[smltwnrckr]

He's given the Hornets a list of places he wants to go -- New York (to hopefully be joined by Melo) or Orlando, according to the reports. He wants to follow the Lebron precedent.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=5401230

Awesome. I'm totally looking forward to teams like the Kings being like the A's, serving as a farm team to develop talent before they go to one of five or six upper-teir teams by trade or free agency.

[domesik]

smltwnrckr, on 23 July 2010 - 08:21 AM, said:

He's given the Hornets a list of places he wants to go -- New York (to hopefully be joined by Melo) or Orlando, according to the reports. He wants to follow the Lebron precedent.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=5401230

Awesome. I'm totally looking forward to teams like the Kings being like the A's, serving as a farm team to develop talent before they go to one of five or six upper-teir teams by trade or free agency.

Makes me miss the 80's where players wanted to actually compete against each other instead of form pro level rec teams with each other.

Now to be real, if I was a fan of a team all these All-Stars wanted to join, I might think a bit differently, but I'm not, because I'm a Kings fan, so it sucks to watch the NBA turn into the MLB right when the Kings look like they are going to be fun to watch again.

Fiddlesticks.

[EJay]

domesik, on 23 July 2010 - 08:45 AM, said:

Makes me miss the 80's where players wanted to actually compete against each other instead of form pro level rec teams with each other.

Hate to break it to you, but the players aren't different .. the league is. Salaries, rules, free agency .. all of it has drastically changed over the years. People can myopically believe what they want, but if today's landscape was the same during the 70's, 80's, and 90's, you would have seen the same type of decisions made. In fact, you sometimes did. It's well known that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar requested a trade to New York or Los Angeles back during his prime. As we all know, the Bucks begrudgingly honored his request.

Also, don't forget that during Bird and Magic's heyday, there were only 23 teams .. not 30. The league was less watered down and it was a bit harder to land on a team that had little to no talent. There was far less FA movement, which means those players often didn't have much choice but to stick things out. Even so, there were numerous stars that managed to get themselves traded to marquee franchises (one HUGE example mentioned above).

People often talk about how corrupt the league is now and how David Stern favors big market teams / storied franchises. Nobody ever mentions how it was going on back during Bird and Magic's heyday and how it helped them build their dynasties.

Case in point; despite winning 47 games and making it to the Conference Semi-Finals, the Lakers were gifted the #1 overall pick in the '79 draft as compensation for losing an aging Gail Goodrich. They used it to draft Magic Johnson and pair him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who forced a trade to LA a few years before). Then, 3-years later, after winning 58-games and making an appearance in the NBA Finals, the Lakers were again gifted the #1 overall pick in the '82 draft by virtue of a 'coin flip'. They used it to draft James Worthy and complete their dynasty.

Believe what you will about LeBron, but I can all but guarantee you that if a Hall-Of-Fame center was on the Cavs roster upon his arrival and then the team landed another future Hall-Of-Famer via another #1 overall draft pick ... LeBron, like Magic, would have had no cause to leave via free agency.

[GI]

When I think of the big market teams stacked with superstars like LA and Miami I also like to think of the successes of some small market teams. There is San Antonio who actually won recent Titles. Sacramento came very close in 2002, and as we all know that the winner of the Western Conference that year was heavily favored to win the finals. Portland also made it to the finals with Adelman only to lose to Jordan and the Bulls. Even though they have no title, Utah had a lot of success with Stockton and Malone. They went to the finals twice only to also lose to Jordan and the Bulls. I am sure there are other examples. Just trying to be optimistic.

[Slick Nick]

The Lakers winning 47 and 58 games and getting the #1 overall pick as compensation is ridiculous. It boggles my mind that things like that were allowed to go on in those years.

[mrlaze]

This cant be good for the NBA. I mean I'm already thinking "Whats the point in watching?" Miami and LA are set up for years and every decent role player is going to do whatever it takes to sign with these guys over the course of the next 3-5 seasons. At least the kings games will (hopefully) be fun to watch. Maybe, just maybe, by the time Tyreke and Cousins are in their late 20's, if they live up to their potential, and if they are still here, they can compete when these super teams are in decline.

But that's a long time to wait and a lot of ifs and maybes.

[Slick Nick]

People now around town think that with the Kings current team and all of the player movement East this off season believe that they have a chance to get one of the last two remaining playoff spots this year. It will then look like a carbon copy of what OKC is doing with their team. One bad season two years ago, better year last year but still a lottery pick and in the playoffs in the third year.

[mrlaze]

in no order:
lakers
nuggets
utah
blazers
suns
spurs
rockets?
hornets?
mavs?
kings?lol

Maybe, if...