2016 NBA Off-Season Thread

[WiggyRuss]

1) I wouldn't call the Thunder and Warriors exactly rivals. Are Toronto and Cleveland rivals?

2) Saying it was a coward move and took the easy way out is different than Lebron how? Lebron constantly had the best regular season team with the Cavs. Did he not take the easy way out by teaming up with Wade and Bosh to make sure he can beat Boston in the playoffs? If you say Durant took the easy way out then you must say the same for James.

At the end of the day as a professional athlete your goal is to win championships. When you have the chance, you must do what is best for you in order to put yourself in the best position to win the NBA title. If you tried to achieve an NBA title with the same franchise and the same formula for 8 or 9 years and it is not working. It doesn't hard to try something new and go to a team that puts you in a better position to win the title. All KD did is what Lebron did in 2010. Put himself in a better position to win the title.

when LeBron left the best guys he played iwth were Mo williams and delonte west and zydrunas iguaskas and ancient jamison and shaq......i understood why lebonr did what he did- he just did it in a stupid way- and he did after running his mouths months earlier about not leaving....i mean...whatever- he has a right to do whatever he wants to do- and the fans have a rgith to mercilessly boo him if they want....

Durant was up 3-1 on the Warriors 73 win team, has a team that is ridiculously talented, and was inches away from possibly accomplshing his goal last year. If Durant really looked at his OKC team and said- i just cant do this- thats pretty pathetic to me....hes never gonna be dirk or pierce- but so few guys are.

If Durant was truly an all time type talent he should have had plenty to win there...i get what he did- the pressure to win is enormous today- and he didnt have the confidence that he could get it done in OKC with the cast that he had. After watching him kinda choke against GSW- i dont know if i blame him...

 

[WiggyRuss]

You don't need Wade, you need Whiteside.

god no thats the LAST thing we need...lol. We need someone that sacrifices for the team and tries to win games--- not a guy worried about his video game stats...please get real....you dont win with little children like whiteside in pro sports.

 

[WiggyRuss]

You do realize this is a money thing for D-Wade right?

i think its a pride thing more than a money thing- the two are irrevocably linked...but "relationships are important"....

 

[bksballer89]

when LeBron left the best guys he played iwth were Mo williams and delonte west and zydrunas iguaskas and ancient jamison and shaq......i understood why lebonr did what he did- he just did it in a stupid way- and he did after running his mouths months earlier about not leaving....i mean...whatever- he has a right to do whatever he wants to do- and the fans have a rgith to mercilessly boo him if they want....

Durant was up 3-1 on the Warriors 73 win team, has a team that is ridiculously talented, and was inches away from possibly accomplshing his goal last year. If Durant really looked at his OKC team and said- i just cant do this- thats pretty pathetic to me....hes never gonna be dirk or pierce- but so few guys are.

If Durant was truly an all time type talent he should have had plenty to win there...i get what he did- the pressure to win is enormous today- and he didnt have the confidence that he could get it done in OKC with the cast that he had.

Point is at the end of the day you got to put yourself first. Yeah maybe Durant could have won 1 title with OKC currently setup the way they are. If he goes to the Warriors, he knows he could damn well win 3 of the next 5 titles or something along those lines considering that their core are all in their prime and all recently extended their contract except Curry.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Point is at the end of the day you got to put yourself first. Yeah maybe Durant could have won 1 title with OKC currently setup the way they are. If he goes to the Warriors, he knows he could damn well win 3 of the next 5 titles or something along those lines considering that their core are all in their prime and all recently extended their contract except Curry.

i think it will be fascinating to watch him this year....the pressure is going to be incredible....where that team had a lot of joy last season- this season is going to a joyless march to the playoffs...that cant prove anything till then.....especially durant.

i just hope they dont get someone that can slow down lebron somehow.

 

[CodeBreaker]

Spurs with Kawhi and Aldridge are now forgotten

 

[ChrisGar15]

Spurs with Kawhi and Aldridge are now forgotten

I love the Pau signing. It will only be a minor change to go from Timmy to Pau. Spurs will be working on their perimeter D all year. This year more than any before will have the regular season for the Spurs based totally around beating Ws in the playoffs. (don't worry about homecourt ... or event the #2 seed)

A lot will depends on Tony P & Manu turning back the clock a few years.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

god no thats the LAST thing we need...lol. We need someone that sacrifices for the team and tries to win games--- not a guy worried about his video game stats...please get real....you dont win with little children like whiteside in pro sports.

Guy worried about his video stats had billionaires lined up to give him 100M.
If he played with James and decent outside shooting, he'd look like Wilt.

#nootherathletesplayvideogames

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

i think it will be fascinating to watch him this year....the pressure is going to be incredible....where that team had a lot of joy last season- this season is going to a joyless march to the playoffs...that cant prove anything till then.....especially durant.

i just hope they dont get someone that can slow down lebron somehow.

Wasn't the Finals MVP 2 years ago the guy who was defending LeBron?

Didn't that same guy have a totally fucked up back towards the end of this years series?

Again, you guys get insulted by the use of the word fortunate, but that doesn't mean you weren't.

 

[Shanemansj13]

1) I wouldn't call the Thunder and Warriors exactly rivals. Are Toronto and Cleveland rivals?

2) Saying it was a coward move and took the easy way out is different than Lebron how? Lebron constantly had the best regular season team with the Cavs. Did he not take the easy way out by teaming up with Wade and Bosh to make sure he can beat Boston in the playoffs? If you say Durant took the easy way out then you must say the same for James.

At the end of the day as a professional athlete your goal is to win championships. When you have the chance, you must do what is best for you in order to put yourself in the best position to win the NBA title. If you tried to achieve an NBA title with the same franchise and the same formula for 8 or 9 years and it is not working. It doesn't hard to try something new and go to a team that puts you in a better position to win the title. All KD did is what Lebron did in 2010. Put himself in a better position to win the title.

1. Well more like the team that was in his way in the West. It's like Lebron going to the Celtics when he lost to them in his early days.

2. Lebron carried those Cavs teams and he never got one All-Star on his team. Maybe Larry Hughes was he an all-star. It was embarassing what the roster looked like looking back on them. Exactly, you said best regular season teams. They didnt have good enough teams to get out of the East but Lebron had to carry them. KD had a top 5 player on his team and a great supporting cast and that is the difference.

It's just funny that everyone dogged Lebron when he made the move even minus The Decision he was dogged. This move is 100x worse IMO. Going to a team that could and did win a championship before he came there. I have always liked KD and the goal is to win a championsip but if you have to go to the ALREADY best team to win it...that is just sad. Basically saying the Thunder werent good enough even though they choked away a chance to win it all last year.

Ohh well...it will be fun watching the team seeing how they make this team work. It will be something we have never seen honestly. The 2nd and 3rd best player in the league along with 2 more top 15-20 guys. The team will have to adjust bc they are so used to have great depth and they wont, it will be a great starting 4 or 5 but depth will be lacking.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Wasn't the Finals MVP 2 years ago the guy who was defending LeBron?

Didn't that same guy have a totally fucked up back towards the end of this years series?

Again, you guys get insulted by the use of the word fortunate, but that doesn't mean you weren't.

Iggy is a great defender but he can still defend even at his age but he might be starting to breakdown. I think GS not having Bogut exposed their post defense some also. Zaza is a prettt bad defender if he starts but I expect him to get minutes like Bogut and for them to go to a small lineup as well. Interesting to see how the lineup plays out for GS.

Well a title is a title. If the Cavs were fortunate so was GS 2 years ago. Shit happens.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Iggy is a great defender but he can still defend even at his age but he might be starting to breakdown. I think GS not having Bogut exposed their post defense some also. Zaza is a prettt bad defender if he starts but I expect him to get minutes like Bogut and for them to go to a small lineup as well. Interesting to see how the lineup plays out for GS.

Nobody's going to stop LeBron.
Nobody's going to stop Durant.
The length of Durant though would certainly give the Warriors another option to defend James with.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Now that would be funny.
"There's no rule about lying"

 

[Shanemansj13]

Nobody's going to stop LeBron.
Nobody's going to stop Durant.
The length of Durant though would certainly give the Warriors another option to defend James with.

Definitely, another option for sure but KD has been owned by Lebron in his career. It will probably make a difference he has Klay and Curry from now on though lol. Still only one ball though so it so be interesting to watch how they get their touches.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Wasn't the Finals MVP 2 years ago the guy who was defending LeBron?

Didn't that same guy have a totally fucked up back towards the end of this years series?

Again, you guys get insulted by the use of the word fortunate, but that doesn't mean you weren't.

stick a fork in iguadala dude....

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Definitely, another option for sure but KD has been owned by Lebron in his career. It will probably make a difference he has Klay and Curry from now on though lol. Still only one ball though so it so be interesting to watch how they get their touches.

I loved that Heat/OKC Finals, but to be fair, Harden was awful, Westbrook was out of control.
Durant played pretty well.

 

[wildturkey]

Yep. They need one more big body like Zaza and a couple guards to add depth. Then they will be Golden.

Nene would be seamless fit, not sure what his priorities are though. I thought it'd be neat if they made a play for Seth Curry as well but Dallas already snatched him. Vets make more sense though. Jarrett Jack, someone like that.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

stick a fork in iguadala dude....

Haven't you been saying that about Wade on here for 2 years now?

Rejoice you won this year.
It ain't looking good for anyone else anytime soon.

Told ya no cap space was going to be a major issue for the Cavs the minute they traded Wiggins.

JR will max you out for next summer.

LeBron will be studying rosters with talented youth and cap space.

Looks like you can pretty much stick a fork in the currently constructed Cavs..

 

[Shanemansj13]

I loved that Heat/OKC Finals, but to be fair, Harden was awful, Westbrook was out of control.
Durant played pretty well.

I meant record wise but KD has always played well. He just cant beat Lebron.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Haven't you been saying that about Wade on here for 2 years now?

Rejoice you won this year.
It ain't looking good for anyone else anytime soon.

Told ya no cap space was going to be a major issue for the Cavs the minute they traded Wiggins.

JR will max you out for next summer.

LeBron will be studying rosters with talented youth and cap space.

Looks like you can pretty much stick a fork in the currently constructed Cavs..

lol.......dude, you gotta let the butt-hurtedness and the bitterness got at some points...its going on YEARS now...you have been wrong every step of the way and repeatedly made to look stupid. Its time for you to bow at the alter of Gilbert and James and give them the due they are owed.

There is only one King of the NBA. He resides in Cleveland. He has the best sidekick he has ever had and he just finished the greatest comeback in the history of the league. Its time for you to start singing a different tune. lol. at this point i dont even know how u can believe what u say you have been wrong so often.