xaxat July 6, 2015 Author Share July 6, 2015 Has there ever been a good team as thoroughly dismantled as Portland was this off season? Stay strong Rip City! 1 Link to comment
Fukui San July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 The end of the Pierce/Garnett/Doc Rivers Celtics. Even the coach went on his way. Link to comment
FuriousStyles July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 God I HOPE the Spurs dont win another title. But dammit, besides the Warriors who have basically remained intact I dont see any other team out West beating th e Spurs. The Clips have taken a step back with losing DeAndre and Matt Barnes. Memphis, to me, have never been quite good enough. They always seem to be missing one little something to get them over the top. And I have no idea how the Thunder will do with a rookie coach and Durant coming back from injury. Both he and Westbrook might already have their heads focused on leaving the following year too soo.... And assuming Cleveland comes out of the East, I just dont know. The Spurs are one Ray Allen miracle away from beating Lebron 3 times, so really if I had to put money on it, I would go with the Spurs if those two teams met in the finals. I think Milwaukee will be a great team next year. It burns me to say, because I HATE Jason Kidd, but he's done a good job with that young team and their ceiling is high provided they stay healthy. It wouldnt surprise me if they were a top 4 or 5 seed come playoff time (which yea, being in the East isnt saying much....but still). Link to comment
ketchuplover July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 At least one 'reporter' is saying the Bucks will fire their GM. The Bucks still need a go to guy. Link to comment
mojoween July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 I hate Jason Kidd too! He ended Bobby Hurley's NCAA career. SI did a column that said David West's salary cut was so severe he is basically going to be doing volunteer work for the Spurs. Speaking of the Spurs, I had no idea just how hot LaMarcus Aldridge is, until I saw an article about him the other day. * ** *Shallow **East coast bias because I've never seen him play Link to comment
xaxat July 7, 2015 Author Share July 7, 2015 (edited) It really annoys me that the media somehow forgets to mention the billionaire owners when they discuss making financial sacrifices to build championship caliber teams. If the Spurs' cap number is similar to last year, David West by himself will be giving up more money than the the owner will be paying in cap tax. (If he pays any at all.) The burden is always on the players. Good for LeBron for holding Gilbert's feet to the fire and forcing him to pay up for a winner. Edited July 7, 2015 by xaxat 2 Link to comment
Jx223 July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 (edited) They aren't winning a championship next year and few will talk about them, but the Pacers have done a remarkable job in this free agency period. Signed a better shooting guard in Monta Ellis RId themselves of an offensive liability and team cancer in Hibbert, along with his huge contract Will miss David West, but between Hibbert and West that is $27million that can be used elsewhere . . I will miss David West and his leadership abilities too. I like Monta Ellis and hope that he ends up being a good fit for the Pacers. Has there ever been a good team as thoroughly dismantled as Portland was this off season? Stay strong Rip City! I think it's unfortunate how Portland has been dismantled this offseason. Just a little while ago, they seemed to be a very promising young team. They did some really nice things, and I think they had the potential that the group they had before this offseason began, had to potential to be a special team. I think it's unfortunate to see a lot of their talent leave them. I think Milwaukee will be a great team next year. It burns me to say, because I HATE Jason Kidd, but he's done a good job with that young team and their ceiling is high provided they stay healthy. It wouldnt surprise me if they were a top 4 or 5 seed come playoff time (which yea, being in the East isnt saying much....but still). I don't care for Jason Kidd much either, including the way he handled the situation with Larry Drew, but I agree that he has done a good job with Milwaukee. I think it's impressive how in one year's time they went from being the worst team in the NBA to making the playoffs. I think they will continue to improve and grow as a team and have a nice chance of returning to the playoffs again next year. Also it's now being reported that DeAndre Jordan is having second thoughts about going to the Mavs. It's being reported that Doc Rivers, Chris Paul and Steve Ballmer are meeting with him today in Houston to persuade him to come back to the Clippers. I had read that Mark Cuban is also going to be around. Some of the players are tweeting emojis about his decision, lol. I wonder what he will end up deciding to do. I think he has a better chance of winning more with the Clippers than with the Mavericks right now , but I also read that he had some issues with Chris Paul and wanted a bigger role and that factored into him verbally committing to Dallas. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13221695/los-angeles-clippers-lobbying-deandre-jordan-back-deal-dallas-mavericks Edited July 8, 2015 by Jx223 Link to comment
Crs97 July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 Kevin Love's interview for the body issue of ESPN magazine: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/bodykevinlove/cleveland-cavaliers-power-forward-kevin-love-strips-espn-magazine-body-issue Link to comment
mojoween July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 The emoji Twitter war for the affections of Deandre Jordan is one of the funniest things I've seen this month. I have no idea why Baron Davis tweeted a toilet but who cares, it's hilarious. Link to comment
xaxat July 9, 2015 Author Share July 9, 2015 Looks like Clippers at Mavs will be must see TV. Link to comment
DrSpaceman July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 NBA really needs to shorten the moratorium before FAs can be signed. The more I think about it, what is surprising is not that DeAndre Jordan did this but that this has not happened before, at least with such a high profile case. When you have over a week between agreements and official signing, you are asking for problems. Link to comment
benteen July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 DeAndre Jordan had every right to make the decision he did but showed he is a man who lack integrity by not even telling Cuban about it. But that kind of behavior is prevelent in the business world and society nowadays. Link to comment
FuriousStyles July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 I wonder how many players have gotten cut or traded without so much as a phone call. Probaly found out about it on Sportscenter. Would it have been nice for Deandre to call Cuban? Sure. But I dont think Deandre owed it to Cuban. And why would the NBA shorten the time before free agents can sign when they had so much fun with this? You think anybody at headquarters was doing anything but laughing their heads off at all the press and coverage the league got? This is the offseason, not much else will keep the NBA in the headlines besides free agency. And for the most part this was a very benign situation (I know the Mavs might not think so, but whatever). Lots of players and teams that had nothing to do with the deal chimed in with the emoji battle. The funniest ones for me was the Cavs with the frog and tea, and Chris Paul with the banana and boat. Too funny. 1 Link to comment
DrSpaceman July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 I wonder how many players have gotten cut or traded without so much as a phone call. Probaly found out about it on Sportscenter. Would it have been nice for Deandre to call Cuban? Sure. But I dont think Deandre owed it to Cuban. And why would the NBA shorten the time before free agents can sign when they had so much fun with this? You think anybody at headquarters was doing anything but laughing their heads off at all the press and coverage the league got? This is the offseason, not much else will keep the NBA in the headlines besides free agency. And for the most part this was a very benign situation (I know the Mavs might not think so, but whatever). Lots of players and teams that had nothing to do with the deal chimed in with the emoji battle. The funniest ones for me was the Cavs with the frog and tea, and Chris Paul with the banana and boat. Too funny. This is the COlin Cowherd theory of everything. Its like a 2nd law of Machiavellianism, the ends justifies the means as long as it creates ratings. Its what I hate most about Cowherd. He is mostly obsessed with what creatings ratings and interest, more so than sports themselves much of the time. ANd he is unapologetic about it, admits it at least, but I still don't agree with him about that being most importatnt above all else If something like this happens one time, yes, it creates interest and is a nice one week story. The problem is now if other players decide what he did is perfectly fine and repeat the process on a regular basis, then the NBA free agency period becomes a joke because you don't know who is really signing with anyone, teams can't count on anything until the moratorium is over and the whole system desceneds into chaos. Having just read Malcom Gladwell's book Tipping Point, with examples of just this sort of thing happening, one single case in a small coummunity creating many other "copycat" cases, I would say this is not something the NBA can ignore or just feed on because it creates interest in the league. And really how much does one week of extra interest in the NBA in July really help the league? If what they are most interested in is ratings and extending how much team people pay attention to the league, they would move the free agency period to say late July or August anyway. And move the draft back a week or two. You make free agency and the NBA draft monopolize the time from the end of the season until NFL training camps and preseason start. Righy now they are leaving 2-3 weeks open in that window. Link to comment
FuriousStyles July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 (edited) Ok but this isnt the first time a player has reneged on commitments. Hedo Turkoglu and Elton Brand have done it in the past, and it didnt turn into a trend. I dont think players are suddenly going to say "hey, let me tell this one team ill join them, and then at the last minute join another team." With agents, and families involved, there is no advantage for a player to do business like that. Deandre didnt intentionally try to screw the Mavs. He just wanted to feel some love from the Clips, and by most accounts he made the right decision in going back to LA. Like I said, to me, this was benign in the grand scheme of things. Its not like its a video of one of their stars beating their wife to a pulp in a casino elevator. Those of the kinds of things I think should be avoided at all costs. But you're telling me the NBA didnt delight in Lebron's "Decision" and all the stuff that came from that throughout that 2010 season, or what little uumph could come from the Clips and the Mavs first meeting of the season? Thats an extra game that the league can actively promote and put on national tv, if it wasnt scheduled to be already. This is sports...it might not be on the court, but it is absolutely part of the game, an integral part. Free agency and the draft can absolutely set the stage for what the fans are interested in. Its not about when free agency is or how long it lasts...its all about what actually happens. Edited July 11, 2015 by FuriousStyles Link to comment
DrSpaceman July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 I don't think most fans outside LA and Dallas will recall much about DeAndre Jordan or care much about it by the time they play The other problem is even if this doesn't happen often, if I am a team owner or GM from now on after this happened, I am just not accouncing these deals to the media from now on before they are signed. In the NBA one player and signing like this can mean the difference in a title. If more and more owners and GM even fear this happening again, even if it doesn't happen again or might not, I am just not announcing it, I am watching the free agent the entire time before he is signed and not letting him out of the teams sight or allowing anyone else around him without knowing it if during the moratorium. This could actually backfire and create less media buzz about the signings to avoid this kind of thing from happening in the future. Link to comment
AndreaK1041 July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 I have no stakes in those teams, so I enjoyed it. Blake Griffin makes me laugh in nearly everything he does including Kia commercials. I absolutely hated him as a college player, but I was way off about him. I also like it when he comes to Sac and gives Cousins the business. He's one of the only people who can hold his own with Cousins both physically and through non-stop jawing during the game. And Cousins cannot handle it. I assume with no coaching control whatsoever Demarcus will be in rare form this season. Maybe 20 technicals by the All Star break? Plus Rondo stomping around egging him on... should be a spectacular disaster, and I am looking forward to it. 1 Link to comment
Magog July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 (edited) "Seriously though, Lebron isnt going anywhere. He's got his rings, guaranteeing he wont go down as the best to never win, which to me was his ultimate fear. Now that that is out of the way, he can focus on bringing a championship to Cleveland, and if that story is true about him signing one year deals to keep pressure on management than bravo. They took him granted the first time, so he's making sure they dont do it again." I don't have a problem with that. Hopefully, that will led to the Cavs holding that NBA Trophy next June. Stephen A Smith hasn't been on First Take for the past couple of weeks, but he will be back on Monday. He is going to blow a gasket about the Lakers & will throw even more mud at Jim Buss. I'm still surprised that he hasn't attempted to strangle him seeing how much he hates the guy. He needs to leave Jim Buss alone. I don't think Jeannie Buss would of done any better if she was running the Lakers. I don't know why people think that her running the Lakers would make them any better. La Marcus Aldrige would rather play with a team (Spurs) that can possibly win it all (hopefully they won't) for the next few seasons instead of playing for Kobe (in his last season), Swaggy P, D'Angelo Russell, & a bunch of losers from the Lakers. Speaking of losers, I feel even sadder for Kobe for having Roy Hibbert as a teammate. Roy Hibbert doesn't have half the talent or the heart that Kobe has. Kobe is probably wishing that next season will end as fast as possible so that he can get away from these clowns. And what Free Agent in the next off season would want to be involved in that mess? ESPN always brings up Showtime when they're talking about NBA players thinking about playing for the Lakers & I wish that they would stop that. The Showtime Lakers are from the 80's & I don't think that its relevant in today's free agency. Whichever NBA Superstar is dumb enough to sign with the Lakers next off season, I will definitely root against them. Edited July 11, 2015 by Magog 1 Link to comment
FuriousStyles July 12, 2015 Share July 12, 2015 Well shoot, didn't want to give the impression that I actually gave two figs about the Clips or the Mavs. But I do love me a good soap opera, so I'll definitely tune in to their first game against each other. And trust and believe ESPN and the like will ham up this "controversy" until said game is played. Speaking of soap opera, yeah that situation in Sacramento is looking a hot mess. They have Cousins and then ADD Rondo? The only thing that gives me pause about Rondo is the idea that he wants a long term deal somewhere and is supposedly going to use this one year stint with Sac as an opportunity to rebuild his image, so I assume that means he's going to be on his best behavior. But even his best might be batshit. One can only hope. Jeez, what happened to the Pacers? It wasn't that long ago they were constantly in the Conference Finals going up against Lebron and co.? Now they're pretty much broken up. Usually you see it coming, but this seems like it just kind of happened. Oh well. 1 Link to comment
DrSpaceman July 15, 2015 Share July 15, 2015 Well shoot, didn't want to give the impression that I actually gave two figs about the Clips or the Mavs. But I do love me a good soap opera, so I'll definitely tune in to their first game against each other. And trust and believe ESPN and the like will ham up this "controversy" until said game is played. Speaking of soap opera, yeah that situation in Sacramento is looking a hot mess. They have Cousins and then ADD Rondo? The only thing that gives me pause about Rondo is the idea that he wants a long term deal somewhere and is supposedly going to use this one year stint with Sac as an opportunity to rebuild his image, so I assume that means he's going to be on his best behavior. But even his best might be batshit. One can only hope. Jeez, what happened to the Pacers? It wasn't that long ago they were constantly in the Conference Finals going up against Lebron and co.? Now they're pretty much broken up. Usually you see it coming, but this seems like it just kind of happened. Oh well. Pacers saw they had gone as far as they could with the group in place, knew it wasn't going to take them over the top and then decided to go a different direction. Bird wants to be faster, more uptempo, better offensively. I trust Bird to make the changes and get them back to being comptetive in the East. he has done it before. Link to comment
Gurkel July 20, 2015 Share July 20, 2015 (edited) I'm not sure if this totally qualifies as NBA news, but for those of you who love (or hate) Steph Curry's daughter, Riley, here's a video of her doing the Whip/Nae Nae on her third birthday. She dances...like a 3-year-old, but you've got to admire her enthusiasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=33&v=fzqFMD--X_U Edited July 20, 2015 by Gurkel Link to comment
Rick Kitchen July 20, 2015 Share July 20, 2015 Ugh, tired of seeing Curry's daughter. Her fifteen minutes expired weeks ago. 3 Link to comment
twoods July 21, 2015 Share July 21, 2015 Ugh, tired of seeing Curry's daughter. Her fifteen minutes expired weeks ago. Seriously. I have a three year old too and am not trying to be mean, but I couldn't stand the post game interviews with her randomly saying things while people were asking Stephen questions. What was the point? 2 Link to comment
ketchuplover July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 The new Milwaukee Bucks arena has been approved Link to comment
xaxat July 28, 2015 Author Share July 28, 2015 (edited) Next up, the Hawks. Who want the city to build them a new arena to replace their sixteen year old building. Edited July 29, 2015 by xaxat Link to comment
Rick Kitchen July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 When is the Warriors' arena in San Francisco going to be completed? Link to comment
ketchuplover July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 I was premature in my announcement. Milwaukee county & city still have to approve their portion of the funding. Sorry for any inconvenience. Link to comment
xaxat July 29, 2015 Author Share July 29, 2015 (edited) When is the Warriors' arena in San Francisco going to be completed? It's still going through the zoning/opposition/financing stage. So there's no real date. On one of the sports threads someone recommended the book Field of Schemes about the scam of publicly financed stadiums. The author, Neil deMause also maintains a website by the same name that I highly recommend if you are interested in stadium deals. For example, I was wondering why tax cutting/small government crusader Governor Scott Walker was in support of a new Milwaukee stadium that would be paid for by the taxpayers. Then I found out on Field of Schemes that his presidential fundraising chair is also part of Bucks ownership. Edited July 30, 2015 by xaxat Link to comment
Crs97 July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 It's not welfare when it's your buddy who wants the money. 3 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen July 31, 2015 Share July 31, 2015 Nancy Lieberman has been hired by the Kings as an assistant coach. Link to comment
Magog August 10, 2015 Share August 10, 2015 The 2015-2016 NBA Schedule will be out very soon, but it sounds very likely that the Cavs - Warriors will be one of the games that will air on Christmas Day. Link to comment
FuriousStyles August 10, 2015 Share August 10, 2015 That makes sense. They usually try to do thr big playoff rematches or "rivalry" games on opening night and especially Christmas Day. This year seems like there's gonna be a lack of both. I dont know if there is any playoff rematch I am really clamoring to see like in past years. Maybe Memphis-GS, maybe. And how many teams really hate another? Im starting to see the point of the old head players when they talked about how buddy buddy the current players are with each other and how it diminishes the overall game. Not saying they aren't as competitive and wont do what it takes to win, but its just not the same. 1 Link to comment
Magog August 17, 2015 Share August 17, 2015 (edited) The 2015-16 NBA Schedule is out. http://www.nba.com/2015/news/08/12/finals-rematch-on-christmas-highlights-2015-16-nba-schedule/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts All you need to know is that Opening Night will be Bulls - Cavaliers & Pelicans - Warriors. Christmas Days Games are Pelicans - Heat (12 PM), Bulls - Thunder (2:30 PM), Cavaliers - Warriors (5 PM & they'll meet again 3 wks later on Jan 18th), Spurs - Rockets (8 PM), & Clippers - Lakers (10:30 PM). Clippers (DeAndre Jordan) will be visiting the Dallas Mavericks on Nov 11th. Kobe's last game (possibly) is on April 13th against the Jazz. Edited August 17, 2015 by Magog Link to comment
Ohwell August 28, 2015 Share August 28, 2015 Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins has died. RIP big man. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13526002/darryl-dawkins-dies-age-58 Link to comment
yourpointis September 13, 2015 Share September 13, 2015 Three-time NBA MVP Moses Malone dies at age 60 Link to comment
ebk57 September 13, 2015 Share September 13, 2015 Three-time NBA MVP Moses Malone dies at age 60 This upsets me more than I can say. RIP Moses. Link to comment
xaxat September 13, 2015 Author Share September 13, 2015 (edited) Moses Malone was the first player that I was excited to see coming to a team I cheered for. Free agency (in all sports) was in its infancy and star talent changing franchises was pretty rare. He was the guy that was going to fix the hole at center (including Daryl Dawkins) that allowed Magic Johnson to have one of the greatest performances in Finals history. And he did. A lot of Sixers history lost in the last month. Edited September 13, 2015 by xaxat Link to comment
Ohwell September 13, 2015 Share September 13, 2015 Tribute to Moses. I love this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1YXN0Z6_n8 1 Link to comment
xaxat September 29, 2015 Author Share September 29, 2015 Did Kevin Love lose a bet? Derrick Rose is turning into Greek tragedy. Link to comment
FuriousStyles October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 (edited) Nobody mentioning the Derek Fisher/Matt Barnes drama? Can the Knicks ever catch a break. Arguably one of the most "upstanding" people in the league gets caught at an ex-teammate (and supposed friend) wife's (estranged, separated, whatever) house? I got to tell you, Im really surprised and disappointed in Fisher. Not because he's screwing Barnes (ex)wife, but that he's dumb enough to get caught at the house, with the season a few weeks away from getting started. C'mon man!! (Cris Carter voice) Edited October 9, 2015 by FuriousStyles 2 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 There are reports that Lamar Odom is fighting for his life. Link to comment
brgjoe October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 Very saddened to hear that about Lamar Odom. Heard he has some organ failure now. Cripes, what the heck happened? Definitely hope he fully recovers! But yeah, these initial reports aren't good. Link to comment
hendersonrocks October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 (edited) Cripes, what the heck happened? There are short and long ways to answer this. Short: drugs. Apparently they (yes, plural) have been found in his system and this is being considered an overdose. Long (summarized): a lifetime of brutal circumstances and poor decisions. And because of his connection to the Kardashian's, his struggles have been broadcasted - literally - to millions. The Lakers had a game in Vegas last night, where he's hospitalized, and it sounds like Kobe Bryant left the game early to go visit Lamar. Who knows what's actually happening, but his prognosis does not sound good. Edited October 14, 2015 by hendersonrocks Link to comment
FuriousStyles October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 There are just some people, when you see they're trending on twitter, you know it nothing good. I really hope Lamar pulls through and can eventually get his life together. He seems like one of the truly genuine and likeable guys in the NBA. Always liked him. Link to comment
Rick Kitchen October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 The big news here in Sacramento is that ESPN, at the last minute (literally on the same day), canceled their documentary on Kevin Johnson's fight to keep the Kings in Sacramento because Deadspin released a police video of the then-high school girl being questioned by the police in Phoenix after she accused Johnson of rape. Link to comment
AndreaK1041 October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 (edited) Statutory rape, correct? I heard on NPR (Sacramento NPR, I don't think this story is high profile anywhere else) this morning they have phone calls recorded of them talking about their activities together and how she thought it seemed wrong what with her being 17 and all (the fact that she recorded that call is... interesting.) Not saying it wasn't wrong what he did, but when I think "rape" I think something much more disturbing than that. If I am wrong about understanding the story, I apologize. The report seemed so odd to me that she would come out to discuss something in the public that happened 20 years ago that was reported and investigated. OK Immediately editing because ESPN's story says "Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, one of the principal figures in the film, was alleged to have molested a teenage girl while playing for the Phoenix Suns in the 1990s. The allegations came up during his 2008 mayoral campaign and were widely covered. Johnson denied any wrongdoing, though there was a $230,000 financial settlement between Johnson and his accuser. Phoenix authorities never charged Johnson." Molestation and statutory rape are not the same, so I was wrong there. Also it is not the victim bringing this back up, it was always public, and it seems just like a media blitz related to the movie (a movie I believe was already screened at the Tribeca Film Festival?). Edited October 14, 2015 by AndreaK1041 Link to comment
xaxat October 14, 2015 Author Share October 14, 2015 I'm not a regular reader of Deadspin (although I was one of the early commenators), but they seem to be the only news organization covering Kevin Johnson and all the shady shit he has been involved in. It may be a vendetta on their part, but the articles I've read about him breaking up the Black mayors group and his shadow government seem to be solid reporting. Link to comment
hendersonrocks October 14, 2015 Share October 14, 2015 (edited) Yeah, KJ has a lot of shit in his closet. There have been multiple allegations of sexual harassment filed against him (including students at the school he ran in Sacramento and staffers at City Hall) - sadly, the high school student in Phoenix back in the 90s is not the only one. Deadspin is absolutely going all in on him; it's been kind of stunning to watch, actually. And it's starting to pay off. Edited October 14, 2015 by hendersonrocks Link to comment
AimingforYoko October 25, 2015 Share October 25, 2015 Timberwolves coach, GM Flip Saunders passes away at 60. Link to comment
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