Official NBA Discussion Thread

[The Rated R CMStar]

If you ask Soulpower, he'll give you a long explanation of how it is all planned by David Stern :shifty:

 

[DENNIN]

Anyone excited over what kinda opening game ceremonies Shaq & Lebron are gonna come up with? And did hell freeze over or is Ron Artest actually a Laker now.

 

[Enigma22]

^im more excited to see how they will play together lol.

 

[Qwake]

The only player on the Lakers team that I don't hate it Jordan Farmar and he gets fuck all playing time, fuck I hate the Lakers! From this point on I am going to be supporting the Cavs and Magic because I really don't think the Pistons have a chance with Rasheed leaving and them gaining pretty much noone, so hopefully Cavs and Magic make the finals cos if the Lakers do I am gonna shoot someone.

 

[Soulpower]

Sheed signed with Boston. Kidd and Bibby look like they're coming back to Dallas and Atlanta, respectively.

 

[Qwake]

Throw Sheed in the starting team and get rid of Perkins and you've got yourself a fucking awesome starting team. Celtics, Cavs, Lakers and Magic are going to dominate this year, I would be suprised if these 4 weren't in the semi's next season.

 

[exC.On]

Damn, Boston is really old. And I also heard they might sign Grant Hill.

I'm still hoping for Childress and channing frye to the cavs.

 

[Enigma22]

The Cleveland Cavaliers got some bad news followed by some potentially terrific news on Sunday. In a last-ditch effort to recruit Trevor Ariza away from the Houston Rockets, LeBron James told Ariza he would remain with the Cavaliers past 2010, according to a person close to Ariza.

Even that wasn't enough to get Ariza, who verbally committed to join the Rockets last Thursday, to change his mind and go to Cleveland.

James
James

But the Cavaliers will gladly settle for the consolation prize; if indeed James' statement to Ariza was more than an empty sales pitch.

"Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," the source said. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.'"

James could not be reached for comment on Monday.

James' conversation with Ariza was part of the Cavaliers' attempt to make the free agent swingman the next Hedo Turkoglu, who backed out of his promise last week to join Portland and instead accepted a deal with Toronto.

Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown flew to Los Angeles and met with Ariza on Sunday, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.

Ariza
Ariza

Ariza, who had accepted a five-year, $33.5 million offer from the Rockets last Thursday, also received telephone calls from James and Shaquille O'Neal. When James told Ariza he'd be a Cavalier past next season, Ariza was less than convinced.

"He thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source said. "LeBron definitely said it, but until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much."

The Cavaliers did not ask James or O'Neal to call Ariza, but as he did with Ron Artest, James took it upon himself to reach out. James' future in Cleveland has been an issue with potential signees.

Artest, whom the Cavaliers had interest in before he agreed to terms with the Lakers, was concerned about signing a multiyear deal with Cleveland because of James' ability to leave in 2010. And even O'Neal, who was traded to the Cavs less than two weeks ago, tried to find out about James' long-term plans with the club during trade talks.

Even so, according to sources, a flattered Ariza strongly considered reneging on his agreement with the Rockets and heading for Cleveland, which made him the same offer as Houston last week. In the end, however, he decided to keep his word to the Rockets.

"He's a very loyal person," the source said. "[Rockets coach] Rick Adelman had lunch with him for three straight days last week and that meant a lot to him."

Ariza presumably will sign with the Rockets on Wednesday, the first day free agents are allowed to sign contracts. But until then, other teams can recruit him, and he can change his mind.

Though Ferry and Brown left Los Angeles Sunday night thinking their mission had failed, the Cavaliers spoke with Ariza's representatives one last time Monday afternoon, only to be told that he still planned to be a Rocket.

Sources say several factors led to Ariza's decision. First, his toddler son lives in Los Angeles with his mother and Ariza liked that Houston was a much shorter flight than Cleveland. Second, Adelman promised him the Rockets would feature him offensively while the Cavaliers refused to guarantee him a starting job. Instead, the Cavs told him he'd be given a legitimate chance to compete for the spot against last year's starter, Delonte West.

"He wanted to be sure he'd start," the source said. "That was a big hang-up."

While an about-face is still possible, the Cavaliers, who met with Channing Frye in Cleveland on Monday, aren't holding their breath.

"As far as we're concerned, he's going to Houston," a team executive said. "We've moved on."

The Cavaliers, of course, are hoping James doesn't do the same thing a year from now.

Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.

lebrons staying. thank god. and this should help bring some free agents in. maybe ariza but id also like marian.

i dont care much for frye. id rather have Antonio McDyess. he could come right in and start and id rather have varejao come off the bench cause he would work much better with Z.

 

[The Rated R CMStar]

Ariza is an idiot.

Anyways, this seems to be an interesting year. Big names are moving for a change, so it will be an interesting season.

Then again, with the Shaquille factor, Cavs vs Lakers is once again the "build to" final.

 

[Soulpower]

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/15942689

http://community.foxsports.com/good...earing_act_on_jordan_crawfords_dunk_on_lebron

LMAO! Lebron got dunked on by some college kid. So what did Nike (And Lebron) do? They confiscated all the tapes... LoLebron.

 

[gamebreaker]

lol I can imagine LeBron getting so pissed at that he was probably crying for Nike confiscate the tapes.
I hope other people have footage so LeBron can look ridiculous online.

 

[MikeRaw]

Wow, Colagelo has done pretty good this offseason. Signed Turkoglu to a 5 year, 50 million dolar deal, and now signed Jarrett Jack to a 4 year, 20 million dollar offer sheet (it can still be matched though, so it isn't official). Hopefully this gets Bosh to stick around after next year.

 

[Enigma22]

ya they might actually be a playoff team this year.

 

[b52ravens]

lol we signed matt barnes


damn our team is stacked. we kept gortat, bass, and barnes. our bench is sooliid


lakers/magic finals again

 

[Wordlife]

^yeah I agree on that finals prediction... Lakers will win it again