LAL/PHI/DEN/ORL 4-way discussions

[Lkr]

Why does everybody have a problem that I'm rooting for LA now? Obviously I will when my favorite player for the past 8 years is playing for them.

 

Smitty seems like the only one who understands this.

because you come in and go us, etc when you're not a fan of the team, just a player

 

i ain't even mad about this trade though

[Make It Naaaashty]

because you come in and go us, etc when you're not a fan of the team, just a player

 

i ain't even mad about this trade though

 

Yes I will say "us" cuz Im a LA fan now cuz Nash is there. If Nash went to Toronto I wouldve done the same thing with them. Wherever Nash goes, I become a fan of that team.......

[Lemon]

Crazy, didn't want to post until it was official, but Mitch is a crazy good GM. He got Bynum for Howard, a decent 3rd string center, and an okay back up PG. Best thing about it is Dwight doesn't have to pretend to be the leader. He's deferring to Kobe and Nash. The trade doesn't make Lakers favorites though in my eyes. They still have to prove they can actually beat OKC and Miami. Funny thing though is that the only thing preventing that is chemistry and health.... and maybe Kobe.

 

BTW, I'm pretty sure Yugo doesn't like it when anyone uses "we" when addressing their favorite team.

[ChosenOne]

Yes I will say "us" cuz Im a LA fan now cuz Nash is there. If Nash went to Toronto I wouldve done the same thing with them. Wherever Nash goes, I become a fan of that team.......

 

Lol why do you continue to bother explaining yourself?

[Make It Naaaashty]

So people can stfu and know wassup.

[ChosenOne]

So people can stfu and know wassup.

 

Lol let know when that works out.

[Force]

"Well, it looks like Superman has found a home. I wish nothing but the best for Big Bynum. I hope he follows what was a great season last year with an even better one next year. I know LA is excited about the deal and rightfully so. The Lakers landed a piece that will hopefully carry the franchise long after I'm gone. I have spoken to Dwight Howard already and we are locked and loaded to bring back the title. Wow, what a summer Jimmy and Mitch have had so far. Unreal! I'm focused on our semifinal game vs Argentina but I had to pause for a few to send you my thoughts, in case you were curious.."

 

Kobe's quote via Facebook.

 

So pumped for this season.

[kingfish]

If the offense is ran effectively, with these five guys being the "beef" of the team (Kobe, Nash, Dwight, Gasol, Jamison), and the defensive system doesn't fail us (don't see how it could)...I will go out on a limb and say that this team can be a better team than any Showtime squad from the 80's.

 

I honestly don't see how a team is going to be able to stop a pick-and-roll from Nash/Howard, still having to keep an eye on Kobe with their best defender AND prevent Gasol from getting his wide-open looks at the rim.

 

The best part is, with Drew gone, the post opens up a bit more, since Howard is far too mobile to have to worry about. Kobe, Gasol, and Ron will be happy about that.

I hope Kobes usage rate is just as high as its always been. Hes never had this much talent on a team before imo. Kobe and Nash should handle the ball all game long, when were not dumping it into the post.

[Real Deal]

I hope Kobes usage rate is just as high as its always been. Hes never had this much talent on a team before imo. Kobe and Nash should handle the ball all game long, when were not dumping it into the post.

Well, we're running the Princeton, so Kobe and Nash are going to have to accept other players on the floor making passes and other decisions with the ball. Howard can do that, Gasol does it VERY well (passing, of course), so as long as someone like Ron Artest doesn't take 15 shots a night, and Kobe doesn't turn into "2006 Pissed-Off Aggressive Kobe" this upcoming season, they'll look at it as a very similar offense to the triangle, and we should be fine.

[AboveLegit]

What a joke this new CBA is. Did Stern really think he could bring competitive balance to this league by fixating the cap and stressing the importance of a luxury tax? Lakers payroll will probably exceed $100mill, which puts them $30mill above the luxury tax line according to Zach Lowe. These are the same penalties that completely frightened another big market team, Chicago, and forced them to make "money based moves" this offseason.

 

Lakers gonna Lake.

[kingfish]

Stern brought this on himself when he vetoed our CP3 deal. However much we are over the luxury tax will be made up for with the ridiculous ticket prices we will likely see this season.

[Lkr]

What a joke this new CBA is. Did Stern really think he could bring competitive balance to this league by fixating the cap and stressing the importance of a luxury tax? Lakers payroll will probably exceed $100mill, which puts them $30mill above the luxury tax line according to Zach Lowe. These are the same penalties that completely frightened another big market team, Chicago, and forced them to make "money based moves" this offseason.

 

Lakers gonna Lake.

You small market teams should get yourselves a multi-billion dollar TV network deal

 

Babby Reno, you're a Nash fan, not a lakers fan. No one is going to leave you alone

Edited August 10, 2012 by Lkr

[AboveLegit]

You small market teams should get yourselves a multi-billion dollar TV network deal

Who you calling a small market team? :poke2:

[Dash]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

 

(cont.) and no need to take on Harrington contract.

 

Adrian Wojnarowski Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA

 

HOU offered ORL $12M in space (instead of Afflalo), recent 1st picks, future lottery and unprotected picks. Would've taken bad deals (cont.)

 

Can't believe Hennigan turned that down in favor of the Laker four team deal but thank god he did because we would have been utterly screwed when Dwight walked.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Dash

[DunkinDerozan]

Yes I will say "us" cuz Im a LA fan now cuz Nash is there. If Nash went to Toronto I wouldve done the same thing with them. Wherever Nash goes, I become a fan of that team.......

 

So what are you going to do when he retires?

[Smoke]

So what are you going to do when he retires?

I <3 you for that DDD.... I was thinking the exact same thing when I read his post.

[Make It Naaaashty]

So what are you going to do when he retires?

 

Prolly root for the Cavs and Kyrie Irving since he's my second fave player. But Nash will always be my all time fave.

 

Lkr your a LA/GBay fan....you should be the last one talking

[Lkr]

Prolly root for the Cavs and Kyrie Irving since he's my second fave player. But Nash will always be my all time fave.

 

Lkr your a LA/GBay fan....you should be the last one talking

How many times have I switched team allegiance? Now let's count the combined amount of times renos have done it

[Make It Naaaashty]

How many times have the renos done it?

[Legacy]

Wow, the Magic could have gotten so much more. I'm surprised they passed on the Nets deal or didn't even get Bynum or Gasol out of this. How the hell does Mitch pull these deals off? I have no clue. Dude is something else when it comes to making some major moves and not losing much.

 

I'm not liking this deal for Philly as much as its getting hyped. I think Bynum is overrated and too immature to be a franchise player on a winning team. He has room to grow though.

 

Denver is going to be scary. Def a team to keep on eye on. They were already good without a star type player and now they get Iggy, not to mention Ty Lawson is getting better.

 

The Lakers have to be the favorites now, in the West at least. OKC hasn't made any moves to make them that much better and no other team can take this Lakers team in a 7 game series.

[Warren2ThaG]

Dwight smiles way tooo muchhhhh

[Nitro]

If the offense is ran effectively, with these five guys being the "beef" of the team (Kobe, Nash, Dwight, Gasol, Jamison), and the defensive system doesn't fail us (don't see how it could)...I will go out on a limb and say that this team can be a better team than any Showtime squad from the 80's.

 

I honestly don't see how a team is going to be able to stop a pick-and-roll from Nash/Howard, still having to keep an eye on Kobe with their best defender AND prevent Gasol from getting his wide-open looks at the rim.

 

The best part is, with Drew gone, the post opens up a bit more, since Howard is far too mobile to have to worry about. Kobe, Gasol, and Ron will be happy about that.

 

The key to beating this Lakers team will be to blitz the pick and roll, force Kobe and Artest to take long jumpers off the pass, overwhelm them with athleticism, and make them an iso team.

 

With Howard, this is a lot harder to accomplish than when they had Bynum, because he can single-handedly make up for whatever defensive issues the rest of the team has, and he is more willing to pass when defenses collapse on him.

 

The biggest key for the Lakers will be Dwight's health. Last I heard a few weeks ago, he really wasn't even running yet, let alone participating in any basketball activities. Since his game is largely based off strength and athleticism, as well as endurance, this could really limit his effectiveness. Also, when it comes to the back, injuries tend to re-occur, due to the nature of that area as well as over-compensating with legs (the latter I feel is what ultimately ended T-Mac's career as a star).

[Oliver P]

I have to say that I just could not believe it the first time I heard about this.. The Lakers got Howard for almost nothing. And now their roster just is totally amazing. I don't think I ever seen a team more talented than this one in the NBA. Very impressive.

 

The most impressive thing about this roster in my opinion is how complementary all these stars are to each other. As a matter of fact most of the teams of stars we've seen in the past were made with players who always were the first option, the primary scorer, the leader of their team, it was the case with the past two seasons' Heat, the 08 C's, the 04 Lakers, the 96/99 Rockets, 67/71 Lakers, etc.. But this time only Kobe has a true scoring mentality. Yes, as we all know, Nash is a true PG who thinks first about passing the ball, Gasol was the first option in his Grizzlies days but we saw that he was clearly more fitted to be a second option as soon as he arrived in LA and he never had any problem with his new role, quite definitely the opposite, and Ron never was the first scoring option of his team, even at the time he was a more efficient scorer, he always was first a defensive minded player. Now it's true that Howard was the Magic's leading scorer since his second season in the league, has clearly improved offensively since his beginnings and is among the best scoring big men every year, but he's still not what we can call a pure scorer and he has never developped a truly efficient offensive move. His offensive game especially relies on his impressive athletic skills. He is and will always be first of all a defensive minded player. Which is why I am sure he will not mind share the ball more in LA, and focus more on the main strenghts of his game : defense, rebounds and blocks. Quite the opposite.

 

So basically not only the other stars won't mind letting Kobe be the main man, the leader, but they'll certainly do all what they can to help him as much as they can. There shouldn't be any hierarchy problem in that team, and Kobe will certainly have the best help he ever had.

 

Therefore, compared to the other teams of stars they should have less problems to adapt to each other's game.

 

And, on the paper, this team seems to have everything. They got the best defensive inside player in the world, and the most dominant in the paint, and probably even the best defender (not the greatest man to man defender ever but clearly among the best help defenders of all time, and his presence alone has a huge impact on the defensive event of his team) (Howard), the one who got the best post moves in the world, who's probably the best passing inside player in the world, and who can shoot from anywhere on the court (even from behind the ark at times) (Gasol), one of the best PGs of all time (at least on the offensive end), who's among the very best passers and shooter of all time (Nash), one of the best defensive wing players in the world (even if he's not as good as he used to be, he can still make a difference on the defensive end) (Artest), and of course one of the best scorers and the best leader in the world (yes I believe that, despite the fact that he's SLOWLY getting out of his prime, Kobe still definitely is the best leader in today's game, I know that many thinks that LeBron is now the best leader but I highly disagree with that, best player maybe, but not best leader, some people now overrate him because of his ring ; he managed to get a ring as the best player of his team (and I give him credit for that) but this alone doesn't make him a great leader, the fact is that during that last championship run, and despite the fact that he had a huge impact on his team of course, he was at the same time never really tested in the clutch this time, he didn't lost it and kept cool during the last minutes of game 2 on the free throw line but that doesn't make him a true clutch player, he didn't have a great clutch performance (and didn't have to) à la Kobe, or Jordan, or even Nowitzki the year before during that run, and I just don't think he'll ever become the leader that Kobe is).

 

Another great thing about this team is that they already have quite a good bench, and won't have to worry too much during the season about getting more depth like the Celtics, Heat, 04 Lakers or 96 Rockets for example.

 

Well anyway I don't think I have ever seen a more impressive starting lineup. They're all not only true NBA starters but NBA stars (well except Ron who's more like an above average role player now but still). Up until today the most well balanced team I've seen were probably the Sacramento Kings, even if they ironically didn't win a ring. But they were not as impressive, on paper, and contrary to this team they lacked of a true leader (C-Webb was no leader material and Bibby had to step up in the clutch). They were not strong enough in their heads. This team shouldn't have the same problem.

 

This team's main problem could be, in my opinion, injuries (Howard's not at his best yet and Nash, even if it doesn't seem so, is still getting older every year, and we don't know when he's gonna decrease, after all Malone didn't look to get old at all until.. he joined the Lakers and had to retire due partly to a bad injury ; it would be a terrible coincidence if the same happened to Nash this year) and maybe the lack of true shooters. Their only pure shooters are Nash, Blake and Meeks right now. Although when Kobe gets on fire he can be as good a shooter as Ray Ray (as we saw once again during the Olympics). And Jamison and Artest (although Artest tend to get crazy and think he's a pure shooter at times.. which he's not) can shoot from long distance. So it shouldn't be a problem. Especially that they still have a lot of times to sign other shooters anyhow.

 

Another problem could be how Nash and Kobe are gonna play together. As a matter of fact Nash is not a scorer but he needs the ball in his hands to be efficient (quite normal as he's a PG) while Kobe is not used to play with a true PG, he's used to get the ball up court quite often, and he's gonna have to get used to the idea of not getting the ball in his hands as often as he's had during his career. Although Kobe has more relied on his teammates these last years, he's usually let his teammates play in the first three quarters and taken over in the last one. Besides both Kobe and Nash are very intelligent players so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

Anyway it's important to remember now that the favorites to win it all this year are still the Heat right now (the champions are always the team to beat, except because of injuries or when they lose their leader or.. all their players) and that the team to beat IN THE WEST are still the Thunder. Besides, as I always say it myself, talent is not everything and the paper and reality are often very different things.. But honestly, this time, I have to admit that it's hard not to have this team as my favorites to win it all, even for me.

[Check my Stats]

The NBA is so [expletive]ing corrupt man. Well I owe my apologies to Real Deal, Mitch Kupchak, and any other Laker fan I offended by suggesting that this deal would be impossible and they were idiots for thinking it was. I should have known that Orlando would take the worst of the 3 offers they had received. Just unbelievable.. literally can't think of another word to describe this.

 

Either way, the Heat-Lakers finals is going to be [expletive]ing incredible.

[Real Deal]

Well, I actually figured that Houston would be the third team, and the Magic were going to get a lot of assets from the Rockets (Bynum going to Houston), but that didn't exactly happen.

 

I'm shocked that Orlando didn't go that route OR just take Drew. I just had a gut feeling D12 would end up here, though, from the start.

 

Again, though...we still gave up Bynum. He's fully capable of putting up 20/11 for the rest of his prime, maybe even better scoring numbers...so it's not like we gave up Walton and McRoberts. If you consider the fact that Howard wanted out, we gave up more than Miami did for LeBron and Bosh combined. I understand the circumstances are a little different, but still.

 

That's not saying Orlando wasn't robbed, though...but if Drew went to the Magic (instead of Philly), the trade wouldn't have been as bad as people think. He's not a proven superstar, but his ceiling is a productive franchise player.