Everything 2022-2023 Season

[LJ2]

If you keep Pascal and trade OG and Trent then Scottie moves quite a bit further down the pecking order. Pascal needs a lot of shots, Brown needs a lot of shots, and Fred will take a lot of shots. Where does Scottie get shots?

There's also no way we could trade Trent in a 2 player deal since he won't be under contract and you can't combine salaries in a sign and trade.

I also don't think OG and Trent is a strong enough package either and other teams would definitely beat that.

Pascal gives Boston an all nba and all star player, just like Brown. It would have to be one of their better offers if not the best.

Good points you and others are raising. Regarding the pecking order I've always viewed Scottie as more of a J. Kidd type than a VC type so not as concerned about shots for him as I am about him being able to play the role of a facilitator.

[A.I]

Good points you and others are raising. Regarding the pecking order I've always viewed Scottie as more of a J. Kidd type than a VC type so not as concerned about shots for him as I am about him being able to play the role of a facilitator.

Agreed. I don't think Scottie will be a top #1 scorer on a team, but if he reaches his potential, he could be the MVP of the team.

[Primer]

Interesting fit, but not perfect. Scottie can't shoot, so ideally you are putting floor spacers and spot-up shooters around him. Brown is an inconsistent 3pt shooter (shot under 35%, 3 of 7 years in the league, including this season).

Brown's game is slashing, and he needs floor spacers to open up driving lanes for him - not him spacing the floor for Scottie. Then you've also got Jakob also hurting the spacing and Brown won't be running PnRs with Jak.

Also Pascal and Tatum looks like 2 players who like to work from the same spots on offense. It would be a your turn / my turn situation.

On the court, this feels like a lateral move for both teams.

Not a perfect fit but undoubtedly a better fit.

Scottie needs to play PF, Pascal also plays PF, that's an issue. Brown plays SG / SF so he's a better fit right out the box.

Scottie needs shooters around him. Brown is a career 36.7% 3PT shooter. While not fantastic, it's quite a bit better than Pascal's career 32.9% 3PT.

Brown is also 2.5 years younger than Pascal. He fits the Scottie time line a lot better.

Three solid reasons Brown is a better fit than Pascal, even though he's not a perfect fit.

[A.I]

Only thing about the Brown-Pascal swap would be if we could re-sign Brown. It probably will be easier to re-sign Pascal.

[chris]

The Mavs getting swept by the Hornets is really bad. Imagine still listening to the ‘Irving is so talented gang’ at this point.

couple days late on this and i absolutely agree that irving is a cancer but i don't think what's going on in dallas can be pinned on him, unless you're referring to the defence getting worse (which was pretty predictable).

luka's a big part of the problem in dallas. nobody wants to play with a guy who makes every single play for the team, even if he's great at it. i've been beating this dead horse for a long time here but it's slowly starting to become more accepted in wider basketball circles i think. good discussion between simmons and rusillo in latest BS pod on it.

[The Great One]

damn its that serious?

The Mavs deserve this tho. Any team that trade or signs Kyrie deserve this. He's toxic. Everyone should know this by now.

[slaw]

couple days late on this and i absolutely agree that irving is a cancer but i don't think what's going on in dallas can be pinned on him, unless you're referring to the defence getting worse (which was pretty predictable).

luka's a big part of the problem in dallas. nobody wants to play with a guy who makes every single play for the team, even if he's great at it. i've been beating this dead horse for a long time here but it's slowly starting to become more accepted in wider basketball circles i think. good discussion between simmons and rusillo in latest BS pod on it.

I'll buy that to some extent and we've seen something similar play out in Houston with Harden, so this isn't entirely without precedent. All these factors that affect the locker room are important but they are hard to discuss cause you don't really know what's going on and most of us have never played professionally. I know from guys that have that ego/lack of ego from the star players can be a big issue in dressing rooms, especially when things start going badly.

[Kagemusha]

Brown to the Raptors is next to impossible, but we all can dream.
Every other team in the league would want to land him and many can offer a much better return.

[chris]

I'll buy that to some extent and we've seen something similar play out in Houston with Harden, so this isn't entirely without precedent. All these factors that affect the locker room are important but they are hard to discuss cause you don't really know what's going on and most of us have never played professionally. I know from guys that have that ego/lack of ego from the star players can be a big issue in dressing rooms, especially when things start going badly.

yes we've seen it before and when i say i've been beating the drum a long time i mean before luka was even in the league (with reference to lebron, harden, and westbrook in particular).

i'm not talking about locker room dynamics though. i've never heard a single account of luka being a bad teammate (only rumblings of a rift with carlilse). he seems like a good dude and has a lot of intangible qualities i'd look for in a franchise player (hyper competitive, fearless, etc.), in addition to being completely fucking unstoppable.

when i say he's an issue i'm talking about his play style. he has a usage of 38.2% and an assist percentage of 43.7%. he creates every single opportunity for that team when he's on the floor, either directly creating his own shot or the ones for his teammates. it's absurd when you watch them how reliant they are on him.

and he's fucking awesome at it. and i think he thinks that it's the best way for him to help his team win. and i think a lot of the analytics say that it's a really effective way to play on offense if you have someone that good (morey certainly made this argument with harden).

but i just don't agree with it. my point is and always has been that when one guy is relied upon that much and the other guys are largely just standing around waiting for him to create an advantage, then the rest of the team is not engaged or empowered and he's actually making the talent around him worse.

i think there's a reason jordan never won anything playing that style until phil came along and installed a system that forced touches for everyone. i think steve kerr understands it better than anyone having played for phil jackson and pop and that's the reason the warriors play like they do.

luka's probably the most talented player of his generation but i think he needs to adjust the way he plays if he wants to win championships.

apologies for the book

[slaw]

Brown to the Raptors is next to impossible, but we all can dream.
Every other team in the league would want to land him and many can offer a much better return.

How so? They aren't getting a better player than Siakam for Brown. Celtics won't want young players and draft picks 6 years from now - they would need to get a star back and Pascal is arguably a better all-around player. No one else in the top 20 is going to be moved for Brown.

Not sure either team would want to make that trade in-division but who knows.

[slaw]

i'm not talking about locker room dynamics though. i've never heard a single account of luka being a bad teammate (only rumblings of a rift with carlilse). he seems like a good dude and has a lot of intangible qualities i'd look for in a franchise player (hyper competitive, fearless, etc.), in addition to being completely fucking unstoppable.

when i say he's an issue i'm talking about his play style. he has a usage of 38.2% and an assist percentage of 43.7%. he creates every single opportunity for that team when he's on the floor, either directly creating his own shot or the ones for his teammates. it's absurd when you watch them how reliant they are on him.

But his playstyle is about ego and what you are describing is a locker room issue if guys truly don't want to be on that team (and we don't know that for sure). The best immediate counter-example is Jokic. He could take 30 shots a game but he doesn't and it's not just about points per possession and efficiency metrics.

Again, I don't completely buy your theory but don't discount it either. Just in my own business career, I never enjoyed working in groups where the planets all revolved around one guy. You need a #1 but one guy sucking up all the oxygen isn't healthy.

[JawsGT]

I'd swap pascal for brown in a heartbeat. Makes sense for both teams.

[Primer]

Only thing about the Brown-Pascal swap would be if we could re-sign Brown. It probably will be easier to re-sign Pascal.

Both guys want the max, you give them the max you keep them. I think it will be very easy to keep either.

Brown would be our unquestioned top dog as well, which is what he wants. We're probably one of the best situations for him. A playoff team where he immediately becomes lead dog.

[Kagemusha]

But his playstyle is about ego and what you are describing is a locker room issue if guys truly don't want to be on that team (and we don't know that for sure). The best immediate counter-example is Jokic. He could take 30 shots a game but he doesn't and it's not just about points per possession and efficiency metrics.

Again, I don't completely buy your theory but don't discount it either. Just in my own business career, I never enjoyed working in groups where the planets all revolved around one guy. You need a #1 but one guy sucking up all the oxygen isn't healthy.

Luka is a gifted passer.
I think he'd be willing to share the scoring load in a good team with team mates that he trusts.
Kyrie is just a bad fit next to him.

[Primer]

Luka is a gifted passer.
I think he'd be willing to share the scoring load in a good team with team mates that he trusts.
Kyrie is just a bad fit next to him.

Adding another ball dominant guard definitely didn't seem like the best idea.