2025 NBA Season

[LogitechMouse]

You are correct, but you just have to imagine the impact of that statement though. If you look at it, Giannis says that it's no longer loyalty for him, but championships that is every important.

And with that, the Bucks management should be nervous by know. If by chance they didn't do well this season, most likely Giannis might be thinking of joining other teams to quest for more rings in his fingers.

Also add the fact that they fired Coach Budenholzer where at that time, having a hard time coping up with his lost relative (I think it's his brother) a few days before Game 4, and now they have a new coach in AJ Griffin.

I'm not underestimating the capabilities of Coach Griffin because he's been an assistant coach for some time, but the fact that he's coaching an all-star who wants a championship right here, right now adds to the pressure for him. Well, we've seen coaches like Ty Lue, and Steve Kerr who won their first title in their rookie season as a head coach.

I'm curious now because, as far as I know, Giannis was rumored not to re-sign with the Bucks once he becomes a free agent. So, why are we discussing a possible trade here? I also gave my opinion about the potential trade, but now I realize that, is the trade really going to happen?

Since there are no trade rumors, all the discussions about which team could potentially land Giannis and which players would be exchanged for him don't make sense.

Perhaps the more appropriate discussion is which team could potentially sign Giannis in the upcoming offseason.

When he will be a free agent? Not next year, but the year after.

After this season, he will have a player option. He can opt out on it, then find another team, or stay with the Bucks, and opt in. It will all depend on their performance this upcoming season.

Is the trade really going to happen? Not this season, but after the season depending on the performance of the team. Well, like you said, there will be no trades that're happening this upcoming season, so I guess it's too early to tell which teams he will land. It's just that, the statement that he just said to the media is that powerful that many teams are interested in him already even though he isn't eligible to be traded... for now.

[Hypnosis00]

When he will be a free agent? Not next year, but the year after.

After this season, he will have a player option. He can opt out on it, then find another team, or stay with the Bucks, and opt in. It will all depend on their performance this upcoming season.

Is the trade really going to happen? Not this season, but after the season depending on the performance of the team. Well, like you said, there will be no trades that're happening this upcoming season, so I guess it's too early to tell which teams he will land. It's just that, the statement that he just said to the media is that powerful that many teams are interested in him already even though he isn't eligible to be traded... for now.

Yes, he will become a free agent in 2026, so there's still time for the Bucks to try to convince Giannis to change his mind. A strong performance next season could likely help Giannis achieve his goal. If the Bucks win a championship, there's no reason for Giannis to consider playing for another team. Therefore, the management needs to ensure they have a good coach who can help the team improve.

With a new coach in place, the upcoming season becomes crucial.

Milwaukee Bucks Hire Adrian Griffin As Head Coach

How do you like this new coach?

[freedomgo]

James Harden's stats are still fine; he averaged 21 PPG last season. However, we didn't see a significant impact on the team, which is why we are a bit frustrated with him.

His PPG is significantly drop compared when he is on prime during his rockets days. His FG% is still averaging 44% which is same from before but his scoring potential drops significantly. This is important factor to be considered since this guy is known for no defense at all since his defense is his offense before.

He needs to step up with 76ers now that he already have Embiid that can penetrate inside easily.

It's hard for him to adjust anymore specially when he's already used to be the main alpha who does anything he wanted and so he doesn't want to be a second option when there are already younger stars in the team that's why in the end, he's asking for a trade because he cannot do what he wanted anymore. We know that he can still do the job just fine but the league has changed and that means that he does need to. If he got some problems about the reality then that means that the rings are not for him.

[dwyane36]

The Suns right now are really a good team unless they are looking for more players to increase their probability of winning a championship without taking into account the consequences it may bring. They seem a misunderstand James Harden because all they talked about was his skills and they forgot the market value he would bring to the team, I think what he can give is more of what he can take because he will be using his 100% whenever he is in the new team.

The Suns' current roster is only good on paper so far. Honestly, I'm always skeptical of teams that try to put a lot of all-star players together, especially those players who prefer to throw the ball a lot. In the Suns' case, they have Durant, who averages 29 points per game, Booker, who averages 27 points, and Beal, who averages 23 points per game. According to my observations, such players prefer to improve their personal stats rather than team results, and this entails a conflict of interest because they cannot share the ball on the court, and they can't give in to each other in certain ways.

[Finestream]

You are correct, but you just have to imagine the impact of that statement though. If you look at it, Giannis says that it's no longer loyalty for him, but championships that is every important.

And with that, the Bucks management should be nervous by know. If by chance they didn't do well this season, most likely Giannis might be thinking of joining other teams to quest for more rings in his fingers.

Also add the fact that they fired Coach Budenholzer where at that time, having a hard time coping up with his lost relative (I think it's his brother) a few days before Game 4, and now they have a new coach in AJ Griffin.

I'm not underestimating the capabilities of Coach Griffin because he's been an assistant coach for some time, but the fact that he's coaching an all-star who wants a championship right here, right now adds to the pressure for him. Well, we've seen coaches like Ty Lue, and Steve Kerr who won their first title in their rookie season as a head coach.

I know that the Bucks former coach, Budenholzer, had a tough challenge during his last run with the Bucks because his brother died where the team needs him the most, but we cannot blame the man if he wasn't that professional enough during that time because a person can never be ready when it comes to that tragedy. I'm just thinking that after what he did to the team, he surely deserved to have at least one more chance before he was fired but the Bucks at that time was in need of somebody to throw under the bus and unfortunately, Budenholzer was the man they seemed fit for it.

[wheelz1200]

He's not a good player to trade for Giannis. There's no question that Davis is talented, but it's a big gamble for the Bucks to accept Davis because he's known to be injury-prone. While we're not hoping he will get injured, history has shown that he has been plagued by injuries most of the time. This is also the reason he was traded to the Lakers from the Pelicans.

The Bucks don't want him. PERIOD.

Can Davis be the franchise player of the Bucks? How can you put your trust into a player who's injury prone, and anytime, there's a chance that he might be out for the whole season? If healthy, he is a double-double machine, and one of the best bigs out there, but there's an "IF" on it. His performance last season is pretty well. Lesser injuries, and played well, but still there are still doubts if he can sustain to play that way knowing that he's been injured, and play only a few games for a number of years in the past.

The Bucks don't want to risk getting Davis for Giannis, and they will rather find another team that can give them better players than the Lakers. I believe those who has many draft picks are the ones that has the highest chance in getting him.

I'm curious now because, as far as I know, Giannis was rumored not to re-sign with the Bucks once he becomes a free agent. So, why are we discussing a possible trade here? I also gave my opinion about the potential trade, but now I realize that, is the trade really going to happen?

Since there are no trade rumors, all the discussions about which team could potentially land Giannis and which players would be exchanged for him don't make sense.

Perhaps the more appropriate discussion is which team could potentially sign Giannis in the upcoming offseason.

You know, it's quite funny to me that a single statement from Giannis alone has made the whole basketball community talk about a potential trade when in-fact it's not yet happening, at least for another season because he still got an existing contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. And if Giannis's target is to play while wearing the Warriors jersey, then we can already assume that he will wait until he will be in the free agency and then the Warriors can start to offer him what he wanted.

You are correct, but you just have to imagine the impact of that statement though. If you look at it, Giannis says that it's no longer loyalty for him, but championships that is every important.

And with that, the Bucks management should be nervous by know. If by chance they didn't do well this season, most likely Giannis might be thinking of joining other teams to quest for more rings in his fingers.

He is locked into a contract next year he doesn't really have a say at this point.  But I get what you are saying possibly him forcing a trade saying he won't play for the Bucks anymore or something.  If I'm another team I do t want those guys on my team no matter how good.  Only time before they do the same thing to that team too.  He will quietly play out his contract.

[OgNasty]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

[MK-74]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

If he's been arrested, the solution is simple. He pays and leaves.
Draymond Green is a problematic personality, so the news may be true and I wouldn't be surprised.

[OgNasty]

I’m seeing clips of an interview with Shaquille O’Neal and Bobbi Althoff. That should be pretty funny as they are both interesting personalities. I really enjoyed the interview she did with Mark Cuban, and she’s definitely made a splash on the podcasting scene. Will be great to see how our boy Shaq handles her dryness.

[danherbias07]

He is locked into a contract next year he doesn't really have a say at this point.  But I get what you are saying possibly him forcing a trade saying he won't play for the Bucks anymore or something.  If I'm another team I do t want those guys on my team no matter how good.  Only time before they do the same thing to that team too.  He will quietly play out his contract.

Correct and the statement could just be another strategy from his agent to either increase his salary after his contract expires, to get a max contract, or both. It ain't new these days, it's a strategy to freak out the management especially if you are a rare player where they will have a hard time to replace you.
So the only question left for the Bucks next season is if they will bite this trap (unless Giannis really wants out) or if will they find something new. But we don't really have to think about that yet.
I am reading this 30 days, 30 teams articles by NBA.
Here is a piece of good news for all the LA Clippers fans.

Summer summary
News flash: both Leonard and George are fully healed and ready for 2023-24. That’s what months of inactivity will do for two stars who needed rest and recovery.

https://www.nba.com/news/30-teams-30-days-clippers-2023-24
Will this be the time when Steve Ballmer will always be enjoying every Clippers game instead of a sad face? I hope so. That dude had been spending a lot of money for that to happen and yet injuries hit them like a virus. With both their stars active again, they can easily take the top spot. The plus when Kawhi is around is too enormous and they should take advantage of it while he is healthy.

[livingfree]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

Several articles say that it was just false but if this has happened. He shouldn't just slap anyone out of nowhere if he hears something bad about anyone in the league except himself.

And if the fact that he's arrested, he can always settle that with the money that he got.  So, that's the solution, a talk and a settlement and probably an apology would be enough already for that person he slapped.

Still waiting for some valid and accurate source about it.

[Pamadar]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

Several articles say that it was just false but if this has happened. He shouldn't just slap anyone out of nowhere if he hears something bad about anyone in the league except himself.

And if the fact that he's arrested, he can always settle that with the money that he got.  So, that's the solution, a talk and a settlement and probably an apology would be enough already for that person he slapped.

Still waiting for some valid and accurate source about it.

With money, it's easy to cover and negotiate, not unless the person involves got something behind or also capable of sucking more from
the alleged suspect.

I see your point and it's valid, if just a hearsay. Better not to deal with it to the point that you need
to slap someone to point your stand.

Let's see if something will be cooked behind this alleged news, will also wait for any possible updates.

[OgNasty]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

Several articles say that it was just false but if this has happened. He shouldn't just slap anyone out of nowhere if he hears something bad about anyone in the league except himself.

And if the fact that he's arrested, he can always settle that with the money that he got.  So, that's the solution, a talk and a settlement and probably an apology would be enough already for that person he slapped.

Still waiting for some valid and accurate source about it.

With money, it's easy to cover and negotiate, not unless the person involves got something behind or also capable of sucking more from
the alleged suspect.

I see your point and it's valid, if just a hearsay. Better not to deal with it to the point that you need
to slap someone to point your stand.

Let's see if something will be cooked behind this alleged news, will also wait for any possible updates.

I saw footage of the arrest, so either it was him and he’s going to be in big trouble or it’s a case of mistaken identity and that’s why we aren’t hearing anything about it. I’d assume a news outlet would check with people at the scene to make sure it was true information but you never know. I wonder if incidents like this are usually swept under the rug by the NBA.

[Captain Corporate]

I do not know if it was him or not, but I can say that even if it was him, nothing will happen. The worst case would be settle out of court and he will pay a chunk of money, which he can afford to do that easily with the type of money he makes, so it won't be an issue. I think its tougher on the longer term, because this provides a point that he could be the type of person that could lead to trouble after his career is over as well. Not that he will make zero dollars, but the money will be not coming in as fast, so he needs to figure out how to avoid these things in the future. Just because someone said something doesn't mean you have to slap them, specially when you are a celebrity.

[OgNasty]

The Lakers have signed forward Christian Wood to a 2 year deal. Christian had a decent year last year averaging 16 & 7. I’m not sure how he’ll fit into the lineup but maybe he’s a little extra insurance in case something happens to Anthony Davis. Wood did dominate the Lakers in the Christmas game last year…

[LogitechMouse]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

I did a quick search and base on this article: https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/fact-check-has-draymond-green-arrested-viral-lebron-james-disrespect-video-debunked

However, the report is untrue and came from a parody account posing as a popular NBA news account.

'The Hoop Centrol,' is the account that posted the video, which doesn't show Green's face and is filmed some distance away. The account is in close likeness to 'The Hoops Central,' which has 1.2 million followers on the popular social media platform.

It's a poser account, and the news is untrue.

The Lakers have signed forward Christian Wood to a 2 year deal. Christian had a decent year last year averaging 16 & 7. I’m not sure how he’ll fit into the lineup but maybe he’s a little extra insurance in case something happens to Anthony Davis. Wood did dominate the Lakers in the Christmas game last year…

I remember his time in the Rockets where he's their leading scorer, but a bit underappreciated at that time. Many expected that him and Doncic will have a good combination knowing how good they are, but it didn't happen. Anyway, Wood as the bench big for the Lakers? I guess it'll work if only he will play on the bench. Let's face the fact that there are still doubts on Davis with regards to his injury-prone problem, so having a reserved center to sub him when he's injured is always a good thing for the team.

Kudos to the Lakers management for making better decisions now since that Westbrook problem. Getting players such as Rui, Russell, Beasley, resigning Reaves, and now getting a reliable bench big in Wood. Now they are making Le-GM happy.

[Oasisman]

I saw TMZ reporting over the holiday weekend that Draymond Green slapped a bartender at a Los Angeles restaurant after the bartender had some nasty comments to say to LeBron James. This resulted in Draymond being arrested (allegedly?). I haven’t seen this making the news rounds so maybe it isn’t true? If it is true, I wonder if Draymond will be starting the year suspended.

Lol! If this allegations are spreading all over the internet, then there will be a huge possibility that it's true. Though people in the internet today easily falls into fake news, but a footage that transpired that incident will absolutely validates this allegations. Draymond has been more loyal to LeBron than the Warriors since they've become business partners, though teaming up with LeBron does not gonna work as he earns more in GSW than any other teams in the NBA including LeBron's team. So, we can easily digest what Draymond has been up to lately and obviously it's all business for him trying to make millions while he still can maximizing all the opportunities, probably thinking in surpassing LeBron's financial achievements as well. I can say Draymond is such an intelligent athlete, look at what he does when he's starting to became irrelevant in the GSW roster, he has made a lot of media attention to make himself looks relevant and work on his game on the latter.

[Harkorede]

The Lakers have signed forward Christian Wood to a 2 year deal. Christian had a decent year last year averaging 16 & 7. I’m not sure how he’ll fit into the lineup but maybe he’s a little extra insurance in case something happens to Anthony Davis. Wood did dominate the Lakers in the Christmas game last year…

I think Christian Wood for the Lakers alongside Anthony Davis might just end up being a recipe for disaster, like Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns partnership at the Timberwolves, except Wood being more of better shot maker outside the perimeter and serve as an insurance policy like you said for when AD is being out than usual or when AD is just off his game and can't dominate the paint like he ought to, I don't know why Dallas Mavericks didn't stick with him as a Center, he's an all round better player than more often useless than not of Center they have in Dwight Powell, who shouldn't even have ever graced a basketball court imo, I felt they've found quite a replacement for Porzingis in Wood, perhaps not a perfect fit, but not quite short-off from general perspective of him being versatile enough to play as a F, C or both combined quite effortlessly.

[carlisle1]

The Lakers have signed forward Christian Wood to a 2 year deal. Christian had a decent year last year averaging 16 & 7. I’m not sure how he’ll fit into the lineup but maybe he’s a little extra insurance in case something happens to Anthony Davis. Wood did dominate the Lakers in the Christmas game last year…

I think Christian Wood for the Lakers alongside Anthony Davis might just end up being a recipe for disaster, like Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns partnership at the Timberwolves, except Wood being more of better shot maker outside the perimeter and serve as an insurance policy like you said for when AD is being out than usual or when AD is just off his game and can't dominate the paint like he ought to, I don't know why Dallas Mavericks didn't stick with him as a Center, he's an all round better player than more often useless than not of Center they have in Dwight Powell, who shouldn't even have ever graced a basketball court imo, I felt they've found quite a replacement for Porzingis in Wood, perhaps not a perfect fit, but not quite short-off from general perspective of him being versatile enough to play as a F, C or both combined quite effortlessly.

If Wood fits his game style to the Lakers and both LeBron will be playing with good health for sure they can make something good
out of this new squad, in terms of versatility, Wood can provide good space.

Plus, at the defensive ends, he can also provide a good defensive stop. With his speed and his span, it's not an easy to go to the basket of anyone.

Let see if how he will be able to find his place inside the Lakers squad and what contribution he can add for the betterment of the team.

[danherbias07]

The Lakers have signed forward Christian Wood to a 2 year deal. Christian had a decent year last year averaging 16 & 7. I’m not sure how he’ll fit into the lineup but maybe he’s a little extra insurance in case something happens to Anthony Davis. Wood did dominate the Lakers in the Christmas game last year…

2-year veteran minimum contract. This is bad for him. He is just 27 years old with lots of talent, I don't why he accepted that low of a salary.
He will only make $2.7 this season and $3M next with a player option included. This is a steal for the LA Lakers.

Sure, this will be a good thing for the Lakers as it will provide a backup for Anthony Davis and they say this is a stepping stone for Christian Wood to establish himself again. I think he didn't do bad during his Dallas Mavericks stint, he was actually helpful to Luka there. The only problem is, he is being forced to be the center instead of being a Kristaps Porzingis type of forward.
Anyway, I will stop ranting about his salary, for me, he deserves more than that. Let's just see what he will provide for the Lakers but I bet they will make him a perimeter shooter instead of a center. Let AD do the bulldozing of the rim.