NBA Season 2012-2013

[GuetaMinute]

But man pre-season doesn't start until October!




There is one major reason why I'm starting this thread this early instead of resurrecting last season's thread. You know why?

D12 COMIN' TO LA BABY. WE ALREADY WON.

Ok, just kidding, I'm not that kind of guy, but srsly, I'm pretty fucking happy. Bynum was sent to Philly. Good riddance. Pretentious lazy thug who never put any effort into playing. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's gone now. If anyone knows me by my posts in the former NBA threads, I've never really liked him.


So now the West just got a lot stronger while the East will probably continue to be dominated by the Heat, but at least there's the new Brooklyn Nets now.

[Nex]

I was surprised when I didn't see the old thread pop up in my subscriptions after the news broke. I wasn't too surprised to find a new thread here.

I think the Lakers just took some heat of the, well, Heat with this deal. It's a good think there was no "Decision" for this, even though where Howard was going to end up was just as big a discussion as Lebron.

I honestly don't believe this is going to help the Lakers that much.

That said, I voted for the Mavs, because that's my home town team, though I do believe OKC will actually win it all.

[Best Kept Secret]

You gotta be kidding me? How can they (or David Stern) agree to this stuff without dealing Bynum AND Gasol!
If I remember correctly, Chris Paul was supposed to go to LA, but other teams protested right?

[GuetaMinute]

They delt Bynum.

Bynum went to 76ers, Iggy went to Nuggets, and Magic got Afflalo, Al Harrington, Moe Harkless, and Nikola Vucevic. Did Magic get the shitty side of the deal? Sure, but I doubt they really wanted to hold Dwight any longer. They were fed up with his bs.

And yes CP3 was going to LA but Stern vetoed it, the fucking prick.

[Best Kept Secret]

Yeah I know about Bynum (sorry for the missunderstanding) but how could they keep Gasol? I would be furious if I were the Magic!

And how is it any different from Chris Paul then to Dwight now? I hate this Stern bastard.. now he probably got his dream Finals: Kobe Vs. LeBron.. but we will see what happens

[Joy Boy]

Wow,I'm really surprised.I never expected Howard to get traded to Lakers.
Gasol will be better now thanks to Nash.The Lakers got the most chances with the current rosters in the NBA.

['ko]

the Lakers are now the obvious early favorite for the championship, their roster is just scary
LA couldn't deal Gasol because of what Kobe said recently: If Pau goes, I go away too. And they managed to hit the jackpot with this trade.
If they can build any sort of chemistry, and Kobe and Dwight are able to co-exist, they're unstoppable

[Best Kept Secret]

yeah but why would Kobe go, if he had Dwight on his side?
but with Pau Gasol it's even better now..

well, I don't get it how that trade could be executed.. The Magic are in a major disadvantage now and got almost NOTHING out of the whole thing!

[Blowfish]

yeah but why would Kobe go, if he had Dwight on his side?
but with Pau Gasol it's even better now..

This is not the Kobe of old who used to run his teammates out of town if they tried to steal his spotlight [[more like take his Shots]] This Kobe only cares about winning and rings,plus He and Gasol have formed one hell of a bond since they traded for him in 08. Gasol was the only untouchable piece to Kobe ,he was the only one who Kobe could count on in the Playoffs the last three or four years ...Now I'm fully aware he disappeared in the Mavs series back in 2011 ,but to be fare his "disappearing" is dropping a solid double double.


Also FYI to those who are misinformed the Magic don't want Gasol or any other "will they or wont they make our team champions " type of players. Their intention this entire time was to rebuild. These days in the NBA every Team has fallen in love with OKC formula which is basically "lets try to build a Team from scratch ,full of young guys and hope they develop into contenders in the next 4 or 5 years" [[except the LAkers ]] which honestly maybe wishful thinking on their part but their mind state is in the right place for an organization that just lost their Center piece,no pun intended.


BTW you are a fool if you don't think the Lake Show is better.... Nash,Kobe,MWP,Gasol,Howard with Jamesion and J Hill coming off the bench. Bynum was a Bum who only showed up if he felt like it or if Kobe and the rest kissed his ass for a week,either way idk what it was but I'm glad he's outta here.

Welcome D12.

[1000sunny]

The Magic waited to trade Howard, passing up offers from the Nets and Rockets, FOR THIS!??!?!?!?! God did they get fucked in this trade. As a Nuggets fan I can honestly say I am in love with our GM who basically shed a ton of cap to get Iggy. I have no illusions that this will make us a title contender but it does make my team that much more fun. As a basketball fan though...I mean I don't know what else to say besides fuck the Lakers. They made out like bandits here.

It will be interesting to see how Kobe not only handles having Nash make the majority of the decisions of where the basketball is going (so more shots for Pau) but also how he will now be clearly the second best player on his team. Howard fits in perfectly for LA because he makes the fact that Kobe and Nash can't guard anyone irrelevant because no one will be able to get into the paint with him there. Now that being said, I can already hear the victory cries from Laker fans and while this makes their team much better, they are not better than the Thunder.

God I can't wait for the season to start...

[GuetaMinute]

They can still beat the Thunder.


#believe.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Man I still can't believe this. He looks so genuinely excited to be a Laker. Methinks he'll resign for sure.


It feels like this is all part of some master troll plan I just can't believe it haha. Holy shit.

['ko]

After THAT press conference, if he doesn't re-sign he'll show to be even worse as a person as he already did. And the bar is high, because he not only left the Magic with almost nothing, but he also made sure to tear apart the coaching staff and the management (Van Gundy, Otis Smith fired ONLY to please him) before leaving.
Now he has to show all of this drama was worthy and play big, win the title this year and re-sign for a long-term (without being a diva again!) next summer

[Blowfish]

People tend to forget just how close that series with OKC really was.....With our new line up I just don't see how we can lose to them again. Team chemistry is key.

But honestly take away a streaky underachieving Andrew Bynum and a choke artist in Roman Sessions ,replace them with 2 time MVP Steve Nash and 3 time Defensive player of the Year in Dwight freaking Howard.......oh yea AND we kept Gasol , honestly I don't see how we can't beat them.

Anything short of a title this season is a flop.

[Urouge]

How come the Thunder are the only team that uses the city name in the poll? Well, whatever. Back when the Thunder first made the playoffs like 3-4 years ago, I thought this year would be about the time their talent level would take over if they were going to. Of course, the last 2 years made me think that it not only could be sooner than that, but that it would. But I was wrong, as they lost to the Mavs and the Heat. They'll be dealing with serious free agency issues after this season with Harden and Ibaka, so the clock may be running quicker for them than people realize, but I also don't discount their chances to re-sign those guys. They're my pick this year, because youth wins.

The Lakers are definitely head turners this year, but take away Howard and the average age of that team must be around 76. This team reminds me a lot of when they added Karl Malone and Gary Payton to a roster that had already won 3 titles... and lost. It was totally inexplicable, but their achilles heel was age. These new Lakers will be old at 4 starting positions, with the 5th coming off of a serious injury. They definitely have a good shot at winning a title, but I hardly consider them to be the runaway favorites. The Lakers are like a Ferrari that has little tread left on the tires and is only running on 6 cylinders.

The Heat have to be the favorites this year. They lacked two things, size and consistent three point shooting. I don't know about size, but they added Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis for practically nothing. Those guys turned down bigger contracts just so they could play with the Heat. It's that kind of thing that makes me hate Miami. They get to play with a stacked deck. But not only that, the East is flat out weak. Howard's gone, Rose might not have his explosiveness back even in time for the playoffs next year, and the Celtics have all but had the door slammed in their faces at this point. As far as I can figure it, their only competition might come from Brooklyn (I'm just not sold on the Pacers).

Bynum went to 76ers, Iggy went to Nuggets, and Magic got Afflalo, Al Harrington, Moe Harkless, and Nikola Vucevic. Did Magic get the shitty side of the deal? Sure, but I doubt they really wanted to hold Dwight any longer. They were fed up with his bs.

The Magic also got 3 first round picks, one from each team involved in the trade. That's what made it work at all.

After THAT press conference, if he doesn't re-sign he'll show to be even worse as a person as he already did. And the bar is high, because he not only left the Magic with almost nothing, but he also made sure to tear apart the coaching staff and the management (Van Gundy, Otis Smith fired ONLY to please him) before leaving.
Now he has to show all of this drama was worthy and play big, win the title this year and re-sign for a long-term (without being a diva again!) next summer

Howard is taking way too much crap for this. He could have been like Lebron and just let his contract expire and walk in free agency already, thus leaving the Magic with literally nothing much like the Cavs got. Instead, he spent YEARS warning them that he was going to leave, and to get what they could for him while they still could. And they dicked him around. They even got him to sign a new contract in good faith to give them leverage in trade negotiations, and then just left him on the roster. He never said he'd stay if the coaching staff and management changed. The Magic just hoped that doing that would be enough to get him to sign another new contract, but he wasn't going to be that stupid a second time.

The Magic knew Howard was leaving, and they had years to find the best possible trade for him. It's not exactly fair to blame him for Orlando's inability to make a better deal for one of the best players in the entire game.

I wouldn't bet the house on Howard re-signing either. He'll look around at the end of this next season to discover that Kobe, Nash, Artest, and Gasol have grown to the ripe young age of 77 or so, while Brooklyn will be much younger and faster in comparison, and in an easier conference. And Brooklyn has always been his top choice. He'll probably have learned by then that it's easier to just leave in free agency and totally screw the team over than it is to ask for a trade and have the fans grow increasingly frustrated while it never happens. NBA teams may hate it when their best players leave in free agency, but they frequently don't really give the players any other option without making them go through hell for it.

[GuetaMinute]

I don't know, I just thought OKC sounded cooler.

The East will be dominated by the Heat again. Brooklyn will be a playoff team but they won't progress a lot. Chicago's management did literally absolute shit this offseason. Couple that with Rose's injury and the fact that he may not fully recover or have that explosiveness back and Chicago is really just a lost cause.

I don't know about Howard not resigning. He seemed ecstatic at the press conference. We all know no one is guaranteed to win in their first season after a promising roster change (Miami) and while the Lakers starting 5 are old, they still have a top 5 shooting guard (Wade, Harden and Gordon come to mind, it's not like the league is filled with great SGs) and a top 5 power forward along with the best center in the game right now. I expect Howard to fully recover and, while he may not be active as soon as the season starts, I'm sure he'll come back sooner than later.


Lol I thought this was pretty funny

[Urouge]

Brooklyn is coming out this season with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and Brook Lopez. Once they mesh they'll be plenty dangerous. Gerald Wallace is one of the very few players in the NBA that can defend Lebron straight up. I have them as the 2nd most dangerous team in the East right now, and it's not even really close. The Bulls, Celtics, and Knicks all have too many concerns right now, while the Pacers and 76ers both lack star power.

I expect Howard to be the monster that he was by the end of the season, so for this season I think the Lakers should feel pretty good. As for him being ecstatic, he may just be ecstatic that he finally got out of Orlando. And age has a funny way of dropping players off of a cliff. Nash and Artest were already old and deteriorating last year. Kobe has about as many game minutes accumulated as anyone in NBA history. Gasol can still be plenty dominant, but he was also more inconsistent than ever last year. They could absolutely put it all together and have a great season and convince Howard to stick around, and a championship is possible. They have the talent for that. But if they don't put it together, and look old, Howard may not want to stick around on a declining team that wasn't his first choice to begin with. It's a risky move.

[GuetaMinute]

The fact that you mentioned the Knicks in the same line as Bulls and Celtics is unnerving. Knicks are just lol, man.

[Urouge]

I simply put the teams with star power together. The Knicks are generally a disaster thanks to the front office, but they have star power and big money. Letting Lin get away was a horrible move for them.

[GuetaMinute]

Oh no doubt about the star power, but they obviously don't mesh well. The team is a cluster mess. I kind of feel bad for Tyson because I think he deserves to be on a much better team. Melo has been beasting in the Olympics but I seriously doubt he will play like he has been once the season starts.

Well hey, at least they got Jason Kidd..... and Raymond Felton! .....


Lol.

[Blowfish]

Aside from Jamison ,Blake ,Nash,Kobe,Gasol and Artest. The Lakers are younger than you think,Dwight Howard and our Bench are pretty young,look it up.

We just signed a back up SG named Jodie Meeks ,which means less crazy playing time for Kobe.

Also acquired Chris Duhon [[pg]] and Earl Clark [[pf]] ,who are both young up and coming role players,couple this
with Devin Ebanks and Jordon Hill [[also pretty young ]] and we have a pretty suitable bench.

Jamison no matter what drops 20.PPG even in his declining age of his career he averages that ,he's just never been on a great Team.



Either way the "youth" Thunder didn't necessarily win the championship did they? They were beaten by the third oldest Team in the League the Miami Heat. [[who just got older too , Ray Allen 36 & Rashad Lewis ,another over thirty out of shape bum]]



Steve Nash was 2nd in the NBA in Assist behind Rajon Rondo.

Kobe was 2nd in scoring.

Gasol's worse games are dropping double doubles.

Ron Ron still can defend with the best of them.

Team Chemistry and Health is my only concern. ,on paper we can beat any team in the League.