2016 NBA Offseason thread

[Cujo]

If there in no title in Golden State next year, it will be another massive failure by the Warriors, and 100% Durant opts out and we do this all over again next July.

 

Oh, and Steph Curry will also be a free agent next summer. Just sayin'.

 

[OaklandIsBack]

Just now, OaklandIsBack said:

 

WWWWAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRIOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS

[infrared41]

It's probably a good thing the Cavs took care of winning the title this season. Anyway...

 

Every time I heard someone on a podcast or radio show say that GS was a likely landing spot for KD (if not this year then definitely next year seemed to be the CW) I wondered if adding him to that roster wouldn't suddenly create the age old "there aren't enough basketballs" dilemma. Before we automatically crown this version of the Super Friends, maybe we should take a look at the reality of having 4 of the top 25 players in the league on the same team. Who is going to give up "touches" (God, I hate that term) to accommodate Durant? Curry? Not a chance. Thompson? Green? Is Durant willing to become a complimentary player?

 

This Warriors team is pretty full of itself and it came within a cold streak of going back to back. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see those guys sitting around after game seven thinking "You know what we need? Kevin Durant." This move has just as much, if not more, potential to blow up in Golden State's face as it does in succeeding. Assuming of course that the current plan is to keep all four top 25 players. 

[infrared41]

2 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

 

WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS

 

Well said. Excellent contribution. 

[BengalsJunkie]

7 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

WARRRRRRRIORRRRRRRRRRS

 

5 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

 

WWWWAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRIOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

3 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

 

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It begins.

[Cujo]

As for Tim Duncan (assuming this is it for him), amazing player, teammate and champion. A player for the ages. However, will never join the "GOAT conversation" because he didn't change or transcend the game.

 

Kinda like basketball's version of Buster Posey. Rings, check. Leadership, check. Never mindblowing. Never had "a moment".

[infrared41]

5 minutes ago, BengalsJunkie said:

 

 

 

It begins.

 

Hopefully, the mods will end it just as quickly as it began. 

[DarkJourney]

The Bay Area is the new capital of evil. Time to heel it up. Lol. Happy 4th of July to one and all. I guess I'll go surf. By the way Durant isn't a coward like somebody said on here. Have some perspective. 

[Lights Out]

21 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

 

WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS

^ This clown definitely has a Kobe jersey hanging up in his closet from when he used to be a Laker "fan."

[Jimmy!]

27 million a year? You can call me anything you want. 

 

And it's funny to see how a few seasons of success can all of a sudden make a team "evil". Three seasons ago Golden State wasn't much of anything.

[Cujo]

6 minutes ago, DarkJourney said:

The Bay Area is the new capital of evil. Time to heel it up. Lol. Happy 4th of July to one and all. I guess I'll go surf. By the way Durant isn't a coward like somebody said on here. Have some perspective. 

 

Give it one season and another Finals loss -- KD and Curry will try the free agent market next summer.

[Lights Out]

15 minutes ago, Cujo said:

As for Tim Duncan (assuming this is it for him), amazing player, teammate and champion. A player for the ages. However, will never join the "GOAT conversation" because he didn't change or transcend the game.

 

Kinda like basketball's version of Buster Posey. Rings, check. Leadership, check. Never mindblowing. Never had "a moment".

That's silly for so many reasons. If 19 years of consistent greatness isn't enough to be in the GOAT conversation, your priorities are skewed. 

 

It's also wrong to say that Duncan never had a "moment." What about his near quadruple-double in the closeout game of the 2003 Finals? The clutch three against Phoenix? Saying "we'll do it this time" before the 2014 Finals and then actually doing it?

[infrared41]

5 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

That's silly for so many reasons. If 19 years of consistent greatness isn't enough to be in the GOAT conversation, your priorities are skewed. 

 

It's also wrong to say that Duncan never had a "moment." What about his near quadruple-double in the closeout game of the 2003 Finals? The clutch three against Phoenix? Saying "we'll do it this time" before the 2014 Finals and then actually doing it?

 

Agreed. I don't know that I'd ever straight up call him the greatest of all time, but Tim Duncan would definitely be in every discussion on the matter. 

[Cujo]

4 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

That's silly for so many reasons. If 19 years of consistent greatness isn't enough to be in the GOAT conversation, your priorities are skewed. 

 

It's also wrong to say that Duncan never had a "moment." What about his near quadruple-double in the closeout game of the 2003 Finals? The clutch three against Phoenix? Saying "we'll do it this time" before the 2014 Finals and then actually doing it?

 

A dominant game or nice series =/= "a moment".

 

So for you, Tim Duncan is the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers?

 

Again, great, great player but not GOAT.

[FinsUp1214]

10 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

That's silly for so many reasons. If 19 years of consistent greatness isn't enough to be in the GOAT conversation, your priorities are skewed. 

 

It's also wrong to say that Duncan never had a "moment." What about his near quadruple-double in the closeout game of the 2003 Finals? The clutch three against Phoenix? Saying "we'll do it this time" before the 2014 Finals and then actually doing it?

 

Maybe not THE GOAT, but one of? Yes. In that case, I agree. There was, in fact, a "mindblowingness" about Duncan; it was the fact he was consistently great for so long and was the centerpiece of a team that hasn't seemed to lose all that much since 1999. Really think about that. I'm 24, and the last time the Spurs fielded a poor team, I was in kindergarten. And without Duncan, I don't think that can be said. Maybe he wasn't MJ or Magic or Bird, but if Tim Duncan never plays in the NBA, one of the historically greatest dynasties ever doesn't exist.

 

You don't have to blow the roof off or make everyone's eyes pop out to be considered an all-time great. If we value winning in the NBA as much as we profess to, then Duncan is one of the top 10 players of all time, period.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

53 minutes ago, MadmanLA said:

I wasn't expecting to see this as the first thing I woke up to, but I'm still in a bit of shock of Durant going to Oakland.  Outside of a couple examples (maybe like the 70s Knicks or the Showtime Lakers), I can't really remember a time where you'll have a collection of four or more All-Star players playing together IN THEIR PRIMES.  To me, the Warriors have now set themselves up for a "win or this season was failure" MO...they essentially put the pressure on themselves to win the title.  Meanwhile, the Cavaliers can just sit back and take care of business without the added pressure a defending champion has to deal with going into the following year.

 

 

I think as long as Westbrook stays healthy, it's still the Thunder's division to lose.  It's either them or Portland, with maybe Utah sneaking up from behind.  The Wolves will be much improved, but I don't think they're there quite yet...they're probably a 35-45 win team at this point.

 

The Thunder are essentially a one man team. They're extremely thin. Their next best player is Victor Oladipo. Westbrook is fantastic, but he can't carry that team. I say the Thunder are a .500 team now. Utah seems to have the best talent and they're not winning more than 46. I just don't see Portland replicating last year's success.

[Lights Out]

4 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

A dominant game or nice series =/= "a moment".

 

So for you, Tim Duncan is the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers?

 

Again, great, great player but not GOAT.

There's dominant games, and then there's the scorekeepers hosing you out of a QUADRUPLE DOUBLE in the FINALS. That's a whole other level of dominance - especially once you consider how weak Duncan's supporting cast was in 2003.

 

What qualifies as a "moment" to you? Because to me, dominant performances and clutch shots on the big stage are "moments," and Duncan has plenty of those on his resume.

 

I didn't say Duncan is the for-sure GOAT, but he definitely belongs in the conversation. It's a shame that the NBA's clueless marketing and the media's constant whining about how "boring" Duncan was will make people forget about how great he was.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Gasol to the Spurs is a done deal. That should keep them in the thick of things. The dude still gets 16 and 11. 

[dfwabel]

Hoops Hype made a compilation of NBA players regarding KD to the Warriors from Twitter.

 

https://amp.twimg.com/v/af15d588-9776-4b64-b8b8-5e800bcdc366

[worcat]

38 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

Kinda like basketball's version of Buster Posey. Rings, check. Leadership, check. Never mindblowing. Never had "a moment".

 

You mean his "moment" when he changed the game forever because he broke his leg during a collision at home plate - thus making baseball more and more soft and boring to watch?