2023-24 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

lol; i'm obviously the resident AD fan club president, but i had the same reaction. i was expecting it, but i also know that the last two years of that deal are probably going to hurt.

 

Looks like he just banged knees - hopefully nothing serious
also his Slovenian teammates aren't very good

 

Is this a tournament or just regular season play in Europe now for him? Plus he’ll be playing in FIBA tournament? All this non NBA play must make owners nuts with the risk of the huge contracts many of these players have for the NBA.

 

cuban famously complained about it years back, and everyone said he was whiny. i got it. dirk was the franchise. if he gets hurt trying to secure the bronze for germany, germany isn't out 150 million.

 

who is #11 on slovenia, and why is he worse at basketball than i am?

that casual one-legged bank shot from 20ft that luka threw in is totally nuts, as was the behind the back double team split.

really think he's one of the best offensive players i've ever seen already. like magic and bird all in one.

 

Apparently Luka is OK

It's truly shocking there hasn't been more serious injuries during international play.

It's just going to take one and the governors will strongly encourage their franchise players to stay home.

 

It’s shocking how ripped Shaq has gotten over this past I don’t even know how long. I only started to notice about 6 months ago in his studio clothes. First time seeing him no shirt.

Do it Rob.

 

It's still going to be a heavy price, but at the end of his deal it may not look so bad. It's insane saying that considering the price tag. If he's injured (or just not performing), he'd still be a huge trade chip.

 

I don’t see anything wrong with the comments on Hakeem. I think defensively he is as good as AD at his best, and offensively he is top 3? Alongside Cap and Shaq. That’s a perennial all star and multiple time MVP.

 

There’s not much you can do about AD’s renewal. He deserves it with his play and potential. Here’s to hoping he stays healthy!

 

wilt has an awful lot to say here. i thought hakeem was very good but not great offensively, in historical terms. for example, everybody s***s on patrick ewing, but he was pretty much just as effective on offense as olajuwon, imo. same with david robinson. if duncan's a center, he's there, too. i just have hakeem a tier below those top guys (kareem, shaq, wilt) and in a glut of other very good offensive centers over time.

on defense, he's probably the best i've seen (i didn't see russell), with AD being pretty close. hard to compare because hakeem probably would have struggled to defend on the perimeter like AD has been able to, whereas AD isn't as strong in the base to defend bully post post players (though he's done well there at times, too).

also, by overboard, part of what i meant was that i'm not sure hakeem is disrespected as claimed. as i said above, patrick ewing is disrespected. as is drob. i feel like olajuwon is appropriately respected.

 

What separated Hakeem offensively was the combination of footwork, post moves and counter moves... his counters had counters. His bag was ridiculously deep. I don't think he's the best center, but do think he's the best two way center ever. I'm really bummed the Taco Bell PPV one-on-one game between Hakeem and Shaq got canceled. I think it could've spawned a hell of an event that could still be going on today between various players.

 

None of the bigs during Hakeem’s era were quick enough to guard him. He was abnormally quick for a 7 footer- it was just so rare of a combo.

 

it's like AD, except they had illegal defense rules back then, so guys with refined post games--even if they weren't great passers--could really be the focal point of the offense.

 

Wasn’t he actually 6’9” or 6’10”?

 

Top 4 offensively alongside Cap, Wilt and Shaq. My bad for leaving Wilt out. Hakeem showed during his career that if you have him an all star quality player he had a chance to compete for a ring. Sadly most of his prime he was playing on rubbish teams.

I have a feeling Luka’s career will resemble his, dominant player that wins 1 or 2 becsuse Dallas can’t get their house in order.