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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/21/2023
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Luke Adams
11:01
Thanks for the early questions, guys! It'll be a shorter chat today, then we'll be back to the full hour next Tuesday.
Guest
11:01
OG, Gradey, Boucher and all the first picks/swaps for Lillard. Is this remotely close?
Luke Adams
11:02
The tricky part about that is that the Raptors owe their top-six protected 2024 first-rounder to San Antonio. It's protected through 2026, so Toronto could only unconditionally offer two first-rounders in any trade at this point. But if they were willing to do two unprotected picks and 3-4 swaps, along with the players you mentioned? That's a pretty strong offer. I'm not sure Portland would be able to do better.
LAD
11:02
Are Lakers finished w roster moves?
Luke Adams
11:04
For now, yeah, I think so. They likely won't carry a 15th man into the season, and if they do, it'll be someone on a non-guaranteed contract so that they could cut him at any time to maintain flexibility (and keep their distance from the tax line).
Guest
11:04
Will the Magic make the playoffs this year and can they win at least 45 games? I actually beleive they can be in the top 5 teams in the east if they stay healthy.
Luke Adams
11:06
You have more confidence in them than I do. There's enough talent on the roster that that kind of leap isn't inconceivable, but it feels unlikely without a little more shooting and backcourt stability (and maybe a little more seasoning for their young guys). A big breakout year from a player like Fultz or Suggs could change the equation.
stanley
11:07
do you think anyone would be even willing to trade for Kevin porter Jr.?
Luke Adams
11:09
It feels like it'll be a challenge to find a balance between what the Rockets want and what their trade partner would want.

  1. The Rockets could just waive Porter and owe him almost no money beyond this season, so if they're going to give up "several" second-round picks in a trade, as has been rumored, they'll want a useful player in return. Jae Crowder, Thomas Bryant, and Bones Hyland were some of the players who were traded for multiple second-rounders in February.
  2. In order for a trade partner to give up a useful player and deal with the bad PR of acquiring Porter (even if they intend to immediately waive him), would a few second-round picks be enough?
11:10
My guess is that the Rockets end up just waiving him, but we'll see. I'm morbidly curious to see how a team that traded for him would announce it in a press release (my guess is that the headline would be about the draft picks and they'd mention later in the press release that they also acquired and immediately waived Porter).
Arcman
11:10
Will we see the end of flopping for fouls this year? I am tired of the bad acting to get foul calls by mega stars.
Luke Adams
11:12
I don't know that we'll ever really see the "end" of flopping, but we may at least see less of it this year, given the new rules that are being implemented: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/07/rule-changes-made-regarding-challe...

I'm interested in seeing how this rule change plays out. Flops aren't always so obvious in the moment.
JunkYardDog
11:12
If Detroit stays healthy this season (especially Cade), what's the upper limit of my Pistons this year?
Luke Adams
11:15
Realistically, just staying in the play-in hunt for most of the season would be a good start. A play-in tournament loss would be a positive next step. Anything beyond that would be far exceeding expectations. I'd say the "upper limit" would be back-end playoff team and first-round exit.
GrizzFan
11:15
Assuming Smart, Bane, Jackson Jr, and Adams are in the starting lineup, who do you think is most likely to be the 5th Memphis starter while Morant is suspended? Kennard? Konchar? Roddy? Do you think Jenkins will try different players at the 3?
Luke Adams
11:17
It makes sense to do some experimenting at that spot, but my first instinct would be to try Kennard. You probably have enough defense with Smart, JJJ, and Adams to try to hide Kennard on the opponent's weakest offensive player. And he'd really help space the floor on offense and provide some secondary scoring to complement Bane, since the other three guys aren't really prolific scorers.
Guest
11:17
DLo seems like a good guy but what would you think about 1.  Trading DLo + 2nds at midseason for Buddy Hield and 2.  Using Reaves and Vincent as your ball handlers?
Luke Adams
11:20
I don't hate it. It does seem as if the Pacers would like to resolve the Hield situation sooner rather than later, and I'm not sure they'd have much interest in D-Lo, so it might not be as appealing from their side.

But I do think Russell could easily emerge as a trade candidate again this season. He waived his right to veto a trade, which he normally would've gotten based on the contract he signed. The Lakers wouldn't have asked him to do that unless they wanted to keep their options open.
Guest
11:20
Is Giannis really going to get traded over the next 2-3 years?
Luke Adams
11:23
Too early to say, but it definitely COULD happen. I think the two factors that will go a long way toward determining Giannis' future are the Bucks' performance this season and how the team handles Jrue Holiday's contract situation.

A repeat of last season's first-round exit isn't going to cut it. And Holiday will become extension-eligible during the season and can opt out of his contract next summer if he doesn't sign a new one before then. The Bucks could be in a tough spot there -- either sign Holiday to a lucrative new contract that will start when he's 34 years old, or risk alienating Giannis by not bringing him back.
Guest
11:24
Wemby or the field for Rookie of the year?
Luke Adams
11:26
Hmm, interesting. If you could guarantee me 70 healthy games for every rookie, Wembanyama would be my pick. But the field might ultimately be the safer bet (even if a ton of the field's value will come just from Scoot Henderson). I'll take the field, but I don't feel great about it.
Chicago
11:27
Could the Bulls really end up with Dame?
Luke Adams
11:29
I don't see it. Making sure the Blazers get enough value for Lillard and finding a third team that would want LaVine would basically be like negotiating two blockbuster trades at once. Too complicated.
11:30
As I mentioned at the top, just a short half-hour chat today, but we'll be doing the full hour again on Tuesday, and we'll be continuing to do two chats nearly every week once training camps get underway. Thanks again for the questions, everyone! Have a great week.
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