Red Mosquito

Coach wrote:Let the West continue to load up on superstars and better teams, as long as the competition doesn't get any stronger in the East.

If Melo plays defense in the playoffs this could be interesting.

4/5 wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

4/5 wrote:Another staggering trade. The Thunder have turned trash into Paul George and Melo. Unreal.

Lowe reports that just like the Pacers the Knicks apparently didn't want to trade with the Cavs. It's sorta unbelievable that at the start of this offseason the Cavs were one major piece from being able to better challenge the Warriors, and despite an insane amount of star movement, the Cavs are almost certainly worse now than they were when they got spanked back in June.

Not that Melo is a superstar at this point, but is Sam Presti a sorcerer?

The most amazing part to me is the Thunder went from a franchise that was allergic to the luxury tax to a team that is putting all of their chips in on this season. If all these guys leave in free agency, could be some long winters in OKC.

They almost certainly can't keep all 3 of them beyond this next year, and it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't keep any of them, but credit to them for not standing idly by. Their offseason feels very Miami Heatish to me, back in the day when Miami made trades for Shaq, Zo, Hardaway, Eddie Jones, etc., giving up lots of supporting role players, but turning them into stars.

4/5 wrote:The movement of talent from East to West has also been something to see. Last year I thought that the gap between East and West was actually overstated and that while the West was still better, it wasn't as wide a gap as it has been for the last 6 or 7 years. And then this offseason happened.

Monkey_Driven wrote:

4/5 wrote:The movement of talent from East to West has also been something to see. Last year I thought that the gap between East and West was actually overstated and that while the West was still better, it wasn't as wide a gap as it has been for the last 6 or 7 years. And then this offseason happened.

It helps the West seems to have more solid organizations.

PHATJ wrote:Chicago Bulls are buying out D.Wade's contract. Cleveland, San Antonio, and Miami are the supposed interested teams.


Verb?

4/5 wrote:How much, if any, would Wade actually help the Cavs at this point?

Monkey_Driven wrote:Wade does not match up well with the Warriors at all at this stage of his career. If the Warriors make it that far in the more stacked West.

4/5 wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:Wade does not match up well with the Warriors at all at this stage of his career. If the Warriors make it that far in the more stacked West.

Don't try to act like they aren't still the prohibitive favorites to win the West.

Joesanity wrote:

4/5 wrote:How much, if any, would Wade actually help the Cavs at this point?

If it keeps Shumpert and Jeff Green off the floor, then he's a valuable addition.

Picturing a Rose-Wade starting backcourt and I'm feeling sick.

Monkey_Driven wrote:

4/5 wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:Wade does not match up well with the Warriors at all at this stage of his career. If the Warriors make it that far in the more stacked West.

Don't try to act like they aren't still the prohibitive favorites to win the West.

Oh, they're absolutely still the favorites. The road there isn't as easy now. They've had really good injury luck the past few years. Going to catch up with them.

4/5 wrote:

Joesanity wrote:

4/5 wrote:How much, if any, would Wade actually help the Cavs at this point?

If it keeps Shumpert and Jeff Green off the floor, then he's a valuable addition.

Picturing a Rose-Wade starting backcourt and I'm feeling sick.

This is pretty much what I think.

His game is not going to help them much at all in the playoffs. Maybe it means Shump plays less, so that's good. Maybe he provides some second unit ball handling while IT is out. Maybe he shot 1,000 3s every day this summer and he can hit 33% this season. But he's an aging player who can't shoot and can't get to the basket like he used to or play much defense at all.

Monkey_Driven wrote: I'm just picturing him giving up 20 transition baskets in the Finals right now.

4/5 wrote:Also, there was a great article on ESPN about Pop speaking out against Trump. I know it's already been said but it can't be said enough, Pop is the best.