NBA Thread

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

He's worked so hard and gone through so much pain for this game. he deserves to have success and win a tittle more than anyone imo.

I cannot agreed with you more, Grant is one of the nicest guys I have seen playing in the NBA.

[heavyjeffd]

A friend of mine (who is a big Spurs hater) was trying to convince me that Duncan wasn't coming back in '08.

Yeah right.

I hope there's some big crazy trades this offseason (ie: Kobe or something).

Pistons should re-sign Billups and let 'Sheed go.
Cav's need a playmaking PG bad and to get rid of Z.
Rockets also need a playmaking PG.

I was thinking about someone else earlier but I can't remember.

Ah well. :E

[MetalMike]

I waited on the biggest line I've ever seen in my entire life only to find that the tickets were sold out. I'm so upset. The NBA bought out like 250 seats this year to limit the event.

[ibzrg1570]

So, any thoughts on the draft results?

[GH0STrider]

What the .... was paxon thinking? Noah? Another rebounder/ shot blocker with no offesive game? Why not roll the windows down and welcome tyson chandler back into town? If he has any brains he will package noah and trade him for the post player we need. Energy guy my ass. Like we don't already have enough "energy guys".

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

So, any thoughts on the draft results?

--I'm sure that Zack Randolph will be a model citizen in a sleepy, quiet town like NYC.

--Trading Jeff Green for 32-year-old Ray Allen and his gimpy ankles? Brilliant!

--The Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian without even seeing tape of him. I'm sure that'll work out well.

--By drafting Tiago Splitter, the Spurs could well field a team without a single native-born American in a year or two.

--Does anyone in the Eastern Conference know how to put a team together? I'm not seeing much evidence of it.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

--Trading Jeff Green for 32-year-old Ray Allen and his gimpy ankles? Brilliant!

How darn you forgot about BOTH of his surgerically repaired knees!

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

--The Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian without even seeing tape of him. I'm sure that'll work out well.

They have seen tapes of Yi, but the Yi camp never allowed the Bucks to scout him in person. If they workout the differences between both parties, I think it is a risk worth taking in Bucks' part.

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

--Does anyone in the Eastern Conference know how to put a team together? I'm not seeing much evidence of it.

Danny Ainge is such an inspiration for starters!

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

They have seen tapes of Yi, but the Yi camp never allowed the Bucks to scout him in person. If they workout the differences between both parties, I think it is a risk worth taking in Bucks' part.

Really? I thought the announcers during the telecast said that the Bucks' general manager had only talked to someone from the Mavericks' front office about Yi, but hadn't actually seen any tape himself.

Either way, drafting someone who said in advance that he didn't want to play for that team wasn't exactly a smart move. There were plenty of other quality players available at that point in the draft.

[GH0STrider]

Thing about YI is he refused to workout for the bucks and his agent told the bucks Yi wasn't interested in playing for them since they are a smaller nba city. That is the problem right there. It's like when steve francis told the grizzlies not to draft him and they did anyway. It isn't right for any player to think they can pick and chose what team they can go to as a rookie but its equally retarded for a gm to draft a guy who specifically told you they did not want to play for your team. I would not be one bit suprissed to see Yi get traded just as Francis did. For as much as I look down on Yi for this I frown even more so at the bucks. Pick a player who actually wants to be a part of your team. It isn't rocket science.

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

Pick a player who actually wants to be a part of your team. It isn't rocket science.

If they try and trade him now, they won't the same value as they would have gotten for the pick before the draft. Really stupid move.

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

If they try and trade him now, they won't the same value as they would have gotten for the pick before the draft. Really stupid move.

There is a reason why franchises such as the bucks haven't won anything in a long time.

[ibzrg1570]

As much as I love Ray Allen (simply for being a former UConn Husky) I don't think he's the answer for the Celtics. I don't doubt his ability to put up big numbers and take pressure off Paul Pierce, but he can't do much if he's riding the pine and injured. Zach Randolph is not the person for the Knicks either. At least they got rid of Francis though. I don't know how he's going to fit into the Blazers' rotation. The Bucks made a huge mistake on Yi. If anyone has seen the Chinese team play an international game you know they tend to get blown out of the water. Taking any Chinese player is a huge risk IMO. Even Yao himself isn't really all that great for his size and strength (not being biased here at all, Yao is my favorite player in the NBA).

I am very optimistic about the Bobcats though. If Emeka can stay healthy (that's a big "if", I know) and they keep Gerald Wallace they can definitely make it to the playoffs.

In other news, Rashard Lewis is going to the Magic!

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

At least they got rid of Francis though. I don't know how he's going to fit into the Blazers' rotation.

You obviously ain't following the NBA closely enough. The latest has the Blazers trying to buy Francis' contract out, and he might be signing a deal with the Clippers.

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

Taking any Chinese player is a huge risk IMO.

I understand you do not mean anything bad here, but somehow I don't like the way it sounds...

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

I am very optimistic about the Bobcats though. If Emeka can stay healthy (that's a big "if", I know) and they keep Gerald Wallace they can definitely make it to the playoffs.

Wallace is a nice player, but he depends too much on his athletic abilities rather than skillz. The Bobcats or any team would regret paying him more then the mid-level exception and/or a long term deal in a couple of years.

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

In other news, Rashard Lewis is going to the Magic!

You made it sounded like it is a bad thing. I think it is a good move for the Magic. With Lewis, the Magic get a true 20-pt scorer they haven't have since T-Mac. Don't forget, they already have D-Howard locked up, and I think they would be pretty good with Lewis playing the perimeter. Ask yourself this, if you were Otis Smith, would you pay a proven scorer / decent defender the max or spend most of your cap space on an unproven, up and down guy in Darko? Whether or not they should sign him for the max money is another issue, but hey, it is captialism at work, my friend.

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

You obviously ain't following the NBA closely enough. The latest has the Blazers trying to buy Francis' contract out, and he might be signing a deal with the Clippers.

Yup. Blazers are going to buy him out. He is a cancer to any team he plays for. He has the most piss poor attitude I've ever seen. He thinks he is the whold damn show and he hasn't been shit for quite some time now.

Originally Posted by Azyiu

I understand you do not mean anything bad here, but somehow I don't like the way it sounds... .

I also agree here. How is taking a chinease player a bad thing? Look at yao. He turned out pretty damn good. Yeah it took him awhile to get used to the nba style but it takes most foreign players and college rookies a while too.

Originally Posted by Azyiu

Wallace is a nice player, but he depends too much on his athletic abilities rather than skillz. The Bobcats or any team would regret paying him more then the mid-level exception and/or a long term deal in a couple of years.

I disagree. At 18 ppg, 8 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and extermly atheltic you cant go wrong with this guy. He is a total package. great defender as well.

Originally Posted by Azyiu

You made it sounded like it is a bad thing. I think it is a good move for the Magic. With Lewis, the Magic get a true 20-pt scorer they haven't have since T-Mac. Don't forget, they already have D-Howard locked up, and I think they would be pretty good with Lewis playing the perimeter. Ask yourself this, if you were Otis Smith, would you pay a proven scorer / decent defender the max or spend most of your cap space on an unproven, up and down guy in Darko? Whether or not they should sign him for the max money is another issue, but hey, it is captialism at work, my friend.

True that. Besides with durrant there in seattle now rashard was going to lose some of those pretty numbers. He got a max deal to play for a team with a massive upside

[garcia3441]

Grant Hill to sign with Phoenix:

Agent: Grant Hill leaving Magic to join Suns - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

P.J. Carlesimo named coach of Seattle.

Sonics hire P.J. Carlesimo as head coach - Yahoo! News

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by garcia3441

Grant Hill to sign with Phoenix

Good move for both, and I wish Grant well.

Originally Posted by garcia3441

P.J. Carlesimo named coach of Seattle.

Oh God... I never liked P.J. as an NBA coach... he better have an insurance policy for his neck this time.

[GH0STrider]

Great welcome to the bench grant. The reason the suns will never win a tittle is cause d'antoni only plays 6 or 7 guys. He had a 3 point assasian in pike that he never played. HE has jalen rose- a former 20 ppg scorer that couldn't even mark 10 minutes. If you want to point the finger at why teams like dallas and the spurs have knocked them off I blame the coach. He has to many weapons to only play 6 guys.

[Azyiu]

Well, other than his rotation decision, I think D'Antoni has been a better coach than he gets credit for.

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

Well, other than his rotation decision, I think D'Antoni has been a better coach than he gets credit for.

I think the rotation issue is the one thing that holds this team back from winning a tittle. HE runs 6 guys to the ground while there are extremly valuable weapons on the bench.

[garcia3441]

Lenny Wilkens resigns as Sonics vice-chairman.

Wilkens resigns as Sonics vice chairman - Yahoo! News

[GH0STrider]

meh. That means nothing really.

[Azyiu]

Am I missing something or is DeShawn Steveson stupid?

First, the Magic offered him a 3-year deal worth over $10M last year, and he turned it down... he ended up getting only a 1-year minimum from the Wiz. Now again, he is asking for something like $24M over 5 years?! Who the hell he thinks he is?

[GH0STrider]

It was a great move cause now he's gonna get a big payday. Here is why.

1. He has played back to back 82 game seasons proving he can stay healthy. This is very atractive to any nba team because they all pay big bucks to a lot of players who get hurt.

2. He averaged a career high 11.2ppg this season while shooting 47 percent. There are players in the nba who get paid 10-15 million and don't even average in double digits let alone shoot the ball that well.

3. Perhaps the most attractive trait- He can play d with the best of them! He is a great defensive player yet very under the raidar. In a league full of players who don't even know what the word defense means he made his career on it.

So yeah he is worth the 6 mil a year. I'm sure he will get it somewhere if not from washington.

[Azyiu]

Good point on # 1 & 3, but I still have doubt in his shooting, even though he averages a career best this year.

So, purely your opinion, dude, where do you think KG will end up? Or is he going to stay put?

[GH0STrider]

First- For a shooting guard 47 percent is pretty damn good. Not to mention that he shot 40 percent from down town. When you shoot like that over 82 games the only thing to doubt is the oposition's ability to defend my man.

As for Kg- the wound is open he is on the block. It's going to be hard for kg to feel welcome in a t-wolves jersey knowing how activly he is being shopped. I think the lakers and suns still have the best chance at landing him despite the failed attempts. Sooner or later mchale needs to understand that he is not going to get equal value in return. He is going to have to bite the bullet and do it. I think a package built around shawn marion or lamar odom would be pretty good, espeacially if they can get young talent and draft picks thrown in the mix.

your thoughts?