Around the NBA (non-Wolves talk)

[Lipoli390]

I still think Sam Presti had a phenomenal off-season and would be deserving of Executive of the Year honors. He did his job in my book. The players and coaching staff just haven't made it mesh like it's supposed to.

I also thought Presti hit a home run at the time, although I thought it was awfully risky to take Paul George given his expiring contract and stated desire to play for the Lakers. Billy Donovan may be the problem.

I've always thought Prest's strength was the draft -- taking guys like Westbrook, Harden and Adams. But he hasn't looked as good in the deal-making area.

[Monster]

David Nwaba a guy Lip and I really wanted this offseason has returned from injury and has been doing Nwaba things. He won't help your shooting but he doesn't a lot of other stuff.

[Monster]

Some amusing tweets from last night.

https://twitter.com/danwoikesports/status/940398426004402178

"#Clippers will be without Danilo Gallinari tonight - missed 13 games with a flute injury and suffered a setback after just two games"

https://twitter.com/kcj_swish/status/940429199952801795

Sometimes these things write themselves... #Bulls

[Lipoli390]

David Nwaba a guy Lip and I really wanted this offseason has returned from injury and has been doing Nwaba things. He won't help your shooting but he doesn't a lot of other stuff.

Monster -- I've been thinking about mentioning Nwaba. He would have been a nice signing for us.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I still think Sam Presti had a phenomenal off-season and would be deserving of Executive of the Year honors. He did his job in my book. The players and coaching staff just haven't made it mesh like it's supposed to.

I also thought Presti hit a home run at the time, although I thought it was awfully risky to take Paul George given his expiring contract and stated desire to play for the Lakers. Billy Donovan may be the problem.

I've always thought Prest's strength was the draft -- taking guys like Westbrook, Harden and Adams. But he hasn't looked as good in the deal-making area.

Well, different opinons from a bunch of smart guys are what makes this a fun board. I can be as wrong as anyone on some opinions, but I think I was correct from the beginning in criticiziing Presti's off season. George for Oladipo might have been a fair trade if George wasnt likely to head home to LA, but that fact along with the explosive year by VO makes this trade a disaster. And I've never been a fan of Carmelo...terrific fantasy basketball pickup, but a player that never seems to improve his team. It would have been really fun to see what Russ, VO and Adams could have done this season, but instead Presti has put them in a vulnerable position in terms of making the playoffs.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I still think Sam Presti had a phenomenal off-season and would be deserving of Executive of the Year honors. He did his job in my book. The players and coaching staff just haven't made it mesh like it's supposed to.

I also thought Presti hit a home run at the time, although I thought it was awfully risky to take Paul George given his expiring contract and stated desire to play for the Lakers. Billy Donovan may be the problem.

I've always thought Prest's strength was the draft -- taking guys like Westbrook, Harden and Adams. But he hasn't looked as good in the deal-making area.

Well, different opinons from a bunch of smart guys are what makes this a fun board. I can be as wrong as anyone on some opinions, but I think I was correct from the beginning in criticiziing Presti's off season. George for Oladipo might have been a fair trade if George wasnt likely to head home to LA, but that fact along with the explosive year by VO makes this trade a disaster. And I've never been a fan of Carmelo...terrific fantasy basketball pickup, but a player that never seems to improve his team. It would have been really fun to see what Russ, VO and Adams could have done this season, but instead Presti has put them in a vulnerable position in terms of making the playoffs.

There's a bit of revisionist history with the OKC moves. I think the vast majority of pro basketball minds are on record claiming OKC got George for relatively little. It wasn't just Oladipo's talent... it was that contact.

Until the first 27 games of this season... I think everybody considered him overpaid. And Sabonis didn't stand out last season. Basically, I think with both back in OKC... the writing was on the wall and the team wasn't considered to improve on its 45+ win pace from last season. And Oladipo and Westbrook weren't a great fit with up to 3 more years looking at that as a ceiling.

George was considered a swing for the fences move. One that was risky with his flirtation with LAL... but worth it from a talent angle and for putting a viable team on the court. Even if George moved on, OKC would be right back where they were only without Oladipo's $84M deal hanging over everything.

Everything has changed quickly because (1) Oladipo turned his career around quickly (2) OKC has struggled... I think Westbrook gets the lion's share of blame, but I think it's more of Carmelo problem. (3) Sabonis has proven to be a solid rotation player. (4) Indiana is exceeding expectations.

Summary: Most people are surprised by all these developments and few predicted them.

[Wolvesfan21]

Carmelo's been an overrated player for a long time. When is the last time he was in the playoffs? For what he gets paid, he's value is slightly negative. Meaning, you're better off without him and using that money on nearly anyone else.

[Monster]

I still think Sam Presti had a phenomenal off-season and would be deserving of Executive of the Year honors. He did his job in my book. The players and coaching staff just haven't made it mesh like it's supposed to.

I also thought Presti hit a home run at the time, although I thought it was awfully risky to take Paul George given his expiring contract and stated desire to play for the Lakers. Billy Donovan may be the problem.

I've always thought Prest's strength was the draft -- taking guys like Westbrook, Harden and Adams. But he hasn't looked as good in the deal-making area.

Well, different opinons from a bunch of smart guys are what makes this a fun board. I can be as wrong as anyone on some opinions, but I think I was correct from the beginning in criticiziing Presti's off season. George for Oladipo might have been a fair trade if George wasnt likely to head home to LA, but that fact along with the explosive year by VO makes this trade a disaster. And I've never been a fan of Carmelo...terrific fantasy basketball pickup, but a player that never seems to improve his team. It would have been really fun to see what Russ, VO and Adams could have done this season, but instead Presti has put them in a vulnerable position in terms of making the playoffs.

There's a bit of revisionist history with the OKC moves. I think the vast majority of pro basketball minds are on record claiming OKC got George for relatively little. It wasn't just Oladipo's talent... it was that contact.

Until the first 27 games of this season... I think everybody considered him overpaid. And Sabonis didn't stand out last season. Basically, I think with both back in OKC... the writing was on the wall and the team wasn't considered to improve on its 45+ win pace from last season. And Oladipo and Westbrook weren't a great fit with up to 3 more years looking at that as a ceiling.

George was considered a swing for the fences move. One that was risky with his flirtation with LAL... but worth it from a talent angle and for putting a viable team on the court. Even if George moved on, OKC would be right back where they were only without Oladipo's $84M deal hanging over everything.

Everything has changed quickly because (1) Oladipo turned his career around quickly (2) OKC has struggled... I think Westbrook gets the lion's share of blame, but I think it's more of Carmelo problem. (3) Sabonis has proven to be a solid rotation player. (4) Indiana is exceeding expectations.

Summary: Most people are surprised by all these developments and few predicted them.

Very good breakdown Abe. The Dunc' On guys on a recent podcast broke down Westbrook's season so far and the results are he not only has dropped off from last year he hasn't been the guy you would expect with some regression and that includes effort plays. Remember with all the moves Presti made signing Westbrook to an extension was a pretty big piece that was also unexpected.

[Monster]

David Nwaba a guy Lip and I really wanted this offseason has returned from injury and has been doing Nwaba things. He won't help your shooting but he doesn't a lot of other stuff.

Monster -- I've been thinking about mentioning Nwaba. He would have been a nice signing for us.

Yeah just an energy guy that can actually defend would be nice. It's fair to wonder how many other teams he would get legit playing time on. They don't really have SFs on their team Holiday makes Corey Brewer almost look fat. Nwaba isn't that big either but he basically is a super undersized PF innthe way he can play but he can also handle the ball. Today I was listening to the Dunc'd On podcast and when they talked about the Wolves they said just getting an energy wing that could just defend would help. Sigh...Nwaba. Lol heck Corey Brewer would probably help a decent amount right now although obviously I'm not driving a bandwagon to go get him. Lol

[Lipoli390]

I still think Sam Presti had a phenomenal off-season and would be deserving of Executive of the Year honors. He did his job in my book. The players and coaching staff just haven't made it mesh like it's supposed to.

I also thought Presti hit a home run at the time, although I thought it was awfully risky to take Paul George given his expiring contract and stated desire to play for the Lakers. Billy Donovan may be the problem.

I've always thought Prest's strength was the draft -- taking guys like Westbrook, Harden and Adams. But he hasn't looked as good in the deal-making area.

Well, different opinons from a bunch of smart guys are what makes this a fun board. I can be as wrong as anyone on some opinions, but I think I was correct from the beginning in criticiziing Presti's off season. George for Oladipo might have been a fair trade if George wasnt likely to head home to LA, but that fact along with the explosive year by VO makes this trade a disaster. And I've never been a fan of Carmelo...terrific fantasy basketball pickup, but a player that never seems to improve his team. It would have been really fun to see what Russ, VO and Adams could have done this season, but instead Presti has put them in a vulnerable position in terms of making the playoffs.

There's a bit of revisionist history with the OKC moves. I think the vast majority of pro basketball minds are on record claiming OKC got George for relatively little. It wasn't just Oladipo's talent... it was that contact.

Until the first 27 games of this season... I think everybody considered him overpaid. And Sabonis didn't stand out last season. Basically, I think with both back in OKC... the writing was on the wall and the team wasn't considered to improve on its 45+ win pace from last season. And Oladipo and Westbrook weren't a great fit with up to 3 more years looking at that as a ceiling.

George was considered a swing for the fences move. One that was risky with his flirtation with LAL... but worth it from a talent angle and for putting a viable team on the court. Even if George moved on, OKC would be right back where they were only without Oladipo's $84M deal hanging over everything.

Everything has changed quickly because (1) Oladipo turned his career around quickly (2) OKC has struggled... I think Westbrook gets the lion's share of blame, but I think it's more of Carmelo problem. (3) Sabonis has proven to be a solid rotation player. (4) Indiana is exceeding expectations.

Summary: Most people are surprised by all these developments and few predicted them.

I obviously didn't predict OKC's struggles. I think I picked them to finish 2nd or 3rd in the West. I thought the Paul George deal put them in a position to do that. If I had been in Presti's shoes and that deal was presented to me, I wouldn't have made it and I thought that at the time. I never liked the odds of George sticking around in OKC (or anywhere else) given how open he's been about wanted to go to LA. And I don't think Westbrook is any easy guy to play with. I've always been high on Oladipo even though I'll admit I didn't predict what he's doing now. But I also liked Sabonis a lot. So while I was impressed by the deal at the time, I wouldn't have made the deal based largely on the risk involved. I hate giving up valuable assets for one-year rentals - especially when the rental player has already expressed a desire to go somewhere else the that other place can clear the cap space to sign him.