Today's Breaking News: Lamarcus Aldridge

His tweet suggests he would sign an extention because he likes Boston. We might could get him cheaper this year then next. I think Bradley and Jackson or Rozier with our own 2018 would nab him.
I think DA has been more interested in Noel all along. He fits our team unfortunately he fits the 76ers team just as well. With him and Horford we could get to the finals against Cleveland.

Here is my situation assessment:

Philly will be hard pressed to match a big RFA offer to Noel, especially if Embiid shows that he is ready to play. If Embiid falls apart (injury), then Philly will have to keep Noel. But they will not know about Embiid for a few months into the season.

At the same time, Philly has to integrate a bunch of bigs this season: Non-shooting Simmons, New to NBA Saric, Low-Post player Okafor, etc. With non-shooting Noel, they have their work cut out. Also, I don't see other teams with assets (Denver/Phoenix) wanting Noel.

In Boston, Brad needs to replace Turner, facilitate Smart as a ball handler, utilize Rozier in the rotation, protect Brown and integrate Horford. It will really help to have Amir Johnson around. There is just no place for Noel in this situation.

All this trade talk, and seeing Noel as an improvement, just makes no sense. The Celts have to focus inwards now and pay attention to player development, excellence and getting their house in order. The die has been cast for the time being. The next star(s) for the Celts have to emerge from inside.

The league and the media has given them the status a top-8 team (based upon the number of nationally televised games). Expect some more favorable game calling as well. The league changed the game calling in last year's finals to make it a more competitive and entertaining series. Right now, they need a challenger to Cleveland in the East. Nurturing and setting up a Boston/Cleveland rivalry is the best opportunity. New York has also become intriguing but they don't have the historical cache that Boston has. The entertainment value of East playoffs was a black hole last year.

Lets hope to get our house in order and develop some stars (with some help from the refs). That should be the plan from here on.

Nobody will break the bank for Noel when he is going to be available in 11 months. Especially not DA! Give it up Philly or end up like OKC!
Noel will leave Philly next year or the year after because there is no future there for him when they keep going to the lottery and taking players at his position.
And his heart is in Boston!

thesixersense.com/2016/08/15/the-philadelphia-76ers-need-to-get-rid-of-nerlens-noel/


The Philadelphia 76ers Need To Get Rid Of Nerlens Noel
by Jonathan Kelly


Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Trade rumors have been heating up recently regarding the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. Nerlens Noel’s recent Twitter antics have everyone believing he will be out the door soon but for who? The Sixers need to make this trade happen sooner rather than later.

Nerlens Noel has been a hot topic of trade discussion throughout this offseason. With the Philadelphia 76ers current logjam in the frontcourt, it is clear that something needs to be done prior to the season starting.

We have discussed the Sixers big man situation in previous articles and many fans are in denial about the logjam, thinking the team can keep the current roster as is for the regular season. There are multiple reasons why this would be a very bad idea.

For starters, Noel will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2016-17 season. If the Sixers fail to deal him, he could walk away to Boston or another team leaving the Sixers empty handed or forcing them to match a high-priced offer. This would be a worst case scenario.

Secondly, the Philadelphia 76ers are in desperate need of a solid shooting guard. I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I were Brett Brown heading into the season with Nik Stauskas and Gerald Henderson as my shooting guards. If the Sixers can facilitate a trade to get a serviceable shooting guard in return for Noel, then that’s exactly what they should do.

Lastly, the Sixers have a plethora of big men on their current roster. Aside from Nerlens Noel, the Sixers also have Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons, Carl Landry and Richaun Holmes who could all find themselves as part of the rotation this season between the power forward and center positions.

Nerlens Noel is a very solid rim protector that has averaged nearly a double double the past two seasons to go along with two blocks per game. The Celtics are reportedly very interested in bringing Noel back to his hometown of Boston. If this trade is anything more than just noise, what are some possible trade scenarios that we could be looking at?

Scenario 1

Nerlens Noel for Marcus Smart and Boston Celtics 2017 first round pick  (Editorial comment:  Hahaha, fat chance!)

This is the type of scenario that has Boston fans all riled up. For some reason, they believe that Marcus Smart is going to be a franchise star. Many of the Celtics faithful are appalled at this trade scenario saying that it is not giving Smart enough trade value. I have seen multiple people through forums and articles quote the CARMELO formula by FiveThirtyEight as ‘proof’ that Smart will be a star one day.

For those that are not familiar already, this formula uses a set of metrics to find any players most comparable (past and present) NBA players on a points system. It then uses those metrics and comps players to attempt to accurately predict a player’s future performance, wins above replacement and market value. While I do believe the formula is intriguing and could provide predictive data, it is extremely flawed to be using it as your only basis when deciding if a player is good or that they will be in the future.

This formula lists Marcus Smart in the “Future All-Star” category and Boston Celtics fans will go to war defending that. What is interesting to me though, is that this is the same formula that lists Avery Bradley as “Average starter” when he has better ratings than Smart in any Scoring metric and is only slightly worse in the defensive categories. It also lists Kent Bazemore as a “Rotational Player” when he is nearly better than Smart in every metric aside from draft position. It is also worth noting that Smart’s top comparison is Iman Shumpert and that is the part that I strongly agree with.

Like Shumpert, Smart brings a strong defensive presence and is good at attacking the rim and drawing fouls. This is something the Sixers did not have much of, if at all, last season. That being said, Smart will need to drastically improve his shooting efficiency as he has averaged under 36 percent from the field since entering the league.

Danny Ainge has been pretty clear that he is not budging on giving up the Brooklyn Nets pick which is understandable, considering how bad they are likely to be this season. But if the Sixers can negotiate Boston’s first round pick along with Smart in a package deal, then it is hard to argue with. Smart will provide depth at the guard position for the Sixers with the potential to develop if he can learn to consistently knock down shots.


Scenario 2

Nerlens Noel for Avery Bradley

On the flip side, this is a scenario that have some Sixers fans very vocal against. While one of the Boston or Brooklyn picks would be ideal, I would be happy if the Sixers were able to facilitate the deal for Bradley by himself as well.

Avery Bradley is an excellent defender as he was voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. He received the most votes among guards. What Bradley brings to the table that Smart does not is his ability to shoot. Bradley averaged over 15 points per game last season with a 44 percent field goal percentage. He also has the ability to knock it down from beyond the arc finishing with a 36 percent shooting rate from beyond the arc last season.

Assuming this trade happens, it would clear the Sixers logjam while dramatically improving a key hole in the roster. These are the most realistic trade scenarios that I could see happening between the Celtics and Sixers. Both trades would appear to help both teams so I am hoping they can manage to get a deal done shortly. That way we can all stop Twitter stalking and go back to actually watching basketball.

Noel for Smart and Brooklyn 2017 pick is a fair trade.

Johnson could very well develop his skills under coach Tom Thibodeau just like the development of Joakim Noah during their tenure with the Chicago Bulls.

I am really impressed with the quality of insight here. These guys deserve a front-office job with the Sixers.

How about Johnson to SAC, McLemore to PHI and Noel to BOS?
They need a SG, not a PG.

No it's not. Make that the '18 Brooklyn pick and I'd be ok with that. But no dealing the '17 pick for anything less than getting us a bonafide superstar.

Spurs considering trading LaMarcus Aldridge? There's smoke, but is there fire?

Reports are vague and unclear, but there's reason to think they might deal the All-Star

by Matt Moore

Unknown Source


So there's something up with LaMarcus Aldridge. Earlier this week, ESPN's Zach Lowe predicted the Spurs will "explore" trade talks this season, suggesting that Aldridge is not 100 percent off the board. It didn't get much traction, because it wasn't a solid "the Spurs are looking to deal Aldridge" and it didn't reflect any thinking on the part of the Spurs. Lowe's basic assessment was "the Spurs are too smart not to consider trading him."

The Spurs are self-aware. I have a hunch they know this is something of a placeholder season, and that without some injury luck swinging their way at the right time, they are a tier below Golden State. Aldridge is 31, six years older than Kawhi Leonard, and his trade value will never be higher; he can opt out of his contract after the 2017-18 season.

The Spurs will see if this team outperforms expectations. If it doesn't, they should take calls on Aldridge. He's really good, and there are a lot of impatient owners chasing immediate gratification. If opportunism meets desperation, the Spurs could fleece some rival and restock with a bundle of assets that better line up with Leonard's timetable.

The odds are against any deal happening. Signing Gasol to a two-year deal (with a player option for 2017-18) is something of an all-in move, and even if Gasol opts out after this season, the Aldridge-Leonard combo is a shiny lure for free agents. But if the season unfolds the wrong way, here's betting the Spurs at least listen.

That alone, like I said, didn't make many waves. Then the venerable Jackie MacMullan, of ESPN and CSN New England, had some things to say this week on the subject. It was in the course of a conversation, but her comments were ... provocative.

www.csnne.com/video/macmullan-says-lamarcus-aldridge-could-be-traded-could-celtics-be-match?guid=MacmullanEE1017
www.csnne.com/video/macmullan-says-lamarcus-aldridge-could-be-traded-could-celtics-be-match?guid=MacmullanEE1017

"Sources were telling me the other day that LaMarcus Aldridge may not even finish the year with the Spurs. That experiment hasn't quite worked out the way they hoped."

MacMullan goes on to say in the clip she would not trade for Aldridge if she ran the Celtics, as there is "some stuff going on." She doesn't explain what she means by that, and so it's easy to kind of pass off her comments as hearsay and innuendo. But it's important to remember that MacMullan is a Curt Gowdy Award Winner from the Naismith Hall of Fame and one of the most respected long-time reporters of the league. Combine that with Lowe's previous comments, and you can definitely say there's smoke.


Could the Spurs trade LaMarcus Aldridge? USATSI


Here's where it gets complicated. "Why isn't there actual reporting here?" Well, first off, judging from MacMullan's comments, it's not a typical "Oh, he's not fitting there basketball-wise and the team might think they could be better." It seems like it might be more complex than that.

Second, this is the Spurs. They are a top-notch organization. RC Buford and Gregg Popovich run a first-class program and conduct all affairs with professionalism. They also don't leak anything. Every year you get indications that they "could be looking in the trade market" and then nothing happens and that's it. Their thinking is shrouded; it's just not how they do business.

So any ongoing drama with Aldridge internally wouldn't really come out in the media. Of course, the other explanation for that is that there genuinely is no drama there. Basically, Aldridge is Schrodinger's cat, both being traded and not being traded at once. The team did elect to let this be known through the San Antonio Express-News.




Aldridge had a terrific first season with the Spurs, and his playoff performance during the first three games vs. the Thunder was simply epic. He was unstoppable, until he was shut down, and the series turned. But he looked like he fit in with the system and culture; there's been no indication of him being unhappy or there being trouble, so that should weigh into the conversation.

If the Spurs were to consider trading Aldridge, you would have to move him to a team looking to compete right now. Chicago would be a natural fit, but they are short on players with impact and upside; Wade and Rondo wouldn't interest the Spurs and the Bulls wouldn't want to add Aldridge while losing Jimmy Butler in the deal. They have some good young pieces but no star material. The Heat might consider it, but would have to deal Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, for starters.

The Celtics would be a natural fit, as Aldridge would be worth losing Avery Bradley or Jae Crowder along with the Nets pick for, and would make them a serious force in the East with LMA next to Al Horford. Horford's old team might consider moving Paul Millsap (whom they nearly traded this summer) for Aldridge to pair with Dwight Howard. And the Raptors would definitely want in on the conversation.

If the Spurs were open to dealing him, they would have a lot of offers. But that's a long way off. For now, there's too much to just ignore with Aldridge. It might be fine, and blow over, but there's at least some smoke and a few sparks with this situation, it's reasonable to assume.


www.cbssports.com/nba/news/theres-some-smoke-about-the-spurs-considering-trading-lamarcus-aldridge-but-is-there-fire/