The Official 2025 NBA Playoffs Discussion Thread

[Barry Poppins]

Ah man look at that, fans in Philadelphia being classy?

 

[Necro]

[Wojnarowski] Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela has agreed on a two-year, $46M extension, sources tell ESPN. He had two years left on his current deal and now is under contract through 2024-2025.

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic confirms on Dan Barrerio that Ben Simmons is open to being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves to play with his friends Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell. Along with fellow Klutch Sports client Anthony Edwards.



[Dumas] Source: There’s a high chance that Tyrese Maxey will be a part of any Ben Simmons trade. Rich Paul would like both of his clients out of Philadelphia.

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Yeah I heard that rumor and first of all Rich Paul should shut his Mouth Maxey never wanted out of Philly so he needs to worry about just Ben right now I feel. No way Ben gets traded over there unless Russell comes back to us in that Trade I imagine. He's not playing with the Kat and Russell together the Timberwolves it's only going to be one due to that team really not having any pieces the Sixers would want outside of those two and KAT is not happening. The Rumor was on the Table Months ago for this Trade before Ben officially wanting out and outside the deal is sweeten for GM Morley I don't know if he pulls the trigger for it.

Honestly I love my Philly teams and the fanbase were a tough place to play no doubt but that is what you should expect for players to give it their all. Ben was Drafted in 2016 with the 1st Pick in the Draft and his Game hasn't developed in these 5 Years. He's a great Defensive Player no doubt, but that Offensive Game of his is easy to figure out. If you clog the lanes he'll just stand there or pass the Ball to someone else. We all know it's mental at this point with him and whether or not he gets traded to another team if he doesn't figure out as a player and person he'll continue to have to deal with their Arrows from people. I need a guy who isn't going to be afraid to take a shot and miss it and come back and shoot again. The Sixers need that type of player because with what they have the fate for them is another 2nd Round exit.

 

[Barry Poppins]

Yeah I heard that rumor and first of all Rich Paul should shut his Mouth Maxey never wanted out of Philly so he needs to worry about just Ben right now I feel. No way Ben gets traded over there unless Russell comes back to us in that Trade I imagine. He's not playing with the Kat and Russell together the Timberwolves it's only going to be one due to that team really not having any pieces the Sixers would want outside of those two and KAT is not happening. The Rumor was on the Table Months ago for this Trade before Ben officially wanting out and outside the deal is sweeten for GM Morley I don't know if he pulls the trigger for it.

Honestly I love my Philly teams and the fanbase were a tough place to play no doubt but that is what you should expect for players to give it their all. Ben was Drafted in 2016 with the 1st Pick in the Draft and his Game hasn't developed in these 5 Years. He's a great Defensive Player no doubt, but that Offensive Game of his is easy to figure out. If you clog the lanes he'll just stand there or pass the Ball to someone else. We all know it's mental at this point with him and whether or not he gets traded to another team if he doesn't figure out as a player and person he'll continue to have to deal with their Arrows from people. I need a guy who isn't going to be afraid to take a shot and miss it and come back and shoot again. The Sixers need that type of player because with what they have the fate for them is another 2nd Round exit.

D'Lo is straight-up never being traded, especially for Ben.

 

[Kairi HoHo]

D'Lo is straight-up never being traded, especially for Ben.

Yup no deal then from GM Morley.

Man looking at NBA Draft from 2016 the Sixers could of taken Jaylen Brown, Hield, or hello Jamal Murray who plays for The Nuggets. Murray for the Sixers if we still have the pieces today easily makes the NBA Finals. Murray can take over a Game by himself and he runs the PG/SG.

 

[Necro]

[Charania] Sources: Unvaccinated NBA players in markets with local requirements — such as NYC (Knicks, Nets) and SF (Warriors) — will not be allowed to enter home arenas or facilities for games or team activities conducted there unless there’s approved medical or religious exemption.

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Charles and I are on the same page and Embiid I had to read that Tweet again and hello you threw Ben under the Bus basically blaming him for the loss to the Hawks and now you're doing damage control come on now.

 

[Necro]

[Wojnarowski] Memphis has agreed to trade forward Juancho Hernangomez to Boston for guards Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards and a 2026 second-round pick swap, sources tell ESPN.


[Wojnarowski] Brooklyn is trading C DeAndre Jordan, four future-second round picks and $5.78M to Detroit for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Pistons plan to work through a buyout on two-years, $20M owed Jordan; Nets will save $47M in salary and tax on deal.

 

[Necro]

LaMarcus Aldridge is returning on a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets after retiring with heart concerns five months ago, his agent Jeff Schwartz told Adrian Wojnarowski.

Aldridge has been medically cleared by a number of doctors to make a return for his 16th season.


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[Kairi HoHo]

Jesus dude gets traded then the buyout and now he's going to be a Laker.

 

[Necro]

Only reason Pistons did it was because they were getting paid to do it, and were getting 4 picks.

 

[Necro]

Paul Pierce: “These motherf-----s in the Hall of Fame, some did cocaine, f---ing battery. What the f--- did I do? All the people coming after me, half you motherf-----s do the same s---. You’re just hiding it. And you all are married while you’re doing it. I’m divorced. I’m retired. I’m having fun.”

Let’s start here: Paul Pierce isn’t sorry.

Not for the video, that minutes-long clip that made the rounds on social media, the one that cost Pierce his job at ESPN. Honestly, Pierce didn’t even know he made a video. Here’s what happened: In April, Pierce was playing poker at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. There was drinking. And smoking. And strippers. And after a little too much drinking and smoking, Pierce decided to start an Instagram Live and, well, show off the strippers. He went on for a few minutes, riffing, he thought, for a couple hundred people. When he finished, he deleted it. He didn’t know IG Lives can be recorded (they can) and reposted (it was). Pierce went home that night thinking no one noticed. He woke up the next day and discovered everyone had.

Still . . . sorry? “For what?” asks Pierce. It’s early July, and Pierce is reclining in a straight-backed chair at The Spot, a hookah lounge tucked into a strip mall in Encino, Calif. Around him, clusters of 20- and 30-somethings, many on laptops huddled over glowing screens, oblivious to the presence of basketball royalty. Hours earlier, Pierce was at home, a tailor dispatched by the Basketball Hall of Fame taking measurements for a suit to fit Pierce’s 6’7” frame. “I haven’t bought a new suit since I retired,” says Pierce. But he needed something to wear in September for his enshrinement in Springfield, Mass., 90 miles from where he spent the bulk of his 19-year NBA career.

ESPN didn’t ask for an apology. The relationship between Pierce and the network had become strained over the past two years. Pierce hated the travel. Network executives didn’t think he was working hard enough. The video, industry sources told Sports Illustrated, was the last straw. “I was done with them, anyway,” says Pierce between pulls of lemon mint. “It wasn’t a great fit. There’s a lot of stuff over there that you can’t say. And you have to talk about LeBron all the time.”

Pierce’s longtime agent, Jeff Schwartz, suggested Pierce apologize anyway. Schwartz worried that the video might influence Hall voters. Pierce didn’t. “Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal,” says Pierce. “These motherf-----s in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f---ing battery. What the f--- did I do? I was just having a good time. All the people coming after me, half you motherf-----s do the same s---. You’re just hiding it. And you all are married while you’re doing it. I’m divorced. I’m retired. I’m having fun.” And if Hall voters had held it against him? “Listen,” says Pierce, “if I didn’t make it with this class, it would be the biggest stiff job in Hall of Fame history.”

Schwartz suggested Pierce speak to Jerry Colangelo, the longtime NBA and USA Basketball exec who doubled as Hall chairman. Pierce agreed. In May, Pierce was in Springfield for former teammate Kevin Garnett’s induction. At a dinner, he approached Colangelo. Pierce repeated: He didn’t think he did anything wrong. “What happened has nothing to do with what I did on the court,” says Pierce.

Pierce has ideas. He’s collaborating with Garnett on a few. The two are planning on launching a podcast. Pierce wants to do a show that follows the two of them traveling the world. “Just doing all the s--- we couldn’t do when we played,” says Pierce. For example? “Skydiving,” says Pierce. “Maybe a bull run in Spain. Get motorcycles and travel around. Experience different cultures, different foods. That would be so much fun.”

I def think this is a case of using that as an excuse to get rid of him, writing seemed to be on the wall.

 

[Necro]

[Wojnarowski] The Lakers have agreed to trade Marc Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick and cash to the Grizzlies for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin, sources tell ESPN. Deal saves Lakers $10M. Gasol and Grizzlies will work together on waiver and release to allow him to remain in Spain w/ family.

 

[Necro]

 

[Chris]