KD on Warriors, will this team be the best ever?

Wait..what?

Thanks,Dude.

I saw several fake announcement headlines during the past hour.

Goombah predicted chemistry problem if he landed there and I agree.

All I can say is WOW!!

Definitely going to be growing pains in the beginning

Remember the 2004 L.A. Lakers? The supposed super team with Kobe, Shaq, Gary Payton, & Karl Malone. They clashed all year and pulled it together enough to make it to the Finals. Then they were summarily dismissed by a true team, one devoid of any superstars: the Detroit Pistons.

Will this work in Golden State? Who knows. But whether they wanted it or not, the pressure will be tremendous starting the day Durant signs his name to the contract. Rightly or wrongly, the expectation should be 75 wins and a title. Anything short of that is a failure.

It also makes GS transform from media darlings to overnight villians. Now there will be vitriol for Curry, KD, and Thompson. Green will not only have to share the ball more, he'll have to be share being hated.

I said it during the playoffs and it bears repeating. If the NBA had the guts to suspend Draymond Green for his multiple kicks to Steven Adams, then we're not having this conversation. GS would have been eliminated in the Western Conf Finals.

The NBA's inability to suspend Green is a mistake of historic proportions. If OKC wins that series while Green served a 1-2 game suspension, Durant stays. Then GS's regular season is rendered even more meaningless than losing to Cleveland. The non-suspension FOREVER altered the path of two franchises and has made the NBA virtually uncompetitive. At the very least, it further solidies the belief of many that the NBA regular season is a complete waste of time.

I also think the Durant signing was a bit of a hedge against Curry's fragile health, combined with Thompson & Curry shrinking in big moments. These guys will need to play big minutes particularly since they depleted their once deep bench.

Lastly, where is that entitled wind bag of a wife of Steph Curry? Don't hear her chirping about the NBA being rigged now that things are going her way again. She doesn't have the first clue about adversity.

Goombah,

good post.
Green must have felt untouchable after NBA was scared to suspend him because the VERY next game....as he scored on OKC bigs he would run down the court right in their faces flexing his puny arms( things that draw technicals in modern nba)

I'd say the past 3 years...three incidents have altered sports history. Celtics guy injuring KL in last year's playoffs ( no call on the floor when it happened)....Green not being suspended this year against okc, and Bron doing the crafty vet move and stepping over DG and baiting him into a move that forced the nba to suspend him.

refs and front office of NBA are inconsistent and it's a running joke. If Bron doesn't trick DG...Warriors are 2 time champs for sure. If KL doesn't get hurt last year, maybe Cavs are 2x champs. if DG has to sit, maybe okc wins ring this year.

Mrs. Curry talking about rigged outcomes, hahahahahahahahahahah. Steph raked Bron across his arm trying to steal the ball, that is a foul......they did it all series and perhaps she started thinking it was a legal play because refs chose not to call it all the other times..hahahahahahaah


If Warriors replace the guys they lost with high hoops iq defensive minded guys, they will be back in Finals next year.

What I like about GSW loading up is that it forces other teams to be active in off season. You can't keep last year's roster and convince your fanbase that you are serious about trying to win an NBA title after KD joined the Warriors.

Some of the local sports talk guys had worked themselves into a lather thinking Wade was coming to the Cavs. I didn't buy into it because no feud is worth leaving $17 million per season on the table. Cavs could pay $3 mil and the Heat offered $20 mil. I would have been really upset if we traded Love for a 35 year old two guard with bad knees.

That said, I was pretty shocked to wake up and read Wade signed with Chicago. I thought this was all a preamble to make Riley sweat a little. I get that Wade is from Chicago, but I don't see that he greatly improved his chances of winning another title. Wade must be convinced that Bosh is never going to be the same/be able to overcome the blood issue OR Wade felt slighted by the Heat organization.

I think he felt slighted by the Heat.He's actually THE most important player in the history of the franchise. Easily their best draft choice, Finals mvp, he help recruit Bron and Bosh.

Oh well, Chicago is a top 3 media market so perhaps Wade is trying to set himself up for post playing career,or for front office or part ownership.


What do you hear about Ray Allen coming out of retirement?
I say why not? Steve Kerr and Robert Horry sat on benches and hit key shots in playoffs to win rings for years....why not Ray?

I just read about Allen this morning. LeBron went after Allen hard in the 14-15 season to try and lure him to the Cavs. I know I am biased, but I am trying to say this from an objective standpoint. Why would Allen choose GS over Cleveland? GS has too many 3 point shooters. They need someone to offer a variety. That's what killed them in Game 7 especially - no offense when the 3's don't fall.

Good point.But, the weather in Cleveland during the winter though.

In January, RA will be starting his car to go to practice and think "I gave up NBA retirement for THIS?

I think NBA players still resent Cavs ownership for how they treated Lebron after his first exit. LBJ was able to be a bigger man about it and he brought his hometown area that ring , but I think that rubbed a lot of players the wrong way.

Riley's treatment of Wade is going to have a similar effect when Heat tries to land players in the future.

Tim Duncan retires. The G.O.A.T. power forward has left the building.

Yes a sad day

Tim Duncan is the epitome of class. All-time great on and off the court.

Dude and Goombah, true.



In other news...Goombah's favorite NBA player, Draymond Green ,was arrested the other day for assault.



may get kicked off of usa basketball for it...

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/...sault/86948196/

So are they going to take more college players to Rio, now that a lot of NBA stars are declining to go?

I'd like to see Green kick an international player. Then all hell would break loose on the court.

You had an interesting point about players resenting Gilbert. I hadn't really thought of it from that perspective. It's clear LBJ and Gilbert are only working partners and LeBron does whatever he can to distance himself from Gilbert. But I guess I overlooked how influential LeBron's feelings about Gilbert resonated with many in the league.

Goombah,

If you recall, the way the Bulls front office handled Phil Jackson and MJ following the second 3peat made a lot of players wary of signing with the Bulls. And that was mainly a money issue , if I recall...with Phil and the organization not agreeing on either money or length of contract.

If you win ring(S) and don't get taken care of by the franchise, what makes unproven guys think that organization will treat them right if they sign.

Bulls were terrible for years and had to build up team through the draft.

Gilbert's words were personal....and I didn't even catch the full story....and it alienated superstar, star, and even good players from thinking of joining the Cavs. Gilbert's words turned out to be a lot of huffing and puffing because under his watch and without Bron....Cavs didn't do anything.

With Bron (and the players that he helped recruit) and KI....2 finals appearances and 1 ring in two years.

Good analogy with the Bulls. Hard to believe that dynasty ended 18 years ago. They could've had another legitimate superstar if Rose didn't battle so many injuries.

Your points about Gilbert are valid, but LeBron is not blameless. Especially when he was here the first time. He NEVER recruited players to the Cavs between '07 and '10, which was the contract he signed after his rookie deal expired. Part of it was that he didn't have the championship cache at the time to attract marquee names. But the other big part was why would a superstar commit to a 4-5 year deal in Cleveland without knowing whether the best player would bolt? LeBron's public lack of commitment was why he was stuck with lesser talent like Mo Williams, Larry Hughes, Shaq at the end of his career, etc.

What was even more revolting was watching LeBron recruit immediately upon signing in Miami. I think that was just his way of sticking it to Gilbert for the letter.

Goombah,

thanks for the inside story about Lebron. You add a lot of great info to these Cleveland topics. Apparently national sports media gets a lot of these Cleveland stories wrong....like the story of Love getting traded from last year..which you debunked quickly.

That's a valid criticism of Lebron. I think some of it was ego and Bron thinking that if he could drag those assorted parts to the NBA finals,like he did in '07 that his career was gonna be a cakewalk with rings galore. That he could do it by himself.
I think some of it was immaturity, not understanding that winning teams are not about star power but COMPLEMENTARY talent.

That's a great call about Bron instantly recruiting in Miami, to spite Cavs ownership. I think a lot of these trades and moves are brokered by players and not GMs. I Wade is hurt because he is most responsible for bringing Bosh and Bron in, taking a back seat and a pay cut to do so, and then not being shown any respect later. Heat treatment of Wade sends message to players to not sacrifice for your team and fans to win rings, to take care of yourself because team doesn't give a F about you in the end.

I completely agree that Riley took advantage of Wade. When they came together in 2010, Wade had already won a ring. He should've taken a back seat to no one then. Can't fault him for being a good guy and taking a bit less so that the organization could pay LeBron & Bosh. But the minute LeBron left in '14, Riley should've shown Wade the respect with the paycheck.

Then again, maybe Riley was taking a page out of Belichick's philosophy. How many dozens of Patriots are shown the door and not overpaid? And maybe Riley saw the lunacy of the Lakers in paying Kobe huge sums at the end of the career when Kobe was a shell of himself.

But no doubt Riley could have handled the situtation better. Riley should've made sure Wade played for Miami his entire career.

At the end of the day, all parties know that business decisions have to made ,but Wade made the point to leak the fact that Riley never met or spoke with him. That's the disrespect part. Wade took a pay cut at the height of his peak/earning power to benefit the organization.
Wade's value at this point isn't what he would think, but Riley has to be a man and have a face to face discussion with him.

Leaking that Riles didn't even do that is a big F you to the Heat as Wade leaves. That will haunt them in years to come recruiting players.

Good point about the Belichick approach.Patriots do show everybody the door, great line btw, as long as Brady is there and every other part can be replaced. I thought that Wade was "Brady" on the Heat...at least since Bron left..so letting him go signals they are completely rebuilding.

No More Hack-a-Shaq in the NBA


http://www.nba.com/2016/news/07/12/nba-rule-changes-fouls-away-from-play/




* Any young person, reading this..that's a pic of Don Nelson, architect of the Hack-A-Shaq . Mavs used the technique...Shaq bricked all the foul shots...in post-game..Shaq called Nelson a clown for using the tactic..so next time they played Nelson came out with a clown nose on...Shaq is a great showman so he hugged Nelly and placed the clown nose on himself.

I never knew the back story. When I used to listen to Jim Rome 15 years ago, I remember him referring to Nellie the Clown. But I never knew why. That is hilarious.

Thanks for posting the context Getthesenets.

I just noticed in your profile when you joined the BB. I think that was a day or two before LeBron made the Decision 1.0. Fortuitous timing!


*******************************


This just makes my stomach turn.

Adam Silver: Warriors' signing of Kevin Durant shows CBA needs change

How does Silver not realize that he was a MAJOR factor in Durant going to GS? If Silver showed any guts and suspended Draymond Green for multiple kicks to the groin of Steven Adams, KD never leaves OKC. Why? Because a suspended Green means that OKC advances to the Finals. No way does KD leave a team after dispatching the greatest regular season team of all time.

You have an eagle eye ,Goombah.

NBA has egg on their face after DG got arrested for assault in the off season. Innocent until proven guilty, BUT...we documented how DG felt emboldened to crank up the fake tough guy act AFTER the league chickened out from suspending him.

This assault arrest seems to a continuation of that act.I hope the police report of the altercation comes out. If it involves somebody getting hit in the crotch area,I'll fall out of my chair.

Not suspending DG altered sports history for sure.
I don't understand Silver's comments. GSW wasn't the team that could offer KD the most money, he just went there because he felt that was his best chance to win. How do you fault teams for being attractive to star players? Knicks have the money, Madison Avenue, and the Garden....and nobody who is smart wants to play there.Not always about the money.

Goombah,
Just noticed this today while trying to clear space from dvr....the post game awards and interviews center court

gets awkward around the time that Gilbert starts being interviewed....awkward and funny

1:06 minute mark

Thanks for posting. Been on vacation and not online much. I'll check it out by the end of the week.

CANNOT make this stuff up.


This is another low blow.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/17187209/nba-draymond-green-apology-tour-continues

DG is a loser...now he's apologizing for inadvertently posting crotch shots of himself on social media.

I cannot get excited about Team USA, particularly when Green is on the team. Not to say that I'm rooting against them, but Draymond Green is a horrible reprsentative of the USA and of NBA basketball IMHO.

Goombah,

meant to ask you....did the convention manage to leave your city in one piece?

Between the deep Finals run and the RNC, that's a lot of money pumped into the local economy this year.


Also, I was told by a guy from Cleveland that as happy as the people are about the ring, that it's a football town first and foremost and that if Browns ever win Superbowl...the celebration would dwarf what happened this year. Agree or disagree?