NBA offseason thread

HomeRunBaker

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JCizzle said:
Is this the harshest piece that ESPN has run about LBJ since the Decision? 
 
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming
 
This is such a bullshit piece by Stein. Did anyone hear see LeBron show up Blatt or embarrass him in any way? One reporter with an agenda and a nearby seat witness what many superstars have done in overruling a head coaches play and drawing one up. Bird did this to KC, Magic did it frequently, Jordan did it......my high school PG did it.....great coaches always give their teams leader the ability to sell a play to them which is what LeBron did (and Blatt is FAR from a great coach).

What about in the first round against the Celtics when Blatt had drawn up a play having LBJ take the ball out of bounds and someone else take the final shot.....LBJ changed the play and nailed the game winner from the corner. Where was Stein when this happened? Complete ESPN garbage.
 

cardiacs

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I think it's fair to speculate that the outcome of the series might have been different if LeBron let Blatt do the coaching without interference. Personally, I don't think it would have mattered. 
 

jon abbey

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cardiacs said:
I think it's fair to speculate that the outcome of the series might have been different if LeBron let Blatt do the coaching without interference. Personally, I don't think it would have mattered. 
 
If Blatt had been left alone, Cleveland might not have gotten past Chicago in the second round, as I've never seen a NBA head coach come close to messing up the final 20 seconds of a game as badly as Blatt messed up game 4 of that series. Chicago was already leading the series 2-1 and would have taken a 3-1 lead if Lue and LBJ hadn't interceded twice:

1) Blatt tried to call a timeout when he was already out, luckily for him none of the refs saw him and Lue pulled him back pretty quickly. If the refs see that, CHI is shooting FTs and almost certainly wins. 

2) With the score tied and 1 second left, Blatt drew up a play for LBJ to be the inbounds passer, to which LBJ responded:

"I was supposed to take the ball out," James said. "I told Coach there was no way I'm taking the ball out unless I could shoot it over the backboard and go in. So I told him, 'Have somebody else take the ball out.' The play that was drawn up, I scratched it. I just told Coach, 'Just give me the ball. We're either going to go into overtime or I'm going to win it for us.'"
 
He of course hit the game-winner at the buzzer, CLE tied the series at 2, and CHI never recovered.
 
And as if those two screwups weren't bad enough, the one no one talks about is that the reason he was out of timeouts was that he had James Jones inbounding the ball with 18 seconds to go and up 2 points. First time, he couldn't get it in and had to call TO. Second time, Blatt stuck with Jones, still couldn't get it in, another TO. Third time he finally got it in, but to an immediately double-teamed LBJ, who got rightfully called for an offensive foul swinging his elbows trying to get space. James Jones shouldn't have been the guy passing the ball in there the first time, let alone three times in a row when he proved incapable of it the first two times. 
 

jon abbey

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HomeRunBaker said:
This is such a bullshit piece by Stein. Did anyone hear see LeBron show up Blatt or embarrass him in any way? One reporter with an agenda and a nearby seat witness what many superstars have done in overruling a head coaches play and drawing one up. Bird did this to KC, Magic did it frequently, Jordan did it......my high school PG did it.....great coaches always give their teams leader the ability to sell a play to them which is what LeBron did (and Blatt is FAR from a great coach).
 
Brian Windhorst reported some similar stuff after the Finals were over, FWIW:

"I think, at the end of the day, LeBron likes the freedom. He likes having Blatt to kick around, something he couldn't get away with with other coaches in the past," Windhorst said on SVP and Russillo. "I think LeBron is OK with him going forward. If David Blatt is OK with taking the abuse from the star player, which he does, David Blatt will be back. I think it'll be Blatt's decision more than anybody else at this point."
 
http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/18/8807447/lebron-james-disrepected-david-blatt-finals-cavaliers
 

Kliq

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If Windhorst is reporting on it being like that, considering the source, LeBron probably treats him even worse.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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To be fair, Steve Kerr just said that Draymond Green yells at him all the time (at the Warriors victory rally). Point being that this sort of thing happens all around the league. And if you win, its all good.
 

Devizier

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Lebron has earned the right to boss his NBDL coach around, methinks. This isn't exactly Phil Jackson we're talking about.
 

Kliq

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
To be fair, Steve Kerr just said that Draymond Green yells at him all the time (at the Warriors victory rally). Point being that this sort of thing happens all around the league. And if you win, its all good.
 
But there is a difference between someone like Green doing that and someone like LeBron, who wields more power in that organization then anyone but Gilbert. One of the underrated things about LeBron's success in Miami was that he went to a very straight organization with stable ownership, a legendary GM, and a coach that had the firm backing from management. They got LeBron to do things that he wasn't comfortable doing and the result was four conference championships and two rings. In Cleveland, I don't know if having your star player be the judge, jury and executioner is exactly conducive for winning.
 

ishmael

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Miami needs to surround LeBron with guys who can shoot AND defend. Think they might be interested in Avery Bradley? 
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13112332/cleveland-cavaliers-looking-trade-brendan-haywood-draft-pick-upgrade-roster
 
In a vacuum, Bradley is probably worth more than the 24th pick...but I like the idea of James Young getting more playing time and picking up another first would give Danny more ammo to trade up in the draft while still keeping the cabinet well-stocked down the road.
 

chilidawg

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ishmael said:
Miami needs to surround LeBron with guys who can shoot AND defend. Think they might be interested in Avery Bradley? 
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13112332/cleveland-cavaliers-looking-trade-brendan-haywood-draft-pick-upgrade-roster
 
In a vacuum, Bradley is probably worth more than the 24th pick...but I like the idea of James Young getting more playing time and picking up another first would give Danny more ammo to trade up in the draft while still keeping the cabinet well-stocked down the road.
Seems like Bradley would have more value in a trade up scenario than the 24th pick.
 
That 30 year old Sasha Kaun is being touted as something of value as well shows you how little Cleveland has in the way of assets.
 

the1andonly3003

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ishmael said:
Miami needs to surround LeBron with guys who can shoot AND defend. Think they might be interested in Avery Bradley? 
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13112332/cleveland-cavaliers-looking-trade-brendan-haywood-draft-pick-upgrade-roster
 
In a vacuum, Bradley is probably worth more than the 24th pick...but I like the idea of James Young getting more playing time and picking up another first would give Danny more ammo to trade up in the draft while still keeping the cabinet well-stocked down the road.
Cleveland...but does AB0 really space the floor? they need in their prime 3-pt shooters, not James Jones and Mike Miller who were once decent in the mid-2000s
 
maybe Isaiah Thomas is a piece that fits from this Celtics team, but Danny shouldn't do that
 

HomeRunBaker

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the1andonly3003 said:
Cleveland...but does AB0 really space the floor? they need in their prime 3-pt shooters, not James Jones and Mike Miller who were once decent in the mid-2000s
 
maybe Isaiah Thomas is a piece that fits from this Celtics team, but Danny shouldn't do that
Bradley spaces the floor by getting up 4 3FGA/g knocking them down at 37% over the past two seasons without the open looks LBJ would get him. He'd be an ideal guard in their system but it would take a heck of a lot more than the #24 to acquire AB.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Dwyane Wade wore a Cleveland Cavaliers t-shirt to church this morning. Read into that as you may.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Of interest to the Celtics......Thaddeus Young has opted OUT of the final year of his deal with Brooklyn and will become an UFA.
 

Blacken

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Kings...guys...letting Cousins go because he doesn't like the old, not-very-good coach that you brought in to replace the guy he did like and had the first, tiniest bit of success with?

It's very you.
 

nighthob

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Unfortunately for Danny what Karl wants are quality vets, and thanks to the playoff run Boston is pretty well shut out of the bidding here.
 

nighthob

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They don't have a top ten pick to use as part of a three team deal in an attempt to land Cousins. So they're shut out of the bidding this summer.
 

RG33

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Per ESPN Stats & Info: Demarcus Cousins, 1 of 15 NBA players to average 24 ppg and 12 rpb before turning 25. The other players -- 12 are in the Hall of Fame, and two are Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Love.
 

RG33

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the1andonly3003 said:
Gerald Wallace says hello?
 
edit: i kid i kid
I think "quality" was the key there.

I would think (without taking knowing the salary cap component) the starting point would be Sully, Smart, Bradley, #16, #28, and a BKN #1.
 

Cellar-Door

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nattysez

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Yeah, I'm confused as to why Woj thinks that particular group would appeal to Love, especially since the chances of Love, Lopez and Pierce being healthy come playoff time is about 1%.
 

moondog80

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RedOctober3829 said:
I'd rather give up all the assets for Cousins then make a run at a trio of Love/Pierce/Lopez.  Is that trio really what Ainge has in mind?  Can't be.
 
 
I think it would be both, or close?  If they trade all that stuff for Cousins, they're not going to just surround him with IT3, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Ty Zeller.
 

RedOctober3829

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moondog80 said:
 
 
I think it would be both, or close?  If they trade all that stuff for Cousins, they're not going to just surround him with IT3, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Ty Zeller.
If it was both, then I'd be on board.  I didn't really think they'd have enough cap space and assets to trade to do both.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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RedOctober3829 said:
If it was both, then I'd be on board.  I didn't really think they'd have enough cap space and assets to trade to do both.
 
All three of those guys are FAs. The only assets they need to move would be for Cousins. Cap space is another matter, I have no idea. 
 

dabombdig

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Forget the Lopez and Pierce angle on a potential a Love move.  Pierce will be short term and Lopez is a defensive big that you can either choose to keep or will be a movable chip.  The Celtics need to accumulate good players - preferably All-Star caliber players.  If they are able to sign one through free agency and still are able to hold on to other chips to acquire other good players in the future - then all the better.  The trio of Love, Pierce, and Lopez is for next year - and next year is just a step in the bigger process (with presumably only Love being part of the bigger process).
 
All that being said I am not overly optimistic that this will happen, but I am encouraged by the fact that Danny is exploring all possible avenues to improve this team.  They need a first big domino to fall and this would qualify. 
 

RedOctober3829

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It's doubtful now that the Celtics would throw everything they have at Love. Unless they can make a series of moves to reshape the roster and bring him to a club more ready to challenge for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, they would be better than last year but not good enough.

The Celtics will still look into the Love situation, but word is strong that, as opposed to last year's all-out push, they would want him only at the right price and under the right roster circumstances.

--Bulpett
 

E5 Yaz

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Devizier said:
I think it's telling that Love is cashing in now, rather than trying to push the payday off another year.
 
No doubt the injury put thoughts of missing out on the money in his head
 

JCizzle

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Corsi said:
<p><span style="color:rgb(41,47,51);"><span style='font-family: Helvetica Neue'>
Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA  6s6
link to tweet seconds ago
Sources: If Kevin Love goes forward with visits in July, expect Boston to sell him on pursuing group of Love, Robin Lopez and...Paul Pierce.


Holy shit, yes! Just for PP alone!

Edit, mobile dislikes quoting posts with twitter
 

bbc23

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Sounds like they've given up on keeping LMA and are starting the rebuild.  Probably for the best, Vonleh has a ton of upside.  
 

bowiac

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It kind of feels like Portland didn't get enough here, but maybe I'm reading too much into how little Vonleh played last year. It's not like Charlotte is a well run team.
 

Cellar-Door

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Batum is pretty good, definite upgrade from hendo. However giving  up a guy you picked 9th a year ago for that 1 year upgrade seems to suggest you did a shitty job scouting.
 

bowiac

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Cellar-Door said:
Batum is pretty good, definite upgrade from hendo. However giving  up a guy you picked 9th a year ago for that 1 year upgrade seems to suggest you did a shitty job scouting.
It's not necessarily just a one year upgrade if Charlotte wants to make a mistake and max out Batum or something.
 
But also, that the 9th overall pick only played 259 minutes for a terrible team is another bad sign for their scouting. It's not unprecedented, but it's at least very unusual for a healthy top 10 pick not to see the court more.
 

Kliq

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The larger aspect does seem to be that this triggers the rebuild and that LMA is going elsewhere. At least they have another budding superstar to build around. I didn't like Vonleh going into last years draft, and the fact that Charlotte has already given up on him and decided to sell when his stock is what is right now, gives me some pause if I'm a POR fan.