2021-2022 NBA Season

[thunderc]

My thinking exactly.

KD is ahead, IMO.

There is a case for Giannis and Jokic.

But I personally have Curry at 2 above them.

I definitely agree it’s one of these 4 with KD being ahead at the moment.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

@bksballer89 had him at 2.

6 is fine I guess, but 6 isn’t a real contender for the award.

And I think putting DeRozan that high is a slap in the face to LaVine. Bulls added a lot of pieces. It is wrong to single out one with all the credit.

Derozan has been better than Lavine outside of 3pt shooting.

This might not be Cp3 to Phoenix level raising because they added more guys as you stated.

But, he has been the best player, on the best team * record wise * in the East.

That's not nothing.

Love Zach.

But, he's never even led them to the playoffs.

So, it's not really a slap in the face...imo

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I don’t know.

Might sell a few tickets for a franchise going nowhere.

Watching Russ get inefficient triple doubles is fun.

Lol

Poor Knicks.

I just can't with Thibs.

He is incapable of evolving.

Same system.

Wants to keep playing his same guys from the Chi.

Dude is just a dinosaur with a heavily flawed roster.

They don't have a #1.

They have a bunch of #3's who think they are #1's.

Still, I think I'd much rather be stuck with Fournier than Russ.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I thought Mobley was impressive his single season at USC. Went outta my way to watch Trojans games last season.

So far, he's everything I expected Jaren Jackson to be.

Still have hope for JJJ.

But, Mobley was a great pick.

 

[dtgold88]

The contract means a lot when the thought prior was to try to trade him.

thought by whom? Guessing most knew that would be a really tough contract to trade.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I don't see any chance of dealing Westbrook.

But, I've said that before. So, who knows?

His contract is an abomination.

His turnovers are worse.

They have Kemba, who is playing well in Zoo York.

A Kemba / Westbrook backcourt ?

Pelinka cant trade RW

if he trades him- he is not getting back what he gave up- what was it? Kuzma, KCP, Harrell and a first? I think that was the deal.

How can a GM trade a guy- and less than a year later- trade him for way less? It would look terrible. It might be the right move- but the optics are so bad that he would get killed for it unless the trade worked amazingly.

plus- I dont think they can get that much for him. There best chance is that RW realizes turnovers and dumb shots are not the way to go playing iwth leborn and he doesnt have to force things. That is a BIG ASK- but its the only way.

 

[dtgold88]

No thanks, not going to read pages of backstory from Cavs boosters.

so you'd prefer to remain clueless? Not surprised.

 

[dtgold88]

I would have wanted him to go to Portland, not the Lakers.

Don't think he'd consider the Clippers with LeBron and Rude across the hall.

Agreed with this at first glance (assuming you meant Russ)......but have also heard he and Russ are buds from UCLA days?

 

[dtgold88]

Buyout, my guy.

Not talking trades.

See what you can learn, @shopson67....and didn't need a Cavs' fan to educate you.

 

[CitySushi]

Pelinka cant trade RW

if he trades him- he is not getting back what he gave up- what was it? Kuzma, KCP, Harrell and a first? I think that was the deal.

How can a GM trade a guy- and less than a year later- trade him for way less? It would look terrible. It might be the right move- but the optics are so bad that he would get killed for it unless the trade worked amazingly.

plus- I dont think they can get that much for him. There best chance is that RW realizes turnovers and dumb shots are not the way to go playing iwth leborn and he doesnt have to force things. That is a BIG ASK- but its the only way.

Ehhh I think the Lakers would just have to view it as a sunk cost and try to get more solid pieces around Lebron and AD. Those two still can carry a team to the championship if they have the right pieces around them. The problem mostly isn't about return back for Russ, it's about who wants to actually trade for him?

 

[tlance]

Pelinka cant trade RW

if he trades him- he is not getting back what he gave up- what was it? Kuzma, KCP, Harrell and a first? I think that was the deal.

How can a GM trade a guy- and less than a year later- trade him for way less? It would look terrible. It might be the right move- but the optics are so bad that he would get killed for it unless the trade worked amazingly.

plus- I dont think they can get that much for him. There best chance is that RW realizes turnovers and dumb shots are not the way to go playing iwth leborn and he doesnt have to force things. That is a BIG ASK- but its the only way.

I don’t think he is getting traded.

But if you have 2 top 10 players on your roster and an opportunity presents itself to make the team better and contend, you do it every single time regardless of how it makes the GM look.

 

[trojanfan12]

Lebron is Lebron. Dude is an absolute machine and it's incredible what he's doing at 37. I get wanting to give him the love he deserves and his numbers are reflective of his impact on his team. But he has 2 other All-NBA fixtures and two of the top 75 players of all time on his team and they're just .500. For a team that was expected to come out of the West, it's underwhelming to say the least.

lol

On paper yes. But how much have they played together?

Thanks to injuries and Covid protocols...the Lakers have had more different starting lineups than any other team and it's not all that close. If they were healthy all season and still had this record, I would agree that Lebron belongs nowhere near the MVP discussion. But that's not the case.

If it were awarded today, I wouldn't give it to him, but I don't think there would be any problem with him being in the discussion.

The funny thing is...if the Lakers get healthy, go on a tear and end up in the top half of the West with Lebron still putting up the same numbers...AD and Westbrook being on the team will be used against him then too.

 

[trojanfan12]

I don't see any chance of dealing Westbrook.

But, I've said that before. So, who knows?

His contract is an abomination.

His turnovers are worse.

They have Kemba, who is playing well in Zoo York.

A Kemba / Westbrook backcourt ?

He was supposed to be untradeable the last 2 times he was traded. lol

The only chance that I see for him to be traded is if some team decides to blow it up, but wants to still put butts in seats and eyeballs on tv sets. Because of how hard he plays on every possession...Westbrook is fun to watch, so folks will still come to the arena/watch on tv.

Not gonna hold my breath waiting for it to happen though.

 

[CitySushi]

lol

On paper yes. But how much have they played together?

Thanks to injuries and Covid protocols...the Lakers have had more different starting lineups than any other team and it's not all that close. If they were healthy all season and still had this record, I would agree that Lebron belongs nowhere near the MVP discussion. But that's not the case.

If it were awarded today, I wouldn't give it to him, but I don't think there would be any problem with him being in the discussion.

The funny thing is...if the Lakers get healthy, go on a tear and end up in the top half of the West with Lebron still putting up the same numbers...AD and Westbrook being on the team will be used against him then too.

Very true, I know how the double standard works. The problem is that if the Lakers do go on a tear with both of them, then technically isn't it par for the course? Right now they've sunk below expectations (although of course we know this is not so much a Lebron problem but a Lakers problem). So it's a catch 22 for him. The same way Durant and Steph were basically eliminated from MVP conversations during their time together was because the team, expecatations and level of talent all excluded them. Lebron has to deal with that too having top tier talent around him.

 

[trojanfan12]

plus- I dont think they can get that much for him. There best chance is that RW realizes turnovers and dumb shots are not the way to go playing iwth leborn and he doesnt have to force things. That is a BIG ASK- but its the only way.

To be fair to Russ...he is trying. Especially when Lebron is on the floor. Hopefully, they can get it figured out. I said at the time of the trade...if there is one player in the league that can make it work with Westbrook...it's Lebron.

Definitely gonna be his biggest challenge. If he can make it work with Westbrook...he might really be the GOAT. lol

As for trading him for less...it depends. If they trade for a "lesser player(s)" who fits better, it wouldn't be a bad look.

 

[tlance]

To be fair to Russ...he is trying. Especially when Lebron is on the floor. Hopefully, they can get it figured out. I said at the time of the trade...if there is one player in the league that can make it work with Westbrook...it's Lebron.

Definitely gonna be his biggest challenge. If he can make it work with Westbrook...he might really be the GOAT. lol

As for trading him for less...it depends. If they trade for a "lesser player(s)" who fits better, it wouldn't be a bad look.

Yeah, I know what you mean when you say that, but there are plenty of guys out there with off ball skill sets that would fit a lot better with Russ.

KD for example.

It was far from perfect, but that is about as good as it gets in terms of a star pairing who fits with Russ.

LeBron may be able to make the best of it, but it won’t ever be pretty IMO.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Those people are ripe for a drug test? DeRozan is a blip IMO. Lebron is a nice story but has little to no chance. Giannis is always in the discussion, right or wrong.

I dont think it is unreasonable but it needs to be sustained. If Lebron keeps playing like this AND Lakers start winning…he should definitely be in the race but he probably has little chance bc record is king. LA without AD is nothing but less than mediocre and they have the hardest SOS remaining. If he gets them a 4-5 seed putting up the kind of numberw he is, yes he is in it. Still early and we see how good this team is so very unlikely but he is playing better than Curry. If anyone disagrees…they likely need to be tested?

 

[Shanemansj13]

Well obviously I'm a homer, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. Giannis, ok you can make an argument I think. His numbers are great. His team is on an upward trajectory and he's always in the conversation for best player in the NBA. So people who want to put him above Curry, I'm ok with it.

Lebron and Derozan at this point is nonsense. Derozan is playing really well, but he's arguably not even the best player on his own team. He's currently playing with 2 other all-stars and that's not including Lonzo either. The Bulls are playing extremely well and Derozan is a factor, but his impact to this team is no more than he's ever had with the Raptors where he didn't sniff MVP voting.

Lebron is Lebron. Dude is an absolute machine and it's incredible what he's doing at 37. I get wanting to give him the love he deserves and his numbers are reflective of his impact on his team. But he has 2 other All-NBA fixtures and two of the top 75 players of all time on his team and they're just .500. For a team that was expected to come out of the West, it's underwhelming to say the least.

Meanwhile you have to make an argument to have the Warriors have a 2nd all-star on their squad and right now they have the best record in the NBA. The ship is driven by Steph and everything around him is a because he is the catalyst for it. His numbers are up there, but he's not shooting as well as he has in the past from the field. So I get why people want to detract from his game. But the Warriors have far exceeded anyone else's expectations (even my own) in where they would be right now. The Warriors are a deep team, but less talented at the top right now than almost every other top tier team in the league.

I dont have any argument about the other players except Lebron. You’ve watched this team play, they aren’t a good team. AD is injured and was a shell of himself when on the court. RW is a bad fit and a shell of himself. Role players- what role players? Lol The roster has weird pieces all over the place.
GS still has a ton of talent but most importantly they have pieces that fit in their system. Could be more about the system but they always seem to find guys that buy into that system and Steph being unselfish. A healthy AD then I would agree…the Lakers have more talent but not seeing it at this point. The Lakers have an old roster.
As far as MVP race, Lebron and Steph are both top 4ish imo they will always put Steph higher bc of his team record but comparing the two players Lebron is having the better season. Only way for LBJ to compete for the MVP is carrying this team on his back, getting a 4 seed without AD. Very very slight chance but at this point I don’t give Steph a great chance either bc of his shooting %’s…a career low. They can’t be ignored.

Does it matter? KD is #1 with flying colors imo.
Derozan is rising bc of team record but him and Lavine are 1a and 1b players going to be difficult to win a MVP.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I mean who pays attention to MVP anymore. Lebron didn’t win a MVP for years and was still considered the best player. Kobe one only MVP but for years he was the best player. We all know team record has a great impact on it and it’s Steph is still top 3.

 

[trojanfan12]

Yeah, I know what you mean when you say that, but there are plenty of guys out there with off ball skill sets that would fit a lot better with Russ.

KD for example.

It was far from perfect, but that is about as good as it gets in terms of a star pairing who fits with Russ.

LeBron may be able to make the best of it, but it won’t ever be pretty IMO.

Yeah, its definitely not going to be pretty, but winning ugly is still winning. lol

Its not going to happen, but I think Westbrook would fit okay with Embiid. But, if Im the Sixers, Im not doing that deal unless everything else dries up.