no terry AND howard is not one guy. by moving them, u move harris and stack/george to the starting lineup. now tell me, who's on their bench? now they have lost their shooters -> now u can double kobe/dirk ALL day. dirk isn't shaq by any means. kobe + shaq SQUEEZED OUT a lot of games, but that's b/c shaq was so dominant and kobe closed out games. dirk is in no way dominant enough to cause u to double him like crazy. hell most teams single cover him
Dallas sucks, Bryant is an egomaniac. So is Cuban. A perfect fit. Having said that, if anything does happen, please let the egomaniac go to the East.
Apparently their new bench includes Kobe now, since you didn't add him to the starting lineup. That's a pretty damn good one-player bench. + Kobe - Howard - Terry = Net loss of one player
Funny thing is, what's Kobe's goal again? Not only to be relevant in the playoffs again, but to WIN again. You think he likes seeing Dwyane Wade hoisting up the Larry O'Brien or how the media fawned all over LeBron and his godly performance against the Pistons? Going to Dallas isn't going to get him to the Promise Land. Dirk is a very good player but who's to say he'll thrive being a second banana? Crucial shots are still going to have to be made and, last I checked, Jordan succeeded by his own will but also needed the likes of clutch shooters like BJ Armstrong, John Paxson, Craig Hodges and Steve Kerr. As for Kobe almost single handedly beating the Suns two years ago? Check the stats for yourself (here's some help: http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2006.html ) Lamar Odom was averaging 20-10 throughout the WHOLE series. He was the perfect sidekick for Kobe and was a big reason why they lasted so long against the Suns (his underrated defense on Marion helped a bit too if I'm not mistaken). So what can Dirk do for Kobe that Lamar couldn't two years ago? Maybe make some more 3s, spread the defense but that's about it. Lamar scored. Lamar defended. Lamar rebounded. As for adjustments in the playoffs, of course they're crucial. But the Rockets weren't killed because Utah made adjustments--we were killed because WE didn't make adjustments. Believe it or not, that's what it was. Any changes that Sloan made wasn't surprising. It was Van Gundy's insistence on running the same trick over and over cost us the series (that and piss poor shooting). So Dallas trades Howard (who is an All-Star by his own right) and Terry and a couple of draft picks for Kobe (who by the way, can veto the trade if he wants) and lets say Buss is stupid enough to take it. Dallas ends up with a starting lineup of: Dampier Dirk George Kobe Harris Their bench consists of Stackhouse, Diop and that's pretty much it. Kobe has got to think "How is THAT lineup better than the one that took Phoenix to Game 7 two years ago?" Need a refresher? Kwame Brown Lamar Odom Luke Walton Kobe Smush Parker And their bench was George (hoHO! coincidence!), Vujacic, and Brian Cook Wouldn't a Chicago team of: Ben Wallace Joe Smith Luol Deng Kobe Duhon With Nocioni as the 6th man look a LOT better? This is assuming that Gordon, Hinrich, Thomas, Noah and PJ Brown are ALL shipped to the Lakers. I think Kobe has and probably have realized this.
You are just a Hater! I welcome the challenge as a fan that the Rockets could face a Dallas team with Kobe on it. Only a "skerd" fan would want Kobe traded to the East.
exactly. and if it's that simply that adding kobe and losing howard + terry = loss of one player. now look at their bench. so how old are you? i'm not saying dallas won't be as good b/c when u have 2 superstars, you're gonna be good, but their depth is GONE.
you think Dallas cares about a bench if they were to add Kobe? A bench is easier to replenish. Acquiring the top player in the game is the most difficult move to make. Add Kobe and think roster later.
After 67 wins, Dallas doesn't have anywhere to go but down this year. Kobe-Dirk might make them more dangerous in the postseason, but they sure as hell aren't going in as the one seed by removing all their balance and depth. And I mean dangerous in the same sense that Golden State was dangerous last year. They have no lasting potential, maybe an upset for one round but that's it. Plus, Josh Howard is really underrated and I bet L.A. gets more wins this year if they have a bonafide PG in Terry at the helm to run the triangle. Lamar Odom takes over as option #1, and Andrew Bynum is about 0.5-1 year away from busting out?? I can already smell the Ewing Theory potential, plus the irony of Kobe making his new team worse and his old team better.
add to that the fact that: 1. Dallas would lose 1st rounders for the next two years 2. Cuban is going to have to pony up for that Kobe extension for Kobe to even ok the deal 3. Stackhouse and Jones aren't going to get any younger 4. Devin Harris is still a non-perimeter threat 5. That platoon of Dampier and Diop at the center doesn't look like it's going to improve any time soon 6. Bringing back point #2, add Kobe's extension plus Dirk's salary PLUS Harris' 8 mil a year extension kicking in PLUS Dampiers 10 mil per...they are pretty much FUBAR'd in terms of salary cap. So that pretty much gives a Dirk/Kobe Dallas Mavericks team what...2-3 years to bring a title home?
A bench is easy to get. A GOOD bench that produces is harder to get. Sure it's not as hard as trading for Kobe, but between Kobe, Dirk, Dampier, and Harris' extension kicking in after this year, that's about 56 million dollars poured into 4 players. "Add Kobe and think roster later" is hard when Mr. Bryant holds a no-trade clause that can pretty much cripple any deal he deems unfit.
Exactly, so why should we care if they do that trade? Now I would have been nervous with last year's Rockets team, but this year we have a lot of talent to challenge the big boys.
You gotta think Kobe wants Chicago and only Chicago. Phoenix is best of course but that seems like a pipe dream. Even if Chicago had to trade away most of their players like: Gordon Hinrich Thomas Noah PJ Brown re-signed contract (hopefully) The Bulls still have Wallace Joe Smith Nocioni Deng Selofsha Duhon In a conference where there are pretty much 2-3 really good teams (Detroit, Boston, and whoever the darkhorse is this year). It's a match made in heaven for Kobe. -He gets to put on his best Jordan impersonation -He gets a sidekick that can put the ball in the basket like a Pippen (Deng) -He gets a Euro player that has offensive skills and can come in as a 6th man like Kukoc (Nocioni) -He gets an undresized post player that can rebound like no other like Rodman (Wallace) -He gets a third sidekick who can be the jack of all trades like Ron Harper (Selofsha) It's like we rewinded back to 1996.
u know how josh howard said he couldn't name ONE player off of our bench. we're gonna say the same thing next yr if dallas makes this trade. in today's style of play, u def. need a bench. all the great teams right now have depth and versatility.
That's the thing though, I don't think the Lakers do that deal with the Bulls unless they get Deng as part of the package. I really thought KG was going to get traded to the Bulls since they had a surplus of young players to trade. I doubt if the Lakers would be interested in PJ.
Tell me about it. Every NBA preview magazine I have read so far says that the Celtics are ranked higher than the Rockets. How in the hell can a team with no bench be ranked higher than us. Give me a break!
Holy Sh*t! I hope this thread comes through. That would be awesome. The west is gonna look scarier than ever (on paper). Redefined must be really happy.
I doubt it. If the Lakers trade for Gordon, Hinrich, Thomas, Noah, and PJ Brown (who is added for salary cap sake), their team is pretty damn stacked: Center: Kwame/Bynum Power Forward: Odom/Thomas Small Forward: Walton/Noah Shoot Guard: Gordon Point Guard: Hinrich/Fisher That team could possibly be an 8th seed in the West if Odom stays healthy. Of course getting Deng in the deal rather than Gordon or Hinrich would be better for Buss, but he isn't exactly losing much with this deal. You got: 1. A scorer in Gordon 2. A competent PG and defender in Hinrich 3. Monstrous potential with Tyrus Thomas and Noah 4. An anchor/insurance at center in Brown 5. Marketability (not as much as Kobe but still better than Howard and Terry) in Hinrich and Noah
well, KG's a media fav b/c of how he plays. and they're in the east. if we were in the east, u might pencil us in for 65+ wins seeing how we MURDERED that conference last yr. i think that's why theyre ranked higher more than anything. i don't think most ppl think boston is better than houston right now.
It's not so cut and dried with Dirk. He put the Mavs on his shoulders and beat the Spurs on the road to win a playoff series. He's still a damn good player. Him and Kobe together would be a load. The only problem I could see with that team is that a team of one on one players just got the biggest ball hog in the league and lost a great cohesive, dirty work kind of player in Howard. The Mavericks will be a challenge with, or without this trade. I think the Lakers would be crazy to trade him to any team in the West.
