THE 2015 NBA PRE SEASON THREAD: BEST WISHES TO LAMAR ODOM

[pums]

well to be fair Barnes is trash so nothing changed 

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

JJ is a starter though... that's the difference, obviously he needs to have a little bit more impact than a 35+ year old Crawford off the bench

Again, in their 3 wins, Crawford played about as well as you could ask him to. In the 4 losses, all role players struggled, on both sides of the ball. So it's not as black and white as asking "was he or was he not awful?" If we're going that route then JJ, Rivers, Barnes were all awful too

Next year if Crawford remains on the team, his role should be even more reduced along with expectations

 

[rook]

crawford best days are still left in ATL.

 

[HIM]

 
 If we're going that route then JJ, Rivers, Barnes were all awful too.

Yes, they were.

And Blake in the 4th Quarter of Game 6 plus Game 7. What is the argument?

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

 
Yes, they were.

And Blake in the 4th Quarter of Game 6 plus Game 7. What is the argument?

The blame game and to a lesser degree the argument that Crawford is a negative factor ala Dion Waiters 

Once again dudes having unreal expectations of Crawford. Nobody in their right minds gets hyped off of Crawford, an older bench player these days 

 

I could see maybe when he was with the Hawks or Knicks and he was doing all that And 1 flashy stuff, folks would get hyped. Not now or even last year

 

[frshstunna]

Once again it's Doc's fault imo ...how you gon depend on an old bench player to basically be your best player off the bench/ top 7 player in your rotation and expect him to have more good games than bad ...Jamal should be a speciality player that comes in when they need some quick points or need a 3, but the team wasn't built like that so he was depended on to do more

 

[ill steelo]

@WojYahooNBA 
 47m47 minutes ago



Sources: Oklahoma City still hasn't notified Portland about its intentions to match the $70M offer sheet to Enes Kanter. Deadline is today.

Presti gonna wait until 11:59 to match

 

[sea manup]

Clipper role players will always get slandered

Barnes, Collison, Dudley, Crawford, Caron Butler... the list goes on. Nobody ever been good enough to get them past the 2nd round

If only they had an once in a generation ball handler to make them better

 

[jpzx]

Sunday Q&A: Karlito Towns, invisible friend/imaginary voice of Karl-Anthony Towns

View media item 1625203

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune
July 11, 2015 - 9:10 PM

Karlito Towns, the imaginary friend of Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns, discusses all things about the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NBA draft.

You probably know Karlito Towns as Karl-Anthony Towns’ invisible friend, discovered by Kentucky coach John Calipari during a practice last season when he noticed that his freshman star appeared to be talking to himself. Since then Karlito has, well, become something less than imaginary. Karlito came with Karl-Anthony to Minnesota after the draft. He has been on ESPN. He has his own Twitter handle, where he describes himself as the voice inside Karl-Anthony’s head “helping him take over the NBA.” He is now tweeting from Las Vegas, site of the NBA’s Summer League. Given that he has the ear of the NBA’s first overall draft pick, staff writer Kent Youngblood checked in with Karlito as the Wolves began summer league action.

Q You were at the draft with Karl-Anthony. Did his tailor make your suit?

A Karl and I both care a lot about style so we talked it through and decided that since I’m going to be wearing this outfit for my whole life, the pants and jacket would have to reflect our day-to-day style.

Q What are your expectations for Karl-Anthony Towns this season?

A Having known Karl-Anthony his entire life and knowing what he’s capable of and the work he puts into his craft each day, the sky is the limit. I’ve already started working out so I can hoist the ROY trophy when the time comes.

Q What has surprised you most about Minneapolis so far?

A I’m just surprised how quickly the team and fan base have accepted me. I knew they would love Karl-Anthony, but man, the love I get on social media and traveling around town is real.

Q How much should you be credited for Karl-Anthony’s success?

A  I am going to take credit for 10 percent of Karl’s success but he’s the one who put in the work. I really am just the voice in his head pushing him along, but he is the one who has a relentless drive for success.

Q Are you disappointed that you only have 4,000 Twitter followers compared to Karl-Anthony’s 103,000?

A I am not disappointed at all in my social following and quite pleased thus far. Just like Karl has work to do on the court, I have work to do to make sure to get my followers up! And, shameless plug, please follow me @Karlito_Towns!

Q Is it true you’re really a figment of John Calipari’s imagination?

A Who said that?

Q Will you be able to keep Karl-Anthony out of trouble in Vegas?

A Karl-Anthony is a good guy by nature. He’s not a troublemaker. If anything, I’ll be the one trying to explore everything and he will be telling me to stay focused!

Q Do you get a percentage of Karl-Anthony’s contract?

A Next question, please.

Q Do you ever talk to yourself?

A Yes, perhaps I should have my own version alter-ego? Thoughts?

Q Is “Harvey” one of your favorite movies?

A I have been known to catch it on Netflix here and there.

http://m.startribune.com/sports/wolves/313999351.html?section=sports/wolves




****'s OC

 

[nelson999]

yo this bum got kicked out of a Summer League game 

Hasheem Thabeet, playing for D-League, just got two technical fouls and was ejected. Now beating up chair in locker room area.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) July 12, 2015

 

[jpzx]

This technically is offseason news based on several names on the roster:

The 12-man roster for the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men’s Basketball Team has been announced

View media item 1625214

The final cut was announced Sunday following the 16 finalists’ last practice at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The U.S. squad will represent the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, which will feature the men’s basketball competition July 21-25.

The 12 players on the U.S. team:

Ron Baker (Wichita State); Malcolm Brogdon (University of Virginia); Bobby Brown (China); Ryan Hollins (Sacramento Kings); Keith Langford (Russia); Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette); Taurean Prince (Baylor/San Antonio, Texas); Anthony Randolph (Russia); Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona); Romelo Trimble (Maryland); Denzel Valentine (Michigan State); and Damien Wilkins (Puerto Rico).

The U.S. team is scheduled to train this week in Chicago at the Chicago Bulls practice facility.

Assisting Few with the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men’s Basketball Team is University of Colorado’s Tad Boyle and longtime NBA coach Mike Brown.

The U.S. men have been placed into Group A and will play all three of its preliminary round games at 9 p.m., including Venezuela on July 21, Puerto Rico on July 22 and Brazil on July 23. Competing in Group B will be Argentina, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico.

The top two teams from each preliminary-round group will advance to the medal-round semifinals on July 24, while the third and fourth-placed teams will play for fifth-eighth places. The semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal on July 25, and the semifinal losers will play for bronze.

The Pan American Games are a multisport event featuring teams from North, South and Central American and the Caribbean, which are organized by the Pan American Sports Organization and played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics.

It's sad that I count four former Timberwolves players.

 

[jpzx]

yo this bum got kicked out of a Summer League game 

Hasheem Thabeet, playing for D-League, just got two technical fouls and was ejected. Now beating up chair in locker room area.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC)

July 12, 2015

lmao dude's forever sad being sandwiched between B.Griffin and J.Harden in the '09 draft.


Butler, Bulls contract update:

Eric Pincus @EricPincus 1m
After Jimmy Butler's trade bonus is applied, his numbers work out to be a max contract over life of deal @BBallInsiders

 

[comptonprince]

 

[EddieDoyers]

yo this bum got kicked out of a Summer League game 

Hasheem Thabeet, playing for D-League, just got two technical fouls and was ejected. Now beating up chair in locker room area.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC)

July 12, 2015

Got drafted before Harden and Curry

 

[jpzx]

Caught between a Blake and a Hard[en] place aww YEEEEEE

 

[IATT]

View media item 1151771

 

[awwsome]

Thabeet a waste of great genetics.

 

[herbshuttles15]

View media item 1151771

Shabba!

 

[lawdog1]

Once again it's Doc's fault imo ...how you gon depend on an old bench player to basically be your best player off the bench/ top 7 player in your rotation and expect him to have more good games than bad ...Jamal should be a speciality player that comes in when they need some quick points or need a 3, but the team wasn't built like that so he was depended on to do more

Agree. And Doc is trying to correct that problem by assembling a second unit that can be more balanced and better defensively. This isn't really about Crawford v Austin; it's about the team doing something differently. We've maxed out in what Crawford can give us. And there's not much point in keeping him just to provide points in spot duty. Just time to move on.

No, Austin will never be the player Jamal is offensively. But he has the potential to be much better defensively. And the Clippers need that more, IMO.

 

[pmatic]

The Nets signed Bargnani.

 

[rck3sactown]

The Nets signed Bargnani.

what tire fire 

 

[johnnyredstorm]

i thoguht Bargs was going to the Kings

 

[nick.]

Billy King really swooped in & stole Andrea Bargnani

 

[ballinsam23]

The Blueprint for Greatness

 

[nelson999]

Man thank god. I'm gonna send Billy King a Christmas card this year