THE NBA off season thread

burk48237 · #1 06-24-2009, 10:05 AM

Well I guess the off season started to today. San Antonio just got Richard Jefferson for Thomas, Oberto, and Bowen. Great move, IF they stay healthy I would say it puts them in the mix again. But I don't think it adresses their biggest need, and it may have even hurt them. They need a classic four who can do some dirty work, rebound, takes some hard fouls, guard Pivot men to keep Duncan out of foul trouble, and rest Duncan. Anyway it should be an interesting off season.

My Pistons promptly traded Amir Johnson to Mil for Oberto and then waved Oberto, freeing up another 1.5 mil in cap space. Pretty soon they want have a team, but they will have cap space. Can he hit a "jump shot"?

The one thing I don't like about the salary cap is it punishes teams who do draft well. The Pistons lost Okur after their title because they wanted to resign Wallace at no increase. A team should be allowed to go over the cap to keep players they drafted. I could have understood of they would have signed Wallace to a big raise, but they signed him to the same cap number that he fit under when they traded for him. The same thing is happening to Orlando now with Turkelo. It really does discourage team building and encourages the couple of stars, and a bunch of interchangeable parts approach.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9...#39;-Jefferson

Jared Lash · #2 06-24-2009, 11:05 AM

Teams CAN go over the cap to resign players they drafted. It's the Bird rule. It doesn't work the same way for second round picks like Okur (and this year Sessions) primarily because they need to have operated under their existing contract for three years and 2nd round picks get two year deals.

As for Turkoglu, he wasn't drafted by Orlando - he was drafted by Sacramento. But under his current contract Orlando has his Bird rights and could exceed the cap to resign him. If they don't it will be less about a flawed system and more because they decided to give Rashard Lewis an unfathomable $118 million contract.

I think the Spurs will soon have Oberto and possibly Bowen back. Exactly the kind of deal that makes R.C. Buford one of the absolute best GMs in basketball. A healthy Ginobili and Jefferson puts them back in contention even with a declining Duncan. LA will need to resign Odom and Ariza to stay on top in the west.

For the Bucks it was a salary dump to allow them room to resign Sessions this offseason and Villaneuva next year.

As a Kings fan I'm most concerned with who they end up with the fourth pick of tomorrow's draft. I'm intrigued with Rubio but have some serious reservations. On the other hand, I like him a lot better than Tyreke Evans who is currently the en vogue pick for them according to many mock drafts. There are so few players I like at the top of this draft that I'm not opposed to them moving off the pick for the right deal.

As a side note, I don't see Blake Griffin being a star in the NBA. Solid player with a 12-15 year career yes, but star? Not in my opinion.

Hoover · #3 06-24-2009, 12:15 PM

I'm surprised SA would let Bowen go... then again, I'm usually surprised -- as well as perplexed, frustrated, disappointed, and/or oblivious -- to most off season moves.

I just saw a blurb on the elevator newsfeed yesterday about Boston trading Ray Allen & Rajon Rondo to Detroit for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey. Nearly sharted. Any truth to that tidbit?

line6bassist · #4 06-24-2009, 12:25 PM

Thats a great move for SA.that move should free up alot of offense causing teams in the west alot of defensive matchup problems...but they do need a quality big man to help duncan in the post! like a rasheed wallace..if that was to happen....should be the favorites out of the west once again..

bwv1013 · #5 06-24-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

I'm surprised SA would let Bowen go... then again, I'm usually surprised -- as well as perplexed, frustrated, disappointed, and/or oblivious -- to most off season moves.

I just saw a blurb on the elevator newsfeed yesterday about Boston trading Ray Allen & Rajon Rondo to Detroit for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey. Nearly sharted. Any truth to that tidbit?

from what i read, the trade was casually proposed by a lower level Celtics exec, then casually but quickly declined by someone in Detroit. i guess it officially happened but nobody expected anything to come from it. just testing the waters i guess...?

bottomzone · #6 06-24-2009, 06:32 PM

I humbly disagree with regard to Blake Griffin not becoming a super star-I believe that he will be!!! I also believe that the teams that pass on Stephon Curry will regret that decision!!!

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Beta · #7 06-24-2009, 10:51 PM

ESPN is reporting that Shaq is being traded to the Cavs for Pavlovic and Ben Wallace.

MJ5150 · #8 06-24-2009, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta

ESPN is reporting that Shaq is being traded to the Cavs for Pavlovic and Ben Wallace.

That won't last long. There aren't enough media spotlights for both of those fools in Cleveland. Besides, Shaq lost his skills a few years ago.

This won't be Kobe/Shaq Version 2.0. Lebron ain't half the player Kobe is.

-Mike

burk48237 · #9 06-25-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

That won't last long. There aren't enough media spotlights for both of those fools in Cleveland. Besides, Shaq lost his skills a few years ago.

This won't be Kobe/Shaq Version 2.0. Lebron ain't half the player Kobe is.

-Mike

I don't believe "media spotlight" will be the problem. But I believe compatibility will be. Cleveland's offense needs big men who move well without the ball, someone like a younger Rasheed or Carlos Boozer. They don't need another slow, stationary big man. In a way Shaq is a more Physical Ilgaskis. Good in that he'll bang a bit, bad in that they will be hopeless against the high pick and roll or defending mobile big men. If you think I just described the Orlando Magic's offensive strengths, you get ten points. This is a marriage that will not end well.

As far as Lebron not being half the player Kobe is, I don't know if I'd go that far. But Kobe is a far superior playoff player because he hits free throws, his outside shot is more consistent, and if they called them equally Lebron would foul out of every other game.

I remember going into 02 when Joe Dumars as a GM claimed he was building a team to be ready when Shaq retires. My how times have changed, he beat the Lakers that year and the "unbeatable" combination of Kobe and Shaq was broken up. Bowen was a step slower this year, and assets (defensive stopper-occasional three pointer) got diminished considerable. Much like Chris Mullin who was a mediocre defensive player when he had wheels and became awful when he lost them. Bowen without wheels has now become mediocre. I think if a team in the west could put together a package for Tayshun Prince it would be a smart move. He is the best Kobe defender in the league right now

Beta · #10 06-25-2009, 09:27 AM

Shaq/Kobe 2.0 (and remember that Shaq was the superstar on those Laker teams, not Bryant) was Shaq/Wade.

James is better now than Bryant was at the 6-year point in his career (Bryant shot a ridiculous 25% from 3 in 2001-2002). O'Neal now is better than Ilgauskas is. He may not be the Shaq of the Orlando/Los Angeles days, but he's not Fabricio Oberto or Kwame Brown, either.

Will this get Cleveland a title? No. If any team was destined to lose a series solely because of poor free throw shooting, I can't think of a more likely candidate. For a player who is that skilled at all other aspects of the sport, James really ought to shoot better from the line, especially at the end of games.

I agree with burk about Bowen. He couldn't guard anyone during the playoffs.

burk48237 · #11 06-25-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta

Shaq/Kobe 2.0 (and remember that Shaq was the superstar on those Laker teams, not Bryant) was Shaq/Wade.

James is better now than Bryant was at the 6-year point in his career (Bryant shot a ridiculous 25% from 3 in 2001-2002). O'Neal now is better than Ilgauskas is. He may not be the Shaq of the Orlando/Los Angeles days, but he's not Fabricio Oberto or Kwame Brown, either.

Will this get Cleveland a title? No. If any team was destined to lose a series solely because of poor free throw shooting, I can't think of a more likely candidate. For a player who is that skilled at all other aspects of the sport, James really ought to shoot better from the line, especially at the end of games.

I agree with burk about Bowen. He couldn't guard anyone during the playoffs.

I think the real interesting thing about the Cleveland - Orlando match-up is how Cleveland couldn't guard high pick and rolls and had trouble with a quick mobile big man like Howard. Remember Detroit eliminated Cleveland four years in a row with the same game, high pick and rolls, good outside shooting, and a big guy who can hit threes. Shaq's biggest weakness is defensive mobility and Orlando's offense his basically designed to attack slow immobile big men. I can see Trugelo and Lewis STILL getting a lot of open three point looks against Cleveland. The only plus Shaq brings is he might be able to get Howard in foul trouble in the post. I still think Orlando needs one more shot blocking rebounding big man.

bwv1013 · #12 06-25-2009, 02:05 PM

i think this is a last ditch effort to keep Lebron happy in Cleveland. As much as Shaq may not fit in the Cleveland offense, the biggest issue in my mind is minutes. I don't see Shaq logging huge minutes one way or the other, and I wonder how much he'll have in the tank when his team is 2 series deep in the playoffs. Shaq could average 20 and 8 and be a huge factor, or he could be injured for a good part of the season and be a non-factor.

If everything goes perfectly for Cleveland they could be formidable, but I think we're in for more of the same: solid team during the regular season but still short for the championship push.

GregC · #13 06-25-2009, 02:33 PM

It looks like the Magic are trading for Vince Carter. Ugh, this is not what I want at all.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4287197

burk48237 · #14 06-26-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregC

It looks like the Magic are trading for Vince Carter. Ugh, this is not what I want at all.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4287197

It appears Turgalo is out the door for a bigger contract. While getting Carter is better then nothing for Turgalo, It's not a step up. Turgelo presented huge match-up problems against most teams. I would not be a happy person if I was a Magic fan today.

In the meanwhile, I don't have a clue what my Pistons are doing. They draft another 6'10" project. They're supposedly targeting Ben Gordon and Carlos Boozer? Please Joe, say it ain't so? Gordon is another tweener who is a defensive liability as a starter and Boozer appears to me to be a "stats player" not a money player. I'm not excited about either. Now Chris Bosh, or Stoudomier, much more exciting.

Hoover · #15 06-26-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burk48237

Tayshun Prince ...is the best Kobe defender in the league right now

Why do you think that is?

Is it just that Prince has the fastest reflexes and/or best ability to anticipate? Or do you think Prince somehow has "figured out" Bryant specifically, in a way no other defender has?

Holy War · #16 06-26-2009, 08:40 AM

thank god its over

burk48237 · #17 06-26-2009, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

Why do you think that is?

Is it just that Prince has the fastest reflexes and/or best ability to anticipate? Or do you think Prince somehow has "figured out" Bryant specifically, in a way no other defender has?

Because Prince is quick enough to lay off him and still recovery with his length to bother his outside shots. Prince has trouble with James because James just puts his shoulder into him (an offensive foul for a mortal

) and pushes him off on the way to the basket. Plus James is a couple of inches taller. Kobe isn't as Physical. If you look at the Lakers stats against the Pistons since Prince became a starter, you'll see the Pistons have dominated them. Even last years sorry Pistons team beat the Lakers in LA. Another team the Pistons always did well against was Orlando, again it was the extra length of Prince to guard Turkulo. The Pistons, even after the trade had pretty good length at every position and consequently when they hustled they could close quickly on three point shooters.

jazzy grille · #18 06-26-2009, 11:12 AM

Vince Cater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Magic FTW.

MJ5150 · #19 06-26-2009, 10:56 PM

Call it what you want, but Shaq ain't gonna win crap in Cleveland. He won't even be there all season. He can't share the spotlight with anyone.

The NBA title will stay in Los Angeles until Kobe is done with it. There is no one in the NBA better than him.

-Mike

jrthebassguy · #20 06-27-2009, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Call it what you want, but Shaq ain't gonna win crap in Cleveland. He won't even be there all season. He can't share the spotlight with anyone.

The NBA title will stay in Los Angeles until Kobe is done with it. There is no one in the NBA better than him.

-Mike

Have faith, brother. Once the Rockets resign Artest and trade that chump McGrady for a less selfish shooting guard, the Rockets will be legit contenders. Mark my words.