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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 7/27/2023
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Luke Adams
10:28
Hey guys, thanks for the early questions!
Let's dive right in, since I only have a half-hour today...
Jonathan
10:29
Is there any chance the Magic make the playoffs this year? Or what is a realistic season for them to have
Luke Adams
10:30
I think they absolutely expect to at least be in the play-in mix and would be disappointed if they're not at least in contention for a top-10 spot in the second half. It may still be a year early for them to claim one of the eight playoff spots, but it's not hard to imagine it happening if everything goes right. There's a lot of promising young talent on the roster.
Capital Tankers
10:30
Who’s on the outside looking in for the last Thunder Roster spots?
Luke Adams
10:32
I'm pretty curious about that myself. Oladipo is the only player who looks like an obvious odd man out, since he's an injured veteran on an expiring contract. You could make a case for almost anyone else to stick around. TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, Tre Mann, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are still young enough to have some untapped potential. Davis Bertans has guaranteed money owed to him in 2024/25 and could be useful in a trade. Jack White has a partial guarantee and wouldn't be eligible for a two-way deal with OKC.
10:33
At this point, I'd view Oladipo, Washington, Garuba, Mann, and Bertans as the five likeliest trade/release candidates but the Thunder could easily go in another direction.
dka
10:33
Will teams taking the in-season tournament seriously?  I know that there is a financial benefit for the players, but why would the teams risk injury for this event?  How about home court advantage for all playoff games for the winner (except for the finals)?
Luke Adams
10:36
It's a bit of a catch-22. Those in-season tournament games would otherwise just be regular season games, so if the injury risk isn't any higher than normal, why wouldn't teams play their players? On the other hand, if there's a playoff-type atmosphere, maybe the injury risk WOULD be a little higher, but that would also show that teams and players are taking those games seriously.
10:37
Anyway, my answer is that I don't expect teams to rest players for those games or anything -- the first 4-6 count toward the regular season and there's a lot of money at stake in the only one that doesn't (the final), so players may not take kindly to load-managing for that one.
Christian Wood
10:37
Why do teams not want me? My defense improved, and I’m still a good offensive player.
Luke Adams
10:39
It's a real red flag that the Mavericks, who gave up a first-round pick for you a year ago, had zero interest in bringing you back and clearly didn't believe your defense improved much (or at all), based on the way they used you. I don't want to speculate too much about the off-the-court stuff, since I'm not in the locker rooms, but there has also been character-related chatter about Wood for years.
EonADS
10:39
Who does the primary ball-handling for the Suns? My money is on Booker.
Luke Adams
10:40
Booker makes the most sense, but I'm not sure they'll necessarily have a "point guard." I'd expect Booker, Beal, and Durant to all have plenty of opportunities to bring the ball up the court and have it in their hands.
KAT
10:40
Will both Gobert and I be in the same uniform 365 days from now?
Luke Adams
10:42
For players of your caliber, it's never especially safe to bet on a trade happening until a trade request is made. But I remain skeptical about the frontcourt fit in Minnesota and think you probably SHOULD have a new team a year from now.
Scottie Barnes
10:42
Who needs to make a bigger leap this year for the Raptors to compete? Me or Pascal?
Luke Adams
10:42
You. I'm not sure Pascal (who is 29) has much more room left to leap into, whereas you could still be a long way from your ceiling.
Matt
10:43
So what do the Celtics have on their bucket list of things still needed to do?  Who could potential realistic targets be for them via trade or FA signing?
Luke Adams
10:45
I'd be a bit surprised if they had another trade up their sleeves this offseason. Any remaining moves will probably be minor. There may be some free agents out there who are waiting to see if opportunities open up with teams like the Heat, Clippers, Sixers, etc. (based on Lillard/Harden trades) before making their decisions. The Celtics could be in the mix for some of those guys. Maybe a Jaylen Nowell or Terrence Ross type.
Trog
10:46
All right, Luke. We are all fatigued with Harden and Lillard talk, so I have crafted a 3 team trade that resolves everyone's issues, based on the idea of selling Lillard on going to Philadelphia where he could contend for a title. TO
3 team trade: PHI: Lillard. LAC: Harden. POR: Zubac, Mann, Morris, Korkmaz, House and Draft Picks. Evaluate. Who says no?
Luke Adams
10:47
"Draft picks" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. How many are coming from the Clippers? How many from the Sixers? Those two teams have somewhat limited first-round assets going forward, so I'm not sure that'd be enough for Portland. Sixers would do it in a heartbeat though.
Neemias Queta
10:48
Can Neemias sign a 2-Way with a new team or do the Kings have his Rights?  Meaning, he can only be Signed away with a full Regular,15-Man roster spot Contract ?
Luke Adams
10:49
Queta could have signed a two-way contract with a new team if the Kings had dropped their qualifying offer. But I believe the deadline for that has passed, and a two-way offer sheet isn't an option. So yeah, any team hoping to pry him away from Sacramento would have to offer him a standard deal.
KJ
10:49
Are the Lakers done or are they going to get 1 more big
Luke Adams
10:51
They're only at 13 players on standard contracts, so they'll need at least one more at some point, and I expect it'll be a big man. Maybe Christian Wood if he takes the minimum. Biyombo has been rumored too.
Guest
10:51
Which team do you think took the biggest leap forward this offseason?
Luke Adams
10:52
Probably the Rockets in the short term. But when your starting point is 22 wins, that's not necessarily a huge achievement -- I still don't see them as a .500 team next season.
10:53
Long term, it's the Spurs. The entire trajectory of their franchise changed for the next decade when they won the draft lottery.
Golden State Geriatrics
10:53
Shoot me if the Warriors sign Rudy Gay.  I mean, CP3, Curry, Dray and Klay are not exactly spring Chickens.  The older roster approach did not work so well for the Lakers a few seasons back nor the 2016 first-half-of-the-season Cavaliers.
Luke Adams
10:55
The Warriors aren't too old to win, but I don't love Rudy Gay for them either. I just don't think he has much left in the tank.
Raptor Fan
10:55
Of all the realistic Siakam trade packages that have been written about, which one would you take if you were Ujiri knowing he doesn't want to tank.
Luke Adams
10:57
The best deal they could've made involving Siakam this offseason would've included the No. 3 overall pick. I doubt the Blazers would've done Simons + Nurkic + No. 3 for Siakam, but if I were the Raptors, I would've done all I could to try to find a match there. Acquiring Scoot wouldn't have been tanking, since I think he'll be pretty good pretty fast, and there's still plenty of other talent on the roster. I'm not particularly moved by some of the other proposed packages I've heard for Siakam in recent weeks.
KJ
10:58
Are we set for the present or do you see any other stars requesting trades
Luke Adams
10:59
Would be a bit surprised if another big-name player requested a trade before the season, but you never know what might happen with certain non-stars before training camps. I believe it was just a week or two before camp last year that news of Jae Crowder's dissatisfaction broke. I'll be curious to see if we get any similar situations this fall.
Stretch-5s
10:59
Any bites on Frank Kaminsky or Meyers Leonard ?
Luke Adams
11:00
Haven't heard anything about them. Would think they'd be among the other options that teams like the Lakers are looking at. I could see them signing deals like the one Nerlens Noel just got from Sacramento (one-year, min-salary, partially guaranteed, with the inside track on a roster spot but no assurances).
11:01
That's it for today, guys. Sorry for the brevity, but we'll be back on Tuesday with another live chat, hosted by Dana Gauruder. Have a great week!
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