***2021-2022 NBA Season Thread***

[RonArtest15]

3 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

This is what exasperates me.  The NBA pollyannas are clinging to this false hope that the Rockets could have actually beaten Golden State based on hypotheticals even though they got their asses whipped in that series.  Ignoring the fact that a two team league is still a farce, I might add.

 

The outcome was what it was, but the Rockets shot themselves in the foot by going an unprecedented 0-27.  Even w/o CP3, they had a LEGIT chance of winning that game 7.  I don't even know how you can argue the contrary...

[Spaceman Spiff]

5 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

You think every other front office except Golden State's is bad?  You think the problem with the NBA is that there isn't enough executive talent to go around?  Or even to be distributed beyond one single team?

 

Or perhaps it could be the much more likely and straightforward explanation that the league has a serious problem with its diffusion of player talent.  Five great players can come together and create an unbeatable team.  So how do you stop this from happening?  Hard cap.  A hard cap diffuses talent throughout the league.  It would make it so that Giannis and a bunch of role players can realistically compete for a championship.

 

He's not wrong.  Some front offices don't get it.  But the margin for error in the NBA is thin.  If the 76ers don't hit on Simmons and Embiid, they're a garbage team.  Milwaukee isn't a hot FA destination, they will have to build by being awesome at drafting talent.  If they can't draft well, Giannis will go to waste.

 

But as I said before, the inherent problem with the NBA is that one player can swing the power dynamic.  That's not the NBA's fault, that's just how basketball works.  Get LeBron on your team, you're guaranteed 15-20 extra wins, maybe more.  

 

I would argue for contraction.  Less teams.  Deeper teams.  No way that actually happens but if the NBA tries for expansion in a few years things will get worse. 

[justice98]

30 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

There is only one team capable of winning the championship.  There has been only one team the last two years.  And it will probably continue like this for a while.

 

I'm still amazed you saw Hou be up 3-2 in the WCF Finals and still say they weren't capable of winning the championship.  lol

Edited July 3, 2018 by justice98

[Mr. Sinister]

2 minutes ago, justice98 said:

 

I'm still amazed you saw Hou be up 3-2 in the WCF Finals and still say they weren't capable of winning the championship.  lol

 

Boogie will be gone after next year, and it's debatable how effective he'll actually be, honestly.

 

I find all of this rather bizarre.

[justice98]

10 minutes ago, RonArtest15 said:

 

The outcome was what it was, but the Rockets shot themselves in the foot by going an unprecedented 0-27.  Even w/o CP3, they had a LEGIT chance of winning that game 7.  I don't even know how you can argue the contrary...

 

There is no argument.  He insists they got dominated.  They won 3 games by dumb luck, I guess.  First time I ever heard a team was dominated and had no chance in a series that went the full 7.  

[Bozo the kKklown]

16 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

You think every other front office except Golden State's is bad?  You think the problem with the NBA is that there isn't enough executive talent to go around?  Or even to be distributed beyond one single team?

Not every, but I do think most teams are poorly ran and were allowed to skate until actual an actual killer showed up like the Warriors. So yes, I do not think there is enough executive talent to go around.

 

17 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Or perhaps it could be the much more likely and straightforward explanation that the league has a serious problem with its diffusion of player talent. 

Milwaukee has a generational talent in Giannis and cant build a team around him.

 

The Knicks have failed for 20 years to build a top team, and even when Porzingis stepped up last year pre-injury they were out of the playoff race.

 

Same thing with Anthony Davis in New Orleans.

 

The Wolves have 2.5 all star caliber players and were an 8th seed last year.

 

The Mavs basically failed to do anything since they won an NBA title and Dirk was still a 20-25 ppg player.

 

This is the most talent filled the NBA has ever been and there are a lot of great players stuck in bad situations. And what makes it worse is that the teams basically own their rights for 8 seasons. That means paying below market rate for great talents, and they fail to do anything with them.

 

That's on the teams, messing up, not the system. I think we will be seeing a shift in who gets hired to exec positions in the NBA over the next decade where dinosaurs will be extinguished. You will see more nerds and savvy agents step in and build teams.

[RonArtest15]

1 minute ago, justice98 said:

 

There is no argument.  He insists they got dominated.  They won 3 games by dumb luck, I guess.  First time I ever heard a team was dominated and had no chance in a series that went the full 7.  

 

He's moving the goalposts...SM could skip going to the gym today with the heavy lifting LOL

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

18 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Klay's going to stay with Golden State.  Why on Earth would he leave?  It doesn't get better than what he's got right now.

 

The Warriors are eventually going to just be Curry/Durant. That's damn near inevitable.

 

The first guy that's going to beg his way out is Draymond. That dude has to be completely and utterly exhausted, and it really started to show in the playoffs. Some mediocre team is going to give him a max contract to play a stretch 4, and he's going to cash out in a big big way.

 

I think Thompson will eventually want to see what he can do as "The Man" on a team. 4 Championship Rings is going satisfy nearly any NBA player's need for a legacy of winning. Eventually, they'll all want to see what they can do in a dfferent situation.

 

 

[RonArtest15]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

Boogie will be gone after next year, and it's debatable how effective he'll actually be, honestly.

 

I find all of this rather bizarre.

 

It's a GREAT move for Boogie...he can literally take all the time he wants with his rehab.  Get himself to an actual 100% and ease into their lineup.  I think he's slated to return in November, but he can even push that to around the all-star break if he wants.  Dude can average 12/10, be a force in the playoffs, and be primed to cash in on a HUGE payday at the end of the season with another team.  It was a really smart move on his part. 

 

If he goes to a bad team, there is going to be a lot of pressure on him to do too much. 

Just now, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

The Warriors are eventually going to just be Curry/Durant. That's damn near inevitable.

 

The first guy that's going to beg his way out is Draymond. That dude has to be completely and utterly exhausted, and it really started to show in the playoffs. Some mediocre team is going to give him a max contract to play a stretch 4, and he's going to cash out in a big big way.

 

I think Thompson will eventually want to see what he can do as "The Man" on a team. 4 Championship Rings is going satisfy nearly any NBA player's need for a legacy of winning. Eventually, they'll all want to see what they can do in a dfferent situation.

 

 

 

I think Klay stays.  That dude is wired differently and knows how good he has it in GS.  I can see him being a Warrior for life. 

 

Draymond, on the other hand...

 

 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

56 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

Kerr gets little credit but as a Pops disciple and a winner as a player, his guidance and basketball IQ really can't be measured. I can't imagine the direction the Dubs would have taken if Larry Ellison had bought them instead of Joe Lacob.

 

That said, the idea that their fanbase didn't exist before this era is 100% wrong (I've read that said before about the Dubs fans). The Bay Area has been dying for a really good team since the Run TMC days and they constantly packed the Oracle (or whatever it was called then) even in the crappy years. I know because I married one. ?

 

The Warriors arguably had the best fanbase in the NBA for 40 years.

 

Unfortunately, all those fans are now priced out by the Silicon Valley assholes. But such is life.

[TradeTheBeal!]

I foresee a lot talent coming East in 2019.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

2 minutes ago, RonArtest15 said:

 

It's a GREAT move for Boogie...he can literally take all the time he wants with his rehab.  Get himself to an actual 100% and ease into their lineup.  I think he's slated to return in November, but he can even push that to around the all-star break if he wants.  Dude can average 12/10, be a force in the playoffs, and be primed to cash in on a HUGE payday at the end of the season with another team.  It was a really smart move on his part. 

 

 

 

 

I think it's an indication of just how badly he was hurt and how afraid teams were of him. He's basically taking a gap year with the hope of grabbing a championship ring and maybe changing his image as grumpy posionsous asshole.

 

It's a fascinating move and can pay off big time if Steve Kerr is praising him in June as an unselfish winner.

 

That injury and his attitude set up a real scenario where he was out of the league in three or four years.

[PeterMP]

The problem I see for next season is with losing Ariza, the Rockets seemed to have taken a step back.  Maybe they've got a replacement in mind or some other plan, but I think his defense against GS was a key for them.

 

It does seem that the Rockets don't want to pay too much tax to compete.

 

They seem to not understand their situation to me.  To me, for them, the next 2 years are key.  It is all or nothing.  I'd be giving away picks to get rid of Anderson's contract and see what could happen.

 

In general, I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in Marcus Smart.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Steve McQueen thinks the NBA was created in 1994. So, let me tell you how it was in the 80s.

 

The Lakers and Celtics were the two dominant teams of the decade.

 

The Lakers played in 9 FREAKING FINALS from 1980 through 1991. That's kind of a lot.

The Celtics played in 5, including 4 in a row. That's basically what the Warriors are doing, and they were the second best team in the league.

 

Somehow, in all of this, the Lakers had the #1 overall pick in 1982.

 

The Celtics had possibly the greatest team of all time in 1986. They had the #2 overall pick in the following draft. If Bias had not died, there is a very real chance, they would have made 4 or 5 more Finals into the 90s.

 

Also, that's still my favorite era of basketball.

[The Evil Genius]

Lakers traded Don Ford and the #22 pick to the Cavs in 1980 for that 1982 first round pick (the #1 pick used for Worthy). As bad as that deal was, the Jazz's deal with the Hawks in 1982 was worse. ? 

 

Dominique for nobodies and cash.

 

In 1984, the Celtics traded Gerald Henderson to the Sonics for the 1986 first rounder that ended up being the #2 pick (Len Bias).

 

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by The Evil Genius

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

1 hour ago, RonArtest15 said:

 

The outcome was what it was, but the Rockets shot themselves in the foot by going an unprecedented 0-27.  Even w/o CP3, they had a LEGIT chance of winning that game 7.  I don't even know how you can argue the contrary...

 

The Rockets should have won Game 7 in a walk. Despite my "beloeved Rockets" nonsense, I don't exactly live and die with them.

 

But around the 17th straight miss, I wanted to hang myself. It's not like GSW was playing some all time great D. Ariza took some awful shots, but most of those were normal shots the Rockets took every game of the season. They were like hitting the side of the backboard and ****.

[RonArtest15]

4 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

The Rockets should have won Game 7 in a walk. Despite my "beloeved Rockets" nonsense, I don't exactly live and die with them.

 

But around the 17th straight miss, I wanted to hang myself. It's not like GSW was playing some all time great D. Ariza took some awful shots, but most of those were normal shots the Rockets took every game of the season. They were like hitting the side of the backboard and ****.

 

Rockets go 4-27, and they win.  WITHOUT Chris Paul.  Crazy stuff. 

[Warhead36]

I think the difference is in the 80s, those teams were built from within. You didn't have stars going out and joining forces to form superteams, you just had the Lakers and Celtics run by executives that were just smarter than their piers.

 

The Warriors three core guys in Curry, Thompson, and Green were guys they drafted/developed, but the fact that Durant and Cousins took the wussy way out to join them to win rings turned a lot of people(myself included)off. It'd be like if in the 80s, Jordan decided to sign with the Celtics or Pistons.

[Renegade7]

2 hours ago, justice98 said:

 

Because them being willing to exceed the cap doesnt absolve them from following the rules.  You can only exceed the cap for your own players and exceptions, like they did Boogie.  They couldnt have just signed Lebron outright without a million and one machinations.  

 

GS only $2 million over when they resigned KD, they could go under if they wanted to.  Nobody believe's he talked to GS, but do believe he talked to KD?  What do yall think they talked about, really believe that didn't come up?

 

NBA is broken regardless, saying this would never happen is not the point, there's nothing to stop it.

[Renegade7]

2 hours ago, PeterMP said:

 

The only way the could have signed Lebron is:

1.  if he takes the MLE, which is what Boogie did, and is about $5 million.

 

2.  They start trading some of their other high priced players without taking back much money and get way under the cap.

 

They could not have kept the team they have and signed Lebron to the contract the Lakers did.

 

The Boogie signing is an odd situation where because of his injury and other concerns, he's considered a really good player that nobody wanted to give much money to (apparently) so for him to take a 1 year MLE contract might make sense.

 

(It seems to me like the Pels messed up here.  I'm not a big fan of Cousins (he's not a very good defensive player), but I would have been interested in him at $6 million a year.  I don't know their cap situation, but they had Cousins Bird's rights.  It seems like they should have been able to sign Cousins for $6 million a year and get Randal, no?  Did they just assume a larger contract was out there for Cousins or did Cousins give GSW a massive discount?  Or maybe they just felt that Cousins wouldn't accept a role where he wasn't a clear starter every night.)

 

Like I mentioned, GS was jus barely over luxury cap before just now resigning KD.  They coulda got under to give LeBron similar contract to KD (he gave Lakers 4 years, agree that doesn't happen in GS), resigned KD cause he used to be on the team then still got Cousins with the exception (if I'm not reading these correctly let me know, but I maintain nothing coulda stopped them if they really wanted to).

[justice98]

5 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

GS only $2 million over when they resigned KD, they could go under if they wanted to.  Nobody believe's he talked to GS, but do believe he talked to KD?  What do yall think they talked about, really believe that didn't come up?

 

NBA is broken regardless, saying this would never happen is not the point, there's nothing to stop it.

 

I actually dont think they talked about linking up in GS.  There was nothing to talk about. 

 

I think Lebron was more sure of where he was going than the media and public thought he was.  It was probably LA all along and people talked themselves into thinking these other teams had a good chance.

[Renegade7]

8 minutes ago, justice98 said:

 

I actually dont think they talked about linking up in GS.  There was nothing to talk about. 

 

I think Lebron was more sure of where he was going than the media and public thought he was.  It was probably LA all along and people talked themselves into thinking these other teams had a good chance.

 

I don't think you're 100% wrong in this post, jus want to point out that this is an opinion.  LeBron won't stay the best player forever, and if we've now graduated to modern super teams with more then 4 allstars, competing with that may be a waste of time. And there's nothing to stop either action or reaction, something similar to a LeBron to GS scenario is inevitable at this rate, will jus be different characters.

[DCSaints_fan]

2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Would the hard cap prevent Boogie or others (like Draymond and Klay and somewhat KD) from taking a major payroll deduction to go to a winning team? Would it also prevent teams that draft exceptionally well from keeping all of their superstars? 

 

Hard cap + no max on a contract.    A superstar might take a slight paycut to join/stay on a championship team, but if other teams are offer him 2x that, probably he bolts.

[Kosher Ham]

19 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

I don't think you're 100% wrong in this post, jus want to point out that this is an opinion.  LeBron won't stay the best player forever, and if we've now graduated to modern super teams with more then 4 allstars, competing with that may be a waste of time. And there's nothing to stop either action or reaction, something similar to a LeBron to GS scenario is inevitable at this rate, will jus be different characters.

 

So you have no faith in younger guys stepping up to the level required to beat the guy ahead of them ? 

 

LeBron is the best ever.

As a Lakers fan... I am not sure that I like the move. I don't want them to give up the young nucleus to retain him, or to aquire Leonard. 

Thing is Leonard holds the cards. SA better make the move, or lose him for nothing. 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Kosher Ham

[Going Commando]

2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Would the hard cap prevent Boogie or others (like Draymond and Klay and somewhat KD) from taking a major payroll deduction to go to a winning team? Would it also prevent teams that draft exceptionally well from keeping all of their superstars? 

 

Yes and yes.  Both of those guys signed with exceptions.  Teams that draft well will also still have the advantage gained from acquiring talent that outplays their contract.  The league's talent will become properly diffused.