OT: The Brow requests a trade

[Matrim55]

AD and KD. That would be ridiculous.

If they could get a veteran PG at the minimum, this is what their depth chart could look like if the Pels accepted that trade:

PG: Collison, Burke/Mudiay
SG: Trier, Dotson, Lee
SF: KD, THJ, Ntilikina
PF: AD, Lance Thomas
C: Robinson, n/a

Obviously they'd need to add some other pieces, and hopefully move one or both of THJ/Lee. And keeping Vonleh would be good.

But that's a squad.

 

[Lefty2one]

What do you base this on other than he has the same agent as Lebron? I can just as easily say he wants no part of LA because no superstar wants to play with LeBron.

I have a childhood friend who is pretty high up in the industry. Well-connected. Agents, media, etc. He doesn't hit me up often with this kind of stuff because knows a lot of rumors are bogus. He texted me this morning. Last time I heard from him with a rumor/insider news was when he confirmed HOU did actually offer four first-rounders for Jimmy Butler. Things may change with AD but the source is solid and as it stands right now I believe it.

On more of a rumor note, and this is out there already, but don't discount LeBron & Kyrie's repaired relationship. If the Lakers haven't made a blockbuster trade by FA, expect it to be 50/50 that Kyrie goes to LA.

 

[nomar]

I have a childhood friend who is pretty high up in the industry. Well-connected. Agents, media, etc. He doesn't hit me up often with this kind of stuff because knows a lot of rumors are bogus. He texted me this morning. Last time I heard from him with a rumor/insider news was when he confirmed HOU did actually offer four first-rounders for Jimmy Butler. Things may change with AD but the source is solid and as it stands right now I believe it.

On more of a rumor note, and this is out there already, but don't discount LeBron & Kyrie's repaired relationship. If the Lakers haven't made a blockbuster trade by FA, expect it to be 50/50 that Kyrie goes to LA.

50/50? You honestly think that?

Kyrie enjoys being the Man.

 

[Lefty2one]

More like KP, Knox, and a top 5 pick imo.

That's not happening. That would be by far the best offer the Pelicans could receive. Of all the recent star trades (George, Cousins, Butler), none of them included a player of Porzingis's caliber. Plus Knox and a Top 5 on top of it? Zero chance. Too steep for a big man in a guard's league plus you'd be getting yourself in the Melo situation all over again - gutting your team of its core and hoping you can find a FA better than Amare Stoudemire was.

If it's all done in one fell swoop over the summer where a trade is made to sign AD and Durant comes as a free agent then sure, you make a trade without thinking twice but I don't believe the Knicks would move KP, Knox, and say Zion, Barrett, Morant. That is STEEP given the market for expiring superstars.

 

[Lefty2one]

50/50? You honestly think that?

Kyrie enjoys being the Man.

Didn't say I believed anything. Just relaying what I heard.

 

[methodology]

50/50? You honestly think that?

Kyrie enjoys being the Man.

He's not going to be the man in Boston. Tatum's emergence and then if they get AD.

If he wants to win he's gonna have to be Robin on any team that has that chance

 

[Lefty2one]

As an aside, I don't know if it's the Bill Simmons effect or overreacting to one postseason but there hasn't been a more overrated young player in the last decade than Tatum. Look, he's good. Way too many people act like he's the next KD. Boston isn't going anywhere if he's their top player. I'm not sold on him ever being better than Kyrie.

 

[UofCT]

As an aside, I don't know if it's the Bill Simmons effect or overreacting to one postseason but there hasn't been a more overrated young player in the last decade than Tatum. Look, he's good. Way too many people act like he's the next KD. Boston isn't going anywhere if he's their top player. I'm not sold on him ever being better than Kyrie.

Spot on. I'll repeat my previous post. There is a Tatum in every draft. Would the Mavs trade Doncic for Tatum? F NO.

 

[Lefty2one]

Spot on. I'll repeat my previous post. There is a Tatum in every draft. Would the Mavs trade Doncic for Tatum? F NO.

He had a solid rookie year then a really good postseason against two teams who had absolutely no one to put on him (PHI and CLE) and who couldn't focus their scheme on him since Boston had such a balanced attack. He was a matchup nightmare in those two rounds. Hell, Philly started the ECSF with JJ Redick on him. Covington isn't a quick enough. No one on CLE's roster had a prayer. He was part of a balanced offense last year. It was a true team effort; opposing teams couldn't zero in on stopping one player. It's not like Tatum is a playmaker or even that great at creating his own offense. He's not carrying a team nor the focal point of the offense like Luka.

He's a good player who should turn into a 25 PPG scorer but he needs a much, much more well-rounded game if he's going to be the best player on Boston for the next decade.

 

[intlzncster]

That's not happening. That would be by far the best offer the Pelicans could receive. Of all the recent star trades (George, Cousins, Butler), none of them included a player of Porzingis's caliber. Plus Knox and a Top 5 on top of it? Zero chance. Too steep for a big man in a guard's league plus you'd be getting yourself in the Melo situation all over again - gutting your team of its core and hoping you can find a FA better than Amare Stoudemire was.

If it's all done in one fell swoop over the summer where a trade is made to sign AD and Durant comes as a free agent then sure, you make a trade without thinking twice but I don't believe the Knicks would move KP, Knox, and say Zion, Barrett, Morant. That is STEEP given the market for expiring superstars.

You realize how much better AD is than George, Cousins, Butler? An order of magnitude. He's a generational player. A franchise altering player.

AD is worth how many Top 5 picks you think? idk the answer. But I'd trade minimum 2 of them.

You are spot in terms of expiring. But we are talking bidding war here. Some team will overpay.

 

[nomar]

Didn't say I believed anything. Just relaying what I heard.

That wasn't clear from your post.

 

[nomar]

He's not going to be the man in Boston. Tatum's emergence and then if they get AD.

If he wants to win he's gonna have to be Robin on any team that has that chance

I love Tatum but he's going to have to make a couple huge steps to get to Kyrie's level.

AD is a better player than Kyrie but he's not an alpha. LeBron is an alpha. Harden's an alpha. AD will enjoy being 1B, like Durant.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

The Pelicans have a little leverage now. They will have none this summer.

 

[Lefty2one]

You realize how much better AD is than George, Cousins, Butler? An order of magnitude. He's a generational player. A franchise altering player.

Is he though? The NBA is so guard-friendly that this guy can't even get out of the second round. He's won one playoff series in his career. The Pelicans are 13th in the West right now. He's in his seventh season; at some point we need to see some results. I know his supporting cast hasn't been great but it's a statement on today's league. LeBron goes to another team and they're immediately one of the best teams in the league. That simply isn't the case for big men anymore, even someone as individually as great as Davis. It's not the 1980s or 1990s; having a great big man guarantees nothing. The Knicks make a deal like that and I'm not sure they're even making the playoffs: what's different between this hypothetical situation and what he's been through in New Orleans?

 

[superjohn]

Spot on. I'll repeat my previous post. There is a Tatum in every draft. Would the Mavs trade Doncic for Tatum? F NO.

Tatum isn't even close to Doncic. Luka is basically already a superstar, he's going to be one of the handful of best players in the league.

 

[intlzncster]

As an aside, I don't know if it's the Bill Simmons effect or overreacting to one postseason but there hasn't been a more overrated young player in the last decade than Tatum. Look, he's good. Way too many people act like he's the next KD. Boston isn't going anywhere if he's their top player. I'm not sold on him ever being better than Kyrie.

Kid has played 1.5 years of ball. With a difficult integration of ball hungry guys into the team this season. It sounds like you are overreacting to the present. selling low. He has pretty significant upside from here. But needs time. He's only 21.

You need more than one guy anchoring a team these days. 3 studs is the norm.

Spot on. I'll repeat my previous post. There is a Tatum in every draft. Would the Mavs trade Doncic for Tatum? F NO.

Sure, one maybe. Two at most. Odds of getting him are low.

 

[intlzncster]

Tatum isn't even close to Doncic. Luka is basically already a superstar, he's going to be one of the handful of best players in the league.

Yeah, that isn't even a fair comparison. Doncic has only scratched the surface. Kid's 20. And played half an NBA season. He's got a limitless future.

 

[Lefty2one]

Kid has played 1.5 years of ball. With a difficult integration of ball hungry guys into the team this season. It sounds like you are overreacting to the present. selling low. He has pretty significant upside from here. But needs time.

You need more than one guy anchoring a team these days. 3 studs is the norm.

I was saying the same stuff last postseason when people were going nuts over him. Pump the brakes.

I'm not disagreeing with any of what you said but plenty of people out there think he's the next Durant or the second-best young player in the league after Luka. He's not that. He's maybe your #2 on a championship team but probably #3. Even in this thread Celtic fans think he's their franchise cornerstone and #1.

 

[intlzncster]

Is he though? The NBA is so guard-friendly that this guy can't even get out of the second round. He's won one playoff series in his career. The Pelicans are 13th in the West right now. He's in his seventh season; at some point we need to see some results. I know his supporting cast hasn't been great but it's a statement on today's league. LeBron goes to another team and they're immediately one of the best teams in the league. That simply isn't the case for big men anymore, even someone as individually as great as Davis. It's not the 1980s or 1990s; having a great big man guarantees nothing. The Knicks make a deal like that and I'm not sure they're even making the playoffs: what's different between this hypothetical situation and what he's been through in New Orleans?

LeBron is more than a generational player. He's a basketball god. Only mentioned with one or two other players in history.

Tell that guard dominant theory to guys like Giannis. Many of the best players happen to be guards. But that doesn't mean that's the only way.

It's more a reflection on the current state of bigs imo. How they are developing at the AAU and college level has a lot to do with it.

 

[intlzncster]

I was saying the same stuff last postseason when people were going nuts over him. Pump the brakes.

I'm not disagreeing with any of what you said but plenty of people out there think he's the next Durant or the second-best young player in the league after Luka. He's not that. He's maybe your #2 on a championship team but probably #3. Even in this thread Celtic fans think he's their franchise cornerstone and #1.

Again, that's not a fair comp. A top 2 player in the league. Historically great player.

Everybody jumps the gun with excitement, especially fans of the player's particular team. That's normal. He's got a very bright future, but no, he's not LeBron. He's not KD. He's not Curry. et al

We don't know his ceiling imo. But I don't think it's a #1, if we are talking the Top 5-7 guys in the league. I don't know where he'll end up yet.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah, that isn't even a fair comparison. Doncic has only scratched the surface. Kid's 20. And played half an NBA season. He's got a limitless future.

Did you see him last night? Kid is unreal.

Also, the most underrated guy in the league right now is Jokic, IMO. He's easily the best passing big I've ever seen and should probably be starting in the all-star game over AD.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Ball, Ingraham, Kuz, and whatever picks you need to send. Keep the young role players and shooters. Keep Kuz if you can.

 

[the Q]

Ball, Ingraham, Kuz, and whatever picks you need to send. Keep the young role players and shooters. Keep Kuz if you can.

I agree that hart is too perfect a fit.

 

[UofCT]

I just don't see the Pelicans rushing this. They have the rest of this year, next summer, and even next season before trade deadline to get the best possible deal.

However, if it were to happen this season I bet Pelicans want to include their awful contracts in this trade like the 80 million they owe Jrue Holiday, or the 13 million they owe Solomon Hill. I'd imagine they would need a 3rd team to take on these contracts as well which brings me to the perfect trade to happen.

See Here - NBA Trade Machine - ESPN

Edit: Trade machine not loading - i'm sure it crashed.

Pelicans get: 36 Million in expiring contracts from Indiana (Tyreke Evans, Bogdanovich, and Thad Young), 3 young players to build around from Lakers (Ingram, Hart, and Kuzma), and I'd imagine a combination of picks from LA.

Lakers get: AD

Pacers Get: A very good Jrue Holiday to play alongside Oladipo for the next few years, the older brother of future starting PG Aaron Holiday, and the one guy who every Indiana fan loves in Lance. KCP would help clog the hole at 2-guard until next season.

 

[intlzncster]

Did you see him last night? Kid is unreal.

Also, the most underrated guy in the league right now is Jokic, IMO. He's easily the best passing big I've ever seen and should probably be starting in the all-star game over AD.

What I really love about him is that his highlights are so fun to watch. He's like the anti-Harden that way.

I wanted to see Doncic and Jokik on the same team. That would be some sick basketball.

You saw Jokic full court pass a little while back? Unreal.