• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

2013 NBA Offseason |OT| Already Planning for the 2014 Offseason

Boozer has played in practically every Bulls game for two years straight. On an injury riddled team, he's been their iron man.

You know, you're right. Just checked, looks like he missed 3 games this year with a bad hammy but he's otherwise been available. I guess it's that trackrecord from Utah and his first season.
 

SamuraiX-

Member

This article is pretty awesome.

We’ve been gearing up for Tankapalooza 2014, but look carefully around the league and try to spot the True Tankers. Portland has spent to fill out its bench in hopes of backing up a solid starting five. The Pelicans are aiming for that no. 8 slot. The Cavaliers, fresh off lottery night boasts, opened the checkbooks for a 29-year-old backup guard in Jack and explored all sorts of trades before the draft that would have improved them this season. Dallas is piling up veterans to put around poor Dirk Nowitzki. Detroit signed Josh Smith, a huge boost to its rotation. The Wizards are in Playoffs Or Bust mode, Atlanta will be solid (assuming they lock in a point guard), the Bucks are using veteran rotation guys to stay afloat, the Kings are at least trying, and even the Bobcats overpaid for a veteran possession sponge in Al Jefferson.

fucking lol @ "veteran possession sponge"

That’s a large pile of potential Tankers doing stuff that might help them win basketball games this season, though a few could pivot to Suck Mode (and not Blow Mode) midseason if need be. Only Orlando stands out as a team that could have gained major cap flexibility but has chosen instead to stand pat and go slowly.

It’s a reminder that ownership pressures matter in ways that can be hard to see. Tom Benson, the Hornets’ owner, has instructed the front office that the team needs to take a significant step forward this season, according to several sources around the league. The Bucks’ ownership has always pushed a “stay competitive” agenda. The Pistons are proud, and sick of losing, and they have the extra incentive of making sure the draft pick they must still send Charlotte via the Ben Gordon–Corey Maggette commodity exchange is as low in the first round as possible.

And the Bobcats understand they are dealing with a major perception problem. There is being bad, and there is being a total embarrassment, and the Bobcats over the last two years have been the latter. That is untenable for a team holding a very fragile grip over its local market, likely losing money (before revenue-sharing), and carrying max-level cap space into the foreseeable future.


Here you go, DY:
The Jefferson contract is bad. There is no way anyone could have watched the NBA over the last few seasons and concluded Jefferson might be worth double Millsap over the potential length of their deals, and about $4 million more than Millsap over a per-year basis. He’s a slow-footed, not intuitive defender against the pick-and-roll in a league in which just about every team runs a pick-and-roll on every possession. Want to be depressed, Charlotte fans? Find video of the Spurs-Jazz series from the 2012 playoffs.

...

But Jefferson is a very good offensive player, if an overrated one, and the Bobcats over the last two seasons have been just as terrible on offense as on defense. Jefferson shoots 47 percent like clockwork, draws near-automatic double-teams to his residence on the left block, and avoids turnovers at a historically unprecedented rate. He’s not ultra-efficient — he rarely gets to the line — but he’s efficient enough, and he’ll take a ton of possessions away from very bad offensive players dotting the rest of this roster.
 
I ought to muster up some care for the home city Bobcats. I'll work on it. It might be easier once they officially re-emerge as the Hornets.

It's more fun to point and laugh, though.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
Drummond is such a beast, guy is brick house. Hopefully he can stay healthy really want to watch him play and see what he can do. Excited to watch KO.

Also detroit fans, Monroe is also a beast comin up, with smoove yuckin up your roster now, which of the young 2 would you rather them flip?
 

linsivvi

Member
He was pretty decent in spurts last year. Kept his displeasure with his role in the locker room and proved he deserved minutes when Mike D's hand was forced to play him. I wish the dude well.

This. I don't know about the guy's history but he was very professional last season. A good deal for the Clips as long as it's close to the minimum salary.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
KO has some nice dishes, good vision, good timing. Again it's summer league, but his fundamentals and instincts so far have been impressive.
 

Bread

Banned
Lol

These Boston guards man

Can't even make a pass off the pick and pop without throwing it into the fucking backcourt.
The sad thing is we don't even have a ball handler until Rondo comes back. Not sure why Danny thinks he can get by with Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee running point.
 

SamuraiX-

Member
Another great excerpt:
The owners locked out the players almost exactly two years ago so that they could make more money. They also parroted talking points about engineering parity (“competitive balance”) and, far below that rhetoric, rejiggering the salary structure so that it better reflected the value players actually provide. The losers in that equation, we all thought, would be midtier veterans on the wrong side of the age curve.

Whoops. Look at the deals for Kyle Korver (four years, $24 million), Jose Calderon (four years, $29 million), Kevin Martin (four years, $30 million), J.J. Redick (four years, $27 million), O.J. Mayo (three years, $24 million), Tony Allen (four years, $20 million), J.J. Hickson (three years, $15 million), Zaza Pachulia (three years, $15 million), J.R. Smith (four years, $25 million), Jack (four years, $25 million), and others. Midtier veterans, even aging ones, are doing just fine.
 

B.O.O.M

Member
CJ's number is 3

945096_10151574198146137_202680773_n.jpg
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
The sad thing is we don't even have a ball handler until Rondo comes back. Not sure why Danny thinks he can get by with Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee running point.

I think that's the plan, no? Wiggins future. Seriously though I'm startin to get a bit nervous with the way the east is shaping up, I can see this ass roster making a push for the 8th seed with the state of the east. If KO can contribute, and Sulinger is healthy they definitely have a shot at it. Will be nice to see Rondo gettin the ball to KO and not having to worry about massaging everybodies minutes.
 

SamuraiX-

Member
KCP looks bad. like he'll be playing in China after his rookie contract is up.

Doesn't look at all different from his shitastic performance from yesterday.

If this is a consistent theme for him in the remainder of summer league, I'm pretty sure you can start raising some legitimate red flags.

Rodeo and WolvesAge may have really dodged a bullet.

guys.. lots of rookies are going to look pretty bad right now.

When a guy who was drafted Top 10 primarily for his shooting ability over anything else is bricking shots as bad as Ben Wallace would if he was shooting 3s, I'd say it's pretty fair to show a little concern.
 
The Al Jefferson signing was awful. He doesn't play defense and he's slow as hell. What was the point in drafting Zeller, again? The Bobcats should have started Biyombo and Zeller. Sure, they'd be awful, but at least they'd have a year to develop. And the team would be bad enough to land the number one pick.
 

diehard

Fleer
When a guy who was drafted Top 10 primarily for his shooting ability over anything else is bricking shots as bad as Ben Wallace would if he was shooting 3s, I'd say it's pretty fair to show a little concern.

Maybe some concern is warranted, but i remember guys like KD being pretty bad in SL.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive

exarkun

Member
KO is redonkulous on offense. He gets into rhythm so easily, and has great footwork. His D isn't terrible, so that means hes already better than Griffin.

MCW looks best when coming off screens and going to baskets. Or when looking to get others involved. When he slows down, it looks baaad.
 

diehard

Fleer
Wait, so that Randy Foye trade DID go down? .. either these tweets are confusing or gaf let me down.

We basically own every Warriors draft pick forever
 

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
Wreckage

Do you even know who are front court consisted of last year?

We literally had to play Diop because there was no one else. So getting Al, Zeller, and Mcroberts does nothing but address the fact that we had one of the worst backcourts the league had seen in years.

Al is better than West, who's been surrounded by players good enough to make him no more than complimentary piece at every place he's ever been an impact, and Millsap - who's flatout overachieved his entire career. The deal is 3 years and it acts as our cap floor basically as we don't have to make any other signings until rookie contracts are up.

We could always chase Monta or something though.
 

Zeus Molecules

illegal immigrants are stealing our air
Hope knicks can get steisma. He's not good but if the knicks can get 10 minutes a game from him for tyson to sit at the minimum I think he would be servicable
 
Al isn't close to West or Millsap, come on, DY. He's one of the worst in the NBA at half of basketball.

Lakers and Chris Kaman, I've told, have agreed to terms on one-year deal

Laker fans and Pringles on suicide watch. Prepare for some of the worst decisions in the NBA.
 
Top Bottom