2016 NBA Offseason thread

[FiddySicks]

 

Good to see I'm not the only one! 

 

 

Talk about players in the wrong uniforms. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

13 hours ago, DarkJourney said:

Lots of soap boxes around these parts. Gosh. I wonder who has the tallest.

 

Was going to respond to this but decided not to. But then this stupid board software doesn't allow me to delete it without crashing my browser so there it remains.

 

 

The post I was going to make was Durant looks like

 

 

 

[Wings]

What kind of economic impact will this have on Oklahoma City? The restaurants, stores, bars, etc. around the arena. I hope the Thunder fans don't abandon the franchise especially after Westbrook inevitably leaves. It's a great college like atmosphere. The only person I don't feel sorry for is Clay Bennett. You get no sympathy for taking the Sonics out of Seattle even from this Blazers fan. 

[TheRicSlick]

5 minutes ago, Wings said:

What kind of economic impact will this have on Oklahoma City? The restaurants, stores, bars, etc. around the arena. I hope the Thunder fans don't abandon the franchise especially after Westbrook inevitably leaves. It's a great college like atmosphere. The only person I don't feel sorry for is Clay Bennett. You get no sympathy for taking the Sonics out of Seattle even from this Blazers fan. 

The fans will still support the Thunder, they're Oklahoma's only franchise in the Big 4. No way they just abandon them.

[The_Admiral]

I wouldn't be so sure. The Saints were all New Orleans had and even they hit down years when the team had been bad long enough.

 

A better comparison might be the Colorado Avalanche, who, rolling into Denver as a ready-made contender, saw their fervent support evaporate when the star players left and the organization stopped trying hard to build a winner. The Thunder feel similar in that they're defined by their players (Sakic/Forsberg/Roy : Durant/Westbrook) in the absence of any sort of history or shared fan experience. If Westbrook goes too, they'll be an empty shell of a team. Should have just gotten the Hornets.

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, Wings said:

What kind of economic impact will this have on Oklahoma City? The restaurants, stores, bars, etc. around the arena. I hope the Thunder fans don't abandon the franchise especially after Westbrook inevitably leaves. It's a great college like atmosphere. The only person I don't feel sorry for is Clay Bennett. You get no sympathy for taking the Sonics out of Seattle even from this Blazers fan. 

Outside of those who hold season plans who are over a hour's drive or more away, there will not be much "impact". It isn't like the money actually leaves the metro area, it just goes to other area businesses. So the team store sells less Oladipo jerseys than Durant, but season tickets are already sold and people's accounts already had their Finals tickets value applied towards this season. Those who live in Tulsa or Wichita who make a weekend out of a game may not now. Those numbers aren't that large.

[FinsUp1214]

3 hours ago, DG_Now said:

 

Was going to respond to this but decided not to. But then this stupid board software doesn't allow me to delete it without crashing my browser so there it remains.

 

 

The post I was going to make was Durant looks like

 

 

 

 

Haha, I kid you not when I first saw Durant's face, those exact words ran through my head. He definitely pulled a Gob.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

You know what's really a huge mistake? Having Rondo, Wade and Butler on the same team. I can find the silver lining in a lot of situations -- and I think Rondo was terrific last season -- I don't see how those three can play together. None of them can shoot from three, and Wade is only good for 55-ish games a season.

 

The sad part about Dwyane Wade is that I don't actually know the best system for him. The offense needs to revolve around him, but his skills are diminishing, he can only play a certain amount of games, and he's far more Kobe-era than he is Steph-era. He's a great from a different era and, unlike LeBron, doesn't have the physical gifts to modify his game.

 

I think their rookie Valentine might be good, though I think there's going to be a whole run of faux Draymonds over the next couple of years and a lot of disappointment. Otherwise, Taj Gibson? Doug McDermott? The worse Lopez? Whatever.

 

So basically, Wade can say goodbye to wins, which is mostly a hackneyed way of finding an excuse to post this:

 

[dfwabel]

26 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

You know what's really a huge mistake? Having Rondo, Wade and Butler on the same team. I can find the silver lining in a lot of situations -- and I think Rondo was terrific last season -- I don't see how those three can play together. None of them can shoot from three, and Wade is only good for 55-ish games a season.

 

The sad part about Dwyane Wade is that I don't actually know the best system for him. The offense needs to revolve around him, but his skills are diminishing, he can only play a certain amount of games, and he's far more Kobe-era than he is Steph-era. He's a great from a different era and, unlike LeBron, doesn't have the physical gifts to modify his game.

 

I think their rookie Valentine might be good, though I think there's going to be a whole run of faux Draymonds over the next couple of years and a lot of disappointment. Otherwise, Taj Gibson? Doug McDermott? The worse Lopez? Whatever.

 

So basically, Wade can say goodbye to wins, which is mostly a hackneyed way of finding an excuse to post this:

 

MIA isn't in much better shape. They only have seven roster players and there really isn't much talent left out there. And as NBA Lockdown harped on in terms of rebuild, Pat Riley is 71 and does he have the desire to stay through this redo?

 

Dion Waiters, JR Smith, Allen Crabbe, Marreese Speights, Jared Sullinger, Ty Lawson

 

They're likely to trade Goran Dragic.

 

And now it comes out that Whiteside would've stayed regardless.

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-heat/sfl-miami-heat-hassan-whiteside-s070716-story.html

 

Then there's also the NBA now saying that the cap for '17-18 will be just $102M (although a new arena is opening).

 

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-lowers-2017-18-cap-projection-to-102-million/

[Wings]

It will be very interesting come the end of next season when Golden State has to cough up the dough for Curry. 

[dfwabel]

8 minutes ago, Wings said:

It will be very interesting come the end of next season when Golden State has to cough up the dough for Curry. 

Why?

 

1- There's going to be a work stoppage.

 

2- Only Draymond and Klay have guaranteed salaries for 2017-18.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/golden_state_warriors/

 

[Cujo]

4 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

 

Talk about players in the wrong uniforms. 

 

Yea, this'll be a 1-2 year experiment. The first year the Warriors don't win the finals. KD'll jump back on the market. Guaranteed.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Here are some full classic games on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81bdQ36B-23hSr6gw7KAEA

 

I doubt it lasts long, so enjoy while you can. I'm watching Game 4 of the 87 Finals. You know who stands out? AC Green. I was really only familiar with his old man appearances on the 2000 Lakers. 13 years prior, he could really move!

 

And, no duh, Kareem was dominant. The Center of My Time was Shaq (and hasn't been equaled since), but Kareem clearly would have been great a generation later. It's one thing to call a guy a GOAT based on stats and stories, but watching is a different experience altogether.

[dfwabel]

16 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

Here are some full classic games on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81bdQ36B-23hSr6gw7KAEA

 

I doubt it lasts long, so enjoy while you can. I'm watching Game 4 of the 87 Finals. You know who stands out? AC Green. I was really only familiar with his old man appearances on the 2000 Lakers. 13 years prior, he could really move!

 

And, no duh, Kareem was dominant. The Center of My Time was Shaq (and hasn't been equaled since), but Kareem clearly would have been great a generation later. It's one thing to call a guy a GOAT based on stats and stories, but watching is a different experience altogether.

Look at that box score and you can see how the "Soul Glow virgin" stood out.

BOS took 11 3's, while LAL took only 4 (Cooper took 3 of their 4, while Ainge went 1-7.9

 

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198706090BOS.html

 

He was then, an undersized 4 (but cut). He was hustling to balls Kareem couldn't.

[Wings]

2 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Why?

 

1- There's going to be a work stoppage.

 

2- Only Draymond and Klay have guaranteed salaries for 2017-18.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/golden_state_warriors/

 

I just find it interesting. Got it. Good. 

[ltjets21]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

4 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Why?

 

1- There's going to be a work stoppage.

 

2- Only Draymond and Klay have guaranteed salaries for 2017-18.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/golden_state_warriors/

 

 

 

With the money being made by Thompson, Green, Curry and Durant there will not be much money for anyone else if Curry signs a max deal which he will.

 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Anyone else watching hot Summer League action? D'Angelo Russell is playing and looking like an NBA player. Brandon Ingram looks raw but talented. He also looks like he needs to add about 30 pounds or else he's going to get killed. 

[Rockstar Matt]

23 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

Anyone else watching hot Summer League action? D'Angelo Russell is playing and looking like an NBA player. Brandon Ingram looks raw but talented. He also looks like he needs to add about 30 pounds or else he's going to get killed. 

 

I'm trying to take this with a grain of salt, because it is just Summer League, but this Lakers' Summer League team could have beaten last season's Lakers. They look so much better already. Better ball movement, better defense, more confident. 

 

Ingram looks legit. I wouldn't worry about his size too much. Most athletic 18 year olds are super skinny and will add on weight as they get older. 

 

Edit: And I love this Zubac kid. Lot of potential there 

[FinsUp1214]

I attended the Jazz Summer League games Monday night. Jazz-Spurs was a bit of a snoozer, but 76ers-Celtics was a treat. Just a great close game all the way through. Brown played well and played really hard, but Simmons was something else. He didn't shoot the lights out that night, but he really influenced the game in every other aspect. He moved the ball and made some passes that looked like he was channeling Pistol Pete. You kinda had the sense that when he had the ball, he pretty much controlled the floor.

[dfwabel]

15 hours ago, DG_Now said:

Anyone else watching hot Summer League action? D'Angelo Russell is playing and looking like an NBA player. Brandon Ingram looks raw but talented. He also looks like he needs to add about 30 pounds or else he's going to get killed. 

Only game I saw was MIN/DEN with Kris Dunn lighting up the Nuggets and further proof that Jimmer Fredette just needs to get Rosetta Stone and think about playing in either Israel, Italy, Spain, or China. He just cannot play defense.