PJ wrote:Several weeks later, the story came out that Dr. Buss, not Jimmy, had made the decision to go with D’Antoni. This seemed unlikely to me given the state of Jerry’s health — not to mention, Jimmy’s long history of impetuous decision-making — but it was impossible to verify that story one way or the other.
being in the la market now, it's amazing, amazing how much the lakers fucked up what should/could have been a total slam dunk re: landing dwight howard. the guy is a low block banger that will get you 22/14 and knock down your opponent's shooting percentage within 10 feet by like .075 at least. and what do they get after firing one coach (who was equally dumb for trying to run a princeton-inspired heavy motion offense)? a guy whose whole ball finds energy "system" is BY DESIGN incompatible with a low block banger AND a guy whose defensive strength is entirely mitigated by an increased need to ball-stop in transition for an additional 20 possessions a game--and they were the exact same player.
d'antoni will forever be a system coach that absolutely needs the right personnel for the gig. the suns had it. the knicks didn't, and the lakers sure as shit didn't. the common thread? primary scoring options that are/were more efficient and effective in isolation, which are inherently contrary to the d'antoni shoot it or move it approach. if they just hired a golden fucking retriever to run the triangle or any post-oriented offense, they would have been far more cohesive on both sides of the ball, howard would have been happy, they would have won at least 8 more games, and this current shitting-down-the-leg situation would be a mere fevered dream.
CLEVELAND—Following lengthy and protracted trade negotiations, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced Friday that the team has agreed to deal No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins and four-time league MVP LeBron James to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for power forward Kevin Love. “Though it was a tough decision to let Andrew and LeBron go, we felt that adding Kevin gives our team the best chance to compete for an NBA championship next season,” said Cleveland GM David Griffin, adding that it ultimately wasn’t possible to acquire Love from Minnesota without giving up both Wiggins and James. “We’re thrilled to welcome Kevin to the team. I have no doubt that he will be a great fit in Cleveland and will quickly become a fan favorite.” Griffin went on to say that everyone within the Cavaliers organization wished Wiggins and James nothing but the best in Minnesota
i had read earlier that love would only be picked up by a team if he signed an extension or smoething like that saying that he wouldn't just leave at the end of his contract/2015. is this still the case or is there a possibility of the cavs giving up wiggins and bennett and then end up losing love at the end of 2015? that would rule. no offense cavs.
The thing about Howard, and everyone else, is that Kobe is a douchebag that no one wants to play with. And without Fisher there to mediate for everyone it's been over. Yes Hoiward is a faggot
Larry Bird regarding Lance Stephenson: "I really feel bad about losing him,'' Bird said. "I hope it doesn't interfere with our relationship. But I did what I could possibly do to keep him here. Even if he didn't have any other offers, I was committed to giving him that $44 million because I believe in the kid.
how much more inept will indiana's offense be next year. boggles the mind.
the more i think about the paubulls, it makes less sense. he's been a bad defender for a while. he can score and stretch the floor, yes, but couldn't boozer too? i don't know. he had to go somewhere, and he clearly was done with the la front-office ineptitude, so the bulls and lakers swap defensive liabilities at the 4. cool man. cool.
EDIT: also i like ed davis. if you go per 36 over his career, he's a double double guy--in theory. is he a guy you want on the floor for 36 minutes at a clip, though? on a bad lakers team, that might actually be a yes.
i'm not sure where you're getting the undersized or bad things, he couldn't sniff the floor in memphis only because they were so deep in the frontline. if anything, davis is taller than their current options at the 4, and will be better off the bench than the rookie over the next two seasons. also how pathetic are the lakers re: rim protection? hill and sacre? lololololol fucking deandre jordan is going to put up 45 on them one night and not dribble the ball once.
back on the vonleh on the bobcats tip: his predraft max reach was/is 12'1" which is some aforementioned deandre jordan shit. his no-step vertical reach? 11'7", the same as... wait for it... ed davis!
Davis sucks. When Gasol was hurt he did nothing. And those per 36 numbers aren't worth a shit for guys who get half their PT in blowouts. That's why you gotta watch games, not evaluate based on basketball reference.
he also played basketball before the grizzlies you know. when he was on the raptors, he was a rotation 4 that was a game-high rebounder on the regular. nice attempt at a hot take tho.
i mean he's going to be the fifth best player on that team. which is horrible, because that means ed davis is going to be the fifth best player on that team.
