NBA 2015/16 thread
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="594070" data-time="1467677505">
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<p>They have given up most of their side really. Let go of Rush, McAdoo, Bogut, Ezeli, Barnes. </p>
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<p>That said, they would win the title with a starting five of: Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green and a bloke they pulled out of the crowd before the game. I would like to see them do this actually. </p>
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<p>I'm disappointed that KD took the soft option but as ACTC said, NBA history is littered with marquee players chasing rings. It's still no guarantee of success. I loved the rant from a young OKC fan I saw on the TV news last night.</p>
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<p>Players are impatient nowadays. Jordan was 28 before he won his first championship.</p>
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<p>I see Pau Gasol is going to the Spurs so I think they will be in the mix again next season. The Warriors have a soft underbelly and I would pound the ball inside against them. How they share the ball will be interesting to watch.</p>
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<p>OKC really need to make a good signing to replace Durant but there aren't that many comparable free agents out there. Westbrook is still likely to head back to LA when his contract expires so the Thunder might look to trade him to get something in return.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="594347" data-time="1467763034">
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<p>I'm disappointed that KD took the soft option but as ACTC said, NBA history is littered with marquee players chasing rings. It's still no guarantee of success. I loved the rant from a young OKC fan I saw on the TV news last night.</p>
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<p>Players are impatient nowadays. Jordan was 28 before he won his first championship.</p>
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<p>I see Pau Gasol is going to the Spurs so I think they will be in the mix again next season. <strong>The Warriors have a soft underbelly and I would pound the ball inside against them</strong>. How they share the ball will be interesting to watch.</p>
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<p>OKC really need to make a good signing to replace Durant but there aren't that many comparable free agents out there. Westbrook is still likely to head back to LA when his contract expires so the Thunder might look to trade him to get something in return.</p>
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<p>Good points there</p>
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<p>1. The Warriors have to pick up a solid center on the cheap for rim protection and rebounds, maybe two</p>
<p>2. Durant is such a good passer, the team don't seem driven by stats and there is a solid pass and off ball movement system in place which I think KD will thrive in</p>
<p>3. There are few players in FA that can match or come close to Durant. I heard a theory on ESPN that if OKC may offer more money for Westbrook to sign an extension, and if he isn't willing they might look to trade him to the Lakers for Russell Ingram and whatever else LA give up</p>
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<p>The next few weeks are going to be tortuous for OKC fans</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="594326" data-time="1467759809">
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<p>Read the article I put up a few posts above. The team plays without ego, Curry says he doesn't care who's top dog and I believe him. He won the MVP two seasons ago only for Iguodala to win the finals MVP and he couldn't have been happier, I'm sure Kobe or Shaq would not have been so happy. These guys make so much money off endorsements now the contract money is dwarfed by it and therefore is less of a pull for the elite player</p>
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<p>I simply do not buy that theory in regards to the Warriors. All those guys have ego's. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.</p> -
Yes the Warriors have no egos that's why Draymond is kicking people in the balls when they are losing, Klay sulks off the court without shaking hands and Curry's wife is crying we wuz robbed. No ego.<br><br>
Did you read the article from their owner during the season about ho they are light years ahead of every other team and will be for the next decade? Good reading. -
<p>This article sums up my feelings pretty well.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.si.com/nba/2016/07/05/kevin-durant-warriors-stephen-curry-free-agency-thunder'>http://www.si.com/nba/2016/07/05/kevin-durant-warriors-stephen-curry-free-agency-thunder</a></p>
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<p>I also think some of the comments coming from the Durant camp about Westbrook are bitch moves as well.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="594358" data-time="1467763907">
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<p>I simply do not buy that theory in regards to the Warriors. All those guys have ego's. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.</p>
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<p>I think it's about more than just ego and attitude. Different players want different things, and the Durant exercise has shown that perfectly. We all want players to chase immortality, to take risks and enhance their legacy. But in reality KD just wanted to have fun and win, and didn't seem to care too much about his place in basketball history.</p>
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<p>But other players may want more than that. Klay Thompson wants to take 15-20 shots a game, and if he ends up standing in the corner holding his dick for the next year, who knows what he might do? Same with Curry, to a certain extent.</p>
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<p>I think it's a long shot that it will fall apart (in the next year at least) but chemistry is so important and I don't think anyone really knows how the cards are going to fall on this one. They will still be very short odds to win, though.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="594404" data-time="1467770938">
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<p>I think it's about more than just ego and attitude. Different players want different things, and the Durant exercise has shown that perfectly. We all want players to chase immortality, to take risks and enhance their legacy. But in reality KD just wanted to have fun and win, and didn't seem to care too much about his place in basketball history.</p>
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<p>But other players may want more than that. Klay Thompson wants to take 15-20 shots a game, and if he ends up standing in the corner holding his dick for the next year, who knows what he might do? Same with Curry, to a certain extent.</p>
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<p>I think it's a long shot that it will fall apart (in the next year at least) but chemistry is so important and I don't think anyone really knows how the cards are going to fall on this one. They will still be very short odds to win, though.</p>
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<p>All fair points. I was was just disputing that the Warriors play without ego.</p>
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<p>I also think OKC might have a bright future. They have such a young roster. They could build a core that really takes off in 2-3 years, even if Westbrook leaves.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="594408" data-time="1467771757">
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<p>All fair points. I was was just disputing that the Warriors play without ego.</p>
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<p>I also think OKC might have a bright future. They have such a young roster. They could build a core that really takes off in 2-3 years, even if Westbrook leaves.</p>
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<p>Yeah I wasn't disagreeing with you. FWIW I don't buy the theory either.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="594377" data-time="1467766485">
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<p>Yes the Warriors have no egos that's why Draymond is kicking people in the balls when they are losing, Klay sulks off the court without shaking hands and Curry's wife is crying we wuz robbed. No ego.<br><br>
Did you read the article from their owner during the season about ho they are light years ahead of every other team and will be for the next decade? Good reading.</p>
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<p>The owner is a douche, he basically gave no credit to his players and coaches for winning. As for egos, I didn't think I had to spell out the fact that they don't seem to have massive egos/ jealousies amongst themselves to the point that they would risk destroying the team for individual goals, aka Kobe and the 2004 Lakers (the year the team got swept by Detroit)</p> -
<p>This free agency period is getting really fun. Dan Le Batard with a Dwayne Wade/ LBJ conspiracy theory. Right now the players are taking the power</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://espn.go.com/nba/story//id/16811278/dwyane-wade-miami-heat-conundrum'>http://espn.go.com/nba/story//id/16811278/dwyane-wade-miami-heat-conundrum</a></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="594432" data-time="1467774391">
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<p>The owner is a douche, he basically gave no credit to his players and coaches for winning. As for egos, I didn't think I had to spell out the fact that they don't seem to have massive egos/ jealousies amongst themselves to the point that they would risk destroying the team for individual goals, aka Kobe and the 2004 Lakers (the year the team got swept by Detroit)</p>
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<p>Agree, but it's still early days. 2004 was 6 years into the Kobe/Shaq tandem. It takes time for these things to happen and in Draymond they certainly have a combustible element and they definitely have a massive sook in Thompson. Everyone's opinion on Curry is going to be different though. You also have a coach in Kerr who has a very limited amount of coaching experience, so if things start going off the rails we don't know for sure he can put things back together. He deserves the benefit of the doubt though coming from the Pop/Jackson school - but it's not proven.</p>
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<p>Very well may have no ego - but let's wait and see before putting them in the Spurs level of unselfishness etc.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="594567" data-time="1467833992"><p>
Agree, but it's still early days. 2004 was 6 years into the Kobe/Shaq tandem. It takes time for these things to happen and in Draymond they certainly have a combustible element and they definitely have a massive sook in Thompson. Everyone's opinion on Curry is going to be different though. You also have a coach in Kerr who has a very limited amount of coaching experience, so if things start going off the rails we don't know for sure he can put things back together.<br><br>
Very well may have no ego - but let's wait and see before putting them in the Spurs level of unselfishness etc.</p></blockquote>There is no guarantee of success, both Curry and Durant have a chequered injury history too. The other big hurdle will be contract talk time, to see how much money each of these guys demands. I listened to an interesting podcast with Jalen Rose last night on ESPN. Basically the elite few players earn so much money from endorsements (LBJ is rumoured to have a 1bn USD Nike contract!) that the contract money is insignificant in the wider scheme of things. So these guys can do a Miami or GSW and not suffer significant penalty. Bron is also a free agent and I would not be shocked if he took a small contract to get another gun like Wade Dirk or someone else in to respond to GSW -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="594567" data-time="1467833992">
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<p>Agree, but it's still early days. 2004 was 6 years into the Kobe/Shaq tandem. It takes time for these things to happen and in Draymond they certainly have a combustible element and they definitely have <strong>a massive sook in Thompson</strong>. Everyone's opinion on Curry is going to be different though. You also have a coach in Kerr who has a very limited amount of coaching experience, so if things start going off the rails we don't know for sure he can put things back together. He deserves the benefit of the doubt though coming from the Pop/Jackson school - but it's not proven.</p>
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<p>Thompson's not a sook (just because he walks off the court in game 7 to let Cavs celebrate), he's just a weirdo. That's why I don't know how he will react to this.</p>
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<p>And now D. Wade signs with the Bulls... didn't see that coming.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="594630" data-time="1467857074">
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<p>Thompson's not a sook (just because he walks off the court in game 7 to let Cavs celebrate), <strong>he's just a weirdo</strong>. That's why I don't know how he will react to this.</p>
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<p>And now D. Wade signs with the Bulls... didn't see that coming.</p>
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<p>He is pretty sullen isn't he? He and Curry are both sons of NBA pros (Mychal Thompson of the showtime Lakers of course) so I am sure they know the value of winning rings. D Wade is a Chicago native, I still thought LBJ might get him in to play a part in Cleveland. This has been one of the wildest FA periods I can remember</p> -
<p>I don't think he's sullen either. He just doesn't show much emotion. He's very different to most NBA players, doesn't go for the fist-pumping, chest-bumping stuff at all. </p>
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<p>That can occasionally come across as being sullen, I suppose, but I just think he's wired a bit differently.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="594630" data-time="1467857074">
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<p>Thompson's not a sook (just because he walks off the court in game 7 to let Cavs celebrate), he's just a weirdo. That's why I don't know how he will react to this.</p>
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<p>And now D. Wade signs with the Bulls... didn't see that coming.</p>
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<p>I think Klay will be fine. He was part of the 'gang of 4' that wooed KD to GSW. I see more open shots for him as the double teams go to KD.</p>
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<p>Yeah the D Wade one had been brewing below the surface as the KD one took centre stage. More a case unhappy with the Heat treatment, but his last chance to get close to a max deal....</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="594637" data-time="1467859471">
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<p>I don't think he's sullen either. <strong>He just doesn't show much emotion. He's very different to most NBA players, doesn't go for the fist-pumping, chest-bumping stuff at all.</strong></p>
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<p>That can occasionally come across as being sullen, I suppose, but I just think he's wired a bit differently.</p>
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<p>Except when he's going for 37 in one quarter :whistle:</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href=' -
<p>One of my favourite clips. That 3 from the corner with 1:08 left in the qtr, with the defender right on him and with little space to move, Steph just looks at him after in amazement</p>
