Official 2012-2013 NBA Thread

[Al Bundy]

Looks like James Harden has been To the Rockets for Jeremey Lamb, Kevin Martin and future picks. Plus... this is a general NBA thread.

[WhitiE]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

and before you say "but memphis was better without him two years ago in the playoffs blah blah"

there is also only like 4 or 5 guys left from that 2011 Memphis team. That team was DEEP and was able to make up for Rudy's injury with guys like OJ Mayo, Shane Battier, Gervis Vasquez, etc who are now all long gone

Vasquez and mayo are having pretty damn good years too

[-King-]

Westbrook comes back and they're back up 17.

[okcchief]

Sounds like KD got on him and he threw a fit. I love the little hot head, but he needs to grow past that shit.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

and before you say "but memphis was better without him two years ago in the playoffs blah blah"

there is also only like 4 or 5 guys left from that 2011 Memphis team. That team was DEEP and was able to make up for Rudy's injury with guys like OJ Mayo, Shane Battier, Gervis Vasquez, etc who are now all long gone

And this year's team will have Prince, Pondexter (out injured right now) and Ed Davis to add to the current team. Bayless gives them basically what Mayo gave them. Pondexter gives them some of what Battier gave them. Davis and Arthur improve the big rotation. We'll see about the comraderie, but I think Prince and Davis will fit in well from what I've read about them.

Rudy was getting 17 shots at 40% with bad defense.

This is a pretty good analysis of the situation :

Good analysis

[KevB]

Gasol is awesome

[-King-]

Kevin Durant is so ridiculous. He makes it look so effortless.

[okcchief]

I agree Kev. I think Memphis will be fine. Their size is what makes them such a tough matchup. Once they get Davis and Prince in and they adjust they are still someone you'd rather not draw in the playoffs.

[okcchief]

So it was Thabo and Russ this time.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by okcchief

I agree Kev. I think Memphis will be fine. Their size is what makes them such a tough matchup. Once they get Davis and Prince in and they adjust they are still someone you'd rather not draw in the playoffs.

Yep, I don't think they're more or less likely to win a ring (and I give them about 5% chance). The main reason they made the run 2 years ago was ZBo playing like one of the top 3 or 4 players in the league. He's still really good, but I don't think he ever gets back there.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by okcchief

So it was Thabo and Russ this time.

Westbrook is a nut, but they have a great mix to deal with it. Everyone else is so even keeled, so it works for them. You need someone with a little fire to keep everyone on their toes.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by KevB

And this year's team will have Prince, Pondexter (out injured right now) and Ed Davis to add to the current team. Bayless gives them basically what Mayo gave them. Pondexter gives them some of what Battier gave them. Davis and Arthur improve the big rotation. We'll see about the comraderie, but I think Prince and Davis will fit in well from what I've read about them.

Rudy was getting 17 shots at 40% with bad defense.

This is a pretty good analysis of the situation :

Good analysis

Whoever wrote that isn't particularly familiar with Toronto's situation and mid-tier playoff team is giving that Raptors core group of Lowry/DeRozan/Ross/Gay/Jonas/Amir way too much credit. Two of those guys are rookies who have proven nothing (Ross, Jonas), two of those guys are terribly inefficient wing players (DeRozan, Gay), and one of those guys is a backup 4 (Amir). In what world does that team even make the playoffs, let alone qualify as "mid-tier" which is essentially Brooklyn/Indiana/Atlanta territory? All Colangelo did was just push the rebuild the Raptors desperately need back at least two years to hype up his bullshit product again.

This analysis is right on the mark: http://wagesofwins.com/2013/01/30/ga...es-in-toronto/

To summarize:

Toronto will be significantly worse, traded away a draft pick, and added a lot of money to the team’s payroll.

Memphis will be slightly improved and will save money over both the short-term and long-term.

Detroit will be significantly improved and will save money over the long-term.

With this trade, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo has once again shown that he does not know how to evaluate basketball players. The Raptors are now paying $34.4 million to four players — Gay, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, and Linas Kleiza — who have produced a grand total of -0.6 wins so far this season. They will be paying these four players a grand total of $117.5 million over the next three years, and if we go by career averages, they will receive a paltry 9.6 wins over that time.

Colangelo is the person responsible for acquiring and deciding to pay each of these players. Bargnani –the worst starter in modern NBA history — and DeRozan have never been productive players, yet Colangelo signed them to huge contract extensions. Kleiza was a gamble that didn’t pay off. Memphis signed Gay to a max contract that he didn’t deserve, and by acquiring him through trade, Colangelo tacitly agrees with the amount of money Gay makes.

As long as Bryan Colangelo remains the GM, the Raptors will have a tough time making the playoffs. Under his leadership the team has wasted the performances of excellent players and squandered the affections of a loyal fanbase. This trade reverses a long-awaited promising upward trend in the team’s on-court fortunes. Canadian basketball fans can do nothing but hope that the Raptors’ new ownership realizes that Colangelo is the problem and replaces him when his contract expires at the end of the season.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Whoever wrote that isn't particularly familiar with Toronto's situation and mid-tier playoff team is giving that Raptors core group of Lowry/DeRozan/Ross/Gay/Jonas/Amir way too much credit. Two of those guys are rookies who have proven nothing (Ross, Jonas), two of those guys are terribly inefficient wing players (DeRozan, Gay), and one of those guys is a backup 4 (Amir). In what world does that team even make the playoffs, let alone qualify as "mid-tier" which is essentially Brooklyn/Indiana/Atlanta territory? All Colangelo did was just push the rebuild the Raptors desperately need back at least two years to hype up his bullshit product again.

I think they can be mid tier....in the East. Ross and Jonas clearly have upside and are very young. Sure, there's some question on what they will become, but good young talent. Gay and DeRozan are overpaid and not particularly efficient, but they aren't terrible players if you take the money out of the equation. Now, Landry Fields? Ummmm. Lowry can ball, but he has warts. Amir has been pretty solid when he's able to stay on the floor (foul magnet). Bargs is gone by the trade deadline I'd think, so he's not (or, shouldn't be) part of the discussion.

I agree about the vision of the GM though. He's put them in NBA hell. Not good enough to do anything note-worthy, but capped out with no flexibility for the next 2-4 years.

[okcchief]

They can get in the playoffs, but that core will never get them in championship territory. Now they have an inflated payroll and less draft picks. Not a good move for the Raptors at all.

[ImAWalkingCorpse]

Good game out in Oakland. Vince Carter got t'd up

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by okcchief

Sounds like KD got on him and he threw a fit. I love the little hot head, but he needs to grow past that shit.

He missed the open man (at least once) and was then apparently upset that someone didn't bail him out. Hopefully, he watches the film and it humbles him a bit.