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The Boston Trade
We had our opinions on the trade. Patrick was initially against Boston. After realizing Jordan Crawford's deal was expiring, he upped it to decent for Boston. A point Patrick had is that Crawford's assists have been improving, and this seems to indicate growth. Golden State may not be the best place to foster this though.
We both think Arturo's optimism for Joel Anthony is overrated though.
Miami is in an interesting spot. They don't have lots of assets to build a team around Bron, Wade, and Bosh. To believe Bron and Wade may take a paycut to stay put without the promise of a title is foolish. And the Mavericks, 76ers, Suns, and Jazz all have money to pay for a big name this offseason. A scarier thought, do the Rockets have the assets for a trade if Bron refuses to sign back with the Heat?
Power Ranking Review
We reviewed the state of the NBA. Of course, we couldn't hit all 30 teams, but we did definitely talk Masai Ujiri and the Raptors. We think he should repeat as executive of the year, especially given his impact on both the Nuggets and Raptors. Sadly, it's possible Larry Bird repeats with the same story as 2012. The real reason for the Pacers jump is Paul George and Lance Stephenson taking an amazing leap.
The Timberwolves have been a good team that blows out teams and gets to close games. Oddly though, they can't close out close games. Patrick says the Wolves are 27th in the league in offensive efficiency in the fourth quarter. Do they need more three point shooters beyond Love and Martin?
Patrick's Points
Patrick wrote a great post on J.J. Barea's height and how much people overreact to "incorrect height measurement." What matters is relative height in the NBA, and how good the players perform.
We hit a tangent on defense. I do think people are too quick overreact to "defensive liabilities" especially if the player is great at other things. My metaphor is it would be like keeping Shaq to 24 minutes a game in his prime because of his poor free throws.
Patrick's other post was on the lack of love for Andrew Bogut. In fact, there are a lot of talented bigs in the NBA that get less love than they deserve. Also, the Warriors management seems to have turned things around, and we have only good things to say about them!
Patrick has talked this point a bunch: you don't want to sign a player to the value of their contract! If you do this you get a 41 win team! Flexibility and good contracts are key. Example: Robin Lopez at $6 million a season or Brook Lopez at $15 million a season?
Sloan Shirts
We'll be at the Sloan Sports Analytic conference this year. We're making t-shirts a tradition and have a few ideas so far:
GM Tip #7: If Masai Ujiri calls, say you're busy.
I want Phil Jackson to coach my fantasy squad.
Any suggestions from our loyal fans would be appreciated! Also, if you have any questions you'd like us to ask NBA higher ups (if we get the chance to run into them), let us know. Thanks as always!