I get that Kevin Durant wanted to leave Golden State.
But – playing with Kyrie? I’d be shocked if Kyrie with the Nets isn’t just a replay of the Celtics. He’ll be amazing for the fall and then in January he’ll go back to his true colors.
Is Durant just figuring that Kyrie will implode (again) and get traded/leave next year while Durant rehabs his tendon so that he’ll never really have to deal with him on the court?
But, maybe this is just KD. If he can’t be happy at OKC and he can’t be happy at Golden State maybe he cannot be happy anywhere.
RE: Knicks. This was the best year for free agents in a long time and New York landed zilch. If it wasn’t clear already – no one wants to play for James Dolan.
Iguadala gone, though, to the Grizz. Sounds like Cook, too, and then the likely buyout of Livingston’s remaining contract… It’s gonna be a very different team next year, and defense is looking utterly dire. When Klay’s back, that’ll shift to merely terrible. Guess they’re just hoping the bench full of deeeep draft picks form together into something special.
I’m really gonna miss Iggy on that team. That was something special we got to watch for a few years.
Pretty happy so far as a Sixers fan. Horford and Embiid are the second coming of The Admiral and Tim Duncan, but with more athleticism and an ability to shoot threes. Nobody will want to enter the paint against this team. Lots and lots of length throughout the lineup if the Butler thing gets done because Richardson will be a great starting fit next to Simmons and Harris.
The bench already has one great option with The Threegional Manager Mike Scott, and Thybulle will play. Bolden comes in at the four or five. Zhaire will get minutes. One more vet like Ennis coming back alongside signing an extra Center like Monroe to eat minutes in the regular season and this team is a 50 or 60 win team again. Should be at least in the Eastern Conference Finals provided no major injuries.
I’m intrigued by the 76ers roster because it’s so different. There are also some weaknesses a team could try to attack in the playoffs. That keeps things interesting compared to the recent super teams.
Igoudala had a great run, and he and Livingston were huge factors in the run, but the Warriors desperately needed to get younger and more scoring (a box & 1 should never, ever work in the NBA, and especially not in the NBA finals, even if 2 of your top offensive threats are out injured).
Russell looks to fill some huge needs - another experienced scorer who can backup Steph and Klay (and start if they are injured or need rest). He also looks to fit in well with the Warriors’ defensive philosophy if this article isn’t just fan-smoke (I haven’t really watched him since he played for the Lakers, and even then not much):
According to Synergy Sports Technology, D’Angelo Russell is a very good defender in general. He ranks in the 69th percentile for overall defense — ahead of Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley, Fred VanVleet, and teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — allowing only 0.873 points per possession. Aside from spot up and off screen shot attempts, Russell ranks very good to excellent on every other shot type.
He defends pick-and-roll ball handlers more often than not. It accounts for almost 50 percent of the shots he defends and he allows only 0.75 PPP. In addition to that, he allows only 39.4 percent of shots to fall from the floor and defenders only score 36.5 percent of the time as the pick-and-roll scorer.
What he does best is defend in isolation. Admittedly, he only defends isolation looks about 5 percent of the time he is on the floor but when he does he only allows 0.722 PPP. To go along with that, opponents only shoot 31.3 percent from the floor against him in isolation and Russell allows scores only 33.3 percent of the time, meaning he doesn’t send people to the line often when defending in isolation. Aside from defending pick-and-roll ball handlers and in isolation, D’Angelo Russell is very good at defending off handoffs, pick-and-roll rollers, and isn’t bad defending in the post.
The Iguodala to the Lakers thing was noted right when the trade and waive became known. He apparently slagged the Warriors training and medical staff last week?
I suppose he could go with either since both recommended their players not play?
He sort of said one thing and then said another, but the gist of it was he had a fracture in his leg and the training staff said it was just a bone bruise. Add that up with Durant’s “You can play. It won’t get worse.” leading to him tearing his achilles and I think they have a little bit of an issue in Golden State.
Has there been any verifiable contradiction to Kerr’s statement that the GSW team doctor, Durant’s own doctor and an independent specialist all cleared Durant to play?
It’s all pretty hush hush at this point. Kevin’s face when his achilles let go said a lot to me. That was a “this is bullshit” look if I ever saw one.
No matter if we ever get more info, I think him walking, and giving up money for DeAndre Jordan, says a hell of a lot about his happiness level in Golden State.
