whitesoxfan99

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:19 PM) LeBron is who we thought he was. Where is Dennis Green when we need him. Considering there were a ton of people who thought his ego was too big to go to Miami maybe LeBron isn't who we thought he was.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:02 PM) Can I just say this thread has been amazing for over a week now, and I want to thank everyone involved with it....except for shack, HOW DARE YOU YELL AT ME! You know my wife is giving me hell as it is This thread is going to go over 6,000 replies. Absolutely incredible and it just shows how captivated basketball fans were by this whole FA process.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:49 PM) I like what one fan said "he basically said Dwayne Wade is better than him, so he is going to play with him." Well that fan is stupid, but I will concede he is saying he wasn't good enough to win titles by himself in Cleveland.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:40 PM) Sounds like Michael Beasley a bit. Not near the shooter or ball handler that Beasley was. Better on the block and is bigger than Beasley though.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:39 PM) is one of those guys the Baylor guy? No. Irving is going to Duke, Barnes to UNC, and Shelby to Kansas.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:38 PM) Harrison Barnes and J. Sullinger Sullinger is going to be a monster in college but it will be interesting to see how his game translates to the NBA. Good not great athlete who is doesn't have great height for an NBA PF.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:37 PM) who are the top freshmen coming in to even keep an eye on? From an NBA standpoint probably Kyrie Irving, Josh Selby and Harrison Barnes. I've only seen Kanter from Kentucky play once but that kid was a beast in the USA v. World game and took it to Sullinger, Patric Young and the rest of the USA bigs. i don't really see a superstar NBA player in that group though.

So I wonder if the rumor that Bosh, Wade, LeBron and Paul decided to play together at the 2008 Olympics was true and we see Paul join that team in the next couple of years as well.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) Bulls should trade for Antawn Jameson, Rashard Lewis, or Jason Richardson. Jamison and Boozer on the same team? Wow the Bulls would be awful defensively.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:00 PM) NBA is reeling because you just dont see 3 players who are supposedly great decide that they cant win on their own. For all the s*** Kobe takes, no way does he go to Miami to be Wade's b****. You gotta respect Kobe for that. Kobe was doing everything he could to get out of town after Shaq left because his supporting cast wasn't good enough for him to win a title. Maybe he doesn't go play with Wade but if they hadn't improved their roster he would have left.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:00 PM) I couldn't disagree more. You see guys like Rondo and Rose who are perfecting the tear-drop in the lane. You have someone like Durant who has amazing offensive ability. I swear I've heard that "the entire culture has changed" for the last 2 decades. You could make a case that the talent level is as high as its ever been. And people really need to watch all different teams play because there are tons of different styles of play in the NBA. Sure you have teams like Cleveland that do a ton of isolation but you also have teams like Phoenix and Utah that run incredibly efficient offenses with a ton of ball movements. The Lakers are running the same stuff the Bulls did when they won their championships.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:58 PM) Kevin McHale is in the NBA Hall of Fame. So is James Worthy.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:48 PM) Your point is very valid, but the difference is that Bird and Magic did not choose those situations because they failed elsewhere. Additionally, those teams developed into legendary teams together. They were not all-stars from other teams who chose to unit together because they failed elsewhere previously. Magic and Bird didn't fail elsewhere because they were surrounded by great players their whole careers. I don't get why that should hurt LeBron's legacy because he got stuck on a team with a bunch of bums. If Cleveland had given Lebron a good supporting cast he almost certainly would have never left.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 08:02 PM) What? F*ck off dude. The idea that one NBA player can hold the entire league hostage. It has nothing to do with where he winds up. LeBron is the only one capable of doing this though. But yeah it is ridiculous.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 07:06 PM) Im amazed people would hand the Heat the east before they see the final roster. Granted they dont have much time left but the Celtics are a very good team and they actually would match up with Miami very tightly. The Heat still dont have a big body and Bosh wont be able to handle KG at the 4. Boston plays great d also and have an emerging star in Rondo. It seems great on paper now but you are playing with fire banking on 3 players to win you games on their own for an entire season. It takes one injury to devastate that team. How is that different than any other team? The Lakers aren't winning a title if Gasol or Bryant go down, Magic with Howard, any of Rondo, Allen, Pierce or Garnett for the Celtics, the Bulls wouldn't be worth a damn without Rose, etc.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 06:44 PM) Honestly though, can you be the best team in the NBA with only 3 players? When you have the best player in the league, another guy who is among the top 4 players in the league and a third guy who is among the top 10-15 then yes you can.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 06:07 PM) What he was saying today was exactly what I had been thinking the past few days. I will never understand it if he goes to Miami. Frankly, I would be impressed if he went to Miami because it means that all he cares about is winning championships. I could do without the ridiculous TV show to announce his decision, but the decision itself would be impressive IMO.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 05:17 PM) Stern will never allow this s*** to happen again. Meh. He has to love the attention that the NBA is getting right now from all this. But this will never happen again because I highly doubt you ever have a class of free agents near of this caliber that includes the best player in the league ever again. It is rare enough for the best player in the NBA to really entertain offers from other teams but then to be on the market as the same time as another top 4 player, a top 10-15 player, Amare, Boozer, Johnson, etc.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:46 PM) yes, he also uses his strength to back down and get close inside shots, easy layups, turn around jumpers, and occasional hook shots. Is it safe to say he is a more traditional big man then Bosh and a better low post scorer of the two. Yes. Why discount him for pick and rolls? Amar'e used it a lot with Nash, that doesn't take anything away from him. I'm not discounting him for pick and rolls. But if you are going to discount Bosh's game as a PF by saying he drives to the basket it is only fair to point out that Boozer has been at least as reliant on the pick and roll as Bosh is on driving to the basket.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:37 PM) Food for thought: the Jazz were 2.3 points per 100 possessions WORSE this year when Boozer was on the floor than when he was on the bench. I believe that was true last year as well but my memory could be faulty.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:35 PM) Is it really that hard to comprehend? If he wasn't 6'10, he is a pure small forward BECAUSE he doesn't have the skills sets of a traditional big man. If Shaq wasn't 7'1 and 300lb, he still is a great low post scorer, knows how to use his strength, and got a highly accurate hook shots. if bosh is 6'8 weighs 230, plays like the way he is, he would something similar to luol deng. Other players have the size and skillsets, bosh only has the height, not the weight nor skillsets. you sure do know your stats man, but if you watched his game, he is also a better slasher than most big man in the league. He got most of his 46% inside shots from layups, drives to baskets. He can play the post, but just isn't very good at it. Yet he draws fouls at a much higher rate than Boozer so he gets to the line more and have you watched the Jazz? Boozer gets a ton of his shots at the rim off of the pick and roll and put backs not from low post moves.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:25 PM) part of boozer's problem is he plays with Okur, so it's not like he's getting alot of help either. When he plays with Noah and Taj, they will take the better low post player, so i think boozer will handle his defensive assignment alright. Of the trio of Bosh Amare and Boozer, Boozer is also the best rebounder and low post scorer, so I will take him for what he is worth. Okur would usually take the better interior scorer. Boozer sucks defensively no matter who he guards. He can't alter shots, he is slow, and he gets lost way too often. Now the lats part maybe Thib can help with because the Celtics were terrific at helping off the ball.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:22 PM) So evidently the Knicks are now out? Some are saying the Miami talk is just that, talk. I still believe in Chicago!!! 5 hours from now the Bulls will be either on their way to being a dynasty or not having a realistic championship for a long time.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:10 PM) They both suck defensively. Amare just doesn't try, Boozer is limited with his length and lateral quickness. Boozer's career average is only 17 a game even playing the pick and roll with Williams, Amare is at 21. That's a big difference. Agreed. Boozer is horrendous on defense, his help defense is as bad as it gets (watching him get constantly lost off the ball in the Lakers series down the stretch of games was infuriating) and his man to man D isn't exactly stellar either. http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/05/03/the-lake...decision-maker/

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 03:04 PM) You won't get an argument from me. For a big guy, Amar'e can't board to save his life (though he's better in the playoffs) and has played with Nash damn near his whole career. (Boozer was already a solid player before Deron Williams came into the league and became Deron Williams) Also he is the worst overall defender between the two IMO. Amare averaged 20 and 9 as a 21 year old without Nash. He would have been just fine without Nash. And Boozer has never had a stretch like Amare did in the 2nd half of this year where you could make the case he was the best big man in the NBA not named Dwight Howard.