sleeper;1732253 wrote:If Russell is James Harden he's not a lotto pick. If Russell is Curry he is absolutely the #1 pick.

...and it's a pretty fair assessment to project what he will be in the NBA comfortably around or in-between their level. The rest could come down to a lot of different factors.

sleeper;1732255 wrote:With the exception of AD, any Kentucky prospect is instantly a bust until proven otherwise. Towns isn't AD nor will he ever be so by that formula he sucks and he's a bust.

C'mon now. And again, this isn't really about Towns. I actually can respect the opinion that if a GM thinks Russell is Steph Curry, then do whatever it takes to get him and be done with it.

Azubuike24;1732254 wrote:
The number of big men who can still be dominant scorers in the league now is down counting them on one hand.

I know the organization is at fault too, but the Kings have one of those guys and can't do sh*t with him.

I think it's a poor use of resources to spend a top pick on a big guy when the league has become so wing-oriented.

Though the devil's advocate would have a good point--if the league is getting away from big men then wouldn't having an incredibly skilled one sort of exploit an inefficiency?

It's an interesting debate for sure.

lhslep134;1732260 wrote:I know the organization is at fault too, but the Kings have one of those guys and can't do sh*t with him.

I think it's simply a poor use of resources to spend a top pick on a big guy when the league has become so wing-oriented.

Though the devil's advocate would have a good point--if the league is getting away from big men then wouldn't having an incredibly skilled one sort of exploit an inefficiency?

It's an interesting debate for sure.

...and how do you think Okafor/Towns compare to that guy? Minus from the maturity issues and organizational dysfunction obviously. My boy Towns is great, but I think Okafor is a VERY similar comparison. He's not as strong, but he and DMC move very similar and have an offensive "knack" that you can't teach.

Azubuike24;1732262 wrote:...and how do you think Okafor/Towns compare to that guy? Minus from the maturity issues and organizational dysfunction obviously.

So how do they compare skill-wise? I'm guessing it's close. It's really hard to make any sort of value estimation, in the context of helping you win a title, with Cousins because of that organizational dysfunction though.

And I think you could argue that putting Cousins on Minnesota wouldn't yield a much different result. So basically, you're banking that taking Russell, he's got the "it factor" that would separate him from a very productive player into an MVP caliber, cornerstone of a franchise player.

I mean, you look at the #1 picks of the last 20 years and you get names like Allen Iverson, Dwight Howard, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Chris Webber, Kyrie Irving, etc...all of who arguably are elite players during their era and will be HOF'ers, but maybe never had the "it factor" to be the captain of the best team. You obviously see that in Tim Duncan and LeBron James, but those talents don't come around much and it's almost impossible to project it.

Not really NBA but this kid could have a future....

http://blog.shaq.com/7-3-8th-grader-chol-marial-is-the-tallest-middle-school-kid-in-the-world-and-he-can-play-ball--future-nba-legend-in-the-making-?utm_content=bufferd498d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Nike and the NBA have agreed to an 8 year deal starting in 2016. Worth around a billion.

Thank. God.

wildcats20;1733992 wrote:Nike and the NBA have agreed to an 8 year deal starting in 2016. Worth around a billion.

Thank. God.

How?

Salary cap is projected to jump over 20 million as well to over 90. Beieve it is in the high 60s right now.

ZWICK 4 PREZ;1733994 wrote:How?

@darrenrovell: Sources: 8-year deal between Nike & NBA that makes Nike official uniform supplier is worth approximately $1 billion.

@darrenrovell: Nike will pay NBA about $125M a year for official uniform supplier deal, which is a 245% increase from what adidas paid for previous deal.

ZWICK 4 PREZ;1733994 wrote:How?

Well you take $1 billion and divide it by 8 years and you get $125M/yr. Strangely enough that's what the terms of the deal are. Funny how that works out.

Hornest trade Lance to the Clips for Hawes and Matt Barnes.

HighRoller74;1735114 wrote:Hornest trade Lance to the Clips for Hawes and Matt Barnes.

Man not sure how that makes the clippers better. He can't shoot, thus clogging up the lane. Must be thinking 6th man, but don't they have crawford?

I was thinking the same thing.

I read that they were expecting him to be the primary ball handler when CP3 rests, but youre right, what does that mean for Crawford?

Wouldn't mind the Cavs making a play for him, if they try to move him.

BR1986FB;1733991 wrote:Not really NBA but this kid could have a future....

http://blog.shaq.com/7-3-8th-grader-chol-marial-is-the-tallest-middle-school-kid-in-the-world-and-he-can-play-ball--future-nba-legend-in-the-making-?utm_content=bufferd498d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Wow...wasn't expecting being that fluid. 15? Damn...him and Bol Bol would make some college players now

wildcats20;1733997 wrote:@darrenrovell: Sources: 8-year deal between Nike & NBA that makes Nike official uniform supplier is worth approximately $1 billion.

@darrenrovell: Nike will pay NBA about $125M a year for official uniform supplier deal, which is a 245% increase from what adidas paid for previous deal.

Nike just runs everything. The dominant college sports supplier, NFL, pretty much all the MLB undershirts, cleats and accessories, and now the NBA. Adidas should have lost the contract immediately after their stupid t shirt jerseys came out


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lhslep134;1734032 wrote:Well you take $1 billion and divide it by 8 years and you get $125M/yr. Strangely enough that's what the terms of the deal are. Funny how that works out.

and the previous deal you took 400 mil and divided by 12 years. Contracts are usually pretty close. Did the NBA suddenly get almost 4 times more popular?

ZWICK 4 PREZ;1735150 wrote:and the previous deal you took 400 mil and divided by 12 years. Contracts are usually pretty close. Did the NBA suddenly get almost 4 times more popular?

NBA is massively growing especially globally. The new TV deal is almost 3 times as big as the old deal(930M a year vs. $2.6B a year now) and that's going to drive a massive increase in salaries for players going forward.

Fucking Embiid out next year too...

Awful pick and looking like another big man bust, especially given his injury history coming into the draft. He's an example of why you GO to college, go to a big university that will hype you without really being that productive.

Azubuike24;1735193 wrote:Fucking Embiid out next year too...

Awful pick and looking like another big man bust, especially given his injury history coming into the draft. He's an example of why you GO to college, go to a big university that will hype you without really being that productive.

Confirmed? That's crazy. I know this past season there were reports of him being a lazy ass, missing rehab appts, etc... Sounds like he needs to go up.

Commander of Awesome;1735247 wrote:Confirmed? That's crazy. I know this past season there were reports of him being a lazy ass, missing rehab appts, etc... Sounds like he needs to go up.

I cheer for anything that happens which fucks over the Philly Tanking Bitches. By the time Embiid is ready to play, they'll have traded Noel to someone for a couple cheap bench players and three second-round picks to start up the "WIN IN 2021!!!" efforts.

I haven't read anything specific on what exactly the injury is. However, his initial injury was a stress fracture. With a big guy that could be tricky and maybe it just never healed. I mean, even if he does suit up late next year, he'll be over 2 years without playing a game.

They were hoping he was Hakeem the Dream. Right now he's Greg Oden and Sam Bowie combined (Oden missed year 1 and Bowie year 2...)

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25215270/report-legitimate-chance-joel-embiid-could-miss-2015-2016-season

I always find it interesting they'll speculate he could already miss next season when this season hasn't even finished yet. What's the rush to declare a player out for the next year? I saw where he had been practicing and running drills but then a CT showed the stress fracture hadn't progressed near as much as it should have. Like COA said, wonder how much of that was him being a lazy fatass not too long ago.

friendfromlowry;1735297 wrote:http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25215270/report-legitimate-chance-joel-embiid-could-miss-2015-2016-season

I always find it interesting they'll speculate he could already miss next season when this season hasn't even finished yet. What's the rush to declare a player out for the next year? I saw where he had been practicing and running drills but then a CT showed the stress fracture hadn't progressed near as much as it should have. Like COA said, wonder how much of that was him being a lazy fatass not too long ago.

I was just discussing the same thing with a friend. Why would the team already decide to announce he is done for the full (next) season? It makes no sense at all.