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(2011)-2012 NBA Season

Alidar Jarok

Alidar Jarok

Everything in moderation but moderation
Moderator
The lockout is finally over. We apparently will have a 66 game season starting on Christmas.

Tentative NBA deal reached

So, any predictions for this year, teams you're looking forward to seeing, etc.? I suppose the Knicks have a shot of being good, which is a nice change of pace. Hopefully someone will emerge from the East besides the Celtics or Heat.
 
Finally. Wish the players had begun the decertification process sooner. However, it appears to be done -- on to more important issues.

I'm interested in seeing how the Mavs do this season. I mean, was their run last year more dependent on a down year by the Lakers and Spurs, or have they become a legitimate threat to win the championship for the next few years? I doubt they'll repeat but it would not be the biggest shock to see them back in the Finals.

But I can't shake the nagging feeling that the Lakers, with a healthy (and one year more of confidence) Andrew Bynum, and a rejuvenated Kobe and Pau, will have a say in who comes out of the west. ;) The Thunder are another obstacle to a Mavs "dynasty". The Grizz; probably bringing up the rear in terms of contenders.

And speaking of experience, that is also what may finally make the Bulls a serious threat for the Finals out of the east. The Heat will also benefit from a year of being together. Maybe this is the year LeBron will realize he is not Kobe (Wade is), and embrace the spirit of the Big O (the late career, sidekick Big O, that is), which is who LeBron really is.

I'm excited.
 
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Jesus. David Stern has presided over four work stoppages in his career as commissioner.

Gary Bettman caused the loss of an entire NHL season thanks to being a dickface, but Stern's record with labor has to rank up there with the all-time "don't do this" cases.
 
The NHL season at least seemed to emerge reinvigorated. They added a salary cap, mixed up some rules, etc. The NBA seems business as usual only with a few less games and a few more dollars going to different people.
 
Jinglebell JaRock said:
So, any predictions for this year, teams you're looking forward to seeing, etc.? I suppose the Knicks have a shot of being good, which is a nice change of pace. Hopefully someone will emerge from the East besides the Celtics or Heat.
Click to expand...

The Knicks gutted their roster to get Carmelo Anthony. They really don't have much around them, and a trade for Chris Paul, which would boost them into a contender, seems unlikely for now.

They're not as good as Chicago, Boston, Miami, or Atlanta. I see them being a mid-level seed in the East, maybe winning a series, then bowing out.
 
There is a small part of me that is looking forward to seeing how the Warriors are going to be with Marc Jackson as coach. I really should be boycotting the NBA (And the lost opportunity for the NHL to take advantage of the Lockout) but I do like basketball and I probably will watch the Warrior opening night game on Christmas Day.
 
I guess Warrior opening will be a nail biting moment for sure on Christmas night, so I too looking forward to experience it.
 
So, what do you all think about the Chris Paul business that (almost) went down last night?

There was a deal in place that would have sent Paul to the Lakers, while the Lakers would have sent Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets, and the Rockets would have sent Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and a first round pick to the Hornets.

But then the other owners freaked out and pressured Stern to kill the deal. Supposedly, if the trade had gone through, the Lakers would have then tried to flip Bynum and who knows what else to the Magic for Dwight Howard.
 
My thought was simply, what's the difference between this trade (Other than the fact that the league owns the Hornets) and the Lebron James trade or the Pau Gasol trade to the Lakers a few years back. If the league is now going to start dictating trades, that's not good.
 
The NBA kiboshing the trade is also going to screw things up for the Lakers pretty badly: Pau Gasol has reportedly been disconsolate since learning he was going to be traded, and Lamar Odom is so hurt that he's a no-show at training camp.

Phil Jackson would've just called him up, made fun of Jerry Buss and talked some shit about Kobe, or just invited him to Montana to chew on some peyote, and Odom would have gotten over it and rolled into camp. But now it falls upon Mike fuckin' Brown to salvage this mess.
 
That Lakers thing is a clusterfuck all the way around.

I was quite surprised to hear Pau was on the trading block. Now that they tried and failed, it's not exactly going to make team chemistry any better.

In a way I'm glad the trade was vetoed, only because I like Gasol and Odom a lot. I'm not sure that was a good trade for us in any event.

Here's a good synopsis of the whole situation:

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles...he-damage-is-done-all-thats-unknown-is-degree
 
Gasol isn't the same player he used to be, is six years older than Paul and has a fucking albatross of a contract, though. And, in any event, it's a trade that would have hurt the Lakers for maybe one year and then made them better for, like, the next seven after that.
 
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I'm thinking more from a fan's persepective than a business perspective. I just like Gasol. There's no doubt we need a serious point guard. Derek Fisher is The Man for All-Time, but he's like 106 years old...

Gasol had a bad post-season, but I don't think he's fallen off that far. I guess we'll see...

:lol:
 
Tiny Timby said:
Gasol isn't the same player he used to be, is six years older than Paul and has a fucking albatross of a contract, though.
Click to expand...
Pau had a bad playoff series against the Mavs. There is no evidence whatsoever that "he is not the same player he used to be". His contract is commiserate with what one of the top 5 big men in the NBA should make. If Pau's contract is an albatross then so are the contracts of nearly everyone in the league. Finally, Pau is 31 I believe, and considering most big men don't mature in their positions until they've been in the league at least 5 years or more, Pau is still in his prime.

As for the trade, I was against it. I thought Pau and Odom was just too much to give up for Paul. There is an old NBA axiom, never trade big for small. But Chris Paul is a special "small" so I could see Pau straight up but L.O. too...Chris would have to be the second coming of Magic (or close to it) to justify what the Laker are giving up. Still, if you're going to risk overpaying, CP3 would seem to be the guy to take that risk on.

But I was shocked by the trade being vetoed. David Stern cannot be long for this world as commish. He has lost control of the league and is doing nothing but embarrassing the NBA. Canceling the trade does nothing but hurt the Hornets, as the other NBA teams who have young valuable assets won't be willing to risk them on CP3 unless he gives them assurances he will extend and he won't do that. That's why the Warriors and Clips passed on trades before the Lakers were given the opportunity.

My guess is that Stern wants CP3 to become a free agent figuring that because of the new CBA, he will then have no choice but to sign with with a small market team (they're more likely to be under the cap). This, Stern will then argue, will be evidence of the effectiveness or justification of the new CBA which Stern pushed the owners hard to agree to and finally ratify on 12/9.

The NBA's credibility has got to be at an all time low today and this is the fault of no one but David Stern.
 
1001001 said:
There are reports today the trade is being slightly altered and resubmitted to the NBA.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-10649483

No mention of Odom in this one. At least not yet.
Click to expand...
In this new deal, the Hornets are supposed to get more youth while trimming some of their salaries fat, such as power forward Emeka Okafor
Click to expand...
I sure wouldn't mind getting Okafor back along with Paul and if we don't have to give up Lamar I'd be very pleased. BTW, Okafor is by no means an equal to Odom. But I'll believe L.O. is not in the deal (if a deal is approved) when it is made official.

However, it's being reported that the Orlando GM just announced that Dwight Howard has asked to be traded -- to the Nets. But if the Lakers somehow hang on to Lamar, look for strong rumors of a Bynum/L.O. offer for Dwight Howard.
 
gblews said:
But if the Lakers somehow hang on to Lamar, look for strong rumors of a Bynum/L.O. offer for Dwight Howard.
Click to expand...

They're definitely in on Howard, and the plan is for a package of Bynum and draft picks.
 
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