The NBA Thread (66 Viewers)

[Hust]

Suddenly, people who have never chimed into this thread are talking about how they can watch Laker games again, or having Lebron as an Avatar.

Ummm. I'm assuming you are referring to me since I posted my first post in this thread this morning?

I like Cleveland because that's where I grew up and went to school. My wife is from Orange Country in SoCal so she has been a Lakers fan since she was a kid.

I'm not a Lakers fan, not even really an NBA fan to be honest but that doesn't mean I'm on a bandwagon.

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[j0ker]

Suddenly, people who have never chimed into this thread are talking about how they can watch Laker games again, or having Lebron as an Avatar.

 

[KB824]

Ummm. I'm assuming you are referring to me since I posted my first post in this thread this morning?

I like Cleveland because that's where I grew up and went to school. My wife is from Orange Country in SoCal so she has been a Lakers fan since she was a kid.

I'm not a Lakers fan, not even really an NBA fan to be honest but that doesn't mean I'm on a bandwagon.

I actually didn't even know you posted No, that wasn't meant towards you

 

[Hust]

I actually didn't even know you posted No, that wasn't meant towards you

Ok, great.

Cuz it was literally my first post in this thread so...well, glad we cleared that up

 

[KB824]

Lebron James...Forza Cavs...bitches I came from Cleveland so don't hate...its our year. at least one of my teams will win this year.

Never posted on this thread before

Liar.

You Lieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.



But I still love you.

 

[zizinho]

with Lebron just having had his arguably best playoff performance I think you stood a good chance next season if you created a mix of experienced winners and youth. I haven't watched Lakers much and don't know how true this is, but the general opinion is that you have some very good young guns. given how shaky the Warriors where already this season (I think they'd have lost against the Rockets if not for Chris Paul getting injured), I think you'd stand a good chance against them with Lebron + Cousins f.e., I wouldn't bet that James will be the same players in 2019/20 and even if he is, it's highly unlikely he'll keep it up for a 3rd or 4th year

i dont think this was Lebrons best playoff run, he played zero defense and tried to do too much on his own. it worked in the east, but he got swept against GS. Rockets had both the defense and firepower to keep up with them. even when CP3 went down, Rockets kept up for good parts of the game, and if not for all the bricks they threw from 3, they might have just advanced. maybe name wise they arent as great as the Warriors, but as a team they were pretty damn close. those are experienced veterans that played together for a few years, then added CP3. and this was their peak year as a team, doubt they will repeat such a season.

i like Boogie, but no one knows how he will look after the injury, so even him is a somewhat risky move, still prefer to wait for Kawhi. and i like our chances as we are right now. we are switching (successfully) everything defensively and are gonna make the Warriors work their asses off too by running a fluid offense with lots of screens, passing, cutting. if James buys into this, steps up defensively and doesent try to change the offense to his usual static one, i fancy our chances to beat them in 19-20, and give them a run for their money this season. i mean, we took their star big man from them, they are severely weakened now

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Suddenly, people who have never chimed into this thread are talking about how they can watch Laker games again, or having Lebron as an Avatar.

Chiello3 is like 13 year old. dont know about Orguts deal tho

 

[Hust]

Never posted on this thread before

Liar.

You Lieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.



But I still love you.

holy shit...great find...almost 10 years ago

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from his first stint in CLE

 

[pitbull]

i dont think this was Lebrons best playoff run, he played zero defense and tried to do too much on his own. it worked in the east, but he got swept against GS. Rockets had both the defense and firepower to keep up with them. even when CP3 went down, Rockets kept up for good parts of the game, and if not for all the bricks they threw from 3, they might have just advanced. maybe name wise they arent as great as the Warriors, but as a team they were pretty damn close. those are experienced veterans that played together for a few years, then added CP3. and this was their peak year as a team, doubt they will repeat such a season.

i like Boogie, but no one knows how he will look after the injury, so even him is a somewhat risky move, still prefer to wait for Kawhi. and i like our chances as we are right now. we are switching (successfully) everything defensively and are gonna make the Warriors work their asses off too by running a fluid offense with lots of screens, passing, cutting. if James buys into this, steps up defensively and doesent try to change the offense to his usual static one, i fancy our chances to beat them in 19-20, and give them a run for their money this season. i mean, we took their star big man from them, they are severely weakened now

what does your starting 5 look like with James and Kawhi? I'd argue that a big C like Cousins now gives you more of an edge over Warriors than Kawhi a season from now. Of course if Cousins is still functional

 

[KB824]

what does your starting 5 look like with James and Kawhi? I'd argue that a big C like Cousins now gives you more of an edge over Warriors than Kawhi a season from now. Of course if Cousins is still functional

If Kawhi comes as a free agent?

PG-Ball
SG- Ingram
SF- Leonard
PF- James
C- Cousins


If Ingram and Kuzma are traded for Kawhi

PG- Ball
SG- Hart or whomever they sign to a Mid Level Exemption
SF- Leonard
PF- James
C- Cousins

 

[zizinho]

what does your starting 5 look like with James and Kawhi? I'd argue that a big C like Cousins now gives you more of an edge over Warriors than Kawhi a season from now. Of course if Cousins is still functional

Ball-KCP-Ingram-James-McGee i would say. Stephenson-Hart-Kuzma-Randle-Wagner 2nd unit. maybe move Randle/Kuzma in the starting lineup over KCP/Ingram, if you dont think of James as a PF.

thats my concern #1 with Boogie, if hes still functional. i have no doubt whatever version of him comes back, that he would be an improvement over Lopez. and i think he will have no problem getting back offensively, hes a very good shooter and passer, can play in the post well and doesent rely much on athleticism. on defense tho, Warriors gonna bring him out to the perimeter where Curry would literally rape him each possession. he might get injured again doing just that, defending Curry. on a 1 year deal, absolutely, bring him here (do we even have the capspace now with these new deals like KCP, Lance, McGee?). but keeping the capspace for Kawhi is vital, so all i want for this season are 1 year deals

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lol just realized you asked about the starting 5 WITH Kawhi, and i wrote it for this season. but King of Kings already answered

 

[KB824]

Ball-KCP-Ingram-James-McGee i would say. Stephenson-Hart-Kuzma-Randle-Wagner 2nd unit. maybe move Randle/Kuzma in the starting lineup over KCP/Ingram, if you dont think of James as a PF.

thats my concern #1 with Boogie, if hes still functional. i have no doubt whatever version of him comes back, that he would be an improvement over Lopez. and i think he will have no problem getting back offensively, hes a very good shooter and passer, can play in the post well and doesent rely much on athleticism. on defense tho, Warriors gonna bring him out to the perimeter where Curry would literally rape him each possession. he might get injured again doing just that, defending Curry. on a 1 year deal, absolutely, bring him here (do we even have the capspace now with these new deals like KCP, Lance, McGee?). but keeping the capspace for Kawhi is vital, so all i want for this season are 1 year deals

McGee is not starting. No way, no how. If we don't get Cousins or Capela, look for us to bring Lopez back on a 1 year deal at a reduced salary. We have his bird rights, so we can sign him while still being over the cap

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@pitbull that is assuming that they somehow get Cousins for this year, which is a stretch. It CAN be done, but it would be difficult.

I think it would probably benefit the Lakers if they trade for Kawhi now, just for the simple fact that he retains his bird rights, but the Lakers also have to realize that now we are dealing in a position of strength with this.

If we didn't get Lebron and tried to wait on Kawhi, it would have been a much harder sell for him to come to LA. But now that we have Lebron? That makes things a whole lot smoother for Kawhi to leave as a free agent, and don't think that San ANtonio and other teams do not know this now.

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The Lakers getting Lebron wiped out a lot of leverage that San Antonio had.

 

[zizinho]

McGee is not starting. No way, no how. If we don't get Cousins or Capela, look for us to bring Lopez back on a 1 year deal at a reduced salary. We have his bird rights, so we can sign him while still being over the cap

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@pitbull that is assuming that they somehow get Cousins for this year, which is a stretch. It CAN be done, but it would be difficult.

I think it would probably benefit the Lakers if they trade for Kawhi now, just for the simple fact that he retains his bird rights, but the Lakers also have to realize that now we are dealing in a position of strength with this.

If we didn't get Lebron and tried to wait on Kawhi, it would have been a much harder sell for him to come to LA. But now that we have Lebron? That makes things a whole lot smoother for Kawhi to leave as a free agent, and don't think that San ANtonio and other teams do not know this now.

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The Lakers getting Lebron wiped out a lot of leverage that San Antonio had.

dont we have enough bigs already? Zubac, Wagner, Randle, McGee all can play center. if we wanted to get another one, why even add McGee?

 

[pitbull]

McGee is not starting. No way, no how. If we don't get Cousins or Capela, look for us to bring Lopez back on a 1 year deal at a reduced salary. We have his bird rights, so we can sign him while still being over the cap

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@pitbull that is assuming that they somehow get Cousins for this year, which is a stretch. It CAN be done, but it would be difficult.

I think it would probably benefit the Lakers if they trade for Kawhi now, just for the simple fact that he retains his bird rights, but the Lakers also have to realize that now we are dealing in a position of strength with this.

If we didn't get Lebron and tried to wait on Kawhi, it would have been a much harder sell for him to come to LA. But now that we have Lebron? That makes things a whole lot smoother for Kawhi to leave as a free agent, and don't think that San ANtonio and other teams do not know this now.

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The Lakers getting Lebron wiped out a lot of leverage that San Antonio had.

I agree about San Antonio having to buckle now, maybe you can already get Kawhi without sacrificing too much. But I really think giving Lebron a 4 year deal only pays off if you go for it in the first 2 years, he won't be the player he is at moment for much longer, eventually they all decline.

 

[KB824]

dont we have enough bigs already? Zubac, Wagner, Randle, McGee all can play center. if we wanted to get another one, why even add McGee?

Because he is on a minimum salary and has playoff experience. Bench depth.

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I agree about San Antonio having to buckle now, maybe you can already get Kawhi without sacrificing too much. But I really think giving Lebron a 4 year deal only pays off if you go for it in the first 2 years, he won't be the player he is at moment for much longer, eventually they all decline.

I agree that he can't play like this forever, but a Lebron who is 75% of what he is now, in2 years time, is still better than most of the players in the NBA.

 

[zizinho]

lets say we bring back Brook.

1.James
2.Lopez
3.KCP
4.Ball
5.Kuzma
6.Ingram
7.Randle
8.Hart
9.Wagner
10.Zubac
11.McGee
12.Stephenson

rotation would be Ball/Stephenson, KCP/Hart, James/Ingram, Randle/Kuzma/Wagner, Lopez/McGee/Zubac. Randle and Wagner would also play center a lot because we will go small often. looks like we want many centers with different characteristics for different matchups (Capela/Tucker, Bell/Green, Embiid, Horford/Bayness, Adams, Gortat, Gobert, Gasol/Aldridge etc) and are fine with a somewhat thinner rotation outside at the expense of this

 

[KB824]

Why do you have the 2nd best player on the Lakers as a backup to Lebron? Walton believes in positionless basketball. Lebron and Brandon will both be on the court together. A lot.

 

[zizinho]

Why do you have the 2nd best player on the Lakers as a backup to Lebron? Walton believes in positionless basketball. Lebron and Brandon will both be on the court together. A lot.

i know, i just wanted to break down the current roster if all these moves happen position wise and make my point about the centers

 

[Enron]

Ofcourse not starter, not much team left where he can start. But why does it matter if Bird likes him (same Pacers who released him) or if LeBron approves if Lance is still an incredibly blow IQ player who would be shunned already for his on court performance if it wasn't for his colourful character.



It's kinda extra amusing that LeBron contention in Cavs press conferences at end was importance of playing with more high IQ players. And the first two guys signed by Lakers when he joins is Lance and McGee. Can't get more low IQ then that, unless your name is Dwight Howard.

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Um, this is the guy who thought trading for JR Smith was a good idea. LeBron may have ok'd Lance but his history of picking players to play with is pretty bad. Look at who he surrounded himself with during his Cleveland stints. Now Stevenson isn't so surprising.

 

[KB824]

Um, this is the guy who thought trading for JR Smith was a good idea. LeBron may have ok'd Lance but his history of picking players to play with is pretty bad. Look at who he surrounded himself with during his Cleveland stints. Now Stevenson isn't so surprising.

Not worried about Stevenson or McGee in this scenario, as neither one of them are projected to be starters. I don't expect them to be on the floor in the most key moments of the game

 

[Osman]

Yep, and if they give him tiny bit of leeway expect mediocre Klutch sport players.

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