* Offiical NBA Off-Season Thread: I'll give one of my damn kidney's for these Melo rumors to stop *

[kiddin like jason]

Kyle Korver.

 

[noblekane]

what i never got was why everyone always talked about how kobe is a wanna be michael jordan but never once gave lebron @#%%. dude been wearing 23 ever since he came in the league and now if rumors are true hes headed to the bulls...

you guys think cavs fans gonna boo him every time he plays on the road in cleveland if he does sign with another team?

 

[antbanks81]

I expect the boo birds to come out when he returns in a bulls uni...but so what, better that than being stuck there for the next six years having to shake hands with Rose as he walks off the court in disgust year after year

I'm sure he will make up for it by community involvement

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

Originally Posted by CP1708

To sit back and watch a 25 year old go in his prime at the top of his game, FOR NOTHING, is NOT how you run a business. 

Basically... I don't care how you wanna look at it... Letting an asset like LeBron James just walk away and get NOTHING out of it because you don't 't want to do him any favors is bad business.

If he's gonna leave, you're screwed regardless. Might as well do yourself the favor of getting out of one or two of those contracts and acquiring future assets (young player, picks?) on the way out.

I wouldn't take on Luol Deng or Michael Beasley. No reason to. Just as an example because it's the easiest one off hand, the Mavericks could damn near take on Boobie, Andy, and Mo with a combination of Dampier, Caron, Stevenson, trade exception, Barea and Roddy Beaubois... Throw in two draft picks and the Cavs are in SIGNIFICANTLY better shape than they'd be with those guys AND no LeBron... Not saying that's an easy decision or something you absolutely jump at, but it's something you have to at least think about if you concede that you're just not going to be able to keep LBJ around, isn't it?

Kidd/Mo
Terry/Boobie
Bron
Dirk/Marion
Andy V/Damp/Haywood?

Damp would have to be included in any S&T I think.

I'm not saying it is the smartest move to let him walk for nothing in return but they are not going to do the guy any favors.

 

[CP1708]

Haven't we already learned that the Mavs can get whatever player they want, they'll still flame out like no other come playoff team?  I don't wanna do this all over AGAIN this year, come on guys. 

SAS all over Melo possibly being moved in a S&T?  What kind of posturing is this by the Denver Nuggets? 

Please let Stat stay in Phoenix, please Lord. 

93 mil for Paul P. 

  I hope he goes to the Clippers if Bron doesn't.  You know he "kind" of wants too, play in LA and all that, but not for the Lakers, and he'd fit in with Baron, EG, Blake, Kaman, that's a nice 5 right there.  If he goes, and Ray goes, KG's life is over in the NBA.  No more barking for that doggie. 

 

[proshares]

I read somewhere (think it was Chris Sheridan) that if the Clippers signed someone like JJ, Gordon would be moved to a 6th man role.

 

[CP1708]

^
Wouldn't that be because JJ is a 2 as well as EG?  Paul is a SF, so they wouldn't "have" to move Gordon to the 6th man, unless they just wanted to a put a defender type guy in the starting lineup, which I guess would make some sense. 


How everyone doin this morning?  Everyone nervous excited like it's Christmas or somethin? 

  Allen breathing ok?  OC dead yet? 

 


I can picture KLJ and Nas already workin the phones findin out stuff before anyone else does. 

 

[CP1708]

[h1]Kiszla: Nuggets trade Carmelo Anthony? It's possible[/h1]

The Nuggets are pressing Carmelo Anthony for a long-term commitment, because if he declines a three-year, $65 million contract extension now on the table, the team must consider trading its leading scorer.

Trade Melo? Would the Nuggets really part ways with a 26-year-old forward in the prime of his NBA career? Denver might not have any choice.

With an eye on how megastars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have held the league's competitive balance in their fickle hands and turned this summer's free-agency period into a three-ring circus, the Nuggets seem determined not to let Anthony do the same in Denver.

While their offer of a hefty contract extension proves the Nuggets hope Anthony will remain the face of the franchise for years to come, the team is prepared to trade Melo rather than let him walk as a free agent next summer, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

At a salary of $17 million, Anthony is committed to play for Denver during the upcoming season. But here's the rub. Anthony can opt out of his contract next summer, and free agency might appear all the more tempting after seeing the league-wide groveling James has instigated.

As a proactive move, the Nuggets have quietly tried to secure the services of Anthony through 2015 before losers in the pursuit of this talent-laden class of free agents can begin dreaming of Melo.

While a city of Broncomaniacs has obsessed with the contract status of football stars Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey, the negotiations between the Nuggets and Anthony might have already reached a more critical stage, because management of the local NBA franchise has shown it is unafraid to make trades involving a marquee player.

At a time when pro basketball superstars have never wielded more power in how league rosters are built, it seems to me Anthony must apply whatever leverage he can to determine to what extent the Nuggets are willing to improve his supporting cast.

Often treated as a bigger star on the road than at home, Melo could find riches and live like a king in almost any NBA city from New York to Los Angeles. He genuinely likes Denver, but at this point in his career, what should motivate Anthony is finding the situation that gives him the best chance to win a ring. I have advocated he not sign any deal with the Nuggets unless the team can give assurances help is on the way.

Why? These negotiations are not really about money so much as the talks force both Anthony and the Nuggets to examine if they can live happily ever after.

You can bet on this: Although Stan Kroenke craves a championship, the Nuggets owner is a tough negotiator who isn't going to play a game of my wallet is bigger against Mark Cuban in Dallas or Mikhail Prokhorov in New Jersey.

It's hard to envision any business run by Kroenke allowing an asset as valuable as Anthony to walk away for nothing. Either the I's will be dotted and the T's will be crossed on a new deal with the Nuggets long before the trade deadline next winter or you can color Melo gone from Denver.

Unwilling to use coach George Karl's battle with cancer as an excuse, Nuggets management saw the team's first-round flameout in the playoffs as proof the current roster is unlikely to win a championship.

With guard Chauncey Billups approaching his 34th birthday, forward Kenyon Martin facing recovery from yet another knee surgery and the distinct possibility of labor strife interrupting the 2011-12 season, it's not too early for everybody to begin long-term planning and ask a tough question: 

Does Denver have a future as a serious NBA contender with a nucleus of Anthony, promising guard Ty Lawson and frustrating center Nene?

Without a solid commitment from Anthony, the Nuggets might feel as if they have no choice except to blow up the roster and start over.

Wow. 

 

[proshares]

I mean JJ is what 6'6"? I think he could play the 3 just fine unless their bench is really depleted then I could see them having EG be the Manu/JET type. I guess it depends if they wanna have Joe at the 2 and Outlaw at the 3 or Gordon at the 2 and Joe at the 3.

By working the phones you mean working Twitter?

it'll be a race between the two of them, H3at and JPZ to see who posts news the fastest.

 

[bigmike23]

the hold up on melo is half his team wants him to resign right now and others want him to play the FA market next year.


and im sorry i dont buy that BS Cp !%$%$*! just posted

 

[bigmike23]

TIMEOUT


chris whatever his last name is just said on sportscenter that he will call the cavs the leader now and bron could sign a 3 year deal with them

dude is a idiot

 

[CP1708]

Outlaw is a FA, Pro, I don't think he's goin back. 

And JJ at the SF would get pushed around by Bron's, Melo's, Durants, Paul's of the world.  I think that would be a bad idea.  JJ doesn't fit in LA imo. 

 

[proshares]

Superhead stay changing his !+%#!@+ mind.

 

[bigmike23]

You already know heat is sleeping in and took 2morrow off so he could stay up all night and post twitter stuff and crap all night lol

 

[im not you]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Outlaw is a FA, Pro, I don't think he's goin back. 

And JJ at the SF would get pushed around by Bron's, Melo's, Durants, Paul's of the world.  I think that would be a bad idea.  JJ doesn't fit in LA imo. 

Would he?
JJ's a pretty big dude.

 

[stillatit]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Outlaw is a FA, Pro, I don't think he's goin back. 

And JJ at the SF would get pushed around by Bron's, Melo's, Durants, Paul's of the world.  I think that would be a bad idea.  JJ doesn't fit in LA imo. 

Nah JJ would be fine defending the 3. He's 6'7"/6'8" 235. He'll be good on D. He just doesn't rebound enough to really play SF.

 

[h3at23]

Originally Posted by Bigmike23

You already know heat is sleeping in and took 2morrow off so he could stay up all night and post twitter stuff and crap all night lol

I'm punching in now boss!




[h1]New York Knicks out to dissuade LeBron James from 'Dream Team' in Miami with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh[/h1]

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Wednesday, June 30th

LeBron James is calling the possible union of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and of course, the King himself, "Dream Team."

Those were the words James used when he reached out to another free agent in the past 10 days and pitched the idea of joining them.

"He said, 'Would you be willing to take less to join Dream Team?'" the player, who did not want to be identified, told the Daily News. "He said his people were putting it together."

That conversation lends credence to reports that James will join Bosh and Wade in Miami. In that scenario, Pat Rileywill likely return to the sidelines and coach the Heat.

However, there is a twist because with LeBron there always is. There was a report out of Cleveland Tuesday quoting a person close to the Cavs' free agent as saying that the club still has an edge in re-signing him. There were other reports that James is leaning toward joining the Chicago Bulls.

Few, if any, reports give the Knicks much of a chance, and yet the club's brain trust remains confident that it can convince James to make the jump to the NBA's biggest market.

The Knicks will have their much-anticipated meeting with James Thursday afternoon in Ohio, hours after he finally becomes a free agent at midnight. There is a possibility that the sit-down could take place at James' mansion in Akron.

The Nets are batting leadoff and will be followed by the Knicks, whose traveling party includes team president Donnie Walsh, head coach Mike D'Antoni, Garden chairman James Dolan and former playerAllan Houston. The Bulls, Clippers, Heat and Cavs have also scheduled meetings with James in Ohio.

The Knicks are fighting long odds in their bid to land James but feel they have several strong selling points - New York City, the flexibility to sign another "max" free agent and enough salary-cap space to add another elite free agent the following summer. The team will also impress upon James that he has a chance to build his brand and establish his legacy by winning in New York.

The tough sell for the Knicks, though, is convincing James that he can win titles in New York. The franchise hasn't raised a championship banner since 1973, and under Dolan's ownership, the club has suffered through nine straight losing seasons. Expect several teams, particularly Riley and the Heat, to stress to James that joining the Knicks could be a career killer.

In fact, the Knicks' old administration is coming back to haunt the Garden. Riley is the most accomplished winner who will sit across from James, and his mere presence is a powerful influence. The fact that Riley is expected to re-sign Wade and will likely sign Bosh makes Miami even more appealing.

 

[CP1708]

"Would you be willing to take less to join Dream Team?" 

What a douche. 


As for JJ, he might be able to play SF for a few minutes here or there, but for 82 games, 38 minutes a night?  Naw, I think he would wear down in that scenario. 

 

[rleelum25]

i saw this comment this morning Posted by David Aldridge on NBA.COM...
"Even if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh met in Miami over the weekend -- and there is now significant doubt that that meeting took place -- for the three of them to form a Super Friends colossus for the Heat next season would require at least one of them to make a significant financial sacrifice. "

my opinion is that last season pat riley has already said he was willing to take a pay cut for the better of the team. I think if it really is about pay cut i could see dwayne wade being the one taking the pay cut at the moment for everything to work out for the 3 team of bosh and lebron to join him.

they make millions of dollars already. a pay cut over the love and progress of the game shouldnt be a factor.

 

[franchise3]

Lebatard is reporting the Heat will try to S&T Beasley, Chalmers, and Joel Anthony for Bosh.

Moving Beasley and Chalmers will give the Heat the room to throw 3 max deals.

 

[i nasmatic i]

Joe would be fine at SF...he might not be LeBron or Melo but he's a rock at 6'7 and 240.

 

[proshares]

Forgot to mention it this morning but Bucher was on Mike and Mike adamantly saying that if LeBron was a better player they would have won the championship and that team around him was very good. Also said that if you take Bron off the Cavs they would still be a playoff boud team.

 

[franchise3]

Dude reporting like it's a done deal.

 

[airjordan jb23]

at what's going on in Miami

 

[bigmike23]

Bucher bring up the same point as DA did last night.. Said the main problem would be if Miami did a s&t for bosh he would be making more then wade and bron