NBA PERMANENT Off Season Thread

[Splaya]

Congrats to Dirk and J Terry. Gonna be a long summer if the lockout holds

[OssMan]

Thanks for your take

[RP]

Pretty sure the Pacers will trade for Josh Smith

[RP]

Also draft either Jimmer or Marshon Brooks

[Krimzon7]

Lot of Heat hating...the Media is fueling one hell of a monster by all of the prodding. Wouldn't be surprised if Miami went 80-2 next year!

[Crimson]

Kevin Love for Gasol trade rumor around here...not straight up but I guess Portland would be involved somehow.

[DaveWadding]

:rofl: I think David Kahn is stupid, but not even he is THAT stupid.

Lakers fans are delusional. ""Orlando and Minnesota are going to trade us their best players. Why? Cause we're the Lakers, that's why!"

[Nark Order]

Looks like The Kings are either going to draft Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight. Neither one of those guys are likely to set the world on fire right off the bat or anything but both gentlemen are fairly solid.

Kemba Walker is the only lad in in UConn history to have his number retired while still an active student. What a studly addition he'd be.

[Nark Order]

And fuck the Lakers. I hate how they feel that they're entitled to all of this talent simply because they're the Lakers. When Dwight became free, Lakers fans just assumed that they were entitled to him. I hope Kahn (as much of a son of a bitch as he is) comes to his senses and doesn't trade Kevin Love. At least not to the fucking Lakers.

[mhirn3]

I honestly believe if the Bulls can find themselves a solid 2/3 guy who can shoot jumpers off of kickouts and average about 15 a game they'll be damn near unstoppable.

I believe honestly that the Heat HAD to win this year because everyone else knows what it'll take to stop them now and can acquire it during the offseason(with no lockout happening of course).

[Crimson]

:rofl: I think David Kahn is stupid, but not even he is THAT stupid.

Lakers fans are delusional. ""Orlando and Minnesota are going to trade us their best players. Why? Cause we're the Lakers, that's why!"

I agree haha even some of the local radio guys are like " Who will Miami acquire to compete against the Lakers in the finals next year" freaking idiots

[RP]

With the potential of Paul George being a superstar, I would trade Granger for Love easily.

[mhirn3]

:rofl: I think David Kahn is stupid, but not even he is THAT stupid.




Shh, don't give him credit, he'll hear you and do something beyond dumb.....er than normal

[Gertner]

If Jimmer Fredette isn't a member of my Utah Jazz I'll be shocked. He's white and he's mormon. Taylor made for this team.

[Emperor Smeat]

If they don't take him at #3, then most likely they could do a trade with the Knicks since the Knicks really want him as their pick and he wants to play in New York more than Utah according to the ESPN interview today.

I think only Sacramento has shown interest in picking him at #7 before the Jazz pick again at #12 and the Knicks at #17.

Meanwhile I have little confidence in Ainge doing anything good in the draft after last few years he's drafted players and just let them go or trade them before they even had a year with the team. I think only 1 player post-2007 Draft managed to stay on the team (not counting Jeff Greene) even though the team really needs the youth and depth.

[Hanso Amore]

Jimmer is going to be a monumental waste of a pick.

[Hanso Amore]

I am hoping the kings take kemba. I think he an Tyreke can mae an elite back court for years.

[Gertner]

Jazz are gonna take Knight at 3 and hopefully Singleton drops to 12.

[Juan]

Lamar Odom for Andre Iguodala?

http://www.shrani.si/f/R/UX/2nRPjLnA/iguodalalakers.jpg

[OssMan]

John wall for Ron Artest

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Hearing the echo of the announcers makes me think they are being played over the louspeaker. And they are all like "lol there are no superstars in thsi draft". Would be hilarious if the players can hear them.</font>

[OssMan]

he watches the nba draft

[OssMan]

If the wizards take kyle singler i'm gonna smacka bitch

[Emperor Smeat]

Williams would have been the better pick at #1 than Irving for the Cavs considering the money they are spending for the #1 pick and Williams has a better college resume to work with than Irving's 10 games.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>LOL the diabetes commercial labeled Chris Dudley as an "NBA Legend"</font>

[Emperor Smeat]

Jazz and Knicks lost out on Jimmer Fredette as the Kings (picked by the Bucks) took him at #10.

Knicks really wanted him with him being either #1 or #2 on their draft chart. They were rumored to be planning a trade with the Jazz had the Kings not taken him.

[ClockShot]

King Kemba goes to the Bobcats I see. Talk about Deja Vu for Uconn all over again.

I really, REALLY hope he doesn't turn out to be Emeka Okafor and fall off the face of the planet.

[Crimson]

lmao @ Knicks pick reaction

[Crimson]

Is Isiah Thomas making those picks again?

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Who the fuck is Iman Shumpert? Walsh is sticking it to the Knicks on the way out.</font>

[Nervous Ferret]

Chris Singleton :'(

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The Rockets just drafted a European player who won't come to the NBA for another 4 years. The fuck?</font>

[Evil Vito]

http://twitter.com/#!/carmeloanthony/status/84067480682758144

<font color=goldenrod>That was posted as soon as the Knicks picked. He mad.</font>

[Gertner]

Fucking Utah. Kanter. Just wonderful. This team has no guards and can't play defense and they take Kanter at 3, when they already have Favors, Jefferson, Okur and Millsap. Fuck I'm pissed.

[Emperor Smeat]

Not a bad pick by the Celtics pick of Marshon Brooks (Providence College) since it adds some depth and potential scoring/assists as help for Rondo. Questionable defensive skills but nothing KG or Doc can't fix by teaching him the Celtics style of defense.

Still predicting Ainge will somehow find a way to release or trade him before the season is over like every other draft pick last few years.

EDIT: I f**king new it, Ainge just traded away the pick to the Nets. At least the Celtics gained a potentially good big man for depth and extra pick for next year's draft.

[OssMan]

Thank you DETROIT PISTONS for drafting Birdman 1 spot before the wizards.

[Skippord]

psyched about the Nuggets pick, even though I've forgotten how to spell his name already

[Droford]

John wall for Ron Artest

Anytime you can trade for World Peace you think you'd do it but..no

[FearedSanctity]

Looks like the Nugs realized how fucking terrible they are at rebounding

[FearedSanctity]

Welcome to Denver, Chukwudiebere Maduabum

[RP]

Boston Boilermakers

[RP]

Boston should sign Brian Cardinal and trade for Brad Miller.

[Skippord]

Welcome to Denver, Chukwudiebere Maduabum
I will be calling him Chewbacca

[SammyG]

Metta World Peace

[OssMan]

Yo SammyG I kept meaning to tell you this. There is this one girl in my math class who is pretty hot, but she looks just like Reymon14. It is so crazy. Like she is mad "sexy" but when I look at her face I can't help but laughing and stuff because of the resemblance. She even has a shaded upper lip to match his pre-pubescent mustache.

[RP]

I hope Boston signs Carl Landry.

[Nark Order]

I'm going to make friends with Jimmer Fredette. We are going to drink milkshakes together. I love him so much.

[Juan]

Kings putting together a nice squad on paper. They got John Solomons on draft day and traded Omri Casspi earlier today for JJ Hickson.

[Emperor Smeat]

NBA will forgo the final couple of hours and start the lockout with the biggest issue being the owners requesting money back from the players and both sides are too far apart on money-related stuff to even consider rushing to meet the deadline.

Unlike the last time the NBA had a lockout, the owners are very divided with the biggest split being the hard cap vs soft cap/luxury tax, the idea of only big markets get Big Threes, and revenue sharing.

Also unlike the NFLPA boss taking the symbolic $1 pay, the NBA's players union boss refused to reduce his $2 million per year to the symbolic range. He did mention that the players have to take cuts and save their money.

[ClockShot]

1 year ago today, "The Decision" aired on ESPN. Ah, memories.

The talk this week seems to be players looking to Europe to play until the lookout is over. Deron Williams got a deal in place to go play in Turkey, Sonny Weems signed with a team in Lithuania.

Reports are going around saying Yao Ming might be hanging up his sneakers after 9 season. Kinda sucks if it's true. The man had so much potential, but just kept getting hurt.

[Hanso Amore]

Yao and Jay Williams. Number 1 and 2 draft picks. Both were supposed to change the game. Neither ever lived up due to injuries. Sad.

[SammyG]

Fuck this lockout

[Aguakate]

...I guess it's true...there will be no NBA this year...

...no one is thinking about the NBA...:?:

[Emperor Smeat]

ESPN and a few other places believe it is going to take almost 2 months for the players and owners to even have a basis for the new CBA or a middle ground for money sharing to work with.

Right now the players are willing to give up the Summer leagues and a few other financial concessions while rejecting the owners pressuring the players to take a 17% cut in revenue sharing from 57% to 40%. Besides the huge cut, the owners are not guaranteeing that extra money would be spent on team spending or medical/retired pensions like with the NFL.

The last offer by the players was to give up $700 million but the owners want $1 billion given up as a start.

[Juan]

http://www.nba.com/magic/cohen_feature_081611.html

[McLegend]

What were the Celtics thinking from 1950-1968?

[Juan]

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XUeOkokfIxg?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Kobe scored 45 points, including the game winner, at the Drew League earlier this week.

Looks like Kobe is adding the Dirk Nowitzki one legged fadeaway to his repertoire

[The Naitch]

I bet The Lakers finish 8th place in the West this year

[Juan]

I'll take that bet

[SammyG]

Me too.

[RP]

Id like to take that bet, what are we betting.

[RP]

I bet the Lakers finish top five

[Juan]

I'll say top 3

[SammyG]

Happy Birthday Mamba!!

[Juan]

Javaris Crittenton charged with murder in Atlanta

[Juan]

http://www.lakersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/JavarisWantedPoster.jpg

[SammyG]

lol J Critt :(

[RP]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oroTNe6krYc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Juan]

Training camp and part of pre-season have been canceled. These assholes better get their shit together soon.

[SammyG]

Yeah.. fuck.

[Innovator]

NEW YORK -- Nets part-owner Jay-Z will open the team's new Brooklyn arena by performing there next September.

The hip-hop mogul said at a news conference Monday across the street from the construction site that he will perform "one, two, maybe three" times at the Barclays Center. Dates haven't been set.

Jay-Z also made it official that the club will be called the Brooklyn Nets. The franchise is scheduled to move from New Jersey for the 2012-13 season.

[MoFo]

Lets go Cavs

[Emperor Smeat]

Training camp and part of pre-season have been canceled. These assholes better get their shit together soon.

Forgot who said it on ESPN but they predicted in order to save most of the season, a deal has to be done in under 2 weeks or else they lose everything up until December/January.

If no deal is reached before mid-January, then it is almost impossible to have a 50-game season with playoffs occurring on time even if they crammed in the schedule.

Also a lot of the blame is going on the superstar players for bolting during negotiations leaving a weaker union who doesn't want a hard cap because it affects them more than the star players. To be fair, every other major sport except NFL has other leagues the players can go if the season is stopped but in the NHL and MLB's case, the stars didn't leave until after the season was cancelled.

[Juan]

Apparently there is a "big" meeting scheduled for this Friday, where several "superstar" players are set to attend. They said they will meet all weekend if they have to, so hopefully they iron something out.

[Champion of Europa]

Ron Artest just tweeted "yay lock out over"

I hope he isnt joking

[Champion of Europa]

He was joking. Fuck.

[SammyG]

I'm a huge Virtous Bologna fan

[RoXer]

VVVIIIIIIIIIRRRTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOUUUUSSSSSSSSS BBBBOOOOOOOLLLLLLOOOOOOOGGGNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SSHHHHOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[RP]

KOBBBBBEEEE!

[Emperor Smeat]

Last attempt to meet one more time before Monday's deadline ends in a failure with the NBA preparing to start cancelling games now.

The owners seem to be at fault by putting a 50-50 share as the requirements for any meeting (down 7% from current 57% share). NBA Players Union said the demand came too late due to the time needed to discuss and vote on the stipulations before Sunday's planned meeting.

[Juan]

No agreement. First 2 weeks of the regular season have been canceled

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>This is just stupid.</font>

[RP]

Breaking News

I don't care NBA. Cancel them all.

[Emperor Smeat]

The owners seem to be at more fault for not actually having a real plan or debate and just wanted another meeting for nothing. The Players Union doesn't want any form of a real hard cap if it only means to reduce player salaries or drop its 57% share and not any real changes in how the owners created the mess with horrible contracts.

Now the next real deadline is January because if no deal is done by mid-January, its impossible to pull a 1998/1999 and have a 50 game season with regular playoffs.

Edit: Its actually an even bigger mess since the Players agreed to an immediate 4-5% share drop to get to 52-53% as a way to keep the talks going on but according to ESPN the owners then demanded another drop to 46-47% even though they previously said a 50-50 share would make them happy.

[Aguakate]

As Billy Gunn would say, "They're no-good motherfuckers".

[CSL]

new jerseys that might not be seen for a while yet for anyone interested

http://s1.proxy03.twitpic.com/photos/large/417044617.jpg
http://s1.proxy03.twitpic.com/photos/large/417044356.jpg
http://s1.proxy03.twitpic.com/photos/large/417053721.jpg
http://s1.proxy03.twitpic.com/photos/large/417054455.jpg
http://s1.proxy05.twitpic.com/photos/large/417055282.jpg

[MoFo]

I like the Raptors one.

I want this gameeee.

[OssMan]

Yes !

[Emperor Smeat]

Why is Memphis wearing the Seattle Sonic colors?

That Jazz all-green jersey isn't completely new because they tend to wear those during St. Patrick's day along with Chicago.

[Gertner]

This is unfortunate. My Jazz were gonna win it this year.

[Aguakate]

Why do the Toronto Raptors have cammo uniforms?

[DaveBrawl]

So you don't see their shameful play.

[The Macrem]

Sad day for baseball.

[Aguakate]

So you don't see their shameful play.

Oh snap! LOL

[SammyG]

No NBA is seriously crushing me.

[OssMan]

Will miss watching John Wall dougie his way to the court for one year but it's another year that James LeBron doesn't win an NBA championship

[SammyG]

Very true, buddy.

[screech]

Will miss watching John Wall dougie his way to the court for one year but it's another year that James LeBron doesn't win an NBA championship

Always good to look at the bright side.

[Emperor Smeat]

Based on some sources Bill Simmons has with his recent NBA article, Billy Hunter screwed up badly for the players in the recent meeting (the one with Kobe, KG, Pierce) and knows he can't get anything better than the 50-50 deal the owners teased but were not serious in offering.

A small percentage of players realized he goofed up badly and because Hunter doesn't want to risk getting fired as the union's rep ($2.5 million yearly salary), he has no choice but to continue trying to get a deal that won't be as good in the end than the 1st potential deal.

That might have been the reason why a few players left the last meeting early.

[Gertner]

Not missing the NBA whatsoever. NHL, MLB playoffs, NFL and NCAA football more than fill the void.

[Juan]

k

[SammyG]

Adam Morrison put up 30!

[Buzzkill]

Had a dream last night that Pops Mensa-Bonsu was my bartender

[Champion of Europa]

Significant progress made on system issues. Meeting again today. Things seem positive for once.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>And talks have broken off once again. Games cancelled through November 30th.</font>

[Juan]

Fuck

[Emperor Smeat]

:wtf: David Stern was actually expecting to have all 82 games played even though everyone knew once the preseason/training camps arrived that it would be impossible if no deal was done.

According to Stern the real difference is only about $100 million per year (50-50 vs 52-48 split) while Hunter is saying Stern pulled a bait & switch with demands of 47% for players and then back to 50% once the talks collapsed.

Suppossedly the 4-5% drop the players already agreed to erased 66% of the yearly losses the NBA was complaining about.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to a group of owners, the feeling is the talks are heading towards a bigger "disaster" than anything actually being done.

So far the players are bickering and starting to splinter off with talks of a potential decertification while Billy Hunter (probably gets fired once the lockout ends) and Derek Fisher are forcing the players to stand united. The star players are refusing any more concessions that would lower their salary/power while the other players are starting to get really angry at loosing a lot should the stars take over the talks.

On the owners side, the usual split involving the salary cap is growing along with more owners either hating David Stern or want the 50-50 dropped in favor of 47% for the players share (Jordan is in this group).

The courts are also reluctant to get involved after the negative public opinion gained from dealing with the NFL lockout on both sides.

[Aguakate]

Probably a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway.

In the event of the entire season being cancelled, would this year count on players' contracts?

For example, if I signed a 3 year deal before last season (2010-2011), would this take a year off my contract or would I go into next season (2012-2013) still with 2 years left?

[MoFo]

I hope teh Cavs players accept the pay cut and get declared champions by default

[McLegend]

It would take a year off your contract.

[Emperor Smeat]

It appears all talks have broken down with a flat rejection by the players union of all the deals from the owners. 72-game season won't be possible nor anything done before maybe the final December deadline to save the season.

Players union also filling a class-action lawsuit against the owners due to the owners wanting the players to give up a lot in concessions while not getting a "fair" deal.

As of now in terms of money, the players have agreed to give up $1.1 billion for the new deal (50-50 split) and about 2/3 of what the owners claimed were losses from the players per year ($300 million).

[Dragon]

Can't imagine theres any chance at a season now.

[Aguakate]

The 1998-1999 Season started in February of '99 due to the lockout, so I'm sure there will be some games played, even if it's a very shortened season.

[Buzzkill]

The owners have no intention of seeing this season play out...

I have a feeling the NBA is about to go the way of hockey. Sports are just like TV shows, and when there's a massive break like this people stop caring about the storylines. Look at how many shows failed due to the writers' strike...seems no different.

Expect the playoffs to be on the Versus network a year and a half from now.

[Dragon]

And it couldn't have come at a worse time. It seemed like last season brought a lot of casual fans back to the game. Especially around here with the Knicks. Can forget about all those fans if this drags on for a while, which seems likely.

[SammyG]

very heartbroken right now.

[Buzzkill]

And it couldn't have come at a worse time. It seemed like last season brought a lot of casual fans back to the game. Especially around here with the Knicks. Can forget about all those fans if this drags on for a while, which seems likely.

Yup, definitely the best the NBA has been in 15 years. Even with the Blazers self-destructing, I was more excited for this season than any other I can remember..

[FearedSanctity]

http://cdn.wl.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/NBA-Network-650x375.jpg

[weather vane]

To be fair, Teen Wolf is fucking sick!

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Feel gutted for the people who work in the arenas and the nearby businesses that profited heavily on game nights. They are the ones who really got fucked by this.</font>

[Aguakate]

Very true. They're not millionaires like the players and owners. They actually have to work.

[ClockShot]

All games up to December 15th are gone.

[ddpBANG]

<font color=goldenrod>Feel gutted for the people who work in the arenas ... They are the ones who really got fucked by this.</font>

I'm one of those people. This is the second time in just over a year that sports has totally fucked up my income. :-\

[screech]

Just when I was starting to get into the NBA.

I read yesterday that the players were trying to disband the union or something. Any truth to that or did I read wrong (skimmed the headlines)?

[Gertner]

I'm getting the feeling at least in my area that people really don't care that it's gone right now.

[Aguakate]

And Major League Baseball is about to finalize a new CBA without any fuss. They learned their lesson after 1994.

The NBA, not so much.

[Emperor Smeat]

Just when I was starting to get into the NBA.

I read yesterday that the players were trying to disband the union or something. Any truth to that or did I read wrong (skimmed the headlines)?

According to ESPN, they are not really going to completely decertify like the NFL players did but will do all the legal and court stuff to get a "fair" deal done.

Because the NBA players union half-assed a lot of the planning, it would take 45-90 days to disband unlike the NFL which did it within a couple of days. They also didn't get any paperwork done ahead of time unlike the NFL's union which spent 2 years to prepare for a potential decertification and had all the paperwork ready well before it was used.

[Juan]

NBA lockout is over. 66 game season forthcoming...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nba-players-owners-reach-tentative-agreement-nba-lockout-article-1.982838

[FearedSanctity]

BOOOOO, was enjoying the extended break from fucking annoying Spurs fans

[owenbrown]

BOOOOO, was enjoying the extended break from fucking annoying Lakers fans like SammyG

Fixed

[OssMan]

noooooo

[Aguakate]

<font color=goldenrod>Feel gutted for the people who work in the arenas and the nearby businesses that profited heavily on game nights. They are the ones who really got fucked by this.</font>

These are the people I feel happy for. Fuck the players and owners, they're millionaires.

Also, it's just like LeBron's luck that the Heat will win the NBA Championship, and people will STILL criticize them because "they did it in a 66 game season, not 82".

[RP]

Can't wait to see Pacers. Roy Hibbert has been putting in serious work .

[Aguakate]

Did any NBA player actually play a game in Europe during the lockout?

[MoFo]

Deron Williams is playing in Turkey, think he may have to stay there till March IIRC

FUCKIN COME ON CAVS

[Skippord]

JR Smith blew out his knee in China a couple days ago

[DaveBrawl]

Did any NBA player actually play a game in Europe during the lockout?

Andrei Kirilenko was playing with a team in Moscow and ended up breaking his nose and suffered a concussion.

[Aguakate]

Damn. Apparently playing in Europe wasn't such a good idea.

[Buzzkill]

Not gonna believe this til it actually goes thru. Been let down too many times

[Emperor Smeat]

ESPN had the list of all the real winners and losers of the new deal with one of the biggies being while the owner of the Lakers was a "winner", Lakers fans become the "losers" due to the strict luxury tax rules which could end their historical dominance in the West.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/32302/the-winners-and-losers-of-a-new-cba

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Can't wait to see Pacers. Roy Hibbert has been putting in serious work .

<img src="http://www.anvari.org/db/cols/The_Simpsons_Characters_Picture_Gallery/Julius_Hibbert.png" id="il_fi" height="367" width="367" style="padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; ">

[Gertner]

Jazz in 2012

[SammyG]

itbegins

[Droford]

somebody better go start up the TPWW Fantasy league so I can 3 peat

[RP]

Celts and Pacers talking Rondo deal. Hornets and CP3 might be involved.

[Juan]

I heard the Celts are trying to sign and trade Big Baby too

[Emperor Smeat]

Well at least this is a good sign basketball is back considering Ainge can't go over half a year without doing some sort of stupid trade (or even attempt to do one).

Chris Paul also said he would reject any contract extension if he's dealt to the Celtics which would make it even worse by getting rid of Rondo for nothing after the season.

[Juan]

Chris Paul and Dwight Howard want to be Lakers

[MoFo]

when are teh fixtures announced

[DaveWadding]

somebody better go start up the TPWW Fantasy league so I can 3 peat

Done. No 3peats though.

[Juan]

How does it work? (I've never done fantasy sports)

I might join

[Juan]

http://www.lakersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Dwight-Howard-Lakers-238x300.jpg

[Buzzkill]

That picture makes me want to vomit all over you

[Dragon]

Chris Paul's agent says he won't be signing an extension and says he's asked to be traded to the Knicks. Didn't take long. Kind of wish his agent would have waited until the players-owners agreement was final before saying something like this. Doesn't really help the whole small market-big market thing.

Anyway, I have no idea how the Knicks could even do this without totally screwing the Hornets. They really have no valuable pieces anymore after getting Carmelo. The only deal they could do is something like Billups, Fields, Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert. Also, since the NBA has control of the Hornets I think there almost no chance he's getting dealt to NY.

[DaveWadding]

How does it work? (I've never done fantasy sports)

I might join

you draft players with fake money then whatever stats they get in a given game counts for you playing against someone else's fake team. Whoever has the most points at the end of a week wins. Then the playoffs and all that.

[SammyG]

auction drafts= gay

[Nark Order]

http://media.tekked.com/turntablelab/banners/atw7dl.gif

[Juan]

http://distilleryimage5.instagram.com/7e6861a61fd711e19896123138142014_7.jpg

[RP]

Nene

[FearedSanctity]

And half the Nuggets roster is in China. Fuck the NBA

[Gertner]

I'm preying to God that the Jazz get their shit together and at least make this year interesting. Okur will probably be dealt by seasons end since his contract is expiring. Having a front court of Millsap, Kanter, Favors, Jefferson and Okur is solid, but our guards are terrible.

[SammyG]

I want CP3, not D12.

[Gertner]

You're not getting either because the Lakers are old and washed up. Nobody wants your garbage.

[owenbrown]

this

[Juan]

Yeah, everyone must be dying to play in Utah lol

[Juan]

Anywho, I don't know how I feel about this

NBA teams can't sign free agents until Friday, but the Lakers met with Kapono and were close to a deal for one or two years and about $1.3 million annually.

The Lakers would sign Kapono for a minimum veteran's salary and wouldn't have to dip into their main free-agent tool -- a three-year, $9.4-million contract known as the mini mid-level exception.

Could use the shooting, I guess.

[Shisen Kopf]

My team is gonna suck ass this year. Lawrence Frank? What a garbage coach for the Pistons to get. He's gonna suffer the same fate as Anne Frank as the Pistons gonna get gassed alot this year. Or was that Helen Keller? Whatever, Oklahoma gonna win it all this year.

[RP]

I have a ton of hope in the Pacers this year. I need them until baseball season.

[Gertner]

Yeah, everyone must be dying to play in Utah lol

Jazz are gonna get Dr. J and Walt Frazier. There, I can make claims that don't have a chance in hell of happening either.

[Juan]

I don't actually think the Lakers are gonna get both, but the GM said yesterday that he's open to trading anyone on the team (besides Kobe) to make the team better, so I think they have a good chance at getting one of them.

[Juan]

It is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers would like to trade for Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, but sources with knowledge of the situation says the Lakers actually have something greater in mind: acquiring both players.

Hoping to pull off a pair of blockbuster moves that would rock the NBA, the Lakers are willing to trade anyone on their roster outside of Kobe Bryant to bring Howard and Paul to Los Angeles, two sources said.

Whether the Lakers are able to make it happen remains to be seen, but with stars Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on the roster, they have the talent and the financial capacity to make the trades work.

The Lakers have had cursory discussions with New Orleans about Paul within the past few days. It is not clear whether they have spoken with Orlando.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would not comment when asked about the Lakers' intentions to trade for both superstars, but in addressing general trade rumors surrounding his team, he gave the company line, saying the Lakers are happy with their current squad.

"This time of year, there are a lot of rumors going around," Kupchak said in a telephone conversation. "I'm aware of them and I'm not going to comment. Our comments have been pretty consistent -- this group can contend, so we'll just play it out. Nothing is about to happen. It's much too early in the season.

"We don't even have a collective bargaining agreement to refer to."

While Paul's first choice is to join buddies Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire on the New York Knicks, he would sign a long-term contract to stay with the Lakers, according to a source with knowledge of Paul's thinking. And Howard's fondness for Los Angeles is well-known, leaving no doubt that he would commit to the Lakers long-term.

Sources say Paul and Howard have had several conversations with each other about the possibility of playing together on various teams.

Several trade combinations would work for the Lakers. For instance, they could send Gasol to New Orleans for Paul, and Bynum to Orlando for Howard. If the Lakers threw Odom into the trade to Orlando, they could sweeten the offer for the Magic by taking back the contract of Hedo Turkoglu.

"The Lakers are interested in trying to do something for both (Paul and Howard)," a Western Conference executive said. "I would hate to see it happen. I want Howard to stay in the East and Paul to go to the East.

[RP]

Lakers are not getting both those guys so lets put an end to that talk.

[Juan]

I don't actually think the Lakers are gonna get both

[Juan]

They WANT both, but the odds of that happening are slim

[RP]

Maybe one, but 0 odds at getting both.

[SammyG]

even if we COULD get both, I wouldn't wanna trade LO, Bynum AND Pau. Way too much to lose.

[Gertner]

They aren't even gonna get 1. No young team wants a soon to be over the hill Gasol or Lamar, and Bynum isn't exactly great.

[SammyG]

Pau's only 31... He's got 4 years left. He ain't over the hill, just cuz he had a bad playoffs last year doesn't mean he's over the hill. He's the best PF in the game, still, in my book.

[Gertner]

So why would a re-building team take on a 31 year old forward?

[Emperor Smeat]

The trade or deals wouldn't make any sense considering one of the key arguments made by the owners for the lockout was to prevent smaller market teams from getting gutted just to form a few superstar teams and a stronger cap penalty to prevent the richer teams from just buying their way out of the cap.

Chris Paul won't be leaving the Hornets any time soon because the NBA still needs him there in order to sell the team to a potential future owner. You take him away and the NBA might as well just fold (or move) the team since it no longer has any value in New Orleans.

[Dragon]

If they don't move him the team will have even less value when he leaves in FA and they don't get any pieces back.

[Splaya]

And the Pistons signed Tayshaun Prince to a four year 27 million dollar deal

[Dragon]

Knicks apparently in the lead to get Tyson Chandler. Means they'd have to trade or amnesty Billups.

Also hearing they could try and trade Amare for Paul if this goes down. That'd probably be a good basketball move but damn that'd be a scumbag move after Amare got the ball rolling for the Knicks in signing here when noone else would.

[SammyG]

COME ON COME ON COME ON CP3 TO LA IS SO CLOSE!!!!

[Evil Vito]

lol Greg Oden gets $8.9 million

[Dragon]

Sounds like a deal is close to send Paul to the Lakers for Bynum and Odom.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Done deal. Paul is a Laker.

Fuck. So much for Dream Team: NY Version</font> :(

[Dragon]

Guess its Odom and Gasol going instead.

And the same day the CBA that Fisher's been working for gets ratified he loses his job.

[Emperor Smeat]

Well I was wrong about Paul but wow the Lakers get another scorer but lost out on size for both defense and rebounding in the deal.

[alvarado52]

Yeah, definitely split on this move.

[Nark Order]

Absolutely fucking hate the Lakers.

[Triple Naitch]

Huge day for Los Angeles sports.

[owenbrown]

Absolutely fucking hate the Lakers.

[Triple Naitch]

Still room for Howard. Bynum and some draft picks.

[Crimson]

They can still ship Bynum for Howard . If they can't pull off a Howard trade the Lakers will get eatenn alive in the front court..Bynum is unreliable too many injuries

[Buzzkill]

All bias aside, I don't really see the Lakers getting much better from this trade...They just gave away their only reliable big men (both of whom complemented Kobe really well) for a ball dominating point guard. Kobe doesn't need anybody to create for him...don't think he would want that either.

Unless they're able to swing a reliable and skilled 4, I almost see this as a downgrade.

[SammyG]

lol cp3. k, now we need a 4.

[Nark Order]

The Hornets are owned by the NBA and they give away the best point guard in the NBA to the biggest market in the league for scrap metal. Shocking.

[FearedSanctity]

lol NBA apparently trying to cancel the trade

[FearedSanctity]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
The NBA has killed the proposed deal to send Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell Yahoo! Sports

lolololololol

[SammyG]

oh shut up. Whoever says this is a lopsided deal is a fucking moron. We lost the best PF in the game and the most versatile big in the game. This is a very even trade, if New Orleans didn't benefit from it.

[SammyG]

wait what? it's cancelled? lololo

[FearedSanctity]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
The NBA has caved to pressure from owners that the appearance of this deal, on heels of lockout, had to be stopped, sources tell Y! Sports.

[Crimson]

I suppose they want him dealt to the Knicks for a 3rd round draft pick

[Crimson]

Im not a Laker fan but its bullshit if it gets cancelled

[SammyG]

you have got to be shitting me, owners.

[FearedSanctity]

CP3 Chris Paul
WoW
5 minutes ago

[DaveWadding]

http://i39.tinypic.com/2zzjpzb.jpg

[FearedSanctity]

I guess it makes sense. The Hornets are league owned. If the owners don't want him to be traded to the Lakers, why should he be? But by this logic, he better not go to the Knicks either, or any other team that would be stacked by adding him

[Juan]

Damn

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>LOL</font>

[DaveWadding]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OagFIQMs1tw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Triple Naitch]

Theyll probably re-work the deal.

[SammyG]

CP3 better fucking stay in NO if he doesn't get dealt to us.

[Crimson]

I guess it makes sense. The Hornets are league owned. If the owners don't want him to be traded to the Lakers, why should he be? But by this logic, he better not go to the Knicks either, or any other team that would be stacked by adding him

I wana know how it got leaked to begin with, that it was basically done. GM doesn't let the owners know beforehand I assume:|

[Emperor Smeat]

Sources said that a group of NBA owners, assembled in New York for the ratification of the league's new labor pact with the players, protested vigorously that the league-owned Hornets were trading Paul to the star-studded Lakers and convinced NBA commissioner David Stern to intervene.

"The deal is off," one source told ESPN.com.

Sounds like the other owners didn't even know a deal was in place until they met together to approve the new CBA and made sure Stern didn't just approve it like he did years ago with the Lakers-Grizzles lopsided trade.

Rockets might just try to make a deal without LA's help since the Hornets really want the players Houston offered but didn't really want Gasol from the Lakers.

[SammyG]

Uh yeah, this isn't a lopsided trade at all though. Even if you're a Laker hater you gotta acknowledge this is horseshit.

[FearedSanctity]

Uh yeah, this isn't a lopsided trade at all though. Even if you're a Laker hater you gotta acknowledge this is horseshit.

Doesn't really matter if it was lopsided. Paul was their star, whoever they brought in wasn't going to put asses in the seats more than him. The fact this trade even got as far as it did without consulting the owners is pathetic on Stern's part

[Triple Naitch]

Nobody is putting asses in the seats in New Orleans. That's why they don't have an owner.

[Buzzkill]

Yeah, not sure why people are saying this is so lopsided. Pau and Odom for CP3 seems very reasonable, especially considering he's gonna be leaving NO soon anyways. (And I'm a Laker Hater)

[DaveWadding]

Nobody is putting asses in the seats in New Orleans. That's why they don't have an owner.

They should get Tim Tebow to play point guard.

[Triple Naitch]

Would be phenomenal.

[Juan]

Sounds like the Lakers played a part in putting the deal on hold. They want a big man to end up on the Lakers along with Paul in the 3-team deal

[Triple Naitch]

Sounds like the Lakers played a part in putting the deal on hold. They want a big man to end up on the Lakers along with Paul in the 3-team deal

Dwight Howard

[Juan]

Plus, the verbiage on ESPN makes it seem like the deal is on hold, not completely dead.

[Juan]

"Chris Paul isn't a Laker ... yet. A source says the proposed three-team trade with New Orleans and Houston, which includes Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, won't be done Thursday."

[Nark Order]

LOL. THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

How is this not absolutely fucking hilarious to everybody?

[Nark Order]

Irony: Somebody finally stops unfair trade involving Gasol.

lol

[Buzzkill]

This is the most ridiculous thing ever. Wow. Every single trade from now on is going to be questioned.

[FearedSanctity]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
"The owners half-pushed this through, and Stern took it the rest of the way," a league source involved in nixed trade told Y! Sports.

(More) "In the end, David didn’t like that the players were dictating where they wanted to go," source says.

League source on killed deal: "...(Stern) wasn't going to let Chris Paul dictate where he wanted to go."

[Tyguy]

"Chris Paul isn't a Laker ... yet. A source says the proposed three-team trade with New Orleans and Houston, which includes Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, won't be done Thursday."
I could break this whole thing down with facts, but I think I will settle it like this.

Fuck you Juan.

[Juan]

ok...?

brb gonna go check who's sock this is

[Gertner]

I'm sure Kobe will rape Stern into pushing this through.

[Aguakate]

I'm sure Kobe will rape Stern into pushing this through.

Literally.

IN THE ASS.

You know how Kobe gets down.

[RoXer]

welcome back

[Nark Order]

Aquakate officially out of retirement. Mark it. What a historic day.

[FearedSanctity]

Breaking it down for everyone who already got it

[Nark Order]

Who's going to bring the balloons?

[Aguakate]

This is what the Heat need. To get the opportunity to win the Championship in 16 less games than a regular season, and then have the Lakers pair Kobe with Chris Paul, and possibly Dwight Howard, and see THEM win it all.

[Gertner]

Couldn't resist a rape joke

[Nark Order]

I don't like how the Lakers feel that they are entitled to every amazing player on the planet.

[Aguakate]

Couldn't resist a rape joke

You had to VICIOUSLY stick one in there, didnt you?

Get it?

VICIOUSLY stick it one there?

Rape?


Thank you.

[Shisen Kopf]

NBA is fake

[Gertner]

lol can't believe the Pistons re-signed Prince for 4 years.

[Aguakate]

I don't like how the Lakers feel that they are entitled to every amazing player on the planet.

I wonder if the deal had gone through had the Angels NOT signed Albert Pujols to that mega-deal today (srs).

Some will be like "What does THAT have to do with THIS?" But it MAY have had an effect on the owners from other teams going like "Whoa, Los Angeles can't keep getting stronger".

[Juan]

I don't like how the Lakers feel that they are entitled to every amazing player on the planet.

lol

It really has nothing to do with that. Do you realize that the NBA has probably changed forever with what happened tonight?

I know you're a Laker hater, so your judgment is clouded, but David Stern has set a dangerous precedent with what he did.

What happened should outrage any NBA fan. You just don't see that because it's the Lakers and it's easier to be like "lol Lakers" than to understand what really happened.

[Gertner]

chris Paul should go to Utah for Memo Okur. I'd feel right about that deal.

[Aguakate]

I don't like how the Lakers feel that they are entitled to every amazing player on the planet.

Wait, wasn't this Miami?

I don't get it.

:shifty:

[Juan]

If you think Laker fans are the only ones that are outraged at what happened, then you really don't know what you're talking about.