lotta game left!
We all had âAlex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, and Cason Wallace collectively steal a 2nd round playoff gameâ on our bingo card right
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Looking at the Eastern Conference landscape, itâs obvious that itâll change after this season. The Celtics will need to offload contracts to pare down their cap space from $500 million to being under the 2nd apron, which likely includes moving Jrue, KP, Hauser, maybe White, but Iâve heard a rumor of Jaylen Brown being on the trade block.
Milwaukee will likely lose Giannis and Portis (theyâll lose Brook since his contract is up after this season). Not sure about the Cavs because theyâre over the 2nd apron by about 5-6 mil, so theyâll need to offload one contract to get under it. Indiana is in a healthy situation but likely will lose Myles Turner.
I see this as an opportunity for the Pistons to contend for the top 3-4 seed with improvements. The Hawks can get into the protected seedings as long as theyâre healthy and Jalen Johnson can pick up where he left off before he got hurt.
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I think the Pistons were passing the Bucks even if Giannis stays. No Dame, no way to get him more help - it was dead end. No offense, I donât think there is a way for them to pass the Celtics unless Brad Stevens just decides to bin the entire thing (losing Porzingis, for instance, I donât think will matter a lick)
I think the Celtics and Cavs barring wild changes are 100% better, and Iâd still lean into the Knicks in terms of getting a better regular season record (the Knicks were really good against anyone that wasnât Boston, Cleveland, or OKC) and the Pistons are in the mix with the Pacers, and a potentially reformed Magic team for #4.
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The Celtics have a new ownership and theyâre not paying $227 mil to keep the team together. Windhorst and Shams hinted major changes. Theyâll still be one of the better team in the Eastern Conference, but itâll be interesting to see the new team makeup.
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Also, I totally forgot the Lottery is tonight. It is nice not to put your hope into the ping pong ball this year for once.
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Itâs going to be a fascinating lottery this year. I love the way Flagg plays, and there are a few places I donât want to see him get stuck. I think heâll make a huge positive impact wherever he goes, but Iâd hate to see him end up with an empty calories guy like LaMelo, for example.
We all know the Spurs are winning right
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Itâll be interesting to see if the Hornets gets #2 pick which is Dylan Harper slot, and Harper and Melo doesnât appear to be a good fit with their style.
Going be beyond annoyed if the sixers or spurs win it
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Thatâs another reason this lottery is fascinating. For the record, I donât buy the idea that the lottery is rigged, but I know there are a ton of people out there who do, and the Spurs winning would be a MASSIVE red flag.
Iâd rather Flagg end up in a somewhat competent eastern conference franchise, so the Sixers are fine by me. Decent chance Embiid is never remotely close to what he was so I donât think thatâd be like padding an elite core already.
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I wouldnât expect them to actually do it, but the Sixers should 100% trade Embiid and build around Flagg, Maxey and the return for Embiid if they win the lottery. Although, the more I think about it, the âreturn for Embiidâ piece of this probably wonât be worth including in the core.
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I could care less about the situation Flagg lands in, spurs and sixers have already had plenty of lottery luck.
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I think Iâm sort of rooting for Utah or Washington to win. Wizardsâ new regime seem so at least not be complete morons, that team has basically never been good, but have a market that could be fun.
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When did the Sixers have lottery luck? they were pretty standard for the odds they had
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Have the Spurs had âluckâ since Duncan?
Yeah but what they did(even if it was smart) was an embarrassment to pro sports and not moving down was somewhat luck too. Then theyâve recently made a bunch more horrible decisions, they donât serve to be bailed out again.
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they were never in the lottery at all 
Duncan and Wemby is enough luck to last a lifetime
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How is building an entire multi-year strategy to get high picks, then succeeding in getting high picks (most of which they completely whiffed on!) âgetting bailed outâ? I guess I just donât understand the framing here.