all of those guys are having great years (except curry with injuries) but just based on numbers, westbrook’s got to be a lock for all nba 1st team. he is the reigning mvp and all
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So Isiaih Thomas is scheduled for more surgery on his hip.
Had a lot of fun at his expense this season. Looking back, I kinda feel bad for him. He was a lot of fun in Boston.
IT went from backing up the Brinks truck with the Celtics to backing up Lonzo Ball .... to praying for a one year league minimum deal.
In hindsight he should have sat out the whole year to rehab his hip and then probably accepted a lesser deal in the offseason. He gambled on himself that he could recover and play well enough to get a big deal, and the gamble didn't pay off.
On a side note, it looks lake Kawhi Leonard is doing the exact opposite. Although he is cleared to play he is refusing too, because he doesn't think he is 100% and doesn't want to risk his future value coming up on a contract that will set him up for life. After what happened to Thomas hard to blame him.
after last night’s game, have you guys come to terms with the fact that lebron to philly is a forgone conclusion.
think about how much joy he’ll have fucking kyrie irving over with that move.
hmmmmmmmmmm
Does anyone have a line out on Lebron destination? I’d be absolutely shocked if he went Philly. As Cavs fan, I already consider him gone, but I feel like it’s almost certainly going to be a lifestyle move. Embiid just can’t be relied on to be healthy for any extended run, that coach isn’t simply a puppet like Lebron prefers his coaches, and there’s too much redundancy with him and Simmons to view it as a good pairing.
Simmons is really good though. If he ever can develop a shot, he’s going to be a beast. Great game last night.
i think his next move is about winning. he’s “chasing ghosts” as he put it (i.e. jordan). he wants more championships. he also wants a max contract. he doesn’t take discounts.
if that is true, what are his options outside of philly? LA? possibly, but does he want to be in the west and will they be as good as the sixers
I'd say Philly is the favorite for where he winds up. Him and Simmons being redundant is kind of a BS argument, people were saying the same about Paul and Harden last offseason. Get the best overall players that you can then go from there.
Besides staying in CLE, i don't see any other logical destinations in the east. Milwaukee would be fun, but I cant see him wanting to live there during the season.
Lakers along with PG13 seems most likely in the west if he does go west, although Denver, New Orleans, and (in a different way) San Antonio would be fun fits.
I am watching the Rocket-Thunder game. Both Paul and Harden constantly initiate contact to draw fouls when they are on offense, and the refs just keep giving them the call over and over. Paul just made a 3 and blatantly kicked his defender on the way down and the ref gave him a free throw for kicking the defender. It was the most blatant obvious thing ever. And between him and Harden this happens over and over and over. Are all refs just stupid? How do they keep missing these obvious fake fouls over and over and over?
I feel him and Wade were redundant for like 18 months until they figured it out. I feel like the whole was less than the sum of the parts in Miami. Can they keep Covington and Reddick on while adding Lebron to max? If so, then the sheer talent would be enough. Embiid is the key and whether there is any realistic expectation he can stay healthy. He’s a beautiful player, but I don’t know how you can say yes to him being realistically healthy.
Also, just watching how he operates all these years, he cares about the quality of life as much as winning titles imo. He’s chasing ghosts, but I think he knows at the end of the day if he can stay healthy his resume will speak for itself. He’s just always preferred to be surrounded by guys he likes. Philly is just a bunch of really young dudes. In Cleveland, he has all his crew and huge extended family around. I can see him going to LA with George and rolling the dice on their core with him and PG because I think the LA life has a lot of appeal to him, but I struggle to see him going to Philly. If Miami had any flexibility, it wouldn’t shock me to see him there.
One thing about Lebron that is rarely mentioned, but seems really apparent to me watching him through the years is that he has the most pronounced case of seasonal affective disorder I’ve ever seen in an athlete. He starts off most seasons in MVP drivers seat, weather turns and there’s a few months where he seems totally checked out and depressive, then he finishes really strong. He really gives a shit about his numbers and accolades in a historical sense. This year their defense is so piss poor he’s needed to play 40 minutes, but even on the rare occasions they’re comfortably ahead, he comes back in, and when he plays and sits is totally his call. About the only time he sits is ahead 30. Up 17 with 2:00, he’s almost always in.
I have no idea what he’s thinking, but I’d be shocked if it wasn’t warm weather+peer veteran player/s that gives him a chance in his mind while enjoying life.
I’m pretty sure he’s gone, and if goes, I’d much prefer Philly. They’d be really fun to watch, but I would be legit surprised. The only cold weather east coast city that has ever seemed to appeal to him is NY, but they’ve been a dysfunctional mess.
The only problem is he is playing for rings and his ring EV is going to be much lower in any warm weather west coast city. Even with him and George, I don't see it happening with the Lakers. Competition in the west is too strong and the complimentary pieces are too weak. Seems like it pretty much has to be Houston or Philly due to the chance to win a ring EV.
As talented as Harden is, I absolutely hate watching him (and by extension, the Rockets) because of this. He'll come off a screen, hook the defender fighting over the screen with his left arm, and then flail like he was shooting a 3...28 feet from the basket...with his right hand (he's a lefty, for those playing at home). And he gets the call every fucking time. I think it's trash basketball, but I don't blame him for doing it if he's going to get rewarded for it. It really is on the referees who just keep buying what he's selling.
Anecdotally, also seems like the ol' Reggie Miller move of kicking your legs out on a jump shot has made a comeback this year.
:this
i'm sure sixers homerism is blinding me but i think the sixers would be a stronger team than the lakers even if the lakers got paul george.
the rockets would obv be great but someone has to show me a workable scenario that doesn't have him or cp3 taking a massive paycut for this to happen (even with texas' no income tax)
also does fucking kyrie over by making the sixers a potential super team enter into james' thoughts?
they have to renounce redick's bird's rights to free up enough cap space to sign lebron to a max deal, and even then i think they are about $1,000,000 short of full max.
that being said, they can trade away bayless' expiring contract (about $8,000,000) to free up some more cash for him, and i would not be surprised if they had an unofficial arrangement coming in where redick understood that he would be overpaid in year one ($23,000,000) but would then have to take a much lesser contract for an additional two years so that they maintain flexibility to chase lebron.
he lives in brooklyn and commutes every day. he won't want to leave the area.
and if the lakers can somehow get the 1st pick in the draft, which would then convey to the sixers, it's a wrap. even if it doesn't, it's likely going to the sixers late lottery (if it's 2nd or 3rd it goes to boston).
Of course as it stands philly projects to be the better of the two teams in the near future. Itd be cool to see ingram and lonzo make huge jumps early next season so this debate becomes legit though.
Ive convinced myself that he hasnt made up his mind and that the results from here on out will play a big role in where he chooses to go. For example...
If philly KOs cleveland in rd 1 id say cavs drop to about 0% and he prob buys a house in blakes neighborhood.
If houston wins it all how can he go there? Dude obviously cares about his image to the point of being obsessive... does he wanna go through the wrath of the cupcakes like KD?
Just want these standings to hold. Right now, it’s looking like the most interesting first round in years. Between injuries, and the mental fragility of the Raptors, it wouldn’t shock me to see anything happen in East, and even GS-OKC could be semi-interesting near the top of the West. 3-8 out West is a total crap shoot and should be competitive.
I am not so sure GS is gonna breeze through the first couple rounds and isn't prime for an upset. Even with Dray and Durant healthy and playing big minutes the team has been struggling recently. Iguadola seems to have hit the wall and isn't even close to the player he was a year ago, and none of the younger bench players are bringing much to the table. Cook is putting up numbers for himself, but they don't seem to be translating to wins. It really does just seem to be 3 players, and I dunno if that is enough to beat teams like Utah, New Orleans and Ok City the way they have been playing.
GS is a 8 point dog tonight at Utah. I think that says a lot about where GS is at right now. I know they are locked into their playoff position and Utah isn't so there is a motivation issue, but I am not sure it would be a big difference if this was a playoff game. Utah just seems to be that much better right now.
mentioned this earlier in this thread...
talk me outta the cavs at that price...