"OFFICIAL" Around the NBA - December Thread

Clips @ Pacers tickets available for 13 cents tonight.

Seriously.

With fees, they come out to $2.

lol

 

ESPN top 25 under 25


1. Anthony Davis | Age: 21 | Pelicans
Projected 3-year WARP 44.0

2. DeMarcus Cousins | Age: 24 | Kings
Projected 3-year WARP: 28.3

3. John Wall | Age: 24 | Wizards
Projected 3-year WARP: 25.6

4. Kyrie Irving | Age: 22 | Cavaliers
Projected 3-year WARP: 24.0

5. Paul George | Age: 24 | Pacers
Projected 3-year WARP: 26.9

6. Andre Drummond | Age: 21 | Pistons
Projected 3-year WARP: 26.3

7. Damian Lillard | Age: 24 | Trail Blazers
Projected 3-year WARP: 26.1

Pelton: Players similar to Lillard have tended to peak relatively early. Of course, we said the same during Lillard's rookie season, and he's found plenty of room for improvement since, jumping into the league's top 10 in both WARP and win shares.

Thorpe: Lillard is fast becoming a dominant all-around impact player as a primary ball handler, one of only a few in the league. He can change the outcome of a game with his perimeter shooting or by expertly managing the game while feeding teammates.

Elhassan: Dynamic scorer and playmaker who has stepped into a leadership role almost seamlessly. His defense leaves something to be desired, as does his finishing, but Lillard is highly productive and a scouting report nightmare.

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How the hell can you still compare Dame to players who have "peaked early"... You can tell Pelton still holds that bias.

You know something about ESPN? Take it away Strenuus!

 

Miami continues to fade into obscurity.

 

[TWEET]543130514480046080[/TWEET]

And so it begins...

Think there is a great possibility he is moved before the end of the year.

 

Kupcake will go before he does.

 

And theres some people that still say he's a team player. They're right. For Team Kobe.

 

I could see that... if he didn't make so much damn money! What team(s) could/would trade for him? Matching salaries is REALLY tough to do & it has to make sense value-wise as well. Not saying there aren't any potential suitors out there, but I can't think of any that make sense.

 

Kobe for Melo! Lol

 

This is not to say I think Portland should go after him although I do think they would try to make a play for him. I think Portland needs to do somthing about the two three position. I personally don't think this team is good enough to go the distance and I really think they either need Nic to WAKE up. Or they need to move him and get better. They in my opinion are not good enough.

 

I could see them moving him not because he has become a cancer but for him. Try to move him to a place that gives him a chance to win. He's not going to be happy in that environment. As you saw, It has begun.

 

I don't think he cares about winning at this point, overall. It's all about legacy. Pass Jordan on the scoring list, and be able to finish his career as a Laker.

 

Kobe has a no trade clause in his contract. He'll need to waive that in order for a trade to happen.

Kobe should've known that his contract was going to make it difficult to bring in talent via free agency. He wants the $$$, he wants to break Kareem's all-time scoring record, and most of all, he wants to do it as a Laker. Besides, he's running the show there, not Kupcake or Scott.

 

Lmao that would be comic relief right there

 

It's actually not that horrible of an idea, if Kobe would agree to it. One overpaid stat whore for another. It kind of helps both teams, well potentially. Kobe knows how to run the triangle, he's tight with both Fisher and Jackson, and with as crappy as the East is, adding Kobe to the Melo could still get them to the playoffs in the East this year - if winning 30-something games to be the 7th or 8th seed in the East is considered a worthy accomplishment. For the Lakers, Ama're is an expiring contract. So, they clear their overpaid old guy off the cap one year sooner to help accelerate their rebuild. Plus, they'll loose even more games and wind up with a higher lottery pick.

Makes you wonder if Phil would scrap his rebuilding plan (does he actually have a plan?) to take on the last two years of Kobe's contract. I wouldn't. Kobe may be enough to get them to the playoffs, but with the rest of that roster, they wouldn't go far once there. But, I'm not the ZenMaster. So, what do I know.

BNM

 

Portland's fan view of Kobe is so skewed. There are a lot of thing you and others say about him are accurate. But he is also a winner and I would think he would rather be on a winning team than what he is on right now.

 

I don't believe he is running the show. I think Busses are. I think Busses just due to the loyalty they show are doing whats best for Kobe. But I think in the end what they might find whats best for him is him being moved.

 

I would be afraid of his ego taking over our great chemistry. History shows fit and chemistry matters.

 

That last portion of the post was intended as hyperbole partly. The Busses knew what they were getting when they signed Kobe to the extension. However, they were hoping to get some talent via free agency. That didn't work out as planned for them!

Then Jeanie Buss compounds their problems with another mistake by saying, "Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I'm glad they wouldn't come to the team."