2014-2015 NBA Season

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

With the NBA draft on thursday, and news like Melo opting out and Gay opting in, it seems to be a new NBA year.

 

This offseason is going to be an interesting one. To get the thread going, I'll raise some questions:

 

-How far will Embiid fall?

-Where will Melo end up?

-Do the Heat stay together?

-Do veterans like Duncan, KG, Pierce, Manu, Allen etc come back? 

-Where does Kevin Love go?

-Parker or Wiggins at no. 1?

-Sleeper teams for next year?

 

 

 

 

[1/28/01]

Melo will join the fools in Miami and lose again to the dudes in San Antonio, since Manu and Duncan both stay.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Now my predictions for my own questions:

 

-Embiid doesn't' make it past Boston at no.6, but could go earlier

-Houston finally trades Asik and Lin, and gets Melo to create a big 3 of Harden, Melo, and Dwight

-Yes the Heat stay together

-They ALL come back. 

-Kevin Love goes to Warriors in exchange for Lee, Thompson, and absorbing Kevin Martin's contract. Warriors then trade Barnes, expirings, picks, etc to Knicks for Tyson Chandler. GSW ends up with a deadly lineup of Curry, Iguodala, Love, Chandler, and Kevin Martin. 

-Parker is too NBA ready to not go number 1. He is capable of averaging 20 PPG next year.

Edited June 23, 2014 by BALTIMOREFLACCO

[Geving]

Now my predictions for my own questions:

 

-Embiid doesn't' make it past Boston at no.6, but could go earlier

-Houston finally trades Asik and Lin, and gets Melo to create a big 3 of Harden, Melo, and Dwight

-Yes the Heat stay together

-They ALL come back. 

-Kevin Love goes to Warriors in exchange for Lee, Thompson, and absorbing Kevin Martin's contract. Warriors then trade Barnes, expirings, picks, etc to Knicks for Tyson Chandler. GSW ends up with a deadly lineup of Curry, Iguodala, Love, Chandler, and Kevin Martin. 

-Parker is too NBA ready to not go number 1. He is capable of averaging 20 PPG next year.

I share all these predictions except the Chandler trade, and I'm not sure on KG and Allen. But I definitely think Duncan, Manu and Pierce take another year. I don't think Embiid falls too far, I think Melo ends up in Houston. I think the Heat will stay together, I think Love ends up with the Warriors and I think Parker goes first in the draft.

[BloodRaven]

- Melo goes to Houston, but the new big three turn into a nightmare situation... say goodbye to ball movement.

 

or

 

- Melo is straight up traded for Kobe and the Lakers draft Exum as the heir apparent.

 

- LeBron goes back to Cleveland, that would do a lot for his legacy and towards repairing the hate he gets.

 

- Spurs fall off a cliff next year when Duncans knees give out.

[Ravenslifer]

LeBron just opted out of his deal - smart move for him, IMO, if his goal is to win several more rings.  He may go back to Miami, but as presently constructed they just weren't good enough, and now he has several options to choose from.  He really needs to think about the players he wants to spend the rest of his prime years with.

[Geving]

LeBron just opted out of his deal - smart move for him, IMO, if his goal is to win several more rings. He may go back to Miami, but as presently constructed they just weren't good enough, and now he has several options to choose from. He really needs to think about the players he wants to spend the rest of his prime years with.

Time to go to Houston and play with his lil bro Harden and a legit big in Howard.

[codizzle]

Oh boy

[NebraskaRavensFan44]

 

-Yes the Heat stay together

 

...whoops.

[Mt. Crushmore]

...whoops.

 

He can still re-sign with them

[NebraskaRavensFan44]

He can still re-sign with them

 

That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like quitting your job that you worked at for 4 years and coming back saying, "Hey, can you hire me back but give me more pay?" SMH

[1/28/01]

That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like quitting your job that you worked at for 4 years and coming back saying, "Hey, can you hire me back but give me more pay?" SMH

When you're the one being coveted, you can.

[Mt. Crushmore]

That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like quitting your job that you worked at for 4 years and coming back saying, "Hey, can you hire me back but give me more pay?" SMH

 

It gives him the opportunity to get a 5 year contract instead of a 1 year contract

[52520Andrew]

This should get interesting, I wonder where LeBron will take his talents now

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

...whoops.

Doesn't mean he's leaving

 

 

Chad Ford wrote an article on grantland saying GS and Min have agreed to a deal for Love, and potentially Lebron could follow to make an unreal big 3 of Curry, Love, and Lebron

[Gordo52]

If he goes to a team in the West, LAC would be the best fit IMO. If it's even possible though.

Maybe he tells the GSW to go ahead and trade Klay & Lee for Love and he'll sign there.

Curry-LBJ-Love would be sick.

Ultimately I think Melo & Lebron stay in the East. Melo has 3 places that make sense... Bulls-Wizards-Celtics (maybe the Heat if LeBron leaves? ) Melo to Houston would be the worst thing. LeBron can go anywhere he wants but I don't think he goes to an Eastern team unless they make the same type of moves Miami made 4 years ago....Which I think will happen.

What if he goes to the Knicks and somehow gets Love & Melo/Bosh/Wade to follow him? Phil might coach again lol

Edited June 24, 2014 by Gordo52

[BloodRaven]

Why not back to Cleveland? they have pretty good young talent with only one ball dominant player, that duo would be lethal.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

It's always good when Miami "fans" are sweating at least

[Ravenslifer]

That doesn't make any sense to me. It's like quitting your job that you worked at for 4 years and coming back saying, "Hey, can you hire me back but give me more pay?" SMH

 

I don't think it's about the money - I think he's looking at it from the perspective of having lost in the finals three times to a team made of mid to late 30-somethings (San Antonio twice and Dallas once), and realizing that what he has with the Heat right now is not good enough for long-term success.  I think his goal is around 7 rings, and he doesn't think what they have in Miami now will get that many opportunities.  He could be saying to himself that if he took less money and the others did as well, they could bring in another big name - or he could be thinking that D-Wade just doesn't have it anymore and he's got to go somewhere else to win.  I honestly think LeBron doesn't care about where he ends up or how much money he has to give up to get good players around him, as long as he has rings for both hands by the time his career is over.

[Gordo52]

If you were Cleveland's GM, who would you take and why? I would go with Wiggins. I think he has the most upside and can immediately contribute defensively. Make Dion Waiters a 6th man again or try and trade him.

Cavs would potentially have a lethal backcourt if Kyrie becomes more disciplined. For that reason alone I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted Parker instead, who would also be a great choice.

After those two, I believe the next best option would be trading the pick. I'm not a fan of Embiid getting drafting in the top 5 and no one else would be worth taking so high.

[52520Andrew]

I like both Wiggins and Parker, probably would go Parker right now but it is close. Not a big Embiid fan, injury scares me a bit.

[BloodRaven]

Are there any odds yet on where Lebron and his fans will sign next?

[bpytnjr58]

Are there any odds yet on where Lebron and his fans will sign next?

New York Knicks....Would rule out Brooklyn either.

[redrum52]

New York Knicks....Would rule out Brooklyn either.

As a Knicks fan.... screw lebron. Hope management makes no effort to pursue hin

[Gordo52]

Houston is making room....

The Houston Rockets have agreed to trade defensive specialist center Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal aimed at clearing salary-cap space to chase LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in free agency, sources told ESPN.com.

In exchange for Asik, the Rockets will receive the Pelicans' 2015 first-round draft pick. The Rockets also will include $1.5 million in cash as part of the deal.

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=11137117

I love the deal for New Orleans. Asik & Davis should form a really good duo. If the Rockets can trade Lin and land James, that would be monumental. I can see LeBron in that uniform pretty clearly.

[Inqui]

I like both Wiggins and Parker, probably would go Parker right now but it is close. Not a big Embiid fan, injury scares me a bit.

From what I hear the injury stuff's a bit overblown. The Yao Ming and Bill Walton comparisons are a little off (not that you're using them, but they seem to be the common beatsticks) because Yao's notably bigger and went straight to the World Champs after his procedures (like, a matter of weeks) and Walton's era was defined by the common medical practice being to "shoot it with a painkiller and see what happens after the game".

 

What I'd be concerned by is how his agent's controlling the flow of medical information. Either there's something more to hide, or his best case scenario for a side like Orlando is a Shaq v3.0. Forget that noise.

 

Parker's my favourite prospect atm. For the Magic, I'm coming around on Exum but it sounds like they have something in the works. T-minus 17 hours.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Inqui

[52520Andrew]

From what I hear the injury stuff's a bit overblown. The Yao Ming and Bill Walton comparisons are a little off (not that you're using them, but they seem to be the common beatsticks) because Yao's notably bigger and went straight to the World Champs after his procedures (like, a matter of weeks) and Walton's era was defined by the common medical practice being to "shoot it with a painkiller and see what happens after the game".

 

What I'd be concerned by is how his agent's controlling the flow of medical information. Either there's something more to hide, or his best case scenario for a side like Orlando is a Shaq v3.0. Forget that noise.

 

Parker's my favourite prospect atm. For the Magic, I'm coming around on Exum but it sounds like they have something in the works. T-minus 29 hours.

 

Yeah I just never trust a big man with injuries in the legs or feet. Just something I have learned watching specific high profile busts in NBA history. 

 

I really like Parker, I think he is the safest prospect in the draft with plenty of upside. I think Wiggins has a bit more potential but Parker is more the sure thing IMO. I am excited for the draft however(plus the world cup lol), things are certainly going to be interesting with this class.

[Inqui]

 

Embiid just tweeted that then deleted it and said a friend was messing around with his phone.

 

12 hours until draft night. Promises to be fun.

[Geving]

So Asik is traded. Trade Lin to the sixers and go get Lebron. I trust in you Morey. Get r done

[SecretAgentMan]

Nba draft time