who_better_than_me
Time to go!!
Another involved mama.
Random NBA Observations 2022 - 2023
- Thread starter Big Jo
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Another involved mama.
who_better_than_me
Time to go!!
Imagine if pacers actually got Ayton…Pacers got the right coach for the treadmill non tanking campaign.Kings, Trail Blazers, Pacers looking like the quiet winners of 2022 NBA offseason
@Skooby Can you post this article please? Or can anyone else post it that has ESPN+?
VegetasHairline
Veteran
Christian Wood gets 17 minutes against the Nuggets after cooking them for 28 2 nights ago 
Milwaukee Kidd in full effect
Milwaukee Kidd in full effect
The under-the-radar NBA signings and trades making a big impact in 2022-23Kings, Trail Blazers, Pacers looking like the quiet winners of 2022 NBA offseason
@Skooby Can you post this article please? Or can anyone else post it that has ESPN+?
The NBA season is a month old, and we're already seeing the impact of the biggest moves of the offseason. After trading four out of their five starters, including All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz are near the top of the Western Conference. Mitchell's new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, got off to an 8-1 start before losing five in a row, but is still in the thick of the playoff picture in the East.
Those were just two of the more than 200 transactions this summer, including 31 trades, and while they dominated the headlines, there have been several other moves -- some big, some small -- that are paying dividends so far this season.
Here are the executives and players who have made the biggest impacts early in the 2022-23 season, starting with the Sacramento Kings, who are attempting to make the postseason for the first time since 2006.
The turnaround in Sacramento
After the Kings finished 24th in offensive efficiency and 3-point percentage in 2021-22, GM Monte McNair made it clear what Sacramento's offseason priorities were: shooting, shooting and more shooting.
After hiring coach Mike Brown, the Kings drafted Keegan Murray No. 4 overall, signed free agent Malik Monk from the Los Angeles Lakers and acquired Kevin Huerter in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks.
Now Sacramento ranks second in offensive efficiency, second in scoring (120.3 points) and sixth in 3-point percentage (38.2%). During their recent six-game win streak, the Kings have led the NBA in offensive efficiency and are shooting 42.1% from 3.
Monk became a salary-cap casualty with the Lakers (they could offer him only the $6.5 million taxpayer midlevel exception) and agreed to a two-year, $19.4 million contract once free agency started on June 30. He is shooting 36.7% from 3 and has nine games of double-digit points, but the most impressive stat is his career-high 4.2 assists per game (four games of at least six assists). Per Cleaning the Glass, Monk ranks in the 85th percentile in usage (compared to 45th percentile last season) and 99th percentile in assist percentage and assist usage.
Huerter signed a four-year, $64 million rookie extension in October 2021 but became expendable after the Hawks traded for guard Dejounte Murray. Huerter is averaging a career-high 16.6 points this season while shooting 49.5% from beyond the arc, fourth in the NBA. He is making 58% of his off-the-dribble 3s (21-of-36), the highest percentage among players with at least 25 attempts.
Murray is shooting 35.8% from 3 and ranks sixth among all rookies (min. 2 3-pt FGA PG) in 3-point percentage. He has seven double-digit-scoring games and scored a career-high 22 points in a win against Miami.
The Damian Lillard timeline
How do you expedite a rebuild around 32-year-old franchise guard Damian Lillard?
That was the tall task Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin faced this past offseason.
After trading veterans CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Tony Snell, Robert Covington and Norman Powell in February, the easy way out would have been to move Lillard next and start a full-scale rebuild centered around draft equity.
Cronin and his staff did the opposite.
They used the $20.8 million trade exception created in the McCollum trade and a 2025 top-four-protected first-rounder from Milwaukee to acquire forward Jerami Grant.
The forward is averaging 19.7 points and shooting 48.2% on 3-pointers, which ranks in the top-five among players with 50-plus attempts. Per Second Spectrum tracking, 77 of his 83 3-point attempts have been catch-and-shoot, and Grant ranks 4th in 3-point field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts (min. 60 3-pt FGA).
Grant has also impacted Portland's defense, which ranked in the bottom five in the league each of the past three seasons. This season, the Blazers rank seventh.
From 2019-20 to 2021-22, Portland ranked last in pick-and-roll defense, allowing 1.02 points per direct pick per Second Spectrum tracking. This season, the Trail Blazers are in the top 10, and Grant has played a key role in that. Portland has allowed 0.87 points per direct pick this season when Grant defends the ball handler. He also ranks in the top 10 in on-ball screens defended as the ball handler defender per Second Spectrum.
A day after Portland verbally agreed to trade for Grant, the Blazers drafted 19-year-old Shaedon Sharpe.
Sharpe is on pace to shoot the highest percentage from 3 for a rookie since Anthony Morrow in 2008-09. He is shooting 47.4% from 3 despite not playing college basketball last season. That number increases to 62% on catch-and-shoot 3s.
The savings from trading Powell to the LA Clippers opened up a financial window to re-sign Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic and also add guard Gary Payton II and still remain under the luxury tax.
Portland is 10-6, its best start since 2018-19, when the Blazers reached the Western Conference finals.
How do you expedite a rebuild around 32-year-old franchise guard Damian Lillard?
That was the tall task Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin faced this past offseason.
After trading veterans CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Tony Snell, Robert Covington and Norman Powell in February, the easy way out would have been to move Lillard next and start a full-scale rebuild centered around draft equity.
Cronin and his staff did the opposite.
They used the $20.8 million trade exception created in the McCollum trade and a 2025 top-four-protected first-rounder from Milwaukee to acquire forward Jerami Grant.
The forward is averaging 19.7 points and shooting 48.2% on 3-pointers, which ranks in the top-five among players with 50-plus attempts. Per Second Spectrum tracking, 77 of his 83 3-point attempts have been catch-and-shoot, and Grant ranks 4th in 3-point field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts (min. 60 3-pt FGA).
Grant has also impacted Portland's defense, which ranked in the bottom five in the league each of the past three seasons. This season, the Blazers rank seventh.
From 2019-20 to 2021-22, Portland ranked last in pick-and-roll defense, allowing 1.02 points per direct pick per Second Spectrum tracking. This season, the Trail Blazers are in the top 10, and Grant has played a key role in that. Portland has allowed 0.87 points per direct pick this season when Grant defends the ball handler. He also ranks in the top 10 in on-ball screens defended as the ball handler defender per Second Spectrum.
A day after Portland verbally agreed to trade for Grant, the Blazers drafted 19-year-old Shaedon Sharpe.
Sharpe is on pace to shoot the highest percentage from 3 for a rookie since Anthony Morrow in 2008-09. He is shooting 47.4% from 3 despite not playing college basketball last season. That number increases to 62% on catch-and-shoot 3s.
The savings from trading Powell to the LA Clippers opened up a financial window to re-sign Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic and also add guard Gary Payton II and still remain under the luxury tax.
Portland is 10-6, its best start since 2018-19, when the Blazers reached the Western Conference finals.
How the Malcolm Brogdon trade benefited Indiana
Five years ago team president Kevin Pritchard issued a statement that resonates with the current retooling of the roster.
"I don't believe in tearing it down, because then you can tear down your culture," Pritchard said. "You can't teach guys how to win. Some teams are out of the playoffs seven, eight, nine years. We don't do that."
While some teams have elected to do a complete teardown and plan to build the roster primarily through the draft, Pritchard and the Pacers' front office have struck a balance in the middle.
The multistep process started at the trade deadline with the additions of Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield and continued in the offseason with the trade of Malcolm Brogdon to Boston.
On the surface, the trade with the Celtics seems lopsided. Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and Malik Fitts were waived right away by the Pacers. Daniel Theis has been injured and has yet to play for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith has averaged just 7.4 points in 11 games this season. The 2023 first-round pick Boston will send to Indiana will likely be at the bottom of the first round.
However, the trade worked in a different way for the Pacers. Not only did it give Indiana future financial flexibility (Brogdon is owed $67.6 million over the next three seasons) but it opened up more playing time for Haliburton, Hield and rookie lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin. Haliburton is the only player this season averaging 20 points and 10 assists among individuals to play at least 10 games. He is also shooting 40.4% on 3-pointers. No player has ever averaged 20 points, 10 assists and 40% shooting on 3-pointers in a season. Hield is one of four players this season averaging at least 3.9 made 3-pointers, along with Curry, Simons and Mitchell. He is also shooting a career-high 56% in the paint this season, up from 50% last season.
Mathurin has a chance to do something no player has ever done: win Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in the same season. He has six 20-point games this season, all off the bench. That is the most 20-point games off the bench by any player this season. Mathurin is shooting 42.7% on 3-pointers this season, which ranks in the top 10 among players with at least 50 3-point attempts. His 19.1 points per game rank behind only No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero among rookies.
The three players are a big reason the Pacers are seventh in offensive efficiency this season and fourth in offensive efficiency on half-court sets.
The Orlando Magic's Bol Bol headlines a group of players who represent the best value signings from the offseason.
Bol's path to success has been unforgiving at times. Bol missed most of his freshman season at Oregon because of a stress fracture in his left foot. There were concerns about his durability that caused him to slip to No. 44 in the 2019 draft.
He spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets before being converted to a standard deal in November 2020. He played just 53 games with Denver before being traded to Detroit in January -- a trade that was voided over concerns about his right foot.
A day after undergoing foot surgery, Bol was traded to Boston as part of a three-team deal that saw the Nuggets acquire Bryn Forbes. Then, in a salary dump at the deadline, Bol was sent to Orlando.
Three trades (one voided) all in less than 30 days.
Despite Bol being ruled out for the season, the Magic got a free look at him before he became a free agent (Boston sent $3.6 million in cash to Orlando to cover the cost in salary).
He would eventually sign a two-year, $4.4 million contract with the second year non-guaranteed.
This season, Bol has played more minutes (435) than he did in his 2½ years with the Nuggets (328).
He is the only player this season averaging at least 40% shooting on 3s and two blocks per game. Bol is averaging 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes this season, the most of any player to log 250 minutes played. In addition, Bol has held opponents to 40% shooting as the contesting defender per Second Spectrum, a mark better than that of Gobert or Brook Lopez.
In a span of a year, Jevon Carter went from playing for the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals to out of a job.
Despite being under contract through the 2023-24 season, Carter became a roster casualty in Brooklyn when the Nets added veteran Goran Dragic.
He eventually signed a rest-of-the-season contract with Milwaukee and then a two-year, $4.3 million deal with the Bucks in the offseason (he is also being paid $3.9 million by Brooklyn this season). The second season is a player option.
Carter has benefited from injuries to Pat Connaughton, Joe Ingles and Khris Middleton.
He has started all 15 games and is averaging a career high in minutes (27.5), points (9.3) and assists (3.6).
In the win at Oklahoma City, Carter joined Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only Milwaukee players in the past 10 seasons to have at least 35 points and 10 assists in a single game.
Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond signed for a combined $6.3 million this season and have helped transform a Bulls bench that ranked 19th in net rating last season. The bench currently ranks fourth in net rating and plus/minus this season.
Dragic has scored double-digit points in eight games, averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 assists and a career-high 44.8% from 3. The Bulls are 5-3 when he scores at least 10 points.
Drummond is averaging a career-low 16.4 minutes but is still averaging 8.7 rebounds and 8.4 points. He had a season-high 14 rebounds in 22 minutes in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Because of luxury tax restrictions, Phoenix and Boston had limited resources to improve their rosters in free agency.
Damion Lee signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with Phoenix and is shooting a career-high 48.1% from 3 (he shot 33.7% last season). He has become part of Monty Williams' closing unit, playing 20 clutch time minutes this season, fourth most on the team. That is already more than half his total from last season in Golden State (39).
Five years ago team president Kevin Pritchard issued a statement that resonates with the current retooling of the roster.
"I don't believe in tearing it down, because then you can tear down your culture," Pritchard said. "You can't teach guys how to win. Some teams are out of the playoffs seven, eight, nine years. We don't do that."
While some teams have elected to do a complete teardown and plan to build the roster primarily through the draft, Pritchard and the Pacers' front office have struck a balance in the middle.
The multistep process started at the trade deadline with the additions of Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield and continued in the offseason with the trade of Malcolm Brogdon to Boston.
On the surface, the trade with the Celtics seems lopsided. Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and Malik Fitts were waived right away by the Pacers. Daniel Theis has been injured and has yet to play for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith has averaged just 7.4 points in 11 games this season. The 2023 first-round pick Boston will send to Indiana will likely be at the bottom of the first round.
However, the trade worked in a different way for the Pacers. Not only did it give Indiana future financial flexibility (Brogdon is owed $67.6 million over the next three seasons) but it opened up more playing time for Haliburton, Hield and rookie lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin. Haliburton is the only player this season averaging 20 points and 10 assists among individuals to play at least 10 games. He is also shooting 40.4% on 3-pointers. No player has ever averaged 20 points, 10 assists and 40% shooting on 3-pointers in a season. Hield is one of four players this season averaging at least 3.9 made 3-pointers, along with Curry, Simons and Mitchell. He is also shooting a career-high 56% in the paint this season, up from 50% last season.
Mathurin has a chance to do something no player has ever done: win Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in the same season. He has six 20-point games this season, all off the bench. That is the most 20-point games off the bench by any player this season. Mathurin is shooting 42.7% on 3-pointers this season, which ranks in the top 10 among players with at least 50 3-point attempts. His 19.1 points per game rank behind only No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero among rookies.
The three players are a big reason the Pacers are seventh in offensive efficiency this season and fourth in offensive efficiency on half-court sets.
The under $3M club
The Orlando Magic's Bol Bol headlines a group of players who represent the best value signings from the offseason.
Bol's path to success has been unforgiving at times. Bol missed most of his freshman season at Oregon because of a stress fracture in his left foot. There were concerns about his durability that caused him to slip to No. 44 in the 2019 draft.
He spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets before being converted to a standard deal in November 2020. He played just 53 games with Denver before being traded to Detroit in January -- a trade that was voided over concerns about his right foot.
A day after undergoing foot surgery, Bol was traded to Boston as part of a three-team deal that saw the Nuggets acquire Bryn Forbes. Then, in a salary dump at the deadline, Bol was sent to Orlando.
Three trades (one voided) all in less than 30 days.
Despite Bol being ruled out for the season, the Magic got a free look at him before he became a free agent (Boston sent $3.6 million in cash to Orlando to cover the cost in salary).
He would eventually sign a two-year, $4.4 million contract with the second year non-guaranteed.
This season, Bol has played more minutes (435) than he did in his 2½ years with the Nuggets (328).
He is the only player this season averaging at least 40% shooting on 3s and two blocks per game. Bol is averaging 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes this season, the most of any player to log 250 minutes played. In addition, Bol has held opponents to 40% shooting as the contesting defender per Second Spectrum, a mark better than that of Gobert or Brook Lopez.
In a span of a year, Jevon Carter went from playing for the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals to out of a job.
Despite being under contract through the 2023-24 season, Carter became a roster casualty in Brooklyn when the Nets added veteran Goran Dragic.
He eventually signed a rest-of-the-season contract with Milwaukee and then a two-year, $4.3 million deal with the Bucks in the offseason (he is also being paid $3.9 million by Brooklyn this season). The second season is a player option.
Carter has benefited from injuries to Pat Connaughton, Joe Ingles and Khris Middleton.
He has started all 15 games and is averaging a career high in minutes (27.5), points (9.3) and assists (3.6).
In the win at Oklahoma City, Carter joined Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only Milwaukee players in the past 10 seasons to have at least 35 points and 10 assists in a single game.
Goran Dragic and Andre Drummond signed for a combined $6.3 million this season and have helped transform a Bulls bench that ranked 19th in net rating last season. The bench currently ranks fourth in net rating and plus/minus this season.
Dragic has scored double-digit points in eight games, averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 assists and a career-high 44.8% from 3. The Bulls are 5-3 when he scores at least 10 points.
Drummond is averaging a career-low 16.4 minutes but is still averaging 8.7 rebounds and 8.4 points. He had a season-high 14 rebounds in 22 minutes in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Because of luxury tax restrictions, Phoenix and Boston had limited resources to improve their rosters in free agency.
Damion Lee signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with Phoenix and is shooting a career-high 48.1% from 3 (he shot 33.7% last season). He has become part of Monty Williams' closing unit, playing 20 clutch time minutes this season, fourth most on the team. That is already more than half his total from last season in Golden State (39).
Because Sam Hauser signed a two-way contract last season that was eventually converted into a standard contract, Boston was allowed to use non-Bird rights to sign the forward to a contract of more than two seasons.
Hauser signed a three-year, $5.7 million contract that includes a team option in the last yea
He is shooting 47.9% from 3 and, per Cleaning the Glass, ranks in the 90th percentile in effective field goal percentage (72.0%), 2-point percentage (72.7%) and 3-point percentage (47.9%).
Other transactions of note
Washington Wizards guard Monte Morris ranks fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio. During the Wizards' four-game win streak, Morris had 20 assists and only four turnovers. The player Morris was traded for, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, is shooting 60% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. That ranks first among all players who have attempted at least 50 shots. On all 3-pointers, he is shooting 53.8%, ranking second.
For a second straight season, Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis has made the list. Last season, Portis signed a two-year, $8.9M contract in Milwaukee that had a player option. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and entered free agency once again, agreeing to a four-year, $48.6M deal to stay with Milwaukee -- the maximum amount the Bucks could offer. This season, Portis has 11 games of at least 10 rebounds, including a career-high 21 in a win against Oklahoma City.
Dallas Mavericks center Christian Wood is one of the early favorites for Sixth Man of the Year. He is averaging 6.2 minutes per game less than he played as a starter with the Houston Rockets last season but has still managed to average 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. Three of the four players that Dallas sent in the trade to Houston (Trey Burke, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss) are no longer in the NBA.
After averaging 14 points, 56.8% from the field and 42.9% on 3s in Brooklyn's first-round loss to Boston, Bruce Brown signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal with Denver (there is a player option in the second year). He is averaging a career-high 10.8 points and has doubled his assists (4.5) from last season. The Nuggets have an 84% effective field goal percentage directly off his passes this season, per Second Spectrum tracking. That is the best rate for any passer with at least 50 assist opportunities.
Royce O'Neale, Edmond Sumner and Yuta Watanabe account for just $13 million of the Nets' $185 million in total salary. Brooklyn traded a 2023 first-round pick (the lesser of its own or Philadelphia's) to Utah for O'Neale before free agency began. He is averaging career highs in points (10.0), assists (4.8), steals (1.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (40.8%). Sumner missed last season after tearing his Achilles and signed a two-year, $4.2M partially guaranteed contract (the second year is non-guaranteed). In the place of the suspended Kyrie Irving, Sumner averaged 10.1 points on 45.8% shooting from the field and 38.5% on 3s. Watanabe scored 20 points in a win at Portland and made a career-high 5 3-pointers. The forward is shooting a league-leading 57.1% from 3.
The Pistons traded for Bojan Bogdanovic and signed him to a two-year, $39 million extension in late October. The forward has scored 20-plus points in nine games. He is averaging career highs in points (20.5) and field goal percentage (51.0%). Because the extension was for two seasons and the annual salary increase was less than 5%, Bogdanovic is trade eligible.
Hauser signed a three-year, $5.7 million contract that includes a team option in the last yea
He is shooting 47.9% from 3 and, per Cleaning the Glass, ranks in the 90th percentile in effective field goal percentage (72.0%), 2-point percentage (72.7%) and 3-point percentage (47.9%).
Other transactions of note
Washington Wizards guard Monte Morris ranks fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio. During the Wizards' four-game win streak, Morris had 20 assists and only four turnovers. The player Morris was traded for, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, is shooting 60% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. That ranks first among all players who have attempted at least 50 shots. On all 3-pointers, he is shooting 53.8%, ranking second.
For a second straight season, Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis has made the list. Last season, Portis signed a two-year, $8.9M contract in Milwaukee that had a player option. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and entered free agency once again, agreeing to a four-year, $48.6M deal to stay with Milwaukee -- the maximum amount the Bucks could offer. This season, Portis has 11 games of at least 10 rebounds, including a career-high 21 in a win against Oklahoma City.
Dallas Mavericks center Christian Wood is one of the early favorites for Sixth Man of the Year. He is averaging 6.2 minutes per game less than he played as a starter with the Houston Rockets last season but has still managed to average 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. Three of the four players that Dallas sent in the trade to Houston (Trey Burke, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss) are no longer in the NBA.
After averaging 14 points, 56.8% from the field and 42.9% on 3s in Brooklyn's first-round loss to Boston, Bruce Brown signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal with Denver (there is a player option in the second year). He is averaging a career-high 10.8 points and has doubled his assists (4.5) from last season. The Nuggets have an 84% effective field goal percentage directly off his passes this season, per Second Spectrum tracking. That is the best rate for any passer with at least 50 assist opportunities.
Royce O'Neale, Edmond Sumner and Yuta Watanabe account for just $13 million of the Nets' $185 million in total salary. Brooklyn traded a 2023 first-round pick (the lesser of its own or Philadelphia's) to Utah for O'Neale before free agency began. He is averaging career highs in points (10.0), assists (4.8), steals (1.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (40.8%). Sumner missed last season after tearing his Achilles and signed a two-year, $4.2M partially guaranteed contract (the second year is non-guaranteed). In the place of the suspended Kyrie Irving, Sumner averaged 10.1 points on 45.8% shooting from the field and 38.5% on 3s. Watanabe scored 20 points in a win at Portland and made a career-high 5 3-pointers. The forward is shooting a league-leading 57.1% from 3.
The Pistons traded for Bojan Bogdanovic and signed him to a two-year, $39 million extension in late October. The forward has scored 20-plus points in nine games. He is averaging career highs in points (20.5) and field goal percentage (51.0%). Because the extension was for two seasons and the annual salary increase was less than 5%, Bogdanovic is trade eligible.
Nero Christ
Sniper out now on all digital platforms brev
Christian Wood gets 17 minutes against the Nuggets after cooking them for 28 2 nights ago
Milwaukee Kidd in full effect
what is it about woods that kidd doesn't like? dude has clearly been productive.
Wood has had attitude problems before, but he is putting much more defensive effort on the Mavericks than all of his previous teams.
shyt like that aside, it's literally counterproductive to not play him considering how anemic their offense is if Luka doesn't have it going. Mavs best 3 lineups all involve CWood.
Kidd just being an a$$hole imo.
Kuminga just pinned Zion's shyt.
