NBA 2010-11 Regular Season and Playoffs!

iaintgotnopants wrote:

Marc Stein was on Sportscenter this morning saying something about the Lakers trying to trade Pau Gasol for the #2 pick. I missed most of it but apparently they also want Kevin Love. Yes, a 31-year-old sidekick is worth a 22-year-old rebound machine and probably the best player in the draft. :why is there no eye-roll smiley:

As a Laker fan (and someone with Gasol on my fantasy team) I wouldn't want them to do that deal unless they were going to blow everything up and start looking to load up with young studs. Trading Pau Gasol would be a panic move, and I don't see a reason to panic.
Kevin Love is great, but he's also putting up huge numbers on an awful team.
Pau Gasol was awful in these playoffs, but he is a superior player to Kevin Love. I have no question about that. The Lakers are still in the mix for a championship this coming season (crossing my fingers that there is a season).
Love might be a better player than Pau in three years, but in terms of chasing a ring right now, Gasol gives you more. (and the Lakers are). Gasol is an All-Star, and Love is a borderline All-Star.

Last point: Love's biggest asset is his rebounding. The Lakers problem hasn't been controlling the boards - they don't need a lot of help there. The problem has been stopping or slowing down dribble penetration, while simultaneously protecting the 3 point line. Love wouldn't fix the defensive problems, and despite Pau's crappy playoffs, I don't think he's washed up or broken down. No need for the Lakers to panic - although it is fun to speculate.

I agree that I wouldn't trade Gasol for Love if you're looking to win now, but they do need to plan for the future. Love is a Southern Cali guy, and he'd come with the number 2 pick in that scenario - the Lakers would get either a PG or 3 of the future. Fish is ancient, Artest is not the answer, and Steve Blake is what he is. It would also begin the process of clearing cap space for the possible acquisition of Dwight Howard, who they Lakers see as either Kobe's next big-man helper or his replacement as the superstar.

I wouldn't disagree with most of those points, but the Lakers need to balance win now as well as planning for the future. Kobe only has a few years left, we can all see that. A rookie PG isn't going to help the Lakers win now - none of the PG prospects are even being talked about as potential future all-stars, and rookie PGs are notoriously shaky, even the future greats.

Your points about Fish, Artest, and Blake are all true, but no one is going to take those contracts off of the Lakers' hands. (*Edit* Nor Luke Walton's contract either.)

As for Howard, I'm sure the Lakers would love the chance to get him, but at this stage it seems like far more of a media & twitter story than a legitimate trade possibility.

Losing Phil Jackson and hiring Mike Brown is already a huge shake-up, and I honestly don't know how much more shaking the front office wants to do before (and if) this season begins. In any case the team & coaching staff will be making a lot of adjustments this season.

You know what's a real savvy move? Firing your coach the night before the draft instead of the day after the season ends.

Oh the draft is this week isn't it?

iaintgotnopants wrote:

You know what's a real savvy move? Firing your coach the night before the draft instead of the day after the season ends.

I lol'd.

I heard some sports reporter on WFAN say that there is a kid in the draft who allegedly rebounds as well as Rodman...does anyone know who he was talking about? I missed the name.

mindset.threat wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

You know what's a real savvy move? Firing your coach the night before the draft instead of the day after the season ends.

I lol'd.

I heard some sports reporter on WFAN say that there is a kid in the draft who allegedly rebounds as well as Rodman...does anyone know who he was talking about? I missed the name.

Faried.

Stele wrote:

Oh the draft is this week isn't it? :D

Yes. I'm pulling big time for Bismack Biyombo. Partly because I thought Serge Ibaka was amazing last year and partly because I think he'd have the best name in NBA history.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bismack_biyombo.jpg

Ok, so... my philosophy on the important qualities of a championship team are: energy on defense and patience on offense. The reason these two are important for a championship team is those are the two best things that help you close out games in the fourth quarter.

Over time, it is much more effective to swarm on defense to create turn overs and then work the clock down til the best shot opportunity presents itself on offense. The alternative is to swarm on defense, create turn overs, score quickly on a fast break, but then leave yourself vulnerable on defense and just trade baskets, hoping that you make more than your opponent. Upping the tempo of the game can also often waken a slumping opponent.

So with that in mind, it shows the weakness of a promising player like Shannon Brown on the Lakers. It also shows why losing Trevor Ariza go was a big mistake and why Ron Artest doesn't make the Lakers anymore of a championship calibur team. Odom seemed to figure it out and I think its why he had a banner.

It is why this Maverick team won it all where the others couldn't. They have a long history of being a team of trading baskets, knowing that they could make more than their opponent. Its why the Spurs have won so many championships over the years. They never lose control on offense and they never trade baskets.

So long story short, I think the Lakers are lacking at least 2 players that are bouncing off the walls on defense and patient with their shot selection.

fangblackbone wrote:

Ron Artest

You mean Metta World Peace?

LOL, Knicks fans booing.

Stele wrote:

LOL, Knicks fans booing. :D

Not quite as amusing as Jets fans, but still good.

Yeah I can't judge any picks until at least tomorrow, maybe later. Lots of trades going around.

This is the first time I'm actually going to bash one of Kahn's moves. You have Marshon Brooks fall to you at #20 with a glaring hole at shooting guard and you take a power forward (who would be the fifth on the team). Stupid. There better be a trade here.

edit: Apparently, they are trading Lithuanian guy and Johnny Flynn to Houston for Brad Miller, the 23rd pick (which better be Brooks) and possibly a future first round pick. Less stupid if that's true.

edit2: Now it looks like the Wolves are trading #23 (another goddamn forward) to the Bulls for #28 and #43. One of those picks better be a friggin' 2 guard.

Lakers got a steal with Goudelock at 46, he will rain down many a 3 for them.

I'm very confused about what the Wolves did. I think it's possible that the only player they ended up with is Williams (not counting Brad Miller).

iaintgotnopants wrote:

I'm very confused about what the Wolves did. I think it's possible that the only player they ended up with is Williams (not counting Brad Miller).

They also got Malcolm Lee and Houston's 2013 first round pick. Basically it was that and Miller for #20 and Flynn.

What this tells me is they really want to give Wes Johnson a shot at 2-guard. I think he deserves it.

DSGamer wrote:
Stele wrote:

LOL, Knicks fans booing. :D

Not quite as amusing as Jets fans, but still good.

This team needs defense but they left the best defenders in the draft on the board. The season is months away and I'm already pissed off!

I've been enjoying Bill Simmons' podcasts for the last few weeks, and this one looks to be a whopper - guest is David Kahn.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I've been enjoying Bill Simmons' podcasts for the last few weeks, and this one looks to be a whopper - guest is David Kahn.

Oh my. Will he go soft on him like he did with David Stern, though?

DSGamer wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I've been enjoying Bill Simmons' podcasts for the last few weeks, and this one looks to be a whopper - guest is David Kahn.

Oh my. Will he go soft on him like he did with David Stern, though?

He's definitely asking some hard questions, and Kahn is being very open. Clearing up something I was curious about, it sounds like their primary lineup is going to be Rubio, Wes Johnson, Beasley, Love, and Anthony Randolph at the 5. Caveat is that against bigger teams they'd give Darko at the 5 and Randolph at 4 more time.

Definitely a few times when I've thought he's either in denial, or straight lying though. We're all sort of PR guys for our own companies, so it's nothing unforgivable.

Edit: I was curious about the Wolves' pick in next year's rich-ass draft, so I did some looking at things.

They are royally f*cked.

Way back in 2006 they traded Sam Cassell and a first round pick to the Clippers for a couple guys I don't think are in the league anymore. That first round pick was protected in the top 10 each year, and the Wolves have been in the top 10 each year. Next year it becomes unprotected. So no matter how badly they do, the Clippers are going to get that pick.

So going forward it looks highly plausible that in 2012 the Clips will run this lineup out:

1. Eric Bledsoe
2. Eric Gordon
3. Harrison Barnes?
4. Blake Griffin
5. Chris Kaman

In any case, this probably explains why they'd want to get Houston's pick next year for the 20th in this draft. Jeremy Lamb or Evan Fournier might still be on the board at 16-20 (where the Rockets might finish), SGs they could use desperately.

Well... it might be a long time before we see basketball again.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes...

jist of the story is NBA is claiming to be losing boatloads of money, Forbes says hey wait a minute your numbers dont add up.

The real problem once you dig deep enough... NBA as a whole is probably making money because of teams like the Knicks, Lakers and Bulls. Problem is there is no revenue sharing so allot more teams are losing money. So no the problem isn't spiraling out of control player wages its lopsided earnings between the have and have not teams.

Could be a very long time before Buss and Dolan agree to ship their profits to other teams instead getting the players to foot the bill.

What a mess. I read last week that 22 of the teams aren't even profitable. The Spurs sold out every home game and just barely broke even. How do you fix this?

mindset.threat wrote:

What a mess. I read last week that 22 of the teams aren't even profitable. The Spurs sold out every home game and just barely broke even. How do you fix this?

Profit sharing. The NFL has a model where most of the money comes from the league as a whole having value. So the TV deals, etc. pay for everyone to do well. The NBA isn't in the same situation as the NFL in terms of popularity, but they could have financial stability if they simply shared profits and acted like a unified league as opposed to a bunch of rich guys with vanity projects.

DSGamer wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

What a mess. I read last week that 22 of the teams aren't even profitable. The Spurs sold out every home game and just barely broke even. How do you fix this?

Profit sharing. The NFL has a model where most of the money comes from the league as a whole having value. So the TV deals, etc. pay for everyone to do well. The NBA isn't in the same situation as the NFL in terms of popularity, but they could have financial stability if they simply shared profits and acted like a unified league as opposed to a bunch of rich guys with vanity projects.

Pretty much.

As for SA not sure if they actually just broke even. Depends whos numbers you look at as theres definitely some accounting magic going on.

The NBA is the only league without profit sharing and is pretending to be bankrupt. The NFL is the only league without guaranteed contracts and it cant hide how much money its making.

ESPN was running down Yao Ming's career stats and what-not since he retired. He was an All-Star 8 of the 9 years he was in the league. What a joke. He missed 35% of the games in his career.

Interesting article from Malcolm Gladwell regarding the lockout:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...