Post by kn88 on Jul 20, 2015 1:01:29 GMT -6
Hello there. Welcome to another sim/NBA roundtable. I'd like to thank Pete, Bankz, Buster, and Duc for participating.
1. Talk about your offseason. Did you make any major trades or signings?
This was probably the most significant offseason I’ve had since I’ve been in the league. It started with the Porzingis trade, which was tumultuous enough but ultimately allowed me to hit the reset button on my franchise and build around some young talent. I also had cap space for the first time in 10 seasons and actually got to use it when I landed Tex and Barkley in the offseason. My team as currently constructed still isn’t ready to contend, but FA moved my timeline up a lot more than I was expecting.
Nothing major. My team is in the land of Yawn. Nelson had a strong close to last season so bringing him back was important. Picking up McCarty was also big. Being able to flip Yi for him and a pick was nice. Didn't get in free agency but Odin dropping AC Law was nice for me.
Sent Best, Corliss, 1.3 and a pick to Pete for Porzingis. Recently traded Tobi and Catfish for Jermaine O'Neal. Also sent a couple picks and bad contracts to the Wolves for Oden. No major signings.
I lost Dale Ellis to retirement and then I traded Walter McCarthy and a 1st to get Yi. With the Ellis retirement I needed another person who could play SF and score. I moved McCarthy because the 2 seasons I had him at either SF or PF he was inefficient and shot a lot which is something I want to avoid with Curry and Ray Allen in the back court. Yi doesn't score as much but is way more efficient and provides rebounds and some blocks which were both very needed. I also traded for Stacey King who brings even more shot blocking and is a very affordable big man for a couple season. Ray Felix offered to resign as well for very cheap.
I was gonna say Danny Ferry, but I'm afraid he has too much Europe in him to contribute. Bad jokes aside, no major signings or trades for me. This is the last ride for this crew. A couple of my young guys had really good training camps, though, so I'm excited about that.
2. Which player on your team are you expecting a breakout season from?
Based on how he played in backup minutes last season and how he looked in preseason, I think Travis Best is a serious breakout candidate. He’s clearly been built to score in bunches and will have every opportunity to as Roy and some others develop. I think he’ll put up 25+ PPG on good percentages and shoot the ball well from 3.
I'm really excited about the development of my younger guys especially Stackhouse. He improved his outside shot in TC and got his B+ back after a SC. I can't justify starting him over Nelson or Walter at this point but he's going to get solid minutes as a backup and maybe a starting spot opens up at some point.
I'm hoping for a breakout year from Mighty Mouse. Had a promising rookie season and if I'm going to contend I'll need my PG to step up in a big way. A team is only as good as their PG, especially in TMBSL.
Mainly I just expect Curry to keep getting better and better. This season so far he has seemed to be a better defender and is getting more assists as well to go with his very efficient scoring numbers.
I'm excited about Kevin McKenna's progress. I'm hoping to get him some more minutes this year.
3. Which teams improved the most this offseason? Who's due for a drop-off?
There isn’t any one team that sticks out to me as greatly improved this offseason. My shortlist would be Atlanta and Los Angeles, with an honorable mention to the Knicks. Atlanta has been god awful for several years in a row, so even .500 basketball will probably be a bigger improvement than anyone else. Buster got a legit superstar in his prime in Porzingis and still has Stoudamire, Harden, and Tobi to fill in the rest of his team.
The Clippers are going to drop off, but that’s clearly by design. As far as a team that doesn’t want to drop off, I think the Hornets are the easy pick. They lost Tex and did nothing to replace him, and Clyde, Stanley and Dwight are all getting older. If his preseason was any indication, this team will struggle to make the playoffs this season.
I like what the Lakers did recently. You need a solid big 3 and he was able to do that. I'm a big fan of Tobi so letting him go was my one concern. RW made a bunch of moves. He feels he can win 55 games. I'm not seeing that. But he will be improved. The Warriors are in tough spot. That roster isn't winning a title so it will be interesting if Ocho is active and if wants to re-tool or blow it up. Out East I'm going to say the Hornets. You can't lose a player like Tex for nothing. Just terrible GM work. He was a title contender and now he's dropped from that status in my mind. Rv's team is still talented so were not talking dropping to lottery level. But he can kiss a title anytime soon away.
I think my team and the Bulls should be much improved, the Knicks should be better, the Raptors have a evolved from a 1 man show to more of a complete team, I think they'll be better with an extremely bright future. I'd also probably throw the Sonics into this category with their plethora of young talent.
The Lakers are the team that improved the most. They have built up a solid core that is ready to compete by acquiring Kristaps and JO those are 2 really good players to go with Harden and Damon. As for falling off that belongs to the Clippers, Dirt did what dirt does best and blew it up. He has had one of the best teams in the west the last few years just he couldn't put it together come playoff time after his title run. I guess I don't really blame him for losing the way he did in the playoffs multiple years.
The Lakers and Bulls. I really liked the JO and KD trades. I also liked what the Spurs and Raptors did. I think the Nets, Hornets, and Bullets will fall off this year.
4. Create the best starting 5 of players who are 25 or older and have yet to make an All-Star team. Keep fit and style of play in mind.
PG: Shakur
SG: McCloud
SF: Glen Rice
PF: Durant
C: Vlade
in an outside focused offense, I think this lineup would thrive. Was very surprised to see Durant and Shakur both haven’t made an all-star game.
C: LaMarcus
PF: Sheed
SF: Morrison
SG: Aguirre
PG: Curry
All these guys can shoot the rock. I would run a very fast and outside focused offense.
PG: Mustafa Shakur
SG: Juan Keaney
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Chris Mihm
C: Catfish
C- Herb Williams
PF- Stromile Swift
SF- Michael Smith
SG= Pee Wee Kirkland
PG- Andrew Harrison
PG: Shakur
SG: McCloud
SF: Rice
PF: KD
C: Stromile
5. In honor of Ian Boyd, give us your top 3 wing sauce flavors.
Buffalo wings, hot flavor (the classic); Honey BBQ (I could eat these for days); Garlic (to keep away vampires). I’ve never been to a Wing Stop so I don’t know their flavors, but I’m generally good with any kind of wing unless it’s a “set fire to your mouth” kind of sauce. As a current DC resident, I’m also obligated to shout out mumbo sauce, which is delicious.
not going to pretend to know wingstop flavors so i'm going off my shop flavor list... 1) my homemade XX-Hot sauce 2) Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Red Chile 3) Garlic Parmesan
I'm kind of a pussy when it comes to hot stuff so give me something like regular old BBQ/honey BBQ, garlic parmesan, and teriyaki.
Hot, Asian, Garlic Parmesan
Definitely rolling with mumbo sauce #1. I'll go with classic buffalo (hot) 2nd and spicy honey BBQ 3rd.
NBA questions:
6. It's been a crazy offseason in the association. Talk about what your favorite team did. What are your expectations for this season?
The Wiz had a pretty good offseason by their standards, I’d probably give it a B. I’m disappointed they took Oubre instead of Portis, who I thought filled a more pressing need and would’ve been more NBA ready, but they rebounded really well after the Paul Pierce departure by picking up Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson, and they finally have a secondary ball handler on the bench with Gary Neal. My expectations are about what they were last year, I’m hoping to get a top 4 seed in the East and will consider it a successful season if they can make it to the Conference finals. Otherwise, we wait until next summer to see what a certain impending FA chooses to do.
Much like my sim league team the Bulls really just went out and returned all the players off last season and added rookie Bobby Portis. So it was very uneventful. I know the narrative is this teams window is closed but I don't agree with that statement (shocking right?) Still think Cleveland is top dog out east but Chicago is the 2nd. Hopefully another year removed from surgery for Rose will help improve his game. Butler still improving and I think guys like Snell, Mirotic and McBuckets are going to play better for Hoiberg. I think you see Chicago in the ECF with Cleveland this season.
My favorite team the Los Angeles Lakers traded for DeMarucs Cousins, signed LeMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, and Jimmy Butler, and still managed to draft D'Angelo Russell. Wait I guess they didn't. They did draft D'Angelo Russell and a couple of other decent looking players including Larry Nance Jr. who looks like he should contribute a bit. They signed Lou Williams, a move I like, as well as Brandon Bass. They also traded for Roy Hibbert which is pretty much a boom or bust move. Worst case scenario he doesn't do shit in which case no big deal since they didn't give up much. Overall it was a decent offseason but not landing a big name free agent like a lot of Lakers fans expected is obviously a pretty huge kick in the nuts. If everyone can stay healthy and all goes well I think this team could contend for the 7-8 seed in the West but most likely they'll end up winning 35 games.
My favorite team blew up. 4 of last years starting 5 are gone and the team went young. Next year the Blazers will be a lottery team and probably one of the 6 or 7 worst teams in the league. Nothing else really to say other than we are just bringing in a bunch of young guys and seeing who sticks.
The one true King of the North (fuck a Robb Stark) left for LA, which sucks. I'll miss his arrogance and clutchness, but we made some solid moves to fill the void. I actually think we'll be better this year because Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson will allow us to play small all year, which we couldn't do with a 37-year-old Pierce. More importantly, none of the guys we signed are on the books after this year. It was a solid offseason. We should be in the hunt for a top 4 seed.
7. Which move surprised you the most this season? Also, give me your best and worst signings of FA.
My most surprising move (other than the DAJ fiasco) was that Tyson Chandler to Phoenix signing. It seemed like Chandler was going to be the fallback for either the Clippers or Mavs when they missed on DeAndre, and the Suns basically came out of nowhere to land him. I don’t know how well he’ll fit on that team but I thought his contract was a little below market value considering the ones other players were getting.
My best signing was Jimmy Butler coming back to the Bulls. After all the news leading up to FA about how he was only interested in a short term contract so he could hit FA earlier, ultimately he couldn’t turn down that much more guaranteed money, and the Bulls locked up their best young player to a deal that will be way below market value after the cap increases.
Worst signing is Enes Kanter. I was actually halfway into trashing Omer Asik’s deal when I looked up the figures and saw that it was actually much less guaranteed money than initially reported. Many NBA writers have taken shots at the Kanter deal already, and for good reason. He’s a one-way player who seems more concerned with getting his own stats than helping his team win. The kicker is that, after years of playing it cheap, breaking up the best perimeter trio I’ve seen since I’ve followed the NBA for financial concerns, Kanter’s deal will push them over the tax threshold.
The Jordan crap surprised me most. We will get into that next. I think a great signing was SA getting West for nothing basically. I'm not sure how I feel about the Kanter signing. He played much better for OKC but that's a ton of money for a one way center.
DeAndre Jordan to the Mavs wasn't a huge surprise but when he spurned them and went back to the Clippers that was a bit of a shocker. Tyson Chandler to the Suns was also a pretty big surprise that I don't think many people saw coming. As for the best signings, outside of guys going back to their previous teams I'd obviously have to put LMA to the Spurs as the #1 signing of the summer. Picking up David West for the fucking vet minimum is nice as well. I also liked the aforementioned Chandler to the Suns signing. I think he adds some much-needed toughness and a huge defensive presence to that team. Always been a big fan of his. Worst signings: Rajon Rondo to the Kings. Luckily for them it's only a year but at this point I think he's pretty much a lost cause. Was glad he didn't end up in LA. Didn't like Enes Kanter at $70 mil over 4 years at either. Way too much money per year for a player of his caliber.
The most surprising was the Deandre Jordan stuff. Him going to Dallas never really made sense because basketball wise LA was by far his best option because it made all the things he does so well look better because he had a good fit of players around him. Then you add once he decided to go to Dallas and committed there he turned around and went back to LA. The whole thing was weird and bizarre.
The DeAndre stuff was nuts, but we'll get into that in a bit. I know the cap is exploding, but some of these deals still shocked me. I didn't think Reggie Jackson (5/$80M), Omer Asik (5/$60m), and Tobias Harris (4/$64M) would get the money they did. Wes Matthews getting a max coming off an Achilles tear was odd, but I'm happy for him. I hope he comes back 100%.
Enes Kanter's four-year, $70 million deal was the worst imo. OKC was in a tough spot. Everyone knows he's not worth that kind of money, but everyone would have killed them for being cheap if they hadn't matched. It's not fair, but that's what happens when you go cheap and break up a potential dynasty.
I'm interested to see how much OKC's ownership is willing to spend in the next couple of years. People always bring up 2016, and for good reason, but 2017 could be a tricky offseason for them. Let's assume KD re-signs. Westbrook and Ibaka will be free agents in 2017, and both will easily get the max on the open market. That means OKC could be paying more than $100 million a year for KD, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Kanter. Come home, KD, come home (sorry, 2poor. you know I love ya).
David West for the minimum was the best value. Deron Williams could be a steal for Dallas if he gets right.
8. What were your thoughts on the DeAndre Jordan saga? What would you have done if you were in his shoes?
The DeAndre saga was one of the strangest things to watch unfold. I understand it from his point of view and I think the Clippers are far and away the best basketball situation for him. But to bring everybody outside of Clipper Darrell to lock themselves in DeAndre’s house and prevent him from talking with anyone with the Mavs? Ridiculous and over-the-top theater that was incredible to watch. Were they worried Mark Cuban was going to kidnap DAJ? Or maybe Cubes is a vampire and he had DeAndre in his thrall. Either way, the Mavs are fucked.
If i were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have turned down the Clippers from the get-go. I’m sure Chandler Parsons is a phenomenal dinner date, but DeAndre would’ve been crazy to leave one of the best PnR point guards of all time and an all-NBA PF in his prime to clean up after Dirk on defense and catch lob passes from Devin Harris.
I thought him going to Dallas made some sense. Rumors about him wanting more of a offensive role seemed to match up with going to Dallas. But he had a change of heart. I'm not mad he had a change of heart because that's a major life decision he was making. But be a man about it. Its clear he hid like a little bitch and didn't give Cuban the respect to tell him he wanted to stay in LA. That's a fucking clown move. On top of that apparently his momma called Cuban. Grow the fuck up and be a man.
I think he handled it terribly. To say you're going to sign with someone and back out is bad enough, but I get that you have a change of heart. The fact that he ignored Cuban and the Mavs brass like he did was pretty bitchmade. Be a man, tell them that you've changed your mind, and be done with it. Don't hide out for 2 days while the rest of your teammates make jokes on social media. Can't say what I'd do if I were in his shoes because that'd hard to fathom but I at least would've called Mark Cuban up, apologized, and told him I was going to re-sign with the Clippers. That's the least he could have done.
Well I just gave my thoughts in the question above, I should read a head next time. If I were in his shoes I would have stayed in LA originally but with not actually knowing the whole situation it is tough to really know.
I was surprised he chose Dallas in the first place because LA seems like a perfect fit. With that said, he handled it poorly. You gave Dallas your word, at least be man enough to pick up the phone and tell them what's happening. If the stuff about him contacting Doc first is true then I can't fault the Clippers for any of this. They were dead without him. Now they're a serious contender. Good for them.
I actually think Dallas dodged a bullet here. I don't think DeAndre is a franchise player, and I think the whole DeAndre as a scoring option experiment would've ended quickly. I guess the biggest takeaway from all of this is that you can never trust an Aggie.
9. Have you been following summer league? If so, what are impressions of your team's rookies and some of the other top guys out there?
Haven’t followed much summer league other than the Wizards games. Oubre is fulfilling all of the Nick Young comparisons by driving with reckless abandon and refusing to pass. He really needs to learn how to finish with his right hand, and his shooting from distance has been ugly, but unlike Nick Young he at least can defend a little. Aaron White is completely uncomfortable as a stretch four.
Portis has played well. He's 20 and still improving. Has great range so that should fit in well with Hoiberg's offense. Its nice he we wont be asked to do to much as the Bulls have great depth at the big man spots. McBuckets has gone out his way to be more aggressive attacking the basket. He did that well in college not so much last season. He's been by far our best player in the summer league and that was expected. Kid doesn't play a lick of defense but Thibs is gone so who gives a shit about defense. Another guy who has played really well so far is Vander Blue. Cool name and he has done well. Probably the 2nd best player for Chicago. Might of earned him a roster spot to compete with Kirk for the backup PG role.
I've followed it a little bit. Watched my guy Devyn Marble put together a nice game for Orlando about a week ago which included an assist on the game winning bucket as well as a steal to seal the win. I've kept up with the Lakers box scores/recaps but haven't got to see them play yet. Russell and Clarkson have played well from everything I've seen though so for that I'm happy. Hopefully we're not wishing we had taken Okafor over Russell in a few years, but it sounds like he's had a very good summer so far as well.
I have not been following summer league outside of seeing that Allen Crabbe got hurt, Tim Frazier is our supposed back up PG and someone who could play with Damian Lillard but is turning it over like crazy, and Noah Vonleh had a really good game the other night where he had a double/double.
I watched a few games. Oubre was better than I expected. He hasn't shot it well, but I've been surprised by his ability to create his own shot. He needs to get stronger, work on his off hand, and get more consistent shooting, but the tools are there. His defense is very good. He might be able to get some minutes this year. Aaron White was pure booty hole.
10. Rank your top 8 teams in each conference as of today.
West:
Golden State
Houston Rockets
Clippers
Memphis
OKC
San Antonio Spurs
Pelicans
Jazz
East:
Cleveland
Atlanta
Washington
Chicago
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Charlotte
West:
1) Warriors
2) Spurs
3) Thunder
4) Clippers
5) Rockets
6) Pelicans
7) Grizzlies
8) Jazz
East:
1) Cleveland
2) Chicago
3) Miami
4) Washington
5) Milwaukee
6) Atlanta
7) Indiana
8) Toronto
West:
1. Warriors - Reigning champs. Everyone back.
2. Spurs - Old. Still old. But they loaded.
3. Clippers - Pierce/Stephenson fills their biggest hole.
4. Thunder - Westbrook/KD/Ibaka Gotta stay healthy.
5. Rockets - Think they fall off a bit, should still be right there if Howard's bitch ass can play around 70 games. Probably be the 2 seed in the East.
6. Grizz - Made some great moves this offseason. Could see them making some serious noise in the postseason again. Love Conley and Gasol.
7. Suns - Love the Chandler addition.
8. Pelicans - Anthony Davis.
East:
1. Cavaliers - Obviously.
2-8. Some variation of Wizards, Raptors, Hawks, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Celtics
East
1. Cleveland
2. Chicago
3. Milwaukee
5. Atlanta
6. Washington
7. Toronto
8. Detroit
West
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. OKC
4. LA Clippers
5. Houston
6. Memphis
7. New Orleans
8. Phoenix
East:
1. Cleveland
2. Washington
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Atlanta
6. Milwaukee
7. Toronto
8. Detroit
West:
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. OKC
4. LAC
5. Houston
6. Memphis
7. New Orleans
8. Utah
*Bonus: Fason did the hottest women threads a little bit back, which I really enjoyed. I thought I'd keep it going by asking you guys to rank your top 5 women over 40.
1. J-Lo
2. Cindy Crawford
3. Carla Gugino
4. Tiffani Amber Thiessen (#teamTAT)
5. Kate Beckinsale
![]()
1) Vanessa Marcil
2) Demi Moore
3) Alyssa Milano
4) Salma Hayek
5) J-Lo
HM: Marisa Tomei, Monica Bellucci, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry
1. Cameron Diaz
2. Jennifer Aniston
3. J-Lo
4. Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper)
5. Kate Beckinsdale
HM: Halle Berry, Heidi Klum, Julie Benz, Hannah Storm, my buddy Pete's mom
1. Elle Macpherson
2. Kate Beckinsale
3. Jennifer Aniston
4. Salma Hayek
5. Catherine Zeta-Jones
1. J-Lo
2. Sanaa Lathan
3. Kate Beckinsale
4. Alyssa Milano
5. Jennifer Aniston
HM: Berry, Dash, Marcil, Gugino, Zeta-Jones.
Thanks for reading folks. Feel free to post your top 5 over 40.
1. Talk about your offseason. Did you make any major trades or signings?
This was probably the most significant offseason I’ve had since I’ve been in the league. It started with the Porzingis trade, which was tumultuous enough but ultimately allowed me to hit the reset button on my franchise and build around some young talent. I also had cap space for the first time in 10 seasons and actually got to use it when I landed Tex and Barkley in the offseason. My team as currently constructed still isn’t ready to contend, but FA moved my timeline up a lot more than I was expecting. Nothing major. My team is in the land of Yawn. Nelson had a strong close to last season so bringing him back was important. Picking up McCarty was also big. Being able to flip Yi for him and a pick was nice. Didn't get in free agency but Odin dropping AC Law was nice for me. Sent Best, Corliss, 1.3 and a pick to Pete for Porzingis. Recently traded Tobi and Catfish for Jermaine O'Neal. Also sent a couple picks and bad contracts to the Wolves for Oden. No major signings. I lost Dale Ellis to retirement and then I traded Walter McCarthy and a 1st to get Yi. With the Ellis retirement I needed another person who could play SF and score. I moved McCarthy because the 2 seasons I had him at either SF or PF he was inefficient and shot a lot which is something I want to avoid with Curry and Ray Allen in the back court. Yi doesn't score as much but is way more efficient and provides rebounds and some blocks which were both very needed. I also traded for Stacey King who brings even more shot blocking and is a very affordable big man for a couple season. Ray Felix offered to resign as well for very cheap. I was gonna say Danny Ferry, but I'm afraid he has too much Europe in him to contribute. Bad jokes aside, no major signings or trades for me. This is the last ride for this crew. A couple of my young guys had really good training camps, though, so I'm excited about that. 2. Which player on your team are you expecting a breakout season from?
Based on how he played in backup minutes last season and how he looked in preseason, I think Travis Best is a serious breakout candidate. He’s clearly been built to score in bunches and will have every opportunity to as Roy and some others develop. I think he’ll put up 25+ PPG on good percentages and shoot the ball well from 3. I'm really excited about the development of my younger guys especially Stackhouse. He improved his outside shot in TC and got his B+ back after a SC. I can't justify starting him over Nelson or Walter at this point but he's going to get solid minutes as a backup and maybe a starting spot opens up at some point. I'm hoping for a breakout year from Mighty Mouse. Had a promising rookie season and if I'm going to contend I'll need my PG to step up in a big way. A team is only as good as their PG, especially in TMBSL. Mainly I just expect Curry to keep getting better and better. This season so far he has seemed to be a better defender and is getting more assists as well to go with his very efficient scoring numbers. I'm excited about Kevin McKenna's progress. I'm hoping to get him some more minutes this year. 3. Which teams improved the most this offseason? Who's due for a drop-off?
There isn’t any one team that sticks out to me as greatly improved this offseason. My shortlist would be Atlanta and Los Angeles, with an honorable mention to the Knicks. Atlanta has been god awful for several years in a row, so even .500 basketball will probably be a bigger improvement than anyone else. Buster got a legit superstar in his prime in Porzingis and still has Stoudamire, Harden, and Tobi to fill in the rest of his team.The Clippers are going to drop off, but that’s clearly by design. As far as a team that doesn’t want to drop off, I think the Hornets are the easy pick. They lost Tex and did nothing to replace him, and Clyde, Stanley and Dwight are all getting older. If his preseason was any indication, this team will struggle to make the playoffs this season.
I like what the Lakers did recently. You need a solid big 3 and he was able to do that. I'm a big fan of Tobi so letting him go was my one concern. RW made a bunch of moves. He feels he can win 55 games. I'm not seeing that. But he will be improved. The Warriors are in tough spot. That roster isn't winning a title so it will be interesting if Ocho is active and if wants to re-tool or blow it up. Out East I'm going to say the Hornets. You can't lose a player like Tex for nothing. Just terrible GM work. He was a title contender and now he's dropped from that status in my mind. Rv's team is still talented so were not talking dropping to lottery level. But he can kiss a title anytime soon away. I think my team and the Bulls should be much improved, the Knicks should be better, the Raptors have a evolved from a 1 man show to more of a complete team, I think they'll be better with an extremely bright future. I'd also probably throw the Sonics into this category with their plethora of young talent. The Lakers are the team that improved the most. They have built up a solid core that is ready to compete by acquiring Kristaps and JO those are 2 really good players to go with Harden and Damon. As for falling off that belongs to the Clippers, Dirt did what dirt does best and blew it up. He has had one of the best teams in the west the last few years just he couldn't put it together come playoff time after his title run. I guess I don't really blame him for losing the way he did in the playoffs multiple years. The Lakers and Bulls. I really liked the JO and KD trades. I also liked what the Spurs and Raptors did. I think the Nets, Hornets, and Bullets will fall off this year. 4. Create the best starting 5 of players who are 25 or older and have yet to make an All-Star team. Keep fit and style of play in mind.
PG: Shakur
SG: McCloud
SF: Glen Rice
PF: Durant
C: Vlade
in an outside focused offense, I think this lineup would thrive. Was very surprised to see Durant and Shakur both haven’t made an all-star game.
C: LaMarcus
PF: Sheed
SF: Morrison
SG: Aguirre
PG: Curry
All these guys can shoot the rock. I would run a very fast and outside focused offense.
PG: Mustafa Shakur
SG: Juan Keaney
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Chris Mihm
C: Catfish
C- Herb Williams
PF- Stromile Swift
SF- Michael Smith
SG= Pee Wee Kirkland
PG- Andrew Harrison
PG: Shakur
SG: McCloud
SF: Rice
PF: KD
C: Stromile
5. In honor of Ian Boyd, give us your top 3 wing sauce flavors.
Buffalo wings, hot flavor (the classic); Honey BBQ (I could eat these for days); Garlic (to keep away vampires). I’ve never been to a Wing Stop so I don’t know their flavors, but I’m generally good with any kind of wing unless it’s a “set fire to your mouth” kind of sauce. As a current DC resident, I’m also obligated to shout out mumbo sauce, which is delicious. not going to pretend to know wingstop flavors so i'm going off my shop flavor list... 1) my homemade XX-Hot sauce 2) Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Red Chile 3) Garlic Parmesan I'm kind of a pussy when it comes to hot stuff so give me something like regular old BBQ/honey BBQ, garlic parmesan, and teriyaki. Hot, Asian, Garlic Parmesan Definitely rolling with mumbo sauce #1. I'll go with classic buffalo (hot) 2nd and spicy honey BBQ 3rd. NBA questions:
6. It's been a crazy offseason in the association. Talk about what your favorite team did. What are your expectations for this season?
The Wiz had a pretty good offseason by their standards, I’d probably give it a B. I’m disappointed they took Oubre instead of Portis, who I thought filled a more pressing need and would’ve been more NBA ready, but they rebounded really well after the Paul Pierce departure by picking up Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson, and they finally have a secondary ball handler on the bench with Gary Neal. My expectations are about what they were last year, I’m hoping to get a top 4 seed in the East and will consider it a successful season if they can make it to the Conference finals. Otherwise, we wait until next summer to see what a certain impending FA chooses to do. Much like my sim league team the Bulls really just went out and returned all the players off last season and added rookie Bobby Portis. So it was very uneventful. I know the narrative is this teams window is closed but I don't agree with that statement (shocking right?) Still think Cleveland is top dog out east but Chicago is the 2nd. Hopefully another year removed from surgery for Rose will help improve his game. Butler still improving and I think guys like Snell, Mirotic and McBuckets are going to play better for Hoiberg. I think you see Chicago in the ECF with Cleveland this season. My favorite team the Los Angeles Lakers traded for DeMarucs Cousins, signed LeMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, and Jimmy Butler, and still managed to draft D'Angelo Russell. Wait I guess they didn't. They did draft D'Angelo Russell and a couple of other decent looking players including Larry Nance Jr. who looks like he should contribute a bit. They signed Lou Williams, a move I like, as well as Brandon Bass. They also traded for Roy Hibbert which is pretty much a boom or bust move. Worst case scenario he doesn't do shit in which case no big deal since they didn't give up much. Overall it was a decent offseason but not landing a big name free agent like a lot of Lakers fans expected is obviously a pretty huge kick in the nuts. If everyone can stay healthy and all goes well I think this team could contend for the 7-8 seed in the West but most likely they'll end up winning 35 games. My favorite team blew up. 4 of last years starting 5 are gone and the team went young. Next year the Blazers will be a lottery team and probably one of the 6 or 7 worst teams in the league. Nothing else really to say other than we are just bringing in a bunch of young guys and seeing who sticks. The one true King of the North (fuck a Robb Stark) left for LA, which sucks. I'll miss his arrogance and clutchness, but we made some solid moves to fill the void. I actually think we'll be better this year because Jared Dudley and Alan Anderson will allow us to play small all year, which we couldn't do with a 37-year-old Pierce. More importantly, none of the guys we signed are on the books after this year. It was a solid offseason. We should be in the hunt for a top 4 seed. 7. Which move surprised you the most this season? Also, give me your best and worst signings of FA.
My most surprising move (other than the DAJ fiasco) was that Tyson Chandler to Phoenix signing. It seemed like Chandler was going to be the fallback for either the Clippers or Mavs when they missed on DeAndre, and the Suns basically came out of nowhere to land him. I don’t know how well he’ll fit on that team but I thought his contract was a little below market value considering the ones other players were getting.My best signing was Jimmy Butler coming back to the Bulls. After all the news leading up to FA about how he was only interested in a short term contract so he could hit FA earlier, ultimately he couldn’t turn down that much more guaranteed money, and the Bulls locked up their best young player to a deal that will be way below market value after the cap increases.
Worst signing is Enes Kanter. I was actually halfway into trashing Omer Asik’s deal when I looked up the figures and saw that it was actually much less guaranteed money than initially reported. Many NBA writers have taken shots at the Kanter deal already, and for good reason. He’s a one-way player who seems more concerned with getting his own stats than helping his team win. The kicker is that, after years of playing it cheap, breaking up the best perimeter trio I’ve seen since I’ve followed the NBA for financial concerns, Kanter’s deal will push them over the tax threshold.
The Jordan crap surprised me most. We will get into that next. I think a great signing was SA getting West for nothing basically. I'm not sure how I feel about the Kanter signing. He played much better for OKC but that's a ton of money for a one way center. DeAndre Jordan to the Mavs wasn't a huge surprise but when he spurned them and went back to the Clippers that was a bit of a shocker. Tyson Chandler to the Suns was also a pretty big surprise that I don't think many people saw coming. As for the best signings, outside of guys going back to their previous teams I'd obviously have to put LMA to the Spurs as the #1 signing of the summer. Picking up David West for the fucking vet minimum is nice as well. I also liked the aforementioned Chandler to the Suns signing. I think he adds some much-needed toughness and a huge defensive presence to that team. Always been a big fan of his. Worst signings: Rajon Rondo to the Kings. Luckily for them it's only a year but at this point I think he's pretty much a lost cause. Was glad he didn't end up in LA. Didn't like Enes Kanter at $70 mil over 4 years at either. Way too much money per year for a player of his caliber. The most surprising was the Deandre Jordan stuff. Him going to Dallas never really made sense because basketball wise LA was by far his best option because it made all the things he does so well look better because he had a good fit of players around him. Then you add once he decided to go to Dallas and committed there he turned around and went back to LA. The whole thing was weird and bizarre. The DeAndre stuff was nuts, but we'll get into that in a bit. I know the cap is exploding, but some of these deals still shocked me. I didn't think Reggie Jackson (5/$80M), Omer Asik (5/$60m), and Tobias Harris (4/$64M) would get the money they did. Wes Matthews getting a max coming off an Achilles tear was odd, but I'm happy for him. I hope he comes back 100%. Enes Kanter's four-year, $70 million deal was the worst imo. OKC was in a tough spot. Everyone knows he's not worth that kind of money, but everyone would have killed them for being cheap if they hadn't matched. It's not fair, but that's what happens when you go cheap and break up a potential dynasty.
I'm interested to see how much OKC's ownership is willing to spend in the next couple of years. People always bring up 2016, and for good reason, but 2017 could be a tricky offseason for them. Let's assume KD re-signs. Westbrook and Ibaka will be free agents in 2017, and both will easily get the max on the open market. That means OKC could be paying more than $100 million a year for KD, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Kanter. Come home, KD, come home (sorry, 2poor. you know I love ya).
David West for the minimum was the best value. Deron Williams could be a steal for Dallas if he gets right.
8. What were your thoughts on the DeAndre Jordan saga? What would you have done if you were in his shoes?
The DeAndre saga was one of the strangest things to watch unfold. I understand it from his point of view and I think the Clippers are far and away the best basketball situation for him. But to bring everybody outside of Clipper Darrell to lock themselves in DeAndre’s house and prevent him from talking with anyone with the Mavs? Ridiculous and over-the-top theater that was incredible to watch. Were they worried Mark Cuban was going to kidnap DAJ? Or maybe Cubes is a vampire and he had DeAndre in his thrall. Either way, the Mavs are fucked.If i were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have turned down the Clippers from the get-go. I’m sure Chandler Parsons is a phenomenal dinner date, but DeAndre would’ve been crazy to leave one of the best PnR point guards of all time and an all-NBA PF in his prime to clean up after Dirk on defense and catch lob passes from Devin Harris.
I thought him going to Dallas made some sense. Rumors about him wanting more of a offensive role seemed to match up with going to Dallas. But he had a change of heart. I'm not mad he had a change of heart because that's a major life decision he was making. But be a man about it. Its clear he hid like a little bitch and didn't give Cuban the respect to tell him he wanted to stay in LA. That's a fucking clown move. On top of that apparently his momma called Cuban. Grow the fuck up and be a man. I think he handled it terribly. To say you're going to sign with someone and back out is bad enough, but I get that you have a change of heart. The fact that he ignored Cuban and the Mavs brass like he did was pretty bitchmade. Be a man, tell them that you've changed your mind, and be done with it. Don't hide out for 2 days while the rest of your teammates make jokes on social media. Can't say what I'd do if I were in his shoes because that'd hard to fathom but I at least would've called Mark Cuban up, apologized, and told him I was going to re-sign with the Clippers. That's the least he could have done. Well I just gave my thoughts in the question above, I should read a head next time. If I were in his shoes I would have stayed in LA originally but with not actually knowing the whole situation it is tough to really know. I was surprised he chose Dallas in the first place because LA seems like a perfect fit. With that said, he handled it poorly. You gave Dallas your word, at least be man enough to pick up the phone and tell them what's happening. If the stuff about him contacting Doc first is true then I can't fault the Clippers for any of this. They were dead without him. Now they're a serious contender. Good for them. I actually think Dallas dodged a bullet here. I don't think DeAndre is a franchise player, and I think the whole DeAndre as a scoring option experiment would've ended quickly. I guess the biggest takeaway from all of this is that you can never trust an Aggie.
9. Have you been following summer league? If so, what are impressions of your team's rookies and some of the other top guys out there?
Haven’t followed much summer league other than the Wizards games. Oubre is fulfilling all of the Nick Young comparisons by driving with reckless abandon and refusing to pass. He really needs to learn how to finish with his right hand, and his shooting from distance has been ugly, but unlike Nick Young he at least can defend a little. Aaron White is completely uncomfortable as a stretch four. Portis has played well. He's 20 and still improving. Has great range so that should fit in well with Hoiberg's offense. Its nice he we wont be asked to do to much as the Bulls have great depth at the big man spots. McBuckets has gone out his way to be more aggressive attacking the basket. He did that well in college not so much last season. He's been by far our best player in the summer league and that was expected. Kid doesn't play a lick of defense but Thibs is gone so who gives a shit about defense. Another guy who has played really well so far is Vander Blue. Cool name and he has done well. Probably the 2nd best player for Chicago. Might of earned him a roster spot to compete with Kirk for the backup PG role. I've followed it a little bit. Watched my guy Devyn Marble put together a nice game for Orlando about a week ago which included an assist on the game winning bucket as well as a steal to seal the win. I've kept up with the Lakers box scores/recaps but haven't got to see them play yet. Russell and Clarkson have played well from everything I've seen though so for that I'm happy. Hopefully we're not wishing we had taken Okafor over Russell in a few years, but it sounds like he's had a very good summer so far as well. I have not been following summer league outside of seeing that Allen Crabbe got hurt, Tim Frazier is our supposed back up PG and someone who could play with Damian Lillard but is turning it over like crazy, and Noah Vonleh had a really good game the other night where he had a double/double. I watched a few games. Oubre was better than I expected. He hasn't shot it well, but I've been surprised by his ability to create his own shot. He needs to get stronger, work on his off hand, and get more consistent shooting, but the tools are there. His defense is very good. He might be able to get some minutes this year. Aaron White was pure booty hole. 10. Rank your top 8 teams in each conference as of today.
West:
Golden State
Houston Rockets
Clippers
Memphis
OKC
San Antonio Spurs
Pelicans
Jazz
East:
Cleveland
Atlanta
Washington
Chicago
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Charlotte
West:
1) Warriors
2) Spurs
3) Thunder
4) Clippers
5) Rockets
6) Pelicans
7) Grizzlies
8) Jazz
East:
1) Cleveland
2) Chicago
3) Miami
4) Washington
5) Milwaukee
6) Atlanta
7) Indiana
8) Toronto
West:
1. Warriors - Reigning champs. Everyone back.
2. Spurs - Old. Still old. But they loaded.
3. Clippers - Pierce/Stephenson fills their biggest hole.
4. Thunder - Westbrook/KD/Ibaka Gotta stay healthy.
5. Rockets - Think they fall off a bit, should still be right there if Howard's bitch ass can play around 70 games. Probably be the 2 seed in the East.
6. Grizz - Made some great moves this offseason. Could see them making some serious noise in the postseason again. Love Conley and Gasol.
7. Suns - Love the Chandler addition.
8. Pelicans - Anthony Davis.
East:
1. Cavaliers - Obviously.
2-8. Some variation of Wizards, Raptors, Hawks, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Celtics
East
1. Cleveland
2. Chicago
3. Milwaukee
5. Atlanta
6. Washington
7. Toronto
8. Detroit
West
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. OKC
4. LA Clippers
5. Houston
6. Memphis
7. New Orleans
8. Phoenix
East:
1. Cleveland
2. Washington
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Atlanta
6. Milwaukee
7. Toronto
8. Detroit
West:
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. OKC
4. LAC
5. Houston
6. Memphis
7. New Orleans
8. Utah
*Bonus: Fason did the hottest women threads a little bit back, which I really enjoyed. I thought I'd keep it going by asking you guys to rank your top 5 women over 40.
1. J-Lo
2. Cindy Crawford
3. Carla Gugino
4. Tiffani Amber Thiessen (#teamTAT)
5. Kate Beckinsale
1) Vanessa Marcil
2) Demi Moore
3) Alyssa Milano
4) Salma Hayek
5) J-Lo
HM: Marisa Tomei, Monica Bellucci, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry
1. Cameron Diaz
2. Jennifer Aniston
3. J-Lo
4. Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper)
5. Kate Beckinsdale
HM: Halle Berry, Heidi Klum, Julie Benz, Hannah Storm, my buddy Pete's mom
1. Elle Macpherson
2. Kate Beckinsale
3. Jennifer Aniston
4. Salma Hayek
5. Catherine Zeta-Jones
1. J-Lo
2. Sanaa Lathan
3. Kate Beckinsale
4. Alyssa Milano
5. Jennifer Aniston
HM: Berry, Dash, Marcil, Gugino, Zeta-Jones.
Thanks for reading folks. Feel free to post your top 5 over 40.
