PeterMP Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 2 hours ago, Destino said: Would the Clippers adding Kawhi make them a contender? They’d need a second guy that can get his own shot. I suspect yes. If he's healthy, KD doesn't play at all, and Lebron doesn't have massive defensive renaissance, a healthy Kawhi in totality (counting offense and defense) will be the most impactful player in the West. That totality can offset the lack of a clear 2nd creator. They might not win the 1 seed, but they'd clearly be a contender. They also have a couple of young guys where growth would be a reasonable expectation and so should be better than last year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 3 hours ago, Destino said: Would the Clippers adding Kawhi make them a contender? They’d need a second guy that can get his own shot. Don't forget about Sweet Lou my friend. Gallinari can score too. They'll have enough offense if they get Kawhi. And if they bring back Temple, Beverly, and Zubac, I think they'll have enough defense too. They've also got Gilgeous-Alexander and Thornwell to develop. If they lose Beverly, Thornwell is an option as that on ball defensive guard. It's a really good roster foundation and coaching staff for a player like Kawhi. He buys into the system and plays as a cog in the machine. I think they jump up to high 50 or possibly even 60 win territory by bringing back last year's core and adding Kawhi. But their ability to win a championship hinges on Kawhi staying healthy and dominant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 14 minutes ago, PeterMP said: I suspect yes. If he's healthy, KD doesn't play at all, and Lebron doesn't have massive defensive renaissance, a healthy Kawhi in totality (counting offense and defense) will be the most impactful player in the West. That totality can offset the lack of a clear 2nd creator. They might not win the 1 seed, but they'd clearly be a contender. They also have a couple of young guys where growth would be a reasonable expectation and so should be better than last year. I’m skeptical because we just spent an offseason that demonstrated the effectiveness of doubling the opposing best offensive player. The teams without a second, couldn’t adjust. It bounced the Bucks out when Middleton showed that he’s a fraud after the raptors essentially tripled Giannis. It killed the Blazers, who couldn’t score enough without Lillard scoring to keep up with the splash brothers. There has to be a second option or the better defenses clan cripple an offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 17 minutes ago, Destino said: I’m skeptical because we just spent an offseason that demonstrated the effectiveness of doubling the opposing best offensive player. The teams without a second, couldn’t adjust. It bounced the Bucks out when Middleton showed that he’s a fraud after the raptors essentially tripled Giannis. It killed the Blazers, who couldn’t score enough without Lillard scoring to keep up with the splash brothers. There has to be a second option or the better defenses clan cripple an offense. Middleton had a bad series, but I wouldn't call him a fraud off of one bad series. Trailblazers were missing Nurick, which hurt them. A healthy Clippers team with Leonard will have a more balanced offense than the Nurickless Blazers. They will have to get points from somewhere else if Leonard is doubled, but that doesn't really require a creator. You just need people to hit make shots. Do I know for sure the Clips will have players that will step up in that situation and make them (especially as people do randomly get cold)? No, but it wouldn't surprise me either. (And Lou Williams is actually pretty good at creating his own shot.) To win a championship, the Clippers will need people like Shamet, Gallinari, and Gilgeous-Alexander to make shots. Will they? I don't know, but I wouldn't say they won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Gallinari miss a good shooter and scorer. If he's healthy, his teams will score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Gallinari is ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dr. Do Itch Big said: Gallinari is ass Okay, he's not a great player, but he'll almost certainly be a better offensive player than GS will be running out there as a 3rd scoring option without KD. If the Clippers don't win the championship, I suspect their issue will be more on the defensive end than the offensive end. Also @Destino I'd tell you the Blazers issues were as much defense (not being able to contain the Splash brothers) as their offense (which again was tied to the lack of Nurick). Edited June 17, 2019 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 10 hours ago, BenningRoadSkin said: I don't believe it is as serious as Chris Bosh. I get that, but LeBron is aging and who knows how much time he has left as an elite player. that is 100% not going to happen. Lakers do not have the cap room and I don't think Kawhi wants to play with LeBron. Its either Clippers or Raptors. Oh, 100% clock is ticking on Lebron...I mentioned it in another post, but he's 35 in December and approaching, I think, his 17th year in the league. He doesn't care about the Lakers future, because he's in "win now" mode. Everything that happened yesterday went along w/ what Rich Paul was saying all along...Davis was going to end up a Laker one way or another. This is most likely why Danny Ainge wasn't willing to gut his team for essentially one year of Davis' services in Boston. Can you imagine trading all those guys to the Lakers, JUST to have Davis sign with them the year after next? Anyways, the damage was done between Lebron and the young core...they been floated in trade rumors for the longest and there was clearly a divide between Lebron's camp and just about everyone else not named Kuz or Rondo. Some well-informed guys on Twitter were saying how much Ingram hated playing in LA, and Lebron was most likely a big reason why. I think the Pels made out like bandits in this deal because I'm a bit skeptical of how this will actually make the Lakers THAT much better in the West (no more than a 6-8 seed.) Now, if Kawhi signs, then forget what i just said...but no one else is going to make that much of a difference. Davis, while amazing, is largely unproven outside of the regular season. Lebron is going to be approaching "washed" status" and there's probably going to be a mutiny at some point with Vogel coaching. This isnt even accounting for the fact they have to fill the rest of the roster with a bunch of retreads. West is going to be a gauntlet again even with the Warriors being hobbled. Lakers are gonna be a team to watch for better/worse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 The NBA is all about star power. If you have three stars, which the Lakers easily could end up with if they get Walker or Irving to team up with Lebron and AD, then they'll contend. Are they a sure fire championship lock? No, but they'll have a legit shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) 20 minutes ago, RonArtest15 said: I'm a bit skeptical of how this will actually make the Lakers THAT much better in the West (no more than a 6-8 seed.) Now, if Kawhi signs, then forget what i just said...but no one else is going to make that much of a difference. Davis, while amazing, is largely unproven outside of the regular season. Lebron is going to be approaching "washed" status" and there's probably going to be a mutiny at some point with Vogel coaching. This isnt even accounting for the fact they have to fill the rest of the roster with a bunch of retreads. West is going to be a gauntlet again even with the Warriors being hobbled. Lakers are gonna be a team to watch for better/worse. Can we see what happens in free agency first? If all of the East big time FA's stay in the East, the West isn't going to be that good. People are already talking like it is clear Leonard is leaving Toronto and Walker is going West and people like KD and Klay aren't leaving the West for the East. Assuming the Lakers pick up one more star to fill out their cap space and Lebron can play reasonable defense and KD doesn't play, if healthy, they will likely have the best starting 5 in the West. That will be good enough to carry them to at least a 5 seed and maybe all the way to the 1 seed (even if Leonard comes to the East). GS is going to go backwards. The Rockets aren't getting any younger or their cap situation any better so they will continue to slide back. And other than the Clippers, if they can get Leonard, there's really nobody that I'd expect to make a big jump up. (Well maybe the Mavs, but I don't see them taking that big of a jump.) Edited June 17, 2019 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 4 minutes ago, PeterMP said: Can we see what happens in free agency first? If all of the East big time FA's stay in the East, the West isn't going to be that good. People are already talking like it is clear Leonard is leaving Toronto and Walker is going West and people like KD and Klay aren't leaving the West for the East. Assuming the Lakers pick up one more star to fill out their cap space and Lebron can play reasonable defense and KD doesn't play, if healthy, they will likely have the best starting 5 in the West. That will be good enough to carry them to at least a 5 seed and maybe all the way to the 1 seed (even if Leonard comes to the East). GS is going to go backwards. The Rockets aren't getting any younger or their cap situation any better so they will continue to slide back. And other than the Clippers, if they can get Leonard, there's really nobody that I'd expect to make a big jump up. (Well maybe the Mavs, but I don't see them taking that big of a jump.) Who, outside of Kawhi, is going to make THAT much of a difference for the Lakers completing that big-3? I can think of 4 teams that will be just as good or better going into next season. Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, and Portland. That's not even accounting for Houston and OKC. 6 squads right there who will be in the thick of things. I'm skeptical of this Lakers move because of a few factors. Lebron's age/wear, Davis being a regular season stat-God, ZERO depth (look at how the roster/bench was constructed last year,) and the overall turmoil surrounding the Lakers in general. Like I said earlier, if Kawhi decides to sign w/ LA, then scrap what I said...but getting Kemba, Kyrie, etc. isn't going to make that big of deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, RonArtest15 said: Who, outside of Kawhi, is going to make THAT much of a difference for the Lakers completing that big-3? I can think of 4 teams that will be just as good or better going into next season. Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, and Portland. That's not even accounting for Houston and OKC. 6 squads right there who will be in the thick of things. I'm skeptical of this Lakers move because of a few factors. Lebron's age/wear, Davis being a regular season stat-God, ZERO depth (look at how the roster/bench was constructed last year,) and the overall turmoil surrounding the Lakers in general. Like I said earlier, if Kawhi decides to sign w/ LA, then scrap what I said...but getting Kemba, Kyrie, etc. isn't going to make that big of deal. Part of my statement is if they are healthy and Lebron plays respectable defense (essentially Lebron plays like the 2017-18 version of himself). If those two things are true that means limited affects of age/wear and they sign even Walker, they will jump over at least 2 of the 4 teams you've listed and easily over OKC and Houston. Really, you are talking about adding 3 all stars to a team (Lebron didn't play like an all star last year even when healthy). That's a huge difference in the NBA. The bench will be weak, but if your starting 5 is that good, you can live with a weak bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozo the kKklown Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Apparently Davis isn’t waving his trade bonus 9 minutes ago, PeterMP said: Lebron plays respectable defense (essentially Lebron plays like the 2017-18 version of himself He wasn’t playing defense that season either 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 22 minutes ago, PeterMP said: Part of my statement is if they are healthy and Lebron plays respectable defense (essentially Lebron plays like the 2017-18 version of himself). If those two things are true that means limited affects of age/wear and they sign even Walker, they will jump over at least 2 of the 4 teams you've listed and easily over OKC and Houston. Really, you are talking about adding 3 all stars to a team (Lebron didn't play like an all star last year even when healthy). That's a huge difference in the NBA. The bench will be weak, but if your starting 5 is that good, you can live with a weak bench. Aside for Kawhi, Toronto's bench depth was one of the biggest reasons why they won the title. You 100% can't live with a weak bench in today league where there's a premium on defense and shooting the 3-ball from your starters to the 15th man. There isn't a chance in hell that I'm putting a Lebron/AD/Kemba squad over Portland, Denver, Utah, Houston, OKC, or even the Clippers. At best, they're a 6 seed in the West. This is going to blow up in their faces. Lebron is in "win now" mode, but let's be real...his move to LA was to maximize his earning potential off the court when his career ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, RonArtest15 said: Aside for Kawhi, Toronto's bench depth was one of the biggest reasons why they won the title. You 100% can't live with a weak bench in today league where there's a premium on defense and shooting the 3-ball from your starters to the 15th man. There isn't a chance in hell that I'm putting a Lebron/AD/Kemba squad over Portland, Denver, Utah, Houston, OKC, or even the Clippers. At best, they're a 6 seed in the West. This is going to blow up in their faces. Lebron is in "win now" mode, but let's be real...his move to LA was to maximize his earning potential off the court when his career ends. We'll see. I'm not all sure what Lebron gives them this year and Davis hasn't ever really had a whole season healthy so they might not be that good, but if Lebron plays reasonable defense, and they are healthy they'll be good. Edited June 17, 2019 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 The West will be open. The Lakers and Clippers will contend. If Golden State keeps Cousins and he doesn't miss a lot of time, they'll be in the mix too. The Rockets and Nuggets will both still be strong regular season teams. Dallas has a chance to get way better, but they're probably still a year away. Minnesota and San Antonio will be in the late seed mix. Portland and Utah look like midseeds, and I think Utah could be on the cusp of making a leap like the Nuggets did. Sacramento has a chance to get way better too. And OKC will always be dangerous with that group of talent. The West won't like have any super teams, but Phoenix and New Orleans will be the only terrible teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Barf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Drake spends more time with the Raptors than little Adonis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) Drake spends more time with the Raptors than that creepy Asian dude from the JP movies * Edited June 17, 2019 by Mr. Sinister 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 https://theteam980.com/124062/kawhi-leonard-la-lakers/?omcamp=es-team980-nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily Newsletter Send - Team980 2019-06-17&utm_term=Team980 ALL SUBSCRIBERS Lakers Reportedly Set Their Sights On Kawhi Leonard Afters Anthony Davis Trade Will the idea of teaming up with LeBron James & Anthony Davis be enough to lure Kawhi to the Lakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) Once you get that thirst for power its hard to let go. Going to LA would most certainly be letting some of that go. But if he somehow goes... Title. Don't care about bench shooters. Bench shooters go cold. When they can't shoot they're useless. You just need enough shooting when you have guys like that Edited June 17, 2019 by Mr. Sinister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry.Randolphe Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) Lebron/Kawhi/AD would probably be a push against KD/Curry/Klay....it would be the battle of the benches Edited June 17, 2019 by Barry.Randolphe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Can anyone else see Kawhi just playing the rest of his career as a hired gun, picking where he wants to go every couple of years to win a title? Lakers for a couple years, gets a ring there, then sees an opportunity in Milwaukee with Giannis and goes there and gets a ring. Plays for like 6 teams, gets rings with all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 If Kawhi doesn't sign a long term deal soon, he's going to be tempting fate big time with that quadriceps muscle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Houston drama Quote But Paul noticeably lost a step last season, as evidenced by analytics and the eye test. Paul pushed for more plays and sets in the Houston offense, more screening and deception, despite Harden being in the process of putting together a historically dominant individual offensive season. "Chris wants to coach James," says a source familiar with the stars' dynamic. "James looks at him like, 'You can't even beat your man. Just shut up and watch me.'" According to sources, Paul was also frustrated by what he perceived as Harden's tendency to ignore unglamorous details that impact winning -- such as moving when he gives up the ball to help spacing -- and wasn't shy about expressing those concerns. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26987545/there-too-much-damn-turmoil-unsettling-vibe-surrounds-rockets I don’t think CP3’s chirping becoming annoying surprises anyone. Harden isn’t the first player to take issue with him. That being said, it’s ridiculous that any professional basketball player would need to be convinced to move without the ball. I didn’t see much standing around on Toronto or Golden State. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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