Around The NBA

[Ice Man]

Ultimately, the Heat weren't ready. They never planned on making the Finals this year, this was always to be a building year with a squad the relied heavily on several young players. Then Goran got hurt, leaving the Heat trying to win with 3 starters on rookie contracts. Playing youth works if that youth is called "Magic" or "Luka." But otherwise, nah. Championship teams can't be relying on players that inexperienced.

See Celtics, Boston. Not that Tatum and Brown fell apart against Miami, because they didn't, but neither were they quite good enough. That will probably come with time for those guys.

[Mech Engineer]

Ultimately, the Heat weren't ready. They never planned on making the Finals this year, this was always to be a building year with a squad the relied heavily on several young players. Then Goran got hurt, leaving the Heat trying to win with 3 starters on rookie contracts. Playing youth works if that youth is called "Magic" or "Luka." But otherwise, nah. Championship teams can't be relying on players that inexperienced.

See Celtics, Boston. Not that Tatum and Brown fell apart against Miami, because they didn't, but neither were they quite good enough. That will probably come with time for those guys.

It's tried and tested formula in the NBA. You need to lose in the playoffs before you win and you need to keep healthy. Health is directly related to the talent and depth.

Miami if healthy will be a contender next year but.will they represent the East? Milwaukee is going to be better because they will make changes.

The Heat need Bam to improve his offensive game to be a true 2nd option and another wing who is more reliable.

[Leslie Forman]

Milwaukee is going to be better

I don't think they will. Lopez is 32, gonna be 33. Hill is 34. Matthews is about to be 34. Bledsoe is about to be 31 and has a game that will age horribly. They are capped out and have no real assets outside of the two guys the team revolves around. DiVincenzo making a massive leap is really their only hope for major gains.

Besides their own health, of course, a more experienced Boston and maaaybe Brooklyn are their biggest threats.

[Jeffster81]

I do not like the Lakers. Much like the Celtics, if neither organization never wins another title in my lifetime, I would die a happy dude. Overall, I am indifferent to this title by the Lakers because--quite frankly---it's a forgettable title.

With that said, what I am piss about is that how short of a "rebuild" teams like Lakers, Celtics and even the Heat can have, while I am sitting here and watching the Bulls go through 2+ decades of "rebuilding." It's a constant reminder of how lazy/unmotivated the previous regime and JR really were.

I simply cannot wait until LBJ is gone from the NBA. The dude has single handedly made the NBA boring as hell. I know it won't happen but man, I really wish that now that he has his title, Anthony Davis would leave the Lakers.

[Jeffster81]

3 title with 3 different teams. Congrats Danny Green!

On a serious note, Lebron's FMVP speech made me sad. "I want my damn respect" for someone who has already played 17 seasons, has 4 titles/MVPs/FMVPs was something. He might not be the GOAT but give the man his due respect.

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

[dice]

The Lakers literally rebuilt trading away their prized draft picks. That would never happen with the Bulls.

The Bulls would trade away those players if a superstar like Davis bascially declares he wants to come here.

Chicken, egg. Egg, chicken.

A player like AD would never do that, because this franchise has lacked the reputation of a "do whatever it takes" franchise like the Lakers. Maybe things change under the new regime but even if they do it will take years to undo everything the old regime did.

the bulls:

-offered more for gasol than the lakers did, he ended up in LA anyway
-tried to trade for kobe, kobe didn't want to play with a depleted roster and stayed
-cleared space to make a run at lebron/wade, according to multiple sources narrowly failed

the lakers:

-traded crap for kareem, who wanted to play where he went to college (LA) or where he grew up (NY)
-won a coin flip with the bulls for magic
-traded vlade for a late lotto teenager who blossomed into a star
-signed a free agent superstar in shaq whose top priority was a side career in hollywood
-signed another superstar who wanted to set up a post-nba life in hollywood (lebron)
-traded reasonable assets from a mediocre team to land a guy who wanted to play with lebron in order to create an instant contender

not exactly pulling out all the stops. the lakers can no more claim that they've earned everything they have than the kardashians can

[Southpaw]

Milwaukee is going to be better

I don't think they will. Lopez is 32, gonna be 33. Hill is 34. Matthews is about to be 34. Bledsoe is about to be 31 and has a game that will age horribly. They are capped out and have no real assets outside of the two guys the team revolves around. DiVincenzo making a massive leap is really their only hope for major gains.

Besides their own health, of course, a more experienced Boston and maaaybe Brooklyn are their biggest threats.

Agreed. the Bucks are in a bit of trouble in that they're locked in this core for a while and most of their guys are on the older side. Even Middleton is not that young anymore. They'd need their very few young guys to step their game up a couple of notches or for Giannis to make another massive leap, which would be crazy given how good he already is.

[dice]

3 title with 3 different teams. Congrats Danny Green!

On a serious note, Lebron's FMVP speech made me sad. "I want my damn respect" for someone who has already played 17 seasons, has 4 titles/MVPs/FMVPs was something. He might not be the GOAT but give the man his due respect.

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

i'm not sure what respect he's looking for. he is widely regarded as a notch below MJ. some even think he's the GOAT. title #4 certainly isn't going to earn him any respect from those who criticize him for hopping teams to hunt titles. it frankly changes very little with regard to his legacy

[Mech Engineer]

Milwaukee is going to be better

I don't think they will. Lopez is 32, gonna be 33. Hill is 34. Matthews is about to be 34. Bledsoe is about to be 31 and has a game that will age horribly. They are capped out and have no real assets outside of the two guys the team revolves around. DiVincenzo making a massive leap is really their only hope for major gains.

Besides their own health, of course, a more experienced Boston and maaaybe Brooklyn are their biggest threats.

Agreed. the Bucks are in a bit of trouble in that they're locked in this core for a while and most of their guys are on the older side. Even Middleton is not that young anymore. They'd need their very few young guys to step their game up a couple of notches or for Giannis to make another massive leap, which would be crazy given how good he already is.

Teams are cash strapped because of Covid. Milwaukee is ready to spend. While not guaranteed, they can make some trades to get a reliable 2nd option next to Giannis and make Middleton the 3rd option.

That said, it will be an interesting offseason. Both Lakers and Heat might have put hope in a lot of GMs that they can be a contender on the fly if you have one star already on your team.

[Southpaw]

3 title with 3 different teams. Congrats Danny Green!

On a serious note, Lebron's FMVP speech made me sad. "I want my damn respect" for someone who has already played 17 seasons, has 4 titles/MVPs/FMVPs was something. He might not be the GOAT but give the man his due respect.

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

[dumbell78]

I'm glad the season is finally over and past us now. Looking forward to the Bulls future and honestly wasn't as engaged with the bubble. I commend the NBA for their effort, I think we'll look back at this and think yeah whatever.

[TheStig]

3 title with 3 different teams. Congrats Danny Green!

On a serious note, Lebron's FMVP speech made me sad. "I want my damn respect" for someone who has already played 17 seasons, has 4 titles/MVPs/FMVPs was something. He might not be the GOAT but give the man his due respect.

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

Lebron definitely has my respect. I think he's #2 all time. But if he's expecting to be #1, it's not going to happen. MJ was a different beast. He was better at his best, he struck fear into guys and he beat everyone during his prime. Bron couldn't win till he joined up with other stars, he jumps from one super team to the rest once their talent is bled dry, his contemporaries have beat him in the finals or on the way and guys don't seem to scared of him. The legend of MJ is just better. The goat can't be 4-6 in the finals.

I also think Bron has greatly benefited from today's game with rest and nutrition. Back in MJ's days, there weren't guys built like that driving the rim all day for that long and holding up. I think the sports science has really helped with his longevity. I don't know if he'd have been able to take the beating and have his knees hold up back then.

[Jeffster81]

3 title with 3 different teams. Congrats Danny Green!

On a serious note, Lebron's FMVP speech made me sad. "I want my damn respect" for someone who has already played 17 seasons, has 4 titles/MVPs/FMVPs was something. He might not be the GOAT but give the man his due respect.

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

Everybody respects his game and what he has accomplished in his career. Nobody has any respect about his machinations on getting those accomplishments. Despite his game, he's an entitled weasel, who could not win on his own. He had to join up with other talents to get him his championships.

[ThreeMileAllan]

Honestly is the nba even fun anymore? Is there any real payoff to being a fan of a franchise? If your team doesn't recruit in the offseason then what is the point anymore? We rarely get to see the payoff of players staying with a franchise and growing.

You legit see more year to year growth from the same core in college basketball.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Southpaw]

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

Lebron definitely has my respect. I think he's #2 all time. But if he's expecting to be #1, it's not going to happen. MJ was a different beast. He was better at his best, he struck fear into guys and he beat everyone during his prime. Bron couldn't win till he joined up with other stars, he jumps from one super team to the rest once their talent is bled dry, his contemporaries have beat him in the finals or on the way and guys don't seem to scared of him. The legend of MJ is just better. The goat can't be 4-6 in the finals.

I also think Bron has greatly benefited from today's game with rest and nutrition. Back in MJ's days, there weren't guys built like that driving the rim all day for that long and holding up. I think the sports science has really helped with his longevity. I don't know if he'd have been able to take the beating and have his knees hold up back then.

100% agree. To me Jordan is still the undisputed GOAT tho I understand people who think Lebron or Kareem is GOAT. Jordan is just on a different level and. Lebron biggest strike on his resume imo is his 2011 Finals performance. You can't claim to be the GOAT and perform that way on the biggest stage.

[R3AL1TY]

I would tell LeBron: D Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, AD, and Rondo deserve more respect.

[Repeat 3-peat]

I'm basically speaking for all us but I can't wait until the Bulls are competitive again. It may take a few more seasons(hopefully no longer than that) but I hope this new regime can help put this team in position to win a title.

[samwana]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Those comments on this tweet are hilarious for everyone not liking LeBron

Sent from my POT-LX1 using RealGM mobile app

[Jeffster81]

and If you are looking for that....then go to the Lakers board.

Yes, I am drinking a big glass of haterade.

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

Lebron definitely has my respect. I think he's #2 all time. But if he's expecting to be #1, it's not going to happen. MJ was a different beast. He was better at his best, he struck fear into guys and he beat everyone during his prime. Bron couldn't win till he joined up with other stars, he jumps from one super team to the rest once their talent is bled dry, his contemporaries have beat him in the finals or on the way and guys don't seem to scared of him. The legend of MJ is just better. The goat can't be 4-6 in the finals.

I also think Bron has greatly benefited from today's game with rest and nutrition. Back in MJ's days, there weren't guys built like that driving the rim all day for that long and holding up. I think the sports science has really helped with his longevity. I don't know if he'd have been able to take the beating and have his knees hold up back then.

Like I said, EVERYBODY respect LBJ's game, not everybody respects the way he has gotten his accomplishments. He is always a scheming weasel. Could not win on his own, could not bring in the right talent on his own, so go and be "bitch boy" to Wade and Bosh.

I respect his game but he is a weasel, will also be a weasel.

MJ demanded respect, LBJ is begging for respect.

[Andi Obst]

Seems like I'm in the minority here, but I thoroughly enjoyed the bubble experience. Didn't really know what to expect before it started and the first impression, the game between a depleted Nuggets team with no guards and a Washington team that shouldn't have been in the bubble in the first place, was really rough (the presentation of that game was BRUTAL too). But that feels like forever ago and it's been so much better since, at least for me. We had fun pre-playoff games, that 8-0 Suns run for example, some great playoff performances, the Clippers upset...all while not having a single COVID case. Hopefully NBA games in front of fans come back soon, but the bubble was a huge success from my perspective.

Not much of a Lakers fan, but the at the end of the day the best team won and I'm not mad.