2021-22 NBA "REGULAR" SEASON THREAD

ppl are talking about the sixers dumping tobias harris into cap space in order to open up room to sign harden but that just feels like posturing to me if a simmons for harden sign and trade swap would be on the table which of course it would be

I could easily see Harden mope on the court and not try for the whole second half of the season.

Or have a recurring hamstring injury . . . .

― removing bookmarks never felt so good (PBKR), Wednesday, February 9, 2022 12:54 PM (one minute ago)

i don't think there's really any precedence for this in NBA history. the only time i can think of something like that happening was when vernon maxwell pretended to be injured in the 1995 playoffs after the rockets acquired clyde drexler and got banished from the team. but maxwell was a role player, not the second best player on the team and a previous MVP. for a player of harden's caliber to essentially throw a season while being on a contender as a way of pouting over still being on the team, i just don't think something like that has ever happened. kyrie's last year in boston? i don't think that's the same. i would call harden's bluff if i was the nets

I haven't been a big fan of Tobias' performance, but trading him and not replacing him with an equivalent* player in order to do the Harden trade seems like a bit of a lateral move.

*equivalent = say 70% of Harris production for a much lower cost.

Then I was just looking at Harden averaging 8 rpg and seeing that's more than Harris!

if harden doesnt want to be there and you have a deal on the table thats really the best youre gonna get and this season is looking pretty unsalvageable anyway i can see why theyd do it now, i guess the big question if if they can pry another good player off philly if so it makes it a no brainer vs this summer when theyll have less leverage

i agree there is a lack of precedent but i also think what we have seen continuously is that superstar players have gotten what they wanted over teams one way or another.

if the reporting on harden's mindset is true and he isn't traded, this is what i would expect: no way he plays hard for the rest of the regular season. he'll either stay hurt or play at half speed. the nets will end up on the wrong half of the bracket.

he would pull himself together enough to try in the playoffs but it will be a shaky team that's barely played together and they'll struggle to win more than a series based on what the matchups are. and then he'll leave.

all of that may be true and i still don't think they would be better this season w/ simmons, so what's the point. if he wants to go to philly in the offseason trade him then.

Durant's big-ass shoe really did ruin everything huh

xp yeah, i get it. i just don't think the nets can leverage harden in any meaningful way that benefits them.

Yah I don’t think the nets hold all the cards here. Sign n trades are hard to pull off. I’m sure they’d rather get the sure thing right now.

Philly certainly doesn't hold all the cards, I just think their situation has been "baked in" for a while since we know Simmons isn't playing for them again, whereas the Harden stuff is what is volatile right now.

Sign n trades are hard to pull off.

― Spottie, Wednesday, February 9, 2022 1:36 PM (twenty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

also have weird cap repercussions

believe it has weird cap repercussions for the acquiring team but not the selling team. i could be wrong tho

it definitely hard caps the acquiring team

.@WindhorstESPN on Harden: “I can’t tell you how much James Harden wants this [trade]. You’ve gotta be very careful using the ‘Q’ word or saying whatever, but his actions over the past 10 days are basically a threat to the Nets."

— Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) February 9, 2022

given his history that's entirely believable

harden wants to be back with morey who catered to him completely, which means hell be trading embiid around this time next year

Better trade himself, too.

lol #thisleague

Managing these egos for more than half a season is a miracle unto itself

tbh it's a pretty massive failure on the nets part that they weren't able to manage the egos enough to even get two playoff runs out of this team when managing egos is the entire job description if you go all in on the super team model

no one couldve guess that building a team around three weird malcontents would turn out this way, but im sure replacing one of them with another weird malcontent should solve the problem

haha

tbf to the nets kyrie being an antivaxxer really fucked thing up for them, team prob wouldnt have melted down for another year at least

i forget who said it on which podcast but someone (prob windhorst or someone at ESPN) was saying that the original genesis of this nets team is the bond between KD and kyrie and that their bond is still as strong as ever. so maybe that wins out, but if you're KD what's holding you to the nets if they trade for simmons and it's weird and doesn't work or you just don't like what the franchise is doing. why not force your way out (to the miami heat)

kyrie can opt out this year too, might be thinking about going to a place where hes allowed to play

The CBA has finally created a league where every player, coach, front office executive, and owner makes good money, and no one knows what the hell is happening 95% of the time.

according to my calculations the real winner of this whole situation is... the houston rockets

The Utah Jazz are acquiring guard Portland’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Spurs’ Juancho Hernangomez in a three-way deal, sources tell ESPN. The Spurs gets guard Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2022

and here’s the spin from woj

The Jazz are sending out the two second-round picks in the deal, sources tell ESPN. Alexander-Walker, 23, has the chance to make an impact on the Jazz's bench and assuredly will benefit in Utah's development system. Averaged 13 points for Pels and will be a part of rotation. https://t.co/rvZ6SN1Zmx

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2022

like that for the jazz, they desperately need someone who still a little young with some theoretical upside

If Danny Ainge proved anything as Celtics GM, it's that you can't own too many second round draft picks. Or was it 'shouldn't own'?

the key word there being theoretical xp

NAW has been pretty bad but seems like the type of guy you wouldnt mind giving a second chance, not sure about two picks for him tho, if thats what happened this trade is confusing spurs get a second for exchanging juancho for satoransky? good work if you can get it i guess

tbf to the nets kyrie being an antivaxxer really fucked thing up for them, team prob wouldnt have melted down for another year at least

That’s supposed to link to the 1:18 mark

Heat and Thunder have agreed to amend the terms of the first-round pick Miami owes OKC in a way that gives the Heat more flexibility to trade picks now -- details in release. Potentially important. https://t.co/BeRK8EHglj

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 9, 2022

i wonder how much cash did Miami handed OKC for changing this

By amending the first round pick that was originally owed in 2023 to now 2025, the Heat have available their 2022 or 2023 first to use in a deal.

The first was originally top 14 protected in 23, 24, 25 and unprotected in 26. https://t.co/LzvoVT69j0

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 9, 2022

Gotta think richaun Holmes is on the trading block with sabonis coming in.

either holmes or harrison barnes would be a nice pickup for them

just watched the condensed replay of the bucks/lakers, holy cannoli the lakers are hapless

The Nets have ruled James Harden (left hamstring tightness) OUT for Thursday's game at Washington.

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 9, 2022

looking at the lakers trade options and they have nothing. they dont own their next few picks, they have no desirable players, nothing. malik monk is probably their only contract of any value (outside lebron and ad) and he is on a one year deal. what a shitshow.

its pretty awesome lol

they got a fake ring out of all this so it’s probably worth it

looks good on lebrons resume

4 nba championships*

* (3 real ones and 1 in something called “the bubble”?)

The Lakers say LeBron James and Dwight Howard are both active tonight. Russell Westbrook (lower back tightness) is out.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 10, 2022

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Lotta tightness going around...

checking in on the lakers/blazers box score....first two guys off the blazers bench are t. watford and k. blevins, who i have never heard of and who definitely sound like fictional players from a video game. lakers have a chance in this one.