2012/2013 NBA thread: Wizards and Warriors

[charl_huntress]

I am not a huge sports fan, but being a LA native I (of course) love the Lakers. Can an unbaised fan please tell me if Dwight Howard joining is good or bad for the Lakers? I don't follow B-ball enough to know what is or isn't a good trade. I'd just like some opinions...lol then when I hear the guys talking about this at work I can chime in like I know something....

[Immortalfire]

The Heat are the champs, and Dwight's constant whining requests for a trade have finally been heard.

This is the new hoops thread

[Trainwreck2100]

smart how three east teams got together to ship him out west. I feel bad for the Magic horrible trade for them but they didn't have any leverage

[TheGuy]

Lakers are the most stacked team right now. Nash/Kobe/Pau/Howard. That's a lock for next year's Finals.

[Anubis]

Unless of course it all falls apart and they can't survive the growing pains of a new team with so many dynamic personalities.

[Darthphere]

Mike Brown is still their coach.

[TheGuy]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Unless of course it all falls apart and they can't survive the growing pains of a new team with so many dynamic personalities.

Yeah. I think their problem would be ball sharing. Gasol would even play a lesser role than he did last season.

[Anubis]

Plus there's the fact that Dwight still has an expiring contract. The longer he waits to resign, the more it becomes a problem.

[Nightmare]

Originally Posted by Darthphere

Mike Brown is still their coach.

Steve Nash is the floor general.

[Nightmare]

Originally Posted by Anubis

Plus there's the fact that Dwight still has an expiring contract. The longer he waits to resign, the more it becomes a problem.

He won't resign. He can make 25 million dollars more by opting out and resigning with the lakers AFTER The season is over. IF he agrees to an extension now, he loses out on all that money. Would make no sense. After this season the lakers can offer him more than any other team.

[Anubis]

Or he can go somewhere else and not have to deal with Kobe calling him a punk ass.

[Silver Surfer]

Lakers I believe can offer him 20 mil more than any other team can after the season ends. As for Kobe, according to him he's set to retire after two years. Dwight will re-up, he almost has too.

[Trainwreck2100]

Originally Posted by Darthphere

Mike Brown is still their coach.

if spoelstra could get a ring so could mike brown

[Doomed_hero]

i think this trades winner is pau. Not only does he get to stay but he will have more chances to score with Dwight focused more on defense and having to have players stay on Dwight and not double team him. That plus Nash feeding him makes me think this will give Gasol a second life.

[Punisher_MAX]

i find it funny when people keep saying Miami won with an awful bench.

did everyone forget what happened in the Finals?

Rio, Battier stepped up bug time, Haslem did his thing, Cole took the moment and Miller rose from the dead to ice the finals. if game 5 is an indicator of what the Heat plan to do then it doesnt matter what the Lakers bring to the table. Miami added Lewis and Allen, both 3 pt snipers to a group consisting of Miller, Jones and Rio who can shoot 3s. add in the fact that Cole will have a full preseason under him and a healthy core not hindered by the compressed season and you have a scary team in Miami.

if the Heat go out and sign Blatche or Darko, then size wont be an issue, and before i get laughed at, Darko last season played big against all star centers and is a solid C that would fit right here in Miami.

[Docker2.0]

Nachos!

[Doc Samson]

Originally Posted by Punisher_MAX

i find it funny when people keep saying Miami won with an awful bench.

did everyone forget what happened in the Finals?

Rio, Battier stepped up bug time, Haslem did his thing, Cole took the moment and Miller rose from the dead to ice the finals. if game 5 is an indicator of what the Heat plan to do then it doesnt matter what the Lakers bring to the table. Miami added Lewis and Allen, both 3 pt snipers to a group consisting of Miller, Jones and Rio who can shoot 3s. add in the fact that Cole will have a full preseason under him and a healthy core not hindered by the compressed season and you have a scary team in Miami.

if the Heat go out and sign Blatche or Darko, then size wont be an issue, and before i get laughed at, Darko last season played big against all star centers and is a solid C that would fit right here in Miami.

For the better part of the playoffs, their bench was awful, which is why I don't subscribe to the "make your teammates better by passing them the ball" crap. These are professionals who got to the NBA from their ability to shoot. Passing them the ball can make their job easier in theory, but it's only the right play when it goes in the hoop.

Using that logic, Miami should've breezed through to the title because Lebron made sure all of those clowns got wide open looks. And none of them really came through consistently until the Finals, except Battier who was decent the whole way. I firmly believe had the Celtics been at full strength, they may have pulled that series out.

[The Apocalypse]

The Lakers are the best looking team, on paper, right now. I don't like the move for Dwight though. Even if he does resign, once Kobe and Nash retire he's on a team worse than the Magic were.

[Doc Samson]

Bigger Market though, which seemingly, is all he was really worried about.

On another note, guess I'll have to retire this now:



Outside of Yao Ming, this was probably the nastiest dunk of his career. I'm sure Dwight gonna hear about it again...

[Scrandy Randy]

Originally Posted by The Apocalypse

The Lakers are the best looking team, on paper, right now. I don't like the move for Dwight though. Even if he does resign, once Kobe and Nash retire he's on a team worse than the Magic were.

You think the Lakers will just call it a day once Kobe and Nash go? We might have a few down years in between but Dwight will have more prominent years as a Laker if he stays after Kobe and Nash leave.

[Raiden]

Originally Posted by The Apocalypse

The Lakers are the best looking team, on paper, right now. I don't like the move for Dwight though. Even if he does resign, once Kobe and Nash retire he's on a team worse than the Magic were.

If you think Lakers and Mitch Kupchuk will just let Dwight Howard surrounds himself with mediocre players after both Kobe and Nash retire, then you haven't been paying attention to the history of this organization. They will always go after some of the best players in NBA, just like they did in this off-season by acquiring both Nash and Howard.

[chesslover]

He's ok.

[Raiden]

When healthy, Dwight Howard is the best center in NBA, and arguably the best defensive player as well. He does have some shortcomings, such as the inability to shoot free throws especially during clutch time, but his strengths more than offset his weaknesses. Also, he took a pretty mediocre Magic team all the way to the Finals, albeit losing to the Lakers in the end. I'd say any team in NBA won't have had second thoughts adding Howard to their team, including the Lakers. As a fan, I'm extremely ecstatic to see him joining the team along with Kobe, Nash, Gasol, etc.

[charl_huntress]

Thank you! If I could ask one more question...

What role is he supposed to play on the Lakers? Meaning, how will he fit with the rest of the team? I keep hearing that this is good for Gasol because it releases pressure off him.

[Dr. Evil]

Despite what David Stern says, NBA players will play in Rio in 2016:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olymp...mes/56919010/1