2015-16 Around the NBA

[JCSunsfan]

I think Irving is possibly the most overrated player in the NBA. There is a reason that the pre-LeBron Cavs were repeatedly contending for #1 picks and if people around here think the Bledsoe is lousy passer and too content to play slow then Irving will give them seizures.

IMO Bledsoe is better at every aspect of the game except outside shooting, where he isn't that far behind.

Kyrie is a better distributor and a better shooter. And Eric is averaging 3.5 turnovers per game while Kyrie is at 1.9. Kyrie is 23 years old, Bledsoe is 26.

If that trade is offered, I think I take it. Kyrie is much more likely to improve than Eric. I think he has a higher basketball IQ than Eric. It would make trading Knight mandatory.

Just think about it. The player in the league that has the best chance to be something similar to Curry (not as good, of course, but that type of dynamic, distributing, shooting guard) in two years (if he stays healthy) is Kyrie Irving. Add that to Booker. Its a start.

In fact, if Kyrie is really available, this is that moment for McD. Kyrie is a bona fide star that is built for the new NBA. Put him on a team with Booker on the wing, and Simmons rebounding and distributing at the pf (Draymond Green like), and TJ roaming the midrange and you would have a very young very interesting core.

 

[sunsfan88]

Kyrie also has MUCH better ball handling than Bledsoe. He's actually widely regarded among many current and formers as having the best handles in the league today even better than Curry.

 

[Phrazbit]

Kyrie is a better distributor and a better shooter. And Eric is averaging 3.5 turnovers per game while Kyrie is at 1.9. Kyrie is 23 years old, Bledsoe is 26.

If that trade is offered, I think I take it. Kyrie is much more likely to improve than Eric. I think he has a higher basketball IQ than Eric. It would make trading Knight mandatory.

Just think about it. The player in the league that has the best chance to be something similar to Curry (not as good, of course, but that type of dynamic, distributing, shooting guard) in two years (if he stays healthy) is Kyrie Irving. Add that to Booker. Its a start.

In fact, if Kyrie is really available, this is that moment for McD. Kyrie is a bona fide star that is built for the new NBA. Put him on a team with Booker on the wing, and Simmons rebounding and distributing at the pf (Draymond Green like), and TJ roaming the midrange and you would have a very young very interesting core.

I disagree vehemently. There is an argument for Bledsoe vs Kyrie, although their similar offensive numbers compared to the massive disparity on defense IMO makes Bledsoe the superior player by a comfortable margin.

I don't think he is a bona-fide star, I think he is a tank commander. A guy who racks up points but his team's offense still stinks because he gets no one involved and plays at a slow pace, he plays terrible defense and alienates his teammates. Put him as the best guy on your team and you're a contender for 30 wins or less.

I would be extremely disappointing if we put our eggs in his basket. IMO it would be 3 more years of bad, painful to watch basketball, people would get furious at how much of the load Irving would carry to the detriment of Booker, then we'd give up on Irving and start over... again.

I do not think he is part of the new generation of star, far from it. I think he is cut from the early 2000s generation of fake "stars", he is in the mold of Steve Francis, Marbury, ect ect. Slow paced, selfish guards who freeze out their teammates while putting up largely empty stats and playing doormat defense.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I disagree vehemently. There is an argument for Bledsoe vs Kyrie, although their similar offensive numbers compared to the massive disparity on defense IMO makes Bledsoe the superior player by a comfortable margin.

I don't think he is a bona-fide star, I think he is a tank commander. A guy who racks up points but his team's offense still stinks because he gets no one involved and plays at a slow pace, he plays terrible defense and alienates his teammates. Put him as the best guy on your team and you're a contender for 30 wins or less.

I would be extremely disappointing if we put our eggs in his basket. IMO it would be 3 more years of bad, painful to watch basketball, people would get furious at how much of the load Irving would carry to the detriment of Booker, then we'd give up on Irving and start over... again.

I do not think he is part of the new generation of star, far from it. I think he is cut from the early 2000s generation of fake "stars", he is in the mold of Steve Francis, Marbury, ect ect. Slow paced, selfish guards who freeze out their teammates while putting up largely empty stats and playing doormat defense.

Since when does he freeze out his teammates? He seems to be quite an effective passer. His offensive ratings vs defense ratings balance out with Bledsoes (2 point differential for both). I guess we just disagree here.

Assist to turnover rankings.

Eric Bledsoe 107th
Kyrie Irving 48th
Steph Curry 75th

Just an interesting stat. The interesting thing about the Warriors is that they just let Steph Curry be Steph Curry. They don't try to turn him into Steve Nash.

 

[Catlover]

Just an interesting stat. The interesting thing about the Warriors is that they just let Steph Curry be Steph Curry. They don't try to turn him into Steve Nash.

I find a Kyrie to Steph comparison farfetched. A better one would be Irving to Harden and I'm not convinced you can build a true contender around either player. I don't know his motivation but I worry about a player on a championship contending team that would rather be somewhere else. Especially since it's been long rumored that Kyrie would never settle for being the number 2 man on any team, even one featuring a player such as Lebron.

 

[Phrazbit]

Since when does he freeze out his teammates? He seems to be quite an effective passer. His offensive ratings vs defense ratings balance out with Bledsoes (2 point differential for both). I guess we just disagree here.

Assist to turnover rankings.

Eric Bledsoe 107th
Kyrie Irving 48th
Steph Curry 75th

Just an interesting stat. The interesting thing about the Warriors is that they just let Steph Curry be Steph Curry. They don't try to turn him into Steve Nash.

Meanwhile he is racking up 4 assists a night, he averages 5 game for his career in 34 minutes a night and there have been numerous reports that Cleveland's players are frustrated with his selfish play. Assist to turnover does not mean much when the assists are so few.

When the Cavs let Irving be Irving they were the worst team in basketball, sure, he was young but he certainly hasn't shown any sign that he has gotten better and typically guys who are ridiculously selfish on offense and lazy on defense don't change. That IMO is the kind of player he is.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I know very little about the Cavs situation but I have a suspicion they regret having crawled into bed with Lebron and his agency. I think he has less influence there today then he did a year ago. Not that there's a whole lot of information out there to support this. About all I can reference is the lengthy negotiations with Tristan (Lebron's guy) and the rumor that Lebron's camp had been trying and failing for quite some time to get Blatt fired. They also had a different replacement coach in mind than Lue.

You think they regret going from the worst team in the league to in the Finals last year and probably for the next two years? Uh... no.

If I'm the Cavs, I'm calling the Clippers the day the season is over and doing an Irving for Chris Paul deal. It's as good of a win win for both teams as humanly possible. The Clips as is aren't going anywhere and Paul is getting old so they get a young PG to go with Blake/Jordan and LeBron gets the ultimate floor leader to be paired with Chris Paul.

 

[Catlover]

You think they regret going from the worst team in the league to in the Finals last year and probably for the next two years? Uh... no.

If I'm the Cavs, I'm calling the Clippers the day the season is over and doing an Irving for Chris Paul deal. It's as good of a win win for both teams as humanly possible. The Clips as is aren't going anywhere and Paul is getting old so they get a young PG to go with Blake/Jordan and LeBron gets the ultimate floor leader to be paired with Chris Paul.

No, I think they regret the way they did it.

 

[SirStefan32]

It's no secret that I am not a Bledsoe fan. There are few players more overrated than Bledsoe, but Kyrie is by far THE most overrated player in the game.

 

[Cheesebeef]

No, I think they regret the way they did it.

considering how clueless that franchise has been every second LeBron hasn't been on the court in the last 20 years, I think they could care less how they did it.

 

[sunsfan88]

considering how clueless that franchise has been every second LeBron hasn't been on the court in the last 20 years, I think they could care less how they did it.

Yea it's ridiculous IMO to say that Cavs regret bringing LeBron back. Because of bringing LeBron back, their guaranteed a trip to the Finals basically every year.

Not to mention the amount of fan support and ticket sales that they get when LeBron is in CLE as opposed to when he's not.

Not like the Cavs have some great scouting department to find gems in the draft either. Their GM, Adrian Griffin, is the former Suns assistant GM who was supposedly the mastermind behind fabulous selections such as Earl Clark and such. And of course, he also drafted the biggest bust in NBA history in Anthony Bennett who couldn't even play out his rookie contract and is now a FA within just 3 years of being drafted.

And it's not like Cleveland would ever be a FA destination (if it wasn't for LeBron) for star players either because a) it's Cleveland and b) it would always look like the city that LeBron left because even a player of his caliber gave up on trying to bring a chip there because it wasn't happening

 

[Catlover]

Yea it's ridiculous IMO to say that Cavs regret bringing LeBron back.

Nobody said that. I said that I thought they regretted crawling in bed with Lebron and his agency. IOW, they regret latching themselves to more than just the player. If the rumors are true, he's influenced just about every aspect of that franchise and there's no guarantee he's there for long. If he walks they'll be locked into an absurd overpay of Thompson and they will have given away Wiggins and will likely see Love and Irving leave too. But I could easily be way off base here. These Cleveland stories that have shaped my opinion might be nothing more than internet drivel.

 

[sunsfan88]

Nobody said that. I said that I thought they regretted crawling in bed with Lebron and his agency. IOW, they regret latching themselves to more than just the player. If the rumors are true, he's influenced just about every aspect of that franchise and there's no guarantee he's there for long. If he walks they'll be locked into an absurd overpay of Thompson and they will have given away Wiggins and will likely see Love and Irving leave too. But I could easily be way off base here. These Cleveland stories that have shaped my opinion might be nothing more than internet drivel.

I don't think LeBron would have came back to Cleveland in any other capacity. So it was either bring LeBron and his agency back or be a completely irrelevant team for likely a very long time and they obviously picked the former.

If LeBron had come to the Suns and said I'll come to the Suns but I want Rich Paul to be the GM or Babby's role then I doubt the Suns would have hesitated at it and if they did, it would have been stupid. Players like LeBron James are once in a generation or more talents and you bring those players in even if it means hiring his entire family and giving them all roles in the franchise and changing the team name to whatever he wants.

 

[sunsfan88]

Granted it's against the Nets but this kid DeAnglo Russel is putting on a freaking show! Doing his best Steph Curry impersonation, has 8 threes already! 37 pts!

I think folks who wrote this kid off based on his struggle earlier in the season will come back to eat their words.

 

[3rdside]

Saw this on Curry for some perspective..

https://www.facebook.com/hypecrib/videos/496458860524098/




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[slinslin]

Saw this on Curry for some perspective..

https://www.facebook.com/hypecrib/videos/496458860524098/




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You don't have to be Einstein to realize that the hockey assist fact is ridiculous.

It has more to do with passing to Igudala/Green for instance who pass it back to Curry himself or Klay rather than some unique sense of seeing 2 steps ahead.

 

[3rdside]

You don't have to be Einstein to realize that the hockey assist fact is ridiculous.

It has more to do with passing to Igudala/Green for instance who pass it back to Curry himself or Klay rather than some unique sense of seeing 2 steps ahead.

Maybe they phrased it badly but I'd guess there might be something to it if a) they keep record of it and b) the better players, rather than random players, appear at the top of the list.

Or maybe you're right - looks like it's a new area without conclusion:

http://paceandspacehoops.com/posts/7615079/the-nba-needs-to-put-hockey-assists-in-box-scores.html

 

[Catlover]

You don't have to be Einstein to realize that the hockey assist fact is ridiculous.

It has more to do with passing to Igudala/Green for instance who pass it back to Curry himself or Klay rather than some unique sense of seeing 2 steps ahead.

It doesn't necessarily mean he's thinking two steps ahead but it's a positive stat nonetheless.

 

[Chaplin]

Lawson looking like he's going to Indy, and the Pacers are now expected to buy out Chase Budinger. And the "report" is that Budinger will then sign with us.

 

[sunsfan88]

Just think about it. The player in the league that has the best chance to be something similar to Curry (not as good, of course, but that type of dynamic, distributing, shooting guard) in two years (if he stays healthy) is Kyrie Irving.

I disagree, I think Damian Lillard is the closest thing to Curry.

 

[Hoop Head]

You don't have to be Einstein to realize that the hockey assist fact is ridiculous.

It has more to do with passing to Igudala/Green for instance who pass it back to Curry himself or Klay rather than some unique sense of seeing 2 steps ahead.

You of all people dismissing an advanced stat is pretty funny. If you watched any Warriors games you'd realize how great Curry is, not just as a shooter but an all around player. Sure, hockey assists might not mean much but I'm sure if a player you liked led the league in them you wouldn't shut up about it. Why do you dismiss them so quickly, because they don't show up in typical box scores on the sites you pull advanced stats from?

 

[slinslin]

I am not dismissing the stat, I am dismissing the conclusion that video is drawing from it.

 

[JCSunsfan]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...james-dismisses-criticism-working-dwyane-wade

My prediction. The big talk this summer will be whether LeBron James really would go back to Miami. Its already started. Quick trip to Miami to work out with Wade. Obscure references about "a mistake" after his Miami visit.

This tweet from LeBron:

LeBron JamesVerified account
‏@KingJames
It's ok to know you've made a mistake. Cause we all do at times. Just be ready to live with whatever that comes with it and be with....

Can you imagine?

 

[Ronin]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...james-dismisses-criticism-working-dwyane-wade

My prediction. The big talk this summer will be whether LeBron James really would go back to Miami. Its already started. Quick trip to Miami to work out with Wade. Obscure references about "a mistake" after his Miami visit.

This tweet from LeBron:



Can you imagine?

I don't want to....all the news outlets will be Lebron and his decision again.

 

[sunsfan88]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...james-dismisses-criticism-working-dwyane-wade

My prediction. The big talk this summer will be whether LeBron James really would go back to Miami. Its already started. Quick trip to Miami to work out with Wade. Obscure references about "a mistake" after his Miami visit.

This tweet from LeBron:



Can you imagine?

LeBron already said that tweet and some others he made along with it had nothing to do with the Cavs, Heat or basketball and that it was about his personal life.