*** OFFICIAL *** 2017-18 NBA Thread

[gut]

How dumb was OKC to trade Harden?

Even at the time, it was clear he was destined for stardom.

What a bedshit that was.

I THINK (and gut or anybody else who remembers that far back can correct me) they had to jettison one of their big 3 at the time because they wouldn't have been able to fit them under the cap...don't think it was known at that time that the cap was going to balloon to some obscene number where they coulda legitimately kept all 3 guys...

so then it would become a question between harden/westbrook...you could go either way on that one, id probably lean towards getting rid of russ...but at that point I don't think anybody expected harden to become THIS good...

Close, they felt they couldn't keep their big 4 together....problem being the 4th was Ibaka. They basically chose Ibaka over Harden. Whoops.

Ironically, then later they trade Ibaka to Orlando for Oladipo....who was ignored and under-utilized in OKC. Then Oladipo flipped in a package to get what could be only one year of PG-13. Continous fail by OKC.

[gut]

This is more in response to the wagering thread now, but doesn't CLE this year remind you of some new basketball version of a Mighty Ducks movie?

"Hey LeBron, the big baddies from Oakland beat you, and now your other star player is sick of you...whatcha gonna do?"

"Well, let's get the old band back together....DWade, can ya still walk? IT has 1 hip, he's in, Rose has some feeling in his knees, he'll play....where's James Jones?"

[gut]

Basically, watch out for the flying V offense in the playoffs

[ErickAA]

I THINK (and gut or anybody else who remembers that far back can correct me) they had to jettison one of their big 3 at the time because they wouldn't have been able to fit them under the cap...don't think it was known at that time that the cap was going to balloon to some obscene number where they coulda legitimately kept all 3 guys...

so then it would become a question between harden/westbrook...you could go either way on that one, id probably lean towards getting rid of russ...but at that point I don't think anybody expected harden to become THIS good...

Close, they felt they couldn't keep their big 4 together....problem being the 4th was Ibaka. They basically chose Ibaka over Harden. Whoops.

Ironically, then later they trade Ibaka to Orlando for Oladipo....who was ignored and under-utilized in OKC. Then Oladipo flipped in a package to get what could be only one year of PG-13. Continous fail by OKC.

My understanding is they could have kept the gang together, but it would have required the team to go into the luxury tax, and the owner probably would have lost money on the team in the immediate future. For good or bad, it seems the way NBA economics works is that the teams that are competitive basically have to go so far into the luxury tax they aren't really profitable anymore.

That is why owning an NBA team seems to work best when it is a hobby for a super rich guy who makes his $$ somewhere else, as opposed to someone running it as a profitable business. I remember during the Sterling years the Clippers were actually one of the more profitable franchises because he spent as little amount as possible and never even tried to become competitive.

[varys]

It was between harden and ibaka... pretty sure the picks they received became reggie jackson and steven adams which was best case scenario. It was a cheapskate move to duck the luxury tax and yeah it wouldve cut into their immediate profits but they def wouldnt have taken an L any year. The LBJ Heat probably only wins the one ‘ship if they dont get rid of harden for pennies on the dollar.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

didn't Aubrey McClendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake energy, own the team back then? or was he just a minority owner?

that would explain some shit because I think CHK was going into the shitter at that point in time and the way Aubrey was he probably had a shitton of his personal net worth tied up in CHK...

[Dan Druff]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...tampering-rule

Magic needs to watch his mouth.... or does he?

I wonder if Lebron is coming to LA. Clearly he's not staying in Cleveland.

[Sloppy Joe]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...tampering-rule

Magic needs to watch his mouth.... or does he?

I wonder if Lebron is coming to LA. Clearly he's not staying in Cleveland.

Genuinely no feel for where he's headed (obviously not Cleveland, of course).

Lakers have definitely been linked to him since summer but an all-time player still near his prime joining a rebuild seems weird?

I think the Lakers have good young talent and will soon be good (if they properly balance youth/free agents) but they're not winning for the next few years even if they add LeBron and Paul George.

I think I would still pick the Lakers as most likely by default, who knows.

[gut]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...tampering-rule

Magic needs to watch his mouth.... or does he?

I wonder if Lebron is coming to LA. Clearly he's not staying in Cleveland.

Genuinely no feel for where he's headed (obviously not Cleveland, of course).

Lakers have definitely been linked to him since summer but an all-time player still near his prime joining a rebuild seems weird?

I think the Lakers have good young talent and will soon be good (if they properly balance youth/free agents) but they're not winning for the next few years even if they add LeBron and Paul George.

I think I would still pick the Lakers as most likely by default, who knows.

I'd think Houston makes the most sense, with maybe Philly as a darkhorse pick.

No one ever thinks about LeBron on the Spurs either, but that would be interesting.

[Sloppy Joe]

Genuinely no feel for where he's headed (obviously not Cleveland, of course).

Lakers have definitely been linked to him since summer but an all-time player still near his prime joining a rebuild seems weird?

I think the Lakers have good young talent and will soon be good (if they properly balance youth/free agents) but they're not winning for the next few years even if they add LeBron and Paul George.

I think I would still pick the Lakers as most likely by default, who knows.

I'd think Houston makes the most sense, with maybe Philly as a darkhorse pick.

No one ever thinks about LeBron on the Spurs either, but that would be interesting.

Houston is the only choice if he wants to contend for titles next year. Philly is much further along with young talent than Lakers but still nowhere near.

Holy shit are the Cavs a trainwreck though. Kudos to Kyrie for seeing the writing on the wall, and LOL Cleveland for a) shopping him first and then b) acquiescing to his trade demand.

Joke franchise that will be irrelevant for at least a decade post-Lebron.

[Dan Druff]

Sweet Lou signed a 3-year extension with the Clippers.

Kind of a waste of his talents, unless they add pieces to this team in the coming years. He really belongs on a contender.

[Dan Druff]

New Orleans/Indiana game postponed due to leak in the roof.

Memories of Katrina?

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...oned-leak-roof

[ErickAA]

New Orleans/Indiana game postponed due to leak in the roof.

Memories of Katrina?

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...oned-leak-roof

I have $100 in DFS lineups for today with a lot of players from this game (this was a good DFS game), and I guess they don't refund when this happens, you are just fucked.

Lame.

[BeerAndPoker]

New Orleans/Indiana game postponed due to leak in the roof.

Memories of Katrina?

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...oned-leak-roof

I have $100 in DFS lineups for today with a lot of players from this game (this was a good DFS game), and I guess they don't refund when this happens, you are just fucked.

Lame.

Lots of people complaining about this on twitter with DFS. The policy is bad for most of these sites, especially DK whose idea of making this right will likely be offering up some 10k freeroll to anyone who played today..

[simpdog]

Thomas + Frye + 1st rounder 2018 to Lakers

Clarkson + Nance to Cavs.


Guess Lebron isn't going to the Lakers after this year.

[BCR]

Thomas + Frye + 1st rounder 2018 to Lakers

Clarkson + Nance to Cavs.


Guess Lebron isn't going to the Lakers after this year.

This was meh, but getting George Hill and Rodney Hood for Jae and Rose in addition to those two just made them a whole lot longer, younger, and better defensively.

Now just need a shot blocker. DJ isn’t worth Brooklyn pick on last year of contract and Lebron likely gone.

[varys]

Thomas + Frye + 1st rounder 2018 to Lakers

Clarkson + Nance to Cavs.


Guess Lebron isn't going to the Lakers after this year.

This actually makes it more likely they get him. Theyre dumping a bad contract (clarkson) and picking up 3 that expire after this season. This will give them enough cap room to pay 2 players the max. IT will be playing for the kings some other shit team next year.

[unlearn]

Thomas + Frye + 1st rounder 2018 to Lakers

Clarkson + Nance to Cavs.


Guess Lebron isn't going to the Lakers after this year.

This was meh, but getting George Hill and Rodney Hood for Jae and Rose in addition to those two just made them a whole lot longer, younger, and better defensively.

Now just need a shot blocker. DJ isn’t worth Brooklyn pick on last year of contract and Lebron likely gone.

The Brooklyn pick is off the table. Per NBA rules, multiple 1sts cannot be traded in same year.

[BCR]

This was meh, but getting George Hill and Rodney Hood for Jae and Rose in addition to those two just made them a whole lot longer, younger, and better defensively.

Now just need a shot blocker. DJ isn’t worth Brooklyn pick on last year of contract and Lebron likely gone.

The Brooklyn pick is off the table. Per NBA rules, multiple 1sts cannot be traded in same year.

You sure about that? I don’t see any rule pertaining to that. I know you can’t trade your own consecutive firsts, aka Stepien rule

[gut]

The Brooklyn pick is off the table. Per NBA rules, multiple 1sts cannot be traded in same year.

You sure about that? I don’t see any rule pertaining to that. I know you can’t trade your own consecutive firsts, aka Stepien rule

yeah, as long as CLE has a 2019 1st in their arsenal, they can trade both of the 2018 ones.