SorceressKnight Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 If you're wondering why the Kings have to take the risk on Deron Williams, you also have to remember the other factor: It's Sacramento. Just...it's Sacramento. Right now, the chances of a top-flight free agent going to Sacramento are slightly below "the big market franchises", "the state income-tax free franchises", "the middling-market franchises", "the small market franchises", "Wait...you're SURE no team in Europe is interested?" and "...did you try China? No bites there either?". With that in mind, taking a chance on any big name who's on the block is really the only hope they'd have. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Monta is having a pretty good year so far, but let's not get crazy. Harden is the best SG in the league, and I don't think it's all that close. He is having a legit MVP-type season. Stats-wise, sure. But ask me who I want with the ball in the 4th, and I'm picking Monta. Like I said though, he's making a case, but not quite there yet. If he plays like this all year, than I'll be more decided. Right now I'd give the slight nod to Harden or maybe Klay Thompson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 The gap between Harden and monta/butler/wade/thompson/kobe is big gap right now. Let's not kid ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Damn, I forgot Butler. That dude will def be in that conversation by year's end. I don't think the gap is that wide though. Harden is great, but I do think his weaknesses get overlooked sometimes and people seem to forget just how many of his points come at the FT line. Points are points, but that scoring average obviously isn't what it is if he doesn't get so many generous calls. Shit, now that I think about it, if I had to pick one SG to play 48 minutes, it would probably be Butler, since he's the only that is reliable on both sides of the court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 If Westbrook was labeled a SG which he pretty much is, I would say he's definitely better than Harden. Harden has had a fantastic start to the season though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Drawing fouls is part of what makes Harden so great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Yeah, I mean, I'd rather have Harden at the line then a Monta hero ball shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiller Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 You can't discredit Harden because he gets a lot of points from free throws. Drawing fouls is a skill -- one that he happens to be the best in the league at doing. He's been getting to the line like that consistently for a while now and he knocks them down. But really just look at the fact that Houston is 4th in the ridiculously loaded West right now, and a lot of that has been with Howard out. That's why I said Harden is having an MVP-type season. He has carried them and is having a really great statistical season, but they're also winning a lot. I really don't think best SG in the league is even debatable right now. Second best is where it gets interesting with Monta, Butler, Thompson, Wade (when healthy), etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilwaldo Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Sixers win!!! The more I watch this team the more I like our team. There will be team lining up for some of our guys come the trade deadlines. Guys like Wroten, McDaniels, and a few other reserves will go for seconds. Playing in Philly they got playing time that they would not have gotten otherwise so they showcased their game and we get a second in return. Saric won Euro League MVP for November. Definitely excited to see him play in a few years. http://www.libertyballers.com/the-liberty-beat/2014/12/1/7313397/76ers-draft-pick-dario-saric-wins-euroleague-mvp-for-the-month-of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Not to mention that drawing fouls can help your team get into the bonus earlier (and thus potentially get you more easy points) and that it can get players on the other team either off the court or to play more tentatively on defense. In short, drawing fouls is big part of why Harden is one of the best players in the NBA so far this year, and maybe the best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Holiday and Davis are unstoppable when in synch with each other. Which is happening more often these days. They've hung on pretty well after losing Gordon. Which isn't saying much I suppose since he wasn't playing all that well. Covington was exactly what that team needed. Everyone missed on him though for some reason. Not sure how that happens. Sixers win!!! The more I watch this team the more I like our team. There will be team lining up for some of our guys come the trade deadlines. Guys like Wroten, McDaniels, and a few other reserves will go for seconds. I can't imagine why they would trade McDaniels for a 2nd. Every team in the league would do that deal. Well except for one, hopefully, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Here's the thing, I don't see Harden taking any more contact than anyone else who drives the lane a ton, he's just getting the calls. I mean, I get it, it happens, but "skill" and "selling" are two different things. With that said, I don't want to give the impression that I don't think Harden is a phenomenal fucking player, because he is. His offensive skillset is excellent, obvi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Harden is an absolutely amazing basketball player I never want to see play. The Sixers are the best worst team ever. Most awful teams have some awfully put together mix of guys making way too much money, Ricky Davis locker room cancer-types gunning for contract money, young players who have no idea what's going on, a coach about ready to become a regional college sports analyst and a GM weeks away from being fired.They are such an interesting experiment. I loved when Deadspin and a few others went crazy when they signed Covington for some reason as proof they were trying to tank. Getting 6'9" shooters who fell into the D-League because they went to a small school is exactly what the hell a shitty team should be doing. I would take the Sixers roster and what they're doing over the Knicks/Nets/Lakers all-day, every day.I hope they keep Wroten and KJ. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilwaldo Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I honestly think that teams are going back over their draft boards and scouting reports after watching guys like KJ, Sims, and Covington. If they went at the end of the first they would be buried on the bench but on a bad team they get minutes every night. Some guys fell due to a bad combine but they are proving that they can play. I am not sure what Hinkie has planned for the deadline but I would not be surprised if teams call. KJ is on a one year deal and walks to free agency. He may not get huge dollars but a rebuilding team guaranteeing him a starting role is worth a couple of million per year. Not sure if the Sixers do a long-term deal just yet. If you compare their rebuilding to the Knicks/Celtics/Lakers/Pistons it is the right way. Get as many first and seconds as possible, draft, and develop. They need to learn some mental toughness and not have these breakdowns everygame. They need to believe in themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Sixers have won 3 games. Let's not get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Sixers have won 3 games. Let's not get carried away. Well to be fair Jason Richardson is returning soon. Hard not to get excited. Are fans there getting uptight over the Lakers seeming willing to fall out of the top 5 of the draft and lose the pick to Phoenix? I am not sure what Hinkie has planned for the deadline but I would not be surprised if teams call. KJ is on a one year deal and walks to free agency. He may not get huge dollars but a rebuilding team guaranteeing him a starting role is worth a couple of million per year. Not sure if the Sixers do a long-term deal just yet. KJ is restricted for the next 2 years and the max pay he can receive in those 2 years isn't all that unreasonable. The most money a team can offer him for the next 2 seasons is the non taxpayer mid level exception. Which is in the 4 million range. There really won't be any need to make a long term choice on him until that point. He's shown enough to be worth that at least. Not like the money is going elsewhere. Embiid is already the highest paid player on the team at only 4.5 million. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Sixers have won 3 games. Let's not get carried away. Well to be fair Jason Richardson is returning soon. Hard not to get excited. Are fans there getting uptight over the Lakers seeming willing to fall out of the top 5 of the draft and lose the pick to Phoenix? Nah. They talk more about free agency than the draft here. Fans tend to want their teams to do well. Even if the team sucks, you kinda want to at least see a win every once in a while. I would think the time you'll hear Laker fans complaining about losing the pick are during/after the lottery show (should the pick land like at #6), the actual draft, and whenever they see Steve Nash posting instagram videos of himself playing golf. Then they'll forget when free agency hits. I don't think Laker fans have really ever worried over losing a draft pick since they usually drafted low or didn't draft at all. Lakers in the past have dealt 1st round picks to clear cap, but those were usually low 1st round picks. It will be a VERY new experience losing a lottery pick though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 One thing I like about the Sixers, beyond the fact that they are a group of kids that works really hard, is that the team is actively trying to create some kind of culture. Despite the losses, I don't think I've ever seen them take a play off, and if they do, coach calls them on it. That is the biggest difference between them, and say, Detroit who are just wandering aimlessly through life, despite the talent on the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 The problem for the Pistons was that ownership didn't want a rebuild, so they kept trying to find quick fixes in free agency. It... Didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 We are rolling with our full squad tonight! It seems to only happen against the Raptors. Mirotic deserves at least 20 minutes after that performance on Friday. He wont get anywhere close to that though. With all 4 healthy, none of our bigs should see over 30 minutes in the regular season. 24 each per game would be pretty fucking perfect, but knowing Thibs it will look something like: Pau 36, Gibson 30, Noah 26 (minutes restriction), Niko 4. If he wasn't so fucking stubborn he would already have cut into Pau's minutes. The dude has been balling this year, but you can see him slowly wearing down. Meanwhile, Niko is running the floor like a guard and going 6/6 from 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Man, the last Bulls-Raps game was a lot of fun. Hope I can catch some of it tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Vincent Goodwill is reporting that the Pistons just waived Josh Smith. Holy shit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mco543 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 That had to be expensive. Now he's going to go to the Spurs and become a 46% three point shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 $26 million as he's pushed out the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 He's owed $26M, which they can stretch out over 5 years. But they're not taking the cap hit for him, at least. Wonder where he'll end up. Dallas seems like a decent landing spot since they're in the market for some frontcourt depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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