General NBA thread

[tchafe1978]

https://www.nba.com/news/nets-kyrie-irving-trade-dallas-mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are apparently interested in trading for Kyrie.  This would be kind of like a trial size having Kyrie for only the rest of the season; if Kyrie and the Mavs shockingly work out (which I doubt very much), then great.  Otherwise he is an unrestricted free agent and might I suspect this is nothing more than opening up a tremendous amount of salary cap space to sign a max contract player this summer to pair up with Luka Doncic.

The Mavs did end up trading for Kyrie, sending Spencer Dinwiddie, Dennis Smith Jr., and a couple draft picks. I, for the life of me, can't understand why any team would want Kyrie. Outside of his obvious basketball talent, the guy is a cancer on every team he's been on. Since winning the title with the Cavs, he's jumped from team to team, all with title hopes, only to want out after bringing the ship down. Maybe instead of crying to be traded every year, maybe he should look at himself and realize he's the problem.

[jgb191]

I guess the Nets called Kyrie's bluff and actually traded him.

I, for the life of me, can't understand why any team would want Kyrie. Outside of his obvious basketball talent, the guy is a cancer on every team he's been on

My best guess is the Mavs anticipate the available cap space that Kyrie's departure will leave the Mavs after this season.  It's a forgone conclusion that Kyrie is probably either going to go to another team or retiring if no team offers him what he demands.

[Rothman]

I doubt Kyrie would retire.  Seems too early.

[mgk920]

eBron James is expected to break Kareem Abdul Jabbar's career point scoring record (38387) as the Lakers are scheduled play the Milwaukee Bucks in Los Angeles (imagining if they were still the Minneapolis Lakers...) on Thursday night (2023-02-09).  This is a somewhat big thing with the Milwaukee sports media.  And Kareem did it without a three point line.



Mike

[jgb191]

I doubt Kyrie would retire.  Seems too early.

If Kyrie demands another max contract multi-year this summer, I expect no team to sign him forcing him to at least sit out a year if not retire or perhaps play overseas, maybe return back to Australia where he was born (a fact lost on many people) and try to find a contract there.

[JayhawkCO]

Kyrie is like the hot, crazy chick that every guy wants to sleep with but quickly realizes isn't dateable, who also believes the Earth is flat.

[formulanone]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

[Roadgeekteen]

Pretty fitting in this season that Lebron broke the record in a loss.

[JayhawkCO]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

[formulanone]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

I seriously don't have any idea how that worked out. Did they stop the game? Wasn't that for games started or at-bats? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm fuzzy on what happens in baseball, but it's not the MLB thread.

[Big John]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

I seriously don't have any idea how that worked out. Did they stop the game? Wasn't that for games started or at-bats? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm fuzzy on what happens in baseball, but it's not the MLB thread.

The celebration started after the 5th inning when the game became official.

[NWI_Irish96]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

I seriously don't have any idea how that worked out. Did they stop the game? Wasn't that for games started or at-bats? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm fuzzy on what happens in baseball, but it's not the MLB thread.

Because a baseball game that gets postponed before 5 innings are complete isn't official, the recognition of the record occurred at the end of the 5th inning. A baseball game has natural breaks between innings that basketball really doesn't have, so it's not a 100% perfect comparison, but a reasonable one.

[JayhawkCO]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

I seriously don't have any idea how that worked out. Did they stop the game? Wasn't that for games started or at-bats? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm fuzzy on what happens in baseball, but it's not the MLB thread.

Because a baseball game that gets postponed before 5 innings are complete isn't official, the recognition of the record occurred at the end of the 5th inning. A baseball game has natural breaks between innings that basketball really doesn't have, so it's not a 100% perfect comparison, but a reasonable one.

Then they could have waited 10 seconds for the break in between quarters and celebrated. Same natural break.

[formulanone]

Not to take anything away from LeBron James, but stopping the game with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to have a big media celebration just seemed wrong.

Let the festive celebrations and media accolades start after the actual event has ended, which is when all of these statistics actually matter.

Did you have the same reaction for Cal Ripken, Jr. breaking Gehrig's streak? Honestly curious.

I seriously don't have any idea how that worked out. Did they stop the game? Wasn't that for games started or at-bats? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm fuzzy on what happens in baseball, but it's not the MLB thread.

Because a baseball game that gets postponed before 5 innings are complete isn't official, the recognition of the record occurred at the end of the 5th inning. A baseball game has natural breaks between innings that basketball really doesn't have, so it's not a 100% perfect comparison, but a reasonable one.

Then they could have waited 10 seconds for the break in between quarters and celebrated. Same natural break.

It just seemed weird and hokey. I mean, if it was at or near the last game of the season and neither team is getting into the playoffs, fine.

[jgb191]

LeBron's career shattered my initial expectations.

When LeBron was drafted by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, while I anticipated he was good enough to win a plural number of World titles/rings; I (and so many others) never would have expected ten Finals consecutive appearances, which was unprecedented, and to me it was a mind-blowing accomplishment....I don't believe a soul on this planet expected that, LeBron himself probably never expected to pull that off.  And same goes for topping Kareem with the career-leader in scoring last night.  The only thing that disappointed me about him was that he didn't stay in Cleveland all through his career.

It goes without saying that the advances in sports science through the years has elevated players' strength and conditioning now than ever before I believe that the average playing career has been slightly extended along with that.  Just seems though that although physical abilities have been elevated, the mental abilities of basketball have been seems to have regressed since back in the days; people seem to have forgotten that sports is more mental game than physical game (any sport for that matter); the mind and the will is the most powerful part of the body.  Kyrie Irving is the quintessential example of immense physical talent, but diminished mental power; I really believe if you were to transplant the brain of any 1990's era HOFer into Kyrie's head, and you'd see the most unstoppable force in basketball history.  It is also the same reason I'd put any 1980s and 1990s Finals combatants over any team in the last several years.  Again teamwork and mind power defeats talent and physical abilites.

[Roadgeekteen]

Kevin Durant has been traded to the Suns

[Stephane Dumas]

LeBron's career shattered my initial expectations.

When LeBron was drafted by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, while I anticipated he was good enough to win a plural number of World titles/rings; I (and so many others) never would have expected ten Finals consecutive appearances, which was unprecedented, and to me it was a mind-blowing accomplishment....I don't believe a soul on this planet expected that, LeBron himself probably never expected to pull that off.  And same goes for topping Kareem with the career-leader in scoring last night.  The only thing that disappointed me about him was that he didn't stay in Cleveland all through his career.

It goes without saying that the advances in sports science through the years has elevated players' strength and conditioning now than ever before I believe that the average playing career has been slightly extended along with that.  Just seems though that although physical abilities have been elevated, the mental abilities of basketball have been seems to have regressed since back in the days; people seem to have forgotten that sports is more mental game than physical game (any sport for that matter); the mind and the will is the most powerful part of the body.  Kyrie Irving is the quintessential example of immense physical talent, but diminished mental power; I really believe if you were to transplant the brain of any 1990's era HOFer into Kyrie's head, and you'd see the most unstoppable force in basketball history.  It is also the same reason I'd put any 1980s and 1990s Finals combatants over any team in the last several years.  Again teamwork and mind power defeats talent and physical abilites.

And a first professional championship to Cleveland along with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL since the 1964 Browns unless we count the 1994 Crunch championship in indoor soccer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDKOstMIc_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6RvZ86wpIk

[jgb191]

Does any sports fan on AARoads have anything at all to say about all that has happened in the NBA since the last NFL game was completed eleven days ago?

What in the world is going on with the New Jers....sorry I mean Brooklyn Nets??

I've never seen this kind of monumental collapse (of a roster we're talking about) in the NBA since the breakup of the 2004 LA Lakers lost three of their four superstars.  It seemed like a planned demolition, because the Nets organization was probably fed up with the circus style drama and I guess you can say that they want a fresh new start. 

It looks like to me that the Nets have kickstarted (and I mean kickstarted with all its meaning) their rebuilding process.  With eight future draft picks in these two trades (Kevin and Kyrie).  Now whether they trade that draft capital to manufacture a new superteam or actually use those draft picks to build young talent remains to be seen.

As for the Suns, I think they just might be a legitimate force to battle with to represent the West in the Finals.

The LA Lakers also traded Russell Westbrook to Utah in another big news around the league.

[Henry]

While I agree that the Suns with Kevin Durant are certainly more interesting now, they're still facing some stiff competition in the West. And as it stands, the top two teams are the Denver Nuggets and the Vancou--er, Memphis Grizzlies, although it's also refreshing to see the Sacramento Kings do very well too.

As for the Lakers, it looks like the LeBron experiment was destined to fail from the start, even though he did pass Kareem as the NBA's top scorer of all time. Aside from that bubble championship, there really hasn't been much to cheer about in L.A., especially when the Clippers are now the superior team, and that's something we never anticipated in a million years.

[webny99]

Vancou--er, Memphis Grizzlies,

Probably unintentional, but this works out perfectly. Even better with just one dash.

[Henry]

Vancou--er, Memphis Grizzlies,

Probably unintentional, but this works out perfectly. Even better with just one dash.

Especially when someone almost referred to the Brooklyn team as the New Jersey Nets.

The next TV deal is up for grabs, and rumor has it that NBC wants back in after more than 20 years out of the game. If it weren't for FOX taking away Roundball Rock for its college hoops coverage, I'd be all for it, because I can't imagine it with any other theme. That song would've felt way out of place on ESPN/ABC, so it's a good call for them making a new one.

[webny99]

Vancou--er, Memphis Grizzlies,

Probably unintentional, but this works out perfectly. Even better with just one dash.

Especially when someone almost referred to the Brooklyn team as the New Jersey Nets.

Yes, but New Jersey doesn't end with -er.   

[Roadgeekteen]

Celtics interm coach Joe Mazzulla has been promoted to full time head coach. Well deserved.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Per rumor, I wouldn't mind seeing the NBA on NBC once again.

[Roadgeekteen]

The GOAT Michael Jordan turns 60 today.