Kyrie for Isaiah, who won?

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Well, that was quick.  The Cavs did not let Kyrie Irving’s trade request linger and the return was fairly significant.  Let’s run down the trade… Cavs trade Kyrie Irving to Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Nets’ first round pick in 2018 From the Cavs’ perspective, trading Kyrie meant likely choosing between trying to go for a title in 2017-18 while LeBron James is in town (and also, perhaps, to convince him to stay longer) or getting future value for Irving in … [Read more...] about Kyrie for Isaiah, who won?

Rodman and The Spurs

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With the NBA in mostly dormant status, now is a good time to look back at some old NBA stories with some new perspective.  Thanks to Dennis Rodman, we have a perfect old story to review.  Last week, Rodman stated in an interview that he was dealt from the Spurs in 1995 because Gregg Popovich, who was then the GM the Spurs, “hated me.  He hated my guts because I wasn’t a Bible guy.  They looked at me like I was the devil.” How true is this?  My memory of that time was that Rodman was a bit out … [Read more...] about Rodman and The Spurs

The Kyrie Affair

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The drama in Cleveland has dominated the summer downtime in the NBA.  Kyrie Irving is apparently unhappy playing with LeBron James and wants to be traded.  The situation is serious enough that Irving is reportedly refusing to speak with anyone associated with the Cavs.  The Kyrie situation has been well covered but we would be remiss if we didn’t throw in our two cents. Should Kyrie want to be traded? This is obviously a subjective judgment but, let’s assess the facts.  At first blush, it … [Read more...] about The Kyrie Affair

Rudy Gay and the Spurs’ Adventures in the Former Star Market

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Recently, the Spurs signed Rudy Gay to add yet another former star as a bench player.  The Spurs thinking is pretty simple…The former star wants a shot at a title and is willing to give up shots and minutes for that chance.  This deal happens a lot and results may vary.  Famously, the 1985-86 Celtics brought in Bill Walton and he fit in beautifully and helped power the team to a title.  Less famously, the 1985-86 Lakers acquired Maurice Lucas and, while his numbers were decent, there are legions … [Read more...] about Rudy Gay and the Spurs’ Adventures in the Former Star Market

Chris Paul & James Harden: Peanut Butter & Jelly or Peanut Butter & Pepperoni?

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It wasn’t surprising that Chris Paul decided to move on from the Clippers but the Rockets are not an intuitive fit for him.   Paul is great but he seems somewhat redundant to the Rockets.  Houston was already second in the NBA in offense and James Harden was the de facto point guard.  And Harden was a particularly heavy part of the offense.  Harden’s 34.2 usage rate last year was 20th highest ever for a single season. Pretty much every single player with a higher usage rate than 2016-17 … [Read more...] about Chris Paul & James Harden: Peanut Butter & Jelly or Peanut Butter & Pepperoni?

GM Report: Phil Jackson

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What lesson is there to take from Phil Jackson’s tenure in the Knicks front office?  There are quite few that one could draw.  Certainly, Jackson’s irascible nature didn’t help him.  Nor did prioritizing the triangle offense over all else.  Let’s dive in and do a review of Jackson’ time in New York and break it down with another one of our GM reports (I know Jackson wasn’t technically the GM but you get the idea). Here are his hits and misses: Best Moves -Drafting Kristaps Porzingis:  … [Read more...] about GM Report: Phil Jackson

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