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

[Destino]

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

The same clown who called us a minor league sports town a month ago?

 

Go F yourself Wilbon.

He's been doing that for years.  I'm sure I posted comments ripping him for trashing DC as a sports town 5 years ago, if not further back.  Not sure why ESPN still employs him, because outside of DC sports fans mentioning him for being an asshole no one ever brings up anything he's said or written.  Wilbon is a boring dinosaur.    

[CRobi21]

If LeBron signing here nets us nothing other than him getting Ernie canned one week into the season it would have been worth it..

[Destino]

Just now, CRobi21 said:

If LeBron signing here nets us nothing other than him getting Ernie canned one week into the season it would have been worth it..

If he managed to cast out Ernie, he'd be the second most famous exorcist in DC's history. 

[Momma There Goes That Man]

That’s high quality there Destino 

[CRobi21]

34 minutes ago, Destino said:

If he managed to cast out Ernie, he'd be the second most famous exorcist in DC's history. 

 

It would result in another parade in downtown DC. Though I'm sure at some point Ernie would inexplicably show up at the festivities:

 

[Mr. Sinister]

1 hour ago, Destino said:

He's been doing that for years.  I'm sure I posted comments ripping him for trashing DC as a sports town 5 years ago, if not further back.  Not sure why ESPN still employs him, because outside of DC sports fans mentioning him for being an asshole no one ever brings up anything he's said or written.  Wilbon is a boring dinosaur.    

 

And he's increasingly hostile, about everything. Everyone is stupid. Everyone needs to shut up.

 

I thought it was an act before. Not sure anymore. I'd love to know what in the world he's so angry about.

1 hour ago, CRobi21 said:

If LeBron signing here nets us nothing other than him getting Ernie canned one week into the season it would have been worth it..

 

1 hour ago, Destino said:

If he managed to cast out Ernie, he'd be the second most famous exorcist in DC's history. 

 

Do you ever truly rid the world of such foul evil? I figure at best, you can make it go dormant. It is everlasting.... Omnipresent 

Edited June 13, 2018 by Mr. Sinister

[Mr. Sinister]

1 hour ago, Destino said:

I think it almost did.  That game seven loss really highlighted the need for Gordon and Kyrie.  The question the Celtics have now is can they upgrade either of them, because I think they fully expect to be playing the Warriors in the finals next season if they can stay healthy.  

 

 

 

For one season, I think so. Brad is gonna have to work that Khaer Moren magic though, after what all those youngins did, now having to head to the bench, with lesser shots.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

You can split Tatum and Hayward and keep them on the floor at the same time so you keep them both happy. That moves Brown to the 2 more and just means less Marcus Smart who is a much worse player than both anyway. Keeps Smart angry and in psycho mode which is where you want that guy.  If Terry Rozier can't handle coming off the bench, well...**** him. 

 

Horford

Hayward

Tatum

Brown

Kyrie

 

That's pretty damn good crunch time lineup. It's young, long, fast and athletic. Horford is still a soft ass **** but oh well. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

This board is literally the only place on Earth that is even remotely entertaining the thought of Lebron as a Wizard. You guys are fun.

 

I'm not sure Lebron is aware that the Wizards exist. I think they all look like Glass Joe in his mind.

25 minutes ago, Momma There Goes That Man said:

You can split Tatum and Hayward and keep them on the floor at the same time so you keep them both happy. That moves Brown to the 2 more and just means less Marcus Smart who is a much worse player than both anyway. Keeps Smart angry and in psycho mode which is where you want that guy.  If Terry Rozier can't handle coming off the bench, well...**** him. 

 

 

Terry Rozier played out of his mind in one series. And he was an abomination against the Cavs. Neither Stevens nor Ainge are dumb enough to think he is anything more than a 20-25 minute a night guy who has the potential to get sizzling hot a few times a month. Every team in the league would like to have a backup guard like either he or Smart. The Celtics have both, which is not entirely fair.

 

Ainge would trade Larry Bird's retired Number tomorrow for a lottery protected first round pick. He's not going to get sentimental about Terry ****ing Rozier.

[Renegade7]

@Lombardi's_kid_brother is right about Scary Terry, he has 6th man written all over him at best u til proven otherwise, no way in God's green earth do you think of replacing Kyrie with him in starting lineup.

 

A lot of the baby cloves made the most of their minutes, yes, that they would not of gotten due to injuries.  Kyrie is the best player on your team, if you don't like it, step, Boston will be just fine without you.

 

My prediction: everyone shuts up and gets from a collective is only way to challenge the Warriors.  If you want a ring stay home, don't force your way to some place like phoenix so you can get more playing time.

[Going Commando]

I was one of the only people who didn't think Boston could take signing Kyrie Irving to an extension for granted when they made the trade.  And I still think that's true.  But I also don't think they need him as badly as other teams who will be willing to pay him.  Brad Stevens can run his system with anyone at PG.  Hayward is locked up long term and Tatum and Brown have proven themselves.  They're the future of that team.

 

I don't think trading Irving before the deadline is out of the question.

[Mr. Sinister]

48 minutes ago, Momma There Goes That Man said:

You can split Tatum and Hayward and keep them on the floor at the same time so you keep them both happy. That moves Brown to the 2 more and just means less Marcus Smart who is a much worse player than both anyway. Keeps Smart angry and in psycho mode which is where you want that guy.  If Terry Rozier can't handle coming off the bench, well...**** him. 

 

Horford

Hayward

Tatum

Brown

Kyrie

 

That's pretty damn good crunch time lineup. It's young, long, fast and athletic. Horford is still a soft ass **** but oh well. 

 

Good point, strategy wise. I'm more interested in it from a cohesion standpoint. Hard for some young guys once they taste success, despite what everyone else thinks about their abilities. 

 

I think that's where Stevens probably has the most work to do, though, agsin, I think for one season, they all should focus on the big picture, I think.

 

I believe Smart is a free agent

 

 

[Destino]

1 hour ago, Mr. Sinister said:

For one season, I think so. Brad is gonna have to work that Khaer Moren magic though, after what all those youngins did, now having to head to the bench, with lesser shots.

No one is going to understand that Kaer Morhen reference man, and really as a metaphor it would work better for a performance enhancing situations involving dangerous drugs.    Still love to see a Witcher reference though. 

 

[Mr. Sinister]

3 minutes ago, Destino said:

No one is going to understand that Kaer Morhen reference man, and really as a metaphor it would work better for a performance enhancing situations involving dangerous drugs.    Still love to see a Witcher reference though. 

 

 

How do you think they don't skip a beat whenever one of them gets hit by a bus every few days. Something is going on in the Garden.

 

I bet if you hit em  all with still photography their eyes would be yellow with black slits.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Mr. Sinister

[Bozo the kKklown]

Wilbon was a great columnist in the 1990s. I really cannot stress that enough. HE was amazing. That WaPo staff was a murderers row with him, Boswell, Kornheiser, and Richard Justice.

 

He began to degrade as a journalist when Pardon the Interruption debuted, and it was over for him when he blamed Sean Taylor's murder on "his violent filled lifestyle."

 

Wilbon is respectability politics mixed with star effing to the nth degree.

[Mr. Sinister]

1 minute ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

Wilbon was a great columnist in the 1990s. I really cannot stress that enough. HE was amazing. That WaPo staff was a murderers row with him, Boswell, Kornheiser, and Richard Justice.

 

He began to degrade as a journalist when Pardon the Interruption debuted, and it was over for him when he blamed Sean Taylor's murder on "his violent filled lifestyle."

 

Wilbon is respectability politics mixed with star effing to the nth degree.

 

I also remember Bram respectfully correcting him on something he said years ago, and he went off on him too.

 

He's got my vote as the next cat to say something crazy in the sports world and get booted into rerirement 

[Destino]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

How do you think they don't skip a beat whenever one of them gets hit by a bus every few days. Something is going on in the Garden.

 

I bet if you hit an all with still photography their eyes would be yellow with black slits.

They're all young though.  If there's a Witcher school it's in San Antonio where Vesimir Popovich's team of suspiciously spry old guys took down a king. 

[Going Commando]

34 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

This board is literally the only place on Earth that is even remotely entertaining the thought of Lebron as a Wizard. You guys are fun.

 

No one pays attention to us.  But as the basketball world starts playing out LeBron's options, they're going to realize that he's got roughly seven options:

 

1 - Sub max contract in Houston

2 - Near max contract in Philly

3 - Max contract in LA

4 - Max contract in Indy

5 - MLE in Boston

6 - MLE in DC

7 - MLE in Golden State

 

As you start parsing out these options, it then becomes clear that there are only three truly good ones:

 

- He'd kill his legacy by signing with Golden State

- He'd never win a ring in LA.  Houston is the only West team worth going to

- Philly's desirability as a destination hinges entirely on the unsteady legs of Joel Embiid.  Fultz and Simmons are nowhere close to being ready to contribute to a contender

- Why would he pick Indy over any of the other options?

 

Houston, Boston, and DC are his only good options, aside from staying in Cleveland for another year and getting fully paid.

 

Each of those options would require taking a huge paycut.

 

But LeBron has half a billion dollars in career earnings.  LeBron also has, by far, the greatest stature of any American athlete, particularly any black athlete.

 

I'd be interested in having a conversation about the status that salary confers for NBA players.  It's not just about the money for them, having the most zeroes in your paycheck is a status indicator and the NBA is the most rigidly hierarchical league.  LeBron is so rich and so good, could he take significantly less money and still retain his status as the best and most important player in the league?  Seems like, if anyone can break that paradigm, it's him.

 

I'd also be interested in exploring the social advocacy angle.  DC has NEVER had an athlete in his prime like LeBron before.  Ovechkin and Harper aren't even a fart in the wind compared to LeBron in terms of stature, prestige, and fame.  What could the most important black athlete on the planet (and thus the most important black employee) do if he came to DC that he couldn't do in Houston or Boston?  Wilbon seemed to be focused on that in his column.  It's worth exploring as a selling point for the Wizards.

[Mr. Sinister]

2 minutes ago, Destino said:

They're all young though.  If there's a Witcher school it's in San Antonio where Vesimir Popovich's team of suspiciously spry old guys took down a king. 

 

No bull**** 

[Going Commando]

BTW, I was listening to Howard Bryant's interview on fresh air before I posted that.  He wrote a book about social activism in sports, and he talked about how LeBron is different than previous NBA greats, pre-Trayvon Martin.  He embraces activism in a way that the stars of the 80's, 90's and aughts were too risk-averse to ever do.  They wouldn't even cut an anonymous check to Al Sharpton back then.  I don't know man, LeBron in DC during the Trump Administration could be nuts.  The Wizards would be under the ****ing Hubble Telescope.  It would be like nothing any of us have ever experienced before.

[PF Chang]

LeBron signs with Wizards --> 2019 NBA Champions --> LeBron sends Trump a 45 jersey with 'U Bum' on the back

[Renegade7]

7 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

The Wizards would be under the ****ing Hubble Telescope.  It would be like nothing any of us have ever experienced before.

 

Not a deal breaker, and LeBron has a tendency to be very specific about his criticism and not drag it out in a vague way open to interpretation. 

 

It's one thing I really like about him, he's right and he moves on with his life until the next thing that comes up him making sense saying something on.  It's the opposite of what Colin is doing.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt not to get into a twitter battle with Trump just because they share the same area code.  Has Trump ever gone directly after LeBron specificly? 

 

I know Fox News has, "shut up and dribble" comes to mind.

[Mr. Sinister]

19 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

BTW, I was listening to Howard Bryant's interview on fresh air before I posted that.  He wrote a book about social activism in sports, and he talked about how LeBron is different than previous NBA greats, pre-Trayvon Martin.  He embraces activism in a way that the stars of the 80's, 90's and aughts were too risk-averse to ever do.  They wouldn't even cut an anonymous check to Al Sharpton back then.  I don't know man, LeBron in DC during the Trump Administration could be nuts.  The Wizards would be under the ****ing Hubble Telescope.  It would be like nothing any of us have ever experienced before.

 

Beware what you wish for, Focker.

[Going Commando]

10 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

Beware what you wish for, Focker.

 

No athlete will have ever been under a bigger microscope than LeBron James in DC during the Trump Administration.

 

That part I'm not crazy about.

 

But I want us to win, so I'd love it if he picked us.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

I don't think trading Irving before the deadline is out of the question.

 

you're just not going to let this one go huh

1 hour ago, Mr. Sinister said:

I believe Smart is a free agent

 

I believe he is a restricted FA so there is a chance some team blows him away and Boston doesn't match

59 minutes ago, Destino said:

They're all young though.  If there's a Witcher school it's in San Antonio where Vesimir Popovich's team of suspiciously spry old guys took down a king. 

I didn't think I could like you more and then you get references like that.