NBA Chat, Do we have a season? We may have a season... TOPIC OPTIONS

[Antoine3323]

Agreed, especially after the way Bynum played last night. It's not worth the risk

[Jay]

The only thing I would like to see happen tomorrow is Rajon Rondo traded to the Nets for Deron Williams. Williams ain't resigning there and I think the Celtics can make it happen. If they can get something for Garnett and/or Allen too, I am all for it.

[Jurkov]

This Warriors and Celtics game is sweet...

[Tre]

John Lucas made up for LeBron dragging his sack across his face a couple months ago. No D-Rose? No problem. Put Lebron on Lucas? he still scores. I like this group. By far, the deepest bench in the league. i just don't know that in a 7 game series they can beat Miami. Tonight's game was about as satisfying there's been this season. If the Bulls ever get 100% healthy, it'll be a miracle.

[samojed]

“Good thing he didn’t go to college,” a team official texted about Howard Thursday morning.

[SparksALot]

Looks like Howard will in fact sign the extension and be with the Magic next season. So much ado about nothing. What a dumb-ass.

In other news looks like the Blake/Beasley/Crawford deal is all but done.

Fox - What can you tell me about Beasley from a fans perspective? Looking at the raw stats I can't help but think the Wolves and the Lakers got a steal here.

[samojed]

My impression of him is that he's a knuckle-headed ball-hogger who'll play for stats, waste a bunch of balls and every once in a while have an amazing game. He won't shy away from taking a crucial shot, but will blow it more often than not because he'll sooner take a bad shot than pass the ball. He's got incredible talent and is very athletic, but it has got to his head, so there seems to be a mental factor that's prevented him from materializing his franchise-player potential.

However, Adelman has recently managed to discipline him, which I found unbelievable. The coach decreased his minutes, and all of a sudden, the guy's field goal percentage and overall productivity has soared and he now seems more part of the team than ever. That's why I'm having mixed feelings about this trade, because I'm really hoping the Wolves will make it to the playoffs and Beasley has recently fit in well.

As for the Lakers, Beasley will certainly be an asset. He won't be able to pull the wild plays with Kobe on the floor, and with all the attention Kobe draws, Beasley will be definitely be a serious threat from the outside.

[SparksALot]

I don't worry about the head-cases on the Lakers. Guys know not to fuck with Kobe. There is an intense respect players have for him that somehow even reins in the most problematic players. Look at Ron-Ron. Motherfucker has become a changed man since he joined the Lakers. Forget winning a ring, dude by all appearances is just a better person.

Lakers also pick up Ramon Sessions from the Cavs for a 2012 first round pick (apparently some are reporting the Lakers also shipped Luke Walton in the deal for a D-league player to make salaries match). I like that too. The Lakers just addressed two very big needs. Fish also should be way better coming off the bench. Sessions isn't great, but they don't need him to be. A guy who can score the rare time Kobe, Drew, or Pau aren't, can dish out the dimes and shoot the 3. All things that have been an Achilles heel for the Lakers all year.

Don't look now, but the Lakers just got a lot scarier..

In other news the Nets in realizing they won't get Howard for at least another year traded for Gerald Wallace.

This post has been edited by SparksALot: Mar 15 2012, 10:00 AM

[crimsonmask49]

Derek Fisher to the Rockets for Jordan Hill and a 1st rounder.

[samojed]

Wow, that's such a shitty move. It's so cheap to get rid of him in a trade, after everything he's been through with that team, regardless of the fact whether the trade is good or not. I can't see Kobe approving this. NBA's such a dirty business...

[SparksALot]

Yeah, this upsets me. Why the fuck would they make that trade? The Lakers already have Dallas' first rounder, so it's not like they are missing one in the Sessions trade. I can only think it's to make another move, because if not it was totally pointless and will, as you said, piss off Kobe and certainly piss off the fans.

[samojed]

Yeah... Even if the deal made sense for the roster, it's just not the classy thing to do. The guy deserves to retire honorably, not fade out as a throwaway.

I remember how several years ago Jerry Buss invited Divac to retire as a Laker. It was a shitty season for Divac, but still a cool gesture on Buss's part that shows some values in the game. And now this...

[SparksALot]

Well the Beasley deal fell through. Basically from what I've read is that they did it so he play, because with Sessions and Blake, he would basically be on the bench for all but 5-10 minutes a game.

[Antoine3323]

I'm so stoked about the Sessions trade. AND, they managed to get rid of Walton to make it even better. I can't wait for the next Lakers game now

[SparksALot]

I was surprised to see that in games Sessions started he was averaging almost 18 points and 11 assists. He doesn't need to do near that. If he can go 12/5 a game he'll totally be worth it.

I'm kinda sad to see Luke and Fish go. It's kind of an end of an era with those two gone. Last remnants of the Shaq era, other than Kobe. Sure Fish was on other teams and all Luke did was weigh down the other end of the bench, but still.

[JGNRN]

Oden waived. Go to Phoenix, get yourself right.

Nene just got fucked hard in that trade between the Wizards, Clippers and Nuggets.

[Antoine3323]

Yea, Im bummed to see Fisher go, too. It was great while it lasted though. The Lakers couldn't afford to keep him though. He would have fallen out of the rotation for the most part

And, you're right Jgnrn, Nene got hosed...hard. I'm still not sure why Denver decided to make that move

[Batman41]

- I still don't understand Howard waiving his clause, I thinks is obvious the Magic are to restrained salary cap wise to make any big moves that he wants.

- The plus side of him waiving his clause it looks like Dallas will have a much better chance of signing Deron Williams with Dwight not in New Jersey

[JGNRN]

And what were the Nets thinking giving up the fourth pick for Gerald Wallace? Awful move.

Surprised the Warriors moved Jackson so quickly too.

[Jurkov]

The Bucks have won 4 in a row and just traded little used Stephen Jackson for Ellis and Udoh. They should be significantly better and it will be cool to see if they can beat the Warriors in Oakland tonight to extend the streak. I would love to see the Bucks keep the Knicks out of the playoffs.

I'll keep rooting for the dubs to win but losses get them closer to nabbing a top 7 pick (8th pick or lower goes to Utah) so that's a nice consolation prize.

[SparksALot]

The Warriors then turned around and swapped Jackson for Richard Jefferson. Why on Earth would the Warriors make that trade? Jackson is having a shitty season, but Jefferson is having a worse season, plus he has one of the worst contracts in the NBA. The guy is signed until 2013-14, in which he has a player option for 11 million per... The Spurs are like "Wait, you want us to take a guy having a down year, for a guy having a worse year, but who also has one more year on his contract for $11MM? Um, let me think about i..OK!!"

[Jurkov]

Here is what Steinmetz had to say about that. And I think Jackson is actually having the worse year - brutal shooting percentage.

[TimHa]

So where will Derek Fisher play?

[samojed]

OKC, apparently. Oh the irony if he goes on to win his sixth title before Kobe!

[SparksALot]

OKC, apparently. Oh the irony if he goes on to win his sixth title before Kobe!

I'd love it. Kobe will have at least a few more shots. This is Fish's last hurrah. The guy really can't play effectively anymore. He'll still be clutch as fuck in the playoffs and at the end of games, but you can't depend on him to score and handle the ball, and certainly can't depend on his D (which these days is non-existent). But! For a team as young as the Thunder he's fucking PERFECT. A calming presence immediately respected by the team who brings that championship pedigree to them. Imagine what kind of effect he can have on a guy like Westbrook in the playoffs?

The only thing that kind of sucks is he will bring a lot of insight into the Lakers game-plan if they meet in the later rounds of the playoffs. That doesn't really matter though, I don't think the Lakers would beat the Thunder anyhow. Even with Session and that other dude the Lakers are still too wildly inconsistent off the bench to beat the Thunder.

So I wish Fish all the best. If he can be the key to get the Thunder right mentally to win a championship, then I'm all for it. Especially if that means another year the Heat go without winning one.

[samojed]

Especially if that means another year the Heat go without winning one.

Word.

[crimsonmask49]

Apparently, Fisher will be in uniform for the Thunder tonight. That's pretty bad ass!

[samojed]

Durant is the clutchest player on earth. Oh well, the TWolves have tried... Massive disappointment.

[SparksALot]

Massive disappointment.

Why? It's not like anyone expected them to do anything this year. They've shown flashes of becoming a good team. T-Wolves fans should be happy. As far as playing the Thunder, well they are one of if not the best team in the league. No shame in losing to them.

Man, Ramon Sessions is turning out to be a fantastic pick-up. The guy is absolutely on fire for the Lakers, 20 points, 11 assists and 6 boards last night against the Blazers. The guy has really shown the last few games what he can do. Brown trusted him and started him and he throws down a game like this. Bynum loves playing with him too, saying how amazing the P&R is with him, and it showed with Bynum being the recipient of many of those 11 dimes scoring 28 points. If Sessions can remain consistent, this Lakers team is a lot scarier come playoff time.

This post has been edited by SparksALot: Mar 24 2012, 2:23 AM

[samojed]

Massive disappointment.

Why? It's not like anyone expected them to do anything this year. They've shown flashes of becoming a good team. T-Wolves fans should be happy. As far as playing the Thunder, well they are one of if not the best team in the league. No shame in losing to them.

It was a crazy game, man, and I felt the Wolves earned the win. They're a subpar team playing without two of their three best players against the best team in the west on their court, trailing the whole game, being down 5 with a minute and half to go and managing to tie it. Then Durant hits a three with 5 seconds to go and then Love replies with another three with a second to go. Then they were up by 5 with 46 seconds to go in the overtime. And then Durant buries another three for the second overtime...

Tough loss, to say the least, because the effort was really there. You could see Love was completely exhausted in the overtime. It was disappointing not only for the game itself, but because the win could have been a decisive impetus for them trying to stay competitive for the eighth spot. Now that hope is all but gone...