NYLion

I can't think of one player who is due for a significant raise. The year after is when they're going to have to pay some guys (Swift, Jackson). You're right that they don't have as much cap space as a bottom feeder should have (mainly because of Goff) but there's no big re-signings they have to make and they can make cuts to clear more space (I fully expect Brockers and Okwara to be cut, for instance).

Nets are a beautiful train wreck. Couldn't happen to a nicer group of guys.

I think they wanted a better pick in this draft. I was always thought that this was probably going to be the most important draft of the Holmes era in terms of the QB decision and having the extra high picks so now he has another asset (better bean) to make some hay while also clearing $9m+ of cap space this offseason to fill other areas of need (cough defense cough).

If a player isn't in your long term plans and is nearing UFA, it's best to trade him before his value dissolves completely. That year of team control allowed them to get "something" for him. As others have said, it's a meh trade but it's understandable why Holmes went this route. I was really surprised that he pulled the trigger tbh.

Actually, it's worse than that. It's a late 2 for an early 4 and a late 3 for a conditional 4 so pretty meh all around. I think Holmes just wanted to get some value while he could for a player who wasn't featured in their offense and was due for a big pay day so I get the rationale even if the return was meager.

How is that worse than the Rappaport tweet? This is a 2023 3rd compared to a 2023 4th.

Yeah, 3 possessions 3 points. Not good enough. In money time, the offense has been a disaster the last 2 weeks in particular. It doesn't mean that the defense isn't a bigger problem but the offense hasn't exactly been a solution either in recent weeks.

How does that change the fact that they scored 0 second half TDs in the last 3 games and 3 points total? As I said, the defense is an obvious disaster but the offense has been a joke in the second half of the last 3 games and I think part of that is due to the opposition coaches making adjustments and the Lions coaches not countering. It's something worth noting when your offense only scores 3 points in 90 minutes of second half football/

Part of that was due to them playing at home the previous 3 but, yeah, last night was a great effort. I figured that was a guaranteed game over by halftime considering that it was a back to back on the road after a big win against the Warriors but they showed a lot of resilience.

Can't see the Lions doing anything. Their only seemingly available guy with any value is Hockenson and I'd be shocked if he was dealt.

Well duh, everybody knows the defense is the biggest issue, but the offense hasn't scored a second half TD in 3 straight games so it's a combination of a historically bad defense and an unclutch offense that struggles with the game on the line along with a coaching staff that has failed to make adjustments in second halves. Pick your poison. With that said, I'm far more comfortable with the offense going forward (even with Goff), to state of the obvious, but both units have played a part in the 1-6 start.

The bolded is exactly right and it's not like those teams are blessed with much more talent on the offensive side of the ball in particular. I don't think 3 wins is going to cut it. He's going to need at least 4 wins to survive and for the team to show some real progress. It's not all about wins/losses but it has to be somewhat about that, can't polish the turd of a 3 win or less season after a 3 win season.

This ship is going down way faster than I imagined it would. This is a desperation move by a coach who is starting to feel the heat, not good. I originally thought that Campbell wouldn't get fired this season but while I still think it's highly unlikely, I don't think it's impossible anymore. Also, interesting that the secondary coach gets scapegoated when the defense at every level is equally bad. How does Glenn survive this? Oh right, he's Campbell's buddy. This isn't a good look any way you slice it.

Yes but I think having him cost controlled for the next two years with the second year being a partial guarantee is a bigger selling point. For this year, the Pistons can take an expiring contract to offset the salary. I doubt they trade him by this deadline anyway but I think this makes him a more valuable asset should they choose to.

Two of their main bench bigs are on the shelf so that's not surprising. What's the deal with Noel anyway? Apparently he's healthy enough to play and they can certainly use some size and defense in the interior so it's odd that he hasn't played yet especially with such a condensed earlier schedule and depth being important.

Good shit. At worst, they have a real solid vet around the young guys for a few years and. at best, they made him a more tradeable asset to offer more flexibility if they want to add futures and create cap space for a more longer term piece all while Bojan gets some financial security. Win/Win deal.

No defense, unclutch offense, coaches incapable of making adjustments. That's our Lions.

Weaver completely sucks how exactly? Drafted Hayes and ??? Sure, Casey completely sucks but he's good for the tank so we're good with him for one more year. Weaver has done more good than bad.

"Key" injuries is the key word. The quality of the injuries is absurd as I pointed out in my earlier post. Also, I'm not sure if they count rookies that never played a snap in there (Williams and Paschal in the Lions case, who are supposed to be key contributors). I doubt many teams were missing pretty much their entire receiving corp. for multiple weeks, their top running back at the same time, two top defensive players most of the season, two of their top rookies all season etc.

Of course they're better, they have a much more experienced team while the Pistons are in a rebuild. The Pistons are all about the future and they have loads of flexibility and another high draft pick to build something special if done right. The Hornets have LaMelo and ??? Where's the upside?They're right in that treadmill tier with the Knicks, Bulls and Wizards. Decent teams but nothing that indicates that they have potential for much more than playoff bubble team. Of course the Pistons are well behind those teams now but they're not built for now.

I know I know, it's excuses, but I firmly believe this team is better than their record indicates. I know that every team suffers injuries but I'd be hard pressed to find any team that has been hit as hard as the Lions. 4/5 of their offensive line has been out at some point, not to mention their backup guard as well in Evan Brown (Vai Tai gone for the year). Their top running back has been out half the year, their most dynamic receiver (potentially) hasn't played a snap yet, their best receiver has missed about half the time, their top free agent receiver has been out about half the games now, their other receiver (Reynolds) has been hampered by injury the last few weeks, their top pass rusher and big money defender hasn't played a snap yet (and will likely be out for the year), just about every defensive tackle outside of McNeil has been injured, their top CB from last year has been in and out of the lineup, their top defensive player in Walker out for the year. Again, I know that injuries happen to every team but come on, this is not only an absurd amount of injuries but key players being out. I want to see what this team looks like with "relative" health before making any final judgments. Despite all the injuries, each game outside of the New England debacle has been competitive and could have easily gone either way. I don't think it's as dire as some are making out to be but, then again, it could be wishful thinking on my part. I guess we'll see what the second half brings when some healthy bodies hopefully return. I say this as somebody who posted doomsday posts at the end of the last few games in the heat of the moment but in really thinking about it, it's only fair to let the season play out before giving up on this regime.

Good ole Casey with unathletic 6'8" Stewart at the 5 and unathletic Bogdanovic at the 4 with unathletic Bey at the 3. Instead of playing Duren with the bench scrubs, why not save him for down the stretch against a team with multiple bigs that are hard to handle down low in place of Bey for instance? Not only that but I saw multiple times when Joseph was down low trying to box out Capela, how does that even happen? Oh, right, the stupid switch defense that he employs. I get that they are down a couple of bigs but it's almost as if Casey is coaching to lose as some kind of directive from management to obtain one more high pick.

Charlotte is a tire fire with a roster that seems destined for eternal mediocrity. I'm not sure why any coach would take that situation over a situation like Detroit team with tons of upside and flexibility to get much better in the coming years. Would love to get Atkinson here somehow but I think Weaver is loyal to Casey to a fault so I'm pretty he'll be here for a few more years.

This is not only a bad team right now, they aren't even fun to watch. Also, Cade can show up to the season anytime now. His numbers aren't THAT bad but the eye test paints a very different picture. He seems completely uninterested as if something personal is going in with him. No reason to panic but this is about as ugly a start to the season as can be. The only bright spots are a 33 year old who is likely gone at the deadline, Duren and Ivey in moments. Everything else is shit right now. Oh and I know the design this season is to tank for another high draft pick and Casey is the perfect coach for a tank team but at some point, developing THIS group of players has to be a priority (and not the next new shiny toy) and Casey is running this thing right into the ground with his idiotic rotations and garbage ISO, no ball movement, offense. Don't get me started on the switching defense that clearly doesn't work. I guess there's no point in firing him now because, tank, but they're going to need a coach that can get the most out of these players at some point or we're going to see young player stagnation to the point of no return.

A few nice weapons? It depends on Jamo of course and Swift remaining relatively healthy but few teams boast the talent the Lions have at the skill positions when they're whole, which is never but still... Plus they supposedly have a good offensive line as well which isn't something the Commanders can boast about. The Lions are actually a pretty good situation for a young QB to walk into believe it or not, this was the #1 offense for the first 4 weeks without Jamo, Swift in and out of the lineup and a beat up offensive line. Not to mention, an average QB in Goff. Essentially, I agree that they should take a QB if they finish in the bottom 3 or so but it would be hard to pass up on a talent like Anderson, he's truly special.