2014 NBA Offseason

[Unocal]

Just an NBA thought I want to throw out there:

The 2007 East Finals IMHO is the most underrated NBA playoff choke ever. '07 Cavs considered worst finalist ever- yet Detroit goes up 2-0 on them and STILL LOST!

[dfwabel]

Just an NBA thought I want to throw out there:

The 2007 East Finals IMHO is the most underrated NBA playoff choke ever. '07 Cavs considered worst finalist ever- yet Detroit goes up 2-0 on them and STILL LOST!

And you waited for the offseason and July 3 to give us that?

[Ateles fusciceps]

Statistics- FG%, Pts, Reb, Ast, Stl, Blk, Tov

2013-14:

Player A- 35.8, 40%, 17.7, 4.2, 6.1, 1.2, 0.4, 2.3

Player B- 35.2, 43%, 20.8, 3.6, 6.0, 1.5, 0.3, 2.7

3-year career total:

Player A- 32.9, 40%, 16.0, 3,7, 5.5, 1.4, 0.4, 2.2

Player B- 33.7, 44%, 20.7, 3.7, 5.8, 1.4, 0.4, 3.0

Player A- 9 games missed

Player B- 49 games missed

Player A- Kemba Walker

Player B- Kyrie Irving

After 3 seasons Kemba & Kyrie are nearly identical in terms of production in the NBA. Their assists, rebounds, steals, & blocks are identical. Kyrie scores a little more but he also commits more turnovers. The biggest difference between them is defense & durability. Kemba is small but very scrappy & a average or slightly above average defender who hustles. Kyrie is a terrible defensive player who barely even tries. He's up there with Harden as one of the worst defenders in the league. Kemba, while smaller, is tough as nails & rarely misses games. Kyrie seems to be made of glass & always injured.

Go back further, look at their collegiate career. Kemba was the best player in college & carried UConn on his back & won a Big East & NCAA Championship. Kyrie Irving only played 8 games at Duke & missed the rest due to injury.

Compare their intangibles. Kemba is a winner & a natural born leader. He's the heartbeat of his team, the players & coaches love him. He singlehandedly attracted an All-NBA free agent in Big Al last summer. He has ice in his veins & loves taking the big shot, & usually nails them. Kyrie is an enigma. He has an attitude & comes across as a prima donna. There's always rumblings about how he isn't happy & rumors of him not getting along with teammates or coaches.

And lastly, look at their national perception by media & fans. Kemba, for the most part, is a complete afterthought. He is viewed as a serviceable PG who is just average. Nobody considers him a potential All-Star & rising young player. Hell, a lot of local fans want him replaced & either traded or used as a bench role player. He gets no media attention whatsoever. Kyrie, on the other hand, is viewed upon as the next big thing. He's heralded as a rising superstar & the future of the NBA at PG. He's one of the media darlings & gets as much attention as anybody outside of LeBron, Durant, & Melo. He just received a maximum level contract & everyone is praising Cleveland.

It's amazing at how much the media controls the mass opinion on athletes, actually it's rather scary. While I do think Kyrie has more potential, at this point in their careers he isn't any better than Kemba. And when you include their intangibles I'm not sure I'd trade Kemba for him right now anyway.

[rams80]

Boy, when Charlotte fails to pan out, its going to be high comedy.

[Lee Noire]

Darren Collison to Sacramento for 3yrs/16mil.

C'mon Stan! Josh Smith for Isaiah Thomas now!!!

That's a bummer. Collison was solid when CP3 was out. Word is the Clips are looking at Farmar as the backup now. I really don't have a strong opinion about him.

[BlackBolt3]

Boy, when Charlotte fails to pan out, its going to be high comedy.

If it does, it'll be for me too. And I'm a fan. You can't throw anything at me I haven't seen with this organization yet.

[dfwabel]

Darren Collison to Sacramento for 3yrs/16mil.

C'mon Stan! Josh Smith for Isaiah Thomas now!!!

That's a bummer. Collison was solid when CP3 was out. Word is the Clips are looking at Farmar as the backup now. I really don't have a strong opinion about him.

FWIW, Collison will now be on his fifth team in six seasons. Even with trades to create cap room and his performance, he is a vagabond at an early age.

[Rockstar Matt]

Please Lakers, don't sign Melo. He's a waste of money and a roster spot.

Signed,

This Lakers fan.

[Lights Out]

Darren Collison to Sacramento for 3yrs/16mil.

C'mon Stan! Josh Smith for Isaiah Thomas now!!!

That's a bummer. Collison was solid when CP3 was out. Word is the Clips are looking at Farmar as the backup now. I really don't have a strong opinion about him.

Actually, I'm glad DC got paid by someone else. It was starting to sound like Doc was seriously going to squander most or even all of the MLE on bringing him back when we have far bigger needs to address (starting small forward, third big). The Kings thankfully took that option off the table.

[Unocal]

So... anyone gonna make early potential Opening Night TNT Doubleheader/Christmas guesses?

I'm gonna make a few- Spurs Banner night will be against Houston, the Lakers will actually get a lesser Christmas Day game and have to go on the road, Heat/Clippers will be the ABC main event.

[dbadefense1990]

Please Lakers, don't sign Melo. He's a waste of money and a roster spot.

Signed,

This Lakers fan.

Dear Matt,

Thank you for writing your letter towards our organization. However, we will ultimately go with the best interests of Lakers basketball. We do not feel that our advertisements to try saving Dwight Howard were pathetic. We do not feel that we overpaid for the services of Kobe Bryant, despite his age and Achillies injury. We do not feel that we turned our backs on our fans when we made all our Lakers games cable-exclusive. We will be actively pursing the services of Carmelo Anthony, and we will be aggressive towards it, even as you call it "overpaying" for those services.

Thank you for your patience.

Mitch Kupchak

General Manager

Los Angeles Lakers

[Lee Noire]

Clippers signed Spencer Hawes on a 4 yr deal. Nice pick up!

[Ateles fusciceps]

Gordon Hayward & his agent are flying to Charlotte Monday for a visit & presentation with the Hornets. GM Rich Who, owner Michael Jordan, & Al Jefferson will all be in attendance. Big Al reached out to Gordon & is recruiting him to come join him in Charlotte. When did Utah become Charlotte's farm team?

Hope they do a sign & trade that sends Henderson to Utah.

[Lights Out]

Clippers signed Spencer Hawes on a 4 yr deal. Nice pick up!

With how role players have been getting overpaid this summer, $23 million is an absolute steal for Hawes. I like this signing.

[Lee Noire]

Clippers signed Spencer Hawes on a 4 yr deal. Nice pick up!

With how role players have been getting overpaid this summer, $23 million is an absolute steal for Hawes. I like this signing.

Exactly. Filled a need and didn't break the bank to do it. Can't ask for more than that.

[DustDevil61]

Gordon Hayward & his agent are flying to Charlotte Monday for a visit & presentation with the Hornets. GM Rich Who, owner Michael Jordan, & Al Jefferson will all be in attendance. Big Al reached out to Gordon & is recruiting him to come join him in Charlotte. When did Utah become Charlotte's farm team?

Hope they do a sign & trade that sends Henderson to Utah.

Here in Utah, word is that the Jazz will match any offer for Hayward. I don't see them letting him go unless he wants out in the worst way possible and/or they find a deal that they think is better, so I find it unlikely that he'll be wearing anything other than a Jazz uniform next season.

That said, it wouldn't be the first time former Jazzmen of recent years found themselves as teammates on another team:

--Deron Williams, Andrei Kirelenko (BKN)

--Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver (CHI, 2010-11)

--Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll (ATL)

--Mo Williams, Earl Watson, and Wesley Matthews (POR)

So, either there was a good sense of camaraderie while these players played for each other* while with the Jazz, they had something with management (that's still not mentioned), sought a fresh start, or some combination of all of those. (I'm being only half-serious here. I hope.)

*

I bet you're now saying, "But DustDevil61, Matthews never played with Watson or Williams, nor has Korver played with Carroll, in Utah." Still, take away Carroll and Matthews as outliers (and just pick CHI for Korver) and still each group of players listed who were currently teammates after playing for Utah were teammates on the Jazz at one point. That doesn't exactly paint the best picture of a team who's reputation in recent years has been letting good talent go. Whether the same happens to the likes of Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Trey Burke, or Dante Exum remains to be seen.

Dennis Lindsey, the ball's in your court.

[TJKiddsHead]

So... anyone gonna make early potential Opening Night TNT Doubleheader/Christmas guesses?

I'm gonna make a few- Spurs Banner night will be against Houston, the Lakers will actually get a lesser Christmas Day game and have to go on the road, Heat/Clippers will be the ABC main event.

Brooklyn, Chicago, San Antonio, Golden State, OKC and LAC will all definitely be playing on Christmas. Whether the Knicks or Heat play will probably hinge on whether LeBron and Melo stay put. Assuming they do, I think the lineup looks something like:

Opening Night:

Thunder @ Spurs

Heat @ Clippers

Christmas

Knicks @ Nets

Warriors @ Bulls

Heat @ Spurs

Rockets @ Thunder

Lakers @ Clippers

[BBTV]

Clippers signed Spencer Hawes on a 4 yr deal. Nice pick up!

With how role players have been getting overpaid this summer, $23 million is an absolute steal for Hawes. I like this signing.

I don't understand what anyone sees in that guy. He doesn't even really take up space since he tries to hang back around the three point line. He's lazy, and just a jerk.

[Lights Out]

Clippers signed Spencer Hawes on a 4 yr deal. Nice pick up!

With how role players have been getting overpaid this summer, $23 million is an absolute steal for Hawes. I like this signing.

I don't understand what anyone sees in that guy. He doesn't even really take up space since he tries to hang back around the three point line. He's lazy, and just a jerk.

He can space the floor, rebound, and passes the ball better than most bigs. Nobody's expecting him to be prime Hakeem obviously, but as a third big, he's a step up from the cavalcade of scrubs we've had the past few years (Turiaf, fat coked-up Odom, Hollins, Mullens, Jamison, and Davis) who did nothing but foul and brick shots.

[Ateles fusciceps]

Gordon Hayward & his agent are flying to Charlotte Monday for a visit & presentation with the Hornets. GM Rich Who, owner Michael Jordan, & Al Jefferson will all be in attendance. Big Al reached out to Gordon & is recruiting him to come join him in Charlotte. When did Utah become Charlotte's farm team?

Hope they do a sign & trade that sends Henderson to Utah.

Here in Utah, word is that the Jazz will match any offer for Hayward. I don't see them letting him go unless he wants out in the worst way possible and/or they find a deal that they think is better, so I find it unlikely that he'll be wearing anything other than a Jazz uniform next season.

That said, it wouldn't be the first time former Jazzmen of recent years found themselves as teammates on another team:

--Deron Williams, Andrei Kirelenko (BKN)

--Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver (CHI, 2010-11)

--Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll (ATL)

--Mo Williams, Earl Watson, and Wesley Matthews (POR)

So, either there was a good sense of camaraderie while these players played for each other* while with the Jazz, they had something with management (that's still not mentioned), sought a fresh start, or some combination of all of those. (I'm being only half-serious here. I hope.)

*

I bet you're now saying, "But DustDevil61, Matthews never played with Watson or Williams, nor has Korver played with Carroll, in Utah." Still, take away Carroll and Matthews as outliers (and just pick CHI for Korver) and still each group of players listed who were currently teammates after playing for Utah were teammates on the Jazz at one point. That doesn't exactly paint the best picture of a team who's reputation in recent years has been letting good talent go. Whether the same happens to the likes of Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Trey Burke, or Dante Exum remains to be seen.

Dennis Lindsey, the ball's in your court.

Utah made those statements back before the draft, and even then some thought they were just bluffing. Since then Utah has added Exum, Hood, & Novak, all wing players. They probably didn't expect either of those draft picks to fall to them. Now they've also spent over $7mil on Novak.

Before adding those guys Hayward was much more important. Now with all of those guys, he becomes more expendable. Would they match a smaller offer? Sure. But if Charlotte, or anyone else, offers Hayward $10+mil I really doubt Utah matches it. Most likely they'll try to work out a sign & trade.

I've been reading some really crazy crap from Utah fans on what they think they'll get from Charlotte in a sign & trade. Kidd-Gilchrist & a 1st rd pick, multiple 1st rd picks, Kidd-Gilchrist & Vonleh/Zeller, etc. I have a feeling they're gonna be very disappointed. Rich Cho isn't gonna give away a 1st rd pick, & he damn sure isn't gonna trade MKG, Zeller, or Vonleh. MKG & Vonleh have much more potential than GH.

More than likely Utah will let him walk or they'll do a S&T with Charlotte & get back Henderson or Neal plus a 2nd rd pick, etc.

Charlotte seems to be serious. They're meeting with Gordon & his agent. And they're gonna show him a presentation with Jordan & Big Al present. It looks like they really want him. They've really got to, Big Al can opt out next year. Gotta show him they're serious about winning.

Kemba Walker

Gordon Hayward

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Josh McRoberts

Al Jefferson

Ramon Sessions

PJ Hairston

Jeffery Taylor

Cody Zeller

Noah Vonleh

Bismack Biyombo

That's a very solid, young team (which also will have great cap flexibility going forward). And an incredible improvement & turnaround from the 28-120 2 year stretch they just endured in '11 & '12.

Edit:

Charlotte is also rumored to be interested in Marvin Williams. I guess we're gonna just be Utah East.