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2016-2017 Around The NBA

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Writing a recap is pretty fucking far from journalism, especially professional journalism.

This is actually one of the biggest issues in the industry, too many people think the job consists of putting words on a screen and that you can have enthusiastic amateurs do the whole thing for free.

One of the more shocking aspects of the ESPN layoffs is that they axed people who got actual scoops, reporters who regularly broke exclusive stories. That's worrying, because it suggests a premium on opinion and a lesser emphasis on reporting. But what are all those talking heads going to opine about if there's no news?

Amateur writing doesn't have to be just opinion. It can be based on actually watching the games, statistical analysis, etc. What is missing from amateur articles are the behind the scenes stuff that can only be gotten with a press pass, such as the "scoops" you mentioned. But the truth is that an awful lot of professional journalists really don't offer much in the way of "scoops" anyway.

I don't mean to pick on the guy, but when was the last time Tony Grossi got an actual "scoop"?

The point is that while I'd agree there is a difference in quality between what the truly good professional journalists produce, and what amateurs can do, there are a lot of professional journalists out there who just aren't very good.

I've been a fan of Terry Pluto's for a long time, and I really like the stuff @Chris Parker writes as well. But after them, I really like a lot of the in-depth amateur stuff that someone like @priceFTW produces. Sometimes, his recap/write-up is more interesting that what many of the professional journalists are reporting at the time. And I'll bet I'm not the only one here who thinks that.

Again, I'm not trying to minimize the contributions/ability of all professional journalists. I'm just saying that there are a fair number of those professionals out there whose work is not any better than that produced by interested "amateurs".
 
Hawks letting Wes Wilcox go. From what I understood, Budenholzer has been making a lot of the personnel decisions, so maybe he just gets the GM title now?
 
What is missing from amateur articles are the behind the scenes stuff that can only be gotten with a press pass, such as the "scoops" you mentioned. But the truth is that an awful lot of professional journalists really don't offer much in the way of "scoops" anyway.

Then there's the other part of this. "Professional" journalists just claiming "sources" to throw out anything, and if it happens it happens and they're geniuses, and if it doesn't, oh well, our sources were wrong.

For instance, Frank Isola makes it a yearly deal to claim Kevin Love is gonna be traded for Carmelo Anthony according to his sources. Yet what's the consequence for being wrong over and over? Nothing, apparently. What makes him different than trainer bro on twitter claiming to have sources? He hits on 1 out of 10 rumors, too. And, bonus, he's doing it for free.
 
Never forget

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Say what you will about Kobe, I think it is way cool that he's acting like a mentor to young guards in the NBA. He never did this during his prime years as a player, but it's nice to see now. IT, Kyrie, Westbrook, Hayward, DeRozan, Kawhi, etc. all seem to have benefited from his guidance.

View: https://twitter.com/SherrodbCSN/status/859874997577424896
 
Looking around the league at potential moves in the summer...

-Has anyone mentioned Indy as a potential suitor for Hayward? He's from Indianapolis, played at Butler, would be a really nice fit next to PG.

-Take a look at New Orleans' cap sheet, and try not to vomit. Solomon Hill, ETwaun Moore and Omer Asik making basically 40-45 mil a year through 2020. I mean, good God...

-Kyle Lowry wants a ring and that's all he's concerned about. Would he be willing to ring chase. Could he end up in GS as a Livingston replacement?
 
Looking around the league at potential moves in the summer...

-Has anyone mentioned Indy as a potential suitor for Hayward? He's from Indianapolis, played at Butler, would be a really nice fit next to PG.

-Take a look at New Orleans' cap sheet, and try not to vomit. Solomon Hill, ETwaun Moore and Omer Asik making basically 40-45 mil a year through 2020. I mean, good God...

-Kyle Lowry wants a ring and that's all he's concerned about. Would he be willing to ring chase. Could he end up in GS as a Livingston replacement?

I think Haywood will be swayed by playing in the east, and will probably pick Boston, who I hear has been pursuing him.

Would Lowry have to take a massive paycut to go to GS?
 

I am 100% confident Lowry's camp is putting this out here as due diligence just to ensure the fact that there exists a market for him when he opts out. Given his age, history, career trajectory, and proneness to injury; there is almost no chance in hell he turns down a full max contract from Toronto.

There is a strong possibility that this next contract will be Lowry's last contract. In that instance, unless you're ring chasing, I see no reason to cut the guaranteed salary down by one year + raises over 5. If anything, he'll stay in Toronto for another year until they decide to blow it up and then hope for the best.
 
The Sixers should go hard after Kyle Lowry | Keith Pompey

The biggest question surrounding the 76ers this week has to do with Kyle Lowry.

Should the Sixers sign the three-time NBA all-star point guard to a lucrative free-agent deal in July? Or should they bypass the 31-year-old and remain committed to Ben Simmons? Or should they go after another point guard to build around?

The answer is simple: Go hard after Lowry.

He'll provide instant credibility and will recruit other A-list free agents to the Sixers. Let's face it, the Sixers need a player of his stature to bring relevance. Although he might not be there for a title run, he could get them to the next level.

I know the Sixers have three of the league's best young stars in Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and Simmons, but Embiid (left knee) and Simmons (right foot) are both coming off season-ending injuries. And the Sixers are asking Simmons, a point forward at Louisiana State, to occupy a position he's never played before. We won't even get into the fact that the first overall pick in 2016 has yet to play any position in an NBA game.

Now, Simmons does have the potential to be the second coming of Magic Johnson. He and Embiid are both expected to be healthy next season. But as the Minnesota Timberwolves have shown, you need more than your superstars to win in the NBA.

A Timberwolves squad that featured rookies of the year Andrew Wiggins (2015) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2016) won only 31 games this season, only three more than the Sixers.

The real question is: Will Lowry, a former Cardinal Dougherty High and Villanova standout, choose to come home?

Sources have said the North Philly native has been interested in playing for the Sixers for some time. The speculation only heightened once Bryan Colangelo became the president of basketball operations in April 2016. As the Raptors general manager, Colangelo acquired Lowry in a trade from the Houston Rockets on July 11, 2012. The two have remained good friends since then.

And sources have always said that the Sixers planned to offer Lowry a lucrative contract this summer.

For the last three seasons, Lowry and three-time all-star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan have been one of the league's top guard tandems. The Raptors re-signed DeRozan to a five-year, $139 million contract last summer. They can offer Lowry a five-year, $200 million-plus deal. He can get a maximum of only four years and about $152 million by signing with another team.

Financially, Lowry would be better off re-signing with the Raptors. Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri said last month he would attempt to re-sign the point guard.

"No question," Ujiri told the Toronto Sun. "Before the injury [a broken right wrist that cost him 21 games], you could argue he was one of the top five players in the league this season."

He's right.

The 11th-year veteran had the best season of his career. His scoring and rebounding averages (22.4 and 4.8) were career highs. He also shot a career-best 41.2 percent on three-pointers while averaging 7.0 assists per game, the second-best average of his career.

Critics will point out that the Raptors were once again underwhelming in the postseason. They were the Eastern Conference's third seed after posting a 51-31 record. Toronto beat the Milwaukee Bucks, four games to two, in the opening round before being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. Lowry missed the final two games with a sprained left ankle.

He'll have to decide if he wants to continue to play alongside DeRozan. In addition to being beloved in Canada, Lowry is recognized as one of the best players to ever don a Raptors uniform.

He would continue to be the primary ball handler by remaining in Toronto. And Ujiri would continue to build the roster around him and DeRozan. That's why it makes sense for him to remain in Toronto.

But no one can fault the Sixers for attempting to pry him away.

Even though he turned 31 in March, Lowry has shown no signs of slowing down. He could play at an all-star level for another three seasons. He could do for the Sixers what James Harden did for the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets weren't considered a prime destination for free agents until they acquired Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade in October 2012. Nowadays, key free agents could be eager to help Harden and the Rockets dethrone the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs as Western Conference powers.

As former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie said, "The goal is to get one [all-star type player] and others will follow."

Embiid, Simmons, and Saric could turn out to be that type of draw in due time. However, there's still some uncertainty because of injuries and lack of playing time.

But can you imagine the selling power that Lowry would have for other A-list free agent or soon-to-be free agents?
 
The 76ers and Kyle Lowry are better off without each other | Marcus Hayes
Updated: MAY 10, 2017 — 3:01 AM EDT | hayesm@phillynews.com
You can’t blame Sixers fans for dreaming.

They’re desperate to watch a proven, full-time NBA starter for the first time since Thaddeus Young in 2014. It’s only natural that they fantasize about Kyle Lowry coming home.

Lowry is more than just a starter; he’s a three-time all-star, and he’s hungry to win.
That's why it can't happen.

Lowry told reporters Monday that he will opt out of the final year of his contract with Toronto and become unrestricted, free to sign with any team … including the Sixers. Gasp.

He’s a North Philly kid who played at Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova. Current Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo brought him to Toronto. It's a match made in heaven, right?

Wrong.

All things considered, Lowry and the Sixers would be an unholy union.

He’s 31. He just had his best season but that’s too old for a rebuilding team.

He wants a 4-year deal that starts at $35 million and ends at $40 million. That’s too much for a player who can’t help you win it all right now. He’s a finishing piece, not a building block.

More than anything else, he said, he wants to win a title. No team has more cash available than the Sixers but no team is further from a title, either. Lowry might bring them one step closer, perhaps even to the .500 level and a playoff berth.

That’s not enough winning for Lowry and not enough return on investment for the Sixers. He tasted the Eastern Conference finals last year and he made it to the second round this season. If he’s talking about going out West to avoid LeBron then coming to Philadelphia gets him no farther from his nemesis.

Sure, it’s enticing to imagine. With Lowry tutoring Ben Simmons and feeding Joel Embiid and Dario Saric the Sixers might indeed reach the playoffs … but, frankly, they are probably two seasons from winning a playoff round. They’re maybe four seasons from sniffing a conference final.

It’s not just the inevitable mediocrity, it’s the overall impossibility of the situation. Lowry would be expected to help convert Simmons, a college power forward, into an NBA point guard. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. Simmons is a cornerstone. Lowry would be a stopgap. A $150 million, discontented stopgap.

Really: In what universe would Lowry choose to waste the last good years of his career as a nursemaid?

By that same token, why would the Sixers want Lowry to come and steal Simmons’ minutes? If they’re serious about Simmons becoming the next Magic Johnson, then they must give the ball to Simmons and let him play the position. This cannot be done in half measures.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume no team comes within $5 million of Lowry’s annual asking price. Assume $20 million over four seasons would make him willing to forfeit his win-now criteria.

The Sixers still would be smart to avoid him. It’s better to build through the draft. They could use their 2017 lottery pick (or picks, since they get the Lakers’ if it’s not a top-3 pick) to draft one of the five guards who might go in the top 10. Lowry’s good right now. They might all be better than him.

A Kyle Lowry homecoming makes no sense.

But go ahead.

You can dream.
 

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