Nitro

I don't think anyone, including Melo himself, would argue that the Nuggets are a better win-now team. But what you're not realizing is that it's one of the least important pieces of this process. He wants to go to the east, he'd prefer to be in the NY market, and he'd most likely want to be on a team with a few good young pieces and cap flexibility for future acquisitions. Having Prokhorov as an owner doesn't hurt, either. And the issue with just playing his current contract out is the impending new CBA, which could lose him a LOT of money if he doesn't sign the extension now.

See, his track-record isn't something you can just disregard. In the last 3 seasons he's played 35, 50 and 65 games. He didn't play at all in the 2008 post-season, and in the last 2 post-seasons he hasn't been able to crack 7.0RPG because of injuries. Knowing all that, on top of the fact that he's coming off yet ANOTHER injury and will be missing around a month to kick off this new season, where is the cut-off point to say, "Enough's enough?" The major issue is that as the Lakers keep going with this experiment, if he piles up more injuries his trade-value will continue to plummet. Right now he's attractive enough that teams will even consider trading a Melo or Bosh for a Bynum package deal. Since the Lakers have already proven 3 years in a row they can win without him/with him being limited, why not deal him off and get some good (potentially very good), reliable players in return?

Correction- Melo isn't leaving just for a "lesser" supporting cast. He's leaving because he wants to be on the east-coast, wants the added exposure of being in the NY market (which the Nets are), and most likely wants to be on a team with a very solid young core (with or without Harris/Favors) and money-spending owner who can open up Melo's marketability.

I agree, but the thing is the Lakers have won plenty of very important playoff series' with him on the sidelines or limping/playing minimal minutes. Gasol is a very capable Center (IMO he's more of a C than PF in today's NBA, anyway), and Odom is a beast on the boards while offering the team a lot of versatility. As much of an advantage as it is to have Bynum alongside Pau, it is not necessary, and the possibility of getting good talent in return that will play and be healthy for the post-season would be even better for the team.

I don't know, it's a tough one. There are so many variables to consider. I'll say these few things, though.. 1) While Scottie was certainly one of the most well-rounded players the NBA has ever seen, and quite arguably the greatest perimeter defender of all-time, he was never really a guy that could carry a team and dominate ball-games on the offensive end. He had his moments, but he was always a swiss army knife rather than a guy who could completely dominate one (or multiple) facets of the game to elevate his team to a win. As valuable as he was, I cannot place him above other guys who could be that #1 option extremely successfully. 2) It is true that he did lead the Bulls to almost beating the Knicks in 1994 without MJ, but in 1994-1995 they were a .500 ballclub before MJ came back (in which the Bulls won 11 of their last 13). In 2 of the losses to the Magic in the semi's, he scored 10pts or less. That's actually a microcosm of Pippen's post-season career, and one of my biggest knocks on him...many, many times his level of play did not increase when his team needed him most, and often times he choked. He is one of the only HoF perimeter players that was benched more than once in the last minute of big playoff games. 3) If Pippen was a #1 option his entire career, the likelihood of him making any post-season noise would be minimal, and that would not make him the household name he is today. And we all know just like in the ASG, the HoF is a popularity contest. He is so popular being one of the greatest 2nd options ever on 6 championship teams. If he was a #1 option his entire career or a #2 option to a lesser player than Jordan/Hakeem, he wouldn't be nearly as well-known. Also, who knows if some of the individual accolades he received on the Bulls would have came if he was stuck on worse teams. Much like how Elton Brand was consistently snubbed for many years in the ASG while Mo freaking Williams got in in 2009, the same might have happened to Scottie. 4) There are so many great players who have been snubbed by the HoF, and plenty of current stars who might get snubbed. Taking that into consideration along with the things I said in #1, 2 and 3, and it isn't far-fetched to say Scottie might not have gotten in without MJ.

If the Lakers could basically win two titles with Bynum making little to no impact due to injuries, then adding Melo to the mix would just be nasty. It would also spell Kobe of a lot of the offensive workload and add some time to how long he can sustain being a top 5 player. Not to mention it could add an extra 2-3 years to the length of time the Lakers can continue being an elite contender.

I know you said you don't want to, but take Ritalin or Adderall. There is NOTHING better for concentration. You will do more work on a few hours of that than you will in an entire week on nothing. And whenever you're looking for fun, abusing it is pretty much the same thing as coke but without the numbness. If you get Ritalin or Aderrall, hit a brother up with some freebies for the golden advice I just gave you... :glasses:

WTF does ANY of that have to do with Mo or what he said? It's not an issue that he said what he did, but it's pretty pathetic and crazy nontheless. As a Cavs fan I'd be pretty pissed that with all this talk about moving forward and rallying around the circumstances fr the city that Mo would, at one point or another, consider retiring because a teammate left during fre agency. Who said anything about it being controversial? It's just sad.

Huh? How am I not giving Mo the benefit of the doubt? He was equally as effective as he was in Milwaukee...I am not saying he can't play without LeBron. What I am saying is that without LeBron, the Cavs will plummet into a lottery bound team. Without LeBron, Mo will not be on national TV every week. And even if he is just as effective without LeBron, the ASG is a popularity contest. He made it in 2009 because he was on a team destined for 66 wins and put up respectable numbers. Every season the crappy teams' best player(s) get snubbed over inferior players on better teams. Now that Mo is on one of those crappy teams, he'll just be a memory in the casual NBA fan's mind...much like how he was an unknown to those same fans when he was on the Bucks. Mo is a professional. A teammate moving onto another team isn't "tragic." It's business. It sucks, but that's why Mo gets payed millions and millions.

Let's watch Miami play a few games before we say if LeBron is riding anyone, especially to the point Mo did LeBron. And no, Mo is mad because he goes from in the spotlight to irrelevant in the span of a one-hour "Decision." He goes from being voted into the ASG to being recognized only on NBATV highlights at midnight. He goes from being on one of the favorites to win an NBA title to a team deep in the lottery. Do NOT try and twist it to somehow Mo considering retirement was because LeBron supposedly didn't do what he was supposed to in his time on the Cavs.

Honestly $8.5-9M per year for a 27y.o 16-17PPG scorer ain't bad. He'll certainly be a tradable asset in time as many teams could use an elite 3pt shooter who can handle a bit and make some plays for himself. In the next few years they won't be able to attract any big-name FA's, so it isn't like they need a ton of cap room. Now, Antawn Jamison's gigantic contract (especially for a guy in his mid-30's) and Boobie Gibson's hefty sized contract (around $5M a year for a guy glued to the bench) are ones that I'm sure Gilbert would love wiped away before Mo's. With all that said, that's pretty embarassing for Mo to say. I understand it is heartbreaking to go from being on national TV every week to being buried somewhere in the lottery, but you are a professional. It's a part of the business.

The original Lost Tapes is extremely underrated and never gets talked about. Had a few of Nas' best songs since the Illmatic days. Very excited to hear he's releasing some of his other non-released songs. I hope we get more songs like this, which was unreleased until he put it on his Greatest Hits mix back in 2006-2007... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0T75uxpUtQ

Eh...the one thing the Heat will offer is versatility. The only team out of the elite group that I think could give the Heat problems with matchups would be the Celtics because they have a lightning quick PG and two difficult wing matchups. Against the Lakers the Heat could always sticks LeBron on Kobe and have Miller defend Artest, or have Wade defend Kobe and rely on Miller/LeBron to take care of Fisher because of Fisher's poor speed. Against the Magic, Miller/LeBron will be fine defending VC. The Celtics will be an issue because I can't see Miller having success against Allen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3rPeVvte0U So sick. Canibus will always be arguably the most underrated MC of all-time.

Because Kobe and Magic play/played two completely different roles, it's a little harder to compare than just black and white. Magic made perhaps the greatest impact of any player in NBA history on the offensive end of the ball with his playmaking/passing, and led the greatest offense in NBA history. He could score quite well when needed. And somewhere on RealGM some guy showed he made one of the greatest impact on the boards of any player in NBA history, which cannot be looked past. Basically what I am getting at is raw skill-wise, Kobe will have pretty much any player beat. But in terms of impact on the game and teammates, saying Magic trumps Kobe isn't far-fetched whatsoever. In fact, most would agree with that. And of course people will remember Nash is a horrible defender. He has to be hidden on that side of the ball, and it's why he's never really been considered a top 3 player in the league despite his 2 MVP's. Give me a break. Ever since Kobe entered that superstar realm he's been a jumpshooter with a slashing game, never the other way around, and that is by his own mentality and style of play. When he was younger he had exceptional slashing ability, but not on the level of guys like Jordan/Wade/LeBron, and it was never his bread and butter. Games with Shaq, games without Shaq, in or out of the triangle...he was never a guy to eat teams alive on the drive consistently. It's never been what he's comfortable with because it's just not his game. And he was what, 26-27, when Shaq left? That lane opened up wide yet Kobe's game remained the same. When Kobe got Gasol, his game remained the same. Cop-out...major cop-out. Maybe for 2-3 years he had that kind of attention, but for the rest of his career? No. Not on a different plane from what LBJ has faced virtually his entire career, or what Wade has had to face the last 2 seasons. Yet both of those guys stayed more efficient than Kobe ever has despite those double and triple teams. Don't know which arguement you're talking about with McGrady, and I find it funny you're going to use T-Mac as an example, who's not even a top 50 player all-time and who for his career was always a pretty inefficient scorer. Shaq was also a guy who led the entire league in FG% multiple seasons, so you're comparing Kareem to the gold standard of FG efficiency. And I think most people, at least on the offensive end, would probably take a prime Shaq over prime Kareem. Where Kareem has a distinct advantage is defensively, and when comparing careers his longetivity.

http://rlv.zcache.com/dont_drink_the_kool_aid_sticker_bumper_sticker-p128852040354568622trl0_400.jpg

What's most amazing about his scoring is his consistency and lights-out efficiency. To give you an idea of just how insanely efficient he was last season, he had a TS% of 60.7%. To put that in perspective, LeBron's best season was 60.4% (ironically enough, also last season). Kobe's best ever is 58.0% (2006-2007). Wade's best ever is 58.3% (2006-2007). Jordan's best ever is 61.4%. He is in very elite company scoring the ball. To sustain and even better what he did last season, he has to remember what made him so effective...taking over 10FTA's per game, which was an increase of 3FTA from his 2008-2009 season. The truly great, unstoppable scorers get to the line, and he did that very well last season. I just pray he doesn't fall in love with his smooth jumpshot and realize what makes his game so effective.

More skilled? Probably, but you can say that when comparing Kobe to ANY player in NBA history. I lost the quote but Riley said something along the lines of, "A player who has a wide variety of different shots is great, but teams win with efficiency/effectiveness." That's my mindset when comparing the all-time greats (or any players for that matter). Kobe having so many different skills is an amazing asset, but it doesn't necessarily make him better than player B. IMO where having such skill becomes useful is when a defense forces you to do something out of your comfort zone, and more well-rounded players can still be effective because they are proficient in all areas of the court. However, there are a very rare few who aren't as skilled as Kobe that can still dominate those defenses despite their deficiencies (like Wade tearing apart the 2006 Pistons [60%+ shooting for the series] and 2010 Celtics [33PPG on 55% shooting]). And when you consider the fact that over the course of the season against all 29 other teams they may be more productive/efficient than Kobe, it becomes a LOT harder to favor Kobe in the debate. Not saying he is or isn't currently the best player in the league, or is or isn't one of the top 10 players of all-time, but I think some people are too mesmerized by Kobe's GOAT level polished skillset and not on the meat and bones of player effectiveness. With that said, I have NO idea how you can say Kobe is overall a better player than Magic Johnson without debate. We are talking about a guy who many feel is top 3 all-time and undisputably the greatest PG that has ever played the game. I think that's ridiculous, and almost anyone you ask with reasonable basketball knowledge will have Magic over Kobe on their all-time rankings. Not saying I agree or disagree with that, but to say it isn't even a debate is crazy talk. Same thing as if someone said Magic is the better player without debate.

Isn't that what they signed Brad Miller for?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

That's ridiculous and IMO will change if the team is in the thick of the playoff race a few months into the season. Dude has played 30MPG or less only once in his career, which was his rookie season. The three seasons he missed a significant amount of games he was playing 34-37MPG. Put him around 28-30MPG and he should be fine. Those freak injuries that have caused him to miss half/full seasons at a time will happen regardless of the minutes he's playing. Yao is 30 years old and doesn't have many years left regardless of the minutes he plays. They should milk him for what he's got right now, meaning he should be playing 28-30 minutes as opposed to <24.

1) Melo DID take less FGA per game his 2nd year than he did his first season. Jordan technically did as well, but the sample size is way too small and he was averaging less minutes after coming back from injury (nearly missing the entire season). 2) Mayo is not on the same level as those guys. He's not looked at as a franchise player for Memphis, so he's not going to get the same leash to jack up 20+ shots per game, especially since they added major scoring pieces inbetween his rookie and sophomore seasons.

Kareem's certainly another, but he wasn't nearly as consistent as Kobe has been for the last 11 years or so. Kareem in a similar timespan jumped around from 22-35PPG, 10-16RPG, 2-5APG, 2-4BPG, and 51-60% shooting. Since '99-'00, Kobe has shot between 45-47% shooting 9 of the 11 seasons (only 2 seasons he didn't he had some major injuries), averaged between 4.9-6.0APG 10 of those 11 seasons, averaged between 5.2-6.9RPG all 11 seasons, and averaged between 24.0-30.0PPG 8 of those 11 seasons. That is REMARKABLE consistency, absolutely unmatched IMO. Over the last 11 years Kobe has played in a LOT more playoff games than Kareem did in his prime as well, which certainly adds to the wear and tear and 'should-be' decline.

WOWWWWW.... Anyway, I was 16 and was going out with this girl for about 2 weeks (if that). I kinda knew it was coming, but was nervous as hell so things always tended to get pushed back a bit. Well, we were chilling at my place (room was in the basement) with my parents out, and 2 of our friends were over (who happened to be going out as well). My girl must have done some 3rd basement coach [expletive] to signal our other friends to leave the room, and then she basically raped me. It was awesome. RAW DOG!!! I doubt many people are going to be posting in this thread

This. As much as all those Nets losses burned that everyone else posted, they at least had their time in the spotlight. Watching T-Mac for virtually every game for many years and defending him on the internet, and watching him ball out of his mind that game (29/13/5) and STILL manage to lose and never get out of the first round was horrible. The Rockets had that game in the bag and coughed it up.