Heres another for you knicks fan...Heat 3peat, Lebron decided to return for the 2014-2015 season with the Heat to go for 4. Summer of 2015 Amares contract ends, Lebron joins the knicks for the 2015-2016 season. Lebrons planning stuff out, they planned the Heat gathering years in advance, its definitely possible hes planning something with Melo if Stephen A Smith is speaking the truth. *There is no way Lebron doesnt go for a 4peat, it hasnt been done in decades, so I gotta believe if they win next season then he will be back for another year. If they dont win, hes heading out.
a Heat 3Peat would be extremely shocking. for all the talk about how great a team they are, they haven't been as dominant as the recent Bulls or Lakers teams which 3Peat, so I have a hard time believing they are good enough to do so. they won't win, and LeBron will skip town with success on par with the 80's Pistons or 90's Rockets, which in enviable success but not all time great success.
O I agree 100% the Heat wont 3-Peat. The East has caught up to them, they will have to go through 2 round that will not be easy just to make the finals. These previous season there was no competition until the ECF, and even the Celtics and Pacers were not as good as what the Nets, Bulls, Pacers will be next year. The Heat are looking at very tough competition in the second round alone. The Pacers, Nets, and Bulls are all fully capable of beating the Heat going into next season. Hell even the Knicks would be a much tougher team compared to that Bulls team the Heat drew last season.
No offense guys, but going with Stephen a Smith on his pure speculation is beyond silly. He's just a sensationalist looking for reactions. Melo is not going to the Lakers. He's always wanted to play in NY and now he has his wish. He's not going anywhere barring a disaster season next year. Smith is a typical negative NY fan who's got the sky is falling mentality about everything. Melo won't opt out if they continue to be a playoff contender. Lebron is not leaving Miami, Riley will conform to whatever he wants to retain him. He won't just split. I don't think Melo + Lebron is a good combo on any team. All it does is stacks the front court and create spacing issues since they essentially play the same position. I know Lebron can play any position, but the recipe for success seems to be spreading out your superstars so one plays guard and one plays forward. I can't think of any other teams that have done it with 2 super star forwards. Maybe Boston, although Rondo is bigger star than Garnett or Pierce now so it's hard to say. Melo MIGHT opt out for more money, but I feel the Knicks will accommodate. Also I still say the Rockets won't be as good as people are praising. Howard is a drama queen. Jeremy Lin is an average PG at absolute best and Houston is going to be hurting when that 3rd year cap hit takes place. Harden was a bit over rated last year, IMO. Again he's a good player, but not a carry your team to a title type player. I think next season he comes back down to earth, especially with Howard in the mix.
Barcs, Stephen said Lebron wants to play with Melo in NY. Skip Bayless responded by asking about L.A., Stephen wasnt 100% sure about that. Stephen isnt speculating, hes hearing it from sources.
Except their player was leaving regardless. So they made a trade so they would get somthing back. The two other teams in the trade traded for Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum. Both players are leaving the two other teams in the trade and moving onto different teams. The Lakers got 1/2 a Howard for a year, the 76ers go 0 Bynum. The Magic clearly won the trade by a LONG shot and they salvaged Dwight leaving into some important pieces for their team. Easy win for Orlando
They will rebuild rather quickly and should be back in the playoff hunt in 2 seasons. But let me get this straight. Lakers lost Howard for nothing. 76ers got Bynum and we know how that went. Nuggets got Iggy and he's gone. The Magic got several draft picks and young good players to build around. You sure the Magic lost? Howard's severely overrated anyway
Think about what ended the runs of both the Pistons and Rockets. Jordan.... he essentially closed the door on 2 potential 3 peats. (Although Houston lost to the Sonics in the Western Semi's but returned to the Western Finals the next year) I think people forget that the Pistons did play in 3 straight NBA Finals (lost the 1st, think Magic at Center in game 7) and 5 straight Eastern Conference Finals. While not a dynasty they'd probably be the 1st team at that next level. Those teams were really really good with some amazing players. Rodman, Dumars, Thomas as well as some good players like Aguire, Lambier, The Microwave. I think the team that won their 1st title won something like 65 games.
They did. I don't see how it's debatable. Orlando benefited greatly from that deal. Howard was leaving anyway. That trade seriously damaged Philadelphia and the Lakers, that's for sure. They each wound up with players who were not only damaged goods, but they were each in their walk year. Imagine how different things might've been for the Lakers had the league not blocked the Chris Paul trade. They'd have Paul instead of nothing (after Howard left, they have nothing). Two teams were crippled by the deal and the third has a chance to become a top team in the NBA if they make the right decisions. What they got back was huge.
He is absolutely speculating. I listened to his rant on the radio about this. It's all 'what if' scenarios. I'd love to see a quote from Lebron talking about joining the Knicks. SAS based his predictions on very loose statements from unverified sources. It's not like Lebron actually said he wants to join the Knicks or that Melo said he would opt out, as Smith predicts. Getting one tiny piece of information from an unverified source, does not validate the other 95% of his claims that are pure guesswork.
Stephen A would have an absolute orgasmic fan reaction if the Knicks pulled off Lebron and Melo here. We all know its a pipedream
I don't mean to minimize the Bad Boys at all. In fact, they were a easily a better and more dominant team over their championship success, and surrounding seasons, than this Heat team.
The difference is that the Heat would have to make their 4th straight final. The last time that was done was mid 80s Lakers I believe. MJ took himself out of the running, but the Lakers have gone to 3 straight finals twice in the 2000s, but the 4th was out of reach. It will be interesting to see if Miami can do it again. They have lived on the edge going down 3-2 to SA, 3-2 to Boston, and going to 7 games vs the Pacers. Granted, that's why having the best player on the earth helps, those aren't insurmountable. But that's also the interesting part of the Heat, they haven't just dominated the playoffs like a team of their caliber usually does like the Bulls or Lakers have done. I wonder if this will be the year, they just rattle off 16 wins and 4 losses or something like that. A lot of people though this was the year they would do it. I just talked myself into a circle, but going to 4 straight finals seems like a relatively difficult thing to do, it hasn't happened since the mid 80s in the NBA. On the other hand, the Heat haven't that playoff run where they just wipe the floor and almost go fo, fo, fo (and fo).
Couple of points without multi-quoting: - There was a rumor about Asik to New Orleans for Ryan Anderson. That move makes a lot of sense for both teams. Surrounding Howard with that many 3 point shooters would be deadly. - Don't see Lebron coming to NY, or either going to LA. - The CP3 to the Lakers deal has had some serious ramifications. One of the great what-ifs in sports. No Harden to Houston, maybe Howard stays in LA, and on and on. - I hope Artest clears waivers and signs with the Knicks.
If the Magic get a top 3 pick next year they'll become title contenders in 2014-2015. The Nuggets losing Iguodala definitely hurt them but dumping Afflalo's contract arguably negates that. If Henny can somehow deal Harrington's partially-guaranteed contract for assets then the trade gets even better. Of course, I'm obligated to root against both the Knicks and Nuggets hoping that the worst of the two first rounders sneaks into the lottery.
