NBA 2014 - 2015 Season Thread

Can someone please explain to me trading away Dragic and Thomas. I just don't understsand. Did both trades actually happen? Am I missing something? Having Thomas pisses of Dragic who essentially demands a trade...but then the Suns trade Thomas too...so why get him in the first place? Huh? What? I'm totally confused. It seems like a retarded question to even ask and I apologize for it. But I really don't understand what the Suns are doing. Didn't they just jettison both guys they presumably wanted?

The Suns have probably come to terms with the fact that they won't make the playoffs in the West with that team and decided to increase their lottery odds a bit. Giving up on Dragic was probably due to his age and knowing he couldn't be part of their long-term plans. Thomas was probably due to style and/or money.

Djay_sl said:

The Suns have probably come to terms with the fact that they won't make the playoffs in the West with that team and decided to increase their lottery odds a bit. Giving up on Dragic was probably due to his age and knowing he couldn't be part of their long-term plans. Thomas was probably due to style and/or money.

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Thomas's contract actually decreases every year, though only by a couple hundred k each year (~6.5mil/year average), which at that price for a 20 ppg scorer is pretty cheap. Thomas makes about 1 mil/year more than Jamal Crawford and is much younger. The Suns botched the situation in the off-season by signing him in the first place and they would have still had Bird rights on Dragic had they kept him and he would have been a RFA meaning they could have matched any offer he got.

Personally I like the Bledsoe / Knight backcourt if only because they could play both guard positions fine, but Knight is a little bit of a chucker and is pretty turnover prone.

I do agree with the lottery idea, but I'm not sure there team got all that much worse. Dumping Plumlee will free up minutes for Brendan Wright too.

Remember too that the Suns gave up nothing to sign Thomas (except irritating Dragic) and got a first round pick for him.

Yeah, I'm not saying that the contract was bad, but it's 6.5 million they can use at other positions where they're not loaded. I didn't watch him much in Phoenix, but he was basically an isolation player in Sacramento...and I'm not a fan of that type of player to build a winner. They were probably working on both deals simultaneously, thinking they'd only get one done. Then when both worked out, they just shrugged and realized they were getting good deals on both to try to reload that roster through the draft.
Their window really revolves around hoping Alex Len is as good as they hoped when they drafted him and getting the pieces around him by the time he matures.
In any case, making moves was probably better than standing pat and hoping they squeezed into the 8th spot.

Djay_sl said:

Yeah, I'm not saying that the contract was bad, but it's 6.5 million they can use at other positions where they're not loaded. I didn't watch him much in Phoenix, but he was basically an isolation player in Sacramento...and I'm not a fan of that type of player to build a winner. They were probably working on both deals simultaneously, thinking they'd only get one done. Then when both worked out, they just shrugged and realized they were getting good deals on both to try to reload that roster through the draft.
Their window really revolves around hoping Alex Len is as good as they hoped when they drafted him and getting the pieces around him by the time he matures.
In any case, making moves was probably better than standing pat and hoping they squeezed into the 8th spot.

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The only thing I didn't like that Pheonix did was losing the Lakers pick and basically got 2 first rounders from the Heat.

Hopefully he's playing for my sixers next year.

Emmanuel Mudiay China 2014-15 CBA | Full Highlight Video [HD] - YouTube

Durant out again :/ The team should be able to keep 8th without him though.

Crown the Cavs.

PigBenis_sl said:

Crown the Cavs.

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If Bron Bron can time his PED cycles properly.

I'm pretty happy with where the Cavs are right now. At the opening of the season they were, downright, bad but they've come a long way since then.

They made a lot of good, smart, moves. Ditching Waiters was a good first step. He simply didn't fit in and didn't want to fit in. He always resented Kyrie and hated coming off the bench. He'd have 1 good night followed by 3 really bad ones. Mozgov has got to be the trade of the year for us though. The guy is a beast and he doesn't take shit from anyone. He's what we needed as a true center. Finally Smith and Shumpert are solid additions. I wasn't sold on Smith at first because of his terrible attitude in New York but, obviously, winning games is a good attitude adjuster.

Angelwatch. Bro. You put commas in places they just don't belong. You do this all the time.

Yeah, I know, it's a, character, flaw of, mine ;-)

and it should have been an And 1.

(although would have been hilarious if they called offensive foul on the leg kick)

sticktastic_sl said:

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose will undergo surgery to repair torn meniscus; timetable uncertain - ESPN Chicago

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Crown the Hawks?

shitty that Rose's style of basketball is to much for the knee's. Damned shame. He's so fun to watch when he's 100 percent.