Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
Who will win it all next year?
This poll is closed.
Spurs 165 32.93%
Thunder 76 15.17%
Clippers 54 10.78%
Warriors 50 9.98%
Rockets 23 4.59%
Lakers 133 26.55%
Total: 501 votes
[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

 
  • Locked thread
WhyteRyce
Dec 30, 2001

chunkles posted:

From some twitter: In ESPN interview, Kobe also brought up unprompted about Tim Duncan possibly getting 6th ring before him: "I'm not okay with that."

I remember some :smug: Laker fan here a couple of years ago talking about how for all of Duncan and the Spurs' vaunted consistency, the Lakers and Kobe had just as many championships as them since 99 and a good chance to get more while the Spurs looked old and probably never going to contend again

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Vanilla Mint Ice
Jul 17, 2007

A raccoon is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.

Shear Modulus posted:

OP you forgot reigning Olympic Scoring Champion and NBA Champ Patty Mills in your list of big free agents. He could very well dupe some team into giving him Gary Neal Money or more.

I did not forget.

Bashez
Jul 19, 2004

:10bux:

nachos posted:

I remember the forums making GBS threads themselves because the Spurs got another late steal with Splitter, which they did. Like it was the most predictable god drat thing ever that they would stash a talented overseas player who would later become a major contributor.

Man, you guys are going to be pissed when Jean-Charles comes over. The Spurs still have quite a bit of potential overseas. Probably nobody as good as Splitter but at least one of them should turn in to a solid contributor.

Strawberry Panda
Nov 4, 2007

Breakfast Defecting, Slow Dick Touching, Root Beer Barreling SwagVP
Patty Mills will be the starting PG for the Heat next year and the fan base will be ecstatic at the signing.

Strawberry Panda
Nov 4, 2007

Breakfast Defecting, Slow Dick Touching, Root Beer Barreling SwagVP
Oh Yahoo is reporting Birdman is leaving the Heat.

Tae
Oct 24, 2010

Hello? Can you hear me? ...Perhaps if I shout? AAAAAAAAAH!
Doc Rivers is now President of Basketball operations, if you didn't already know he's basically in charge since he came in.

Cash Monet
Apr 5, 2009

Strawberry Panda posted:

Oh Yahoo is reporting Birdman is leaving the Heat.

Like that girl left the guy in MV's av to die in Game of Thrones.

Eltoasto
Aug 26, 2002

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.



commy gun posted:

Like that girl left the guy in MV's av to die in Game of Thrones.

And Birdman wouldn't finish off Haslem on the way out.

MourningView
Sep 2, 2006


Is this Heaven?

commy gun posted:

Like that girl left the guy in MV's av to die in Game of Thrones.

If Ricky Davis was on Game of Thrones I would actually watch it.

glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)

chunkles posted:

From some twitter: In ESPN interview, Kobe also brought up unprompted about Tim Duncan possibly getting 6th ring before him: "I'm not okay with that."

It seems pretty unlikely that Kobe is going to get any more rings as a Laker at this pint. He is 35 years old, with injuries and on a team that didn't make the playoffs. Even if we guess that the Lakers are going to do some rebuilding (and that is a good guess), it seems like he is a while away from getting another ring.

Of course, I don't know if Duncan will either. The Spurs did very good this year, but I don't think they are in dynasty mode just yet.

Cash Monet
Apr 5, 2009

MourningView posted:

If Ricky Davis was on Game of Thrones I would actually watch it.

drat it you spoiled my spoiler. :mad:

glowing-fish
Feb 18, 2013

Keep grinding,
I hope you level up! :)
Any thoughts on the Portland Trailblazers?

Hopefully they will turn into the Portland Trailblazers I grew up with, going to the playoffs every year, even if they don't get past the first round.

Even more hopefully they will actually become contenders, but as much as I would like for that to happen, it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon, especially with the Western Conference so totally packed.

But like any Blazers fan, I think the Lakers not making the playoffs is as good as a Portland championship :smug:

R.D. Mangles
Jan 10, 2004


Dexo posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_0wjFP3YsQ

Haha, Nate Robinson and Steph Curry.

What kind of inhuman monster insults Nate Robinson on twitter?

spacejung
Feb 8, 2004
The Lakers are certainly capable of getting virtually any coach they want, along with any player on that free agency list. They've never had to build like San Antonio and they never will have to. I'll bet on them making the playoffs next year.

That said, last time the Lakers bottomed out in 2005, it took them 4 years to get back to the Finals. This time they're even worse, and their roster is in such disarray that there isn't yet an obvious candidate for their coaching position. Jim Buss seems to be centrally involved with managing the team (rather than Mitch Kupchak) and that doesn't fill me with confidence. The Chris Paul trade doesn't appear to have been his fault but the rest of the record is looking really, really bad. I also get the sense that he's alienated Phil Jackson's whole tree of coaches (Rambis, Shaw et al) but I'm not sure that matters very much after Phil landed in New York and immediately chose Fisher.

It's always a great time to post this great quote by Jim Buss: "Evaluating basketball talent is not too difficult. If you grabbed 10 fans out of a bar and asked them to rate prospects, their opinions would be pretty much identical to those of the pro scouts."

Cigar Aficionado
Nov 1, 2004

"Patel"? Fuck you.

Strawberry Panda posted:

Oh Yahoo is reporting Birdman is leaving the Heat.

Birdman and Battier are gone, Haslem is useless, Oden and Beasley aren't worth keeping around, and Wade is shot. I can't see how the Heat are viable next season.

Wilbur Swain
Sep 13, 2007

These are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.

glowing-fish posted:

The Spurs did very good this year, but I don't think they are in dynasty mode just yet.

The spurs have been in dynasty mode since 1999.

grapesmoker
Apr 19, 2003

This moon-cheese will make me very rich... very rich indeed!
Who is going to be on this putative Lakers playoff team next season?

EMC
Aug 17, 2004

Kobe, Nash, Robert Sacre and maybe Kendall Marshall if they take his option, I think they probably will

R.D. Mangles
Jan 10, 2004


Cigar Aficionado posted:

Birdman and Battier are gone, Haslem is useless, Oden and Beasley aren't worth keeping around, and Wade is shot. I can't see how the Heat are viable next season.

They have LeBron James.
They will no longer have Mario Chalmers.

Tae
Oct 24, 2010

Hello? Can you hear me? ...Perhaps if I shout? AAAAAAAAAH!

Cigar Aficionado posted:

Birdman and Battier are gone, Haslem is useless, Oden and Beasley aren't worth keeping around, and Wade is shot. I can't see how the Heat are viable next season.

By still having Lebron James.

EvanTH
Apr 24, 2004

i like to express my inner pain by being really boring on the phone
or just when i'm kickin it
that's me though
i'm kind of oddddddd

Libertine posted:

Tim moves on to his second career as host of Lone Star Clash. Parker becomes a jet pack salesman.

*lands his jetpack next to your wife* bonjour

MourningView
Sep 2, 2006


Is this Heaven?
yeah i dunno how the heat will survive the loss of battier AND beasley

big boi
Jun 11, 2007

Cigar Aficionado posted:

Birdman and Battier are gone, Haslem is useless, Oden and Beasley aren't worth keeping around, and Wade is shot. I can't see how the Heat are viable next season.

Those are all guys that could easily be gone next year, and the Heat will attract actual contributing roleplayers to fill whatever spots are open. They'll probably be better next season.

PantsFreeZone
May 31, 2013

by Nyc_Tattoo

R.D. Mangles posted:

They have LeBron James.
They will no longer have Mario Chalmers.

And they have this guy called Riley.

nachos
Jun 27, 2004

Wario Chalmers! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I just realized it's now impossible for Norris Cole to win a championship every year of his career :(

EvanTH
Apr 24, 2004

i like to express my inner pain by being really boring on the phone
or just when i'm kickin it
that's me though
i'm kind of oddddddd
The way the Spurs talked about the losing moment of last years finals makes it sound like they don't even care about winning next year so they're just gonna meander aimlessly to 55 wins and the WCF.

Hah also hey Zogo remember when I was like "Zogo says regular season win record is predictive for a title" and then Zogo was like "well sure normally but c'mon lookit these TEAMS I think the Heat have this" well you sure proved you wrong with your dang numbers.

R.D. Mangles
Jan 10, 2004


Miami also needs to sign an old, wheezing ring-chaser every year. It's in the new CBA.

chunkles
Aug 14, 2005

i am completely immersed in darkness
as i turn my body away from the sun
I'm kind of leaning towards the Heat's window being closed but: LeBron James, who is basically like a free ticket to the ECF.

grapesmoker
Apr 19, 2003

This moon-cheese will make me very rich... very rich indeed!

big boi posted:

Those are all guys that could easily be gone next year, and the Heat will attract actual contributing roleplayers to fill whatever spots are open. They'll probably be better next season.

It seems like this depends heavily on who they can attract. The big 3 plus Haslem and Cole are on the books for $70 mil for next season, so any significant maneuvers will have to depend on getting at least two of them to opt out and take less. The vibe I get is that Wade is not willing to do so, which may undermine the whole operation, and LeBron may not be satisfied to tread water for a year. It's certainly far from a foregone conclusion that the whole thing will just fall apart, but I don't think there's any guarantee that Miami is going to be either good or together next season.

Spring Break My Heart
Feb 15, 2012
They also play in the East, so they're going to be in pretty good position to get to the finals.

EvanTH
Apr 24, 2004

i like to express my inner pain by being really boring on the phone
or just when i'm kickin it
that's me though
i'm kind of oddddddd

chunkles posted:

I'm kind of leaning towards the Heat's window being closed but: LeBron James, who is basically like a free ticket to the ECF.

remember last year when the window closed on the Spurs :(

ChickenMedium
Sep 2, 2001
Forum Veteran And Professor Emeritus of Condiment Studies

R.D. Mangles posted:

Miami also needs to sign an old, wheezing ring-chaser every year. It's in the new CBA.

They're exempt now because they already have Dwyane Wade on the roster.

R.D. Mangles
Jan 10, 2004


I've been analyzing the finals play-by-play and I've determined that the Heat lost because they didn't play Michael Beasley enough.

grapesmoker
Apr 19, 2003

This moon-cheese will make me very rich... very rich indeed!

R.D. Mangles posted:

I've been analyzing the finals play-by-play and I've determined that the Heat lost because they didn't play Michael Beasley enough.

Ah, but the Spurs have the ultimate answer to Michael Beasley: Aron Baynes and his 222 ORTG.

Tae
Oct 24, 2010

Hello? Can you hear me? ...Perhaps if I shout? AAAAAAAAAH!

grapesmoker posted:

It seems like this depends heavily on who they can attract. The big 3 plus Haslem and Cole are on the books for $70 mil for next season, so any significant maneuvers will have to depend on getting at least two of them to opt out and take less. The vibe I get is that Wade is not willing to do so, which may undermine the whole operation, and LeBron may not be satisfied to tread water for a year. It's certainly far from a foregone conclusion that the whole thing will just fall apart, but I don't think there's any guarantee that Miami is going to be either good or together next season.

Lebron is on record on saying he'd rather miss the playoffs than not win a title.

chunkles
Aug 14, 2005

i am completely immersed in darkness
as i turn my body away from the sun

EvanTH posted:

remember last year when the window closed on the Spurs :(

I also remember the year before that, the year before that, and the year before that.

I think Wade is probably the sticking point, what kind of contract he gets could prevent them from retooling enough to challenge whoever manages to get out of the West.

Dexo
Aug 15, 2009

A city that was to live by night after the wilderness had passed. A city that was to forge out of steel and blood-red neon its own peculiar wilderness.

Tae posted:

Lebron is on record on saying he'd rather miss the playoffs than not win a title.

Obviously. Those are minutes you can't get back.

Strawberry Panda
Nov 4, 2007

Breakfast Defecting, Slow Dick Touching, Root Beer Barreling SwagVP

grapesmoker posted:

It seems like this depends heavily on who they can attract. The big 3 plus Haslem and Cole are on the books for $70 mil for next season, so any significant maneuvers will have to depend on getting at least two of them to opt out and take less. The vibe I get is that Wade is not willing to do so, which may undermine the whole operation, and LeBron may not be satisfied to tread water for a year. It's certainly far from a foregone conclusion that the whole thing will just fall apart, but I don't think there's any guarantee that Miami is going to be either good or together next season.

Where did you get your vibe from? I mean I would definitely opt in if I were him but maybe he decides to take 48 mill over 4 years instead of 40 in 2.

grapesmoker
Apr 19, 2003

This moon-cheese will make me very rich... very rich indeed!

Tae posted:

Lebron is on record on saying he'd rather miss the playoffs than not win a title.

Sure, that's notionally true, but it doesn't preclude the possibility of him leaving for greener pastures where he would have a legitimate shot at another ring. I'm not saying that it will happen, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it did.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

R.D. Mangles
Jan 10, 2004


morestuff posted:

He was actually pretty good in Charlotte, too, the lockout just ruined him.



Spent the offseason training with elite super bowl champion Jared Lorenzen.

  • Locked thread