The "Real" reason why the CP3 trade to LA was canned...

[celtsfan84]

Is college basketball any better?  What chance does URI have of winning the national championship?  How many teams have a legit chance to win the NCAA title?  5?

Where were these posts when it was the Celtics winning the title?

Also, San Antonio would argue that their chances are higher than 1%.  They lost in the first round, but they did have the best record in the NBA last year.

And should the NBA reward bad management?  The 76ers are in a big market.  Since you have given them no chance to win the title, should the NBA give them Dwight Howard out of pity?

[The DarkPassenger]

Is college basketball any better?  What chance does URI have of winning the national championship?  How many teams have a legit chance to win the NCAA title?  5?

Where were these posts when it was the Celtics winning the title?

Also, San Antonio would argue that their chances are higher than 1%.  They lost in the first round, but they did have the best record in the NBA last year.

And should the NBA reward bad management?  The 76ers are in a big market.  Since you have given them no chance to win the title, should the NBA give them Dwight Howard out of pity?

I agree with you in a way but in some cases it's not bad management it's players unwilling to go to that team. Minnesota has bad management, and most super stars are unwilling to play for them... so they are in trouble.

[celtsfan84]

Minnesota also made the Conference Finals as recently as 7 years ago and then mismanaged the situation.  They simply need to draft better players.

The city of Minnesota didn't get smaller from 2004 until 2011.  They had Kevin Garnett in the prime of his career and failed to get out of the First Round for the bulk of it.

Minnesota is a really bad example.  They had one of the top 25 players in NBA history and blew it.  And then they drafted Ray Allen and traded him for Stephon Marbury.  They could have had KG and Ray on the same time.  Also, KG stayed there for the bulk of his career despite it being a small market.

Minnesota having bad management proves nothing.

[SHAQATTACK]

I think the NBA is headed down a dark path. They are about to have 5 contending super teams and the rest are pretty much jobbers. (wrestling term for those who do not know)

I did read somewhere that NY might offer Amare and some other player in order to land Paul. So why did you even sign Amare if you're so willing to trade him?

I'm excited that the NBA is back I am, I am just not sure I'll watch it... it's WAYYY too predictable, especially if Paul and Howard up in LA or heck... even if both came here to Boston. Why doesn't the NBA just cut down the number of teams to 5 and get it over with.

You nailed it..... I remember the days when the NBA was alot smaller, and each team had a full roster of excellent players.  Now with so many teams the talent pool is watered down to where there are really only 3-4 NBA players on each team that truely should be in the NBA.

Problem with LA Lakers is they  "NEVER " have to rebuild, they win a ring, and just keep getting any player they need.  Something is going on that is suspecious .., other teams that win a ring usally loose their players and fail. Lakers never are always there to pick up the lottery picks from the smaller market teams.  It becomes a little silly for other teams to try and compete if they can't keep a decent player long enouhg to aquire more to build a team. .

[celtsfan84]

The Laker conspiracy theories are getting out of hand.  Didn't the NBA just take Chris Paul away from them?  If the NBA wanted to help the Lakers so desperately, wouldn't they have Chris Paul and Dwight Howard right now?

Only 3-4 players on each team belong in the NBA?  Really?

I have to say, if you don't like the NBA, posting in an NBA team's forum is a pretty silly way to spend a Thursday night.  And also, for all those pushing the panic button, last year was one of the more successful years in NBA history.  The financial losses were due to a weak economy and a bad financial structure (players getting 57% of BRI), not due to bad ratings.

[The DarkPassenger]

Minnesota also made the Conference Finals as recently as 7 years ago and then mismanaged the situation.  They simply need to draft better players.

The city of Minnesota didn't get smaller from 2004 until 2011.  They had Kevin Garnett in the prime of his career and failed to get out of the First Round for the bulk of it.

Minnesota is a really bad example.  They had one of the top 25 players in NBA history and blew it.  And then they drafted Ray Allen and traded him for Stephon Marbury.  They could have had KG and Ray on the same time.  Also, KG stayed there for the bulk of his career despite it being a small market.

Minnesota having bad management proves nothing.

Okay so you said "should the NBA reward bad management" and my example was Minnesota has bad management... I agreed with you and somehow you are now saying "bad management proves nothing"... sure man. The management I was speaking of for Minnesota is Kahn, who wasn't with them until 2009 after McHale was let go. So he had nothing to do with KG and Allen.

[celtsfan84]

So what point are you trying to make exactly?  That poorly managed teams, like Minnesota under Kahn, can't contend?  Do you want the same general manager for all 30 teams?

My point was that it is possible to build a contender in the Minnesota market.  In the San Antonio market.  In the Philadelphia market.  And so on.

You said the NBA is on a dark path but I am unsure what that dark path is.  You already agreed that the situation in the 80s (with the Lakers, Celtics, and 76ers as contenders) was even worse.  So wasn't the NBA on a dark path then?

I don't really understand your point.  If your point is that bad management sucks, well that is obvious in any industry.  

Also in the news, the sky is blue and the grass is green.  These facts were also true in the 70s and 80s.

[libermaniac]

What's ridiculous is the superstar player collusion to join forces and form big-3's, etc.. to try to win a title.  That really makes it hard to have a fairly competitive league.  I mean, what has Orlando done so wrong that they are going to be forced to lose Dwight Howard?  New Orleans was the #2 seed in the West a few short years ago.  These players are so selfishly chasing titles, that they are ruining the sport for 80% of the teams.  Perhaps they can change the rules such that if you lose a Type-A free agent, then you get an extra lottery pick - or something to that nature. 

I equate what Bosh, Wade and Bron last year did to the dads of the three best kids in the little league agreeing to all coach together so they can dominate the league.  What fun is that for the rest of the kids?

Finally, how can the league make ANY kind of fair trade representing New Orleans?  What is their goal?  This trade, in my opinion is about the worst trade New Orleans could've made.  They tie up their salary with good players, but nobody great.  That is not how to win championships.  They'd be better off just letting Paul walk for nothing and using the cap space, and high lottery picks for a few years to rebuild.  If this trade goes through, New Orleans will be stuck in mediocrity for the foreseeable future.  Sure, short term, they are better, but long term ... ugh!

A Rondo, Jeff Green and 2 picks trade is a MUCH better approach to rebuilding.

[celtsfan84]

Look at Orlando's contracts: 20 million for Gilbert Arenas, 11 million for Hedo Turkoglu, 3.5 million for Chris Duhon, 2.5 million for Quentin Richardson.

And that doesn't even include the luxury tax.  Orlando has done just about everything wrong to deserve losing Dwight Howard.  Their roster is full of obscenely overpaid role players.  The better question is what have they done right?

Did you know that the Magic have the second highest payroll in the league?  When Dwight leaves, they will still have a high payroll and an awful team.

[CoachBo]

The real issue here is the management incompetence of some of the league's lesser franchises, from the Memphis management that gave Pau Gasol away for nothing at the time - and now for his brother, who has admittedly evolved into a decent player - and now from Demps.

The next move for the NBA owners, if they wish to remain credible, is to fire Dell Demps.

IMHO, the talent return in the proposed Paul deal is fair - not rebuilding-style fair or as equitable as an All-Star guard, a promising forward and two picks - but the money situation in the three-teamer is absolutely grounds for voiding the deal.

After Memphis, nobody's going to let the Lakers carry off another bank robbery if they can avoid it. In the Hornets' case, it can be avoided - much to the disappointment of the basketball media, which worships the ground the Lakers occupy.

[celtsfan84]

Good post.  It is poor management that ruins teams.  Teams like Orlando, Cleveland, Toronto would have a shot to keep their superstars if they built good teams around them.

Did anyone else notice that without LeBron, the Cavs are the worst team in the NBA?  The Spurs would never have been the worst team without Duncan.  The Thunder would never have been the worst team without Durant.  The Lakers would never have been the worst team without Kobe.

A novel concept for small market teams trying to keep a superstar - build a good team!

[wdleehi]

I wonder if the Lakers had to take back a contract instead of a huge trade exception the trade might have gone through. 

[Greenbean]

Is college basketball any better?  What chance does URI have of winning the national championship?  How many teams have a legit chance to win the NCAA title?  5?

Where were these posts when it was the Celtics winning the title?

Also, San Antonio would argue that their chances are higher than 1%.  They lost in the first round, but they did have the best record in the NBA last year.

And should the NBA reward bad management?  The 76ers are in a big market.  Since you have given them no chance to win the title, should the NBA give them Dwight Howard out of pity?

Well due to the nature of the tourney there are ALWAYS surprise teams in contention for a national title but I get your point.

The NBA is really turning into college football to be honest.

[Who]

I don't know why people are caught up in the money. New Orleans weren't looking to rebuild. They weren't blowing up their squad. They wanted to keep their talent and add to it to make their best possible team in the immediate future.

You can't do that and win financially too  ... unless you have an absolutely useless albatross of a contract on your books and Emeka Okafor is not useless. He is a legitimate starting center. Ariza is a solid starting wing. And Jarrett Jack is a high level backup to serviceable starting PG. Also useful talent.

There was no way for them to improve financially + go for established players, quantity over quality (3 vs 1 = Odom, Scola and Kev Martin vs Chris Paul) and make financial gains.

[BballTim]

Good post.  It is poor management that ruins teams.  Teams like Orlando, Cleveland, Toronto would have a shot to keep their superstars if they built good teams around them.

Did anyone else notice that without LeBron, the Cavs are the worst team in the NBA?  The Spurs would never have been the worst team without Duncan.  The Thunder would never have been the worst team without Durant.  The Lakers would never have been the worst team without Kobe.

A novel concept for small market teams trying to keep a superstar - build a good team!

  Orlando went to the Finals once, the ECF once and have won a fair amount of playoff series with Howard. It's not like with KG, where they were generally trying to claw their way into the playoffs every year. And the Cavs were built to be the supporting cast for the most ball dominant player in the league. GMs can't properly build around these players because they're always under these deadlines. "Show me improvement by such and such a date or I'll opt out/refuse to extend/leave the franchise". I blame the players more than the GMs.