https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--cavaliers-have-agreement-to-acquire-kevin-love--who-commits-to-staying-in-cleveland-054657392.html

somebody GOTTA be mad about this.


****WARNING****


you favorite PG better win a title before mine.


no, but seriously, after years of watching Grant botch all them top 5 picks and having Gee and Earl Clark in that corner, Kyrie and the Cavs deserve this. i'm dead serious. they DESERVE this.

all i wanted was Klay and Drummond and Dion traded. Now I'm gettin Bron and my dogg Love and Dion coming off the bench, where he will shine.

Don't let nobody tell you God don't be helpin'. He absolutely does.

HE. BE. HELPIN!

I was looking forward to Thad Young.

Unless AB is going to be shipped off in a separate trade.

Either way, I'm not mad at getting Wiggins. Only folks mad at this will be Cleveland fans, for whatever reason.

he's cool but he looks like a is what he is type of player

Just like people who watched the Sixers never could understand the Iggy love.

i'm struggling to think of a single "thaddeus young moment"
bennett and young are both undersized 4s with overrated shooting ability
not sure what thad contract situation is but i'm not sure why the sixers would dump him only to get back a redundant (maybe worse) player

Only problem with trading with the Sixers is you know they're going to want multiple first round picks, and you know Flip will probably do it.

Honestly, I'd like to know.

I'm not totally opposed to keeping him, but what does he actually bring to the Wolves?

He was a raw prospect WITHOUT the surgery.

He shoots very well for a guy his size, he moves/jumps very well for a guy his size, his handles should be better than most his size. He doesn't defend (my huge knock against him at the time), but offensively, he has undeniable skills. They just need time.

Especially considering he missed the summer due to surgery and once he was "healthy" he came in out of shape.

>He shoots very well for a guy his size, he moves/jumps very
>well for a guy his size, his handles should be better than
>most his size. He doesn't defend (my huge knock against him at
>the time), but offensively, he has undeniable skills. They
>just need time.
>
>Especially considering he missed the summer due to surgery and
>once he was "healthy" he came in out of shape.

that even Tristan Thompson regressed last season is no accident. so a raw rookie with actual NBA skills, drafted too high, coming off surgery in a team where inbound passes are like pulling teeth, you got the Lost Member of Onyx settling for long 2s when he had the 3 open, Earl Clark launching bricks, Andrew Bynum not caring about basketball, and Dion standing around like the Drew Bledsoe statue in Gillette Stadium when he doesn't have the ball until Andrew Delladevova yells at him where to go was pretty much doomed.

I don't get the "for his size" thing. he was fat last year so maybe that's it, but he's only 6'7''

Needs a better work ethic, but that can be learned with being a professional.

It's not like he's Michael Beasley, just immature. He's 6'8, great hands, feet, 3 pt range, athleticism, and long ass Elton Brand arms.

We'll see if he's moved or not.

alas...

he'll start out being a poor man's version of the guy you lost, and Wiggins will be a rich man's version of that guy you drafted 2nd over all 4 years ago, and ALL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS SAID THE CAVS SHOULD HAVE PICKED....

, and ALL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS
>SAID THE CAVS SHOULD HAVE PICKED....

GANGSTER!

PIMP!

DON!

GODFATHER!

Everybody wanted one of them, HE GOT EM ALL!!!!!

(c) LeBatard

"Love will join superstar LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to create the most devastating trio in the NBA and will instantly make the Cavaliers a frontrunner to win the NBA championship."

>https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--cavaliers-have-agreement-to-acquire-kevin-love--who-commits-to-staying-in-cleveland-054657392.html

oh no doubt

They'll represent the east in the finals though.

I can't see them beating Dallas, San Antonio, Clippers, Thunder, etc.

unless Blatt brings that "Postrophe Ball That Actually Works In Masking Poo Poo Defense" realness

ECF or bust 2015, chip or bust 2016

and before you say they merely flamed out in the finals, well they did, but they also had gelling issues all year that were much more ironed out the next season.

I don't remember who

of the playoffs.

by the 2nd half and the playoffs they were in sync
they could (should) have won the chip that year
but dallas caught EVERYONE off guard and you always get a pass for the 1st yr of a team no matter how good they are

>you always get a pass
>for the 1st yr of a team no matter how good they are

and this is all i'm saying. people are gonna overreact if they lose, but 2016 will be when the real pressure is on.

ie: who did they play, did they take games off last couple weeks etc

(and the cavs, that was pretty funny) but they couldn't have been taking too many games off since they were still going for the #1 seed

but most teams that build the way they are have to get it together for a season before making a real run at the championship. the 08 celtics are the exception. the cavs certainly should be considered ONE of the favorites. but over a spurs team that JUST won, gels better than everyone, and has easily the best organization in the league? nah dude, spurs are the favorites until we see how everyone else plays.

regarding the 2010 heat run in the eastern playoffs:

a) it's the east.

b) every favorite should destroy the first 2 rounds. doesn't always happen, but they should. the only surprising result was them killing the bulls.

c) you're forgetting they were expected to win more than 58 games. people predicting 70+ wins were being unreasonable, but 60-something was perfectly within reach. let's not act like people weren't disappointed by the regular season. we all remember it.

in a row who knows what they have left in the tank. The wheels have to come off at some point.

Unless Rose can really play at a near-MVP level all season the Cavs won't have any competition in the east.

The window for them is open now. The Love trade is a win-now move. If the don't win Lebron opts out and holds the entire league hostage all over again.

and their role players are actually pretty young. the point is every team has more "ifs" than the spurs. that's kinda the deal with being the favorite.

>
>Unless Rose can really play at a near-MVP level all season the
>Cavs won't have any competition in the east.

i agree they're coming out of the east. that doesn't mean they're prepared for the West winner yet, whoever that may be. we'll have to see.

>
>The window for them is open now. The Love trade is a win-now
>move. If the don't win Lebron opts out and holds the entire
>league hostage all over again.

1. Bron isn't leaving or even testing free agency again. He'll be roasted even more than before if he does. He's just getting a deal under the new CBA.

2. lol. you mean if they don't win in 2 years? i've already said they need to win one by 2016. but when a new team doesn't win the year they were assembled it shouldn't be considered the end of the world (provided they don't COMPLETELY flame out like the D12 Lakers).

3. since you're not high on love and like to harp on his lack of playoff experience, how can you declare them the favorites? the spurs have all the playoff experience in the world and you think a NEW team with kevin love should be favored over them? that's inconsistent, no?

and we won't allow this "truth" to be obscured (like so many do)

there weren't "gelling" issues in 2011. there was someone completely disappearing, just like there was the year prior. and this time around, his teammates couldn't be blamed

the same shit almost happened in 2013. but Ray Allen, DayQuil missing freethrows, and Popovich being a dumbass allowed that to pass.

>there weren't "gelling" issues in 2011. there was someone
>completely disappearing, just like there was the year prior.
>and this time around, his teammates couldn't be blamed
>
>the same shit almost happened in 2013. but Ray Allen, DayQuil
>missing freethrows, and Popovich being a dumbass allowed that
>to pass.
>

2012 ended the "agenda", talking about what happened all those other years in Miami is just being truthful.

2011 - choke
2012 - un-choke
2013 - near-choke (hello Ray)
2014 - Fall of an Empire (and note in the games LeBron could contribute for the duration, he made sure the overall numbers were within his usual; D-Wade's health gamble turned out to be an ass bet, amnestying Mike Miller was dumb, Bosh and Cole tried, Chalmers, Battier, Ray Allen, Beasley, etc. were non-factors)

I'm good after 2011 and 2013 validated my "agenda" at this point

and only crawled back on to this board after going into hiding because bron decided to bless your shitty city/team with his presence

>I'm good after 2011 and 2013 validated my "agenda" at this
>point

u ain't win shit

I only came back to watch shameless eaters of dick like yourself take a break from the dick eating to eat from the giant bowl of shit LeBron created by coming back to play in Cleveland with Gilbert with each passing game. not to mention that same bowl of shit created when jabronis said Kyrie was gonna be gone when the opportunity arose.

if I didn't come back to laugh at that last Finals L in the middle of all that Jordan comparing bullshit, I wasn't coming back unless the impossible happened.

you on the other hand, gotta eat that bowl of shit, SouthEuclidMan.

bwhahahahahahah

that never, ever, EVER factored in the eyes of LeBronies
this new "LeBron saves them all" shit is laughable

you (and the rest of the LeBronies) are eating a giant bowl of shit because he did exactly what you said he would never do again.

you can not flip this no matter how much you try.

I'm happy because Kyrie will likely benefit, but that's about it. I'm not invested in a non-GOAT being GOAT like you guys are. I saw the GOAT play in a Bulls uniform just like everyone else did.

> he did exactly what you said he would never do
>again.

he was always open. he said it was possible "later on in his career"

and yes kyrie career trajectory was pure shit before The Letter
longo and bags basically made up the "he gone" narrative cause it was the ONLY way his career was going be a success at that point in time
nigga had ZERO chance of leading a bad team to success as the #1
i have no problem with him being bron's butler. if he fuck up in prime time though it's getting examined

>he was always open. he said it was possible "later on in his
>career"

yeah, he might have said it. none of the LeBronies here actually said it/believed it. Well, except Vex and Vee, who are exempt from the bowl of shit. Go look at his poll/post and see how many votes are for "going back to Cleveland". all that shit leading up to The Letter was basically of the "he's never going back to play for Gilbert" flavor. EVERYONE, not just OKP said it.

>and yes kyrie career trajectory was pure shit before The
>Letter

nope. even if it wasn't on the Cavs, he would have CP3-ed his way onto another team and been good.

>longo and bags basically made up the "he gone" narrative cause
>it was the ONLY way his career was going be a success at that
>point in time

no, that came from people (fans of big market teams) salivating over his talent and mad that CLE drafted him (or even had the chance to draft him. that's the hidden part of that Derrick Williams is better agenda)

though Longo did want him out of CLE because he's a citizen of LeBronon and (honestly, the way that front office was going with what they had was some shit).

>nigga had ZERO chance of leading a bad team to success as the
>#1

we'll never get to see it now. I think that he was going to finally do it after this offseason. but things have changed.

>i have no problem with him being bron's butler. if he fuck up
>in prime time though it's getting examined

lmfao @ Bron's Butler. Dude is gonna be better alongside LeBron than Dwyane Wade ever was. Book it. Bron gonna be "old" before Kyrie will.

including you

ur only option is lookin like an idiot and tryin to proclaim it as Kyries Team rather than accept the fact yal are Brons charity case

us Lebron fans will still continue to shyt on that city and its residences and the OWNER

cause literally nothing has changed accept bron feeling sorry for yal and returning so yal can worship the greatness he bestows upon that hell hole of an area





Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

>ur only option is lookin like an idiot and tryin to proclaim
>it as Kyries Team rather than accept the fact yal are Brons
>charity case

I'm not a LeBron James fan. that's known.

y'all going to have to watch from the sidelines this time around.

the nigga you hate is the only reason why you can show your face in public
and anyone cares about your team again
u basically have no authority to say shit
"loyal" cavs fans are 2nd class citizens in lebronia
go somewhere

I've rooted for the Cavs without waver since Price/Nance/Daugherty.

if we're talking player nations, I have citizenship in the following locales:

- Rondopia
- Kobestan
- North Kyriea

I also have a summer home in NyQuil Township, Georgia.

and I have never adopted the Celtics or the Lakers as my "team". ever. I'm not even vacationing in LeBronon.

the dude I "hate" made my team better on paper.
I don't care if other people care about the team or not.
they are non factors.

There is no win for him here

like at all

he looks dumb trying to diminish bron

and he's going to look dumb cheering for him

dude going to be watching the games like this
http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/slow_clap_vanderbeek.gif


the dude he wrote maniacal essays about is now beloved by his city and fellow fans and making cavs an instant contender

this ish gotta be torture

shouldve just kept quiet

I was going to let him make it till the kyrie comments


Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

>there weren't "gelling" issues in 2011.

it's literally what people were talking about everyday. how does no one remember this? i already agreed he and the heat flamed out in the finals. the two are not mutually exclusive.

I assumed the Finals was the point of discussion here.

I think by now, LeBron knows that he can't appear/go slack in big games, and it largely showed this last season. at least in the box scores, so I don't expect him to "choke".

it's just people try to forget that he can and HAS choked...

a good, experienced team can sorta take it easy in the reg. season, knowing they're basically ensured a top 4 seed. a new team doesn't have that luxury. they HAVE to focus on gelling completely in the regular season in order to have playoff success. the 08 celts are a good example: they stormed in and took the top spot from the pistons. the heat are on the other end, as we should've known something was up when they let the bulls steal away the 1 seed (no excuse for their finals performance, just saying everything wasn't as perfect as everyone's painting it now). in fairness, they did destroy the bulls in the playoffs, but couldn't that be more emblematic of problems with that bulls team rather than a credit to how good the heat were? more than 1 team can flame out in a single postseason.

>a good, experienced team can sorta take it easy in the reg.
>season, knowing they're basically ensured a top 4 seed. a new
>team doesn't have that luxury. they HAVE to focus on gelling
>completely in the regular season in order to have playoff
>success.

I guess. But I still think that 2011, there was no excuses. not even the "gelling" excuse. that was a legit choke job. that was the kind of shit that got Dirk fried for years, the kind of shit that made Kobe the bete noir of OKS.

>the 08 celts are a good example: they stormed in and
>took the top spot from the pistons. the heat are on the other
>end, as we should've known something was up when they let the
>bulls steal away the 1 seed (no excuse for their finals
>performance, just saying everything wasn't as perfect as
>everyone's painting it now). in fairness, they did destroy the
>bulls in the playoffs, but couldn't that be more emblematic of
>problems with that bulls team rather than a credit to how good
>the heat were? more than 1 team can flame out in a single
>postseason.

I don't remember too much about the regular season games to call the seeding issues (they basically did the same thing in 2014). but I do think the Bulls team then had some major problems. Some of which remain today but if Rose checks out I'll take 2014 Bulls over 2010 Bulls, for the reasons mentioned above.

>I guess. But I still think that 2011, there was no excuses.
>not even the "gelling" excuse. that was a legit choke job.
>that was the kind of shit that got Dirk fried for years, the
>kind of shit that made Kobe the bete noir of OKS.

specifically because that mavs team wasn't the greatest champion ever. and again, i've acknowledged their choking. but even when a top team has "no excuses" we can still analyze the team's issues. no team is perfect, and there's always a post-mortem to be done for the finals loser. the fact of the matter is they were up and down all season long. they'd look completely on the same page some nights and completely off others. they even won some of the games they were completely off just based on talent alone, but the headline the next day was still about what was wrong with them.

I won't even say Bron choked.. you actually have to try and fail to choke. That negro hid.... He was M.I.A.

To his credit he came back like gangbusters and introduced us to bath salt bron in 2012 but that doesn't change 2011.

I was happy he figured it out tho. No one wants to see a person that talented fail to make it happen. That's not good for the sport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

Ditch the paper, save the trees, and go mobile! Text bizcard to 32462!

A lot of people, myself included, thought OKC would win the series because they played more as a team. That's kind of stunning to consider now, because in the post-Harden era, they have struggled with that themselves. But they were basically 10 seconds of Bron iso and 10 seconds of Wade iso. Defense was coming together. In 2011, I'd say even that wasn't there yet. There was more to that 2011 loss than Bron folding. Team chemistry was a factor. The Mavs being on a mission was another. It's funny that the same people cysing the fuck out of the Heat losing to the Mavs in a reasonably close series are just overlooking the way they absolutely sodomized the Lakers that same postseason.

LeBron was the one who kept them in the game. He had a triple-double in Game 6. With 32 points. A bunch of a which brought them back before Ray Allen hit the three. Anything else is lame revisionist history.

>LeBron was the one who kept them in the game. He had a
>triple-double in Game 6. With 32 points. A bunch of a which
>brought them back before Ray Allen hit the three. Anything
>else is lame revisionist history.

go watch the tape

Who scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, getting them back in the game? Who hit the three to make it 94-92?

Trying to Cuban B that shit is silly.

he may have helped, but if Ray doesn't hit that three, that's a choke.

Time to stop living in denial and stop being so mad.

It's you and like five other people on OKS. Most of the time I reject the whole "only on OKS" thing, but, really, only on OKS.

that is so common, you can hear that said all the time about that series.

hell, even the SPURS themselves would say the same exact thing.

"LeBron almost choked." The wouldn't have even been in the game if not for LeBron in the fourth. I'd like to stop being repetitive, but you keep denying this.

Just more LeBrony friendly... FOH

because I said LeBron nearly choked. When that's what everyone (except basketball nerds and LeBron fans) would have said about that series if anyone else had won a game like that under those same conditions. it was literally seconds away from a total choke job until the Ray Allen, and it went to a 7th game, which wasn't.

it wasn't a "choke". it was a "near-choke".
there is a negative connotation with that word, I understand.
but I'm not in the business of tailoring my language to appease LeBron fans. I call it how I see it. you can put up monster stats in a game, to keep your game in it, and still almost choke.

"choke" doesn't just mean 4th quarter disappearance.

and I'm not "mad" because I saw a guy sit on the court with defeated body language because all of his work was about to be for naught.

that's what I saw. does that make me mad?

why would I even be mad at that anyway? LeBron won in 2012, without asterisks. if anything -that would have made me mad.

around, his teammates couldn't be blamed
>
>the same shit almost happened in 2013. but Ray Allen, DayQuil
>missing freethrows, and Popovich being a dumbass allowed that
>to pass.
>

that's why I'll never get over Game 6

the narrative would've been how Pop contained Bron by sagging off of
him and forcing long jumpers

I remember how sad Bron looked before the last few minutes of Game 6

just like he did when the Celtics ran him out of Cleveland

IF THEY DON'T WIN YEAR ONE IT'S AN L

IF LOVE'S NUMBERS GO DOWN IT'S AN L

embarrassing.

and Love's NEW team should be the favorites, and he won't accept any other views on those two topics.

The Heat didn't do it their first year (either time,) neither did the Pau Lakers.

>The Heat didn't do it their first year (either time,) neither
>did the Pau Lakers.

Pau came to the Lakers in February, not quite the same

Year Two comes and goes without a ring.

Also, the C's had Doc, not a dude who was brand new to the NBA.

to take on altered roles in that part of their career and a PG already comfortable with deferring. plus their bench was extremely well built.

SAVE THIS POST!!!!

He's watching them D-Wade tapes huffing on a Black 'n Mild right now grinning,

They friends.

Mike Miller will be starting off guard.

You and I both know this.

You better hope.

no way i would have imagined love and bron with kyrie. no way. i was good with jabari and a dion trade.

it's all good. whatever blatt wanna do with dion is fine. i just think he's a 6th man. every coach who's had him thinks so too.

>no way i would have imagined love and bron with kyrie. no
>way. i was good with jabari and a dion trade.

i know winning a title gona be hard. but at least it's a new "hard"...you know what was REALLY hard to deal with? Gee in that corner and Tristan playing pick and pop.

That's stupid. Opt-in for another year, but doesn't settle now. Let that CBA kick in.
----------------------------
Same as it ever was!

i mean do i get it, it's more money
but makes more sense for him to take a discount
i wonder if bron knew it would require 120mil when he campaigned for bol

>i mean do i get it, it's more money
>but makes more sense for him to take a discount

Makes sense for who? lol

>i wonder if bron knew it would require 120mil when he
>campaigned for bol

Its funny because Bron left Cleveland the first time because he couldn't win with the dudes he had campaigned for them to sign, lol

imo it's tough to take a discount on your first max deal, whether it's this one or somewhere later in your career (especially if it's somewhere later, when you have been playing for way less possibly).

mf's shook. Plus Love's banged up all the time anyway because of the way he plays, who knows what shape he'll be in 2 years from now?

He good.

Those two factors alone guarantee him max money regardless. Probably gives him a 20% bump too. Why give up that leverage right off the break?


----------------------------
Same as it ever was!

who's starting at 2 guard if Dion is coming off the bench? Jones?

my only agenda going forward is that this is Kyrie's team. I always wanted him in Cleveland post-LeBron, he was quick to resign, he soldiered on through all the bullshit. he can leave in 2018 or whenever it is, and be recognized as the Point God when he's gone.

IMO he is a major (if not -the- factor) LeBron came back (the rest worked out for political/PR/agenda reasons) so I'm looking through that lens. the message with this trade is everyone after Dion Waiters doesn't count.

I can only hope LeBron can get some of these dudes right (and by these dudes, I mean Dion... because while I like him as a baller in general, I don't think he works in conjunction with Kyrie. he would be ill in relief of though)

also I can also hope that Tristan will be no longer miscast and resume his bamma janitor role, instead of trying to make him the kind of player I believe Anthony Bennett is, and Kevin Love is in the extreme.

as a Cavs fan in 2014, LeBron and Love = Dave Stewart, Devon White, Dave Winfield, Mookie Wilson, Rickey Henderson et al. high tier dudes on other teams that some how, someway the Jays managed to score and win titles with.

Cavs ain't winning a title in 2014-15. 2015 forward it's title or bust mode. if the FO don't get that other center they can eat the poo poo.

god speed, Wiggins and Bennett.

>
>my only agenda going forward is that this is Kyrie's team.

you must be looking to have your part on OKS: The Movie played by Clarence Williams III.

things have changed in Cavalier land, but I will admit that I'm not changing that tune completely unless I see one title. and I'll be as petty and stubborn as the most fierce of haters. especially with this latest development. however if a title happens, he gets unconditional praise.

I'm going with the dude they drafted after Armageddon, and hung in there through all the BS.

I also believe that if the Cavs were Derrick Williams and a bunch of other Chris Grant Specials, this offseason would be less interesting and we'd be all back to hating Miami again.

>you must be looking to have your part on OKS: The Movie
>played by Clarence Williams III.

deal with it.

unless it can be believed beyond a reasonable doubt that LeBron retires a Cavalier, it will eventually be Kyrie's team whenever the LeBron Return Experiment reaches its natural conclusion regardless.

that bullshit that was put up in that letter to make us all feel good about him going back? ehhhhhhh... I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm just speaking as I see it as a fan who's watched the team for the last few years. I don't care what conventional wisdom is. let everyone else watch it with their agendas. Kyrie's the future. LeBron is (until proven otherwise) a nostalgic steward.

But Bron is the story.

this is just adding more fuel to the fire IMO.

after all the moves pre-Bron this offseason I would have been good if they signed Ed Davis to a garbageman contract.

this shit just is like Rick Ross finding out that it's $.25 wing night.

>my only agenda going forward is that this is Kyrie's team.

>IMO he is a major (if not -the- factor) LeBron came back

I'll reframe it for those of you who are mad:

the only reason I'm happy with everything that's happened since last month is because Kyrie benefits. he's the one positive symbol of the Dark Ages in Cavalier fandom. next to Rondo, he's my favorite player in the league.

I'm still not a LeBron James fan. I don't blame him for leaving to win titles, dudes leave Cleveland (and other) teams for that all the time. he went out like a total sucker. repeated that performance in 2011, which too many in his cult try to deny. some people even go so far to make him better than Jordan that they make me, a Jordan-hater, defend him. and I really resent that people put all the LeBron Hate on Cleveland fans for two reasons:

1. there were still heavy pockets of the Cult in Cleveland
2. ain't NO way that much of the country cares about the Cavs that much to join with them in the chorus of hate

admittedly, he's earned a few points back toward my personal good graces, because he's made a lot of people here who don't feel the same way I do happy. a title will put him all the way back there.

but who has ever denied that Bron sucked in the 2011 finals? literally no one says he played well, and his suckiness in the finals was the ONLY thing discussed for an entire year. then he won one and people didn't talk about it as much... cause that's what happens with ANY athlete. And two rings deads the choking convo forever. The only people it came back for was A-Rod and Peyton. They got passes for a while, but if they had a 2nd ring they'd get passes for life.

there were at least 10 people who tried to play the "it's old, let's move on" card. and at least 10 more that were mad at him for making it, calling him all kinds of "hater", etc.

the people who pretend 2011 didn't happen, or think it matters less in the big (unrealistic) picture (that they themselves crafted for him, mind you) don't get to say "passes for life" after they hint about rank him above Michael Jordan (and there were people trying to do that, too).

I'm of the mind that LeBron is without certification or ranking, an all-time great, who likely won't have the ridiculous resume that Michael Jordan has. That's fine, because it can be explained, simply by he hasn't played on the best teams available. he's done a lot to control that variable over the last 4-5 years, which is something you can't say of Jordan. his story will be a different one.

if you're going to put him up with the big dogs, you have to look at everything. and a lot of the big dogs don't have a series where something like -that- happens. that's all I've ever said.

I think O_E hit the nail on the head when he said he had zero problems with LeBron James the person, but a few issues with LeBron James the basketball player, who can somehow be overrated whilst still being the best player in basketball and one of the best in basketball history.

but if you point out those things, people go crazy. it's weird.

reminds me of Jay-Z, really.

>I think O_E hit the nail on the head when he said he had zero
>problems with LeBron James the person, but a few issues with
>LeBron James the basketball player, who can somehow be
>overrated whilst still being the best player in basketball
>and one of the best in basketball history.
>

nah, OE just wants to harp on that series like people forget it when literally EVERYONE remembers it.

who you gonna go for 40 on now that Kevin Love's headed to the East? I guess David Lee is still out there...

Ibaka, Duncan, Aldridge, Blake, Dirk et. al. can go back to playing the grown man's game with real stakes, while Love sleepwalks and stat pads with LBJ.

so I don't know why I should be convinced Kevin Love is going to win a ring in Cleveland.

Bulls will be back to 2010 form this year, will that be enough? Can't say.

Will be a fierce rivalry though

I expect most of the Bulls Cavs games after January will be on national TV.

my biggest fear was a Wiggins/Bron combo when we're set to be good in our conference.

I'm happy... I'm good. Long run Minnesota WON. They're set with a nice foundation especially if Bennett pans out.

lakers frontline is shit
deal

They still need interior help, which they could have gotten in 2015. This MIGHT put them over the hump in the East, but not in the league. I guess LBJ going for not two ... not three ... not four ... but maybe 5 L's in the finals?

>They still need interior help, which they could have gotten
>in 2015. This MIGHT put them over the hump in the East, but
>not in the league. I guess LBJ going for not two ... not
>three ... not four ... but maybe 5 L's in the finals?

At least get 1 ring in Cleveland so the media can run its course and someone can write a book about it. Then they can amnesty one of LBJ's bff's once money gets tight, and basketball can go on w/ its life. I just don't think THIS is the way to go about it

>At least get 1 ring in Cleveland so the media can run its
>course and someone can write a book about it. Then they can
>amnesty one of LBJ's bff's once money gets tight, and
>basketball can go on w/ its life. I just don't think THIS is
>the way to go about it

the more I look at it, they see Love as an "available superstar who isn't redundant with the strong points of the team" and made the trade.

the Cavs are just basically a skeleton team though. worse off than Miami was in 2010.

His BPG is pretty low as well ... I'm gonna need to see more of that

because this was a good line: "I guess LBJ going for not two ... not three ... not four ... but maybe 5 L's in the finals?"

>They still need interior help, which they could have gotten
>in 2015. This MIGHT put them over the hump in the East, but
>not in the league. I guess LBJ going for not two ... not
>three ... not four ... but maybe 5 L's in the finals?

major collapses in the West is the gamble.

____________________

<================== MVP

You join Joe Smith and Michael Olowakandi as #1 overall picks to proudly wear the kind of lightish blue and not really any green anymore.

I love Wiggins and what he could have done for the team, but I think they'd be ECF locks with or without him, so it doesn't really matter, I suppose. Short-term, at least, this will be at absolute worst the most fun team to watch in recent years.

>Short-term, at least, this will be
>at absolute worst the most fun team to watch in recent years.

More fun than the Heat when they were rolling?

Kyrie's ball handling and Love's court-length passes alone will make it more fun to watch. Their offense is going to play fast as shit.

I can't be mad when the team will still be incredibly good.

I think the team three years from now is better with Wiggins. If they don't win a title before then, I'll get mad again. Til then? I'll enjoy the show.

>I think the team three years from now is better with Wiggins.
>If they don't win a title before then, I'll get mad again. Til
>then? I'll enjoy the show.

especially I see no hints of Dieng in this deal. (guess you had to do that to avoid adding another player in there for salary purposes). but this trade is a foregone conclusion. the Wings of Canada are going to Prince City.

Might as well get on board with it, see the very clear positives on the table, and believe in the best possible outcome.

>Might as well get on board with it, see the very clear
>positives on the table, and believe in the best possible
>outcome.

at least the Heat were a playoff team in 2009. this Cavs team was an absolute mess. and how little they have has been exposed in all these moves.

I think people look at it as "protecting Kyrie", but that dude isn't a "savior" class player (only a few are: LeBron James is one of them). and only fools were expecting it. he was way better than expected, esp. in that first season. with a purpose beyond tanking he will improve, but he has his problems that are well documented: health and defense.

he turns it on when there's competition (see him against teams like the Blazers or Raptors where there's a "peer" guard he's up against). but that team... with Mike Brown coaching? dogg.

this is a confirmed Blatt-ready team with no "ramp ups" needed. I'd feel better if they got a center.

if Love played better defense I'd be 100% aboard instead of like 75%. but he's the perfect player for the kind of game I think they're going to play under Blatt. It's gonna be nice to see LeBron, Kyrie, and Love in a ball motion offense.

I just feel like they're gonna get EXPOSED. I guess it's better to have that fear rather than to have the "goddamn it, stop with the fuckin' hesitation and SHOOT" fears.

I'd be more excited.

Bring in old-ass Nazr Mohammed. He can still defend for 15 mpg.

Or offer Orlando Tristan and a pick for Kyle O'Quinn. I love that dude.

Just go goon-hunting. All these shooters, cool. I get it. It's worked. But show me a goon.

I'll feel better when that is addressed.

I'm already expecting games north of 100 points multiple times this season

http://wehacklife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/love.jpg
____________________

<================== MVP

>Short-term, at least, this will be
>at absolute worst the most fun team to watch in recent years.

definitely. the transition game alone will be worth the price of admission.

now as far as the defense, i doubt they have the rim protection to field a top 10 unit. that, combined with the rookie head coach and the fact that their young guys haven't played a single big game in their nba lives, makes me think the year one title talk is a bit much. but yeah, that offense should be a pleasure to watch.

for Melo, the media should be slurpin on Flip right now.

Superstar trades almost never get back fair value and this is one of those rare trades involving big names in which everyone wins.

Minny got a nice young squad right now.


Flip should win Exec of the Year but Griffin (LeBron) will win it.

about the Cavs getting Lebron and keeping Wiggins but he wasn't having it.

When things with the Warriors fizzled out Flip started talking to the Bulls and forced Cleveland's hand.

He's definitely a better GM than coach.

Dieng was good, but I'm not getting his fascination with UCLA guys that don't have a position in the NBA.

AB is coming off a horrible rookie season, Wiggins has yet to suit up in an NBA game and the pick is an unknown.

Flip's put the team in a pretty good position (kind of,) but save the awards for when we know what these players are going to do.

They got a potential superstar in Wiggins to pair with LaVine, AB, Dieng, Pek and an additional 1st rounder (albeit late) to build around.

That's a nice young core, better than most rebuilding teams, at least on paper. Things could be way worse considering most teams that lose their superstar usually are left with a lot less to work with.

He played it well, but if Love wasn't interested in Cleveland this shit never sniffs reality.


In which case, he's looking at the Bulls meh package, hoping GS give up Klay, or just keeping Love and praying for a miracle.


This is like 98% Love/Bron, and 2% Flip not totally fucking up an easy thing.

http://i.imgur.com/0klpjbL.jpg

____________________

<================== MVP

It's his grudge to carry.

I don't have any problem with Warren. That's my dogg. I always give him props. 've told him he's the best OKP fantasy commish I've ever dealt with and he's a stand up dude.

I just think his jeans are stupid.

GOAT commercial

They gonna pay him cuz he has Bron's agent to sit the bench?

i understand it's the price of doing business these days, but that's money better spent in other areas.

they can't pay them.

trades for him?

Lol

who cares?

The "same agent" angle is a cyse. Tristan ain't getting paid unless by some miracle he can defend and hit a jumper this year.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs3ebq9CYAA_LN4.jpg

lol

Love first team all nba
Kyrie third team all nba, minimum
60+ wins and home court throughout
Lose 4-2 to the Thunder in the Finals

And then ultimately keep Wiggins?
The rookie gets a year under LeBron.
The team gets a year with Blatt.
A lot less pressure. Love comes in in 2015.

Gotta have Love on your team to re-sign him and go over the cap.

>And then ultimately keep Wiggins?
>The rookie gets a year under LeBron.
>The team gets a year with Blatt.
>A lot less pressure. Love comes in in 2015.

without another fire sale.

Outside of Kyrie and James, I thought they had the money to sign him but did the trade to keep him from other teams (and to appease James). Kinda like Carmelo and the Knicks a while back.

lebron, kyrie, thompson, waiters, bennett and wiggins would have put them @ ~60M for those 6 alone.

and minny prolly would've already moved him to golden state or chicago anyway.

the t wolves werent going to lose love for nothing. if this wasn't the deal, then golden state or some other team would have given them something similar. there was no way they would let love hit the UFA market. even if they did, cleveland would not have had the cap space to sign him outright

Fuck Dan Gilbert. Fuck him.

now that i think about it it's not like Arison was all in the headlines either
so maybe it's not that notable
making it about him is probably just some jerry buss shit

>Fuck Dan Gilbert. Fuck him.

(Stole this from Shells' Twitter, he get credit.)

however I'd give LeBron 99.9% more credit (and blame) over Gilbert for this

Dan Gilbert is happy to recoup on the money he wasted on Mike Brown, that's about it

I mean do you really think what New Orleans was getting for Paul was on par with the return that Minnesota is getting here? I mean honestly I think this is a better deal for Minnesota than what they ultimately got for Paul, let alone the table scraps they were getting from the Lakers.

We haven't seen Wiggins play an NBA minute, and Bennett was garbage last year. Still, fuck Dan Gilbert for intervening in the building of a super team and then turning around and building one himself.

Also, for all the other stuff he's done as a terrible fucking owner.

Yes I'm mad.

Dan was smart enough to spend money & let Chris Grant do a full rebuild which netted the overall pick that became Kyrie Irving. Dan might still be paying Baron Davis for all I know


Chris Paul forcing himself to the Lakers would have been bad for the entire NBA, regardless of how much you dislike Gilbert, anyone could see that


Drafting Kyrie, signing LeBron & trading two consecutive overall picks for Love is significantly different than Chris Paul being traded to the Lakers for Lamar fucking Odom

but no impropriety took place with this deal

We all saw how that worked out last year

and i'm actually happy about that shit, welcome back

prior to joining Miami.

keep building your narratives tho.

if they win a title it's no argument that bron won with support players that never done shit individually without him
if they never win a title then it's the support players who never won shit fault since bron set a precedent of being able to win with proper help

>if they win a title it's no argument that bron won with
>support players that never done shit individually without him
>if they never win a title then it's the support players who
>never won shit fault since bron set a precedence of being able
>to win with proper help

>if they never win a title then it's the support players who
>never won shit fault since bron set a precedent of being able
>to win with proper help

ESPN might pull that BS, but since whatever team LeBron is on is "LeBron's Team" (quoted above), he's gonna take that L regardless if he is the one who chokes or not.

people weren't partying on Wade and Bosh during those Finals Ls, dogg
even I don't blame LeBron for the Heat's latest loss, but... you know, LOL

Trying to help out the city of Cleveland. Trying to help them dudes win.

If they make it to the Finals and lose again, winning 1/3 of the Finals you've been in is NOT a good look.

>if they win a title it's no argument that bron won with
>support players that never done shit individually without him
>if they never win a title then it's the support players who
>never won shit fault since bron set a precedent of being able
>to win with proper help

the OP is basically about something we already know and has already been posted about (twice)
and yet this thread is STILL probably going get 200 replies minimum

all year

and it's not all Bron-related

And we're still talking about it. Thats kinda crazy. Been an insane offseason.

Poor bastard went from preparing for a deep postseason run his first year to fading into Bolivia on the TWolves.

Become a young superstar on a team with no expectations, bolt the first chance you get.

He'll be fine.

I wonder what trajectory this will send his career on as he cant possibly stay in minnesota.

-----------
Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

Its 2014...there are computers in glasses and people stunt after hitting the ball far. Get over it. -Cenario

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilariou

i only give it about a 20 percent chance, but it's in play.

:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V1YmiT8qKg

if you're looking for an "at least" statement, i will confidently predict that lebron james will retire with a minimum of 4 rings. 5 is about 50/50. 6 is 20 percent.

>i only give it about a 20 percent chance, but it's in play.

more like 5%. no god body-o.

and the last couple would be Best Supporting Actor status anyway. pippenomics is a zero sum game, my dude (© money man)

Bron has a LOT more miles with his early start and # of deep playoff runs, but he's also built like no athlete we've seen before so it's extremely difficult to predict when his prime will fall off.

The comparisons to Jordan for every player is simply unfair. Lebron is an ungodly athlete, and chances are he'll play elite ball well into his 30s, but the mileage on Lebron is unlike Jordan -

When Jordan won his 3rd, he was 30 with 661 regular season games, 111 playoff games, 3 finals runs, and 1 Olympic run to the gold medal game.

Lebron enters this year with 842 regular season games, 158 playoff games, 5 finals runs, 3 Olympic runs (2 to the last possible game). He's played more basketball right today than anyone.

That's over 2 seasons more games that Lebron has played, and another half season in playoffs. Plus Jordan got a year and a half off of basketball.

>The comparisons to Jordan for every player is simply unfair.
>Lebron is an ungodly athlete, and chances are he'll play elite
>ball well into his 30s, but the mileage on Lebron is unlike
>Jordan -
>
>When Jordan won his 3rd, he was 30 with 661 regular season
>games, 111 playoff games, 3 finals runs, and 1 Olympic run to
>the gold medal game.
>
>Lebron enters this year with 842 regular season games, 158
>playoff games, 5 finals runs, 3 Olympic runs (2 to the last
>possible game). He's played more basketball right today than
>anyone.
>
>That's over 2 seasons more games that Lebron has played, and
>another half season in playoffs. Plus Jordan got a year and a
>half off of basketball.
>

Not just with Lebron, but with others too. It's unfair. Shells saying 6 is in play is like...cmon dude. Let him get to 4 first.

plus he's just trolling these posts.

6 titles?

meaning 4 in Cleveland (provided that he isn't eating the poo poo with The Letter)?

I think he retires with 4. which is respectable.

6?!! hell no.

he gets 6 I'm crowning him GOAT.

>6 titles?
>
>meaning 4 in Cleveland (provided that he isn't eating the poo
>poo with The Letter)?
>
>I think he retires with 4. which is respectable.
>
>6?!! hell no.
>
>he gets 6 I'm crowning him GOAT.


Fuck the Cavs....(but u know we cool Doc...lol)

But yeah...the truth is James only has to win one ring in Cleveland...1 ring in Cleveland is worth 4 rings....This is a city that hasn't seen any rings from any of the pro sports since Jim Brown was running that pigskin...

As much as the James haters will balk at this shit, it's the truth...That said...

(Bulls!!!!)





(*Bulls all day*)

>But yeah...the truth is James only has to win one ring in
>Cleveland...1 ring in Cleveland is worth 4 rings....This is a
>city that hasn't seen any rings from any of the pro sports
>since Jim Brown was running that pigskin...
>
>As much as the James haters will balk at this shit, it's the
>truth...That said...

true. but Shells is talking 6 total titles? you know what that's about, right?

do they make anti-aging bath salts?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

Ditch the paper, save the trees, and go mobile! Text bizcard to 32462!

.

PG - Kyrie/John Lucas III/Barea (maybe?)
SG - Ray?/Dion/Miller
SF - Bron/Marion?/Jones
PF - Love/Tristan
C - Andy/Haywood

Roster eval:
-Thin at PG and C. Andy or Kyrie gets hurt and things could get slippery.
-2nd string is iffy but has potential.
-Decent rebounding team (likely top 10)
-Great 3pt shooting team with 2 catalyst (maybe 3 off loves low post)
-Great transition ability that would likely end in Bron dunks or open 3's
-Lower to middle of the pack defensively. Won't block many shots. Team defensive will need to improve leaps and bounds. Love and Kyrie will have to improve for them to actually have a shot against a good offensive team. Ray can't get torched nightly. Marion is a key here. His presence makes them a lot better as he can guard 2's through 4's.
-Half court O will be a work in progress but once they get it down, teams will have to decide to stay with the 3's and force Kyrie/Bron to be penetration scorers to have any shot at slowing them.
-Injury concerns: Love, Kyrie, Andy, Haywood and Miller
-Cap: next year - Bron (21mil), Kyrie (19mil), Love (21mil) smh.

If I had to guess. This team will win about 55-57 games, finish as the #2 seed in the east and face struggles in the playoffs. Most of which their talent/offense will help them overcome but they will have major issues as the teams get better. ECF or Finals.

Not sure how they build after this year.

this isn't a LOL @ "oh, yeah, they're not including Barea"

I think it's funny because of 2011

KLove is making $120 mill over five years
Bron making $22 mill for two years
Kyrie making $18 mill for five years

That's $61 mill for three players. Every non-Cavs fan cosigning this will be the same people talking about the Cavs inability to surround Bron with help.

Once again KLove ain't worth $24 Mill a year. Fuck this super team bullshit. If the salary cap averages $68 Mill a year then this is a horrible trade. I need an official statement from Dan Gilbert or Lebron.

and everyone who knows the cap is sure that it will jump up significantly after next season and even more after the new CBA

The owners don't want a significant salary cap increase. $68 mill is the projected salary cap for next season.

Let these comments sink in with regards to the projected value of those three players.

whatever the cap is, it's on these three guys to carry the weight.

but there are a lot of "buts" here

1) the cap is going up post new TV deal. the players aren't budging off the 50/50 revenue split.

2) as a result, there will be some wiggle room. Not a ton--the Cavs will probably end up over the cap every year--but enough that they work creatively to add a useful piece here or there.

3) biggest problem number in miami was that wade and, to a much lesser extent, bosh started getting old. love 26 and kyrie 23. Not a problem for the remainder of Bron's prime.

4) second biggest problem was that the heat dumped all their picks. we can clown picks in the late 20s all we want, but they produce cheap, live young bodies. if the cavs can find more than one norris cole, that makes a huge difference.

5) Ultimately, with the ages and numbers both kyrie and love have and will put up, they are far from untradeable. I guarantee you hinke would send you thad young, mcw, and picks for kyrie right now. if it doesn't work, cleveland has outs.

>3) biggest problem number in miami was that wade and, to a
>much lesser extent, bosh started getting old. love 26 and
>kyrie 23. Not a problem for the remainder of Bron's prime.


over the past few seasons who has missed more games?

this team doesn't need money though, super teams don't get bench depth plea cops
the potential of dion alone shits on any bench resource the heat had anyway
this core gotta get shit done

Lakers won it twice with two max guys ($50M!) and another very well paid guy (Bynum). Boston won it all, went to Game 7 of the Finals and then Game 7 of the ECF with their three big-ticket players. We all know what Miami has done in recent years, and look at the teams they faced. Even Dallas had a high payroll, even if it wasn't quite sunk into a big three. It's no Billy Beane type muthafuckas winning shit in the NBA. You don't win with limited payrolls and no-name players. There's only one San Antonio, just like for years there was only one New Jersey Devils. The franchises that get guys to buy in and make sacrifices. You can't expect that, and much less from younger guys like Irving and Love.

iv been ignoring dude since his return (shyt is comical btw. both him and basa)

but this shyt...

Kyries team..

they're prolly goin to have to put him on that DWade program just to get him through the season healthy


willing to bet that waiters and lebron develop a better chemistry than bron and kyrie




Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

because personally, I'd be more excited about Chris Bosh on my team.

Not even a slight to Bosh, Love is just that good offensively.

It all depends on whether you think Bosh's defense is THAT much better than Love's to justify putting him ahead right today. And I don't think it is.

Bosh scored his 24 points on 16.5 FGA/gm

Kevin Love last year, 25-yo: 26.1 ppg, .457 FG%, takes him 18.5 FGA/gm to score two more points than Bosh. Love averaged 4.4 apg in '14, career-high last year, but before that Love's 2.5 asts/gm were pretty much exactly even with Bosh's assist numbers in Toronto. Personally, I don't think plain assist #s tell you all that much, but for the sake of comparison Love only jumps out in that category one year.

So why exactly is Love such a superior offensive player again? I'm seeing similar numbers, on higher usage, with what my eyeball test tells me is a pretty similar game (jump-shooting big). I'm willing to cede Love is better for a team offense, but I'm not sure it's as big of a gap as you seem to suggest.

Right today, Love is easily better on offense than Bosh.

games in a row they were primarily successful because there were playing on a high level defensively and their defense was a catalyst for their offensive transition game.

I don't see this Cavs team playing like that so are they just going to try to outscore people like D'Antoni's Phoenix squads?

>I don't see this Cavs team playing like that so are they just
>going to try to outscore people like D'Antoni's Phoenix
>squads?

dude, you're all over the place.

Because all I hear, when consuming most basketball commentary, is that Kevin Love is a top 10 player in this league right now, so you take the best player in the league (still Bron, even if KD was MVP last year), a top 10 front court player, and one of the best young guards in the league, that should be title favorites, yes?

The point where sharps would disagree is the popular notions around Kevin Love, possibly Kyrie, too...

but I have heard reporters allude to a lack of consensus in NBA front offices on how good Kevin Love really is.

I don't know why people are so in love with him. Look it up, I just did -- his offensive numbers are actually probably worse than Bosh's in Toronto at the same age, even in the advanced ones (Bosh's shot inside the 3pt-line > Love's shot inside the 3-pt line, only the 3FG and efficiency really separates what they did as 25-yos on offense). Which doesn't even mean all that much, since I think Bosh's real value is on defense (as does Morey, who just helped Bosh get a MAX deal).

If you can point me to some numbers that overwhelmingly show Love's value, I'd be happy to see it. I'm aware there's a big lineup discrepancy in Minnesota with Love and without Love, but that doesn't necessarily tell me Love is ready to win chips...

like i said in the other post, that simple math shit is cute, but it doesn't acknowledge the realities of the situation, particularly of a new team.

2010 Heat: Best player + top 2 SG + top 2 PF = Trophy
2008 Lakers: Best SG + top 3 PF + top 2 Center + GOAT coach = Trophy
2004 Lakers: Best SG + Best Center + GOAT PF + The Glove + GOAT coach = Trophy

I'm not making any of these up. People said these things in the preseason (or after the trade in Pau's case) and they all lost. In 2 cases, the team won the next year and the one that didn't was blown up in the offseason.

to me, if Love puts you over the top, do it, if he doesn't, what's the point?

Wiggins might have been a better option in the short and long run.

People are so enamored with Love, he has zero excuses now.

and people keep saying "well the reality is it's gonna be hard in the first year and then they need to win in the 2nd year." and you won't hear any of it... yet YOU'RE allowed to say basically the same thing?

>Wiggins might have been a better option in the short and long
>run.

i don't see how one could argue wiggins is the better option in the short term when he's yet to play ONE game. if they're trying to win in the first 2-3 years this trade absolutely puts them in a better position than they were before.

>People are so enamored with Love, he has zero excuses now.

A) but you aren't, yet you won't just acknowledge them as not the favorites and move on. you just won't rest until you've forced this narrative on everyone.

B) I think you're severely overestimating the Love love (pun intended) on this board. some people hate him, some simply like him/think he's the best or one of the best PFs in the game/puts bron in a better position. this trade has been talked about for a while and not many people have been saying this move guarantees them a title, just puts them closer than they were and makes them one of the top contenders.

who he is. I don't see them being significantly better after the 1st year. With those 3 salaries on the books their not going to have room to make significant improvements.

I think the potential is better with Wiggins because with him on a rookie salary there's a lot more financial flexibility to add more pieces.

>I don't see them being significantly better after
>the 1st year.

next summer they'll have the full MLE, the BAE and 2 first round picks. irving, thompson and waiters haven't entered their primes yet. their head coach is a rookie. their young guys have zero playoff experience. they still need to add a rim protecting center.

the idea that they're a fully formed, they-are-what-they-are team with no room for improvement doesn't make any sense whatsoever. chemistry matters. continuity matters. big-game chops matters. these are things that can only be acquired thru actual experience and playing together.

>next summer they'll have the full MLE, the BAE and 2 first
>round picks. irving, thompson and waiters haven't entered
>their primes yet. their head coach is a rookie. their young
>guys have zero playoff experience. they still need to add a
>rim protecting center.
>
>the idea that they're a fully formed, they-are-what-they-are
>team with no room for improvement doesn't make any sense
>whatsoever. chemistry matters. continuity matters. big-game
>chops matters. these are things that can only be acquired thru
>actual experience and playing together.

>B) I think you're severely overestimating the Love love (pun
>intended) on this board. some people hate him, some simply
>like him/think he's the best or one of the best PFs in the
>game/puts bron in a better position. this trade has been
>talked about for a while and not many people have been saying
>this move guarantees them a title, just puts them closer than
>they were and makes them one of the top contenders.


To me...this is the truest shit u wrote in this post...

Nobody is waving pom poms for a guy that has never been to the playoffs...Even people that think Love going to the Cavs is the logical move critique his softness on defense...They critique the fact that at times he was an asshole to his teammates...

But the homie Truth has managed to even make me come out in support of this move...lol...And I'm no Love booster by any stretch of the imagination...

I think people are just using that simple common sense. If you put a PF who can shoot the 3 pretty well and rebound VERY well with THE BEST slashing, playmaking basketball player on the planet, it seems like a good fit NOW rather then waiting to see if Wiggins will be a "good" player or a franchise player...

If Wiggins becomes a phenom, bully for him. But James right now (and I hate saying this shit as a Bulls fan) moves the NBA needle;...Love and Kyrie will be there for very heavy support...But most folks believe that James will be the main reason why Love and Kyrie will flourish in their roles. He simply makes the game easier for teammates....

That said...Fuck Bron and that team...

then you consider the murderer's row hanging out West, where even dudes like Dirk can just decide to fuck around and burn the flamingo fadeaway permanently into KD's dreams en route to blowing up Bron's ex-Heat, and I just don't see how a long-term core of Bron Love Kyrie is going to make a team like San Antonio more worried about them than say OKC, or even Memphis, or LAC, or whoever.

And yeah, you couldn't be more right -- the Heat won with defense. This Cavs team is decidedly NOT recreating that model right now.

horses to run like D'Antoni's SSOL squads. On the early SSOL you have 4 All-Star caliber players in Nash, Amare, Marion, and JJ plus a deep supporting cast of people like Q-Rich, Barbosa and Jim Jackson. Later renditions were still built around younger guys that could run with Nash.

The supporting cast in Cleveland is going to built around older guys Marion, Ray, Miller and Varejao and I don't see them running like that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_and_roll

>I don't see this Cavs team playing like that so are they just
>going to try to outscore people like D'Antoni's Phoenix
>squads?

this team (after a Love trade) is essentially a super Postrophe team. it's why Longo and I are worried. they're good enough to win games, not sure about titles (until I see it).

I don't think anyone thinks that isn't the case.

playing defense at a high level.

What happens when Lebron gets frustrated at Love getting beat in the paint repeatedly?

What happens when Lebron screams on Kyrie like he did with Chalmers?

For the most part Wade and Bosh were viewed as peers so there was a level of respect there.

With the clock ticking and his legacy on the line will Lebron be as patient with his new teammates that have never been in playoff game befoer?

>What happens when Lebron gets frustrated at Love getting beat
>in the paint repeatedly?
>
>What happens when Lebron screams on Kyrie like he did with
>Chalmers?

neither one of these are happening unless that shit is straight up a disaster (ie:about to miss the playoffs/locker room brawls ala pacers)

that chalmer shit was like 2 times over the course of 4 yrs
and chalmers is a shit talker assertive type dude, don't really see kyrie (or love) challenging shit lebron says in a huddle

he is constantly mean mugging and berating teammates on the walk back to the bench
at least he has friends in the league , unlike bean
just saying i don't see lebron going in on teammates the way those dudes do sometimes

I honestly never paid that much attention to CP3's bench demeanor like that, lol. he's one of the players I hear the least about (of that particular tier, anyway).

and the Clippers were on the verge of some in-fighting nastiness until Doc arrived to help the ship keep floating along.

some point he and Lebron are definitely going to "have words"RIP radin, lol

>that chalmer shit was like 2 times over the course of 4 yrs
>and chalmers is a shit talker assertive type dude, don't
>really see kyrie (or love) challenging shit lebron says in a
>huddle

stop
hate on them all you want
but he and love are smart enough to know they have to fall in line. they both said as much already

He defended in college too (admittedly, only a few games).

He has the capacity to defend. He's not a Steve Nash-esque lost cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

just stop

at least not yet.

he's not Dwyane Wade yet.

and those other dudes are over the hill one dimensional scrub vets(Miller is obviously a elite shooter)


no-one on the team is beating Waiters out of his starting spot, flat out


this kid will finally get his proper due this season with all the national games we're gonna have

now? I don't know. it might be that he outplays everyone else, but he's got a shit ton of work to do at that position.

He was and is still one of the best young shooting guards in the NBA


He's finally gonna get that national exposure now, though. I'm excited for that especially since Wiggins probably won't be here

although there does seem to be some hope that with Bron there to help instill a healthy basketball environment, Dion can see the light and finally grasp winning > dribbling.

They both played way better during the second half of the season, especially Dion who is honestly more of a willing passer & team player than Kyrie

although honestly, I view problems like that as organizational problems. You need vets, or coaches, or staff that can help squash that. It's why teams like the Spurs don't fuck around and place a real value on an enduring "culture." Doesn't matter how good you are at basketball, you still need to work to fit in.

they're both dynamic guards who can drive & shoot but like to have the ball in their hands; really all they need is some truly competent coaching(like Bron lol) & they'll be deadly together

by THREE STRAIGHT COACHES!!!!

remember Brown was starting Irving at the 2 & Jarret Jack at the point for the longest, then Irving went down & Dion got his starting spot back and the team didn't really miss a beat?


fact is, Blatt & Bron is gonna end all that selfish shit both Ky & D was doing under Mike Brown

why boeheim and byron bench him?

i'm off hatin on dion, but you niggas who cyse that dude gotta stop with this dumb shit. that dude BROKE plays to go for self. he'd catch it OFF THE CURL...HOLD IT...THEN START DRIBBLING!!!

why you all kept choosing to blame kyrie for dion NOT shooting when kyrie passed to him, as he opted to rhythm dribble his life away is really beyond me.

his catch and shoot numbers got better because he FINALLY started to catch and shoot in the second half of last year. that's what he supposed to do. he shoulda been doing that. he not the PG...he's the SHOOTING guard...stop tryna initiate the offense and run the damn play.

Boeheim will say that.

Scott benched him cause he was trying shit out, it's not like it was permeant




If you want to talk about the first half of the season, talk about when Ky was desperately trying to go for the game winner and ignoring his open teammates twice to take bad lay-ups against the 76ers until he got it to go the 3rd time


they both started to play better team ball as the season went on

we can do this all day. bottomline is dion ain't kyrie's equal and blatt, love and bron gonna make him understand that.

the idea that kyrie is holding back a 6-2.5 dude with above average athleticism and an okay jump shot is INSULTING!

stop acting like he's mitch richmond.

>this kid will finally get his proper due this season with all
>the national games we're gonna have

dion obviously has the physical tools to be a top SG in the league
the whole issue was him be subservient to a player he felt equal with (kyrie)
that shit is eliminated now that it's not kyrie team and they ALL have to fall in line now.
if bron likes dude as much as it seems and his game matures that's going be a L for some ppl

I'll start drinking the Kool-Aid.

Dion is talented, he just is too much of a bamma IMO.

he's bullish but people act like he's a cancer

when I say he's a bamma, I don't mean he's eating da poo poo in the locker room

I'm saying that his B-Ball IQ is at times questionable, he has trouble moving without the ball in his hands, and he does things like go "AYEEEEEEEEEEE" when he thinks he should have a foul and wastes time in transition (sometimes he's right, but he knows it's a dirty game. he MIGHT get those fouls now that LeBron is on the team)

as for the rumors, I don't even believe that they are 100% true anyway.

not getting back complaining about calls, yelling at refs ain't poise, standing around instead of moving without the ball


I think he's got a good ball IQ but he makes some bad decisions as young players do but that's all stuff he woulda got better with even without Bron back but with Bron back, Waiters will be killing shit with no mercy


>when I say he's a bamma, I don't mean he's eating da poo poo
>in the locker room
>
>I'm saying that his B-Ball IQ is at times questionable, he has
>trouble moving without the ball in his hands, and he does
>things like go "AYEEEEEEEEEEE" when he thinks he should have a
>foul and wastes time in transition (sometimes he's right, but
>he knows it's a dirty game. he MIGHT get those fouls now that
>LeBron is on the team)
>
>as for the rumors, I don't even believe that they are 100%
>true anyway.

klay, beal and harden got that SG locked...and there are some young beasts coming up at the spot in the next 3 years. Dion not special, dogg. y'all gotta stop building up something that ain't there.

>>this kid will finally get his proper due this season with
>all
>>the national games we're gonna have
>
>dion obviously has the physical tools to be a top SG in the
>league
>the whole issue was him be subservient to a player he felt
>equal with (kyrie)
>that shit is eliminated now that it's not kyrie team and they
>ALL have to fall in line now.
>if bron likes dude as much as it seems and his game matures
>that's going be a L for some ppl

at any point is allowed on the bandwagon. none.

your run's over.
this is ours.

I'm serious too

the LeBronies that talked all that shit... NOPE

anyone who has followed this team through those dark times will be rewarded though, especially if you want to see *Cleveland* win

I mean, you still talking about Waiters coming off the bench?

Kyrie was going to be boss this upcoming season with all those shooters on the team already. if he had someone like Klay, Byron Scott might still be coach

defenders


dude needs/needed to make the right decisions no matter who else is on the squad


plus Dion had very solid catch & shoot numbers, it's not like he can't or was unwilling to spot up

Kyrie is going to undo all of those criticisms this year. Bank on it.

If he's not averaging double digit assist this season, we got problems

let's not even start this. nah.

u pressed for bags and longo artillery support while trying disassociate yourself from lebronia?
lebron destroyed your franchise, now he rejuvenating that dusty ass shit
don't be mad

This East rivalry goes deeper than Bron and the cavs's its another chapter in the Chi vs Cle from years past, bandwagon fans arent even intimate with this so dont pretend to be and sitchallasses down

That Red Bull and the sword been going at it since the late 80's (and before) I don't want to see anyone claiming cavs in this bitch other than the CLE mainstays.

cause that's essentially who I'll be cheering for

cavs win chip = W
lebron carries cavs to finals for 5 straight and lose = W
kyrie becomes dwade pt.2 and bron carries them to playoffs = W

lebronon wins regardless

and as bad as ur goin to try to diminish brons future impact on the cavs..

u can't

and ur going to look like a crazed idiotic lunatic trying to

u should just fallback and just enjoy his charity

the minute u try to hop in on agenda wars u lose either way

ur proud of ur loyalty to one of the inept owners in the league

congrats



Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

I've defended Love, Kyrie, and Brawn around here.

For the record, I thought The Decision was an obscene display of immaturity and selfishness. While simultaneously defending the Big Three team up.

I see no reason our previous alliance cannot still be enjoyed by Lakers and Cavs fans.

Old alliances are intact.

The Bulls truce is over. It's time for business.
Ditto for the Miami Heat.

I'll be specific.

Allowed:
Cavs fans (includes the Kyrie contingent)
LeBron fans who didn't talk the bullshit (i.e. Vee, Vex)
Kevin Love stans? (do they exist?)

Not-Allowed:
LeBronies (i.e. SouthEuclidMan, Mrs. Aubrey Graham aka Young Doodoo Fingaz)

I'll be clear I'm not rooting for LeBron aside from team allegiances until I see a title held up by him in a Cavs uniform.

This is Kyrie's Team.

When I talk about the Cavs, I'm talking about the dude who didn't run from a shitty, losing experience even when it was not clear what was happening. The dude who everyone called a "ball hog" while ignoring what ELSE was going on the court.

That guy is going to be the "Long Term L" I told POOPINCHICAGO it would be.

and you can hide behind LeBron James and now Kevin Love as much as you want. Kyrie's going to meet the hype and then some.

It's "no excuses" mode and he will deliver. I will finally have my own "Kobe" to champion.

This "shitting on players because they're not LeBron James" shit is going to stop.

It's going to be a petty next few years.
Stay salty, my friends.

we have plenty of versatility up front to guard love effectively as he will be parked on the perimeter. he'll be relegated to the spot up shooter role (bosh) and i have enough confidence in thibs/noaj/taj to properly close out and guard beyond the paint (as they usually do).

i'm more worried about the playmaking between lbj, ky, and dion. love just gonna be standing there shooting, which is scary if your defense is undisciplined.

and unlike bosh yal gotta account for him on the offensive boards when Noah goes and provides help defense when bron slashing thru the lane




Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

The whole theme for okp Bulls nation for this season is:

"Y'all right, we don't stand a chance. Yup, Rose knee."

^^^My stat response all season.

#1 seed? ^^^
Big wins? ^^^
Rose killing 'em? ^^^
Playoffs start? ^^^

But if...maaaaaaaan, won't be no mercy. None.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2011_ECF.html

>#1 seed? ^^^
>Big wins? ^^^
>Rose killing 'em? ^^^
>Playoffs start? ^^^

And I been blaming rose (knee).

But of course you not gonna acknowledge that.

So...Y'all right, we don't stand a chance. Yup, Rose knee.

But don't let Kyrie fail with two top 10 anchors.

I'm Rachel Raying that nigglet with a side of Paula Deaning.

Relentlessly. The guns is out. Year 1.

Say dat then.
____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

also, everyone agrees they're a top contender IF he's fully healthy, we're just saying that's a massive if.

I can't wait for the moment to talk shit again. It hurts having to post serious on here.

But yeah, our mans needs to make it thru a season. If he does we're in a great spot as this team will be the most talented Rose-era squad.

http://ballislife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/FL_Unlocked_Penny_Post.jpg

http://daplayingfield.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/macon_cropped1_display_image.jpeg

http://blacksportsonline.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/bd.jpg

still has to fill out their roster.

And we're not talking about Pat Riley trying to get dudes to come to Miami, it's David Griffin trying to get dudes to take less money to play in Cleveland.

arguments so let me break down my position for you so you can clearly understand.

People said that the Cavs should trade Wiggins for Love because Wiggins would take a few years to develop and it would be wasting Lebron's prime.

So you would think that trading for Love would be a win-now move but people are saying its not.

If its going to take 2 or 3 years to become a contender with Love they might have been better off sticking with Wiggins.

If Wiggins is an All-Star before the Cavs win a title they might end up looking kind of foolish.

There's been a lot of hype about Kevin Love being a great player just stuck on a bad team, now he's playing with the best player in the world AND one of the top young point guards in the league. He's officially out of excuses. He won't be hiding in Minnesota padding bogus stats in meaningless games, he'll be playing on a contender in nationally televised games so everyone will get to see what he's really all about.

for some reason you want everyone else to see them as the favorite when you don't. you've painted this entire board as Love stans and have oddly taken this "Me against the World" stance. people NEVER claimed this move makes them perfect, just that it makes sense. it certainly brings them closer to a title right now. why doesn't that make sense? not every big move guarantees a title. in fact, no move guarantees a title.

>People said that the Cavs should trade Wiggins for Love
>because Wiggins would take a few years to develop and it would
>be wasting Lebron's prime.

he could also not develop at all. then what would everyone say?

>So you would think that trading for Love would be a win-now
>move but people are saying its not.

they're saying it isn't a guarantee, but it certainly is a "win-now" move in that it moves their window up significantly.


>If its going to take 2 or 3 years to become a contender with
>Love they might have been better off sticking with Wiggins.


they become a contender instantly, just not the #1 contender. should every big move make you the #1 contender? was the clippers trading for cp3 dumb? was the rockets signing howard dumb? shit, i wouldn't even call the lakers trading for howard dumb, even in retrospect. it made sense.

>
>If Wiggins is an All-Star before the Cavs win a title they
>might end up looking kind of foolish.

and what if wiggins sucks? he's played zero minutes so far and they just blew a #1 pick on bennett. wouldn't it be more foolish for them to wait around for him to MAYBE get good? they already know what love can do and i think the trade is worth it for them to see where they can go with him. as someone else pointed out, this team is not locked in the way you think it is. they can still add pieces next offseason or maybe even make a trade midseason depending on how the chips fall.

>
>There's been a lot of hype about Kevin Love being a great
>player just stuck on a bad team, now he's playing with the
>best player in the world AND one of the top young point guards
>in the league. He's officially out of excuses. He won't be
>hiding in Minnesota padding bogus stats in meaningless games,
>he'll be playing on a contender in nationally televised games
>so everyone will get to see what he's really all about.

that's all fair, but conversely i'm not sure why you're SO convinced he'll fail. you coulda made similar arguments about a bunch of players before they were traded and won championships, including Pau. btw Kobe stans love to prop him up by saying "Pau never made it out of the first round w/o Kobe." Well, using your logic, why bother trading for Pau then? What exactly was PROVEN about Pau's ability to win in memphis?

>that's all fair, but conversely i'm not sure why you're SO
>convinced he'll fail. you coulda made similar arguments about
>a bunch of players before they were traded and won
>championships, including Pau. btw Kobe stans love to prop him
>up by saying "Pau never made it out of the first round w/o
>Kobe." Well, using your logic, why bother trading for Pau
>then? What exactly was PROVEN about Pau's ability to win in
>memphis?

Pau at least got to the playoffs on his own. He was swept in the first round all 3 times but he still got there.

In NBA history there's never been as much hype about a player that's never played in a playoff game.

>Pau at least got to the playoffs on his own. He was swept in
>the first round all 3 times but he still got there.

how was he THAT much more prepared to join a winning team than Love is now? just because he was there but didn't do anything of note? seems like an arbitrary milestone if you're building a team.

>In NBA history there's never been as much hype about a player
>that's never played in a playoff game.
>

honestly, Love doesn't have THAT much hype. in fact, people don't even talk about him much outside of where he might go next. people are only excited about him now because Bron is getting another piece*. It's not nearly the same feeling as "Oh shit! Bron PLUS Wade PLUS Bosh!!!" was 4 years ago or even Pierce, KG, and Ray before that.

*Actually, I'd say it was similar to Gasol joining Kobe. How much Grizzlies basketball did people watch/talk about before that trade? Next to none, but they still knew he was a good player and were excited he was joining Kobe. The focus of the story is still on the star of the team, not Gasol/Love.

trade was a completely different situation.

First of all Pau had lead his is team to a winning record on the playoffs 3 years in a row. Something Love has never done.

Conversely, at the time of the trade Pau was a one-time All-Star. Conversely Love is a 3-time all-star and 2-time All-NBA. They changed the rules for him. In the past young players that had never even made it to the playoffs didn't get that kind of recognition.

The teams' situation was totally different too. After low expectations at the start of the season, the Lakers got off to a great start with Bynum playing well, then Bynum got hurt mid-season and the trade for Pau was made but the Lakers didn't give up a number 1 overall draft pick and most people cried that the deal was ridiculously lopsided because nobody knew how good Marc was going to be at the time.

So that's WHY the Lakers traded for Gasol, it was a completely different situation.

With more to be worked out (I'm guessing Cleveland will send the pick to the Sixers instead of the Wolves)


http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20140808_Source__Sixers_in_Cavs-Wolves_trade.html#2bMir7sTlUEqo3rg.99

WHILE NEWS CAME out yesterday that Minnesota and Cleveland had agreed in principle to a trade that will send All-Star Kevin Love to the Cavaliers for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round draft pick, the Daily News has learned that the Sixers will, indeed, be involved in the deal.

A source informed the Daily News that the Sixers will be sending veteran forward Thaddeus Young to Minnesota for a package that will include Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft.

The deal, which two sources have confirmed to the Associated Press, will not be official until Aug. 23, when Wiggins, this year's No. 1 draft pick, becomes eligible to be traded.

It has been reported that Minnesota sees Young as the right guy to fill Love's shoes. The Timberwolves, it has been reported, could use the first-round pick they get from the Cavaliers to help entice the Sixers to part with the 26-year-old Young, but that has not been confirmed.

Love, 25, is coming off his best season, one in which he averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He can opt out of his contract next summer, and the three-time All-Star made it clear to the Timberwolves that he was looking to join a contender after missing the postseason for six seasons in Minnesota.

Young is coming off a solid year in which he averaged career-bests with 17.9 points and 2.3 assists a game. He has spent his 7-year NBA career with the Sixers after being drafted out of Georgia Tech with the 12th pick in 2007.

For now, the deal will unite Love, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in a new-look Big 3 in Cleveland. As for the Sixers, it will give them three of the top 11 picks from the 2013 draft - Bennett, Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams.

though if Bennett goes to the Sixers and he's as good as I think he's going to be alongside Noel, MCW, and Embiid?

Sixer fans better keep SouthEuclidMan out the gate.

- Agendas on steroids

- Epic hedging of L's

- The usual Dr. Jack Ramsay level analysis of dudes based on minimal actual games watched


LeBron is the mfing giving tree in this bitch. 14-15 is gonna be so, so good.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/The_Giving_Tree.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3svPkthjWcM

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/08/report-nba-could-block-kevin-love-trade-if-agreement-for-him-to-sign-long-term-in-cleveland-is-already-in-place/

Report: NBA could block Kevin Love trade if agreement for him to sign long-term in Cleveland is already in place
Brett Pollakoff Aug 8, 2014, 10:39 PM EDT

It’s all but certain that Kevin Love will be traded to the Cavaliers just as soon as the rookie contract signed by Andrew Wiggins allows the deal to go through, but some recently reported details could possibly place the entire thing in jeopardy if it can be proven that an illegal agreement (in terms of the league’s collective bargaining agreement) is already in place.

Both teams have been careful not to say too much, lest the league come down on them with severe consequences for working outside of the rules. But if Love has in fact implicitly agreed to re-sign in Cleveland as has been reported, that may be an issue that the league office has no choice but to address.

From Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

But sources say that the Cavs and Wolves, knowing that league officials are monitoring this transaction closely, have been careful not to make any public acknowledgments that trade details have already been agreed to. That’s because Wiggins remains ineligible to move moved until 30 days pass from the signing his rookie contract.

The Cavs were granted permission last month by Minnesota to speak to Love and his representatives in an introductory fashion, sources say, while James and Love have also been in direct contact about their long-term intentions of playing together in recent weeks. But sources insist that no agreement for Love to sign an extension in Cleveland next summer when he can become a free agent is in place.

Under NBA rules, such an agreement would be illegal and, if proven, potentially could be grounds for the league to block this trade and dole out punishment to both teams. The Wolves were infamously sanctioned heavily in 2000 after it was discovered that the club had promised a lucrative future contract — in writing — to Joe Smith, incurring a fine of $3.5 million and the loss of four first-round picks as well as suspensions for owner Glen Taylor and then-GM Kevin McHale.


Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports initially reported that “Cleveland is making the deal with Minnesota with a firm agreement Love will opt out of his contract in 2015 and re-sign with the Cavaliers on a five-year, $120 million-plus contract extension.” That’s the point of contention that could potentially allow the league to step in, but good luck proving it in any capacity.

No one’s stupid enough to put something like that in writing this time, and barring a ridiculous out-of-place statement from one of the deal’s principles, no matter what Love’s intentions might be, there will be no way to prove that something was already in place before the trade was executed.

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t1.0-9/10552651_4503742088367_6501637719248943684_n.jpg


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

Ditch the paper, save the trees, and go mobile! Text bizcard to 32462!

had fun, read thru The Decision post again, the Dan Gilbert Comic Sans post, the Boston-Cleveland Game 6 post and the YMCA marine one cuz it was just there. lol

>no, but seriously, after years of watching Grant botch all
>them top 5 picks and having Gee and Earl Clark in that corner,
>Kyrie and the Cavs deserve this. i'm dead serious. they
>DESERVE this.

I mean, there's a post in the front page of you defending Bennett. An you defended Tristan and called him the right pick. Waiters less so but still. Why change the story now?

i said they should have picked klay thompson...EVERYONE knows this.

now, i did DEFEND picks that i never wanted and hoped for the best, but that's an entirely different thing PREFERRING them.

in 2011, i wanted Klay

in 2012, i wanted Gilchrist or Drummond

last year, I wanted Otto or Ben, but I wasn't mad about Bennett.

>now, i did DEFEND picks that i never wanted and hoped for the
>best, but that's an entirely different thing PREFERRING them.

Nowhere in my post above (no search necessary!) does it say PREFER. You defended the shit out of those picks, all except for Waiters.

There was a lot of a Jeremy Lamb, Mclemore, and others thrown out each year, but none of the dudes they picked.

When I explain Bill Simmons to my grandkids, this is the column I will show them. I've excerpted the bottom part (that I had to start skimming towards) for Truth to print out and post on his wailing wall.

________________________________________________________________________

http://grantland.com/features/kevin-love-lebron-james-trade-minnesota-timberwolves/

...

I see Cleveland playing Love as a small-ball 5 much like Coach K did.

I see David Blatt pushing them to run and run and run some more.

I see Love’s extraordinary outlet passes being celebrated around the globe.

I see him becoming a legitimate threat to be a 22-15-5 guy and maybe even average 16 boards a game (which hasn’t happened since Rodman).

I see my favorite Cavs lineup being their small-ball group with LeBron, Love, Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and a spread-the-floor shooter … and not-so-coincidentally, looking very ’93 Suns-ish.

I see Love thriving on the pick-and-pop with LeBron or Kyrie to frighteningly efficient degrees.

I see anyone who said this week that (a) Cleveland gave up too much, and/or (b) Love isn’t as good as people think, feeling stupid.

I see myself feeling sorry for Minnesota fans again.

I see this trade reinventing Love’s NBA career much like Phoenix reinvented Barkley. Love won’t win the MVP, but he’ll win our respect. And he won’t be polarizing anymore. He’s going to kill it in Cleveland. I really believe that.

...

I wonder why in the world BS would have thought Kevin Love was the second coming of Charles Barkley, when so far he couldn't be further from the second coming of Charles Barkley?

I'm not sure whose pick goes to Philly. Paragraph five sounds like it's the Wolves pick, but paragraph six says the Wolves will send the pick they get from Cleveland (which I think might actually be Miami's) to Philly.

Cleveland gets Love
Minnesota gets Wiggins, AB and Thad Young
Philadelphia gets Shved, Mbah A Moute and this draft pick

Glad we're going to give AB a shot.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11391484/thaddeus-young-philadelphia-76ers-expected-land-minnesota-timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves expect to land Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young in addition to No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins when they complete their long-anticipated trade that sends Kevin Love to the Cavaliers this weekend, NBA front-office sources said.

Sources told ESPN.com on Thursday that the Wolves -- as part of a separate transaction with Philadelphia or by expanding their planned deal with the Cavaliers into a three-team trade -- are already operating under the premise they are acquiring Young from the Sixers as Love's replacement.

ESPN.com reported in July that Wolves president and coach Flip Saunders had pinpointed Young as his preferred successor at power forward to Love, who officially can be dealt to the Cavaliers on Saturday, when the rookie Wiggins becomes eligible to be traded at last.

One source familiar with league rules told ESPN.com that Wiggins becomes eligible to be dealt at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, as soon as the calendar flips to Aug. 23.

Although nothing can be finalized before Saturday, sources said Thursday that the Wolves are poised to surrender a future first-round pick along with the expiring contracts of Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and Alexey Shved to the Sixers for Young, who has two seasons left on his deal valued at $19.4 million.

The Wolves, sources said, already have verbally agreed to acquire Wiggins, 2013's No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett and a future first-round pick from the Cavs for Love. Minnesota would then have the option of flipping that first-rounder to Philadelphia, along with Mbah A Moute and Shved, for Young.

The Sixers tried to get Bennett as part of the Young transaction, sources said, but Minnesota was determined to keep the second-year forward to be a key piece in its rebuilding effort despite Bennett's disappointing rookie season with Cleveland.

Although the Cavs' 30-day waiting period to move Wiggins ends Saturday, sources told ESPN.com on Thursday that the teams can indeed schedule a trade call with the league that day despite the fact it's a weekend, meaning the Love trade can be completed at the earliest allowable date.

Sources say that news conferences to introduce Love and Wiggins with their respective new teams are unlikely before next week, after the various players involved in the transactions have had a chance to complete their physicals.

i'm trying to think if a team has ever been this blatant with it
spurs the year before duncan?

They were considered playoff contenders heading into the season, and they didn't officially shut down The Admiral until December.

I'm surprised Philly's giving up Thad for a couple bench players and a (maybe) later first rounder, without even getting Bennett.

Also, the reason Philly wants Luc is because he's a mentor to Embiid. So, they ARE going all in on their young bigs.

>I'm surprised Philly's giving up Thad for a couple bench
>players and a (maybe) later first rounder, without even
>getting Bennett.

not sure what this is supposed to be
clearing money....but for what?
they have a ton of cap room and just dumped more money for (basically) nothing in return and no prospective FAgents on the horizon
tanking, running lean, and saving money i guess

This is the first Hink-dawg move I am really scratching my head about. Like yeah I get it that Thad is out of here at the end of the year but this is all you can get?

I mean I guess Young Thad just don't command much in the trade market... if you can only get a 2nd and Henry Sims for Spence, is a 1st and Shved/Luc for Thad really that crazy?

But god-fucking damn are we thin up front... who starts at the 4 now? Moultrie? Jerami Grant? Noel with Sims at the 5? Derrick Coleman???

Oh and I don't think we obtained two bench players, I wouldn't be shocked if Shved is our starting SG. Jason Richardson's carcass will never see the floor this year. Jordan McRae or KJ McDaniels will start at the 3, and I think the other is better suited for that second unit.

And I don't care that much about Bennett anyway.

Kyrie = SHOT A BIG TIME 3 IN THAT NIGGA FACE

BRON = Put on 2 Undertaker Games and one 1/2 NyQuil Game

DOWN 3-1 in the FINALS

ON THE ROAD

= TITLE.

NOPE.