NBA season 2018/19
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On holiday back in NZ at the moment went to book store they didnt have Kobe's book so grabbed Adam's one.
Not a bad read. Shows why he is so level headed and also that its unlikely he will be the next NBA broke story.
Has brought one house in OKC, two guitars, got a free loan truck from the dealership and has worn the same camo top to games/training/around town for two years. Doesn't wear shoes around the place because he didn't have any growing up. Loves OKC club due to the family feel.
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Is the NBA regular season more a drama than a sporting competition?
Just when i was starting to think the season is too damn long, with too many games, and far too few that actually mean anything, along comes Anthony Davis to rescue everything.
He, well, his agent, says he wants a trade. It's basically assumed that means "i want to go to LA and play with LBJ". A shit storm follows. LBJ and his agency are blatantly tampering!! The small market teams are fucked!! The media only care about a few teams! Change the bargaining agreement!
Then, on top of that, a couple of random, unrelated comments by Kyrie Irving a week or so back becomes "Kyrie won't sign with the Celtics" which becomes "LBJ is trying to get both AD and KI to the Lakers".
And suddenly everyone has something to talk about, and something to have an opinion about. Which helps to disguise the fat that the Warriors have won 11 straight, and Cousins looks really fucking good post-injury. The Bucks continue to push for the best record in the league, but are being chased hard by Toronto. The Nuggets are still hanging around 2nd in the West. Paul George is in great form for the Thunder. There are some handy teams floating around.
But the fucking Warriors man. They went to a pretty good Pacers outfit, and fucking flogged them. Flogged them. 11 straight wins.
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This whole small market team thing is BS. People seem to forget that CLE were perennial finalists for a few years, SAS were great for years, and OKC have rebuilt nicely since KD left (including getting PG13 and Russ to sign and stay). In that time CHI, NY, Brooklyn, WSH and the Lakers have all been pus to name a few. All big market teams. Players just want to play for a well run organization that gives them a chance to win
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@canefan said in NBA season 2018/19:
This whole small market team thing is BS. People seem to forget that CLE were perennial finalists for a few years, SAS were great for years, and OKC have rebuilt nicely since KD left (including getting PG13 and Russ to sign and stay). In that time CHI, NY, Brooklyn, WSH and the Lakers have all been pus to name a few. All big market teams. Players just want to play for a well run organization that gives them a chance to win
yep, that's pretty much it. New Orleans would actually be a pretty good place to live, but the Pelicans have been unable to build a team around Davis that makes him want to stay.
The Warriors are warping people's perceptions around what is needed to win.
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@canefan said in NBA season 2018/19:
This whole small market team thing is BS. People seem to forget that CLE were perennial finalists for a few years, SAS were great for years, and OKC have rebuilt nicely since KD left (including getting PG13 and Russ to sign and stay). In that time CHI, NY, Brooklyn, WSH and the Lakers have all been pus to name a few. All big market teams. Players just want to play for a well run organization that gives them a chance to win
That's a bit of an oversimplification IMO.
Small market teams do have it harder, as talent doesn't just fall into their lap like the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls etc.
Without flags hanging in the rafters or major media markets, they have to rely on the draft. All the examples you state happened because of the draft - the Spurs dynasty was based around Tim Duncan, OKC drafted three insanely talented players, and obviously the Cavs had Lebron.
Who was the last major free agent to move to a small market team of his own accord?
The small market teams that succeed are outliers, and their success is often fleeting (not always, in the case of the Spurs). Whereas the Lakers, Celtics, Heat and others have certainly had periods in the wilderness, but can always rely on being a top destination for free agent talent due to their location and history.
I don't doubt that these teams are often mismanaged, draft poorly, etc. The Pelicans have certainly been guilty of both. But I don't think you can say it's a level playing field.
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Pelicans made some bad decisions after last season and whilst I don’t mind their current roster (eg Holiday is having a career year), but they are one star and a good vet from being a consistent team.
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@barbarian said in NBA season 2018/19:
I don't doubt that these teams are often mismanaged, draft poorly, etc. The Pelicans have certainly been guilty of both. But I don't think you can say it's a level playing field.
There are cities that attract people but I think players just want to play and get paid and will go where that is. Unless you are in the elite top few that can effectively pick and choose, the rest just go where the above is.
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@ACT-Crusader said in NBA season 2018/19:
@barbarian said in NBA season 2018/19:
I don't doubt that these teams are often mismanaged, draft poorly, etc. The Pelicans have certainly been guilty of both. But I don't think you can say it's a level playing field.
There are cities that attract people but I think players just want to play and get paid and will go where that is. Unless you are in the elite top few that can effectively pick and choose, the rest just go where the above is.
In terms of media exposure, these days you can be a player in a small market team and still have national (or international) commercial exposure. Speaking of LBJ, he went to MIA to win championships and play for the Godfather Pat Riley after years of CLE trying to build a winning team around him and failing miserably. They only won because LBJ went back with what he'd learned and built the team in his own image.
In the Jimmy Buss years, the Lakers were such a dumpster fire that high profile FAs wouldn't even take meetings. And when they did they never got close to signing
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@KiwiMurph said in NBA season 2018/19:
Porzingis has been traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Holy shit. If the unicorn comes back from injury properly the mavs are set up for the next decade
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It's an interesting development. Now the Luka/Kristaps Mavs are another real force in the West, and you can see them in the top 2-3 teams for the next decade.
The Knicks sold criminally low on a genuine star. Now they have two max slots available in the summer, but who wants to go there? KD and Kyrie is a best case scenario, but given how bad the organisation is I can't see that happening.
Porzingis was a pull factor for the Knicks, and now they've sold him for cents on the dollar. Other than the New York market, why the hell would you sign for them now?
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@barbarian said in NBA season 2018/19:
It's an interesting development. Now the Luka/Kristaps Mavs are another real force in the West, and you can see them in the top 2-3 teams for the next decade.
The Knicks sold criminally low on a genuine star. Now they have two max slots available in the summer, but who wants to go there? KD and Kyrie is a best case scenario, but given how bad the organisation is I can't see that happening.
Porzingis was a pull factor for the Knicks, and now they've sold him for cents on the dollar. Other than the New York market, why the hell would you sign for them now?
The Knicks have been a dumpster fire for decades, it seems KP didn't want to waste his best years slaving away for a lost cause and wanted out. The fact that they couldn't get a better deal screams mismanagement, much like the ill-advised deal the Cavs did for Irving. So in the final year of the Dirk Mark Cuban has pulled of a stunning trade
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@canefan Apparently KP requested a trade this morning, and now he's gone.
Compare that to the Pelicans approach with Davis. They aren't a historically smart team either, but at least they are biding their time until they get the best offer, even if that means waiting until after the draft lottery.
Now the Knicks will tank like hell and pray that the ping pong balls fall their way. Zion is the goal for so many teams at this stage.
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The Lakers are sniffing around Anthony Davis, and the Pels already seem to be placing him on the outer (he's been removed from promo highlight videos in the arena and his jersey is no longer for sale in the shop). This Mavs news should be a signal that they should push the boat out to get one of the top 5 players in the NBA in his prime (he's only 25!!!) before the Celtics can make an offer. I'd offer up Ball, Kuz, Ingram, KCP and Wagner for Davis, come on Pels, lets do a deal!!! Davis will give LA the best chance to win a title while LBJ is still great, and he will be the future centrepiece when he is gone. No time for half measures, give them what they want
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@canefan said in NBA season 2018/19:
@barbarian said in NBA season 2018/19:
It's an interesting development. Now the Luka/Kristaps Mavs are another real force in the West, and you can see them in the top 2-3 teams for the next decade.
The Knicks sold criminally low on a genuine star. Now they have two max slots available in the summer, but who wants to go there? KD and Kyrie is a best case scenario, but given how bad the organisation is I can't see that happening.
Porzingis was a pull factor for the Knicks, and now they've sold him for cents on the dollar. Other than the New York market, why the hell would you sign for them now?
The Knicks have been a dumpster fire for decades, it seems KP didn't want to waste his best years slaving away for a lost cause and wanted out. The fact that they couldn't get a better deal screams mismanagement, much like the ill-advised deal the Cavs did for Irving. So in the final year of the Dirk Mark Cuban has pulled of a stunning trade
And just to sort of prove the "big market" thing, reports on this seem to suggest the Knicks are gearing up for a high draft pick, and targeting Durant and even Leanard. Get absolutely fucked. As if this dumpster fire of an organisation is going to get those two guys. But the media spin begins, and the Knicks are touted as a destination. Fucking bullshit.
And in the KP trade, isn't one of the guys they took a guy they actually passed on in the draft?
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@canefan even Davis and LBJ won't win shit with absolute trash around them.
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@mariner4life said in NBA season 2018/19:
@canefan even Davis and LBJ won't win shit with absolute trash around them.
Nope. But if they got another star (crazy rumours about Kyrie plotting his escape from Boston and waxing lyrical about his years with LeBrother) and or a bunch of quality vets maybe. If they got AD then people will want to play with those 2
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@canefan said in NBA season 2018/19:
@mariner4life said in NBA season 2018/19:
@canefan even Davis and LBJ won't win shit with absolute trash around them.
Nope. But if they got another star (crazy rumours about Kyrie plotting his escape from Boston and waxing lyrical about his years with LeBrother) and or a bunch of quality vets maybe. If they got AD then people will want to play with those 2
fucking big market teams talking shit.
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@mariner4life said in NBA season 2018/19:
@canefan said in NBA season 2018/19:
@mariner4life said in NBA season 2018/19:
@canefan even Davis and LBJ won't win shit with absolute trash around them.
Nope. But if they got another star (crazy rumours about Kyrie plotting his escape from Boston and waxing lyrical about his years with LeBrother) and or a bunch of quality vets maybe. If they got AD then people will want to play with those 2
fucking big market teams talking shit.
Until it happens it's all tough talk. Meanwhile Dallas gets away with a total heist
