thecampster

One of the problems with evaluating college talent every year is the best talent leaves yearly. The new crop of freshman are being compared to people who are/were inferior and that is why they are still there. Bagley isn't playing against Collins because Collins went pro last year. "Potential" is the right word because we really don't know who will pan out. History tells us that 3 of the top 10 players taken this year will never be reliable NBA rotational players. Consider Jimmy Fredette. In his 5 year NBA career, he had averages of 6, 1, 1.4. He was taken 10th overall. Consider these players, all taken in the top 10 the last 4 years. Noah Vonleh, Dante Exum, Mario Hezonja, Justise Winslow, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, Jakob Poltl, Thon Maker, Markelle Fultz, Frank Ntilikina, Zach Collins. What do they all have in common? None have average 10 ppg in a season yet. A few still have potential but all were taken in the top 10 and none as of yet are "stars". I would argue that maybe only Ntilikina and Fultz have showed that potential yet.

http://www.shamsports.com/capulator So we are entering silly season again. With the NBA Finals all but over, the draft in 2 weeks and free agency shortly after that, you will hear of deals, rumors of deals and many people swearing they are in the know. So before any of that nonsense gets started, forcing me to into a keyboard damaging tirade of virtual nerd fighting (type him in the face he yelled), I wanted to share this tool for all to use. Before you go posting how we can trade a 2023 2nd round pick for Gordon Hayward and 3 future 1st rounders, you might want to check this tool to see the cap situation of each team in question and whether or not it jives with cap, LT and CBA. http://www.shamsports.com/capulator What prompted this? In the last few days, I have read no less than 7 articles all pretending to know where Lebron James is going to sign in the offseason. The most discussed location per the experts, Boston. Just an FYI, in order to give Lebron even a $20 million dollar contract (he's worth way more but lets pretend he'd take a pay cut for another ring), Boston would need to clear $65,000,000 in cap space or convince Lebron to sign for the mid-level exception. The 2nd most talked about destination is Philly who technically could sign him for that, they would need to clear about $55,000,000 in cap space by renouncing their player rights to a combination of JJ Rdick, Amir Johnson, Trevor Booker, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli. If Lebron wanted his full contract value, they couldn't accomplish it even if they renounced every damn body they can. So as you read or listen to deals and rumors of deals during the coming 7 week NBApocolypse and hang on the words of Stephen A (who by the way is the joker who listed 6 or 7 teams that Lebron can't even sign with due to the cap), just check your work on http://www.shamsports.com/capulator Too lazy to do your own research? What to know where the Hawks stand? First, the tool is missing the #3 overall selection. That has to be added back to any numbers the tool shows. If the Hawks renounce all of their expiring players, and including all incoming 1st round rookie salaries, they will sit at $19,573,152 in cap room when free agency starts (give or take a penny or two). Now this salary number includes Dwayne Dedmon and Mike Muscala, both of which have a player option for this year (6,300,000 and 5,000,00 respectively). So Muscala will most like accept and steal a bit more money this year, while Dedmon will probably opt out to sign a multi-year deal elsewhere. Assume we have Dedmon's money available and also assume the 2nd round pick makes the roster at $582,180. That's 14 players on the roster, 1 slot available and cap room of $25,290,972. That's it...that's all you get and those numbers are merely estimates as the NBA hasn't released the official cap yet. So again, http://www.shamsports.com/capulator and think before you post or risk public flogging. You can also use https://hoopshype.com/salaries/ but it is slow to update and you have to click the team name and dig for detailed information for cap holds and such.

So the part wasn't in the warehouse and had to be cross-shipped. Will arrive tomorrow. Side note: I'm in a loaner from the dealership and I'm really missing the EV. The EV has instant torque when you hit the accelerator. There is no transfer lag. This gas powered soul feels very laggy/slow compared to the EV model and I had completely forgotten the "shift" feeling when going through gears. Here's to hoping I get my electric back soon.

I whole heartedly disagree with all of this. Yes there are point guards and per the nature of the position they all put up "nimbers", but unlike SG, SF and PF, Point Guards and Centers affect the game most in what doesn't show up in the box score. This is why you need to listen to what @KB21 is saying with the opponents +/- numbers. These 2 positions have the unique position of anchoring the defense, establishing the offense, challenging a defense and disrupting an offense. Use Dennis as an example, Dennis gets his...pretty much every starting PG in the NBA is gonna get 4 assists / game just based on the nature of the position. Almost every starting PG gets 10 ppg (again, nature of the position) but if you look at "team" Offense" and "team" defense when either a PG or Center is on the floor it speaks volumes. For example: Dennis on court 107.9 per 48 on offense. Dennis off the court, 105.2ppg per 48 on offense. Offensively, Dennis was worth 2.5 more ppg on offense than any other PG the Hawks have. This is not an individual stat but a measurement of team impact. Defensively the Hawks gave up 114.1 ppg with Dennis on the court compared to 110.1 ppg with him off. Defensively the team was 4 ppg better off without Dennis on the floor. This is a total team impact the Point Guard makes. Point Guards are not a dime a dozen. Consider Chris Paul.....The Rockets were 8ppg better offensively with him on the floor. This was a offensive team and you would assume anyone could run it...not the case. Chris Paul made it hum. This is because Paul is always looking to make others better and get teams into their sets. Trae Young has that mentality. Although he scores a ton, he is not a me first player. He's a true PG who can score in droves. These are extremely rare...like purple unicorn who can speak Groot rare.

Again, this is very similar to what I stated last week but Dallas needs a player who is NBA ready now and so you take Bagley or JJJ at 3 and then Trade Dennis + picks (I'm thinking 30 + our Cleveland pick next year) to grab 5 and take Young there.

And they are replacing the Onboard Charging Computer.

A few years back, I became interested in the coming electric car phenomenon from a political, financial and tech geek view point. My first experience was a Kia Optima Hybrid. Few people may know this but early adoptions of electric and hybrid vehicles had battery degradation issues that hurt gas mileage over time. So I was given the opportunity to trade out of the car at that time. Between then and 8 months ago, my son leased his first car and went with a Nissan Leaf. The car has been worry free for the most part despite two service department trips for recall items. So about 8 months ago, I decided I would jump back in and leased a Kia Soul EV. The car, for the most part is awesome, but again it is back to the service department for recall and glitch issues. The first glitch, was a random electrical system warning light that disappeared after restarting the car. When it happened a second time, I took the car in for service but the service department said that when I restarted the car, the error codes cleared the computer...there was no longer an issue. Well, no longer an issue turned into a full blown failure of the car charging system and an electric car that can't charge is not a good electric car at all. I am typing this from the service department, looking through the spy window as they connect my EV to the computer. A quick search of the internet returned a couple of fairly long forum posts about these "charging fault" errors. They are generic and mean different things but it seems EVs are plagued with them. The fault lies in the heat generated from the charging system requiring cooling, a fan, etc. In some cases, it is a fried charging computer, others, bad wiring harnesses and still others....coolant leaks. I'll let you guys know when I find out more. The rub of this post is this. This technology is awesome. It has cut my fuel costs to about 1/5th of what they were in a regular 30 mpg car. The cars are ridiculously quiet and the braking mode (using magnetic braking to recharge the car during slow downs and stops) can allow a skilled driver to almost engage in single peddle driving. The cars require far less maintenance. The only downfall currently is limited range and extended charging times. If you are considering an EV, they are amazing, the lease deals are great and they will save you money/time but they come at the cost of new technology being less than reliable. The incident rates with these cars exceed their gas powered counterparts and the typical guy isn't able to work on or diagnose what is wrong with them. I'm more than satisfied with my EV when I'm not at the shop, but this makes my 3rd shop visit since November 3rd.

Dedmon has a player option and will most probably exercise it. 6 million for 1 year vs 24 million for 4 guaranteed. I'm betting he opts.

One quick note to clarify this. Even if Lebron takes his 35 million dollar salary and leaves, Cleveland is still over the cap next year with only 11 players signed. If Lebron leaves, there will be a fire sale in Cleveland. They can't afford to hit the LT again next year without a title run and if they do have a title run....that draft pick (8) is 3.46 million. But as a repeat offender who will be over $20 million over the cap, that 8 pick will cost the team 3.46 million + 5.25x3.46million = $20.76 million. That is right, if Cleveland doesn't move a player this year (ie Love) and Lebron stays, the first year cost of that number 8 pick will be over $20 million because of the $17 million dollar tax penalty. Cleveland is looking to deal. Every dollar they drop is approximately 4x the salary lost. So pretend they traded you Kevin Love @ $24 million. They could be saving $70 to $100 million depending upon where their final salary ends up. Cleveland is in a bad way right now. This is why Lebron will leave. Because they will still need to reshape the roster. In NY's case. They have 11 players under contract and are only 3 million under the cap. They draft pick alone puts them over the cap with 3 players to sign. Noah is due $18 million. If they want any chance of competing (and NY demands it), they need to move his salary so they can add a good player in trade.

KB...here is a list of those assets I'm talking about. Picks - this year 19, 30, 34 Next year - Cleveland top 10 protected. Plus future 1sts beyond next year. Players Dennis Plumlee Baze Dorsey Bembry At 3 we take Bagley Trade with Dallas @ 5. Sending Dennis + 19 for #5. Pick Trae Young or go early here for your boy if you're in charge and take Young at 8/9. Trade with NY @ 9. Sending choice of Bembry/Dorsey + 30 + 34 for #9 + Noah or Trade with Cleveland @8 with a similar trade to allow Cleveland (tax hell) to drop salary. Take whoever is left between Jackson, bridges, Doncic or (my pick) Michael Porter Jr. We are young but stupid next year but would line up with Young/Taylor, Baze, Bembry or Dorsey, Prince, Collins, Bagley, either that #8/9 (lets say Porter Jr.) pick, Noah (or what Cleveland dumps), Plumlee and maybe Dedmon. You'd have more money than Beyonce to add 2 free agents and you're off growing/building. You are fast, young and everyone on the list can or can learn to defend. You still have your first next year, your pg of the future and salary room for year 2/3/4 of the experiment. The trick here is you have 30 million to spend (before moving Dennis) and no one worth anything will take that money. I think it is better spent taking on someone else's salary problem in exchange for picks in this draft. Cleveland and NY are the key here. NY needs to drop Noah and Cleveland is in year 3 of the LT....that LT bill is going to be ugly next year if Lebron stays. Very, very ugly.

The BPM stat is impressive but again it is against large samples of inferior talent compared to the nightly grind of the NBA and weighs more heavily on the defensive end of the stat than the players you mentioned. I don't think he comes close to those numbers when you take away the zone.

Well again, I want Trae Young but I also want the team to go all in this year and trade their assets (including Dennis) to move into other slots as well. The previously mentioned trades with NY to take on Noah for 9 and moving Dennis + 19 to get into the top 10 again is my idea of a successful draft year. If we are tanking for picks then by all means lets go all in this year and get the nonsense over quick. I think we have the assets right now, without giving up our #1 next year to get 3 picks in the top 10 this year. Schlenk just needs to grow a pair.

Post of the week!!!

I'm not finding a reason....I'm saying I fully believe it to be the case.

I just watched his performance and it isn't the standard "aging player gets crafty" type of thing....he's gotten stronger, more durable, bigger, faster, explosive on dunks, blocks, etc. Dude played all 48 minutes and was just as strong minuter 48 as 1.

There was a play the other night where Lebron was going up for a layup and a player from Boston grabbed him by the shoulders and he powered through like he wasn't even there.

A bit more convincing here.

I know this is taboo, but does anyone else look at Lebron's face, neck and bulging shoulders and just see Sammy Sosa. I've never seen a basketball player look so roided up without it being true. Am I alone here or does his shoulders through face just scream steroids. Lebron 2003 vs Lebron 2018 I mean that neck just screams roid freak.

He's got room to grow though. Hypothetically, if Dennis became a 40% 3pt shooter, took better shots and put the effort in on defense (3 things that could happen in the future) he's top 10 in a deep position group. That's a player worth hanging on to. Unless somebody surprises us with a great trade offer, we should hang onto him because we probably won't get an equal return back. His method of play, always driving hard to the basket, taking off balance shots, etc plays havoc on your legs/lift. In order to be a 40% shooter from 3, you need lift, you need your legs under you. Dennis would need to reinvent large parts of his game to improve this one part. The same thing goes on defense. If you are constantly busting your rump to get the basket, you just don't have the legs / the burst to constantly fight through screens, close out, etc. He needs to play smarter as a creator (see Rondo) if he wants to have the stamina to improve the other parts of his game. That or steroid up like Lebron.

New Coach is defense 1st. Dennis ... not so much. It may be that Dennis is reading the tea leaves.

It means some of us have been watching the NBA for over 30 years and have seen this show before. The tank train is very hard to depart.

I can't like this enough.

I have of finding a Mewtwo in Pokemon Go!

I have decided that as long as we're going to get an unproven coach, that I'm thinking why not bring in Kevin Willis to coach the young guys. At least he's terrifying when he yells and few people will ever equal his work ethic.

I don't cry...I'm not sure I'm capable....but I teared up a bit.