GSW are arguably the best team in bb last year and at least second best adding KD and losing this year would have been an epic fail maybe CLE can add westbrook next year boy this NBA is sooooo exciting i don't think any of us could have foreseen this epic ending
May be his smartest move yet..at least he can lose to the Warriors in the conference Finals and stop taking L's in the title round
Going to end up being two all star teams squaring off in the Finals each year while the rest of the league tanks for the future. Fun shit.
Smh The bitter party looking like Stephen A. Smith. Really nothing new here..tonight ESPN airs their 30 for 30 Celtics/Lakers documentary, the 2 all-star teams that dominated the golden era. Of course it's always funnest when the Lakers are one of the super-teams..can thank David Stern for where they are now because they'd probably have a super-team built around Chris Paul if not for Stern. Regardless, it's the NBA..the best team usually wins the championship..newsflash..I know. For all those that complain about the luck factor in MLB and the 1 and done playoff nature in the NFL..the NBA usually serves up the champion that's truly the best team. Anyway, all that said, you fellas will still be locked in on the draft next Thursday like
LAL bringing Josh Jackson in for a 2nd workout Josh Jackson will be working out at the Lakers practice facility today at around 3:30 or 4 #Lakers — Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 13, 2017 So that's a cancelled workout with the Celtics yesterday, and a 2nd LAL workout today for JJ. Shits heating up..oh and De'aaron Fox is supposed to be working out with LAL today as well, so I wonder if Jackson is coming in to go @ Fox?
Scratch that, Fox was in earlier today and Jackson will get a 2nd private workout later today, so no clash
I hardly follow basketball anymore, so I'm wondering... Fox and/or Ball would fit an immediate need for a true point guard/distributor. While I like the fact that Jackson is considered more ready to contribute than the others, is the idea that if LAL draft him, Russell would continue to run the point? How viable is that? And then does acquiring Paul George become less likely as we'd be loaded with forwards?
If they were to draft him, wouldn't shock me if LAL were to develop Jackson as a point guard or " primary ball handler " as they continue to try and transition to position-less basketball ala Warriors. He's very adept at distributing in various ways, is a very good ball handler and is an excellent athlete that can pretty much get wherever he wants on the court with his dribble against anybody. There's legitimate offensive versatility in Jackson, he's not just a forward..he can defend 4 positions, but he defends guards best. If they were to somehow draft Jackson, trade for George or sign him, all while keeping Ingram, that'd be ideal in today's game.
NBA has always lacked parity and I've never really minded it to be honest. We've seen some great Finals because of the best facing off, but Cleveland/Golden State has been anything but great. 2/12 games decided by single digits the last two seasons. The playoffs in general have been poor. Jazz-Clippers & Wizards-Celtics the only series to go 7 and neither were that interesting. Can't blame anyone for not being on board with a superstar joining a 73 win team after he had a 3-1 lead against them the previous season. The weakest move by any star I can ever remember. GS was well on their way to winning title #2 without KD prior to Draymond's suspension and were +53 in the playoffs when KD was on the bench this postseason. They didn't need him at all.Imagine Larry Bird joining the Lakers after losing a tight 7 game series to the Lakers. Stephen A is a loudmouth but I can't blame him for not being a fan of the "If you can't beat them, join them" mentality.
We almost didn't even see Cavs/Warriors this year..remember the 20+pt lead San Antonio had on the Warriors in Game 1 of the WCF before Zaza hurt Leonard? People can say what they want about Durant, but it was an educated move in the end..Westbrook is a ballhog/nut and Oklahoma City is a shitty place to call home..far as I'm concerned he finally had a chance to escape both and did. And not only that, but OKC's ownership is cheap..they could've kept James Harden and kept that team at it's best, but they went the cheap route. If they were smart they would've stayed in Seattle and continued being the Supersonics. The Seattle market is about the right size for a player like Durant, as is the bay area..OKC is not. I do agree that the Warriors were well on their way to winning title #2 without Durant last year, but he still went over there and pretty much took the mantle as the best player on that team. To say they didn't need him at all..maybe not pre-Finals, but even then, again, if Kawhi Leonard doesn't get hurt the Spurs are probably giving GSW all they want with Durant. Stephen A. is more than a loudmouth, he's a narrative guy. He pushes the " can't beat'em, join'em " narrative without running down all the negatives of staying with OKC..all the while predicting all year long last year that Durant would sign with the Lakers. Stephen A. is a clown. What Durant really did was see a homegrown crew that matches his skill-set and one that plays a better/less selfish brand of basketball..in a greater market. By far his best option last summer.
Mike TrudellVerified account@LakersReporter Fox: “I’m an extreme competitor. Good locker room guy. Someone that will try and earn the respect of the (older) guys.“
Outside of Leonard, SA was without a consistent offensive player. They could have made it an interesting series with Kawhi, but SA proved themselves vs Houston that 1 game isn't enough to predict a series after Houston thumped them in their house in game 1. GS had way too much firepower for a team with Aldridge as the #2 option imo. I think most people understood why KD would want to leave OKC. Shoot first PG & like you said, they failed to keep Harden for money purposes. It's the fact that he joined an established championship team that could win multiple championships without him. It's the fact that he had that same team beat in his house in game 6 entering the 4th quarter up 8 points and went 1-7 from the field. You can point at RW all you want, but it's like KD admitted that he didn't want the pressure of carrying a team to a title. He was great with GS this year, but most star players would see a huge boost in efficiency on such a stacked team. I just wish he had joined a team that needed a player of his caliber to jump the hurdle as opposed to joining a team that had the best record of all time and won a championship without him. 1 title in OKC or elsewhere would have meant so much more to his legacy than numerous titles with the Warriors. As a fan, I would have loved to see KD go to a team like the Wizards and give LeBron true competition out East or stay with the Thunder and set up an epic WCF rematch and a more unpredictable Finals. Instead, we saw two teams go 24-1 combined vs their conferences and a mostly uncompetitive 5 game series in the Finals.
It's like the Sixers have had the right mindset all along. Same with Boston. Everyone got on Boston for not acquiring Butler/George at the deadline, but neither of those guys would put them above Cleveland. It's best to build for the long term when you have two juggernauts running the league. Build chemistry & develop the next couple of years and strike when the two elites start to slow down. Entering win now mode will unfortunately set most teams back a long time.
San Antonio was the #1 defensive team in the NBA this season, usually is among the elite..Houston was never truly a threat to anyone of note because they were nowhere near where they need to be defensively and more than likely won't ever be under D'antoni. That series was never truly in doubt. Now, I certainly didn't pick the Spurs to beat GSW, but a 20+pt lead in Oakland is a 20+pt lead in Oakland..if Leonard avoids Zaza and they take Game 1, that's a hell of a start for a Popovich led team that still has a good number of former champions on it. Still, if it's a case of " almost beating the Warriors last year and then joining them ", that means people think Durant should've stayed with OKC and given it another run at GSW this year..you said it there at the end, that you would've liked to see him stay with OKC. Well, he obviously didn't wanna stay..we can always point to a single game here and there, but Westbrook's decision making was a problem over the long-haul and it has to be draining to play with him if you're Durant. It's why they used to put the ball in Harden's hands and let him play PG/distribute back when they had a Big 3. Everybody thinks Harden just started playing PG..nope, he was a PG back in OKC as well because they wanted to cut down on Westbrook's wild west style. And then he probably was also tired of living in OKC..hell, who knows if he ever really wanted to go back home and deal with all the hometown stuff that comes with that. He didn't put any value in joining a team that needed him to jump a hurdle, and would've probably needed at least 2-3 years with his new team just to truly sniff a title in that scenario if he had. He doesn't have forever, he'll already be pushing 30 next year and he wants to win multiple rings in his prime, it was now or never for him. Ultimately, the guy was a free agent, saw the best situation for his game and his goals for the rest of his prime and made the decision he thought was best for himself..he wasn't thinking about what any fans wanted. And then regardless of what the media thinks, what fans think..there's Draymond Green saying during the celebration last night, " hey, last year's loss was worth it if the consolation prize was Kevin Durant " because they know he's the best they have on that roster bar none. If you can add Durant, you do it..the argument of " do they need this guy " is always one that falls short because of what health and other circumstances can do to a team's season. Curry himself has battled the injury bug in recent years and in his career in general..it's damn nice to have Durant there in case something happens, so they'll tell you they need him.
Los Angeles LakersVerified account@Lakers 44m44 minutes ago "The way the game is changing so much today, versatility is pretty important & I think I bring a lot to the table."
Mike TrudellVerified account@LakersReporter 2h2 hours ago Josh Jackson concluded: “Whatever I have to do to win I’m going to figure it out.” Mike TrudellVerified account@LakersReporter 2h2 hours ago Jackson thinks it could be “really special” playing with Ingram. Noted how GSW+CLE didn’t play centers in “winning time.” Versatility a key.
We'll agree to disagree. Westbrook gets a lot of flack and is used as the scapegoat for all of OKC's shortcomings during Durant's tenure but I always felt that Durant/Brooks deserved just as much blame. They seemed to run much better sets with Donovan and not solely rely on iso ball like they did under Brooks. In just 1 year with Donovan, they defeated a 67 win Spurs team and pushed the team with the best record of all time to 7 games. Without Klay's explosion in game 6 in OKC, they're in the finals. 2011-2012 NBA Finals 2012-2013 Westbrook gets injured in round 1 2013-2014 WCF loss to Spurs with a hobbled Ibaka 2014-2015 Durant injured 2015-2016 Defeat the Spurs then lose in 7 to the 73-9 Warriors For all of the heat Westbrook got for holding KD back, they were in contention whenever their main core was healthy. Ran into some great teams that they lost long series too but they were always right there and Durant deserves just as much blame as RW does for not lifting them past the WCF without Harden. The biggest knock on KD was how much he'd defer to RW late in games and become passive. I get that it's KD's decision and he doesn't give a flying fuck what I or anyone else think about him. It's just a unique situation. Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird, etc. would never join a team that they lost to in the postseason. They'd come at them harder the next season. Those guys were true competitors. Do you think his titles in GS hold as much weight as any title elsewhere? I certainly don't....it was the best move for him to win a ring right now, but I think it was far from the best move for his legacy. Oh well.
