Official 2016 NBA Off Season Thread!

[smackababy]

The Bulls need someone who is going to show up 80 games consistently and Rose wasn't able to do that. Can he eventually do that again? Who knows, but it isn't worth $25 million a year to hope for the best.

 

[lupi]

Miami is going to buttplode.

 

[RossMAN]

Dwyane Wade writes letter to Miami after choosing to leave Heat for Chicago Bulls
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...rites-letter-miami-leaving-heat-chicago-bulls

 

[manly]

As a Bulls fan for decades, I've followed Rose like a hawk from the outset. Last year was mixed feelings. He paced himself to play the entire season without a major injury, but that meant dragging himself up and down the court in the first half of the season, while still pacing himself in the second half. He turned it up around January, but mostly only on offense, unless it was a nationally televised game, which he gave it everything (and was usually awesome.)

So I think the change of scenery, and to a huge market, will bring out the best of him on both sides of the court. Playing with stars in front of that audience will inspire him to fill the box score, and not just in the scoring column this time. He's only 27 and has a lot of game left in him. He's one of the few guards that can keep up on defense with Irving, Wall, Curry, and Lowrie (although tended to get toasted on pick and rolls by guards that go straight to the cup, like Teague and Lin.) At the same time, he can get whatever he wants off them offensively...if he's willing to play that hard and his conditioning is back up to top form, which it wasn't last year (with only himself to blame.)

In NY, if he's on the court and fairly uninjured, he'll take these matchups personally again and do very well, better than he would if still in Chicago, where last year he was thinking he's great but wasn't concerned with being great every night. I think he put Chicago in a very difficult situation, with many fans having turned against him (albeit often ones that listen to more talk radio jibberish than actually watch him play much imo.) As a result, management really had little choice than to trade him, when they knew they were never going to offer him what he would want after a good year (because of the health risks, age, as well as questionable desire), and could get nothing for him if they did nothing.

Honestly, I don't think it has anything to do with scenery or desire for D-Rose. It could have to do with poor fit with Jimmy Butler so the Knicks might be a good thing for him. But IMO D-Rose is now a slightly above-average NBA PG, and we shouldn't expect any more from him than that. He could come back and prove me wrong, but what I've read through the years is that his former playing style was just extremely debilitating to his body and that's why he had so many lost years after the MVP. I'll concede I hardly watch Bulls games, so I'll defer to the eye test to you.

I think I (and others) was wrong about something else though. Early Bird rights are for a player with 2 years on a team, so the Dubs won't have KD's Early Bird rights next summer. ESPN.com just reported the cap next year will be $5M less than expected, so the Dubs will probably not be able to give both KD and Curry full max deals. I suspect KD will opt out and sign another 1+1 deal, Curry gets more or less a max deal, and KD can get paid in 2018?

 

[Blackjack200]

Blackjack200 lost all credibility by saying Chucky is a sharp guy.

lol, I probably could have prefaced it by saying that he does say stupid things from time to time. He calls into the Mike Missanelli show from time to time and always has some good stories or funny takes. Likeable guy.

In any case, I definitely should not have any credibility in basketball discussion, I'm a casual fan at best.

At least strong basketball fans know that he has plenty of idiot in him still and to filter that out from the good insights and humor.

Probably a better way to put it.

 

[Miramonti]

Tim Duncan retires.

 

[Muse]

The only thing standing in the way of GSW winning the title is potential injuries. They're two bad falls away from mediocrity.

Can you name me a team for which this is not true?

 

[Blackjack200]

Can you name me a team for which this is not true?

The Nets?

 

[lupi]

Thank God mister overrated is finally out of the league.

 

[manly]

lol, I probably could have prefaced it by saying that he does say stupid things from time to time. He calls into the Mike Missanelli show from time to time and always has some good stories or funny takes. Likeable guy.

In any case, I definitely should not have any credibility in basketball discussion, I'm a casual fan at best.

Probably a better way to put it.

Lol Barkley just said "good for him" in reference to Draymond Green slapping a fan, and getting arrested.

 

[zinfamous]

Thank God mister overrated is finally out of the league.

Certainly you aren't talking about Duncan?

 

[Muse]

Certainly you aren't talking about Duncan?

I had the same take on that remark. Duncan hater????

 

[smackababy]

Anybody who even slightly dislikes Timmy Duncan is a moron. Legend and a class act. The NBA is worse off without him.

 

[zinfamous]

I would take 1 Tim Duncan over a Lebron and Curry pair.

serious.

 

[lupi]

He's in the bottom half of 10 best centers and people act like he walks in water, can't wait till later when the hype machine has disappeared.

 

[Adrenaline]

He's in the bottom half of 10 best centers and people act like he walks in water, can't wait till later when the hype machine has disappeared.

Duncan played Power Forward.

Duncan's career > Kobe's career

 

[smackababy]

He's in the bottom half of 10 best centers and people act like he walks in water, can't wait till later when the hype machine has disappeared.

Duncan, minus this last year, has always performed when it mattered in the playoffs and had a good season. He also played quite a lot of games every season. He led his team when they needed him and gracefully took a diminished roll when he needed. He also never did any free agent BS and was a true one team player.

If you don't think Duncan during his prime was a top 5 all time power forward, you missed the entire era of Spurs basketball.


Also, Duncan didn't need to walk on water, he could swim through it just fine. He only started to play basketball because his indoor swimming pool (where he was a competitive swimmer) was under construction and he was afraid of sharks and wouldn't swim in the ocean.

 

[DesiPower]

lol, it's amazing to see how people can hate even Tim Duncan There is nothing negative in his career, nothing, zero. The most down to earth player EVER, never bragged about his achievements, hogged the ball or the court... I mean what are you complaining about?? Let's assume for a moment that he is overrated, but that's not his fault, it's the rater's fault.

 

[lupi]

He was center until well over half his career was over, stop the slobbering.

 

[Muse]

I would take 1 Tim Duncan over a Lebron and Curry pair.

serious.

Well, that's one real good reason you're not an NBA GM.

 

[manly]

I would take 1 Tim Duncan over a Lebron and Curry pair.

serious.

Maybe you're referring to off-the-court stuff.
As of right now, LeBron has already had a better overall career than Duncan. Most of the conversations regarding "Best player since Jordan" are excluding LB, perhaps because he's still playing.

Duncan played Power Forward.

Duncan's career > Kobe's career

Well to be fair, I'd say PF/C.

Certainly the greatest PF ever. As a center, I'd still have Duncan as a borderline top 5 All-time. The only two in my book that were clearly better are Wilt & Kareem. For overall body of work, it's hard to pick one of these as clearly superior over the other 2: Shaq, Hakeem or Timmy. Sorry for leaving the greatest champion ever Bill Russell out of the conversation, I personally consider him overrated but obviously he's got a great claim to top 6 status as well.

 

[lupi]

He's below top 5 as center and on edge of top 3 for forward depending on how much you appropriately penalize him for limited time at that position.

 

[spacejamz]

New hack a shaq rule approved by NBA:

The current rule for away-from-the-play fouls applicable to the last two minutes of the fourth period (and last two minutes of any overtime) – pursuant to which the fouled team is awarded one free throw and retains possession of the ball – will be extended to the last two minutes of each period.

For inbounds situations, a defensive foul at any point during the game that occurs before the ball is released by the inbounder (including a “legitimate” or “natural” basketball action such as a defender fighting through a screen) will be administered in the same fashion as an away-from-the-play foul committed during the last two minutes of any period (i.e., one free throw and possession of the ball).

The flagrant foul rules will be used to protect against any dangerous or excessively hard deliberate fouls. In particular, it will presumptively be considered a flagrant foul if a player jumps on an opponent’s back to commit a deliberate foul. Previously, these type of fouls were subject to being called flagrant but were not automatic.


Since it only applies to last 2 minutes of each period, how much of a difference will it really make? IMO, it just rewards the bad FT shooters....

 

[zinfamous]

Well, that's one real good reason you're not an NBA GM.

Let's see:

19 plus years with a HoF legendary player as the centerpiece for perhaps now the most successful franchise in history over that same 19 year span--a barely-matched reign of success that is only comparable to those Bill Russell Celtics teams of the 60s. (The only reason you can't say that success=profit in terms of SA is because, well, market in SA. Put a guy like Duncan on the Celtics, Nicks, or Lakers over that span and give them Pop.)

Or 2 guys that, between them, have 1 more championship and 3+ (2 teams twice) being carried by 2-3 year spans of success, bookended by incalculable misery.

So yeah, any GM worth their salt would build a franchise around a guy like Tim Duncan vs LeBron or Curry.

Bear in mind you are criticizing my point from a GM perspective (which is exactly the argument I am making)--not a pure talent and skill of the individual player(s) perspective. These are two very different issues.

 

[SP33Demon]

Yeah, shoot some three's when it matters the most. Curry's like 500 3's regular season, 4 in the finals. Ray's the long term. proven version of Curry. He SAVED the finals for one of the rings he has. Curry has 1 ring and didn't earn it. Without his team he wouldn't have won shit.

Allen > Curry imho.

Curry had the higher playoff PER of his championship season, dumbass. GS doesn't even make it to the Finals without him.

I love the haters who have no clue what they're talking about. You should probably be watching the WNBA.