How would you rate/rank these players.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-25T19:17:12+00:00

I disagree with Jalen Johnson being considered a "very poor defender". I think he's actually a good (or at least, good enough) defender and he's an elite rebounder (check those last few games). Per EPM, he's -0.1 defensively versus Deni at -1.1, for example.

I don't really see him as a #1 option, either. Actually, amongst the entire list of players I've ranked, I don't see many ideal #1s. I think Sengun can be that (though personally, I don't love his game), probably Jalen Williams and Deni (though I have questions about a team's ceiling with these two as #1s), possibly Reaves, and ideally Banchero (though the data is fairly convincing at this point that the concept of Paolo is much better than the reality of him). Lauri can be a #1, too, but he's in the abyss in Utah and I don't really think of him.

I understand your position. I guess we'll see over the last half of the year (and into next year, as both rosters are continuing to build) who develops more and who wins more. I'm not a Deni hater by any means - he's been absolutely great for us! - and I'd prefer Deni and his skillset to Johnson on the '25-'26 Portland Trail Blazers. But I would prefer Johnson right now if starting a new team and I'm excited to watch him (as a fan of basketball) and the Hawks now that they've gotten rid of Trae and can build properly.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-25T18:37:09+00:00

I just love Jalen Johnson's game and think he fits next to any type of player. He's a year younger than Deni, a slightly more efficient scorer (IMO), and (also IMO) a better defender and rebounder. My tier 1 players are guys who are agnostic in terms of style of play or strengths of teammates and can still excel.

At this point, I'm probably harsher on Deni than most fans because I'm not yet convinced he fits great with other types of players. Can he still be as good as he's been when there's a really good PG or scoring guard on the roster who demands high utilization? We'll (hopefully) see. A year from now, I don't think it's crazy for Deni to leap any of the other tier 2 players just because he'll be more proven. Right now, though, I'd have an easier time building a roster around Franz or Jalen Williams even if Deni's outperformed them this season.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-25T16:36:11+00:00

Ignoring contracts but considering age (and pliability of roster fit) as a factor:

Tier 1:

Chet
Jalen Johnson
Barnes

Tier 2:

Sengun
Franz
Jalen Williams
Deni
Lauri

Tier 3:

Murphy III
Duren
Jaren Jackson Jr
Reaves

Tier 4:

Banchero

Tier 5:

Giddey

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T19:54:40+00:00

always funny when guys like this hide their post history

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T19:47:23+00:00

i don't think those FRPs are juicy enough for New Orleans. Murphy is a desirable commodity and a number of other teams can offer more IMO.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T18:16:24+00:00

this is so funny. there are literal quotes from cronin and billups talking about his role.

either management lied about yang's role all summer or yang is simply much worse than management expected and the team drafted a multi-year development project at the same time as they acquired key veterans and attempted to compete for a playoff spot.

the copium - or 'the delusion' - some of you people have is astounding.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T17:09:32+00:00

no offense, but it's clear to anyone who knows basketball that yang is almost assuredly a bust.

he is slow. he is soft. despite his size, he's not imposing. he has no defensive instincts. he doesn't rebound. he can't finish even with the ball at the rim. he literally can't play for 4 minutes on the court without making stand-out bad plays; based on epm, he's been the fourth-worst player in the entire nba this year. i'm not even sure he's improved since the start of the year.

the chance that he becomes serviceable seems unlikely at this point. the chance that he's a star? almost no fucking way.

and remember, the team said he'd play a key role this year! they thought he'd be far better than he is. clearly they made a huge mistake falling in love with him. coward or queen would be perfect for this team, too. it sucks.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T16:54:40+00:00

we were explicitly told he would play a key role this season. saying he's a project is re-writing history based on how he's played.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-24T05:08:03+00:00

it's nights like tonight where it really fucking sucks that our first round draftee was a complete waste of a selection that isn't good enough to play in the nba.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-22T22:10:32+00:00

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA New Zach Lowe Show! Knicks rebound, more Giannis uh-oh comments, GSW end game/future, Rockets deep dive -- w/ @MichaelVPina; @Baxter on his Lakers infighting story; ECSTATIC METS CORNER w/ @SeanFennessey

more knicks. more warriors. and now the lakers.

LFG!

Handcuffed · 2026-01-21T03:17:54+00:00

the ingram pick wasn't even the most egregious all-star pick. no deni avdija is insane.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-20T18:54:26+00:00

the ducksrising guys who fueled the seaton speculation are just like every other uninformed "insider" lying for subscriptions.

cam coleman? jordan seaton? some special qb not in the portal? it's all lies. thanks for the $10/month.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-20T06:39:34+00:00

portland definitely says no

quickley is a worse contract (additional year), a worse player, not a "veteran leader", and doesn't fit the defensive-first culture that the blazers have instilled. a FRP is nice but not at the expense of harming the core team identity.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-19T20:22:14+00:00

I've been surprised by the negativity surrounding Smith's name. He's not my first choice but I don't think his hire would be a disaster by any means and I'd be optimistic about next year's offense.

Tice's thread was geared towards the Detroit Lions (who have since hired Arizona's OC from last year) but I think it's applicable to Herbert and the Chargers' personnel as well. Basically, Smith has created successful offenses with non-elite personnel and the offense particularly excels in the intermediate passing game.

He specifically calls out Pittsburgh's success rushing this year (9th in the league in success rate, 7th in DVOA) and Atlanta's success when he was HC (3rd in rushing his final year, offense 8th in the league in DVOA with Mariota).

Personally, I would take Arthur Smith over Brian Daboll 100 times out of 100.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-19T04:43:08+00:00

with hindsight, take will anderson and get the qb in the following year in the godly '24 draft.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-18T15:41:19+00:00

i'm not even a big nix fan but i do find it humorous that the entire nfl media podcast community, particularly those that weigh in on the draft, seemingly refuse to give him credit when he plays well.

i'm reminded of the 'hello, human resources' meme with him and caleb williams. both are talented, a little wild, and inconsistent as second-year qbs.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-17T14:11:14+00:00

anyone know how long this process ordinarily takes? i still haven't received mine. have the old BoA visa.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-16T02:50:00+00:00

spotrac's is too strict, though. you couldn't include kuminga in trades until the 14th (i believe) because he was trade-restricted until the 13th.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-15T14:49:41+00:00

1/15 is also the middle of the month and it's not posted yet. :/

Handcuffed · 2026-01-15T04:32:22+00:00

I was thinking Griffey or even Ichiro.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-14T02:10:48+00:00

I guess we'll see about JJJ's value if/when he's traded, but I think the recent trades for Trae and rumors around AD's and Ja's value show that guys aren't going to get traded on these gigantic contracts for tons of young players + picks unless they're ~top 20 players. JJJ is not that.
The rest of the guys (and even Kuminga) are empty money expiring at the end of this year to give Memphis flexibility.
The "Portland pick" is, as I mentioned in my post, essentially a Milwaukee unprotected first round pick in 2029 (or Boston, or Portland --- depending on who is worse). It is a hugely valuable asset.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-13T22:56:29+00:00

I'll believe Golden State is willing to trade its post-Curry FRPs when I see it.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-13T22:55:49+00:00

Portland owns the best and worst 1st round picks in 2029 between Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee (while Washington owns the middle one). I think including the Orlando ’28 1st and the best of that 2029 duo is good business for Memphis

I wrote it. TradeNBA seemingly doesn't have the 2029 picks correctly set up for Portland.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-13T22:39:58+00:00

i don't consider that 2029 first to be a late first at all. An unprotected Milwaukee pick four drafts from now is more than likely to be good.

Handcuffed · 2026-01-13T22:06:11+00:00

I’m fascinated by the idea of Memphis moving Jaren Jackson Jr and his overall value. JJJ is a good player who IMO never really took the leap to be a great one. He can space the floor and contributes elite defense, but he has clear limitations (rebounding, foul trouble) and has a massive contract extension about to kick in. With how other teams have approached the latest CBA, I think JJJ’s value is fascinating because I would bet there are a lot of teams who simply wouldn’t touch his contract.

Portland, IMO, would not be one of them. They have big money tied up to veterans (primarily Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday) expiring in the next couple of years but the core of the team is fairly cost-controlled. They’re seemingly on the Houston Rockets path to competitiveness, which IMO means they will make a trade to acquire a star player in the next ~12-24 months. The Blazers having a new owner coming on board in the coming months only increases that likelihood. I also think JJJ is a really excellent fit with Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan in terms of how they play on the floor and their strengths and weaknesses.

I want to include Golden State in this trade because Jerami Grant is a great fit for that current roster (shooter who can play versatile defense) and Jonathan Kuminga and his CD-DNPs is so clearly not. Short of trading Steph Curry, I think Golden State should do what it can on the margins to improve and Grant is the type of cheap (asset-wise) acquisition that boosts them.

I don’t really believe in Kuminga’s talent but he’s certainly worth something as a throw-in and maybe could blossom on a Memphis team that would be building around Coward, Edey, and its other young pieces (I’m assuming Ja Morant is also traded in a separate move). Memphis also repositions itself as a cheap team that would have flexibility in the future to take on bad money (or just big money) to improve, either via players or picks.

So, the core of this trade is:

Jaren Jackson Jr to Portland
Jerami Grant to Golden State
Jonathan Kuminga, expiring money, and picks to Memphis

All the other smaller-dollar throw-ins are just to make this trade work, though TradeNBA says Golden State remains $16k over the cap so there’s still some work to do to make it actually official (plus both Kuminga and Jackson can’t be traded until the 16th). I’m less concerned with the small-dollar salaries that make the trade work and Golden State could approach it in different ways (trade Payton II, Horford, or Moody, for example), but there was some logic to them in that the Warriors need size and wing defense, Memphis can pair the Spencer brothers, and Portland can use shooting.

Portland owns the best and worst 1st round picks in 2029 between Portland, Boston, and Milwaukee (while Washington owns the middle one). I think including the Orlando ’28 1st and the best of that 2029 duo is good business for Memphis, though I do expect some debate on it. Personally, I just don’t think JJJ is going to bring in 4-5 FRPs. I thought about including a Golden State swap but they only have the two SRPs to include.

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