Official NBA 2016-2017 Thread - 30 teams, 1 goal. 2 weeks left, so much can happen!!

Surely you see the hypocrisy here young bro...
I don't because nobody remembers anyone doing any wrong- just the warriors.
If it were reversed and draymond had pulled that or any warrior had pulled it, it would've been THE talking point.
Like the ring is disqualified cause the cavs were hobbled but nobody will talk about the warriors losing their center and steph still injured from an MCL injury he suffered in the playoffs... dude couldn't do the shit he would if he was healthy and it was clear.
he had kevin love on a 1 on 1 - no defense ass having kevin love and couldn't shake him to get a shot or drive past him but ppl are convinced he was 100% - and I said as much during the finals and before the finals. he absolutely was not healthy. No mention.
Just like if the warriors came out last year after winning the ring and were 27-8 they'd say see last year was a fluke no way they getting thru the west.
1 set of rules for 1 and another for a team people come together to hate which is all good. im over the hate. hate on. just the ignoring of all the stuff they hate about the warriors while it being ok with ANY other team is bothering me just a tad. But I'll get over that too.
 
I don't because nobody remembers anyone doing any wrong- just the warriors.
Well lemme explain it to you then... You cant discredit someones win, then complain about someones win being discredited two posts later. You attributed the 3-1 choke job to Bron petitioning to get open mouf suspended for his dick kick fetish (which is also "hella" gay). I mentioned how it was funny that that comes up but no mention of all the injuries GSW benefited from the previous year. Cant have it both ways Bills. :tut:
 
Surely you see the hypocrisy here young bro...
I am convinced that huge fans or fanatics are unaware of most of their hypocrisy, because when I said the main reason why the Cavs fell short to the Warriors, two years back, was due to them burning out due to their depleted injury plagued squad, folks accused me of plea copping, now when I say that this same Warriors are slso having problems due fatigue all of sudden I am a hater.
The cannot see I call the way I see no matter what team it is.
 
I know that both of them been hurt but your missing my point. The Warriors don't have that defensive presence in the paint that's all I'm saying man. Teams aren't scared of Zaza & Mcgee. They still the best team in the West but that's just one of their weakness.
Agree that it is a weakness; but that weakness isnt the reason why they lost in my opinion; GS normally losses because of sloppy play on the offensive end; they were up 20 in the 4th in that game; against a Memphis squad who is not that good offensively; no way they should have lost; and they didnt lose because of inside presence....
 
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But how can a team like this get lazy?

Especially to a team that already beat them?

Amd again we have the same debate...

How important is coaching?

You always say it's the players and the talent...so how can you explain this?

The lost to the grizz...twice and losing to the best teams too. There us nothing positive to take from that.

I think remember the all time great Bulls team also lost to that Canada team twice too...so I'm not over blowing this. But it ain't good.

You have questioned Kerr for awhile now?

Sidebar...did you want Walton to stay?

That's exactly what I'm saying lol
Exactly.
They're losing to all the best teams.. every game but 1 of those they should have won.
And probably should have won easily if they did the little things.
These niggas are 31-6 and only shouldn't have won 2 games. @the Lakers and @Memphis
Other than that? Every loss has been their fault
Which is different than can't compete. Or had no chance to win isn't it?
2 losses in overtime that they should have one
And a 1 point loss against the defending Champs and they had the ball and a shot to win the game.

Once again these niggas are 31-6 and the panic button is it.
It's the same as last year so they should be used to it.
Team isn't even as good as its going to be in march
Took the heat until after the all star break before they hit their stride and put it together however this team needs to have it together now or else lol
I welcome iy
Bring all of the shit my way. I used to be like damn this shit is kind of foul now it's whatever.

Coaching this team should be simple
Hey run the offense get a good shot. .
Sit iggy because he has no place on the court there's no reason to put him in at end of game situations when you have Mcgee and it's a better more logical defensive lineup.

How can a team get lazy, easy because they are human; and humans commit eras; rewatching the game and you can clearly see they stop playing; Was very laxed in the 4th quarter; that where the coach has to step in; also its the reg season and not even at the half way point; basketball players are notorious for not really going full hard until close to playoffs; that just what it is; yes they are going to be a little upset about the game; but they will just keep it moving; in their minds im positive the game doesnt mean much to them; Coaching is important in certain situations of the game; Kerr let them catch all the way up before stopping the game; he should have burn every fucking time out if he had to, so that the team could get the message and run the offense they way it was suppose to; Like ok, we up 20; the moment it drop to 16 timeout; moment it drop to 12 timeout; Put Curry back in; Moment it drop to 8 timeout etc etc; He could have done alot more; but he is learning as well; remember hes only been a coach for 3 years; and he missed basically all of last year; And yes @largebillsonlyplease all these cats will come in and say silly shit; I mean you had one poster talking about xmas being a big game:hmm::smh:; but people will not see that this GS team is completely different from last year; They are still figuring it out; so they will have growing pains; but like you said, only 2 games they really should have lost; so I dont think you should be worried; Last year really ruined them in that they press the reg season, but didnt win; they probably give 2 fucks about the reg season; So it is what it is; but I believe they will be a much better team come playoffs....
 
Well lemme explain it to you then... You cant discredit someones win, then complain about someones win being discredited two posts later. You attributed the 3-1 choke job to Bron petitioning to get open mouf suspended for his dick kick fetish (which is also "hella" gay). I mentioned how it was funny that that comes up but no mention of all the injuries GSW benefited from the previous year. Cant have it both ways Bills. :tut:

but that's the point
YALL HAVE IT BOTH WAYS lol
Nobody ever mentions the warriors winning without mentioning the cavs "being so hobbled and barely limped into the finals" like they didn't sweep the fucking east with that same damn team.
that's exactly the point.
niggas will sit here and say the warriors do too much celebrating and shit and we hate it
and then dance along as the cavs do 70 handshakes at center court after a layup
IT'S BEEN both ways in opposition to the warriors for 2 years now
1st year was non belief- which was right. they had no reason for anyone to believe they'd lead wire to wire and win it all that was completely acceptable.
what wasn't acceptable was all these teams that NEVER DID SHIT talking about the team that actually did it...
doc rivers and them talking and shit.

this vicariously through bullshit
we talking bout we miss when teams were enemies and shit
but the NBA players picked a side kind of bitches is they? gm's too... we ain't helping the warriors and at the same time gonna give the cavs whatever they need lol
how bout everybody saying fuck everybody? id like that.
 
but that's the point
YALL HAVE IT BOTH WAYS lol
Nobody ever mentions the warriors winning without mentioning the cavs "being so hobbled and barely limped into the finals" like they didn't sweep the fucking east with that same damn team.
that's exactly the point.
niggas will sit here and say the warriors do too much celebrating and shit and we hate it
and then dance along as the cavs do 70 handshakes at center court after a layup
IT'S BEEN both ways in opposition to the warriors for 2 years now
1st year was non belief- which was right. they had no reason for anyone to believe they'd lead wire to wire and win it all that was completely acceptable.
what wasn't acceptable was all these teams that NEVER DID SHIT talking about the team that actually did it...
doc rivers and them talking and shit.

this vicariously through bullshit
we talking bout we miss when teams were enemies and shit
but the NBA players picked a side kind of bitches is they? gm's too... we ain't helping the warriors and at the same time gonna give the cavs whatever they need lol
how bout everybody saying fuck everybody? id like that.
ba4e3bfd7110214416367ce090105237bd46d5b76a83ca5321d1eb3c49e687bd.jpg
 
Cavs send Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and future 1st-rounder to Hawks for Kyle Korver
5:44 PM CT
  • ESPN.com news services

The Cleveland Cavaliers filled a need at guard by acquiring Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange forMike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a protected future first-round selection, the teams announced Saturday.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family," Cavs general manager David Griffin said in a statement. "Among the most prolific and dynamic 3-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless and team-first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor."

The move comes one day after theCavaliers shipped their first-round pickin June's draft to the Portland Trail Blazers for a protected future first-round pick, which Cleveland originally sent to Portland along with Anderson Varejao in exchange for a future second-round pick at the February trade deadline last year.

The protections on the pick Cleveland sent to Portland are the same they were when they sent the pick to them before: top-10 protected in 2019 and 2020. If it doesn't happen in those two years, it becomes second-round picks in both 2021 and 2022.

Korver, a 14-year veteran, is one of the league's best 3-point shooters, making 43 percent of his 3-pointers during his career. The Cavs have been looking for depth on the perimeter after the loss ofJ.R. Smith in December for three months to a broken thumb. They also lost Chris Andersen for the remainder of the season to a torn ACL.

"Kyle is somebody who was a big part of us building our culture and our success over the last five years," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters Saturday. "I have a ton of respect for him and an appreciation for him as a player, more so as a human being."

The 35-year-old Korver, who is earning $5.2 million this season in the final year of his current contract, is averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 40.9 percent on 3-pointers. He was an All-Star in 2015.

LeBron James said. "Hell of a sharpshooter and just a great guy. Great professional, as you've seen over his career -- a guy that's played at a high level for a long time, has championship aspirations. And he has another rocket launcher."

James on Thursday said, even with Korver in the mix, the Cavaliers still are in need of adding another point guard. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 23.

Korver has 72 hours to report to the Cavs and will still need to undergo a physical. It's possible he could join them on Sunday in Phoenix, the first of five games out West for the Cavs, whose trip will conclude with a Jan. 16 matchup at Golden State.

"Obviously, it's a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland," Korver said Thursday amid reports that the deal to Cleveland would happen. "So I'm very excited about that part of it. But there's a lot of relationships that I care about here that I'm going to miss. From a basketball perspective, [Cleveland is] a great, great fit for me. And I know that."

The Hawks, meanwhile, continue to mull the direction in which their franchise is headed.

"My answer to that is I don't think there should be any assumptions made about anything," said Budenholzer, who is also the Hawks' president. "Organizationally, we have to make hard decisions. I think it's important that each one of them puts us in the best situation, the best place, to be a great organization.

"In this case, we made a trade that wasn't easy. It was a hard decision. This is a good team that we have. This is a team that has shown an ability to compete at a high level. Keeping it together is something ... I just wouldn't make any assumptions going forward."

Dunleavy appeared in 23 games for the Cavs this season, averaging 4.6 points and 2.0 rebounds. The 14-year veteran has averaged 11.4 points and 4.3 rebounds with five teams over his career.
"We will bring him in," Budenholzer told reporters. "I think he's got the type of game and a skill set that I think he could be very good playing for us. We'll just have to see how he is, integrate him, continue to build. He's a player who we've liked, and personal I've liked, for a long time. We'll see how he fits into our mix."

Williams, a 13-year veteran, is averaging 8.2 points and 2.4 assists this season. The Hawks will be his 10th stop, including two stints with the Jazz since entering the league in 2003. He has averages of 13.2 points and 4.9 assists per game over his career.

Budenholzer said Tim Hardaway Jr.would take on a bigger role with Korver's departure, with Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry also getting additional minutes.
 
What the Hawks seek in a Paul Millsap trade
i


  • Marc Stein

Seven days.

That's as long as you had to wait in 2017 for an NBA trade to be consummated.

NBA Trade Season, in other words, is fully underway well in advance of the league's Feb. 23 trade deadline. Which means it's time for some fresh dribbles of the latest chatter from the league's personnel grapevine:

Once ESPN's report hit Sunday that Atlanta was suddenly willing to trade its most dependable player, Paul Millsap became the All-Star Most Likely To Be Dealt this winter.

Denver engaged in serious talks to acquire Millsap last summer and is known to be interested again, alongside Toronto and Sacramento. (The Nuggets, for the record, are now openly shopping third-year big man Jusuf Nurkic in addition to the widely assumed availability of vets Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler).

Other serious suitors for Millsap are bound to emerge, but here's the real question: Can Atlanta get a future first-round pick of better quality than the first it received for Korver when Millsap is poised to attract so much big-money interest as a free agent come July 1? Teams could well prove hesitant to surrender too much for a primo pending free agent.

The Hawks, sources say, want at least one quality first to headline a Millsap deal. The Raptors, meanwhile, have to decide whether a deal for Millsap closes the gap on Cleveland sufficiently to part with quality assets and justifies the expense involved to re-sign him in the same offseason All-Star guard Kyle Lowry is due for a new deal.

In the interim, as we all lock arms on Millsap Watch, we ask: Isn't it hard to believe he's the last starter left from Atlanta's 60-win team in 2014-15?

You're undoubtedly wondering what the Warriors will do in response to Cleveland's looming acquisition of Korver ... as well as LeBron James' latest pointed public demand for thesigning of a recognized backup point guard to Kyrie Irving.

Just don't forget that the Warriors are comparatively short on trade options. Making a retaliatory move is simply tougher with their roster composition.

Yet that's not to say the Warriors' roster you see today is how it will stay. There will be buyouts in various corners of the league, after the Feb. 23 trade deadline and before the March 1 playoff eligibility deadline, because there always are.

That's how the Warriors had opportunity to sign Anderson Varejaolast spring and figures to be the surest route to them adding another player who can help in the playoffs.

Given this week's loss of Justise Winslow for the season, on top of theongoing unavailability of Chris Bosh, Miami would seem to have more motivation than ever to fully embrace The Tank and start shopping Goran Dragic.

Miami's price for acquiring Dragic, however, is still said to be too high to encourage any serious trade discussions.

Yet.

Word is that two first-round picks is the Nets' current asking price for centerBrook Lopez.

Sources with knowledge of the Bulls' thinking emphatically deny the notion that All-Star swingman Jimmy Butleris available.

Given all the chaos enveloping the Bulls lately, with considerable doubt bubbling about how much longer Rajon Rondowill stick around Chicago, hanging onto one of the game's best two-way players seems prudent.

I'm told Dallas' Wesley Matthews, like Butler, is not in play. The prospect of an Andrew Bogut trade remains very real in Big D -- an outcome even Boguthas acknowledged -- but sources say that the Mavs are batting away pitches for Matthews as he continues an impressive recovery from an Achilles tear.

Word is Portland, of late, has been tracking Tyson Chandler as a potential trade target, since the Phoenix center could certainly help the Blazers with their defensive issues.

Chandler, 34, has two seasons left on his contract after this season valued at $26.5 million, but it remains to be seen how willing the Suns are to part with their interior anchor after Chandler encouraged the club to resist outside trade interest last summer.

What self-respecting compendium of trade scuttle from the 2016-17 season would fail to include an update onDeMarcus Cousins?

Not ours.

But here's the thing devoted fans of Trade Season -- of our beloved Transaction Game -- won't want to hear:

Cousins became even less likely to be moved once the NBA's new labor deal was hatched.

The Kings, as you surely know by now, are openly desperate to bring their 10-season playoff drought to a halt. Those who know Sacramento best continue to say that, as long as the West's No. 8 seed remains within the Kings' sights, they'll be increasingly reluctant to part with their All-Star ‎center.

But sources also say that the Kings, at season's end, want to pitch Cousins on a long-term partnership in the summertime, knowing he's going to be eligible in July for a Designated Player Extension that ‎could make him one of a handful of $200 million players league wide.

The latest signals suggest it would take a monster offer to get the Kings to tweak those plans.

The Lakers keep their pick in the June draft only if they finish in the top three of the next NBA lottery.

Maybe that's what they really want deep down.

You're moved to raise the question after watching L.A pass on signingDonatas Motiejunas. The Lakers had the first crack at auditioning Motiejunas before the Lithuanian big man ultimately signed with New Orleans. The Lakers also had more money to offer Motiejunas, who wound up settling for a prorated share of the $1.1 veteran minimum with the Pelicans.

The Lakers were in the midst of a 2-14 December -- with Larry Nance Jr. freshly injured -- when they worked out Motiejunas on Christmas Eve. They could have offered him their cap-room exception of nearly $3 million but decided it was preferable to pass on Motiejunas rather than urge Metta World Peace to shift from 15th man status to the coaching staff or waiveThomas Robinson.

The Motiejunas contract saga with the Rockets consumed more than five months and inspired plenty of debate about his value, even after Brooklyn jumped into the bidding, but a one-year deal with the versatile 7-footer doesn't seem like much of a gamble.

Especially if the Lakers -- suddenly facing a fourth straight trip to the lottery after only two during the Jerry Buss era -- are serious about trying to find something closer to the form that led to their 10-10 start under ‎rookie coach Luke Walton.

We'll soon see, based on how Motiejunas fares with the Pels, if they made the right call.‎

All 450 available roster spots in the NBA have been filled for most of the season to date, but eight teams suddenly have an opening. Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Antonio are all down to 14-man rosters after making cuts from the list of players on non-guaranteed contracts provided in our last Son of WD dispatch. In addition, Cleveland went from 15 to 14, with Atlanta going from 14 to full, when the teams completed the Kyle Korver trade Saturday. ... In addition to the veteran free agents looking to make a return to the league in 2017 that we reported on earlier this week -- guards Jarrett Jack and Mario Chalmers and forward Carl Landry -- add the name Norris Cole. According to the latest from my ESPN colleague Chris Haynes, Cole is also nearing a return to full fitness after a hamstring problem scuttled his recent stint in China. ... The inimitable @AlbertRandom1 on Twitter, providing this helpful follow-up on our recent Nikola Pekovic item, spells out that Minnesota will be eligible to apply to the league to have Pekovic's cap hits ($12.1 million this season; $11.6 million in 2017-18) removed from its payroll after Jan. 31. That's one year to the date of the last time Pekovic appeared in a game for the Wolves.

A few memorable numerical milestones, courtesy of ESPN research ace Micah Adams and including both the regular season and playoffs, from the calendar year ‎of 2016 that we just wrapped up:

*32 triple-doubles by Russell Westbrook; James Harden was next in line with 11.

*2,725 points for Stephen Curry;Kevin Durant was close behind with 2,704.

*468 made 3-pointers for Curry;Klay Thompson was second with 383.

*250 dunks for DeAndre Jordan to finish slightly ahead of Dwight Howard's 211.

Consider this a pertinent supporting footnote to our own Zach Lowe'scolumn this week about the NBA's scoring boom:

The number of qualifying players averaging at least ‎20 points per game this season, after an eight-season dropoff, has risen sharply.

There were 33 players league wide, as of Friday morning, averaging 20 points or better.

Last season? There were only 20 such players.

A season-by-season breakdown of 20 PPG Men in the new millennium:
 
I went to bed on that game last night. Just seen the highlights :smh:


Man never do that, if you can

I turned it on, after I read a comment on here about it being quiet since the dubs was winning. When I finally got a connection Conley hit the shit to tie the game up.
 
If you want the Greek Freak in the NBA All-Star Game, make sure you learn how to spell his name correctly.

 
Jimmy with 42 tonight and beating a good team in the process. Got a strong feeling the Bulls are gonna trade him while his value is at a all time high. Considering the fact that he's a young #1 whose underpaid....im sure teams will throw in 3+ players for him alone.


Imho, he will be traded. But considering what the front office has done over the last few years.....any trade that they make makes me VERY nervous.
 
Jimmy with 42 tonight and beating a good team in the process. Got a strong feeling the Bulls are gonna trade him while his value is at a all time high. Considering the fact that he's a young #1 whose underpaid....im sure teams will throw in 3+ players for him alone.


Imho, he will be traded. But considering what the front office has done over the last few years.....any trade that they make makes me VERY nervous.



Yea Jimmy is gonna don't know to who tho
 
Should have saved money on that youth Rajon Rondo jersey

You realize that your team is in the eighth seed and mine is three games out of eighth

Who is your only player of the future, Butler?
Hush nigga and speak to me when y'all get out the lottery

FOH tryna overhype them weak ass lakers players


Jim buss will trade the whole team for butler
 
Derrick Rose wants more stress on defense
image.jpeg

New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose shoots against the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA game Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, in Houston. (Credit: AP / Bob Levey)

Updated January 7, 2017 5:26 PM
By Al Iannazzone

Derrick Rose believes the Knicks take their ability to score for granted sometimes, and that coach Jeff Hornacek should stress defense so much that the player can’t stand hearing it anymore.

It’s no secret that defense has been the Knicks’ greatest weakness this season. Rose, too, has had his share of difficulty keeping his man in front of him.

But Rose’s best individual and team success came when hard-driving Tom Thibodeau coached him with the Bulls. Thibodeau got everything he could out of each player and made playing defense mandatory.

“I played on teams where we couldn’t score the ball like we score the ball here,” Rose said. “When you have the privilege like we have to score the ball at ease, defensively we’ve got to make sure — coach has to make sure — he beats us in the head with defense all the time. We’ve got to be irritated by it.

“Offensively, I think we’re going to find our way to get better in areas on the floor, but defensively we have to come in like, we’ve got to be irritated by him talking about defense so much. That’s how I feel.”

Hornacek has been critical of the Knicks’ defense, especially lately. Early this week, Hornacek said he didn’t know if the Knicks had players “capable of” playing defense.

You could take that as Hornacek criticizing the roster Phil Jackson put together, and saying he needs different personnel or the coach was trying to light a fire under his players. If it doesn’t then Jackson should look to change the personnel.
 
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