Not sure if there are any NBA fans in here, but interested in hearing opinions on the current NBA offseason. Interesting to see how the luxury tax is deeply affecting most if not all of the teams. Now everyone has to spend like Donald Sterling Speaking of the Donald, he's got some tough decisions to make. He already screwed up getting Andre Miller, and he's utterly overloaded in the frontcourt, and he has to resign his free agents, something he's not done in the past. Also hoping the Kings (my fav team) can sign Bibby for the max, and they are also looking possibly at getting Keon Clark. Want to hear other people talk some NBA too!
I guess living out here, I have become a Celtics fan by default (they are always on tv, radio, etc so its easy to follow). I still can't believe they made that trade for Baker. Has to be the worst off-season move, especially since they got rid of Kenny Anderson and don't really have anyone to replace him. Last weekend I went to a few of the Shaws Summer League games (3 games for $10, can't beat that). Richard Jefferson was probably the best player in the league, but had already gone home. Stephen Jackson of the Spurs (formerly the Nets) impressed me, and I think was the best player on the day. I got to see Jeffries, Dixon and Kwame Brown all play for the Wizards. They used Jeffries a lot to handle the ball up the court. I have no doubt Juan Dixon will be a big time contributor this season, he looked great in the game I saw.
The bigger question is, if the Celtics are going to use Baker (with his contract, he BETTER be a major contributor)... do you really think Walker and Pierce are gonna be happy sharing the ball with Baker, who went completely to hell a couple of years ago and got fat?
I stopped watching the NBA after the Knicks traded away my beloved hero, Patrick Ewing. I might be only one of a handful of Knick fans that didn't like this move, but look at the team now. You can't use that argument that the Knicks are better without Ewing cuz right now, they absolutely suck. Houston to $100 mil contract? Are you friggin nuts?!?!?!?! The guy is sh!t. He was better when he was on Detroit. He isn't clutch (and don't count that lucky bouncer against Miami in 99) and he isn't a leader. He just plain sucks. But the biggest problem is Scotty Layden. Good for nothing piece of sh!t. I could maybe justify the Ewing trade if they got Glen Rich AND Vin Baker, as was the original deal, but that fell through. So he settle JUST for Rice? IDIOT!!!!!!! Plus we traded Rice for 2 more guards who suck. Can we be any more crowded in the G and F positions? Of course we're without a decent PG and a true C. Marcus Camby is far from a true center. He'd show signs of it sometimes but that's when the other team had no center either. Camby is frail and he sucks too. God, of course Garden management would never allow the Knicks to go through a rebuilding process since that would mean no playoffs and no extra revenue. But it's ok to put an overpriced bunch of mediocre veterans not making the playoffs. Idiots.
Houston is just part of the problem that the NBA currently faces. Houston got a "max" contract without really deserving it. You are right, in that he really isn't a leader. He's nothing more than a glorified shooter, nothing more. Knicks fans have seen just how "improved" the Knicks have been since Houston arrived on the scene. There are very FEW teams in the Eastern Conference who have "true" centers who can dominate at their position. Camby, in essence, is a power forward. Camby's problem is that he is injury prone, when he's "ON", he can be a terrific defensive presence. Shame he never developed a true offensive game. Imagine a worse job than being the Knicks GM. You CANNOT ever just "rebuild", merely "reload". It doesn't help when they draft poorly, and then try to "build" the team with poor fitting parts.
I'm assuming you are a Rockets fan, and I have heard that they are now a dark horse in the running to get Lewis. I keep hearing Dallas is trying to get him, but where the heck will he get decent PT and playing time on that team, considering Nash, Finley, and Nowitzki command the majority of the shots for the Mavs? Cuban has really lost it trying to add him considering the wealth of talent he ALREADY has. Regardless, Seattle is really gonna get screwed here. They have their future "star" on their roster right now and won't resign him. Shame.
No, I'm a Mavericks fan. We have no board banger- our only weak spot. Lewis will fill that. We don't need him to shoot.
However, Rashard DOES want to shoot. He averaged nearly 17 ppg last year. And while he did grab 7 boards a game, he is not truly a "rebounder". He plays the 2 or 3 spot and can board from there, but I'm not sure if you could consider him a "rebounding savior" for the Mavs. However, they already have Finley who can play the 2. They also have Van Exel on the bench who can play the 2 spot who needs 20 plus minutes a game, and Finley can swing to the 3 spot. The move COULD work out for the Mavs, if Rashard isn't terribly concerned about sharing the ball with Nash, Finley, and Nowitzki. Those 3 are the primary options in their offense. The Mavs need a better low post defensive and offensive presence to go to the next level, IMO.
They need a center who can actually play defense. Bradley, while being 7'6", obviously isn't enough of a defensive presence to get off the bench in most Mavs games. LaFrentz is more of a "weak side" shotblocker and not really a true defensive post presence. I thought I DID hear a rumor that they might be going after the Michael Olowokandi, which would be a very big improvement and would make them SERIOUS contenders to the Lakers next year. Then again, they DID resign LaFrentz and if they sign the Candy Man, they will have some serious PT probs to resolve.... I actually hope the Mavs can improve. I like their style of play; I'm becoming a big Steve Nash fan. Of course, I'm still down with my Sacramento Kings
The problem with the Mavs is that they're strictly a perimeter team. Just shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. They're lucky they have such talented shooters or they'd be in trouble. If they can get a decent center, that'd help em a lot so they can actually post up more and score down low. One of the biggest problems for the Mavs I see is their shot selection. They tend to rush things and take stupid shots. God knows how many times I yelled at Nash for just firing away once he got behind that 3 point arc. Just a bit more patience and I think they'll be much better. Gotta love Mike Finley too. MARK CUBAN RULES ALL!!!! As for the Knicks, well what can you really say? Layden might've actually made a presence for once and did something worthy of praise. Trading for Antonio McD was huge. Hope Spree will be ok not having his best friend on the team. Still, I say fire Layden, make Spike Lee the GM, trade for Ewing back, get Starks, Mason, and the rest of the 94 team and we're set. Niiiiice! (yes, even Charles "I can't make a lay up" Smith)
That is why they were rumored to be involved in the Michael Olowokandi bidding if he does not sign with the Clippers, b/c he while he might STILL be a project, he is still an actual PRESENCE in the middle and would definitely upgrade the Mavs. The Mavs style of play does not lend itself actually to success. In the playoffs you DO need to play actual defense. While the Mavericks are fun to watch, their inability to play consistent defense will always undermine them.
Trading for McDyess is quite a gamble considering his recent injury problems. A BIG risk for Layden to take. The Knicks have some interesting days ahead of them yet, as the Spree trade rumors are still running about (Milwaukee being a possible choice) and the possibility that the Knicks may pursue Keon Clark now, and playing a Clark-McDyess-Thomas front line, with Houston-Ward in the backcourt.
I don't know about all the other nonsense you guys are writing about, but the Detroit Pistons will be the team to beat in the East. They have made strong offseason moves thus far, drafting Tayshon Prince (Kentucky), signing Chauncey Billups as a free agent, and bringing in Mehmet Okor the Turkish big man scoring machine. All three of these guys are scorers, which is what the Pistons lacked in the playoffs against the Celtics. The Nets were/are a fluke and Boston downgraded themselves with a silly trade. Pistons are back, baby!