I thought they were the Celtics farm team. They draft high, groom the players, then McFail sends them in lopsided trades to his alma mater.
Pistons Notes The Detroit Pistons like Point Guard Rodney Stuckey a lot. Stuckey has improved and drawn praise from the team. Stuckey is figured to see a lot of playing time with new coach Michael Curry. Curry says he sees Stuckey as the ''sixth starter'' on the team. The team is also not planning on making any trades, at least not til the February trade deadline. The team also exercised their options on Stuckey and Aaron Afflalo. The team says that Afflalo, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson have all improved this season and are expected to be contributors. Pistons coach Michael Curry says that the team is working on the players strengths, not their weaknesses. One of the players who could benefit is recently signed Kwame Brown. Curry says he hopes that Brown will become a solid player in the rotation. (Link) Winners And Losers Of The NBA Offseason - ESPN.com Notable Winners: Notable Losers:
i can't wait for basketball season, oden finally is cleared to practice...the blazers are gonna be the only team i root for that will be decent.
Man the Pacers are going to be painful to watch this year...I might not be making my annual trip to Conseco this yr.
NBA Headlines And Quick Hits Sources: Cavs James Would Consider Europe Sources close to mega-superstar LeBron James say that the Cavs forward would strongly consider going to Europe if he was to be offered $50 million a year. Russias CSKA Moscow and Greece's Olympiacos have shown interest in James and have already contacted him. However, the source states that no contractual discussions have taken place between James and the two teams. (Link) Pacers Will Not Buyout Tinsley's Contract Pacers GM David Morway has stated that the team will not buyout PG Jamaal Tinsley's contract. He says that it is not even an option. However, the team is in trade talks with numerous teams about Tinsley. (Link) Hornets Unlikely To Re-Sign Pargo; Spurs Leading Race? The Times-Picayune reports that the New Orleans Hornets are unlikely to re-sign backup PG Jannero Pargo. The team doesn't seem interested in bringing the player back. The San Antonio Spurs are at the top of the hunt for Pargo's services. There were conflicting reports stating that Pargo had agreed to a deal with the Spurs but they proved to be false. Pargo is looking for a three year deal. (Link) Hornets Unlikely To Bring Back Wells The Times-Picayune is reporting that the Hornets are unlikely to re-sign forward Bonzi Wells. However, the team is interested in giving an extended offer to Ryan Bowen. (Link) Another Guy Headed To Europe Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting that PG Earl Boykins has signed a one year deal worth $3.5 million with Italian side Virtus Bologna. The deal includes marketing and sponsorship deals. Boykins is now the highest paid player in Italy. (Link)
I remember getting bashed for stating that LeFraud may not care about winning as much as he cares about getting paid.
i bet your golden boy wade would also...in fact i bet every player would consider 50 mill no matter what they are making cream cash rules everything around me
Like how you change the topic there. I'm sure Wade would consider $50 million. But the difference between Wade and James is that Wade's #1 primary motivator isn't money, it's winning. Money is probably #2 on his list. But James' #1 is money, and there's a mile's length of separation between his #1 motivator and his #2 motivator. And if you don't understand the difference between that, I'm sorry.
Certain guys DO care more about their legacy than they do money. There are a few elite players in the NBA I think would take the 50 Mill but I dont think Lebron is one of them. First off, Nike would be PISSED! They wanted him out of Cleveland in favor of a bigger market, how would they feel about Italy or Angola?! Although it would help the globalization of the game, it would seriously hurt the NBA. I think Lebron does care about winning, as do his other USA Basketball teammates. Hes not getting paid for that is he? The fans would NEVER let him live down taking a pay-day to demolish lesser talent in a foreign country. I just dont see it.
Pretty sure he can get some European endorsements to match what he'd lose from Nike. Olympic endorsements. Remember, despite never getting paid game checks, it's safe to say that guys like Michael Jordan profited handsomely off their Team USA participation.
Another thing to consider...if these guys go overseas, are they still allowed to represent the USA for the Olympics, like other countries do? Wouldn't that be weird.
of course he would.....usa would be pretty stacked if everyone that played in the nba had to represent usa.......dirk, mano,nash.......
I think that the gap in talent between the NBA and the other leagues is getting smaller. I don't think we're too far away from a time where an NBA champion would be considered an underdog vs. a European champion.
This will only happen if the NBA suffers a sudden drop in talent level similar to the one when Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, et al retired almost simultaneously. The NBA was a very boring league for a couple of years there. But the talent level is on the rise again, and you've got everything from the extremely skilled vets like Kobe Bryant to the up and coming young guys like Chris Paul. Barring another total collapse, it's hard to see Team USA ever being an underdog.
Do you mean a talent drop like say Lebron going to Europe? It may not happen but it's certainly a possibility. Reality is that the NBA is and will continue to lose players to Europe. At this point they are not big names but it will happen eventually. Also at some point there will be a European player who will be a top 5 NBA talent. As more and more players are developed overseas it is statistically inevitable. We already see that our talent advantage vs. the world's other teams is shrinking. In past olympics team USA has already been proven to not be the best. I think our redeem team will win the gold but if it doesn't fewer and fewer people will see the NBA as the best in the world. As the perception that playing in the NBA means playing against the best suffers than the european teams will have to offer less of a premium to entice players overseas. That will drain more talent from the NBA and lure less talent in from overseas.
I don't see that as a loss in talent so much as an automatic rise in called fouls and travels when James' statistical effect is removed from the calculations.
NBA News: Heat Claim Jones Off Waivers The Miami Heat have claimed forward Bobby Jones off of the waiver wire. The 6'7 forward played for five teams last season. (Link) Heat Going After "Starbury"? The Miami Heat may be interested in troubled Knick Stephon Marbury. Teams around the league are expecting the Knicks to cut Marbury. Knicks President Donnie Walsh said earlier this off-season that he would not buyout the player but would rather trade him. The Heat have also expressed interest in Jannero Pargo, Shaun Livingston and could be interested in Luke Ridnour of the OKC Thunder. Ridnour is on the trading block. (Link) NBA Schedule Announced The Oklahoman reports that the NBA schedule is expected to be announced today. On October 28, the Cavaliers and Celtics will open up the NBA season as well as the Blazers and Lakers. Other notable matchups include OKC opening up home against Milwaukee on October 29th and Lakers matchup with the OKC Thunder on February 24th. Another matchup is the Nuggets opening up against the Utah Jazz. Nuggets Forward Carmelo Anthony will sit out the first two games of the regular season due to suspension. (Link) Houston, We Have A Comeback? Former Knick Allan Houston is making yet another comeback. Houston says that their is a couple of teams interested in his services. Houston said he never viewed his time away from basketball as a retirement, rather a "break". (Link) Rockets, Clippers Make A Deal The Houston Rockets have traded Steve Novak to the Clippers for draft considerations. The deal is expected to be completed today. (link) Nuggets Smith Returning To Denver? Denver Nuggets Guard J.R. Smith is expected to sign a long-term deal with the team in the next seven to ten days. The Nuggets initial offer was a one year deal worth $3.04 million but now they are talking long-term. Smith is being pursued by the Cavaliers. (Link)
Yeah the only difference is that Houston has been making this comeback for like four years now and it hasn't been successful lol.
Wow. I don't usually comment on NBA schedules because they're long and drawn out, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before.
okay i lied..it was the rumor last night then i looked at the schedule and it looked like it...its really first 16 out of 24....and only 9 of those teams didn't make the playoffs.....
I'm not sure how many NBA fans we have in this thread and since I don't know who everyone likes here, I will just give you the schedule of every team in the league. Schedules: (click on links) Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics Charlotte Bobcats Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Dallas Mavericks Denver Nuggets Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers LA Clippers LA Lakers Memphis Grizzlies Miami Heat Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves New Jersey Nets New Orleans Hornets New York Knicks Oklahoma City Thunder Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Pheonix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz Washington Wizards NOTE; 5:41 PM: The Oklahoma City Thunder's schedule was unavailable at their official website. Once it is available, I will post it. UPDATED; 6:38 PM: The OKC Thunder schedule has been added. They are direct links to team schedules.
Hardly. We're talking about a few players going there and you can bet the NBA will take measures if things get too far. Superstars here would be foolish to go to Europe because of the danger of losing popularity and sales here. You touch on a very interesting point. By going to foreign countries, you risk alienating fans here and that could have repercussions on your reputation. They'd immediately lose popularity back home. It didn't work the same way for foreign players coming here because the NBA is still considered the Holy Grail in professional sports. I think that's one thing that will keep stars here and that's the familiarity with the domestic fans. I know a lot of people here would denounce a guy like Kobe (that aren't already), for going to Europe.
I'm still in shock that the best name they could come up with is Thunder. Well, better than Dust Bowl.
Did you hear the other names that were offered up? They were horrible lol. Thunder is stupid and sounds like a WNBA team but its better than the other ones imo.
at this critic. He talks about better names for the OKC franchise: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/07/30/000637.php
