2009 NBA offseason thread

[Aphex Twin]

Originally Posted by Decker

He should make the Blazers better. Nice move.

I wonder how much damage they could have done on the free agent market if they weren't paying for Darius Miles. Yet another reason I love the Grizzlies' General Manager Chris Wallace.

But who would they use the extra dough for? Shawn Marion?

[ChineseCheckers]

Are the Blazers still planning on trading for Andre Miller?

[Decker]

LA Times is reporting that Phil Jackson is officially coming back next season according to a statement released by the team. No surprise, but nice to see it semi-official.

[RayChuang]

I think Artest going to the Lakers is actually a GREAT move. The answer is simple: Artest won't need to score a lot of points and can concentrate on defense.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Deftones

I call bullshit. The Cardinals and Pittsburgh was the second highest rated Superbowl ever. Sure, Pittsburgh is a fairly big team in the NFL with their history, but nobody gave a fuck about the Cardinals. This Superbowl outdrew the one with the Patriots/Giants. If that isn't proof that the Superbowl is the exception to the rule that big market teams need to be in to draw fans, I don't know what is.

Oops, that's true. I mentioned before already though that the Super Bowl is team proof, but I still think that just means the spectacle of the event is rising at a steady pace. I think having two big teams in it would have resulted in an even larger increase in viewership.

Originally Posted by atari2600

lol your reading comprehension isnt too good then. i clearly understood that. i know exactly why they did the deal.

Obviously you didn't, else you wouldn't have asked again what their intentions were. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension first, eh?

[Daryl]

Originally Posted by atari2600

they tried to rebuild and this current team is what they are left with. i doubt most piston fans will be happy with the results for the next 3-4 years.

you couldn't possibly be more wrong. they are trying to stay in the mix WITHOUT rebuilding, which is what they've done. If your point is: fans won't be happy because Detroit won't win a championship within the next 2-3 years.... well, I guess, but that's kind of asinine. If that's the case, every fan for any team not named the Lakers, Cavs, Celtics, Spurs or Magic are not gonna be happy. The Pistons will no doubt continue to reload with younger players, make the playoffs year after year, and then you try to get to a point where you're one player away from being a serious contender. No crime in that.

You continue to harp on this misconstrued belief that the Pistons trade of Billups ONLY to free up cap space, as if AI was complete garbage when the trade was made. They made a move for what they (and most people) believed was a same-tier player AND to position themselves for 2009 and/or 2010. The choice was simple: stay the course with what had become stagnant, certainly not make the finals again, and be locked into a roster that's not getting any younger and limits what you can do in free agency. OR, trade for a high risk/reward player, likely not make the finals again (barring a chemistry miracle), but free yourself up to become younger and more diverse in 2009 and 2010. What they didn't foresee was Rip Hamilton and Sheed (well, maybe they saw it happening to Sheed ) becoming completely unprofessional bitches and poisoning any chance the team had at finishing with a top 4 seed.

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

Oops, that's true. I mentioned before already though that the Super Bowl is team proof, but I still think that just means the spectacle of the event is rising at a steady pace. I think having two big teams in it would have resulted in an even larger increase in viewership.



Obviously you didn't, else you wouldn't have asked again what their intentions were. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension first, eh?

lol...i was asking to see what you thought they were.

think about it - if their intentions were purely cap space then they got it. thats it. they had cap space and there is no discussion (it was already done). if you think that was their main goal then why am i even discussing the nba with you?

clearly teams want more than just cap space. every team (with maybe the exception of the clips) wants to win. they want cap space to get good players to build a nice team. the pistons did that but i thought joe dumars and the rest of the front office and the city and the fans wanted more than just a nice team.

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by Daryl

you couldn't possibly be more wrong. they are trying to stay in the mix WITHOUT rebuilding, which is what they've done. If your point is: fans won't be happy because Detroit won't win a championship within the next 2-3 years.... well, I guess, but that's kind of asinine.

stay in the mix of what? the playoffs? sure...ive already accepted that. they made them last year because in the east even bad teams can make it.

they are clearly better than last year so they will make the playoffs again for sure but this is their team now. they cant look to next year and picking up a big name like many thought they would (which would have given them the 'win' in that deal according to many).

i guess piston fans expectations have dropped quite a bit because they arent winning a title with these guys in the next 5-7 years. you guys went from thinking about titles and, at the worst, ECF to just happy to be around.

thats why i kept asking what their goals and expectations are. if this is it, congrats!

If that's the case, every fan for any team not named the Lakers, Cavs, Celtics, Spurs or Magic are not gonna be happy. The Pistons will no doubt continue to reload with younger players, make the playoffs year after year, and then you try to get to a point where you're one player away from being a serious contender. No crime in that.

fair enough. good luck.

You continue to harp on this misconstrued belief that the Pistons trade of Billups ONLY to free up cap space, as if AI was complete garbage when the trade was made.

no way. i liked AI. at the time it looked like a pretty even trade. last year proved it wasnt. adding ben gordon and charlie v with that cap space doesnt change much because they arent superstars or even close. you cant simply give the pistons credit for signing players for the sake of it because with their cap space they were going to get players for sure. no doubt about it.

and if these two guys turn the pistons into contenders again, then it was a huge success of a trade...but i highly doubt it.

but hey, if they pistons become awesome - good for them. i got nothing against them.

They made a move for what they (and most people) believed was a same-tier player AND to position themselves for 2009 and/or 2010. The choice was simple: stay the course with what had become stagnant, certainly not make the finals again, and be locked into a roster that's not getting any younger and limits what you can do in free agency. OR, trade for a high risk/reward player, likely not make the finals again (barring a chemistry miracle), but free yourself up to become younger and more diverse in 2009 and 2010. What they didn't foresee was Rip Hamilton and Sheed (well, maybe they saw it happening to Sheed ) becoming completely unprofessional bitches and poisoning any chance the team had at finishing with a top 4 seed.

fair enough. im glad piston fans are ok with all of this.

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by dx23

They are willing to deal Josh Howard.

id love to see what superstar they get from trading josh howard.

[dx23]

Originally Posted by atari2600

id love to see what superstar they get from trading josh howard.

Depends on the team on the other side of the fence. Josh Howard is a very good player who could help any team.

[dx23]

Originally Posted by ChineseCheckers

Are the Blazers still planning on trading for Andre Miller?

I was wondering the same thing. Also, I'm wondering what are they going to do with Webster, Outlaw and Batum. The odd man out seems to be Webster, who was injured last season. Outlaw is a free agent in 2010, so maybe they'll use him as trade bait.

By the way, i see that Frye is not going to be re-signed by Portland. I hope he goes to a team where he can get a chance to play consistently and regain the swagger he had when he started in NY.

[dx23]

ESPN just confirmed that Phil Jackson is returning to LA next year.

[dx23]

The Bucks met with Josh Childress to talk about a possibility of a NBA comeback

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/p...urn=nba,174602

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by atari2600

lol...i was asking to see what you thought they were.

think about it - if their intentions were purely cap space then they got it. thats it. they had cap space and there is no discussion (it was already done). if you think that was their main goal then why am i even discussing the nba with you?

The topic came up because someone mentioned the trade being lopsided. It wasn't.

[fujishig]

Just watched two sportscenter clips on espn.com: in the first, Bucher says that the Lakers and Artest are a terrible fit since Artest needs the ball too much and Ariza fit in well. The next day on sportscenter, he says that it makes them a tougher team. Huh?

[Decker]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Just watched two sportscenter clips on espn.com: in the first, Bucher says that the Lakers and Artest are a terrible fit since Artest needs the ball too much and Ariza fit in well. The next day on sportscenter, he says that it makes them a tougher team. Huh?

I still don't know how I feel about it. No doubt I would have preferred Ariza staying. I don't see why they felt the need to fix something that wasn't broken and risk mixing up great team chemistry. That said, Artest is a better defender and using him against their best offensive player frees up Kobe to expend less energy on the defensive end. I'm just amazed they didn't try harder to keep Ariza.

[Jeremy517]

Turkoglu has supposedly broken off negotiations with the Blazers

I saw one thing that said his wife likes Toronto better. It could also be the extra $6 million that Toronto could offer. Either way, I'm very glad. 5/$50mill was way too long of a contract to give him.

[dx23]

Originally Posted by Jeremy517

Turkoglu has supposedly broken off negotiations with the Blazers

I saw one thing that said his wife likes Toronto better. It could also be the extra $6 million that Toronto could offer. Either way, I'm very glad. 5/$50mill was way too long of a contract to give him.

Just read that. Should Portland just secure Andre Miller now?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305310

[dx23]

Avery Johnson very close to becoming Pistons coach.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305278

[dx23]

Toronto interested in re-signing Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker. They also want to bring back Carlos Delfino and sign Leinas Kleiza.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305278

[dx23]

Marbury thinks he is worth more than the minimum. Doesn't accept Celtics offer.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4304855

[fujishig]

One thing I didn't think of... isn't Zach Randolph's contract pretty much the same as Pau Gasol's?

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by Jeremy517

Turkoglu has supposedly broken off negotiations with the Blazers

I saw one thing that said his wife likes Toronto better. It could also be the extra $6 million that Toronto could offer. Either way, I'm very glad. 5/$50mill was way too long of a contract to give him.

What is he, Doug Christie? I think he also said that he got way more sleep on the road (and he did play better on the road) because of the newborn baby at home... which I would make fun of, but as the parent of a newborn baby, I sympathize.

[Daryl]

Originally Posted by atari2600

fair enough. im glad piston fans are ok with all of this.

I'm sure they are OK with a GM recognizing he had a stagnant team and trying to reload without spending 3-4 years in the lottery. After all, he did take a team that was trash and on the verge of losing their one all-star player and turn it into a champion in 4 years.

I don't what else you thought the Pistons were gonna do. They made inquiries into several players, and were reportedly rebuffed by guys like Turkoglu and Boozer, so they went after Gordon and Villanueva. WTF, this isn't NBALive, you can't just sign whoever you want. The only other option was to do nothing and pray that Chris Bosh signs with them in 2010 and that's simply moronic.

Anyway, I'm sure Piston fans appreciate what appears to be a deep troubling concern about what makes them happy, since you've mentioned it like 10 times. Not sure why the well being of 1 fanbase out of 30 is such a concern, or why their expectations for their team would be any different than any other fanbase, but I'm sure it will ease their pain.

[Jam Master Jay]

Originally Posted by Jeremy517

Turkoglu has supposedly broken off negotiations with the Blazers

I saw one thing that said his wife likes Toronto better. It could also be the extra $6 million that Toronto could offer. Either way, I'm very glad. 5/$50mill was way too long of a contract to give him.

Originally Posted by dx23

Toronto interested in re-signing Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker. They also want to bring back Carlos Delfino and sign Leinas Kleiza.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305278

This won't happen if the Raptors sign Turkoglu. They can give him that 5 yr 56 million deal only if they renounce the rights to Marion, Delfino & Parker which looking at the front page of ESPN, Turkoglu will sign with Toronto. Kind of sucks I was looking forward to having him here in Portland. I really hate this whole week waiting period for all this stuff to be official. First the story breaks that he had agreed in principle and then a few hours later he's rejected the Blazers and is signing with the Raptors.