NBA 2024-25

Pundits keep bringing up Ray Allen as an example of a star player who successfully extends his career coming off the bench. Both are ace three point shooters, and Klay probably has a little more versatility and more in the tank than when Ray joined Miami as a reserve.

13 seasons in is where Ray joined Boston and averaged similar ppg as Klay has the last three post-injury seasons, including Klay leading the league in threes two seasons ago, and just behind Doncic last year.  

I don't blame the Warriors for moving on from Klay at this point -- the extended contract point -- but I think he has a good chance of earning his salary with Dallas. There are plenty of less legendary players who will be making more.

I'm not the only person who thought Klay choosing Dallas was a bad sign for how players (and agents) view the Lakers situation.  

 
Jason Sitoke said:
Nuggets are having a pretty $hit offseason so far. Best player in the league is on their roster and they’re content to watch the team around him get worse each year. As it stands now they are the 3rd best team in their own division on paper 
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This has been a rough offseason. I expected KCP to leave, but the lack of a backup plan other than moving Braun to the starting unit is very concerning. I like the draft pick, but the team has gotten worse, while the other contenders have mostly at least stayed the same, if not improved. Oh well, I waited 47 years for a championship, what's another 47 years?

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
I'm not the only person who thought Klay choosing Dallas was a bad sign for how players (and agents) view the Lakers situation.  
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When you know there's going to be a ton of pressure to play a guy who was barely a contributor in college last year, you know it'll be interesting.

To say nothing of LeBron not trying to get them some cap space to get another player.

 
Mavric said:
When you know there's going to be a ton of pressure to play a guy who was barely a contributor in college last year, you know it'll be interesting.

To say nothing of LeBron not trying to get them some cap space to get another player.
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He did offer to take a pay cut to allow the non-tax MLE, but when Klay went to Dallas and reports of DeRozan wanting more than that, there was no one else on the market he was willing to take the pay cut for, so he's now signed a 2 year max extension with a player option for year 2. There's still rumors of a Jerami Grant trade, but Portland is holding out for the Lakers tax and seems like it's dead in the water right now.

 
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I don't disagree a lot with this tweet. I know Dr. Buss always believed you take care of your star athletes until they are done, but he never let them take control of the franchise. It's why Shaq was traded, Dr Buss wasn't going to give into his extreme demands but wanted to make sure he was treated right and fairly by the organization, sometimes that means having the star leave. Jeanie is taking care of the star athletes by giving them everything they want to ensure they don't leave. It's a major reason why there is no clear direction/identity from the top down and the FO has conflicting agendas which bleeds down to the team.

 
Madcows said:
I don't disagree a lot with this tweet. I know Dr. Buss always believed you take care of your star athletes until they are done, but he never let them take control of the franchise. It's why Shaq was traded, Dr Buss wasn't going to give into his extreme demands but wanted to make sure he was treated right and fairly by the organization, sometimes that means having the star leave. Jeanie is taking care of the star athletes by giving them everything they want to ensure they don't leave. It's a major reason why there is no clear direction/identity from the top down and the FO has conflicting agendas which bleeds down to the team.
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Not sure why they felt so compelled to take care of Lebron.  I understand not wanting to lose him for nothing, but he also has a no trade clause...so you can't just flip him for value necessarily either.  I don't think letting him walk would've been a death sentence.  I don't see the Lakers competing for a top 5 spot in the West this season, so why not just cut the cord and trade AD for a slew of draft picks and start over?  Unlike most of the league, Lakers are always a FA destination, so they could have a couple of decent drafts and then be a contender again.  Just don't see this roster going anywhere but down.

 
Jason Sitoke said:
Not sure why they felt so compelled to take care of Lebron.  I understand not wanting to lose him for nothing, but he also has a no trade clause...so you can't just flip him for value necessarily either.  I don't think letting him walk would've been a death sentence.  I don't see the Lakers competing for a top 5 spot in the West this season, so why not just cut the cord and trade AD for a slew of draft picks and start over?  Unlike most of the league, Lakers are always a FA destination, so they could have a couple of decent drafts and then be a contender again.  Just don't see this roster going anywhere but down.
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Can't trade AD this year because he signed a max deal. And I agree it's past it's time to move on from James, and I think it's because Jeanie is trying to be like Dr. Buss and take care of the players. The difference, Dr. Buss was a successful businessman first, so he knew how to balance taking care of his people while remaining in charge. Jeanie has not figured it out, then doubles down and mixes personal and professional. As we saw with Shaq, sometimes taking care of your star athlete is moving them to a new place that they want to go since it won't work in LA. She just caters to the stars to ensure they don't leave to the detriment of the team. Until she can find that line and clearly separate personal and professional within the FO, it'll remain an ish-show.

 
Watching the 'best of the best' US players and seeing that the two best players on the team are AD and LBJ, maybe it's not too much of a stretch to say the window is still open for the Lakers as long as those two stay healthy enough to play 80ish% in the regular season and be able to go in the playoffs.

 
Madcows said:
Watching the 'best of the best' US players and seeing that the two best players on the team are AD and LBJ, maybe it's not too much of a stretch to say the window is still open for the Lakers as long as those two stay healthy enough to play 80ish% in the regular season and be able to go in the playoffs.
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They’ve been relatively healthy lately, and I think everyone acknowledges they’re two of the best players in the league. But striking out in free agency when a lot of the west got better and alll you did was get older … doesn’t inspire confidence. 
 

Olympics are a different animal too. I remember Carmelo Anthony being the best player on the court in the Olympics .. only for him to come back and play like like the 20th best player when the nuggets jersey went on. 

 
Just read where players from 40 different countries are currently playing in the NBA. I would have guessed half that. 

Seems like the international game is developing its own style of basketball, and the difference becomes an advantage against the U.S. 

 
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