2026 Off-season Thread

[Deezus]

Just a trend that I am starting to see… imho, the nba landscape has changed, you can have a young team that fits together, good athleticism/motor/lenght, two-way players and well coached… then you can win… gone are the days of the veteran top heavy big 3 and super teams….

Not optimistic for next year teams if they stay small/unathletic/old/suspect defense at the guard and wings positions….

Yeah Mon! I agree! Indiana is the posterchild of this take (and Spurs to a lesser degree - not withstanding the Alien).

 

[CavsKermit]

This sentence here is the beginning and end of the argument on the Harden / Garland trade. A player is worth what the market dictates and the market has dictated that small, athletic guards do not have much value.

I would not make the bet that if Garland ends up traded again he doesn't fetch more than what the Cavs got. The Cavs were distressed sellers who had an immediate need. Also Garland is plenty athletic. JBB would've never assigned Robinson to guard him.

 

[foucault87]

I don't think the Cavs had a member of their core who was consistently their best player in any series or even across the playoffs. There was a lot of inconsistency. . Allen was unquestionably the best player in both Game 7s though.

Yeah, and he was a dud for most of the other 16 games. I mean Dennis went off in game 5 vs Tor. Does that make him a critical piece?

Mobley was on average the best player on this run and it was pretty clear on tape. But we can ignore that because Allen decided to put on his pants for one night!

 

[foucault87]

The amount of Garland cope is also really funny to me. You cannot with a serious take argue he was a plus playoff performer. He had one really good game vs the Knicks and one vs the Celtics. He was food otherwise.

And I really like him as a player, but we moved on too late. Better to not keep holding onto a sunk asset when you can get something of positive value back

 

[CavsKermit]

The amount of Garland cope is also really funny to me. You cannot with a serious take argue he was a plus playoff performer. He had one really good game vs the Knicks and one vs the Celtics. He was food otherwise.

And I really like him as a player, but we moved on too late. Better to not keep holding onto a sunk asset when you can get something of positive value back

I take solace in the fact that Garland's future performance will dictate the outcome of this debate far more than anything anyone posts on this website.

 

[Cavatt]

Allen is so much better than Myles. He was awful last season.

That's my worry. He is a 3 and D tho.

I don't feel like he does the other stuff, and some of his weaknesses are the same as Mobley's

 

[bdc2014]

This sentence here is the beginning and end of the argument on the Harden / Garland trade. A player is worth what the market dictates and the market has dictated that small, athletic guards do not have much value.

Market was saying that for a while prior to DG trade when the Ja trade rumors / Trae extension talks happened and will continue saying it. Selling earlier wouldn’t have done much. I’d have preferred we wait until the offseason to package him but it’s whatever. Harden was a fine return in the medium term.

 

[CavsKermit]

That's my worry. He is a 3 and D tho.

I don't feel like he does the other stuff, and some of his weaknesses are the same as Mobley's

This just seems like the Hunter trade. On paper it might make sense, but when the player actually arrives, the results are disappointing. All the Pacers fans say you absolutely have to get him touches or his motor konks out and the Cavs need players whose motors aren't so sensitive. He didn't even shoot well last season. That's before you get to the fact that the Cavs would absolutely be owed value and the Bucks aren't in a position to give it.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The amount of Garland cope is also really funny to me. You cannot with a serious take argue he was a plus playoff performer. He had one really good game vs the Knicks and one vs the Celtics. He was food otherwise.

And I really like him as a player, but we moved on too late. Better to not keep holding onto a sunk asset when you can get something of positive value back

I supported the trade, but I think we will regret re-signing Harden.

 

[troopalive]

Maybe in the regular season but Harden can't hold up to the defensive intensity of playoff basketball.

You will win nothing with a Harden/Mitchell back court. Terrible defensively also.

Harden barely beats the 8 sec count when pressured full court. He then proceeds to pound the ball, no flow on offense. Without the roll guy, which teams took away in the playoffs, he had to try to create against younger athletic defenders, which he is not capable anymore. Koby told everyone he is not the 2018 James Harden anymore, so actually he should probably be the 6th man to put a better defender next to Donovan.

 

[troopalive]

Who do you think was our best player in the playoffs then? You can pick nits all you want but single game +/- is more meaningless than ppg without efficiency.

I do agree that Mobley is best right now as a playmaking hub, defensive anchor, and occasional spacer/play finisher. But none of that changes the fact the rest of the team consistently shit the bed. Or at least more consistently than Evan did.

The bigger thing for me was that Evan showed he can and will play with force and step up in the clutch. He hit so many critical 3s or drives when we were in white knuckle time. Unlike a certain pair of guards who kept throwing it to the other jerseys. Or our elite shooters who couldnt piss into the ocean. Or the other big who was benched because he was more worried about whether he hatched a perfect IV shiny Charmander than defending the rim or playing basketball.


Anyway, this is getting way off track now. The point is that 36 yo Harden was an upgrade over DG. Marginal maybe, but clearly a better player you cant just scheme off the floor. It is telling that teams didnt attack him relentlessly on D (other than Brunson), while DG has gotten abused by every wing this side of the Graham twins.

The Cavs didn't play a team capable of hunting him, until they played the Knicks. Toronto was missing two starters, and had no one capable. Detroit only had Cade and plenty of players that you could sag off of. After Brunson cooked Harden in game one, the Cavs were done by having to let Josh Hart and company, shoot practice shots because Harden can't hold up on Brunson.

 

[CavsKermit]

Harden barely beats the 8 sec count when pressured full court. He then proceeds to pound the ball, no flow on offense. Without the roll guy, which teams took away in the playoffs, he had to try to create against younger athletic defenders, which he is not capable anymore. Koby told everyone he is not the 2018 James Harden anymore, so actually he should probably be the 6th man to put a better defender next to Donovan.

Harden isn't taking 6th man money, which makes that plan kind of problematic.

 

[m.flint2019]

Whether you're for Garland or Harden, seems like what we can conclude is that it's untenable to play two guards that are both liabilities on offense...but seems like the way things are going, that is going to be an inevitably next season.

The question then becomes, how to shore that up, or how to make a trade so that the amount of offense the starting unit is pumping out at least offsets the bleed....

 

[bdc2014]

This just seems like the Hunter trade. On paper it might make sense, but when the player actually arrives, the results are disappointing. All the Pacers fans say you absolutely have to get him touches or his motor konks out and the Cavs need players whose motors aren't so sensitive. He didn't even shoot well last season. That's before you get to the fact that the Cavs would absolutely be owed value and the Bucks aren't in a position to give it.

Turner is thoroughly fools gold, from top to tip to toe

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I don’t see how this helps Mitchell & Harden. Tyson, Proctor & Tomlin are not going to be playoff ready for a number of years. Unless a player is supremely talented, they aren’t usually playoff positives until mid career.

Collin Murray-Boyles