NBA 2010 offseason

[Enforcer]

Dwayne Wade says the Bulls "aren't loyal" to former players. I know he's trying to do a sell job, but he's full of shit.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 0436.story

I saw that quote somewhere about how much he values loyalty and I laughed. I guess he's automatic to sign with Miami then, right? I mean, since he's so loyal and all.

[The G Man]

"For a man his size, right now, he (Antoine Walker) still has the ability," Pitino said. "He's one of the smartest guys I've ever coached; he really understands the game."

Is he serious?

[Captain Hate]

Wow, banging that ditzy skeezer in local bars must've really destroyed Pitino's cortex. Unless by "understands the game" he means how he's been able to con enough GMs into keeping a marginally talented, irritating fuckhead on multiple rosters and still in the league. That 'toine has a championship ring is ample evidence that Satan walks the earth.

[BoBetter]

Toine could have been good if he hadn't fallen in love with jacking up 3 point attempts.

Here's an article that sheds some light on the Lebron situation. I'm glad some people are calling Lebron out.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... 28/jordan/

[Captain Hate]

Wow, thanks for linking that Bo. I'd lost a lot of even medium respect for SI for hiring delusional twats like Selena "MJ was overrated because I'm a lesbian and you can't refute my dumbass opinion just because" Roberts, but that article pretty much sums up my opinion.

[jon abbey]

hehe, I bet it does. if he wanted to stay in Cleveland, the time to decide that was a year or two ago, not now.

[BoBetter]

No problem Cap.

I don't know how much he would have benefited from signing 2 years ago, or saying that he was going to stay in Cleveland back then, without signing a contract.

But clearly, he's not using his leverage to the best of his abilities, and it's hurting every other free agent, and franchise at this point for a multitude of reasons.

I liked Falk's take about playing in Chicago. Also, the fact that he will be an even bigger villian than Carlos Boozer if he leaves can't be said enough at this point. With the way he played in the Boston series, there will always be speculation if he leaves, for someone so concerned about his image that can't be good. I also, truly believe that there will be a nuclear fallout if he leaves Cleveland, that may trickle down to the other 2 teams in that city. They may never recover from something like this. Fan support will drop, and I could see the Indians leaving town. It will finally set it in stone that no one ever wants to play in Cleveland. It's really hard to run a professional sports team, that doesn't have big time fan support and the possibility of start players in a small market.

If he leaves, he may be forever known as the man who finally killed sports in Northern Ohio.

I also like the part of the article where they call him out for enjoying the attention. I've thought he was an attention getter for a while now, and for the most part it didn't bother me, but obviously it's starting too, lol.

[jon abbey]

It's really hard to run a professional sports team, that doesn't have big time fan support and the possibility of star players in a small market.

it is, but it can be done, as the Tampa Bay Rays have been proving the last few years. the Cleveland franchises just haven't been especially good at it. also, the NBA and MLB could both use some contraction now, whether it be teams or length of schedule or both, there's just too much product and it's not good enough. the Indians have a lot of history, it'd be a shame if it was them, but could be.

anyway, we'll be happy to take the wildly flawed LeBron and his lack of killer instinct and his attention getting.

[Captain Hate]

if he wanted to stay in Cleveland, the time to decide that was a year or two ago, not now.

Didn't MJ always hold out til the last minute to resign with the Bulls? Assuming yes, I'm sure part of that was to bend over Reinsdorf, which he and the rest of the team used to like doing almost as much as winning championships.

A lot can happen in two years. You could have Gilbert die and have the team bought by somebody like the prior dunces of Gund, Stepien and Miletti. Mike Brown might still be here (although I read last week they were talking to that fuzznuts Kelvin Sampson. I hope that was some fucking joke they're throwing out to irritate me, unless they have some secret knowledge that he can win championships if he can outwardly pay players. Hide the fucking firewater). Delonte West could've had a brain transplant with a shithouse rat; increasing his cognitive ability while leaving his taste in sex partners unchanged. Lots can happen.....

[BoBetter]

It's really hard to run a professional sports team, that doesn't have big time fan support and the possibility of star players in a small market.

it is, but it can be done, as the Tampa Bay Rays have been proving the last few years.

You've could have said the same thing about the Indians a few years ago. The problem is sustaining it.

New York and Boston do it year in and year out because they have money, and free agents want to play there, NOT because they're particularly good ( or better than anyone else) at running their teams.

if anything, I would argue that the GM's like Shapiro et al, who get small market teams to be competitive for a year or two, are way better at their job than most.

[The G Man]

if he wanted to stay in Cleveland, the time to decide that was a year or two ago, not now.

Didn't MJ always hold out til the last minute to resign with the Bulls? Assuming yes, I'm sure part of that was to bend over Reinsdorf, which he and the rest of the team used to like doing almost as much as winning championships.

MJ didn't hold out. See excerpts below from article linked by Bo.

When Jordan signed an eight-year, $25 million contract in 1988, it was at the time a groundbreaking decision, one that obliterated the 25-year, $25 million contract signed by Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson.
...
In 1995-96, the last year of his contract, Jordan was the NBA's 11th-highest paid player, with New York's Patrick Ewing earning four-and-a-half times what Jordan was making. Even San Antonio's Sean Elliott was paid more handsomely than Jordan, who made $3.875 million that year.
...
He waited until Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf made good on his promise of back pay and rewarded Jordan with $63 million over two seasons.

[Enforcer]

if anything, I would argue that the GM's like Shapiro et al, who get small market teams to be competitive for a year or two, are way better at their job than most.

Completely OT, but the fact that Shapiro has convinced people his name is pronounced Sha-PIE-ro is by far my favorite fact about him.

[BoBetter]

King: Do you lean at all toward the place you know the best? I mean do they have an edge going in...

JAMES: Oh, absolutely.

KING: ...your home team?

JAMES: Absolutely. Because, you know, this city, these fans, I mean, have given me a lot in these seven years. And, you know, for me, it's comfortable. So I've got a lot of memories here. And - and so it does have an edge.

Can't tell if this is posturing or not....

[Enforcer]

I was going to post that, bo.

My prediction: It's not posturing. I think your team gets him back.

[BoBetter]

I was going to post that, bo.

My prediction: It's not posturing. I think your team gets him back.

oh no, the jinx!!

[Enforcer]

I was going to post that, bo.

My prediction: It's not posturing. I think your team gets him back.

oh no, the jinx!!

Heh, you guys ALWAYS think I'm up to something like that! Believe me, I've got enough to worry about trying to figure out how my Pistons are going to not suck next year to invest anything in the LeBron sweepstakes.

[BoBetter]

I was going to post that, bo.

My prediction: It's not posturing. I think your team gets him back.

oh no, the jinx!!

Heh, you guys ALWAYS think I'm up to something like that! Believe me, I've got enough to worry about trying to figure out how my Pistons are going to not suck next year to invest anything in the LeBron sweepstakes.

It's hard to ignore the Nags jinx though...

[Harold Baines]

He should go back to Cleveland. As a fan of the game, I hope he does.

[Captain Hate]

As a fan of the Cleveland teams I hope he stays but it won't be the end of the world if he leaves (as I've tried to make clear, Gilbert leaving would be the end of the world). I won't hate him if he leaves (hell, I'm the first to say that any individual should do what's best for him or her) but I'll think a little bit less of him for those last two games in the Celtic series, for which he's given no explanation for stinker performances that just fester like an unlanced boil.

Regarding Cleveland's lack of championships, it's a combination of having poor owners and just a statistical anomaly. Starting with Modell, who was human garbage and will go immediately to hell the second he stops stealing my oxygen, going through shysters like Miletti, dumbasses like Stepian and the Gunds, to well intentioned doofuses like Lerner and Dolan (Larry not Scott), it's a cavalcade of runts of the gene pool. Even the ones that are regarded as good, like Dick Jacobs, were mediocre cocksuckers who kept the Indians on too tight of a leash which is why they couldn't land any stud pitchers in the 90s except for ones that were on their last legs. But part of it's just dumb luck. I don't think the fans are significantly better or worse than in any other location; there are a large percentage of dumbasses and bandwagoners but that's no different elsewhere. Hell, look at ESPN's braintrust. Usually when you hear somebody talk about how great team's fans are they're either choreographed dumbfucks, like the Cameron Crazies, or they support a disappointing team and some shillboy like Enberg has to say something nice about some aspect of the entity.

[BoBetter]

yeah, most of it dumb luck, but it's also a bit of a self full-filling prophecy.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel tinges of dislike for Lebron.

This whole charade is starting to annoy me. Him going on Larry King during the finals is pretty classless.

"I'm the ringleader" What the fuck is that? His love of self is starting to make me not like him, and this is coming from a huge long time fan. It's obvious that he's really really loving the attention he's getting.

After that joke of an effort he put in against the Celtics, and complete lack of enthusiasm during that series, it's really hard to like how he's acting right now. It's like he's more excited at being a big free agent than he was at playing in the playoffs.

If he leaves, my dislike might turn to outright hatred. If he stays all will probably be forgiven, but I'll probably never like him as much as I did.