2019-2020 NBA Season

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As the NBA season closed out with a Toronto Raptors victory, the next season has already begun. The draft is a couple of weeks away and after June 30th, the free agent frenzy will begin.

Will Kawhi move on from Toronto to LA or NY?
Will Kevin (and Klay) stay with Golden State or sign big and nurse injuries in new places?
Will Kyrie go back home (sort of) to Brooklyn?
Will Anthony Davis be traded or will he and Zion team up to make New Orleans relevant?

Exciting times ahead.
 
I am late, but tonight is the 2019 NBA Draft. We'll get to see who all goes where.


The team to beat for 2019-2020 is the Toronto Raptors, as they are the defending NBA champions. Let's look back briefly at who all made the Playoffs last season:

--- 2018-2019 NBA Playoffs: WEST ---
* #1 GS Warriors vs. #8 LAC Clippers
* #4 HOU Rockets vs. #5 UTA Jazz
* #3 POR Trail Blazers vs. #6 OKC Thunder
* #2 DEN Nuggets vs. #7 SA Spurs

--- 2018-2019 NBA Playoffs: EAST ---
* #1 MIL Bucks vs. #8 DET Pistons
* #4 BOS Celtics vs. #5 IND Pacers
* #3 PHI 76ers vs. #6 BKN Nets
* #2 TOR Raptors vs. #7 ORL Magic

Will any of these teams possibly have better seasons than last? Can any of them perhaps do better than they did in the postseason? Could any new teams emerge and prove themselves among the better percentile teams? There is still currently a lot of months and a lot of deals to be made before [at least] the NBA Preseason tips off.


Good luck to all of your favorite teams, and I hope they have an amazing upcoming season.
 
Congratulations, 2019 MVP!

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Kevin Durant will be... a Brooklyn Net. So he'll be going to the black and white and enjoy the bright lights of Brooklyn. The deal is reported to be a $164M USD deal for four years. Also included in the deal will be Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. I'm pretty sure this is going to make the Brooklyn Nets quite formidable.
 
Oh my... :eek:

So he didn't insist in staying with the Warriors anymore even if they tried to offer him a max deal? This should be interesting as Uncle Drew (Kyrie Irving) will mostly also land there with the Nets. And rumors are pointing out that Kawhi will follow his way there as well as he said he likes to play alongside him, if this is to be true.

Too bad KD will be sidelined for the rest of the season though...
 
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Speaking of max deals, it is also reported that Kemba Walker signed a max deal of four years, $141M USD to play for the Boston Celtics. This is according to reports. So uh... get to know Kemba Walker, Boston.
 
Pelicans signed JJ Reddick to a two year deal and apparently are trading for Derrick Favors. Is this what a competent front office feels like? It's a refreshing change.
 
Well, the last Nets superteam went so well, why not have another one?

I'm a Deandre Jordan fan, but he hardly constitutes part of a "big 3" as he did a few years back. Center position has moved on from him a little.
 
So far, none of them known Stars are interested in signing and playing for the Bulls. What a sad news. :guilty:

If only they had better management and not throwing away potential players to other teams but they always seem to do the opposite, which also involved good coaches as well. And to think this has been proved most of the time since Jordan's era.

Man, it just really sucks to see a favorite team of mine would rot like this and that there's no hope to change even a bit of it at all. :grumpy:
 
So far, none of them known Stars are interested in signing and playing for the Bulls. What a sad news. :guilty:

If only they had better management and not throwing away potential players to other teams but they always seem to do the opposite, which also involved good coaches as well. And to think this has been proved most of the time since Jordan's era.

Man, it just really sucks to see a favorite team of mine would rot like this and that there's no hope to change even a bit of it at all. :grumpy:
Hey, 5 years ago I thought Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried would be the best the Nuggets would ever have, now we have Jokic, Murray and Harris just through the draft. Millsap is really the only even remotely big name we've signed in recent memory - I got hyped when we signed Nate Robinson!

We now have MPJ and Bol Bol waiting in the wings with the total freedom to develop them into players for our team or high grade trade chips if either of them can even remotely match their ceiling.

Patience will pay off for the Bulls. Right now I think they've been chucking too much money at not surefire talents (Jabari, Lavine contracts etc). They really need to keep the books as clear as they can and focus on getting good staff and becoming the destination they should be. I'm sure stars would want to be the next face of the Bulls but the organisations hasn't really shown strength at any level recently...
 
Hey, 5 years ago I thought Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried would be the best the Nuggets would ever have, now we have Jokic, Murray and Harris just through the draft. Millsap is really the only even remotely big name we've signed in recent memory - I got hyped when we signed Nate Robinson!

We now have MPJ and Bol Bol waiting in the wings with the total freedom to develop them into players for our team or high grade trade chips if either of them can even remotely match their ceiling.

Patience will pay off for the Bulls. Right now I think they've been chucking too much money at not surefire talents (Jabari, Lavine contracts etc). They really need to keep the books as clear as they can and focus on getting good staff and becoming the destination they should be. I'm sure stars would want to be the next face of the Bulls but the organisations hasn't really shown strength at any level recently...
Well, things have been great for the Nuggets this year after garnering the 2nd seed in the playoffs. It wasn't enough for a potential WCF appearance though.

For the Bulls, however, the team went to a steep downhill inevitably two years ago after trading Butler and later, Wade while waiving Rondo in the process as well. Still, it's a great job that at least they were qualified for the last seed in the 2017 Playoffs.

I wish Zach Lavine and Coby White would bring back hope to this city ASAP. But I think that's impossible yet as John Paxson is still there to influence the team. Aside from otto Porter from the Wizards 3rd overall in 2013 and Thaddeus Young being signed recently for some veteran presence, I barely know other players here who are currently in the lineup. They must have some known star to run and lead the team if they are to overcome this drought.
 
Well, things have been great for the Nuggets this year after garnering the 2nd seed in the playoffs. It wasn't enough for a potential WCF appearance though.

For the Bulls, however, the team went to a steep downhill inevitably two years ago after trading Butler and later, Wade while waiving Rondo in the process as well. Still, it's a great job that at least they were qualified for the last seed in the 2017 Playoffs.

I wish Zach Lavine and Coby White would bring back hope to this city ASAP. But I think that's impossible yet as John Paxson is still there to influence the team. Aside from otto Porter from the Wizards 3rd overall in 2013 and Thaddeus Young being signed recently for some veteran presence, I barely know other players here who are currently in the lineup. They must have some known star to run and lead the team if they are to overcome this drought.
A star rarely doesn't help, but Chicago has to start by building a team that has some formula to win games, and Denver is a good example of how to do that. Maximise every draft pick while keeping continuity in the team and having a clear vision of how you want to play. The Bulls have done so much tanking, even in seasons without a huge amount of surefire prospects in the draft, and had so much roster turnover, that the situation as presented to a superstar free agent is a lot of work - figuring out what needs to be changed, what culture needs to be established, what kind of coaching is going to work best, what kind of players you're going to need around you, how you're going to adjust to the ever changing league. Compare this to other situations around the league like Brooklyn, the Clippers, Dallas etc where you'd be able to step in and elevate an organisation that already knows what it's doing - not that there wouldn't be challenges but there's just so much less of that uncertainty.

Chicago's had horrible luck since the glory days. But they can't just bank on it changing - there are ways that the team can be made good that don't depend on it.
 
Damn, the Lakers are really furious and confident about getting Kawhi to land at them right now.

Even if they got Anthony Davis already, they're still not satisfied about it. It looks like another superstar stacked team will be on the roll after Golden State's historic run in the last 5 years. If you ask me, that's freaking ridiculous. :lol:

Once this happens, the NBA wouldn't be worth watching since there won't be any competition anymore, especially now that the Lakers are acting like as if they've never built a dynasty ever before.

If ever Kawhi comes to LA, he should join the Clippers instead.
 
A lot of NBA Summer League games are taking place from Las Vegas. This is a chance to see some of the new players and some of the current players get their juices going to get ready for the start of the 2019-2020 season. I was watching some of the Philadelphia 76ers against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier today. Still a lot of stuff to do before the season starts up proper in October or so.
 
According to various outlets, Kawhi Leonard is going to... the Los Angeles Clippers! The Clip Joint just got themselves a serious upgrade now. Thoughts?
 
And to add more about the news above, it looks like OKC is also sending Paul George to the Clippers for several players. So another tandem is born in LA with PG and the Klaw.

Looks like an awesome rivalry will be truly born between the Clippers and the Lakers. It would be an achievement if the former would advance past the conference semifinals for the first time, something that Blake Griffin and Chris Paul wasn't able to do during their tenures with the said team.

By the way, I really respect the Klaw's decision in this one, especially when many people were dismissing his motive to join the team and were directing him to join the Purple & Gold club instead.

Oh well, good luck in the next season. This off-season has really been interesting, to be honest. :)
 
I'm hearing the Clippers lineup now consists of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and ex-Houston Rocket Patrick Beverley. For some people, you know something's strange when the Clippers are the better Los Angeles NBA team over the Lakers. It would be like when the Mets are the better New York City baseball team over the Yankees. I am probably going to see what Clippers vs. Warriors will be like, at least among California NBA teams. This should be a good number of upcoming seasons for the Clip Joint if the Clippers can put it together and start contending for championships.
 
Boogie signs a 1-year deal to play with the Lakers. This is the same man who wasn't able to get his free lunch from Golden State earlier. :lol:

Demarcus-Cousins-will-sign-with-the-Lakers.jpg
 
On this day in 2010...

LeBron James made "The Decision." What decision? You know- that decision to take up time on ESPN to announce he was taking his talents to South Beach to win not 4, not, 5, not 6, not 7... NBA championships with the Miami Heat. How times have changed since...
 
This is that time of year when I hear Nuggets trade rumours for guys like Westbrook and Beal and get way too excited and then nothing happens. Bol Bol looks intriguing though.

Crazy season ahead - hard to say who I think will win it all as it stands. The Lakers seem pretty legit, but Davis has a lot to play for after years of empty dominance. With LeBron on his team he really has no excuse not to deliver. The Clippers, it's nice to see them with some clout but I personally wouldn't want my two stars to be such similar players and i'm a big PG fan but the injury bug seems to like him. The Bucks probably have the most continuity among contenders and if they can capitalise on the new powerhouses having to find their feet they could run away with the regular season. I rate my Nuggets of course but boy, the West is always getting tougher. I don't see the Nets making a huge leap before KD is back, and I can see the Warriors winning a lot in the West if they can turn Russell into anything resembling Harrison Barnes.

My teams to watch for the year:

Denver Nuggets - for pudgy Serbian Magic Johnson
Dallas Mavericks - this year's darling of the league
LA Lakers - to see how the madness unfolds this time around
Philadelphia 76ers - because one should always watch Al Horford play
NY Knicks - if you like trainwrecks
 
This is that time of year when I hear Nuggets trade rumours for guys like Westbrook and Beal and get way too excited and then nothing happens. Bol Bol looks intriguing though.

Crazy season ahead - hard to say who I think will win it all as it stands. The Lakers seem pretty legit, but Davis has a lot to play for after years of empty dominance. With LeBron on his team he really has no excuse not to deliver. The Clippers, it's nice to see them with some clout but I personally wouldn't want my two stars to be such similar players and i'm a big PG fan but the injury bug seems to like him. The Bucks probably have the most continuity among contenders and if they can capitalise on the new powerhouses having to find their feet they could run away with the regular season. I rate my Nuggets of course but boy, the West is always getting tougher. I don't see the Nets making a huge leap before KD is back, and I can see the Warriors winning a lot in the West if they can turn Russell into anything resembling Harrison Barnes.

My teams to watch for the year:

Denver Nuggets - for pudgy Serbian Magic Johnson
Dallas Mavericks - this year's darling of the league
LA Lakers - to see how the madness unfolds this time around
Philadelphia 76ers - because one should always watch Al Horford play
NY Knicks - if you like trainwrecks
Eww, why would Denver even think about that? They did so well with Murray and Jokic. Beal thinks he's the 2nd best SG in the league and Russell is a huge ball stopper.
 
Eww, why would Denver even think about that? They did so well with Murray and Jokic. Beal thinks he's the 2nd best SG in the league and Russell is a huge ball stopper.
I like Beal as an upgrade over Harris. He is an absolute weapon and we have the best passing big man in the league right now. We potentially wouldn't have to give up much beyond Harris, Michael Porter Jr and Hernangomez. By all accounts Beal doesn't really enjoy playing with Wall much.

I personally probably wouldn't take Westbrook on board as I'm a Murray believer, but I can see him potentially doing some wonderful things on one of the only teams in the NBA that has elite passing in its frontcourt that could relieve him of the need to do anything except attack. He's a legit superstar who can win games by taking over - right now we are banking on Murray becoming that this season, and he's been largely brilliant so far, but by no means is he doing Westbrook things. I really don't see him as a ballhog, he just likes to use the clock to get defenders impatient or try to catch them offguard at the hoop for contact. Plenty of guys doing that. Ultimately, Murray works as a 2 guard, so if OKC would take a trade headlined by Harris and one or both of the rookies, you would certainly be foolish not to consider the possibilities of Westbrook -Murray-Jokic
 
I like Beal as an upgrade over Harris. He is an absolute weapon and we have the best passing big man in the league right now. We potentially wouldn't have to give up much beyond Harris, Michael Porter Jr and Hernangomez. By all accounts Beal doesn't really enjoy playing with Wall much.

I personally probably wouldn't take Westbrook on board as I'm a Murray believer, but I can see him potentially doing some wonderful things on one of the only teams in the NBA that has elite passing in its frontcourt that could relieve him of the need to do anything except attack. He's a legit superstar who can win games by taking over - right now we are banking on Murray becoming that this season, and he's been largely brilliant so far, but by no means is he doing Westbrook things. I really don't see him as a ballhog, he just likes to use the clock to get defenders impatient or try to catch them offguard at the hoop for contact. Plenty of guys doing that. Ultimately, Murray works as a 2 guard, so if OKC would take a trade headlined by Harris and one or both of the rookies, you would certainly be foolish not to consider the possibilities of Westbrook -Murray-Jokic
I think Murray though, is a more reliable player to keep the team's trust in and stick with as a leader next to Jokic. They're both pretty comparable in shooting percentage (43/44%) but Murray was a better 3Pt shooter (37% to Russell's 29%). I remember one of the playoff games watching Murray just knocking down big 3s, one after another. Granted Russell averaged 5 more points (he took 4 more shots than Murray), and had more assists & rebounds, Murray averaged 5 assists & 4 rebounds himself. And at the end of the season, Murray was the one who made it to the semi-finals whilst Russell's insane stats got left behind in the 1st round again, 4-1 to the same team Murray took all the way to Game 7.

That team is so young too, 5th in the league, with 70% of their Playoff minutes going to guys under 24. A couple more years to gel even more, they'll definitely be a repeat contender past the 1st round easily. The only thing I think Westbrook can bring is veteran leadership, but again, guy hasn't made it past the 1st round in 3 years and he had Paul George this year. Denver will be much better off keeping their chemistry as is, imo.

I don't think Denver wants that albatross of a contract either. It's probably one of the harsher ones to try to take on next to Paul's & Wall's; $38.5m next season with $41m, $44m, & a $47m player option.
 
Until now, I am still surprised how this man was able to stop the Warriors from attempting a three-peat, which I would definitely cherish forever. And how he even managed to sabotage the Lakers from creating another dynasty, too.

Now, hopefully the balance in NBA has been restored.

D8_nVsHVUAMLUp0
 
Russell Westbrook traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul III. Wow! Call the Rockets or any of its players trash all you want, but you can't fault them for trying to build a winning club. The team just hasn't gone over the hump. I am interested to see how this all could work out. I still don't think James Harden is the kind of person who can take a team to a championship (and I love Harden). This Harden-Westbrook tandem could work out. We'll see starting in October.
 
Westbrook and Harden have been team mates way back before in 2009-12, just as before the latter got traded to the Rockets 7 years ago.

They also went to the NBA Finals that year, along with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka but of course, they lost to the Lebron & Co.-led then-league favorites Miami Heat en route to LBJ's first ever NBA ring. That was the start of those four potential dudes of OKC splitting up.

Imagine if they stayed and still played together for a long time in the same team, then they could become a potential force to be reckoned with, as long as Westbrook spreads the ball to his team mates more oftenly and Harden doesn't retain his role there forever as their Sixth Man of the team.

I hope the reunion of the two goes well in Houston, with Westbrook adjusting to Harden's primary role for years. So far, they're the only two of OKC's big four who haven't gotten an NBA title yet. Ibaka finally got one this year while Durant has two during last year and the year prior to that.
 
According to Twitter, I read the Houston Rockets picked up Tyson Chandler. So if you're a Rockets fan, imagine having the likes of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and now Tyson Chandler in the lineup. Should be an interesting deal should the Rockets heat up this upcoming season.
 
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