2013-14 NBA thread v. Adam Silver Lays the Pipe on Donald Sterling ©2014antigoon

[Syzzle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloiB3qLYyY

Yeah I turned on the draft literally a few minutes before he said it. I think Bill Simmons is trying to get himself fired or at least taken off TV because the way he acts it doesn't seem like he even wants to be there.

[Dimitrius]

I don't see why he would get fired or suspended for anything he said there. Skip Bayless routinely says worse things than that and he's still employed by them!

If Bill really wanted to shit on Doc he would've done it on Grantland.com where he doesn't have to censor himself because of Disney.

[Azyiu]

Regardless, the look on Bill Simmons' face was priceless! 

[Syzzle]

Skip is payed to say the things he says he doesn't actually believe what he says. If Skip was actually allowed to use his decades of experience First Take's ratings would plummet. Nobody wants to watch him and Stephen A agree with each other for 2 hours. They want to see Skip make an ass of himself then watch Stephen A embarrass him it makes for good television.

[Dimitrius]

And having a figure with such a big following like Bill Simmons arguing on TV with a prominent NBA head coach does as well, so Bill's fine!

They've been replaying that everywhere on their networks!

[Dimitrius]

Now there's rumors going around that the Mavs and Knicks have engaged in talks to get Rondo.

[King Postwhore]

First off,  thank you Paul Pierce for all you great years here.  Thank you KG for the Championship team and beyond.  True grit.


And they might as well trade Rondo while he is hot before he comes back to a bad team and he acts out.  Time to blow it up.

[Dimitrius]

Might as well trade Green and Avery too!

[Azyiu]

Might as well trade Green and Avery too!

Correct me if I am wrong, but instead of getting rid of both Avery and Green, I thought the Celtics are actually intending to build around those two + Sullinger?

[Dimitrius]

I've no idea what they're intending to do, but I wouldn't mind having Green on the Lakers! I've enjoyed watching him play since he was on Georgetown.

[Azyiu]

I've no idea what they're intending to do, but I wouldn't mind having Green on the Lakers! I've enjoyed watching him play since he was on Georgetown.

Sorry, I got mixed up, are you a Celtics fan or a Lakers fan, or other's? I am a Lakers fan myself, by the way.

[Dimitrius]

Lakers. kingshmegland is the Celts fan

[Azyiu]

Lakers. kingshmegland is the Celts fan

Nice to know. 

And for the record, I honestly will not feel too devastated if D-Howard ends up leaving LA for Houston or Atlanta. Sure, I know we will suck for the 2013-14 season without him, yet based on what we've seen last season (especially after Kobe got hurt and out) I don't think we would fair much better with him. Worst, for many reasons I really cannot picture him being the face of the Lakers going forward. IMHO, we might be better off just restrain ourselves a bit in terms of signing anyone this summer, and wait til the summer of 2014 (when we clear our book except for Nash's contract) to make our next major signing. Your thoughts?

[black_biff_stadler]

How hated would LBJ be if he teamed up with Kobe plus could you imagine how absurdly difficult it'd be for a coach, other than Phil or Pop, to manage all that ego?

[Azyiu]

How hated would LBJ be if he teamed up with Kobe plus could you imagine how absurdly difficult it'd be for a coach, other than Phil or Pop, to manage all that ego?

As if he is not already been hated enough? No, seriously, while I am NOT a LBJ fan, I only hated him for the way he handled the "The Decision" show.

As for the what if he join forces with Kobe in the summer of 2014... well, it is still at least a year a way, and by then Kobe is also one year older, and a year closer to retirement; and I am sure he already knows it far too well that, he can't let his ego be in the way if he ever wants another crack at a ring.

[black_biff_stadler]

Also, it's funny because every ring LBJ would win with Kobe in that situation would do nothing to help him catch Kobe so he can become considered the bet post-MJ player.

[KevShmev]

Well, for one, Tim Duncan is currently the best post-MJ player (by a hair over Shaq), but James, barring some crazy injury that derails him, will overtake them all within the next few years. 

[black_biff_stadler]

Tim Duncan has had the same coach his entire career and has never played with teams as bad as Kobe's were during the 3 1/2-year span from Shaq's departure through Pau's arrival and he still has one less ring.

As for Shaq, he won exactly one ring after no longer having Kobe for a teammate (and that was a lot more because of D-Wade than him.) I realize he was much more of a reason for those '00-'02 titles than Kobe but that advantage wanes a bit when we compare their respective careers outside of that threepeat.

Shaq:

Titles: 1 (2006)
Finals appearances: 2 (1995, 2006)

Kobe:

Titles: 2 (2009, 2010)
Finals appearances: 3 (2008, 2009, 2010)

[KevShmev]

So?  Duncan has more alpha rings than Bryant (4 to 2), more Finals MVPs (3 to 2) and more regular season MVPs (2 to 1).  Besides, the difference of one in rings is fairly meaningless when you consider how many games could have gone the other way based on one or play or two that neither had anything to do with.  If Robert Horry doesn't hit that 3 against Sacramento, the Lakers likely don't 3-peat and Bryant only has four rings.  If Leonard or Ginobili make one more free throw in the final minute of Game 6 last week, Tim Duncan has five rings.  That is why comparing number of rings is often not totally fair. 

[black_biff_stadler]

And Duncan also has had FAR more stability than Kobe. He had David Robinson to help guide him from day one and Manu/Tony were in place before the Admiral retired. All those Timmy accolades don't pile up without a constant smooth system in place.

[KevShmev]

You do realize that the Lakers down years in the mid 00s were mainly because Bryant ran Shaq and Phil Jackson both out of town, right?  So, Bryant's Lakers teams not being very good those years was largely his own damn fault.  Meanwhile, Tim Duncan is a rock, and his teammates always love him.

[black_biff_stadler]

Yes, but we're talking about their respective skill levels/accomplishments, not whether they're dicks or not.

[KevShmev]

Okay, but Bryant being a dick is a reason why he didn't have stability, and you are the one that brought that  (the stability factor) into this conversation, so it is relevant, given the nature of what we are discussing. 

Besides, like I said before, winning a ring is a team accomplishment, so Bryant having one more ring than Duncan (that could have changed last week had one of two guys hit a free throw, which somehow makes Duncan less good than Bryant? ) is largely irrelevant. 

[King Postwhore]

Lakers. kingshmegland is the Celts fan

That I am!  I'm really not sure where I stand right now.  I think Jeff does have a chance to become that leader of the team that he really couldn't with the vets still there.  But who the hell knows what Trader Dan will do?

[orcus116]

Besides, like I said before, winning a ring is a team accomplishment, so Bryant having one more ring than Duncan (that could have changed last week had one of two guys hit a free throw, which somehow makes Duncan less good than Bryant? ) is largely irrelevant. 

Hearing NBA fans argue about rings as a measure of how good a player is always amuses me. I figure you'd hear something like number of MVPs or "all time leader in..." but no, it's almost always about number of rings first.

[KevShmev]

If you think about it, the lack of respect for Kareem when discussing all-time greats is glaring.  He's the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, has won the most regular season MVP awards (6, which is more than Jordan or Russell) and was on six title-winning teams.  Yet he is never in the discussion for even 2nd best player ever (since most concede that Jordan is number 1).  I think many overlook him now because they assume Magic was better than him in the 80s (not true in the early 80s, but true in the mid to later 80s) and they forget how utterly dominant he was in the 70s.

[Azyiu]

If you think about it, the lack of respect for Kareem when discussing all-time greats is glaring.  He's the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, has won the most regular season MVP awards (6, which is more than Jordan or Russell) and was on six title-winning teams.  Yet he is never in the discussion for even 2nd best player ever (since most concede that Jordan is number 1).  I think many overlook him now because they assume Magic was better than him in the 80s (not true in the early 80s, but true in the mid to later 80s) and they forget how utterly dominant he was in the 70s.

Completely agreed with you on all points above, well said.

[Azyiu]

We are still a few minutes away from the official start of the free agent period as I am typing this, but CP3 has already said he will return to the Clippers. No surprise there.

https://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/9440281/chris-paul-accept-5-year-107m-extension-los-angeles-clippers-sources

[Nekov]

Let's talk a little more about the Nets. Bringing in KG and PP sounds like a great idea, the same as the Lakers had when they brought in Howard and Nash and that sure worked for them... oh wait, no. Jokes aside, this new Nets team seems the best option to dethrone Miami in the East but how long will this team really last? Can they be title contenders for more than 1 season? And by that we have to assume that Kidd will be able to make all this guys work well together in just a couple of months and that is doubtful to say the least since this will be his first season as a coach.

Another good example is Miami, their first year they weren't able to get the ring, although they did reach the finals but it serves as an example that it's hard to win a title the first year that you put a great team together.

[antigoon]

BARGNANI?!

REALLY?

EAT SHIT DOLAN

[antigoon]

It might be my rampant Knicks homerism but I really don't see how this makes the Nets that much better -- certainly not favorites to challenge Miami. It's going to take a while for them to get working well together, by which time either KG or PP or both will already have gotten hurt. They'll almost certainly have a good season - and this fixes their "lack of toughness" problem - but I don't think they're going to be that much better. It's a nice, bold move but at the same time I think it's quite likely that Miami, Indiana and Chicago will be better than them. I'm probably blinded by how much I want this to blow up in Brooklyn's face, but that's what I think.

[Syzzle]

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA 48m

There won't be a fifth year on the Splitter deal. The terms will be four years, $36 million-plus, sources tell Y! Sports.

Tiago Splitter is about to rip off the Spurs can't believe they're that desperate to keep that scrub.

[Syzzle]

https://www.nba.com/2013/news/07/02/aldridge-on-bledsoe-three-team-deal/index.html

Now if the Clippers could get a competent big man they would be the 2nd best team in the West.

Edit:Jerry Buss never would have allowed his team to be embarrassed by the Clippers like this.



 

[Nekov]

 

[Azyiu]

Reports are saying Earl Clark met with the Cavs for the second time last night... believe it or not, it would be a huge loss to the Lakers if we lose Clark! He was our glue guy off the bench, and we wouldn't have made the playoffs without his contribution.