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[B.O.O.M]

LOL!

lmao delusional as hell

Whiteside is apparently leaning towards Dallas or Miami. Expecting a quick decision.

Good-Bye T-Jones of Houston. I liked you, but not when you regressed this season.

Fuck :S really wanted him on the Blazers

 

[my name is ed]

LOL!

Amazing. They really think star players should kneel down and kiss their hands because reasons huh

 

[Kickz]

Dallas also looking at Batum, would not be bad in tandem with Whiteside.

Charlotte Hornets small forward Nicolas Batum is expected to meet with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency, a league source told ESPN. The Mavs are exploring options to replace small forward Chandler Parsons, who sources say is expected to leave in free agency with Dallas declining to offer him a maximum contract and prioritizing other targets.
– via ESPN.com

 

[LyleLanley]

Both the Knicks and Pelicans are interested in Evan Turner. This is going to be a fun summer.

 

[Gigglepoo]

Both the Knicks and Pelicans are interested in Evan Turner. This is going to be a fun summer.

The Pelicans are going to waste Anthony Davis, aren't they?

 

[B.O.O.M]

Both the Knicks and Pelicans are interested in Evan Turner. This is going to be a fun summer.

ooh both those teams could use him...especially the Pels

 

[Cornbread78]

The Pelicans are going to waste Anthony Davis, aren't they?

Well, Davis is a better shooter than Turner is, so....

 

[B.O.O.M]

Did Pels re-sign Tim Frazier?

 

[darkside31337]

Turner would be a nice fit on the Pels. He can actually stay healthy so hes already an upgrade over what they've had.

 

[spyder_ur]

Both the Knicks and Pelicans are interested in Evan Turner. This is going to be a fun summer.

I warmed up to Turner a bit, but I kind of expect him to be gone given the investment they've put in the backcourt/wings, and I won't be that sad about it. They do need another ball handler though if they lose him.

ooh both those teams could use him...especially the Pels

I actually quite like the fit of Turner on the Pelicans.

 

[El Topo]

Turner would be a nice fit on the Pels. He can actually stay healthy so hes already an upgrade over what they've had.

Pelicans Medical Team:"Challenge accepted."

 

[B.O.O.M]

I actually quite like the fit of Turner on the Pelicans.

Yep would be a very nice scoring option to have for them. God knows AD needs any help he can get

Pelicans Medical Team:"Challenge accepted."

lmfao

 

[LyleLanley]

I warmed up to Turner a bit, but I kind of expect him to be gone given the investment they've put in the backcourt/wings, and I won't be that sad about it. They do need another ball handler though if they lose him.

I like him and I'd happily take him back on a cheap contract but he's going to get paid a stupid amount of money. Hopefully this also gives a chance for Smart to actually play as a point guard on our second unit.

 

[Cornbread78]

If that tweet is anything, Durant is staying put in OKC

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Don’t stress too hard, Thunder fans. Yes, Durant, 27, is the star of this year’s NBA free agency reality show. But barring an incredible sales job, several friends and business colleagues close to the 2014 NBA MVP expect him to return to Oklahoma City for at least another year.

“His decision is 90 percent made. It would take an amazing sales pitch to change it,” said one of Durant’s longtime friends.

Another Durant colleague said, “It’s going to take some sweet-talking to get him to pass up all the money he can get by staying in OKC.”

http://theundefeated.com/features/expect-a-happy-ending-for-okc-in-durants-free-agent-drama/

 

[LyleLanley]

Expect a happy ending for OKC in Durant’s free-agent drama

“His decision is 90 percent made. It would take an amazing sales pitch to change it,” said one of Durant’s longtime friends.

 

[phanphare]

Dallas also looking at Batum, would not be bad in tandem with Whiteside.

:ulls at collar::

 

[friskykillface]

If that tweet is anything, Durant is staying put in OKC

He should , up 3-1 against the defending champs with the same group X new draft players X free agents should be enough to sign for a year before Westbrook bolts

KD has money from Nike and stock options, the fuck he signing long term deals for , even if he tore his ACL any team would give him the max

 

[Brinbe]

Dwight in Boston should be HILARIOUS

 

[LyleLanley]

Dwight in Boston should be HILARIOUS

The media will literally kill him.

 

[BadAss2961]

Nobody was a Warriors fan until 2015. While I will say that the market potential for GS is definitely there, they weren't even relevant until now. I guess I should say instead that GS wasn't considered in the same tier as, I guess, Chicago or Boston until their recent dominance.

They had fans. I remember their insane home court advantage during that one series where they stunned Dallas.

 

[Gigglepoo]

Nobody was a Warriors fan until 2015. While I will say that the market potential for GS is definitely there, they weren't even relevant until now. I guess I should say instead that GS wasn't considered in the same tier as, I guess, Chicago or Boston until their recent dominance.

Where do people come up with this?

Here's a Bill Simmons' column about the Warriors excellent fans from 2012.

"Warriors lack an identity beyond the whole 'they suck every year, they always screw up, but at least they have great fans' tag."

 

[Gully State]

Nobody was a Warriors fan until 2015. While I will say that the market potential for GS is definitely there, they weren't even relevant until now. I guess I should say instead that GS wasn't considered in the same tier as, I guess, Chicago or Boston until their recent dominance.

People need to stop with this bullshit...franchise had a rabid local fanbase even when they sucked.

Also, the Bay Area has always been a big market (Niners, Giants, A's, Raiders, Cal, Stanford ,Sharks, Warriors etc....) It's even bigger now with all that tech money rolling around.

 

[Tom Penny]

At least if the Celtics don't sign KD they have the inside track on maxing Evan Turner.

 

[Chase17]

At least if the Celtics don't sign KD they have the inside track on maxing Evan Turner.

I'm thinking Sully instead. We need to keep our shooters.

 

[LyleLanley]

At least if the Celtics don't sign KD they have the inside track on maxing Evan Turner.

I'm thinking Sully instead. We need to keep our shooters.

I hate both of you.

 

[spyder_ur]

At least if the Celtics don't sign KD they have the inside track on maxing Evan Turner.

Celts have been very smart and restrained about contracts in the Ainge era. This offseason might really test that though, especially if they don't land a big fish and have a bunch of money floating around.

Celts extended QOs to Sully and Zeller. No surprise in either case - it just gives them more flexibility.

 

[friskykillface]

Lol max Turner
Let that dummy leave if he wants the max

 

[phanphare]

Nobody was a Warriors fan until 2015. While I will say that the market potential for GS is definitely there, they weren't even relevant until now. I guess I should say instead that GS wasn't considered in the same tier as, I guess, Chicago or Boston until their recent dominance.

always funny when people say stuff like this

what you really mean (whether you realize it or not) is that you specifically didn't pay attention to the warriors or their fans until 2015, not that they didn't have fans until 2015

 

[RedAssedApe]

Nobody was a (bandwagon) Warriors fan until 2015. While I will say that the market potential for GS is definitely there, they weren't even relevant until now. I guess I should say instead that GS wasn't considered in the same tier as, I guess, Chicago or Boston until their recent dominance.

fixed it. but still probably not accurate. even the shittiest teams can have great local fanbases. but more casual fans (myself included) aren't going to know about them, especially if they aren't from that city.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Fuck KD. Lakers gonna send that private jet for Festus instead.

 

[xHiryu]

The Mavs could interesting if they end up signing some solid free agents. A lineup of Conley/Matthews/Batum/Dirk/Whiteside would be playoff material, Carlisle is too good of a coach to be rotting on the Maverick along Dirk.

 

[LyleLanley]

The Mavs could interesting if they end up signing some solid free agents. A lineup of Conley/Matthews/Batum/Dirk/Whiteside would be playoff material, Carlisle is too good of a coach to be rotting on the Maverick along Dirk.

Can they afford three max contracts?

 

[Tom Penny]

I'm thinking Sully instead. We need to keep our shooters.

They have plenty of shooting with Smart.

 

[shwimpy]

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA now21 seconds ago

Sources: Hassan Whiteside won't meet with the Lakers. He'll hold three meetings - with the Heat, Mavericks and Blazers - in New York.

LOL...

 

[Gully State]

fixed it. but still probably not accurate. even the shittiest teams can have great local fanbases. but more casual fans (myself included) aren't going to know about them, especially if they aren't from that city.

Naw it's different (or it was)

After I wrote last week that two special NBA crowds remain -- Madison Square Garden and Oakland's Oracle Arena -- the predictable slew of e-mails arrived from Sacramento, Chicago, Toronto and many other cities, all of them asking, "What about us?" I don't blame them for being deluded because they don't know any better. (See example above.) When the Celtics climbed to the Eastern finals five years ago, I convinced myself that we'd turned the FleetCenter into the old Garden all over again ... but looking back, that wasn't really the case. Maybe it was loud, maybe it was raucous, maybe we willed the boys to come back in Game 3, but since New Jersey captured Games 4 and 6 in Boston, were we really that great?

Now, you're saying to yourself, "Doesn't every crowd do that?"


Actually, no. More than in any other sport, the fate of a basketball game hinges on the connection between players and fans. Last year, you could have dressed in white, headed to a big Miami game, stood and cheered at all the predictable spots and convinced yourself that you impacted the game ... but you really didn't. You did exactly what you were expected to do, nothing more. You obeyed the giant video screen, followed the musical cues and served your purpose. In other words, you were just like every other NBA crowd.


These things don't happen at Warriors and Knicks games because they're the only two places left with old-school fans, fans who have been coming to games for 30-40 years, fans of all colors, fans who genuinely understand basketball and every nuance that comes with it. They don't need a giant video screen to help them out; hell, they don't want the giant video screen to help them out. These are the fans who recognize a beautiful pass as it's happening, not after it happens, simply because they love basketball and see the same angles players see. These are the fans who instinctively understand stuff like, "Mickael Pietrus just threw down a ridiculous putback; I'm going to stand and keep cheering for an extra 30 seconds because he's a young kid and we need to keep pumping him up so he'll do it again."


Why are New York and Oakland the only two throwback cities remaining in the league? It's simple. The Knicks haven't priced out their real fans because so many people have money in New York that it's impossible to price everyone out. They also have an old-school arena with luxury boxes situated 50-60 rows away, so fans are crowded around the court and it's a much more communal experience. And since New York has always been the capital of basketball -- for further details, read the Pete Axthelm classic "The City Game" -- the fans have an inherent appreciation and understanding of the sport that distinguishes them from fans in nearly every other city. (Yes, including Boston, which will always be a baseball town.) The real tragedy of Isiah's catastrophic tenure is that we were robbed of some monster basketball crowds. The Knicks should always be good, if only to show every other fan base how it's done. Or, used to be done.


As for Warriors fans, it's a little more simple: They play in Oakland and have the most eclectic mix of fans in the league, so their home games have a different feel, almost like an upscale version of Rucker Park. Earlier this year, my wife and I were trying to determine whether we wanted to leave L.A. and live somewhere else for a few years (just to mix things up), and during the course of the discussions, she brought up the Bay Area. Well, you know why I couldn't live there? Because of the Warriors. If we moved there, I'd end up purchasing Warriors season tickets; inevitably I would be compromised by those unique crowds, placing me in a precarious sports bigamy predicament since I'm utterly and completely disgusted by the Celtics' front office and ownership right now. It would be like a guy who hates his wife hiring the hottest 20-year-old Danish au pair on the planet. Just a bad idea all the way around.

 

[Chase17]

LOL...

I don't know why he would be willing to burn bridges with the lakers so soon. They'll never take him there now.

 

[Tom Penny]

LOL...

In an alternate universe the Clippers are a top tier team and attractive destination while the Lakers are garbage and get shunned by free agents.

 

[Cornbread78]

They have plenty of shooting with Smart.

I'm thinking Sully instead. We need to keep our shooters.

At least if the Celtics don't sign KD they have the inside track on maxing Evan Turner.

I'm already crying in my cubicle, don't pile on man....... OK, so I already made a crack about it earlier, but still...

 

[Kickz]

Fuck KD. Lakers gonna send that private jet for Roy Hibbert instead.

Fixed that for you

LOL...

Man have the Lakers fallen off the map...

 

[LyleLanley]

KD not going to meet with the Lakers makes sense but I'm kind of shocked that Whiteside won't even hear them out.

 

[shwimpy]

KD not going to meet with the Lakers makes sense but I'm kind of shocked that Whiteside won't even hear them out.

Probably still butthurt over this:

Whiteside then got a tryout with the Lakers, but didn’t get an invite to training camp. “They picked Wayne Ellington over me,” he says.

 

[Chase17]

What if the lakers are only acting like they have interest in free agents, but are actually not offering any meetings so they can tank and keep their pick. Surely that's the explanation!

 

[El Topo]

The Mavs could interesting if they end up signing some solid free agents. A lineup of Conley/Matthews/Batum/Dirk/Whiteside would be playoff material, Carlisle is too good of a coach to be rotting on the Maverick along Dirk.

I don't think Whiteside would work on the Mavs (under Carlisle).

 

[AirBrian]

Probably still butthurt over this:

That and no state tax in TX and FL. Gotta max those millions.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Jim Buss is already working on a 2 year, $60 million deal with Kobe.

 

[Tom Penny]

Globe reporting Celtics picking up Amirs option. Not sure how that affects their cap.

 

[spyder_ur]

Globe reporting Celtics picking up Amirs option. Not sure how that affects their cap.

I believe they would need Amir and Jonas' space for a second max guy. Those contracts are cheap and tradeable though - it would've surprised me had they not done it.

 

[LyleLanley]

Globe reporting Celtics picking up Amirs option. Not sure how that affects their cap.

They're cheap and easy to trade so it's not a big deal but yeah they'd have to move them if they want to sign two max guys.

 

[RootCause]

Lol Whiteside isn't meeting with the Lakers? Pay back, and all if true.
Riley should offer the max, when you have guys like TJ likely getting 10 mill? Psh! Pay the man, they can use him as trade bait in worse case scenario.