I’m extremely surprised that Hornets have let Tre Mann explore FA , even with the arrival of Sexton. Maybe the herniated disc hasn’t recovered as well as his manager was claiming. But as recently as Sunday, Peterson was saying that we want him to return. Maybe it’s cap management loophole stuff and he’s going to sign on for less than the qualifying offer. It’s risky though, coz if he’s fit, he can seriously play.
So we’ve replaced the fossilized Taj Gibson with the well-on-the-way-to-fossilised Mason Plumlee 
.
The hornets / Suns Centre merry-go-round continues.
Rockets are stacked. Mavericks look good too.
West is going to be wild again.
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I don’t know what Peterson is actually cooking up, but the accumulation of future picks continues, and the roster turnover continues. Connaughton and two future second rounds for Micic !!? Who won’t even play NBA this season? I assume that the cheap Plumlee signing was a compromise to allow other moves. Jeff seems to constantly be able to get involved in other teams financial juggling to our benefit. It feels like he’s building towards a defining move with all these draft assets , but I don’t know what that will be or when. In the meanwhile, our fringe players are increasingly being ditched for real NBA level talent.
Of course, Connaughton is a piece in the bizarre Bucks situation that they’re caught in. Lillard getting waived ( and stretched out to five years) and Myles Turner signing on must shred their financial flexibility? How will Giannis view all this?
Wow. This offseason has been huge. But waiving Lillard might be the biggest move.
Bucks waive Lillard and sign Myles Turner.
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It’s the second apron. It’s seems (and probably is) pretty heartless to waive a guy who has done an Achilles, but he’s a older player on a big contract who will be eating up cap space and not be able to play at all in 25/26. Waiving Dame allows them to stretch the remaining salary (the biggest/longest salary stretch in NBA history) and at least have some ability to make moves. Apparently Giannis isn’t happy, but it seems he’s looking for an excuse to leave the Bucks.
I like Atlanta’s moves. Kennard and Alexander-Walker are good additions.
Denver getting Bruce Brown for nothing and Hardaway Jnr are also great additions. Cam Johnson should fit in well. Jonas V will be a good backup to Jokic.
Also like Orlando picking up Tyus Jones. They need shooting badly.
Obviously Houston made the biggest jump. DFS, Cappella and Aaron Holiday on top of Durant. Can’t believe Jeff Green is still around.
I don’t mind Detroit’s pivot after the Beasley issue. LeVert and Robinson are good additions.
The Clippers are the intriguing ones for me. They add Lopez and run it back?
Dallas picked up D’Lo to replace Kyrie whilst he’s injured. He works really well with AD so offensively that works fine. He’ll be targeted defensively as he was in LA.
I don’t know how that waive and stretch of Dame works. He has to agree to the waive, so we’ll wait a few days to see where he lands. It’s unlikely he doesn’t get signed.
Myles Turner, trading for Micic (expiring contract with club option) for an Connaughton (expiring with a player option - he would have picked that up) makes sense. They got Myles Turner who is a big upgrade on Lopez. He and Giannis will pair very well. They keep Bobby Portis who will come off the bench. They still kept good depth players (Porter Jnr, Trent Jnr, Gary Harris & Prince). I think Giannis stays with that roster and see how he goes with Boston and Indiana being weakened this year. If he goes, it’ll be after this next season (unless they are out of playoff action during the season).
Only things to wait on for free agency is Lillard and Ayton to clear waivers, Chris Paul is available, Al Horford (seems a good fit for the Warriors), the Giddey contract (should be between $25mil and $30mil), Westbrook (probably stays in Denver) and the Kuminga issue. There’s also Cam Thomas available. Grimes will probably get some interest.
For Aussies, Ben Simmons and Paddy Mills are available.
By the end of the week, all the trades will be formalised (some will be renegotiated) and I’d assume there’d be a small flurry of trades after that.
Now Tre is back! $8m pa for three years. Similar sort of contract play to Sharpe at the Nets.
But the Hornets roster is looking very very full. Gonna have to waive - or trade - some players out unless a couple of the draftees accept two-way deals.
Ins -
Knueppel
McNeely
Sion James
Kalkbrenner
Connaughton
Sexton
Plumlee
And a swag of future picks (round 1 + round 2)
Tre Mann contract extension.
Outs -
Williams
Nurkic
Likely out - Josh Okogie ( decision delayed).
I do wonder if they’ll try for one more “big” out. I don’t think they’ll move on from Lamelo, everything feels like they’re trying to put together a tougher, more professional roster to see if he can take us to the playoff zone. And they won’t trade Miller, no way. So it’d have to be Miles.
Also…
Just quietly…
SGA signed his contract extension. He’ll be making $79mil in the 2030-31 season.
Kind of makes that Glenn Robinson ‘we may as well hand over our organisation to him’ contract look like chopped liver.
Well deserved contract for SGA. I’ve grown to love watching him. About as close to a 90s player as you’ll get.
Also…
Jaren Jackson Jnr has been injured. He’s got turf toe. Did it playing basketball away from the team recently.
I am aware this is ironic coming from an Embiid fan but you think with his flopping and foul baiting, he would have survived 90’s NBA?
Knicks sign Yabusele. Was very good for us this year. I guess at least he didnt go to the Celtics but still going to be a tough watch.
Yep.
Just like any good 90s players would be able to cover the extent of court and do the amount of running needed to play in today’s game. Talented players will be able to adapt.
Good centres from that era would need to adjust far more than a guard but most of the HOFers from that era would be able to make it.
SGA is as close to a 90s player as you can in that he doesn’t settle for 3s as often as the rest of the players in the league. I’m not as worried about the foul baiting as others. It’s not as annoying to me as what James Harden was doing last decade.
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Mike Brown expected to be the next Knicks coach.
Also unconfirmed reports that Hornets have signed Dinwiddie on a 1 year deal. Guys like Simpson and Smith are clearly getting cut / paid out as the roster is overflowing. And we are clearly aiming to jump into playoff contention with experienced depth. Ball, Sexton, Mann, Connaughton, Dinwiddie plus Knueppel from the draft.
I don’t like what Charlotte are doing at all. Are they trying to be a dumping ground for clubs wanting to get vets of their books? That’s Chicago’s job.
Unless they want to hit the FA market hard in 2027, it’s hard to see their vision.
Ayton a Laker. lol.
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I think they’re very clearly trying to create an improved locker room by bringing in some competitive and professional experience around the 4 draftees we just took. Plus Salaun , who is a long term project ( and still, even in year 2, the youngest player on the list). And at some point an accurate evaluation of Ball and Miller as playoff players has to be made and there’s only one way to do that. Get them there.
The bit that I don’t understand , and especially so now with the Dinwiddie signing, is the balance of these roster changes. We need a front court boost. Once we got Sexton, and brought back Tre ( which would’ve been crazy not to do, he’s my favourite off season move , just hope for good fitness) then I don’t follow the logic of getting Dinwiddie. Similar with Connaughton , but he does know what a championship culture looks like, and he can shoot from outside , which Lee is looking for. Maybe more importantly , he came with two picks attached.
Which brings us to your FA point. We have stacks of picks. Draft assets all over the place. I think 8 or 9 first rounds over the next 6 years, and goodness knows how many 2nds, it’s hard to follow. Other than Ball, and Miller ( hopefully) on the rise, we have no real big contracts as boat anchors to drag. I think there’s a play coming for a “big” trade. When , who, where, I’m not sure. I think they’ll give it this year to see if Ball / Miller are the building blocks, and how Salaun / Kneuppel / McNeely look with experience to guide them. But maybe not. Maybe , we act sooner. I’m still suspicious that there’s a Bridges+future first in play for someone.
But overall, I’m ok with what we are doing. We’ve invested at the draft, no one we’ve brought in is on long contracts or big money, we’ve kept Mann, we’ve clearly targeted improved culture and aggression and we still have a full swag of draft picks , we’ve not given away any. I’m just somewhat surprised that it’s been mainly guards when we really need a genuine Centre and/or PF. Which is why I think there’s one more move to come now, and then yeah, a bigger impact trade probably for 2027. And if we can get some players some winning experience this year, perfect.
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All but done it seems.
On the news over here yesterday there was some talk that we have spoken to Ben about coming over 
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Yeah this was the weirdest part for me. I get the new championship pathway is building a team around one or two stars. And you need leaders around them to fast track that development. But I don’t think this is it.
OKC turned CP3 into Shai and multiple picks.
I can’t see Charlotte doing that with anyone on the roster.