2025 NBA Season

[ultrloa]

Westbrook absorb so many bashing last season so he need to train more so that he can prove his basher that he's still the beast and can provide triple double which he was known for.

He can train hard but to average a triple-double again, that's not gonna happen with the LA Lakers because he is not anymore the main man, he can only achieve that again if he will be the main man in a team as he can dictate his teammates to do his stat padding activity.

Yes provably it is because for sure the ball will be on the hands of Lebron or AD but even though he cannot more touches still he can be explosive on rebounding and assist which he mostly do on his past teams, so for sure if he can do more of it for sure he can gain back the trust of Lakers fans. But I do believe westbrook can go with it as consistency still the key for a team and they need that compare to a injury prone player.

[Dave1]

Utah are rebuilding.

The most insane rebuilding I think I've witnessed so far. They are giving up their young and currently prime 25-year-old key scorer for future draft picks. I don't see how rebuilding takes place on that decision to trade their main scorer. Rebuilding with young cores isn't really an effective way to compete in the league.

If only they surround Mitchell with good role players instead, then that's what I called rebuilding.

I hope their decision will really bring a good future for the Utah Jazz. Cavaliers, I think the winner of this trade.

Well they have given Gobert and then Mitchell, so for sure it's a huge change in the Salt Lake City as this season we will see a brand new team. And I also wouldn't be surprised if Clarkson, Bogdan and Conley and veteran Rudy Gay in the trading block prior to the start.

Seems that Utah win this one? agree or disagree?

As mentioned, they got lots of options and hopefully they got lucky those those draft picks. This is like OKC all over again, when they traded, WB and then PG and get a lot of future picks.

It will be a very long rebuilding process since they are starting from scratch. We cannot tell yet if it is a win for Utah. I guess when their picks comes in and they have good ones, not bust, then we can say they won the trades.

I wonder what prompted Jazz to rebuild this extreme. Since Gobert - Mitchell tandem is not working, I thought they would pick one and build around him and trade the other one. But they chose to rebuild from scratch. Did they really think Donovan Mitchell cannot give them a ring or at least get them to a finals? Or there is another reason unknown to us.

Coach replaced, Gobert and Mitchell is gone, yeah looks like they are going to rebuild from scratch. Obviously, the tandem is not working they can't even go the finals with that strong line up of them. They are complete and yet they always fail and it's better fo the management as early as this season to take that big risk. I think they have admitted already that Mitchell is not going to give them the ring and the surrounding players are not also  responding to Mitchell and Gobert.

[sana54210]

Just in,


https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1565424787446439941

So it seems that the Cavs have acquired Mitchell now, as they trade Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton. So the drama has ended for Mitchell. Now the Jazz has a lot of future draft picks from the Rudy Gobert trade to T'Wolves and now from the Cavaliers, Utah are rebuilding. They still have Clarkson and Conley in the lineup. Maybe the two will remain as Jazz for whoever knows up to when.

I have to say, it is definitely one of the better trades that Cavs did. This way they do not have a future, but they have players that could work for them with Donovan Mitchell and Garland and Mobley and Okoro and some role players along with them. This is not a bad team, it is not a great team neither to be fair but not a bad team so I am guessing that they will be alright by the end of this "development" phase because most of their players are young.

Mobley is 20, Garland is 22, Mitchell is young too, Okoro is 21. 5 years down the line with the same team would mean that they would be able to actually fight for a title or at least be a great east conference powerhouse. I just hope Lebron doesn't decide to comeback again and disrupt something working lol.

[jakelyson]

...
It will be a very long rebuilding process since they are starting from scratch. We cannot tell yet if it is a win for Utah. I guess when their picks comes in and they have good ones, not bust, then we can say they won the trades.

I wonder what prompted Jazz to rebuild this extreme. Since Gobert - Mitchell tandem is not working, I thought they would pick one and build around him and trade the other one. But they chose to rebuild from scratch. Did they really think Donovan Mitchell cannot give them a ring or at least get them to a finals? Or there is another reason unknown to us.

There are many trams who opt for a complete blow up.  There is no point being a middling team forever.  Blow it up now they have 8 first round picks, plus their own and 2 pick swaps and some nice young players. 

Also what people don't understand is the top 2 picks in this draft are insanely good.  Scoot Henderson or Victor who is pretty much the most coveted pick since lebron.  If they strike gold and get to draft Victor then they have a ton of picks to build around him.  I can't blame them.

I hope they strike gold, there are quite a lot of top picks who did not pan out. Their scouts better do their jobs or we will be discussing another Oden 2.0 in this thread come next year.

There is some risk in blowing up your team. It means you are tanking in the near future. And as some have pointed out above, it is expensive to run a basketball club. You can run out of money running it without sales. Owners are billionaires but I do not think they like to lose money, not for long. In fact, most rich people do not like losing money even for sports.

This move by Jazz can cost them like 3 to 5 years if their move for Henderson or Victor does not pan out. Hope they are ready for it.

[OgNasty]

Mitchell is nice but he isn't an all pro.  Dude barely plays d.  Ainge got 3 picks, 2 swaps and a couple nice young players.  Trust me everyone of these teams wants to draft Victor W.  At 18 years old they do t make many players like him.

Mitchell has been a beast in the playoffs every chance he's had.  He's one of the better playoff scorers in NBA history (avg) if I recall correctly.  The only real knock against him is that he's short for his position which can lead to him being taken advantage on the defensive end like you noted.  I guess we'll see what those picks end up turning into.

[LogitechMouse]

Jazz - Cavs trade came out of nowhere. It's just one of those instances where speculations in traditional and social media becomes just noise hehe.

It may not be that ideal since Mitchell still has many years ahead of him but this also gives Jazz management a lot of wiggle room. They can still use those future draft picks as trading piece or maybe they plan to use it for themselves because they already have some prospects for the next three years. It would be nice if they could emulate what Warriors did.

That's why I don't buy those rumors that are spreading in the social media because behind those rumors are teams that are secretly doing some trade talks with other teams.

I'm surprised with this trade and for sure there are some who are surprised as well because many are thinking that the Knicks are the frontrunners in getting Mitchell but it seems like the Cavaliers have the pieces to get Mitchell. Now the Jazz have 13 draft round picks so maybe we can assume that they are in a rebuilding phase since they already trade their 2 all-star in Gobert and Mitchell.

The Cavaliers' starting lineup looks good. Mitchell, Garland, Okoru (since they traded Markannen already), Mobley and Allen. With their good performance last season, I think they can clinch the playoffs since they didn't trade their core players and Sexton had an injury when the Cavaliers did pretty well last season. I think the Cavaliers won this trade.

[blockman]

Westbrook absorb so many bashing last season so he need to train more so that he can prove his basher that he's still the beast and can provide triple double which he was known for.

He's still a beast and I agree that he needs to train more and prove everyone wrong. From being something to just someone being bashed due to his performance last season is certainly a lot of work to do for him.
But he can do better and he's got a lot to prove to everyone. Wherever he is going for his next team or if these trades are going to happen, then he'll show everyone what he can do at the top of him.

[TravelMug]

Mitchell is nice but he isn't an all pro.  Dude barely plays d.  Ainge got 3 picks, 2 swaps and a couple nice young players.  Trust me everyone of these teams wants to draft Victor W.  At 18 years old they do t make many players like him.

Mitchell has been a beast in the playoffs every chance he's had.  He's one of the better playoff scorers in NBA history (avg) if I recall correctly.  The only real knock against him is that he's short for his position which can lead to him being taken advantage on the defensive end like you noted.  I guess we'll see what those picks end up turning into.

Yes, we will have to see how those picks will be and hopefully it will be the gamble that the Jazz are expecting because of their rebuilding. If nothing happens and then the Cavs move to playoffs and at least go to second round against a tough East team and they will be lead by Mitchell then they are the winner of the block buster trade. So far, we can say that it is a good trade for either team as they rebuild themselves for the next 2-3 years.

[Yaunfitda]

Jazz - Cavs trade came out of nowhere. It's just one of those instances where speculations in traditional and social media becomes just noise hehe.

Yes, surprised to see this trade, I thought that Mitchell will go to the Knicks but I guess the offer was not the same as what the Cavs are willing specially with the draft picks.

It may not be that ideal since Mitchell still has many years ahead of him but this also gives Jazz management a lot of wiggle room. They can still use those future draft picks as trading piece or maybe they plan to use it for themselves because they already have some prospects for the next three years. It would be nice if they could emulate what Warriors did.

For sure they will build around those future draft picks, but they will have to find those gems in the next lottery class that they can say they made the right choice to move out Donovan Mitchell. It boils down as to how the management will build their teams this time and hopefully the blue print is there, just like what the Warriors did.

[btc_angela]

Just in,


https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1565424787446439941

So it seems that the Cavs have acquired Mitchell now, as they trade Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton. So the drama has ended for Mitchell. Now the Jazz has a lot of future draft picks from the Rudy Gobert trade to T'Wolves and now from the Cavaliers, Utah are rebuilding. They still have Clarkson and Conley in the lineup. Maybe the two will remain as Jazz for whoever knows up to when.

I have to say, it is definitely one of the better trades that Cavs did. This way they do not have a future, but they have players that could work for them with Donovan Mitchell and Garland and Mobley and Okoro and some role players along with them. This is not a bad team, it is not a great team neither to be fair but not a bad team so I am guessing that they will be alright by the end of this "development" phase because most of their players are young.

Mobley is 20, Garland is 22, Mitchell is young too, Okoro is 21. 5 years down the line with the same team would mean that they would be able to actually fight for a title or at least be a great east conference powerhouse. I just hope Lebron doesn't decide to comeback again and disrupt something working lol.

I'm not seeing Lebron getting back to Cleveland before his retirement, he had made his promise already to bring them a championship and that is enough already.

And yeah, Cavs last season was very hot in the beginning, they just falter in the second half. Unfortunately that core was broken but they have Donovan Mitchell now, so they may have to start from scratch but they have a good team under Mitchell and hopefully he won't choke on the playoff in the East.

[Pamadar]

Just in,


https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1565424787446439941

So it seems that the Cavs have acquired Mitchell now, as they trade Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton. So the drama has ended for Mitchell. Now the Jazz has a lot of future draft picks from the Rudy Gobert trade to T'Wolves and now from the Cavaliers, Utah are rebuilding. They still have Clarkson and Conley in the lineup. Maybe the two will remain as Jazz for whoever knows up to when.

I have to say, it is definitely one of the better trades that Cavs did. This way they do not have a future, but they have players that could work for them with Donovan Mitchell and Garland and Mobley and Okoro and some role players along with them. This is not a bad team, it is not a great team neither to be fair but not a bad team so I am guessing that they will be alright by the end of this "development" phase because most of their players are young.

Mobley is 20, Garland is 22, Mitchell is young too, Okoro is 21. 5 years down the line with the same team would mean that they would be able to actually fight for a title or at least be a great east conference powerhouse. I just hope Lebron doesn't decide to comeback again and disrupt something working lol.

I'm not seeing Lebron getting back to Cleveland before his retirement, he had made his promise already to bring them a championship and that is enough already.

And yeah, Cavs last season was very hot in the beginning, they just falter in the second half. Unfortunately that core was broken but they have Donovan Mitchell now, so they may have to start from scratch but they have a good team under Mitchell and hopefully he won't choke on the playoff in the East.

A better hope now for the Cavs, Mitchell will add the force that they really needed in terms of offensive and experience.

I also hope that he will not bring that choke to the east, let those bad memories be left to his former team and start a new with
teammates who can deliver the finishing blow.

It's final now and we will wait till we seen Mitchell in his new uniform, not sure if how the Jazz will maximize all those trades and
how they will take advantages of those future picks for the betterment of the team.

[danherbias07]

Jazz - Cavs trade came out of nowhere. It's just one of those instances where speculations in traditional and social media becomes just noise hehe.

It may not be that ideal since Mitchell still has many years ahead of him but this also gives Jazz management a lot of wiggle room. They can still use those future draft picks as trading piece or maybe they plan to use it for themselves because they already have some prospects for the next three years. It would be nice if they could emulate what Warriors did.

I was surprised too. There's not even a leaked-out rumor that the Jazz is doing talks with the Cavaliers.
I don't also think that the Jazz loses here.
Markkanen and Sexton are two great players that helped build the Cavs back to be in discussions again as a playoff contender. Then, the bonuses for future 25' 27' 29' first-round picks. This move confirms the Jazz as a rebuilding team.

Cavaliers on the other hand just became a dangerous team.
Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, Allen, LeVert, Rubio, Love, Wade, and Osman. I will expect them to be on the 5-8 seed this season. 

[Oasisman]

Jazz - Cavs trade came out of nowhere. It's just one of those instances where speculations in traditional and social media becomes just noise hehe.

Exactly! Lol
Who else thinks the Cavs gave up too much for Mitchell who has become very fragile just like AD lol.
The Cavs will be lucky if he'll stay healthy and can blend well with their young talents.
As expected the LeBron meme came out nowhere as well showing him like he's wanting to come back with the Cavs after learning that Mitchell was traded there.

[Kasabus]

I agree, let's say we give Westbrook a chance this season, if he improve under coach Ham then good for the Lakers. If not, then for sure in the middle of the season we might see him get traded. And there are rumors that Ham wanted Pat and Russ play at the same time. So it will be an interesting combination to see them both in the floor. Two high octane players, gonna be fun.

I think Los Angeles Lakers are always open to giving Westbrook a chance.

However, if things really not worked out and they see Westbrook is really struggling in his role or anything, it will be hard for the Lakers to trade him in the middle of the season as here in the off-season, they can't even find a good trade package from other teams. Maybe much more difficult during the off-season.

If they will decide to keep Westbrook, they should risk on him the whole season and just work on trading him the next off-season.

I believe the Lakers management wants Westbrook to go and be traded but Darvin Ham is saying opposite because we can remember that he wants Westbrook to stay because this new head coach has other plans that's why he is taking a stand to keep Westbrook. If only the Lakers has more things to offer for a trade then I bet Westbrook was already traded but they can't because they can't risk their future drafts as well.

I'm kind of curious though what Darvin Ham's strategy for Westbrook, so I guess we will see it soon. But if in any case that plan fails, the Laker's have Patrick to take take Westbrook's role.

They are setting the tone between their rooster and maybe they are experimenting if Pat and Westbrook can work together since if one of then fail to provide quality numbers according to their role then maybe its up for them to adjust and pick who among them will be better on starting spot. But feel confuse why Lakers get Pat and trade their future maybe from this action they struggle for next season because they trade their talented young players.

That current plan is to get them playing side by side while supporting the duo while also looking who is more effective for the duo, it's still a mystery because almost all is new including their style of attack because the coach is new just like you've said. I guess we will see it soon if Darvin Ham can make some good style out of these players. While rumor has it that Bev Pat will be staying longer in the Lakers as he will be the replacement of Westbrook after the latter finished his contract this next off-season.

[Vaculin]

Watching some Pat Bev's interview and it's a good one, his relationship with Lebron, his defense with Westbrook and others. You can check it out here, interesting as he is now a Lakers and what he can add and bring to the table for the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbhjNlH35E8

Hopefully, he can be a reason to change the tide of the Laker's destiny since they were in a drought for the last two years due to some injuries and not winning enough games. The dude might not be a star player but can really contribute with the defense because he knows what his role is and he can boost the Laker's defense when he is on the court. It might be not the same years when the Lakers were dominating the league but still, with the star players on their rosters the chance is still high even though they still fixing their game chemistry.

Going back again to the narrative on their last championship, they have guys like Caruso and KCP that can play defense. Last year, it was all veteran but there's none of a defense that Caruso offer when he was with the Lakers. And perhaps this is the reason why they get the services of Pat Bev to be the anchor in their defense because we've seen him play that hard when he was with the Wolves. Yes he might not be the super star but he can still contribute on other facets of the game. So he will be a big boost for the Lakers this season. Maybe he will be task to shutdown players like CP3, Booker or even Luka and of course Steph Curry in the West alone.

And Pat Beverly knows his roles once he starts practicing and playing for the lakers, he doesn't need to contribute

in terms of offense, I mean not a task for him to score, but if possible or he has an open look, why not? He can shoot a ball
and he can go straight to the basket.

But the main goal is for him to bring the defense high, additional entertainment for the fans and who knows, maybe he's the
lucky pick by the lakers for this new season.

This time the Lakers have chosen the right man for the job because Pat Beverly knows how to shoot and his defensive capabilities are more excellent if we were going to compare him to Westbrook that's why the Lakers acquired him.

Anyway, the remaining thing to see is if he is indeed the right remaining piece of the puzzle that the team needed in their system.

[Minor Miner]

Jazz - Cavs trade came out of nowhere. It's just one of those instances where speculations in traditional and social media becomes just noise hehe.

Exactly! Lol
Who else thinks the Cavs gave up too much for Mitchell who has become very fragile just like AD lol.
The Cavs will be lucky if he'll stay healthy and can blend well with their young talents.
As expected the LeBron meme came out nowhere as well showing him like he's wanting to come back with the Cavs after learning that Mitchell was traded there.

<>

That's why I don't buy those rumors that are spreading in the social media because behind those rumors are teams that are secretly doing some trade talks with other teams.

I'm surprised with this trade and for sure there are some who are surprised as well because many are thinking that the Knicks are the frontrunners in getting Mitchell but it seems like the Cavaliers have the pieces to get Mitchell. Now the Jazz have 13 draft round picks so maybe we can assume that they are in a rebuilding phase since they already trade their 2 all-star in Gobert and Mitchell.

The Cavaliers' starting lineup looks good. Mitchell, Garland, Okoru (since they traded Markannen already), Mobley and Allen. With their good performance last season, I think they can clinch the playoffs since they didn't trade their core players and Sexton had an injury when the Cavaliers did pretty well last season. I think the Cavaliers won this trade.

@Oasisman,
Mitchell can be a very good player for the Cavs but that is if he can stay healthy and fit for matches.
And if we think about his health I think we all will agree that they actually gave up too much for him.
This is a big risk. And this is one of those high-risk high-reward situations.

@LogitechMouse,
Social media is always going to be about spreading various rumors. And most of the time those are not true.
The rumors are made because people just don’t have anything better to do with their time. And during that time a lot of teams are in negotiations with others.
That’s how that Mitchell deal got done right?

[wheelz1200]

Mitchell is nice but he isn't an all pro.  Dude barely plays d.  Ainge got 3 picks, 2 swaps and a couple nice young players.  Trust me everyone of these teams wants to draft Victor W.  At 18 years old they do t make many players like him.

Mitchell has been a beast in the playoffs every chance he's had.  He's one of the better playoff scorers in NBA history (avg) if I recall correctly.  The only real knock against him is that he's short for his position which can lead to him being taken advantage on the defensive end like you noted.  I guess we'll see what those picks end up turning into.

I'm not knocking him Mitchell is a nice piece.  Knicks just signed brunson, if they ran out there with brunson and Mitchell that would be a small backcourt.  And it was really about the pieces ainge wanted.  Timberwolves screwd up the trade market buy way overpaying for gobert.  I get why they did it, as a small market team it's tough for them to sign people in the open market.  I really like Mitchell but for what the Knicks would have to give up it didn't make sense.

Problem now is that the combination of q grimes, quickly, obi, cam, etc are gonna be under a microscope because the Knicks front office believed in them more than giving up them for Mitchell.  As soon as they have a bad stretch, and they are young so they will, the media and fans are gonna brutalized them.  Lose lose for the Knicks now. 

[Ziskinberg]

What do you think the trade would result?

https://www.si.com/nba/2022/09/01/donovan-mitchell-traded-to-cavaliers-per-report

is the Cavaliers now more ready in the playoffs? Last season they have an impressive run but fall short, and now that they have Mitchell, maybe we will see some big improvement especially in the playoffs.

About the Jazz, no more Gobert and Mitchell, who will lead the team? Clarkson?

[carlisle1]

That current plan is to get them playing side by side while supporting the duo while also looking who is more effective for the duo, it's still a mystery because almost all is new including their style of attack because the coach is new just like you've said. I guess we will see it soon if Darvin Ham can make some good style out of these players. While rumor has it that Bev Pat will be staying longer in the Lakers as he will be the replacement of Westbrook after the latter finished his contract this next off-season.

There's no assurance about that, we know that in anyhow team can quickly trade any players. No guarantee to anyone, even

there's a rumor about that but the truth is if he won't be fit with how AD and LeBron played, then he will be kicked from the rotation and

the chance of sending him to another team would likely to happen, for now, we will see if how he will be connected with the stars and

how will he perform his role, the level of intensity that he can provide in terms of defense, it's the thing that fans will expect from him.

[Kelvinid]

That current plan is to get them playing side by side while supporting the duo while also looking who is more effective for the duo, it's still a mystery because almost all is new including their style of attack because the coach is new just like you've said. I guess we will see it soon if Darvin Ham can make some good style out of these players. While rumor has it that Bev Pat will be staying longer in the Lakers as he will be the replacement of Westbrook after the latter finished his contract this next off-season.

There's no assurance about that, we know that in anyhow team can quickly trade any players. No guarantee to anyone, even

there's a rumor about that but the truth is if he won't be fit with how AD and LeBron played, then he will be kicked from the rotation and

the chance of sending him to another team would likely to happen, for now, we will see if how he will be connected with the stars and

how will he perform his role, the level of intensity that he can provide in terms of defense, it's the thing that fans will expect from him.

I agree with you, I thought that Beverly would stay with the Clippers because he was playing very well in the playoffs, but this guy has an attitude, maybe that's the reason why he was not able to stay with the Clippers, now he is back in LA.