In reply to Guitarsoup Missed that part, thanks.

In reply to Legal Custodian

Legal Custodian said:

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M.C. Swag said:

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Tomorrow may not have as much fireworks as FA start periods in the past:

This doesn’t seem fun for NBA Twitter. pic.twitter.com/CkOejkAfyB

— Dylan Duell (@DylanDuell) June 29, 2023

Curious to see if Woj/Shams are able to alter their language to still report agreed upon deals? or if teams will literally keep everything under lock & key.

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That's interesting, didn't the NBA already violate this rule by announcing the "agreed upon" trades on draft night even though they can't be finalized until a later date?

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They might not be able to 'officially' announce until the end of the moratorium but I can't imagine we won't see the agreed upon deals tomorrow like we usually do. The NBA would be idiotic to say, okay free agency begins tomorrow but we can't know who goes where until one more week. The coverage is already in place. Nothing is going to change imo.

I do think however, that this is going to be one of the most boring free agencies we've seen in a while. Not only from a talent stand point, but I think we see less movement due to CBA constraints.

Edit: Didn't see Soup's post above about July 1. So I guess next year the coverage will take place after the first week?

In reply to Enzo The Baker Agree it will be boring.

I think the mid-season trades will be wild though.

Isn't it usually the agents that send the info to the insiders anyways? Would they punish the teams because an agent released info to Woj/Shams?

In reply to shack009 Haha cuz they're not allowed to talk to FAs until 5pm, so if a deal is announced at 5:01pm…well, the team def broke that rule lol

In reply to M.C. Swag Yeah but that's been happening for years at this point right?

In reply to shack009 Ya exactly. That's what they're trying to tamp down.

In reply to M.C. Swag I wish them luck.

Has it been mentioned that teams expect Andre Drummond to opt out and sign with the Mavs, per Stein. That would be a step in the wrong direction for this FO.

In reply to shack009

shack009 said:

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Has it been mentioned that teams expect Andre Drummond to opt out and sign with the Mavs, per Stein. That would be a step in the wrong direction for this FO.

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He's a rebounding machine though. Averaged 6.6 rebounds averaging only 12 minutes of action last season. I don't hate it as a backup center.

In reply to Legal Custodian I mean yeah but he just stands in the paint and provides no resistance defensively while just racking up rebounding stats. He's kinda a below the rim guy, so it's not like he's a lob threat on offense. He does not contribute to winning basketball.

I mean if he's on a minimum and we offload McGee then it's whatever, but he should not be anything more than mentorship to Lively.

I believe it was the 21-22 season when Luka took his soul with a jam.

Does signing Drummond eat into the ability to use the full MLE? If so, it seems we've already whiffed on the top targets that have been speculated.

In reply to Peter Klaven

Peter Klaven said:

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Does signing Drummond eat into the ability to use the full MLE? If so, it seems we've already whiffed on the top targets that have been speculated.

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As long as you pay vet min, no.

You could do a lot worse with the vet minimum

In reply to Peter Klaven I would imagine they expect McGee to be dealt and Drummond signs to a vet minimum, so I would guess the answer is no.

This team has been way too shrewd in the past week to fudge up the MLE by signing Drummond.

Isn't Drummond still under contract for one more year with the Bulls at $3.4MM?

Ok this was my hope but I also see the vet min is a pay cut that he would voluntarily be taking so I was concerned. Not a bad pickup at all then!

In reply to FTAco07 Opted out with his player option

Bradley Beal Trade May Limit Market For Kyrie Irving
June 19th, 2023 at 9:03am CST By Arthur Hill
The Suns' acquisition of Bradley Beal may leave the Mavericks as the only bidder for Kyrie Irving when free agency begins, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.

Stein states that when Dallas traded for Irving in February, team officials were told that the Suns and Lakers were likely to pursue him this summer. Phoenix appears to have taken itself out of the race by trading for Beal, while L.A. is focused on keeping key elements of its current roster and doesn't appear interested in bidding for Irving, according to Stein.

League sources tell Stein that the Mavs don't seem to have any competition for Irving, although that could change before free agency kicks off in 11 days. The Rockets could get involved if they're unsuccessful in luring James Harden back to Houston, but Stein was told that Irving would be their third choice behind Harden and Fred VanVleet.

In reply to Guitarsoup Third choice behind those guys is INSANE.