Yeah, no way CLE gives up that pick unless Love agrees to an extension and Love is not going to agree to an extension unless he knows Lebron is coming too. Maybe Boston can convince Love that they have the assets to put a good team around him and Rondo.
I think the Lakers would like to acquire a star player this offseason but if they miss out on Lebron, Anthony and Love then I think that they are smart enough not to overpay for a 2nd tier guy. They are in the same situation as Houston was a couple of years ago. They need a star and they can't make any moves that diminishes their chances of acquiring a star should they become available.
Dream come true if possible. I wanted Rondo even back when it was rumored Parsons would be traded for him.
I don't see LeBron leaving Miami. He really likes Spolstra and Riley. Wade is expected to take less money to bring in more talent. What has Cleveland done to engender any confidence? They have been a disaster since he left. Their owner bad mouthed James. Their front office and coaching staff has been a joke. Also what some people forget is that he isn't from Cleveland and never viewed it as his home... He is from Akron. It makes zero sense to me... A Miami title gives him 3... He wants 6-7 and he isn't getting close to that in Cleveland.
Let's hope he plays better than last year... He was arguably the worst defensive player on the Celtics.
Has someone kidnapped the real Daryl Morey and replaced him with a brain-dead zombie? Or DD? Ever since he extended McHale and said some inexplicable things regarding our loss to Portland, Morey hasn't seemed to be his usual on-top-of-things self.
I think Anthony to Houston is far more likely. The Rockets get to keep Parsons, use Anthony at the 4 and use the full MLE on a back up 4 or elite defender swing player like Thabo.
Coming back from injury/not caring because the team sucked I think had a lot to do with that. I'd definitely take Rondo.
Would you take Rondo over Anthony or Love? To me there is a drop between Love/Anthony and Rondo. No doubt Rondo makes the Rockets better though.
One of the things in the Rockets favor regarding obtaining Kevin Love is McHale's close relationship with both Love and Minnesota GM Flip Saunders. I think retaining (McHale's contract has not been extended, right?) our coach is probably smart if you are thinking strategically.
I agree there's a drop from Love/Anthony to Rondo. Any deal for Love would involve Parsons, while I think Melo/Rondo can be had without giving him up. It all kind of depends who else is involved, but if we're strictly going by what player I would rather have, definitely Love or Melo (I'm still not sure which one I would rather have. Probably Love) and then Rondo. I just think Rondo might be the most likely one for us to get, though.
Now you are just being a homer. Reluctance to give up Harden for Love? I understand even if I don't agree. But Parsons being a deal breaker? Melo's a fine player and all, but dude is 30 and you'd be getting him at the 10+ year player max for ages 30-34. Not too old but at an age where there is a real risk of a guy physically falling off. You'd get Love at age 25. And Love is a significantly better player. Parsons is a nice player and all, but you can find an MLE player or one or more available through trade to fill his spot. Not one as handsome as Parsons but good enough at basketball.
Because it's Minnesota and beggars can't be choosers. Jeremy has a big contract for a backup so paying Thompson wouldn't be outrageous. And Thompson and Barnes are probably better than anyone they can get in this draft with the Celtics picks.
Agreed... And this is the western conference. Love isn't a great defender, but Melo would get his lunch ate playing at the power forward position in this conference.
FWIW, Thompson's xRAPM is really good: http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/teams/GSW.html He is also a solid versatile defender, often taking on the tougher PGs in place of Curry and does a good job on a top ranked defensive team. Moreover, he is still young and has upside. Those are the argument that his agent will make anyway. He will be a restricted FA, too, so for all practical purposes you can keep him for many more years as long as you are willing to match whatever the best offer he'd find as a restricted FA, which may or may not be "the max" depending on a number of factors. One more note about Klay and Minnesota: Remember where Klay's dad, Mychal Thompson chose to go to college as a young man from the Bahamas? University of Minnesota, where he was basketball teammates with, among other people, Flip Saunders (and Kevin McHale). Not that these "local connections" always matter-- Dwight Howard didn't choose Atlanta-- but maybe Saunders has a decent idea from talking to Mychal about Klay's willingness to stay in Minnesota.
