Russell gone. If I were the Pacers, Russell would've been my first choice. BW: They weren't taking on Mozgov. ... They're not taking on a contract. If they're paying the player, they are going to like the player. We'll see. Sometimes the draft applies pressure but enables more negotiations. If I were the Pacers, I would have held out for a lottery pick. ZL: Everyone says they want a top 5-10 pick. BW: Draft is over now. If the Cavs couldn't deliver a top 10 pick in lieu of Kevin Love, maybe taking Love takes on a different light after June 22. ZL: I thought Minnesota could offer a worse version of the Butler offer. BW: Don't you think they take LaVine & 7 in a second? ZL: No evidence it happened. If you're Indiana, you're not getting better than that. BW: So seeing what the Bulls got for Butler, how would you feel if you're the Celtics today and how might that impact what you do for George? ZL: Something is going on with the Celtics. They could have beaten any of these offers for Butler. Bulls were asking for different stuff. They were haggling over Crowder. Celtics just weren't willing to pay the cost for Butler. I don't know what it is. They just don't want the guy or badly enough. BW: That's true. I feel like...they were given a blow when the cap came in lower than expected. It now means they may have to get rid of or not bring over an extra player for a max salary slot. Seeing Butler was traded for a package they could have matched, that's put them in an awkward position. They keep pushing the line back. It's been awhile since...before yesterday, who was the last star player traded? ZL: Good question. BW: Was it Kevin Love? Oh, DeMarcus Cousins I guess. My point is, this doesn't happen often where a star is available. One is gone & there is one left that everyone can see. They have all these assets. If George is traded & it's not to them and they don't land Hayward, where are we with the Celtics? ZL: What's up with the Celtics is that they think they'll get someone for free in free agency. Every signal we're getting is we're not giving up picks because we can get player Y for free & still try and get another by trade later. The Celtics are confident. They know how pivitol this summer is. They're confident they'll get someone to sign there. BW: Why not have both? ZL: We'll see. ..... ZL: What do you make of LeBron-LA stuff? It's not new. How realistic is it he leaves? BW: It's possible for sure. Decided? Ridiculous. Year & a half before he left Miami, I got a pretty good sense he would go back to Cleveland someday. Didn't know it would be the first opportunity. I don't get the sense it's been decided he's going to LA but I do get the sense it is a possibility. It's bubbling up because he sold his house in Miami, bought one in LA & spends the offseason here now. Maverick Carter has moved to LA. Rich Paul has bought a house here. The Lakers are a franchise experiencing a rebirth. Put it together, people start to make conclusions. LA is a possibility. Nothing has been decided & isn't interested in making a decision until a year from now. ZL: I don't think LeBron's next arc is going to be the banana boat team. I don't think he thinks he can beat the Warriors with those guys. Thoughts? BW: From my understanding, the days of LeBron taking a discount is over. If Melo & Wade got bought out & played together in Cleveland... ZL: I'm talking next era. ..... BW: Lowry's market will be tight. He doesn't have a hell of a lot of options. ..... ZL: Rockets? What are they up to? They only have $10M-$12M in cap room. They're chasing all these big names. I have no idea how they'll get max space. BW: It's come out now but I do know Chris Paul is legitimately interested in playing there, which is strange. Doesn't seem like a good fit. I still think he stays in LA. It's too much money. ZL: Too much money & 5th year is massively important. BW: LeBron can afford to leave $30M on the table by walking away from the Cavs. LeBron has that luxury of having so much money. I don't know if Chris Paul is like that. I was talking to Paul Pierce about this yesterday & talking about Chris. He just said, "Yeah, I know he's frustrated but it's so much money & when you're in LA, it opens up so much things. Not just State Farm but also a whole bunch of thing around town that don't exist elsewhere. It's just too much money for Chris Paul. I feel like Chris will stay put. Going back to Houston, I think Patrick Beverley is a good player on a great contract. I love him as a player & his contract. Ryan Anderson is perfect for them. I understand they want to upgrade their roster but I don't know. Obviously if you know for sure you can get Paul George by trading Eric Gordon & Beverley, yes, of course you'd do that but I don't know how realistic that is. ZL: You'd need to throw in at least two unprotected future firsts to even start a conversation with Indiana. Daryl has always said we'll work out the fit later. What's interesting in Paul is...he's a good enough shooter off the ball. That's a solvable problem. The thing interesting about Paul is, even Carmelo who has been rumored there as well if he can get out of Knicks land, is you'd be bringing in one of the greatest mid-range shooters in the history of the league to a team that literally refuses to take mid-range shots. You hear coaches and this is 3 years in a row Houston's offense has taken a dive in the playoffs. You hear coaches say they're not hard to defend. You can gameplan for them because they won't take a mid-range shot. Stick Gasol at the rim & their offense...Thunder & Spurs chipped away at Houston's identity. It worked for the Spurs, a little for the Thunder. It'd be fascinating to see what shots Chris Paul would take in Houston. As prolific as they are, they need to be less predictable & more versatile to beat the very best teams in the league. As an experiment, it'd be fascinating to see. BW: On 'Melo, the word is he's concerned about family. If he leaves NY, he doesn't want to be far away. The Western Conference is an encumbrance as it's far away from New York. ... BTW, Chris Paul is in position to get a no trade clause if he stays in LA.
To me Gordon + Pat + Dekker + 1st is way better than Love. If we talk about Anderson + Pat + Harrell i would agree with you.
I agree. This is a good base for a team. You can let these guys play and probably sell high on them at the trade deadline and get a nice return if your Indy.
I don't understand why people think we're 100% anti mid range shots. Did we not pursue Aldridge and Melo already at some point, two guys who specialize in scoring from that area? Do they think that if we had acquired one of those guys we would've completely forbidden(forbade?) them from shooting mid range?
Love is still a Top 20 player. He doesn't fit as well as Bosh or Draymond as the third guy, but he's very good and relatively young. Cleveland/Indiana would probably have to trade him to somewhere he wants to play though which complicates things.
I think as was said in the podcast or whatever it is with Windhorst: it would likely take Bev + Gordon + two future firsts to even get into the conversation. Nice that CP3 has interest in playing here, even if I won't hold my breath on his signing our contract offer.
I wonder what Morey actually offered...if this is actually the deal they have on the table with us... Anyway, i get Indiana might want more, but looking at the situation, getting 3 good/interesting players locked for 2/3 more years in just 20M wouldn't be that bad imo.
