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NBA Offseason 2017 |OT| Only Big Ballers™ Allowed *please pay $495 to be a Big Baller

Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie

Member
Hydrus said:
He ain't gonna go to the Clippers. Why finish your career with an aging cp3 ( if he stays ) with little man syndrome and a shit organization like the clips. Go to the storied Lakers franchise with a young core, PG, and go down as one of the Laker greats, with all the power and control he wants.
Click to expand...

Will he go down as a Lakers great though? I'm not questioning Lebron as he is now, but at some point in the near future he will decline even if just a little bit. Plus he probably knows by now he ain't touching Jordan so even his drive could take a hit.

Guess I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if he retired next year.
 
S

SwipeLeftHoney

Banned
Hydrus said:
He ain't gonna go to the Clippers. Why finish your career with an aging cp3 ( if he stays ) with little man syndrome and a shit organization like the clips. Go to the storied Lakers franchise with a young core, PG, and go down as one of the Laker greats, with all the power and control he wants.
Click to expand...

The Clippers brought Jerry West over with the soul purpose of bringing Lebron over to them after next season. Better pre-order your Lebron Clipper jerseys now...
 
F

Fjordson

Member
Cornbread78 said:
I really don't blame this one on Gilbert. This one sounds like it's all on LeBron and Gilbert seeing the writing on the wall for next season...
Click to expand...
But that writing on the wall exists because of Gilbert imo.

NBA media and people around the league have always insinuated that Lebron has never had much trust in Gilbert since he originally left. When Gilbert publicly called Lebron a coward and a bad influence and didn't apologize for it until it was clear it'd help him get Lebron back. And that Lebron's return was basically in spite of Gilbert. Maybe if Gilbert hadn't acted in such an embarrassing manner Lebron would be on a longer deal in Cleveland and wouldn't be looking to leave. And that's all before mentioning the strange firing of a good GM who supposedly had support from Lebron and was right in the middle of working on a big trade.

Of course this is assuming there's merit behind all the rumors of Lebron leaving. Maybe they're bogus and he stays. But if these reports about a "volatile situation" are true and Lebron does leave I think Gilbert's past actions have a lot to do with it.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Lionel Richie said:
Will he go down as a Lakers great though? I'm not questioning Lebron as he is now, but at some point in the near future he will decline even if just a little bit. Plus he probably knows by now he ain't touching Jordan so even his drive could take a hit.

Guess I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if he retired next year.
Click to expand...

Wilt became a Laker late in his career and is still considered a Laker great and has his number retired.
 
D

DragonSword

Banned
#NuggetsGAF here


not going to lie, these past few days have been insane


Does GAF normally do a draft night thread or does it stay to this off season one?
 
M

mjp2417

Banned
SwipeLeftHoney said:
The dude was asking for a bigger raise and more power within the organization. All the dude did was raise the teams payroll dramatically to add these players. Any GM can do that if the owner is willing to take the hit.
Click to expand...

I mean sure, if you ignore the whole presiding over the best 3 year stretch in the franchise's history by an order of magnitude thing, then I guess most of what he did was just raise payroll.
 
Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
Wilt became a Laker late in his career and is still considered a Laker great and has his number retired.
Click to expand...

That's true, but he joined the Lakers after his 9th year in the league. Lebron is going into his 15th year next year in a much more physical league. No body should be able to endure that abuse.
 
Cre8

Cre8

You want a shot at the champ? [NG gif winner July 23]
Good luck for any teams getting LeBron next year. He may gave you 2 or 3 yrs of winning team and back to a lottery team for the next 5yrs when he leave or retire......
 
P

phanphare

Banned
do the cavs even make the playoffs without Lebron?

seriously, they were 22nd in the NBA in defensive efficiency with Lebron. what happens without him? dead last? how many points do they need to put up to keep up with opposing offenses? can they put up those points with just kyrie and love without Lebron? never mind how well Lebron created looks for his teammates.
 
C

Cybit

FGC Waterboy
Cornbread78 said:
I really don't blame this one on Gilbert. This one sounds like it's all on LeBron and Gilbert seeing the writing on the wall for next season...
Click to expand...

I do - Gilbert won't ante up like the GSW owners will, and LeBron is seeing that.

LionPride said:
Well knowing that his mom and wife didn't want him back in Cleveland, then the fact he may feel like his input was not given any thought in regards to David Griffin and Gilbert being a dick by blocking any attempts at teams like the Bucks or Hawks or Magic getting him as a GM and then releasing him from his contract after those positions were basically filled...

I wouldn't wanna be there either
Click to expand...

This too - I think Gilbert screwing over Griffin might have been the last straw for LeBron. Everything Gilbert is doing screams "we're done competing for titles". Couple that with the GSW owners apparently being willing to pay over a billion dollars the next 4 years to keep their team together, and LeBron has every right to be like "I'm finding an owner who is willing to do the same thing". If you cap player salaries; this is the kind of stuff you open yourself up to as an owner. Players will take matters into their own hands. Plus, if you're LeBron, the owners deliberately fucked your superteam in the 2011 CBA (they added the luxury tax to deliberately fuck the Heat), and then when GSW does it, they refuse to do anything about it in the 2017 CBA (they could have increased the penalties on the luxury tax more, changed how the Bird rule works, have a hard cap, or remove player max salaries and add a hard cap). At that point, LeBron's gotta be fairly pissed about the situation.
 
C

Cybit

FGC Waterboy
Hrm, Houston looking to dump Ryan Anderson, Patrick Beverley, and Lou Williams to go after CP3 / major FA.

If I were Phi / BKN, I'd take on one of those salaries for a top 10 protected 1st rounder plus a second rounder.

Phi gets 2019 1st rounder, Ryan Anderson, and Patrick Beverley, Houston gets protected 2nd rd pick.

BKN gets 2018 2nd round pick, 2021 1st rd pick (top 10 protected) and Lou Williams, Houston gets protected 2nd rd pick.
 
RedAssedApe

RedAssedApe

Banned
Fun facts.

After unveiling a three-point shot last season, Lopez is now uniquely suited for Walton's spread-floor system, while he also promises to protect the rim. (He made 134 threes in 2016-17; Russell, by comparison, hit 135). Lopez, 29, is from North Hollywood and is a Southern California kid just like Ball and George. Part of the vision of Johnson and Pelinka is to maximize that local angle, so perhaps Lopez winds up staying for less money or does well enough to give the Lakers another asset.
Click to expand...

Can't wait to see Dwight chucking threes lol
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
LionPride said:
That's a fucking insult to Jaylen
Click to expand...
Jaylen has a proper shooting form. You can refine him to get his % up and so far the Celtics have.

Jackson shoots from his hip, his shot is a hot mess on it's best day and he doesn't have the length to compensate for that at the NBA level.
 
S

silver.tongue

Member
Safe draft bets for tomorrow:

Phi: Fultz
Lal: Ball
Bos: Tatum
Pho: Jackson
Sac: Fox

I think this top5 is set... the rest is muddy...

Orl: Monk, Isaac
Min: Isaac, Markannen
Knicks: Smith, Monk
Mavs: smith, Markanen
Sac: Kennard, Z Collins
 
Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie

Member
Cybit said:
At that point, LeBron's gotta be fairly pissed about the situation.
Click to expand...

I don't understand, why is he pissed? The 2011 CBA changes isn't what fucked over the Heat, health would have done the same job. Lebron didn't get fucked by the system or shit like, it's the contrary in fact, he expanded his own title window twice by shifting teams prior to their decline after they were forced to max the living shit out of their cap and it looks like he will do it again. He's not somehow a victim here.
 
S

SwipeLeftHoney

Banned
Lionel Richie said:
I don't understand, why is he pissed? The 2011 CBA changes isn't what fucked over the Heat, health would have done the same job. Lebron didn't get fucked by the system or shit like, it's the contrary in fact, he expanded his own title window twice by shifting teams prior to their decline after they were forced to max the living shit out of their cap and it looks like he will do it again. He's not somehow a victim here.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. If anything he's exploited the system for his own gain. Now other players are catching on and trying to do the same.
 
B

Boogs31

Member
Fjordson said:
But that writing on the wall exists because of Gilbert imo.

NBA media and people around the league have always insinuated that Lebron has never had much trust in Gilbert since he originally left. When Gilbert publicly called Lebron a coward and a bad influence and didn't apologize for it until it was clear it'd help him get Lebron back. And that Lebron's return was basically in spite of Gilbert. Maybe if Gilbert hadn't acted in such an embarrassing manner Lebron would be on a longer deal in Cleveland and wouldn't be looking to leave. And that's all before mentioning the strange firing of a good GM who supposedly had support from Lebron and was right in the middle of working on a big trade.

Of course this is assuming there's merit behind all the rumors of Lebron leaving. Maybe they're bogus and he stays. But if these reports about a "volatile situation" are true and Lebron does leave I think Gilbert's past actions have a lot to do with it.
Click to expand...

Let's stop pretending LeBron makes his decisions on what team he's on based on anything other than having as much talent as possible to add to his collection of rings. If by next year the Cavs are his best option to beat the Warriors, he'll stay in Cleveland. If they aren't, he'll leave. It's that simple.

He came back to Cleveland despite Gilbert's past actions. It wasn't because he had forgiven him, it was because he could play with Kyrie and Love.
 
B

Boogs31

Member
Cybit said:
I do - Gilbert won't ante up like the GSW owners will, and LeBron is seeing that.
Click to expand...

You clearly haven't been paying attention for the last three years then. The Cavs have had the highest salary in the history of the NBA for the majority of the time LeBron has been there. The Warriors have barely been over the salary cap yet. If the Warriors end up paying Curry and Durant max contracts as well as giving Iguadala big money, and do that for several seasons, only then will they be approaching what Gilbert has done.

And what evidence is there that Gilbert isn't willing to pay the tax again? Yes, he let go of his GM, but that's not a player and has nothing to do with the salary cap. He clearly wants to save money in other areas, and you can criticize him all you want to for not valuing a general manager, but he has yet to show any evidence that he won't still pay big money for the players on the floor.
 
B

Boogs31

Member
silver.tongue said:
Safe draft bets for tomorrow:

Phi: Fultz
Lal: Ball
Bos: Tatum
Pho: Jackson
Sac: Fox

I think this top5 is set... the rest is muddy...

Orl: Monk, Isaac
Min: Isaac, Markannen
Knicks: Smith, Monk
Mavs: smith, Markanen
Sac: Kennard, Z Collins
Click to expand...

I think Sacramento should take Isaac at 5. I know they need a point guard but they should still be able to get a solid one at 10 if one of Smith, Monk or Ntilikina are still on the board. If they draft Fox at 5, there won't be any solid wings left at 10.
 
V

VeeP

Member
Hasn't Gilbert done pretty much what Lebron wanted? Like 95% of the time? Between coaches, players, contracts, etc. Aren't they paying a luxury tax as well?
 
R

ratcliffja

Member
VeeP said:
Hasn't Gilbert done pretty much what Lebron wanted? Like 95% of the time? Between coaches, players, contracts, etc. Aren't they paying a luxury tax as well?
Click to expand...

Letting go of Griffin was a big issue. Many saw Griffin as a huge reason why they were able to assemble a team that finally got the Cavs a ring.
 
V

VeeP

Member
ratcliffja said:
Letting go of Griffin was a big issue. Many saw Griffin as a huge reason why they were able to assemble a team that finally got the Cavs a ring.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you. But it seems to me that 90% of the time Lebron get's his way. The owner is paying a shitload of money, paying for contracts Lebron wants, maybe even firing coaches Lebron doesn't like. And Lebron is the engine of the Cavs, it makes sense that the team should be built around him.

But after firing Griffin Lebron is gonna say fuck Cleveland I'm out of here? And people are gonna use the "it's the owners fault" excuse? I disagree.

The team pretty much did everything Lebron asked for. This year it wasn't enough. Players were paid too much and did too little.
 
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