2022/23 NBA REGULAR SEASON THREAD "TANKING FOR WEMBANYAMA"

lmao

guess bronny is back in style

Bronny James | 6-foot-4 | PG/SG
Sierra Canyon | 2023 | Uncommitted
James delivered a standout performance in the headliner of the Hoophall Classic that reconfirmed his status as one of the best two-way players in high school basketball and a surefire future NBA player.

In a class full of prospects whose development has stagnated, James is one of the few who continues to make strides physically and skill-wise, looking like a five-star recruit and potential one-and-done candidate.

https://archive.ph/nmapb

pretty much a dream night for the nuggets: blowout win where everything was working despite jokic not playing, memphis and new orleans both lose. nuggets are now third in net rating, first in offensive rating and 18th in defense, though there’s kind of a logjam in the middle and they’re less than a point away from 11th on defense

its always like that in the middle of the pack

yeah that’s true just pointing out that if they keep up their trend there might be a disproportionate leap

wow truly no team sucks more than the blazers white flag time start the tank

there are some decisions to be made

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnI-v8zaYAETvyx?format=jpg&name=medium

#whynot

who says no

ok!

The Washington Wizards are in serious talks to trade forward Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers for guard Kendrick Nunn and multiple second-round picks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 23, 2023

3 second round picks that seems like a lot of a not very good player

The Lakers are in the final stages of completing a deal to acquire Hachimura for a package that includes three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. No deal has been finalized, but talks are in the final stages, sources said. https://t.co/a6MOQ8lHIc

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2023

pretty good career shooting splits but every time ive watched them he seems like a non entity out there. run-of-the-mill role player. but idk

injured a lot too, sometimes absent from the team for undisclosed reasons, should be a perfect fit

lakers need bodies i dont hate it honestly. who cares about 2nd round picks, lakers shouldnt be concerned with those at all atm

2nd round picks arent nothing if you trade them all then you wont have anymore to trade and youre getting back a guy who just isnt good you could prob find a better player in the g league for free if you put your mind to it

hachimura is more of a one second round pick type guy

worth a shot, he's fine and might be one of those 'just needs a new scene' guys. could also be a cam reddish tho.

seems pretty clearly not worth a shot but i guess we will see

hes at 2.5 attempts a game for his career

Rui = Shooting Help.

No Lakers* have made over 40% of their catch-and-shoot 3s this season

Rui Hachimura has made 85 of 206 (41.3%) catch-and-shoot 3s over his last two seasons.

*Among 7 with at least 100 such tries

— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) January 23, 2023

if they arent gonna deal their 1sts then something like that is what you do. take a shot on an early prime could-be-good/could-be-shit type of dude.

is there any reason to think he might be good other than he was drafted in the lottery

13-5 on pretty good shooting numbers is not nothing but hes been on the wizards with plenty of opportunity to show more and hasnt so maybe not

hes seems like a not that into basketball guy has some talent but is just really passive doesnt have the baller instinct

yes, dillon its the refs and not you

Dillon Brooks calls out the NBA’s referees:

“They're picking on me every night. Can't play my game. Not letting me play physical enough. It's every night, and I don't appreciate it. Every night they try to put me in foul trouble. I don't like it."

(@memphisnews) pic.twitter.com/yzaHfMR0ZQ

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) January 23, 2023

lol not letting me play physical enough they call it fouling

why wont they let me maul the leagues most exciting players i demand respect

he seems like a real dumbass lol

i love a good heel tho

if youre devious and styling on people thats cool but just being loud and aggressive idk

i like heels in all forms but there are levels to it for sure. speaking of, dame and pat bev are beefing after last night

Dame to Pat Bev: "And I'll beat your a$$" pic.twitter.com/GdAOBp2aRq

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 23, 2023

"If he would've cooked me, you would've said I couldn't guard him"

Pat Bev just wants his respect 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/L2hlB45FVR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2023

it would be nice if dame beat him up

if the wizards are willing to give up on one of their lottery picks….you probably don’t want that guy

he’s perfect for the lakers in other words

watch them give up austin reaves or something

i’m not gonna pretend to have much of an opinion on rui as i’ve barely watched any wizards this year but he has been hot of late, nate duncan did a podcast segment on him last week. the lakers buying high here it seems like.

prob worth keeping in mind that aside from lebron the lakers most used wing players this year are troy brown jr and juan toscano anderson. they don’t have a single wing aside from lebron in their top 7 mpg players this year which in this day & age almost seems impossible. so they needed help on the wing badly & there isn’t gonna be a ton of wings available on the trade market for less than a first round pick. ultimately feels like a trade that barely moves the needle for either side but i don’t think it’s bad for the lakers. the wiz turning a top 10 pick into three seconds however…

they needed to reunite the famous russ-rui duo

re-uniting the whole 2021 wizards squad really

wow truly no team sucks more than the blazers

a sad time for dame. he's putting up 40 a game and his teammates suck eggs.

it would be so much better for everyone involved if they just traded him but neither side will admit it, toxic relationship

i can see that a trade would be better for dame. but i can't see how turning the blazers into the washington generals for several seasons would be better "for everyone". the season ticket holders would probably disagree fairly strenuously.

hold on let me check the current standings

i thought they had a fun n scrappy roster what happened? billups already lost the locker room?

their roster just isn’t very good. their best bench players are gary payton ii, nasir little and shaedon sharpe but they also only have one borderline all star on their team. they’re top heavy without the top part even being that strong

yeah and tbf theyre just right there in the mess of the 5-12 seed madness get a little streak together and you're right back in there idk

i believe payton and little were both hurt for a stretch which was really bad for them… two weeks ago they lost to the raptors and their 5 players off the bench were sharpe, keon johnson, jabari walker, trendon walker and drew eubanks. their starters all played 39+ mins in that game but nurkic, hart and simons are not massive difference makers every night. they basically have half a covid roster except nobody has covid

they’re built like the bucks minus the part where they have giannis

going 38-44 every year because you’re afraid the season ticket holders will revolt (they won’t) is the absolute worst possible way to run a professional basketball franchise

i've been pretty pro dame sticking around in portland as i do think he has a really unique story there w/ the buzzer beaters and such, i wanted to see it work out. but it's hard to envision a scenario where they win a playoff series in the next 2-3 years and i'd wanna get off that contract before the salary number begins to start w/ a 5 or a 6. it just feels like things have run their course