NBA and College Basketball Thread

[kuroishinigami]

Lebron's "I'm the best, and you should follow my example or GTFO" attitude is not as bad as Kobe, and he's actually a better and more willing passer than Kobe, so I really think it could work. Anthony OTH, will just take a lot more shot from Harden and Howard, not to mention his "weak" defense will increase the defensive load on Howard even more.

I don't expect Lebron to move away from the Heat though.

[kirikirito334]

I really hate the thought that Miami should be sort of 'debunked' by their loss. Look at the Spurs last season. Big 3 is old. They had a chance to finish the Heat for two games, both game was close up to the last two minutes, but they let it go. Did they look for other teams? No. They regrouped, focused on the trophy and now, they finished the season with a splash! If any, Heat should prove themselves next season to the Spurs. Get their own revenge.

[BPD Renegade]

The Spurs are a bit of an anomaly in the NBA scene though, what with players and coaches jumping ship and being traded left and right. I sort of see them as the venerated, giant stone guardians that overlook a scene.

But I agree with you guys. It doesn't really feel like he's going to leave and personally, he shouldn't.

[itisjustme]

Harden would drive James crazy. Melo would fight Harden for ballhogging. Love is another not leader not team player but he makes the most sense, he's pretty close to GSW though sounds like. Hope you guys don't end up like the Nets.

If Lebron is chasing rings he wouldn't go to the west. Staying in the east is basically guaranteed trip to the finals. Speaking of which the NBA should change the format, the East/West difference has become ridiculous now.

I don't think Miami has been 'debunnked' it's just players not having the hardcore competition frame of mind anymore. They want to look good on tv, get easy wins if they can, not fight to prove they're the best anymore. I'm not sure who started this FA superteam trend, was it Boston? Lebron is kinda the leader of that movement right now, the top players influence their era.

[Elo the Blue]

Originally Posted by kirikirito334

I really hate the thought that Miami should be sort of 'debunked' by their loss. Look at the Spurs last season. Big 3 is old. They had a chance to finish the Heat for two games, both game was close up to the last two minutes, but they let it go. Did they look for other teams? No. They regrouped, focused on the trophy and now, they finished the season with a splash! If any, Heat should prove themselves next season to the Spurs. Get their own revenge.

It's not that the Heat have debunked. They just clearly need a retool. The Spurs have a system spanning well over a decade in place. Their Big 3 has played combined 1000 and more importantly, they had young players they could rely on in the crunch. That's not the case with the Heat. According to Tom Haberstroh, Miami's big three has played a combined 10,000 more minutes than the Spurs' big three since the 2010-11 season. That stat alone shows the Heat need to re-tool and adjust.

The Spurs

Originally Posted by itisjustme

If Lebron is chasing rings he wouldn't go to the west. Staying in the east is basically guaranteed trip to the finals. Speaking of which the NBA should change the format, the East/West difference has become ridiculous now.

I don't think Miami has been 'debunnked' it's just players not having the hardcore competition frame of mind anymore. They want to look good on tv, get easy wins if they can, not fight to prove they're the best anymore. I'm not sure who started this FA superteam trend, was it Boston? Lebron is kinda the leader of that movement right now, the top players influence their era.

The East isn't going to this bad forever; there's no real need to change the format. A merging of the conference and simply having the best 16 teams play would the best way in my opinion but I doubt that happens.

To your last point, that's b.s. Players are still competitive. I'd love to see you tell any of the Spurs, Heat, Mavs or previous champs the past number of years that they didn't fight to prove they were the best to their faces. This mythologising of the older generation is so tired. It's even worse when people don't do their homework. Star trios go back to Magic, Kareem and Worthy. People can get mad at how the Heat came together but the concept is old and so is ring-chasing.

[frivolity]

Wade and Bosh have joined LeBron in opting out. Next step is to see how much less they will sign for in order to clear cap room for more role players. Miami has $55m cap space now.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ments-reaction

[VTHokiePride]

Haslem has joined the Big 3 in opting out of their contracts as well.

[kirikirito334]

Oooooh. This makes me feel excited of the next season!

[VTHokiePride]

Is Jodie Meeks really worth the $19 million for 3 years? The Pistons think so. I don't.

[judasmartel]

Anyone following international basketball during or after the FIFA World Cup? Then check out this thread:

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=126594

It's not yet complete though, but I'm giving some new notes there now.

[frivolity]

There's been a few moves on the coaching end recently, aside from Steve Kerr being hired by GSW and Derek Fisher becoming Phil's protégé in NY.

Nets have traded Jason Kidd to the Bucks in exchange for two second round draft picks, one from 2015 and one from 2019. Imo, it's not a good trade for the Bucks. While Kidd isn't a bad coach per se, he wanted Brooklyn to give him near-unfettered authority on basketball operations after his first season as a coach. An attitude like that may bring instability to the organisation. Besides, there's little reason to give up picks when the Nets would probably have let him go anyway.

The Nets have hired Lionel Hollins as their new coach. Good move for them but I was really hoping the Rockets would pick him up

[itisjustme]

There's contradictory reports on Kidd, apparently he's friends with the Bucks' owners, in Brooklyn he was complaining about King's competence and wanted someone above him, some say he didn't suggest himself as a first options.

Anyway there's no denying Kidd doesn't have good rep anyway so wouldn't be surprising.

Also I heard Rockets put up billboards of Melo in a Rockets shirt with Lin's number on it, classy. :P

[kirikirito334]

Melo would be better off with the Bulls, I think. Western Conference is just too hard. With OKC, Spurs, Dallas, Clippers and more. It would take a good team, not just talent, to weather those storms.

[frivolity]

Spurs have their core team intact for one more year. Patty Mills re-signed for $12m over 3 years (GREAT contract), and Diaw for $22m over 3 years (slightly overpaid imo). The only player from this year's squad who hasn't signed is Matt Bonner.

If no additions are made aside from keeping the current squad intact, I would only put the Spurs at around 2nd or 3rd in terms of their probability of getting out of the West. There's lots of great free agents available this season, and teams that make the right moves can increase their chances greatly.

[kuroishinigami]

Diaw contract seems a little bit too high for a 32 years old, but if the report that the 3rd year of the contract is only partially guaranteed(and it is front-loaded), then it might not be as bad as it looks. The Spirs have no hope to sign a major free agent that won't take the MLE anyway if they want to retain Diaw.

[frivolity]

Not sure what to make of it, but A LOT of insiders on Twitter are saying that LeBron is going to Cleveland.

Originally Posted by @TheSharkVK

Lebron James will tell Pat Riley of his decision to return to Cleveland tonight. The Heat are now a lottery team.

Originally Posted by @Probballdraft

Growing expectation that the purpose of LeBron's meeting with Riley will be to inform Heat of his decision to return to the Cavs.

I normally take these with a pinch of salt though, because it doesn't make much basketball sense from LeBron's perspective, unless he really cares about his image as the prodigal son.

From the Rockets' perspective, this is actually a good thing because if LeBron leaves Miami, that leaves Bosh open for the taking.

[judasmartel]

Hmm, I wonder if Lebron could bring Cleveland a championship...

[frivolity]

Argh, Melo returns to the Knicks. The number 7 jersey remains with Jeremy Lin for now.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...icle-1.1860680

Rockets are apparently in extensive talks with Bosh's camp, since Minnesota is waiting for the next round of offers from other teams bidding for Love.

Edit: Also, Parsons (restricted free agent) received a 3-year $46m offer from Dallas. We don't have the cap room to match that if we want a 3rd star. We're going to have to let him walk.

If we don't get a 3rd star, this off-season will be a colossal failure for the Rockets. We would have lost Asik, Parsons, and most likely Lin for almost nothing in return except the Pelicans' 2015 first round draft pick. Our team will literally be a Howard-Harden two man show.

[Kakurin]

It's official. James' going back to the Cavaliers. Miami is up for a hard landing with Bosh now surely going to Houston. From 4-time Eastern Conference champions to the lottery, has to be the hardest fall by a team since Chicago 1999.

[Divini]

I expected Melo to stay in New York, but wow, Lebron. Bosh is now going to Houston for sure.

Vegas just switched the championship odds for Miami and Cleveland lol.