****The Official 2016-2017 NBA Thread****

He also never attracted a major FA in FA rich seasons. Missed out on a top 5 coach in basketball he should've had the upper hand in hiring. His zen master alter ego left our franchise much worse than it was when he hobbled to NY with his cane.

 

ill never understand why people compare Durant's free agency and Lebron's... there's a huge difference.. lebron joined a team that was bounced twice in the first round, and then rejoined a team that was in the lottery twice in 3 years... durant joined the western conference favorite... if you cant see the difference then i cant help you..

 

He also prearranged to join up with two elite stars in Miami. Hence the original prearranged superteam.

 

To me? It was the biggest b#tch move Ive seen in professional sports. What competitor has ever done this? He had that team on the ropes and blew a 3-1 lead. Then joins them?

Na man....everything he does will be watered down from a legacy standpoint and he put himself in that position, so he will hear jokes/digs like this the rest of his life.

 

I don't really care about the FA's. Kerr didn't want the job. Phil never had a chance really imo. His ego was an irritant but only becaus eye Melo saga became a public spectacle. He tweaked Kobe, MJ, Shaq and Pippen the same way in the media. The only difference is that in 2017 everything is a social media firestorm.

 

Define "prearranged".

And the reason KD get's ridiculed was not because he joined a superteam. He gets ridiculed because he elected to follow the if ya can't beat em join em mantra.

 

How can you not care about FA's?

 

Prearranged as in like a marriage. They agreed to it at the 2008 olympics.

I agree with you on KD but Lebron was the originator of such BS and that's one of the reasons I can't stand him.

 

Simple. You don't build a team that way.

 

I disagree. In the NBA, many of the best teams are built that way. Even the mostly "home grown" teams needed to hit in FA to supplement their roster with key parts.

 

I think in the NBA attracting top FA's is how you compete. Or I at least thought Phil would be a great draw to NY.

All around failure I'm sorry to say.

 

Ok well the knicks have never built anything good that way. Better? Lol

 

If you cant see the hypocrisy in what youre saying then i dont know what to tell ya. We simply wont agree

 

I'm hearing the Knicks may get Brandon Knight out of the Melo trade. Ryan Anderson to the Suns. Rockets get Melo. The Pelicans or Portland are going to be the 4th team. I'm not sure how they play a part. Maybe they are shooting for Tyson Chandler.

 

It's not hypocrisy, it is two totally different situations.

You hate LeBron, everyone gets that. But you're reaching here.


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Yesterday's Heat Summer League game is actually available to watch on YouTube but with Bam Adebayo, Okaro White, and even Eric Mika all sitting for the game, I'm finding it difficult to want to watch it.

I guess Justin Robinson finally went off in that game, particularly the fourth quarter when he basically won the game. You knew at some point he was going to be a fun watch in Summer League. The guy can squirt around and make baskets from all over. But he's SUCH a defensive liability at 5'8". If I felt like he were a really good distributor on top of his speed and scoring ability, then I could maybe see it more...but I don't think he is. He'll need some time in the D-League or abroad to learn to distribute the ball and pass better...before he can even think about mounting a run at the NBA.

I'm grateful that they won and advanced in the tourney so that they get another game today at 6:30pm. They play the Clippers. I'm told the Heat have never won the Las Vegas Summer League tournament. If they beat the Clippers they advance to the quarterfinals. With Bam and Okaro having sat yesterday, they have a decent shot.

 

Didn't know Lonzo Ball was that good at the rim. Lakers sucking won't last long.

 

The Clippers had a guy playing in Summer League named Jamil Wilson that has my interest. Big 6'7" small forward, 26 years old from Marquette. Played in the D-League and made noise there. Decent three point game, tall and has great athletic ability (40" max vert), can rebound, showed some interesting passing ability on his Summer League clips.

Arguably the best producer in Summer League this year on a per 36 minute basis.

He actually beat breast cancer. No joke.

EDIT: Never mind. Read "breast cancer survivor" story wrong. His mom died of breast cancer.

 

No Bam again, and another fun ending in a comeback for Miami. Justin Robinson with another impressive performance. CK talked about him yesterday. I like what I've seen of him. I don't think any of these guys will make the Heat with the exception of White, but Robinson and Perrantes are interesting players that the Heat might want to take a closer look at in camp and maybe get on their G-League team. The Heat currently only have one true point guard, and even though Riley says they don't need another one, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have another one around the organization.

Hopefully Bam will get back on the court in the quarterfinal tomorrow.

 

They have some fun players, Robinson being one of them. I'm just not sure how I could count on him defensively. Matt Williams is another player I would want to keep an eye on just because I know what a three specialist he could be one day. Gian Clavell hasn't played to the level he could, but he's clicked on lately.

But as for NBA prospects, I don't know if I take any of them. Zach Auguste might be legit decent, ready for the NBA. I would have to take another good look at his work to decide there. The rest are guys that are clicking now because there's been continuity as a team and they're centered around two legit NBA players in Okaro White and Bam Adebayo.

Heat got a close look at Jamil Wilson tonight. He only played 13 minutes but rained down 11 points on 3 of 4 three point shooting, with 3 rebounds. That includes a damn impressive three in the closing minute as the Clippers were trying to come back.

Wilson headed INTO the night arguably the most efficient player in all Summer League out of 400+ players. And yet that efficiency may well have gone UP after tonight.

I would personally not be beholden to guys on our team. We have those 16th and 17th roster spots as per the new NBA rules, and teams are treating them like very valuable spots. We should be discerning about to whom we offer those positions. I mentioned three point guards (particularly Isaiah Taylor and Pierre Jackson, but I'd think about Kendall Marshall as well) that I'd look at for one spot, and I think the other should be offered to Jamil Wilson as a true wing player at small forward.

I will still continue to look at Jarnell Stokes as "the one that got away".

 

Heat will play Memphis this Saturday in the quarterfinals. Bam Adebayo has missed two games in a row and now has an additional day of rest so I expect him to be salty and ready to explode this Saturday.

If they advance, they'll play the winner of the San Antonio vs Portland game.

Memphis from what I can tell, I don't know if they have that many notable players. They've just been playing well in Summer League. Wayne Selden is their lead scorer. Vince Hunter does well, too.

Portland has some talent. They have my guy Jarnell Stokes. They also have Caleb Swanigan, RJ Hunter, Markel Brown, and Zach Collins.

San Antonio is being led by Bryn Forbes. They also have Derrick White and Jaron Blossomgame. If we get beyond the Grizzlies and want to advance to the finals, I think we'd probably prefer to play the Spurs.

I fully expect the Lakers to be in the finals. That two-man combination with Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma is dominating right now. Lonzo has two triple-doubles. Thomas Bryant is doing really well, too.

 

By the way if you were a John Collins fan in the draft, he has been ridiculous this summer.

Perhaps the best pure summer league performance of all draft picks. And considering the performances of guys like Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyle Kuzma, that's really saying something.

His production has been off the charts good. He's good at exactly what we knew he'd be good at which is scoring and rebounding. But he's SO GOOD at them. He's averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds per 36 minutes. He's got a 37 PER, contributing a ludicrous 0.532 win shares per 48 minutes (which is double what would be considered elite).

And you know what when you get right down to it, it's not just stats on a page because you watch him play and he's looking damn good doing it, making some ridiculous plays offensively that show off incredible coordination, flexibility, athleticism, and strength.

He gonna be good. He may not have a great basketball IQ (for now) but he's gonna be good. Friggin 19 years old.

 

i think the Lakers will be exciting to watch this year, Ball, KCP, Ingram, Randle, Lopez is a good lineup, too bad they play in the west were they probably will be in a dogfight for the 8th seed

 

I liked Ingram a lot going into the draft last year, and he looked good in their first game before he got hurt. It will be interesting to see what the growth in his game looks like this season.

I also thought KCP was a good signing. 1 year deal so there is no long term commitment, but a pretty good young player.

 

"If you're not first, you're last!"

Chris Paul is on the podium quoting Ricky Bobby, lol. I dig it.

By the way, Frank Isola is reporting that Melo is pissed about the Knicks holding up the trade. I believe him. Yesterday (before the trade pause), Houston media reported that Melo had an agent down here looking for him a home. He's ready to go...let the man go and win some game. Getting Brandon Knight wouldn't be a bad deal for the Knicks. He's 25 and pretty good. I know they don't expect someone to give up picks.

 

The Lakers are going to be a lot like the Heat were in trying to re-invent themselves with some young developments and a few mid-level journeymen. The problem is they play in the West and that can really stifle that effort.

But, it worked out OK for the Warriors.

 

Right, but they are almost a lock to land at least 1 top 10 player in the league next season (barring OKC making a lot of noise and getting close) and maybe even the "King" himself in 2018.

I'd take the Lakers future 5 years or more over any franchise in the league other than GS. And that includes the very impressive job Ainge is doing over in bean town.

 

CP3 talked about the team workouts and practices in Las Vegas this week. He made a point to mention how excited he is about Clint Capela. For all my fellow fantasy basketball players, load up on Clint Capela early in the season while he is cheap. He's going to have a really big year. Win some money.

 

Tarik Black signed with the Rockets. That's another good move. It's good to have him back. He made a name for himself a few years back being a really good rim protector for us when soft Dwight was always missing games. Onuaku sucking in Summer League just lost his spot as our 3rd Center...smh

 

I'd bet on them making the playoffs. I liked them a fair amount a week ago, but KCP put it over the edge for me.

Lonzo should be an incredibly valuable regular season player. I'm more skeptical of his postseason impact, but I think he can move the needle enough for a playoff spot. They'll be fun, at the very least, and they have a coach who seems to be good.

 

I can't see them making the playoffs unless Lonzo is a star from day 1 and a probably both of Ingram and Randle taking a big step. The west is just too good, and while they have a handful of fun/above average players, I'm not sure they have anyone that's going to scare you. Not yet.

 

I love Dion Waiters:

 

Bam didn't play again today, and the Heat lose in 2OT in the SL quarterfinal. It didn't appear that Bam was going to play again anyway. One thing I found interesting is they sat out London Perrantes again. I believe this was his 3rd straight along with Bam (might have been his 2nd). Either way, that's telling to me. I bet that means they're already bringing him to camp. Again, I doubt he makes the team, but he might have a chance at one of those 2 new added spots, or at least a spot on their G League team.

 

Not sure what the Perrantes sit means. It could be meaningful.

I think Bam and Okaro sat because for all intents and purposes Summer League was over and they were into bonus game territory.

They gave Bam and Okaro 30 minutes a game and had these other Summer League players just constantly feed them so that they could see what they had in their top pick and their holdover from last year.

The quarterfinals game was a bonus game earned by their Summer League players above and beyond the opportunity that was guaranteed to them, and to me it's only right to sit Adebayo and Okaro White, and reward those Summer Leaguers with the bonus minutes to show their stuff.

 

So LeBron is in Miami and doing some reminiscing on Instagram today. He posted a picture of the AAA saying "A ton of great memories riding past her today!! #AAA"; then posted a pic of him on the water in Miami with the caption "For all those that had anything to do with me being where I am today I jus wanna say THANK YOU! #Blessed"

Now, this could just be LeBron truly reminiscing about his time here. Obviously on the heels of the rumors of him thinking about LA or Miami next year, this has gotten some people excited. I still don't think he's coming here at all, but I do think it's possible part of his motivation for posting these was to cause a stir. He's done it before.

Either way, it's nice to see him think fondly of his time here.

 

Rumor back to Miami?? Link?

 

Luc Mbah a Moute joins the Rockets. Hell, everyone we've added has been for defense. Morey and Dantoni said they want a top 10 defense to match our ridiculous offense. I guess they meant it.

 

This is old news. We talked about it weeks ago. Woj said:

 

It just wouldn't be like LeBron to come back to Miami, I don't think. He may move on to a new place but I don't think it would be coming back to Miami. More like going to LA to begin his movie career.

 

Right. I don't believe he will. But I think it's possible he's trying to stir the pot with those posts. He's done stuff like that before.