The NBA Thread

[jbissell]

It's not about the buyout, his agent worked really hard to make it worth his while to come to MN. He just doesn't want to play here. I think it's good for Flynn, because he always would have been out of position and probably would have been developmentally stifled. I'm undecided if this is good or bad for the Wolves. My gut feeling is bad. But, there wasn't anybody that would have helped the Wolves at pick #5, so I think it was worth the risk.

Couldn't they have tried a little harder to trade the pick?

[fonpr]

You guys aren't helping TerG with his "Problem".

No more sports talk for a while please.

Be considerate.

[Gilly]

It's not about the buyout, his agent worked really hard to make it worth his while to come to MN. He just doesn't want to play here. I think it's good for Flynn, because he always would have been out of position and probably would have been developmentally stifled. I'm undecided if this is good or bad for the Wolves. My gut feeling is bad. But, there wasn't anybody that would have helped the Wolves at pick #5, so I think it was worth the risk.

Couldn't they have tried a little harder to trade the pick?

I suppose, but they still have his rights. They can trade his rights at any time, but there's not a rush on that especially since the team is young and players need to be evaluated. Plus, Rubio will most likely get better and prove himself with a better team so his value will go up. It could go down, but if what the Knicks were offering was the best available, I think Kahn played this right.

[fonpr]

It's not about the buyout, his agent worked really hard to make it worth his while to come to MN. He just doesn't want to play here. I think it's good for Flynn, because he always would have been out of position and probably would have been developmentally stifled. I'm undecided if this is good or bad for the Wolves. My gut feeling is bad. But, there wasn't anybody that would have helped the Wolves at pick #5, so I think it was worth the risk.

Couldn't they have tried a little harder to trade the pick?

GILLY

I suppose, but they still have his rights. They can trade his rights at any time, but there's not a rush on that especially since the team is young and players need to be evaluated. Plus, Rubio will most likely get better and prove himself with a better team so his value will go up. It could go down, but if what the Knicks were offering was the best available, I think Kahn played this right.

[Gilly]

You guys aren't helping TerG with his "Problem".

No more sports talk for a while please.

Be considerate.

Did I miss something?

[fonpr]

You guys aren't helping TerG with his "Problem".

No more sports talk for a while please.

Be considerate.

Did I miss something?

Yes!

[JohnU]

I think Minnesota lucked out. They don't have to pay Rubio during puberty (with all of the growth spurts, moodiness, awkward voice changes) and they'll be able to sign a grown man to a manly contract in three years.

Sure, he won't be as cute and boyish, but he also won't be pounded on by every other basketball player.

[dnk]

I think Minnesota lucked out. They don't have to pay Rubio during puberty (with all of the growth spurts, moodiness, awkward voice changes) and they'll be able to sign a grown man to a manly contract in three years.

Sure, he won't be as cute and boyish, but he also won't be pounded on by every other basketball player.

He's 18 years old. I think he's pretty much done with puberty. And the opt-out is in two years, I believe.

[JohnU]

I think Minnesota lucked out. They don't have to pay Rubio during puberty (with all of the growth spurts, moodiness, awkward voice changes) and they'll be able to sign a grown man to a manly contract in three years.

Sure, he won't be as cute and boyish, but he also won't be pounded on by every other basketball player.

He's 18 years old. I think he's pretty much done with puberty. And the opt-out is in two years, I believe.

I'm going more off of appearance and mannerisms. He has a child star aura that he needs to shake off before he comes west.

[dnk]

I think Minnesota lucked out. They don't have to pay Rubio during puberty (with all of the growth spurts, moodiness, awkward voice changes) and they'll be able to sign a grown man to a manly contract in three years.

Sure, he won't be as cute and boyish, but he also won't be pounded on by every other basketball player.

He's 18 years old. I think he's pretty much done with puberty. And the opt-out is in two years, I believe.

I'm going more off of appearance and mannerisms. He has a child star aura that he needs to shake off before he comes west.

I wouldn't really know, I haven't interacted with the guy or even watched any interviews with him. I've only seen some select mixes on YouTube.

So Ramon Sessions signed a four-year, $16 million offer sheet with the Wolves. Weird. Definitely a good price, but I don't really know why they thought they needed him. I really like both Flynn and Sessions, so I'd hate to see some implosion over playing time or something. It's also a decently long deal and Sessions is pretty young. I think it would have made more sense to sign a stop-gap guy for one season than yet another guy to possibly make Flynn feel slighted (although he seems to have a good head on his shoulders and will probably be fine with the competition). It seems like Kahn is only interested in stockpiling assets, without any regard for team fit or this season.

[jbissell]

Figured that I'd bump this since the season started last night.

I feel bad for Blake Griffin, the Clippers bad luck will never end.

[Gilly]

The Wolves are going to be unbelievably bad for the first month until Love comes back. For awhile, it looked like Jefferson might have had to miss some time, which would have resulted in the worst starting five the Wolves have put on the court on opening night. It could have been the worst team any NBA team started out with. That said, I am very excited for opening night. I really hope there is a team that surprises everyone this year because it seems that everybody is counting out all but 5 teams.

[jbissell]

I really hope there is a team that surprises everyone this year because it seems that everybody is counting out all but 5 teams.

Besides the Bulls, for obvious reasons, the team I'm most interested in this year is Oklahoma City.  They've got a couple interesting young guys and it seems like they could make a big leap this year.  I'm also interested in what might be the Spurs last Duncan-led run.

[Gilly]

OK City should be fun to watch. I think they're a year away though unless at least two of their non-Durant players really make a huge leap this year... I think they win 30-35 games this year and next year they'll make the playoffs. Spurs definitely have a shot, they are one of the five teams that are being given a chance along with the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers and Magic. I don't think anyone should be counting out Portland, New Orleans and Washington and there are 6-7 other teams that probably only need one of their players to progress into a star this year to become a legitimate contender.

[Andy]

just FYI: The Thunder start their championship run tonight.