2021 nba offseason draft free agency etc

get em

Bjelica signing already paying off

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., has agreed on a five-year designated max extension that could be worth up to $207 million, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2021

Wonder if getting the vax is in the contract

Porter Jr., deal is worth $172M unless he reaches the designated max criteria and makes one of the three All-NBA teams this season.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2021

thats a gamble for the nuggets

gotta do it

He shot the ball too well to not get the max

i strongly suspect that some of the players that pulled the "that's private" card today are vaxxed but trying to play both sides or be cool or something, so it's delightful to see dame just calling it all bullshit in the nicest way he can.

Damian Lillard on getting vaccinated.#RipCity pic.twitter.com/h0trtXtwHz

— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) September 27, 2021

about as good as you can play it, right there.

was also nice to see dame's responses to if he's seeing it through in portland basically come down to him saying everything but "yeah, i was going through some stuff, sorry"

Kyrie is Goated

— D'Angelo Russell (@Dloading) September 28, 2021

haha. perfect

Lmao

KAT literally called proud people's excuses for not getting vaxxed bullshit today

proud?

Also says the Wolves will be 100% vaxxed soon and said he appreciated two holdouts that they convinced to get it

this kyrie situation is dicey!

In a report from @VinceGoodwill, Kyrie Irving is expected to get the COVID-19 vaccine, with close friend Kevin Durant influencing the decision:https://t.co/XgxXrPTZJS

— BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) September 28, 2021

less dicey now

it is really hard to imagine that any player who is actually in line to play will hold out from getting vaxxed imo. the antivax rationale is flimsy enough (read: nonsensical) that this is really all about saving face, even if just for one's own internal logic. there are a lot of inept orgs in the nba but i have faith that they will all find ways to satisfy that need for their just asking questions antivax players.

unless they secretly seek an excuse to get a player out of their rotation...

(was thinking about wiggins with that last comment but his contributions are a net positive... right?)

hes above replacement level but not above league average

agreed

The funny thing about that the best thing about wiggins is he doesn’t miss games

Avery Bradley: "I think I might be the best on-ball defender in the NBA."

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) September 28, 2021

that's true when he's playing offense and no one is guarding him

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/9/28/22698824/ben-simmons-trade-philadelphia-76ers

League sources say the primary motivation for Klutch Sports’ aggressive holdout is to steer him to a team built around him on offense. No matter the roster makeup in Philly, he will only ever be no. 2 as long as Embiid is healthy.

ben simmons: i very badly want to be on a losing team

a team built around him on offense

lmao, do I want to see that team.

aspiring to be julius randle now

The Pistons would do something that weird

already did

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nba/players/full/2991070.png&w=350&h=254

i do think there's some logic to the idea of building an offense around simmons if he is going to truly reach his potential, as i've been saying i think somewhere like OKC or houston would be the best landing spots for him as teams w/ some assets that could mold a team around him. if we're operating under the theory that ben can't play with a(nother) center because the spacing just doesn't work then there's not tons of contending teams where you're like, yeah just drop simmons in there -- after trading away perimeter talent, presumably -- and we're ready to rock

i don't think simmons has to be the best player on a team, in fact he almost certainly can't be if you really want to contend. but he does need to be the best big on the team, i think, unless there's some unicorn scenario where you find that chris bosh in miami kinda player who can play center and hang around at the three point line basically the entire game. jokic could probably make it fit but the nuggs are locked in to two wings long term now so i imagine they're not making any drastic move. lillard would be great but if you're playing simmons and nurkic at the same time are you just replaying the issues in philly?

ben needs to end up on a team where the other star is a guard or a wing who can ball handle and shoot. the problem is that any trading team -- as of now -- is going to have to trade a veteran, star level player of that caliber to match what the sixers want, so you're basically getting rid of the player who you need to pair with him. teams like okc (shai), or houston (jalen green), or detroit (cade) have more of a shot of making something work around ben that could be better than what the sixers were doing, so i see where he's coming from.

yeah i mean "build an offense around" might just be an imprecise way of saying have an offense that makes sense for him, cause phillys obvs didnt

fwiw i dont think you could have a good team where simmons is your top scorer, hes just not that good in the halfcourt

yeah. putting aside steph, dame, cp3 level guards aside, he needs to at least find a jamal murray or devin booker kinda ball handling/scoring guard to play with. and then you need to add 3 and D wings around those two. it will require a certain level of team building but i do think it could work out. if you played clippers level small w/ ben simmons in the playoffs w/ good offense around him i think you could make noise

otm

Tuesday afternoon, LeBron James announced that he had in fact been vaccinated, but that he would not advocate that others do so. “We’re talking about individuals’ bodies,” he said. “We’re not talking about something that’s political or racism or police brutality and things of that nature.”

xp would the sun trade ayton for him? obv w/ ayton being routed to a 3rd team

NBA spokesman Mike Bass: "Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses."

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 29, 2021

getting real for the antivaxxers

we have reached peak "things of that nature"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/sports/basketball/lebron-james-covid-vaccine.html

“I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family,” James said. “I know that I was very skeptical about it all, but after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and my friends, and that’s why I decided to do it.”

w/r/t Building around Simmons on offense, I guess the ur-text is the sixteen-game win streak the Sixers went on during his rookie year with Embiid out. In theory, you surround him with shooters, crank up the pace, and just steamroll in transition. In practice, you also need a soft schedule and a confluence of unsustainable hot streaks from role players, so, uh, lmao?

My theory is that he is a massive head-case and we will all look back and realize his "prime" was his first two years in the league.

We slot them into "massive head-case" on either side of the ambition index.

NEW: Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr.: "I don't feel comfortable" taking vaccine

via @msinger #MileHighBasketball https://t.co/OaXMk4x4fE

— Denver Post Nuggets (@nuggetsnews) September 29, 2021

maybe they shouldnt have paid him until this is figured out?

maybe they hope this will prevent triggering the performance payout via missed games

lmao

I stand with Kyrie Irving.

I stand with Andrew Wiggins.

I stand with Bradley Beal.

I stand with Jonathan Isaac.#NBA#YourBodyYourChoice https://t.co/kn74nwjVRV

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 29, 2021

ah yes the cosign they were seeking

well jonathan isaac might've...