Official NBA Off-Season Thread. New 2012-2013 Thread Has Been Made. Please Post In There

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So how much more help does Kobe need?  Got a top 5 point guard, 2nd best center and a top 5 power forward.

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

 

[mjgreatxii]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So how much more help does Kobe need?  Got a top 5 point guard, 2nd best center and a top 5 power forward.

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

We get it, you hate kobe, go to the kobe hater thread, keep that %%#$ outta here. 

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

We get it, you hate kobe, go to the kobe hater thread, keep that %%#$ outta here. 

at you sensitive @$+ kobe fans in here.  The hell you talkin about keep this in the "other" thread.  You are the only ones making it out to be a "negative" thing.  Am I not referring to the OFFSEASON move that the Lakers made??

You dudes just mad that your boy Kobe isn't what YOU guys make him out to be acting as if he does EVERYTHING by himself.  Yeah guys, the truth is out, he HAS and BEEN having help and I'm just pointing it out to you blind fans.  So miss me with that.

 

[acbboyz84]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So how much more help does Kobe need?  Got a top 5 point guard, 2nd best center and a top 5 power forward.

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

Kobe is on a stacked team? Yeap because Bynum and Pau Gasol is so unstoppable

 

[illoquent aka dsk]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So how much more help does Kobe need?  Got a top 5 point guard, 2nd best center and a top 5 power forward.

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

No one was talking that idiotic *%%! in here but you wanna make it a discussion. I could give zero !!!%$ whether you're a Kobe stan/hater, Lebron stan/hater but it baffles me how extremists such as yourself don't realize you're just as bad as the losers on the other end of the spectrum you argue with . Go somewhere else with that nonsense.

Anyway...

07/05/2012 2:09AM EST Alex Kennedy:
Jason Kidd is on the verge of re-signing with the Dallas Mavericks, according to sources close to the situation. Kidd is expected to reach an agreement with the Mavericks in the coming days. The veteran point guard considered joining the New York Knicks, but will instead return to Dallas on a multi-year deal. Last season, Kidd averaged 6.2 points, 5.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds for the Mavericks.

 

[you go boy]

im not even mad at the suns... they are cheap so of course they will pickup assets without adding money to their salary cap... they got 4 picks which they can use or trade away if they got a good trade... besides that they had a good offseason in picking gordon, dragic and beasley thats not bad for losing nash... they also got marshall from the draft who should be a decent backup...i wanted nash on the knicks but not at the expense of losing shump... nash is great but hes a liability on defense and is not ready for the eastern conference which is a defense oriented conference with great quick point guards... at least shump can guard those guys

 

[mjgreatxii]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

We get it, you hate kobe, go to the kobe hater thread, keep that %%#$ outta here. 

at you sensitive @$+ kobe fans in here.  The hell you talkin about keep this in the "other" thread.  You are the only ones making it out to be a "negative" thing.  Am I not referring to the OFFSEASON move that the Lakers made??

You dudes just mad that your boy Kobe isn't what YOU guys make him out to be acting as if he does EVERYTHING by himself.  Yeah guys, the truth is out, he HAS and BEEN having help and I'm just pointing it out to you blind fans.  So miss me with that.

ok what's your point idiot? he's on a "stacked" team, so now what?
You wanna tell me he's not great? okay hes not great, he'll never be jordan, hes a chuck artist. right?

Right?

 

[es el]

now that Nash is on the Lakers, hes automatically a Top 5 PG again?

 

[freshkrn]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

We get it, you hate kobe, go to the kobe hater thread, keep that %%#$ outta here. 

at you sensitive +@% kobe fans in here.  The hell you talkin about keep this in the "other" thread.  You are the only ones making it out to be a "negative" thing.  Am I not referring to the OFFSEASON move that the Lakers made??

You dudes just mad that your boy Kobe isn't what YOU guys make him out to be acting as if he does EVERYTHING by himself.  Yeah guys, the truth is out, he HAS and BEEN having help and I'm just pointing it out to you blind fans.  So miss me with that.

Damn bruh did kobe sleep with your girl ?
stop making every thread into player a vs player b, keep that ignorant, extreme comments out of this thread

 

[kidoopz]

So can the Rockets get Marshall..

.. I'm just saying.. We're going from 2 PG's to 0!

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Don't bring that dumb $%%% from the 20+ page cesspool of a thread into here.

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

No one was talking that idiotic *%%! in here but you wanna make it a discussion. I could give zero !!!%$ whether you're a Kobe stan/hater, Lebron stan/hater but it baffles me how extremists such as yourself don't realize you're just as bad as the losers on the other end of the spectrum you argue with . Go somewhere else with that nonsense.

So I can't discuss "offseason" moves in the OFFSEASON thread??? 

at me being extreme because I brought up a point.  Oh I forgot, you're another one of those fronting %*# kobe fans that try to play like you're not bias as if we don't see you stick up for Kobe in EVERY single thread...so YOU go somewhere with your $%#@$!*@.

ok what's your point idiot? he's on a "stacked" team, so now what?
You wanna tell me he's not great? okay hes not great, he'll never be jordan, hes a chuck artist. right?

Right?

  ANOTHER  kobe fan taking personal attacks.  What a surprise?  I wonder how many of y'all have gotten banned or suspended already.  I swear you dudes seriously be getting mad off the dumbest $@%*.  When did I say all that other nonsense you're implying?  All I'm saying is he was already on a stacked team and got even more help now, yet you sensitive kobe fans try to take it to a WHOLE other level whenever something perceived as negative is said about your idol.

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by freshKRN

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

We get it, you hate kobe, go to the kobe hater thread, keep that %%#$ outta here. 

at you sensitive +@% kobe fans in here.  The hell you talkin about keep this in the "other" thread.  You are the only ones making it out to be a "negative" thing.  Am I not referring to the OFFSEASON move that the Lakers made??

You dudes just mad that your boy Kobe isn't what YOU guys make him out to be acting as if he does EVERYTHING by himself.  Yeah guys, the truth is out, he HAS and BEEN having help and I'm just pointing it out to you blind fans.  So miss me with that.

Damn bruh did kobe sleep with your girl ?
stop making every thread into player a vs player b, keep that ignorant, extreme comments out of this thread

When did I make it a Player A Vs Player B thread?  PLEASE tell me where I compared him to another player in the FIRST post these sensitive kobe fans were quoting me on? 

And to the other guy saying Steve Nash is a Top 5 pg again?  Oh my bad, i meant Top 6-7 but you knew damn well what I was talking about anyway.

 

[mjgreatxii]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

No one was talking that idiotic *%%! in here but you wanna make it a discussion. I could give zero !!!%$ whether you're a Kobe stan/hater, Lebron stan/hater but it baffles me how extremists such as yourself don't realize you're just as bad as the losers on the other end of the spectrum you argue with . Go somewhere else with that nonsense.

So I can't discuss "offseason" moves in the OFFSEASON thread??? 

at me being extreme because I brought up a point.  Oh I forgot, you're another one of those fronting %*# kobe fans that try to play like you're not bias as if we don't see you stick up for Kobe in EVERY single thread...so YOU go somewhere with your $%#@$!*@.

ok what's your point idiot? he's on a "stacked" team, so now what?
You wanna tell me he's not great? okay hes not great, he'll never be jordan, hes a chuck artist. right?

Right?

  ANOTHER  kobe fan taking personal attacks.  What a surprise?  I wonder how many of y'all have gotten banned or suspended already.  I swear you dudes seriously be getting mad off the dumbest $@%*.  When did I say all that other nonsense you're implying?  All I'm saying is he was already on a stacked team and got even more help now, yet you sensitive kobe fans try to take it to a WHOLE other level whenever something perceived as negative is said about your idol.

Idol eh? So because I respect his game, and have been a fan since he's been in the league he's my idol? 
And I just brought up that "nonsense" cuz we all know you're going to bring it up sooner or later, got it out of the way now. 

Yeah he's on a stacked team, what's your point? 

You're a kobe hater, we $@!#%$ get it. 

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by iLLoQuent aka DSK

No one was talking that idiotic *%%! in here but you wanna make it a discussion. I could give zero !!!%$ whether you're a Kobe stan/hater, Lebron stan/hater but it baffles me how extremists such as yourself don't realize you're just as bad as the losers on the other end of the spectrum you argue with . Go somewhere else with that nonsense.

So I can't discuss "offseason" moves in the OFFSEASON thread??? 

at me being extreme because I brought up a point.  Oh I forgot, you're another one of those fronting %*# kobe fans that try to play like you're not bias as if we don't see you stick up for Kobe in EVERY single thread...so YOU go somewhere with your $%#@$!*@.

ok what's your point idiot? he's on a "stacked" team, so now what?
You wanna tell me he's not great? okay hes not great, he'll never be jordan, hes a chuck artist. right?

Right?

  ANOTHER  kobe fan taking personal attacks.  What a surprise?  I wonder how many of y'all have gotten banned or suspended already.  I swear you dudes seriously be getting mad off the dumbest $@%*.  When did I say all that other nonsense you're implying?  All I'm saying is he was already on a stacked team and got even more help now, yet you sensitive kobe fans try to take it to a WHOLE other level whenever something perceived as negative is said about your idol.

Idol eh? So because I respect his game, and have been a fan since he's been in the league he's my idol? 
And I just brought up that "nonsense" cuz we all know you're going to bring it up sooner or later, got it out of the way now. 

Yeah he's on a stacked team, what's your point? 

You're a kobe hater, we $@!#%$ get it. 

  Oooh so you're a psychic now.  Okay.

Real talk, what in my first post got you guys soooo mad?  Because I'm not a fan of Kobe, I can't ask a legit question? 

Does Kobe NOT have a lot of help now especially with the addition of Steve Nash?  What in THOSE comments got all y'all so riled up? 

 

[mjgreatxii]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

So I can't discuss "offseason" moves in the OFFSEASON thread??? 

at me being extreme because I brought up a point.  Oh I forgot, you're another one of those fronting %*# kobe fans that try to play like you're not bias as if we don't see you stick up for Kobe in EVERY single thread...so YOU go somewhere with your $%#@$!*@.

  ANOTHER  kobe fan taking personal attacks.  What a surprise?  I wonder how many of y'all have gotten banned or suspended already.  I swear you dudes seriously be getting mad off the dumbest $@%*.  When did I say all that other nonsense you're implying?  All I'm saying is he was already on a stacked team and got even more help now, yet you sensitive kobe fans try to take it to a WHOLE other level whenever something perceived as negative is said about your idol.

Idol eh? So because I respect his game, and have been a fan since he's been in the league he's my idol? 
And I just brought up that "nonsense" cuz we all know you're going to bring it up sooner or later, got it out of the way now. 

Yeah he's on a stacked team, what's your point? 

You're a kobe hater, we $@!#%$ get it. 

  Oooh so you're a psychic now.  Okay.

Real talk, what in my first post got you guys soooo mad?  Because I'm not a fan of Kobe, I can't ask a legit question? 

Does Kobe NOT have a lot of help now especially with the addition of Steve Nash?  What in THOSE comments got all y'all so riled up? 

would you not have anyway? correct me if im wrong?
Yeah he's on a stacked team, yeah he hasn't won with that "stacked" team. Like @#$##@ Lebron James doesn't have Dwade and Chris bosh. SMH

Yeah he has help, and if he doesn't deliver, he's not a great player right? that's all your point is? 

WE ALL GET IT. 

 

[abovelegit1]

OneTrust wrote:


You took a thinly veiled shot at Kobe knowing damn well this thread would proceed to degenerate into another round of Kobe/Lebron nonsense. Grow up, and shut up.

 

[respect21]

Originally Posted by kidoopz

So can the Rockets get Marshall..

.. I'm just saying.. We're going from 2 PG's to 0!

Why would the Rockets end up with Kendall Marshall?

 

[illoquent aka dsk]

Rockets make offer to Jeremy Lin
The Houston Rockets have given Jeremy Lin a multiyear offer sheet, and the New York Knicks free-agent point guard was mulling over whether to accept it, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks are expected to match any offer sheet free agent Jeremy Lin receives. Lin is a restricted free agent, so the Knicks have the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs to keep him. The earliest Lin can officially sign the offer sheet is July 11. The Knicks would have three days to match or let him join the Rockets.

Houston's multiyear offer to Jeremy Lin includes back-loaded money designed to hit the Knicks hard on the luxury tax, sources close to Lin said. The Rockets' offer comes as the Phoenix Suns reached agreement with Goran Dragic on a four-year, $30 million contract. The Rockets stopped bidding on Dragic, refusing to go as far as the Suns did.

The Knicks have publicly and privately indicated they plan to match any offer for Lin.

Besides Lin’s promise as an NBA point guard, his ability to drive revenue for the Knicks – both regionally and internationally – is unprecedented for a player with such a limited body of work. As an Asian American, Lin’s popularity in the Far East could significantly benefit from him playing in Houston. The Rockets still have great brand recognition in China because of Yao Ming’s career with the franchise.

The Knicks understand that whatever they pay Lin – and whatever ultimate luxury-tax punishment results from going so far over the salary cap – could still be well worth the cost.

Lin averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists before his season ended with a knee injury in March.

Lin had been in the Rockets' training camp in the preseason, stuck behind Kyle Lowry and Dragic. The Rockets cut him before the start of the season. After Lin exploded into global stardom across several weeks with the Knicks, people wondered how teams like the Golden State Warriors and Rockets ever let him go.

"Even if he stayed here, we probably wouldn't have recognized his talent as much as we should’ve," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "He probably wouldn’t have played much at all, and then would’ve been released at the end of the year. I didn’t know he could play this well, and if I did, we would’ve kept him."

Adrian Wojnarowski

 

[acbboyz84]

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Idol eh? So because I respect his game, and have been a fan since he's been in the league he's my idol? 
And I just brought up that "nonsense" cuz we all know you're going to bring it up sooner or later, got it out of the way now. 

Yeah he's on a stacked team, what's your point? 

You're a kobe hater, we $@!#%$ get it. 

  Oooh so you're a psychic now.  Okay.

Real talk, what in my first post got you guys soooo mad?  Because I'm not a fan of Kobe, I can't ask a legit question? 

Does Kobe NOT have a lot of help now especially with the addition of Steve Nash?  What in THOSE comments got all y'all so riled up? 

would you not have anyway? correct me if im wrong?
Yeah he's on a stacked team, yeah he hasn't won with that "stacked" team. Like @#$##@ Lebron James doesn't have Dwade and Chris bosh. SMH

Yeah he has help, and if he doesn't deliver, he's not a great player right? that's all your point is? 

WE ALL GET IT. 

i think he's a Knicks fan

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

OneTrust wrote:

You took a thinly veiled shot at Kobe knowing damn well this thread would proceed to degenerate into another round of Kobe/Lebron nonsense. Grow up, and shut up.
 Again, another person ASSuming this would turn into a Kobe/Lebron thing when I NEVER ONCE brought up Lebron's name in this. 

I commented on how Kobe has some great additional help now and YOU guys took it another direction.  So yeah, you can go and take your OWN advice and shut the hell up and fall back.

would you not have anyway? correct me if im wrong?
Yeah he's on a stacked team, yeah he hasn't won with that "stacked" team. Like @#$##@ Lebron James doesn't have Dwade and Chris bosh. SMH

Yeah he has help, and if he doesn't deliver, he's not a great player right? that's all your point is? 




WE ALL GET IT.

Again, YOU guys are the ones bringing this into a Player A vs Player B thread.  I just asked a question.  How much more help does Kobe need?  You sir are making assumptions when ALL you could've said was "yeah, he has more help."  SIMPLE!

You guys stay being over sensitive like that I swear.  If kobe shoots 2-20 and I comment that he had a bad shooting night, y'all dudes will get all

as if I said some foul as *%@#.

 

[mjgreatxii]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

OneTrust wrote:

You took a thinly veiled shot at Kobe knowing damn well this thread would proceed to degenerate into another round of Kobe/Lebron nonsense. Grow up, and shut up.

 Again, another person ASSuming this would turn into a Kobe/Lebron thing when I NEVER ONCE brought up Lebron's name in this. 

I commented on how Kobe has some great additional help now and YOU guys took it another direction.  So yeah, you can go and take your OWN advice and shut the hell up and fall back.

would you not have anyway? correct me if im wrong?
Yeah he's on a stacked team, yeah he hasn't won with that "stacked" team. Like @#$##@ Lebron James doesn't have Dwade and Chris bosh. SMH

Yeah he has help, and if he doesn't deliver, he's not a great player right? that's all your point is? 




WE ALL GET IT.

Again, YOU guys are the ones bringing this into a Player A vs Player B thread.  I just asked a question.  How much more help does Kobe need?  You sir are making assumptions when ALL you could've said was "yeah, he has more help."  SIMPLE!

You guys stay being over sensitive like that I swear.  If kobe shoots 2-20 and I comment that he had a bad shooting night, y'all dudes will get all

as if I said some foul as *%@#.


okay he has more help, so @$##@what? 
I'm done with this childish argument. 

 

[onetrust]

Originally Posted by MJGREATXII

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Originally Posted by abovelegit1


You took a thinly veiled shot at Kobe knowing damn well this thread would proceed to degenerate into another round of Kobe/Lebron nonsense. Grow up, and shut up.

 Again, another person ASSuming this would turn into a Kobe/Lebron thing when I NEVER ONCE brought up Lebron's name in this. 

I commented on how Kobe has some great additional help now and YOU guys took it another direction.  So yeah, you can go and take your OWN advice and shut the hell up and fall back.

would you not have anyway? correct me if im wrong?
Yeah he's on a stacked team, yeah he hasn't won with that "stacked" team. Like @#$##@ Lebron James doesn't have Dwade and Chris bosh. SMH

Yeah he has help, and if he doesn't deliver, he's not a great player right? that's all your point is? 




WE ALL GET IT.

Again, YOU guys are the ones bringing this into a Player A vs Player B thread.  I just asked a question.  How much more help does Kobe need?  You sir are making assumptions when ALL you could've said was "yeah, he has more help."  SIMPLE!

You guys stay being over sensitive like that I swear.  If kobe shoots 2-20 and I comment that he had a bad shooting night, y'all dudes will get all

as if I said some foul as *%@#.

okay he has more help, so @$##@what? 
I'm done with this childish argument. 

Yeah, he has more help, that's it!  SIMPLE!  There wasn't no "point" to it.  I just pointed out how stacked his team is now.  It wasn't even an "argument" until Y'ALL made it into one. 

 

[illoquent aka dsk]

Stole this from PMatic

Nash's winning dash to Lakers

It's a testament to Steve Nash's amazing efficiency that, at the age of 38, five teams were fighting for the right to give him a multiyear contract for several million dollars a season.

And it's a testament to the creativity of the Suns and Lakers that we got a surprise winner. Phoenix realized it had the ability to get assets back in a sign-and-trade deal when Nash unexpectedly developed a yen for the Lakers, partially redeeming the Suns after the scathing criticism the franchise took over the past year for not trading Nash before he hit free agency.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, gets a major upgrade and a few questions that go with it. On the one hand, Nash is far better than any predecessor at point guard in the Kobe-Shaq era. Also, Laker point guards spot up as much as anyone in the league, and nobody is a deadlier shooter than Nash. And if Nash plays anywhere near his level of recent seasons, the contract is a great value.

On the other hand, they're wasting a lot of Nash's talents if all they do is spot him up on the weak side. Nash is a brilliant pick-and-roll operator with the ball in his hands, but his game is an odd fit with the ball-stopping isos that Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum prefer. (Speaking of which, the first time Kobe yells at Nash should be a hoot.) Additionally, this doesn't exactly solve the glaring athleticism deficit L.A. faced in losing to Oklahoma City in the second round a year ago.

Nonetheless, we can safely say that the Lakers look dramatically better than they did 24 hours ago. Their biggest weakness, point guard, is now a strength. I'm not sure it has the Thunder quaking in their boots, but we can probably pencil in L.A. alongside San Antonio as Oklahoma City's strongest contender for Western supremacy.

So there's the Captain Obvious stuff.

But let's probe a little deeper. I have three major questions following this move that I think are still under the radar. Let's bring them out into the light.




Will the Lakers actually keep the payroll this high?

This is a question one has to ask given all the shedding of salary the Lakers have done over the past two years. Is the deal for Nash, using the trade exception from last year's Lamar Odom deal, a sign that L.A. has made a U-turn in its financial philosophy and will open the floodgates again?

Or is it a prelude to other moves that will reduce payroll by an offsetting amount, using the cover of an upgrade at point guard to offload the more burdensome contracts of Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace?

Gasol in particular is a nagging problem; he will make $19 million each of the next two seasons but it is underutilized as a floor-spacing 4 so that Andrew Bynum can dominate in the paint. It's hard to justify paying him that much money as a third option, let alone as a fourth with Nash on the floor. It's fair to wonder if L.A. will look again at trading him, perhaps for a power forward who is less expensive and fits better with the pieces already in place.

Of course, it's possible they could both trade Gasol and upgrade the roster; in particular, a trade of Gasol and Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu would accomplish that. I remain skeptical that Orlando would consider a Bynum deal when he could put the Magic through the same circus they've been dealing with -- Bynum, like Howard, has one year left on his contract. And on the other side, Howard has stated his reluctance to go to L.A. Nonetheless, one must at least broach the possibility.

More likely, one suspects that the Lakers will use the amnesty provision on World Peace and sign longtime Nash cohort Grant Hill to play small forward. If Hill were to sign for the taxpayer midlevel exception, it would save the Lakers more than $10 million in salary and luxury tax each of the next two seasons, which would offset about half the financial hit to the Lakers from Nash's deal.

It remains to be seen what team the Lakers will be putting on the floor when they open the season this fall. But the team they have on paper right now looks very, very good.

Where does Phoenix go from here?

The Suns have kept things interesting, agreeing on a max contract offer sheet with Eric Gordon and reaching a three-year, $18 million agreement with Michael Beasley. They also appear to have obtained a free-agent point guard, former Sun Goran Dragic, with four years and $34 million.

The Suns can't do all three of these things simultaneously without both amnestying Josh Childress and renouncing the rights to free agents Robin Lopez, Shannon Brown, Aaron Brooks and Grant Hill. It doesn't necessarily mean all these things will ultimately happen, though, as Phoenix can time the events sequentially so that Beasley and Dragic don't sign until after the Hornets make a decision on matching Gordon.

If that happens, the Suns have enough room to "un-renounce" Lopez and either Brooks or Brown if the Hornets match the offer sheet to Gordon (you can do this for an offer sheet). But if the Hornets don't match, it appears Childress will have to earn his first post-lockout free throws in some other uniform.

The Gordon decision is defensible; you knew it was going to take a big offer to pry him away from the Hornets, and he's by far the best scoring wing the Suns could obtain in this market. If you're going to gamble this way as a rebuilding team, gamble on young talent who can still get better. Phoenix is doing that, and the max contract for a fifth-year player isn't that outrageous price-wise.

As for the Beasley decision, I'd like that a lot better if he were playing the 4, but it appears Phoenix signed him to play the 3. He's played much better at the 4 his entire career but the Suns already have Channing Frye, Markieff Morris and Hakim Warrick at that position. Additionally, I'm not sure this is the environment where he can get his head on straight.

How do you get egg out of dinosaur hide?

And then there are the Raptors. Whoa, the poor Raptors. Toronto went for sentiment over logic, prioritized Nash over Dragic and Jeremy Lin and badly misread Nash's desires. Patriotic sentiment was nice and all, but it wasn't going to put Toronto any closer to his kids no matter how much the Raptors offered.

After 48 hours went by and the Raptors couldn't get a yes, they might have gotten a bad feeling about this, but instead they doubled down by offering Landry Fields a ridiculous three-year, $20 million deal. The idea was to blow up any sign-and-trade deals the Knicks could offer Phoenix, with the assumption that the Knicks were the Raptors' main competitor, but New York had another one lined up involving Iman Shumpert anyway. Meanwhile, Toronto never saw the Laker deal coming.

Now, at least, they won't blow a huge pile on Nash, but there's the little matter of the abysmal Fields contract -- presumably the Knicks will be laughing too hard to bother matching -- which will likely require them to lose Jose Calderon (to amnesty) and Jerryd Bayless (by renouncing his rights) to sign any other free agent of consequence.

Nonetheless, this probably saved the Raptors from a costly diversion on their road to rebuilding, and their books are clean enough that Fields' contract won't ruin their equally impressive cap-space hoard for next summer. Toronto can resume the slow, boring process of building a sustainable winner, an area in which it has already made considerable progress. Meanwhile, one hopes this setback will discourage the Raptors from chasing shortcuts so enthusiastically next summer.

 

[CP1708]

Trust, ok man, chill. We all get it. There'll be plenty of time to hash all that out. Don't sweat all the replies from folks.

 

[abovelegit1]

Originally Posted by OneTrust

Yeah, he has more help, that's it!  SIMPLE!  There wasn't no "point" to it.  I just pointed out how stacked his team is now.  It wasn't even an "argument" until Y'ALL made it into one.  

So YOU kobe fans can say dumb !#$# like that when "other" players get top talent around them but when your idol Kobe, who has BEEN having a stacked team anyway gets more, all of a sudden y'all wanna sweep it under the rug.  Yeeeaaahhhh okay.

 
I don't really want to carry on with this further, but I have to point out how clownish you look so you may refrain from derailing future threads with your nonsense. You didn't mean to point out anything as you clearly stated that your original comment was just "dumb *@## like that." And who is the "other" player I wonder?  Yet you say didn't intend for another Kobe/LeBron exercise in stupidity to take place. Right. 
Obvious troll is obvious.