₦airaland Forum

Roland17:
I am really laughing at "the Celtics begging", you got me there. The TD Garden is home to some of the greatest ever, who is AD to compare? Don't make me burst into deeper laughter for office. AD is not even good enough (remember I am using good, not great) to lace the shoes of McHale/ Havlicek at the Garden worth more..

You guys wrote the Celtics off since AD announced his decision. Scroll back the pages of this thread in case you have forgotten. Suddenly, the chickens are coming home to roost, as I predicted. The Lakers have bluffed despite their machinations, they are broken and have no existent locker room and now everyone knows the fleece master, the master builder D. Ainge has the last card to this whole situation and they can smell it from a distance.

Look, we are not dealing with AD, his dad, his camp and his nonsense, we are dealing with the Pelicans and I can assure you D. Ainge and the Celtics are far from desperate. AD has reeled himself in murky waters filled with dirt and this will be dealt with as strictly business. Do you realize how stupid we have made LA and Magic look if by 3 PM eastern time AD is still in New Orleans? We did that without hyping this trade. That would mean all the smearing and blackmail against the Celtics on social media, including this thread were useless. Without saying a word, the fear of the Celtics led to desperation for Magic and LA.

Sometimes, silence is golden my friend..

Let me assure you that we are not letting go of our assets for a short term deal. Bring all the rumors you have of all that has been said if you like but like I did before, I will just laugh.

#Greenrunsdeep
#Celticpride

this feels like paying the bride price of a lady who doesn't want to marry you .

The Lakers, Celtics, spurs and a few others are storied franchises in the league but your history doesn't win titles it is what you have now that counts. Players don't care about 1 title in the last 31 yrs pride some fans maybe bragging. What the players care about is simple: Can I win here now? Unless you have won it all like lebron, no player will see a better situation to win and go to a dysfunctional team ( I am not saying the Celtics are dysfunctional)
PG just turned down the Almighty Lakers for the lowly OKC.

I know it hurts your ego but the truth is that in today's market the teams court the players and not the other way around. Whether they trade for Davis or not, come free agency the Celtics will line up like every wretched team to try and convince him to sign for them.

Roland17:
Can LeWhine just shut his self-preserving, hypocritic, and sanctimonious mouth already? The rules of the game are not written to exclude you Bron!!! You are the same person who openly tampered with AD on several occasions. You want to talk about Barnes being traded in the middle of the game but you are orchestrating the worst behind the scenes with the Lakers. The Lakers are clearing out the entire roster of young players and vets just to please you, yet you are speaking about Barnes and the Mavs!!!!

Fact: Barnes knew he was on the trading block. The Mavs informed him before the game that a trade was being discussed and Barnes chose to play rather than sit. So can these NBA cry babies just stop already with this nonsense?

At some point the owners are going to fight back, I keep saying it. They choose to stay quiet while the players have continued to blackmail them on social media and other avenues. The next collective bargaining meeting is going to be a difficult one I can assure you guys. This has gone too far.

Lebron is a self serving zealot. But The NBA is a superstar league. The owners may pay the bills but the fans are there because of the players. The lower players may not have a say in how their future pans out or how they are traded but the Superstars are too big that they will always have a say.

Superstars drive the league, the owners will definitely seek and get more leverage on how to control their assets under contract but the reason the NBA's popularity is growing across the globe and money is rushing in to the league is because of the Superstars not the Celtics, not even the Lakers, or some dumb owners. The Superstars are conscious of this fact.

Just look at the Celtics practically begging (roland wont like to hear that ) for the opportunity to trade for a player who prefers their arch rivals with the hope they can beg and convince him to change his mind. Because they know that without those marque players you don't stand a chance of winning. How do you control players of that caliber who know their worth to your franchise? Nah you don't, instead you make them partners and satisfy them.

A40:
This was a team that was 4th before LeBron got hurt. I don't get why they were so desperate to clean out their roster to get Anthony Davis at that cost. And what's worse from all intents and purposes they had no backup plan. The Pels know this and are playing them like suckas. Unfortunately it seems the Pels themselves don't know how to get out while they are ahead

Maybe Anthony Davis is worth it? 25/26 I believe , he's the perfect building block that will prolong lebron's prime and will attract fellow free agent stars to come to L.A. this dude has the second highest career PER. He's no Jordan , but imagine Jordan was available in the primez which team will not gur their roster for him . The only problem was the Lakers shouldn't have been in such a dire position to Starr with. From draft blunders, letting food players go and then landing lebron but filling up the roster with misfits . That's the problem!
Regardless, I low-key don't want the warriors to play the lakers in the first round. Make no mistake a fit Lakers squad with lebron is not an 8 seed team, they legit can give the warriors a serious scare.

F**k team chemistry those young players can't say they didn't see it coming. This is the Lakers, they don't do slow rebuilds. Which team will have lebron on his last legs and not try to win NOW. You can't put the blame on lebron . Once you sign a player of his stature, be ready to trade the farm to give him the talents he needs.

It's unfortunate but it is what it is. I personally believe players like lonzo and Ingram will do well playing away from the spotlight. Ingram in particular will come good in a quiet environment like San antonio, He's just too skilled and athletic to be a bum.
The vets are just place holders from the get go, None of them is staying beyond the season. Even if the Lakers luck out on Davis, one player is goner : LONZO BALL
The Lakers need to trade him asap before the deadline

Khanben:
If GSW maxes out all their players (i.e KD and klay), they are on track to pay as much as $300million in luxury tax. I'm just wondering if any organization will be willing to pay that much.

Dray is a goner with or with KD. Even if KD left, the warriors will be crazy to give him a max contract. Dray is likely to take a pay cut and when Iggy's and Livingston's contract expires the warriors will go hunting for talent again.

A40:
Simmons-Redick-Butler-Harris-Embiid

On paper this is quite the starting 5. Redick and Harris can shoot the 3 and spread the floor. And is a massive upgrade on Chandler. It would be interesting to see if they can hold on to Butler and Harris or perhaps Harris is insurance in case Butler does not stay. Personally I think the Sixers would be really dumb to give Butler the max

This is a wicked team if brett brown can get them (Butler and Embiid in particular) to buy in and play team basketball. Its over in the east. Embiid is the deal breaker, there is no counter for him in the east and now you can't double team him .This increases the pressure on the celtics to secure AD and kyrie in the Summer unfailing to bring balance in the east or all their years of wheeling and dealing is in vain.

On the flip side this must make KD think again abt leaving his moat "warriors" to go to the Knicks with only Kyrie without Zion or Davis. The Sixer's have 4 legit all stars .Damn!

A40:
I'm sure the Pelicans are just doing shakara. They would be dumb to not rob the Lakers of all their young players and a couple of first rounders. I don't blame Magic who has always been about stars and the ability to bring big names. My only issue is he seems to be bowing to LeBron and his wants instead of leveraging his status as a legend and letting him know that this is the Lakers and no player is bigger than the Lakers. Maybe a few years in the doldrums have humbled them and I understand that LeBron does not have a lot of years left in the league so there is increased urgency to get someone

I think its unfair to blame lebron
Once you sign a player of his caliber with just 2-3 years left, you do so based on agreement that you will give him the tools to win NOW not tomorrow.
It was magic who dropped the ball with Paul George to a certain extent with Kawhi. If you know you're not in a win now mode, don't pursue lebron develop your guys first then fill the main deficit in free agency like the warriors did.

As for kawhi, I doubt he resigns with the raptors unless they win the east and the reason is simple: There is/are going to be super teams In the east soon. The sixers are there already, the Celtics and Knicks may join that list next year. At the end of the day for a player who has tasted winning he will wanna be where he can play with another superstar. Kyle Lowry ain't one and he's aging , who will be his robin?

There is a difference between rejecting a deal out of spite and anger and rejecting a deal because it ain't good enough. Unless the pelicans have a great deal already agreed with the Celtics rejecting the Lakers deal is risky for several reasons.
DAVIS AND RICH PAUL F**KED UP! BUT BUSINESS IS BUSINESS! YOU THROW AWAY FEELINGS AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
1) Davis or any potential trade asset can get injured in the second half of the season greatly affecting the valuation of the players
2) If kyrie walks or the Lakers land a free agent in the summer, the market for Davis will get depressed.
3) The spurs are a great example to learn from, it pays to strike while its hot! getting derozan and a pick which turned out to be useless for kawhi and green was a L.
Derozan has peaked and can't take the spurs anywhere, Kuzma is arguably at his level already and will be better. They could have had kuzma, Ingram and hart to build on now.
4)Picks are always attractive until you draft them who remembers the famous nets pick that cavs got from Boston via the kyrie trade. Everyone was so hyped that it was valuable and it will be a top 3 pick because the nets were bad. Look how it turned out? Colin sexton Gilbert could have flipped that pick for demarcus cousins and gave lebron a better shot at the warriors convincing him to stay .
5)Kuzma+Lonzo+Ingram+Hart+Zubac are not scrubs. There is an all-star right there and worse case they all will make solid NBA starters coupled with the fact that they are all in their early 20s. Throw in two first round picks, an opportunity to trade mirotic and jrue holiday for more assets. You have a team set for the future.

Decale:
Magic Johnson wants to be the worst GM in history


What kind of offer is that?

Actually he is, if he had given spurs or Indiana the right offers Paul George or Kawhi will be a laker now. To top it, he absolutely goofed with the selection of lonzo and the the simultaneous trade of Russell. One of the most dumbest shit I have seen, you trade Russell for bad behaviour but now you're stuck with a shit players with a shit player who is actively trying to derail trade talks. If kept russell, he would selected Tatum. The Lakers could have had Russell, Tatum, Ingram, Randle, and loads of cap space now..
The rush for a 34 yr and soon to be diminishing lebron too has detailed years in the lottery. Fucking dysfunctional team

donlittle25:
So yes his father said that, but it is still the kids decision to make.

Okay it is Brow's decision but why will a dad send an unsollicted message like that to a journalist and tell her to print it? Just a few hours AD said in public he didn't mind been traded anywhere? . Bro read between the lines.

donlittle25:
Ultimately the sons decision to make but still

Ever heard of hand of easu, voice of Jacob? Anthony Davis is saying all the right things in public while his dad is doing the dirty work. The timing of his dad's comment immediately after Davis interview is clearly his camp saying : forget what I told the media abt not having a preference of trade destination, I frigging do.

What's the odds that Davis has spoken with kyrie and he told him that the organization feels creepy and that he's leaving in free agency?

etidy:
Why not have a truce.
Three team trade

1) Kyrie and hayward to Lakers
2) Davis and lonzo to Celtics
3) Kuzma, ingram, hart, and 2 first round pick to New Orleans

Everyone goes home Happy
The Celtics don't lose kyrie for nothing + they offload the Hayward contract
The Celtics gets their franchise player
Lonzo gets traded to a team where he's not back up point guard
The Lakers gets their second superstar + Hayward may return to form down the line to add more star power
The new Orleans also gets a fair deal

The Celtics can also use the cap space to get another free agent.

Why not have a truce.
Three team trade

1) Kyrie and hayward to Lakers
2) Davis and lonzo to Celtics
3) Kuzma, ingram, hart, and 2 first round pick to New Orleans

Everyone goes home Happy
The Celtics don't lose kyrie for nothing + they offload the Hayward contract
The Celtics gets their franchise player
Lonzo gets traded to a team where he's not back up point guard
The Lakers gets their second superstar + Hayward may return to form down the line to add more star power
The new Orleans also gets a fair deal

Roland17:
No one holds the Celtics to ransom, no one is too big for the TD Garden. The Celtics are not just any type of team, we are an institution and we don’t need to roar for others to acknowledge our presence, they only need to use their sense of smell and good luck to those who don’t have it.

From time immemorial, we have set standards especially as the NBA transitioned into a monetized league. We had to become brutish and sometimes ruthless in managing the modern NBA player who reeks of the sense of entitlement. The funny thing is this, we will pitch and give the AD sweepstakes our best shot like we did KD and he acknowledges we came second but the Celtics will never go overboard with hyping players or situations just to lure them and that is the cold business approach in Boston. The TD Garden is a citadel of NBA knowledge and we must carry ourselves accordingly.

The Lakers can do all the PR, butttt licking and noise about AD, we would pitch our plans quietly and if it does not pan out, we move on keeping our assets.
#Celticpride

Except the Celtics brought the calvary including tom Brady to Durant's pitch meeting. Make no mistake in today's NBA, if a free agent superstar is out there you have to lick their butts

As for AD I don't see the pelicans signing him simply because they will be out to screw the Lakers. I suspect Dany ainge will pass under the table offer to the pelicans and convince them to wait till the summer.

Meanwhile, I have been waiting for this year to make my judgement on the brad Stevens > Steve Kerr debate when he has won zilch. Brad is good no doubt but I have just being enduring the excessive dickriding. You have to be more than a good tactician for a team of good players to transcend into a great championship winning squad. Handling talented players who are conscious of their worth requires skill abt human management, its another beast compared to handling a team of underdogs. This is an area where Kerr thrives. People just think titles where handed to him because he has good players! But nah! The dude has been and is still a winner, he simply knows what it takes to win EVEN THOUGH HE SOMETIMES MAKES GOFFY DECISIONS ON THE COURT, HE

Khanben:
Most of the time, the toughest teams to handle are the ones with the most talent. So Steve Kerr deserves some accolades for his team's success

DESERVES TO BE RESPECTED. HE HAS EARNED IT.
Exactly, those teams often have big ego problems. Just look at the Celtics, they have won nothing. yet, some players already have entitlement mentality.

The Lakers had two quality picks in d'angelo and randle but nah! Lets trade them away and keep the two lottery busts. What was magic thinking when he traded Russell and selected lonzo even when I was clear his jumper was broken. Trying to reinvent the wheel in a league where a guard must have a respectabe shooting to be of value.

Khanben:
This setup has only one pure shooter if Rondo is starting, but Hart and Lillard along side Lebron is not bad, but it will not still cut it in terms of challenging GSW

I beg to disagree a line up of Lebron,lillard,kuzma,hart and javale will give golden state fits.
Lillard will flourish around Lebron just like kyrie. Hart is a good shooter and defender, kuzma is evolving into an all-star. That line up features at least 4 players who can generate their offense. And you can plug in kcp, Lance, rondo or Chandler from the bench for some defensive steel or veteran mins. The second best team in the west is okc and you can't argue that Westbrook+pg > Lebron+ lillard

Meanwhile, If the Lakers are having feelers that Durant and Kawhi is not joining. Then, the best move right now is lonzo+Ingram+picks for lillard. That is a killer move and is going to be great for both teams.

1 Portland get to rebuild, save tax dollars, get two youngsters who may be flawed but have a high ceiling and basketball IQ to build around+ picks.
2 Ingram gets to leave a team where he doesn't fit and will have less pressure on him
3 The Lakers get a starting 5 of Lillard, hart, Lebron, Kuzma and javale/zubac which is a perfect blend of shooting, passing and inside scoring. Hart can cover lillard defensive lapses and the laker will still have cap space to sign a wing defender or bench scorer. Plus that Lakers bench with rondo, lance,kcp, chandler is not is bad.
Imagine rondo+lillard backcourt in the playoffs ... Magic had better wake up

Khanben:
IMO Kuzma can be the third option on a championship side, all the Lakers need now is to find their second option either via trade or free agency and then get the right complement of role players.

Imagine if the Lakers kept d'angelo, randle and still have lonzo, kuzma,Ingram, hart and zubac plus loads of cap space. Yes they won't get lebron but they would easily be able to trade for Anthony Davis and sign whoever they want in free agency.

Winners: Philadelphia, Minnesota, Warriors

Biggest Loser: Houston - I don't see any possible move they could make again to be number 1 contenders to the warriors in the west. Utah, OkC and even Denver appears to have leapfrogged them.

Other losers: rest of the east

A40:
Your Rockets really want to mortgage their future for Jimmy Butler? Really?

like this is another Celtics fleecing the nets move. 4 freaking first rounders.

Jimmy butler is due for a renewal next yr. How do dy renew when they just gave big contracs to harden, Chris Paul, capela. To compound things PJ and Eric Gordon are vital pieces.
This is a "turrible move" like Chuck would say.
Its either going to be a one year rental for butler or they gut their depth to renew him.

Despite this, their window to beat the warriors and win the NBA is probably one season because the Celtics are going to figure it out sooner than later or they will simply trade for Anthony Davis.

Eruditor:
Revisionism is sweet ehn.

Lebron beat Golden State without Bogut, Green, an Injured Curry and without KD (plus god-awful refereeing). Rockets took that 16-1 team to game 7.

Lebron took a 67 win GSW to game 6 ekeing out games 2 and 3 by a total of 5 or 7points. Again, Kyrie played in the game 1 which Lebron lost in so it was actually better he played with Mosgov and Dellevadoa.

Ariza's presence is overrated. Man had one 19pt game against GSW and was 0 of 9 in game 7. If you think those names above will beat the Rockets team that played GSW you have a long thing coming.

And Kyrie is better than Damian Lillard. Go and watch Dame play Pelicans and convince yourself.

Bro i know you're not a lebtard but let's not revise history

1)Houston also eked out two of their three wins against holds state last season. Infact the warriors choked a fairly substantial lead in game 4 scoring only 15 in the fourth quarter and about 11 points in the first 13 mins of that quarter.
The warriors also lost game 5 by a last min poor shot by Quinn cook.

2) Kyrie got injured and didn't play over time in game 1 of the first series between warriors and cavs. So the warriors had the advantage especially since Kevin love was already out.

3)Kyrie has never achieved anything substantial without lebron, he couldn't even make the playoffs without him and I don't count last season because the young dogs clinched the playoffs berth without him. Llillard has willed his team to the playoffs ever since he got to the league. As far as I am concerned, kyrie and Millard are on the same level.

4) Ariza was massive against the warriors in game 4, his clutch shooting and defense against Durant keep houston in the game before Chris Paul took over.

Eruditor:
You are overestimating what Lebron did in the east. He scraped past Indiana and Boston. GSW lost 3 games to Rockets. Every player on that list cannot score for shit. Kuzma is still a regular season player and we have seen them fall off come crunch time. In this world and in the world to come CP3 is a better PG than Lillard ever will and I hate CP3. Of course Lebron James is better than Harden but Harden hurts a defence in more ways than Lebron can because he can actually shoot free throws and draw fouls. Of course Harden has better handles, shoots 3s better and cheats better. If Rockets had not swept Cavs had they met it would have been 4-1. The real NBA finals was the WCF.

Lebron won a NBA title against 73 win golde state with Kyrie-lillard , Jr Smith - Kuzma, Kevin Love- Ingram .
None of those players played a playoff game before playing with lebron James.
This dude took 66 win golden state to 6 games with Jr, delladanova and mozgov

And you think they can't beat Houston rockets who has lost their best wing defender Lebron will roast Houston's front court.

Eruditor:
They won't beat the Rockets. They will only make it into the playoffs. Lillard, McCollum and Nurkic could not beat a Bougieless Pelicans just once. They won't beat a Rockets team that will be > 55 wins but < 65 wins with this roster.

Lillard and Lebron James is far better than Harden and Cp3. Add Ingram, Kuzma, KCP, Rondo, Javale, Stephenson.
Houston ain't beating that line up. You guys underestimate the lebron factor because the warriors make him look human. I would have bet that lebron could have willed that shitty cavs team to victory against Houston if they made the finals this past season.
Beating lebron is not just skill wise but mental. Only few teams can do it in a playoff series.

Lillard to the Lakers gaining traction .
I say trade lonzo+Josh hart + 2 -3 picks for Lillard.

Lillard+Lebron+Kuzma+KCP+Ingram is a deadly core already. With rondo+stephenson+ Javale as a support cast. That team will do some damage this year. That team will beat the rockets
Then add kwahi in free agency next season.

I believe Lakers are not yet in win now mode, its more of let's wait one more year and see which young player will develop fastest. Then we add kawhi and another superstar in free agency.

As for demarcus the biggest fools were Portland trailblazers and indiana . Both teams require an elite big man. The problem in the league is that apart from the obvious brilliance of the warriors front office, the big boys are so stacked that there is no point trying to be competitive right now. Most teams need to rebuild.
Portland for example has no chance in the foreseeable future.

As for the warriors, no comments !
Dread it ! Run from them !! Destiny still arrives
If cousins just come back at 70-80% by playoffs , when they are done half of the nba will be destroyed. Perfectly balanced as all things should be

If all randle needed was a 18 million dollars deal 2 yrs deal with player option after one yr then Lakers dropped the ball. Why not give the guy a 1yr 18 million deal to hold cap space rather than squandering on nonetiites. This guy is legit and can be an all star. If he meshes well with Anthony Davis then he pelicans are potentially the 2nd or 3rd best team in the west. That's a bad move

Wtf is going on in LA you sign the biggest free agent ever then go ahead to surround him with non shooters with questionable characters in rondo, stephenson , javale, and KCP. This is terrible
This is cavs 2.0

I believe Lebron + Kwahi and a rapidly improving kuzma and Ingram can dethrone the warriors in two years. The warriors will have to lose one star after next season, so things will even out.

The warriors are the winners of free agency this season unless Philadelphia can risk going for kawhi.
All their potential rivals except Boston got weaker.
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