NBA Season 2017/18

Welcome to the Digital Sportspage forum.

Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

Whatever team LBJ decides to play for it's a given that it won't include JR Smith. LBJ admitted he played with a broken right hand after he punched the blackboard in the locker room after GM 1. No doubt JR was probably far away from that incident. :lol:

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

Anyone else surprised that P. George resigned with OKC? All the experts had him going back home and playing for the Lakers. Signing a max contract surely didn't hurt. Maybe the NBA has learned a thing or two from the NFL, PR wise as they have been doing a fantastic job keeping fans engaged after the end of the season with the NBA Draft and now free agency. The NBA is definitely doing a lot of things right as their popularity continues to rise. It doesn't hurt that highly regarded players from Europe are being drafted which helps with exposure outside of the US.

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by wco81 »

Rodster wrote:Anyone else surprised that P. George resigned with OKC? All the experts had him going back home and playing for the Lakers. Signing a max contract surely didn't hurt. Maybe the NBA has learned a thing or two from the NFL, PR wise as they have been doing a fantastic job keeping fans engaged after the end of the season with the NBA Draft and now free agency. The NBA is definitely doing a lot of things right as their popularity continues to rise. It doesn't hurt that highly regarded players from Europe are being drafted which helps with exposure outside of the US.
Main thing that comes to mind is that he can maximize his money at OKC. He had a serious injury so he has to think about his career earnings. People speculated he might take a 1+1 or 2+1 deal but a 4-year deal with $137 million guarantee is security.

That and he couldn't look Westbrook in the face and tell him he was leaving. :D

As for the NBA, I think it's had more influence than NFL players because the stars are more recognizable and has big social media presences. They get bigger shoe deals and other endorsements as well and the NBA season is longer. For sure I think players like Lebron and Durant were able to draft on the trail blazed by Jordan, who transcended the sport, especially with the huge Nike branding. The Air Jordans were a cultural phenomenon and raised the stakes for shoe and merchandising endorsements way beyond other sports in North America.

Plus it's easier for people to identify with NBA stars, even if they're not tall, elite athletes like Lebron. Look at all the kiddies who've become fans of Curry, who's not physically imposing compared to other athletes.

It's kind of remarkable because for a lot of Americans, NBA is a black sport. There was a time when the NBA trailed behind MLB but no longer. And teams like the Celtics and the Jazz no longer seem compelled to have a large quota of white players on the roster. In fact, it's a wonder that Trump hasn't chose to attack the NBA more than the NFL, though NBA skirted the whole not standing for the national anthem controversy, though NBA players are as outspoken, if not more about mistreatment of blacks by cops and other social issues which the NFL protests are about in the first place.

User avatar
greggsand
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 3065
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:00 am
Location: los angeles
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by greggsand »

For a guy who had such a terrible career-threatening injury, it doesn’t surprise me he went for the most money he can get RIGHT NOW.
My Tesla referral code - get free supercharger miles!! https://ts.la/gregg43474

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

greggsand wrote:For a guy who had such a terrible career-threatening injury, it doesn’t surprise me he went for the most money he can get RIGHT NOW.
Yeah good point about the leg injury PG suffered in a non NBA game. Some are wondering whether Gordon Heyward will be the same after his ankle injury.

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

LeBron heading to LA. He tried to get KD to join him but he resigned with the Warriors.

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by wco81 »

Rodster wrote:LeBron heading to LA. He tried to get KD to join him but he resigned with the Warriors.
Lakers fans are saying now they don't have to trade for Kawhi. Lakers will tell Spurs to pound sand and just sign him in free agency next year.

But will Lebron be that patient? How long before he demands to have input on trades?

He probably got KCP signed again with them, since KCP is rep'd by his agency.

Aristo
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 2161
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:00 am
Location: St. Louis

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Aristo »

If I was LeBron, I would have demanded that the Lakers get rid of Lonzo Ball ASAP. I can't see LeBron putting up with the Ball Family nonsense.
XBL Gamertag: JayhawkerStL

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

wco81 wrote:It's kind of remarkable because for a lot of Americans, NBA is a black sport. There was a time when the NBA trailed behind MLB but no longer. And teams like the Celtics and the Jazz no longer seem compelled to have a large quota of white players on the roster. In fact, it's a wonder that Trump hasn't chose to attack the NBA more than the NFL, though NBA skirted the whole not standing for the national anthem controversy, though NBA players are as outspoken, if not more about mistreatment of blacks by cops and other social issues which the NFL protests are about in the first place.
This is exactly why Trump doesn't attack the NBA: He sees it as a black sport, and it doesn't play to his base. Trump attacks the NFL because the vast majority of his base are football fans, not NBA fans. He stoke the flames of populism much more through attacks on the NFL than on the NBA.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

Aristo wrote:If I was LeBron, I would have demanded that the Lakers get rid of Lonzo Ball ASAP. I can't see LeBron putting up with the Ball Family nonsense.
Not to mention LeBron essentially played point guard in Cleveland. Maybe he'll cede that spot to Lonzo if he trusts his ability. LeBron played PG in Cleveland because they never got a good replacement for Kyrie. George Hill didn't deliver.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

Boogie is the last remaining big X Factor in free agency. He can really help the right team, but who wants to put up with his emotional carnage? And how quickly and completely will he heal from the Achilles' injury he suffered midway through last season?

If I'm New Orleans, I hope Boogie leaves. Davis improved quite a bit when Cousins was hurt because it forced Gentry to move AD to the 5, which is a better, more natural position for him.

Next summer's free agency will be far wilder than this year, with KD and AD both on the market. KD wouldn't have signed a one-and-one contract -- just like LeBron's last deal in Cleveland -- if he didn't want to test the waters and move on after seemingly his third consecutive title in Golden State.

Come to the Knicks and hook up with the Unicorn, KD! You gave him his nickname, after all. :)
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by wco81 »

Yeah I think Warriors fans are uneasy about KD's status.

Thing is if they win next year, that would be a three peat and then they'd have a chance to do a four peat, something which hasn't been done since the Celtics teams of the '60s.

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

wco81 wrote:Yeah I think Warriors fans are uneasy about KD's status.

Thing is if they win next year, that would be a three peat and then they'd have a chance to do a four peat, something which hasn't been done since the Celtics teams of the '60s.
Good point. But I'm not sure if that matters that much to KD. Eventually I think he wants to go to a team where he is the alpha male, which wasn't the case in OKC or Golden State. He shared the spotlight with Russ in OKC and the Splash Brothers and Draymond in Oakland.

I know the Knicks have Porzingis, but KD still would rule that team if he came to New York. He might own New York unlike any player since possibly Starks, Oakley and Ewing in the early to mid-90s or Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed in the early 70s glory days.

Plus Adam Silver would wake up every morning with massive wood if the two best all-around players in his league -- LeBron and KD -- played in the two biggest American markets.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

pk500 wrote:I know the Knicks have Porzingis, but KD still would rule that team if he came to New York. He might own New York unlike any player since possibly Starks, Oakley and Ewing in the early to mid-90s or Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed in the early 70s glory days.
Ah, how quickly you forgot the other stud (Earl "The Pearl" Monroe) in the Rolls Royce backcourt. That was one helluva team with Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and a future hall of fame coach, named Phil Jackson. Glory years indeed listening to Marv Albert calling the Knicks and Rangers games on AM radio. :)

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:I know the Knicks have Porzingis, but KD still would rule that team if he came to New York. He might own New York unlike any player since possibly Starks, Oakley and Ewing in the early to mid-90s or Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed in the early 70s glory days.
Ah, how quickly you forgot the other stud (Earl "The Pearl" Monroe) in the Rolls Royce backcourt. That was one helluva team with Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and a future hall of fame coach, named Phil Jackson. Glory years indeed listening to Marv Albert calling the Knicks and Rangers games on AM radio. :)
The Pearl was great! But Clyde owned New York, man. Sort of still does! :)
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

Boogie is heading to Golden State, wow. Could Dwight Howard be heading to LA?

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:Boogie is heading to Golden State, wow. Could Dwight Howard be heading to LA?
Doubtful. They signed JaVale McGee.

Howard is toxic. He makes Boogie look like an altar boy. Boogie is uncontrollable on the court but isn't hated by all of his teammates. Howard might be the most unpopular teammate in the NBA.

Plus Howard's ego is so large that he still thinks he should get a max deal. No way he'll take the $11 million per season the Lakers have left under the cap.

And then there's Howard's disastrous first stint with the Lakers. Think Jeanie Buss and Magic have forgotten that?
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
greggsand
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 3065
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:00 am
Location: los angeles
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by greggsand »

Rodster wrote:Boogie is heading to Golden State, wow. Could Dwight Howard be heading to LA?
Thanks, but NO THANKS.
My Tesla referral code - get free supercharger miles!! https://ts.la/gregg43474

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by wco81 »

Rodster wrote:Boogie is heading to Golden State, wow. Could Dwight Howard be heading to LA?

It's funny how pissed people are that he is joining the Warriors.

The guy probably won't be fully rehabbed until February and he may not be the same player but they're talking about how he's an all-star joining the defending champions.

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

wco81 wrote:
Rodster wrote:Boogie is heading to Golden State, wow. Could Dwight Howard be heading to LA?

It's funny how pissed people are that he is joining the Warriors.

The guy probably won't be fully rehabbed until February and he may not be the same player but they're talking about how he's an all-star joining the defending champions.
Exactly. Golden State was the prohibitive favorite to three-peat, even before Boogie arrived. So what's the big deal?

Plus he's only playing 50 games max, and Golden State won't have the cap space to re-sign him after next season, assuming he returns to even 75 percent of his previous best.

This is a one-year dalliance. Nothing more.

Don't blame the Dubs. They operated within a system created by the NBA and approved by the players' union. Maybe it's time to look at changes in the cap system instead of moaning about elite franchises that operate best within it.

The problem isn't in Oakland. It's in the league and union offices in New York.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by wco81 »

There is no problem.

Revenues are at an all-time high, including sales of jerseys to people overseas. In fact, I just returned from Bali and saw some local kid there with a Durant Warriors jersey.

TV ratings are the highest in about 15-20 years.

No doubt Lakers will see a surge in ratings and jersey sales. They're going to be featured a lot in national games.

Even as a Warriors fan, I don't buy that they have some easy route to another title next season or the season after that. I'm kind of thinking that the Warriors were at their peak in 2017 or the 2016 team.

Curry for one thing may be increasingly vulnerable to injury since he's over 30 now and his run of good health was due to end at some point.

But despite this narrative that the league is no longer competitive, it won't affect the popularity of the league. For one thing, the peak periods of popularity coincided with dominant teams like the Lakers and Celtics in the '80s or the Jordan Bulls teams in the '90s or the Shaw-Kobe teams in the early 2000s.

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

I forgot Dwight played for the Lakers.

tjung0831
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 2994
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Cottleville, MO

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by tjung0831 »

I don't think there is a problem....lets not forget the Warriors built that core through the draft. I hate when people call them out. They won without KD and they are just signing the occasional guy that wants a ring now but the Warriors built that team the right way.
Tim

"tjungin it"

PS4 - tjung0831
Xbox - NHLTIM

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by pk500 »

tjung0831 wrote:I don't think there is a problem....lets not forget the Warriors built that core through the draft. I hate when people call them out. They won without KD and they are just signing the occasional guy that wants a ring now but the Warriors built that team the right way.
Excellent point. Plus the players' union rejected Silver's smart offer of cap smoothing about four years ago, a couple of years before the anticipated huge new TV contract. That smoothing would have let the cap rise incrementally instead of the huge leap two summers ago that let the Warriors sign KD and let a lot of other teams spend foolishly on lousy players, like the massive overpays to Mozgov and Noah.

So if you're pissed about the Warriors' dynasty, don't blame Joe Lacob or Bob Myers. Don't blame Adam Silver. Blame Michele Roberts, the head of the NBA players' union.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
Rodster
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13512
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 4:00 am

Re: NBA Season 2017/18

Post by Rodster »

Just stirring the pot, that’s all :)

Rockets GM Daryl Morey: Stats prove LeBron James is the best player in NBA history by a 'big margin'

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/rock ... ig-margin/

Post Reply