Official Detroit Pistons thread

[froot loops]

Really? Word on the street is that he got an offer from the Lakers

Not that I've read, Marc Stein reported that Cousins offered the same deal to the Lakers and they passed.

[WingsFan]

EXPECT OHIO STATE TO DIAL DOWN ITS SUPPORT OF LEBRON JAMES FOLLOWING DEPARTURE TO LOS ANGELES

usa_today_9705734.0.jpg

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-athletics/2018/07/94128/expect-ohio-state-to-dial-down-its-support-of-lebron-james-following-departure-to-los-angeles

[fontes91]

He was expecting offers at 12:01. Boo boo. I too heard the Lakers passed. I hope he heals well. But fact is, the Pelicans played better after he went down. They got Randle now.

Doubt Boogie has much of an impact but the Warriors should still waltz to another ring.

[Futureshock]

Lebron James is 'must see' tv - as someone who likes late night games, Ill be watching a ton of Lakers games next year (hoping they lose). Back when the Clippers had Paul/Griffen I watched them all the time, but I liked them. I wish the Red Wings never moved to the east (but that's another subject)

Having said that Lebron started this crap with 'the decision' No?

That was the "We spend a lot, so we need a lot" players in the 90's right? Ewing, Jordan and some others, led by their agent? I can't remember his name.

[froot loops]

It seems like there is an inconsistency with the criticism of the Warriors, people profess that they want home grown talented teams. The Warriors drafted Curry, Green and Thompson. They gave up a lot to get Iguodola in a sign and trade. They won the first title without Durant. If they didn't get Durant they are still title contenders. Durant takes them from a great team to an all time team, but make no mistake this is about as homegrown a team as someone can get.

The Warriors are similar to the late 90s Yankees in that they had a homegrown core that was the backbone and they added free agents to augment the team. Those teams were awesome. People were freaking out that only the big spenders could contend and what was the use of trying. The Yankees weren't even in their new stadium and hadn't yet seen the profits of the YES network. It was going to be worse when that happened. The Yankees did spend more but it's gotten them 1 title in the last 16 seasons.

The lesson to be learned from Durant and/or Cousins is the importance of good salary cap management. From my viewpoint there are only two teams that should be perennial locks to attract free agents regardless of circumstances, Miami and the Lakers. A lot of the other teams are theoretical destination spots but that has not really shown itself in practice. If you are a contending team, you can also attract free agents.

The key is most teams is salary cap flexibility is paramount, if you have salary cap space, you can get players via trade. Or in the case this year, you can actually sign players if you had space because nobody did. Teams are always looking for cap space and if you are smart you can get a good player. You cannot go out and overpay for marginal free agents like the Pistons do.

[Cody_Russell]

I'm laughing that Cody Russell is getting wise to the NBA that it's top heavy. No shit. Most seasons you can pick 3 or 4 teams that will win a championship and you will be right the majority of the time.

[chemiclord]

For what it's worth, I'm not angry at Golden State. I'm irritated by the system that allows them to do this, while the league shrugs like they're helpless and there's nothing they can do.

There's in fact PLENTY they could do to encourage parity, but it would require potentially giving the best players more money, and the owners can't have that.

[jaadam4]

[chemiclord]

Eh... I think you would have. Westbrook really does not function well in any system where he is expected to share the ball. He and Durant had been grating on each other for a couple years at least before Durant finally said "fuck it."

[Forsh]

I'm quite in the Westbrook, Durant and Harden would've owned the NBA camp. Even in the worst case scenario, if Westbrook became a problem, they would've just traded him for a bounty and paired that with Harden and Durant

[chemiclord]

I just don't see any scenario where Harden and Westbrook could co-exist for any extended period of time in a starting lineup. They both dominate the ball. I completely agree that all three of them was untenable. I just think the Thunder dealt the wrong guy.

[froot loops]

The reason they traded Harden was dumb at the time, it was literally over 5 million dollars and the worry about going over the tax threshold. They should have at least kept them around for one more season. But all three players are ball dominant iso players, they were very redundant. They may have won a title the year they traded Harden because of pure talent but that was not going to last long term.

Durant left OKC basically because he tired of the Westbrook hero ball. The secret sauce of Golden State is Curry, the dude has the best handles in the league and he is the best shooter maybe ever and he is fine running around like Rip Hamilton without the ball for long stretches of the game. He's a much better fit for Durant than Harden or Westbrook ever were.

[chemiclord]

And now, the Thunder not only are over the luxury tax threshold, they are the highest payroll in the league.

[Futureshock]

I just don't see any scenario where Harden and Westbrook could co-exist for any extended period of time in a starting lineup. They both dominate the ball. I completely agree that all three of them was untenable. I just think the Thunder dealt the wrong guy.

IDK, I think Daddy Rich would have had them working as a team.

[froot loops]

Chuck Daly was a great coach in a day where the great coaches had power. Plus his team's had players with archetype roles. Russell Westbrook and James Harden want the ball all the time and they want clear outs. Durant is similar, but not as extreme. On offense Harden and Westbrook are spectators when they don't have the ball.

It's a great historical oddity that the Thunder had 3 of the top players in the game and couldn't make it work but that's all it is. It's great evidence that on a championship team, everyone needs a defined role and they need to embrace that role.

I'm not sure what it has to do with the Warriors.