Durant, Westbrook, and OKC
Comments
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Why do you even feel the need to mention Utah, Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Phoenix? Those teams aren't even close to competing with the Thunder. That's some serious pressing. Utah? You've got to be fucking kidding me. Just say Clippers, Portland, and Golden State are still young. The Thunder have Kevin Durant and are better than every team you mentioned, but still. There is no other team with 2 all stars (3 if you want to count Ibaka) under the age of 26. You can press and say Golden State (Curry and Thompson) but there is a pretty decent gap between those two and Durant and Westbrook. Same with Lillard and Aldridge.Tequilla said:Generally speaking, I agree that you don't trade stars.
But I don't see a team right now that looks like they like playing with each other. There appears to be a lot of tension.
IF they go out this season, you have to make some major changes one way or another as the status quo isn't good enough. If you stay status quo and go through next year and get a similar result, then you have KD with one year left on his deal and at that point probably not even thinking of signing an extension.
I also absolutely positively disagree with the idea that the West is getting older. You could argue that the Spurs, Mavs, and Memphis are getting older. However, the Clippers are still relatively young. Portland is in a really good position going forward as long as they can ink up LaMarcus Aldridge going forward. Golden State is still very young. Houston is still in good shape going forward. Phoenix came out of nowhere but they are young. You have an emerging young team in New Orleans. The Lakers will be better than you think sooner than you think. Denver still has a reasonably strong roster. Utah has a good shot to be decent in a year or two depending on the outcome of the lottery as they have some nice pieces to build around in Hayward, Favors, Burke, Kanter, and Burks. Minnesota probably gets blown up when Kevin Love says that he won't re-sign with them.
They have the 2nd best player in basketball and another top 10 player. You don't break up that core. Even suggesting it at this point is stupid. Trading stars doesn't work. They wouldn't get back pieces as valuable as Westbrook. You build around it, keep developing guys, and get a new voice in there to replace Brooks. -
The Lakers will be better? Terrible instead of fucking horrible?
They are finished. Kobe is old. Gasol is old. Even with Love or Carmelo theyd struggle to make the playoffs in the loaded west. -
I mean this is just silly. Triple double. Game saving steal and bucket. Should be traded for a real point guard. Because real point guards win NBA championships. Tony Parker being the only real point guard to win one in more than two decades. Have to have a real point guard.
If Kevin Durant shows up for a must win game 5, drops 2 assists and gets out shot by Westbrook, that's on Kevin Durant. -
A real point guard like Mario Chalmers
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Always about the blacks?
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Sounds like you're about to take the gloves off.
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The Lakers are going to be brutal next season. But they are the Lake Show. They have a plan. They have a history of executing said plan.
It's well known that they basically have cleared their cap at this point except for Kobe (2 years remaining) and Nash (retires next year). They will have at worst a Top 7 pick this year. Since they are the Lakers and we all know how the lottery works, they'll get a Top 3 pick this year (and probably the same with Boston).
Next year, they'll continue to be brutal and that will allow them to keep their 1st round pick in 2015 instead of sending it to Phoenix as long as they have a Top 5 pick. The only contract they'll have on the books for 2015-2016 at that point is Kobe. They'll go sign Kevin Love. When Kobe comes off the books, the only contracts that they'll have on the books will be Kevin Love and the 1st round picks from the '14 and '15 draft. They'll have a ton of cap room in a loaded free agent pool.
IF they don't get KD in the fold after 2016, then they'll get Westbrook in 2017. Combine either with Kevin Love, and what will most likely be 2 really good players from the '14 and '15 drafts, and then round out the roster with role players and guys looking for titles, and you'll have a title contender by the '16-'17 season at the latest. -
A lot of hypotheticals. Other than Dwight, most players re-sign with their current team. They give up 30 million to take a deal with another team. Lots of teams have tried to get a ton of cap space to make a splash in free agency. The Heat are the only team that really succeeded. It didn't work for the Knicks and many others.Tequilla said:The Lakers are going to be brutal next season. But they are the Lake Show. They have a plan. They have a history of executing said plan.
It's well known that they basically have cleared their cap at this point except for Kobe (2 years remaining) and Nash (retires next year). They will have at worst a Top 7 pick this year. Since they are the Lakers and we all know how the lottery works, they'll get a Top 3 pick this year (and probably the same with Boston).
Next year, they'll continue to be brutal and that will allow them to keep their 1st round pick in 2015 instead of sending it to Phoenix as long as they have a Top 5 pick. The only contract they'll have on the books for 2015-2016 at that point is Kobe. They'll go sign Kevin Love. When Kobe comes off the books, the only contracts that they'll have on the books will be Kevin Love and the 1st round picks from the '14 and '15 draft. They'll have a ton of cap room in a loaded free agent pool.
IF they don't get KD in the fold after 2016, then they'll get Westbrook in 2017. Combine either with Kevin Love, and what will most likely be 2 really good players from the '14 and '15 drafts, and then round out the roster with role players and guys looking for titles, and you'll have a title contender by the '16-'17 season at the latest.
The Lakers also have little Buss running the show. He could be a disaster. Picking D'Antoni over Phil put him on the fast track to disaster. Kevin Love is a really good player, but he also can't guard anyone. So far, he's been a stats guy. A lot of things have to go right to be a title contender by 16-17. Not to mention, even if they hit home runs with the draft picks, it normally takes guys awhile to truly learn how to win in the NBA. It's not easy, even if you are the Lakers. This isn't fantasy basketball. -
I'm well aware that it isn't fantasy basketball.
The young kids will take time, but we're talking about some high end young players that are going to be coming in and ultimately won't be asked to star early with Kobe shielding for the next two years and some high end talent coming in after that.
In my opinion, Kevin Love gets a bit of a bad rap because the teams he's been on are brutally bad. He's not a great defender ... but just about every other part of his game is great. If you can find another big to pair with him that is a decent defender, then that takes a lot of pressure off of Love.
And yes, most free agents stay home. Most of them aren't widely acknowledged to be dead set on leaving their current team and playing for the Lakers like Love appears to be. -
If OKC loses tonight wouldn't surprise me if they make a panic trade this offseason and trade Westbrook in a 3 for 1 deal that never works out in the NBA.
People will rationalize it that Westbrook shoots too much and they need more options.
Westbrook is having a bad series but so is Durant. Brooks isn't helping but playing Perkins and Fisher in crunch time.
Presti has assembled a terrible roster. I watched in game five as they were making a comeback Caron Butler miss three straight wide open three pointers. Sad part is he was one of the only guys on the bench not playing terrible.
I really don't see Durant staying there. After this year I think he'll face heat on not winning a title. He'll come to realization that Lebron did in Cleveland that he doesn't have the ownership group capable of winning a title. He'll take his talents to another place.
RE: Lakers. Remember Kobe's contract comes off the books in two years and Nash, Gasol will be off too. They'll get a top tier lotto pick this year and most likely next year. I think the Lakers can turn it around rather quickly especially if a Durant, Kevin Love, or Westbrook go there. Probably need two of them which they could haul in.
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