Tag: Jimmy Butler

Celtics Blow Another Game and Are Now One Loss Away from Elimination

By on • ( Leave a comment )

And just like that the Boston Celtics are one game away from elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals. One more underwhelming performance and the Celtics will be on the wrong end of a gentleman’s sweep. It’s infuriating to watch because before Game 4 the Celtics led for the large majority of minutes played only to blow leads late. Game 4 itself was just a sloppy game for Boston all around despite the near miracle comeback in the closing seconds.

Jayson Tatum was AWFUL in the first half going 0-6 including four three pointers to go into the half with zero points, which was the first time he’s done that all season. He must have found a bottle of Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff from Space Jam in the locker room though as he dropped 28 points in the final 24 minutes of the game.

His explosion in the second half just made Tatum’s first half struggles look even worse by comparison though. He is arguably the most talented player in this series and he was constantly dribbling out the shot clock and settling for shitty fadeaway threes. So much so that the studio analysts at halftime wondered aloud if he was injured. Why is a 6’8″ career 83% free throw shooter not attacking the rim if his shot isn’t falling? That is something that Tatum needs to understand better if he is going to take the next jump to superstardom.

This team still struggles mightily against the zone defense that my high school team used to play. Marcus Smart seemed to be the only player capable of driving and effectively kicking the ball out to shooters. It was something that Van Gundy pointed out during the game as Smart was the only player that was looking at the rim as he drives before kicking it out. Otherwise the defenders are just waiting for the outlet pass. The Celtics have been rendered completely helpless against the most basic defense for long stretches of this series. The broadcast team even suggested this may be the longest a team has ever stuck with a zone defense in any playoff series ever. Ay caramba.

If not for Gordon Hayward this team would have already been en route to their offseason vacations. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet in Game 3 he was a tangible force moving the ball and making a couple clutch shots. In Game 4 he was much more comfortable shooting the ball as he finished with 14 points. Hayward is the only player the Celtics can bring off the bench to consistently get buckets at this point, which is killing them. The rest of the bench had 8 combined points on Wednesday night. In Game 3 the bench scored a combined 11 points outside of Hayward, a respectable 16 (9 from Kanter) in Game 2, and 18 in Game 1 with 11 from Brad Wanamaker.

Tyler Herro is a goddamn baller, plain and simple. To be honest, we probably should have expected this dude to become an assassin based solely on his Draft Night fit.

Allegedly Danny Ainge was set to take the Kentucky shooter at No. 14 in last year’s draft before Pat Riley snatched him up right before the Celtics at No. 13 overall. I don’t know if I believe that as Danny tends to draft project athletes with high ceilings more than shooters, but goddamnit has Herro made it hurt to watch what could have been. He absolutely crushed the Celtics in Game 4 with a cool 37 points and was generally unstoppable with a clean look.

Marcus Smart continues to be the ultimate enigma making incredible and boneheaded plays within seconds of each other. Like when he laid out onto the floor to knock a loose ball to Jaylen Brown, who was then fouled. The Celtics then inbounds the ball at half court and Smart gets the ball only to immediately lose his handle and turn the ball over.

The No. 1 most hated play of the night goes to the C’s doubling the ball handler late in the 4th and leaving Goran Dragic wide fucking open for a 3 on a night where he scored 22 points. And you could see on the replay that Smart thought Jaylen Brown was going to rotate and cover the shooter as he was visibly upset and clapping at the young forward.

The officiating was generally awful both ways, but hey Tony Brothers was on the court so did we expect anything less? I also don’t get the Hayward foul call on this three pointer from Goran. I know he is technically “in the shooter’s space” but jesus christ what’s he supposed to do there?

The final play of the game was also a disaster. Down 3 with 1 second remaining the Celtics were out of timeouts so it was kind of a fire drill hail mary play, but I still hated what they came up with. Needing a TB12-esque picture perfect throw the Celtics opt for center Daniel Theis to make the inbounds pass. I understand Theis isn’t really a 3 point threat there, but he’s also the worst passer on the floor being asked to make a pinpoint cross court pass with 1 second remaining. Not surprisingly he heaved one into traffic that never had a chance.

Is Bam Adebayo hurt? He was holding his wrist constantly in the last few minutes of the game after a collision with I believe Jaylen Brown under the hoop. He stayed in the game, but even the broadcast made note of how he was constantly waiving off the athletic trainers despite being in obvious pain. If Adebayo is injured that would be a huge factor in a do or die Game 5 as the Celtics have had no answers for the big man.

Unrelated Thoughts:

Iggy got OLD

Shoutout to me for this elite t-shirt from 2010

So the Celtics have an off night before Game 5 on Friday night to consider whether they have the fortitude required to push this series to the brink. They’ll need to win three straight against a Heat team that has been tough to beat when it comes to neck stepping time in the 4th quarter. If the Celtics bow out in five it would be a huge letdown, especially in a season where the path was seemingly cleared for them to reach the Finals. No Giannis, no Kawhi or LeBron in the East, just a scrappy Heat team led by a guy in Jimmy Butler that is on his fourth team in four years. After some serious collapses down the stretch and the much publicized blowout in the locker room after Game 2, if this team doesn’t make a series out of this I would not be surprised to see Danny make some tough decisions with the construction of this roster.

Until the final buzzer sounds though I’ll hold out hope just because we’ve seen crazier things happen. In times like this I like to think back to that infamous Kevin Millar quote back in 2004. “Don’t let us win today.”

Celtics Lose to Heat, Fall to 1-2 in Bubble

By on • ( Leave a comment )

This was a frustrating game to watch. The Heat, without their best player in All-Star Jimmy Butler and on the second night of a back-to-back, were able to pull off an impressive win over C’s. The Celtics started slow and never found their groove and trailed the entire game. They hung around and made the game close at the end, but this was really a game I thought the Celtics should have won.

The Heat are a competitive team and a tough matchup for whoever they draw in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics are the only Eastern Conference team with a record over .500 against themI if we someone get matched up against them, I’m still betting on green. That said, the Heat are a very deep team with tons of shooting. Their length and athleticism match up well with the Celtics, who have similar strengths. Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic, and Jae Crowder are all great role players to have, as we saw last night.

Image may contain: ‎3 people, ‎text that says '‎MiNL GמכTON ANKর ROSCON "WE HAVE TO STAY FOCUSED...WE LET OUR EMOTIONS PLAY TOO MUCH OF A PART TODAY.' " JAYSON TATUM IS DETERMINED BOUNCE BACK NEXT GAME VIA NBC SPORTS CLUTCHPOINTS‎'‎‎
Don’t say “we”. YOU got emotional. Don’t be a Kyrie, take responsibility for your own actions.

However, the reason the Celtics lost this game because they were lazy. They had a little spurt in the third where they closed the lead to one, then let off the gas pedal. They did a bad job of closing out on the perimeter, Tatum was constantly complaining to the refs, and ball movement was stagnant (Kemba led the with 4 of the team’s 15 assists).

Now, I don’t want to get too alarmist here or anything. The Celtics aren’t going to shoot 30% from beyond the arc, Marcus Smart is certainly not going to foul out in 16 minutes and Semi Ojeleye better not be taking 6 shots on a normal night. Bam Adebayo also shouldn’t be shooting 18 FT’s. But here’s a question:

The Robert Williams Time Lord T-Shirts Are Here and They Are Fantastic – The 300s
Where is he?

Where’s Time Lord? Where is he? And why the hell is Grant Williams getting more minutes than him? I understand that Grant is a “high IQ individual” and all that jazz, but he’s also slow, undersized and brings nothing to the table offensively other than a propensity for turnovers and missed 3’s. Time Lord, on the other hand, is an athletic beast who, even if he fouls a lot, could have thrown his weight around with Adebayo. Instead, you have Smart and Tatum combining for 11 fouls while Theis chases around Canadian Big Foot. Then, with mere seconds to go, Time Lord finds the floor only to commit three fouls in his 0 minutes of action.

The rest of the schedule shouldn’t be much of a problem, with the only competitive game left coming up Saturday against Toronto. I really thought the Celtics should have gone 7-1 in the bubble, but if we play like we did last night we’re staring 5-3 in the face.

Team USA Better Assemble the Next Dream Team After This Disaster at the FIBA World Cup

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ESPN – The U.S. will leave the World Cup with its worst finish in a major international tournament, assured of finishing no better than seventh after falling to Serbia 94-89 in a consolation playoff game Thursday night.

The previous worst finish for a U.S. men’s team in 45 tournament appearances was sixth at the 2002 world championships. The Americans — the top-ranked team in the world — will be either seventh or eighth in China, depending on the outcome of their consolation finale Saturday.

Just a couple of days after getting bounced by France in the FIBA World Cup (Team USA’s first loss in 13 years, snapping a 58 game winning streak), they were officially embarrassed today, losing to Serbia in the consolation game. So no gold medal, no bronze medal, now not even a 5th place finish for the most disappointing Team USA in my lifetime.

I understand its just FIBA, I really shouldn’t care. Maybe I care more because half the team is made up of Celtics and it reflects poorly on my hometown team’s chances this season. Sure. Or maybe its just embarrassing for the US to send a team of kids and scrubs to represent the country before getting their teeth kicked in. This ain’t the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey team.

This team was in trouble from the second that Turkey game ended last week and we all knew it.

I also get that its become more and more popular for NBA stars today to obsess over their bodies and to manage their workload. The NBA season is long and LeBron can’t lead Team USA every single year, but where was James Harden or Anthony Davis? Steph Curry? Kawhi Leonard? Russell Westbrook? Kyrie Irving? Paul George? Klay Thompson?

Even guys like Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Damian Lillard could’ve carried this team to gold. So its a tough spot to be in because the US is expected to win gold every single year, but we invented the damn game and have more than 90% of the best players in the world. I don’t think being the best is asking all that much.

USA Basketball better look at this as more than just a down year; its am embarrassment to the sport. I have enough embarrassment to go around from the US Mens Soccer Team, but at least they’re just not very good. The basketball team can and should dominate. So bring me the next Dream Team. Bring me an outrageous collection of talent and just run other teams out of the gym. Its time for the USA to re-establish its dominance on the hardwood.

Rapid Reaction to the Biggest NBA Free Agent Moves on Opening Night

By on • ( 1 Comment )

Image result for kevin durant nets

I don’t care what you end up doing this Thursday night, because I promise you won’t see any better display of fireworks than what we already saw go off around the Association on Sunday night.

After weeks years of speculation relating to the smorgasbord of 2019 free-agent superstars who would be available this summer – some of whom feature all-time-level NBA talent – we FINALLY got some long-awaited answers. These are answers that will no doubt change the landscape of the league for years and years to come.

For starters, it’s official C’s Nation! Kemba Hudley Walker is a Boston Celtic:

This should come as a surprise to nobody, and The 300s staff has already been pretty clear about our feelings for the signing, which has pretty much been official since Thursday, with both a blog and a podcast celebrating the big move. Awesome stuff. I’m a very happy dude.

Image result for kemba walker celtics

We’ll obviously get into more analysis about what our Boys in Green will look like next season once Danny pulls off more moves to build out the roster. For now, here’s my rapid reaction to some of the most notable and important moves from the opening night of free agency along with how they could affect the C’s – and the entire NBA – going forward.

Kyrie Does Indeed Go to the Brooklyn Nets… And so Doesn’t Kevin EFFING Durant!

Me two weeks ago, when it looked like Kyrie Irving was embarking on a solo journey to an I-guess-halfway-decent Nets squad which was destined for another middle-of-the-pack, ho-hum finish in the Eastern Conference:

Me after Kyrie ended up in Brooklyn – not just by himself but also flagged by one of the greatest players in NBA history AND DeAndre Jordan, too:

That’s right. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan are all headed to BKN as one big, happy family. Even though the team needs to wait a whole year before they can see the entire group in action together due to Durant’s injury, the Nets could already be the automatic favorite to win the 2020-21 NBA title.

With other pieces like Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Spencer Dinwiddie already in tow as well, the Nets could still contend for a top-four spot in the East next year, especially if Kawhi Leonard ends up leaving The 6ix. (Remember, Brooklyn was the sixth seed this past season.)

Of course, Kyrie is more than capable of simply continuing to be who he’s always been and cause the franchise to implode from the inside before Durant is even ready to step on the floor again. BUT I’ll stop with the Kyrie-bashing for now (for now), as there’s no doubt this was a complete coup for the Nets. Above all, this finally gives the Nets at least some vengeance for what is still the biggest de-pantsing in NBA trade history, when Danny Ainge basically wrested control of the Nets’ entire franchise for the past six years after the infamous Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade.

Image result for kyrie irving smile

Don’t eff this one up, Kyrie!

Again, we’ll need to wait a while before we see this team at full steam. But my goodness, what a freakin’ haul this was for the “other New York team.”

The Knicks are Still the Knicks… but Hey, I Mean, Julius Randle is Good

Knicks fans everywhere on Monday morning:

Just rough. For both Knicks fans and the NBA as a whole. This was supposed to be the year that the legendary New York Knickerbockers would finally turn things around by bringing in not just one but TWO superstars with all the cap space they’ve spent YEARS carving out with a series of moves that were all supposed to be a part of one, big master chess play. At the very least, they were definitely getting Kevin Durant, right? Right??!!

Well, ummm, that didn’t happen. And unless Kawhi makes an insanely random decision to try and become the Big Apple’s savior, fans in NYC will be forced to settle for Julius Randle, who signed a three-year deal with the team less than two hours after it all started:

After selecting R.J. Barrett with the third overall pick last week, adding Randle, too, does make the team significantly better than they were last season. Yes, they did lose DeAndre Jordan to their cross-town rivals, but Randle is a way better all-around player who can still rebound and defend while also scoring at a much, much higher level.

Image result for julius randle

It’s hard to be upset with Randle.

They nabbed Bobby Portis on a two-year deal later in the night, too. He’s a good pick up who can step in and serve as a decent sixth man/potential starting option right away. And really early in the morning, it was announced they’re also bringing in an underrated 3-and-D piece in Reggie Bullock.

This team still has a long way to go, and no this was certainly not the offseason Knicks fans were dreaming of. But it’s progress for the franchise nonetheless.

D-Lo to the Dubs

Image result for d'angelo russell

With most expecting Kyrie to end up in Brooklyn for weeks now, there has been rampant speculation about what that would mean for DeAngelo Russell. After being taken as the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 by the Lakers, the 23-year-old was solid but unspectacular through his first two seasons in L.A. before being traded away as part of a salary dump to make room for the King’s arrival last year.

He ended up being the same 15-point, five-assist-per-night player during his first season in Brooklyn in 2017-18 before exploding onto the scene with averages of 21 points and seven assists this past year. People knew he was too good to take a back seat to Kyrie – who is indeed the better player – and that he deserved a shot to play elsewhere.

However, per various reports throughout the week, it looked like Minnesota and the very same Lakers who traded him just two years were the only two suitors. Then, we get this #WOJBOMB late on Sunday night:

Did not see this one coming. Like at all.

Though some thought there was a chance that both Durant and Klay Thompson would re-sign with Golden State this offseason, I knew it’d play out exactly as it did: Klay got a max deal to stay, and Durant moved on.

But to go out and get Russell, and then sign him to a four-year deal after having straight bookoo bucks tied up in your starting backcourt already – OH, and you have Draymond Green to worry about as an unrestricted free agent next summer – it was a bit of a head-scratcher. Sure, they needed someone to replace Klay next year, especially with Durant not coming back, but this one will be interesting to watch play out in the long term. It also forced them to lose Andre Iguodala as well.

Image result for klay curry draymond

These three gotta get paid, too!

This was easily the most surprising move of the night, but it’s one that ensures Golden State will still be right in the thick of things next year, even without two of the top players from their recent run of historic success. Just unfair.

Jimmy Butler Flying South, and I Don’t Care

Image result for jimmy butler

To be honest, I don’t think one is all that noteworthy.

Jimmy Butler is a good player. Fine. He can score, shoot, and defend with the best of ’em. Solid. But this man is no more than a decent No. 2/top-notch No. 3 option that needs other guys around him to have any chance of winning anything, and I’m really not worried.

Now, you could say this about pretty much any NBA all-star outside of the top five or so, and this isn’t really a personal attack on Jimmy Butler. But I think him teaming up with James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston – as was this week’s big rumor – or a potential team-up with his best buddy Kyrie – which obviously wasn’t happening after the Durant news – would have been something to write about.

But Butler going to a Miami team which lost two of its top-three scorers from last season in Dwyane Wade (retirement) and Goran Dragic (who was immediately shipped out to Dallas after the signing to make room for Butler’s salary) with not much else?

Ehhh. Color me uninterested until I have a reason to be. Miami is still an Eastern Conference playoff bubble team until something else happens. Plain and simple.

(UPDATE: The three-team trade involving Dragic to the Mavs fell through, so another one needs to be worked out, likely still including Dragic. Everyone seems to think it’ll still get done, though. Jimmy Butler will end up in Miami one way or another.)

Big Al is Now the Enemy

Image result for al horford

Right after Celtics fans were getting used to the idea of suddenly being without Al Horford next season, we’ll now also be forced to watch him play for the enemy after he decided to sign a four-year deal with Philly:

This might be the best situation Al could have possibly hoped for, as he fits like a freakin’ glove for the Sixers. Truthfully, his well-rounded game and selfless attitude would slide in well with pretty much any team out there, but playing with one of the game’s top young playmakers/ball-distributors in Ben Simmons should be a dream come true. Their pick-and-roll potential along with Horford’s ability to catch, pull up, and shoot from anywhere on the floor make them a filthy pairing. Also, with defenses sure to be focused on stopping Joel Embiid down low, Big Al will have plenty of room to operate and dominate down in the City of Brotherly Love.

Image result for ben simmons passing

Simmons could honestly end up being the best thing that ever happened to Al Horford.

Above all, Embiid will no longer need to worry about squaring off against Horford, who’s always done a good job of defending the big fella, and the Celtics just lost a major advantage they’ve had other their rivals from the south for the past few seasons.

Had Al gone out west to Sacramento, Dallas, or New Orleans – all three of which were rumored to be in the running for the 33-year-old’s services – this would’ve been easier to swallow. Now, the Celtics will be forced to deal with the effects of this loss all season long, and potentially even more so come the postseason.

And just for kickers, the team was able to re-sign Tobias Harris, too. Yeah, so, ummm, Philly is still gonna be really good, guys.

And that’s just the beginning…

There was plenty of other news that came out last night, which will continue all day long on Monday and throughout the rest of this week, but these were the big ones that have really stood out so far. Of course, the Celtics still need to make some more moves (we need some bigs, Danny!) and there’s still some big shoes yet to drop (I’m looking at you, Kawhi!). But so far, we have been anything but disappointed. What an opening act.

Jimmy Butler is an Excellent Player, But I Fully Expect the 76ers to Implode

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Full disclosure, at one point I wanted Jimmy Butler on the Celtics. Granted that was PT (Pre-Tatum), but I did want the player at one point.

So much of success in the NBA is about fit. You can have elite talent, but if the individuals can’t play together effectively then that team is going nowhere. Jimmy Butler is going from a young promising team in Minnesota, which seemed like a pretty good fit last year, to another young promising team in Philly. Just take a look at these two situations and tell me which is a better one.

  • Team A: Two No. 1 overall picks under 24 on a team that made the playoffs last year with a dysfunctional GM likely to be soon fired.
  • Team B: Two No. 1 overall picks under 24 on a team that made the playoffs last year with a dysfunctional GM that was fired last year.

Which situation looks more appealing to you? Looks pretty damn similar if you ask me. If you followed the Bryan Colangelo saga last season then you already know Team B is the Sixers so if you want to lean towards Team B because they also have an extra Top 3 pick under 24 I get it, but just know that guy you’re banking on is a big man that has played in 109 out of a possible 246 games in 3 years due to foot injuries. He’s missed more games in his career than he’s played. That player of course is Joel Embiid. One of the No. 1 overall picks Butler will be leaning on is a guy that is averaging 8.1 pts and 3.7 assists for his career and can’t shoot, which is important in the NBA.

All of this would be fine if Jimmy Butler just wasn’t feeling it in Minnesota, no hard feelings, just didn’t work out. Thats not exactly what happened. Butler feuded with the younger guy, publicly bitched about the team and his teammates, and shot his way out of town.

*That* guy is going to a team with a big man who loves to talk shit, a No. 1 overall pick that can’t shoot who’s confidence is wrecked, and another No. 1 overall pick that refuses to shoot 3 pointers in Ben Simmons. Oh yea, that should go swimmingly.

I’m sure Butler won’t butt heads with these guys any more than he did with the young guys in Minnesota. If the Sixers somehow figure out a fit and it works then Butler gets to be the man on a young and promising team. Orrr Butler loses his patience with Fultz and makes him cry in a game, blows up on Simmons for continuously passing out of open 3-pointers, all while Embiid watches from the bench in a boot.

Minnesota Timberwolves Unveil Prince City Edition Jersey

By on • ( 2 Comments )

ESPN – When Prince died in April 2016, Nike pitched the Wolves an alternate “city edition” jersey for the 2017-18 season that would honor him. The Wolves concluded it was too soon. They were already finalizing their 2017-18 jerseys, which would kick off a full-on rebrand — new jerseys, new logo, new court, tweaked color scheme.

But they decided then to prioritize a Prince jersey for this season. They set aside some of Nike’s other proposed Minnesota-centric motifs: jerseys paying homage to Bob Dylan, the Mississippi River (which runs through Minneapolis), and the original Minneapolis Lakers, Johnson says. (You might see some of those ideas down the road.)

In case you haven’t heard, Prince is a big deal in Minnesota. A really big deal. When I lived in Boston, I hardly ever heard Prince on the radio. Living in Minneapolis, though, I can’t go a day without hearing him on the radio. And that’s not a bad thing. As I wrote on Prince Day last year, I was wrong about Prince. Prince is definitely an acquired taste, but he had an incredible list of hits and I wish I had paid more attention to him and his work while he was alive. He was an incredible musician and performer.

It can be nauseating to see some of the half-assed Prince promotions the teams in Minnesota run. Giving out purple hats and playing Purple Rain during the 7th inning stretch is the definition of a half-assed promotion. Thankfully, it looks like the Timberwolves are going above and beyond.

First, they made the right choice of which direction to go in for their city edition jersey. Minneapolis Lakers inspired jerseys? Really? Can you imagine the Baltimore Ravens wearing Baltimore Colts throwbacks? There’d be a revolt in the stands, and understandably so. Second, the jersey itself looks very well done.

If the script font looks familiar, here’s why:

Image result for purple rain

A very nice touch.

And third, the Timberwolves will do much, much more than most teams to actually make their Prince nights a special experience. From Zach Lowe on ESPN:

The Wolves will wear the jerseys eight times this season, five at home. The in-arena trappings at those home games — giveaway shirts, signage, lighting — will turn purple. Tom Thibodeau, the team’s coach and general manager, even let team officials take the players for a separate day of shooting to prepare a special Prince- and purple-themed pregame video that will run on the scoreboard — not a small concession if you know Thibodeau. The team thought about producing a purple court, but opted against it, officials say.

As yet unannounced halftime performers will pay tribute to Prince, and the broader Minneapolis music scene, team officials say. The team will present donations to some of Prince’s favorite charities.

The Timberwolves Twitter feed offers a good look at the special photo day Lowe mentions:

Also, it’s nice to see some restraint from a Nike production like this. No clutter on the jersey and a wise move to skip the purple court. Overall, this looks to be some A+ promotional work from a team that could use some good press. Maybe now the classic rock stations in Minnesota can stop cutting out the best part of Purple Rain on the radio.

Rapid Reaction to the Celtics Draft Night: #WycFireworks Postponed (Again)

By on • ( 1 Comment )

So after all the hype, the rumors, and the Woj Bombs I think a lot of people were expecting the Celtics to make a trade Thursday night, but ultimately they stood pat and drafted their guy Jayson Tatum at No. 3. Again.

Look I fully admit I’m not a college basketball expert so I wasn’t going nuts over who they should draft. It sounds like Tatum will be a good fit, a guy who can get to the basket and create offense on his own, which is exactly what the Celtics need.

But, now we’re hearing rumors about the Celtics STILL being in on a potential Paul George trade.

All I’m saying is, the last 3 years have been full of trade speculation and Wyc shouting from the rooftops to expect fireworks.

Well, I don’t know how much more of the “Celtics are in on player X” I can take. First it was Jimmy Butler (who got traded to Minny last night), then it was Paul George, then it was Kristaps Porzingis. In years past it was Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. Now everyone’s already got Gordon Hayward penciled into the starting 5 next season, despite the fact that he’d have to eat like $30-$40 million dollars to leave Utah. Its a merry go round and I’ve been on it way too long. I’ll keep my Woj notifications on, but I refuse to get hyped for anything until Woj tells me its happening. Anthony Davis is not walking through that door.

The 300s Drive Time

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Don’t have time for a full podcast? Then we’ve got some bite size content for you in the first episode of Drive Time. Are the Knicks really gonna trade Porzingis? Is Danny gonna sell the farm or trade *down* again? Why is the entire NBA losing its collective mind right now? Tune in, its good for you.

Cavs Players Are Now Telling Jimmy Butler to Stay Away from the Dumpster Fire that is Cleveland

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Chicago Sun Times – No stranger to organizational dysfunction, Jimmy Butler was warned Tuesday night to stay away from the Cavaliers. According to a Cleveland source close to the situation, several of the Cavaliers who had been prodding Butler to push for a trade from the Bulls the last five days were now warning him to stay away from a suddenly volatile situation.

Jesus. Christ. Cleveland, this is why you can’t have nice things. A live look at the state of the Cavaliers right now:

What a goddamn disaster. You guys were literally JUST in the NBA Finals. Sure, you got smacked down by Golden State, but you are without a doubt the second best team in the NBA. Yet somehow, the Cavs are now in complete disarray. They shitcanned the GM the *same day* he was balls deep in trade talks with other teams. Now there are rumblings that LeBron may be bolting town for Los Angeles sooner than later. Bill Simmons, who knows a thing or two about the NBA, is convinced its going to happen.

With that shit storm spiraling around, Cavs players are apparently telling Jimmy Butler to stay the hell away. The GM is out, LeBron could be gone after next year, no one knows what the hell is going on. So Butler reportedly is saying ah nevermind I’ll stay in Chicago. Butler would rather stay on a 41-win team than go to the team that just played in the NBA Finals (and the last 3 years in a row) and has arguably the best player in the world on its roster. Yeesh.

“[Kyrie] Irving has been contacting some of his former Team USA mates, letting them know that he might be willing to push for a trade, especially with the latest drama unfolding in Cleveland..Through back channels, Irving let it be known that he’d be interested in coming to Chicago.”

Oh man it is gonna be FUN watching what happens throughout the NBA today.

The NBA Offseason is the Best in Sports and its Not Even Close

By on • ( Leave a comment )

The amount of juice the NBA has provided since the season ended last week is just insane. Its been more entertaining than the NBA playoffs and even more so than the Finals. The NBA offseason is hands down the best in sports as GM’s continue to look around the league, see teams like Golden State, and just say fuck it lets reload.

In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

I think that needs to be the new slogan of the NBA. If you’re not Golden State then your franchise might as well punt on the next 3-5 years. It sounds like a joke, BUT THATS WHAT TEAMS ARE DOING. Sure, there are teams like the Celtics who are technically within striking distance so I applaud Trader Danny’s efforts to improve this team as long as it does so without mortgaging the future. But even LeBron and the Cavs, the team thats been to the NBA Finals the last 3 years IN A ROW, seem to be panicking. Cleveland has been in talks for all the big names like Paul George and Jimmy Butler all sandwiched around kicking their own GM to the bricks.

As much as it sucks there is a goddamn Super Team standing between the Celtics and a title, I’m glad it at least gives the rest of the league the motivation to either completely blow things up and rebuild or just stockpile as many assets and big name players as possible.

It’s like the Elite Four at the end of Victory Road in Pokemon. An absolute nightmare to deal with so don’t even both walking down the road if you’re not ready. Level up, get your shit together and then go after the top dogs.

So yesterday we had Woj Bomb after Woj Bomb. Paul George told the Pacers after next season he’s out so now they’re looking to get whatever they can for PG-13. The Knicks are listening to offers for 21-year old stud Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics are one of the teams in talks with NY. Jimmy Butler saying he’d rather not play in Cleveland so the C’s are still in on that rumor too. Dwight Howard got traded, minutes after dropping some fire jokes about NBA trades on his own Twitter account.

Then we got the Lakers trading D’Angelo Russell, the Clippers looking to deal DeAndre Jordan, all while we still have the NBA fucking Draft on Thursday night. God knows how many more trades there will be and how much more hot, hot heat Woj is going to be dropping on Twitter.

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The only one drooling more than me right now is probably Ainge. No sleep til Brooklyn.