A40:
Shebi I was telling Sircumalot. The Lakers not being able to get players has nothing to do with Kobe. If they could compete for a title players would join regardless

Lakers died along with Dr Buss when he died

To revive that team and attract good players they need to get rid of that Phil Jackson girlfriend and her spoilt brat brother

So who agrees with the pecking order for the 2015/2016 season... Not me!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. OKC
3.Golden State
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Rockets
7. Bulls
8. Hawks
9. Miami
10. Memphis

I just listed the top ten according to the article. Y'all go through and give your opinions.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2529441-nba-pecking-order-for-2015-16-becoming-clear-after-another-busy-offseason

00francis:
So who agrees with the pecking order for the 2015/2016 season... Not me!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. OKC
3.Golden State
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Rockets
7. Bulls
8. Hawks
9. Miami
10. Memphis

I just listed the top ten according to the article. Y'all go through and give your opinions.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2529441-nba-pecking-order-for-2015-16-becoming-clear-after-another-busy-offseason

what is Cavs doing there ? NO 1 Sef

00francis:
So who agrees with the pecking order for the 2015/2016 season... Not me!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. OKC
3.Golden State
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Rockets
7. Bulls
8. Hawks
9. Miami
10. Memphis

I just listed the top ten according to the article. Y'all go through and give your opinions.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2529441-nba-pecking-order-for-2015-16-becoming-clear-after-another-busy-offseason

good article. however, the hornets and knicks are way too low. Im expecting al jefferson to draw attention in the paint this year barring injuries. Alos looks like Phil is courting MElo by bring his old paddy Afflalo. The expectations of the knocks are so low, they will definitely outperform.

Spurs should be no 1. I dont know what any nba team will do if pops ever puts aldridge and west on the floor in some crazy combo. Both forwards can hit the uncontested 18footer, play the post and are strong/quick enough to defend 4s or 5s. Spurs are no 1 this year

Houston is being slept on, but they have upgraded albeit silently. Ty Lawson IS a baller.

My own top 10

1. Spurs - who wants to bet against pops and timmy 2 years in a row. not me
2. Cavaliers - kyrie and love will not play full minutes until midway thru the season. Fresh superstars + lebron will be dangerous come playoffs
3. Rockets - Yeah I'm a homer, but having Ty and the bearded one on the court at the same time will bust any zones
4. Golden State - Teams have all offseason to study mr MVP and GS rotations. Plus Gentry, the genius behind the offensive sets imo will likely be gone
5. Clippers - They added Josh smith so they have a deeper bench, but in the loaded west it is not enough
6. OKC - I expect Durant to return having solved his one weakness, passing when it counts. But OKC will be learning new offensive rotations
7. Miami - My boy dwade will do what he does. A healthy Bosh should keep the pressure off. Lets see how the newbs perform on this team
8. Memphis - u already know what time it is. perennial trouble maker. but i fear grindhouse has no secrets left
9. Bulls - I want to see what a creative coach can do with rose, gasol and noah. but im not sure rose wont get injured again.
10. Hawks/Wiz - Both are solid teams, and it is hard to tell who will be better if both teams are injury free

birdman:


good article. however, the hornets and knicks are way too low. Im expecting al jefferson to draw attention in the paint this year barring injuries. Alos looks like Phil is courting MElo by bring his old paddy Afflalo. The expectations of the knocks are so low, they will definitely outperform.

Spurs should be no 1. I dont know what any nba team will do if pops ever puts aldridge and west on the floor in some crazy combo. Both forwards can hit the uncontested 18footer, play the post and are strong/quick enough to defend 4s or 5s. Spurs are no 1 this year

Houston is being slept on, but they have upgraded albeit silently. Ty Lawson IS a baller.

My overall observations from the rankings is that they didn't really much on the new players to arrive at their conclusion.

I would have easily picked the spurs for number 1 but they made some valid points "Tony Parker has declined year after year after year (and Manu Ginobili can't be counted on for anything anymore)"

Mizzzbeee I asked the same question as well...despite having the so called best player in the world, they still came up short in the Finals so they don't deserve that spot.

kliq:
Shaq Vs Pippen Instagram battle


"Poor Scottie Pippen. For one of the greatest players ever to dribble a basketball, the man takes a whole lot of flak. The culprit behind today's dose of disrespect? None other than The Big Aristotle.

On Sunday, Shaq took to Instagram to make a random (and bold) claim that the best players ever to don a Lakers uniform would embarrass a potent Bulls squad by 50 points:"


Shaq osted picture of the greatest players of each position for both teams,scot responded and Shaq called him sidekick

Scot replied with a pix showing Shaq as the real sidekick by playing with Kobe,Nash,Wade,Lebron...TKO

Shaq is a delusional loudmouth but I would probably fancy the Lakers definitely not by 50 but they are better on paper at least. This is more reason why I think M.J is the G.O.A.T. He had no PG and no Center of note, his 2nd best players were Rodman and Pippen excellent defenders but significantly limited offensively

A40:

Shaq is a delusional loudmouth but I would probably fancy the Lakers definitely not by 50 but they are better on paper at least. This is more reason why I think M.J is the G.O.A.T. He had no PG and no Center of note, his 2nd best players were Rodman and Pippen excellent defenders but significantly limited offensively

The funniest part about the whole thing to me is that.
Shaq probably won't get into the Laker top 5 ever.
So he placed himself in the PF spot.

A40:

Shaq is a delusional loudmouth but I would probably fancy the Lakers definitely not by 50 but they are better on paper at least. This is more reason why I think M.J is the G.O.A.T. He had no PG and no Center of note, his 2nd best players were Rodman and Pippen excellent defenders but significantly limited offensively

Lol that's Shaq for you


MJ

A40:

Shaq is a delusional loudmouth but I would probably fancy the Lakers definitely not by 50 but they are better on paper at least. This is more reason why I think M.J is the G.O.A.T. He had no PG and no Center of note, his 2nd best players were Rodman and Pippen excellent defenders but significantly limited offensively

You just nailed it right on the head..

00francis:
So who agrees with the pecking order for the 2015/2016 season... Not me!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. OKC
3.Golden State
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Rockets
7. Bulls
8. Hawks
9. Miami
10. Memphis

I just listed the top ten according to the article. Y'all go through and give your opinions.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2529441-nba-pecking-order-for-2015-16-becoming-clear-after-another-busy-offseason

The author is clearly a Lebron fanboy. The Cavs should be No3 at best because they would most likely lose to any of Golden State or San Antonio if they met em in another NBA Finals. Heck I'd throw the Clippers or Rockets in the mix

1. Golden State (They are the defending champions, young and hungry. Would be silly betting against them)
2. San Antonio Spurs (Would be ruing the last regular season game they lost to the Pelicans which dropped them from 2nd to 6th. No way the Clippers win Game 7 at San Antonio)
3. Cleveland Cavs (Their conference is mediocre, but they still have Lebron and were a bit unfortunate with injuries. Hard to look past them for another NBA Final appearance)
4. LA Clippers ( Not losing DeAndre adding Josh Smith, Paul Pierce and Stephenson this has boom or bust written all over it. If Doc doesn't get the recipe right it could be a spectacular fail if he does potentially history in the making)
5. OKC (Two first year coaches at the last Finals so much for experience. With a healthy Durant and Ibaka Donovan must like his chances. If he can work out Enes Kanter on defence then OKC will definitely be a problem)
6. Houston Rockets (Ty Lawson might have booze issues but still an elite distributor of the rock and would help James Harden a lot. Still lack depth IMO and will ultimately fall short)
7. Memphis Grizzlies
8. Chicago Bulls
9. Atlanta Hawks
10. New OrleansPelicans
11. Washington Wizards
12. Dallas Mavericks
13. Milwaukee Bucks

With multiple pieces to arrange, it's pretty hard looking at the current roaster to predict the future of the Celtics, one thing for sure is it's a very young roaster with hunger, additions like David lee (Golden State) and Amir Johnson (Raptors) are good but we still need that experienced super star, that rallying point...the man with the magic wand Danny Ainge is renowned for shaping roasters and I have a gut feeling we are getting there.
#greenrunsdeep

Roland17:
With multiple pieces to arrange, it's pretty hard looking at the current roaster to predict the future of the Celtics, one thing for sure is it's a very young roaster with hunger, additions like David lee (Golden State) and Amir Johnson (Raptors) are good but we still need that experienced super star, that rallying point...the man with the magic wand Danny Ainge is renowned for shaping roasters and I have a gut feeling we are getting there.
#greenrunsdeep

i hope some kind of diamond in the rough comes out of this for the celtics. it looks like the storied franchise is going to go down for a while, a la Lakers. I remember we had a tiny beef earlier in the season where you thought the front office savvy regarding draft picks was going to help the celtics. But NBA talent is a funny thing - all the teams that have tried this route have almost always flopped, chicago bulls pre-rose being the poster boy. other than okc thunder,, i havent seen any team that built from ground up and had lasting success. You always needed that superstar. In todays league, even 2 superstars is not enough.

Still, that team should be fun to watch and very marketable to the local boston fan base. In the East, they might even make the playoffs. Unless they get a 6 seed or higher though, obviously it will be a round 1 exit

birdman:


i hope some kind of diamond in the rough comes out of this for the celtics. it looks like the storied franchise is going to go down for a while, a la Lakers. I remember we had a tiny beef earlier in the season where you thought the front office savvy regarding draft picks was going to help the celtics. But NBA talent is a funny thing - all the teams that have tried this route have almost always flopped, chicago bulls pre-rose being the poster boy. other than okc thunder,, i havent seen any team that built from ground up and had lasting success. You always needed that superstar. In todays league, even 2 superstars is not enough.

Still, that team should be fun to watch and very marketable to the local boston fan base.

In the East, they might even make the playoffs. Unless they get a 6 seed or higher though, obviously it will be a round 1 exit

The premonition for a growth for the celtics has always hinged on getting an experienced superstar or Star and making the right trade moves with the picks we have to build a solid team that can compete in the East.

There is no other way around it for us when it comes to building the roaster and to be honest we have done well if you consider most teams would have tanked last season even in the eastern conference, it's a very young roaster, this years free agency class is not as juicy as next years or the 2017 class, right now ainge is building a team that can attract a superstar free agent and with the pieces currently in place and the picks at disposal it is still very viable for next year and 2017.

The aim for this year is to ensure the continuous growth of players like K.Olynk, Jae et al, the playoffs is a goal and making it again would be an achievement and I believe it's getting close.

Do you suddenly have a short memory? The golden state warriors are the NBA champions, please how did they build that roaster? It did not happen over night bro, the front office ensured they stayed the course and were not distracted, Curry, Klay, Green, Barnes are all draft picks that took some patience to materialize, mix that with Bogut, Iggy et al and a rookie coach, I am not saying every team would be lucky but if your picks are good enough to get you some star players while you continue to develop the better picks then you are heading the right direction.

^true. gsw is also a ground up team. still though, unless one of those draft picks has MVP like talent, there is no telling. And there is the kicker. Who knew Curry was going to bet the most valuable PG someday as earlyas2014/2015, ahead of even CP3. I guess this is what makes the game exciting to watch these days

birdman:
^true. gsw is also a ground up team. still though, unless one of those draft picks has MVP like talent, there is no telling. And there is the kicker. Who knew Curry was going to bet the most valuable PG someday as earlyas2014/2015, ahead of even CP3. I guess this is what makes the game exciting to watch these days

Ooo yes the Warriors front office saw Curry becoming a super star, that I can tell u.. After Curry was drafted he was injury prone cos his ankles would not stay, he was glass footed, they kept going out, he could not muster games together for 2 years but the franchise stuck with him, infact a certain Monta Ellis was traded because the Warriors would rather pay to keep Curry, fast forward today how did that decision pan out? Your guess is as good as mine,

How about Klay? U want to also know his story? He was a nobody in his first season, infact the temptation to send him to the Dleague affiliate was pressing but the front office stuck with him and in the tail end of his second season owing to injuries he was included and the rest is history

There are talks albeit rumors that there exists a huge possibility that Durant would head back home to join Wall and Beal, it's all about developing the right picks, trading some so as to attract that super star a franchise can build around.

birdman:


i hope some kind of diamond in the rough comes out of this for the celtics. it looks like the storied franchise is going to go down for a while, a la Lakers. I remember we had a tiny beef earlier in the season where you thought the front office savvy regarding draft picks was going to help the celtics. But NBA talent is a funny thing - all the teams that have tried this route have almost always flopped, chicago bulls pre-rose being the poster boy. other than okc thunder,, i havent seen any team that built from ground up and had lasting success. You always needed that superstar. In todays league, even 2 superstars is not enough.

Still, that team should be fun to watch and very marketable to the local boston fan base. In the East, they might even make the playoffs. Unless they get a 6 seed or higher though, obviously it will be a round 1 exit

A lot of teams out there lack foresight and want to shortcut the process. This is why I like the NFL so much. You have to make your draft picks work and there is no guaranteed success regardless of how high they are

The Spurs are another team that built from the ground. I think the core of your team has to be draft picks if you are looking for long-term success. Bird with the Celts, Magic and Worthy with the Lakers, M.J and Scottie with the Bulls, Robinson, Duncan with the Spurs, Kobe, Bynum with the Lakers.

OKC have been held back by injuries and poor coaching if you ask me

Infact Lebron and the Heat are the only hastily assembled team with multiple championships and their demise was brutal

A40:

A lot of teams out there lack foresight and want to shortcut the process. This is why I like the NFL so much. You have to make your draft picks work and there is no guaranteed success regardless of how high they are

The Spurs are another team that built from the ground. I think the core of your team has to be draft picks if you are looking for long-term success. Bird with the Celts, Magic and Worthy with the Lakers, M.J and Scottie with the Bulls, Robinson, Duncan with the Spurs, Kobe, Bynum with the Lakers.

OKC have been held back by injuries and poor coaching if you ask me

Infact Lebron and the Heat are the only hastily assembled team with multiple championships and their demise was brutal

I think recruiting via Free agency is the best way to rebuild in this era, relying on drafting a great player, In the draft leaves too much to chance.
If relying on drafting picks is the way the Spurs could've blown thing off.
Even Miami is stronger now by picking up good player via trade and FA.


I think GSW saying Curry will become this great is revisionist history at its finest.
Since Monta and curry both start for the warrior in his time there.

SIRcumalot:

I think recruiting via Free agency is the best way to rebuild in this era, relying on drafting a great player, In the draft leaves too much to chance.
If relying on drafting picks is the way the Spurs could've blown thing off.
Even Miami is stronger now by picking up good player via trade and FA.


I think GSW saying Curry will become this great is revisionist history at its finest.
Since Monta and curry both start for the warrior in his time there.

I disagree, owing to financial restrictions and taxes you can not build your franchise around free agents and if you do it is only short term as such assembly would inevitably break with no guarantees to success.

There are no great players in any draft, it's all about development and the dedication of these picks to work hard and stay humble, anyone can predict a super talent in the draft but it's the environment that determines if the prospect becomes a superstar, Kawahi Leonard was originally selected by the Indiana Pacers but he was traded for free agent George Hill, the rest is history as to which team made the better decision..

Are the heats considered a team in rebuilding? Sorry the heats don't count, they have Bosh and Wade (2 from the big 3 era), those are considered superstars in today's NBA thus they just need some good players around to build strong squad in the eastern conference and in Hassan whiteside and Goran Dragic they have those supporting cast.

When we are talking rebuilding, we talking the Celtics, Kings, Minnesota, the Sixers (the worst), Pelicans, teams that have lost that superstar or never had one and are seeking to get back into limelight, teams with huge prospects to build around and hope they can attract that franchise player.

Lamarcus Aldridge is 30 he understands Duncan, Ginobli and Parker would not be there for much longer but he trusts the Spurs to develop talents in picks they draft and also pick some free agents to help him attain success, the definition of success for LA is subjective as he wants a chance to compete for a championship.

How many games did Curry and Monta play together? There was a huge argument as to who should handle the ball and who played two guard even when they played together, Curry was never healthy yet the Warriors stuck with him and traded Monta to pay him and that is the truth.

The survival of the OKC in Seattle was after the trio of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka were drafted by the previous franchise in Seattle the Super Sonics, they have been successful and like A40 said and I agree, bad coaching has not helped these players.

Roland17:


I disagree, owing to financial restrictions and taxes you can not build your franchise around free agents and if you do it is only short term as such assembly would inevitably break with no guarantees to success.

There are no great players in any draft, it's all about development and the dedication of these picks to work hard and stay humble, anyone can predict a super talent in the draft but it's the environment that determines if the prospect becomes a superstar, Kawahi Leonard was originally selected by the Indiana Pacers but he was traded for free agent George Hill, the rest is history as to which team made the better decision..

Are the heats considered a team in rebuilding? Sorry the heats don't count, they have Bosh and Wade (2 from the big 3 era), those are considered superstars in today's NBA thus they just need some good players around to build strong squad in the eastern conference and in Hassan whiteside and Goran Dragic they have those supporting cast.

When we are talking rebuilding, we talking the Celtics, Kings, Minnesota, the Sixers (the worst), Pelicans, teams that have lost that superstar or never had one and are seeking to get back into limelight, teams with huge prospects to build around and hope they can attract that franchise player.

Lamarcus Aldridge is 30 he understands Duncan, Ginobli and Parker would not be there for much longer but he trusts the Spurs to develop talents in picks they draft and also pick some free agents to help him attain success, the definition of success for LA is subjective as he wants a chance to compete for a championship.

How many games did Curry and Monta play together? There was a huge argument as to who should handle the ball and who played two guard even when they played together, Curry was never healthy yet the Warriors stuck with him and traded Monta to pay him and that is the truth.

The survival of the OKC in Seattle was after the trio of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka were drafted by the previous franchise in Seattle the Super Sonics, they have been successful and like A40 said and I agree, bad coaching has not helped these players.

No,Warriors traded Monta to get Bogut.
But its the NBA Talent is very important most of the big names been praised today where all marked for greatness in their respective draft class (to my knowledge curry wasn't).
The determination,hunger,competitiveness and any other of those cliche player use,most of these player already possess.

That my heat talk was a reply to "demise"A40 mentioned

Another important aspect you're forgetting is loyalty who is to say that player you've spent years developing will stay ? There are to many examples of these.
Yes OKC drafted well but when FA comes, whose to say they'll stay ?

SIRcumalot:

No,Warriors traded Monta to get Bogut.
But its the NBA Talent is very important most of the big names been praised today where all marked for greatness in their respective draft class (to my knowledge curry wasn't).
The determination,hunger,competitiveness and any other of those cliche player use,most of these player already possess.

That my heat talk was a reply to "demise"A40 mentioned

Another important aspect you're forgetting is loyalty who is to say that player you've spent years developing will stay ? There are to many examples of these.
Yes OKC drafted well but when FA comes, whose to say they'll stay ?

The decision to trade Monta hinged strongly on Curry, the belief that Curry would become established, the organization and coaches saw his talent and prospect and believed he needed to stay healthy with a new workout regime, thus they had no problems trading Monta for Bogut, don't forget they easily could have gotten another PG in the trade but they stuck with Curry.

You probably did not follow Curry, I religiously follow college basketball for instances as this, Davidson, his college do not play in a super conference like the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, Big East but that did not stop Curry from being picked 7th overall in the first round, that is a testimony of his talent, he was a deadly shooter that was dreaded and had broken every available record in Davidson and the less heralded Southern conference, he was second in scoring in the entire country during his freshman season, only Durant was able to beat his scoring prowess in college basketball, I can go on and on about Curry during his Davidson's days.

I have always said, if the OKC experiment ends today it would be regarded as a huge success considering the history of the team and how Seattle survived, the Chesapeake arena is always filled, Durant won MVP and multiple all star nominations for the city, Westbrook was considered for the MVP and also made multiple all star appearances, the team made the NBA finals once, these and other stats are considered success that can not be denied.

Roland17:


The decision to trade Monta hinged strongly on Curry, the belief that Curry would become established, the organization and coaches saw his talent and prospect and believed he needed to stay healthy with a new workout regime, thus they had no problems trading Monta for Bogut, don't forget they easily could have gotten another PG in the trade but they stuck with Curry.

You probably did not follow Curry, I religiously follow college basketball for instances as this, Davidson, his college do not play in a super conference like the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, Big East but that did not stop Curry from being picked 7th overall in the first round, that is a testimony of his talent, he was a deadly shooter that was dreaded and had broken every available record in Davidson and the less heralded Southern conference, he was second in scoring in the entire country during his freshman season, only Durant was able to beat his scoring prowess in college basketball, I can go on and on about Curry during his Davidson's days.

I have always said, if the OKC experiment ends today it would be regarded as a huge success considering the history of the team and how Seattle survived, the Chesapeake arena is always filled, Durant won MVP and multiple all star nominations for the city, Westbrook was considered for the MVP and also made multiple all star appearances, the team made the NBA finals once, these and other stats are considered success that can not be denied.

No,I didn't follow curry.
But he stayed 3 years in college. I knows this signals to me that he won't have gone first round if he declared earlier.

My beef with the whole curry issue is that, GSW are portraying the story like they planned it except their is some crystal ball involved, am sorry I don't buy it.
Betting your franchise on an injury prone PG is something that just doesn't happen in this league.

All that stuff is personal achievement for KD and westbrook, they all pale in comparison to a championship.
No city hangs banners for those.

P.S the thunders are cursed, if seattle doesn't get a team OKC will never win a championship.

SIRcumalot:

No,I didn't follow curry.
But he stayed 3 years in college. I knows this signals to me that he won't have gone first round if he declared earlier.

My beef with the whole curry issue is that, GSW are portraying the story like they planned it except their is some crystal ball involved, am sorry I don't buy it.
Betting your franchise on an injury prone PG is something that just doesn't happen in this league.

All that stuff is personal achievement for KD and westbrook, they all pale in comparison to a championship.
No city hangs banners for those.

P.S the thunders are cursed, if seattle doesn't get a team OKC will never win a championship.

Again, that is why I watch college hoops, heading back does not necessarily mean the player would not get a higher pick, far from it, Shaquille Oneal played three years for LSU, did that mean Shaquille was scared of getting drafted lower? He would have still gotten drafted number one if he stayed an extra year, he was that talented, same with Curry, he would still have been drafted in first round if he spent another year, he was that good in college.

Most African American college basketballers that enter the draft after their freshman season do so due to family pressure, the need to support their family financially is pressing thus they enter the draft so they can make some money, those who don't get picked in the draft leave the United States to play in Euro basketball just so they can support their immediate family, it has nothing to do with talent, do you wonder why the Kentucky Wildcats and Caliapari get the best class of high school prospects? It's pretty simple it's a one and done season team, they promise the family their wards would get drafted in the NBA after one season, the media believes the hype and these players and their family get reprieve after he is drafted.

Curry did not have that pressure to deal with, his father Dell Curry is a retired NBA player thus there was no pressure for Curry to delve into the NBA for financial motives or higher drafting, he wanted to learn more and reduce the number of years left before he graduated.

The 2009 draft class had players like Blake a Griffin who went number one overall, Harden, Tyreke Evans who was a beast in college basketball, Ricky Rubio, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings who many thought hwould be drafted higher than number 10, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague and Ty Lawson yet Curry was drafted 7th after spending 3 seasons playing college basketball.

Curry was a talent, he only needed the right environment, patience and it was only a matter of time.

Hosting a championship banner is obviously the pinnacle of team success but that does not relegate other forms of successes a team enjoys, the Thunders are a successful team, the drafting of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka has been successful in every term relative to success, all they need now is a ring to crown the organization.

SIRcumalot:

I think recruiting via Free agency is the best way to rebuild in this era, relying on drafting a great player, In the draft leaves too much to chance.
If relying on drafting picks is the way the Spurs could've blown thing off.
Even Miami is stronger now by picking up good player via trade and FA.


I think GSW saying Curry will become this great is revisionist history at its finest.
Since Monta and curry both start for the warrior in his time there.

Recruiting via Free agency is the shortcut and easy way out. Scouting and making the right picks is always the better and more sustainable option. Players earn their contract and there is little room to overpay anyone

The Heat are not contenders for next year's Championship even with Bosh's return, let's not kid ourselves here.

The Spurs are still enjoying the smart draft picks they made decades ago. Look at how Cuban is running around shamelessly trying to recruit agents instead of firing his GM and getting better evaluators of talent. Perhaps if the Mavs had drafted a decent player since Josh Howard maybe Dirk would have more rings.

Free agency should supplement what you already have. When you make it your bottomline you will always be in a flux.

I'm glad you used Golden State as an example. Do you know that besides betting the house on Curry they also refused to trade Klay Thompson for Kevin Love? It is rare for a team to be rewarded so instantly like GSW were but the beauty is their team is setup to compete for the next 5 years if guys like Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes keep improving, They will not need any marquee free agents but complimentary pieces and they will find it easier to get 1 or 2 good veteran players who would even take less money to play with them

Roland17:


Again, that is why I watch college hoops, heading back does not necessarily mean the player would not get a higher pick, far from it, Shaquille Oneal played three years for LSU, did that mean Shaquille was scared of getting drafted lower? He would have still gotten drafted number one if he stayed an extra year, he was that talented, same with Curry, he would still have been drafted in first round if he spent another year, he was that good in college.

Most African American college basketballers that enter the draft after their freshman season do so due to family pressure, the need to support their family financially is pressing thus they enter the draft so they can make some money, those who don't get picked in the draft leave the United States to play in Euro basketball just so they can support their immediate family, it has nothing to do with talent, do you wonder why the Kentucky Wildcats and Caliapari get the best class of high school prospects? It's pretty simple it's a one and done season team, they promise the family their wards would get drafted in the NBA after one season, the media believes the hype and these players and their family get reprieve after he is drafted.

Curry did not have that pressure to deal with, his father Dell Curry is a retired NBA player thus there was no pressure for Curry to delve into the NBA for financial motives or higher drafting, he wanted to learn more and reduce the number of years left before he graduated.

The 2009 draft class had players like Blake a Griffin who went number one overall, Harden, Tyreke Evans who was a beast in college basketball, Ricky Rubio, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings who many thought hwould be drafted higher than number 10, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague and Ty Lawson yet Curry was drafted 7th after spending 3 seasons playing college basketball.

Curry was a talent, he only needed the right environment, patience and it was only a matter of time.

Hosting a championship banner is obviously the pinnacle of team success but that does not relegate other forms of successes a team enjoys, the Thunders are a successful team, the drafting of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka has been successful in every term relative to success, all they need now is a ring to crown the organization.

Everybody from that shaq era spent around three years in college duncan,alonzo mourning,laettner,barkley and webber.
I don't know when one and done started but it definitely didn't happen then. Maybe after KG.

Forget learning, they bid their time before they declare for the draft if your chances of being a first rounder would be uncertain you're better staying one more year.
Blake was injured in his first year,
Tim hardway jr,austin rivers and Kevin love players with NBA parent and still spent a year in college.

After 3 years of great college hoops of course he'll be drafted over those guy. Am not saying he isn't good am just saying. he picked his moment well.

Thought hard about a team that lucked into a great draft pick and got to the finals only the orlando magic penny and shaq,and also again with Dwight.
I think for magic fans those time would always be bittersweet,maybe more of bitter.

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Double post

SIRcumalot:

Everybody from that shaq era spent around three years in college duncan,alonzo mourning,laettner,barkley and webber.
I don't know when one and done started but it definitely didn't happen then. Maybe after KG.

Forget learning, they bid their time before they declare for the draft if your chances of being a first rounder would be uncertain you're better staying one more year.
Blake was injured in his first year,
Tim hardway jr,austin rivers and Kevin love players with NBA parent and still spent a year in college.

After 3 years of great college hoops of course he'll be drafted over those guy. Am not saying he isn't good am just saying. he picked his moment well.

Thought hard about a team that lucked into a great draft pick and got to the finals only the orlando magic penny and shaq,and also again with Dwight.
I think for magic fans those time would always be bittersweet,maybe more of bitter.

We both can not generalize the motive behind why college hoops players stay back but for Curry it definitely had nothing to with the round where he would be picked, from his freshman years, it was concluded by most that he would be first round pick, starting out from the mid first round in his freshman year because he played for a less heralded conference and of course Davidson, his second year where he shattered conference, NCAA records saw his projection move to top 10 and he stayed in same position in his third year and getting drafted number 7 overall, Curry never fell off the first round.

Curry returned to Davidson to horne his ball handling skills and that is the truth, he did not want enter the NBA as a mere shooting guard, for two seasons he played shooting guard while Jason Johnson was the point guard for Davisdon, the only critic to his game was his height, as speculators believed he was too short to be a respected shooter, claiming his shots were going to be blocked in the big league, when he returned, already established he was assigned the PG position for his Junior year with Davidson and he still caught fire playing that position and had added some inches in height.

Curry was always being watched and it was only a matter of when he declared after his freshman season.

Magic fans knew they were never keeping Shaquille, the organization was not ready to support Shaquille with the necessary cast, they wanted to ride his fame to fill the stadium, Shaquille had bigger dreams and his stay with the Magic it was successful, he was the franchise player,took them to the finals and won some awards, the same story with Dwight, the ambition of these players were higher than the Team and city by extension.

Roland17:


We both can not generalize the motive behind why college hoops players stay back but for Curry it definitely had nothing to with the round where he would be picked, from his freshman years, it was concluded by most that he would be first round pick, starting out from the mid first round in his freshman year because he played for a less heralded conference and of course Davidson, his second year where he shattered conference, NCAA records saw his projection move to top 10 and he stayed in same position in his third year and getting drafted number 7 overall, Curry never fell off the first round.

Curry returned to Davidson to horne his ball handling skills and that is the truth, he did not want enter the NBA as a mere shooting guard, for two seasons he played shooting guard while Jason Johnson was the point guard for Davisdon, the only critic to his game was his height, as speculators believed he was too short to be a respected shooter, claiming his shots were going to be blocked in the big league, when he returned, already established he was assigned the PG position for his Junior year with Davidson and he still caught fire playing that position and had added some inches in height.

Curry was always being watched and it was only a matter of when he declared after his freshman season.

Magic fans knew they were never keeping Shaquille, the organization was not ready to support Shaquille with the necessary cast, they wanted to ride his fame to fill the stadium, Shaquille had bigger dreams and his stay with the Magic it was successful, he was the franchise player,took them to the finals and won some awards, the same story with Dwight, the ambition of these players were higher than the Team and city by extension.

You clearly know more about curry than I do,
Still most of the elite PG in this Era spend like two years in college aside from Kyrie and wall. So maybe spending more than 2yrs was the norm for awhile.

I don't want to get into why shaq left orlando but they had a fine supporting cast around shaq also locked into fine PG like Penny while grabbing Horace grant still shaq left.
Dwight who as developed somewhat of a reputation as someone who just wants to have fun also forced his way out.
What am getting at his their is no guarantee those guys will stay and in case where you draft well like OKC you'll may still lose some of those players to avoid paying the Tax.

Hello basketball fam, where una dey na.

Just wanna wish James Harden a happy BEARD day #Rocket

is anyone here following the afrobasket championship?