AROUND the NBA: MIN Sweeps PHX!

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

At least we’re not Hornets fans.

[Mavs2021]

At least we’re not Hornets fans.

Then there are no Hornets fans, so we still lose.

[omahen]

Another former FRP getting second chance on a two way deal.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...5119762464

[dirkfansince1998]

Not even sure what is more impressive. Quickness? Handles? Midrange touch? Rim protection? The fact that he dunks anything within 5-7ft?

[surfpuckmd]

Not even sure what is more impressive. Quickness? Handles? Midrange touch? Rim protection? The fact that anything within 5-7ft is standing dunk range?

We've never seen an athlete like this before.  Seeing a human that size who can handle the ball seems like a hallucination.  The only two things that could spoil his career would be foot injuries or if Jason Kidd becomes his coach.  

I do wish we had tanked harder when we had the chance.  He should be the biggest story in sports right now.  Taylor Swift will start showing up at Spur's games soon.

[SwisherPrice]

Yeah Wemby is going to be a star...that's why the Porzingis comparisons never made sense to me unless you're just talking about the durability risk due to the height. But athletically, Wemby seems way more fluid and athletic. In terms of their games, they are also different. Porzingis is a traditional stretch big man in today's game. Wemby can do things off the dribble that KP could never dream of doing. Just like Kevin Durant was a guard in a PF's body, Wemby is like a SF in a center's body.

[surfpuckmd]

Yeah Wemby is going to be a star...that's why the Porzingis comparisons never made sense to me unless you're just talking about the durability risk due to the height. But athletically, Wemby seems way more fluid and athletic. In terms of their games, they are also different. Porzingis is a traditional stretch big man in today's game. Wemby can do things off the dribble that KP could never dream of doing. Just like Kevin Durant was a guard in a PF's body, Wemby is like a SF in a center's body.

I think he's gonna be a top 20 player by the end of this season.  I don't think the rest of that roster is particularly good but they have a lot cap space next summer.  They need one more high draft pick then can pick up some elite role players in free agency next summer.  I think adding De'Anthony Melton and Cole Anthony next summer would make them a clear playoff team as Wemby quickly evolves into an MVP candidate.  Not only is the West brutal now but teams like the Thunder and Spurs look very well positioned to be contenders in 1-2 years.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

We've never seen an athlete like this before.  Seeing a human that size who can handle the ball seems like a hallucination.  The only two things that could spoil his career would be foot injuries or if Jason Kidd becomes his coach.  

I do wish we had tanked harder when we had the chance.  He should be the biggest story in sports right now.  Taylor Swift will start showing up at Spur's games soon.

Please don't bring up her name. Anytime she gets more camera time than the game itself, something is seriously wrong. #TSOVERLOAD

[MrGoat]

Here's a twist in the KPJ situation. https://nypost.com/2023/10/17/rockets-gu...nyc-hotel/

The prosecution has already dropped the second degree assault charge against him because the fractured vertebra in her neck was due to a congenital defect.

And the alleged victim claims he never hit her and judging by what she's saying here it looks a lot more likely that he's going to get off scot free on the other two pending charges.

If he gets off completely I wonder if a team will sign him, maybe even this season

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

He’s had like 5 known issues/incidents now dating back to USC. She likely changed her tune because he stands to lose a lot of money. Who knows they may still be involved. I’m not saying he won’t get off scott free or that he won’t play in the league again. But clearly there is some underlying mental health or immaturity issue with him. Hope he gets help.

[MrGoat]

He’s had like 5 known issues/incidents now dating back to USC. She likely changed her tune because he stands to lose a lot of money. Who knows they may still be involved. I’m not saying he won’t get off scott free or that he won’t play in the league again. But clearly there is some underlying mental health or immaturity issue with him. Hope he gets help.

Sure, he's had prior issues, but it's a logical fallacy to assume that just because those were true this one is true, it's called innocent until proven guilty for a reason. But it's looking like his signing value went from nuclear waste worse than Miles Bridges to not nearly that bad and maybe worth taking a swing on a bargain signing considering he is a young player who just had his most efficient season at a better than 19/5/5 clip

The alleged victim here is a WNBA player and has her own money so when she insinuates the DA fabricated the case because it was potentially high profile to further his own career that's actually pretty damning to the prosecution

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

He is terrible at basketball in addition to the problems. If he was any good, maybe we can discuss which team will take a chance if his name is cleared in this case. Better start learning Mandarin.

19/5/5 doesn’t mean anything

Every Rockets fan is doing cartwheels they got an excuse to get rid of him. Dude has a worse basketball IQ than Westbrook.

[MFFL]

The alleged victim here is a WNBA player and has her own money 

FORMER WNBA player. And that league is not know for having a superior pay scale.

"The alleged beating only ended when Gondrezick — who used to play for the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky"

I'm sure she would be interested in a settlement.

[dirkfansince1998]

[omahen]

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...9627092457

[omahen]

Looks like Stotts and Griffin didn't get along.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...2838930686

https://theathletic.com/4977527/2023/10/...t-leaving/

[SleepingHero]

Looks like Stotts and Griffin didn't get along.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...2838930686

https://theathletic.com/4977527/2023/10/...t-leaving/

I would go all out to try and make Stotts return as the offensive coordinator. Mavs still were looking for one and ended up signing the guy from Utah who by all accounts was a defensive minded coach with a penchant for big men.

Preseason showed Jason Kidd's offense sans Igor is still an iso heavy mess. Stotts would clean it right up. Plus Kidd and Stotts have history with the 2011 team. Makes too much sense to me for it not to happen.

[SleepingHero]

Looks like Stotts and Griffin didn't get along.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status...2838930686

https://theathletic.com/4977527/2023/10/...t-leaving/

Although Griffin did not mention any sort of issue between himself and Stotts on Thursday, their relationship was tenuous, league sources told The Athletic, and there was a brief incident at Tuesday’s shootaround in Oklahoma City.

According to sources who witnessed the events, Griffin wrapped up the shootaround and called the team together for a huddle to close out the day and let the players get to post-shootaround shooting drills. During that huddle, Griffin informed the coaches that he wanted to have a separate huddle with them once they wrapped things up.

When the players and coaches broke the huddle, Stotts went in the opposite direction of the coaches’ huddle and instead started walking toward players to discuss the offense. As Stotts attempted to start a conversation with Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Griffin called to Stotts to join the coaching huddle. When Stotts asked for some time with the players, Griffin yelled for Stotts to join the coaches’ huddle. The incident occurred in front of the entire team, those sources said.

While brief, the interaction highlighted the underlying complexity of the relationship between Griffin and Stotts in their first year together in Milwaukee. Around the situation on Thursday, there were two perspectives surrounding Stotts’ resignation: His potential difficulty adapting to a bench role under Griffin after more than a decade as a head coach, and the other being a certain treatment and level of respect that needed to be shown to someone with Stotts’ pedigree.

“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Lillard said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that these types of things happen. Everything continues, so you’ve got to kind of process things like this and other things that may come up and continue to move forward. For me, knowing Terry as long as I’ve known him – playing for him for nine years and him also making this transition for me easier just having a familiar face be such a huge part of it – was a good thing. I think now that I’m settled in, to see him go is unfortunate. It’s sad to see him go, but like I said, everything is still moving forward.”

Ultimately, though, the partnership between Griffin and Stotts was not meant to be, and Stotts ended it with his resignation. Both Lillard and Khris Middleton told reporters that they were given a heads up of Stotts’ decision on Wednesday night with Lillard telling reporters that Stotts reached out to him personally.

“We spoke directly,” Lillard said. “I don’t expect anything different. We spend so much time around each other in this league. Seven, eighth months a year, practice every day, flights, hotels, dinners, watching film, we share a lot of intimate spaces and like I said, being with him for nine years and him being my head coach, me being the point guard of his team, we spent a lot of time around each other. We know each other really well, even in the two years without him, we stayed in pretty consistent contact. So, I don’t expect anything different than him to call me directly and that’s how it happened.”

Per a team source, the Bucks will take their time in considering all options in filling Stotts’ spot on the staff.

Some of the article for those without an athletic subscription.

[Mavs2021]

Some of the article for those without an athletic subscription.

Obviously we don´t know the full story, but that is weird behaviour from Stotts.

[khaled1987]

Obviously we don´t know the full story, but that is weird behaviour from Stotts.

If I take a guess, I think Griffin is a rookie coach who has been assistant most of his career, while Stotts is a veteran one with close relation to Dame.
At the end it created poor dynamics, whether because the coach was insecure or Stotts undermining him