NBA: 2013-2014 Season - DONE Spurs Win

[McLaren]

The Lakers are going to amnesty MWP in the next week & this apparently makes Kobe angry. But at the same time, Kobe says he's not taking a pay cut after next season.

Good job idiot....

 

[Blitz24]

Nets just signed AK47 for a 1 year 3.1 million deal.

 

[Villain]

The Lakers are going to amnesty MWP in the next week & this apparently makes Kobe angry. But at the same time, Kobe says he's not taking a pay cut after next season.

Good job idiot....

I wouldn't take a pay cut either.

 

[McLaren]

I wouldn't take a pay cut either.

In most cases, nobody would. But in sports where players make statements (such as Kobe as the perfect example) that winning championships & getting rings are the most important thing, it's obvious he wants his cake & eat it, too.

If winning is the most important thing to him, he needs to realize the Lakers organization can't bring in the desperately needed talent to help do so when he takes up over half of the goddamn salary cap with just 2 other guys filling up the rest of the $30 million. He is a big part of the reason MWP has to go to ease the blow by the luxury tax, so he has no reason to be angry.

Ridiculous ego is ridiculous.

 

[Villain]

In most cases, nobody would. But in sports where players make statements (such as Kobe as the perfect example) that winning championships & getting rings are the most important thing, it's obvious he wants his cake & eat it, too.

If winning is the most important thing to him, he needs to realize the Lakers organization can't bring in the desperately needed talent to help do so when he takes up over half of the goddamn salary cap with just 2 other guys filling up the rest of the $30 million. He is a big part of the reason MWP has to go to ease the blow by the luxury tax, so he has no reason to be angry.

Ridiculous ego is ridiculous.

I absolutely agree.

Kobe still shouldn't take a pay cut, though. Let the team decide if its more valuable to have a balanced roster or the receipts from his jersey sales. If Mitch can't put out a contender with Kobe's contract on the books, that's when you say "fine, go get your 20+ million from a different team, we're trying to win."

It's not Kobe's fault that he's expensive.

 

[McLaren]

The problem is, a lot of teams won't give him half their salaries to do so, not at his age & not at someone coming off his kind of injury. The other thing is that you know the only teams he will accept offers to are contending teams, & the sad part for Kobe there is that all of the contending teams already have their pieces in motion & will not be able to afford fitting a $30 million SG into those rotations.

The only team that can give him that $30 million/year contract & be on the front for contending is...the Lakers. And we all know Kobe won't dare go elsewhere, anyway; his fanbase in LA would make the Cavs fans look like kids throwing temper tantrums.

 

[Brett]

I wonder how Rasheed Wallace will do as an Assistant Head Coach. He became Assistant Coach of the Detroit Pistons. Most people know 'Sheed as a Technical Foul magnet. I don't know... maybe he'll help make the Detroit Pistons better with his coaching. Only thing I'm not expecting is for this Pistons team to be as good as the old Bad Boy Pistons of the late 1980s.

Ball don't lie!

Nets just signed AK47 for a 1 year 3.1 million deal.

Probably a good signing by the Nets. AK47 could still be a nice role player.

 

[Paulie]

The AK47 helps make the Nets crazy good however it has a lot of other GMs up in arms saying there's a good chance there are dodgy side deals going on that should be investigated given AK47 was asking for no less than $8mil/3yrs with other teams then takes $3mill a year with the Nets.

 

[Brett]

Dallas has signed Monta Ellis to a three year, $25-30 million contract. Not sure there are enough shots to go around between Dirk and Monta with how much Ellis likes to chuck it.

 

[McLaren]

It's a bit of a bold move, but it's this or do nothing again. Monta appears to do ok at driving to the basket making over half his shots. Let Dirk, & whoever hit those mid-far range shots.

 

[JohnBM01]

It's just Summer League, but I didn't know there was some sort of championship. My Rockets took on Oklahoma City. I stopped caring when OKC was up by 20. We ended up losing the Orlando Summer League championship 85-77. But again- it's just Summer League. Doesn't count towards anything. Heck, it may be HOU and OKC in some stage of the NBA Playoffs should both teams make it to the 2013-2014 playoffs.

The Las Vegas Summer League kicked off with a few matches, such as Atlanta vs. Los Angeles Clippers. So more teams are getting loose getting ready for the upcoming season.

 

[a6m5]

Not sure there are enough shots to go around between Dirk and Monta with how much Ellis likes to chuck it.

This would worry me also. Under these two conditions, they may see some success:

1) Ellis must realize that he has finally landed on a good team, and he is Dirk's biatch, not the other way around.

2) Show Ellis that chart before every quarter.

It's a bit of a bold move, but it's this or do nothing again. Monta appears to do ok at driving to the basket making over half his shots. Let Dirk, & whoever hit those mid-far range shots.

We see this too often in the NBA though. A team gets left out during the FA frenzy, after all the good pieces are committed, now it's damned if they do, damned if they don't situation. Latter would cost Dallas less money IMO.

 

[McLaren]

Apparently, the league is not happy with AK47 who was asking for $24 million/3 year deals, but instead settled for $3.1 million to be on the Nets.

I can see why they want this investigated, whether the Nets owner or AK47 is to blame. Kind of a kick in the face to ask for so much to be on your team & not reach an agreement when you'll play for $3.1 million elsewhere. Of course, I guess if you thought the Nets had the best chance of getting you a ring, you'd settle for less. But $10 million (last year) to $3.1?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...cious-of-andrei-kirilenkos-contract-with-nets

Edit* Apparently, Harris has gotten a toe-injury that has caused the Mavs to sideline resigning him. He may or may not be brought back later.

 

[Aesthetics]

How haven't I found this thread yet?

Anyways, the Ellis signing won't be a good signing for the Mavs. Good to propel them to mediocrity, but that's it.

 

[McLaren]

Propel. We've been a mediocre team for the last decade.

Just have to wait & see how he plays out under Carlisle. People tend to forget how he played for Golden State or that he's still in his prime, so he can turn things around if he makes the commitment.

 

[Stavingo]

Watching the pelicans press conferences with player signings and not having jerseys to present them so instead they give them Pelicans snapbacks, I don't even hahaha.

 

[Aesthetics]

Watching the pelicans press conferences with player signings and not having jerseys to present them so instead they give them Pelicans snapbacks, I don't even hahaha.

Hey, when the suns introduced Bledsoe and Butler, They were given basketballs

 

[JohnBM01]

Right now, the Rockets are introducing Dwight Howard to Houston as part of this press conference. I only hope this guy can deliver for my boys. The Rockets still are pretty good as is. Whether or not they can really emerge and be serious threats depend on how they perform in the regular season and in (granted they make it) the postseason. My hopes are high for my Rockets.

 

[McLaren]

If Lin, Harden, & Howard remain consistent in their games, they should become a threat easily. But, everyone has to step up, not just 1 or 2 of them.

 

[Stavingo]

If Lin, Harden, & Howard remain consistent in their games, they should become a threat easily. But, everyone has to step up, not just 1 or 2 of them.

To be honest I don't see Lin staying at the rockets for too much longer, his salary is way too huge.

 

[McLaren]

Because he's simply not playing anywhere to the level he was during his "Linsanity days". Rockets saw Lin come out of nowhere, took a huge gamble on him thinking they'd have him doing that every night, & he instead drifted back into an above average player.

If he could jump back into that mode, he might be worth his salary if it carries them deep into the playoffs.

 

[a6m5]

I still think it was a signing with the Chinese market in mind, not wins.

 

[McLaren]

I still think it was a signing with the Chinese market in mind, not wins.

You know, I've actually heard that theory before. I initially thought that would be a stupid decision for a team that should be about winning than marketing sales, (lol right), but I've learned a bit more about Houston's Asian population since then & how supportive it was of Yao.

Still strikes me as dumb, though.

 

[Aesthetics]

Lin and Asik's deals deal are gonna severely impact the rocket's long term goals, with how their contracts inflate. They could've saved some money by listening to Asik's trade demands, but instead choose to keep him and play him next to Howard, which I predict won't work.

 

[a6m5]

I didn't know that they were back-loaded deals, but I still think they should be able to move Asik without much issues. Lin on the other hand, Houston may know how to sell their products to China(thanks to Yao), but I would expect it to be uneasy for the other teams to say the least. I don't see that one happening without nice incentive(s) thrown into the deal.

You know, I've actually heard that theory before. I initially thought that would be a stupid decision for a team that should be about winning than marketing sales, (lol right), but I've learned a bit more about Houston's Asian population since then & how supportive it was of Yao.

It's been suspected since the earliest of the Yao days. There are tons of NBA fans in China, and that's the market I was referring to. We saw this in Japan with Ichiro & the Mariners. Huge boost in viewership & gear sales with the Japanese fans, and China is a much larger market.

Still strikes me as dumb, though.

Considering the year Lin had last year, and having just landed Dwight Howard, I'm pretty sure the Rockets would rather have extra cap flexibility right about now.

I glanced at some headline reading how Howard wants Asik & Lin to stay, but we all know players are full of crap, especially that one.

 

[Stavingo]

I glanced at some headline reading how Howard wants Asik & Lin to stay, but we all know players are full of crap, especially that one.

I don't think the spacing will work out too well if you have both Asik and Howard on the block along with Harden and Lin trying to slash, none of the bigs can make an outside shot

 

[Paulie]

Man Summer League is u-g-l-y , Valanciunas had a 20pt 5reb first half then scored just 3 more in the 2nd half , although he did play considerably less minutes. Terrence Ross was not looking good. I read Shane Larkin broke his ankle, not a good start to his career.

Some of these D-Leaguers and un-drafted rookies are really bad, I don't understand how someone who is so close to NBA level can be so terrible, air balling jump shots and free throws, missing point blank layups all the time, getting blocked too easily.

 

[a6m5]

Summer League is a different game. It may have to do with so much expectation, anticipation and pressure being placed on these draftees, FAs & invitees? For so many players, it may mean guaranteed lucrative employment, maybe a nice payday(if not in form of non-guaranteed contract in the NBA, overseas), or face financial struggles.

I think it also comes into play that these guys are not very familiar with each other, including the (often assistant)coaches, and they also face weird agendas the front office & coaching staff bring up, which mostly has to do with evaluating players by exposing them in different types of plays.

 

[Paulie]

Apparently Julyan Stone failed his physical exam so the Raptors hired PG Dwight Buycks who immediately becomes the most liked Dwight in the NBA. Buycks is still no back-up to Lowry IMO, a 3rd string maybe. We need a proper back-up PG, I see plenty of names on the board, some maybe even the Raptors could afford like Will Bynum

 

[a6m5]

Wrong, Paulie. Since China Houston Rockets has billion fans, Howard is the most popular NBA player in the world right about now.



Seriously though, I expect Howard to come back healthy, motivated, and nobody will remember the Drama Howard, if the Rockets contend this season.