Draft Day Rumors

[PosImpos]

Doesn't even matter guys, the Heat are gonna get 2-3 max free agents and dominate the NBA for the next 5 years or so.

Well they might start winning titles in 2013 but with the rag tag group they are going to have playing with them the first couple years, I don't see a Wade, Bosh, Lebron and 12 scrubs team winning right away.

are you serious? if by some miracle wade lebron and bosh all played on the same team they wouldn't need help.

you get at least 70 points a game from those 3 players combined, you only need another 25 pts from the entire rest of the team each game and a decent defensive effort and you win.

i don't see how a team with lebron and wade, let alone those two plus bosh, could lose more than 10-12 games in a season (or any post-season series).

Sorry but yes, I am serious. Who's the starting center that you are paying a veteran's minimum salary to? What about that starting PG that you are paying a veteran's minimum salary to? What about those 4-5 bench players that are going to be getting minutes that are once again going to be getting veteran minimum salaries?

Excuse me if I see a team of Lebron, Wade and Bosh with the rest of the roster littered with the likes of Fabricio Oberto, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff, Sean May, Jason Williams, Bobby Simmons, Chris Quinn, Marcus Williams, Luther Head, Larry Hughes and Raja Bell doesn't strike me as a championship contending team.

How many players would accept a minimum salary to play with the greatest Big 3 since...well...since who?  Were Bird Parish and McHale even that good?

The Heat would have their pick of any number of solid veterans willing to come to get a ring.  After the first year, they'd also have the MLE and LLE to continue to stock up.

Chalmers / Watson / Arroyo
Wade / Bell / Hughes
LeBron / Wright / Wilkins
Bosh / K. Thomas / Powe
Shaq / J. Howard / J. Smith

Yeah, the bench sucks, but how many minutes do they actually have to play?

Anyway, it's probably far more likely that Miami has Wade + Bosh / Amare and then they use the remaining cap space on a couple of guys worth $10 million or so, which could be just as impressive.

[nickagneta]

I don't see it. With out a bench, you can't win it all. In this years Finals Ray Allen, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant were all taken completely out of games because of foul trouble.

What happens when that happens to the stars on a team like the one you or I suggested? My guess is losses happen.

[PosImpos]

I don't see it. With out a bench, you can't win it all. In this years Finals Ray Allen, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant were all taken completely out of games because of foul trouble.

What happens when that happens to the stars on a team like the one you or I suggested? My guess is losses happen.

Um...when was the last time D. Wade or LeBron were in foul trouble?

It might happen very rarely but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that more often than not at least one of Wade, LeBron, and Bosh could stay in the game and dominate.  

Vet. minimum guys can still be solid contributors - the Celtics have shown us that over the last few years.  As long as you have guys in place who can dominate and be the focus for the other team, the players on the periphery can be less talented.  In fact, playing around guys like Wade and LeBron tends to make bad players look a whole lot better (see: Hickson, J.J. and Moon, Jamario).

[nickagneta]

Maybe I need some help remembering but exactly who were the vet minimum signings that the Celtics had in recent off seasons that looked so good?

I don't remember any.

[Donoghus]

I don't see it. With out a bench, you can't win it all. In this years Finals Ray Allen, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant were all taken completely out of games because of foul trouble.

What happens when that happens to the stars on a team like the one you or I suggested? My guess is losses happen.

Um...when was the last time D. Wade or LeBron were in foul trouble?

It might happen very rarely but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that more often than not at least one of Wade, LeBron, and Bosh could stay in the game and dominate.  

Vet. minimum guys can still be solid contributors - the Celtics have shown us that over the last few years.  As long as you have guys in place who can dominate and be the focus for the other team, the players on the periphery can be less talented.  In fact, playing around guys like Wade and LeBron tends to make bad players look a whole lot better (see: Hickson, J.J. and Moon, Jamario).

The mimimum guys they would be getting would be garbage for the most part.  The only people taking minimum contracts would be guys scrambling to hold on to remain in the league and some over-the-hill vets chasing one last chance at a ring.  The contributions would be severely limited.

You're not going to see a 20-something settle for a minimum contract for the sake of getting a ring.  These guys will be looking to cash in while they can and, in today's NBA, the almight $$$ speaks much more to the younger guys than a ring.

You need a bench with competent role players to win a championship in this league.  A team with 3 superstars (who we're not even sure would gel together) with no depth is not gonna win a championship in the NBA.

[Chris]

Word has it the Bulls are sending Hinrich and #17 to the Wizards, giving them room for close to 2 max deals.  Now that would be a scary team if they can sign a couple superstars.  And if they sign say, Lebron and Bosh, they would be a very interesting sign and trade target for Ray.  I think something like Ray for Deng straight up might make sense for both clubs.  And they would likely still have a large trade exception from the Hinrich deal (unless, do they not get that if they are also under the cap??) to fill out the roster.  That would give them a downright scary starting lineup:

Rose, Ray, Lebron, Bosh, Noah.  And they would still have Gibson and James Johnson off the bench.  

[JSD]

Maybe I need some help remembering but exactly who were the vet minimum signings that the Celtics had in recent off seasons that looked so good?

I don't remember any.

PJ Brown was solid.

[jdpapa3]

Hinrich and the Bulls first rounder(17 I think) traded to Washington. Can't be completed until July. According to Bucher.

[nickagneta]

Maybe I need some help remembering but exactly who were the vet minimum signings that the Celtics had in recent off seasons that looked so good?

I don't remember any.

PJ Brown was solid.

Signed in off season, my friend.

[papa shuttlesworth]

Maybe I need some help remembering but exactly who were the vet minimum signings that the Celtics had in recent off seasons that looked so good?

I don't remember any.

Patrick O'Bryant looked good in a preseason game.

[PosImpos]

So you really believe that if LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh all end up on the same team they won't win multiple titles in the next few years?

A team with 3 of the top 10 best players in the league wouldn't dominate, regardless of who they have around them?

Yeah, okay.

[Donoghus]

So you really believe that if LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh all end up on the same team they won't win multiple titles in the next few years?

A team with 3 of the top 10 best players in the league wouldn't dominate, regardless of who they have around them?

Yeah, okay.

If they're surrounded by minimum salary talent?  They'll make the playoffs but they're not winning a title nevermind multiple.

[nickagneta]

So you really believe that if LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh all end up on the same team they won't win multiple titles in the next few years?

A team with 3 of the top 10 best players in the league wouldn't dominate, regardless of who they have around them?

Yeah, okay.

As I said earlier, it would be a couple years before they became championship worthy. At least two. At that point they would have added a couple first round picks and a couple of MLE type players and I could see them winning it all for a while.

But right away with a team consisting of 11 vet minimum players, no. No way. No how. And apparently, I'm not alone in that belief.

[indeedproceed]

So you really believe that if LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Bosh all end up on the same team they won't win multiple titles in the next few years?

A team with 3 of the top 10 best players in the league wouldn't dominate, regardless of who they have around them?

Yeah, okay.

2004 Lakers

Just sayin, you're telling me that the team with 4 lock HOF'ers, along with a possible 5th in Horace Grant (he's borderline), two of the best 5 players in the NBA, and the best coach of all time can't win a ring?

Well, no. They can't. Nobody is guaranteed a title, no matter what kinda superstars you have.

[PosImpos]

Mario Chalmers / Keyon Dooling / Eddie House
Dwyane Wade / Jerry Stackhouse / Quinton Ross
LeBron / Q. Richardson / Ime Udoka
Bosh / Juwon Howard / Kurt Thomas
Shaq / Brad Miller / Fabricio Oberto

Scary team.

I'm not saying it's likely, just that if it were to happen it'd be nuts.  Has there ever been a Big 3 like LeBron, Wade, and Bosh?

I'm only disputing this idea that they couldn't field a solid supporting cast around those 3 using only minimum contracts.  Vet. minimum guys aren't necessarily THAT bad, especially when all they have to do is play a periphery role around incredibly dominant players.