2016 NBA Offseason

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 3:39 pm

Ryan wrote:Talking points!

DaveInSeattle wrote:Welcome OKC to irrelevant-town, along with Sacramento, Milwaukee, Denver, and Minnesota. When Westbrook leaves, (and he will leave...I would guess the Lakers are already salivating over the prospect), there's no way OKC will be competitive. What good free agent is going to want to move to Oklahoma City?

And it couldn't happen to a nice guy than Clay Bennett.

DaveInSeattle wrote: Hah...

As much as I like and respect Durant and Westbrook...fuck OKC, and especially fuck Clay Bennett with a chain saw...sideways.

Once Durant and Westbrook leave (and they will leave...Durant to somewhere in the Eastern Conference, and I'll lay money that Westbrook will be playing for the Lakers in 2 years), OKC will be just as relevant to the NBA as Sacramento, Milwaukee, Utah, and Minnesota. And it couldn't happen to a nicer owner.

I'm nothing if not consistent!

howard · Post by **howard** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:38 pm

duff wrote:The NBA has always been a league with only 5-6 contenders each year.

Yeah, what duff said. The rare time a team explodes out of nowhere to win or make the finals, it usually announces their arrival to the top and they hang around. Warriors in 75 were an exception (but y'all are young and have to take my word for that.) Trailblazers in 77, but if Walton doesn't break his foot the next year, they likely would've been at the top for a while. The occasional Nets appearance in the finals, and that Knicks team with Sprewell are other rarities.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:22 pm

Pretty sure this is just cute speculation:

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:38 pm

Breaking:

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:54 pm

Fred Hoiberg must be spinning in his grave.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:59 pm

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:45 am

I think that helps the Bulls but I still think their ceiling is probably the 4-5 seed in the East.

I think I would love Cousins on the Cavs. He needs an alpha male (though not sure lebron's passive agressive stuff would work...might need a stronger hand) but more than anything he needs a culture that doesn't suck. Obviously that is probably not real, but it would be an interesting counter to the Warriors. Boogie stepped out and hit a few threes this year, doesn't try on defense like he should buts still had better defensive upside than Love and is an absolute monster when you need a bucket in the post.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:45 am

Johnnie wrote:

Looks like Billy Cosby and the PUDDING.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:28 pm

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 10:38 pm

One of my favorite Facebook pages:

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 9:46 am

Duncan officially retires.

Post by **brian** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:31 am

And as if to bookend the classiness of Duncan, Draymond Green arrested for assault in East Lansing.

From page one of this thread:

Shirley wrote:Rough coupla months for MSU hoops alumni.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:35 am

Really want to find out he kicked someone in the dick at the supermarket.

Post by **brian** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:51 am

He was arrested at 2:28 a.m. reportedly. Last call in Michigan is 2 a.m.

I'll connect the dots.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:52 am

brian wrote:He was arrested at 2:28 a.m. reportedly. Last call in Michigan is 2 a.m.

I'll connect the dots.

He's an asshole?

Post by **brian** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:54 am

Also, nothing good happens after 2 a.m. My father's advice that took me too long to learn.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 3:23 pm

Wtf are the cavs doing?

howard · Post by **howard** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 3:39 pm

A_B wrote:Wtf are the cavs doing?

eta: they're also doing this: Cleveland Cavaliers have Terry Talkin' Jordan McRae and Kay Felder -- Terry Pluto

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 2:58 pm

Obviously it's great news for OKC that Westbrook agreed to restructure and stay there for at least 2 more seasons. But I hate the fit of Oladipo and Roberson as the SG and SF that are paired with him. That's a lot of athleticism, but I don't think you can be very good in today's NBA if none of your starting backcourt players is a good outside shooter. But at least having Westbrook back allows them to be a player in free agency next offseason.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:29 am

That is just a huge fish
http://sports.yahoo.com/m/0c0cbc72-31da ... html?nhp=1

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:10 pm

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:14 pm

Is that really newsworthy? Two great shooters make shots! STOP THE PRESSES!

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:20 pm

Joakim Noah just made Kaepernick look like Douglas MacArthur. Let's see if anyone notices. PS He's mixed race and half-French. Buckle up?

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:25 pm

I read what Joakim had to say to the press, and I thought all his comments were great. So he is in deep damn trouble.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:25 pm

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:45 pm

howard wrote:I read what Joakim had to say to the press, and I thought all his comments were great. So he is in deep damn trouble.

The NBA's culture, including its fan base, is way less conservative than the NFL's (or MLB's). So I doubt Noah will face too much blowback for his comments. The type of people who would freak out about him "disrespecting THE TROOPS" have probably all already given up on the NBA because of "tattoos," or "traveling" or the lack of "teamwork and effort."

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:13 pm

The NBA culture is so different. They encourage players to have opinions and be nonconformists, and when players take that too far (like Rodman or even Barkley in his playing days) they do a way better job of making it a net positive for the league rather than a problem. Who was the last actual pariah in the NBA, other than Sterling? Kobe, until we forgave him?

That said, I'm sure that the press will labor hard to generate issues in this area. I heard that the NY press was asking Kristaps for his opinion on BLM. Why the hell would he have an opinion?

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 9:22 pm

Rex wrote:I heard that the NY press was asking Kristaps for his opinion on BLM. Why the hell would he have an opinion?

Black Latvian Men? As a star basketball player, he prob knows both of them.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:05 pm

Black lats matter.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:41 pm

Settle a debate: In the NBA draft, to the extent you believe in "best player available" existing, do you always draft BPA or do you factor in current roster? I assume the team in question is pretty obvious.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:56 pm

I think you consider position only if you have a true stud there already. Such as Karl Anthony towns, if they get a high pick hey aren't going to use it on a power forward.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:08 pm

Okafor?

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:17 pm

mister d wrote:Settle a debate: In the NBA draft, to the extent you believe in "best player available" existing, do you always draft BPA or do you factor in current roster? I assume the team in question is pretty obvious.

In the Sixers' case, I think BPA was probably the right approach. Obviously it resulted in a crowded frontcourt but I don't think they passed on any great guard prospects. For example, they got a bit unlucky that DeAngelo Russell wasn't available for them last year. But I think it's different if a team doesn't have quite as barren a roster.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:51 pm

Rex wrote:The NBA culture is so different. They encourage players to have opinions and be nonconformists, and when players take that too far (like Rodman or even Barkley in his playing days) they do a way better job of making it a net positive for the league rather than a problem. Who was the last actual pariah in the NBA, other than Sterling? Kobe, until we forgave him?

Iverson was pretty controversial at times....

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:32 pm

I think it's probably Artest, and what the NBA do? Gave him a new name and made him endearing.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:25 am

Rex wrote:I think it's probably Artest, and what the NBA do? Gave him a new name and made him endearing.

The other possibility is Gilbert Arenas. His skills were definitely sapped by injuries, but it also seemed the guns incident may have accelerated his departure from the league. (That incident looks even worse in retrospect, now that Crittenton is a convicted killer.) I despised Kobe even before the rape case but I don't think he ever reached full-on pariah status, other than with Nuggets fans. Iverson was certainly controversial but if you look at memorabilia sales he was also one of the league's most popular players.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Oct 06, 2016 12:16 pm

A good way to distract a defender is to toss a sneaker into his face.

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:52 am

Maybe nothing (more than a dead human being, murdered by another human being), but...

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:35 pm

Feels like this should be a bigger story.