The Trae Young Trade FAQ

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Let’s explore a few thoughts on the Trae Young deal, FAQ style:   Is this trade a big deal?   Yes and no. Trae has been a charismatic star and the face of the Hawks franchise since 2018.  On the other hand, the return (Corey Kispert and a 34-year-old CJ McCollum) shows that, objectively, this isn’t truly an impactful deal. It’s fair to say that the Hawks made the determination that they were a better team without Young, even if the return is basically bench … [Read more...] about The Trae Young Trade FAQ

On Billy Donovan and Playoff Futility

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After a nice start to the season, the Bulls have regressed back to the .500ish play-in team that they have been basically the entire decade so far.  Coach Billy Donovan has overseen this entire run of mediocrity.  For the past five years, the Bulls have made a single playoff appearance and won only one playoff game.   Donovan is a perfectly fine coach working with a roster designed to be underwhelming.  Still, it is wild to think that in this modern NBA, where coaches rarely last two … [Read more...] about On Billy Donovan and Playoff Futility

Q&A with Paul Knepper on his new book: Moses Malone, The Life of a Basketball Prophet

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For a change of pace, we did an in-depth via podcast instead of words.  We had a great time getting into with the weeds with Paul Knepper about Moses Malone and his cool new book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuFBhAQ8i9g&t=16s … [Read more...] about Q&A with Paul Knepper on his new book: Moses Malone, The Life of a Basketball Prophet

Breaking Down the Rozier & Billups Indictments

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The recent arrests of Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones have rocked the NBA.  Commissioner Adam Silver said he “was deeply disturbed.  There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.”   How much does this scandal actually hurt the NBA?  How much should it hurt the NBA?  These are two slightly different questions because perception and reality are sometimes two different … [Read more...] about Breaking Down the Rozier & Billups Indictments

The Kawhi Affair and Circumstantial Evidence

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As the Kawhi Leonard salary cap evasion situation continues to spiral out of control, I thought this would be an appropriate time to take a step back and address some of the issues that arise from this unique situation.   What are the facts of the Kawhi Situation?   It seems that we don’t know all the facts for sure but here is a basic recap:   Pablo Torre provided a detailed report that showed that, in April 2022, Kawhi got a $28 million endorsement from a … [Read more...] about The Kawhi Affair and Circumstantial Evidence

NBA Finals 3-Point Shooting, A History

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We didn’t get an official prediction for this year’s Finals out publicly, but I was pretty much on board with the conventional wisdom that Oklahoma City was a prohibitive favorite over the Pacers.  I expected OKC’s defense to match up well against Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.  I also expected that the Pacers’ lack of a physically dominating center would allow Chet Holmgren to be quite effective.  In other words, I thought this would be yet another 4-1 win for the favored team in the … [Read more...] about NBA Finals 3-Point Shooting, A History

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