The Perpetual NBA Thread

[zidane21]

Hanep si TD....paycut?

On the rigging of games leading up to who will appear in the finals, I wouldn't be surprised if same will be said about a Celtics-Suns finals in June 0f 2008. Superstar trio of KG/Ray/PP vs. Nash/Amare/Matrix? Not bad eh....

naku po baka malasin po!

too early to tell pa po, isa rin po kasing factor in winning a championship is roster health.

baka maka-pull off uli ng upset sila wade, grandpa shaq and miami heat! lol!

[dieselNUBI]

rockets against lakers

hindi nag laro si steve francis? baket kaya?

[Eismann]

Tagal naman ni logo pumunta sa LAL....with him comes JON too.he-he

3. So what can the Lakers do to bring a lasting peace to their season?

If they're not willing or able to deal Bryant in the short term and plan to proceed with a team that revolves around him, there's only one answer. They have to go back to one of Bryant's initial complaints during these wild five months and try to convince Jerry West to return to the organization as a consultant.

I can't pretend to know if West is prepared to accept the invitation. It's not exactly an appealing situation to step into, especially for a guy who clearly needed a break when he resigned his post in Memphis after the draft. But I've been repeatedly told that Kupchak (as well as Jackson) would welcome West in an advisory role, which tells me there's no reason for the Lakers not to try again. West's deep fondness for Kupchak and corresponding reluctance to overshadow him were always considered the biggest obstacles to luring West back, even in a part-time capacity. But West returning would actually help Kupchak's standing in town, which has to help the Lakers' chances.

Now imagine the benefits if West could be convinced to try to save the Lakers from themselves, something Magic Johnson seemed to be calling for Tuesday night on TNT when he said the club has "too many voices" in the front office and that there "should just be one voice like we used to have with Jerry West."

West's return -- even if it's just as a consigliere to Kupchak and/or Bryant -- would give a huge boost to the whole organization. Buss and Kupchak would immediately win back some support from the frustrated fans by landing The Logo … and there's no one in the sport Bryant listens to like he listens to West.

If Kobe is going to be around a while, it wouldn't hurt to have one management figure he'll embrace and respect. You figure it also wouldn't hurt to have West's input if the Lakers decide to start trying again to upgrade Bryant's supporting cast.

4. Is there any chance -- with or without West -- Kobe's discontent will fade and he'll want to stay?

That remains very, very doubtful.

It's difficult to imagine even in the dream circumstances of a reunion with the legend who drafted him. I know, I know: Kobe patched up his differences with Phil after the disparaging comments made in Jackson's book. But as one Kobe confidante noted this week: "Once his mind is made up on something, it's not like him to go back."

And that's the trait which suggests that this story is going nowhere no matter how many teams follow the Bulls, Mavericks, Rockets and Wizards by announcing that they aren't trying to trade for Bryant. If Kobe won't come out and directly recant his original trade request, you can continue to expect (a) speculation about where he might be headed to surface at any time and (b) widespread suspicion that Bryant will try to find new ways to exert pressure on the Lakers to deal when they'd clearly rather wait.

That's because Bryant doesn't have the right to return to free agency and leave the Lakers with nothing until the summer of 2009, which is why we've always maintained in this cyberspace that he can't make the Lakers deeply nervous until closer to the draft, when the wait for free agency is only a year away. So exerting pressure internally by skipping practices or games or otherwise making life difficult on the floor or behind closed doors would thus appear to be the only way Bryant can speed up that timetable.

The good news for the Lakers? He's still a dynamo even when he's seething and would have to seriously defy his nature to play less than his hardest. "Kobe kind of pouted through the first game," one Western Conference personnel man said, "and still went for 45."

[theveed]

OT:

Eismann: Pa-add sa YM mo pre

[theveed]

Is Stephon trying to be more delusional than Zero?

Marbury: We're Going To Win 82 Games
[SIZE=1]31st October, 2007 - 10:00 pm
[/SIZE]



By Buster Gunning

New York Knicks ’ point guard Stephon Marbury is excited about the 2007-08 season, so much so he is promising Big Apple-sized big things.

In a recent interview the feisty short-armed former all-star has guaranteed the city of New York 82 wins this upcoming season.

“We got a great young team here: two leviathans in Curry and Randolph who combine to weigh over 600lbs'” explained Marbury. “That is like having one 14-foot tall, 600lb center!”

It should be noted that the Knicks have continued to disappoint their fans in New York year after year not making the playoffs since 2004 and continually ending each season with a losing record and finishing near the bottom of the NBA.

To add to that, no team has ever finished the NBA’s regular season with 82 wins. Not even the Los Angeles Clippers .

“I mean it; this is the year,” added Marbury. “Isiah (Thomas) has put together a great team. We are focused; he is focused. We are free of distractions this time and so is he…kind of.

“It starts in Cleveland on Friday, and then were going to go to Minnesota, then Denver, and then we’ll go to Orlando, and Miami and then Phoenix, yeeeoooowwwww!”

Knicks' forward and fan favorite David Lee did not have much to add on the task ahead only to comment that he wouldn’t be caught dead in Manhattan wearing Marbury-brand shoes. Mr. Lee finished his statement by brandishing that winning smile that has held the city of New York held hostage since his rookie season.

[theveed]

Mop head worth it... According to this writer...

Breaking Down The Varejao Situation
[SIZE=1]Authored by Caleb Alpaugh - November 4, 2007 - 1:44 pm
[/SIZE]





For every Cleveland observer, this offseason’s biggest story was the contract negotiations (if you could call them that) for Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. The negotiations went back and forth all summer with no real ground being made at all. Both players threatened to hold out as long as it took to get contracts, and did, even when most people thought that they would sign when the season actually rolled around. This did not happen though, which left many Cavs fans in fear that the upcoming season would be a step-back from last year’s amazing season.

But Pavlovic finally broke his holdout by signing a three-year deal worth between $13 and $15 million dollars.

This was a great deal for the Cavs because they were able to get an integral part of their team back for a reasonable price. For Pavlovic, the contract is obviously not what he wanted (in my opinion, he is just as good as Matt Carroll and Jason Kapono, who both got huge contracts this offseason), but it is only for three years which means that if continues to improve he will be in line for a huge extension when he will be 26.

But now I move on to Anderson Varejao’s worth and why he should have been signed already. This offseason I have read many forum posts bashing Varejao and saying that he is only worth three- or four-million dollars a year. I am not quite sure what to say to these people because to me Varejao is worth at least seven-million dollars a year. I will breakdown why with three points.

First, just look at his numbers. In six games as a starter last year he averaged 12 points and 11.3 rebounds in 35.3 minutes of action. Giving him a deal for at least seven-million dollars a year would be a bargain in comparison to Erick Dampier, who got seven years and 73-million dollars by putting up those numbers three years ago. Obviously he is not the starter at the moment, but you have to look to the future with a player as young as Varejao which brings me to my second point.

Cavs fans need to realize that Varejao is their future starting center. He is much better in the center position for this team because it allows him to focus on defense and rebounding (His two specialties). A starting tandem of Drew Gooden and Varejao would give the Cavs a more balanced frontcourt where Gooden provides offense and Varejao provides defense.

Finally, Lebron James loves Varejao. They have a special connection with each other because they both love to win so much. The Cavs need to keep in town the players that James loves to play with because it will give James the incentive to stay. Let me point out, that I am not one of the people who think that Lebron wants to leave because I see no reason why he would want to leave (I will explain myself in another article down the road). The Cavs have already done this once by re-signing Ilgauskas when it was probably not the right move. Furthermore, what happens if Daniel Gibson wants a ton of money next offseason (His contract is up), will the Cavs give him the cold shoulder as well or will they give him the money he wants because he has a very special relationship with James.

To sum up, Varejao is worth the money he is asking for but I understand the Cavs’ not wanting to lose future cap flexibility. But if they didn’t want to do that, then they shouldn’t have signed Ilgauskas, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones to long-term contracts in the summer of 2005 and given huge money to an injury prone Larry Hughes in that same summer.

[baiskee]

Tagal naman ni logo pumunta sa LAL....with him comes JON too.he-he

o nga, kay logo makikinig si kobe. tapos sabay trade ni west si kobe eh no. hahaha.

pero para sa akin kahit wala na si JON kung di rin sya lagi makakalaro kasi lagi nasa IL. the current line up isn't that bad...role players tapos maganda naman nilalaro ng 2nd unit. magtuloy tuloy lang to gain some confidence...at healthy lang lahat. ha! contender ulit.

eto...ang luffeeeettttt!!!!




wala palang buhok sa kili-kili si AK? :lol:

[empy]

kaw talaga bai....kung saan saan napupunta yang paningin mo at kung ano ano napapansin mo :gayfight:

what a statement by Duncan...and a commitment to his organization. come to think of it, does it matter more if you get $100 million or $150 million on your contract...or does it matter more if you can get another ring or two? it's obvious where Tim's priorities are

[chain]

kaya siguro walang buhok si AK for better aerodynamics.

guess that didn't help at all 'cuz he was still blocked by Kobe. :bwahaha:

[theveed]

Charles Barkley May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It
Posted by: Kenn Ruby

I saw Charles Barkley on Pardon the Interruption the other day, and among his predictions for the upcoming season was this shocker: Cleveland will not make the playoffs this season.

To hear Sir Charles say it, last year’s Eastern Conference champ was very nearly a seventh seed, and they did nothing to improve their team in the offseason. I’m not sure where Barkley gets his information, but Cleveland finished as the #2 seed in the East, and wasn’t in any danger of finishing below #5. Still, he has a good point.

Obviously, LeBron James is an elite talent and in any conversation about the best players in the world, but is he enough to lead the Cavaliers to glory? His 45 carried the team tonight against the Knicks, but you can’t count on that every night.

He has a few solid teammates in the frontcourt (Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas), and an emerging Daniel Gibson (though I’m not convinced yet) manning the point, but otherwise it's a team full of role players.

Cleveland signed Sasha Pavlovic today, and super-sub Anderson Varejao may not be far behind, but these aren’t earth-shattering signings. Meanwhile, Toronto, New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, Washington, and Orlando could all be improved enough to pass Cleveland in the standings, and it would not be a shock to see Atlanta and Charlotte greatly improved as well.

Cleveland should make the playoffs this year, but it’s just not the forgone conclusion that we might have though back in June when they made it to the finals. If the Cleveland management thinks they can coast along and be contenders every year just because they have King James, they need to pay close attention to the Kobe Bryant situation in Los Angeles. If they’re not careful, the best player to ever put on a Cavalier uniform could want out in a few years.

++++++
Cleveland, just like Miami... a one-star fluke IMO hehehe