The Official 2016-17 NBA Regular Season Thread

[wustin]

Shouldn't of traded Derrick Rose.

[Groundhog]

I think they were right to trade Rose, they were just silly to halfheartedly try and build a playoff contender with the Wade signing.

[CrescentMoonie]

Derek Rose is worse than the dumpster fire in Chicago all by himself. For all the crap going on there now, none of the Bulls have missed a game to run home to mommy without telling anyone.

[wustin]

Rose has looked fine this season and they traded him on his contract year. If Chicago was going to be bad anyways that would be 20M off the books heading into the offseason next year with stacked free agents.

[rjolley]

I think signing Rondo and not going for a rebuild was the mistake. You have a rising star in Butler. You have some good pieces in Gibson and Lopez. Signing Rondo is good if you're a piece away from challenging and have the vets that can contain him. Butler isn't that vet and not sure if Gibson is by himself.

If you keep Butler, trading Gibson is the move, possibly with Niko or McDermott.

This roster should make for an interesting show for the next few weeks. By then, the Cubs will be getting ready to defend their title and they will take Chicago sports fans' mind off of the Bulls.

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by wustin

Rose has looked fine this season and they traded him on his contract year. If Chicago was going to be bad anyways that would be 20M off the books heading into the offseason next year with stacked free agents.

Rose is barely in the top 50 in PER in the East this year and is so bad they were benching him in the 4th quarter.

[wustin]

PER is a joke stat I don't why you bring that up. Physically, Rose hasn't looked this good since 2012. His true shooting % is back above 50% and hasn't been that high since 2012

He's a head case but this is his last year. New York isn't bringing him back and they're going to get that cap space taken up by Rose to get Chris Paul in the offseason.

Edit: I'm not trying to say Rose is a good player but there was no reason to trade Rose away on his contract year.

[korme]

If you're going to say PER is a joke then someone simply can't argue with you. What a ridiculous statement.

[RainMaker]

Trading Rose was smart. They got 2 decent assets out of it in return. Lopez who is a decent Center on a cheap deal. And Grant who is a 1st round pick and worth a flyer.

Everything else has been a disaster though.

[Atocep]

Rose is awful right now.


52nd among PGs in RPM and 34th in EWA.

He's inefficient, not much of a playmaker, and uses a lot of possessions.

[bbgunn]

Wow, the Bulls are a mess.

I'm trying to think of another situation where the three best players on a team, or three most famous, are sniping at teammates or each other through the media, and I really can't.

[CrescentMoonie]

Signing both Rondo and Wade was the biggest mistake. You've got to go with one or the other and use the rest of the money filling in gaps on the roster.

[Groundhog]

Signing Rondo is a mistake regardless of what your team is trying to do. What he posted on IG is 100% true, but the problem with Rondo personally is that as soon as that strong veteran influence that kept him in check during those good Boston years left, he fell off the rails and became a chemistry killing liability.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by korme

If you're going to say PER is a joke then someone simply can't argue with you. What a ridiculous statement.

Thinking Chris Paul will sign in New York this summer is the craziest part of that post.

Rose trade was fine, and the timing of the Wade situation put them in a bind, but you can't win in 2017 without any outside shooting. Apparently only Byron Scott, Phil Jackson & GarPax haven't figured that out yet.

I hope they blow it all up & Butler shows up on the market - Celtics would make a ton of sense in that scenario. But I think it's more likely they stay in that midrange and attempt to rebuild around Butler. They actually have some young players who have shown flashes, they just don't get consistent PT. Not sure anyone even wants Wade at his salary for next season, though he turns into an expiring if you trade him in July.

[RainMaker]

They should have just built around Butler. Sure there wasn't a big guy they could have gotten but bringing back guys like E'twuan would have helped over someone like Rondo. I don't have much faith in any of the Bulls young players. They've essentially whiffed for 5 straight years in the draft.

Trading Butler would be interesting. Under the new CBA it's much more likely for players to stay so I think that increases his value even more. I'm inclined to keep him because he's a top 10 player and you can always move him in another year if things keep going south.

Boston makes the most sense. They're a star player away from being a contender and have a ton of assets. But I'd want both the Nets picks and Jaylen Brown if I was the Bulls. Probably too steep for Boston.

[Groundhog]

I think Boston might make that deal, TBH... As good as that Nets pick seems at the moment, throwing Butler into that Celtics unit would be real interesting.

[jbergey22]

Chicago just had a weird thought process when building that team. The best players all have solid mid-basket games that do their best work with the ball. How the hell was Rondo going to fit in with Wade? How are Wade & Butler suppose to get the best out of each other when their games are similar offensively. I mean Butler can fit in well on any team and any situation but the Wade pairing is about as bad of pairing as I can think of for him.

And now the bigger problem
Butler/Wade vs Rondo and the rest of the team. The last thing coaching/management would want is the younger players looking up to Rondo. On the other hand what Wade/Butler did was something they should not have done. Did they cross the line and lose the respect they need to lead the team because of it? Tricky situation for management. Probably need to start by trading Rondo(NEGATIVE which could create a feeling within the team that coaching caters to the two stars).

[korme]

I see Rondo getting waived and being labeled a poison pill. Who wants him at this point?

[miami_fan]

Anybody else in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Rondo on this specific issue?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I think Boston might make that deal, TBH... As good as that Nets pick seems at the moment, throwing Butler into that Celtics unit would be real interesting.

I get the ask, but I think Jaylen + 1 Nets pick & a sweetener like Olynyk, Rozier, or a lower 1 is as high as Ainge would go. That gives the Bulls Jaylen, a near certain top 4 pick in a loaded draft and 25% chance at Fultz, to go with presumably 2 lottery picks of their own in the next 2 drafts. I could also see us including Bradley (with Taj coming back?), who could be kept or spun off for more draft picks. But roster spots & our lack of big salaries start to make it tough to make this an in season trade, and as depressing as their season seems they're all of 1 game out of 6th. (PS they'll get better if Khris Middleton comes back close to full health, but seeing Milwaukee at 21-24 is still jarring. Biggest gap between media fawning & actual on court performance in the league.)

Btw, it might be good for his long term development, but I think we can confidently say Brandon Ingram can not play NBA PG right now. Jamal Murray tho... Nuggets need to dump some of their veteran flotsam & start building around him & Jokic. But like the Bulls, they're somehow in 8th place too, so I'll have to hope for more Jameer Nelson injuries.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Anybody else in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Rondo on this specific issue?

Not really. Rondo is one of those vets now and he ran to the media about the issue just the same as the people he's complaining about.

The bulls are a disaster, but rondo is part of the problem and he's not the young kid you expect to screw up every now and then anymore. This is the same guy that quit on Dallas and he's talking about passing on what he's learned from "his vets"?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I get the ask, but I think Jaylen + 1 Nets pick & a sweetener like Olynyk, Rozier, or a lower 1 is as high as Ainge would go. That gives the Bulls Jaylen, a near certain top 4 pick in a loaded draft and 25% chance at Fultz, to go with presumably 2 lottery picks of their own in the next 2 drafts. I could also see us including Bradley (with Taj coming back?), who could be kept or spun off for more draft picks. But roster spots & our lack of big salaries start to make it tough to make this an in season trade, and as depressing as their season seems they're all of 1 game out of 6th. (PS they'll get better if Khris Middleton comes back close to full health, but seeing Milwaukee at 21-24 is still jarring. Biggest gap between media fawning & actual on court performance in the league.)

Btw, it might be good for his long term development, but I think we can confidently say Brandon Ingram can not play NBA PG right now. Jamal Murray tho... Nuggets need to dump some of their veteran flotsam & start building around him & Jokic. But like the Bulls, they're somehow in 8th place too, so I'll have to hope for more Jameer Nelson injuries.

I didn't realize the Nets were almost a lock this year for worst record. I guess this year's Nets pick might be enough. Jaylen, 2017 Nets Pick, filler, and at least the Memphis pick might work in my mind.

Maybe I'm being too high on Butler but he's a top 10 player right now in the league. I think adding him to the Celtics makes them the favorites to win the East. And finding a way to get Taj in the deal too would be a nice bonus.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I didn't realize the Nets were almost a lock this year for worst record. I guess this year's Nets pick might be enough. Jaylen, 2017 Nets Pick, filler, and at least the Memphis pick might work in my mind.

Maybe I'm being too high on Butler but he's a top 10 player right now in the league. I think adding him to the Celtics makes them the favorites to win the East. And finding a way to get Taj in the deal too would be a nice bonus.

There is no way the Bulls will trade Butler for that unless they're desperate. He is indeed a Top.10 player in the league and it would make the Bulls a contender. Brown has yet to show he was worth being the 3rd pick in a weak draft, and no high pick in this year's draft is worth trading Butler for by itself, no matter how loaded this draft is. You don't trade a top 10 player for a pick which could be used on a guy who might be a top 10 pick five years from now.

If Boston decides they want Butler, they will need to give the Bulls more than Brown, the Nets pick and one of their flotsam jetsam PFs.

[nol]

Nikola Jokic is averaging 24, 11, and 5 on 60% shooting and 87% free throw shooting in January. His BPM for the season is 8.1 which is in between Durant and LeBron for 6th in the league. If he keeps this up he may even lock down a starting position on the Serbian national team.

[CrescentMoonie]

Wizards with a sloppy first half, turning the ball over 12 times, and they're still up 67-45 at Atlanta.

Ended up with a 26 point win. Wizards haven't trailed since 6-5 against Charlotte 3 games ago. 141 consecutive minutes of game time either tied or leading.

[korme]

NUCLEAR HARDEN

51-13-13

[stevew]

I think I would trade Love for Melo if we got something else in the trade.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Not really. Rondo is one of those vets now and he ran to the media about the issue just the same as the people he's complaining about.

The bulls are a disaster, but rondo is part of the problem and he's not the young kid you expect to screw up every now and then anymore. This is the same guy that quit on Dallas and he's talking about passing on what he's learned from "his vets"?

He's got zero moral high ground, but for an asshole with a borderline personality disorder he's always been very perceptive. FWIW this year he has taken his benching in stride, and apparently actually been the one sticking around after practices and helping the young guys. Meanwhile DWade just pulled an AI & said "I'm 35, I'm not practicing every day. That's very clear."

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

There is no way the Bulls will trade Butler for that unless they're desperate. He is indeed a Top.10 player in the league and it would make the Bulls a contender. Brown has yet to show he was worth being the 3rd pick in a weak draft, and no high pick in this year's draft is worth trading Butler for by itself, no matter how loaded this draft is. You don't trade a top 10 player for a pick which could be used on a guy who might be a top 10 pick five years from now.

If Boston decides they want Butler, they will need to give the Bulls more than Brown, the Nets pick and one of their flotsam jetsam PFs.

Even a month ago I agreed, but the point is that they might be (should be?) desparate, partially to save GarPax's jobs (Hoiberg straight up needs to be gone at this point.). And Jimmy Butler has increasing character questions and more questionable trade value by the day right now - he's dangerously close to getting tagged with the diva label that torpedoes a players trade value. Having his worst performance of the season & getting blown out by the Whiteside-less Heat with all eyes on you after calling out your teammates is a bad look.

Now, I think this is a bit overblown, but it's also clear that good as he is Butler alone can't drag a team to contention, the Bulls have apparently missed with all their recent draft picks (what happened with Portis? He, Valentine & MCW getting DNP's in this one is a pretty bad sign.), and what impact free agent is possibly going to sign with that organization right now? Yes, Butler is 27 and in his prime, but where's the path to contention before he's 30 and exiting it? Jaylen (who's PT has fluctuated being the rare top 3 pick on a good team, but started & put up 20/8 tonight) has increased his trade value with his play since the draft, and with him, 2 lottery picks this year & presumably 1 high one next year as you heavily play a couple teenagers and DWade Kobe's the team should give you a few good players and hopefully a star in the same age range. "Staying the course" and "building around Butler" looks a lot more likely to repeat exactly what's happened with Carmelo in New York the last few years from my vantage point.

Also, break up the Heat. 6 in a row! Dragic is great.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by korme

NUCLEAR HARDEN

51-13-13

The scary part is that it isnt his best game of the season.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Not really. Rondo is one of those vets now and he ran to the media about the issue just the same as the people he's complaining about.

The bulls are a disaster, but rondo is part of the problem and he's not the young kid you expect to screw up every now and then anymore. This is the same guy that quit on Dallas and he's talking about passing on what he's learned from "his vets"?

Everyone who I see respond about the comments in the media keeps regurgitating these points. I don't get it.

1) Rondo going to the media here is VASTLY different than what those "vets" did. The two vets had a clear cut plan to go blast their teammates at the same time and destroy everyone on the team not named Wade or Butler. Rondo attacked the two vets and spoke out protecting the other players on the team.

2) Rondo is a douche who has a horrible past with this. . . but that doesn't mean he's "wrong" in what he said here. The "wrong" thing was the two stars of the Bulls deciding it was appropriate to shred every other Bull to the media.

I mean, did we really need Rondo to talk about how despicable an action that was? Seriously?

[CrescentMoonie]

Wade and Butler being benched, with apparently nothing being done to Rondo, says a lot about what the team thinks about who was wrong.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Wade and Butler being benched, with apparently nothing being done to Rondo, says a lot about what the team thinks about who was wrong.

Athletes comments don't really phase me much anymore. Lebron throwing a fit despite Cleveland having the highest payroll in the league? yawn. Whatever.

I mean, I get it. They can be mean, childish, petulant, and occasionally dumb.

The two Bulls? Holy hell, that one caught me off guard.

Look at how the Bulls are constructed. They have 5 guys over the age of 25.

Wade - 35
Butler - 27
Gibson - 31
Lopez - 28
Rondo - 30

Gibson and Lopez are playing exactly the way they have played their entire careers. They are who they are.

If both Wade and Butler and came out and bashed on Rondo, I may not have agreed 100%, but I could have understood it. His under-performing has had a huge effect on the team.

But they didn't. They went on the offensive to a bunch of 25 year old and younger players, throwing them under the bus to the media. To call it inappropriate would be a massive understatement. It was simply horrible and shameful.

Rondo comes out to defend the team and he's been destroyed by a ton of commentators. For one of the first times in a long time, I am actually surprised by comments by athletes and how they play out. Hoiberg actually benching the two jack asses actually made the world seem normal again for a few minutes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by TroyF

To call it inappropriate would be a massive understatement.

Tbh, I don't see enough of the Bulls to know whether it was or wasn't.

I mean, ARE those under-25s you mentioned playing like they're just there to get a paycheck? I believe that was the overall point of the gripes, right? It wasn't a Lebron-esque "we don't have the talent" slam as I recall reading it.

Or was the target the other veterans you mentioned? Who, again, I don't see enough to know whether the criticism was valid or not.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I will never get tired of the Warriors beating the Clippers like this.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Tbh, I don't see enough of the Bulls to know whether it was or wasn't.

I mean, ARE those under-25s you mentioned playing like they're just there to get a paycheck? I believe that was the overall point of the gripes, right? It wasn't a Lebron-esque "we don't have the talent" slam as I recall reading it.

Or was the target the other veterans you mentioned? Who, again, I don't see enough to know whether the criticism was valid or not.

I've seen them a lot since I have season tickets (for now). They just don't have a lot of talent. The young guys play hard, they just aren't good.

I think part of Rondo's gripe with what the vets said is that the young guys do try hard. And Wade is the one who doesn't practice, doesn't play on back to backs, and doesn't hustle back on defense. He's a huge hypocrite.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Wade and Butler being benched, with apparently nothing being done to Rondo, says a lot about what the team thinks about who was wrong.

Ehh, or it says Hoiberg has no idea what he's doing.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I've seen them a lot since I have season tickets (for now). They just don't have a lot of talent. The young guys play hard, they just aren't good.

I think part of Rondo's gripe with what the vets said is that the young guys do try hard. And Wade is the one who doesn't practice, doesn't play on back to backs, and doesn't hustle back on defense. He's a huge hypocrite.

Yeah, I don't know if he's a "bad leader" behind closed doors, but Butler clearly works hard on his game and during games. Wade's coasting, or at best "picking his spots", which is one thing on a winning team or the place you put in the work (Miami), but another when you're the $25 million star FA around a new group of players.

Of course, he and Rondo have also always hated each other too, which is just another reason the fit between those two was so hilariously bad from the beginning.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I've seen them a lot since I have season tickets (for now). They just don't have a lot of talent. The young guys play hard, they just aren't good.

I think part of Rondo's gripe with what the vets said is that the young guys do try hard. And Wade is the one who doesn't practice, doesn't play on back to backs, and doesn't hustle back on defense. He's a huge hypocrite.

Pretty much what Rain said. They play hard, but they aren't very good. I think they have about 2 or 3 guys who profile as late bloomer types who will be a lot better year 7 in the league than year 3.

But again, they play hard. They try. They did not at all deserve to have their two stars come out with the clear agenda of laying blame on everyone else. That's what really got me here. Two guys get together and level their teammates with both guns to the media.

I may not like it, but when one guy is frustrated and they throw a microphone in his face, sometimes things are said that shouldn't be. To have two guys work in unison with an obvious agenda? Ugh. I mean, just ugh. Butler may be salvageable because he's a great player and he's still young enough he can redeem himself. I'd simply dump Wade on his ass. The signing was dumb from the start, it's even dumber when he is seemingly on a mission to destroy the rest of the team.

[TroyF]

I think Lebron might be losing his mind.

1 - He takes shots at ownership for not spending money when they are the highest salaried team in the league.

2 - Lebron himself is one of the reasons they are the highest salaried team in the league. He was the one who demanded JR Smith and Thompson got huge deals and also the one who pushed for the Love trade when he first came to Cleveland. (I'm not saying any of those are the wrong move, but a salary cap is a salary cap.

3 - He took another shot at the Cavs roster construction with a comment about how Thompson is their only rim protector. (guess what Bron, there aren't a ton of those guys in the league now and the one you wanted signed is making max money)

4 - He goes off on Charles Barkley. I'm not a fan of Barkley and never have been. I think he's pretty good on TNT simply because he gets people talking. That said, Barkley was one of about 200 pundits and another 10 million or so fans who thought Lebron was being idiotic with the "I need more players around me, give them to me NOW" whine that Bron said.

5 - What now Bron? He said there is a new sheriff in town. So where do you take it Mr. James? Going to attack the all knowing Skip Bayless next? How about you attack Trump? (That would be warranted, accurate and might even start swinging public opinion your way)

I don't get it. Bron is accurate with some things on Barkley. He's never gotten into trouble. He's represented the league well. But I think he's coming unhinged. I think he sees that he has about a 2% chance to win the 3rd Warriors series. I think he's even worried the team won't get to the finals. He has done so much to redeem himself after the "Decision" disaster (not that he made it, but HOW he made it) that I'm not sure why he now feels the need to start a media war or take shot after shot after shot at Cavs ownership. I think you've already made your point with the Cavs and you have NO CHANCE of winning a fight in the media.

Just not a smart move IMHO.

[Groundhog]

It's not so different from this time last year where LeBron also went on his 'grumpy old man' tirade, and from memory it was also after the Cavs had had a pretty uneven couple of weeks. *shrug* I don't think anything LeBron or the Cavs GM can do with what they have to wind up being enough to make them favourites over the Warriors.

[wustin]

Last year it was because of David Blatt though. No one on the team liked him because Blatt did irresponsible things like showing up late to practice.

I don't understand why Lebron is whining, they're going to run over the east and when they get to the finals, he and Kyrie are playing 40+ minutes a game anyways so what's the point in finding a secondary playmaker? One of the two will be on the floor while the other rests.

Also I've been following Dallas since the start of the season, their record is very misleading. I wish they would just tank because I don't think they're gonna beat Denver for the 8th spot.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wustin

I don't understand why Lebron is whining, they're going to run over the east

I figure he's legitimately concerned that, if they remained in their current funk (4-6 last 10 games) for too long that they could lose home court in the eastern bracket.

[wustin]

No way, Lebron will turn it up a notch if it's necessary. He doesn't want to do this but he has to accept that there's a target on his team's back and he's going to have to go 85% instead of 50% some nights. I know he wants to get his team involved to win games but the Cavs won the finals playing isoball with Kyrie and Lebron.

They have no assets to trade for a playmaker unless they want to flip a coin with a d-leaguer like Dallas did.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wustin

They have no assets to trade for a playmaker unless they want to flip a coin with a d-leaguer like Dallas did.

The ESPN article suggesting that the Cavs are going to work out Chalmers, Stephenson and Hinrich (and "others") all explain why trade assets really aren't an issue here.

edit to add: they have a roster space open, and waiving Birdman could make two spaces if needed

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I figure he's legitimately concerned that, if they remained in their current funk (4-6 last 10 games) for too long that they could lose home court in the eastern bracket.

I'd be more worried about the reverse... Cleveland would still be a favorite over the Celtics or Raptors in a 7-game series even without homecourt, but there's no reason LeBron, and to a lesser extent Kyrie, should be playing 45 minutes a night 3 games in a row like they did last week.

[nol]

Originally Posted by wustin

I don't understand why Lebron is whining, they're going to run over the east and when they get to the finals, he and Kyrie are playing 40+ minutes a game anyways so what's the point in finding a secondary playmaker? One of the two will be on the floor while the other rests.

I think his main gripe would be that he's leading the league in minutes per game to get the Cavs where they are right now, which isn't even close to being able to put up a fight against the Warriors (or any team good enough to make it out of the West if there's some unprecedented collapse/injury epidemic in Golden State).

The other thing would be that I don't know who could look at the existence of the Cleveland franchise with and without LeBron James and have the slightest concern with paying more luxury tax if that's what it takes. The luxury tax is the cost you pay for him coming back to that sorry mess of a team and winning them a championship because you're only allowed to give him $30 million or whatever per year. This isn't a Kobe situation where he sucks and is hurting the team's chances to compete at his salary.

Also I've been following Dallas since the start of the season, their record is very misleading. I wish they would just tank because I don't think they're gonna beat Denver for the 8th spot.

I would agree with that. Something I hadn't really thought about before regarding the teams in those spots (Philadelphia's there in the East right now) is that even if you say something like "if we go 20-12 the rest of the way we're .500 and that could be enough to sneak in as the 8 seed," you have to ask what the chances are of that happening AND that zero of the 4 teams ahead of you hold you off by finishing 18-14 or whatever, which A) you don't really have any control over and B) would not exactly constitute a miraculous playoff push if a team like Milwaukee or Minnesota finishes the year on a slightly above .500 stretch.

That also reminded me of a reply I had typed up to BishopMVP when logging in was messed up, the gist of it being that the Mavericks' situation since 2011 and Miami's since 2014 aren't even remotely comparable. This is set to be the first year Dallas finishes under .500 since 2000, and once they do, they have cap space (the closest thing to a bad contract they have is Wes Matthews', which they could've rescinded but didn't as a show of good faith to future free agents - not exactly the way Miami's been handling things as of late) and all their own draft picks to rebuild going forward. The Heat will have traded away two first round picks and have no cap space to have gone under .500 for 2 of the last 3 years, and if a team is in a situation where an injury to to someone who isn't MVP-caliber was actually the difference between having a winning record and not, that team was never particularly close to contending for a title. On the other hand, Dallas was stuck in the wrong conference and would have been good enough to at least reach the East finals a couple of the years between 2012 and now (such as when they took the 2014 champion Spurs 7 games in the first round).

Originally Posted by Atocep

So who had the Sixers with a better record than the T-Wolves at the midway point this season?

Not only that, but they actually have a pretty good chance of swapping picks with the Kings this year. Here was a good interview with the Sixers' former VP of basketball operations. It talked mostly about the three trades that have clearly turned out well for them (Michael Carter-Williams for the Lakers pick, Jrue Holiday for Saric and Noel, cap relief for pick swaps and a future unprotected first from the Kings), but it also bears mentioning that every other trade they made during that time was getting what little value they could for players whose contracts were up the following year and weren't going to be worth re-signing. And as it turned out, some of those random second-round picks they got for getting rid of awesome players such as Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen ("it's a Ponzi scheme where they trade anyone who's not a superstar for a 2nd-rounder") ended up being sent to the Kings in what may end up being the most lopsided trade since the one that has set up the Nets for 5+ years of complete irrelevance.

[CrescentMoonie]

The best team in the east just won their 15th straight home game. All 5 starters scored in double figures for the 17th time.

[TroyF]

As someone else said, last year it was Blatt. James was attacking him. This year feels much, much different. He's whining and it really sounds pathetic. And he just had no chance attacking the media. Barkley already responded, took the high road and stood by what he said. James never actually attacked Barkley's points because he knew damned well he couldn't.

As I said above, I think he's becoming unhinged. It isn't a good look.

[wustin]

Well the Cavs are hosting a red hot Timberwolves team tonight. As much as I want Lebron to lose again I think reality sets in and Minnesota loses by a large margin.

[Sublime 2]

I realize his shortcomings on this defensive end of the floor, BUT this Isaiah Thomas run has been nothing short of special! Just plain fun!

Also, C's now 2.5 back from Cleveland for 1st in the East (I have no real expectations there but nice to see them at 2) and Brooklyn 5+ games clear of 29th.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[BishopMVP]

Roy Hibbett & Spencer Hawes to Milwaukee for the worse Plumlee. Makes sense for both - despite the hype Milwaukee's a couple years and a player or two away from contention & this gives them more financial flexibility going foward, while Charlotte will have no cap room even with Hawes/Hibbert expiring soon (and have been atrocious with Cody Zeller out.)