Official NBA thread

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

LeBron back to Cleveland. Not a very good career decision by him, since he just validated everything that was said about him in 2010 (although the media shitbags are talking like he just righted a bunch of wrongs or something). He could get a pass for leaving Cleveland in 2010 because the Cavs were totally incompetent, but Miami went to the finals in all four years he played for them and showed as much of a commitment to winning as you can possibly ask for. But now LeBron's worried that Wade + Bosh + hired guns won't be good enough anymore, so it's back to Cleveland to play with Kyrie Irving and (probably) Kevin Love. If he wants to be king of Cleveland so badly, why leave in the first place? Like I said, he validated all the comments from 2010. I respect him a bit less now, for whatever my opinion is worth.

The worst thing is that fucking slimeball Dan Gilbert winning the lottery like this. That fucking jizzrag wrote that ridiculous comic sans letter in 2010, outed himself a top-tier jackass, took more shots after the 2011 finals, had his words shoved down his throat the following year, and he never publicly apologized for the letter. And that's without getting into the general NBA stuff he was involved in, like the lockout and the Chris Paul thing. He's scum, and LeBron goes back to play for him... why, exactly?

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

In much worse news:

1) We now have no chance at Kevin Love, since we simply cannot compete with a deal centered around Andrew Wiggins. Not the end of the world I suppose, since the best we could hope to be with him and Rondo was a second round knockout to the Pacers or whoever LeBron was playing for. But the ground-up rebuild is officially on.

2) That first round pick we just acquired from the Cavs to take Tyler Zeller or whoever will be worth precisely dick.

[Spudboy]

Oh well!

I wonder what ESPN will do now that Lebron has decided and the World Cup is coming to a close?

I like what Danny did in that "trade". Of course the Cleveland pick being top 10 protected means nothing anymore, I guess.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Side note, I'm really getting tired of America being bullied by the rest of the world and pretending to like soccer. It was better when we called their sport gay and then moved on with our lives. Why the fake fandom?

[Jasonbay44]

I've heard Cavs are offering Waiters, Bennett, AndyV and picks for Love... If they can acquire Love without moving Wiggins that team is absolutely ridiculous. Irving/Wiggins/Lebron/Love/Thompson (or whoever at C) could be more stacked than Heat as I believe Irving and Love are much better "off the ball" players than Wade was. On top of this, Ray Allen basically said he's going to follow Lebron where he goes, so I expect him to sign with Cleveland assuming Cleveland is interested and I can't see why they wouldn't want him.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

If the Wolves trade Love to the Cavs without getting Wiggins then they need to be contracted immediately.

[Spudboy]

I just don't get the Timberwolves. If they move Love and don't get a massive return they are just telling the world that they have no intention of ever competing for a title.

At least they got someone useful back when they moved Garnet to Boston. Although it was still lopsided.

[Spudboy]

LeBron back to Cleveland. Not a very good career decision by him, since he just validated everything that was said about him in 2010 (although the media shitbags are talking like he just righted a bunch of wrongs or something). He could get a pass for leaving Cleveland in 2010 because the Cavs were totally incompetent, but Miami went to the finals in all four years he played for them and showed as much of a commitment to winning as you can possibly ask for. But now LeBron's worried that Wade + Bosh + hired guns won't be good enough anymore, so it's back to Cleveland to play with Kyrie Irving and (probably) Kevin Love. If he wants to be king of Cleveland so badly, why leave in the first place? Like I said, he validated all the comments from 2010. I respect him a bit less now, for whatever my opinion is worth.

The worst thing is that fucking slimeball Dan Gilbert winning the lottery like this. That fucking jizzrag wrote that ridiculous comic sans letter in 2010, outed himself a top-tier jackass, took more shots after the 2011 finals, had his words shoved down his throat the following year, and he never publicly apologized for the letter. And that's without getting into the general NBA stuff he was involved in, like the lockout and the Chris Paul thing. He's scum, and LeBron goes back to play for him... why, exactly?

Call me a cynic.

While "coming home" to Ohio probably had some to do with Lebron's decision, I think it still came down to money and ego. The guy make loads of money in endorsements and wherever he was going to land he would have a huge max contract. I think that now that he will be back in Cleveland, even more money will be gained in licensed merchandise sales and other peripheral streams. And of course he has said that coming back to Cleveland makes him an even better leader. Lol. His ego is even bigger than his bank account.

To those Cleveland fans who expect that a championship in the 2014-2015 season is automatic, you are wrong. The Cavs are in a pinch cap room wise and must scurry about finding more amiable trade partners ( like Ainge has been ) to dump their crap on to make room for at least one veteran impact player like Love. Even then, the team will likely not have the money to buy enough "horses" ( I quote Red here ) to win it all in the coming season. It will be interesting to see how they pull this off. I hope Ray Allen likes it there!!!

I'm betting that Chris Bosh is heading for a max deal in Houston. Although the Rockets will have to work to make the fit worthwhile.

Where does Wade go now? How about Carmello Anthony? Not Chicago!!!

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Carmelo is pretty much irrelevant now. The only remotely intriguing situation for him would have been if Miami somehow managed to pull off that rumored big four team with LeBron, Melo, Wade, and Bosh. Just because of the sheer absurdity of it. Now that that's off the table he'll either stay in New York or go lead some other team to 46 wins and a quick playoff exit.

Bosh is Sam Perkins at this point. He doesn't even deserve a max contract. He never did in the first place, but that's what putting up a hollow 24 ppg in Toronto will do for you I guess. The Rockets are never going to break through to being a real championship threat.

You're right about the Cavs, their roster as constructed is full of kids who aren't even remotely ready for title contention. They need to clean house and grab some guys out of the hired guns that pool that Miami was fishing in every summer. Minnesota holds the key to all of it, which is why they need to take every last pound of flesh Cleveland can part with and then some. They can always deal Love elsewhere if Cleveland won't pony up Wiggins.

[Jasonbay44]

The problem with the Love situation for the T-Wolves is Love keeps scaring off teams by saying he won't re-sign. So if Love scares off all the trade partners, which apparently is what happened in that rumored deal to Golden State for Klay Thompson, the Wolves are gonna be put in a tough situation where if they don't accept Cavs offer they risk him leaving in free agency for nothing in off-season.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Worthless draft picks and transients like Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett won't mean a damn thing to the Wolves franchise going forward. I'd rather play hardball and risk having to let Love walk than settle for the shit sandwich that the Cavs are currently lowballing the Wolves with.

[Northern Star]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0oeqKzZX6Q

LMAO

[Thunder]

The look on my aunt, uncle, and cousins' faces today when they heard the news today was priceless. They're in town for both a wedding celebration and a funeral, but are dedicated Cleveland sports fans that live about 30 minutes out of the city. I'm glad he's back, mainly for this reason.

[Northern Star]

Write it down: the Knicks do not win a championship with Carmelo. Not happening.

[Spudboy]

Write it down: the Knicks do not win a championship with Carmelo. Not happening.

Did he announce his return to the Knicks today?

I agree in any case.