NBA 2024-25 Thread

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Reporter: you said the Luka trade was about a 3 year window to win a title - but, uh, he made the finals last year and you've already traded away all of your draft picks for when that 3 year window ends. How the fuck does that make sense?

Nico Harrison: defense wins championships

Tim MacMahon, ESPN

In your own words, you created a three to four year time frame. In building a Finals team, a team that went to the Finals last season, you gave up your first round capital control of it 27, 28, 29 and 30. So three to four years ends, you're out your first round draft capital. How is that a logical decision? Explain the logic of that for the long term best interest of this franchise?

Nico Harrison

Can you repeat that?

Tim MacMahon, ESPN

27 to 30, you're out on your first round capital. Your own words, you created a three to four-year time frame. When the credit card bill comes due, that time frame is over. How is that in the best interest of long term interests of the franchise? And again, 27 to 30, you're out of your capital, you build a Finals team doing it, and you traded the guy who led that Finals team. How is that in the long term best interest when he's, at the time, a 25-year-old, generational talent who could have a 10-12, year runway. He's one of the best players that we've seen.

Nico Harrison

I keep saying the same thing, but defense wins championships. I believe that we have a championship caliber team, not only for now, but also for the future.

Obviously, the future will hold if I'm right or wrong, and ultimately, we're going to be held to the standard of wins and losses, and every executive in every field is going to be held to that same standard.

Tim MacMahon, ESPN

Your long term best interest though, 25, 26, 27 there’s your three years. Then you're out your first round capital. How does that make sense for the franchise?

Nico Harrison

Like I said, we believe in the move we made. You obviously don't, and that's fine, and you're entitled to your opinions, but we're excited about the future of our team.

Tim MacMahon, ESPN

It's not what I believe. I'm asking your logic.

Nico Harrison

Again, I think the future will hold. I think once we win, then that will change your mind.

Tim MacMahon, ESPN

And you didn't believe that the team that went to the Finals last year with Luka as a centerpiece could continue to contend for championships?

Nico Harrison

I'll say this again. Defense wins championships.

 

[Hewson]

Light The Beam! Light The Beam! Light The Beam!

Crikey!

 

[Hewson]

Reporter: you said the Luka trade was about a 3 year window to win a title - but, uh, he made the finals last year and you've already traded away all of your draft picks for when that 3 year window ends. How the fuck does that make sense?

Nico Harrison: defense wins championships

Defense wins championships is a 1980's mantra that Nico thinks is relevant in the 2020's just like tariffs were a useful tool in the 1890's and not in today's global economy.

 

[DaveC]

defense wins championships in football (go birds) and maybe soccer but not many other sports these days.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Defense didn't make the playoffs, it would seem.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The phrase defense wins championships is such bullshit anyway, no matter what sport. Great teams win championships. Great teams are good on offense and defense. The Eagles may have had a great defense, but they won because they stumbled upon a flukey, unstoppable short yardage play, and, more importantly, because Joe Schoen is a moron.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Tony Snell walked so Playoff Kuz could run

 

[Hewson]

you might get Kuz'd

 

[U2inUtah]

How bout them Lakers?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Knicks: GM trades or lose in free agency all their toughness (and assets) for a big who doesn't like to play like a big and a wing who celebrates every dumb shot in the first quarter but disappears in the fourth.

Knicks Fans: why did Thibs do this?

The lunacy is crazy. Knicks just simply aren't as good as they were last year, and sorry, Cade Cunningham is better than Jalen Brunson. He just probably doesn't realize it yet, and that's their saving grace.

Leon Rose gave up all of their assets for Mikal Bridges - who has not lived up to expectations and while he may be better than DiVincenzo is no where near as tough as DiVincenzo was - who was given up for KAT, who may be a bigger talent than anything that went out but is also lacking in toughness and assertiveness. Ant said so himself. We should have listened.

But the biggest loss of all was Hartenstein. Letting him walk for nothing was one thing. It would have been hard to match salary.

But let him walk and making zero attempt to replace his production was just mind numbingly stupid. You needed another big, especially with Robinson's health issues - and you never got him. Didn't need prime Shaq, just needed a serviceable guy who was tough and would crash the offensive glass. Everything else could have fallen into place with one more piece - a hustling, tough, backup center.

Knicks will lose to Detroit. Dolan will fire Thibs. And the Knicks still won't be as good as Boston or Cleveland unless they make some moves.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

villanova sentimentality aside - Bridges is a better DiVincenzo, and KAT is a hugely better Hartenstein. not to mention... who in their right minds had DiVincenzo and Hartenstein as key clogs to a championship contender before the season last year? so there's nothing to say that - say - Jericho Simms couldn't be the new Hartenstein this year.

they have great coaching. great, great coaching. that will take them far. i expect them to beat Boston tonight.

but ultimately boston is better if healthy. but New York can absolutely knock them off in the right circumstances.

the one thing i might worry about is that they took a bit of a premature victory lap this offseason. it's great that the knicks were good again - but guys? you haven't won shit. focus on that.

but this team is good.

welp

I did say they needed to find a backup center later on when talking about Valanciunus, at least.

 

[Hewson]

I may have questioned the Knicks giving up 5 first rounders plus a swap for Bridges at the time.

 

[Hewson]

4 unprotected #1's plus an unprotected swap and another top 4 protected #1 for Bridges? When did Dolan hire Billy King?
This is a massive overpay. Bridges is a decent player. Not exactly the missing piece to the VillaKnicks winning a title however. I think in a couple years this will be looked at as the trade that put the Knicks back into obscurity for a decade or more.

Yes I did question it.

 

[mikal]

 

[mikal]

My stance remains the same. For all of the absolutely BS bad injury luck I've endured over the last 4 years, it was worth it because they won the title in 2021. Never thought I'd see it in my lifetime. But wow.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

gonna be one hell of an interesting off season for Milwaukee...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

when the lakers, bucks and (maybe) nuggets inevitably lose in the first round - every laker fan in the world is going to be proclaiming that giannis and/or jokic needs to come to LA... ignoring that it's almost impossible to do so unless they get rid of lebron.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

We need to go back to the days of Joey Crawford never admitting that he's wrong.

What good does it do for the refs to come out after the Knicks Pistons game and say that they got the call wrong?

That play SHOULDN'T be a foul.

The problem for Knicks fans is, of course, that Brunson gets those kind of calls a thousand times a game. He does a better job of actually getting in front of the defender so that the defense runs into him vs blatantly jumping into contact - but still.

It's a BS call and the NBA needs to do something about it, even if that hurts the Knicks. If the offensive player leans into the defender, it's not a valid basketball play.

 

[mikal]

gonna be one hell of an interesting off season for Milwaukee...

Yeah I'm pretty much of the opinion that whatever happens happens. And if Giannis were to leave, I take zero issue with it and hope he can get another title somewhere else. He has been nothing but loyal and professional his whole time in Milwaukee and resigned with the Bucks more than once after everyone thought he would go to a bigger market.

One of the true good guys in professional sports.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

#HeatCulture

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Steph adds Jimmy Butler and they're about to knock off the house 2 seed.

LeBron adds Luka Doncic and are about to get knocked out by the 5 seed.

Just sayin

 

[mikal]

LA!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hewson]

LeBron adds Luka Doncic and are about to get knocked out by the 5 seed.

Point of order your honor, the Lakers will get knocked out by the 6 seed.

 

[mikal]

I lost my bitcoin to fake blockchain impostors on Facebook, they contacted me as blockchain official support and i fell stupidly for their mischievous act, this made them gain access into my blockchain wallet whereby 7.0938 btc was stolen from my wallet in total .I was almost in a comma and dumbfounded because this was all my savings i relied on . Then I made a research online and found a recovery expert , with the contact address- contactAcerecoverytech at gmai1 com .I wrote directly to the specialist explaining my loss. Hence, he helped me recover my bitcoin just after 2 days he helped me launch the recovery program , and the culprits were identified as well , all thanks to his expertise . I hope I have been able to help someone as well . Reach out to the recovery specialist to recover you lost funds from any form of online scam.

Hey, enough Lakers talk already.

 

[Hewson]

I lost my bitcoin to fake blockchain impostors on Facebook, they contacted me as blockchain official support and i fell stupidly for their mischievous act, this made them gain access into my blockchain wallet whereby 7.0938 btc was stolen from my wallet in total .I was almost in a comma and dumbfounded because this was all my savings i relied on . Then I made a research online and found a recovery expert , with the contact address- contactAcerecoverytech at gmai1 com .I wrote directly to the specialist explaining my loss. Hence, he helped me recover my bitcoin just after 2 days he helped me launch the recovery program , and the culprits were identified as well , all thanks to his expertise . I hope I have been able to help someone as well . Reach out to the recovery specialist to recover you lost funds from any form of online scam.

I hate it when I fall into a comma, though it's better than falling into a colon.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[Hewson]

So the narrative around the Lakers after the Luka trade was they lacked size and that would be a problem come playoff time. So they traded for Mark Williams then rescinded the trade, supposedly concerns about his health, but he played the rest of the season with no issues. (Scuttlebutt they regretted letting go of future hall of famer Dalton Knecht was the real reason to rescind).
Looks brilliant after the Lakers lack of a frontcourt turned Rudy Friggin' Goebert into the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain last night.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Well shit

 

[mikal]

LFG!