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

[-King-]

Originally Posted by TEX

Dude, you will argue with anyone no matter how wrong you are.

You get into "discussions" like this on a daily basis because you're C-L-U-E-L-E-S-S when it comes to the obvious...

What the **** are you talking about? What am I wrong about? That the Lakers will contend in a few years? The fact that they've won 16 championships in almost every decade for the past 60 ****ing years says that I'm right.

And not having a coach was supposed to be a selling point. If a big time free agent could have say in the coach, that's a big sell. It didn't work obviously. Oh well.

[Al Bundy]

Other thing holding up Warriors trade with Wolves is the Warriors don't want that Kelvin Martin contract.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by -King-

What the **** are you talking about? What am I wrong about? That the Lakers will contend in a few years? The fact that they've won 16 championships in almost every decade for the past 60 ****ing years says that I'm right.

And not having a coach was supposed to be a selling point. If a big time free agent could have say in the coach, that's a big sell. It didn't work obviously. Oh well.

That was under different ownership, what has the current ownership shown that they can contend?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by -King-

What the **** are you talking about? What am I wrong about? That the Lakers will contend in a few years? The fact that they've won 16 championships in almost every decade for the past 60 ****ing years says that I'm right.

And not having a coach was supposed to be a selling point. If a big time free agent could have say in the coach, that's a big sell. It didn't work obviously. Oh well.

It didn't work because it's a stupid strategy. Sort of like signing Kobe to a huge money deal was a stupid strategy.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

That was under different ownership, what has the current ownership shown that they can contend?

Nothing. But they're still the Lakers. For a couple years, they had a line up that made LeBron's cleveland teams look like the Olympic team. A couple years later, they went to the Finals 3 times, winning 2 times.

I hate Jim Buss as much as anyone, but at the end of the day, it's still the Lakers. They can never be counted out.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by RustShack

This week he's been the most excited about Cleveland. Honestly I don't even know if id seen him tweet about them until a few days ago he was saying heoved the city and fans. Him and Kyrie have been on great terms since the firing of Grant. Both are jacked about Blatt/Lue... And now the King. If Waiters isn't apart of the Love trade he will be the 6th man which will be perfect for a combo guard like him. An offense that scores points and a butt load of wins will make everyone happy.

So Waiters is going to be an All Star as their 6th man?

[L.A. Chieffan]

Originally Posted by KC native

Tanking implies that they will be losing on purpose. Lakers are going to lose no matter what next year.

They need to be bottom five to get back the pick they traded to the Suns

[KC native]

Originally Posted by L.A. Chieffan

They need to be bottom five to get back the pick they traded to the Suns

They will be bottom five.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-leb...191445831.html

How LeBron James forgave Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and returned to Cleveland


For four years, the letter had come to define Dan Gilbert, and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to wash away the shame and embarrassment and guilt of it all. So Sunday, Gilbert sat down with LeBron James and his inner-circle and tried to absolve himself of a most wretched moment in time.

"We had five great years together and one terrible night," Gilbert told James, and so started the process of reconciliation on Sunday night in Miami. "I told him how sorry I was, expressed regret for how that night went and how I let all the emotion and passion for situation carry me away. I told him I wish had never done it, that I wish I could take it back."

And soon, James told Gilbert that he wished he had never done "The Decision" on cable television and that they had made mistakes together, that they could move past it. From James and his agent Rich Paul and business manager Maverick Carter, the air of peace hung heavy in the South Florida air, the process of returning to Cleveland had begun in earnest. Soon, they had stopped talking about the past and talked about the possibility of a future together and for the first time – truly the first time – the possibility of reunification had become genuine.

"It was more comfortable than I actually thought it would be," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports on Friday afternoon. "They made it easy for me."

These had been Gilbert's first public words since agent Rich Paul called him moments before a public announcement, and said simply, "Dan, congratulations. LeBron's coming home."

Gilbert had flown down on his private jet on Sunday for the most important meeting of his billionaire business life. After obliterating James on the night of his departure for the Miami Heat four years ago, Gilbert had come back to make his pitch for the most improbable of partnerships: James and Gilbert, older and wiser, scarred in far different ways from sport's most spectacular falling-out.

James became branded by The Decision, and Gilbert became a hostage to his Letter. Only, James would win two titles in four years with the Heat, and winning washes everything away. Winning changes the story. The Cavaliers have lost a lot of games, made mistakes and then Gilbert started to understand something: For all his business genius, all his rebuilding of Detroit and charitable endeavors and everything he had done in his life, the letter had come to define him.

"Do a Google search on me, and it's the first thing that comes up," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports. "To a certain segment of society, it's like somebody killed somebody, like somebody killed their kid. I told LeBron, 'That letter didn't hurt anybody more than it hurt me.'

"For the first two months, I kept thousands of letters – not hundreds – thousands written to me. There were 90-year-old ladies and CEOs, and I realized that that letter had transcended the event, went far beyond LeBron. After a few months, I would re-read it and just be full of regret. That wasn't me, that wasn't who I am. I didn't mean most of the things I said in there. The venom it produced, from all sides … I wish … I wish I had never done it.

"I'm grateful that we all get another chance together now."

Three years ago, Gilbert says he "started to hear rumblings that this could be possible," that James had thoughts about someday making a return to the Cavaliers. "I went back and forth in my mind, thinking: Could this really happen? It was a volatile thing for years, and now that it's happened, I'm still in shock."

Gilbert couldn't stop talking about Paul and Carter, about how they were the conduits to make it all work again. "So professional with us through the whole process," Gilbert said.

LeBron lets E and Turtle have way too much control over his life.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

LeBron lets E and Turtle have way too much control over his life.

What the hell gives you that impression?

[Chiefs Pantalones]

Melo is a paycheck player. Always has been. If he goes to Chicago he'll prove that wrong.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by -King-

What the hell gives you that impression?

He's a heat fan.

[ChiefsCountry]

It's well known that Pat Riley didn't give a shit about LeBron's entourage. He never kissed their ass either.

[DaKCMan AP]

Miami is fighting to keep Chris Bosh, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. He will decide between Heat and Rockets today.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014

A Wade/Bosh/Plus-space-player team could settle in somewhere around where Brooklyn was last season in East, if Bosh stays.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 11, 2014

Bleh.

[chiefzilla1501]

Nothing makes me happier than seeing ESPN with egg all over their face. They lost a shitload of credibility in all this. I don't know if it was jealousy over not having an exclusive or their big market bias. But they were hell-bent on fabricating stories that bashed Cleveland.

In the end, it was the ex-ESPN guy (Sherridan) and the Yahoo Sports guy (Woj) who got it right. I ****ing love that SI got the exclusive with Lebron and Yahoo Sports got the exclusive with Gilbert. I don't know why I keep reading ESPN as a force of habit.

Originally Posted by dirk digler

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-leb...191445831.html

How LeBron James forgave Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and returned to Cleveland


For four years, the letter had come to define Dan Gilbert, and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to wash away the shame and embarrassment and guilt of it all. So Sunday, Gilbert sat down with LeBron James and his inner-circle and tried to absolve himself of a most wretched moment in time.

"We had five great years together and one terrible night," Gilbert told James, and so started the process of reconciliation on Sunday night in Miami. "I told him how sorry I was, expressed regret for how that night went and how I let all the emotion and passion for situation carry me away. I told him I wish had never done it, that I wish I could take it back."

And soon, James told Gilbert that he wished he had never done "The Decision" on cable television and that they had made mistakes together, that they could move past it. From James and his agent Rich Paul and business manager Maverick Carter, the air of peace hung heavy in the South Florida air, the process of returning to Cleveland had begun in earnest. Soon, they had stopped talking about the past and talked about the possibility of a future together and for the first time – truly the first time – the possibility of reunification had become genuine.

"It was more comfortable than I actually thought it would be," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports on Friday afternoon. "They made it easy for me."

These had been Gilbert's first public words since agent Rich Paul called him moments before a public announcement, and said simply, "Dan, congratulations. LeBron's coming home."

Gilbert had flown down on his private jet on Sunday for the most important meeting of his billionaire business life. After obliterating James on the night of his departure for the Miami Heat four years ago, Gilbert had come back to make his pitch for the most improbable of partnerships: James and Gilbert, older and wiser, scarred in far different ways from sport's most spectacular falling-out.

James became branded by The Decision, and Gilbert became a hostage to his Letter. Only, James would win two titles in four years with the Heat, and winning washes everything away. Winning changes the story. The Cavaliers have lost a lot of games, made mistakes and then Gilbert started to understand something: For all his business genius, all his rebuilding of Detroit and charitable endeavors and everything he had done in his life, the letter had come to define him.

"Do a Google search on me, and it's the first thing that comes up," Gilbert told Yahoo Sports. "To a certain segment of society, it's like somebody killed somebody, like somebody killed their kid. I told LeBron, 'That letter didn't hurt anybody more than it hurt me.'

"For the first two months, I kept thousands of letters – not hundreds – thousands written to me. There were 90-year-old ladies and CEOs, and I realized that that letter had transcended the event, went far beyond LeBron. After a few months, I would re-read it and just be full of regret. That wasn't me, that wasn't who I am. I didn't mean most of the things I said in there. The venom it produced, from all sides … I wish … I wish I had never done it.

"I'm grateful that we all get another chance together now."

Three years ago, Gilbert says he "started to hear rumblings that this could be possible," that James had thoughts about someday making a return to the Cavaliers. "I went back and forth in my mind, thinking: Could this really happen? It was a volatile thing for years, and now that it's happened, I'm still in shock."

Gilbert couldn't stop talking about Paul and Carter, about how they were the conduits to make it all work again. "So professional with us through the whole process," Gilbert said. In the end, LeBron James wanted to come home, wanted to forgive, and there were these two figures, forever connected in history, sitting in Miami on Sunday and slowly, surely laying out a way it could all happen again.

LeBron James comes home a two-time champion, comes home with a chance to deliver something Dan Gilbert would've never imagined possible again: a chance for them to be champions together, a chance to wash away all the stain of a Scarlet Letter and The Decision, to get together older and wiser, and better understand how it can be made right again.

His cell phone buzzed on Friday afternoon, and Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, heard the words he could've never, ever imagined: LeBron's coming home.