2015 NBA Offseason + Draft

ButtersSuki

The thing that's always amazed me about an 82 game season PLUS all of the air miles you'd clock up travelling around the US is how fit underneath it all those guys must be. Super-human fitness levels I can only imagine when it comes down to it. It's also about the nature of the game with a higher proportion of the elements of the game involved being explosive in nature - sprinting, jumping, etc. Even at my absolute fittest, I'd be shattered after games and sore as hell the next day, no matter how I cooled down after games or how much I stretched (and stretching was a huge part of my pre-game and post-game rituals). The physical toll on their bodies must be insane and the wear and tear over the years equally so.

ButtersSuki

Really nice article on Larry Legend over on si.com. I'd link it or post it but i'm on the phone. Worth a look - esp. for all you "young people" who never got to see him play in his prime.

http://www.si.com/nba/2015/08/18/larry-bird-boston-celtics-magic-johnson-indiana-french-lick

Paully D

LeBron has donated over $40m so 1,100 kids from the area he grew up in can attend college. Absolutely incredible gesture.

ButtersSuki

Paully D wrote: »

LeBron has donated over $40m so 1,100 kids from the area he grew up in can attend college. Absolutely incredible gesture.

It is nice on the surface and you certainly can't fault the generosity on one level but on another it's chump change to him. It'd be like me and you giving a fiver to someone. There's enormous tax benefits to doing this (it won't cost him anywhere near the quoted figure), as well as substantial PR benefits too, and LeJon still has some work to do on that front in Cleveland after The Decision.

Maybe I shouldn't nit pick LeJon on this and maybe the ideal thing would be if more players did this kind of thing, so props to him for doing it.

killwill

ButtersSuki wrote: »

It is nice on the surface and you certainly can't fault the generosity on one level but on another it's chump change to him. It'd be like me and you giving a fiver to someone. There's enormous tax benefits to doing this (it won't cost him anywhere near the quoted figure), as well as substantial PR benefits too, and LeJon still has some work to do on that front in Cleveland after The Decision.

Maybe I shouldn't nit pick LeJon on this and maybe the ideal thing would be if more players did this kind of thing, so props to him for doing it.

There is alot of negative articles about NBA players with regards to gun, domestic and drug charges so for me this is a breath of fresh air.
Yes it is loose change to LeBron but as you said, if it starts others doing this it could be to start of something very positive across all the United States.

killwill

killwill wrote: »

There is alot of negative articles about NBA players with regards to gun, domestic and drug charges so for me this is a breath of fresh air.
Yes it is loose change to LeBron but as you said, if it starts others doing this it could be to start of something very positive across all the United States.

people just like to "hate" on lebron he seems to be a bit of a magnet for itl. simular was said about ronaldo with regard some of his charitable endeavours. you can like a guy or dislike a guy but theres really no reason to nit pick about a guy giving that much to charity

Felexicon

ButtersSuki wrote:

It is nice on the surface and you certainly can't fault the generosity on one level but on another it's chump change to him. It'd be like me and you giving a fiver to someone. There's enormous tax benefits to doing this (it won't cost him anywhere near the quoted figure), as well as substantial PR benefits too, and LeJon still has some work to do on that front in Cleveland after The Decision.

Maybe I shouldn't nit pick LeJon on this and maybe the ideal thing would be if more players did this kind of thing, so props to him for doing it.

That LeJon thing you've been trying to make a thing on here for the past year is getting very annoying.

Also 40m is not the same as us giving a fiver.

buyer95

Criticising a guy for being charitable is ridicolous, even if you believe he is doing it to improve his image he is still making peoples live better.

GoldFour4

Yeah I'd agree. Even if there is some tax breaks LBJ is still giving a lot of money to those kids. Providing an education to kids who can't afford US fees is potentially life changing for generations of family. Hard to put a negative spin on it.

ButtersSuki

Felexicon wrote: »

That LeJon thing you've been trying to make a thing on here for the past year is getting very annoying.

Also 40m is not the same as us giving a fiver.

It's not "my" thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ytF7xoL-I

ButtersSuki

I'm not hating for the sake of it, in fact if you read what I said I give props to him for doing this. I'm merely pointing out that it's not the charitable gesture it first appears to be when you analyse it. Fair play to him for doing so (I did say this) and it would be great if more did likewise (again, I did say this). the tax write offs at his level for doing this are enormous, I read somewhere previously that I think as much as 90% of these "gestures" can be written off against future earnings.

Of course $40m is not the same as €5. His earnings alone last year are a reported $65m, with a career income to date anywhere between $450m to close to a billion dollars - depending on your source. He's also tipped to become the first billion dollar athlete from endorsements alone by the time he finishes his career. And if his retro sneaker sales even come to one tenth of what the Jordan Brand has managed to do when he retires he's likely looking at another 9 figures in income when he retires. My point is he won't miss it. His kids aren't going to go hungry because of this.

Finally, and I just saying this.......there was a time when people (philanthropists) made this kind of gesture anonymously. It was the done thing. Hence why I brought the PR angle into it. You think he's not hurt by the fallout of the decision? He's admitted himself that he is.

Itssoeasy

RIP chocolate thunder daryl Dawkins.

ButtersSuki

Itssoeasy wrote: »

RIP chocolate thunder daryl Dawkins.

No way?

RIP dude. Backboards everywhere will be safer tonight.

Itssoeasy

ButtersSuki wrote: »

No way?

RIP dude. Backboards everywhere will be safer tonight.

Yep died this morning. He was only 58.

ButtersSuki

Itssoeasy wrote: »

Yep died this morning. He was only 58.

I was talking to a cardiologist who I worked with a few years ago about this. He was telling me that men who are in that 7 foot and above bracket have a much shorter life span than "average" sized men as their hearts aren't significantly bigger than those of an average sized person and obviously given the size of the person have to work do much harder to pump blood around a much larger body. Combine that with what I previously posted on re. the fitness levels demanded of these guys and it's not surprising I guess. Very sad when you think about it.

Interesting that a guy like Kareem who's been heavily into Eastern Culture, diet and various martial arts (huge emphasis on breathing) for decades has bucked this trend. Kareem look amazing for his age, a picture of health.

Paully D

Derrick Rose accused of drugging and gang-raping a girl his then ex, with more than 10 of his friends. Jesus :eek:

One interesting piece from the lawsuit:

Rose and the woman dated from 2011 until July 2013. In May 2013, according to the lawsuit, the woman said she traveled to Chicago with Rose and that they went to dinner with a friend “at his house after the game he played in ended.”

However, Rose didn't actually play in May.

ButtersSuki

Paully D wrote: »

Derrick Rose accused of drugging and gang-raping a girl his then ex, with more than 10 of his friends. Jesus :eek:

One interesting piece from the lawsuit:



However, Rose didn't actually play in May.

Oh dear, that does not exactly sound good no matter how you spin it.

On the face of it given the time that has elapaed it looks like a shakedown but if it's proven to have happened then the Kobe rape allegation is going to look innocent by comparison.

padraig_f

Paully D wrote: »

Derrick Rose accused of drugging and gang-raping a girl his then ex, with more than 10 of his friends. Jesus :eek:

It's a shocking allegation, but my attitiude here is the same when any other sports-person is accused of something: wait for something to be proven before judging, because the allegations can be so damaging and high-profile sports-people are so frequently targets of extortion.

Just saw one against Michael Beasley was thrown out the other day:
Michael Beasley's $25 Million Sexual Assault, Kidnapping Lawsuit Dismissed


They had a responsible discussion of it here with KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
http://download.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d1/d9/dD/dR/d3/19DR3_3.MP3?show=Interviews+on+670+The+Score&category=Sports+%26+Recreation&callsign=WSCRAM&market=Chicago

While respectful of the process, something I learned there is that the woman is on her 3rd attorney and never went to the police, so colour me skeptical at this point.

stuba

Anyone here use Ballstreams? Have been using League Pass myself the past few years and can't really fault it but thinking about changing it up this year as it can be 20-30 secs behind realtime and apparently ballstreams isnt.

Itssoeasy

RIP Moses Malone.

Itssoeasy

Paully D wrote: »

Derrick Rose accused of drugging and gang-raping a girl his then ex, with more than 10 of his friends. Jesus :eek:

One interesting piece from the lawsuit:



However, Rose didn't actually play in May.

Would rose have been at the game though ? I personally think that info like this shouldn't be released until or if there is a proof that anything has occurred.

padraig_f

Itssoeasy wrote: »

RIP Moses Malone.

Just reading about him there:

Moses Malone, 76ers’ ‘Chairman of the Boards,’ Dies at 60

Impressive career alright....3-time MVP, Finals MVP, and didn't know he was the one who coined the "Fo' Fo' Fo'" phrase.

Before the 1983 playoffs began, Malone predicted the 76ers would go “four, four, four” — or, as has commonly been cited, “fo, fo, fo,” in the Southern vernacular — en route to the championship.

He was off by one game.

The 76ers defeated the Knicks in four straight games in the Eastern Conference semifinals; beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 4-1, in the conference finals; and then swept the Los Angeles Lakers to capture the N.B.A. championship. Malone was named M.V.P. of the finals.

I remember reading about him in The Breaks of the Game. Portland screwed up by trading him before he played an NBA game. I think part of the reason was he was a bit quiet at the time, and they had problems communicating with him, they traded him after a couple of practices.

delph09

can not wait to watch Rocket's game, want to see chemical effect between Harden, Lawson and Howard, any rocket's fan here?

NufcNavan

delph09 wrote: »

can not wait to watch Rocket's game, want to see chemical effect between Harden, Lawson and Howard, any rocket's fan here?

Not that I know of. I don't really like the Rockets lol.

delph09

NufcNavan wrote: »

Not that I know of. I don't really like the Rockets lol.

so which team you like best, warrior or spurs?

limerickfc

Has to be the Spurs, timeless perfection

NufcNavan

delph09 wrote: »

so which team you like best, warrior or spurs?

I follow the Pacers, but out of them two teams I would root for the Spurs.

delph09

NufcNavan wrote: »

I follow the Pacers, but out of them two teams I would root for the Spurs.

Pacer is good team, but most of good players like West, Hilbert and Stephenson went to other teams, maybe need to re-build a new competitive team to chase the champion.

delph09

NufcNavan wrote: »

I follow the Pacers, but out of them two teams I would root for the Spurs.

Pacer is a good team, but most of good players like West, Hilbert and Stephenson went to other teams, maybe need to re-build a new competitive team to chase the champion now.

me and the biz

Jason Richardson retired. In his heyday there were few better dunkers.

2002 dunk contest: https://youtu.be/OTM5u-Iu-x0

2003 final dunk: https://youtu.be/2vIDAd_PTuU