Random NBA Discussion 2013-14 Season

[benji]

What do you expect from someone taken that low in the draft?

[SoF'nAwesome]

All #1 draft picks have potential for greatness. In some cases like Bennett, they take time to show or just don't click throughout their career.

Who would have thought that Oden just playing basketball would be an achievement for him?

[benji]

All #1 draft picks have potential for greatness. In some cases like Bennetr, they take time to show or just don't click throughout their career.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Yes, you can always say he is not special. The other draft picks below him are playing better than him throughout this whole season.

But I'm sure there was a reason he was the #1 pick. That reason just hasn't just been brought to light by Bennett.

[NovU]

Did anyone see last night's Celtics game? The refs helped Celtics' bid to land Wiggins but was fucked up. The Celtics should have won the game.

[bowdown]

Aldridge and Lillard both made the All-star team.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... r-Reserves

[Andrew]

Well-deserved.

[kevin02]

Time for the Cavs to blow things up.

Keep:
Dion Waiters
Matthew Dellevedova
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Anthony Bennett

Remove:
Everyone Else

[SoF'nAwesome]

Suns beat Pacers to give them their 2nd loss at home this season.

Dragic makes a point that he is also a snub when it comes to the All-Star game.

[stereoxide]

Knicks win with a nice game from JR Bricks and a career high for Hardaway Jr. If only they are consistent night in and night out Knicks might actually turn things around.

[Andrew]

Time for the Cavs to blow things up.

Keep:
Dion Waiters
Matthew Dellevedova
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Anthony Bennett

Remove:
Everyone Else

You'd keep those guys over Kyrie Irving?

[stereoxide]

Well rumors are swirling that Kyrie wants out of Cleveland. Can't blame the guy he was hoping for a good team but many of their offseason moves failed.

[shadowgrin]

Bitch should play a full season first before he can whine about the team.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Cheap shot, shadowgrin.

[kevin02]

Time for the Cavs to blow things up.

Keep:
Dion Waiters
Matthew Dellevedova
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Anthony Bennett

Remove:
Everyone Else

You'd keep those guys over Kyrie Irving?

Yeah, the general feeling towards Kyrie among Cavs fans isn't too good right now. Basically I listed any player that I don't think has been completely corrupted by our 3 years of tanking. Our GM called out the player's effort and lack of heart a few days ago and we responded by letting the Knicks do literally anything they wanted (On our one TNT game of the year). Kyrie says all the right things in interviews which makes it hard to dislike him but he is just on a completely different planet than the rest of the team and its been that way all season.

I admit I've calmed down a little since last night but the idea of starting over doesn't seem like the worst possible thing that could happen.

[Andrew]

I'd still want to try to build around Kyrie ahead of Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters.

But hey, if Kyrie is on the table...
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=olbdrwc

[NovU]

Irving should be kept solely for his potential. CLE has hard time keeping real talent around and has always sucked at signing big time free agent. It'd be a huge letdown to lose Irving though his development has been minimal(if not none). It's unfortunate to hear about the rumour that his close acquaintance said he wants out of CLE.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... draft.html
Over past three seasons, the Cavs had
- 2 first overall picks
- 2 fourth overall picks
- 6 first rounders in total

Deng trade made them slightly better but is never going to be a game changer. Now that they're destined to sign him to $15 mil/year contract, I can see where the frustration stems from. Irving's development halted. Waiters panned out to be a typical inefficient gunner. Tristan Thompson does poor man's double double at his best. Varejao is well over 30 and never healthy. Bennett might become the worst #1 pick ever without no serious health issue. All this when it was supposed to be a winning season. Both the players and management are extremely frustrated.

They just need to find a way to keep Irving and some of cores happy. Losing will continue with this roster unless Irving/Tristan develops, Deng finds his rhythm back, Varejao stays healthy, Waiters plays average. So might as well relax and bet on rich 2014 draft pool.

[PepsiWithCoke]

lol

[Andrew]

Fair call, I say. As many mistakes as he's made, he's also done a lot of great things for the league during his tenure.

Meanwhile, Durant is lighting it up again. 22 points at the half on 8/9 shooting, with some of them being ridiculous shots. Gotta imagine he's going to extend that 30 point streak to thirteen.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Sadly not. Durant with 26 points today on 10/12 shooting. His streak was halted in the 12th.

But, it's only a matter of time before he breaks the Kobe streak.

[benji]

I'd still want to try to build around Kyrie ahead of Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters.

But hey, if Kyrie is on the table...
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=olbdrwc

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=l6feghj

[Stress Fracture]

Don't want to waste forum database space in making another thread.

Bowling man goes to Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers announced Saturday they have signed free agent center Andrew Bynum to a contract for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, no terms were released.
................

“We are obviously happy to have him join our team,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He gives us added size, he is a skilled big man and he has championship experience. With the minutes he gets, he should be a valuable addition.”
...............

“It really wasn’t a hard decision, I think it’s the right fit for me and, in all honesty, I think we’ve got the best chance of winning,” said Bynum. “It will be great to back up Roy and I’ll do whatever I can to help this team.”

[stereoxide]

Then he loses interest and goes bowling again. Atleast he has now a team that can fund his hobby. In other news the Nets had 17 team rebounds against the Thunder. Is this the NBA low in rebounds? Found out that it is.

[kevin02]

I'd still want to try to build around Kyrie ahead of Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters.

But hey, if Kyrie is on the table...
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=olbdrwc

Trust me, I'm smart enough to realize building around Waiters and Bennett isn't an option. My point was it's becoming really easy to question whether Kyrie has what it takes to be the best player on a contending team. The talent is their no question, but his attitude on the court has been a problem for awhile now. Lack of talent around him is no longer a viable excuse. After watching the Phoenix Suns hold us to 6 points in the 3rd quarter, it's clear our problems go far beyond talent.

Our system is a mess and Jarrett Jack and Deng are a perfect example of this. Jack was one of the best backup guards in the league last year and Deng was a borderline all-star. However, ever since they joined us neither has been anywhere close to where they have played in the past. The talent is their but the system to thrive in is not. Part of the blame obviously goes on Mike Brown because he appears to have completely lost the respect of his players but a lot of the blame is on Kyrie's shoulders as well. Aside from watching every PG in the league blow by him on defense he has simply become more and more of a ball hog, especially at the end of the game. The team is not going to win games with Kyrie coasting through the first 3 quarters and then shooting us out of the game in the 4th.

I could keep going on about the mess of a situation the team is in but there is way too much to try and cover. The frustrating thing is, fans around the league who aren't able to watch us on a nightly basis assume that all the blame must be on the players and management around Kyrie as they are only familiar with the All-Star game version of him. I don't dislike Kyrie necessarily but if he doesn't change his attitude and attempt to become a team player than he will become nothing more than a poor man's version of Carmelo Anthony.

All of our local reporters are continuously stating how much of a mess our locker room is right now which is where the desire for a trade comes in. The idea of trading away young talent because Kyrie doesn't get along with them (Dion Waiters in particular) just seems like LeBron all over again minus the best player in the league part. This upcoming draft is full of talent, so trading Kyrie for another lottery pick (on top of our own), if we could pull that off, definitely should at least be considered, especially if he has truly given up on a career in Cleveland.

The one positive of this situation is that the Cavs front office is in complete control of Kyrie regardless of if he wants out or not. Kyrie would have to be an idiot to leave in free agency especially if he becomes eligible for the Derrick Rose level extension. Not only would he make less money on a max-level contract from another team but he would be forced to sign a one year qualifying offer with us before he could become an unrestricted free agent. This is obviously risky because one injury could kill his chances of ever getting a max deal. On top of this if he does decline an extension with us we will no doubt trade him rather than let him walk away in free agency. Basically at the very least it won't be The Decision part 2.

As for that trade proposal, I'm not sure the Cavs would be okay with that.

[_Steve_]

Surprising move by the Pacers.