Breaking: Woj: Melo to hou may take till training camp... Update: Interview added

"Inevitable" is the new "imminent" .... word!

 

Training camp is early to mid September. Only a month away.

 

It's really bothering me that he requested a trade. And after hearing his podcast with Woj it seems to me that he is taking shots at Harden about not playing hard, getting back on D, missing defensive assignments, or basically quitting when you don't get a call, not that this isn't true but very weird for him to have done that. Clearly he had a fallout with James after game 6 against the SAS and this podcast was just the icing on the cake.

 

I think you meant to post in the thread Patrick Beverley on the Woj Podcast talking LAC, HOU, and defense?

 

True, he is not ours. but he is a fun talent to watch. He played only 31 games in the outgoing season, and no one knows when he will be ready to play.

 

thanks. my guess is they want to get the trade over before camp starts

 

They pushed the season up 2 weeks. I'm assuming training camp is also moved up.

 

3pm on Thursday lol.....

 

I stopped getting my hopes up 200 pages ago on the Melo thread

 

bold move cotton, let see if it pays off

 

1 min...where is that italian chef ???!!!

 

(so whats the story behind the italian chef?) what did he say?

 

Time for ANOTHER riot

 

Why does the title say "breaking" when there is no real news here?

 

Seriously the closest thing since the original

Injuries & KAT are only reason he's not already unanimously viewed as the league's top Center and top 10 player overall
Considering Brow (injuries) & Cousins (attitude) have their own issues, only KAT has a legit case over Embiid as best Big period


That's why, if I'm LeBron, and chasing MJ's ring count to get 7 is his only real 'goal' left ...
I'm thinking long and hard about this season about how badly I really want to play with my BFFs Paul & Melo
And keeping a close eye on Philly this season

There are lots of them, but IF:
- Embiid (age 23) has his Strasburg limitations lifted and gets into MVP convo with an All NBA 1st Team Center type of season as an all-around superstar
- Saric (23) builds on his All Rookie season and becomes the willing Stretch 4 supreme Bosh & Love have been
- Simmons (21) goes Blake Griffin as an untested sophomore and explodes into 7-foot Jason Kidd as a rookie playmaker/defender
- Fultz (19) own rookie year looks like what DeAngelo Russell was hyped to be - the 2nd coming of Harden as scorer/playmaker extraordinaire

LBJ would be hard pressed to pass on those 4, all on rookie deals, all under age 23, and ALL still just beginning to tap into their potential
Not to mention a few solid vets already in place with Bird rights in JJ, Covington & Amir
Plus several other young role players like Okafor, Anderson & Luwawu still developing

Tom Haberstroh's ESPN article briefly touches on the 76ers appeal for LBJ:

Dark horse: Philadelphia 76ers
The process is starting to turn into results.
By signing JJ Redick and Amir Johnson to big one-year deals, Bryan Colangelo sent a clear message: overspend now but retain flexibility later.
Philadelphia is set up for the future with $48 million in cap space to spend in 2018 while retaining a core of Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid and Robert Covington (the latter two's free-agent cap holds are factored in here).
Even with a max contract for Embiid, the 76ers would have $50 million in cap space for 2019 to go after Klay Thompson or Kevin Love.
Of course, with all the young talent, they could flip their bundle of assets for ready-made stars, a la the 2008 Celtics.

IMO he is severely underrating the potential of that quartet


2008 Celtics Model
Whereas the Houston Banana would place him alongside Harden in his prime, the 2-3 other established stars are also well past 30 looking to maximize a 1-2 year window
If he truly wants another 3 rings to pass Mike, he's basically betting that the Rockets win 3 straight 2019-2021
They would have no margin for error if an injury, or age, suddenly diminish any of his supporting cast
And LBJ would need to log HEAVY minutes playing at his same MVP standard throughout his mid-30's to make that happen
Even Kobe proved that 15 years of health portend nothing at that age
Boston did manage 1 title that way, but not 3


2012 OKC Model
Instead, Philly could potentially offer what OKC could have back in 2012, had LBJ decided to form his first super team there instead of Miami

Embiid as Hakeem 2.0 has the potential to be that KD-type Alpha to take the torch from LBJ in a year or 2 and shoulder the scoring load, health permitting
Simmons may never be the scorer Russ has become, but with all this firepower, a Nash/Kidd role as the team's primary facilitator could save LBJ a ton of miles by relieving him of that full-time additional duty
Fultz as mentioned could immediately become that same impact 6th man Harden was back then, and replace Reddick in crunch time

Plus Cap Space to immediately sign at least 1 more star-level player or BFF like Wade in addition to Max for LBJ & Embiid
Throw in Saric, Okafor, Reddick, Covington, Luwawu, Anderson ...

LBJ could take the Tim Duncan retirement plan in Philly
Slowly transitioning from HIS team to Parker ... then Kawhi ... allowed TD to win his last ring as the #3/4 option in limited minutes in his late 30s

Just imagine this 2019 76ers Lineup:
C - Embiid / Okafor/ Amir
PF - Saric / Anderson
SF - LBJ / Covington / Luwawu
SG - DWade / Reddick
PG - Simmons / Fultz / Bayless

 

**** Pasta Head!