2025 NBA Season

[morvillz7z]

Atlanta Hawks are low key putting a decent roster, they signed Gallinari, Rondo and Kris Dunn, latest rumors are they are close to signing Bogdanovic too.
You have Trae Young, Capela and Collins as your bigs (+ the rookie Onyeka Okongwu @6), Cam Reddish and De'Andre Hunter in their second season, and with NBA's new playoff format (the play-in tournament), they should be able to make it.

Which team do you think is winning free agency so far? (OKC Thunder, Sam Presti, and their 17 first-round picks don't count).  

[Reid]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

Avery Bradley to Heat -> https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-11-21/avery-bradley-is-done-with-lakers-will-sign-with-heat

Whoa! Miami Heat caught a big fish.
Now, they have a defensive player on guard's position.

Bucks also trying to build a better team to surround Giannis.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1330198362042343427?s=20

Which team do you think is winning free agency so far? (OKC Thunder, Sam Presti, and their 17 first-round picks don't count).  

It's crazy. I can't tell who is winning yet.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

It's funny though that there are rumors that Rondo will be going to the rival LA, the Clippers.

But nah, Rondo is intelligent, not to fall for it, speaking of Clippers though, Report: Serge Ibaka agrees to two-year deal with Clippers.

While GSW, Source: Warriors apply for $9.3M DPE after Klay's injury.

There's no word on when the Warriors will find out of the NBA is granting them the exception, but with free agents coming off the board, the sooner a ruling is handed down, the better for Golden State.

Under the rules of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Warriors can use this exception to sign a player to a one-year contract or acquire a player via trade with one year remaining on his contract.

[TitanGEL]

It's funny though that there are rumors that Rondo will be going to the rival LA, the Clippers.

But nah, Rondo is intelligent, not to fall for it, speaking of Clippers though, Report: Serge Ibaka agrees to two-year deal with Clippers.

While GSW, Source: Warriors apply for $9.3M DPE after Klay's injury.

There's no word on when the Warriors will find out of the NBA is granting them the exception, but with free agents coming off the board, the sooner a ruling is handed down, the better for Golden State.

Under the rules of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Warriors can use this exception to sign a player to a one-year contract or acquire a player via trade with one year remaining on his contract.

It is just a speculation and there are a lot of factors that should be consider but for me Rondo will not LAL for LAC, the chemistry of their team is already good and you mention that he is intelligent player so for sure he will signed in LAL again. For me the clippers did a good thing and it seems that Serge Ibaka will help the LAC to dominate the league. It is funny where I saw a meme showing Kawhi where he needs to get a lot of superstars just for his team to dominate the next season. The exchange of the players are crazy especially in the team of OKC where their good players are now in different team. I'd like to see Chris Paul and Booker to have a good duo when the seasons starts.

[boyptc]

I totally agree with what you said about Durant. He had a difficult injury period and I'm looking forward to how he will return. Maybe he will come back with a very aggressive and powerful game.

He can prove himself again. That's what happen usually when a player gets injured, it always affects their career and performance. 

He would not come back automatically, he missed the whole season and we expect him to produce his usual stats, I think that's unrealistic. We've seen him playing in the practice but we haven't seen him played in the official game, that's the difference and he might struggle in the beginning of the season finding his rhythm and slowly getting back his confidence.

I'm not judging him, but that's just my observation of players coming from a long lay off due to serious injury.

That is a truth that you have said.

But him being a professional, he can cope up with the missed season that he has with last time.

We will see, if it is a grea comeback or just a false hope for us, fans.

[Sanitough]

I totally agree with what you said about Durant. He had a difficult injury period and I'm looking forward to how he will return. Maybe he will come back with a very aggressive and powerful game.

He can prove himself again. That's what happen usually when a player gets injured, it always affects their career and performance. 

He would not come back automatically, he missed the whole season and we expect him to produce his usual stats, I think that's unrealistic. We've seen him playing in the practice but we haven't seen him played in the official game, that's the difference and he might struggle in the beginning of the season finding his rhythm and slowly getting back his confidence.

I'm not judging him, but that's just my observation of players coming from a long lay off due to serious injury.

That is a truth that you have said.

But him being a professional, he can cope up with the missed season that he has with last time.

We will see, if it is a grea comeback or just a false hope for us, fans.

You can't measure his capability for him being professional, it's the way he plays and if his body will still continue to function as expected to him. Durant is no doubt a great fighter, a hall of famer but we can't just disregard a serious injury, so we can understand if people have a little doubt on him now.

[Russlenat]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

I'm also surprised with that news, I was thinking that Gordon Hayward is done on big contracts, but here he is now, so let's see if Hornet here made a bad decision or we are wrong with our belief, most likely they are right as they are smarter than us, I just can't believe Hayward's value at the moment.

[Golftech]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

I'm also surprised with that news, I was thinking that Gordon Hayward is done on big contracts, but here he is now, so let's see if Hornet here made a bad decision or we are wrong with our belief, most likely they are right as they are smarter than us, I just can't believe Hayward's value at the moment.

A huge amount of money, I'm not seeing any value as well for such a player who no longer showing a good games
in every season after that serious injury, we don't know what this franchise thinking about providing such a high
deal for Hayward, maybe there are  seeing something that we don't know. Maybe some plans or rehab for Hayward
and they are still believing that he's a good addition to the lineup.

[Ziskinberg]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

I'm also surprised with that news, I was thinking that Gordon Hayward is done on big contracts, but here he is now, so let's see if Hornet here made a bad decision or we are wrong with our belief, most likely they are right as they are smarter than us, I just can't believe Hayward's value at the moment.

A huge amount of money, I'm not seeing any value as well for such a player who no longer showing a good games
in every season after that serious injury, we don't know what this franchise thinking about providing such a high
deal for Hayward, maybe there are  seeing something that we don't know. Maybe some plans or rehab for Hayward
and they are still believing that he's a good addition to the lineup.

With this contract, he is not only expected as a good addition to the team, but to lead the team.

$120 million in 4 years, that's $30 million per year and as per the payroll report of Hornets roster, he will be the highest paid player.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/CHO.html

[btc_angela]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

I'm also surprised with that news, I was thinking that Gordon Hayward is done on big contracts, but here he is now, so let's see if Hornet here made a bad decision or we are wrong with our belief, most likely they are right as they are smarter than us, I just can't believe Hayward's value at the moment.

It's really hard to see what Hayward can bring to them specially after that injury. This could be one of the worst trades in years if Hayward's performance wasn't good and didn't bring the Hornets so at least finals next season. And it could also spell dome for Kupchack, as he has a history of dealing worst trades specially when he was still with the Lakers. Remember Kwame Brown going to Lakers? Yeah it was his brilliant idea. The same Kwame Brown that could have been considered the biggest bust ever in NBA.

[Captain Corporate]

 Charlotte is not a good team for a reason and that reason is not being unlucky. They barely can get any stars on their team because their team sucks, but if they could draft a bit well and get few good FA role players they could at least fight for a playoff spot in the end, but they keep failing to do that and you know why? Because they are horrible when it comes to getting players, it could be from draft, it could be from FA or it could be trades they are almost always bad and this is why they suck as a team as well. If they were a bit smarter, they would send all the assets they have and would try to get picks as much as they can and tank as further down as they can and start rebuilding, look at what OKC is doing right now, they are going to be scary good in 4-5 years for sure, but as you can see Hornets fails at even failing.

[Russlenat]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

I'm also surprised with that news, I was thinking that Gordon Hayward is done on big contracts, but here he is now, so let's see if Hornet here made a bad decision or we are wrong with our belief, most likely they are right as they are smarter than us, I just can't believe Hayward's value at the moment.

It's really hard to see what Hayward can bring to them specially after that injury. This could be one of the worst trades in years if Hayward's performance wasn't good and didn't bring the Hornets so at least finals next season. And it could also spell dome for Kupchack, as he has a history of dealing worst trades specially when he was still with the Lakers. Remember Kwame Brown going to Lakers? Yeah it was his brilliant idea. The same Kwame Brown that could have been considered the biggest bust ever in NBA.

Maybe they are looking at Hayward's number in the last season.

Look at the stats here ; https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/haywago01.html

17.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG, is not worth that huge contract, but then again, we are not the one making a decision and I'm pretty sure they are carefully evaluating their decision before signing a player for a huge amount.

[redhack]

Maybe they are looking at Hayward's number in the last season.
Look at the stats here ; https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/haywago01.html
17.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG, is not worth that huge contract, but then again, we are not the one making a decision and I'm pretty sure they are carefully evaluating their decision before signing a player for a huge amount.

He's a good player but you can't rely on him and build a team around him. Def not worth max contract tbh.

[Emitdama]

I can't even keep up with the trades and FA deals right now. I know all the big ones, and I have "seen" all the other ones but I keep forgetting most of them, I feel like Charles Barkley at this point where some bench warmers moving teams like crazy this off-season and that really makes it difficult for me to memorize all the moves.

I feel like this almost all the time during off-seasons whenever there are some moves, however when the league starts and I watch few games and we are a month into the league, I end up knowing like 10 players from each teams roster because you end up seeing them all constantly. Plus playing 2k also makes it simpler for you to memorize players from each team as well but obviously that is going to be harder this year with game being already out before roster changes.

[wheelz1200]

That Hayward signing was awful but probably necessary unfortunately for them.  No free agent wants to go there so they have to overpay and hope it pays off.  Until they can get a young core of drafted players it will be tough for them to pull anyone in. These smaller market teams always have to deal with this.

[Reid]

Trades left and right and teams acquiring big names.

Serge Ibaka at Clippers.
Jae Crowder found a new home at Suns.
Derrick Jones Jr. at Trail Blazers.

I am sure those who own a console of NBA 2k20 will have a lot of problems editing their game. 
The Clippers did good acquiring Ibaka. I think he will help a lot and the chemistry between him and Kawhi is already set.
This will lift them again as one of the top favorites.

[bhadz]

What a good amount for the contract of Vanvleet.
Raptors agree to huge four-year deal with Fred VanVleet
$85-m for his four year contract.

[Yaunfitda]

Anyone surprise by this news? Donovan Mitchell agrees to 5-year, $195M designated rookie max extension with Utah Jazz.

I think he deserves it though, Jazz is building their team around him and I would say that he is the leader, just wish he could stay healthy and reach max potential to bring the Utah on top of the Western Conference. It won't be easy, but with this challenge he can elevate himself to at least on top of the MVP discussion this season.

[Japinat]

Anyone surprise by this news? Donovan Mitchell agrees to 5-year, $195M designated rookie max extension with Utah Jazz.

I think he deserves it though, Jazz is building their team around him and I would say that he is the leader, just wish he could stay healthy and reach max potential to bring the Utah on top of the Western Conference.

Not surprised though, Mitchell showed he can lead his team during the last playoffs though they allow the Nuggets to come back, with his salary, he is now part of the top 10 top paid NBA stars, now finally his sacrifice has paid off, congratulations to him, hopefully Jazz would improve more next season.

It won't be easy, but with this challenge he can elevate himself to at least on top of the MVP discussion this season.

He can for sure but I would appreciate more if he will give a championship to the team, there's nothing to prove since he already got a big salary, and that is already a testament that the management believe he is an MVP level player.

[Harlot]

Charlotte Hornets signed Gordon Hayward to a 4year/120$ million deal, honestly I don't know what Mitch Kupchak is thinking about signing a player who clearly has not recovered from his injury yet to a big deal like this one.

I don't get you wrong, I get you right! 
Damn, that large of a contract for someone who had been sitting with injuries and after recovering didn't really showcase a value to be paid like that.
Waste of salary cap. Whoever his agent is good at marketing him.   

If they are planning to tank right now they should at least not make it obvious like they should have spread out that salary and spread it out to several role players. Right now Hornets has a abundance of guards and forwards in their roster that is why signing Hayward is really questionable. It's like the management doesn't want to spend time in the free agency period and contacting dozens of players that is why they wasted it on one player.