NBA Offseason Thread 2013-2014

Dublin Red Devil

ButtersSuki wrote: »

No chance. LeBron to LAL or back to Cleveland.

LA is actually the most unlikely destination of the 3.

Cleveland or NY? Well that's up to Lebron. Does he want a fresh start in the bright light of the big city or does he want to return home and win his redemption in cleveland

stuchyg

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Knicks open up with a game against the Bucks, I'll hopefully have tickets for that.
Small matter of The Return happening in Miami on opening night as well with the Bulls travelling to South Beach.

Heat vs Lakers and Clippers vs Warriors are on Christmas day. Kobe to return I bet for that

Have the fixtures been published

Nuri Sahin

stuchyg wrote: »

Have the fixtures been published

Tomorrow 11pm GMT.

Nuri Sahin

Melo will be on his way to LA, I'd bank on that.

LeBron I think it's more likely he'll return home if Miami 3-peats.

Paully D

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Small matter of The Return happening in Miami on opening night as well with the Bulls travelling to South Beach.

Greg Oden?

ButtersSuki

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Knicks open up with a game against the Bucks, I'll hopefully have tickets for that.
Small matter of The Return happening in Miami on opening night as well with the Bulls travelling to South Beach.

Heat vs Lakers and Clippers vs Warriors are on Christmas day. Kobe to return I bet for that

Nuri, I'm guessing you've been to a Knicks game before? I'd try and get to the Nets just for the experience, the arena and Brooklyn itself instead of a repeat trip to MSG if you're there long enough. And of course to see that new roster of theirs!

ButtersSuki

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Heat vs Lakers and Clippers vs Warriors are on Christmas day. Kobe to return I bet for that

Heat v Lakers is a strange choice given LAL likely not to make the playoffs next year. Can see the logic if Kobe is back but if I were the Lakers management I'd give him next year off. There's not a chance in hell they'll win it all next year so why put miles up on Kobe's clock, keep him fresh for '14-15 season with his new team mates and a chance at Wiggins and Co.

Would have rather seen a NY v BKN or Miami V OKC game in it's place but Clippers and Warriors should be good fun!

ButtersSuki

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

LA is actually the most unlikely destination of the 3.

Cleveland or NY? Well that's up to Lebron. Does he want a fresh start in the bright light of the big city or does he want to return home and win his redemption in cleveland

Disagree. Lakers usually get who they want (Kareem, Shaq as examples) and there have already been soundings on LeBron in LA. LA have $50m+ before they hit the salary cap next year - not that that even matters as luxury tax not an issue for them.

Google "LeBron Lakers" and you'll get tonnes of articles on this. PTI and Around the Horn both featured this recently as their lead story!

My reasoning for LeBron is I think they're unlikely to get both, so they'd IMO put more effort into getting the more complete player (LeBron). And even if NY lose Melo, they'd struggle to pay LeBron market value - and he's highly unlikely to take less than market value in a team that isn't likely to be an elite contender.

ButtersSuki

Mavs recruiting video for Dwight Howard:

CRINGE!!!!!! Is it any wonder he didn't sign?

John Wall interview:
In what amounts to a feast for the easily-outraged and totally-literal, John Wall has nominated himself as the best point guard in the NBA.

Speaking during a radio interview with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix on the Dan Patrick Show, the Wizards guard didn’t hesitate when asked where he ranks at his position.

“I rank myself the best,” Wall said. “Yeah, I rank myself the best.”

Asked whether that was a current or a forward-looking assessment, Wall seemed to indicate that it was both.

“Just basing it on what I can do in the future,” he said. “What I feel like I have at stake ahead of me. … I feel like I always can improve. There’s a lot of talented point guards out there, but I feel like I can hold my own.”

The 22-year-old Wall, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 draft, expressed a similar, albeit a bit softer, sentiment in July, when asked to compare himself to Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and the other young point guards at a USA Basketball minicamp in Las Vegas.

“I think point guard is the best position in the league. You’re going against the best wherever you go,” Wall told SI.com. “I feel like when I’m healthy, I’m right there with them. I put myself in the category.”

Providing background to evaluate these remarks will inevitably feel like a takedown. Wall has never been selected to an All-Star Game or been recognized as an All-NBA performer. He has never averaged 20 points per game or dished 10 assists per game. He played all 66 games of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season and made just three three-pointers total (!). That year, he also led the league in turnovers. He’s never played for a team that’s won 36 percent of its games and he has zero postseason games under his belt, let alone a ring.

Is Wall’s “I rank myself the best” point guard the NBA’s least-defensible self-promotion since Monta Ellis put himself in the “same category” with Dwyane Wade? Yeah, probably, although Derrick Rose calling himself the best player in the NBA, LeBron James included, is right there, too.

Back in March, roughly six weeks after Wall returned from a knee injury, The Point Forward ranked the NBA’s top 10 point guards, and he was not included. Wall finished the 2012-13 season with a flourish, leading the Wizards to a 24-25 record when he was on the court and averaging a career-high 18.5 points while shooting a career-best 44.1 percent. His PER of 20.9 ranked No. 6 among point guards, and Wall was recently rewarded with a five-year, $80 million contract extension.

Did Wall’s strong finish meaningfully bump him up the point guard standings? The Point Forward’s top 10 from March, in order: Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo, Stephen Curry, Deron Williams, Jrue Holiday and Ty Lawson. Who on that list does Wall supplant now? All 10 have either made the All-Star Game or competed in the playoffs, and Wall’s résumé really doesn’t hold up against any of those names, except perhaps Holiday and Lawson if you’re feeling generous. There are a few others on the outskirts of the top 10 conversation that deserve name-checks: Mike Conley and Damian Lillard, in particular.

In short, Wall can refer to himself as an “above-average starting point guard” without setting off the fact-checker alarms. Anything more optimistic than that is much dicier, at least for now. Is he capable of climbing into the back-half of the top 10 with a strong season? Of course. Will things look different in, say, five years when Wall is 27 and a number of the names on that list have turned the 30 corner? For sure. But he’ll still be contending with Westbrook, Rose, Irving and Curry, among others, for the No. 1 spot. It’s somewhat plausible to imagine a future world where Wall is the best point guard on the planet, but it would require a lot of improvement from Wall and the convergence of numerous external factors (health of other players, make-up of their teams, etc.).

So if he’s either totally wrong, way early, or both, what can we take from Wall’s statements? He, along with Rose and others, seem to have taken to publicly expressing extraordinarily high internal expectations as a way to keep focus. Talking the talk, as they say, requires walking the walk, or it all sounds foolish. This pricking at one’s own pride is just another method of goal-setting, even if it comes at the expense of their competitors, and it’s worth noting that Rose garnered guffaws in 2010 when he tossed his own name out as an MVP candidate before going on to win the award.

Indeed, Wall has never been known as a player who talks just to talk, or to maliciously slight others. Queried by Mannix as to who were the league’s toughest covers at the point guard position, he named Chicago’s Rose and Oklahoma City’s Westbrook and spoke with the kind of open praise you would expect.

“Toughest two is probably Derrick and Russell,” he said. “I feel like they can score any time. That’s what they do for their team. They can break a play any time and they’re very explosive.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that those are the two names that come to mind for Wall. His skills — speed, quickness, leaping ability, instincts, reflexes — tend more toward theirs rather than Paul’s or Parker’s at this point. If he is serious about becoming the league’s best point guard, those are his two best, most realistic models.

Wall’s comments will inevitably be referenced whenever he has a six-turnover game, or if his perimeter shooting struggles continue, or if the Wizards aren’t able to make the leap out of the lottery this season. That’s fine, and surely Wall is aware of that possibility and comfortable with the heat that will accompany his shortcomings.

More important, Wall seems to understand the bigger picture. Again, returning to his examples, both Rose and Westbrook achieved significant success in the playoffs at a young age: Rose took the Bulls to the 2011 Eastern Conference finals while Westbrook helped the Thunder to the 2011 Western Conference finals and the 2012 Finals. Both Chicago and Oklahoma City are among the top championship contenders for next season, and their point guards, both coming off of knee injuries, are major reasons why. That type of team-wide success — and not individual accolades — was at the front-and-center of Wall’s remarks after he inked his extension.

“I am both proud and humbled by the belief that the Wizards organization, the fans and my teammates have shown in me since I arrived here three years ago,” he said. “I can promise all of them that I will repay that belief by representing the city of Washington and doing everything I can to get this team back where it belongs.”

Now that’s the type of bold declaration with which everyone should be able to agree.

Dublin Red Devil

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Disagree. Lakers usually get who they want (Kareem, Shaq as examples) and there have already been soundings on LeBron in LA. LA have $50m+ before they hit the salary cap next year - not that that even matters as luxury tax not an issue for them.

Google "LeBron Lakers" and you'll get tonnes of articles on this. PTI and Around the Horn both featured this recently as their lead story!

My reasoning for LeBron is I think they're unlikely to get both, so they'd IMO put more effort into getting the more complete player (LeBron). And even if NY lose Melo, they'd struggle to pay LeBron market value - and he's highly unlikely to take less than market value in a team that isn't likely to be an elite contender.

The Lakers are not "The Lakers" anymore. Jerry Buss is dead and the team is being ran into the ground by his retarded son. They'll get Melo but the won't get James. I can see James going back to Cleveland

ButtersSuki

As I said, Cleveland or LAL...in that order.

Paully D

Any of you think LeBron will stay in Miami, no?

To be honest, I hope he goes to the Lakers from the point of view that it would be nice to sit back and enjoy watching him play outside of the eastern conference, where I can't help but want to see him fail, as his results and performances have generally always had an an effect for my team. Petty I know, but I can't help it :pac:

At least if he went to the Lakers I would only feel like that once a year in the Finals, if either team got there.

GoldFour4

Yeah in my opinion anyway he'll either stay in Miami or head to Cleveland, don't see the Lakers, Knicks or anyone else as a potential player.

ButtersSuki

malistheman wrote: »

Yeah in my opinion anyway he'll either stay in Miami or head to Cleveland, don't see the Lakers, Knicks or anyone else as a potential player.

Can't see him staying in Miami with Wade and Bosh a shadow of their former selves, too much for LeBron to carry the whole team.

Dublin Red Devil

James will never be a Laker

Nuri Sahin

malistheman wrote: »

Yeah in my opinion anyway he'll either stay in Miami or head to Cleveland, don't see the Lakers, Knicks or anyone else as a potential player.

Pat Riley and LeBron have an excellent relationship by all accounts and for that alone, it really wouldn't surprise me if he does indeed stay with Miami. I'd like to think he'll return to Cleveland though.

Nuri Sahin

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Nuri, I'm guessing you've been to a Knicks game before? I'd try and get to the Nets just for the experience, the arena and Brooklyn itself instead of a repeat trip to MSG if you're there long enough. And of course to see that new roster of theirs!

I've been to a near dozen Knicks games man, a frequent visitor to NY over the past decade or so and will be moving there full time in September. So I'll get to see plenty of them, especially since the girlfriend is studying at NYU which isn't far away from MSG at all. She's a big fan of the Knicks herself.

I'll certainly get to a Nets game at some point, as first and foremost I love watching basketball even I do have soft spots for some franchises, calling myself a die hard fan for a particular franchise is a bit much Brooklyn is only down the road from Queens which is good too. Was actually saying on Twitter earlier this week I'd like to get to the TD Garden at some point for a game between the Celtics and Knicks :P

ButtersSuki

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

I've been to a near dozen Knicks games man, a frequent visitor to NY over the past decade or so and will be moving there full time in September. So I'll get to see plenty of them, especially since the girlfriend is studying at NYU which isn't far away from MSG at all. She's a big fan of the Knicks herself.

I'll certainly get to a Nets game at some point, as first and foremost I love watching basketball even I do have soft spots for some franchises, calling myself a die hard fan for a particular franchise is a bit much Brooklyn is only down the road from Queens which is good too. Was actually saying on Twitter earlier this week I'd like to get to the TD Garden at some point for a game between the Celtics and Knicks :P

Ho

You lucky so and so.......enjoy!

Stay in touch here dude, we'd miss you otherwise.

padraig_f

I find it hard to predict what Lebron would do, because his move to the Heat last time he had a decision always puzzled me. Not great fans, not much history, I was thinking more in terms of legacy, like winning the city of Cleveland its first major title since the 60s, or going to the Knicks, and winning them their first title since '73.

Best I could interpret his motivation for going to Miami was he thought it would be fun to play with Wade, so I think it was more immediate on-the-court motivations, rather than loftier goals of historical legacy.

If I have to guess, I think he will leave Miami. I don't think he expected the negative fallout with him going to Miami, and I don't think he's that comfortable with it. Even after winning a second championship, they're still not popular among neutrals. Some players don't mind the villain role, but from what I picked up from Lebron, I don't think he enjoys it.

Two possible destinations come to mind...

1. The Knicks. The most adoring fans (you see how they reacted to a modest talent like Jeremy Lin). If you're feeling unloved, this is where you want to go. Plus the NY hype, if he was to deliver the Knicks their first championship in 40 years, it would dwarf all the negative stuff that went before.

2. The Clippers. This goes back to his motivation being who he wants to play with on the court. He seems to be good friends with Chris Paul, who would be great to play with. And Doc Rivers has a reputation as a players' coach, so I think that would appeal to him too. I don't know how workable this is from a cap point of view, but I'm sure if Lebron says he wants to join your team, you find a way of making it work.

I also don't think he's going to the Lakers. I think people over-estimate the draw there. They were fortunate in the past with the players they got, and they were also well run under Jerry Buss. I don't know how Jim Buss is going to do, but he's sure off to a spectacularly bad start after first the Phil Jackson/D'Antoni fiasco, and then losing Dwight Howard a year after trading for him.

Staying in Miami will always be a possibility, but I think will take some convincing from Wade and Riley.

Nuri Sahin

ButtersSuki wrote: »

You lucky so and so.......enjoy!

Stay in touch here dude, we'd miss you otherwise.

Hey, it can be quiet here at times but have you seen the likes of insidehoops forum and similar US based forums? I'll be sticking around for sure. Cheers anyway man.

stuchyg

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Hey, it can be quiet here at times but have you seen the likes of insidehoops forum and similar US based forums? I'll be sticking around for sure. Cheers anyway man.

I'm heading to Boston n Chicago in Jan on honeymoon. No game in beantown scheduled but the bulls play the cats when we're there, do NBA games tend to change a lot ala soccer

ButtersSuki

stuchyg wrote: »

I'm heading to Boston n Chicago in Jan on honeymoon. No game in beantown scheduled but the bulls play the cats when we're there, do NBA games tend to change a lot ala soccer

NBA schedules are rock solid. Every day in the US is like a weekend here for major sports, you'll be fine booking now.

stuchyg

ButtersSuki wrote: »

NBA schedules are rock solid. Every day in the US is like a weekend here for major sports, you'll be fine booking now.

Cheers butters, have convinced here we should go to a Bruins game since the Celtics aren't playing.

Anyone any ideas of general ticket prices

ButtersSuki

stuchyg wrote: »

Cheers butters, have convinced here we should go to a Bruins game since the Celtics aren't playing.

Anyone any ideas of general ticket prices

Start at about $25-30 but you'll need binoculars to see the play. Goes up to thousands per seat (!) but if it's a once in a lifetime gig I'd pay as much as you can to get the best seat possible. In many respects, you'll get what you pay for......last tix I bought were circa $400 each for Nets in Brooklyn and they were good, but not absolutely amazing.

Check bulls.com, ticket master and stub hub.com for tickets but only after you get to see the Chicago Stadium ticket plan to see where the seats are!

Oh and don't go for tickets behind a basket because it's cheaper - seems obvious but worth pointing out!

I went to Ice hockey once but found it a bit boring tbh, might be better saving the money you'd have spent on that game to buy better tickets for basketball?

Nuri Sahin

stuchyg wrote: »

I'm heading to Boston n Chicago in Jan on honeymoon. No game in beantown scheduled but the bulls play the cats when we're there, do NBA games tend to change a lot ala soccer

Unless there's a snow storm or heaving flooding, as Butters said, it's rock solid.

Fairly sure one due to snow, perhaps two games maximum were rescheduled last season (regular season and playoffs combined).

ButtersSuki

stuchyg wrote: »

Cheers butters, have convinced here we should go to a Bruins game since the Celtics aren't playing.

Anyone any ideas of general ticket prices

This arrived in my inbox earlier....
https://stubhub-mail.com/pub/sf/FormLink?_ri_=X0Gzc2X%3DWQpglLjHJlTQGjhnkMP80DoEDMm8111HaU7KqzagwFEwN2RVXMtX%3DWQpglLjHJlTQGNY6MzcEzdzaosa6T8UKRMKOzekK3EfTKKOwrO&_ei_=EolaGGF4SNMvxFF7KucKuWPRbUOu9UM-8MIsDDkTXgJ6LiPEu1NfQQ5RbGepDDDNRGSWCfyAhxocZeG4n8co2fS7_VuovepokutAHuwuITC-_ECzMY8lB64-QSHvtUxIBqnTOrEEky6g_AOUoIle.

Dublin Red Devil

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

For Next Season. Who are your Playoff teams? Here's mine

(in no particular order)

Heat
Bulls
Pacers
Nets
Knicks
Cleveland
Toronto
Detroit


Thunder
Spurs
Clippers
Rockets
Warriors
Grizzlies
Denver
Portland or Minnesota (too close to call)

Revised predition

Nuri Sahin

Philly have offered the head coaching job to Spurs assistant Brett Brown according to Woj. Amusing how long this has taken.

ButtersSuki

Thought I posted this the other day but iPhone obviously didn't connect:

Suns Michael Beasley arrested again for drug(marijuana) possession. You'd wonder ow long he'll last in Phoenix with new coach and GM who've already talked about discipline and no-one being guaranteed a berth.
Funniest part though is his arrest pic. He looks like Bubbles from The Wire's long lost twin!

And Shabazz Mohammed sent home from rookie transition camp for having a lady friend in his room after hours. Good start to your career! He'll have to sit this again next year.

padraig_f

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Thought I posted this the other day but iPhone obviously didn't connect:

Suns Michael Beasley arrested again for drug(marijuana) possession. You'd wonder ow long he'll last in Phoenix with new coach and GM who've already talked about discipline and no-one being guaranteed a berth.
Funniest part though is his arrest pic. He looks like Bubbles from The Wire's long lost twin!

Sad to see, he went #2 in the draft the year Derrick Rose went #1, and there was debate at the time if Beasley should've gone first. I always rooted for him cos I thought he had real talent.

Good story from the pre-draft process that year, when the Bulls interviewed both players:
Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and the importance of pre-draft interviews