2017-2018 NBA Discussion Thread

[HollywoodLeo]

You shouldn’t define LeBron by his Finals wins and losses.

This Cleveland team has no business even being this far but are because of him.

One guy, no matter how good he is, cannot carry a team to victory.

Granted, basketball is probably the sport where one man can come the closest to doing so. But pitting one superstar surrounded by mediocrity against a formidable team with multiple superstars will result in a loss even if that one superstar is the best on the court.

[Bizkit]

Cleveland being in the Finals shows how incredibly weak the East is.

I hope Lebron goes West to LA or Houston, and then finally we can see a Lebronless East team in the Finals, and maybe even a Lebronless Finals because no one is beating Golden State.

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[HollywoodLeo]

The East is weak, sure, but Cleveland is still a joke even amongst their Eastern peers without LeBron...even if you replace LeBron with one of the league’s better players.

[realmofotalk]

Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio and the Lakers are among the favorites to acquire him. I haven't read what it's going to take, but you have to think Ingram will be the odd man out, especially if they also get Paul George or LeBron (or both!). I would love it if they instead exiled Lonzo and LaVar to San Popovich.

[realmofotalk]

Magic says he would step down from the Lakers if they don't land any superstars this summer or the next. Haven't we gone down this path before?

[dgfred]

He lies every now and then. This is the now one.

[realmofotalk]

Paul George staying in OKC. Lakers have to get Kawhi now or it seems pointless to get LeBron and have him waste a year here.

[realmofotalk]

Houston has to be capped out after signing CP3 to that max contract, right? I think they wouldn't have made that deal if they knew they still had a shot at LeBron.

[HollywoodLeo]

Paul George staying in OKC. Lakers have to get Kawhi now or it seems pointless to get LeBron and have him waste a year here.

Apparently Cousins is visiting.

[Hammer]

bron, kawhi, cousins and lonzo seems likely to me at this point. and i actually kinda like cousins' fit more than pg13... george and kawhi both kind of overlap, with kawhi obviously being the better player. and cousins is a great on ball and help defender as a big man, hes just not that above the rim protector. but with bron and kawhis athletics... thats a small price to pay.

the celtics are an intriguing team now that they supposedly are willing to offer kyrie to the spurs, but they definitely wont offer tatum, and im not sure they throw jaylen brown in on top of kyrie. so i dont know if theyll make an offer that can top the eventual... ingram, kuzma, hart, wagner and multiple 1sts, that the lakers will pony up.

[BuckFoston]

A lesser known move but Ed Davis signing with the Nets really hurts as a Blazers fan. He was one of Dame's favorite teammates and he's not happy about it. Ed is a solid backup that I think Portland is going to miss.

[realmofotalk]

A lesser known move but Ed Davis signing with the Nets really hurts as a Blazers fan. He was one of Dame's favorite teammates and he's not happy about it. Ed is a solid backup that I think Portland is going to miss.

Eh, he was a solid backup when he was with the Lakers as well, but it's not like he's the final piece of the championship puzzle. Now, Trevor Ariza leaving Houston for Phoenix, that's surprising to me.

[realmofotalk]

bron, kawhi, cousins and lonzo seems likely to me at this point. and i actually kinda like cousins' fit more than pg13... george and kawhi both kind of overlap, with kawhi obviously being the better player. and cousins is a great on ball and help defender as a big man, hes just not that above the rim protector. but with bron and kawhis athletics... thats a small price to pay..

Lakers need an above-the-rim protector, you say?

[realmofotalk]

I'm all for going all in for one guy (see my lamenting about Justin Verlander), but if it's going to take ingram, kuzma, hart, wagner and multiple 1sts, fuck that. See if those guys can make it work with LeBron and Cousins and then if they need a third star to put them over the top, then make the trade.

[HollywoodLeo]

So now that LeBron is definite the next question is is throwing the farm for Leonard worthwhile? Or is it better to see if Bron can elevate Kuzma and Imgram and others?

I prefer the latter...and sign Leonard in free agency next year.

As an aside I wonder what kind of asinine quotes we’re going to hear from LeVar soon.