Official 2008-2009 NBA Thread

[BigSqwert]

Was it just me or did it look like Lebron walked straight to locker room at the end of regulation? Sore loser?

[MexSoxFan#1]

When LeBron comes to Chicago (I know,long shot but what the hell) will he pick a new number because there is no way he's using 23 with the Bulls since it's retired...maybe 32?

[Ron]

Great show of sportsmanship from Lebron just walking off the court while his teammates remain to congratulate the Magic.

Were you there?

 

They showed a tracking shot of LeBron in the postgame. The final buzzer sounds, he looks at the scoreboard, scratched his nose, then walked off the court. He shook no ones' hand. 

 

I'm mean, it's whatever. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

 

LeBron had a great season, a great series. I think he was simply exhausted tonight. For all the help he thought he had, it was still Lebron vs the world when it really came down to it.

 

edit: In the media room, Chris Broussard just said LeBron dressed and went straight to the bus without speaking to the media. That is unprofessional and not very classy.

 

When LeBron comes to Chicago (I know,long shot but what the hell) will he pick a new number because there is no way he's using 23 with the Bulls since it's retired...maybe 32?

 

32 would work. 2 for the "2nd Coming", so to speak. 5 (2+3) could work.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Ron

[ThunderBolt]

It was a hell of a finish for the anointed one. Roughly around the time you’d expect the Greatest Player of All Time to take over the game he relinquished the entire offense to Delonte West. Needless to say the first of his seven titles will not come this year.

[DBAHO]

Great show of sportsmanship from Lebron just walking off the court while his teammates remain to congratulate the Magic.

Exactly. A big FU to Lebron. No class whatsoever.

 

And a big FU to all of the critics / media who said this team couldn't win in the playoffs because we're a 3PT shooting team.

 

Dwight Howard showed who the real MVP was tonight, and Lebron wasn't bailed out by the refs in this one.

 

We were 2-0 against the Lakers and I think Pietrus can do a good job on Kobe, but we'll wait and see on that one.

[rangercal]

I stand corrected. Poor sport. First negative thing I really seen from the kid, so it won't really change my opinion of him. Just shows me he is human.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Lebron will never come to Chicago, its Cleveland or NYC.

[ThunderBolt]

Lebron will never come to Chicago, its Cleveland or NYC.

If the Bulls start talking and dealing like they want to be legitimate players for Lebron, then they'll be legitimate players for him. The Bulls need to put the possibility out there. Honestly, why would anyone want to play for New York over Chicago? The idea is that New York will sign everybody and their mother and take a team to the top, the Bulls are in a sitiuation where they could have both Rose and Gordon and one of Amare/Bosh starting over the next couple of years, whose to say that Lebron wouldn't look at the sitiuation and make a logical choice?

[Jordan4life_2007]

Dwight was a Beast tonight. Not sure about all the Lebron hate in this thread, but the 2 most stand-up guys who happen to be superstars would be Lebron and Dwight imo. The NBA has a very good thing with those 2.

 

He's the best player on the planet. I just don't like when guys get crowned prematurely. And the way he stormed off the court without so much as shaking an Orlando player's hand was no different than Isaih, Laimbeer, ect walking off the court like little b****es after the Bulls waxed that ass in 1991.

 

[DBAHO]

The Knicks are actually building a decent enough nucleus ATM. They'll prob sign Steve Nash if he hits UFA in 2010 (doubtful now since Gentry is coaching in PHX), and they'll re-sign David Lee and with him, Gallinari, this year's draft pick etc. they've got some pieces to build upon.

 

Just how would the Bulls get enough cap space to sign Lebron anyways? They'd probably have to trade someone like Deng for an expiring contract right?

 

But as for the Cavs, I think this series showed that they need better players down low, and a 3/4 type of forward who can stretch the floor ALA Rashard Lewis (someone better than Wally Szcerbiak).

 

All Igauskas is good for now is hitting long jump shots, Vareajao's an energy guy at best (and the guy I despise most in the NBA besides Lebron), while there's word that Ben Wallace could retire now.

[MexSoxFan#1]

Watching those ads by Vitamin Water and Nike with LeBron and Kobe make chuckle now that they look stupid for getting ahead of themselves.

 

LeBron is amazing but if I had to pick a player for this year,I still gotta go with Kobe.

That being said,I hope the Magic beats LA,Laker fans arrogant pricks.

[T R U]

Ill take the team with the big man, Magic in 6 over LA.

 

They let LeBron score like 40 points a game and didn't really have a problem in this series, so I am not too worried about Kobe running this series. Gasol and Bynum are also softer than Charmin so I am not too worried about them either.

 

I like what we've got in Lewis, Howard, and Turk. Also that they can shoot from 3 or just take it to the rim.

 

So hopefully, we continue to play well and take this thing because there is no one I despise more than Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

[Kyyle23]

Ben Wallace hinting at retirement

 

Wallace, a veteran of 13 seasons, sighted his declining health as a major reason he may hang up his sneakers. He missed 25 games due to injury this season, sitting out with a right forearm laceration, a fractured right fibula, a bruised left knee and a strained left patella tendon.

 

Not an english major here, but im pretty sure that should be "cited"

[nitetrain8601]

Also, LeBron got off the team bus according to Craig Sager and didn't go back to the hotel with his teammates or even fly home. Instead, he called his mother and will be staying in Orlando for awhile with her.

 

So apparently, the guy doesn't even care about his teammates. You win as a team, you lose as a team. His supporting cast being bad is a poor excuse because in the regular season, everyone was up in arms about how great of a supporting cast they have and how they are so great defensively.

 

I never got why so many guys see him as classy. He took the Hummer in high school which his mother couldn't afford, He tatooed Chosen1 on his back and started calling himself King James. He also started doing stupid poses before each home game. If Kobe did that, people would be up in arms. LeBron does it any it's okay.

 

 

[MexSoxFan#1]

Also, LeBron got off the team bus according to Craig Sager and didn't go back to the hotel with his teammates or even fly home. Instead, he called his mother and will be staying in Orlando for awhile with her.

 

So apparently, the guy doesn't even care about his teammates. You win as a team, you lose as a team. His supporting cast being bad is a poor excuse because in the regular season, everyone was up in arms about how great of a supporting cast they have and how they are so great defensively.

 

I never got why so many guys see him as classy. He took the Hummer in high school which his mother couldn't afford, He tatooed Chosen1 on his back and started calling himself King James. He also started doing stupid poses before each home game. If Kobe did that, people would be up in arms. LeBron does it any it's okay.

Because he smiles alot?

[nitetrain8601]

Because he smiles alot?

 

Probably.

[Kyyle23]

So nobody has photoshopped a "Witness" ad yet? I expected it immediately after the game was over

[MHizzle85]

OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!1!!! Lebron's human!?!?!? That can't be!?!?!?

 

He's 24, so what if he made some decisions that you guys don't disagree with. You all sound like he's slept with your girlfriends/wives.

[Kyyle23]

OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!1!!! Lebron's human!?!?!? That can't be!?!?!?

 

He's 24, so what if he made some decisions that you guys don't disagree with. You all sound like he's slept with your girlfriends/wives.

 

 

Those rumors dont usually start until a player has their first major FA contract

[Soxpranos]

Also, LeBron got off the team bus according to Craig Sager and didn't go back to the hotel with his teammates or even fly home. Instead, he called his mother and will be staying in Orlando for awhile with her.

 

So apparently, the guy doesn't even care about his teammates. You win as a team, you lose as a team. His supporting cast being bad is a poor excuse because in the regular season, everyone was up in arms about how great of a supporting cast they have and how they are so great defensively.

 

I never got why so many guys see him as classy. He took the Hummer in high school which his mother couldn't afford, He tatooed Chosen1 on his back and started calling himself King James. He also started doing stupid poses before each home game. If Kobe did that, people would be up in arms. LeBron does it any it's okay.

Most guys that have him labeled him as classy , usually watch games from their tv and have no clue on what the guy is like if you seen him play in person for several games. I have seen James play close to 20 games in person and he does do things out of camera view that puts him no where near the top 50 classy guys in basketball. Guy has a huge ego (selfish), Jordan had a different kind of ego and I seen him play in person over 100 times. In Jordans case, he helped his teammates a bunch with defensive techniques on time outs. I always seen him as a coach out there, he was very animated sometimes but you could tell he really cared about the individual and the team most of all. Just saying , you dont see it all by just watching the tube, and to label an individual as that being your backing is just silly.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Soxpranos

[rangercal]

Lebron will never come to Chicago, its Cleveland or NYC.

You make very valid points.

[Kyyle23]

You make very valid points.

 

lol

[Brian]

Shame on Lebron for wanting to spend time with his mom. How selfish.

 

It's hilarious how things are blown out of proportion when you are under a microscope like he is.

 

It's not like pulled what the Pistons did in 91 when the Bulls swept him. I understand you probably should shake hands after the game, but your not contractually obligated to do so.

 

I do agree that he should be a more gratious loser than he showed though, especially with the way the whoel Cleveland team acted all year.

[Balta1701]

Just how would the Bulls get enough cap space to sign Lebron anyways? They'd probably have to trade someone like Deng for an expiring contract right?

It depends on exactly where the cap goes the next 2 offseasons. If the cap stays where it is or goes down slightly then the Bulls will need to clear about $1-3 million in salary depending on where exactly it sits. If it goes up by a small amount then if the Bulls don't resign Gordon, they can offer a max deal to Lebron right there. Cleveland could still offer more in total dollars in the contract because they're the team he's currently under contract with.

 

If the cap does go down, the Bulls are also not without options. They could draft a foreign player with 1 or both of this year's first round draft picks and leave him overseas for a season, thus not having to give up cap room for one of this year's draft picks. Or they could make a deal that clears a little bit more cap room, i.e. moving Hinrich and then signing Gordon for slightly less in 2010. Or they could trade Deng and literally be able to offer 2 max deals. Or...and I'd advise this as a last-ditch option but if you think of it as a straight up trade 1 player for 1 player...if the Bulls need a couple million in 2010 they can simply renounce the rights to Tyrus Thomas and not offer him a contract for 2010-2011, making him a FA. I wouldn't want to give up Tyrus for nothing...but Hell, if it clears the cap room to bring me Lebron it'll be slightly difficult to complain.

[Balta1701]

More talk of Jameer Nelson trying to play in the finals.