Count me as one of the people that hopes Lebron stays in Cleveland and rides this thing out, for his legacy it's a better look then running to join up with anybody. Once they won that title in 2016 it locked him in Cleveland IMO, if he leaves it looks bad, like when the going get's tough he runs away, he's supposed to be an ATG, these other players should want to come to him not the other way around.

Boston with a healthy Kyrie, Simmons & Embid in Philly, and any other team in the east has to prove they can take out a Lebron led Cavs squad, until they do it I'm convinced the Cavs will keep winning the East, especially if they finally get a starting SG to put JR Smith where he belongs, coming off the bench as a sixth or seventh man.

I hated that Durant joined up with the Warriors, but history is proving that he made the right decision, he wasn't gonna win in OKC, he went to the perfect team for his skill set.

Abdul said:

Count me as one of the people that hopes Lebron stays in Cleveland and rides this thing out, for his legacy it's a better look then running to join up with anybody. Once they won that title in 2016 it locked him in Cleveland IMO, if he leaves it looks bad, like when the going get's tough he runs away, he's supposed to be an ATG, these other players should want to come to him not the other way around.

Boston with a healthy Kyrie, Simmons & Embid in Philly, and any other team in the east has to prove they can take out a Lebron led Cavs squad, until they do it I'm convinced the Cavs will keep winning the East, especially if they finally get a starting SG to put JR Smith where he belongs, coming off the bench as a sixth or seventh man.

I hated that Durant joined up with the Warriors, but history is proving that he made the right decision, he wasn't gonna win in OKC, he went to the perfect team for his skill set.

It won't look bad if LeBron leaves....he did what he set out to do, winning a title for Cleveland. His legacy as one of the all-time greats (top ten, IMO) is set. At this point, with his career winding down, he can do whatever he wants.

uPtoWnNY said:

TD3 said:

Its a new era in the NBA... everybody better deal with it. its about the rings.

Those days of you staying with a team in hopes the front office has the talent and the muted ego to build a team around a star player or two are over. Can't put the puzzle together or find missing pieces, players are saying, fuck you and I'm out. There's been plenty of drama with Cleveland Claviers management for sometime. There's been low grade passive aggressive hostility between Claviers owner and LeBron James ever since he returned and won a Championship for the city and the franchise. To be point blank Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert hates the fact without LeBron James his basketball was never gonna win shit without LeBron.


To compare Mr. Durant situation with the stunt Mr. James pulled is just start-up silly. I'll agree its time to move but to keep it real... there's a way to leave a franchise and there's a way not to leave a franchise, the second dude pulled some foul shit. Plus crybaby James couldn't stand the heat when trash talking trashed him. No NBA talent wants to be stuck Oklahoma or Cleveland: Hell, players didn't wanna come to Cleveland with Mr. James there!

Its time to move on and its time probably for Mr. James to move elsewhere, the relationship with the owner of Claviers and management isn't tenable.

Difference is that Cleveland team was going nowhere...OKC had Golden State where they wanted them and fucked it up. They had the personnel to beat the Warriors. Had they stayed together, I feel the Thunder would have a title by now. But Durant wanted things easier so he punked out and got all sensitive when fans criticised him on social media. I respect his game but that's it.

I respectfully disagree again, Oklahoma owner & management punked out when they didn't cut James Harden a extended contract. Once Oklahoma traded Harden to Houston... I think inpart Durant assumed the owner wasn't all that dedicated to winning. I'm sure Oklahoma in hindsight regret their decision, but it is what it is. But Durant said this after winning NBA Championship.

https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-charges-ruined-nba-making-money-thats-164105770.html

==============================================

[Edited 6/10/18 17:45pm]

Graycap23 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Graycap23 said:

Robbed? Not really.

I wanted him 2 bust 40 last though.

2015 robbed 2018 robbed. Was better than Durant in 3 out of 4 games.

The key game was 3. KD was a 1 man band.

Graycap23 said:

On to the draft....Knicks pick ninth, and I expect them to fuck it up like they always do (see Donovan Mitchell). I keep hearing about Trae Young, but we need an athletic SF. Even with a top pick, it's going to be another bad season...no way Porzingis plays in 2019. You wonder if he's one of these cats who just can't stay healthy.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Graycap23 said:

The key game was 3. KD was a 1 man band.

He outscored KD in 3 of the 4 games. What about game 2 where Steph broke the record. Ir game 4 where he dropped 20 in the first half. This is Currys team. KD came to him. They already took one from him in 2015 and gave it to Iggy. He only started in 3 games in the series, ridiculous.

I hear ya. It could have easily gone 2 Steph.

Graycap23 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

It won't look bad if LeBron leaves....he did what he set out to do, winning a title for Cleveland. His legacy as one of the all-time greats (top ten, IMO) is set. At this point, with his career winding down, he can do whatever he wants.

If they hadn't won in 2016 I'd agree with you, but once they did and we saw it's possible to win in Cleveland all that running to join other players went out the window as an option for him, he won't get the same respect winning anywhere else but in Cleveland where it's his show and listening to the stuff he says about legacy I think he cares about that at this stage in his career.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Graycap23 said:

I hear ya. It could have easily gone 2 Steph.

They don't want Steph to get it. Imagine Steph with 3 Championships, 2-3 Finals MVPs, 2 League MVPs, best record ever and a scoring title... [Edited 6/10/18 19:50pm]

A lot of haterade toward Steph.

TD3 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Difference is that Cleveland team was going nowhere...OKC had Golden State where they wanted them and fucked it up. They had the personnel to beat the Warriors. Had they stayed together, I feel the Thunder would have a title by now. But Durant wanted things easier so he punked out and got all sensitive when fans criticised him on social media. I respect his game but that's it.

I respectfully disagree again, Oklahoma owner & management punked out when they didn't cut James Harden a extended contract. Once Oklahoma traded Harden to Houston... I think inpart Durant assumed the owner wasn't all that dedicated to winning. I'm sure Oklahoma in hindsight regret their decision, but it is what it is. But Durant said this after winning NBA Championship.

https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-charges-ruined-nba-making-money-thats-164105770.html

==============================================

[Edited 6/10/18 17:45pm]

Someone posted this over at OperationSports.....it sums up my feelings about Durant perfectly;

"The greatest players had the strength of character to push through adversity and ultimately overcome it. Jordan could have shrunk and resolved himself to being beaten down by the Pistons. He didn't and he became better for it. Kobe could have been just fine losing constantly without Shaq and "getting his". Instead he became better. Lebron suffered the most embarrassing defeat of any modern superstar in 2011. It could have been the end of him. Instead he accepted the challenge and he is a superweapon now.

KD had the Warriors challenge in front of him. Instead of accepting responsibility and overcoming it, he crumbled and then ran away. The tragedy is that he'll never be the player he could have been had he gone through the fire. He's a great player and it's good that he's happy. But he definitely forfeited the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the very best.

They each left their respective teams in search of an easier path to a championship. The key difference is Lebron left a mostly inept organization and a team that simply wasn't going to be good enough to win titles. KD left a team fully capable of winning. In doing so, he refused to take the final step in his maturation.

Getting OKC over the hump was going to require two things from him. Fix the remaining flaws in his game (ie terrible movement without the ball, lazy footwork in rebounding situations ect). Those holes could have been filled up in an off season. Secondly, he was going to have to assert himself as a leader.

All the great players we respect responded the same way when facing career-defining failure. They basically asked themselves, "How do I become better?". KD instead asked, "How do I make it easier?". To his credit, he has acknowledged the fact that he simply is not a leader. But that doesn't absolve him from failing to take responsibility and failing to become better as a player. Both of those things were entirely within his reach had he decided to put forth the effort."

[Edited 6/11/18 15:51pm]

728huey said:

Goddess4Real said:

Now that the Finals are over and I'm a little more free to editorialize, here's my two cents.

Congratulations to Kevin Durant for winning back to back NBA Finals MVP awards, but he didn't deserve it this year. Sure he had the absolute monster game in game 3 of this series, but he stunk up the joint in game 1 while Steph Curry was far more consistent. Curry did struggle in game 3, but the one field goal he did make basically sealed the deal in game 3.

As for where Lebron James heads next, I don't think there's any chance in hell he heads to Boston. Not that the Celtics wouldn't be open to having him there or Lebron being open to playing there, but the reason Kyrie Irving left Cleveland in the first place was because he no longer wanted to play in Lebron's shadow. So unless the Celtics are willing to move Kyrie again (which could be a remote possibility if Lebron wants to go there with Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Trent Rozier playing well in these playoffs plus a healthy Gordon Heyward), I don't see this happening.

He could head to Houston, but I don’t see James Harden willing to give up his game for Lebron. Frankly, if Chris Paul didn't injure his hamstring the Rockets would have beaten the Warriors and most likely the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Plus there's the whole thing about meeting Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.

He could go to the Lakers, but that would just be a vanity move because the Lakers aren't anywhere close to being a title contender even with him there. The Spurs could be a possibility but only if Kawhi Leonard stays and they get some fresh blood in the backcourt.

The Raptors could work, and they could use Lebron's experience and toughness to shore up Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Fred VanVleet if he stays. But Philly would be the most obvious choice since they have a couple of young budding superstars already plus they could attract a couple of veteran free agents to shore up the team for title contention.

PHI makes the most sense, he's got some shooters there, he's got Embiid. Simmons is going to be a great player but there's a lot of interlap with he and James, and Simmons can't shoot. The FO is a mess, but maybe if PHI hires Griffin to reunite with James . . .

BOS has the best roster of talent for James, but Kyrie is a huge question mark -- will they move him and who will take him? And would LBJ do CLE a favor with a sign-and-trade, or has the bridge been burned?

TOR, I just don't see him going to Canada but on paper they'd make a lot of sense.

LAL seems like a vanity move, and no, they'd have no chance of taking GS in '19 or '20. But add James to a roster that won 35 games, and you have a playoff contender. Add James and another star, you've got a conference contender. Playoffs or no playoffs, he can only expand his brand there. As a Lakers fan I still say it's unlikely.

phunkdaddy said:

Goddess4Real said:

Joel Embiid‏Verified account @JoelEmbiid 2h2 hours ago

Trust The Process!!!! Find a new slant @KingJames

I still believe the Kardashian Curse played a role (Khloe did attend the 2 home games).....and if he goes to Philly it might continue . After all Ben Simmons is/was dating Kendall Jenner, who used to date Jordon Clarkson (who DNP), and look what has recently happend over there.....GM chaos

[Edited 6/8/18 22:34pm]

Don't speak that shit into existence. Trust me most Philly fans were anti Bryan Coangelo the day he was hired especially since his father hired him and for screwing up draft day by giving Boston a number 1 pick for a player they could have stayed put and still drafted him at the number 3 spot. Boston was set on Tatum. The Lakers were set on Lonzo Ball at 2. WTF you gave up a number 1 to your most hated rival for? Markelle Fultz would have still been available at 3. I would have fired his ass for that alone.

I STILL don't understand that. Ainge played Colangelo.

Graycap23 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Graycap23 said: They don't want Steph to get it. Imagine Steph with 3 Championships, 2-3 Finals MVPs, 2 League MVPs, best record ever and a scoring title... [Edited 6/10/18 19:50pm]

A lot of haterade toward Steph.

He plays the game the right way, he's the most incredible shooter we've ever seen, he's a posterboy for the league, and he's the glue of the team. Still, some of his frontrunning antics on the court are getting tiresome. It's human nature; familiarity breeds contempt.

Still, KD has been the most important part of their success over the last 2 title runs. He's been the closer. Game 3 clinched the FMVP for KD, which was one of his greatest games, in a game where Steph has rarely played worse.

Steph will get one before he's done.

namepeace said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

He plays the game the right way, he's the most incredible shooter we've ever seen, he's a posterboy for the league, and he's the glue of the team. Still, some of his frontrunning antics on the court are getting tiresome. It's human nature; familiarity breeds contempt.

Still, KD has been the most important part of their success over the last 2 title runs. He's been the closer. Game 3 clinched the FMVP for KD, which was one of his greatest games, in a game where Steph has rarely played worse.

Steph will get one before he's done.

Watching these games, Steph in the most important player on this team. Notice how in the Rocket series when they would start the game iso ball to KD, they are down in the first half. Second half Steph is the focal point and they usually take over the game. KD shot a great % because they did not double him. A 7 foot SF and they didn't theow another man at it. Meanwhile they are trying to keep the ball out of Stephs hands as he passes front court.

Steph is the quarterback of the team. No question. That's shown by the fact that they singled KD and chose their poison. But as I said, Game 3 clinched the FMVP for KD, who had one of his best nights as Steph had one of his worst.

Why do I say that? Because there's a difference between the most important player on the team and the most important part of championship success. It's not without precedent.

There is no question that Magic was the most important player for the 80s Lakers. But he only won 2 of the 5 FMVPs because in certain years, Kareem (80 and 85) and Worthy (88) were more important to their Finals success.

Hateration may be a factor, so the holleration will continue until Steph gets an FMVP. Which he will.

[Edited 6/11/18 12:41pm]

namepeace said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said: Watching these games, Steph in the most important player on this team. Notice how in the Rocket series when they would start the game iso ball to KD, they are down in the first half. Second half Steph is the focal point and they usually take over the game. KD shot a great % because they did not double him. A 7 foot SF and they didn't theow another man at it. Meanwhile they are trying to keep the ball out of Stephs hands as he passes front court.

Steph is the quarterback of the team. No question. That's shown by the fact that they singled KD and chose their poison. But as I said, Game 3 clinched the FMVP for KD, who had one of his best nights as Steph had one of his worst.

Why do I say that? Because there's a difference between the most important player on the team and the most important part of championship success. It's not without precedent.

There is no question that Magic was the most important player for the 80s Lakers. But he only won 2 of the 5 FMVPs because in certain years, Kareem (80 and 85) and Worthy (88) were more important to their Finals success.

Hateration may be a factor, so the holleration will continue until Steph gets an FMVP. Which he will.

[Edited 6/11/18 12:41pm]

It is interesting 2 watch. I have a feeling that GS simply doesn't care as long as they WIN the title.

Graycap23 said:

It is interesting 2 watch. I have a feeling that GS simply doesn't care as long as they WIN the title.

Absolutely. Steph They play the game the way it should be played and carry themselves a team should.

They flex their egos on the opponent, not each other. For fans of the game, they're a hard team to hate on.

namepeace said:

Graycap23 said:

It is interesting 2 watch. I have a feeling that GS simply doesn't care as long as they WIN the title.

Absolutely. Steph They play the game the way it should be played and carry themselves a team should.

They flex their egos on the opponent, not each other. For fans of the game, they're a hard team to hate on.

Yes sir. They are quite entertaining. I love it.

namepeace said:

For fans of the game, they're a hard team to hate on.

Not for me....you know my feelings about Durant and Draymond Green's a straight-up knucklehead.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

For fans of the game, they're a hard team to hate on.

Not for me....you know my feelings about Durant and Draymond Green's a straight-up knucklehead.

A knucklehead with 3 rings.

TD3 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

For fans of the game, they're a hard team to hate on.

Not for me....you know my feelings about Durant and Draymond Green's a straight-up knucklehead.

The Bay was a nice soft landing for KD.

And Dray is basically Cliff Livingston with an inflated ego.

phunkdaddy said:

KD could have owned OKC if he could have delivered the city a title. I'm not mad at how he got his rings but I'm like many others how do you join the team that beats you. He was gonna sign with Boston prior to a change of heart and signed with the Warriors instead after meeting up with some of the players. the Warriors. [Edited 6/11/18 17:34pm]

Exactly, phunk. What Durant pulled was W-E-A-K...imagine Isiah Thomas going to Boston or Jordan going to Detroit.

What annoys me are the fools who are still hating on Lebron for "The Decision", but they have nothing to say about Durant not rising to the challenge and pussying out.

namepeace said:

728huey said:

Goddess4Real said: Now that the Finals are over and I'm a little more free to editorialize, here's my two cents.

Congratulations to Kevin Durant for winning back to back NBA Finals MVP awards, but he didn't deserve it this year. Sure he had the absolute monster game in game 3 of this series, but he stunk up the joint in game 1 while Steph Curry was far more consistent. Curry did struggle in game 3, but the one field goal he did make basically sealed the deal in game 3.

As for where Lebron James heads next, I don't think there's any chance in hell he heads to Boston. Not that the Celtics wouldn't be open to having him there or Lebron being open to playing there, but the reason Kyrie Irving left Cleveland in the first place was because he no longer wanted to play in Lebron's shadow. So unless the Celtics are willing to move Kyrie again (which could be a remote possibility if Lebron wants to go there with Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Trent Rozier playing well in these playoffs plus a healthy Gordon Heyward), I don't see this happening.

He could head to Houston, but I don’t see James Harden willing to give up his game for Lebron. Frankly, if Chris Paul didn't injure his hamstring the Rockets would have beaten the Warriors and most likely the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Plus there's the whole thing about meeting Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.

He could go to the Lakers, but that would just be a vanity move because the Lakers aren't anywhere close to being a title contender even with him there. The Spurs could be a possibility but only if Kawhi Leonard stays and they get some fresh blood in the backcourt.

The Raptors could work, and they could use Lebron's experience and toughness to shore up Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Fred VanVleet if he stays. But Philly would be the most obvious choice since they have a couple of young budding superstars already plus they could attract a couple of veteran free agents to shore up the team for title contention.

PHI makes the most sense, he's got some shooters there, he's got Embiid. Simmons is going to be a great player but there's a lot of interlap with he and James, and Simmons can't shoot. The FO is a mess, but maybe if PHI hires Griffin to reunite with James . . .

BOS has the best roster of talent for James, but Kyrie is a huge question mark -- will they move him and who will take him? And would LBJ do CLE a favor with a sign-and-trade, or has the bridge been burned?

TOR, I just don't see him going to Canada but on paper they'd make a lot of sense.

LAL seems like a vanity move, and no, they'd have no chance of taking GS in '19 or '20. But add James to a roster that won 35 games, and you have a playoff contender. Add James and another star, you've got a conference contender. Playoffs or no playoffs, he can only expand his brand there. As a Lakers fan I still say it's unlikely.

Bleacher Report thnks Houston is the likely place for Lebron to land. I'm not 100% sure that will work, or that it's even necessary. I mean, we lost Game 7 without our Hall of Fame guard AND we went 0 - 27 from Three Point Land. But hey - maybe Golden State had something to do with that?

If it can work financially, I'd roll the dice and get Lebron. Golden State did that with Durant and it worked out OK for them.

RodeoSchro said:

Bleacher Report thnks Houston is the likely place for Lebron to land. I'm not 100% sure that will work, or that it's even necessary. I mean, we lost Game 7 without our Hall of Fame guard AND we went 0 - 27 from Three Point Land. But hey - maybe Golden State had something to do with that?

If it can work financially, I'd roll the dice and get Lebron. Golden State did that with Durant and it worked out OK for them.

Of course HOU should. They'd gladly sacrifice depth and their precious analytics to sign James and (likely) win a title.

But they've already got 2 superstars who need the ball in their hands. They could make it work.

namepeace said:

RodeoSchro said:

Bleacher Report thnks Houston is the likely place for Lebron to land. I'm not 100% sure that will work, or that it's even necessary. I mean, we lost Game 7 without our Hall of Fame guard AND we went 0 - 27 from Three Point Land. But hey - maybe Golden State had something to do with that?

If it can work financially, I'd roll the dice and get Lebron. Golden State did that with Durant and it worked out OK for them.

Of course HOU should. They'd gladly sacrifice depth and their precious analytics to sign James and (likely) win a title.

But they've already got 2 superstars who need the ball in their hands. They could make it work.

With three ball-dominant stars, I can't see this working at all. Who's willing to sacrifice/change their game?

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

Of course HOU should. They'd gladly sacrifice depth and their precious analytics to sign James and (likely) win a title.

But they've already got 2 superstars who need the ball in their hands. They could make it work.

With three ball-dominant stars, I can't see this working at all. Who's willing to sacrifice/change their game?

Chris Paul already did, so it would have to be James or Harden. Or...OR we could create a hybrid monster and call it Lebron James Harden!