2025 NBA Season

[OgNasty]

The teams starting five is looking good I agree with that but let's be honest with each other, even with just one injury, one not being 100% and they are still a bit of a lack in depth type of team. For example as a point guard they have westbrook as a beastly great player, but what about after that? Are you really betting your team on Kendrick Nunn? At shooting guard who are they going to play? Melo? At that age? No way, then who? THT? Malik Monk? Is that really a championship caliber player level we would love to see in our team? Lebron is a beast at SF, then who? Ariza? They got Howard and Gasol as bigs, that is the center position for 48 minutes? Surely AD will go there for plenty of minutes.

Basically they do have the best top 5, but after that it is a steep drop for them and they will not be happy even if just one player gets injured and most of them are injury prone as well.

I'll give it to you that they need help at the center position.  Gasol was a terrible signing and should get bought out or traded in my opinion.  Kendrick Nunn is legit though and can definitely handle minutes at the guard spot.  Between Westbrook & LeBron they won't need help bringing the ball up the floor and Carmelo is still at his age a great spot up shooter that will compliment LeBron and Westbrook's passing abilities well.  Not to mention we're still far away from the season starting.  There will be more trades and veteran free agent signings in the future.  If you want a championship and are willing to take a pay cut, you're really only eyeing the Nets and Lakers.

[Oasisman]

The teams starting five is looking good I agree with that but let's be honest with each other, even with just one injury, one not being 100% and they are still a bit of a lack in depth type of team. For example as a point guard they have westbrook as a beastly great player, but what about after that? Are you really betting your team on Kendrick Nunn? At shooting guard who are they going to play? Melo? At that age? No way, then who? THT? Malik Monk? Is that really a championship caliber player level we would love to see in our team? Lebron is a beast at SF, then who? Ariza? They got Howard and Gasol as bigs, that is the center position for 48 minutes? Surely AD will go there for plenty of minutes.

Basically they do have the best top 5, but after that it is a steep drop for them and they will not be happy even if just one player gets injured and most of them are injury prone as well.

Well, that's the case for every team who had multiple superstars, one injury away from becoming just a regular team. Isn't in it the case for the Brooklyn Nets last season right?
However, those you have mentioned are actually good back up players for the Lakers. When an injury occurs and those guys need to fill the starting five, they could at least have good performance 3 out of 5 games.
Once you injured your best players, the team will automatically reduce it's capacity to win. Again, same goes for the other teams.

[Kusman]

I believe that this season will be even more exciting compared to the last one. Because Nets will finaly be able to play without having their important players injured. Of course, there is no guarantee for them not to get injured again. And Lakers have strengthened their squad by signing Russell Westbrook. He wasn't so great in the last season. But maybe he can shine again at Lakers.

[Fredomago]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

Schroder just isn’t worth the money that was spent on him or that he’s seeking. The Lakers grabbed him and Harrel because they had roles they wanted to fill and needed talent. They both vastly underperformed and like KCP, their contracts needed to go. I feel like the Lakers aren’t carrying a bunch of dead money around now (except Luol Deng’s contract) and are in a pretty good place to sign more superstars when Westbrook and LeBron get too old for title runs.

The Cap for both Lebron and Westbrook will give them enough space again once this two Stars decide to retires, For now they are seeking for another title and even everyone now is no longer on their prime they still got the game to take care.

Again with Schroder, you said it right both him and Harrel supposedly carry the Lakers while Both AD and LeBron have injuries,

They build to comes up and take care with thier offense but that did not happened and Lakers loses their good standing before the next round, better to let them go and try to rebuild with much older players who are really trying to win a title. 

[wheelz1200]

They have also Marc Gasol, another big men who has experienced as well, and a threat to the outside. He didn't get a good exposure last season, but I'm sure Vogel will insert him if needed as we have seen in the playoffs against the Suns as he hit crucial 3. They let go of Caruso, but added Ariza to play the defense for them against shooting guards of the opposing team.

Thanks for the reminder. I forgot about Marc Gasol.
So yeah, they are really filled with Giants. 
In terms of speed, I think Westbrook and Schroder will be ideal for it and they were teammates, right? Did Schroder reach WB when he was still at OKC?
But the only problem is, Schroder turned down the $84M extension. Which means? He doesn't like playing with WB? Or is it Lebron?
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/dennis-schroder-is-running-out-of-options-on-free-agent-market-after-turning-down-an-84-million-extension/
Where would this dude fall? What team does have the cap to fill for him?

He will be out with the Lakers, he was only there to prove his value and I think he will be able to land a good team. I'm not sure what teams really need a good point guard, but as of today's standard, PG is now bigger while Schroder is short, so a team would only give him a max contract if they sees him like CP3 and Trae Young.

And there's a rumor, maybe he would fit with the Knicks.
https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-knicks-most-likely-to-land-dennis-schroder/2021/08/02/

The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of moving parts in NBA free agency, with a number of their main rotation pieces being free agents this summer. The biggest name among those is point guard Dennis Schroder who refused a contract extension to experience free agency for the first time in his career.

If they like a healthy and talented Point guard, they should go with Dennis Schroder. Though I can't say that he is a superstar but I'm sure  Dennis Schroder is an underrated player. His numbers are consistent and he can provide offense for the team if needed.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/schrode01.html

With regards to the contract, not sure he will get bigger than what the Lakers had offered him.

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Knicks already have Kemba Walker recently acquired, and they have Rose as well, if Schroder goes there, then they have a 3 guard rotation, not sure if that is a good idea. Unless. they will get Schroder and then trade him again.

Dennis Schroeder won't fit into the cap and I don't think the Knicks want to lean in on Schroeder with their current line up.  Knicks need fill spots for a coue seats at the end of the bench their rotation is pretty straight right now with kemba at the 1, Fournier at the 2, and then backing them up with drose, IQ and Burks.  Laying out tons of money (which they can't do) would be unwise in that position.  They need another wing or 2 now

[OgNasty]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

[dwyane36]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

You're right. Simmons should only buy a ticket to Sacramento, considering that the Lakers and the Warriors don't need him. Also, it looks like he's depressed after that playoff performance because ignoring any contact with team management and teammate has been a stupid action on his part imho.

[ultrloa]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

Maybe he don't have any face to show after the performance he produce on playoffs plus the management put him on trade block that's why he did this act, but actually this is not good to do knowing he play for several years in Philly and for sure he emotionally tied up with some of their players there. The only thing he need to do is to work his ass more harder so that he can claim back his feet and also he needs to improve he's shooting so that he will be worthy and not a problem to his future team.

[gagux123]

Well, I think we already know which team will be champions in next NBA season! lol
I'm just kidding...

But I was impressed with the Lakers signings.
Even at their advanced ages and not at their prime, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard in my opinion are still important players, and experienced.

They will make a significant difference to the Lakers!

[Dave1]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

You're right. Simmons should only buy a ticket to Sacramento, considering that the Lakers and the Warriors don't need him. Also, it looks like he's depressed after that playoff performance because ignoring any contact with team management and teammate has been a stupid action on his part imho.

Lakers, Clippers, Warriors are already filled up, the only other options for him is Sacramento.

Too bad for Simmons though, it seems that the relationships with the Sixers will end up in a bad note. Maybe he really take the heat on their lost against Atlanta, specially when he opted to pass the ball instead of dunking it and you can see Joel approaching him and telling something into his face.

[TravelMug]

I believe that this season will be even more exciting compared to the last one. Because Nets will finaly be able to play without having their important players injured. Of course, there is no guarantee for them not to get injured again. And Lakers have strengthened their squad by signing Russell Westbrook. He wasn't so great in the last season. But maybe he can shine again at Lakers.

What do you mean wasn't great? I'm not sure if you have followed Washington, but after the All-Star-Break they have a good run, winning streak of 7 (give or take, I can't remember), and they were able to cover the spread if you are betting on them. They made the playoffs again after 3 years, yes he was injured by he did give him best with the Wizards team. And now that he is with the Lakers, he will have a lot of help and probably his numbers will go down a bit, but he is chasing a ring with LA and not is fair enough bargain.

[Reid]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

Yes, I just recently read about this. Now he hates them for letting him go or not offering any contract as fast as they could.
I want to see where he will land just to analyze if it will be a good decision for that team.
How many good players are still hanging as free agents?
Schroder, Ben, and Kawhi.
Drummond signed with 76ers with a veteran's contract. He said, "there was never any real beef with Embiid."
Not a lot with the Raptors, are they going to surprise us?

[LogitechMouse]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

I agree and he isn't old enough too to remain in the Lakers .
Kidding aside, they have good point guard already in Westbrook so if he will stay there he might only get a few minutes per game thus it might affect his career as a whole.
After Schroder declined what the Lakers offered to him, there is no team that is offering to him. His performance in the post-season might affect his value right now.

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

His first choice was in Golden State but the 76ers management are too greedy that they've asked too much for a player who can't be reliable offensively.
Unless they will lower the players that they will get then there is still a slight chance for him to go to Golden State. The 2 choices is Lakers and Clippers. If he will end up in Sacramento, what will you think of Fox-Simmons duo .

[danherbias07]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

His first choice was in Golden State but the 76ers management are too greedy that they've asked too much for a player who can't be reliable offensively.
Unless they will lower the players that they will get then there is still a slight chance for him to go to Golden State. The 2 choices is Lakers and Clippers. If he will end up in Sacramento, what will you think of Fox-Simmons duo .

Fast paced game. Not bad. I think they should also stop forcing Ben Simmons into being a shooter. Just like what Shaq said about Giannis. His strength is under the paint and he even admit Giannis is better than him and more dominant with his speed and length. I think that is also why he got so emotional about it. It brought him back to his old dominant days.
Back to Simmons, Kings might be his best option because GSW is already packed with great players. He just need to collect more experience. Use that and maybe he could be one of the greats someday even without a shooting skill.

[Jating]

In today’s NBA drama, Ben Simmons has reportedly cutoff contact with everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization including ignoring calls from Joel Embid. Ben Simmons is saying he wants to end up on one of the California teams. I think his trade request could’ve been handled better but I understand he’s mad about the playoffs… This is how you end up a Sacramento King.

Yes, I just recently read about this. Now he hates them for letting him go or not offering any contract as fast as they could.
I want to see where he will land just to analyze if it will be a good decision for that team.
How many good players are still hanging as free agents?
Schroder, Ben, and Kawhi.
Drummond signed with 76ers with a veteran's contract. He said, "there was never any real beef with Embiid."
Not a lot with the Raptors, are they going to surprise us?

I think Toronto is already on a full rebuild, trading Lowry and they get Goran Dragic from Miami. But I don't think that they are going to hold for Goran as they would have eventually need to trade him to save salary cap.

Most interesting part is Siakam, there are news that they wanted to trade him to Sacramento, but the management hasn't pull the trigger just yet.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

I agree and he isn't old enough too to remain in the Lakers .
Kidding aside, they have good point guard already in Westbrook so if he will stay there he might only get a few minutes per game thus it might affect his career as a whole.
After Schroder declined what the Lakers offered to him, there is no team that is offering to him. His performance in the post-season might affect his value right now.

Or Schroder overpriced himself in this trade that's why no one is picking him up? I agree that looking for a bigger contract is not that bad, but what if no one is willing to pay him that much?

I remember Latrell Sprewell, he was playing very good with the Knicks but then declined a huge contract sighting "I have families to feed", unfortunately, no one wanted him because of the PJ Carlesimo incident and then he just lost himself in NBA. And when some team get him, he was already past his prime. I do hope that it won't happen to Dennis.

[Natalim]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

I agree and he isn't old enough too to remain in the Lakers .
Kidding aside, they have good point guard already in Westbrook so if he will stay there he might only get a few minutes per game thus it might affect his career as a whole.
After Schroder declined what the Lakers offered to him, there is no team that is offering to him. His performance in the post-season might affect his value right now.

Or Schroder overpriced himself in this trade that's why no one is picking him up? I agree that looking for a bigger contract is not that bad, but what if no one is willing to pay him that much?

I remember Latrell Sprewell, he was playing very good with the Knicks but then declined a huge contract sighting "I have families to feed", unfortunately, no one wanted him because of the PJ Carlesimo incident and then he just lost himself in NBA. And when some team get him, he was already past his prime. I do hope that it won't happen to Dennis.

He is trying to play a risky game, if he wins, he can maximize his income but if he loses, he will have nothing,  I think his agent doesn't have a good analysis, they try to play the games of an elite superstar but Dennis is not yet in that level.

[ultrloa]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

I agree and he isn't old enough too to remain in the Lakers .
Kidding aside, they have good point guard already in Westbrook so if he will stay there he might only get a few minutes per game thus it might affect his career as a whole.
After Schroder declined what the Lakers offered to him, there is no team that is offering to him. His performance in the post-season might affect his value right now.

Or Schroder overpriced himself in this trade that's why no one is picking him up? I agree that looking for a bigger contract is not that bad, but what if no one is willing to pay him that much?

I remember Latrell Sprewell, he was playing very good with the Knicks but then declined a huge contract sighting "I have families to feed", unfortunately, no one wanted him because of the PJ Carlesimo incident and then he just lost himself in NBA. And when some team get him, he was already past his prime. I do hope that it won't happen to Dennis.

He is trying to play a risky game, if he wins, he can maximize his income but if he loses, he will have nothing,  I think his agent doesn't have a good analysis, they try to play the games of an elite superstar but Dennis is not yet in that level.

It's huge loss for him if he still can't get a good contract since he will be the same with Oladipo where he decline the offer of Indiana. Maybe he's value will decrease if there's no team will agree to what he contract he likes. Maybe this issue is from his agent and they demand to much to lakers or any other team and this is lesson needed to learned by other players that they should settle on the current offers if they didn't prove anything yet.

[carlisle1]

It's huge loss for him if he still can't get a good contract since he will be the same with Oladipo where he decline the offer of Indiana. Maybe he's value will decrease if there's no team will agree to what he contract he likes. Maybe this issue is from his agent and they demand to much to lakers or any other team and this is lesson needed to learned by other players that they should settle on the current offers if they didn't prove anything yet.

Remember what happened to Kemba Walker way back with charlotte?

That's really a loss for him as his agent thinks that he have that value but suddenly Lakers didn't see that value after giving
him a season to comes up and bring additional force for this team.

Lesson learn to all players as they might lost that opportunities to have a better contract and continue playing with a good deals behind.

[LogitechMouse]

Dennis Schroder is just looking for a bigger contract than what the Lakers is offering him, perhaps he just want to maximise his potential while he is still healthy. But obviously, LA doesn't want to provide or at least they don't have the capacity right now to offer it to Dennis because of salary cap.

Staying at LA is no longer good for his career, with LeBron and Westbrook in front the rotations for him might be harder, he won't gets good minutes with healthy King James and WestBrook, Better to find another team since he already decline the extension of his contract.

I agree and he isn't old enough too to remain in the Lakers .
Kidding aside, they have good point guard already in Westbrook so if he will stay there he might only get a few minutes per game thus it might affect his career as a whole.
After Schroder declined what the Lakers offered to him, there is no team that is offering to him. His performance in the post-season might affect his value right now.

Or Schroder overpriced himself in this trade that's why no one is picking him up? I agree that looking for a bigger contract is not that bad, but what if no one is willing to pay him that much?

I remember Latrell Sprewell, he was playing very good with the Knicks but then declined a huge contract sighting "I have families to feed", unfortunately, no one wanted him because of the PJ Carlesimo incident and then he just lost himself in NBA. And when some team get him, he was already past his prime. I do hope that it won't happen to Dennis.

Well, its a gamble for him. Asking for a higher salary is risky for him to the point that there might be no team that will sign him.
How can he demand for a higher salary where his performance during the last post-season is unacceptable.

Or maybe because he is saying that "Hey, remember that I'm the starting point guard when I'm in OKC Thunder back years ago that is why I need a higher salary". A wrong mindset for him and declining the offer of the Lakers might affect his career if he continues to demand for a higher salary and when no one will sign him, he will either not play in the NBA or will accept contracts with a lower salary and lower year. Kinda greedy for me if you will ask.