NBA 2012-13 Offseason Thread

[Stavingo]

Did you guys hear that Eddy Curry is in the best shape of his career? He's considering joining the Heat!

Edit: Well, looks like Raymond Felton has sung: Jeremy Lin is a Rocket!

That photo

John, what are your thoughts of picking up Lin?

 

[JohnBM01]

My thoughts on Jeremy Lin? Well, part of me (thanks to ESPN) makes me feel like as Jeremy Lin was making the New York Knicks better when he had that run, it almost made my Rockets feel like we made a dumb move letting him go to the Knicks. It's the usual Always Hate Houston mentality ESPN has- Lin goes from HOU to NYK, Lin goes off for the Knicks, then we get questioned like "did the Rockets make a mistake in not keeping Jeremy Lin?" It's the same mentality like when my Texans picked Mario Williams over Vince Young or Reggie Bush. But back to the main topic- Jeremy Lin is back with the Rockets- a team that is competitive in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference, but not competitive enough to make the playoffs or even contend with the powerhouse teams. Rockets haven't done crap but fail since T-Mac and Yao left the lineup. So in trying to maintain SOME sort of identity and having some sort of star power, Jeremy Lin is a great start. I am not trying to say that I am Jeremy Lin's biggest fan or anything, but we need some sort of star power. Something to make the Rockets a real contender will make me happy. That's even if you have to shake up the lineup to improve the team.

Even if we get Dwight Howard to add to that collection, all I care about is results. I, as a Houston sports fan, want to see more than just my Texans be successful as far as pro franchises are concerned. I'm also a bit upset when someone talks about the Rockets like soemone having a fear of tarnishing what Hakeem Olajuwon established. That's one deterrent to us in HOU locking up D12. That was a different generation of Rockets' basketball compared to now. Rather than not feeling like ruining a past legacy, you CONTRIBUTE to the team's legacy by having another solid time of basketball for the Houston Rockets. A third NBA championship would be nice for my Rockets, but it isn't going to happen unless the Rockets wake up from their mediocrity and play with the desire and resolve of the Clutch City days of the Houston Rockets.

So long story short- Jeremy Lin is a great start for the Rockets to have some sort of relevance. They'll need a lot more to be any sort of playoff contender or possible NBA Finals team. I think it comes down to talent and execution for me to be happy to be a Rockets fan in this day and age.

 

[Omnis]

If Phil Jackson coached a Pat Riley-managed team, said team would be undefeated 7 years in a row.

 

[Paulie]

It looks like the Clippers added Grant Hill now as well, they've added a lot of depth this season, it should keep the L.A. civil war games interesting.

 

[Stavingo]

It looks like the Clippers added Grant Hill now as well, they've added a lot of depth this season, it should keep the L.A. civil war games interesting.

Interesting move, I guess he's a solid replacement when Butler is on the bench.

 

[Paulie]

a6m5 might be interested to hear if he doesn't already know, Nolan Smith took a head blow and was stretchered off the court and to hospital in a Summer League game today. He's been lighting it up in SL, I hope he's alright.👍

 

[a6m5]

a6m5 might be interested to hear if he doesn't already know, Nolan Smith took a head blow and was stretchered off the court and to hospital in a Summer League game today. He's been lighting it up in SL, I hope he's alright.👍

Yeah, I read about that last night. Didn't see the footage, but I guess it was a real scare, and he had serious concussion. I hope he's OK, too. 👍

 

[Pupik]

The Onion hits the nail on the head for Knicks fans.

Jeez, being fan of the Knickerbockers must be like being a Miami Dolphins fan.

 

[a6m5]

The Onion hits the nail on the head for Knicks fans.

Jeez, being fan of the Knickerbockers must be like being a Miami Dolphins fan.

Boy, only thing I agree with them there is the incompetence of their front office. I think the only decent signing they made was Stoudemire. Carmelo sucks. D'Antoni sucks. Lin & Felt-ton sucks, too. I'd probably would have fallen for the Carmelo Anthony-trap though. While he's proven to be a very difficult player to mesh with the rest of the team, if he's willing to play for your team, I don't know if I had told him to take a hike.

I still think Lin and Burger King are players who can win & put up some numbers during the regular season, have no post season success against quality team, like, ever. I've seen that movie too many times. I love Jeremy Lin, but his game is uptempo, and unless he can change that, the offense he run will never be a serious contender.

P.S. I guess the Blazers are officially keeping Nicolas Batum. I feel that we are overpaying him(last number I heard was 4-year/$46.5M), but I think we lose more by not paying the man. Small market team curse, as nobody wants to come play here, we are not the Miami Heat. Minnesota & Portland fought over Batum in free agency, and only way teams like ours can get quality player was to overpay. Not. Fair.

Edit: As usual, we don't know how reliable the story is, but it sure would explain the (non)action by the Knicks.

Knicks' Dolan felt betrayed by Lin's deal with HOU​

Everyone loves to remind that basketball is a business. But business sometimes gets ugly.

With Jeremy Lin officially a Houston Rocket, signaling the end of Linsanity in the Big Apple, fans, media and casual onlookers are left wondering how and why it happened.

The simple explanation is money. With the Rockets backloading Lin's three-year, $25 million offer sheet, the Knicks were put in an extremely compromised position. With a potential $40 million luxury tax hit in 2015, New York decided to let the electric young point guard walk.

But wait a second. This is the Knicks. Since when does money affect their decision making? Is this a new James Dolan? Is this a new post-Isiah era where spending is more prudent? Nah, come on now. It's the Knicks. Especially when you consider Lin was going to stuff Dolan's pockets off the court with all the incredible marketing possibilities.

So what happened? Why in the world is Jeremy Lin playing in Houston now?

"There was no single reason they chose not to match," a league source with knowledge of the negotiations told CBSSports.com's Ben Golliver. "The talks got emotional, the price of the third year was pretty steep, there wasn't a comfort factor that he could be traded for good value if things didn't work out and New York's key players didn't bend over backwards to go to bat for him."

There was always an assumption that Carmelo Anthony had a hand in things and it appears that might be true. Jeremy Lin stole his spotlight with Linsanity and Melo was left being blamed when the Knicks didn't play well after he returned. It's not a stretch to say that Melo wanted to reclaim the Knicks and make sure everyone knows it's his team.

But according to the New York Daily News, it does go deeper in terms of perceived loyalty:

The decision was both financial and emotional since Garden chairman James Dolan was upset over Lin restructuring his deal with Houston last week to include a third year salary of $14.9 million. Dolan, according to sources, felt he was deceived by the 23-year-old Lin.

"Much love and thankfulness to the Knicks and New York for your support this past year," Lin said on Twitter. "Easily the best year of my life. #ForeverGrateful."

Of course, team officials privately felt that Lin's actions over the past few weeks were anything but grateful. They were upset that he hired a publicist without their consent and were livid that the second-year point guard out of Harvard went back to the Rockets for more money.

What does that mean, the part of Lin "going back" for more? Initially, Lin reportedly agreed to a four-year, $28.8 million backloaded deal with Houston, but obviously not quite as backloaded. But when he went to officially sign the offer sheet, the deal had been reworked to the current three-year, $25.1 million contract.

Of course there were the reports that Lin himself was upset over the Knicks not making an early play for him.

The fact Lin apparently was so helpful in sort of screwing over the Knicks evidently miffed Dolan. More via the NY Daily News:

Dolan has a history of overpaying his players and has never shied away from the luxury tax before.

But in this case, Dolan felt betrayed by Lin for going back to Houston to rework the contract. After all, the Knicks acquired Lin in December after he was released by both Golden State and Houston.

Betrayed? That's the word there. Betrayed. Evidently betrayed by the fact Lin took a very nice offer from the Rockets to which the Knicks could still match. Lin himself has even said he preferred to stay in New York.

Also, it's called free agency. When you're a free agent, you get to choose what to sign, pick where you want to go and do what you want to do. And again, the Knicks still had their chance to keep him!

Instead, the Knicks are stuck with an overweight castoff point guard in Raymond Felton(<<<I didn't add this, check the link! lol) and a 40-year-old just busted for driving drunk. I guess I can see why James Dolan is a bit fussy. link

 

[Pupik]

Lin saying he was "85% ready" but not playing in the playoffs stings a little, and I don't blame Knick fans for being pissed off at Jeremy for that. And they probably figured he might be a flash in the pan that's already given off his best performances, so it would be an expensive contract to hold onto in the coming years, luxury taxes and all.

But face it, Carmelo couldn't stand that he might have had to share the spotlight, unprofessionally talked about another player's contract offer, and even Denver was no worse without him. Also, going back to the team that cuts you and then offers you a fortune (with a guaranteed contract) is something many people only dream about, no matter what the profession...

 

[Omnis]

Never liked Melo. I hope he stays a Knick forever so Miami can crush.

 

[Stavingo]

Never liked Melo. I hope he stays a Knick forever so Miami can crush.

 

[Paulie]

Woot! Raptors finally won a Summer League game and I witnessed some dominant play from Terrence Ross.

Never liked Melo. I hope he stays a Knick forever so Miami can crush.

If anyone has any tips on how to improve player morale in 2K12 please visit my profile. Ed Davis' morale is starting to drop, I already have him on 6th man. I can't start him over Bargnani for obvious reasons, I've done 1 development drill with him and plan to do more, and I've just increased his rotation minutes from 15 to 19 although since I play every game I don't know if that makes any difference. Is it true 6th men need to be on 20mins/game? Maybe I should roll back DeRozan and Bargnani's 34min averages and give them to Davis.

 

[a6m5]

Team USA blew the hell out of the Brits today. Joel Freeland, a player Blazers drafted few years ago was part of the British squad. He was featured in this highlight:





I think I read somewhere that he had something like 6 points, 3 rebounds. I was hoping for better news. I don't blame Freeland for this particular play though, as it was the fault of whomever was responsible for guarding the inbound.

 

[Stavingo]

Luol Deng carrying the British team

 

[JohnBM01]

I read from NBA TV's Bottom Line about how replay will be expanded this coming season. Here are situations that will be reviewed further with replay:

* reviewing Flagrant fouls. Reviews will determine whether a called Flagrant Foul will be Flagrant-1, Flagrant-2, or just a regular personal foul.

* restricted area calls in the final two minutes of a game or in Overtime- further reviews of if a defender is in or out of the Restricted Area in block and charge calls.


I read that in September, the NBA will look at fouls away from the ball as well as flopping. Sure want to see what the league agrees upon in these instances. What do you all make of this expansion of replay in the NBA?

 

[a6m5]

I've been saying for awhile now that NBA needs replays. This is because their officiating blows. I don't follow much sports outside the NBA, but I doubt officiating is hated in other leagues, as much as it is in the NBA.

Sport of basketball is a very difficult one to officiate to start with, and the rules in place are sometimes left up to interpretation, or often ignored altogether by the refs.

Also, most people who watches the NBA knows that officiating in the NBA can be downright bull 🤬 at times. I've seen them blow calls on consistent basis, like you touch somebody, or maybe not even touch somebody, and it's a foul at the one end of the court. At the other end, the defenders are pretty much playing NFL defense, and no call. It is just not humanly possible officiate that badly, unless you wanted to.

More policing is better. I welcome the additional replays, and I sure hope more is to come in the future.

As for the flopping, I consider drawing of charge to be art. At the same time, yes, it has gotten out of control. When the shooter is charging at the rim, and somebody quick somehow slide right in the way, get "set" for 0.5 seconds, those calls should go against the defender.

I also don't like the CHEAP offensive moves like jumping into the defender when shooting, or that one Kevin Durant likes, sliding the ball & his arms under the arm of the defender, then pulling it up like he was in act of shooting. All those types of calls needs not to be called against the defender, and reviewed if necessary.

 

[Stavingo]

I just hope they start giving offensive fouls to Blake Griffin when he throws out his left arm on his dunks.

 

[Omnis]

The thing with restricted area replay is such baloney! They can use technology like the hawkeye system as Tennis does. Instant feedback, no delay of game. They could even put a sensor in the floor.

 

[Paulie]

I just hope they start giving offensive fouls to Blake Griffin when he throws out his left arm on his dunks.

+1!

So I guess now with Summer League over and the majority of trades/signings out of the way there's 3-4 months of nothing in NBA land, thank goodness for Olympics basketball coming up.

 

[Stavingo]

So I guess now with Summer League over and the majority of trades/signings out of the way there's 3-4 months of nothing in NBA land, thank goodness for Olympics basketball coming up.

France vs. Australia, wonder how that game is going down.

 

[Tzun]

France vs. Australia, wonder how that game is going down.

France: Noah, Parker if im right. Australia: No Irving.

 

[JohnBM01]

I think something else I read is that instant replay will also apply to goaltending calls with two minutes left in regulation games and in Overtime. Some of these could be pretty crucial calls, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a few goaltending or would-be goaltending calls being reviewed.

 

[a6m5]

France vs. Australia, wonder how that game is going down.

French team is loaded, but I honestly didn't know Joakim Noah was on it. I know that they have our Nicolas Batum, Tony Parker, Diaw, Beaubois, Pietrus and Turiaf.

 

[Tzun]

French team is loaded, but I honestly didn't know Joakim Noah was on it. I know that they have our Nicolas Batum, Tony Parker, Diaw, Beaubois, Pietrus and Turiaf.

Is Noah on it? Lol. I wasnt sure just gave his name.

 

[a6m5]

Is Noah on it? Lol. I wasnt sure just gave his name.

I knew that his mother was Swedish, but didn't know that his father was French(according to wiki). Wikipedia also says that he has joined the French team(also qualifies for Team USA or Sweden), but will not play this year due to ankle injury. They must be the most loaded team outside the U.S. Spain's loaded also, before Pau, became Paula Gasol. Good thing she still has the brother.

 

[Spacegoat]

So I guess now with Summer League over and the majority of trades/signings out of the way there's 3-4 months of nothing in NBA land, thank goodness for the start of the NFL season.

Fixed that for you, mate.

France vs. Australia, wonder how that game is going down.

Umm..... I going to take a wild stab in the dark and say not well for Australia.

 

[a6m5]

Patty's good for several bricks though. Not in the face, Paulie.

 

[Omnis]

France will play Team USA in the semifinals and after the 3rd quarter they'll be like, "Zis ees bool[s-word]," and go off to have a cigarette.

 

[Paulie]

Fixed that for you, mate.


Umm..... I going to take a wild stab in the dark and say not well for Australia.

FUZZBALL!!!!!
Plus yes we got destroyed by France. It'd be good if we had Bogut, and Aleks Maric (spelling?) is injured now too.

Patty's good for several bricks though. Not in the face, Paulie.

You just hatin cause you lost him, I watched the second Australia vs Spain game the other day and he was awesome. He plays good on ball defence IMO as well, really gets in the face of the ball handler and has the speed to stay in front.