Betrayer

Hiring Doc Rivers was even dumber than hiring Monty Williams. At least we never had a chance at a championship no matter who our coach was.

Also, this game was a masterclass in bad coaching. Watching JJJ look like Lebron against the Pistons in 07 with no strategy to get the ball out of his hands. Watching both Cade and Ivey sit on the bench at the same time when they were the only ones cooking. How about that play with 33 seconds to go that clearly went off the Memphis player after Jaden tapped it? Nope, no challenge. Pretty sure we could've used an extra possession right there in a 2 pt game. I guess Monty was saving his timeout? Of course, he didn't use that timeout after we secured the rebound with about 8 seconds to go in order to call a play for this young team either. I keep hearing idiots say, "You gotta give Monty a year with a real team." No. No you don't. Any coach will do better with better players. They'll still play below their potential under Monty because he's a terrible coach. Even worse than Casey, and that's saying something.

It's 31. Grizzlies have it this season. Pistons are at 30. With this signing, I guess they're now tied.

I don't watch much college ball, but just watching that clip he looks like a dude that's going to get eaten alive in space against NBA athletes. Might be a solid drop coverage backup Center though.

I guess I just felt like I said that enough that it goes without saying at this point 😄 Step 1: Fire Weaver Step 2: Fire Monty Step 3: Roster Stuff The hunt for a new GM should've been going on behind the scenes since the losing streak even if Gores doesn't like to fire people mid-season. At this point you should have a short list to interview and hire one before the end of the playoffs. Do I actually believe any of this will happen? Nope.

I'm feeling like I'd rather take Sarr. Bring him of the bench for now as he gets his NBA legs and don't bring back Wiseman. Make a decision next off-season (or at the deadline if Sarr blows up) about him versus Duren. Trade Ivey (and some contracts) and get a 3&D wing. Scrap all of this if Brooklyn will take any combo of Ivey/Duren/Pick for Mikal Bridges.

For offensive diversity, you have to reduce the efficiency of the three versus the two so they can be on equal footing again. Maybe dropping the corner three where it goes from 24' to 22' would accomplish that. That's the easiest three and the one that makes the spacing era work so well because you can plant guys in both corners making defensive recovery more difficult and creating a lot of open, efficient threes. Without that, it's easier to defend the three so it'll be a tougher shot. Still worth it for many good shooters but not for every dude who can just stand there and make open shots. As for defense, I've been saying this for a while now. First, allow the defensive player the right to his position on the court. No more crashing into a defender or throwing your arms into his to get a call. Second, stop allowing guys to move on every single screen (go watch Brook Lopez) so the defense can actually guard. Third, officiate like you do in the playoffs all the time.

This is actually a problem for the NBA product, imo. There's only one way to play and since defense has also been regulated against, the game is very one dimensional now. Maybe it's bringing them more casual fans and that's working for them so they don't care, but it's kind of made things a bit boring once you get past the superficial layer of hype.

Solid plan and better than most I've heard. I'm all in on Mikal as well. I wouldn't go after Miles because I think he should be out of the league regardless of his basketball abilities and don't want to root for him on my team. But, I get that he's a solid player. Even so, I'd actually prefer someone who shoots and/or defends better because he's mediocre to poor at both. I'd even look at old man Tobias before Miles (depending upon the price). Also, I'd be fine with Hartenstein if you miss on Claxton. Jalen Smith would be a nice backup who can also stretch the floor to replace Wiseman. That said, my summer plan starts with firing Monty and Weaver and I'm not sure any of this matters otherwise.

If anyone in this front office or coaching staff survives the first week of this offseason, the NBA should step in and remove Gores immediately. They (the NBA) won't. Just saying they should.

Well, I guess we're not getting him for Ivey and multiple firsts then. Our first this year will be better, but Green is better than Ivey. I doubt expiring contracts are enough to sweeten the deal more. Then again, the Nets may be in a very different head space at the end of the season after they miss the play-in. Adding Duren could swing the deal either way, since they might lose Claxton to a much bigger contract this offseason and Duren is 4 years younger. However, there's no way this front office moves Duren.

I swear, everyone needs to be fired from the Owner himself on down through the GM, the Coaches, and the Medical Staff. This team is an absolute joke. Clean house. Maybe the dancers and that team that jumps off trampolines can stay. Maybe.

Ugh, expansion. The stars aren't going to just spread out and create more parity. It just means more bottom feeders, blowouts, and a greater disparity between top and bottom teams. Of course, the League wants it anyway, because even bad teams like Detroit continue to make money for the league regardless of the terrible on-court product.

There's a clip going around of James Harden passing the ball to Kawhi and then running over to try to block his corner three. It's the most insane thing I've ever seen. Edit: Here's it is:

I'm not sure about the Cade vs Hali discussion, but I'm willing to hope you could be right over the long haul. Things is, we may never know because the organization and coaches are so incompetent. What would Cade look like under a real coach like Rick Carlisle? Watch the Pacers play. They do everything with purpose. Guys are cutting, screening, not hesitating, passing and catching the ball ready to go immediately or relocate. Everyone is on a string off the ball or on the ball. Yes, they have more talent overall, but even their scrubs play that way. That's 100% coaching. Rick is a coach that can make a team better than the sum of its parts. Monty is exactly the opposite.

He will. He'd be stupid not to because all players know they can just ask for a trade afterwards. The real question is whether or not he should get a max. Is he Haliburton? A lot of people were coping with drafting Hayes over Haliburton because it meant we were bad enough to get Cade. But right now, I'd trade Cade, Ivey, and Duren for Haliburton and Indy would laugh at me for suggesting it. That's what a max rookie looks like. Is that Cade? I like him, but does a guy who's more likely to be an All-Star reserve than an All-Star starter or Superstar deserve a max? If you spend your cap space maxing out All-Star reserves after 12 win seasons can you build a winner?

That's pretty scary stuff, regardless of basketball. Blood clots, especially a PE which it what this sounds like, can be deadly. I'm hoping he's ok and recovers well. Beyond that, speaking as a fan, it's just another gut punch for a season full of them.

I think you summed it up pretty well. You've got to move at least one of them before you're forced to pay them (Drummond) or you've waited so long that their value plummets (Bey). I honestly don't know what you get for them because it's tough to gauge with young players. The Nets probably aren't trading Mikal Bridges even though they need to tear it down and rebuild, but he's the dream. I'm giving up Ivey, this year's first (make the pick for the Nets), a 2029 first, and Fournier (20M expiring) to put Bridges next to Cade, Ausar, and Fontecchio next season. But maybe none of it matters if you don't get a real coach in here. Can we trade him too please?

What a clown show. I’m not even sure what sport some of these guys are playing.

Everyone will focus on that final play, and yea, Cade should've known the clock. But the real reasons they lost this game happened way earlier. Your starting Center can't be 4-10 with 2 turnovers and poor defense. He's been averaging 3 turnovers a game lately and doing some serious Drummond stuff with the ball. Your starting Shooting Guard can't continue to play like the rebirth of Killian Hayes. He's been horrendous in every facet of the game, from shooting to defense, over the past 14 games. Cade's getting blitzed on every screen and they have nobody else that can takeover a game because Ivey has gone into a massive slump. Not one of the starters could shoot the ball from outside and Miami plays a ton of zone which is designed to keep you out of the paint. There's zero movement off-ball in Monty's offense, so if you aren't hitting those low quality threes against the zone, then you're in trouble in this offense. It's been a problem all year and I don't expect Monty to figure out how to play against a zone anytime soon. Edit to add: More and more I think you've got to make a decision and move either Ivey or Duren this offseason while you can get good value for them. You can't afford to extend all of these players starting with Cade this offseason and then those two next offseason and Ausar the year after that. Not when your team is this bad. Doubling down on a 12 win team is a bad idea.

Yep, I remember Reggie having it as well. Apparently so does James Harden, Javale McGee, and Richard Jefferson. Probably a bunch more too.

The defense is the bigger concern. Monster game from him on the offensive end against a team full of midgets. He feasted, as he should have. Kudos for that, but his defense and paint protection is still a real problem. It's bad when Wiseman comes in and looks like the better rim protector and shot deterrent. I hear a lot of people on socials making a big deal about Ausar's Asthma, but didn't Dennis Rodman have it as well? If I recall correctly he turned out to be a pretty good player who averaged 30+ minutes per game for 10+ seasons in the NBA. It'll be all right. Lots of guys in the league have Asthma.

Bad timing for his contract. I feel sorry for him.

Guys improve a lot from age 20-25, so I have no idea what Duren will become. That really depends upon his drive and work ethic. However, I feel like a lot of defense is instinctual, so I'm not sure if he'll ever be the defensive force we want him to be. That means he needs to provide something else in the modern NBA besides rebounding and dunks. The good news is his free throws and shooting form are looking really good and have taken a huge leap this year. Maybe he can add the three ball in a year or two.

The only person who doesn't see this is Monty. Let's keep rolling out that starting lineup with Ausar/Stew/Duren who are a -10. Not only does taking Stew out of the starting lineup help Cade and Ivey who are struggling with a packed paint every night, it also means less Wiseman minutes which is good for everyone.