sillent

& it looks like all of our rookies are throwing block parties so far no one showed up to Mo G's yet but you know he got an invite ready.

All our rookies look good! Lundy playing volleyball on defense

If that's the case I definitely remembered that wrong and @Gray Mulewas right. I still wouldn't leave Clint out there because he would probably be the only starter available and easy picking but it would definitely give us a better chance at retaining most of our players.

I saw it. Plus I recorded a lot of games so I'm still watching some of last year's games. I haven't even got to the play in yet but I have been getting thorough observations.

Ironically the main reason I'm so high on the team even with the roster being as young as it is is because of the chemistry. AJ, JJ and OO really play well together. You could tell they really like playing with each other and they all really want to win. Bogi and Bey were great off the bench last year and should only be more aligned. DejounTrae will be a yr older and grow up to be what we thought they would. Hunter knows Bey/AJ can start over him if he doesn't step up and Bey knows JJ is on his and same for Clint and OO. Healthy competition, chemistry, continuity, comradary, coaching and connectivity go a long way and we have the talent to make it go even further. Heat had this combination last year and we saw how far they went because of it. All about the C's, , to get us to the ship ask the Nuggets

I guess he thought he was stealing the ball. Unfortunately it was from his teammate. Talk about brain farts

If you really want some insight to these other teams start seeing what they're fan based are saying about them. If I closed my eyes and replaced some names I would think I was listening to some squawkers. Some are going thru way more internal turmoil than we are for staying pat like Toronto for instance. Check them out though and you will have a lot better perspective for us and what we've been doing with our team. Although we might've saw the depth of Denver not many expected them to go all the way because they didn't change must and didn't seem to have the grit to put them over the hump. What a difference a yr makes!!

If Miami adds Lillard that means they would be losing depth to an already depleted team. I get what you're saying about Charlotte their young and should improve. Sounds like another team I know that should have improved chemistry from continuity as well as a better system with a new coach having a year to actually implement his system. We've seen a small glimpse of it with our summer league team winning games even when their best pick isn't playing well and we've been down double digits in a few games if not most. Toronto has been in shambles last year and are only continuing to fall apart which is why Fred Van Fleet left and Siakam is the next foot out the door. You forgot about Chicago because they are forgettable. A young team staying pat and growing from within is understandable. An older team doing that is a cry for mediocrity. Funny how you got 2 - 4 teams on here that have lost players or have stood pat but now they're better than us when they weren't even better than us record wise then Great logic (grass always greener).

I agree with every single grade here for last year except JJ. He should at least be a B-. Either way I bet all those grades go up after this season which means there definitely won't be any C students by the end of the yr unless someone horribly starts to regress. Bogi and Clint have been too much of vets to fall that fast so I'll rock with a B - A squad with good coaching and good chemistry.

Honestly I couldn't read past the bold statement in your comments because you've already pegged me wrong. I didn't ever say I was a Hunter fan. Cam fan yes probably one of the biggest. Only thing I said about Hunter is he continues to prove me wrong. Meaning I've bet against him since day one. Maybe y'all are so down on him because y'all had greater expectations. I just attempt to call it like I see it and try to look beyond what we can physically now but also the potential in the future. So I stand pat in saying I see where he can go and this summer is great fuel for him to breakout. ps didn't mean for all of this to be bold but just rolled with it.

I'll be honest Capela is probably gone as a good starter piece for an up and coming team. If you're doing it for salary like @JayBirdHawk I understand but when building an expansion team you look for bargain pieces like that to give your build a head start. Unfortunately @Gray Mule I don't think it works that way as far as 1 player per team but that would seem fair I suppose. I think how they actually do it is build their team from the 30 teams available best on players available and salary. On a 15 man roster if 10 were spared they could choose 5 players from 1 team if they like which is why most teams attempt to strategize and leave the least bait possible. I could be wrong but I do remember it used to be like this. They may have/create different rules now though.

Who are these C+ students that you're referring to Name some names so they can get some final report cards at the end of this season.

I get where you're going. You didn't quite solve the problem in your example but I get where you're going. I'd still stick with what I got (which was a leech off of @thecampster idea) because I think that strategy would work. They might not even look our way as far as players to grab out of what's available so I wouldn't want to make moves out of fear but if it made sense and was worthwhile I wouldn't oppose.

So from what I'm hearing about Hunter is he's reached his peak at 25. That's sad if that's the case because most players don't even touch their prime until 26 and that can usually run to about 30/32 before they reach their peak. All I'm saying if I'm wrong and y'all are right then that's sad for Hunter and he'd be who I thought he was when we originally drafted him. So far Hunter has surprised me at every turn of my expectations and at this point I don't doubt that he will continue. Believe me I get what y'all see. I'm sure Hunter knows what he needs/needed to work on as well. I'd be highly surprised if he comes back the exact same player that we saw last yr especially going into the off season healthy but we'll see.

I've been wondering all that game who is the guy to the right of OO with the glasses between him and Trae. Not Bey of course for the fools out there but the other guy. Is he a Hawks player?

What was our record against Milwaukee last year? And that was against a 41 - 41 team. We are better than the team we were last year and that record and we have the right orchestrator in Quinn to prove it. Does Philly really believe what you're saying or do you think ultimately in their hearts there's some worry there? People have been putting Cleveland on top of us for the past 2 seasons and we've been climbing that mountain and standing on top of it. They have to prove it before I believe it although I do think they've made some improvements every change needs an adjusting period. Miami even if they get Dame are not the team they were last year. I like seeing Quinn and Spoelstra go head to head but overall we have the pieces to prevail as was shown in the play in. We're only going to take that blue print and dig further into it. Honestly Boston is the biggest wild card to me. On one hand we've seen them deep before (Tatum, Brown, Hayward, Horford, Smart, Marcus Morris, Robert Williams, Terry Rozier, Kyrie Irving) and it didn't work. On paper they definitely have the squad but it will all depend on the fit between Porzingis and the 2 other stars. Either way right now I only see Boston as the clear team ahead of us. Every other picture looks a little cloudy.

I was with you almost all the way except for protecting Lundy over Bufkin. As much as I love Lundy I think he will go under the radar and not get picked. Kobe Bufkin on the other hand will be a star (in my opinion) and even if he was someone we traded later on because of redundancy or whatever he would have more value. Mock my words about Kobe but watch what I say. Trae's summer league was surprisingly more trash than Bufkin's but the intangibles are there. Other than that I agree with all your strategies including the Bogi one. I honestly think they may reach for a Bogi before Lundy but even then we have a replacement in AJ. Unfortunately that would be the risk of an expansion draft but like you said they may look elsewhere for their choices before spending that money on an aging Bogi.

You're talking about last year's Hunter I guess where yes true the impact was less seen/felt. Still we discredit some of the things Hunter has already brought us like his defense on the elite wings (Luka, Tatum, Durant) You haven't seen this yrs Hunter. Let's see what a silent summer Hunter looks like this coming season and then we'll see if we have those same sentiments. I believe this will be Hunter's breakout season. I'm sure people have probably said that before but I'm saying it now. This will be Hunter's breakout season and I for one would rather have him then go against him when he breaks out.

To me stars are perennial all stars that most people know even casual fans or non fans. Giannis, LBJ, Kawhi, AD, Durant, Kyrie, Tatum, Embiid, Jokic, Westbrook, PG, Luka, DMitch, CP3, Harden, Dame, Curry, Ja Morant, Trae.... People that can change a franchise instantly (game changer), best at what they do (leader in multiple categories). People who others know who you're talking about instantly without using their full name or real name at all. People that all 30 teams in the league would give great offers for or would happily take if they're available. Zion for all his off court "troubles" is still a star which is why no matter how much trouble he's given New Orleans they'd risk hanging on to him before just giving him away. Stars whether hated or loved usually both their talent and game is undeniable and game changing. Wemby for instance is one walking in the nba door. Now he just has to prove it on the floor to keep that title. If we have to put a number on it (1 - 10) than they probably aren't true stars.

Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green (to an extent), shoot SGA, Donovan Mitchell, Paul George and Pierce, Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard. A lot of these players could be considered franchise players and none of them were top 3. Saying that to say it doesn't necessarily matter where players are picked it matters how good they become and where they land in many cases so they can develop properly. In bold are a few picks that I loved off bat. Most of them came from Travis (you excluded Trae but I get it). Meaning a competent GM/scout gives us a better chance at successful picks than GM's that aren't so competent. Landry Field's has shown he's learned from Travis and in my opinion is even taking it a step further by the character of guys he's added to our already skilled/great character group. One thing I've learned in life is many struggle to see greatness when its right in front of them. Doesn't mean it's not there and it's usually always revealed in time. So we'll

I think both parties will be better for it. Still I'll say it again I'm glad we atleast moved him to the West because I'm sure he'll inflict some revenge. I just got thru rewatching game of zones and it reminds me of the part when every year someone would claim the new king of the East against LeBron before he went to the Lakers I admire your honesty although I do remember that stand pat war cry like it was yesterday so I guess I forgot too With Quinn, Bey, Trae/DJ chemistry actually become the DejounTrae we originally hoped for, a step forward from all of our youth and solid play from our vets (sounds like a lot but natural progressions so not too much to ask) and Patty Mills bringing that championship mindset/pedigree we have exactly what we need to do great things. Let's just say it was before it's time but great timing now. Hopefully we didn't rub Hunter the way JC was rubbed or that he approaches it differently and destroys the league in his coming out party.

I agree. Although Washington can be better than expected I've seen that movie before. Our old friend Travis is at it again (as a master rebuilder) and if Washington doesn't do bad enough they will lose their pick for this next draft and I'm sure he's not having that

Right in the gut is where there weakness is... Similar to Portland they've struggled to get that wing player that puts them over the top.

Oh it's coming We honestly weren't far off when I did the 1st time we made it to the ECF with real potential to go further but I digress. I think the new core we have/built is even better.