Well, lets get the maiden thread in for this forum. Been a pretty low-key summer so far in the association. We are just waiting for a huge move, which I guess will be the trading of Allen Iverson at some point.
First of all, pretty tricky by LeBrons agent getting that out after 3 years. I betcha that Anthony and Wade wish they had the same clause. Its only natural that these guys wanna win and may want to look for a better situation down the line. I had stated that I would be suprised if Wade extended his contract this offseason, but after winning it all I think he reazlizes that he could become a one-city 15 year icon down there. I personally think he will regret it in a few years with no O'Neal and no young talent around him. Carmelo must really like it out there and believe in what George Karl and ownership are doing. Good to see Bosh re-up. Thats a good sign for Canada. Its very tough to keep a guy up there of his caliber.
As for my local guy Ben signing with Chicago. Thats fine. He is 32 and frankly he may have a great year this year but his best days are behind him. He did a lot here and we loved him but he still shows bouts of immaturity at times. The thing with the East, the NBA wants it to be a stars league. You have Bosh, Howard, James and Wade in this conference. Each of those teams is good or builing well. These teams are gonna be the cream in the conference for several years. Detroit coulda overpaid Ben and maybe give it another shot next year, but with Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio out West, it was gonna be hard to bring another ring. Dumars will have to do something magical via trade next year or two to get back into contention. This years team will be top 3 in conference and with some luck could get back. I doubt it though.
Also locally, it really showed this year for a few teams about having a bench. Detroit had no injuries all year but basically just ran outta steam from not having a reliable enough bench. Billups came out in a Denver paper last week and said as much. He basically said he was so worn down that by the end of Game 6 that he was almost relieved it was over. Thats telling. Out in Phoenix, the same can be said for MVP Nash. With injuiries to Amare and Kurt the Suns just didn't have enough horses. That being said they provided some very exciting playoff basketball. Heres hoping that they get Amare healthy and them and Dallas have an epic battle next year.
As for other offseason moves, nothing too big has happened. I was kinda suprised that Tim Thomas split. That Suns style fit his lazy ass. It also showcased his immense talent. The Clippers don't run as much. We'll see how he fits in there. I figured that the Cavs would resign Drew Gooden, but so far, nothing. I was hoping thta we(DET) could land Bonzi, he's the type of creative guy we need but Dumars went with the size of Nazr instead. The Bulls are certainly stong up front. They have 2 horses in Brown and Wallace. The talent on the wings is huge. I hear that Deng frew 2 more inches. He has star potential indeed. They are gonna be good. The inside offense will be their issue though. As far as coaching. People will laugh, but Isiah is a damn solid coach. He laid the foundation for those good Pacer teams of the late nineties and on. He did all the work and Bird hated him so he got rid of him. He is a players coach but I dunno how anyone can make a living coaching a backcourt of Franchise and Starbury.
Looking quickly at this next season,heres who I may tinker with as far as futures:
I will defenetly play an Under on the Heat for Wins in regular season. I did same this year and it hit easily. With them winning it will be overvalued. They will coast and have that championship blah to them. Should be an easy play.
I will play an over on the Houston Rockets. This team, and I do think they stay healthy, has two awesome players and are in the top 5 in West IMO when healthy. Yao benefitted from Mac being out. He grew up as a player and I think its time for him to become more of a factor. McGrady will come back with something to prove. He a all the success the other youngs had last year and he still wants to be in that every year MVP race class.
For the title, no doubt in my mind a Western Team wins. You can look at the big three and maybe Clippers as that team. The big three are too strong for anyone to sneak up on them through 3 series in Western playoffs.
Thats all for now. Feel free to add your thoughts and we'll do updates as player movement happens this summer.
First of all, pretty tricky by LeBrons agent getting that out after 3 years. I betcha that Anthony and Wade wish they had the same clause. Its only natural that these guys wanna win and may want to look for a better situation down the line. I had stated that I would be suprised if Wade extended his contract this offseason, but after winning it all I think he reazlizes that he could become a one-city 15 year icon down there. I personally think he will regret it in a few years with no O'Neal and no young talent around him. Carmelo must really like it out there and believe in what George Karl and ownership are doing. Good to see Bosh re-up. Thats a good sign for Canada. Its very tough to keep a guy up there of his caliber.
As for my local guy Ben signing with Chicago. Thats fine. He is 32 and frankly he may have a great year this year but his best days are behind him. He did a lot here and we loved him but he still shows bouts of immaturity at times. The thing with the East, the NBA wants it to be a stars league. You have Bosh, Howard, James and Wade in this conference. Each of those teams is good or builing well. These teams are gonna be the cream in the conference for several years. Detroit coulda overpaid Ben and maybe give it another shot next year, but with Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio out West, it was gonna be hard to bring another ring. Dumars will have to do something magical via trade next year or two to get back into contention. This years team will be top 3 in conference and with some luck could get back. I doubt it though.
Also locally, it really showed this year for a few teams about having a bench. Detroit had no injuries all year but basically just ran outta steam from not having a reliable enough bench. Billups came out in a Denver paper last week and said as much. He basically said he was so worn down that by the end of Game 6 that he was almost relieved it was over. Thats telling. Out in Phoenix, the same can be said for MVP Nash. With injuiries to Amare and Kurt the Suns just didn't have enough horses. That being said they provided some very exciting playoff basketball. Heres hoping that they get Amare healthy and them and Dallas have an epic battle next year.
As for other offseason moves, nothing too big has happened. I was kinda suprised that Tim Thomas split. That Suns style fit his lazy ass. It also showcased his immense talent. The Clippers don't run as much. We'll see how he fits in there. I figured that the Cavs would resign Drew Gooden, but so far, nothing. I was hoping thta we(DET) could land Bonzi, he's the type of creative guy we need but Dumars went with the size of Nazr instead. The Bulls are certainly stong up front. They have 2 horses in Brown and Wallace. The talent on the wings is huge. I hear that Deng frew 2 more inches. He has star potential indeed. They are gonna be good. The inside offense will be their issue though. As far as coaching. People will laugh, but Isiah is a damn solid coach. He laid the foundation for those good Pacer teams of the late nineties and on. He did all the work and Bird hated him so he got rid of him. He is a players coach but I dunno how anyone can make a living coaching a backcourt of Franchise and Starbury.
Looking quickly at this next season,heres who I may tinker with as far as futures:
I will defenetly play an Under on the Heat for Wins in regular season. I did same this year and it hit easily. With them winning it will be overvalued. They will coast and have that championship blah to them. Should be an easy play.
I will play an over on the Houston Rockets. This team, and I do think they stay healthy, has two awesome players and are in the top 5 in West IMO when healthy. Yao benefitted from Mac being out. He grew up as a player and I think its time for him to become more of a factor. McGrady will come back with something to prove. He a all the success the other youngs had last year and he still wants to be in that every year MVP race class.
For the title, no doubt in my mind a Western Team wins. You can look at the big three and maybe Clippers as that team. The big three are too strong for anyone to sneak up on them through 3 series in Western playoffs.
Thats all for now. Feel free to add your thoughts and we'll do updates as player movement happens this summer.
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