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Irish#1

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Watch Kawhi and AD end up w/ the Lakers and LBJ turns into 80's Cap Kareem. I will vomit.

... and everyone loved the Bulls. Even Pistons & Pacers season ticket holders.

I bet Irish#1 still has MJ PJ's with footies.

I loathed the Bulls and those Pacer fans weren't really Pacer fans. Any true fan will stick with your team through thick and thin and not root for the hottest team. Those PJ's were tempting. I just couldn't fit into a boys size 12.



I personally like children, just not my own. I also love mankind but the fucking people I can't stand.

People adore judging individual greatness by team accomplishment. So when a guy doesn't have any "rings" his individual legacy is tarnished. Guy goes to a team as a free agent to give himself a chance to win a championship and that's "soft." Guy goes to shitty team just for the most money, he's greedy. In the end, you have have your head up of both sides of your ass.

Double edged sword winning an NBA title. The confetti starts to fall and all you're talking about is who is going where, the draft is in a week, free agency right after that. Zero time to reflect.

I love the product the NBA puts out, present day. I don't long the past or to see someone get clothes lined driving down the lane. In my dad's day (1970s) they were all boozed and coked up, although I don't hear too many sports fans clamoring for that. Just Rick Mahorn trying to do his best Ronnie Lott impression on a shooting guard.

Big George McGinnis, Dr. J, Moses Malone, The Ice Man, Roger Brown and a number of others I'm forgetting from the 70's would do quite well today.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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I'm so confused with the cosmic justice and karma comment. Did I miss a post somewhere? Glad to see you agree that Durant was a baby back bitch for joining the team he couldn't beat though. His legacy will always be tarnished because of it.

Read the posts before mine and you might find the karma comments dropped. And I don't agree about Durant. I think he made a decision to win a championship and he did it by hoisting the Warriors on his back. The Warriors wouldn't have won the last two championships without Durant: FACT.

And his legacy is well intact and will be dictated by what he does after it. He can go out a winner and all you whiney ass fools can keep talking about how he's soft.

I'm not sure how you're still not getting this. Generally fans root for the underdog, not an overpowered dynasty. There are exceptions of course, but attitude is a big part of it.
Golden State is effectively the Miami of the 80s, they're incredibly cocky and egotistical. It would be one thing if they were a dynasty like the Spurs had several years ago, where the players were humble and just played well as a team. It's different when you're a team filled with All Stars and poach an MVP, and the organization is unlikable from the top on down. I posted links yesterday related to this. You said "Draymond can rub people the wrong way?" He's easily one of the most disrespectful and dirtiest players in the NBA.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IyV9x1mJah0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That's not even a comprehensive list, there's whole videos of Draymond kicking players in the junk, only two of which are included here. Yeah, he's a great defensive player, but he's not respected the same way as Leonard because of his antics.

Lol. I get it. People dont' like winners and they really don't like consistent winners. Golden State is like Miami of the 80s? Steph Curry and Klay Thompson remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Iguodala and Livingston remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Steve Kerr reminds you of Jimmy Johnson?

I'm afraid there's only one player that can draw those comparisons. DG

And I think you're GD bonkers and don't know how to draw comparisons between personality types.
 

NorthDakota

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Read the posts before mine and you might find the karma comments dropped. And I don't agree about Durant. I think he made a decision to win a championship and he did it by hoisting the Warriors on his back. The Warriors wouldn't have won the last two championships without Durant: FACT.

And his legacy is well intact and will be dictated by what he does after it. He can go out a winner and all you whiney ass fools can keep talking about how he's soft.



Lol. I get it. People dont' like winners and they really don't like consistent winners. Golden State is like Miami of the 80s? Steph Curry and Klay Thompson remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Iguodala and Livingston remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Steve Kerr reminds you of Jimmy Johnson?

I'm afraid there's only one player that can draw those comparisons. DG

And I think you're GD bonkers and don't know how to draw comparisons between personality types.

Lmao why do you think they wouldn't have won without him? How is that a FACT?

He joined a 70+ win team that had already won a title. That is a fact.

He is a bitch. That word was invented to describe people who do what he did.
 

ulukinatme

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Read the posts before mine and you might find the karma comments dropped. And I don't agree about Durant. I think he made a decision to win a championship and he did it by hoisting the Warriors on his back. The Warriors wouldn't have won the last two championships without Durant: FACT.

And his legacy is well intact and will be dictated by what he does after it. He can go out a winner and all you whiney ass fools can keep talking about how he's soft.



Lol. I get it. People dont' like winners and they really don't like consistent winners. Golden State is like Miami of the 80s? Steph Curry and Klay Thompson remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Iguodala and Livingston remind you of the 80s Miami teams? Steve Kerr reminds you of Jimmy Johnson?

I'm afraid there's only one player that can draw those comparisons. DG

And I think you're GD bonkers and don't know how to draw comparisons between personality types.

I've already linked a handful of articles from publications that have described Golden State as being unlikable and egotistical, from the ownership down to the players. Certainly not every player qualifies, but the face(s) of the franchise certainly do. This is not news to anyone.
 

Irish#1

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Lmao why do you think they wouldn't have won without him? How is that a FACT?

He joined a 70+ win team that had already won a title. That is a fact.

He is a bitch. That word was invented to describe people who do what he did.

Kj5XKhO.jpg
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Lmao why do you think they wouldn't have won without him? How is that a FACT?

He joined a 70+ win team that had already won a title. That is a fact.

He is a bitch. That word was invented to describe people who do what he did.

Kewl story bro.

I've already linked a handful of articles from publications that have described Golden State as being unlikable and egotistical, from the ownership down to the players. Certainly not every player qualifies, but the face(s) of the franchise certainly do. This is not news to anyone.

Lol. You found interweb storiez supporting a position?

giphy.gif
 

ulukinatme

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Where do we go from here? I've provided reputable sports publications detailing the disdain for Golden State. Your responses are "lol" "You're bonkers" "Kewl story bro" and memes. Is this the part where I suggest your perceptive on Golden State must be skewed as you look up at them on your knees? I haven't done this in awhile, sorry if I'm rusty.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Where do we go from here? I've provided reputable sports publications detailing the disdain for Golden State. Your responses are "lol" "You're bonkers" "Kewl story bro" and memes. Is this the part where I suggest your perceptive on Golden State must be skewed as you look up at them on your knees? I haven't done this in awhile, sorry if I'm rusty.

You're sharing opinion pieces about how a sports team is disliked. And you compared them to the 80s Miami teams. I asked you to state outright you believed the various players/coaches were just like the 80s Miami teams and you balked.

I can do a quick search and find 20+ stories about how the Golden State Warriors are so likable, how they are unique, etc. Does that mean I'm right or that I did exhaustive searching to find opinion pieces that match up with my views?

Your hint at fellatio fandom has but only one recourse, you need to eat my shit. I haven't had that done in a while. If I would've known it was coming, I would've dialed back on the hot sauce.

giphy.gif
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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How did they keep Kuzman? Huge win for the Lakers.

Wow, the Pelicans could turn into a very dangerous team in the next couple years. They have two picks in the top 4 and the Lakers first round picks the next two years. They could package those and their own future 1st rounders to move up in the draft.

The Lakers will look drastically different, I wonder how much better they'll be.
 

ulukinatme

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You're sharing opinion pieces about how a sports team is disliked. And you compared them to the 80s Miami teams. I asked you to state outright you believed the various players/coaches were just like the 80s Miami teams and you balked.

I can do a quick search and find 20+ stories about how the Golden State Warriors are so likable, how they are unique, etc. Does that mean I'm right or that I did exhaustive searching to find opinion pieces that match up with my views?

Your hint at fellatio fandom has but only one recourse, you need to eat my shit. I haven't had that done in a while. If I would've known it was coming, I would've dialed back on the hot sauce.

giphy.gif

I said that the Warriors were the equivalent of 80s Miami because of their bad attitude and egotistical nature. What more needs to be said? I've searched to see who America's Team is, or if Golden State is America's favorite team, and there were a few pieces a few years ago in favor of them...but there were far more pieces that negatively portrayed the Warriors today.

Here's a state by state poll that found out which NBA team was the least liked. Golden State was the most hated with half the US voting for them, followed by the Lakers with a strong New England presence:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...ca-hates-the-golden-state-warriors/ar-BBR4ICK

An article from May that showed almost all of the US (Only missing Cali, Hawaii, and Nevada) was rooting for the Raptors over Golden State:

https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/art...-NBA-Finals-rooting-for-map-hate-13901937.php

Survey of NBA fans on the most hated NBA players, Golden State has 4 of the 10 spots:

https://fadeawayworld.net/2018/09/05/top-10-most-hated-players-by-nba-fans/

I'm not linking a bunch of opinion pieces, these are statistics and facts. You have yet to cite anything but your own opinion. At this point I'm done. I've proven my point, while your only retort is "Nuh uh!" There's no point even arguing this any more, you bring nothing to the table.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Yes, winners are always hated and continuous winners are hated more. You act like it's a part of their character that makes them unlikable. It's because they are winning.

Guess what?

http://topbet.eu/news/which-nba-teams-do-people-hate-and-why.html

https://fansided.com/2014/08/01/reddit-survey-shows-hated-nba-teams-united-states/

Guess who was winning at that time? Was it because the Heat and Lakers were like the 80s Miami team? Spoiler alert *no*

Who has a bad attitude on the Warriors? Draymond Green. It ain't Steph or Klay or Durant or the support players or the coach. Sure, I guess it's debatable but all of those guys were likable until they started winning (and apparently until Durant joined GS).

I'm really not trying to argue against the idea that people want to see the Warriors lose, that is a consistent human behavior. We start to root against the winner. But it's consistent over time. And winning teams that keep winning develop more animus in the population.

It has very little to do with their personnel. ie - they aren't hated because they have an 80s Miami vibe, they are hated because they've consistently won.

In other words "Nuh uh".
 

ulukinatme

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Not all consistent winners are disliked. The Spurs were generally liked because they were a humble team that played well together. I think the same could probably be said of the Bulls dynasty. Even as the Bulls decimated my team time and time again back in the day, they were hard not to like because of Jordan's charisma and decent attitude. There was probably less love toward the end of their run after taking bad boy Rodman on, but Jordan remained the face of that era and that team remained well liked generally despite the winning streak.

As far as the unlikable players on Golden State, it goes beyond Draymond. Check out the article where 4 of the Top 10 Most Hated NBA players are from the Warriors. Steph has been known to be egotistical on the court, he'll taunt the other team's bench after a shot, and has been known to chuck his mouth piece at people in the past. Klay was complaining just the other day he was snubbed as an All Star, and he's taken digs towards the Oracle fans in the past which is just a bad look. Klay is probably the most likable among the four though, because Durant has had his share of issues since joining the Warriors. He was once a well liked player, but after receiving some criticism he made some burner social media accounts to prop himself up and attack opposing fans. He's also got into an argument with a middle school kid, and he keeps flip flopping between embracing his "super villain" persona and complaining about the hate he gets. It's mentioned here: https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-people-hate-fact-210502323.html He had to know he was going to incur maximum heat for the move to Golden State, and he has to just live with that instead of crying like a little girl.

As mentioned though, the ego goes all the way to the top in that organization. When Golden State first played OKC following the Durant trade, the owner was very critical of the OKC fans for booing Durant. He thought Durant should have been praised by the Thunder. How the hell were they supposed to act? The guy is clueless. He also complained that he felt "personally persecuted" by the other owners for the Durant acquisition. How are you going to play the victim card when you have one of the most stacked teams of all time? The balls on that guy.

Bottom line, it's not just about winning, it's about how you win. Miami was hated during James' time there because of the way he left Cleveland and the way that team was formed. When he returned to the Cavs it was generally under more favorable conditions.
 

Rogue219

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The Anthony Davis trade blood had been in the water for a while. Now they'll go for Kemba Walker in free agency.

Seems like both the Lakers and Pelicans come out well with each side of the trade. Now we wait for the subsequent dominoes to fall from here.

I have been wondering since this news broke exactly what was running through Danny Ainge's mind during his Father's Day.
 

Irish YJ

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Looking forward to the draft this Thursday.

Hope the Pacers get a good one. And hope they go hard after a PG in FA. Would love Russel. Hope they can hang on to Bogs and Young.

Should see a lot of dominoes fall this year all over the league.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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The Anthony Davis trade blood had been in the water for a while. Now they'll go for Kemba Walker in free agency.

Seems like both the Lakers and Pelicans come out well with each side of the trade. Now we wait for the subsequent dominoes to fall from here.

I have been wondering since this news broke exactly what was running through Danny Ainge's mind during his Father's Day.

Yeah, I'm curious what the Celtics do next. What they had in Boston didn't work so I'd expect some pieces to move.

The Lakers are gambling on Lebron James' health for the next 2-3 years. I'll be rooting against the Lakers so I'm hoping they fail to put the right pieces around James/Davis.

The Pelicans will be a lot of fun to watch over the next few weeks and into the future. Their roster will be loaded, they need at least one big man to step up. Could also use some marksmen to surround the drive & kick players they have.

Zion can make a move to the basket at any point. One of Jrue Holiday or Ingram has to be shopped this offseason (I would think). If they really believe in Lonzo Ball, they have no need to keep both of them. Lots of options, lots of headaches for the front office.
 

Some Irish Bloke

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Apparently the Lakers are interested in Kyrie as well; Interesting considering the terms between Irving and 'Bron at the end of their Cleveland reign.

Kryie is largely a cancer. I would rather see Kemba with AD and LBJ personally.
 

Irish Man3

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Apparently the Lakers are interested in Kyrie as well; Interesting considering the terms between Irving and 'Bron at the end of their Cleveland reign.

Kryie is largely a cancer. I would rather see Kemba with AD and LBJ personally.

Kemba would be an ideal fit.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Apparently the Lakers are interested in Kyrie as well; Interesting considering the terms between Irving and 'Bron at the end of their Cleveland reign.

Kryie is largely a cancer. I would rather see Kemba with AD and LBJ personally.

Which makes it perfect for them. If he doesn't re-up with Boston, I hope he goes to the Lakers and I hope there is so much infighting, the journalists can't keep up.

Do the Celtics still have him under any sort of contract or is he a true free agent? Didn't know if there were any sort of protections.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Big question: what success must the Lakers achieve to make their trade worth it? When we look back, what will they need to do to remember that as a good deal?

One championship with LBJ? Two?

They've auctioned their future for a 3-4 year window.
 

Luckylucci

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Big question: what success must the Lakers achieve to make their trade worth it? When we look back, what will they need to do to remember that as a good deal?

One championship with LBJ? Two?

They've auctioned their future for a 3-4 year window.

Regardless of this trade, it was championship or bust ever since Lebron went to the Lakers. This just ups the ante and will make it even more glorious if they don't win one. Problem is, if they get Kemba and both Lebron/AD stay healthy, they'll be tough to stop.
 

greyhammer90

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They've auctioned their future for a 3-4 year window.

Counterpoint: looking past the next 3-4 years is a fool's errand in the NBA where one free agent can entirely change the outlook of the whole league. If you have the opportunity to win now, you need to go for it.

Also the Lakers just traded a bunch of JAGs and picks for Anthony Davis. Davis is probably a future HOFer, annual MVP candidate, and a 6x all-star who has expressed a desire to live (stay) in your city and he's only 26 years old.

The Pelicans got a lot of good things for Davis. We may even say they "won" the trade someday (though that's extremely unlikely given the historical norm for trades of young talent on Davis's level). But making the trade was really the only choice here. Any GM would be fired for not making the same move.
 

Irish#1

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The Lakers just sold their soul to the devil giving away those 1st round picks. They're not going to be able to sign much help with James and Davis not originally being Lakers where they would be more friendly to the cap.

James is getting up there. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from this injury.
 

irishog77

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People (nationally and on IE) often talk about James' health. I'd be more concerned about Davis' health though. His entire body has been glass in his 7 years in the league. Besides his fragile nature thus far into his career, Davis has never struck me as a great leader or a guy that can carry a team, and definitely not a guy that can will his team to wins. There's a reason Davis is seemingly mentioned in the MVP race pretty much annually (can't deny he has some great stats and is a great talent), but I think there's also a reason he never seems to garner many actual votes.

Yes, I understand that pairing with James may not mean he needs to carry a team. I'm just not sold that what appears to be an aging/declining James, paired with an injury-prone and soft Davis, can actually win a title. My prediction is the lakers will need a hell of a lot more than that duo, and probably more than a Kemba Walker added in to get them over the hump.

I'm already sad thinking about how much the media will hype every single Lakers game, practice, agent comment, player comment, coaching comment, etc. It will be gross.
 

Veritate Duce Progredi

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Counterpoint: looking past the next 3-4 years is a fool's errand in the NBA where one free agent can entirely change the outlook of the whole league. If you have the opportunity to win now, you need to go for it.

Also the Lakers just traded a bunch of JAGs and picks for Anthony Davis. Davis is probably a future HOFer, annual MVP candidate, and a 6x all-star who has expressed a desire to live (stay) in your city and he's only 26 years old.

The Pelicans got a lot of good things for Davis. We may even say they "won" the trade someday (though that's extremely unlikely given the historical norm for trades of young talent on Davis's level). But making the trade was really the only choice here. Any GM would be fired for not making the same move.

I wasn't really making a point against what the Lakers have done. I agree with the above, that as soon as James signed in LA, they were on the clock. And looking too far ahead gets you canned.

I think the Pelicans could not have had better fortune in this trade. Lakers got the pick they needed, gave them some real players and they won the Zion sweepstakes.

The Lakers better win something because they are probably going into the tax after their next big FA signing. Whether it's Kemba or someone else. They are banking on winning with Lebron who is, for the first time, looking human, and a player who has had a large number of injuries in his prime.

If everything goes right, they'll be very hard to beat. But even the big 3 in Miami took some time to coalesce.
 

Irish#1

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People (nationally and on IE) often talk about James' health. I'd be more concerned about Davis' health though. His entire body has been glass in his 7 years in the league. Besides his fragile nature thus far into his career, Davis has never struck me as a great leader or a guy that can carry a team, and definitely not a guy that can will his team to wins. There's a reason Davis is seemingly mentioned in the MVP race pretty much annually (can't deny he has some great stats and is a great talent), but I think there's also a reason he never seems to garner many actual votes.

Yes, I understand that pairing with James may not mean he needs to carry a team. I'm just not sold that what appears to be an aging/declining James, paired with an injury-prone and soft Davis, can actually win a title. My prediction is the lakers will need a hell of a lot more than that duo, and probably more than a Kemba Walker added in to get them over the hump.

I'm already sad thinking about how much the media will hype every single Lakers game, practice, agent comment, player comment, coaching comment, etc. It will be gross.


I wasn't really making a point against what the Lakers have done. I agree with the above, that as soon as James signed in LA, they were on the clock. And looking too far ahead gets you canned.

I think the Pelicans could not have had better fortune in this trade. Lakers got the pick they needed, gave them some real players and they won the Zion sweepstakes.

The Lakers better win something because they are probably going into the tax after their next big FA signing. Whether it's Kemba or someone else. They are banking on winning with Lebron who is, for the first time, looking human, and a player who has had a large number of injuries in his prime.

If everything goes right, they'll be very hard to beat. But even the big 3 in Miami took some time to coalesce.

Laker fans are already somewhat disenchanted with James. He is finding out that this is one franchise where he will not be bigger than the franchise itself.

They need at least two perimeter shooters to make this work.

Giving up three 1st round picks is going to kill them starting with this year. FA is never a good way to fill your roster and the dollars will end up hurting and FS players come and go. They really needed the picks to build the roster under more dollar friendly conditions.

Magic Johnson congratulated Buss on the deal, then took heat on Twitter because he Pelinka made the deal. He them came back and congratulated him. I liked Magic as a player, but when it comes to running a team he's been the biggest a$s.
 

stlnd01

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Which makes it perfect for them. If he doesn't re-up with Boston, I hope he goes to the Lakers and I hope there is so much infighting, the journalists can't keep up.

Do the Celtics still have him under any sort of contract or is he a true free agent? Didn't know if there were any sort of protections.

I think Kyrie has a one-year player option but he's effectively a free agent as of July 1. He sure appears to be gone (apparently he's stopped communicating with the Celtics), though to where is unclear. How is Brooklyn or the Knicks going to get him any closer to a ring? Or back with LeBron? That'll go well.

I do believe Kyrie was the root of 75 percent of the Celtics' problems this year and, while he's certainly very talented, I think they can be just as good, if not better, without him. Trouble is, with or without him, I don't think they can be good enough to win the East unless they find a good big man. They had no answer for Giannis in the playoffs, and Embiid's only getting better in Philly. And with AD off the table it's hard to see how they get one.
 
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