OT: The Decision 3.0 Has Begun
Congrats to the Warriors and their fans.
This team has the potential to win a stupid amount of championships.
I was a bit surprised that Curry didn't win the FMVP, but Game 3 probably did him in. KD's efficiency has been off the charts.
I'm guessing Philly, Boston, Houston, LA and maybe San Antonio are the favorites to get LeBron?
Philly would have a shooting problem if they get Lebron. Houston already has 2 ball dominant players. Boston might not have space unless they give up a lot. LA could be an intriguing choice if Kawhi and PG13 team up with him.
Hell maybe he stays in Cleveland.
All I know is that Im tired of this Warriors team. I love KD, but the circumstances around his signing (e.g. the cap raise and contract discount) just feel really cheap to me. The NBA would have been much more exciting if he stayed in OKC. Then GS, OKC, HOU, and CLE would all be legit title contenders.
I still don't get why some people are tired of GS? They didn't do anything illegal, they were just smart about how to manage their roster and get great talent.
I certainly don't tire of the Patriots and their winning ways.
I don't watch much NBA any longer, but when I do, I enjoy watching GS play. They are fun to watch. Cleveland on the other hand is like watching paint dry. They are a one man show with a sub-par supporting cast.
I think the Warriors before KD were a great sign of smart drafting, good luck, and great coaching. But then the one-year jump in the salary cap created this artificial situation that otherwise could not be replicated every again and created a huge imbalance, and that made the context around the team, if not so much the team, less desirable.
Also, Draymond Green in a huge asshole and him having as many titles as LeBron James infuriates me.
I’m Ron Burgundy?
For me, it was adding KD on a team friendly contract to an already stacked team that made me dislike GSW. If they were wonnwin without KD I wouldn't have a problem. And I like kd, too, just not his decision to "take the easy way" to a championship
If it is so easy, then other teams should be able to replicate that and do the same. I think the miami heat did that, amirite???
He said KD took the easy way to get a championship. I don't think anyone disputes that. It's not a knock on GS.
I didnt say it was easy. KD is a once in a lifetime talent, and I just dislike the fact that GSW added him without having to give up anyone else. And reading between the lines, youre saying I should have disliked the Heat superteam as well. Which I did, so my view is pretty consistent.
Going forward, it looks like the superteam concept is here to stay so I hope LBJ gets one more run with Houston or something.
Can't say I'm a fan of Draymond Green. Otherwise I've got nothing against Golden State. They're fun to watch and if there's going to be a dynasty, I'm glad it's for a franchise that hadn't experienced much success before.
That's my thought. Golden State is a franchise that hadn't had much success outside of the Run TMC era and they built themselves up with an entertaining style of play and, with one notable exception, a group of easy to root for players.
I was on a project in the Bay Area years ago and my co-workers and I went to a Warriors game and I remember being enthralled by both the enthusiasm of the crowd and how much fun to watch the Warriors style of play was. If I didn't already have a pretty strong NBA team allegiance, I could see myself rooting for this team.
As it is, as long as Warriors fans don't rise to New England levels of obnoxiousness, I'm happy to have them be a dynasty.
I feel you man. Teams should realize when they have a satisfactory level of talent. GS took it too far. I mean what front office tries to get as much talent as possible? /s
I don’t know why, but Golden State rubs me the wrong way. Durant seems like a chump to me. They won championships without him. Not denying their skill or dominance but I just don’t like them.
LeBron doesn’t owe Cleveland shit, he should go where he has the best chance to win. San Antonio with Pop seems like it could be a great union.
He doesn't owe Cleveland anything...but him running to a new team again will look pretty bad to me. People get on the Cleveland ownership but they basically let Lebron run the franchise. He realized in Miami that other franchises around the league will not let hi have his way like that, hence the reason he went back to Cleveland. Championships are not destined for everyone, stay in Cleveland and finish out your legacy.
At this point, people who dislike LeBron won't like him any more if he left for somewhere else (hell, people keep citing The Decision as something we should hold against him, as if superstars didn't congregate on teams before or since), and the rest of us are tired of seeing him toil away in Cleveland and would rather see him get chances to be great on teams that aren't shit.
I don't get why people are so harsh in judgement of teams and/or players. A chump? Those feelings say more about you than Durant. Meaning it's probably a reflection of your insecurities.
From his press conference he just had, sounds like he is leaning toward staying. Said his kids are older now and they will play a large role on the decision he makes this summer.
If he stays, I hope he’s bringing some friends. Not sure how the cap situation plays out but he needs 2-3 more stars. If I were LBJ, I’d feel so ripped off by GS fitting KD onto the payroll and want some payback of my own.
He wanted the max from the Cavs, he couldve taken a little less to try and get some better talent around him. However, I think they're so far over the luxury tax that it will not matter now if he took a pay cut.
Lebron picking his friends has not been so great in the past. JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson (Lebron wanted to get him on a max!! deal). Not awful players, but they are aging and their ceilings are very obvious.
You may be right that he stays, but given the flack he took for the Decision, I think he is much more mature and savvy to a) not piss off everyone and say I'm taking my talents to XXX, and b) not telegraph his intentions, especially in a post championship press conference.
He may know or honestly not know where he will play next year, but he will be much more careful in what he says and does this time around.
If I were him, I would do everything in private and then just show up for the first practice on the team I picked.
I wouldn't personally announce anything.
They'll figure it out when I put on the uni.
LeBron should just sign with Golden State and be done with it.
Maybe he's protective of his testicles and doesn't want to be around Draymond every day.
And his eyes, and his right hand. There is Draymond and blackboards he has to worry about in GS.
Unless he drags it out and publicizes it a la 2010, no one in Cleveland should not be angry or shocked if he leaves. Minus LeBron, that organization is littered with incompetence. They can’t find a way to get a halfway decent supporting cast around him (that will stick around), they can’t find decent coaching, etc.
As for where he goes next, I can’t see him in Boston. Kyrie went to Boston specifically to get away from LeBron, and that’s got drama written all over it. LeBron will not go to LA. Can you imagine all the shitstorms that would start between him and LaVar Ball?
I don’t know what Houston’s cap situation is like, but if Golden State can afford to pay KD and Curry simultaneously, along with Draymond Green, then Houston can afford to pay Harden, CP3 and LeBron. Houston gives LeBron his best chance to win right now. Maybe Philly given all their young talent. But if LeBron goes anywhere out West, the NBA Finals are just a formality for the next 5-10 years. The East will have zero chance.
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Boston and Philly will become a lot better.
I also heard rumors of Toronto of all places being a landing spot for LBJ.
Then again the Warriors are still really young for a dynasty team, so they probably still have at least 2 more championships in them.
Is there any way that salary cap or expiring contracts coild end the GS run anytime soon?
I don't think the cap will cause issues. Even then, the owner is willing to pay the luxury tax.
Klay Thompson is waiting until next year so he can get the super max after he makes an all-star team again. That also coincides with another rise in the salary cap.
KD is essentially taking a pay cut by extending his contract this offseason.
Boston remains an intriguing team regardless of whether or not LeBron signed there. But yeah, if James goes West there isn't much drama come finals time.
That said, I also don't see any other team that appealing out East except Boston. Maybe Philly, but that doesn't seem like the best organization right now and the pieces don't seem like a great fit. Maybe Indy, if he thinks Oladipo is ascendant and wants to stay close to home? But other than those 3 (and I don't know Indy's cap situation, but I assume they have the space), that's it.
They would trade Ball to get LeBron. LeBron would not put up with the Ball family nonsense.
Whoever finishes second in the West should just be allowed in the Finals.
Cleveland played in the Finals, but they were definitely not the second best team in the NBA.
I'll readily admit that the only reason I don't care for Golden state is that Draymond green plays for them. And it's only partly because he's a sparty. Mostly because he's trash. Same difference I guess.
Put Draymond on any other team besides Golden State and he's average at best. People talking about him as a top 5 PF nationally is just ridiculous.
Draymond reminds me of this generations Robert Horry, without the big shot attached to him. Good player, 4th fiddle, not the star of the team, but finds himself in the right place and cashes in on championships.
He reminds me of Rick Mahorn.
Durant pussing out and going to them makes me not care about the NBA. Nobody in the old school would buy a title like that.
I think he goes. There's no way they're going to build an adequate roster around him in a single offseason. He wants to walk into a situation where he's the missing piece. I watched how he went to the trouble of saying goodbye to everyone from the ushers to the ball boys... he sure had the body language of someone who's done in Cleveland. I don't blame him.
Half the roster is in place because of him! I don’t know maybe it is just me, but he sounds like he’s comfortable in Cleveland. Plus he knows no matter where he lands next season, there is still no guarantee he wins a title. He’ll be in his 16th season at 34 years old next year and I honestly think this decision this time will not be about him. Savannah and the kids will have a large say in where he plays and to me that will ultimately keep him in NE Ohio.
Durant is the weakest player in NBA history. He couldn't get it done so he joined a team with the best record in history. Soft as hell. Brings down the NBA. No way Isaiah, Magic or Bird would have done that.
Bird and Magic wouldn’t do it because they were drafted by teams that ended up with 3-4 Hall of Famers and two of the best organizations in sports historyZ KD and Lebron weren’t. I don’t see why people can fault them for leaving for a better team and better run organizations. Most players want to win. Sports is one of the only industries in which people get upset when someone moves to a better situation.
Every professional athlete’s goal is to win championships. KD wasn’t going to win one in OKC, so I don’t blame him for one second for going somewhere where he knew he’d win one.
That’s not pussing out. That’s refusing to accept mediocrity. And for the record, Isaiah, Magic and Bird wouldn’t have had to do that because they were already on teams with great rosters that were winning titles anyway.
Magic and Bird, yes. Isiah? No. The Pistons were terrible when he was drafted.
I thought this thread was about some reevaluation of the new site rollout.
Me too. I thought we were going to decide what color all the vast white space was going to be.
I think people are underestimating the Laker's chances. They've got space and enough young pieces to be attractive, not to mention Magic Johnson is running the front office. Then there's all the obvious pluses of being a star in LA.
Lebron could have some sweet new endorsement deals in LA. Might be hard to turn this down:
Well first he would need to shave, second he would need some hair transplants. With that he should be all set.
Lol he already had hair transplants. I guess he would need even more
Who cares. Unless he signs we Notre Dame. In which case, to hell with LeBron James