2013-2014 NBA season thread

[darklord700]

Rose Westbrook Kobe and Brook Lopez all got re-injured in the first two months of the season. Meanwhile, Wade is playing better and better with tons of resting between games.

[octothorp]

Next up: Al Horford, out indefinitely with a completely torn left pectoral. He missed four months after tearing his right pectoral in 2012, so at this point it's possible that his season is done.

[Drake]

And down goes another one, Chris Paul is expected to miss 3-5 weeks with a separated shoulder suffered in tonights game.

[Montana Moe]

26-7

I had forgotten how fun this town is when the Blazers are rolling. I can only hope it keeps going!

They're the only team that has had the same starting lineup for every game this season, I don't doubt that has contributed to their success.

[Da_Chief]

They sure draft well if they don't have the 1st overall.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Damian Lilard is money. Superstar in the making.

[Drake]

The Chicago Bulls announced tonight they have conveyed the contract of Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers for multiple draft picks, along with the contract of Andrew Bynum.

In addition to sending Bynum’s contract to Chicago, the Cavaliers also conveyed to the Bulls a future draft pick via the Sacramento Kings (Sacramento’s conditional regular first round selection in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 otherwise, Sacramento’s 2017 regular second round pick if it falls between 31-55).

Cleveland also conveyed to Chicago the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2015 and 2016 regular second round draft picks, which were held by the Cavaliers. In addition, if Cleveland is not in the NBA Draft Lottery in 2015, the Bulls have the right to switch regular first round selections with the Cavaliers.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-...icks-deng.html
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@KCJHoop:

Bulls didn't want to trade Deng for salary dump but Cavaliers coughed up draft picks Bulls sought.

Bulls made one more attempt to re-sign Deng last week, which was rejected. Have heard both 3 years/$30 million and 4 years/$40 million.

After Bulls waive Bynum, they will need to sign 13th player for prorated vet minimum. Will still be below luxury tax.

[darklord700]

Trade like this is why Cleveland is always gonna be the laughing stock of the league. They got Deng who clearly has peaked and is often injuried for 3 draft picks. All for a chance to fight for a low playoff spot in the East. And there's no guarantee Deng will stay past this season.

OK, the picks are lottery protected so it's not as bad as I had though initially for Cleveland. Deng likely will win some games for the Cavs and will want more than $10M per to resign. I'm afraid the Cavs might not have the restrain and will over paid Deng next year.

[octothorp]

Yeah, Cleveland is desperate right now not to become the Edmonton Oilers of the NBA. All those high draft picks (including one all-star) and nothing to show for it.

They probably can resign Deng if they want to using Bird rights to give him a 5 year contract. At his age he'd probably value the extra year. Irving, Waiters, Deng, Thompson, and Verejao should be a passable starting lineup, and Deng probably can contribute as much in leadership as he does on the court. Waiters won't like the fact that his touches will go down even more since Deng is obviously the better scoring option.

Good move for Chicago, they can legitimately tank with the roster they have now. A top five pick plus Noah and a healthy Rose puts them in good shape moving forward. But it's hard to say at this point whether Rose is ever going to be 100% himself.

[Senator Clay Davis]

And now we get to watch Bynum go to either the Clippers or Heat as a reward for being an immature loser. Doesn't particularly seem fair.

But damn good trade for Chicago. I'm trying to figure out what Cleveland is going for here, and keep coming back to nothing. Just counting down the days till they lose Kyrie now. And since I said that, Masai, take a look at what you can do to get Irving.

[darklord700]

Deng is a top echelon role player but he can't carry a team by himself. He's looking for one big final contract this summer and some GM will pay him that and that contract will become an albatross for that team in a few years time.

The fact that the Bulls basically just dumped him when he refused to sign for $10M per says a lot. You think the Bulls would know a few things about a player who had played for them for almost a decade.

[octothorp]

Also reading speculation that Chicago might be setting themselves up for a run at Melo in the offseason; they'd need to amnesty Boozer and probably shed some additional salary as well, but it's possible.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Unless the Bulls are walking away from Rose, signing Melo makes no sense even slightly. Rose dominates the ball and tends to look for his own shot. Melo dominates the ball and doesn't pass once he gets it. Odd combination.

[darklord700]

If Rose comes back healthy, adding Melo will be huge especially with a good coach like Thibodeau on the bench. I think a healthy Rose has a good chance of enticing Melo to sign if he chooses to bolt NYK.

[darklord700]

I would sign Bynum for the minimum if I were the Heat. Not fair but that's life.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Bynum orchestrated his way out of Cleveland. He wants to play for Miami or the Clippers. Will they offer him a shot? I sure wouldn't but talent always trumps character.

[killer_carlson]

I wonder if Bennett could be had out of Cleveland? He is shaping up to be bust city, but I'd love to see him work into the rotation behind Amir.

[darklord700]

LAC doesn't look good to me with CP3 going down. Also, LAC play in the stacked West with no guarantee path to the Finals. The Heat only need to get past the Pacers and if Bynum has anything left, he'll play a big part in that, and Bynum will at least play in the Finals again.

Worse come to worse, the Heat can always take him off the team if Bynum is not behaving well. Also, Bynum's presence could motivate Oden to get going too. Another low risk high reward signing for the Heat.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Melo to the Bulls would be a bad idea. Outside of his scoring what else does he bring to the table? Him and Rose wouldn't co-exsist well IMO and if Rose can't come back the same from these injuries then you have to build the team around him. Good luck with that.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Outside Ray Allen rocking the Shuttlesworth jersey (which he should be allowed to do full time if he wants), these jerseys with guys nicknames on the back are almost dumber than the Christmas ones. And someone should have just gone "He Hate Me" just cause.