The NBA Thread (68 Viewers)

Post Ironic

Senior Member
Feb 9, 2013
41,887
@ALC

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lol, not even close

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why George stayed in Oklahoma:

Yep. George was always about the money. Not the player I would want anyways, not for that kind of money.

Wish we could get Kawhi without mortgaging the future. Regardless, I hope management and Lebron are patient. If Kawhi really wants to play in LA, he'll come next summer as a free agent, and allow this team to stay together. Give Lebron and the youngsters a season to see what they can do, how they develop, and make sure you have the cap space to sign someone like Kawhi (or even KD if he opts out of his 1 + 1) next summer.

KCP on a 1 year deal is a good start for that.

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:sad: has your rating of Lebron changed at all?

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And also, I read 157
Nah. I still rate him as a top 5 player of all-time when it's all said and done, the question is whether he can move into the top 2/3.

I've got: 1)MJ 2)Kareem 3)Magic 4)Bird

Kareem has the longevity, the dominance, the championships, mvps, etc, not sure how he's so often overlooked, but he's clear number 2 for me. Magic and Bird would have an argument for that 2nd position if they had better longevity. Lebron is going to beat them both on that count.

My issue with Lebron, is that he has never been an easy player to build a team around to play good basketball. He's too ball-dominant, and too much the centre of everything happening on the offensive end. He's by far the best one-man team I've ever watched, can turn a team of scrubs into legit contenders like no one ever has, but even when he's played with really good players, he's had trouble working into systems that aren't just Lebron + 4 shooters. The closest he came was Lebron + Wade + 3 shooters. But too much iso, too little fast ball movement, too many Bron pick'n'rolls.

I said before, I think it's because how he came into the league, playing with scrubs, with a management that drafted horribly in the years around him getting picked, and lost young Boozer and Haywood before they even really got started for the Cavs. He turned the Cavs into contenders so quick without any help, that they never had the chance post his arrival to draft high again, and they were horribly incompetent at building a team of good young players for Lebron to grow into the league with. So he grew into the league having to do it all for his team, and really has never given up the keys since then.

He needs to give up the keys in LA if he is to be the 2nd best player of all-time behind MJ (or even challenge MJ). Buy into a system for the next 4 years, allow Magic to work his magic and build around him, let the young players grow, emphasize ball movement and team play, and become a great part of a team. If he can do that, and win another championship or two, even if it's not for the next year or two, I'll be happy to have seen his evolution finally in that regard.

If we sacrifice the future for another big three and no ability to get a strong supporting cast around him, it's going to end in disappointment imo.
 

ALC

Ohaulick
Oct 28, 2010
46,012
I don't disagree at all about what you said in the first paragraph. Which makes his accomplishments even more ridiculous. But he worked great with Wade+Bosh and Kyrie+Love. Before and after that, he had not one -let alone two - player of that level. Also, the Cleveland Cavaliers' second highest points ever scored have been by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. :lol::lol2:

And not to mention, the teams that beat him in Finals consist of the Warriors and the Spurs with younger TD+TP+MG

Anyways, I always wonder how the 15 years he's been killing it for are not enough but two more years can make such a difference
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,680
Congrats @zizinho @King of Kings @Salvo @j0ker did I miss anyone else? there's too many of you...anyways, enjoy him. should be awesome to have someone like LeBron on your team, dude makes for exitement and is still the best player in the league after 15 years and shows no signs of stopping

I'm so gonna try to get tix when the Lakers come to town. :D they're gonna be so fucking stupid expensive




Can't fault PG either, gotta get his.

KCP? is that porzingis?
Kentavious Caldwell Pope. He was their starting shooting guard last year

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I think that it is safe to say that this current supporting cast is miles ahead of what he had in Cleveland in last year

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This 4 year deal that he signed is a sign of commitment and faith in Lebron's part. This is the longest contract he has signed since the Miami deal
 

Salvo

J
Moderator
Dec 17, 2007
61,285
Congrats @zizinho @King of Kings @Salvo @j0ker did I miss anyone else? there's too many of you...anyways, enjoy him. should be awesome to have someone like LeBron on your team, dude makes for exitement and is still the best player in the league after 15 years and shows no signs of stopping

I'm so gonna try to get tix when the Lakers come to town. :D they're gonna be so fucking stupid expensive




Can't fault PG either, gotta get his.

KCP? is that porzingis?
Thanks champ!

Will be interesting to see what happens now, as Serge has said recently
I'd hate to blow up this young core

In an ideal world I wouldn't want to lose any of them, it will be interesting to see what Magic does now
It's hard to see us not going for another big fish which means some of those pieces will be gone
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,680
Congrats Serge :)

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
Thanks man.

I was ambivalent at first about this scenario, for reasons that I expressed many times.

However, the fact that he signed for 4 years shows me that he has faith in Magic, and he doesn't feel the need that he has to win this year. He believes that Magic is going to get it done.

The same Magic that showed up at his door at 9:01 on last night.

And props to Jeannie Buss. It took an insane amount of balls to fire her own brother and have faith in 2 guys who had no front office experience.

If they keep the young core, I am really excited to see how they develop playing with Lebron
 

Post Ironic

Senior Member
Feb 9, 2013
41,887
I don't disagree at all about what you said in the first paragraph. Which makes his accomplishments even more ridiculous. But he worked great with Wade+Bosh and Kyrie+Love. Before and after that, he had not one -let alone two - player of that level. Also, the Cleveland Cavaliers' second highest points ever scored have been by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. :lol::lol2:

And not to mention, the teams that beat him in Finals consist of the Warriors and the Spurs with younger TD+TP+MG

Anyways, I always wonder how the 15 years he's been killing it for are not enough but two more years can make such a difference
I think we actually agree entirely. I think his accomplishments are entirely ridiculous, given the lack of a top coach and good system for his career, and given the mess he grew into maturity playing in. It's extraordinary really. And he has worked well with two "big threes" but I want to see him have a young team grow around him for the first time in his career (speaks volumes about the Cavs mismanagement of his early career), and build into something special. Even if it takes until year 3 of his contract to get to the championship, I want a good coach, a good system with ball movement, Lebron not burning himself out all the time by playing a little more off-ball, and Lebron helping develop these young guys into stars.

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Kentavious Caldwell Pope. He was their starting shooting guard last year

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I think that it is safe to say that this current supporting cast is miles ahead of what he had in Cleveland in last year

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This 4 year deal that he signed is a sign of commitment and faith in Lebron's part. This is the longest contract he has signed since the Miami deal
:agree:

Did he ever sign a 4 year contract at Mimi, I thought it was 3 plus he opted in for the 4th?
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,680
Lance Stephenson 1 year deal :lol:

You can tell that Lebron is the forgiving kind

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I think we actually agree entirely. I think his accomplishments are entirely ridiculous, given the lack of a top coach and good system for his career, and given the mess he grew into maturity playing in. It's extraordinary really. And he has worked well with two "big threes" but I want to see him have a young team grow around him for the first time in his career (speaks volumes about the Cavs mismanagement of his early career), and build into something special. Even if it takes until year 3 of his contract to get to the championship, I want a good coach, a good system with ball movement, Lebron not burning himself out all the time by playing a little more off-ball, and Lebron helping develop these young guys into stars.

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:agree:

Did he ever sign a 4 year contract at Mimi, I thought it was 3 plus he opted in for the 4th?
It was a 6 year deal, with a player option after the 4th season.

I just thought of something regarding Kawhi. If the Spurs don't trade him to a team that he guarantees he will sign a long term contract to, they could be in trouble.

Trying to entice a PG when Ingram is your best player is one thing. Especially when PG was happy in OKC. That is a hard sell.

How hard of a sell would it be to Kawhi, when James is there?

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Zlatan :lol:
 

Post Ironic

Senior Member
Feb 9, 2013
41,887
Lance Stephenson 1 year deal :lol:

You can tell that Lebron is the forgiving kind

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It was a 6 year deal, with a player option after the 4th season.

I just thought of something regarding Kawhi. If the Spurs don't trade him to a team that he guarantees he will sign a long term contract to, they could be in trouble.

Trying to entice a PG when Ingram is your best player is one thing. Especially when PG was happy in OKC. That is a hard sell.

How hard of a sell would it be to Kawhi, when James is there?

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Zlatan :lol:
You're right. I forgot the deal was that long.

I like 4 years. It means Lebron has bought into the Lakers project and will be finishing his career here (competitive career anyways). Trusts Magic to build a contender. And it doesn't tie us to a 40 year old big money contract. He will be 37 in his last season of this contract.

Really liking these 1 year deals with fairly high upside players. If we strike out on Kawhi and others this summer, shipping off all the 1 years next summer will allow space for another max deal then.
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,680
You're right. I forgot the deal was that long.

I like 4 years. It means Lebron has bought into the Lakers project and will be finishing his career here (competitive career anyways). Trusts Magic to build a contender. And it doesn't tie us to a 40 year old big money contract. He will be 37 in his last season of this contract.

Really liking these 1 year deals with fairly high upside players. If we strike out on Kawhi and others this summer, shipping off all the 1 years next summer will allow space for another max deal then.
The word is already out there that the Lakers are only doing 1 year deals, so that they preserve the cap space.

Unless they sign Boogie.
 

Post Ironic

Senior Member
Feb 9, 2013
41,887
Laker fans freaking out about surrounding Lebron with garbage, but I would say it's pretty clear they are hedging bets for next summer if they can't get Kawhi for a reasonable cost without a trade that ships off most of the young potential star players, and Boogie is a big question mark.

Next summer Kawhi and KD potentially available, so having the cap space then could be super important.

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The word is already out there that the Lakers are only doing 1 year deals, so that they preserve the cap space.

Unless they sign Boogie.
Yeah. So many fans not understanding this.

Would you be okay with Randle leaving and Cousins coming in? Randle and Deng gone, Cousins in, and all the one years, would probably allow us to go for Kawhi next summer if Spurs won't trade...

I like Randle, and Boogie is high risk, but if he gets back to top form, that's a pretty tempting move.
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,680
Lance Stephenson is not garbage. He's flaky, but not garbage.

Larry Bird loves him, and that's good enough for me.

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Laker fans freaking out about surrounding Lebron with garbage, but I would say it's pretty clear they are hedging bets for next summer if they can't get Kawhi for a reasonable cost without a trade that ships off most of the young potential star players, and Boogie is a big question mark.

Next summer Kawhi and KD potentially available, so having the cap space then could be super important.

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Yeah. So many fans not understanding this.

Would you be okay with Randle leaving and Cousins coming in? Randle and Deng gone, Cousins in, and all the one years, would probably allow us to go for Kawhi next summer if Spurs won't trade...

I like Randle, and Boogie is high risk, but if he gets back to top form, that's a pretty tempting move.
I'll drive Randle to the airport myself if it means getting Cousins.

No questions asked.

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Anybody that has been paying attention since December, knows how much I love Cousins
 

Salvo

J
Moderator
Dec 17, 2007
61,285
Lance Stephenson is not garbage. He's flaky, but not garbage.

Larry Bird loves him, and that's good enough for me.

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I'll drive Randle to the airport myself if it means getting Cousins.

No questions asked.

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Anybody that has been paying attention since December, knows how much I love Cousins
I have a feeling we won't see many other big moves unless kawhi can get done
We won't lost any big pieces to get him though, we can get him free next season
 

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