₦airaland Forum

A40:
They will still fall short. Kevin Durant at 34 joining a great team is not the doomsday scenario it was 6 years ago

donlittle25:
See wetin baba tweet

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1551585228585582598?s=20&t=fmGj4ja1Wp7o2e6KHQUixw[/quote]hehehe, I saw this one coming

benji93:
It's an American media narrative that has infected many. It's usually brought to the fore when debating who makes it to the top lists. At this point, even the pettiest arguments are admitted as evidence. I mean A choked more than B so B must be better. . Very interesting angle that many of us find useful. And unfortunately for the players today the history of their chokejobs are easily accessible, even so some are still fresh in our minds .

Khanben:
The nfl is not a players league, the nba is

Khanben:
Nobody says they will take all, but they can definitely sustain taking the very best.
Also, a $150bil investment with a a yearly return of like 5% for say the 1st 3-5yrs and rising to say 10% after that is something that the nba players as a product can generate if they start their own league, and that is easily sellable in today's financial market. Any fund manager worth their name will scramble to get some of that action.

PS: The next NBA CBA discussion will be starting by latest next year, we will all see that the players will not lose any ground when it's all said and done, because they have a very strong hand and they know how to play it.

Khanben:
In the year of the lockout. Dirk was under contract for 4yr/80mil. The Chinese league offered him 1.5mil per month, with the knowledge that he would leave whenever the lockout ended. With the fact that basketball players from the states don't pay taxes in China, I say that is pretty equivalent, we've not even started to talk about the endorsement opportunities and how brands like Nike, Adidas pand puma would love it for the big name guys to play there even if it is for just a season.

PS: you say the owners don't need the money. I say all the players association needs to do is go to either Blackrock or one of the emirates fund and guarantee that if they get the funding for a league, every single player in the nba retires from the nba and joins said new league, if they guarantee coaches a union, coaches will absolutely follow them. In case you think it is far fetched, the PGA just saw how easy it is for players to get funding for a competing tour. Aston Martin one of the worst teams in f1, just secured over $600mil in funding for a paltry 17% stake from the same people. So please keep telling yourself the players don't have an option, if they decide to go nuclear the owners will lose, because their investment will become worthless.
That is why it is in everybody's interest to work together and fix the issues that exists without one group acting as if it's an aristocracy.

Khanben:
When the skillset you have makes you 1 of 5 or so in the whole world, then you have as much leverage as you are willing to push for and that is a fact. The scarcer the skillset the more power the owner of said skillset becomes.

PS: As for the owners shutting the league down, ask them what happened the last time they tried it, during the last, lock out. In case you didn’t follow the situation, most of the big Euroleague and Chinese teams offered the big name players very good contracts to come over and play for them. that situation in essence was the beginning of the power shift in the NBA, because the big named players who drive the ratings realized that money wise they could get comparable earnings at least for a few months in Europe.

Roland17:
Special Leprechaun? As much as I have defended him on this thread, he is no longer welcome in Boston. Houston will not be a bad landing spot, you can give him the Harden treatment..

donlittle25:
Why he decided to team up with kyrie is something I will never understand in the first place.

Wan win championship with person wey say you no need coach

felix00:
This kinda rules out KD to Suns. Is it possible for KD to run it back with the nets?

Has any super star put in a request but end up staying? Like has it happened before..

Roland17:
Big credit to D. Ayton!

This man bet on himself after the Suns stopped contract negotiations last year. He believes he is a max player and is now going to get his max contract. The Suns have no option than match the Pacers offer sheet or lose Ayton for free.

Once again, big credit to Ayton!

Khanben:
So 1st round exists, but box office.

Khanben:
The knicks are trying to build a backcourt that cannot stop anybody. Donovan Mitchell and Brunson on D will be a joke.

A40:
Tony Parker and Kawhi literally won Finals MVP under Duncan's watch.

This was the last time Kobe and Tim Duncan went head to head. Don't tell me Duncan was old. He was only 32. Kobe got to the league before him.

etidy:
You could say the same about Duncan. No one wins without help. Not lebron, not even MJ

A40:
You are factually wrong.

It was definitely Kobe's doing. Shaq was a perennial underperformer vs Duncan and the Spurs. All their matchups the Lakers won was primarily because of Kobe's play. Kobe always outplayed Shaq wherever they were able to get the win. Duncan always outplayed Shaq as well in the series the Lakers lost to San Antone

1999. Shaq 23ppg Duncan 29 ppg

2001 Kobe 33-7-7 Duncan 23 ppg

2002 Kobe 26 ppg Shaq 21 ppg

2004. Kobe 26ppg Shaq. 22ppg

They were 3-2 and Kobe was the best player in all 3 series wins unquestionably. People always get caught up in Shaq's final numbers. Go and watch all their playoff series after 2000 season and see the work Kobe was doing

Lakers missing the playoffs is majorly due to Kobe missing 16 games while adding dross like Caron Butler etc.

Again another myth and urban legend. Paul Gasol in 08 averaged 13ppg in that 5 game series. He averaged fewer pts, fewer assists, fewer rebounds, fewer blocks so pray tell how did he offset Duncan? Duncan averaged 22ppg. It was Kobe's 29ppg that enabled them wipe the defending champion San Antonio Spurs with oraimo cord in 5.

Duncan played in a position that allowed him age with grace. He wasn't picking up guys 90 ft like Kobe could. Also anyone being honest will know that from 07 onwards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were arguably the best players on that Spurs team. At the very worst they were essentially a big 3. And in their battle with the Heatles claiming Timmy was still carrying the Spurs then is just flat out dishonest. They had like 4-5 guys averaging double digits every night

If you say Kobe can't carry a team to a ring then what did he do in 2009 and 2010? What do we call that? Kobe was the OG Spurs killa and the biggest reason Tim Duncan never repeated. Never forget it

A40:
These new players are just divas and buttersoft. This is what they are calling Player empowerment? Smh. All I see is the softest era ever

Even as much of a fraud I consider Ben Simmons I don't see why he's not a good fit with the Nets. There's enough guys and shooters they are never going to need shooting from him and he can defend. It's a crying disgrace if KD is allowed to run from this team. If he wins just 1 chip with the Nets. he will win back so much respect. There's something about winning a team it's first title. It permanently alters your legacy positively. Guys like Olajuwon, Dirk, Wade and Giannis will forever live off that tax and be respected like KD never will unless he can do it with the Nets.

Khanben:
Thanks for all those who contributed to the kobe vs TD debate. I really appreciated the thought put behind each person's choice.
I just want to ask another question, which criteria is best for ranking players?.
Some background,I came across a podcast where everyone on it believes that Prime Draymond Green is better than Prime Blake Griffin, which was shocking to me, and they kept repeating their reason as Draymond impacts winning more than Blake.
My issue with that approach is, one guy is judged on his impact as the 4th best player on a championship winning team, while the other is judged on being the 1st option on a team. I truly believe that players should be ranked on a level playing field.
So really looking forward to reading your opinions

Khanben:
With due respect to the Admiral, he averaged 15.6pts and 10rbs for the Spurs first chip and 8pts and 7rbs for the 2nd one. So he was no longer the MVP caliber player he used to be

A40:
I would have picked Duncan just for consistency and stability till I dug into their playoff series clashes. Kobe used to absolutely destroy them. I can't in good conscience put Duncan over Kobe after seeing how much Kobe used to torch Duncan and the Spurs.

Kobe averaged 28 a game on Duncan. And dethroned him and his team 3x. There's a reason Timmy never repeated. Kobe

Khanben:
Quick question Kobe vs Duncan who was better?

Tinneh:
Sir what about DURANT and kawhi

benji93:
He's box office. That's enough goods to sell.

aliondo:
Mehn,just been following posts about my gee, K.D. Sentiment will not allow me post coz he's my favorite but gotta admit he effd up so bad. But I want to put more of the blame(for Brooklyn failure) on Kyrie. I think he deserves it more. Kyrie will be a good fit for the Lakers tho but just wondering which will be the best team for K.D?Maybe we can discuss that here

Android17:
I dislike KD now but that man is a superstar. Come on. More so than even Jokic, Giannis and Embiid.

And tell us you did not watch Steph last season. Sucks on defense? lol

Khanben:
With Shaq saying there are currently only 4 superstars in the nba, let me just come out and ask, what is the criteria that makes a player a nba superstar? cause it seems to be all-over the place

A40:
The next CBA go bloody gaan. These divas have ruined it for everyone. Na Ben Simmons I just dey sorry for. That one go kuku retire

Khanben:
Actually that part I understand, Kyrie has shown he cannot be counted upon to stay on the court for any extended period of time. In Hindsight KD probably knows it was a mistake to team up with him and has decided to the detriment of the Nets to cut bait, rather than continue their partnership.

KNIGHTBlaed:
Have you guys seen the movie "Rise", about the Adetokumbo family and their rise to fame. A very interesting movie this one, so Giannis is more Nigerian then he is Greek fa. Lovely movie, you guys should see it. Na almost naija movie sha..