Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLVI "Re-Building" Edition)

[dsg2021]

neither before we draft a star

Sorry, but I don't see a Shaq, Duncan, D12, Or Lebron coming, DO YOU?? Most teams in pro sports use trade and/or free agency to obtain stars... How many BUSTS as 1st round picks??? Kobe was 13th overall, Dirk was 19th overall, Tony Parker 28th overall, Ginobili 57th overall. DRAFT IS A CRAPSHOOT

Most superstars are top 5 picks though... think about the stars that have left their teams recently:

CP3 (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Melo (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Lebron (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Bosh (his team failed to pair him up with another star)
Dwight (his team failed to pair him up with another star)

All top 5 picks. My point, when we draft a star this time around, we need to be prepared to bring in another star and not overpay borderline all-stars (ala Rashard). Let's focus on drafting our star first, unless you think we have a shot at Lebron or CP3 in free agency

Agreed also, there's no point to just one all/super star anymore. I don't mind the rebuilding taking longer for that point too.

[dsg2021]

Magic will give it old college try



http://tinyurl.com/95oq46v

If Shmitz got Magic personnel in the know to say those college player names, then we're going to suck for bottom 1-4 spots, which we need for a true rebuild.

[Hotshot Hower]

there are a lot of people not convinced in Harden, and i'd really like to know why that is?

SG is a position that's wide open for a new player to rise to an elite level. after Kobe and Wade, there's a massive drop off in dominant players. Harden hasn't shown that he can take over a game the way they can, but he's never been in a position to do so. what he has done, though, is show that he's got the tools to do so.

he scores 1.1PPP (points per possession), which is 10th best in the league. his Ast% is 19.3 and his USG% is 21.6, which means he facilitates as well as he can score, as when he's on the court 41% of all plays result in either a field goal from him, assisted field goal from him, or a turnover from him.

he makes players better, by making the smart move. with Durant and Westbrook on the team, he lets them play into their high volume scoring efficiency. do you know how many FGAs Durant and Westbrook take compared to Harden? 19.7 and 19.2 compared to 10.1. That's DOUBLE the amount of field goal attempts. when Harden shoots above his average FGAs (11 or more), he averages 20ppg on 50% shooting. when Harden takes 16FGAs or more (3 occasions, lol) he averages 32ppg.

Harden hasn't faced defenses that are focused on stopping him, yet, and that will be a big challenge for him. i don't think he has the skills to rise above that and still dominate a game the way Kobe, Durant, LBJ and Wade do, but i think he's got the skills to continue to make players around him better, and to continue to be an efficient player. the things he does now won't be slowed dramatically by increased defensive pressure. getting to the rim/FT line and getting assists are two of the hardest strengths to try to neutralize in a player. IMO, he fits somewhere in the spectrum between Joe Johnson and Scottie Pippen in the way he can impact a game. that is a great starting piece for any rebuilding team.

People seem to have a problem with adding Harden because he's not a #1 guy. just because he's not a #1 guy doesn't mean you can't add him first. there isn't a player in this league he wouldn't be a great compliment to. if you've got the chance to bring him in, you do it.

(apologies for the massive post. been reading up on Harden for Build A Team Pimp thread, so had all this info at hand)

You now i've been on board with this idea since day 1.

[Hotshot Hower]

Simple question: Who do you rather have James Harden or Rudy Gay???

Anyone taking Gay over Harden is crazy.

[RickB-Orlando]

harden over Gay because we are focused Long Term here not short term. we also already have our SF in Harkless who will be Paul George like.

Neither George nor Harkless is a proven NBA commodity.. Rudy Gay is and he's available for A 1 yr TPE and will be a highly sought after FA in 2014... If u can get him now, WHY NOT???

while George might not be proven yet he did start 66 games last year and averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.8 turnovers all in 29.1 minutes a game while at the age of 21.

i would take those numbers at 2.4 million over 15 million.

Gays stats: 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.5 turnovers in 37.3 minutes at age 25.

to give a Fair Comparison i will Use them both adjusted to 36 minutes.

Gay: 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.4 turnovers.

George: 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals, .7 blocks, 2.2 turnovers.

now tell me Who is better when factoring in Salary

Except Harkless isn't George. Not yet. He hasn't proven he can play at the NBA level yet. Maybe he's better than George, maybe he bombs, but the truth is no one knows how well Harkless will actually play yet. The George speculation is nothing but a SWAG at this point.

[RickB-Orlando]

sign and trade

harden for afflalo/big baby

Howard trade starts to look a whole lot better

I'm a little confused as to why so many folks want to move BBD. This is a guy who will be a leader on this team that works hard every night and is only 26 years old. I think he's going to be part of this team for a long time.

Because he's not very good at basketball.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2

Trite, but not true. At 26 he's just hitting his prime. He showed at the end of last year that he is in fact a quality big. It's not his fault he was buried behind Ryno in SVGs three point based offense much of the year.

[Carlos Arroyo]

Anyone down to play 2k12

[MagicTownBaller]

Anyone down to play 2k12

What system?

[OrlandO]

As if LA backers aren't greedy enough... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302 ... en-in-2013

[MagicTownBaller]

As if LA backers aren't greedy enough... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302 ... en-in-2013

NO! James Harden will be ours!

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDfuqqL5ufg[/youtube]

[MagicTownBaller]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zr7lY4WsFA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqqnsXYa5FA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Lol

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezKBMXOmu_Y[/youtube]

[Carlos Arroyo]

Anyone down to play 2k12

What system?

xbox 360

[MagicTownBaller]

Anyone down to play 2k12

What system?

xbox 360

What's your gamertag? I'll friend you once I come home.

[dsg2021]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDfuqqL5ufg[/youtube]

Nice response to Dwight question They looked a little jet-lagged but I don't think they mind with everywhere they visit and party at!

[glennathan]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDfuqqL5ufg[/youtube]

James Harden gave the perfect answer!

Would love to see OKC win the west again this year

Then I hope Harden comes to Orlando after that!

[Carlos Arroyo]

@MagicTownBaller
YGNM xYANKE3

[Mr-Magic]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDfuqqL5ufg[/youtube]

James Harden gave the perfect answer!

Would love to see OKC win the west again this year

Then I hope Harden comes to Orlando after that!

No disrespect to OKC fans, but if Harden came to Orlando, I just know our fans would go bananas with the beard gang love.

Wouldnt be surprised to see Mickey or Goofy rocking the Mohawk and beard either like Horace's goggles on the MGM Studios water tower back in the day.

[OrlandoMajinBuu]

A 2nd rounder signed by the Trail Blazers!!!
They got 3 great picks on Lillard, Leonard<3, & Barton.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfSo8KhoOvY[/youtube]