Jermaine O'Neal looking at Pacers, Magic, and Spurs

[pwaldo]

http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/yeare...al_030502.html

I'd really like to see him team with Tmac and maybe make the Magic a threat to win the East next year.

[podstock]

Jermaine O'Neal ought to look at the Spurs

With 22-y/o Tony Parker at point guard, 27-y/o Tim Duncan at center...that's one young, talented core.

Most likely, he'll stay with the Pacers, b/c they can give him the most money.

I love the NBA salary rules; the team that has you has the opportunity to pay you the max. All other teams have to pay you less money.

Otherwise, you basically have Steinbrenner paying a Miguel Tejada $200M and the A's only being able to pay $100M

If you can't live on $100M contract, you deserve to die right now.

As for the Yankees, I have forever rooted against them; and what they've done these past several years in buying up all talented free agents just makes me that much more angry.

While I am a Dodger fan, I will forever be a fan of Anaheim, b/c they blasted the Yanks out of the play-offs.

You've got to be farking kidding me!! Yankees spend over $150-200M team salary and Tampa Bay spends less that what A. Rod is making this year?

No wonder baseball is such a joke.

[pwaldo]

Originally posted by podstock
Jermaine O'Neal ought to look at the Spurs

With 22-y/o Tony Parker at point guard, 27-y/o Tim Duncan at center...that's one young, talented core.

Most likely, he'll stay with the Pacers, b/c they can give him the most money.

I love the NBA salary rules; the team that has you has the opportunity to pay you the max. All other teams have to pay you less money.

Otherwise, you basically have Steinbrenner paying a Miguel Tejada $200M and the A's only being able to pay $100M

If you can't live on $100M contract, you deserve to die right now.

As for the Yankees, I have forever rooted against them; and what they've done these past several years in buying up all talented free agents just makes me that much more angry.

While I am a Dodger fan, I will forever be a fan of Anaheim, b/c they blasted the Yanks out of the play-offs.

You've got to be farking kidding me!! Yankees spend over $150-200M team salary and Tampa Bay spends less that what A. Rod is making this year?

No wonder baseball is such a joke.

Well I have to disagree with you on the Spurs thing. And I am not even going to touch the Yankees comment.

While the Spurs would be nice they are in the West and nobody wants to go through that in the playoffs. O'Neal really wasn't tearing it up when he was with the Blazers. The Magic have a pretty good team and they really need size.

If I were the Spurs I would chase down Jason Kidd to play with Duncan. I don't know what other free agents are coming out this season but Kidd would probably make the most sense for the Spurs.

[podstock]

pwaldo....If I was Duncan, I'd hop on over to the Nets to join Jason. Sure, the salary will be less (as mandated by NBA rules), but the Nets will make up for that down the line.

By being in the East, you can get to the NBA Finals, and if you beat Shaq and the Lakers, you win the title.

But, if you're the Spurs and Kings right now, beating Lakers just means you go to the Finals, and anything can happen in the finals.

Just look at 1988-1989, when the Lakers, going for a 3-peat, swept the 1st round, swept the 2nd round, swept the W. Conference Finals.

Then, just days before Game 1 vs. Detroit, starting off-guard Byron Scott tore a hamstring and didn't play at all. During Game 1, Magic tore his hamstring and missed the rest of Game 1 and the series.

So, right off the bat, you lose two starting players. Lakers got swept by the Pistons.

Imagine San Anonio making it to Finals this year, then Duncan and Parker don't play in the finals. Name an East team now in contention (Nets, Sixers, Celtics) who couldn't win this series, even with San Antonio having home court.

Imagine Sacramento losing Webber and Bibby.

And one thing about home court advantage --- it's over-rated. Home court is good only when you have a game 7. Not much good it did Sacramento last year, lololol. Even Doug Christie admitted he was scared heading into Game 7.

Timberwolves made a big whooopla about home court advantage this whole year. Then along came the Lakers.

[pwaldo]

Agreed.

The West is so much stronger than the East that it is not even funny.

The thing about that is that several years ago nobody wanted to be the East because of MJ and the Bulls. Now everyone wants to bail out of the West.

[podstock]

I think Shaq will stick around 5 more years...which makes Lakers contender for the title 5 more years.

There's no other job that pays Shaq $22M for 8 months of play, and he usually only starts to get in shape around Jan of a basketball season, meaning that's he basically playing only 6 months.

With the chance to win a multitude of championships and separate from Jordan, etc...Shaq will probably stick around.

[BGray]

Ooooh
I could see O'neal with the Spurs spelling dynasty! Duncan and Oneal would be an unstoppable upgrade from Duncan and Robinson IMO.

BGay

[pwaldo]

Originally posted by BGray
Ooooh
I could see O'neal with the Spurs spelling dynasty! Duncan and Oneal would be an unstoppable upgrade from Duncan and Robinson IMO.

BGay

I don't know about that. It will be a good team but there are so many good teams in the West that it is amazing that the Lakers have had the run that they have had.

[gioperation]

he could always come to chicago...we'll take him

[podstock]

pwaldo...while there are many good teams in West, as compared to East, and while it's amazing what the Lakers have achieved, the teams in the West really aren't that great.

3 teams stand out --- Lakers, Spurs, and Kings. All have at least 2 superstar players, or a great talented overall team. These can beat any East teams hands down.

But, everyone else in the West is a VERY DISTANT 4th.

Dallas is an absolute joke --- no inside offensive post presence; no interior defense; no rebounding; purely a perimeter team. They do well in regular season b/c they can beat up on lesser talented teams. But in play-offs, all their deficiencies are as apparent as cellulite on a 500-lb obese person.

As a matter of fact, if Portland had just given the ball to Rasheed for his inside game in the 1st half of game 7, Blazers would've won. But for some inexplicable reason, Rasheed had ZERO points in 1st half.

Timberwolves: basically have just KG and perimeter shooters. As long as KG commands that ridiculous salary of his $28M, (that's right, 28M, for this upcoming year, more than Shaq) the Wolves aren't going to be able to get another talented superstar. Furthermore, they just signed Wally to a $63M contract; Wally is an absolute joke of a player --- no defensive abilities, cannot dribble drive and shoot. He depends on picks being set so he can shoot open shots.

Suns/Rockets -- not quite ready to be elite

Jazz -- about to rebuild