Ho-Lee-crap..Durant to Warriors? Yikes.
- Thread starter litespeedhuskerfan
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Next move for OKC? Trading Westbrook to the desperate Lakers for every young decent player they've got.
At first I didn't like it, then I watched Stephen A Smith go off about what a chicken shit move this was, and then I decided it was awesome.
probably chasing one year on "greatest team of all time". something like 79-3 just to prove a point.
i hope lebron realizes 30 years from now that he basically broke the league when he decided to play free agent games.
i hope lebron realizes 30 years from now that he basically broke the league when he decided to play free agent games.
I will never understand the hate for LeBron, and to accuse him of breaking the league seems like a really weird thing to say. I say he made it better, much better, and waaaay more exciting. Going home to win a title was also freaking badass.
i never said i hated him for it -- i only said he broke the league. honestly i'm indifferent. he's fun to watch and he's very good, but i'm honestly indifferent.
it's going to become a frenzy of teams that throw the regular seasons and collect draft picks and cap room in order to sign 3 of these guys at once so they can win one title -- fully realizing that a year or two afterwards they'll move on. do you honestly think durant doesn't realize that lebron and a few other guys are going to try and create a super team next year and he gave himself the flexibility to join in (or create a competitive one of his own)? this is essentially a one-year deal in order signed in order to break records.
he could very well go back to okc next year with a bunch of friends after they clear out all their salary this year.
this system is broken -- teams don't mean anything anymore -- it's all about the top 10 or so players and who they want to play with and where.
it's going to become a frenzy of teams that throw the regular seasons and collect draft picks and cap room in order to sign 3 of these guys at once so they can win one title -- fully realizing that a year or two afterwards they'll move on. do you honestly think durant doesn't realize that lebron and a few other guys are going to try and create a super team next year and he gave himself the flexibility to join in (or create a competitive one of his own)? this is essentially a one-year deal in order signed in order to break records.
he could very well go back to okc next year with a bunch of friends after they clear out all their salary this year.
this system is broken -- teams don't mean anything anymore -- it's all about the top 10 or so players and who they want to play with and where.
Until people stop buying tickets the salaries will be what they are. Free agency aint going anywhere. The courts have seen to that.
I don't think it is about records. What does 73-9 mean now?
Durant has been in the league for 9 years, and he came close twice, but no ring. As cool as the 80s to Mid 90s NBA was with the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, Pistons, Bulls, and Rockets being the only teams to win rings, that also meant that a lot of great players didn't (Barkley, Ewing, Stockton, Malone, Wilkins, Mullin, Hardaway, Miller, etc) didn't. Today's great players know that a lack of a ring will define your career, so we will have player movement, as no one wants to be added to that list of all time greats without a ring. So KD is going to take less money, in favor of hoping to get a ring. Good luck.
I look at it this way. Basketball is the sport where one player can have the greatest impact of any of the major sports. These guys know it. So if the wealth gets spread around, and the fans in more cities get to celebrate a championship, it will keep the interest in the league going as we will keep wondering what's going to happen next year?
not terribly surprised. always thought he would move on the right opportunity. although kinda bought into him staying 1 more year. easy decision though - ready made juggernaut missing a single piece. and cali vs okla - can't argue that - the cost of living argument is nothing to him.
timing could spell total disaster for thunder. the manner in which it happened makes me think there was some bad blood somewhere with mgmt. there are almost no alternatives except to trade westbrook now, which is seemingly a bloodletting.
timing could spell total disaster for thunder. the manner in which it happened makes me think there was some bad blood somewhere with mgmt. there are almost no alternatives except to trade westbrook now, which is seemingly a bloodletting.
You're right kleit, you didn't say that, but I admit I immediately thought that's what you were saying when you said he ruined the league, but regardless of that and our opinion on this Durant thing....It sounds to me like you're still liking the NBA in the 70's, 80's & 90's more than todays game and I understand that, but this is what we got and it's never going to be like it was again, ever, but we're probably going to get the greatest team ever assembled and I'm kinda looking forward to watching it. Plus, I'll be rooting for LeBron to beat the Warriors again next year and point and say BAAHAAAHAAA. We just got a villain to root against, because when it gets down to it I prefer the old days as well, but that doesn't mean I won't get a ton of entertainment out of watching the next Finals.
Also, important to note the Celtics started this a long time ago (not LeBron), and players deserve do what their doing IMO, I say good for them.
Also, important to note the Celtics started this a long time ago (not LeBron), and players deserve do what their doing IMO, I say good for them.
That works until the players realize that chicago, new york, and los angeles give them the best marketing opportunities and it basically degenerates into those 3 cities with the occasional boston thrown in there as "Destinations" for these free agents.
the league is broken and lebron did it. i honestly don't care either way, but the fans in the other 25 or so cities will and so will the owners -- there's going to be blowback on this eventually.
salary isn't how these extreme high-end athletes make their money so "salary caps" only enforce that the bigger cities will win bidding wars
Also needs to be said : These bigger cities can partner with sponsors in their towns to give these players "salary plus" deals before they even play a game and there's not a damn thing the commish can do about it.
If you're in OKC or SAntonio, you're not going to get 50 million in endorsements in a year by basically breathing and being very good. if you're in Chicago, LA or NYC i can virtually guaruntee you you're going to get that and more if your name is durant or curry. why do you think carmelo stayed in NYC as a FA (besides being from there). if anything, i'm lowballing the numbers in those cities.
the point here is that the league has changed -- and when those teams figure it out, the rest of the league is toast. phil might get it eventually, but he's done things one way for so long who knows -- plus he's building around porzhingis. the lakers are caught up in an internal war. the clippers tried and picked the wrong horses plus their owner is a class A moron. the nets' owner isn't much better than the clippers owner (basically al davis -- lots of money, no brains). chicago might have wised up this year -- i'm not sure yet.
point with this? owners and gm's being incompetent won't last. eventually someone will realize that organization/cooperation with sponsors and wisely used cap room is what wins.
throw in that the big name FA's are calling the shots anymore and you'll see where this is headed.
If you're in OKC or SAntonio, you're not going to get 50 million in endorsements in a year by basically breathing and being very good. if you're in Chicago, LA or NYC i can virtually guaruntee you you're going to get that and more if your name is durant or curry. why do you think carmelo stayed in NYC as a FA (besides being from there). if anything, i'm lowballing the numbers in those cities.
the point here is that the league has changed -- and when those teams figure it out, the rest of the league is toast. phil might get it eventually, but he's done things one way for so long who knows -- plus he's building around porzhingis. the lakers are caught up in an internal war. the clippers tried and picked the wrong horses plus their owner is a class A moron. the nets' owner isn't much better than the clippers owner (basically al davis -- lots of money, no brains). chicago might have wised up this year -- i'm not sure yet.
point with this? owners and gm's being incompetent won't last. eventually someone will realize that organization/cooperation with sponsors and wisely used cap room is what wins.
throw in that the big name FA's are calling the shots anymore and you'll see where this is headed.
This is an aberration. This would have basically never been possible in any other year besides this one. It all had to line up perfectly, Kd being a free agent this year, golden state being able to renounce Ezeli and not retain Barnes, the cap jumping an incredible amount and Steph having a minuscule contract for someone as talented as him because he signed it right in the midst of all of his ankle issues. I don't disagree that the super team sort of thing will likely be more popular, but this will almost never be possible again. Not to mention they got klay and draymond on very reasonable extensions, especially in light of the huge cap bump.
Say that again next year when LeBron does similar things in a city of his choice and is allowed to do so because of the billion dollar nike deal. he takes less salary, teams up with his friends and rinse wash repeat.
anything's possible, but I think he made a solid point about 'stars aligning' a bit for the warriors.
sure they aligned and to a certain extent he's probably correct. and it's possible the warriors will win 75-80 games this year. i'd even call it semi-probable. in that sense, he is correct this is a one-off.
however, if your team in one of those markets, is competent and has a good marketing team they could go after 3-5 of those top free agents every year for one year deals and basically build-a-team that wins 65-70 games. all you'd have to do is go to the top 10-15 local sponsors and mutually come up with a $150-200 million package for one year to sell to these free agents as a team to "beef up" your salary offers. You bring together everything from the local laundromats to the local taxi services and use your team (and individual players) as sponsors. throw in a guy like lebron who gets a billion dollar nike deal on a national level and is willing to take less and you could keep these guys together for 3-5 years and probably win 3 titles minimum.
and winning is where the REAL money is made and everyone knows it.
i never said they'd be the "best team ever" every year, just that they'd probably win titles every other year or so -- and that "other" will probably be won by another big market team doing the exact same thing with a different set of FA's -- if they are competent.
god knows it's hard to find competent people because this isn't hard to see.
Put it another way -- carmelo, lebron, chris paul and dwayne wade have said multiple times that they want to play together.
did you think they were joking?
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...erteam-carmelo-anthony-chris-paul-dwyane-wade
what happens if kevin durant wants to make his own super team? what happens if he JOINS that team?
what happens when the next generation realizes the only way that they can compete?
did you think they were joking?
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...erteam-carmelo-anthony-chris-paul-dwyane-wade
what happens if kevin durant wants to make his own super team? what happens if he JOINS that team?
what happens when the next generation realizes the only way that they can compete?
I cannot believe Durrant went to Golden State. I hate it. Joining a team that already won a title and followed that up by winning 73 and whooping your own butt in three straight to go back to the finals? It reeks of Karl Malone's "championship" when he hopped on the Kobe & Shaq bandwagon for one year, but this one is far worse since KD is in his prime and one of the top five or six players in the league right now.
This much is certain: The Warriors may win another title, but victory will not feel as sweet.
He gave them 9 seasons. When it came down for Clay Bennett to pay to keep his team together, they shipped out James Harden. They haven't been the same since.
the top teams in this league that are serious contenders for the title wouldn't take James Harden if he agreed to play for free
the cheapskate look of the owners in the harden deal came sure home to roost when the cap space blew up. 'grady' wanted to be a star, so he probably wasn't staying anyways, but I guess we never know for sure.
other extraneous issues probably came into play.
so you think it's a level playing field? when buss steps down and Phil retires we'll be sure to find out. and I don't want it to be a welfare system, just some kinda balance. not sure if all out parity is better than league gentrification.
You think free agency is LeBron's doing? Laughable. I don't even like LeBron but this is taking hatred to a whole new level. There has been free agency for several years and players doing exactly the same thing. It's the system that was set up and exactly what a free market should be able to do.
where do you get this stuff from?
i never said that i even disliked him. if anything, i think he's doing the right thing for himself and i can admire that in the guy. i've done similar things as has virtually anyone who qualifies as an adult. he's just doing it on a larger scale.
i said lebron broke the league with his free agent antics and that teams were basically meaningless outside of a few outliers at this point (there's only one of them left, and that would be the warriors who contractually got lightning in a bottle which was mentioned previously). nothing more, nothing less. if you want to nitpick my wording then you have too much time on your hands.
change like what i'm describing doesn't happen overnight. you're going to feel the aftershocks of lebron's gaming the system for years after this and durant's contract is part of it.
or do you honestly believe anyone in their right mind would turn down a max contract if there weren't more factors involved. durant signed for one year -- showing he's starting to play the same game lebron is with teams and teammates.
no argument from me .. you would have to make that argument to him .... my impression is that he would rather be a number one, put up big numbers and lose rather than be a number 2 or 3 and win .. very similar to Carmelo Anthony
he and Dwight Howard on the same team must have been a nightmare
Kd hits 10 years of service next year, notice how all the "max" deals signed this year aren't the same amount? It's because you get a certain percentage of the cap and that increases with more years of service. The cap is going to rise again next year too, Kd would be forfeiting literally tens of millions of dollars if he signed long term. That's why he did that, not so he can hop around every year, because he understands the CBA and how to get the most money. It's why every NBA writer thought he'd do a 1+1 like he did, he'd be an idiot not to.
