PG Bucks beat Orlando, Bayless selected as alternate for All Star game..

[M-C-G]

The US World thing is so dumb. Some of those guys don't deserve to be there. Raul Neto? Srsly?

Eh? I really like it more than the Freshman / Sophomore thing. And are you really questioning all star weekend if guys deserve to be there?

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/01/21/2016-all-star-starters-release/index.html?ls=iref:nba:specialst3b

Lakers' Bryant holds off Warriors' Curry to finish as top All-Star vote-getter

[M-C-G]

Also, all star basketball should be a 3 on 3 tournament, would be infinitely more entertaining than it is today.

[skones]

The US World thing is so dumb. Some of those guys don't deserve to be there. Raul Neto? Srsly?

Eh? I really like it more than the Freshman / Sophomore thing. And are you really questioning all star weekend if guys deserve to be there?

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/01/21/2016-all-star-starters-release/index.html?ls=iref:nba:specialst3b

Lakers' Bryant holds off Warriors' Curry to finish as top All-Star vote-getter

Kobe Bryant flat out deserves to be part of the all-star game based on the career he's had, so it's an extremely poor example. His farewell tour deserves an all-star appearance. The fans want to see it and have voted as such.

This is a completely separate event, and one that shouldn't draw comparison.

[M-C-G]

The US World thing is so dumb. Some of those guys don't deserve to be there. Raul Neto? Srsly?

Eh? I really like it more than the Freshman / Sophomore thing. And are you really questioning all star weekend if guys deserve to be there?

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/01/21/2016-all-star-starters-release/index.html?ls=iref:nba:specialst3b

Lakers' Bryant holds off Warriors' Curry to finish as top All-Star vote-getter

Kobe Bryant flat out deserves to be part of the all-star game based on the career he's had.

So then it really doesn't matter how a guy is playing in a given season, so if that is the case, why does it matter who gets to go? To the futures game no less? I don't know, just doesn't seem like a big deal.

[Prez]

The World/USA concept is nice and it worked last year with beasts like Giannis and Gobert and other nice prospects like Schroder, Nurkic, Exum, Mirotic before he regressed big time this year...this year there's just not that much talent there. Wiggins and Porzingis, sure. Jokic, Mudiay and Hezonja are intriguing I guess. But Mirotic kinda sucks, Capela is a defense/energy big...and Neto, Bogdanovic, and Dwight Powell? Really? I would much rather see prospects like Booker, Randle, Gordon, Turner, Stan Johnson, etc.

[Badgerlander]

cfgardner ‏@cf_gardner 8m8 minutes ago
John Henson is out for Memphis game with sore lower back, according to injury report.

[skones]

Eh? I really like it more than the Freshman / Sophomore thing. And are you really questioning all star weekend if guys deserve to be there?

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/01/21/2016-all-star-starters-release/index.html?ls=iref:nba:specialst3b

Kobe Bryant flat out deserves to be part of the all-star game based on the career he's had.

So then it really doesn't matter how a guy is playing in a given season, so if that is the case, why does it matter who gets to go? To the futures game no less? I don't know, just doesn't seem like a big deal.

The reasoning for one event, does not apply to another, particularly when you're talking about one of the greatest of all time (ie. a huge outlier) and a product of fan vote to make your case.

[skones]

The World/USA concept is nice and it worked last year with beasts like Giannis and Gobert and other nice prospects like Schroder, Nurkic, Exum, Mirotic before he regressed big time this year...this year there's just not that much talent there. Wiggins and Porzingis, sure. Jokic, Mudiay and Hezonja are intriguing I guess. But Mirotic kinda sucks, Capela is a defense/energy big...and Neto, Bogdanovic, and Dwight Powell? Really? I would much rather see prospects like Booker, Randle, Gordon, Turner, Stan Johnson, etc.

Exactly. It's a model that will work some years, and be deplorable others. I just don't think there's enough there most seasons. It should never come down to "where is this guy from?" in order to get into an all-star event like the rookie soph game. It should be talent.

[M-C-G]

The World/USA concept is nice and it worked last year with beasts like Giannis and Gobert and other nice prospects like Schroder, Nurkic, Exum, Mirotic before he regressed big time this year...this year there's just not that much talent there. Wiggins and Porzingis, sure. Jokic, Mudiay and Hezonja are intriguing I guess. But Mirotic kinda sucks, Capela is a defense/energy big...and Neto, Bogdanovic, and Dwight Powell? Really? I would much rather see prospects like Booker, Randle, Gordon, Turner, Stan Johnson, etc.

Exactly. It's a model that will work some years, and be deplorable others. I just don't think there's enough there most seasons. It should never come down to "where is this guy from?" in order to get into an all-star event like the rookie soph game. It should be talent.

Except that it isn't about talent, it's about popularity, global marketing and expanding the game globally to new markets

[skones]

The World/USA concept is nice and it worked last year with beasts like Giannis and Gobert and other nice prospects like Schroder, Nurkic, Exum, Mirotic before he regressed big time this year...this year there's just not that much talent there. Wiggins and Porzingis, sure. Jokic, Mudiay and Hezonja are intriguing I guess. But Mirotic kinda sucks, Capela is a defense/energy big...and Neto, Bogdanovic, and Dwight Powell? Really? I would much rather see prospects like Booker, Randle, Gordon, Turner, Stan Johnson, etc.

Exactly. It's a model that will work some years, and be deplorable others. I just don't think there's enough there most seasons. It should never come down to "where is this guy from?" in order to get into an all-star event like the rookie soph game. It should be talent.

Except that it isn't about talent, it's about popularity, global marketing and expanding the game globally to new markets

Agree to disagree.

I see zero point in having a rookie-soph showcase if it's not about seeing the up and coming stars in this league.

[Ron Swanson]

I used to hate fan voting until I accepted that the All-Star game is just kind of a joke. Kobe absolutely deserves to be in the All-Star game this year because it's a meaningless exhibition game and he's who the fans want to see.

[M-C-G]

I used to hate fan voting until I accepted that the All-Star game is just kind of a joke. Kobe absolutely deserves to be in the All-Star game this year because it's a meaningless exhibition game and he's who the fans want to see.

That's why I would want to see it moved to a 3v3 format. The fans can vote 10 captains (or whatever number), they can each be sponsored by a major corporation and charity of their choice.

The captains can pull in whomever they want, or maybe even a "draft" process occurs. Winner gets 250k to put toward their team charity or whatever.

I just think it would be fresh take, and I think if it is 3v3 guys will take way more pride in the game, which would make it much more fun. I could be wrong though.

[Treebeard]

The World/USA concept is nice and it worked last year with beasts like Giannis and Gobert and other nice prospects like Schroder, Nurkic, Exum, Mirotic before he regressed big time this year...this year there's just not that much talent there. Wiggins and Porzingis, sure. Jokic, Mudiay and Hezonja are intriguing I guess. But Mirotic kinda sucks, Capela is a defense/energy big...and Neto, Bogdanovic, and Dwight Powell? Really? I would much rather see prospects like Booker, Randle, Gordon, Turner, Stan Johnson, etc.

Exactly. It's a model that will work some years, and be deplorable others. I just don't think there's enough there most seasons. It should never come down to "where is this guy from?" in order to get into an all-star event like the rookie soph game. It should be talent.

Except that it isn't about talent, it's about popularity, global marketing and expanding the game globally to new markets

Bingo. It's great to acknowledge the world-wide reach of basketball.

[Xanadu]

I don't understand defending Kidd. He is not only a horrible GM and suspect coach but a douche of person to top it all off. All you have to look at is his personal history and you would think this is not the man I want leading a group of young men.

We dont know yet how much he was involved in the trades of the summer. But even if he is a bad GM, I dont know many coaches who took practically the same team of 15 wins and led them to 40 wins in just 1 year. Furthermore look how badly Brooklyn has collapsed since he left. I cant see how many other "Eastern" coaches would do better. Skiles? Hoichberg, Blatt, Clifford? Van Gundy? NO WAY!!!. The only coaches i would put higher would Be Brad Stevens and Budenholzer

Sometimes people forget about how bad of a coach Larry Drew really was.

That Bucks team was a fluke and was not as bad as the year before. Natural development of players and a incredibly hot vet bench in the worst east perhaps ever led to those wins. Also anytime we played a good team there stars seemed to be hurt. Not to mention catching teams off guard with a gimmick of a defense that was designed by Sweeney. The Brooklyn team was much better than their early record and I believe they got better when Kidd got out of the way. That team required little to no coaching to do what it did. Not to mention Kidd got incredibly lucky because Lopez got hurt letting the Nets play much more efficient offense not based around a black hole. I ask again what does Kidd do well and does it justify his incredible ego. Not to mention his obvious use of buddy ball which could seriously hinder this teams future.

[emunney]

Exactly. It's a model that will work some years, and be deplorable others. I just don't think there's enough there most seasons. It should never come down to "where is this guy from?" in order to get into an all-star event like the rookie soph game. It should be talent.

Except that it isn't about talent, it's about popularity, global marketing and expanding the game globally to new markets

Agree to disagree.

I see zero point in having a rookie-soph showcase if it's not about seeing the up and coming stars in this league.

But I thought you wanted to see Booker, Gordon, Randle...

[skones]

Except that it isn't about talent, it's about popularity, global marketing and expanding the game globally to new markets

Agree to disagree.

I see zero point in having a rookie-soph showcase if it's not about seeing the up and coming stars in this league.

But I thought you wanted to see Booker, Gordon, Randle...

So your point is that you don't have one? Who do you think has a better shot? Don't look now but Booker is averaging nearly 17 a game this month.

Keep waving that Raul Neto flag though!

[pe_it72]

We dont know yet how much he was involved in the trades of the summer. But even if he is a bad GM, I dont know many coaches who took practically the same team of 15 wins and led them to 40 wins in just 1 year. Furthermore look how badly Brooklyn has collapsed since he left. I cant see how many other "Eastern" coaches would do better. Skiles? Hoichberg, Blatt, Clifford? Van Gundy? NO WAY!!!. The only coaches i would put higher would Be Brad Stevens and Budenholzer

Sometimes people forget about how bad of a coach Larry Drew really was.

That Bucks team was a fluke and was not as bad as the year before. Natural development of players and a incredibly hot vet bench in the worst east perhaps ever led to those wins. Also anytime we played a good team there stars seemed to be hurt. Not to mention catching teams off guard with a gimmick of a defense that was designed by Sweeney. The Brooklyn team was much better than their early record and I believe they got better when Kidd got out of the way. That team required little to no coaching to do what it did. Not to mention Kidd got incredibly lucky because Lopez got hurt letting the Nets play much more efficient offense not based around a black hole. I ask again what does Kidd do well and does it justify his incredible ego. Not to mention his obvious use of buddy ball which could seriously hinder this teams future.

Larry Drew was that bad. There is no way you will convince me otherwise.

[Bucknado]

Also, all star basketball should be a 3 on 3 tournament, would be infinitely more entertaining than it is today.

Have been saying this for years. 3-3 tourney with every team participating. NBA Jam style.

[Xanadu]

Sometimes people forget about how bad of a coach Larry Drew really was.

That Bucks team was a fluke and was not as bad as the year before. Natural development of players and a incredibly hot vet bench in the worst east perhaps ever led to those wins. Also anytime we played a good team there stars seemed to be hurt. Not to mention catching teams off guard with a gimmick of a defense that was designed by Sweeney. The Brooklyn team was much better than their early record and I believe they got better when Kidd got out of the way. That team required little to no coaching to do what it did. Not to mention Kidd got incredibly lucky because Lopez got hurt letting the Nets play much more efficient offense not based around a black hole. I ask again what does Kidd do well and does it justify his incredible ego. Not to mention his obvious use of buddy ball which could seriously hinder this teams future.

Larry Drew was that bad. There is no way you will convince me otherwise.

No doubt he sucked just saying Kidd isn't much better. With his GM duties you could argue worse overall for the future of the team.