***Official 2024-2025 NBA Thread***

[KC_Connection]

Season starts tonight with Knicks and Celtics followed by Lakers and TWolves.

Will history be made early in the 2nd game?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Lebron got them to draft his shitty son and guarantee him a two way roster spot. You mean to tell me LeBron had no part of orchestrating this? Naive.

The Lakers are currently worse not better for this year.

Luka a ho.

That. Is. The. Point.

James, not truly caring about "life after Lebron" would've GLADLY torpedoed this thing and forced the Lakers to retain Davis and use that capital (Christie and the 2 firsts they had to move) to add an immediate piece to this year's roster that would help him ring chase this season and next.

No, James didn't know.

If James knew, it wouldn't have happened.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

That. Is. The. Point.

James, not truly caring about "life after Lebron" would've GLADLY torpedoed this thing and forced the Lakers to retain Davis and use that capital (Christie and the 2 firsts they had to move) to add an immediate piece to this year's roster that would help him ring chase this season and next.

No, James didn't know.

If James knew, it wouldn't have happened.

Agreed, he would never have let it happen given his friendship with AD.

[KC_Connection]

LeBron hasn't tweeted any sort of welcome to Luka either. Not that I think he is going to ultimately hate playing with a guy with a similar level of basketball genius to his own, but I think this is the first time in his career where he really isn't the primary focus of the organization he is on. He's not "the guy" for the Lakers anymore and that is a huge change.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Chandler Parsons texted Mark Cuban about the trade:

"I texted (Mark Cuban), and I said, 'I'm so confused.' He wrote back, 'That makes two of us.’"

(via @RunItBackFDTV)

pic.twitter.com/OZuhtxWomn

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 3, 2025

This is starting to feel a little more like the Bulls breaking up in the late 90s.

Reinsdorf didn't have the stomach to pay guys. Krause thought he was smart enough to win without the stars and was itching to prove it.

If the new Mavs owners weren't super eager to give out that super max and Nico Harrison thinks he's the smartest man in the room and can win without Luka, he might have just looked to nudge ownership away from Luka by using their worst impulses against them.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

This is starting to feel a little more like the Bulls breaking up in the late 90s.

Reinsdorf didn't have the stomach to pay guys. Krause thought he was smart enough to win without the stars and was itching to prove it.

If the new Mavs owners weren't super eager to give out that super max and Nico Harrison thinks he's the smartest man in the room and can win without Luka, he might have just looked to nudge ownership away from Luka by using their worst impulses against them.

It's strongly looking like he suggested to the new ownership that Luka wasn't the kind of player you should invest a super max on as a way to get the greenlight for moving a superstar that he didn't like.

While that's both insane and wrong (and will ultimately lead to him never having a GM job again), it seems to have happened.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

LeBron hasn't tweeted any sort of welcome to Luka either. Not that I think he is going to ultimately hate playing with a guy with a similar level of basketball genius to his own, but I think this is the first time in his career where he really isn't the primary focus of the organization he is on. He's not "the guy" for the Lakers anymore and that is a huge change.

Yeah - this is gonna be odd for him.

Because if the Lakers have a deal on the table to get better now at the expense of 2 years from now, they won't take it. They could probably grab some guys that could help them for next to nothing if they'd give up some expirings or something -- they won't do that.

They're going to have a really close eye on that 2026 FA class.

Which is why I really do think they'd be better served to trade LeBron at this point. The idea of getting a big and pairing LeBron and Luka is fascinating as hell. But A) I don't think it'll work and B) it's just so short-term and the Lakers really don't have to worry about that now.

It makes way more sense to move James to GSW and let him, Curry and Green make a run at something.

I don't think you'd manage to get Kuminga, Podz and Jackson-Davis (along with taking the bullet of Wiggins and his $$$ to make it work), but shit - make 'em tell you no.

I think you could probably get Kuminga and Podz OR Jackson-Davis. Along with a pick and Wiggins.

Then you shop Rui and see what else is out there.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

LeBron hasn't tweeted any sort of welcome to Luka either. Not that I think he is going to ultimately hate playing with a guy with a similar level of basketball genius to his own, but I think this is the first time in his career where he really isn't the primary focus of the organization he is on. He's not "the guy" for the Lakers anymore and that is a huge change.

Good teammate right there.