Thursday, November 01, 2007
It's Basketball Time!
Finally, something to get my mind off this TERRIBLE football season! The NBA tipped off this week, and college basketball is getting underway with exhibitions (Kentucky came out on fire, as they'll be all season, the beginning of the Billy Clyde Era).
The most interesting thing going on right now? Probably has to be the Kobe-to-Chicago trade. What would you give up to get him? From ESPN.com, here are the possible scenarios:
1. "As ESPN.com reported on Saturday, the Lakers have asked for [Luol] Deng, [Tyrus] Thomas, guard Ben Gordon and rookie Joakim Noah as the core parts of any trade for Bryant."
-or-
2. "The Bulls, according to ESPN.com's source, are willing to offer an alternative package of Gordon, Noah and Thomas."
What would you do? Obviously, Kobe is one of the best players in the history of basketball. But do you really want to mess with your young core of players that many publications is picking to get to the NBA Finals as is, this year?
Personally, Option 1 is crazy. There's no way I do that trade. Option 2 is certainly plausable. I love Thomas, but who knows if he'll ever become anything more than a guy who can block anyone's shot and dunk hard. I love Gordon, but obviously Kobe is an upgrade times 100. Then there's Joke Noah. I'd trade him for a bag of nickles, just because he is a giant douche bag, and I'm not convinced he will ever amount to much.
So, in my humble opinion, if they could talk the Lakers into Option #2, that would be awesome. I love Tyrus, but Kobe brings just a bit more to the table overall.
Thoughts? Opinions?
The most interesting thing going on right now? Probably has to be the Kobe-to-Chicago trade. What would you give up to get him? From ESPN.com, here are the possible scenarios:
1. "As ESPN.com reported on Saturday, the Lakers have asked for [Luol] Deng, [Tyrus] Thomas, guard Ben Gordon and rookie Joakim Noah as the core parts of any trade for Bryant."
-or-
2. "The Bulls, according to ESPN.com's source, are willing to offer an alternative package of Gordon, Noah and Thomas."
What would you do? Obviously, Kobe is one of the best players in the history of basketball. But do you really want to mess with your young core of players that many publications is picking to get to the NBA Finals as is, this year?
Personally, Option 1 is crazy. There's no way I do that trade. Option 2 is certainly plausable. I love Thomas, but who knows if he'll ever become anything more than a guy who can block anyone's shot and dunk hard. I love Gordon, but obviously Kobe is an upgrade times 100. Then there's Joke Noah. I'd trade him for a bag of nickles, just because he is a giant douche bag, and I'm not convinced he will ever amount to much.
So, in my humble opinion, if they could talk the Lakers into Option #2, that would be awesome. I love Tyrus, but Kobe brings just a bit more to the table overall.
Thoughts? Opinions?
Labels: Ben Gordan, Chicago Bulls, Clown Noah, College Basketball, Kobe Bryant, Lost Angeles Lakers, Luol Deng, NBA
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I think in many ways this trade would be good for Chicago fans. This town loves to rally around single players -- Jordan, Payton, Sosa, Urlacher, Lee. Though the Bulls are very good TEAM, this town loves to have a star. They constantly hitch their wagons to the guy who they believe will be the next sports saviour for the city; look at how they reacted in recent years with Nomar, Soriano and Ben Wallace. In that case it would be very good for the city. And if Kobe could come in, stay relatvely low-profile, and win a few championships, he could be king of this town.
Personally, I would rather have a well rounded team than one star, even if that star is one of the greatesr. If you look at the recent Champions in the NBA, they haven't been just about one star they have had a good core group with some fire off the bench. That said, I would probably be more excited to go watch the Bulls play if I could watch Kobe throw down 40 points.
As for potential trades, I think the Bulls should just give Noah to LA for simply entertaining the thought of a trade...what a douche. Now that we said that he'll probably go on to have a nice NBA career.
Personally, I would rather have a well rounded team than one star, even if that star is one of the greatesr. If you look at the recent Champions in the NBA, they haven't been just about one star they have had a good core group with some fire off the bench. That said, I would probably be more excited to go watch the Bulls play if I could watch Kobe throw down 40 points.
As for potential trades, I think the Bulls should just give Noah to LA for simply entertaining the thought of a trade...what a douche. Now that we said that he'll probably go on to have a nice NBA career.
Would you really want Kobe on your team? Is there a bigger asshole in sports today? Seriously, I would rather have Bonds play for my favorite team than Bryant. Kobe made management choose between him and Shaq which changed the Lakers from a dominant dynasty to a team that barely makes the playoffs. And now HE wants out. Fuck that guy. You made this bed, now you sleep in it.
And what happens if he can’t win in Chicago? Is he going to demand a trade again resulting in Chicago losing him for 50 cents on the dollar? Sure, this is a guy who does have 3 rings (I think) but he won them all playing along side the most dominant player in the NBA at the time. Do you really want to destroy a young Bulls team to get a guy who is a complete asshole and has only won when he was paired up with Shaq?
On another note, are the Bulls still the Baby Bulls? That was a couple years ago right? Wouldn’t they be the Adolescent Bulls by now?
And what happens if he can’t win in Chicago? Is he going to demand a trade again resulting in Chicago losing him for 50 cents on the dollar? Sure, this is a guy who does have 3 rings (I think) but he won them all playing along side the most dominant player in the NBA at the time. Do you really want to destroy a young Bulls team to get a guy who is a complete asshole and has only won when he was paired up with Shaq?
On another note, are the Bulls still the Baby Bulls? That was a couple years ago right? Wouldn’t they be the Adolescent Bulls by now?
Lots of good stuff here.
Napa, I think you're totally right on your point that Chicago loves a star. I personally couldn't care less as long as they're winning, but you're right.
Mayfield, you're right, but at the same time, MJ was a giant asshole. The difference was that he played before the dawn of the internet, and sports writers still stood by the ol' "don't report on locker room stuff" adage then. I think if MJ played right now, you'd hear all kinds of bad shit about him.
I will say that it is slightly unfair to say that Kobe has not won without having Shaq. Yes, it is probably his fault Shaq left, that is neither here nor there. Fact of the matter is that Kobe has been surrounded by TOTAL shit since Shaq left. I mean, you replace Gordon with Kobe and the Bulls are the odds-on favorite to win it all this year, by a lot. But to have Lamar Odom as your second-best player...well, Scottie Pippen he ain't.
I'm still torn about the whole deal. Either outcome I'll be excited; if they stay the same, I'm happy because I like the players on the team and they should compete to get into the Finals. Or with Kobe, and the right trade, I'll be dreaming of realistic visions of a 7th banner.
All that said, Paxon came out and said that trade talks are done for now, so it looks like nothing will happen with the Bulls. For now.
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Napa, I think you're totally right on your point that Chicago loves a star. I personally couldn't care less as long as they're winning, but you're right.
Mayfield, you're right, but at the same time, MJ was a giant asshole. The difference was that he played before the dawn of the internet, and sports writers still stood by the ol' "don't report on locker room stuff" adage then. I think if MJ played right now, you'd hear all kinds of bad shit about him.
I will say that it is slightly unfair to say that Kobe has not won without having Shaq. Yes, it is probably his fault Shaq left, that is neither here nor there. Fact of the matter is that Kobe has been surrounded by TOTAL shit since Shaq left. I mean, you replace Gordon with Kobe and the Bulls are the odds-on favorite to win it all this year, by a lot. But to have Lamar Odom as your second-best player...well, Scottie Pippen he ain't.
I'm still torn about the whole deal. Either outcome I'll be excited; if they stay the same, I'm happy because I like the players on the team and they should compete to get into the Finals. Or with Kobe, and the right trade, I'll be dreaming of realistic visions of a 7th banner.
All that said, Paxon came out and said that trade talks are done for now, so it looks like nothing will happen with the Bulls. For now.
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