2012-13 General NBA Discussion Thread

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
The Spurs are a really interesting case study. They've had the same coach & Top 3 players for the last 10 years. I can't even think of anyone else in all of sports who's had their best 3 players and coach together for FIVE years, much less for 10. One thing that's kinda bittersweet about coaching HS ball is that I feel like both years the kids just really started to "get it" right when the season was ending. Having the same top guys running the same system from the same great coach for that long is an ENORMOUS advantage. Heck, even a lot of their role players have been there a really long time compared to role players on other teams. I'm surprised more teams don't try to do this, especially in small markets.

The Spurs drafted the greatest PF to ever play the game. They have one of the greatest coaches ever. The Bulls had Phil, Jordan and Pippen for what would have been 10+ years had Jordan not retired. Twice. It's easy to assemble a core that will last when you've got some of the greatest players to ever play. It's not like you pick up a Jordan or a Duncan in every draft.

If there's one team that has a shot at duplicating what the Spurs have done, it's OKC, but I think they may have boned that by trading away Harden.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:

Soooo....does Harden get some MVP love? You know, that overpaid backup scrub

Can't wait for next year if the Rockets can grab a top forward.

I've been watching some college ball lately, ASU has another promising player. PG Jahii Carson. Only 5'10 though so probably too small. But might win PAC-12 frosh of the year and player of the year, last guy to do that was Kevin Love.

And UNLV has a REALLY good SF with Anthony Bennett



Check out his ball skills and athleticism for a 6'8 guy. Sorry Cal fans.

What's funny is lots of Laker fans felt it was an over paid contract. But all their moves were brilliant and we sit here and the Rockets are 4 games ahead of the Lakers.

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
What's funny is lots of Laker fans felt it was an over paid contract. But all their moves were brilliant and we sit here and the Rockets are 4 games ahead of the Lakers.

It's funny, I didn't hear anyone saying that the Lakers moves weren't brilliant at the time.

And even still, the Lakers moved Andrew Bynum & some mid 1st round picks and got back Dwight Howard & Steve Nash. The Lakers would be even more f**ked right now with Bynum on the roster.

Harden's definitely earned his contract though, no doubt.

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
The Spurs drafted the greatest PF to ever play the game. They have one of the greatest coaches ever. The Bulls had Phil, Jordan and Pippen for what would have been 10+ years had Jordan not retired. Twice. It's easy to assemble a core that will last when you've got some of the greatest players to ever play. It's not like you pick up a Jordan or a Duncan in every draft.

If there's one team that has a shot at duplicating what the Spurs have done, it's OKC, but I think they may have boned that by trading away Harden.

No doubt that a Duncan doesn't come around every day, but Parker & Manu aren't some of the greatest to ever play. Even without a Duncan, there's a lot to be said for continuity. That was my only point. Most teams that have top talent turn their roster over on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure that the Lakers only have 2 guys on their roster from their last championship season, which was 3 years ago. The Spurs don't do that.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by blizzuntz:

What's funny is lots of Laker fans felt it was an over paid contract. But all their moves were brilliant and we sit here and the Rockets are 4 games ahead of the Lakers.

It's funny, I didn't hear anyone saying that the Lakers moves weren't brilliant at the time.

And even still, the Lakers moved Andrew Bynum & some mid 1st round picks and got back Dwight Howard & Steve Nash. The Lakers would be even more f**ked right now with Bynum on the roster.

Harden's definitely earned his contract though, no doubt.

I don't know, Howard isn't really everything Bynum wasnt so far this season. He had some good games recently but overall he hasn't impressed. But Howard on the floor is better than an injured Bynum for sure.

If the Lakers don't make the playoffs and Howard walks, it was only a good roll of the dice.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by TheSixthRing:
The Spurs drafted the greatest PF to ever play the game. They have one of the greatest coaches ever. The Bulls had Phil, Jordan and Pippen for what would have been 10 years had Jordan not retired. Twice. It's easy to assemble a core that will last when you've got some of the greatest players to ever play. It's not like you pick up a Jordan or a Duncan in every draft.

If there's one team that has a shot at duplicating what the Spurs have done, it's OKC, but I think they may have boned that by trading away Harden.

No doubt that a Duncan doesn't come around every day, but Parker & Manu aren't some of the greatest to ever play. Even without a Duncan, there's a lot to be said for continuity. That was my only point. Most teams that have top talent turn their roster over on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure that the Lakers only have 2 guys on their roster from their last championship season, which was 3 years ago. The Spurs don't do that.

Eh, the Lakers tried to with Kobe, Shaq and Phil, but then Shaq got all stupid greedy while packing on the pounds and generally making an ass of himself.

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
I don't know, Howard isn't really everything Bynum wasnt so far this season. He had some good games recently but overall he hasn't impressed. But Howard on the floor is better than an injured Bynum for sure.

If the Lakers don't make the playoffs and Howard walks, it was only a good roll of the dice.

No doubt Howard hasn't impressed. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that he's been playing at 75% for most of the year, between his shoulder and his back. I'm just saying that knowing what they know now, they'd be even more willing to do that deal than they were at the time. Philly was the team that got really f**ked in this.

After getting a lot of criticism for the yield they got for Howard, Orlando's looking really good. They identified a very good, cheap, & young center prospect in Nikola Vucevic, a wing with some potential in Harkless, 3 1st Round picks, and they're gonna be bad enough this year to have a Top 3-4 pick of their own. Next year you're looking at a core of Vucevic, Top 3-4 draft pick, a ton of cap space, and Hedo's large, expiring contract to move as well. They did very well for themselves in that trade and will be amongst the better young teams in the NBA in 2 years if they don't f**k up their high draft picks.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
I don't know, Howard isn't really everything Bynum wasnt so far this season. He had some good games recently but overall he hasn't impressed. But Howard on the floor is better than an injured Bynum for sure.

If the Lakers don't make the playoffs and Howard walks, it was only a good roll of the dice.

No doubt Howard hasn't impressed. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that he's been playing at 75% for most of the year, between his shoulder and his back. I'm just saying that knowing what they know now, they'd be even more willing to do that deal than they were at the time. Philly was the team that got really f**ked in this.

After getting a lot of criticism for the yield they got for Howard, Orlando's looking really good. They identified a very good, cheap, & young center prospect in Nikola Vucevic, a wing with some potential in Harkless, 3 1st Round picks, and they're gonna be bad enough this year to have a Top 3-4 pick of their own. Next year you're looking at a core of Vucevic, Top 3-4 draft pick, a ton of cap space, and Hedo's large, expiring contract to move as well. They did very well for themselves in that trade and will be amongst the better young teams in the NBA in 2 years if they don't f**k up their high draft picks.

me some Nkola Vucevic

Harkless is looking pretty solid, but don't forget about Andrew Nicholson. He may be the player I'm the most excited about.

Originally posted by jrg:
me some Nkola Vucevic

Harkless is looking pretty solid, but don't forget about Andrew Nicholson. He may be the player I'm the most excited about.

And those three are gonna combine to make about $5.2M next year. That's how you rebuild. People are very impatient, but they know what they're doing.

Must be nice having real owners

Great win for the Warriors. Spurs looked tired at the end of the game. Old f**ks!

Originally posted by marshniners24:
Must be nice having real owners

THIS.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

And those three are gonna combine to make about $5.2M next year. That's how you rebuild. People are very impatient, but they know what they're doing.

The magic are doing it the anti Warriors way

Originally posted by jrg:

me some Nkola Vucevic

Harkless is looking pretty solid, but don't forget about Andrew Nicholson. He may be the player I'm the most excited about.

Will be a Laker in 2015

Originally posted by InconvenienTTruth21:

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

And those three are gonna combine to make about $5.2M next year. That's how you rebuild. People are very impatient, but they know what they're doing.

The magic are doing it the anti Warriors way

They had a superstar to trade. We had monta lol