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

[h3at23]

Fellas, I really have a bad feeling on Wade

 

[jpzx]

Fellas, I really have a bad feeling on Wade

He's staying in Miami.

I knew I shouldn't have entered this thread.
Because actual logic is used here?

 

[acidicality]

Originally Posted by ehh

Originally Posted by JPZx

How far are you getting with that team?

That team alone reached the playoffs this past season. I'm pretty sure if they add Lebron freaking James to the mix they might go a little further... Just a hunch.

They lost two straight years as the 8 seed.

  
That "great core" has never won a single playoff series.  It's the cotdamn NBA, half the league makes the playoffs.  SMH @ acting like being a .500 team and sneaking in as the 8th seed is some big selling point.

That Bulls team good enough to get past Orlando or a "superteam" in the East of Bosh/Wade?

Add LeBron to that team, yes. And Rose and Noah are only gonna get better.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by ehh

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

And Chicago's roster has been overrated since Day 1 until they can clear up room for a 2nd max.

Noah, Gibson, Deng, LeBron & Rose? They have no shooters and no inside scoring threat and have two twigs in the front court. How far are you getting with that team? They have no room to improve in the near future because of Deng's contract and they'll have to resign Noah and Rose to big extensions in the next three years. Will Chicago's notoriously cheap front office do that?

Noah is one of the best true bigs out there right now. It's a short list, and he's on it.

One post you say Varejao and Beasley are better than Gallinari, now you're moving up to Noah being one of the best bigs in the league? 

I knew I shouldn't have entered this thread.

Beasley is vastly better than Gallinari, you need to get off his rooster if you think otherwise.

Varejao himself isn't better per se, but the two players of Jamison/Varejao are.

Is Noah not one of the best ten Centers in the L right now?

Brook Lopez, Bogut, Dwight, maybe Marc, maybe Bynum (based on how damn injured he always is)? Who else is clearly better than Noah?

Kaman? Perk? Yao? Okafor? Nene?


Good Centers are hard to find, Noah is one of them, yes one of the best.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by acidicality

Originally Posted by ehh

Originally Posted by JPZx

How far are you getting with that team?

That team alone reached the playoffs this past season. I'm pretty sure if they add Lebron freaking James to the mix they might go a little further... Just a hunch.

They lost two straight years as the 8 seed.

  
That "great core" has never won a single playoff series.  It's the cotdamn NBA, half the league makes the playoffs.  SMH @ acting like being a .500 team and sneaking in as the 8th seed is some big selling point.

That Bulls team good enough to get past Orlando or a "superteam" in the East of Bosh/Wade?

Add LeBron to that team, yes. And Rose and Noah are only gonna get better.


As some analyst stated, Derrick Rose is vastly better than ANY player LeBron has ever played with.

And he's only 21.

And Noah would benefit immensely with LeBron, look at dudes like JJ Hickson and Andy Varejao, even Big Z has flashes of being good.



Best possible scenario for the Knicks IMO:

Fisher
Gallo
Bron
Bosh/Amare
Eddy Curry

Worst possible scenario for the Knicks if they get LeBron

Rose
Deng
Bron
Taj/JJ
Noah

I ride with Chicago seven times a week.

I'm not no NYK hater, I'm not a Chicago-stan, I really just want to see where they end up and go from there... I'm going simply off what makes the most BASKETBALL-SENSE. If I'm LeBron, Bosh, and Wade, off talent alone, I want Chicago, New Jersey, and Miami before I go to New York. Sorry, just how I view things.

Also, the Clippers aren't getting enough love. They can sign one max guy correct?

Baron
EG
Bron
Blake
Kaman

I like it. Plus they could probably sign a few guys like Ronnie Brewer, or maybe a David Lee, or get good role players to fill out the roster like Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Childress, Haywood, etc.

 

[melovp]

what about the fact that drose needs the ball?

you guys seem to have everything else debunked

i think pairing lebron with an elite pg is a mistake..dude needs the rock

 

[Master Zik]

@ Bron going to the Nets because he doesn't want to play around.

@ the Nets owners looking suave. Bron don't care about making a billion dollars in NY but he's focused on why his owner don't look as suave as the owner of a 12 win team.

 

[frankthekingdtx]

i would love to see dwade and bosh play against a bulls team with stat,lebron and rose. yea you say rose and bron wouldnt work but then again how does billups and melo work?

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by MeloVP

what about the fact that drose needs the ball?

you guys seem to have everything else debunked

i think pairing lebron with an elite pg is a mistake..dude needs the rock

Because it completely failed in the Olympics.

Bron and Chris Paul got worked.

 

[licensed to ball]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Originally Posted by MeloVP

what about the fact that drose needs the ball?

you guys seem to have everything else debunked

i think pairing lebron with an elite pg is a mistake..dude needs the rock

Because it completely failed in the Olympics.

Bron and Chris Paul got worked.

Real talk though, man those were some olympic games werent they? Bron, Kobe, and Wade beastin together. 

 Memories to last a lifetime. 

 

[i nasmatic i]

This is getting ridiculous.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

@ Bron going to the Nets because he doesn't want to play around.

@ the Nets owners looking suave. Bron don't care about making a billion dollars in NY but he's focused on why his owner don't look as suave as the owner of a 12 win team.

You really think LeBron can become a billionaire in New York don't you?

The team wasn't his last year, buddy.

I'm sorry but isn't part of the appeal of a team in how they present themselves?

 

[Master Zik]

Did the Bulls get cap space for 2 max contracts yet?

 

[bijald0331]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

@ Bron going to the Nets because he doesn't want to play around.

@ the Nets owners looking suave. Bron don't care about making a billion dollars in NY but he's focused on why his owner don't look as suave as the owner of a 12 win team.

Again, why the hell do you guys care what the media says. I don't even read any of these update articles. %%%@ is pointless. You know these guys are just trying to make headlines.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

Did the Bulls get cap space for 2 max contracts yet?

No, but they have enough for a guy like David Lee if they wanted to go out and get him. He should get just under the max, just what the Bulls CAN afford. If they trade Deng or ship out JJ/Taj, they would.

Again, why the hell do you guys care what the media says. I don't evenread any of these update articles. %%%@ is pointless. You know theseguys are just trying to make headlines.


Do I think it's a deciding factor? No. From the beginning I've always said, these guys will probably want to get S+T done if they leave for another team, or they go to the best possible place to win a ring. That can't be realistically done in NYK, in my opinion.

 

[Master Zik]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

You really think LeBron can become a billionaire in New York don't you?

The team wasn't his last year, buddy.

You think he can't?

I'm sorry but isn't part of the appeal of a team in how they present themselves?
This is the logic you're using: a president of operations who had a surgery and was in a wheelchair for a reason and the owner looking "frumpy". That is you're argument.

Again, why the hell do you guys care what the media says. I don't even read any of these update articles. %%%@ is pointless. You know these guys are just trying to make headlines.
Nah I was just commenting on the foolish NTers buying in to any and everything the media says.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

You really think LeBron can become a billionaire in New York don't you?

The team wasn't his last year, buddy.

You think he can't?

I'm sorry but isn't part of the appeal of a team in how they present themselves?

This is the logic you're using: a president of operations who had a surgery and was in a wheelchair for a reason and the owner looking "frumpy". That is you're argument.

Again, why the hell do you guys care what the media says. I don't even read any of these update articles. %%%@ is pointless. You know these guys are just trying to make headlines.
Nah I was just commenting on the foolish NTers buying in to any and everything the media says.

I think the appeal of going to NYK to become a billionaire instead of somewhere else is a false one. His best baskebtall opportunity is where he should go. May he end up making more in NYK in the long-run? It's a possibility, but not a given.

I'm just going with what we know. We saw the Nets walking into the meeting looking very confident. We hear that Walsh was in a wheelchair, and apparently Donnie was scruffy. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING THAT WENT DOWN INSIDE. Apparently, LeBron's meeting with NY was all based on the allure of getting lots of money in NYK, but what about winning? Amare? Amare and Gallo? Is that how you build a championship franchise?

I'm just building off of what little we get from the "sources."

There are some sources which you can count on, and some which you know to take lightly, somewhat like critics. You know who your favorite critics are, but they all aren't good, and you know how to evaluate what they say..

 

[melovp]

JapanAir21 wrote:

---

Originally Posted by MeloVP

what about the fact that drose needs the ball?

you guys seem to have everything else debunked

i think pairing lebron with an elite pg is a mistake..dude needs the rock

Because it completely failed in the Olympics.

Bron and Chris Paul got worked.



Are we really going to compare the NBA to international competition?

What failed exactly? Not sure what your "it" is referring to

 

[Master Zik]

There's an article explaining some of what was pitched to LeBron in the Knicks thread. Seems Bron didn't matter being in the room with a frumpy looking owner, and a guy in a wheel chair since he spent 2hrs and a half with them along with D'antoni who talked ball with Bron for the majority of the presentation and Allan Houston who had the last word with him. The allure of getting money was all based on the fact that they would win. To assume the Knicks expect to buy LeBron strictly with the idea of money with winning not attached is foolish. 2hrs and a half of "A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI" I guess that's what everyone thought went down.

Don't give a %%*% about the Nets either. We didn't see the Knicks walk in. You're exactly right there, we didn't see the Knicks walking in. You're comparing what we saw from the Nets to an online report from a suspect "journalist" about the obvious condition of one man and the alleged look of another.

I see dudes running with the how the owner looks and Walsh in a wheelchair as a con like that has any logic behind it. I mean for all the things to hate on the Knicks about really? I mean yall keep talking about the basketball aspect and not the money but wanna talk about how the owner looks and a man recovering from surgery.

 

[three6mafia2007]

The more i think about the steve blake signing, the more disappointed i am

 

[melovp]

Before they talked about love and basketball with LeBron James, the Knicksopened their video presentation Thursday with a scene from a LeBronfavorite. Suddenly James Gandolfini and Edie Falco were Tony andCarmela Soprano, maybe for the last time, and the look on LeBron's facesaid he was hoping this show would last an hour or three.

Tonyhadn't been killed off by David Chase after all. He was wearing a beardand living with his wife under the cover of the witness protectionprogram, and Tony was telling Carmela he had an important friend comingto town. A friend who needed a place to stay. A friend named LeBron James.

Carmelascanned her computer for the ideal midtown spot, and when she told Tonyshe'd found the right place for a man of James' stature, the final shotwasn't half as suspenseful as The Sopranos' final scene in the diner.

MadisonSquare Garden was the iconic image on the screen, the arena James hascalled his favorite place to play. From there LeBron would hear tapedtestimonials to the power of big-city winning from Willis Reed, MarkMessier, Reggie Jackson and Earl Monroe. Spike Lee and Rudy Giulianihad their parts on the video, and Chris Rock told some jokes.

But the Knicksweren't kidding around. They did their homework. Yeah, they knew LeBronloved The Sopranos. They also knew LeBron loved talking about thetransition game more.

So Mike D'Antoni spent more than half thismeeting on the eighth floor of a Cleveland building talking basketballwith a basketball player. Suddenly a high-stakes summit with hundredsof millions of dollars on the line was reduced to a two-man huddleyou'd find in shoebox gyms all across America.

Acoach was drawing up Xs and Os for a ballplayer, the two of themengaged in a Rockwellian scene that no max-out talks could taint.

TheKnicks had their two hours and change in LeBron's presence, with AllanHouston staying behind for a few minutes to get the final word, athleteto athlete, man to man. James proved to be as gifted a poker player ashe is a small forward. He didn't reveal much to either the Knicks orthe Nets that day, and he also planned to cover his cards for the Heat,Clippers, Cavaliers and Bulls.

The Nets all but did an end zonedance when their sitdown was done, while the Knicks simply handed theball to the ref. So as the Knicks got hot after Amare Stoudemire, thecoach and the team president and the owner, Jim Dolan, were flooredwhen word hit that their LeBron presentation went LeBust, that Jameswas now more likely to sign with the Maple Leafs than with the Knicks.

Youcan accuse the Knicks and the Garden of fouling up a lot of perfectlygood game nights in recent years, but few in the business of sports arebetter at putting on a show. The Garden knows how to entertain, andit's hard to believe its people spent months piecing together a salespitch that just cost them any chance of signing James.

TheKnicks believe they've been victimized by the kind of negativerecruiting that defines major college sports, and hey, it happens, onboth sides of the aisle. Former Knicks president Dave Checketts said heand ex-running mate Ernie Grunfeld routinely tried to sabotage anyacquisition being made by the Chicago Bulls.

That was then, thisis now. Right now, today, it seems the only people in the NBA who wantthe Knicks to land LeBron are drawing a paycheck from them.

Everyonehas an agenda here -- teams, players, agents, people inside LeBron'scamp, people who want to get inside LeBron's camp. The Knicks have anagenda, too. They want to sign James a whole lot more than they want tosign Stoudemire.

The Nets feel the same. They declared a borderwar on the Knicks when they posted the skyscraper-sized image ofMikhail Prokhorov, their billionaire owner, and Jay-Z, his one-percentpartner, right in Dolan's face. This fight isn't going to get anyprettier over the next 48 hours.

Of course, the Knicks' bestresponse to all this is to, you know, sign LeBron James. Toward thatend, they did their research. They found out LeBron loves kids, and sothey showed him a video on their Garden of Dreams charity for childrenin need.

Walsh spoke of his ability to work the salary cap andkeep a LeBron-led Knicks team in contention for the long haul. Dolantold James about his Steinbrennerian willingness to spend, spend andspend some more on luxury taxes. James heard about the $850 millionbeing poured into a new and improved Garden, and the building'spresident, Scott O'Neil, showed LeBron the commissioned studyexplaining how he could become a billionaire in New York.

Mostlythe Knicks gave the ball to D'Antoni and let him discuss basketballwith his blue-chip recruit. The former Olympic assistant and formerOlympic star talked about offense and defense and about finding a wayback to the gold-medal game.

No, James didn't give the Knicks aton of feedback, if only because he wasn't giving anyone a ton offeedback. The Knicks went to bed Friday night believing they were verymuch alive in the James derby, no matter what was being whisperedbetween Miami and Moscow.

James might decide to go withCleveland, Chicago, New Jersey or Miami. He might pick up his cell andend the Knicks' quest in a New York minute.

If that happens, ifLeBron James rejects Tony Soprano's offer he could refuse, the Knickswouldn't have lost the game because of their presentation.

They would have lost it because of their roster.

x

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

There's an article explaining some of what was pitched to LeBron in the Knicks thread. Seems Bron didn't matter being in the room with a frumpy looking owner, and a guy in a wheel chair since he spent 2hrs and a half with them along with D'antoni who talked ball with Bron for the majority of the presentation and Allan Houston who had the last word with him. The allure of getting money was all based on the fact that they would win. To assume the Knicks expect to buy LeBron strictly with the idea of money with winning not attached is foolish. 2hrs and a half of "A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI A BILLI" I guess that's what everyone thought went down.

Don't give a %%*% about the Nets either. We didn't see the Knicks walk in. You're exactly right there, we didn't see the Knicks walking in. You're comparing what we saw from the Nets to an online report from a suspect "journalist" about the obvious condition of one man and the alleged look of another.

I see dudes running with the how the owner looks and Walsh in a wheelchair as a con like that has any logic behind it. I mean for all the things to hate on the Knicks about really? I mean yall keep talking about the basketball aspect and not the money but wanna talk about how the owner looks and a man recovering from surgery.

Okay that's all cool but...

Is Lebron going to win with Gallo and Amare?


You can sidestep all the other stuff, but can you answer this?

I really don't care about how Dolan/Walsh looked. I am impressed on how committed Mikhail Prokhorov is to getting LeBron James. What better way to make a billion by being employed by one?

But, that doesn't matter in the end. The end result is how well you win.

Will Gallo/Amare/Andy Rautins get LeBron to the promise land? If LeBron's in an uptempo-system that's the key?

I'm sorry, I'm not buying any stock in that.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Three6mafia2007

The more i think about the steve blake signing, the more disappointed i am

Fisher helps you win five rings, and this is the thanks he gets.

I mean if Fisher was playing terrible, I'd understand, but..

 

[Master Zik]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Is Lebron going to win with Gallo and Amare?
You can sidestep all the other stuff, but can you answer this?

The Knicks are still in the process of adding pieces. Word to Curry's expiring contract and Melo not accepting that extension. Given the money we have on hand and the players out there willing to already come here whether Bron shows up yeah we can win.

I really don't care about how Dolan/Walsh looked. I am impressed on how committed Mikhail Prokhorov is to getting LeBron James. What better way to make a billion by being employed by one?
Yeah Dolan isn't committed. He only made the trip cuz he likes to fly around in his jet. What's a better way? Playing in New York, not in NJ wit a 12 win roster and then in BK.

Will Gallo/Amare/Andy Rautins get LeBron to the promise land? If LeBron's in an uptempo-system that's the key?
Nah not just them. Of course the system matters.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Master Zik

Will Gallo/Amare/Andy Rautins get LeBron to the promise land? If LeBron's in an uptempo-system that's the key?

Nah not just them. Of course the system matters.

Oh so your hope is grabbing Melo, got it!

That uptempo system really helped Phoenix getting a ring.

I highly doubt that NYK can get a roster that was better than what Phoenix had back when it was Nash, JJ, Matrix, and Amare.

What PG is going to run that system? Chris Duhon? Or is LBJ going to pull a Magic Johnson?

Why in the hell would you go to a team that doesn't have a ROSTER?

A whole lot of "if's," going on in that New York State of Mind that has a lot of you all fuddled.

IF LeBron can make the money.
IF LeBron signs.
IF they can get a team around him.
IF the system works.
IF the rest of the NBA folds to New York.
IF they can sustain a franchise for longer than 2-3 years before making more dumb decisions.


Give me Rose and Noah, or Harris and Lopez, or Wade and Beasley, or even Baron/Kaman/Blake.

Gallo/Amare/a bunch of low-cost players?

Yawn.