*** 2015 NBA draft thread ***

[WT]

The 2015 NBA draft will be held on June 25, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, televised nationally by ESPN.

Looks like the Knicks are active -> http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/tag/5088655405.html

:biggrin:

 

[darkewaffle]

I'm more curious to see if anything happens with Cousins than anything else currently. Love the guy and would like to see him in a better environment. While Ranadive and Vlade I think have their hearts in the right places (Karl is a jackass) I just don't know that either of them are all that competent. I don't want to look back and wonder "what if Boogie had been on a real team..." years from now

 

[WT]

I cant make up my mind on him. He's a double double machine, but he won't be your #1. Giving up Randle and a #2 is interesting, but I'm in the minority on this in thinking its a bad deal for the Lakers.

 

[kevman]

Love the guy a

Really ? He seems like he's got a sense of entitlement.

 

[Red Storm]

I cant make up my mind on him. He's a double double machine, but he won't be your #1. Giving up Randle and a #2 is interesting, but I'm in the minority on this in thinking its a bad deal for the Lakers.

I don't think you're in the minority. I wouldn't even do Cousins for the 2nd pick straight up, let alone with Randle. I would much rather draft Towns or Okafor with that cheap rookie contract and use the cap space in free agency.

 

[WT]

Gotta love rampant speculation !!! How about a Lakers team with both DeMarcus Cousins and LaMarcus Aldridge on it ??!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/25/lakers-demarcus-cousins-lamarcus-aldridge_n_7661968.html

Kobe gets to shoot 30+ a game, and those two bruisers collect 15+ rebounds each. I seriously doubt it will happen, but it's fun to see what teams put together to make trades happen.

 

[darkewaffle]

Really ? He seems like he's got a sense of entitlement.

He's got a bit of a temper or lacks discipline at times, but he's also grown a lot as a player and a person despite being in one of the most unstable franchises in the league. Different coaches and point guards every year, constant changing of the guard in the front office and even a change in ownership all in the short time he's been there. Not perfect, but I think it's all there. Plus this is just magic lol.

Also "double double machine" is probably underselling Cousins really. He's pretty widely acknowledged as a top 3 (if not the top) center in the league. Before he came down with viral meningitis last year he was a dark horse MVP candidate giving the Kings a completely unexpected 9-5 record to start the year. Then the coach got fired and Boogie was out and it all went to hell.

 

[manly]

I'm more curious to see if anything happens with Cousins than anything else currently. Love the guy and would like to see him in a better environment. While Ranadive and Vlade I think have their hearts in the right places (Karl is a jackass) I just don't know that either of them are all that competent. I don't want to look back and wonder "what if Boogie had been on a real team..." years from now

a real team like the Lakers so that Cousins could fetch the ball after Kobe's prolific misses?

 

[WT]

Latest NBA game to play - 'Where's Luke?', where we follow Luke Ridnour in his whirlwind tour of NBA teams.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/luke-ridnour-has-been-on-four-teams-in-24-hours/ar-AAc7jyc?ocid=ansFOXsports11

Four teams in 24 hours .... that's gotta be a record !!

 

[IAteYourMother]

I don't think you're in the minority. I wouldn't even do Cousins for the 2nd pick straight up, let alone with Randle. I would much rather draft Towns or Okafor with that cheap rookie contract and use the cap space in free agency.

That's a joke, Cousins is on a pretty decent contract already for the next few years and is pretty much the ceiling for what your draft pick could be. You don't pass up the opportunity to get the best young center in the league for the #2 pick without some sort of bonafide superstar in the draft. The Lakers will still be able to get cap space to sign free agents, especially when the cap rises next season and Kobe's contract is off the books.

 

[cliftonite]

My Knicks grabbed Prozingis. I hope he is good, they haven't been a good team since I was in middle school

 

[Retro Rob]

Someone please inform me if there is a offseason thread somewhere, because I could not find it.

However, I was just thinking about that if you were an owner, would you sign LBJ to a max deal, at 32 years old? This graphic is predicated on the idea that he passes up for sure money for the next 2 years while chasing a big 200+ deal in 2017.

You're talking about paying him an average of about 40 Million per year.

I know the NBA is raking in cash, but this is an insane amount of money.

Courtesy of Yahoo!:

 

[zinfamous]

My Knicks grabbed Prozingis. I hope he is good, they haven't been a good team since I was in middle school

Apparently, Prozingis' brother is dating my girlfriend's friend. (Latvia is a small country, but they are also from the same town).

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Someone please inform me if there is a offseason thread somewhere, because I could not find it.

However, I was just thinking about that if you were an owner, would you sign LBJ to a max deal, at 32 years old? This graphic is predicated on the idea that he passes up for sure money for the next 2 years while chasing a big 200+ deal in 2017.

You're talking about paying him an average of about 40 Million per year.

I know the NBA is raking in cash, but this is an insane amount of money.

Courtesy of Yahoo!:

He carried his team to the NBA finals pretty much by himself so ya, I would.

 

[KeithTalent]

He carried his team to the NBA finals pretty much by himself so ya, I would.

I thought I read somewhere that he should actually be paid like $80MM or something per year when taking into account not only his contribution to the team, but the amount he brings in to the franchise and the NBA as a whole.

KT

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I thought I read somewhere that he should actually be paid like $80MM or something per year when taking into account not only his contribution to the team, but the amount he brings in to the franchise and the NBA as a whole.

KT

People hate on Kobe for taking so much money but really, he brings the organization so much money and people think that he should take the minimum for them? Same with with Melo.

It's the owners who rack in the big bucks.

 

[QueBert]

People hate on Kobe for taking so much money but really, he brings the organization so much money and people think that he should take the minimum for them? Same with with Melo.

It's the owners who rack in the big bucks.

The Lakers took it in the ass a few years ago when they gave Kobe 22 million, they did whatever they had to do to keep him a Laker. He made more than James who had just won a ring and went on to win a 2nd that year. Kobe could have taken less and let the Lakers sign someone good. But he took the max and left them enough to sign Lin & Booser. Crazy that James was MVP and won a ring and took less $$$ to help the team out. While an old and injured Kobe demanded every penny.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

The Lakers took it in the ass a few years ago when they gave Kobe 22 million, they did whatever they had to do to keep him a Laker. He made more than James who had just won a ring and went on to win a 2nd that year. Kobe could have taken less and let the Lakers sign someone good. But he took the max and left them enough to sign Lin & Booser. Crazy that James was MVP and won a ring and took less $$$ to help the team out. While an old and injured Kobe demanded every penny.

And James also says he will never take less than the max ever again and now Dwayne Wade is being screwed over by the Heat.

 

[Kelvrick]

The Lakers took it in the ass a few years ago when they gave Kobe 22 million, they did whatever they had to do to keep him a Laker. He made more than James who had just won a ring and went on to win a 2nd that year. Kobe could have taken less and let the Lakers sign someone good. But he took the max and left them enough to sign Lin & Booser. Crazy that James was MVP and won a ring and took less $$$ to help the team out. While an old and injured Kobe demanded every penny.

I can see both sides of it. It isn't like the Lakers can't afford to sign people OVER the cap limit and pay all the penalties and still make money hand over fist with their market. Kobe taking less just means the owners make more money. He is probably the only player most laker "fans" care about on the team. He barely played any games the last two seasons and he is still No 3 in jersey sales. I imagine without him, the lakers as a team would be selling less jerseys than the clippers.

He isn't "chasing a ring" like a lot of great players getting past their prime, either. I'm not going to tell anyone to take less money than what other people are willing to pay them.

Living in Sacramento though, I still make wagers with local Kings fans regarding which team will be back in the playoffs again sooner.