2014-2015 NBA regular season thread.

[Al Bundy]

I will update this when the schedule is announced in a couple of weeks, but I will open with the new uniforms for the Charlotte Hornets below.

Introducing the brand new Charlotte #HornetsUnis! http://t.co/MgHy2DcOTX pic.twitter.com/w59MlUvRgd

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 19, 2014

[Mav]

Originally Posted by RustShack

Cool story bro. He took Cleveland to the finals all by himself too. He has a shit ton more talent around him this go around too.

Giving up young unproven guys to get a top 5 player at his position. Having LeBron love and kyrie for a minimum of 5 years is brilliant.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by RustShack

These guys don't understand team sports. They just want Cleveland to do what Miami did causing LeBron to leave. They don't know that when Wiggins and Waiters live up to their potential we can go over the cap to resign them. Strapping all your cash to three people is stupid. Do it to two, and put a good team around them... Which we're doing and have the young potential to be a lot better.

Okay. Keep Wiggins and give us Kyrie instead, and we'll give you Love.

There's your big 2. Have fun putting that good team around them, asshole

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by RustShack

These guys don't understand team sports. They just want Cleveland to do what Miami did causing LeBron to leave. They don't know that when Wiggins and Waiters live up to their potential we can go over the cap to resign them. Strapping all your cash to three people is stupid. Do it to two, and put a good team around them... Which we're doing and have the young potential to be a lot better.

It's abundantly clear that the failure to understand is on your end.

[Hootie]

you know what's really abundantly clear?

IT DOESN'T ****ING MATTER IF THEY KEEP WIGGINS OR TRADE FOR LOVE

the won as soon as LeBron said "I'm coming home."

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by SNR

And he doesn't have to play 40 minutes per game under the ideas I've been throwing out there.

Look, we're not going to agree on this, but one thing I'm trying to make you aware of is the value that Kevin Love has to this Cleveland team. When you say he "doesn't play the post" that's extremely misleading. He DOES play the post. He's just often overpowered or caught out of position by teams with especially huge and talented players up front like Memphis. And in case you're worried about some of the teams in the East, remember that he has had a lot of really good games against Chicago recently going up against Noah and Gibson.

The defense thing is a fair criticism, but again, it's not like he refuses to play defense or is incapable of refining that part of his game. Remember, he's been playing for a Rick Adelman team the past 3 seasons. It's easy for anybody to look like a huge pussy on defense. If Kyrie and Waiters get excuses for playing under Mike Brown, then Love should be granted the same excuse when it comes to his defense. If Blatt is as RustShack says he is, Kevin Love's defense isn't going to be a strong point, but it's not going to be what prevents the Cavs from winning championships, either. Especially when you consider what Love gives you.

Question, chiefzilla: If instead of Kevin Love, the trade was for Dirk Nowitzki circa the year the Mavs won the championship, would you take that? Assume that this version of Nowitzki is the same age as Love.

Love isn't far from that. He's not the ball handler that Dirk is/was, but he doesn't need to be- he's got Lebron and Kyrie. He's not just any stretch 4. He's the best one in the game.

To answer your question, in general I'm not a big fan of building a big 3 where you have 3 max contracts. If Love agreed to sign for less to play with Cleveland, that would be a different story. Let's not forget that the Heat's big 3 took big paycuts to join forces. Kyrie and Lebron got max contract. Nothing indicates that Love would agree to anything less. But I'd be okay with Dirk because he plays underratedly good defense which again, you need someone who can take over while Lebron sits on the bench. And again, if I'm building a big 3, I want a rim protector. Maybe Lebron doesn't want a guy clogging the paint, but getting a guy like, for example, Hibbert on a trade... THAT feels like a complement to the Cavs skill sets, whereas Love feels more like acquiring an unbelievable asset than forcing everyone to make it work.

To me, it is a panic move to force the Cavs to win in 2-3 years disregarding that there is plenty of talent that can 1) prolong Lebron's career; 2) keep him winning in a longer window. Even with Love I think the Cavs are underdogs to win against the West. Maybe even against Chicago. And that's not what you want when your window is that tight.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

He got two rings in Miami with that crazy "talent" model. Can't imagine why one would go that route.

The Big 3 took significant paycuts to make it happen.

As the Big 3 progressed, the depth got horrendously bad. That's what happens when you have no cap space and you traded all your picks away.

Unlike Miami, Cleveland actually has a ton of young assets. Some will bust, some will be quality depth, and some will be contributors (maybe huge contributors). A Big 3 forces you to basically liquidate all of those young guys quickly.

I know Love and Kyrie are young. But I see Cleveland ending up the same way Miami was at the end of last season. A big 3 surrounded by lousy depth forcing the big 3 to soak up an extraordinary number of minutes, and with big gaps all across the board. And I see the Cavs' depth if they get a big 3 being even worse than Miami's in 3 - 4 years.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

So we'll bank $60M of the Cavs' cap on three players. And trade away two #1 picks and two future first round picks. So basically you have no money left to spend on depth and no draft picks to bring anyone new in.

There are plenty of good arguments for why Love isn't the right fit. The choice isn't "easy."

You still aren't getting it as evidenced by this post and the last one. WHO GIVES A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS 4-5 YEARS FROM NOW. The future of the Cavs is now. What part don't you get that you have only have 2 years of prime Lebron?

If Clark Hunt came to me and said I am selling my soul to win the Super Bowl next year but the next decade will be all suck I would say sign me up.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

To answer your question, in general I'm not a big fan of building a big 3 where you have 3 max contracts. If Love agreed to sign for less to play with Cleveland, that would be a different story. Let's not forget that the Heat's big 3 took big paycuts to join forces. Kyrie and Lebron got max contract. Nothing indicates that Love would agree to anything less. But I'd be okay with Dirk because he plays underratedly good defense which again, you need someone who can take over while Lebron sits on the bench. And again, if I'm building a big 3, I want a rim protector. Maybe Lebron doesn't want a guy clogging the paint, but getting a guy like, for example, Hibbert on a trade... THAT feels like a complement to the Cavs skill sets, whereas Love feels more like acquiring an unbelievable asset than forcing everyone to make it work.

To me, it is a panic move to force the Cavs to win in 2-3 years disregarding that there is plenty of talent that can 1) prolong Lebron's career; 2) keep him winning in a longer window. Even with Love I think the Cavs are underdogs to win against the West. Maybe even against Chicago. And that's not what you want when your window is that tight.

You'd rather have Hibbert than Love?

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

You'd rather have Hibbert than Love?

I don't know how much I like Hibbert. He was the first guy that came to mind when talking about a true rim protector. Love isn't going to fix that problem and it's something Lebron could have used badly last year. And with $60M in cap locked into 3 players, and no draft picks, good luck finding anybody. So the Cavs' future makes it almost impossible to find an even halfway decent center.

Which makes me just want to vomit that the Cavs could have had Noel last year and passed.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

You still aren't getting it as evidenced by this post and the last one. WHO GIVES A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS 4-5 YEARS FROM NOW. The future of the Cavs is now. What part don't you get that you have only have 2 years of prime Lebron?

If Clark Hunt came to me and said I am selling my soul to win the Super Bowl next year but the next decade will be all suck I would say sign me up.

Lebron James is one of the game's best facilitators. After-prime Lebron is still going to be an elite player for years to come. But not if he's playing 40 minutes a night, which is what he's being set up to do with a Love super-trade.

And where is this ridiculous idea that the Cavs are going to suck if they don't sign Love? Without Love, they are still a heavy contender in the Eastern conference. I am talking about wanting a quality rim protector, and seeing what they have in their young guys. It's possible that Bennett, Kyrie, Waiters, Thompson, Wiggins will see dramatic growth this year. Why do people think it's going to take 3 years for that to happen? If you get Lebron, Kyrie, rim protector plus that kind of youth depth, plus veterans like Mike Miller and James Jones, that sounds like a good team to me. More bench depth, no major glaring gaps in the team, and you keep a lot of those draft picks that can maintain the team.

[RustShack]

LeBron has two years left??

[RustShack]

Sounds like more of a reason to surround him with quality players then.

[RustShack]

http://stats.nba.com/playerTrackingR...E*9**MIN*GE*25

Well according to this, Tristan Thompson is better than Love at getting contested rebounds, with Varejao not far behind. We already have James, Irving, and Waiters who can more than carry the scoring load. Why give up our depth, defenders, and potential for a name?

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by RustShack

http://stats.nba.com/playerTrackingR...E*9**MIN*GE*25

Well according to this, Tristan Thompson is better than Love at getting contested rebounds, with Varejao not far behind. We already have James, Irving, and Waiters who can more than carry the scoring load. Why give up our depth, defenders, and potential for a name?

It's blowmo reincarnate

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by RustShack

http://stats.nba.com/playerTrackingR...E*9**MIN*GE*25

Well according to this, Tristan Thompson is better than Love at getting contested rebounds, with Varejao not far behind. We already have James, Irving, and Waiters who can more than carry the scoring load. Why give up our depth, defenders, and potential for a name?

Do you have Down's Syndrome?