2014 Free Agency Thread

[mrknowitall215]

This RIGHT HERE is why Detroit's oft-cited cap space means squat.

It's like we all realize how limiting this class is in how few ways we can get better but yet the very same class is ripe for the picking for Detroit and all its glorious cap space and under no circumstances will Detroit save their cap room for next year because they are determined to screw us out of a good pick.

Detroit could've been a playoff team last season if they had a decent coach. About halfway through the season they were only about 1 game behind Charlotte when Maurice Cheeks was fired

What's that got to do with everyone talking about their cap space as if it means anything for next year? I'll say it again. If I were them I would save my money. The best of this class (Lance and Hayward) won't play in Detroit anyways I bet.

Them having cap space allowances them the opportunity to retool and acquire players that are better fit for their roster. There's a lot of dead weight coming off their books this offseason that they could use on more resourceful players that'll make them better. That's without mentioning the new coaching hire of a head coach that has never had a losing record

[MasterIchiro]

Detroit could've been a playoff team last season if they had a decent coach. About halfway through the season they were only about 1 game behind Charlotte when Maurice Cheeks was fired

What's that got to do with everyone talking about their cap space as if it means anything for next year? I'll say it again. If I were them I would save my money. The best of this class (Lance and Hayward) won't play in Detroit anyways I bet.

Them having cap space allowances them the opportunity to retool and acquire players that are better fit for their roster. There's a lot of dead weight coming off their books this offseason that they could use on more resourceful players that'll make them better. That's without mentioning the new coaching hire of a head coach that has never had a losing record

Any trade acquisition will also cost them. Perhaps they find a better fit but the upgrade is over a specific player and not an upgrade in production over zero. They can improve but not as much as people predict.

8 games behind the Knicks and NOTHING went right for the Knicks.

The Cavs have more talent yet need a better coach.

The Celtics need Rondo healthy and to hit on their 2 firsts, a lotto pick and pick 17 from the Nets.

We are obsessed with the Pistons.

All their competition - us, the Cavs, the Celtics have talent, picks, cap space etc.

[mrknowitall215]

You just refuse to believe that the Pistons will get marginally better next season, and I'm not going to argue your opinion because it's your opinion as well as belief, but I just have to disagree. Of course we'd have to wait & see what type of moves Detroit make this offseason before anointing them automatic playoff contenders, but just hiring a more than competent coach like Stan Van Gundy will go a long way

[MasterIchiro]

You just refuse to believe that the Pistons will get marginally better next season, and I'm not going to argue your opinion because it's your opinion as well as belief, but I just have to disagree. Of course we'd have to wait & see what type of moves Detroit make this offseason before anointing them automatic playoff contenders, but just hiring a more than competent coach like Stan Van Gundy will go a long way

I can acknowledge they will marginally improve but I'm more bullish on the teams around them - Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, Kings.

They're not touching us, I'll tell you that much.

[JDR720]

You just refuse to believe that the Pistons will get marginally better next season, and I'm not going to argue your opinion because it's your opinion as well as belief, but I just have to disagree. Of course we'd have to wait & see what type of moves Detroit make this offseason before anointing them automatic playoff contenders, but just hiring a more than competent coach like Stan Van Gundy will go a long way

I can acknowledge they will marginally improve but I'm more bullish on the teams around them - Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, Kings.

They're not touching us, I'll tell you that much.

I can only see 2 of those teams getting a decent amount better, the Cavs and Celtics, the Kings are in the West which will beat them down, and the Knicks have zero assets and Melo might leave

[mrknowitall215]

You just refuse to believe that the Pistons will get marginally better next season, and I'm not going to argue your opinion because it's your opinion as well as belief, but I just have to disagree. Of course we'd have to wait & see what type of moves Detroit make this offseason before anointing them automatic playoff contenders, but just hiring a more than competent coach like Stan Van Gundy will go a long way

I can acknowledge they will marginally improve but I'm more bullish on the teams around them - Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, Kings.

They're not touching us, I'll tell you that much.

I have a feeling that Andre Drummond will take a jump from just a mesmerizing up & coming talent into a legitimate All-Star next season. Also, I am under the belief that Josh Smith will return to his typical production in which is more efficient once he move back to the PF position with Monroe off the roster. Just Drummond & Smith combined with Van Gundy's tutelage I believe will make them a top-10 defense

If Clifford could turn the Bobcats from historically bad defense into a top-5 defense using Van Gundy's principles, imagine what the teacher (SVG) can do

[MasterIchiro]

You just refuse to believe that the Pistons will get marginally better next season, and I'm not going to argue your opinion because it's your opinion as well as belief, but I just have to disagree. Of course we'd have to wait & see what type of moves Detroit make this offseason before anointing them automatic playoff contenders, but just hiring a more than competent coach like Stan Van Gundy will go a long way

I can acknowledge they will marginally improve but I'm more bullish on the teams around them - Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, Kings.

They're not touching us, I'll tell you that much.

I can only see 2 of those teams getting a decent amount better, the Cavs and Celtics, the Kings are in the West which will beat them down, and the Knicks have zero assets and Melo might leave

I don't think Melo is leaving and I trust Phil Jackson (bigger game changer than SVG) will build the triangle around Melo. Knicks are playoff bound.

The Kings are loaded with talent but need some time to develop an identity. They can easily become next year's Blazers.

[JDR720]

I can acknowledge they will marginally improve but I'm more bullish on the teams around them - Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, Kings.

They're not touching us, I'll tell you that much.

I can only see 2 of those teams getting a decent amount better, the Cavs and Celtics, the Kings are in the West which will beat them down, and the Knicks have zero assets and Melo might leave

I don't think Melo is leaving and I trust Phil Jackson (bigger game changer than SVG) will build the triangle around Melo. Knicks are playoff bound.

The Kings are loaded with talent but need some time to develop an identity. They can easily become next year's Blazers.

how will be build the triangle around Melo when they have no assets to get anyone and he isn't coaching

and the Kings have talent, but unlike the Blazers they are full of egos and underachievers

[MasterIchiro]

I can only see 2 of those teams getting a decent amount better, the Cavs and Celtics, the Kings are in the West which will beat them down, and the Knicks have zero assets and Melo might leave

I don't think Melo is leaving and I trust Phil Jackson (bigger game changer than SVG) will build the triangle around Melo. Knicks are playoff bound.

The Kings are loaded with talent but need some time to develop an identity. They can easily become next year's Blazers.

how will be build the triangle around Melo when they have no assets to get anyone and he isn't coaching

and the Kings have talent, but unlike the Blazers they are full of egos and underachievers

Chandler
Stoudamire
Anthony
Smith
PG acquired for Hardaway Jr

Let's just say Shabazz

Tyson Chandler
Amare Stoudamire
Carmelo Anthony
JR Smith/Iman Shumpert
Shabazz Napier

Jackson will cherry pick a sock puppet.

[Braggins]

What's that got to do with everyone talking about their cap space as if it means anything for next year? I'll say it again. If I were them I would save my money. The best of this class (Lance and Hayward) won't play in Detroit anyways I bet.

Them having cap space allowances them the opportunity to retool and acquire players that are better fit for their roster. There's a lot of dead weight coming off their books this offseason that they could use on more resourceful players that'll make them better. That's without mentioning the new coaching hire of a head coach that has never had a losing record

Any trade acquisition will also cost them. Perhaps they find a better fit but the upgrade is over a specific player and not an upgrade in production over zero. They can improve but not as much as people predict.

8 games behind the Knicks and NOTHING went right for the Knicks.

The Cavs have more talent yet need a better coach.

The Celtics need Rondo healthy and to hit on their 2 firsts, a lotto pick and pick 17 from the Nets.

We are obsessed with the Pistons.

All their competition - us, the Cavs, the Celtics have talent, picks, cap space etc.

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

[MasterIchiro]

Them having cap space allowances them the opportunity to retool and acquire players that are better fit for their roster. There's a lot of dead weight coming off their books this offseason that they could use on more resourceful players that'll make them better. That's without mentioning the new coaching hire of a head coach that has never had a losing record

Any trade acquisition will also cost them. Perhaps they find a better fit but the upgrade is over a specific player and not an upgrade in production over zero. They can improve but not as much as people predict.

8 games behind the Knicks and NOTHING went right for the Knicks.

The Cavs have more talent yet need a better coach.

The Celtics need Rondo healthy and to hit on their 2 firsts, a lotto pick and pick 17 from the Nets.

We are obsessed with the Pistons.

All their competition - us, the Cavs, the Celtics have talent, picks, cap space etc.

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

[JDR720]

Any trade acquisition will also cost them. Perhaps they find a better fit but the upgrade is over a specific player and not an upgrade in production over zero. They can improve but not as much as people predict.

8 games behind the Knicks and NOTHING went right for the Knicks.

The Cavs have more talent yet need a better coach.

The Celtics need Rondo healthy and to hit on their 2 firsts, a lotto pick and pick 17 from the Nets.

We are obsessed with the Pistons.

All their competition - us, the Cavs, the Celtics have talent, picks, cap space etc.

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

well you can be more talented and win less games, their (DET) talent didn't fit together

[Braggins]

Any trade acquisition will also cost them. Perhaps they find a better fit but the upgrade is over a specific player and not an upgrade in production over zero. They can improve but not as much as people predict.

8 games behind the Knicks and NOTHING went right for the Knicks.

The Cavs have more talent yet need a better coach.

The Celtics need Rondo healthy and to hit on their 2 firsts, a lotto pick and pick 17 from the Nets.

We are obsessed with the Pistons.

All their competition - us, the Cavs, the Celtics have talent, picks, cap space etc.

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

Yes, talent was the only factor determining their records. Good point, bud.

[BeesWax]

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

well you can be more talented and win less games, their (DET) talent didn't fit together

Sorry but MasterIchiro is right. Irving, Thompson, Waiters is better than Drummond and scraps. Jennings and Smith are both net negatives with their attitudes. KCP has a long way to go to be an effective player.

Cleveland is just more talented and has more potential right now in the players they have. It is pretty absurd to think that statement is absurd. You may argue but you can't put Detroit much ahead of Cleveland no matter how you think. I know a lot of people here think Detroit is the next coming of the Heat at something but I seriously doubt they do better next year than they did this year.

[MasterIchiro]

How do the Cavs have more talent than the Pistons? That seems like a borderline absurd statement to me.

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

Yes, talent was the only factor determining their records. Good point, bud.

It's one factor though, therefore my original statement is not 'absurd' or baseless. I'm not going tit-for-tat with the players with you because I just won this argument.

[JDR720]

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

well you can be more talented and win less games, their (DET) talent didn't fit together

Sorry but MasterIchiro is right. Irving, Thompson, Waiters is better than Drummond and scraps. Jennings and Smith are both net negatives with their attitudes. KCP has a long way to go to be an effective player.

Cleveland is just more talented and has more potential right now in the players they have. It is pretty absurd to think that statement is absurd. You may argue but you can't put Detroit much ahead of Cleveland no matter how you think. I know a lot of people here think Detroit is the next coming of the Heat at something but I seriously doubt they do better next year than they did this year.

talent is skill or ability to do something, in this case play basketball, you dont have to have a good attitude to be good at basketball, and Waiters and Irving got all pissy at each other so they have attitude problems also

Jennings vs Irving= Irving
KCP vs Waiters = Waiters
Smith vs whoever the Cavs SF is = Smith
Monroe vs Thompson= Monroe
Drummond vs Anderson = Drummond

In terms of starters Detroit is more "talented", neither bench is any good mainly because they are FA's now but i'd give the edge to Cleveland, Detroit isn't much better but they are still better just by a tiny bit

[Braggins]

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

Yes, talent was the only factor determining their records. Good point, bud.

It's one factor though, therefore my original statement is not 'absurd' or baseless. I'm not going tit-for-tat with the players with you because I just won this argument.

Lol, ok. You didnt even make an argument.

[Braggins]

Well for one they finished 4 games ahead of the Pistons. So "absurd" is out of line and out of touch with reality bud.

well you can be more talented and win less games, their (DET) talent didn't fit together

Sorry but MasterIchiro is right. Irving, Thompson, Waiters is better than Drummond and scraps. Jennings and Smith are both net negatives with their attitudes. KCP has a long way to go to be an effective player.

Cleveland is just more talented and has more potential right now in the players they have. It is pretty absurd to think that statement is absurd. You may argue but you can't put Detroit much ahead of Cleveland no matter how you think. I know a lot of people here think Detroit is the next coming of the Heat at something but I seriously doubt they do better next year than they did this year.

Are you really implying that Waiters is more talented than Josh Smith... Im just going to stay out of this one... See JDR's last post. Also, Irving is really overrated.

[MasterIchiro]

Yes, talent was the only factor determining their records. Good point, bud.

It's one factor though, therefore my original statement is not 'absurd' or baseless. I'm not going tit-for-tat with the players with you because I just won this argument.

Lol, ok. You didnt even make an argument.

You accused my original statement of being borderline 'absurd' and I contested it and won that argument. I never said record is the 'only' indicator of talent. I said, 'for one' talent can be assessed by record.

Now I'm not going to discuss position by position because you entered the original conversation not in good faith. I didn't like your 'absurd' quip. It wasn't clever. So now we're done.

[BeesWax]

well you can be more talented and win less games, their (DET) talent didn't fit together

Sorry but MasterIchiro is right. Irving, Thompson, Waiters is better than Drummond and scraps. Jennings and Smith are both net negatives with their attitudes. KCP has a long way to go to be an effective player.

Cleveland is just more talented and has more potential right now in the players they have. It is pretty absurd to think that statement is absurd. You may argue but you can't put Detroit much ahead of Cleveland no matter how you think. I know a lot of people here think Detroit is the next coming of the Heat at something but I seriously doubt they do better next year than they did this year.

talent is skill or ability to do something, in this case play basketball, you dont have to have a good attitude to be good at basketball, and Waiters and Irving got all pissy at each other so they have attitude problems also

Jennings vs Irving= Irving
KCP vs Waiters = Waiters
Smith vs whoever the Cavs SF is = Smith
Monroe vs Thompson= Monroe
Drummond vs Anderson = Drummond

In terms of starters Detroit is more "talented", neither bench is any good mainly because they are FA's now but i'd give the edge to Cleveland, Detroit isn't much better but they are still better just by a tiny bit

If Smith is ever at SF anyone is a better player. Henderson would be better at SF than Smith. Detroit doesn't have Monroe right now so Thompson is better than their current player. Plus the level of better Waiters and Irving are exceeds Drummond and Smith being a negative moves the needle even more in favor of the Cavs.