Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Lebron is going to stay in Miami. There aren't all that many attractive options for him, and I have to think he is going to put his faith in Pat Riley over anyone else in basketball. Miami is in the situation we all knew they were going to be in eventually. Three max deals gives you very very little wiggle room, and God forbid one of the three players gets old or hurt. Wade killed them in the Finals. He looked ancient. At the same time, there aren't a ton of 2 guards in basketball who give you 20 ppg on 55 percent shooting during the season. So, it's not like they can't simply replace his production. If I'm them, I ride this out one more year. The East will get better, but they are still far and away the class of it. They are still easily the favorites to make the Finals out of the East. The Spurs are a horrible matchup for them but they could probably beat OKC or the Clippers if the Spurs stumble....and it's not like the Spurs are a lock to even exist in this form next year, let alone compete for the title again. Their future is just as cloudy as the Heat. Going to NY or LA would easily get that money back. It's not even a question. His endorsement deals are not non-negotiable from what I understand, and there are always more opportunities. Money is easy to make when you are the face of the league. How much higher can Lebron's profile be? Is there an ad agency in America saying, "Oh....I wish he didn't play in that backwater in Miami?" And does he really want to put his future in the hands of Dolan or Jimmy Buss? Miami offers more years, more money, no taxes, Spo, and Riley. That beats nearly everything. Edited June 16, 2014 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Kudos to Lebron for being so graceful in defeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Miami is the number 1 tourist destination for LBJ's generation. All the glitz that NY and LA can offer is nearly matched by South Beach. He's not going anywhere Is he really gonna leave to be coached by Fisher?? Or whoevers in LA? The only realistic destination I could see is Houston and that's a long shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Miami offers more years, more money, no taxes, Spo, and Riley. That beats nearly everything. If Lebron leaves Miami, I would have to seriously question his sanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Hey, go check out the Utah Jazz teams the Bulls played. You'll find that one of them had a better offensive rating, more assists and a better season record than this year's San Antonio team. You'll bash Jordan because you know he's the gold standard. Oh, Utah also did move the ball very well, even Malone had become a good passer by that time in his career. Go back and actually watch some of the Youtube full games. I watched the games in real time. The Jazz were okay. The potential super-team of that era that fell apart was the Sonics. The Bulls had issues with athletic point guards and athletic bigs. If the Sonics had kept it together, they could have beaten the Bulls eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Ginobili needed this series. He easily redeemed himself from last year's catastrophe of Game 6 and Game 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Curious to see what Wade does. He's not going to make up opt-out money the way Bosh or James would. If he doesn't, does that hurt their ability to bring better supporting guys? Does it hurt the relationships there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Lebron is the biggest global marketing giant the NBA has at the moment, he's far above worrying about media markets like NY and LA. The only thing he needs to avoid is ending up on a terrible team, that would hurt him. That means avoiding bad GMs and bad coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Curious to see what Wade does. He's not going to make up opt-out money the way Bosh or James would. If he doesn't, does that hurt their ability to bring better supporting guys? Does it hurt the relationships there? Wade's a pretty smart guy. I have to think that he has a 20-year plan with the Heat mapped out in his head. Why is no one discussing the Spurs' future? Is this title the beginning of something or the end of something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) But is he winning any time soon with either? I don't think so, but it would depend on how those teams re-tool. Lebron is going to stay in Miami. There aren't all that many attractive options for him, and I have to think he is going to put his faith in Pat Riley over anyone else in basketball. How much higher can Lebron's profile be? Is there an ad agency in America saying, "Oh....I wish he didn't play in that backwater in Miami?" And does he really want to put his future in the hands of Dolan or Jimmy Buss? Miami offers more years, more money, no taxes, Spo, and Riley. That beats nearly everything. I agree. I am just throwing out options of potential to make up that loss money. I think it would be stupid for him to leave. But to deny that he has options and can still make that money is silly. Jordan made more money from Nike than the NBA. Edited June 16, 2014 by Kosher Ham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Jordan made more money from Nike than the NBA. Didn't Jordan's empire just reach $1B recently? Like last week? Thought I heard that on the radio...crazy. ::edit:: yup, he did. http://chicagoist.com/2014/06/14/extra_extra_michael_jordan_now_wort.php Edited June 16, 2014 by Chew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I don't think so, but it would depend on how those teams re-tool. I agree. I am just throwing out options of potential to make up that loss money. I think it would be stupid for him to leave. But to deny that he has options and can still make that money is silly. Jordan made more money from Nike than the NBA. Except he doesn't really have those options. The Knicks don't have the cap room. Neither does Brooklyn. Neither do the Clippers. The Lakers might be able to create the space. But they would be reduced to Lebron, Kobe, and three of Jimmy Buss's frat buddies. Didn't Jordan's empire just reach $1B recently? Like last week? Thought I heard that on the radio...crazy. ::edit:: yup, he did. http://chicagoist.com/2014/06/14/extra_extra_michael_jordan_now_wort.php It's also 2014 and I just bought my five year old a pair of Air Jordans. He created some branding situations that are once in a generation. (Similar to what Dr. Dre just did with Beats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wade's a pretty smart guy. I have to think that he has a 20-year plan with the Heat mapped out in his head. Why is no one discussing the Spurs' future? Is this title the beginning of something or the end of something? I have to think its closer to the end than beginning. Duncan doesn't have much more weight to lose in order to keep his body from falling apart. Tony Parker has had so many ankle injuries that you have to think they'll eventually catch up to him and his style of play. Manu is 80 yeas old. Leonard might one day be a product star but he's still not consistently averaging 15ppg. ... But it's the Spurs so who the hell knows. They could find a way to make Michael Beasley and Jan Vesely shine and it wouldn't surprise anyone at this point. We'd all just nod our heads and say they find great players for cheap forgetting that these guys were never great until the Spurs sprinkled pixie dust on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Yep I just dropped 150 on a pair of retro J's from 96 that came out Saturday lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wade's a pretty smart guy. I have to think that he has a 20-year plan with the Heat mapped out in his head. Why is no one discussing the Spurs' future? Is this title the beginning of something or the end of something? The Spurs might stay together for one more run. But I wouldn't be shocked if Duncan retires a winner and 5 rings. I know Pop said he'd like to come back. Part of me thinks the best ending would be a mic drop and the older guys all retiring with their rings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Lebron is the biggest global marketing giant the NBA has at the moment, he's far above worrying about media markets like NY and LA. The only thing he needs to avoid is ending up on a terrible team, that would hurt him. That means avoiding bad GMs and bad coaches. He is indeed. Those big markets are much bigger than Miami. He would be the "King of NY"...can you imagine that marketing ? He would be "Another King in LA" Didn't Jordan's empire just reach $1B recently? Like last week? Thought I heard that on the radio...crazy. Indeed, he is stacking it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Curious to see what Wade does. He's not going to make up opt-out money the way Bosh or James would. If he doesn't, does that hurt their ability to bring better supporting guys? Does it hurt the relationships there? This is Miami's biggest question IMO. Best case for Miami would be him opting out and negotiating a new deal at a huge paycut. Like 3 years, 9 million annually. He should be signing Manu Ginobili style deals and he should also start coming off the bench and playing a Ginobili like role. But that is asking Wade to sacrifice way too much IMO. That's like 30+ million dollars in lost salary. AND he has to move to the bench? A team shouldn't expect that of any player, especially a franchise icon. But you can't trade him. First off, he should retire from the Heat. Easily their greatest player in franchise history aside from LeBron, and he was there for the first title when LeBron wasn't. Plus his deal would be a bear to move and it's unlikely Miami would get back quality contracts in return for him. His production wouldn't be easy to replace, remember he was good when he played in the regular season and he was good throughout the playoffs until the SA series. And he's one of LeBron's closest friends and you could destroy the locker room by doing him wrong. So I think the only natural solution is for all three of them to waive their ETOs this summer and gear up for another run next year. With the team as is, they're still one of the three or four best contenders next year. Then next summer the team can talk about whether or not those guys pick up their options. If Wade opted out and then renegotiated at around that 9 or 10 million annually range, that's asking him to only leave about 9 or 10 million on the table. It's still a lot, but that's much more reasonable than asking him to walk away from 30 million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 The Spurs might stay together for one more run. But I wouldn't be shocked if Duncan retires a winner and 5 rings. I know Pop said he'd like to come back. Part of me thinks the best ending would be a mic drop and the older guys all retiring with their rings. Hidden in the Spurs brilliance over the last month is how beaten down Tony Parker looks. What is the career trajectory for 6'1 point guards entering their 14th year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Then next summer the team can talk about whether or not those guys pick up their options. If Wade opted out and then renegotiated at around that 9 or 10 million annually range, that's asking him to only leave about 9 or 10 million on the table. It's still a lot, but that's much more reasonable than asking him to walk away from 30 million. Wade needs to make about half of what he makes now. That gives the Heat some flexibility. I don't know exactly how you do it - especially with the CBA - but the way to make it work with Wade is to let it be known that a 5 percent ownership stake and lifetime job is waiting for him when he retires. I mean, that should be the case anyway. He IS the Miami Heat in the same way Magic IS the Lakers. More so than Lebron. These guys all trust Mickey Arison completely so they know they will be taken care of down the road, I have to think. I do see Wade signing something like 3 years for $27 million and everyone freaking out about it. His numbers actually warrant a contract like that. I'm not going to say he is done as a player. He looked great against Indy. I just don't think he can bring it every night over 4 playoff rounds any longer. Edited June 16, 2014 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Why is no one discussing the Spurs' future? Is this title the beginning of something or the end of something? I think it all depends on how Duncan feels this summer. He's got a player option for next year. If he picks it up, I think he retires at the end of next season. That'd be pretty cool. We're due for a Duncan victory lap and farewell tour. Standing ovations at every arena. Plus we've never gotten to see Duncan's Spurs win back to back. So there is still legitimately something left to conquer. And a sixth ring is kind of the white whale of the post-merger era because of Jordan. If Duncan and Ginobs come back, the Spurs are a favorite for next season too. I think they'll come back unless they just feel like absolute crap. And then I think both retire next summer. San Antonio's future beyond next season is wide open. Manu and Duncan's contracts will be over and they probably retire. Parker's contract is up, he'll probably negotiate his final contract that summer. Kawhi Leonard's rookie deal will be up and he'll be due for a very big extension. Basically everyone on this current team except Tiago Splitter will be on new deals or be gone. And Pop might retire. When that happens, MAJOR changes are in store. We do pretty much know that Leonard is going to be the face of the team moving forward. So there is that. They'll still be able to dig up all kinds of great role players. Splitter will still be pretty good. Mills and Danny Green are keepers, championship caliber role players. Duncan is irreplaceable, but they are going to have money to sign a sizeable contract. I see them luring a Marcin Gortat-like second or third tier free agent big man to play Duncan's minutes and role once he retires. And I see that player really thriving. Hell, if they had a little more money this summer, I could see them stealing Gortat from D.C. And if Pop sticks around, between that, Leonard, Splitter, their wonderful role players, and that culture of excellence, I think they stay good as they transition into a new era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) And if Pop sticks around, between that, Leonard, Splitter, their wonderful role players, and that culture of excellence, I think they stay good as they transition into a new era. The question really is this: How good can Leonard be? At times, he looks like a first-team all NBA caliber player. Other times, he looks like a good #3 on a championship team. If his ceiling is the first, the Spurs will be fine going forward. And, frankly, only the Spurs would have an All NBA caliber player with the 15th pick in an iffy draft, right as two of their big three are hitting the end of the line. This has the potential to be the fantasy that Red Auerbach wanted when he drafted Len Bias. Edited June 16, 2014 by Lombardi's_kid_brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Except he doesn't really have those options. The Knicks don't have the cap room. Neither does Brooklyn. Neither do the Clippers. The Lakers might be able to create the space. But they would be reduced to Lebron, Kobe, and three of Jimmy Buss's frat buddies. It's also 2014 and I just bought my five year old a pair of Air Jordans. He created some branding situations that are once in a generation. (Similar to what Dr. Dre just did with Beats). Dre has always been a pretty smart guy. Cap room is easy. Any team can sign any player they want if they are willing to pay the penalty of going over. Of all people, I know that you know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Wade needs to make about half of what he makes now. That gives the Heat some flexibility. I don't know exactly how you do it - especially with the CBA - but the way to make it work with Wade is to let it be known that a 5 percent ownership stake and lifetime job is waiting for him when he retires. I mean, that should be the case anyway. He IS the Miami Heat in the same way Magic IS the Lakers. More so than Lebron. These guys all trust Mickey Arison completely so they know they will be taken care of down the road, I have to think. I do see Wade signing something like 3 years for $27 million and everyone freaking out about it. His numbers actually warrant a contract like that. I'm not going to say he is done as a player. He looked great against Indy. I just don't think he can bring it every night over 4 playoff rounds any longer. If that kind of sweetheart deal is legal, then that would definitely be the best outcome for everyone involved IMO. I think a 3 year 27 million deal is very reasonable for Wade. And I really do think he needs to come off the bench as the sixth man. And I think he needs to lose some weight too. Three max contract constructions are done. The 2011 CBA killed them, it's just taken this long for them to bleed out. It's going to be OKC's biggest challenge moving forward too. Miami with Wade at that number and Bosh at like 12 million annually looks great. Their next move is to start operating more like the Spurs. And they need to find a big man and a Jose Calderon-like PG IMO. A true knockdown shooter that can take a little of the burden of facilitation away from LeBron. A real PnR PG would also be awesome for LeBron. That's a potential deadly weapon for Miami and LeBron IMO, untapped because he spends so much time on the ball. A Kyle Lowry, Eric Bledsoe, or Goran Dragic would have been an awesome get for them. But even more than PG, Miami needs a legit big man. What Bosh does is not real big man play. And their defense is so gimmicky because of the core problem of not having any real bigs. The money they could save from Bosh and Wade taking paycuts could really bring in a good role playing dirty work big man. Wonder if they could trade for a Larry Sanders? Guys become unexpectedly available if you remain flexible. The Wizards got Nene just a couple months after he signed a huge extension. They got Emeka Okafor for Rashard Lewis' contract. Then they got Marcin Gortat for Okafor's contract and late first rounder. Those are the kinds of big men Miami needs to look out for. If you could put Nene or Gortat and Jose Calderon on Miami today, that team would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 The question really is this: How good can Leonard be? At times, he looks like a first-team all NBA caliber player. Other times, he looks like a good #3 on a championship team. If his ceiling is the first, the Spurs will be fine going forward. And, frankly, only the Spurs would have an All NBA caliber player with the 15th pick in an iffy draft, right as two of their big three are hitting the end of the line. This has the potential to be the fantasy that Red Auerbach wanted when he drafted Len Bias. Yep, only the Spurs. They got Ginobili with the 57th pick and Parker with the 28th. They're going to find guys and make it work with them. I bet they find someone else really good in this year's draft too. Scoop up a Kyle Anderson or Jordan Adams or Mitch McGary and turn him into an All Star when nobody else could get past their flaws to tap their potential. I'm 100% certain of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 If that kind of sweetheart deal is legal, then that would definitely be the best outcome for everyone involved IMO. I don't think it's legal. But I have to think it is a nod-nod wink-wink type of thing. There is no reason on Earth for Arison and Wade to not be in business together for the rest of their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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