POLL If prime Jordan played in today's NBA - would he be the best?

[Bart]

You’ve almost got everyone convinced. 1 more day and I think you got it.

Lol love the poll btw that was a nice touch

I think we'll never agree about Jordan but you do agree to macaroni salad over potato salad, though right?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

yeah we went through this, but maybe you can write it down this time and save it somewhere?.......

Lebron got to the Finals more because the East was easier. MJ won more in the Finals because he played lesser opponents.

I agree with that to an extent. MJ won more finals, because his team was the best team in the NBA and he carried them to championships and beat the top teams in the East (which was the dominant conference) and the top team from the West.

Lebron isn’t dumb — he handpicked his teammates and made sure to stay in the East. I just lost a lot of respect for him once he started doing that and not just him, but the NBA, as a whole, as players show no loyalty and instead try to stack teams to chase a ring.

 

[SJ76]

I think we'll never agree about Jordan but you do agree to macaroni salad over potato salad, though right?

Voted for potato salad man even in this thread. You know you can check who voted right? Lol

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Thread assumes prime Jordan could even make a modern day NBA team. Fail.

 

[Bart]

Voted for potato salad man even in this thread. You know you can check who voted right? Lol

Shit, I missed your name the first time I looked, you need a longer name.

 

[trojanfan12]

LA had to trade away their future to get Davis

Again, he had to be traded for because he had a year left on his contract. Signing him as an FA wasn't an option. He signed with Lebron's agency and started trying to force his way to the Lakers.

But yeah, keep telling yourself that no one wanted to play with him.

The Lakers are considered one of the top 3 teams to win the title this year. So, Lakers fans are doing just fine.

 

[trojanfan12]

Lebron isn’t dumb — he handpicked his teammates and made sure to stay in the East. I just lost a lot of respect for him once he started doing that and not just him, but the NBA, as a whole, as players show no loyalty and instead try to stack teams to chase a ring.

I'm inclined to agree re: handpicking teammates, etc. But that's what free agency allows.

Us old guys like to talk about "loyalty" and how the greats of the past would never "stack" teams like that. We've even heard them comment themselves about how they wanted to beat each other, not team up.

But the fact is that free agency has changed and players didn't have the same options back then that they do now. We don't really know what those players would have done if they had the options today's players do.

As for loyalty...How much loyalty are teams showing players when they want to trade them or release them because they got too old or too injured?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Again, he had to be traded for because he had a year left on his contract. Signing him as an FA wasn't an option. He signed with Lebron's agency and started trying to force his way to the Lakers.

But yeah, keep telling yourself that no one wanted to play with him.

The Lakers are considered one of the top 3 teams to win the title this year. So, Lakers fans are doing just fine.

I think what you meant to say is — the Lakers had already wasted a year of Lebron’s contract after they waited on Paul George and then he didn’t even give them a FA meeting before signing with OKC. So they didn’t want the same thing happening with Davis, so they mortgaged their future to trade for him. Of course, by doing so, they thought they’d also be able to bring along a 3rd superstar to play with Lebron and Davis. That didn’t happen.

To make matters worse — of all teams, the Clippers get the two guys the Lakers really wanted to pair with Lebron — George and Kawhi. The Clippers.

And if you haven’t noticed — NBA sports books are out to make money. They know fans of LA will be throwing money down on the Lakers. It is no different than CFB with teams like Michigan and Notre Dame. Huge fans bases who will wager cash — it lowers the odds in case by some chance they do win.

NBA execs took a survey to pick who’d win the championship in the upcoming year — the Lakers got zero votes.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think what you meant to say is — the Lakers had already wasted a year of Lebron’s contract after they waited on Paul George and then he didn’t even give them a FA meeting before signing with OKC. So they didn’t want the same thing happening with Davis, so they mortgaged their future to trade for him. Of course, by doing so, they thought they’d also be able to bring along a 3rd superstar to play with Lebron and Davis. That didn’t happen.

To make matters worse — of all teams, the Clippers get the two guys the Lakers really wanted to pair with Lebron — George and Kawhi. The Clippers.

And if you haven’t noticed — NBA sports books are out to make money. They know fans of LA will be throwing money down on the Lakers. It is no different than CFB with teams like Michigan and Notre Dame. Huge fans bases who will wager cash — it lowers the odds in case by some chance they do win.

NBA execs took a survey to pick who’d win the championship in the upcoming year — the Lakers got zero votes.

lol

There's spin...

And then there's whatever the hell this is.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

lol

There's spin...

And then there's whatever the hell this is.

Soooo.........you think the Lakers didn’t want Paul George?!? The guy who said he wanted to come home and play for......the Lakers. LA doesn’t trade for him, because he has all but announced where he is going.

They then sign Lebron and he wouldn’t even give the Lakers a FA meeting, but Kawhi signs with LAC and he requests to be traded to LA.

The Lakers weren’t taking the same chance with Davis. Lebron isn’t getting any younger. So they mortgaged their future to get the deal done.

That isn’t a spin — that’s exactly what happened.

 

[trojanfan12]

Soooo.........you think the Lakers didn’t want Paul George?!? The guy who said he wanted to come home and play for......the Lakers. LA doesn’t trade for him, because he has all but announced where he is going.

Well, there's that whole, PG announced his decision before Lebron came to the Lakers thing.

In fact, when PG decided to stay in OKC, most figured that ended the Lakers shot at Lebron. So it seems pretty clear that PG's decision wasn't about Lebron.

And again, AD basically forced his way to the Lakers knowing Lebron was here and even signed with Lebron's agency. In order to get AD this season, the Lakers had no choice but to trade for him because he wasn't a free agent yet.

You should probably just quit while you're behind.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Well, there's that whole, PG announced his decision before Lebron came to the Lakers thing.

In fact, when PG decided to stay in OKC, most figured that ended the Lakers shot at Lebron. So it seems pretty clear that PG's decision wasn't about Lebron.

And again, AD basically forced his way to the Lakers knowing Lebron was here and even signed with Lebron's agency. In order to get AD this season, the Lakers had no choice but to trade for him because he wasn't a free agent yet.

You should probably just quit while you're behind.

I think you need to go back and look at your timeline. Paul George first announced he was going back to OKC on July 1st, the same day Lebron announced he was signing with the Lakers. If you don’t think he knew Lebron was going to LA — you are a fool.
They did an entire piece on ESPN where it was all about how the Lakers plan from Day 1, was getting Lebron and Paul George. The problem with the plan is, once Lebron was in, George was out.

And the Lakers made the trade for two reasons:
1. They didn’t trade for George because they thought he was a done deal in LA, so they didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

2. Lebron isn’t young anymore and they wasted the first year of his 4 year deal already. So they couldn’t afford to throw away year 2 too. That’s why NO was able to get an absolute fortune from LA.

But if it makes you feel better to believe your story — more power to you. It doesn’t change the facts everyone else has watched unfold. In 2 years, LA had multiple max contract spots and signed exactly one FA. Lebron. Paul George publically said he wanted to play for the Lakers and shunned them after Lebron, but forced a trade to the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard said he wanted to come back home to play and instead of joining Lebron and AD, he signed with the Clippers.

All it has taken for the Lakers to get someone to team with Lebron is giving up 3 of their top young talent and 3 1st round picks, and trading away 3 more to the Wizards to open a max spot they couldn’t fill.

 

[lebron23james]

I agree with that to an extent. MJ won more finals, because his team was the best team in the NBA and he carried them to championships and beat the top teams in the East (which was the dominant conference) and the top team from the West.

Lebron isn’t dumb — he handpicked his teammates and made sure to stay in the East. I just lost a lot of respect for him once he started doing that and not just him, but the NBA, as a whole, as players show no loyalty and instead try to stack teams to chase a ring.

Lebron had to do this because other teams started it before him. Boston originated the big 3 with Pierce, Ray allen and KG...And a bunch of good role players in Rondo, big baby etc

Lebron sort of is dumb tho...Say he went to Philly or Tor or Mill he would almost certainly have another ring right now (4) and be the hands down favorite for this year...He rolled the dice on LA and it turned out to be craps for now

He is a great player but he still cant figure out how to build a great team. He is not a good GM. Even his heat pick wasn't the right pick. This is why he has less championships...He isn't the greatest judge of talent, he's just okay. He was always creating an entire new team often with players who didn't fit together, when all he needed to do was join an established team that needed 1 more player to put them over the top....Sorta like what Durant did with GS...and kawhi did in Tor

However, this is why i give lebron more credit. He didn't just join a team that was already great like KD did. He build something from scratch and with players that may or may not fit together....It was less of a bitch ass move if you will on the bitch scale lol

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Lebron had to do this because other teams started it before him. Boston originated the big 3 with Pierce, Ray allen and KG...And a bunch of good role players in Rondo, big baby etc

Lebron sort of is dumb tho...Say he went to Philly or Tor or Mill he would almost certainly have another ring right now (4) and be the hands down favorite for this year...He rolled the dice on LA and it turned out to be craps for now

He is a great player but he still cant figure out how to build a great team. He is not a good GM. Even his heat pick wasn't the right pick. This is why he has less championships...He isn't the greatest judge of talent, he's just okay. He was always creating an entire new team often with players who didn't fit together, when all he needed to do was join an established team that needed 1 more player to put them over the top....Sorta like what Durant did with GS...and kawhi did in Tor

However, this is why i give lebron more credit. He didn't just join a team that was already great like KD did. He build something from scratch and with players that may or may not fit together....It was less of a bitch ass move if you will on the bitch scale lol

Golden State didn’t need to add Durant — they won a championship before he even got there and will compete for titles once Klay is back and healthy.

Toronto didn’t have anything close to the talent Lebron had in Miami and his 2nd Cleveland stint. Kawhi just carried them to a championship.

And the Durant situation was a stroke of genius by GSW. They took advantage of building their team thru the draft and the cap space getting a bump to be able to add Durant. No other team in the NBA could have done what GSW did, so joining already made teams isn’t an option. It is why he handpicked his teammates in Miami, then when it became clear Miami wasn’t going to win anymore, he went back to Cleveland. No because it was his hometown (though that was a small reason), but because they had Kyrie and two other #1 picks they could trade to add Kevin Love.

I used to be a HUGE Lebron fan. I still have a framed autographed rookie jersey of his. When he went on ESPN and left his hometown team high and dry to chase a title — I lost a ton of respect. As a person/father/husband — he is the ultimate role model. His basketball career will have go down as one of the best to play the game, but he will never be in the GOAT conversation unless someone is just trying to get a rise out of another basketball fan.
He jumped ship chasing rings so much — it is kind of sad. I actually feel bad because he went to LA and they had to empty their roster and 3 1st round picks to get someone to join him there. 2 years with max contracts they had to offer and they couldn’t get anyone to join him.

 

[Bart]

Lebron had to do this because other teams started it before him. Boston originated the big 3 with Pierce, Ray allen and KG...And a bunch of good role players in Rondo, big baby etc

Lebron sort of is dumb tho...Say he went to Philly or Tor or Mill he would almost certainly have another ring right now (4) and be the hands down favorite for this year...He rolled the dice on LA and it turned out to be craps for now

He is a great player but he still cant figure out how to build a great team. He is not a good GM. Even his heat pick wasn't the right pick. This is why he has less championships...He isn't the greatest judge of talent, he's just okay. He was always creating an entire new team often with players who didn't fit together, when all he needed to do was join an established team that needed 1 more player to put them over the top....Sorta like what Durant did with GS...and kawhi did in Tor

However, this is why i give lebron more credit. He didn't just join a team that was already great like KD did. He build something from scratch and with players that may or may not fit together....It was less of a bitch ass move if you will on the bitch scale lol

Good post. I agree, Lebron could have done a better job creating a super team. The biggest problem with Lebron's career is he played most of it in Cleveland where it is hard to recruit great talent as opposed to a destination city which is why he had to leave Cleveland and rely on his marginal GM skills to try and create a championship team. Plus, having an agenda of playing with his friends or landing near Hollywood doesn't help.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think you need to go back and look at your timeline. Paul George first announced he was going back to OKC on July 1st, the same day Lebron announced he was signing with the Lakers.

Wrong. PG was literally the first FA to announce and did it at a party Russel Westbrook threw for him literally, about 30 seconds after FA started.

Not even bothering with the rest of your post.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Wrong. PG was literally the first FA to announce and did it at a party Russel Westbrook threw for him literally, about 30 seconds after FA started.

Not even bothering with the rest of your post.

Newsflash — Lebron announced ON THE SAME DAY July 1st. And if you don’t think both players knew where the other was going long before the public — you are foolish.

And I’d ignore the rest of the post too, because it is a fact. The Lakers have had multiple max slots open the past two years. They signed Lebron and couldn’t get another superstar, so they filled the roster with 1 year deals.
Year 2, they had max contracts to offer and they signed no one. But mortgaged their future to get AD in a trade, then gave away 3 more players to open another max spot and they weren’t able to sign another superstar.

Am I wrong?!?

 

[trojanfan12]

Am I wrong?!?

Yes.

 

[Wamu]

Yes.

Did you know that @TrustMeIamRight thinks Harbaugh's a better CFB coach than Nick Saban because he had more success in the NFL as a coach?

Oh yeah Jimmy Jam was also a 1st team All American in '86. Making Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde the only winner of that award not to be named to the 1st team.

Ain't that right @TrustMeIamRight?

 

[trojanfan12]

Did you know that @TrustMeIamRight thinks Harbaugh's a better CFB coach than Nick Saban because he had more success in the NFL as a coach?

I'm familiar with his work on the cfb forum. Apparently, he doesn't know any more about basketball and the NBA.