NBA Offseason Thread

[Brett Favre 0]

I actually think Lowry's attitude is what will make him a better player. He's the type of guy that plays hard on every possession, making him almost like the anti-Rudy Gay. His defense will keep him in the league, as well as his pass first point guard mentality. Marcus Williams can't defend like him, and when it comes to passing, he's nearly as good, if not already as good as Marcus. The only thing Marcus has over him is his scoring ability.

[mike546 0]

Yea, Marcus can't play defense for shit. His D literally almost caused UConn to be the victims of the biggest upset in college basketball history. Fortunatley, his passing and scoring skills are great.

[Ripper 0]

I actually think Lowry's attitude is what will make him a better player. He's the type of guy that plays hard on every possession, making him almost like the anti-Rudy Gay. His defense will keep him in the league, as well as his pass first point guard mentality. Marcus Williams can't defend like him, and when it comes to passing, he's nearly as good, if not already as good as Marcus. The only thing Marcus has over him is his scoring ability.

 

Lowry doesn't have half the court vision that Williams has displayed with consistantcy. Marcus REALLY can't defend, but as a pass first point guard, Lowry really doesn't compare.

[Brett Favre 0]

Lowry's penetration is much better than Williams', allowing him to be a better passer.

[Guest Felonies!]

Lowry's penetration is much better than Williams'

that's what she said

[Ripper 0]

Lowry's penetration is much better than Williams', allowing him to be a better passer.

This isn't college ball. The D doesn't have to collapse on a player that in all honesty couldn't finish at the rim against 6'5 Centers let alone the ones that are lurking in the NBA.

[Dangerous A 0]

After reading that the Kings have been granted permission to interview Mario Elie for the head coaching job in Sac, I think that's the guy I personally would like to have as the Kings coach. I'm not feeling Carlesimo or the Monarchs coach and Eric Musselman didn't show me much in his GS run, but he's young and may have learned a thing or two on the bench in Memphis.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

so if the Pistons lose (which they probably will), what sort of changes do you forsee, or would you make? This makes the assumption that Joe D is at least semi-serious about still making a run for the title next year.

 

That's a tricky situation if there ever was one, but I think its possible the starting 5 may hit their "wall", most cores of really good teams hit a wall after a certain number of years, which is why those 3 peat Lakers team couldn't just stay pat and they lost to SAS, looking old and tired. the old Bad Boys in '91 and then '92 were clearly not the same as just two years earlier. Even the vaunted 2nd 3-peat Bulls team had a tougher time in their last year. They could really use a strong post presence (on the offensive end) isntead of bigs who either just shoot jumpers (Sheed/Dice) or have no offense (Ben). As well as a consistent slasher (no more jump shooters).

[Guest]

I think Ben may leave. Don't know what they would do to replace him.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

well assume he's gonna stay, or that its ambigious enough to do a sign and trade so that option's open. anyone have any thoughts on changes?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

well assume he's gonna stay, or that its ambigious enough to do a sign and trade so that option's open. anyone have any thoughts on changes?

 

First thing they must do is get rid of Flip. If this team considers themselves legit title contenders going forward then they need to have a coach who can win on the road and in tough postseason spots. Flip has shown during his 10 or so years in the league that he is not capable of making the proper adjustments and it will bury this team every year unless they just realize their mistake and cut bait.

 

I would assume that Ben Wallace will end up somewhere else before all is said and done. The new NBA is going to have less of an emphasis on quality big man play and giving him a max contract right now would seriously hurt their financial flexibility in the years to come. He will probably end up in Chicago this summer anyways.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

well personally i'd love to see flip gone, and steal someone like mike fratello, hubie brown, or even lambier (don't laugh, i actually think if he could get one good offensive post player, he would do really well)... but the truth is, dumping flip now really makes the pistons unattractive for prospective coaches, its essentially "win a title or get fired" with a team that didnt even reach the finals. plus it lets the players off scot-free, they're also stinking it up. I'm sure fellow piston fans have heard this phrase before: "we've been there before, we know what we have to do", as almost a defacto "dont worry about flip" re-assurance from the players. Well that's a load of bunk. they've lost the magical sync that made them a great collective unit. I think some change has to be made but I'm not even sure what other than generic "offensive post presence" and "slasher".

[naiwf 0]

I think the main problems the Pistons have is that they are too guard oriented on offense. Ben can't hit a shot outside of the charge semicircle these days, 'Sheed takes games off and Tayshaun just isn't strong enough to dominate on the low blocks so if his shot is off that's a lot of spots on the court not generating points.

 

Ironically enough losing Darko looks like a mistake now because if Ben walks they don't have any kind of big man who can play the pivot. I think they might have to consider dealing one of their forwards if that's the case because the Pistons will not be able to play small ball if Ben isn't back there to clean up the messes. If there's anything we've learned in this series it's that if Ben is forced to stay honest on Shaq, the rest of the Pistons do not play great help defense and guys like Rip and Billups get blown by an awful lot straight up as well.

 

They're gonna have to lose one of the "Big 5", they just need to figure out which one they can live without because they won't have the money to max all of them and not every guy is irreplacable.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

the guard oriented offense is basically because they're a jump shooting team, which ties in with how I was saying they NEED a low post presence, someone to get easy points in the paint. Sheed's all about the jumpers and as you said takes too many games off.

 

If Ben stays, I actually think Rasheed is the most expendable, he's hurts just as much as helps, and his attitude seems to have gotten worse as the playoffs have gone on. Then there's the thing to consider that Billups is up for a big payday in 07. He probably has the highest trade value, what team besides Phoenix wouldn't want him? Imagine LAL with billups at point, or denver? Really I'd say Tayshaun is close to untouchable, he's been rock solid the last 2-3 years, and is still the youngest. If they wanna go younger they should definatly keep him around.

 

as disapointing as the playoffs have been, there is a part of me that's a bit excited abuot the offseason. before this, trade proposals and signings have been a moot point other than a role player here or there, because the core 5 were 'untouchable', now i'm already reeling off a few (slightly) off the wall trade ideas. its the fun stuff that other teams go through every summer, but in this case, all 5 of the starters can be considered solid trading assets.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

It seems like most teams in the league could use a strong low-post presence. Who do you all consider the genuine good ones right now, much less the ones that are available?

[Guest]

I know I'll miss a few, but here's my list, unordered of course.

 

Bosh, Duncan, Rasheed, Garnett, Chris Wilcox (This guy got screwed in LA. He has star power.), Brand, Dwight Howard, Shaq, Yao, JO, Amare, Brad Miller, Al Harrington and that's all I can think of now. Those are the guys on my mind.

 

Best ones available are probably Wilcox, and Harrington, with Mihm and Boozer available on the trade block.

 

I'm sure this list is all screwed up, but those are the names I can think of.

[naiwf 0]

the guard oriented offense is basically because they're a jump shooting team, which ties in with how I was saying they NEED a low post presence, someone to get easy points in the paint. Sheed's all about the jumpers and as you said takes too many games off.

 

If Ben stays, I actually think Rasheed is the most expendable, he's hurts just as much as helps, and his attitude seems to have gotten worse as the playoffs have gone on. Then there's the thing to consider that Billups is up for a big payday in 07. He probably has the highest trade value, what team besides Phoenix wouldn't want him? Imagine LAL with billups at point, or denver? Really I'd say Tayshaun is close to untouchable, he's been rock solid the last 2-3 years, and is still the youngest. If they wanna go younger they should definatly keep him around.

 

I'm thinking losing both Wallaces would be problematic, but if Ben chooses to go, you might as well send Rasheed away too. I just think they'd have to completely rethink their defense first philosophy as is and 'Sheed and Flip just don't mix. I don't think they need a superstar, just a solid low post/rebound type guy. I just can't really think of anyone who would be available, but the one guy that comes to mind that approximates what Big Ben offers is Samuel Dalembert. Kurt Thomas would be the only guy I can think of off the top of my head that would be a replacement for 'Sheed, and he seems like the kind of guy who Phoenix might want.

 

Detroit can't lose Billups because he's their shotmaker and an average PG would just mean Rip would get doubled on nearly every possession. The Pistons NEED to keep the backcourt intact and swap out one of their bigs for a guy who has some consistent offensive ability. Like I said before, their biggest problem is you can't have 5 max guys on one team and the two Wallaces are their most tradable commodities unless they want to move Prince. It'll be interesting to see what they do because I could see this team completely imploding if they lose tomorrow night and Flip stays on for next season.

[alfdogg 0]

I know I'll miss a few, but here's my list, unordered of course.

 

Bosh, Duncan, Rasheed, Garnett, Chris Wilcox (This guy got screwed in LA. He has star power.), Brand, Dwight Howard, Shaq, Yao, JO, Amare, Brad Miller, Al Harrington and that's all I can think of now. Those are the guys on my mind.

 

Best ones available are probably Wilcox, and Harrington, with Mihm and Boozer available on the trade block.

 

I'm sure this list is all screwed up, but those are the names I can think of.

Throw in Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph, and that's pretty much it for the elite guys. Harrington (unless he's changed his game a lot since leaving Indy) and KG are more mid-range guys, and Rasheed is a perimeter player, who all occasionally step into the post. You could throw Antawn Jamison in there with those guys, as well.

[Guest]

I knew I forgot two of them, and I wasn't sure whether to include Harrington in there or not.

[alfdogg 0]

This really has nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was funny.

 

“The Pistons were still shaking their heads at what happened Thursday night as they were on their bus inside the loading-dock area of Conseco Fieldhouse.

 

“It was between 11:30 and midnight and the Pistons' bus was about to leave the arena for the airport.

 

“Suddenly, a dark Escalade roared into the loading dock, nearly hitting several people. Out jumped Ron Artest.

 

“According to Pistons players on the bus, Artest was wearing an old (and short) pair of shorts. He had no shoes on and, upon getting out of the vehicle, he tore off his T-shirt.

 

“Given the history between Artest and the Pistons, the team's security officials were on high alert. But Artest made no motion toward the bus. He simply walked, bare-chested and bare-footed, into the building, presumably for a midnight workout.

 

“‘There's something going on there,’ Ben Wallace said, not wanting to comment further.”

 

—Detroit News, May 22, 2005

[dh86 0]

well assume he's gonna stay, or that its ambigious enough to do a sign and trade so that option's open. anyone have any thoughts on changes?

 

First thing they must do is get rid of Flip. If this team considers themselves legit title contenders going forward then they need to have a coach who can win on the road and in tough postseason spots. Flip has shown during his 10 or so years in the league that he is not capable of making the proper adjustments and it will bury this team every year unless they just realize their mistake and cut bait.

 

I would assume that Ben Wallace will end up somewhere else before all is said and done. The new NBA is going to have less of an emphasis on quality big man play and giving him a max contract right now would seriously hurt their financial flexibility in the years to come. He will probably end up in Chicago this summer anyways.

 

Pistons have had 3 coaches in the last 3 years...im sick of them changing coaches...its nearing the point where you gotta revamp the roster...its heading toward the Trail Blazers path quickly

[Guest stylz]

I'd love the Raps to throw a big money deal @ Ben...they def have the cap room.

 

J

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

John Nash is finally out in Portland. The guy has just buried basketball in the area to such a degree that I am not sure they can be a viable entity anymore.

 

Sidenote: Can anyone think of a moment that doomed a franchise more than the Blazers collapse against the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Conference Finals?

[naiwf 0]

John Nash is finally out in Portland. The guy has just buried basketball in the area to such a degree that I am not sure they can be a viable entity anymore.

 

Sidenote: Can anyone think of a moment that doomed a franchise more than the Blazers collapse against the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Conference Finals?

 

The New York Knicks are purchased by Cablevision and the Dolans.

[Guest]

They weren't that good when they were purchased.

[naiwf 0]

They weren't that good when they were purchased.

 

That wasn't the question though. Since the moment the Dolans got control we have been blessed with Scott Layden, Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Allan Houston's crippled knees getting a max contract, and being $100 million over the cap while our win total has dropped to 23 last year. I don't know how much more doomed a franchise could get than going from a perennial playoff team that always sold out home games to the second worst record in the league despite there being a 2 year old expansion team around. The worst part is that the next 5 years CAN'T be any better because of the albatross contracts about 7 of our 12 players have and the Dolans not acknowledging that Isiah has murdered our future because he wasn't smart enough to protect lottery picks.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

John Nash is finally out in Portland. The guy has just buried basketball in the area to such a degree that I am not sure they can be a viable entity anymore.

 

Sidenote: Can anyone think of a moment that doomed a franchise more than the Blazers collapse against the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2000 Conference Finals?

 

The New York Knicks are purchased by Cablevision and the Dolans.

 

Well I was referring more to an in-game moment that changed the fortunes of a franchise. The Blazers went from near-locks to win the title to a franchise on life support because of one quarter of basketball.

[naiwf 0]

Well I was referring more to an in-game moment that changed the fortunes of a franchise. The Blazers went from near-locks to win the title to a franchise on life support because of one quarter of basketball.

 

OK under that criteria, the Charles Smith Memorial Game killed any chance the Knicks ever had of beating the Jordan Bulls, and I think they would have easily won the NBA title that year. That or John Starks being allowed to go 2 for 18, 0 for 11 from 3 game against the Rockets. Riley's reluctance to pull him ended the championship run because '99 was just an aberration.

[Brett Favre 0]

'99 was a very fun year.

[mike546 0]

 

Well I was referring more to an in-game moment that changed the fortunes of a franchise. The Blazers went from near-locks to win the title to a franchise on life support because of one quarter of basketball.

 

OK under that criteria, the Charles Smith Memorial Game killed any chance the Knicks ever had of beating the Jordan Bulls, and I think they would have easily won the NBA title that year. That or John Starks being allowed to go 2 for 18, 0 for 11 from 3 game against the Rockets. Riley's reluctance to pull him ended the championship run because '99 was just an aberration.

 

Or Ewing's missed layup against the Pacers.