2009 NBA offseason thread

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by Mordred

Surprised to see Dirk make the first team too. He had another great season, I just didn't realize anybody else had noticed.

He barely beat Duncan, but I can see how he made it over Duncan, Pierce, and Melo.

[Quake1028]

Duncan almost beat out Dirk for 1st team. That was super close. I think Parker should have made 2nd team, but I don't know who I would have replaced to have made that happen.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Duncan almost beat out Dirk for 1st team. That was super close. I think Parker should have made 2nd team, but I don't know who I would have replaced to have made that happen.

And many could probably make a case for Billups on the 2nd team too.

[solipsta]

VANCOUVER EYES PACERS?
Rumors are starting to spread that Francesco Aquilini, owner of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, is reportedly expressing interest in purchasing the Indiana Pacers and moving the team to Vancouver, B.C. (Bleacher Report). Pacers co-owner Herb Simon are working as hard as they can to work out a new arena deal with the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board and says he doesn’t want to see Indy without an NBA team. Simon, could be using Aquilini as leverage against the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board. But former Sonics owner Howard Schultz also used Clay Bennett as leverage against the Washington State Legislature. And now the Sonics no longer exist.
http://www.howeypolitics.com/2009/05...pi-daily-wire/

Anyone think there's truth to this? I'd love to see a team back in Vancouver, but I don't know whether the support is there after the Grizzlies.

[LurkerDan]

Indiana needs a pro basketball team. Don't mind a team in Vancouver (Memphis perhaps? ) but not the Pacers.

[LurkerDan]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/11746617

[fumanstan]

Smart

[Decker]

That would be a HUGE blow for Indy to lose the Pacers. That whole CIB Board thing is the biggest story in sports nobody's talking about. In the most basic terms, the company in charge of keeping up Conseco Fieldhouse and the new Lucas Oil Stadium is bankrupt and nobody can hammer out a deal to keep the buildings functioning. As someone who loved living in (or actually just outside) Indy for a few years, this situation is heartbreaking. Those are great fans and beautiful facilities -- you wouldn't even think something like this would be possible, let alone in the facility's second year in existence.

[dx23]

Originally Posted by LurkerDan

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/11746617

What an idiot. He apparently is joining the Mookie Blaylock Stoner All-Stars.

[InstantKarma]

Originally Posted by dx23

What an idiot. He apparently is joining the Mookie Blaylock Stoner All-Stars.

Yup, I thought he was going to be a star but he is a bust

[Applejack]

Originally Posted by dx23

What an idiot. He apparently is joining the Mookie Blaylock Stoner All-Stars.

Mookie Blaylock never got in any trouble for drugs, did he???

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by Applejack

Mookie Blaylock never got in any trouble for drugs, did he???

I guess police dogs found marijuana on him awhile back. Kind of a weird reference though. Who the fuck thinks of Mookie Blaylock

[LurkerDan]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I guess police dogs found marijuana on him awhile back. Kind of a weird reference though. Who the fuck thinks of Mookie Blaylock

a rabid Pearl Jam fan?

but yeah, it is a weird reference. The Michael Ray Richardson All-Stars, or the Roy Tarpley All-Stars, or ...

[fumanstan]

Even Iverson most recently. Heh.

[LurkerDan]

Wayman Tisdale died.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4168852

[Deftones]

woah. that sucks ass. he was on dinner impossible for the nba all star thing and he had a cane. that explains why he was using it. sad.

[cardsfan111]

Sad news about Tisdale. Even though he had a solid, productive NBA career, all my memories of him are from his college days at Oklahoma.

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by LurkerDan

I think it's pretty funny that he won because of one good trade. He surely didn't win because of his brilliance in giving Camby away.

giving camby away actually was a big part of helping the team. first of all we saved a ton of money which helped get billups but secondly we are a better TEAM without him. i loved camby because he played hard but man, our D and ball movement is so much better without him.

(oh and warkentein also got jones and birdman for cheap...those guys are a big part of our success and another reason he won the award)

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by El Scorcho

I'm back!

And I still stand by my contention that atari2600 would make a terrible general manager.

because of oden?

[LurkerDan]

Originally Posted by atari2600

giving camby away actually was a big part of helping the team. first of all we saved a ton of money which helped get billups but secondly we are a better TEAM without him. i loved camby because he played hard but man, our D and ball movement is so much better without him.

(oh and warkentein also got jones and birdman for cheap...those guys are a big part of our success and another reason he won the award)

Huh? Giving Camby away had nothing to do with Billups; Iverson was traded for Billups, and it was giving up Iverson's salary that made getting Billups possible.

As for being a better team without Camby, I disagree. Birdman has helped soften the blow immensely, as has the continued development of Nene. But if you think Birdman is a better player than Camby, or that Camby somehow detracted from team play, you're deluding yourself. Camby was a great team player. He was forced to give Camby away. I don't fault him for that, but I'm also smart enough to know that it was some super secret brilliant move that was part of some grand scheme to improve the team. It was a luxury tax move, pure and simple.

He won the award because the Billups trade had a huge impact on the team. Getting Jones and Birdman for cheap had little to do with it.

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by Deftones

woah. that sucks ass. he was on dinner impossible for the nba all star thing and he had a cane. that explains why he was using it. sad.

He had his leg amputated last year. I had no idea.

[El Scorcho]

Originally Posted by atari2600

because of oden?

because you'd bail on 21 year old players coming off major injury before giving them enough chance

you also suggested that we trade oden for a veteran center as if quality large-body veteran centers grow on trees

besides, there isn't a veteran center in the league that can come close to what Oden's ceiling is that is also is not locked down by another team

the knock on Oden is all the fouling but those will go away in time as he improves on his footwork and learns the league. Go look at every quality recent NBA center and their foul stats throughout their careers -- Shaq, Duncan, Mutombo, Camby, etc. -- and you'll see that they all decrease heavily from their rookie years (and also have their minutes increase)

Of course, this is all probably just denver vs. portland rivalry talk from you, as I have a hard time believing that you'd ship Oden away if he was in a Nugget uniform.

[Jeremy517]

He didn't just want to ship Oden away, he also wanted to trade away the #1 pick in the Oden/Durant draft for very little in return.

[wishbone]

Originally Posted by LurkerDan

Wayman Tisdale died.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4168852

Just saw this. Wow. I remember when he was drafted by the Pacers. He even had a local McDonald's commercial, "Tell them that McTis sent you." He was making a name for himself in the smooth jazz world too. Sad news, condolences to his family.

Wayman Tisdale

[El Scorcho]

So strange that it all started with a fall and a broken leg 2 years ago