Official 2013 NBA Offseason Thread

[shox23]

I give it a 5/10

It's late, been a long week. *shrugs*

Its 7 o clock

 

[tyonenine]

Or oladipo

 

[durantula]

I give it a 5/10

It's late, been a long week. *shrugs*

Its 7 o clock

When you get to that age, you'll understand.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

ChrisMannixSI: Stone Cold Steve Austin just told me the athlete he would most like to hit w/the Stunner is Dwight Howard. Oh. My. God.

 

[JD617]

Shaq has his nipples pierced too for whatever that's worth.

 

[Bert.]

ChrisMannixSI: Stone Cold Steve Austin just told me the athlete he would most like to hit w/the Stunner is Dwight Howard. Oh. My. God.

 

[rrlegend]

ChrisMannixSI: Stone Cold Steve Austin just told me the athlete he would most like to hit w/the Stunner is Dwight Howard. Oh. My. God.

I can Dwight big goofy *** smiling the whole time while stone cold is barking in his face

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Mavs and Devin Harris agree to shelve the contract because he's having surgery that puts him out till the beginning of the season.

So the Mavs are left with NO DH's

 

[JD617]

[h2]Kevin Garnett leaves Boston as mysteriously as when he arrived[/h2]
By Paul Flannery    @Pflanns  on Jul 12 2013, 9:25a 

The private, almost reclusive KG has skipped out of Boston without revealing anything more than his game did.

In the hectic chaos of a playoff series in New York, Kevin Garnett  revealed his true self. While the rest of the media horde descended upon Shaquille O’Neal for their daily injury update after a morning shootaround, Garnett slipped out the back door.

Dressed in black jeans, sunglasses and a dark hoodie pulled tight over his face, one of the most famous and recognizable people in the league managed to evade a dozen reporters and a handful of camera crews by creeping ninja-like against the back wall and then finding a secret exit to the outside world. My eyes met his glare for a second and I played the willing accomplice to his escape plan by not calling attention to his presence. You had to admire the effort.

Garnett arrived in Boston as a mystery and now leaves out the side door to Brooklyn just as cryptically. He rarely sat for extended interviews and his preferred method of communication was in wild unhinged postgame spots and bizarre extended metaphors that had only a tangential relationship to the subject at hand.

He came to restore the Celtics  to their former glory, as well as his own reputation that had taken a sad detour in his last few seasons in Minnesota. Both worked out magnificently in his first season, as he led the C’s to a 66-16 record and a championship while finally winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award and finishing third in the MVP voting.

Garnett was a Celtic in the true Bill Russell sense of the word. Stats and accolades had no context for him next to the wins and losses, and he had finally found the perfect place to the play the game his way.

"EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO COACH A KEVIN GARNETT."-DOC RIVERS

Freed from the responsibility of being the focal point on both offense and defense, KG dutifully set (borderline illegal) screens, made the extra pass and ran the hell out of the backline of defense. He happily ceded the public spotlight to Paul Pierceand Ray Allen  and was more concerned with maintaining a strict code in practice and the locker room away from the prying eyes of the press.

"Everyone should have a chance to coach a Kevin Garnett," Doc Rivers  was fond of saying, and the bond between the two of them was genuine. "Doc never lied to me," Garnett told WEEI late in the 2012 season in an extended radio interview that stands as his most revealing in Boston. 

He could be merciless with those who didn’t share his vision, and the tales of him eviscerating callow youngsters who failed to take heed are legendary. One story has it that KG spent the better part of a practice dominating a player who had resisted his invitation to get in extra work, screaming, "YOU FEEL ME NOW!!!" after throwing down a vicious dunk.

There were no shades of gray with KG. You were in or you were out and if you were in you were in all the way. Everyone from Rajon Rondo  to Brian Scalabrine  swears by Garnett and it’s not uncommon to hear stories of players like Kendrick Perkins  and Tony Allen  calling on him with questions about how to handle situations with their new teams.

It wasn’t until his fifth season in Boston that he finally began to reveal some of his innermost thoughts to those outside his tight inner circle. Perhaps it was the lockout, or the sense throughout the Garden that the Celtics’ run was coming to an end, but in 2012 Garnett decided to bring us along on the tortured journey through his psyche.

"I have no life at this point," he said after another brilliant performance. In a playoff run that was as inspiring as it was surprising, he railed against his enemies, ranging from Hawks  owner Michael Gearon and his anonymous doubters of the press.

"I hear you all calling me old," Garnett said, and he was off on a lengthy diatribe that included this underrated gem that best sums up his approach to the game:

[h3]End of the line[/h3]Paul Flannery looks back at the era of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and how it finally ended.

See the full story

"I put a lot of work into my craft. I take it very seriously. I always have, since '95, since I've been able to come into the league and it's almost like you guys are shocked. Like this ain't what I do every day, like this ain't what I was made for."

His play carried the Celtics all the way to Game 7 of the conference finals, battling opponents and the demons in his head that said he couldn’t do it anymore. The numbers piled up, but again KG wasn’t interested in them. Still, one set of figures registered more emphatically than points and rebounds. When he was on the court, the Celtics were exceptionally good and when he was on the bench they were horrifically bad.

That was the true essence of Garnett’s impact on the Celtics. As long as he was around they had a chance. He was the one who changed the culture, and now that he’s gone the Celtics will enter into a necessary new phase that will ultimately suffer from his absence.

This isn’t the end, but it is in sight. Garnett will get another chance at postseason glory if all goes well in Brooklyn. That is, if he and Pierce can stay healthy and productive playing alongside Deron Williams, Joe Johnson  and Brook Lopez.

As he leaves Boston, he closes the door silently on one of the most productive and satisfying stages of his career. In time, the true measure of his tenure in Boston can be broken down and dissected. There has already been loose talk about whether his No. 5 should be retired someday. There’s a very good case to be made that it should happen when you consider he was a five-time All-Star and the best player on a championship team.

But we may never know the full Garnett story. The practice sessions where he worked so hard Rivers had to forcibly order him off the court, the bull sessions in the training room and the back of the plane where he forged relationships have remained almost zealously guarded secrets.

I spent the better part of five years writing about KG, beginning with a lengthy profile in Boston  magazine after the 2008 championship season that he, of course, wouldn’t talk to me about. Some day in the future, I hope to be around when he finally decides to let it all out. I often doubt that will ever happen. Maybe it would be better that way.

The mystery was always the most intriguing part of KG’s personality, and there were enough hints that there was something deeper within him pushing him to a place that was better left to him alone. What he chose to share was there for everyone to see on the court and that was enough.

 

[airjordan jb23]

ChrisMannixSI: Stone Cold Steve Austin just told me the athlete he would most like to hit w/the Stunner is Dwight Howard. Oh. My. God.

 

[tommyicerocking]

can't believe Pierce and KG gone

 

[tyonenine]

Glad Devin Harris isn't signing with the mavs. Larkin can get playing time

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Glad Devin Harris isn't signing with the mavs. Larkin can get playing time

but he broke his ankle

 

[tyonenine]

2-3 months is bad but he can still play when the season starts.

 

[thapointguy]

View media item 492622
Celtics wouldn't even be that bad if they had a center

dude under bradley looks like a damn coach

Without enlarging the image he looks like John Cena

 

[jjs07]

That's not entirely true.

Bron does give the Heat, or any team, a good chance at success. But it's not going to last forever. He is, believe it or not, approaching 30 in the next 17 months, and already has more mileage on him pre 30, than any other NBA athlete, in history. I'm talking games, playoff games, minutes, playoff minutes. A TON of tread.

Now, granted, I expect him to be solid for a few more years, he trains well, takes care of his body, works hard, he'll be "fine". But he still will have slight notches come down on his sliders, year by year. So at his usual standards, I expect 3-4 more LeBron like years, followed by 3 more very good, but not LeBron like years. (if you follow what I'm sayin)

Here's the tricky part. Wade, is not on his level, and within the next year, he could be off a cliff for good. Bosh, while healthier than Wade, is also a bit on the softer side of Wade. Now add Ray Allen, Anderson, Haslem, Miller, and Shane, those are 3 bodies that age faster than those in their 20's. You're looking at over half the roster being on the downside. How long can they last? One year? Three? Four? Odds get tougher and tougher. Chalmers and Cole are not enough to make up the difference, drafting at 28-29-30 ain't going to cut it.

Will free agents go there? Yes, absolutely. But as each year goes by, the big 3's salaries increase as well, leaving less room. Lots of minimum type contracts all there is to be had.


And the very last part, a personal belief, no team has made 4 straight Finals since the 87 Celtics. And that team was falling apart. 4 straight years of Finals runs = 65+ playoff games, while most teams get 15-25 maybe 35 if that. And as stated, the Heat already have a lot of age/mileage on them, you're looking at an abrupt, "out of nowhere" slip up in the postseason that one might not be able to predict. See my 2011 LA Lakers sudden struggles with the Hornets, and then the Dallas Mavs of all teams. The Pistons didn't go to 3 straight June's, but they did make 6 straight runs into the ECF and had a 2-0 lead on Clev, and then never won another game. The 89 Lakers were 11-0 in the playoffs, and lost 3 key starters in the Finals and were swept.

Multiple long playoff runs take years off your NBA life. Teams wear down. Without a HUGE infusion of youth/freshness, a team will lose some pieces to poor health, and will take a loss they shouldn't have expected in terms of a series/season.

Not everyone subscribes to my belief, we'll see how it holds up in about 10-11 months.

I don't know man....in watching Kobe, I kept telling myself that when he hit 30, he would start to show the wear/tear of coming into the league as a teen. Dude is STILL going strong. The difference between him and Lebron is that I think Lebron could be the best PF in the game if he eventually shifts over to the 4. He's that good, IMO.

I think most guys realize that the road to the championship (in the East) goes through Lebron...assuming he's healthy. Yes, I know he's carry the corpse of D.Wade around at times as well as Mr. Invisible (Bosh), but something tells me that Pat Riley does have a contingency plan to reload around Lebron when the time is right. What he does exactly, I don't know. If you have a once-in-a-generation talent on your team you are going to do EVERYTHING in your power to keep things consistent. Why let Lebron win his 2 or 3 championships and then just say "OK, you can go."? Makes no sense to me. Riley & Co. will revamp the roster one way or another.

As you pointed out, history is not on their side. Indy is going to be at their necks...D.Rose is coming back to lead the Bulls....I think those are the 2 teams in the East that will present the Heat with the most problems going forward. That being said, IF the Heat make the finals next year I think you will see excellent players take pay cuts to hoop w/ Lebron in the future.

 

[noblekane]

Of course Timmy's wife and her circle are going to accuse him of being gay and whatnot.

Tim hired a P.I. and has evidence of her cheating. She now knows she won't receive anywhere close to the amount of money she would have gotten if she was a faithful wife for all these years.

yea because most women file for divorce when they are caught cheating

come on dog

 

[johnnyredstorm]

You want a piece of Timmy, Noble?

 

[japanair21]

Mavs and Devin Harris agree to shelve the contract because he's having surgery that puts him out till the beginning of the season.

So the Mavs are left with NO DH's

Touché.

I am kinda sad. I wanted to see Devin in a Mavs jersey again. I'm guessing that's where we got the space to sign Monta.

 

[noblekane]

You want a piece of Timmy, Noble?

sound like u want a piece of me dog. i am straight. aint no hot dogs in my butt

 

[noblekane]

Touché.

I am kinda sad. I wanted to see Devin in a Mavs jersey again. I'm guessing that's where we got the space to sign Monta.

its a shame what became of devin harris and josh howard

 

[rrlegend]

sound like u want a piece of me dog. i am straight. aint no hot dogs in my butt

 

[dman14]

nets got any money left (legally within the rules)? they might as well go after nate if they need another guard

 

[tommyicerocking]

yea because most women file for divorce when they are caught cheating

come on dog

Tim Duncan filed for Divorce

 

[rrlegend]

Noble what's with you and trying to find gay athletes ? First Aaron Hernandez and now Duncan