uPtoWnNY said:

TD3 said:

uP' some folks just can't give credit were credit is due. what do the kids call it, butt hurt?

Toronto was always fully in charge of this championship series, period. What looked like a close series, really wasn't. The Warriors were always a step behind, they were never going beat Toronto. Cheer to Toronto.

I'll spend some time attempting to find a team to watch and cheer for: I kinda lost my focus this NBA season because of the god-awful Bulls; if I could ring John Paxson neck, I would.

I'm getting nervous that the Knicks will offer Durant the max regardless of his devastating injury.

Hot rumor has Kyrie going to Brooklyn.....good. He'll wreck their chemistry like he did Boston's.

Quick fixes are far and few between, but NBA teams are going to learn this the hard way. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come to Chicago. The Bulls' front office has the worst rep in the NBA, shit they make the Lakers front office look calm.

Have you heard the lastest. The Warriors lost because their star players were tired and maybe teams will need to rest their players so they have more energy for post season. WOW. Really. I've never heard so much whinning, bitching and excuses in my life. WTF.

luv4u said:

phunkdaddy said:

Fuck Tonto and Drake.

Tonto is who we thought they were. Go ahead and crown their asses. They stole our chip.

Philly had those bastards and we let them off the hook.

Yeah, that's what the kids say !! I've learned somethin' butt hurt is one word butthurt.

phunkdaddy said:

Fuck Tonto and Drake.

Tonto is who we thought they were. Go ahead and crown their asses. They stole our chip.

Philly had those bastards and we let them off the hook.

At least you can take comfort in the fact it'll be a very long time before Toronto wins another title (just like Dallas). They won't have the sustained success GS and Miami had. It's a pretty good bet Kawhi's leaving, Gasol and Ibaka are nearing the end, and Washington offered Masai a SERIOUS contract.

We'll find out if those young cats in Philly have the same 'fire' that Jordan, Bird, Magic, Isiah & Kobe had. Will Simmons and Embiid put the work in to take their games to the next level? I put Giannis in that conversation too, because Toronto exposed him.

Going to be a wild and crazy orr-season. With the injuries to the Warriors, more teams feel they have a chance.

TD3 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

I'm getting nervous that the Knicks will offer Durant the max regardless of his devastating injury.

Hot rumor has Kyrie going to Brooklyn.....good. He'll wreck their chemistry like he did Boston's.

Quick fixes are far and few between, but NBA teams are going to learn this the hard way. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come to Chicago. The Bulls' front office has the worst rep in the NBA, shit they make the Lakers front office look calm.

Have you heard the lastest. The Warriors lost because their star players were tired and maybe teams will need to rest their players so they have more energy for post season. WOW. Really. I've never heard so much whinning, bitching and excuses in my life. WTF.

When teams go deep in the playoffs year after year it does take a toll physically. We saw it with the Bad Boy Pistons, those 80s Celtics & Laker teams and we're seeing it with Lebron now....the dude is starting to break down. A big reason why Kawhi was such a killer in the playoffs is all the rest he got during the regular season. which is a grind.

Amazing the teams in the biggest media markets (NY, LA, Chicago) are a dumpster fire with shit owners and shit front offices.

luv4u said:

TD3 said:

TD3 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

I have to LOL @ folks who say Toronto's championship isn't legit because GS wasn't at full strength. In 2015, the Warriors defeated a Cavs team without Kevin Love & Kyrie Irving.....in 1999, SAn Antonio beat a Knicks squad without their best player.....in 1989, Detroit swept a banged-up Lakers team....I could go on and on. Should we put an asterisk next to those titles? Please...you play with what you have.

Amazing that Kawhi Leonard is only the third player in NBA history to win Finals MVP with two different teams. Lot of credit goes to Masai Ujuri. He knew the Raptors weren't getting to the next level with Derozan. He had the cojones to go all in on Leonard.

And of course, another ex-Knick gets a ring.

uP' some folks just can't give credit were credit is due. what do the kids call it, butt hurt?

Toronto was always fully in charge of this championship series, period. What looked like a close series, really wasn't. The Warriors were always a step behind, they were never going beat Toronto. Cheer to Toronto.

I'll spend some time attempting to find a team to watch and cheer for: I kinda lost my focus this NBA season because of the god-awful Bulls; if I could ring John Paxson neck, I would.

Agreed. The fans of the losing injured team never get over it.

As a Lakers fan, I'm still bitter about that 1989 loss because we were undefeated until the Finals and then David Thompson injures B Scott during one of Riles' patented full-bore practices, and then Magic goes down and the Detroit crowd cheered (even tho Magic is a Michigander), I'm not even bringing up '83, when Worthy and other Lakers were banged up.

STILL . . . those titles count even when fans me what-if them to death.

This is what happens when any team plays 500+ games in 5 years. The injury bug bit GSW tragically, and at the worst time. This time they caught the business end of it.

Empress said:

Indeed!

Congrats, Empress!

uPtoWnNY said:

TD3 said:

Quick fixes are far and few between, but NBA teams are going to learn this the hard way. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come to Chicago. The Bulls' front office has the worst rep in the NBA, shit they make the Lakers front office look calm.

Have you heard the lastest. The Warriors lost because their star players were tired and maybe teams will need to rest their players so they have more energy for post season. WOW. Really. I've never heard so much whinning, bitching and excuses in my life. WTF.

When teams go deep in the playoffs year after year it does take a toll physically. We saw it with the Bad Boy Pistons, those 80s Celtics & Laker teams and we're seeing it with Lebron now....the dude is starting to break down. A big reason why Kawhi was such a killer in the playoffs is all the rest he got during the regular season. which is a grind.

Amazing the teams in the biggest media markets (NY, LA, Chicago) are a dumpster fire with shit owners and shit front offices.

This is always been. I think part of the game is, how a coach manages a team, players time, and the strength or lack-thereof. But my goodness all the butthurt.

All I know MJ was wrong when he said, Players win championship. Have a fucked up front office... yo' ass is going to be looking at the NBA finals with the rest of use.

TD3 said:

uPtoWnNY said:

When teams go deep in the playoffs year after year it does take a toll physically. We saw it with the Bad Boy Pistons, those 80s Celtics & Laker teams and we're seeing it with Lebron now....the dude is starting to break down. A big reason why Kawhi was such a killer in the playoffs is all the rest he got during the regular season. which is a grind.

Amazing the teams in the biggest media markets (NY, LA, Chicago) are a dumpster fire with shit owners and shit front offices.

This is always been. I think part of the game is, how a coach manages a team, players time, and the strength or lack-thereof. But my goodness all the butthurt.

All I know MJ was wrong when he said, Players win championship. Have a fucked up front office... yo' ass is going to be looking at the NBA finals with the rest of use.

It always starts at the top. Look at the pro sports teams with sustained success (Patriots, Steelers, Yankees, Spurs, Red Sox, Warriors, etc). They have smart owners who put the right people in the right places and leave them alone. And they have great scouting and player development.

Bad owners kill franchises - the Knicks have been a shitfest ever since James Dolan took over nearly 20 years ago. I don't blame him for Phil Jackson (because we all cheered when he was hired), but everything before Phil is on Dolan.

It has begun!

Pelicans trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Ball, Hart, Ingram, three first round picks and the number four pick in Thursday's draft.

uPtoWnNY said:

It has begun!

Pelicans trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Ball, Hart, Ingram, three first round picks and the number four pick in Thursday's draft.

I saw it pop up on my phone when I was at a jazz festival this evening.

I thought the shit was fake at first. It won't become official until June 30th.

namepeace said:

Empress said:

Indeed!

Congrats, Empress!

Thank you namepeace. It's such a great feeling and my entire city is so proud.

phunkdaddy said:

uPtoWnNY said:

It has begun!

Pelicans trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Ball, Hart, Ingram, three first round picks and the number four pick in Thursday's draft.

It won't become official until June 30th.

This trade will benefit both sides, to the extent the team that trades the superstar always loses.

NO will get some relatively experienced and talented depth along with a high pick.

LAL gets a superstar in his prime to pair with the greatest player of his generation (who still has some gas left in the tank), as well as retaining their best young player and flexibility to land another big-fish free agent and/or add depth.

The first post-season award is out! SPOILERS AHEAD!





***********************************



The award for Biggest Blowhard in Basketball goes to......LaVar Ball.

I hate to say this, but I root against his sons simply because he's a gigantic jerk. He makes Sephen A. Smith look like the voice of reason.

BTW, if you haven't checked out the Big Ballers Brand website lately...well, things might not be going as well as Ball hoped:

https://www.bigballerbrand.com/

Rodeo, with the injuries to the Warriors, the western conference is more wide-open now. Rockets picked the wrong time to have all this turmoil;

https://deadspin.com/report-the-rockets ... 1835583363

uPtoWnNY said:

TD3 said:

Quick fixes are far and few between, but NBA teams are going to learn this the hard way. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come to Chicago. The Bulls' front office has the worst rep in the NBA, shit they make the Lakers front office look calm.

Have you heard the lastest. The Warriors lost because their star players were tired and maybe teams will need to rest their players so they have more energy for post season. WOW. Really. I've never heard so much whinning, bitching and excuses in my life. WTF.

When teams go deep in the playoffs year after year it does take a toll physically. We saw it with the Bad Boy Pistons, those 80s Celtics & Laker teams and we're seeing it with Lebron now....the dude is starting to break down. A big reason why Kawhi was such a killer in the playoffs is all the rest he got during the regular season. which is a grind.

Amazing the teams in the biggest media markets (NY, LA, Chicago) are a dumpster fire . . .

All true.

The 80's Lakers pulled off the 1st repeat in modern history after they were knocked out by HOU after going to the finals each year from '82-'85. Could GSW pull that off if they get an early exit in 2020 and re-sign KD and come back like beasts in 2021? Lotta ifs there.

After going to 5 Finals in 8 seasons, the 80's C's broke down, but the Len Bias tragedy still is one of the great what-ifs in history. They'd have gotten to 1 more at least if Len had stayed alive.

MJ had essentially 2 years off between 93 and 96. That helped.

San Antonio had some early exits mixed in with their titles, but that and being innovative in resting the stars extended their run beyond 15 years.

And Kawhi was showing signs of breaking down despite the rest he got in the regular season. He'll need help wherever he goes next year.

No question NY and CHI have issues. But LAC has a great front office situation right now. Jerry West is the greatest sports exec in history, they've got an owner with cash and sense, and Doc is best when he focuses on coaching.

As for LAL, yes they have had a discombobulated front office since Dr. Buss stepped away from the team a decade ago. But they've got LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Better to be lucky . . .

namepeace said:

As for LAL, yes they have had a discombobulated front office since Dr. Buss stepped away from the team a decade ago. But they've got LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Better to be lucky . . .

Case in point: https://www.latimes.com/s...story.html

uPtoWnNY said:

Rodeo, with the injuries to the Warriors, the western conference is more wide-open now. Rockets picked the wrong time to have all this turmoil;

https://deadspin.com/report-the-rockets ... 1835583363

Yeah, no kidding. GM Darryl Moery was on a radio show a couple days ago and said they want to sign another marquee player. He didn't say if Chris Paul was going to stay or not.

RodeoSchro said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Rodeo, with the injuries to the Warriors, the western conference is more wide-open now. Rockets picked the wrong time to have all this turmoil;

https://deadspin.com/report-the-rockets ... 1835583363

Yeah, no kidding. GM Darryl Morey was on a radio show a couple days ago and said they want to sign another marquee player. He didn't say if Chris Paul was going to stay or not.

Morey has been criticized by the talking heads by not accounting for chemistry in making personnel moves. Of course, injuries robbed HOU of a shot at a title last year but it could be true that they rely too much on analytics and not enough on personality management, which as Chuck Daly (RIP) once said, is a, if not the, top priority for title teams. Word is Morey has trouble relating to players.


HOU gave CP3 the max for the next 3 years. It's an albatross for many teams and CP3's act reportedly wears thin. They may need to take on a ton of his guaranteed cash to move him.

namepeace said:

RodeoSchro said:

Yeah, no kidding. GM Darryl Morey was on a radio show a couple days ago and said they want to sign another marquee player. He didn't say if Chris Paul was going to stay or not.

Morey has been criticized by the talking heads by not accounting for chemistry in making personnel moves. Of course, injuries robbed HOU of a shot at a title last year but it could be true that they rely too much on analytics and not enough on personality management, which as Chuck Daly (RIP) once said, is a, if not the, top priority for title teams. Word is Morey has trouble relating to players.


HOU gave CP3 the max for the next 3 years. It's an albatross for many teams and CP3's act reportedly wears thin. They may need to take on a ton of his guaranteed cash to move him.

The best thing for Houston would be to get a real coach...one who'll make adjustments. Get more ball movement in the offense instead of watching Harden dribble, dribble, dribble for twenty seconds, then, either try to draw a foul, or pass to a teammate who has no chance to get a good shot off.

I guess Paul & Harden won't be doing anymore State Farm commercials.

This from nba.com;

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Memphis Grizzlies are trading point guard Mike Conley to the Jazz for Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, the No. 23 pick in the 2019 Draft and a future first-round pick.

Wojnarowski reports the Jazz will send a protected 2020 first-round pick to the Grizzlies, which will convey as a late lottery pick in 2020 or 2021 or become a lightly protected pick from 2022-24. David Cobb of The Commercial Appeal reports the first-round pick Memphis is acquiring will only convey in 2020 or '21 if it ends up being between No. 8-14.

Wow, Al Horford is leaving too!

https://www.espn.com/nba/...eal-boston

[Edited 6/19/19 15:38pm]

South Carolina native Zion Williamson will be the number 1 pick in tonight's NBA draft.

The draft will pretty much be a crapshoot after the top 10.

This tweet from somone named Andrew Lopez spells out how well the Pelicans did this past week:


Anthony Davis has turned into:

- Lonzo Ball
- Brandon Ingram
- Josh Hart
- No. 8 pick in 19
- No. 17 pick in 19
- No. 35 pick in 19
- L.A.' 21 pick if top 8
- L.A.' 22 pick if not
- L.A. swap in 23
- L.A.' 1st in either 24 or 25

And got rid of Solomon Hill's contract.

Dang! That might be even better than the Herschel Walker trade!

RodeoSchro said:

This tweet from somone named Andrew Lopez spells out how well the Pelicans did this past week:


Anthony Davis has turned into:

- Lonzo Ball
- Brandon Ingram
- Josh Hart
- No. 8 pick in 19
- No. 17 pick in 19
- No. 35 pick in 19
- L.A.' 21 pick if top 8
- L.A.' 22 pick if not
- L.A. swap in 23
- L.A.' 1st in either 24 or 25

And got rid of Solomon Hill's contract.

Dang! That might be even better than the Herschel Walker trade!

Let's pump the brakes a little bit.

Sure, even as a Laker fan, I can say that NO did better in this trade than most do when trading a superstar in his prime. They got good, experienced, young players as well as high picks. They also parlayed the 4 pick into 3 solid draft picks this year.

But let's be honest -- lottery picks are hit and miss, and picks after the lottery are a crapshoot. So those future picks, which may not be that high, are likely not going to yield superstars, but rotation players and/or be used for future moves. Unlike the NFL, you can't keep 50+ players on the roster. Either those picks will be traded, or some of the talent in NO will be moved to make room for them.

And Anthony Davis is a superstar in his prime, with the highest Player Efficiency Rating of any player not named Michael Jordan or LeBron James. He'll be playing with James and after that can be built around. You might get 3-5 players like him in a decade.

NO did well to get 75, maybe 80 cents on the dollar for AD. But this wasn't an absolute heist. Hell, if they'd pulled the trigger in February they'd have Kuzma too.

namepeace said:

RodeoSchro said:

This tweet from somone named Andrew Lopez spells out how well the Pelicans did this past week:


Anthony Davis has turned into:

- Lonzo Ball
- Brandon Ingram
- Josh Hart
- No. 8 pick in 19
- No. 17 pick in 19
- No. 35 pick in 19
- L.A.' 21 pick if top 8
- L.A.' 22 pick if not
- L.A. swap in 23
- L.A.' 1st in either 24 or 25

And got rid of Solomon Hill's contract.

Dang! That might be even better than the Herschel Walker trade!

Let's pump the brakes a little bit.

Sure, even as a Laker fan, I can say that NO did better in this trade than most do when trading a superstar in his prime. They got good, experienced, young players as well as high picks. They also parlayed the 4 pick into 3 solid draft picks this year.

But let's be honest -- lottery picks are hit and miss, and picks after the lottery are a crapshoot. So those future picks, which may not be that high, are likely not going to yield superstars, but rotation players and/or be used for future moves. Unlike the NFL, you can't keep 50+ players on the roster. Either those picks will be traded, or some of the talent in NO will be moved to make room for them.

And Anthony Davis is a superstar in his prime, with the highest Player Efficiency Rating of any player not named Michael Jordan or LeBron James. He'll be playing with James and after that can be built around. You might get 3-5 players like him in a decade.

NO did well to get 75, maybe 80 cents on the dollar for AD. But this wasn't an absolute heist. Hell, if they'd pulled the trigger in February they'd have Kuzma too.

Plus, you don't make deep playoff runs in May & June without those elite superstars. We'll see if Zion gets to that level.

Congratulations to the Knicks for not screwing up the draft for once. But pursuing Durant would be the height of stupidity.

uPtoWnNY said:

Plus, you don't make deep playoff runs in May & June without those elite superstars. We'll see if Zion gets to that level.

Agreed.

Congratulations to the Knicks for not screwing up the draft for once. But pursuing Durant would be the height of stupidity.

I'm curious -- what do you think the Knicks should do from here? I'd be fine with them signing KD because even at 80% of himself he's an all-NBA player and they can develop their young players this next season. Then in 20-21 KD can return and the 2020 FA class will have options to build depth.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Plus, you don't make deep playoff runs in May & June without those elite superstars. We'll see if Zion gets to that level.

Agreed.

Congratulations to the Knicks for not screwing up the draft for once. But pursuing Durant would be the height of stupidity.

I'm curious -- what do you think the Knicks should do from here? I'd be fine with them signing KD because even at 80% of himself he's an all-NBA player and they can develop their young players this next season. Then in 20-21 KD can return and the 2020 FA class will have options to build depth.

Stick with the youth movement...draft smart, develop a core group of young players and make wise free agent moves like Golden State did.

Just say no to Kevin Durant (too risky) and no to giving max contracts to second-tier guys like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Knicks have doing quick fixes for nearly twenty years (such as gutting the team for the overrated Carmelo Anthony) and what do they have to show for it?

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

Stick with the youth movement...draft smart, develop a core group of young players and make wise free agent moves like Golden State did.

Just say no to Kevin Durant (too risky) and no to giving max contracts to second-tier guys like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Knicks have doing quick fixes for nearly twenty years (such as gutting the team for the overrated Carmelo Anthony) and what do they have to show for it?

Very fair and sound. You're right; the Warriors followed that same formula.

If it weren't for Jerry West putting his foot down (and reportedly threatening to resign), they'd have traded Klay away.

You're also right that signing Butler or Harris only makes sense if you have a true No. 1 option. In Harris' case, he's more of a 2b or 3.

But KD after his injury will be better than Melo ever was.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Stick with the youth movement...draft smart, develop a core group of young players and make wise free agent moves like Golden State did.

Just say no to Kevin Durant (too risky) and no to giving max contracts to second-tier guys like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Knicks have doing quick fixes for nearly twenty years (such as gutting the team for the overrated Carmelo Anthony) and what do they have to show for it?

Very fair and sound. You're right; the Warriors followed that same formula.

If it weren't for Jerry West putting his foot down (and reportedly threatening to resign), they'd have traded Klay away.

You're also right that signing Butler or Harris only makes sense if you have a true No. 1 option. In Harris' case, he's more of a 2b or 3.

But KD after his injury will be better than Melo ever was.

Even as a Sixers fan I'm nervous about Jimmy B or Tobias max contracts. Jimmy B will be 30

in September but I'm quite sure he has a good 5 years in him. I'd prefer to give Tobias the

money simply because he's younger at 26 and didn't have a full season with the Sixers. I

would probably let Jimmy B walk. The Sixers also appear to be high on last year's first rounder

Zhaire Smith. Supposedly Kawhi is to meet with the Sixers but I don't expect anything to come of

it. Some fans in my Sixers group are hopeful. Kawhi has an uncle that lives in Philly and he was

a huge fan of Allen Iverson.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Stick with the youth movement...draft smart, develop a core group of young players and make wise free agent moves like Golden State did.

Just say no to Kevin Durant (too risky) and no to giving max contracts to second-tier guys like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Knicks have doing quick fixes for nearly twenty years (such as gutting the team for the overrated Carmelo Anthony) and what do they have to show for it?

Very fair and sound. You're right; the Warriors followed that same formula.

If it weren't for Jerry West putting his foot down (and reportedly threatening to resign), they'd have traded Klay away.

You're also right that signing Butler or Harris only makes sense if you have a true No. 1 option. In Harris' case, he's more of a 2b or 3.

But KD after his injury will be better than Melo ever was.

Signing Durant is a risk the I don't want the Knicks to take. He won't play for a year, then it'll be another year before he's totally confident on the court.

As for second tier free agents, a young, up & coming playoff team like Brooklyn could use Tobias Harris. I think he'd fit in nicely with Russell & Levert. I keep hearing Kyrie wants the Nets, but after what happened in Boston, I'd be wary of him despite his talent.

Lakers have one goal - surround Lebron wih cats who are lights out from the perimeter. Lebron flourishes with shooters - JJ Reddick would be nice, maybe Khris Middleton.

BIG3 basketball tournament was on tonight. Damn, at age 50, Abdul- Rauf is still lighting it up, lol.