Dirk would be a huge mistake. Dude is on the decline and not what they need. They don't need another spot shooter. TERRIBLE idea.

Durant... They land durant and they're a lock for the finals the next couple years. Especially if Curry keeps his contract low.

Barnes is gonna try and get paid and I wouldn't pay it. Kent Bazemore might be a good lower end fit. Chandler Parsons be good too. He's a younger more athletic Dirk and he's played with him.

 

I personally think he did it all. The only thing that Cleveland did was get Irving. Tristan Thompson is a more athletic Deandre Jordan, just a rebound hog and alleyop/blocker. He was able to guard Curry half the time, so that was huge. Love came with Lebron, a nobody during the finals, Irving became a star. They got a lot of mileage out of Jefferson who was a better defensive player (hence why they didn't care all that much Love was on the bench hurt/fouls).

Cleveland and no Lebron may or may not get into the finals, but with Lebron they went instant Finals (as Lebron has 6 years in a row). I expect to see more LBJ unless KD and some other big name ends up in the East on the same Team. Near triple doubled every big win. Curry disappeared, Klay did his job but didn't get backup. Green played his *** off but that suspension hurt when it was 3-1. Barbosa should have played more... wtf with Barnes and wtf with Kerr sitting at 89-89 for so long and not calling a timeout to get them going again. It was like 4+ minutes Dubs didn't get a bucket mid/late 4th, like it was there for the taking.

Maybe I'm just bummed the better team didn't win. I still think the Dubs win if they were full strength, and although Bogut was injured, now each team (Cavs and Dubs) had a year where they were injured and not 100% in the finals and each team with injuries didn't win it. Sets it up for an interesting 3rd year if both teams get back.

 

You said he did it all and then explained how he didn't?

 

I think Dirk would be a great fit. He's currently only getting paid $8m/year. If he takes the veteran's minimum (assuming he wants to go for a title run) he'd be an upgrade over Speights if he comes off the bench. You get a guy who can shoot better than Speights (including 3s), and defense is about the same. Really a no lose situation if Speights leaves elsewhere for more money and we sign Dirk.

 

I can agree with that... for league minimum.

You gotta remember that this dude is gonna turn 39 during next season and he's a big dude. He's still an effective scorer but he's more of a stop and pop type of guy. Not athletic. If he's willing to take minimum and come in off the bench... like what AI did... then yeah. I'd take it.

But honestly. I'd really try and get Durant. He's under 30. He's very athletic. A huge improvement everywhere on the court over what they have. He might be willing to take a little bit less to make a couple title runs. But they are one key player from being a finals team themselves so he may want to stay and prove it.

I don't like bringing in ancient players that you have to count on. Good for roll player/bench guys. But not for starters you count on. Look what happened to the Lakers when they did that. You end up paying a fortune for guys that are injury risks or just risks for their performance to fall off drastically all of a sudden. Then you're handcuffed with these big cash out deals even after they're gone.

I don't know if Dirk leaves for league min and is willing to play less just for a ring. He's got one already.

 

Derrick Rose gets traded to the Knicks, Jeff Teague gets traded to the Pacers

 

Just saw that. Rose is one of those guys that injury derailed what could have been a HOF or at least quality career. Reminds me of Penny Hardaway. Played like 110 games last 2 seasons though... and still scoring over 17 I think. Not the 22 plus he's got the potential for. Curious to see how he does.

Teague I haven't followed that much. Mid range player though, right?

Never liked the pacers... never will. FU Reggie Miller. Did like O'neal though.

Curious to see who else comes loose this week. Looks like a decent draft this year.

 

I dislike kobe a lot, but I agree.

 

He's easy to dislike. But I dislike Lebron much much more. I never felt like Kobe was trying to ***** his way into things. Dude talked crap and had a chip on his shoulder... but most of the greats do. He really was the closest thing to Jordan.... personality wise and play wise. But not as good.

 

But Lebron never raped anyone.....

 

Neither did kobe.

 

Regardless, is it not a little early to pass judgement on James? We are looking at MJ's (or whoever else) career in its entirety while Lebron's is still happening.

Sh*t what if the homeboy does win the next 3 seasons in exact same fashion?

 

No I don't think it's too soon. He is who he is. Can't stand the dude. Can't stand the way he plays. Can't stand the way he uses the media and *****ing and moaning... and the money behind his draw to get what he wants. Just can't stand him.

All the lebron fan boys talk about him doing it by himself but he hasn't. No one has. Not even Jordan. Jordan had Pippen. Kobe had Shaq. In my opinion Wade's play was more critical to the heat than Lebron's was. And lebron has a pretty damned good team around him right now... and one that peaked at the right time... with the help of the officials allowing them to be bullies and not be bullied.

Lebron ain't the best ever and never will be.

Can he move up the ranks and at least have an argument... sure... kinda like Manning and Brady... both have supporters and reasons to stand up there.

If he makes a run at repeated rings... then we might have to talk about this again.... like if he knocks out 3 in a row with this team.

But I don't see that happening. If he jumps ship again he'll probably do more harm than good to trying to lay claim to the GOAT title. So that will shape a lot of it.

And so will what a few other teams do. If the Warriors land Durant or another player that's an improvement over Barnes I think they'll win it next year. If OK keeps Durant and adds another decent player I think they probably win it next year. I think that if they had knocked out the warriors they would have beaten the cavs too.

If the Cavs loose Lebron they're gone. If the lakers add lebron they're instantly contenders because they just added Ingram who's ready to play right now and they already have a good young core in place. The cavs can be better or worse next year depending on what they do.

I think Lebron is going to be MVP next year if he has another good year for the sole fact that Curry fell flat in the finals. They'll remember that during voting next year. Even if he goes nuts and the warriors end up in first again he's probably not gonna get it. That will help lebron's cause for GOAT.


Etc.


I'm not saying he's not a great player. He is. But I watched Jordan's entire career. I watched Kobe's. I watched Lebron's. Jordan and Kobe would both get my choice at the prime of their careers. Kobe fell off when he got hurt and had some off court issues. Jordan fell off when his dad got killed. Lebron may or may not fall off. Really hard to tell what happens over the next 5 years. But he'll never get my vote as G.O.A.T over all. At his position yeah he probably will. I'd consider him the best SF of all time. Bird is up there too though. And Durant may have something to say about that. If the Thunder add another good player they're gonna be playing for titles for the next few years. If he jumps ship to the warriors they'll have 1-3 titles over the next 3 years... if he can wrap up 2 or 3 rings and beat lebron out for mvp at least once... he'll be up there too. Pretty cool to get to see 2 of the best SF's ever at the same time.

 

Damn... OK just drafted Domantas Sabonis. That dude has good pedigree and fits into their style of play really well. Great pick up for them.

I honestly feel like the warriors are in trouble next year. If OK keeps everyone in place with this addition and possibly a good bench draft in the next round... they're my favorite for winning the title next year regardless of what any other team does.

As a warriors fan I'm hoping they can pull durant. That would be fun to watch. They need to do something because that 1-3 isn't enough to do it. I've heard they're gonna try to trade up in the draft but they're running out of time to do that and have it be worth it. I'm not sure who they'd target that would be worth trading up for. Maybe Skai or Deyonta? Deyonta would be a good addition for defense and rebounding.

 

Curious to see how the Pelicans do this year. Anthony Davis is probably the best young player in the game right now. And they just added Buddy Heild. Dude is a great scorer with a ready to roll game. He'll be a day one starter. Great combo right there.

I think Davis' stats go up with him on the floor and he instantly provides you with more offense.

I could see them jumping up to the 7/8 seed in one year. If they can pull in a quality free agent they could move up even more. I wouldn't be surprised to see them improve in a huge way over the next few years just because people want to play with those 2 guys... could instantly make waves in the west.