NBA 2025-26 NBA Thread

[lefty]

One of the things I just love about the NBA: Any team can win on a given night, even the Bucks without Giannis against the Warriors.

Parity is good

And fuck the Warriors

 

[Ariel]

Apparently the Wizards cut him because he was caught shoplifting at Target...seven times.

Damn, totally missed it: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/51...n-rollins-accused-of-shoplifting-from-target/

AI Summary:

Former Washington Wizards guard Ryan Rollins was charged with seven counts of petit larceny for allegedly shoplifting small household items, such as groceries, body wash, and candles, from an Alexandria, Va., Target store on seven different occasions between September 9 and November 9, 2023, while he was on the team's roster. The 21-year-old was waived by the Wizards on Monday night, a decision Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger addressed by stating, "We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan. We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions," before adding, "We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of." Rollins, who was acquired in the trade for Chris Paul over the summer, has a court hearing scheduled for early February and has not yet entered a plea to the Class 1 misdemeanor charges.

I wouldn't want on my team someone who goes through the trouble of petit theft while making millions, that speaks of a disturbed individual with character flaws you can't rely on even when it's in their best interest to behave, best keep that guy away from your locker room.

 

[Kick-Stand]

Damn, totally missed it: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/51...n-rollins-accused-of-shoplifting-from-target/

AI Summary:


I wouldn't want on my team someone who goes through the trouble of petit theft while making millions, that speaks of a disturbed individual with character flaws you can't rely on even when it's in their best interest to behave, best keep that guy away from your locker room.

Weird, I thought those places would let you keep stealing until you had taken enough for them to press felony charges

 

[brazil]

Is this where we go through old posts and hit people with the old 20/20 hindsight

I plead not guilty... I had not checked the thread and first post I stumbled upon was this one...

 

[lefty]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1984279754867150906

 

[dn0774]

Sounds like Luka will be back tonight, upgraded to probably for game @ Memphis.

 

[bozhemoi]

God, back to the garish NBA Cup floors. wtf

 

[STAT88]

God, back to the garish NBA Cup floors. wtf

I was hoping they were done with these garbage lollipop courts.

Surely there is another way they can add some colour to distinguish the NBA cup courts without creating these eye sores.

 

[Raven_]

Edgecomb looks plenty blockable tbh, i'm surprised about how small he looks. Still a very exciting player, of course.

 

[Valparaiso]

I think Cedric Coward is going to be the steal of the draft. His main skill is scoring, but even when his shot isn't falling he has a positive impact on the floor by just playing smart.

 

[Ariel]

I think Cedric Coward is going to be the steal of the draft. His main skill is scoring, but even when his shot isn't falling he has a positive impact on the floor by just playing smart.

I think he'll probably end up higher than he was drafted, but I'm not comfortable with the label 'steal' if we consider the price Memphis paid to get him: #16 in '25 + Orlando '28 unprotected + 2 SRPs. That's pricey for a steal.

 

[Valparaiso]

I think he'll probably end up higher than he was drafted, but I'm not comfortable with the label 'steal' if we consider the price Memphis paid to get him: #16 in '25 + Orlando '28 unprotected + 2 SRPs. That's pricey for a steal.

Yeah, that is a lot to send out, but I think I can see the reasoning. Orlando figures to be at least better than average with Franz & Paolo, so that pick probably isn't a lottery pick, and I believe Memphis still has their '26, '27, & '28 FRPs. But yeah, an unprotected first is definitely a high risk throw of the dice.

 

[Lefty20]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1olgzzt/ja_morant_when_asked_what_went_wrong_and_why_he

There is prolly an alternate timeline out there where Nico trades Flagg for Ja to cure their PG playmaking woes because they're in win-now mode, tbh.

 

[Exstatic]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1olgzzt/ja_morant_when_asked_what_went_wrong_and_why_he

There is prolly an alternate timeline out there where Nico trades Flagg for Ja to cure their PG playmaking woes because they're in win-now mode, tbh.

They could have just drafted Harper.

 

[LeBowen]

Hot take, Morant will be out of the league by like 32.
Not a player that's going to accept a lesser role and it will lead to a typical downward spiral for his undersized, low effort archetype.
He's got a contract up until 2028, who's going to give him another max deal? He's undersized, can't shoot, has huge character issues and even bigger injury issues.
He's lucky he got one max contract, but he'll probably waste all of it within the next decade.

 

[OK Computer]

Ace Bailey playing like a smaller Jabari Smith Jr and not in a good way tbh

 

[Paramore]

Apparently Lebron will be back in the game against the Spurs

 

[bozhemoi]

Hot take, Morant will be out of the league by like 32.
Not a player that's going to accept a lesser role and it will lead to a typical downward spiral for his undersized, low effort archetype.
He's got a contract up until 2028, who's going to give him another max deal? He's undersized, can't shoot, has huge character issues and even bigger injury issues.
He's lucky he got one max contract, but he'll probably waste all of it within the next decade.

He's like a worse Allen Iverson in that regard, who has a horrible attitude.

 

[jeebus]

Bitch boy Ja's fall off has been music to my ears so far this season. His style of play was never fun to watch and the fact that he's playing like a shitty version of 2025 Westbrook is amazing.

What I don't like is the Foul Merchant back to his dipshit ways in Philly. The NBA rewarding him for that style is fucking hilarious. They want more viewership but promote that and FTA's style in OKC.

 

[Valparaiso]

I would definitely trade high on Morant, hoping some GM out there thinks they can manage him and make him a centerpiece. Watching him against the Lakers last night highlighted his shortcomings. I wouldn't want him as a #1 option, highest paid player, or a team leader, and he's in his 7th season now and still has Westbrook-like delusions about his three point shot.

 

[O_V]

He's like a worse Allen Iverson in that regard, who has a horrible attitude.

Iverson had the pride to want to beat you and to try his hardest. He mostly didn't know how.

 

[Ariel]

I would definitely trade high on Morant, hoping some GM out there thinks they can manage him and make him a centerpiece. Watching him against the Lakers last night highlighted his shortcomings. I wouldn't want him as a #1 option, highest paid player, or a team leader, and he's in his 7th season now and still has Westbrook-like delusions about his three point shot.

There's so many things wrong with Ja on top of that, his character, his legal issues, his injury history... really feels like a ticking time bomb. Kind of crazy Memphis didn't see this coming and tried to move him before.

 

[Shmurs]

Bitch boy Ja's fall off has been music to my ears so far this season. His style of play was never fun to watch and the fact that he's playing like a shitty version of 2025 Westbrook is amazing.

What I don't like is the Foul Merchant back to his dipshit ways in Philly. The NBA rewarding him for that style is fucking hilarious. They want more viewership but promote that and FTA's style in OKC.

The NBA acts like someone else writes the rules for them and their hands are tied.

what Shai, Jimmy and Embiid do is legal and those are fouls - but the league needs to step in this offseason and change the rules. I know why they don’t - they don’t know how to write “you know it when you see it” as a formal rule. But maybe try a little harder. Or try less and use GPT. Or you fix it by having multiple remote officials watching each game and making unbiased determinations of intent in the way that game manager officials cannot.

There are 8,000 ways to speed up the game and make the foul shit end. They will instead try 3 things that make it worse.

 

[Exstatic]

Hot take, Morant will be out of the league by like 32.
Not a player that's going to accept a lesser role and it will lead to a typical downward spiral for his undersized, low effort archetype.
He's got a contract up until 2028, who's going to give him another max deal? He's undersized, can't shoot, has huge character issues and even bigger injury issues.
He's lucky he got one max contract, but he'll probably waste all of it within the next decade.

He won’t get a max deal unless there is a work stoppage and the second apron is repealed.

 

[Fabbs]

I think Cedric Coward is going to be the steal of the draft. His main skill is scoring, but even when his shot isn't falling he has a positive impact on the floor by just playing smart.

So many NBA players falling under that category. The Kobme influence.
Great to see some playing all around ball.