NBA Thread 2019-20

[GooooMarquette]

But LBJ is pissed off that he only got 16 first place votes for MVP.

That is some major league insecurity. The guy already has four MVPs, three NBA titles and finals MVPs, and more cash than he could ever possibly think of ways to spend...yet he is pissed that he didn't get more MVP votes in a season where he clearly didn't deserve it?

Wow....

[The Sultan]

Michael Jordan: "He let every minor slight drive him!!!"

LBJ:  "He's so insecure."

It's the same thing.  Some just label it differently.

[wadesworld]

Michael Jordan: "He let every minor slight drive him!!!"

LBJ:  "He's so insecure."

It's the same thing.  Some just label it differently.

Meh. One didn't talk to the media about how much his MVP votes pissed him off, instead he just went out and won 6 titles in, essentially, 6 straight years he played. The other whined and jumped around to team up with stars.

[GooooMarquette]

Michael Jordan: "He let every minor slight drive him!!!"

LBJ:  "He's so insecure."

It's the same thing.  Some just label it differently.

Jordan had world-class insecurity as well. As BLM mentioned, he dealt with them differently vis-a-vis the press and his public comments, but still, enough was never enough. Washington Wizards, anyone?

[The Sultan]

Oh I forgot BLM is wades. He's got a stick up his ass re LBJ so I usually ignore.

Carry on.

[wadesworld]

Oh I forgot BLM is wades. He's got a stick up his ass re LBJ so I usually ignore.

Carry on.

Very cool. Will do.

[tower912]

No lead is safe against Denver.

[MU82]

Meh. One didn't talk to the media about how much his MVP votes pissed him off, instead he just went out and won 6 titles in, essentially, 6 straight years he played. The other whined and jumped around to team up with stars.

Actually, that isn't true at all.

Jordan made sure everybody knew he was pissed that Barkley got MVP in 1993 and Malone got it in 1997. It was one of the zillion "slights" he found to psych himself up.

Back then there wasn't social media to amplify all of this, though.

[The Sultan]

Actually, that isn't true at all.

Jordan made sure everybody knew he was pissed that Barkley got MVP in 1993 and Malone got it in 1997. It was one of the zillion "slights" he found to psych himself up.

Back then there wasn't social media to amplify all of this, though.

Yep. 

[forgetful]

Actually, that isn't true at all.

Jordan made sure everybody knew he was pissed that Barkley got MVP in 1993 and Malone got it in 1997. It was one of the zillion "slights" he found to psych himself up.

Back then there wasn't social media to amplify all of this, though.

Jordan should have won in 1997.

[MU82]

Jordan should have won in 1997.

Of course. And he knew it. He didn't whine non-stop about it. He would just take subtle little digs at Malone -- as if it were Malone's "fault" that he won.

[Billy Hoyle]

So, if the Taylor Grand Jury comes back with no charges this week (maybe tomorrow) will the players end the season in protest?

[tower912]

If so, will they be the only ones?

[The Lens]

So, if the Taylor Grand Jury comes back with no charges this week (maybe tomorrow) will the players end the season in protest?

If so, will they be the only ones?

I wouldn't put anything past Aaron Rodgers.  Especially with the bright lights of SNF.

[Pakuni]

Billy Donovan to the Bulls.

[Warrior Code]

Billy Donovan to the Bulls.

As a Bulls fan I am ok with this. Had to get rid of Boylen 

[wadesworld]

The Bulls finally made a good move. Other than the city you're living in, I'm not sure why you'd want to be the Bulls bead coach over the Thunder head coach. OKC better current roster, more future draft picks, and far better front office.

[Pakuni]

The Bulls finally made a good move. Other than the city you're living in, I'm not sure why you'd want to be the Bulls bead coach over the Thunder head coach. OKC better current roster, more future draft picks, and far better front office.

Bulls got a new front office, led by the guy who built the Nuggets.
And Sam Presti is, IMO, overrated. Was gifted Kevin Durant and James Harden (and made a nice pick with Westbrook) and the best they did was one finals appearance, which resulted in a gentleman's sweep.

[wadesworld]

Bulls got a new front office, led by the guy who built the Nuggets.
And Sam Presti is, IMO, overrated. Was gifted Kevin Durant and James Harden (and made a nice pick with Westbrook) and the best they did was one finals appearance, which resulted in a gentleman's sweep.

The Thunder have made the Playoffs 10 times in the last 11 years, including this year when most people expected them to tank and they wound up the 5 seed to go along with a Finals appearance and 3 other WCF appearances. In OKC!

Not many teams were coming out of the West that weren't named the Warriors or the Spurs  in the last decade or so.

But at least the guy who helped build the Nuggets has seen the Nuggets make it to the last 2 Playoffs.

And again, the Thunder have 15 first round draft picks over the next 6 Drafts.

[Pakuni]

The Thunder have made the Playoffs 10 times in the last 11 years, including this year when most people expected them to tank and they wound up the 5 seed to go along with a Finals appearance and 3 other WCF appearances. In OKC!

Making the playoffs in the NBA isn't some great achievement, especially when those seasons end in first-round exits (as has been the case the past four seasons). That's actually bad, because it leaves you in NBA hell. Nor bad enough to draft elite players, not good enough to win anything.

If you have a core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - three top 10 NBA players at one point - are you a success for a run of playoff appearances? Or did you fail for not building a championship team around them and then not keeping them together?

And yeah, they have a lot of draft picks, but nine of those 15 are after 2023, and many of them are top 10 or lottery protected (check the success rate of players taken outside the lottery).
Presti's history outside the top 5 isn't exactly stellar. His first-round draft picks since getting Harden at #3 in 2010:
Quincy Poindexter, Craig Brackins, Eric Bledsoe (immediately traded*), Reggie Jackson, Perry Jones, Archie Goodwin, Steven Adams, Josh Heustis, Mitch McGary, Cameron Payne and Terrance Fetguson.
One legit starter out of the bunch.
* Bledsoe was traded for a future first-round pick, which Presti later traded for Kendrick Perkins.

Finally, even if your buying the idea that nobody could beat the Spurs or Warriors when Durant and Westbrook were together (never mind the fact Dallas did), that's not who they lost to all those years.
Starting in Harden's rookie season, they were knocked out by:
Lakers
Grizzlies
Heat (Finals)
Grizzlies
Spurs
Missed playoffs
Warriors
Durant gone

So, yeah, Presti is overrated. Had one of the best young cores in NBA history - three first-ballot HOFers in their prime - and made one losing Finals appearance.

[Silkk the Shaka]

The Thunder have made the Playoffs 10 times in the last 11 years, including this year when most people expected them to tank and they wound up the 5 seed to go along with a Finals appearance and 3 other WCF appearances. In OKC!

Not many teams were coming out of the West that weren't named the Warriors or the Spurs  in the last decade or so.

But at least the guy who helped build the Nuggets has seen the Nuggets make it to the last 2 Playoffs.

And again, the Thunder have 15 first round draft picks over the next 6 Drafts.

Yeah it's looking like he fleeced the Clips & Rockets in those trades big time... hit on 5 of those 15 picks with some normal progression on the others and they're set up for a long run of success while also being able to win (albeit not big) in the short run

[MU82]

Van Gundy and Jackson going nuts over Herro. Somebody needs to change Doc's Depend.

[4everwarriors]

Nads, tell me I'm full of chit. Damn, the kid's a baller, hey?

[JWags85]

Remember when Badger fans said Herro would ride the bench at Kentucky and be a nobody when he could have been the man at UW? LOLOL

He's the kind of guy you want to hate but he backs EVERY inch of his game up. My god he's fun to watch. Just completely fearless. Gotta think Butler is a hell of an influence on him. Same with Dragic teaching him how to be a PG

[4everwarriors]

Gotta represent da 414. Won hellof a playa. Kudos man, aina?