The Kyrie Irving free agency thread(to sign 4yr/$141M w/Nets page 105)

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Enter Anthony Davis...

FRICKIN A!

[celticsclay]

I don’t think it will play out like this but there’s a path here where Kyrie jumps ship, Boston misses the playoffs without him, and fans with opinions like this realize what an oopsie they made.

Kudos to Kyrie for taking this 1-star team as far as he has.   He took them further than Paul George took the Thunder despite having Russell Westbrook as a sidekick.

I think you are a 100% correct, and i think it is about time people on this board started giving you the respect you deserve.

[Chris22]

Small guards don't win championships.

[Roy H.]

Small guards don't win championships.

... without help.

[RJ87]

Small guards don't win championships.

Single players don't win championships. Even Lebron needed to team up with two All-Stars - not once, but twice. Kevin Durant jumped on the Warriors bandwagon (Steph Curry - a "small guard" already had a ring btw). Like him or not, Kyrie is a player that can be part of a championship team. Emphasis on team because it takes more the one guy to win in this league - you need a Dirk/Jet, Curry/Klay/Dray, Curry/KD/Klay/Dray, Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Lebron/Kyrie/Love to win it all.

[gouki88]

Small guards don't win championships.

Single players don't win championships. Even Lebron needed to team up with two All-Stars - not once, but twice. Kevin Durant jumped on the Warriors bandwagon (Steph Curry - a "small guard" already had a ring btw). Like him or not, Kyrie is a player that can be part of a championship team. Emphasis on team because it takes more the one guy to win in this league - you need a Dirk/Jet, Curry/Klay/Dray, Curry/KD/Klay/Dray, Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Lebron/Kyrie/Love to win it all.

And to take this a step further, almost all the teams that have won a ring post-2000 have had an elite perimeter scorer.

Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Celtics: Allen - 6'5
Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Mavericks: Terry - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Warriors: Curry - 6'3
Cavs: Kyrie - 6'3

So really, all the recent champs have had a really good guard, and a big chunk of them have been small guards. The only story is that talent wins championships, which is news to nobody

[TheReaLPuba]

Small guards don't win championships.

Single players don't win championships. Even Lebron needed to team up with two All-Stars - not once, but twice. Kevin Durant jumped on the Warriors bandwagon (Steph Curry - a "small guard" already had a ring btw). Like him or not, Kyrie is a player that can be part of a championship team. Emphasis on team because it takes more the one guy to win in this league - you need a Dirk/Jet, Curry/Klay/Dray, Curry/KD/Klay/Dray, Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Lebron/Kyrie/Love to win it all.

And to take this a step further, almost all the teams that have won a ring post-2000 have had an elite perimeter scorer.

Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Celtics: Allen - 6'5
Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Mavericks: Terry - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Warriors: Curry - 6'3
Cavs: Kyrie - 6'3

So really, all the recent champs have had a really good guard, and a big chunk of them have been small guards. The only story is that talent wins championships, which is news to nobody

Took an epic collapse by a 73 win team for Kyrie to be a Champion....and that's with arguably the GOAT on his team in LBJ.

[TheReaLPuba]

Small guards don't win championships.

... without help.

And the help he needs most likely means a BETTER player than Kyrie himself.

He won't want to play 2nd fiddle again.

Remember he wants HIS team.

[SparzWizard]

Small guards don't win championships.

Single players don't win championships. Even Lebron needed to team up with two All-Stars - not once, but twice. Kevin Durant jumped on the Warriors bandwagon (Steph Curry - a "small guard" already had a ring btw). Like him or not, Kyrie is a player that can be part of a championship team. Emphasis on team because it takes more the one guy to win in this league - you need a Dirk/Jet, Curry/Klay/Dray, Curry/KD/Klay/Dray, Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Lebron/Kyrie/Love to win it all.

And to take this a step further, almost all the teams that have won a ring post-2000 have had an elite perimeter scorer.

Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Celtics: Allen - 6'5
Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Mavericks: Terry - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Warriors: Curry - 6'3
Cavs: Kyrie - 6'3

So really, all the recent champs have had a really good guard, and a big chunk of them have been small guards. The only story is that talent wins championships, which is news to nobody

Took an epic collapse by a 73 win team for Kyrie to be a Champion....and that's with arguably the GOAT on his team in LBJ.

I see it differently. LBJ needs to thank Kyrie and Love for his third ring.

[gouki88]

Small guards don't win championships.

Single players don't win championships. Even Lebron needed to team up with two All-Stars - not once, but twice. Kevin Durant jumped on the Warriors bandwagon (Steph Curry - a "small guard" already had a ring btw). Like him or not, Kyrie is a player that can be part of a championship team. Emphasis on team because it takes more the one guy to win in this league - you need a Dirk/Jet, Curry/Klay/Dray, Curry/KD/Klay/Dray, Lebron/Wade/Bosh, Lebron/Kyrie/Love to win it all.

And to take this a step further, almost all the teams that have won a ring post-2000 have had an elite perimeter scorer.

Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Celtics: Allen - 6'5
Lakers: Kobe - 6'6
Mavericks: Terry - 6'2
Heat: Wade - 6'4
Spurs: Parker - 6'2
Warriors: Curry - 6'3
Cavs: Kyrie - 6'3

So really, all the recent champs have had a really good guard, and a big chunk of them have been small guards. The only story is that talent wins championships, which is news to nobody

Took an epic collapse by a 73 win team for Kyrie to be a Champion....and that's with arguably the GOAT on his team in LBJ.

Yeah, that really had nothing to do with Kyrie averaging 27/4/4 over the series, or 30/4/3 over the 3 game winning streak

Also, nice way to not respond to any of my other post. Wonder why?

[Who]

I don’t think it will play out like this but there’s a path here where Kyrie jumps ship, Boston misses the playoffs without him, and fans with opinions like this realize what an oopsie they made.

Kudos to Kyrie for taking this 1-star team as far as he has.   He took them further than Paul George took the Thunder despite having Russell Westbrook as a sidekick.

If Kyrie leaves, this team will win 55 games next year. They should've won high 50s (57-59 wins) this year even with Hayward so impaired for most of the season. They under-performed by about 10 wins.

[Silky]

Another loss because the team thinks the last 3 minutes are iso time.

There's just no basketball intelligence. The last 3 minutes started out with Marcus Smart making a series of very bad plays. Then he was pulled and Kyrie started taking a bunch of very poor shots with almost zero ball movement. Brown, who was 10-13 at the time didn't touch the ball in the last 3 minutes. Rozier made no attempt to move the ball either. The point guard play was hideous. No sets, no picks, just hero ball, and terrible defense.

This, plus the collapse of Jayson Tatum's game on both sides of the ball since the all-star break is making this team hard to watch.

Every team isolates their top offensive option in the last few minutes of a close game

[JBcat]

I don’t think it will play out like this but there’s a path here where Kyrie jumps ship, Boston misses the playoffs without him, and fans with opinions like this realize what an oopsie they made.

Kudos to Kyrie for taking this 1-star team as far as he has.   He took them further than Paul George took the Thunder despite having Russell Westbrook as a sidekick.

If Kyrie leaves, this team will win 55 games next year. They should've won high 50s (57-59 wins) this year even with Hayward so impaired for most of the season. They under-performed by about 10 wins.

What worries me is we depend so much on Al Horford for team success, and he will be 33 next year.  He may only have a gradual decline, but some players fall off a cliff and become a much lesser version of themselves.  I don’t think that will happen to Al, but you never know. He was slowed down earlier in the season with an injury and that may crop up more as he gets older. 

[gouki88]

I don’t think it will play out like this but there’s a path here where Kyrie jumps ship, Boston misses the playoffs without him, and fans with opinions like this realize what an oopsie they made.

Kudos to Kyrie for taking this 1-star team as far as he has.   He took them further than Paul George took the Thunder despite having Russell Westbrook as a sidekick.

If Kyrie leaves, this team will win 55 games next year. They should've won high 50s (57-59 wins) this year even with Hayward so impaired for most of the season. They under-performed by about 10 wins.

What worries me is we depend so much on Al Horford for team success, and he will be 33 next year.  He may only have a gradual decline, but some players fall off a cliff and become a much lesser version of themselves.  I don’t think that will happen to Al, but you never know. He was slowed down earlier in the season with an injury and that may crop up more as he gets older.

This is another reason why I think getting Davis / other borderline All-Star (at worst) big is very very important. We can't rely on Al to be our most important defender and a top 3 offensive option - considering both passing and scoring - night-in night-out.

[Chris22]

NBA Finals MVPs in the last twenty years. Only two players under 6'5".....

YEAR            PLAYER         TEAM
2017-18     Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
2016-17     Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
2015-16     LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2014-15     Andre Iguodala, Golden State
2013-14     Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
2012-13     LeBron James, Miami Heat
2011-12     LeBron James, Miami Heat
2010-11     Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
2009-10     Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2008-09     Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2007-08     Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
2006-07     Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
2005-06     Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
2004-05     Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
2003-04     Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
2002-03     Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
2001-02     Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
2000-01     Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
1999-00     Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
1998-99     Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs