2026 NBA Season

[batang_bitcoin]

It looks like the Phoenix Suns in an effort to cement themselves as the worst managed team in professional sports have decided to give Bradley Beal $97,000,000 to not play for them. Beal owes Durant something for this. The way they finessed Phoenix should be taught to professional athletes. I still can’t believe this all happened.

That is the best option for the suns since they can't trade him because of the no trade clause in his contract at the same time they can't add any for him, so this is the best move, imagine a useless two season for a player with big contract and can't contribute properly in the team, they never made it to the finals, if they need to buyout now is the time, not to wait for a contract to expire, they really want to move on with the guy.

Yeah, he's just nothing to the roster and adds the slot. And that slot cost the Phoenix Suns a lot and so, they're obliged to pay him that much just to get out of the team. Well, if I am an NBA player, I'd like to get into this kind of option and deal. It's one of the biggest payment for doing nothing and just warming the seat in the bench. Now, they can get the players that are available in the free agent but it's gonna cost them money again. But this time, it looks that Suns is on a bad shape with the events that just happened so quickly on them.

[ultrloa]

It looks like the Phoenix Suns in an effort to cement themselves as the worst managed team in professional sports have decided to give Bradley Beal $97,000,000 to not play for them. Beal owes Durant something for this. The way they finessed Phoenix should be taught to professional athletes. I still can’t believe this all happened.

That is the best option for the suns since they can't trade him because of the no trade clause in his contract at the same time they can't add any for him, so this is the best move, imagine a useless two season for a player with big contract and can't contribute properly in the team, they never made it to the finals, if they need to buyout now is the time, not to wait for a contract to expire, they really want to move on with the guy.

If they don't do anything for sure that they would struggle to create a big move on their roster. Now they clear some space and could able to rebuild now.

Curious on what will be the next move of Suns since there are lot of great names are which became free agents. Booker need another reliable star so that their team would at least compete in next season.

But don't have any huge expectation from this team at the moment since its like they are in questionable condition for next season. Lets see if they can sign big name which could try to give a good shot for their team.

[Wapfika]

Well, it's a great catch for the Clippers because now their starting lineup looks very strong and competitive, at least on paper. The only thing that is unclear is whether Harden and Beal will be able to share the ball well on the court, considering that both players like to score a lot.

I’m skeptical to Beal effect anymore he is not consistent anymore while Clippers needs someone that is reliable on defense and offense with consistency.

This will work if Beal accuracy and consistency will improve with Clippers since Kawhi and Harden will have a breathing space to make a shot or do a pass to create score.

Clippers just need to have a solid bench.

[boyptc]

That's the sweetest deal for Beal and he's got the Clippers ready to take care of him.

I think that there were also players before that have been paid not to play for the team because of poor performance on the past season. They just let those players sit in the bench and be there at all games but no playing time.

But the twist, is they got paid for being there with sums of money. While before, they're one of the contenders, the Suns really paved their way to a mismanaged team.

Hope he'll be able to contribute with the Clippers, the way he play the game he also need to have the ball create his own shot, similar to how Harden and Kawhi, let see if how he's going to fit with the clippers, hopefully he'll get some minutes and bring some decent contributions unlike with how he perform with the Suns.

Still earning even he's not playing just watching and monitoring how the coach run the system, that's how Beal being compensated from the Suns.

I hope so too.

He's been stuck with the Suns and did nothing there but still paid sums of money so he's good with that. But these NBA players despite that they've been paid that much and do nothing.

The pride of able to get minutes of play and contribute to each win that they get is what they want the most. Since they've got the money already, next is all about pride and legacy that they want for themselves.

And we will see if that will be for him when the season starts.

[MK-74]

Well, it's a great catch for the Clippers because now their starting lineup looks very strong and competitive, at least on paper. The only thing that is unclear is whether Harden and Beal will be able to share the ball well on the court, considering that both players like to score a lot.

These kinds of "on-paper super starting fives" often don’t deliver the expected success on the court.
Take the Clippers as an example, they had a similar lineup with Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
While that trio looked great on paper, it didn't bring success to the Clippers.
This just proves that what truly matters is how much these players can actually contribute to the team, not just their individual names or reputations.

[OgNasty]

Well, it's a great catch for the Clippers because now their starting lineup looks very strong and competitive, at least on paper. The only thing that is unclear is whether Harden and Beal will be able to share the ball well on the court, considering that both players like to score a lot.

These kinds of "on-paper super starting fives" often don’t deliver the expected success on the court.
Take the Clippers as an example, they had a similar lineup with Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
While that trio looked great on paper, it didn't bring success to the Clippers.
This just proves that what truly matters is how much these players can actually contribute to the team, not just their individual names or reputations.

The Phoenix Suns are a great example of this too.  Booker was complaining for years about how he had no help, so they get him a #1 draft pick and Chris Paul, who carry him to the Finals yet that somehow wasn't good enough and he blamed the loss on Ayton.  So they dump Ayton and Paul and replace them with Durant and Beal, then the team completely collapses.  Sort of makes you wonder if Ayton was the problem or if he was the reason they went to the Finals...  A lot of people are going to talk about how bad Beal played to mess things up, but not enough people are going to talk about how the Suns gave Booker everything he wanted and he still couldn't win.

[sana54210]

If they don't do anything for sure that they would struggle to create a big move on their roster. Now they clear some space and could able to rebuild now.

Curious on what will be the next move of Suns since there are lot of great names are which became free agents. Booker need another reliable star so that their team would at least compete in next season.

But don't have any huge expectation from this team at the moment since its like they are in questionable condition for next season. Lets see if they can sign big name which could try to give a good shot for their team.

I am sure they will just try to tank probably. I mean if not, then what was this whole trade about? Green and Booker could get them better results? I highly doubt that, they are going to probably try to get rid of Booker soon, he has a huge contract so it would be near impossible for them to do that, but I bet that they are going to end up with a better result by giving him away for some shitty contracts and picks. That way, they can run out of the contracts eventually, while building a younger team.

Green is young enough to be part of a rebuild, he was already part of one. Houston however is in a "win now" mode apparently, they had some good players, now they have Durant, and it should be something that can benefit them a ton, they finished second already, so they could do better at playoffs now.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Well, it's a great catch for the Clippers because now their starting lineup looks very strong and competitive, at least on paper. The only thing that is unclear is whether Harden and Beal will be able to share the ball well on the court, considering that both players like to score a lot.

These kinds of "on-paper super starting fives" often don’t deliver the expected success on the court.
Take the Clippers as an example, they had a similar lineup with Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.
While that trio looked great on paper, it didn't bring success to the Clippers.
This just proves that what truly matters is how much these players can actually contribute to the team, not just their individual names or reputations.

The Phoenix Suns are a great example of this too.  Booker was complaining for years about how he had no help, so they get him a #1 draft pick and Chris Paul, who carry him to the Finals yet that somehow wasn't good enough and he blamed the loss on Ayton.  So they dump Ayton and Paul and replace them with Durant and Beal, then the team completely collapses.  Sort of makes you wonder if Ayton was the problem or if he was the reason they went to the Finals...  A lot of people are going to talk about how bad Beal played to mess things up, but not enough people are going to talk about how the Suns gave Booker everything he wanted and he still couldn't win.

I'm not sure if it Booker has something to do with Ayton or Paul being dump, for Ayton's case, it might be their former coach who I think didn't trust Ayton that time and when Ayton's contract was up, the owner doesn't want to give him a rookie max contract and so they traded him. And then they got Durant and Beal, but still though, they didn't even reach the finals after the supposedly big 3 from them. For me, I don't know but there could be some intangibles that really make things a success, like a perfect marriage, if not then even if you get a great player under Booker, they won't still go to the finals or even past the 2nd round. Everything should really a blend, coaches, players, owners and others that we can't really measure.

[MK-74]

Damian Lillard signed a 3-year, 42 million dollar contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard returned to his home, this was a very good contract for Damian Lillard, he will earn income both from Portland and from Milwaukee.


While Kyrie Irving was watching his own videos;  "You will never see a player like me again."
I think he is right about this because there is no player like Irving right now, and it doesn’t look like there will be one anytime soon.

[Shinpako09]

Damian Lillard signed a 3-year, 42 million dollar contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard returned to his home, this was a very good contract for Damian Lillard, he will earn income both from Portland and from Milwaukee.

Yeah, I’ve read about this too, good to know he’s back home. And it’s not just Lillard, they also got Jrue Holiday. Meanwhile, the Warriors are the only team that haven’t added or re-signed anyone in free agency. It looks like they’ll either go with a small ball lineup again and use Buddy Hield, or maybe make Quentin Post a starter so at least they’ll have a big man on the floor. Honestly, they need to develop him so they’ll have a reliable big when needed. The problem is, the Warriors still keep insisting on small ball even to this day. It's not as effective as it was back then.

[LogitechMouse]

That's the sweetest deal for Beal and he's got the Clippers ready to take care of him.

I think that there were also players before that have been paid not to play for the team because of poor performance on the past season. They just let those players sit in the bench and be there at all games but no playing time.

But the twist, is they got paid for being there with sums of money. While before, they're one of the contenders, the Suns really paved their way to a mismanaged team.

Hope he'll be able to contribute with the Clippers, the way he play the game he also need to have the ball create his own shot, similar to how Harden and Kawhi, let see if how he's going to fit with the clippers, hopefully he'll get some minutes and bring some decent contributions unlike with how he perform with the Suns.

Still earning even he's not playing just watching and monitoring how the coach run the system, that's how Beal being compensated from the Suns.

With Powell out for the Clippers, they expect Beal to be their 2nd scorer besides Harden. Beal averaged around 18 PPG last season with the Phoenix which for me is still helpful, but doesn't equal to the amount of money that he's getting. It's good that the Suns bought him out already because his contract really is a big mess (shoutout to the Washington Wizards for giving him a contract like that).

The Clippers are lowkey winning in trades this off season as well. I mean they got Brook Lopez as their supporting big, and at the same time, they also got John Collins which is a good defender and can stretch the floor as well, and they got Beal as well in a friendly contract. As long as both Harden and Kawhi will be healthy especially during the playoffs, I will not be surprised if they will reach the NBA Finals TBH despite the stacked Western Conference. They still have a good depth and in today's era, the deeper bench players that you have, the higher your chances of winning a title.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Damian Lillard signed a 3-year, 42 million dollar contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Damian Lillard returned to his home, this was a very good contract for Damian Lillard, he will earn income both from Portland and from Milwaukee.

Yeah, I’ve read about this too, good to know he’s back home. And it’s not just Lillard, they also got Jrue Holiday. Meanwhile, the Warriors are the only team that haven’t added or re-signed anyone in free agency. It looks like they’ll either go with a small ball lineup again and use Buddy Hield, or maybe make Quentin Post a starter so at least they’ll have a big man on the floor. Honestly, they need to develop him so they’ll have a reliable big when needed. The problem is, the Warriors still keep insisting on small ball even to this day. It's not as effective as it was back then.

Yeah, it's good to hear that Dame will be back to Portland and who knows, maybe he will retire for good with them. He was once their biggest player until he was injury prone and got traded to the Bucks. But it seems that they are still in love with Dame and so they pick him up. Although it will be a different team from the once he left. But still though, if Dame is healthy and not having that kind of career threatening injuries, he could score and lead the team again. As for the Warriors, I thought that they are going to sign Al Horford in replacement of Looney, but there are reports that Butler and Horford have history, not sure if this is true, that's Horford doesn't want to sign with them. In any case, they really need to overhaul the team, maybe they can still go small lineup, but it can only go as far.

[dwyane36]

The Phoenix Suns are a great example of this too.  Booker was complaining for years about how he had no help, so they get him a #1 draft pick and Chris Paul, who carry him to the Finals yet that somehow wasn't good enough and he blamed the loss on Ayton.  So they dump Ayton and Paul and replace them with Durant and Beal, then the team completely collapses.  Sort of makes you wonder if Ayton was the problem or if he was the reason they went to the Finals...  A lot of people are going to talk about how bad Beal played to mess things up, but not enough people are going to talk about how the Suns gave Booker everything he wanted and he still couldn't win.

Yeah, the Suns missed a great opportunity to win the title then. I think it was an upsetting defeat, especially for Paul.
As for Booker, no matter how much money they give him, he still can't win a title alone. Imho, the Suns should have assembled a solid team with good role players instead of spending so much money to extend Booker's contract.

[btc_angela]

The Phoenix Suns are a great example of this too.  Booker was complaining for years about how he had no help, so they get him a #1 draft pick and Chris Paul, who carry him to the Finals yet that somehow wasn't good enough and he blamed the loss on Ayton.  So they dump Ayton and Paul and replace them with Durant and Beal, then the team completely collapses.  Sort of makes you wonder if Ayton was the problem or if he was the reason they went to the Finals...  A lot of people are going to talk about how bad Beal played to mess things up, but not enough people are going to talk about how the Suns gave Booker everything he wanted and he still couldn't win.

Yeah, the Suns missed a great opportunity to win the title then. I think it was an upsetting defeat, especially for Paul.
As for Booker, no matter how much money they give him, he still can't win a title alone. Imho, the Suns should have assembled a solid team with good role players instead of spending so much money to extend Booker's contract.

And if I'm not mistaken, that was the first time that Paul really went into the finals. But then it was not really meant for him to win as they face a prime Giannis who is hungrier and his team are really built to win with Middleton, Lopez and Holiday who stole the ball from Booker and go in transition for Giannis for a flush.

Next year was still good for Phoenix, they go into the West playoff, but then Luka has other plans for them. And after that it was all over for them, coach was replaced, Ayton and CP3 was traded. Booker is one of those players that have been playing for one team for 10 years right now and it seems that Phoenix owners still trust him.

[OgNasty]

Dame requested a trade, got the Blazers some decent assets, then came back. Crazy the lengths he had to go to get some help in Portland. If only Greg Oden never got injured…

[ultrloa]

Dame requested a trade, got the Blazers some decent assets, then came back. Crazy the lengths he had to go to get some help in Portland. If only Greg Oden never got injured…

Amazing how Portland accept back Dame on their team even if he's recovering from injury. If Oden did not get injured maybe they perform more better but that's how bad things goes then their team didn't succeed at that time.

This situation give some good impressions that Portland is good team and value he's contribution on their team. If I am Dame I will not ask a trade anymore since it seems Portland is loyal to him. Portland now has interesting asset especially with their new acquired player from draft. So guess lets see more from Dame on 2026 - 2027 season since its like he will seat and try to recover for entire year.

[Fredomago]

With Powell out for the Clippers, they expect Beal to be their 2nd scorer besides Harden. Beal averaged around 18 PPG last season with the Phoenix which for me is still helpful, but doesn't equal to the amount of money that he's getting. It's good that the Suns bought him out already because his contract really is a big mess (shoutout to the Washington Wizards for giving him a contract like that).

The Clippers are lowkey winning in trades this off season as well. I mean they got Brook Lopez as their supporting big, and at the same time, they also got John Collins which is a good defender and can stretch the floor as well, and they got Beal as well in a friendly contract. As long as both Harden and Kawhi will be healthy especially during the playoffs, I will not be surprised if they will reach the NBA Finals TBH despite the stacked Western Conference. They still have a good depth and in today's era, the deeper bench players that you have, the higher your chances of winning a title.

That's the important thing, as long as Kawhi and Harden are healthy the chance is nit by far, knowing how those two scorers shared the court they've got a good blend of chemistries, theyjust fell short last season but now that Kawhi being kawhai again, together with Zubac, Collins and Beal that's a decent core it's more now on the side of the coaching staff if how they'll be playing those stars together and what system to run that will going to be fit on both defensive and offensive sides.

[Beparanf]

That's the important thing, as long as Kawhi and Harden are healthy the chance is nit by far, knowing how those two scorers shared the court they've got a good blend of chemistries, theyjust fell short last season but now that Kawhi being kawhai again, together with Zubac, Collins and Beal that's a decent core it's more now on the side of the coaching staff if how they'll be playing those stars together and what system to run that will going to be fit on both defensive and offensive sides.

I’m impressed that Kawhai is not injured on the playoffs despite having a tough battle which normally sent him to injury zone due to his intense physical game when he is playing.

I have no doubts with Kawhi capabilities but Harden is always choking on crucial games especially on playoffs. He is only good on regular season or in playoffs matches that they have clear advantage against the other team.

Harden always choke when he is needed the most.

[el kaka22]

Amazing how Portland accept back Dame on their team even if he's recovering from injury. If Oden did not get injured maybe they perform more better but that's how bad things goes then their team didn't succeed at that time.

This situation give some good impressions that Portland is good team and value he's contribution on their team. If I am Dame I will not ask a trade anymore since it seems Portland is loyal to him. Portland now has interesting asset especially with their new acquired player from draft. So guess lets see more from Dame on 2026 - 2027 season since its like he will seat and try to recover for entire year.

I do not think Portland got any better. Dame is a great player there is no doubt about that, but Portland didn't really collected bunch of great assets while he was gone, they still failed and they are still not good. Now they got Dame back, which is great, but we may even consider his prime is gone, but even if we assume he was at his prime, like best he ever was, who the hell around him could even help him get a ring?

It's obvious that they built a team that can't win anything, so what is the point? Just try and work hard enough to reach playoffs if possible, and if they can somehow manage that, lose on the first rounds again and go back home? What's the point? Dame should have picked a team that could win, just ask Lakers to pay you minimum, I am sure they can.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Dame requested a trade, got the Blazers some decent assets, then came back. Crazy the lengths he had to go to get some help in Portland. If only Greg Oden never got injured…

Yeah in hindsight Milwaukee really got the bad end of the stick back in 2023. Not only did Lillard have plenty of time off the court, but also they paid him a lot of money for not playing (and they will for the next years  ).
Nowadays you see so many bad trades, buyouts, contracts and so on, it feels like these GMs and managers have no clue how to do their job. Giving up a ton of players plus picks just for one (aging) star player isn't the way to go these days, clearly. Yet we see this over and over and over again.