Official 2011-2012 NBA Season Thread

[Damaikis]

I can't disagree with the argument of them screwing over their frontcourt, but I still feel they will make another move for a serviceable big man and I don't see LA being any worse than a 4 seed. Although they didn't show it last year, Kobe is still a great player, especially in the playoffs. I'm just happy the Rockets are making an attempt to get out of the bottom of the lottery or competing for the 8 seed (hopefully).

A 4 seed would be a downgrade for the Lakers. I doubt that trade improved them. Even if Bynum stays healthy they'll struggle. But I doubt he and Kobe will stay healthy all year.

 

[Jank]

I think everybody forgot how much bad blood there is/was between Kobe and Pau. It seemed clear to some that he never wanted to play with Kobe Brapist again. No way they would co-exist.

I could see that. And no way LA keeps Gasol over Kobe (see Shaq). And Pau got ripped for ending last season poorly, but the guy is still one of the top big men in the league and is an absolute wizard with the ball down low.

 

[Jank]

A 4 seed would be a downgrade for the Lakers. I doubt that trade improved them. Even if Bynum stays healthy they'll struggle. But I doubt he and Kobe will stay healthy all year.

I'm just saying that the Lakers will still comfortably make the playoffs, and when Kobe gets into the postseason, anything can happen. As we talked about earlier though, it's still the Heat's title to lose, especially with the addition of Battier coming off of the bench.

 

[JB]

I could see that. And no way LA keeps Gasol over Kobe (see Shaq). And Pau got ripped for ending last season poorly, but the guy is still one of the top big men in the league and is an absolute wizard with the ball down low.

Offensively, not defensively.

 

[Damaikis]

I think everybody forgot how much bad blood there is/was between Kobe and Pau. It seemed clear to some that he never wanted to play with Kobe Brapist again. No way they would co-exist.

Enough blood and controversy to win a championship. But I agree a little, good that Pau's gone but Odom's loss hurts them more than people think. Odom is great and will be fantastic on the Rockets. The Lakers will miss his size off the bench.

 

[Jank]

Offensively, not defensively.

Right. But Houston lost their two worst players defensively in Martin and Scola. The Rockets have former number 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet to lock up the paint on D

 

[Jank]

Enough blood and controversy to win a championship. But I agree a little, good that Pau's gone but Odom's loss hurts them more than people think. Odom is great and will be fantastic on the Rockets. The Lakers will miss his size off the bench.

Odom is going to NO, I believe.

 

[JB]

Enough blood and controversy to win a championship. But I agree a little, good that Pau's gone but Odom's loss hurts them more than people think. Odom is great and will be fantastic on the Rockets. The Lakers will miss his size off the bench.

I said at the end! In typical Brapist fashion, another very good player cant stand him and wanted out. Seems like a trend.....hmmm.
And check the trade again.

 

[coolbreeze]

This is a great deal for the lakers. There used to be an adage in the NBA "If you're going to make a mistake, make it a "big" mistake" but with the no handchecking NBA it is now a guard driven league and the Lakers FINALLY have the point guard they have wanted for a long time. Paul is considered by many to be the best point guard in the league (not by me I think he's the second best) and I think he will be a perfect compliment player to Kobe Bryapist. All they had to give up was a 6th man who played when he wanted to, and a big who didn't get along with Kobe. I think they will add a piece or two still before the trading deadline, but this is the smartest move by them.
THis IMHO is a better move then getting Howard.

 

[Kmac]

The Mavs losing Tyson Chandler will hurt. He gave them inside toughness that they'd been missing.

 

[arydolphin]

Deal is probably not going to happen:

@WojYahooNBA
NBA owners have pushed commissioner David Stern to kill the deal sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell Y! Sports.

 

[Jank]

Deal is probably not going to happen:

Haha. I was just about to post that. I still see the deal going through, because I don't think Stern will jeopardize getting a player of CP3's caliber to a major market like LA. We'll see though, I guess

 

[JB]

THe ironic part of this whole thing is that a major part of the lockout was that small market teams were going to get crushed. Then today we see NY pick someone up. LA pick someone up. And Orlando most likely losing their star to another major market. This deal should never be allowed if the league was honest about issues with smaller markets.

 

[coolbreeze]

THe ironic part of this whole thing is that a major part of the lockout was that small market teams were going to get crushed. Then today we see NY pick someone up. LA pick someone up. And Orlando most likely losing their star to another major market. This deal should never be allowed if the league was honest about issues with smaller markets.

They didn't/couldn't change the major issue which is players being able to force a trade to the location they want to go to. Until they fix that, the rich will always get richer.

 

[Jank]

THe ironic part of this whole thing is that a major part of the lockout was that small market teams were going to get crushed. Then today we see NY pick someone up. LA pick someone up. And Orlando most likely losing their star to another major market. This deal should never be allowed if the league was honest about issues with smaller markets.

In theory, I completely agree. But we all know that Stern will do what's best for the NBA and that is to have the major markets be powerhouses in this league. LA, CHI, NY, MIA all will have very good teams. He'd much rather have that than have 20 solid teams. A top heavy NBA means much more $$$ to Stern.

 

[Damaikis]

Thanks for fixing my mistake guys, Odom to NO. Boy will he be good alongside David West. Or is he a FA too? I didn't think so, but I'm not sure. And I doubt the league will kill this deal. I just don't see it for some reason. I kind of hope they do, for the Lakers' sake. Getting along or not, Kobe and Pau is one of the best duos in the league when Kobe's healthy. And then Bynum wouldn't have to handle the whole load of the frontcourt.

 

[Jank]

I believe David West is a FA. Still gives them Martin, Scola, Okafor, and Ariza. Not too shabby.

 

[d_in_la]

The NBA was never broken truth is, some owners play differently than others. Some look to make money on the minimum ROI, others aim for the glory and potentially even bigger pay days. In big cities, fans will support that even if the team falls short thereby lowering the risk. From a owner perspective, the ones looking or the ROI and small market teams, I'd want that trade to go through - a winning Laker team with star power is a guaranteed sell out and would allow me to sell multi-game packages built around that one game. Nobody loves to hate a winning Laker team than the rest of the NBA.

 

[Jank]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski

"The deal is off," a source involved in the talks tells Y! Sports. "It's dead."

 

[JB]

The NBA was never broken truth is, some owners play differently than others. Some look to make money on the minimum ROI, others aim for the glory and potentially even bigger pay days. In big cities, fans will support that even if the team falls short thereby lowering the risk. From a owner perspective, the ones looking or the ROI and small market teams, I'd want that trade to go through - a winning Laker team with star power is a guaranteed sell out and would allow me to sell multi-game packages built around that one game. Nobody loves to hate a winning Laker team than the rest of the NBA.

While I dont disagree with most of your post, the NBA was definitely broken. It was on a fast pace to end very badly in the next few years without changes. Some of those changes went through, others did not due to urgency, but the NBA (just like a few other sports) was broken.

 

[coolbreeze]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski

WOW thats big. I wouldn't have guessed they would actually kill the deal.

 

[Damaikis]

While I dont disagree with most of your post, the NBA was definitely broken. It was on a fast pace to end very badly in the next few years without changes. Some of those changes went through, others did not due to urgency, but the NBA (just like a few other sports) was broken.

Sports seems to be a broken buisness (a lot are at least), and it's really unfortunate. Sports are something I really feel passionate about (especially basketball), and I hate to see this kind of stuff happen. Whatever happens with this deal and everything else, I hope they remain in-tact enough to continue.

 

[ripper]

So whats the deal here? Owners protest that the Lakers would be stacked? Is that allowed? What about the fan base there? So if Miami wins they get an asterisk because another team wasnt allowed to do the same as they did? I am confused...

 

[Damaikis]

So whats the deal here? Owners protest that the Lakers would be stacked? Is that allowed? What about the fan base there? So if Miami wins they get an asterisk because another team wasnt allowed to do the same as they did? I am confused...

Owners don't want another star to join a big market and star-studded team. They complain to Stern. He can veto trades, so he did.

 

[ripper]

Owners don't want another star to join a big market and star-studded team. They complain to Stern. He can veto trades, so he did.

How is this OK? Then they should disband the Heat, otherwise how is it fair this year? They can stack their team but no one else can?