Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
You make it seem like finishing behind OKC, San Antonio and Memphis would be a negative, those are all fantastic teams.
The Lakers are battling to even make the playoffs this year, with Dwight they're a solid 7/8 seed. With Dwight letting Harden, Parson, Lin & Co. get one-on-one's and open looks, they're a solid 5-6 seed with potential to be better.
If put in Dwight's position I'd have taken Houston over LA in a nanosecond.
so we agree that this isn't bringing Houston any championships. this started because @tejas said to go ahead and give them the championship and I asked if he was joking.
That is not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying Howard went to a team that is young, poised to make an upward leap in the NBA hierarchy and in the future will absolutely be a contender.
The $15m expiring Jeremy Lin contract after this year is huge for them, that's a massive trade chip.
I was only semi joking. Im still curious what their going to do with Asik & Lin. The feeling around town though is that they should at least get home court advantage in the 1st round.
You're just too young to grasp how stylin' I really was. All the boys wanted to do me when I was 5. Actually the girls did too. My haircut was confusing.
You're just too young to grasp how stylin' I really was. All the boys wanted to do me when I was 5. Actually the girls did too. My haircut was confusing.
Kobe and Gasol were not healthy all year (and you're right they may never be again) and Howard was more of the problem than the solution there. before we get it too mixed up, let me say I'm not expecting the Lakers to win anything. maybe they could have if they had put it all together with Howard. but I'm also not expecting Houston to be better than 4th in the West.
You make it seem like finishing behind OKC, San Antonio and Memphis would be a negative, those are all fantastic teams.
The Lakers are battling to even make the playoffs this year, with Dwight they're a solid 7/8 seed. With Dwight letting Harden, Parson, Lin & Co. get one-on-one's and open looks, they're a solid 5-6 seed with potential to be better.
If put in Dwight's position I'd have taken Houston over LA in a nanosecond.
OKC needs a center better than Perkins, and fast. The West isn't getting any smaller...
I hope they do, because Durant deserves to bring home a ring.
They drafted Steven Adams but he has project written all over him. I always wondered why they didn't let Ibaka play the five and have Nick Collison and Perry Jones split time at the four. Perkins is just done at this point, so why not let a strong hustle guy and a developing young player get extra burn?
Post by Mista Don't Play on Jul 12, 2013 14:59:56 GMT -5
No thoughts on Andrew Bynum?
I thought the Cavs negotiated that contract perfectly. And the fact that Bynum signed it so quickly and easily is probably a good sign that he will attempt to prove his worth.
How about my Bobcats/Hornets signing Al Jefferson... Slowly but surely we are getting better. Kemba and Jefferson are both really good players and with 3 potential 1st round picks next year with 2 lottery picks in the best draft class in years we could be a playoff team in 2014.
Post by Longtime and Frequent Poster on Jul 12, 2013 17:57:05 GMT -5
This could be way off, but Al Jefferson has always seemed like the classic Put Up Good Numbers On a Garbage Team But I'm Not Really Super Great guy, especially at this point in his career. I kind of thought that was a bizarre signing, no?
I know I've said it before, but the Mavs are so bad at free agency it's funny. They're always making cap room and screwing Dirk's future hoping to get a big time FA like Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, and what do they wind up with? OJ Mayo, Vince Carter, Chris Kaman and now Monta Ellis. Well done, Donnie Nelson.
This could be way off, but Al Jefferson has always seemed like the classic Put Up Good Numbers On a Garbage Team But I'm Not Really Super Great guy, especially at this point in his career. I kind of thought that was a bizarre signing, no?
It's not like the Jazz have been a bad team in recent memory. They are usually a playoff team. I could be off on these numbers a little bit, but I heard on the radio that Al Jefferson is one of two guys that has average at least 17 points and 9 rebounds each of the last 6 seasons. The other player is Dwight Howard. I think he is really underrated. He is not a flashy player so he does not end up on the highlight reel on sportcenter. I think he will average 20+ in Charlotte. He was one of the best FA on the market this offseason and it is a real good signing for a team like Charlotte. Al will shine in Charlotte. Also, he is only 28. He is in his prime right now so don't quite sure I understand what you meant by "this point in his career".
Last Edit: Jul 12, 2013 18:22:54 GMT -5 by CPK - Back to Top
Aug 2 - Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Aug 23-24 - FYF Fest
Sept 17 - The Breeders
Sept 22 - Lykke Li
Oct 6 - Ought
I know I've said it before, but the Mavs are so bad at free agency it's funny. They're always making cap room and screwing Dirk's future hoping to get a big time FA like Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, and what do they wind up with? OJ Mayo, Vince Carter, Chris Kaman and now Monta Ellis. Well done, Donnie Nelson.
Tempering my excitement, not because of his skill as a basketball player, but because the biggest lunatic in professional sports is finally coming home. And home happens to have more cameras, mics and people to take in his insanity than anywhere else. Let the games begin.
I know I've said it before, but the Mavs are so bad at free agency it's funny. They're always making cap room and screwing Dirk's future hoping to get a big time FA like Deron Williams or Dwight Howard, and what do they wind up with? OJ Mayo, Vince Carter, Chris Kaman and now Monta Ellis. Well done, Donnie Nelson.
And a championship.
None of the guys I named won a championship with Dallas. I see what you're getting at and it's great they won one recently, but I'm talking about what came after that. Ever since that championship they've been making poor personnel decisions at the expense of Dirk's last few effective years. The whole point of letting most of that championship core walk was to retain cap space so they could sign a marquee free agent, and it hasn't panned out. So they got guys on the cheap like Delonte West or Vince Carter to fill the holes until they can make their next run, which hasn't panned out either. They've gone from world champs to getting swept out of the first round to not even making the playoffs with this strategy, and I would say that kind of plummet from NBA relevance is pretty noteworthy.
Knowing what we know today, you could argue they wouldn't have contended with Miami, OKC or SA these last two seasons anyway. You could use that to justify their willingness to be a declining team. But if I was a fan and my team had won a championship then immediately started sucking on purpose, I'd be pretty disappointed.
This could be way off, but Al Jefferson has always seemed like the classic Put Up Good Numbers On a Garbage Team But I'm Not Really Super Great guy, especially at this point in his career. I kind of thought that was a bizarre signing, no?
I think Jefferson is a quality player and a big man, which fit a huge need for Charlotte, but, basically, I think a lot of the signing had to do with the front office having to prove a point to the fan base that they want to get better. Bobcats have done nothing but trade away their best players for nothing and do very little in free agency. With all the free agents out there this year they had to sign at least one quality player, that will definitely make the team better just to appease the fan base. Even if he isn't one of the most marquee names available.
I wonder what your opinion was when they signed guys like Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and Tyson Chandler...
Kidd- Traded to Dallas in '08, re-signed with the Mavs in '09, two years before they won the championship. Opinion- He's can't defend Smush Parker, but has the veteran experience to lead a team as far as it was built to go.
It took two years to build a championship team with Kidd at the helm, thanks in large part to JJ Barea (walked in free agency after they won a ring) who provided a scoring spark off the bench that Kidd couldn't. Dude was 38 when they won it, averaging his lowest assists per game since his rookie year and only 7.9 points per game. He was clearly on the decline ever since he signed with Dallas. Just look at his stats for those years to prove it.
Terry- an incumbent player since 2004, they signed him to an extension in 2006 that carried over to their championship team. In this case I will admit I didn't have much of an opinion, I'm not sure how I could have a relevant thought at the time since he was locked up since I graduated high school, a good five years before he won a ring. If he didn't help win one in the seven seasons leading up to their championship, why think he can help win one in 2011? Dallas didn't make it past the first round half of the years Terry was with the Mavs.
Marion- Sent to Mavs in '09. Opinion- A nice defender, but not much else. He didn't bring what he used to with Phoenix.
Matrix was another incumbent player in his twilight years and didn't win anything until Dirk dragged him to that 2011 championship, two years after he signed.
Tyson Chandler, though... that guy could have been a monster Maverick had he stayed on. Dude was only with the team when they won their ring, which (to me) only provides more reason why they should have kept him around. Having been a Bobcat before a Mav, Chander was a guy I loved and wished the best for. So my opinion- great signing for Dallas.
tl;dr: With the biased exception of Tyson Chandler, I didn't think a whole lot of those guys when they came to Dallas. It took them a bit of time until they could prove they were championship material. The idea that their most recent supporting cast of Mayo + Kaman + Darren Collison + Carter = Terry + Chandler + Kidd + Marion is silly. You have two clear downgrades with Mayo and Kaman, while Collison and Carter are pretty much even (but not better) with Kidd and Marion.
Posted by Gimli 19 hours ago You do realize Dirk was out for 1/3 of the year and playing hurt pretty much the rest of the time, right?
Being .500 with your franchise player a fraction of what he normally is is pretty good.
(I think I did this quote wrong somehow, but I am too drunk to fix it) That's a reasonable argument in both ways. In my eyes, if they had done more in free agency the last two years then they could have done better than that even without Dirk. As for your argument, it makes perfect sense they overachieved with what they had. I just think they could have had more and done better in the end. But I will concede you are right, if you don't have anything but an aging franchise player and a bunch of scrubs to back him up then .500 is a pretty good mark in the Western Conference. However, it still wasn't enough to make the playoffs that year, which does technically count as a regression.
This could be way off, but Al Jefferson has always seemed like the classic Put Up Good Numbers On a Garbage Team But I'm Not Really Super Great guy, especially at this point in his career. I kind of thought that was a bizarre signing, no?
I think Jefferson is a quality player and a big man, which fit a huge need for Charlotte, but, basically, I think a lot of the signing had to do with the front office having to prove a point to the fan base that they want to get better. Bobcats have done nothing but trade away their best players for nothing and do very little in free agency. With all the free agents out there this year they had to sign at least one quality player, that will definitely make the team better just to appease the fan base. Even if he isn't one of the most marquee names available.
In his last 5 or 6 years the lowest he landed on the PER rankings for centers was 11th, but every other year he was 6th or better. And that's if you count guys like Anderson Verajao in '12-'13 (25 games) and guys who don't play more than 20 minutes (Andray Blatche).
I've always been a big fan of Al Jeff because he's a traditional post-up PF/C type. You know what you're going to get with him: a double-double nearly every night 1-2 blocks and average defense. He's not the type of guy who can fly around, but people certainly aren't pushing him around in there.
I think it was a stroke of genius by the Bobcats, to be honest. It allows them to compete in the immediate future for a 7/8 type of seed and after the '14-'15 he becomes a big expiring contract. By then, hopefully, the Bobcats have a nice young core set in place and can use that trade chip to find another nice piece.
Besides, watching Kemba/Jefferson work an inside-out game will be fun and getting Al Jeff lets them keep Zeller at PF where he'll be more effective since he weighs like 8 pounds.
Post by Mista Don't Play on Jul 17, 2013 13:53:16 GMT -5
I think its a good pickup for them, and if Zeller is ready to play now they immediately become more competitive and a much more complete team, possibly even competing for a playoff spot, depending on how things shake out in free agency for the other fringe Eastern Conference teams.
I go back and forth on what they should do with Gerald Henderson. I tend to like him as a player and what he can do on the court, but unless they can somehow convince him to take less money, he is going to get a decent offer somewhere else. I think they should keep him and then use the $13 mil they will have after Ben Gordon is gone next year to fill out the roster.
I think its a good pickup for them, and if Zeller is ready to play now they immediately become more competitive and a much more complete team, possibly even competing for a playoff spot, depending on how things shake out in free agency for the other fringe Eastern Conference teams.
I go back and forth on what they should do with Gerald Henderson. I tend to like him as a player and what he can do on the court, but unless they can somehow convince him to take less money, he is going to get a decent offer somewhere else. I think they should keep him and then use the $13 mil they will have after Ben Gordon is gone next year to fill out the roster.
I'd definitely keep Henderson. Ben Gordon was the worst value in the NBA last year, and quite possibly in the history of basketball. Players that make as much as he did and play as much as he played almost ALWAYS have a bigger positive impact on their team than Gordon had last year. I understand he's a very limited player, but still.