Did anybody see the special on the 1984 NBA Draft on NBA Network? I saw some of it last night, but this may have already aired for awhile now (I'm not sure). It was fascinating.

The NBA actually paid USA Network to air the tv coverage. Back then, it was not the spectacle it has become today. The number of NBA greats that came out of that draft are mind-blowing: Akeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Sam Perkins, John Stockton, and Kevin Willis. Plus it featured busts like Sam Bowie & (Dinner Bell) Mel Turpin. Or put another way, 25% of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team was taken in that draft.

Probably the greatest draft of all time. Almost reminds me of the famous quarterback draft of 1983 .

I'm VERY disappointed in Jason Kidd and his power play to take over the Nets, after a whole season as their head coach.

The truth is, I'm not half the NBA fan that I was twenty years ago. But Kidd was one guy I always found it easy to root for. Whenever he was in the playoffs, I found it easy to tune in and root for him (unless he was playing the Knicks).

It's amazing. No matter how old we get, we can still be disappointed in our favorite athletes, like we were still kids .

I COMPLETELY agree with your assessment of the NBA now vs. the 80s and 90s heyday. Back then, it was my favorite sport and was every bit as popular as the NFL is now. Now, the inmates are running the asylum, thanks in no small part to the league being flooded with immature and unfinished players who only had to play one year in college.

Call my cynical, but I don't have nearly the level of admiration for Jason Kidd. Wasn't he accused of hitting his wife, nailed for DUI, and then that ridiculous throwing a drink on the court to make a player fall? Not that I am perfect, but those are some significant shortcomings.

Oh, absolutely. He was no Bill Russell to begin with (in terms of class, not just talent). But he played hard and he was one of the few guys drafted in the '90s that I enjoyed watching. I guess what I meant was, Kidd and his contemporaries were the beginning of the end for a league that I used to love. Flawed as he was, he was one of the last links to the pre-Y2K insane asylum that the league is now.

Oh, and before Cook County accuses me of wishing for an all White NBA . I'm only 55. The league has been predominantly Black for my entire life. When I was a kid, my heroes were Clyde Frazier and Earl the Pearl. Later on it was the Ewing-Starks-Oakley Knicks. I hate the Celtics like poison. And the two guys on top of my most hated athletes of all time list are Bill Walton and Bill Laimbeer. Two Whiter guys you'll never meet .

I'm a dozen years younger, but my faves were Dr. J. and Magic Johnson. It's not the color of the league that bothers me, it's the attitude. Many of these guys are punks, plain and simple. And had LeBron not been in Cleveland, he probably would have been the poster boy of venom because I dislike so much of what he represents. I loathe the players hugging the competition before games and he never had that killer instit of Jordan, Bird, Magic, Duncan, and the other greats. And I share your hatred of the Celtics - I couldn't stand Bird, McHale, & Parrish.

What LeBron & Wade did four years ago was essentially render ownership to be useless. The owners and GMs should be calling the shots for a team roster, not a couple of players. But Miami will see what we saw in Cleveland and I do fault Gilbert for kissing LeBron's ass: LeBron is a terrible GM and he'll have his desire to play with his buddies override the decision to do what's best for the team. Wade was a shell of himself and has been on the decline for the past two years. I don't blame him for trying to get more money, but he is embarassing himself out there.

I consider myself lucky. I got to see Michael in his prime. I'd watch every night on TNT listening to hubie brown and Doug Collins or dick Stockton. I loved the game. And I'm young enough to identify with the hip hop generation and I hate sooooo much that they play music in the middle of the game. Totally ruins it for me. And most of all the one on one not passing offense and no defense has made me a very passive fan. I watch some old games from the eighties and nineties on NBA TV. Totally different game. You see fans in the crowd going nuts. That energy is gone.

Cheech & Pizzaboy you both are old enough to remember the NBA All-Star Games in the 80s & 90s. Basically it was a highlight reel of offense: allyoops, dunks, no look passes, and absolutely no defense. With some minor exceptions like the Spurs, the league today plays like the All Star Games of 25 years ago.

This made me laugh

LeBron James leaning toward joining al Queda

Hopefully he'll take Carmelo and Lala with him .

He's all yours, Goom .

LeBron James is coming home.

The NBA’s best player will return to the Cavaliers after a four-year run with the Heat, he announced in an article he penned for SI.com. James won two titles and reached four consecutive NBA Finals alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

“When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission,” James wrote. “I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.

“My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.”

James met with Heat president Pat Riley on Wednesday in Las Vegas, but this time Riley wasn’t able to convince the four-time MVP that South Beach was his best spot to win championships. James wrote there was no friction that precipitated his exit from Miami.

“I’m doing this essay because I want an opportunity to explain myself uninterrupted,” he wrote. “I don’t want anyone thinking: He and Erik Spoelstra didn’t get along. … He and Riles didn’t get along. … The Heat couldn’t put the right team together. That’s absolutely not true.”

Instead, James will join budding superstar Kyrie Irving and No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins in Cleveland under first-year coach Dave Blatt. The Cavaliers become one of the favorites to win the NBA title James was unable to deliver in his first stint (Bovada.lv moved the Cavs to the top of the board at 4-1, ahead of the 5-1 Spurs and 6-1 Thunder). Yahoo! Sports has reported the Cavaliers may continue to pursue a trade for All-Star forward Kevin Love.

“I’m not promising a championship,” James wrote. “I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process.”

James says in the essay he met with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert — who wrote a scathing letter bashing James upon his departure in 2010 — and patched up their relationship.

James’ decision is expected to set off a flurry of moves in the NBA. Bosh is expected to sign a max deal with the Rockets, joining James Harden and Dwight Howard in a superstar trio. Wade, who has spent all 11 years of his career with the Heat, is expected to stay in Miami. Heat owner Micky Arison reacted to the bombshell announcement on Twitter:

http://nypost.com/2014/07/11/lebron-james-announces-he-will-return-to-cavaliers/

I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, LeBron brings a ton of money to the regional economy. But his holier-than-thou crap is a turn-off for me.

Pizzaboy, if anyone on these boards would understand how I feel about Lebron, this sums it up:

You'll forgive and forget in a heartbeat, Goom. And I won't hold it against you because that's what anyone would do. First time he scores fifty on The Heat, in Cleveland, all will be forgiven. Guaranteed .

Well now he's loved again, the native son comes back home. This has been more interesting than actually watching the crap.

That's the bottom line. It's a different sport and on a MUCH different level. But this almost reminds me of when Andy Pettitte followed Clemens to Houston. No one here gave a shit about Clemens because no one ever looked at him as anything but a hired gun. But a lot of Yankees fans got very angry with Pettitte because they felt betrayed. When he came back three years later, they "forgave" him in a heartbeat. It's mostly mock outrage, but some fans honestly take the shit personally.

I'm surprised these sports teams/leagues aren't equal opportunity employers

Let's start with 60 and the slate will be wiped clean

I think Pettitte was "forgiven" more for being honest about his steroid usage. Clemens was more vilified 1) for being an ex-Red Sock and 2) in general being a d-head most of career

Well, there's that, too .

Awesome