2018-2019 NBA Thread

Daezuel said:

Gotta be honest, not entirely thrilled. I'd rather watch the young Lakers grow into a winner and now the pressure will be on to trade for help.

Finals are going to be even more of a joke now too.

At least it should be interesting for the next year or two. Father time is undefeated. Also, gaige is a huge tool and him not following Lebron after all the ball washing he's done over the years makes me feel like maybe I should give this thing a chance.

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Healthy Celtics might be better than the Cavs with Lebron now anyways so I don't think it's bad as all that.

Chanur said:

Lakers are not going to be competing for a couple years. The question is will they be ready before LeBron gets to old or not.

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In their current state I don't see them being any better than a 5th seed in the West. Free agency is just starting though and there are still pieces out there that could change that. With that being said, I don't see any variation of a team they could build beating GS in the end. Not to mention, they'd be gutting their future to pull those moves off.

I want to see Kawhi attempt to sit out the season so I can see what each side will do: the team, the union, and the league.

It has been a long time (maybe Artest?) since a player has made me genuinely desire their career tank. I want to see the league stand up and say if he is medically cleared to play and sits he forfeits that year for failure to uphold his side of the contract effectively pushing back his free agency.

And to clarify I said Artest because the league was forced to over correct and now we have the pussy shit league we have now. The Malice at the Palace gave the league the smoking gun to change everything from hard fouls to discipline.

LaVar Ball's entire shine just got fucking completely and utterly extingiushed. All that shit talking with him talking about if the Lakers get all 3 of his sons its gonna be nothing but championships, and Lonzo is going to be a superstar and turn that franchise around....

LOL.

I hope he enjoyed his single year in the spotlight, because The King is in Hollywood, and that means Magic Johnson is going to accommodate LeBron and his people so much so that he isn't going to deal with LaVars shit at all.

Yea, the idea of Lonzo and family taking his talents? to San Antonio is a pretty satisfying idea.

Jozu said:

LaVar Ball's entire shine just got fucking completely and utterly extingiushed. All that shit talking with him talking about if the Lakers get all 3 of his sons its gonna be nothing but championships, and Lonzo is going to be a superstar and turn that franchise around....

LOL.

I hope he enjoyed his single year in the spotlight, because The King is in Hollywood, and that means Magic Johnson is going to accommodate LeBron and his people so much so that he isn't going to deal with LaVars shit at all.

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ughh, Lavarr was the one saying for a while now that Lebron is going to be a Laker 100 percent! lol He's been running with this for a while now.

The whole thing is Lonzo is actually pretty interesting as a player. He does a lot of things well and if he can develop a jump shot he could be very good. Lavarr does his kid no favors with his horseshit. There's no chance the Spurs would trade Kawhi straight up for Lonzo, that's just dumb.

I'd say Lavar is tentatively stoked about it. Lebron takes the pressure off Lonzo while making him more relevant, and giving him and BBB an even bigger platform. Of course the trepidation is the possibility of Lonzo being traded, but from the moves the Lakers are making it doesn't look like they're planning for that. I don't think I'd trade Lonzo and his rook deal for Kemba Walker or somebody like that. And if they were to use Lonzo as part of a Kawhi deal where do they get a quality PG?

The best thing they could do for their overall chances the next few years is sit on their assets and young players until next offseason. They would possibly be able to sign TWO more max guys next offseason while maybe keeping some of those young guys. If the Spurs get desperate and take one of either Kuzma or Ingram plus a future pick or something of course they'd do that. Right now the Lakers are probably offering Julius Randle like a 1 year 20+ million dollar deal since they can go over the cap to sign him yet still stay under the tax for this season. No chance they'll match him if somebody offers him a sizeable multi-year deal,

PatrickStar said:

I want to see Kawhi attempt to sit out the season so I can see what each side will do: the team, the union, and the league.

It has been a long time (maybe Artest?) since a player has made me genuinely desire their career tank. I want to see the league stand up and say if he is medically cleared to play and sits he forfeits that year for failure to uphold his side of the contract effectively pushing back his free agency.

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I think it's an issue all sides would prefer not to go nuclear. I imagine it could open up the team/league to lawsuits and they don't wanna pay out $400 million plus in "future career earnings" claims.

Kawhi is medically cleared by a doctor paid to look out for the best interests of the team, not the best interests of Kawhi. Dude still felt pain, something wasn't right, got a second opinion from an independent doctor. Second doctor says no you are not cleared you obviously can't play and here's what's wrong with a plan to fix it.

Fresh in Kawhi's mind is what he is seeing every day where teams look out for themselves not their players: the big one around the league is Isaiah Thomas who might've gotten a MAX contract but instead will be paying for a couple million, but closer to home is Kawhi watching Ginoboli everyday go through "the same" quad injury and hobble around without any oh his explosion where the team said he was just fine.

Rondo to Lakers. I figured as much this morning when the Pels signed Elfrid Peyton.

It's odd how rondo can't seem to stick with a team but he always seems to perform well and help his teams. I get he's intense and not a good shooter, but I still would think he could get a solid multi-year deal.

LA seems like an odd fit with Ball out there.

DickTrickle said:

LA seems like an odd fit with Ball out there.

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Ball + Rondo makes plenty of sense. They're very similar guys––solid defense, pass-first guys who can rebound but not shoot––so they can run the offense no matter who's on the bench.

How does it make sense with LBJ in the picture? I think it gives a sense that LeBron is buying into team ball and wants an offense closer to what the Heat ran than what they did in Cleveland. LeBron could age his game, step away from playing point guard, expose big guys with his corner 3 game, or punish small guys with his post moves. Saves a lot of wear and tear during the regular season though the playoffs are different.

Also this is an excellent counter to Houston and also Golden State. Two guards who can defend the offensive threats that are CP3+Harden/Klay+Steph. Add in Lance, LeBron, and KCP and you've got a defensive core that can rival the NBA's best. I don't know if they can afford to play two guards who can't shoot at the same time against those high-powered offenses, but given who's on the FA market it's a good question to have.

I've had some time to let this sink in and the biggest shock to me was that it was a 4 year deal. Either Magic must have blew his mind or Lebron's mindset must have changed after the end of last season.

Overall I'm content with the move I wish him the best. He spent 11 years with the Cavs and got us a title. If anything it's a shame we only got 1 and for that it's Dan Gilbert's fault.

Also, the Lakers with McGee, Lance Stephenson, and Rajon Rondo.. should be good entertainment.

LeBron is just in LA for the money, fame, and post-career setup. I suspect he will extend his contract as soon the money/years makes enough sense for him to be locked up until 39/40. He is 20th all time in minutes played and will likely end the season at least 15th all time. And only 33. I'm sure he takes great care of himself but eventually his body is going to start breaking down. This is his MLB 10yr/$250 million contract where the back half everyone but the player regrets it. If it was about rings he 1) wouldn't have chosen LA and 2) wouldn't have done a 3+1 contract (he doesn't need the money and 1+1 would keep his options open again).

I am hoping that LeBron will allow the Lakers to start getting the FA's they have been missing out these past 5+ years that will set them up for the next 5-10 years. The Lakers might have challenged GS with LeBron and Kawhi but it would have been even at best. Stephanson, McGee, and Rondo certainly are not going to do it.

LeBrin trusted Riley and now he trusts Magic. He never trusted Gilbert. Hence the 1 + 1. If Gilbert didn't spend LeBron was gone. He had to keep all the leverage so it didn't up like 2007 to 2010 where all he got was washed up scrubs.

That ended up happening in a way or sorts anyway after they lost KI but as you can see he bounced.

Gaige said:

LeBrin trusted Riley and now he trusts Magic. He never trusted Gilbert. Hence the 1 + 1. If Gilbert didn't spend LeBron was gone. He had to keep all the leverage so it didn't up like 2007 to 2010 where all he got was washed up scrubs.

That ended up happening in a way or sorts anyway after they lost KI but as you can see he bounced.

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Maybe he did trust Riley and now Magic, but he went to Miami with Wade and Bosh which by all accounts he orchestrated, and he was just entering his prime. Now it looks like the Lakers will need to wait until 2019 to try for a Klay or Kahwi level player, then maybe another year to fine-tune. Chris Paul has age/injury concerns too, but GS will still be GS for a few more years if no one gets too greedy. I believe LeBron still has some great years in him, but how many? Hopefully the Lakers will be able to scale down his minutes.

Not strictly NBA though there was players involved. Massive brawl at an international match.