Considering both Ray Allen and Garnett, especially Garnett, accepted trades to play with Paul Pierce to make the first big three, I think he should be the last person to throw shade.

Also, since he joined another team with a guy in Chris Paul, who demanded to be traded to DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin's team, to make his own big three, Paul Pierce has benefited from people giving up and playing with other stars as much as anyone next to Lebron.

...also look at how many dreadful teams and dismal seasons pierce endured leading up to that championship year. he had the chance to jump ship and go to greener pastures (no pun intended), but he didn't. he deserved that ring he wears.

This isn't like the Heat or like PP. Similar situation, KD needs a ring for his legacy, but totally different circumstances, for reasons I'm about to list.

PP - carried the Celtics for a decade with antoine walker as his second best player. KG and Ray were both in middling teams in the West. KG literally had one decent year with Cassell and "Imma choke da coach" Sprewell. They were all middle aged when they signed, which is similar to Durant, but none of them were a top three player at the time, which KD/Lebron were/are now. Those three went to a franchise that had a culture of winning, but hadn't been relevant in two decades. Rondo's PG skills and KP's defense really helped anchor the team. The balance and the clearly defined roles of each star made that transition easy, (ray shoot, pp do all the wing stuff, rondo pass, kg d up) and hence why they won the chip that year.

The Heat Big Three Situation - Again all three players established, but I'd say Wade and Lebron were both top 3 at the beginning of that run with Bosh somewhere in the 7-12 range. Wade was the only established "winner". Erik S. wasn't really thought of as a top 5 coach. Yeah, Heat won in 06 and they had Pat Riley, but damn players and coaches had to adjust and grow a lot during those 4 years. Wade settled into Robin, and Bosh became the best two way 4 in the league for a period, while Lebron finally unlocked his potential as a brutal inside-out point forward. The crucial thing here to understand is that the Heat were trash the years prior and while they had good pieces it wasn't really evident that the fit would work (much like what we heard over the past two years with the Cavs big three), but in the end it did give them two chips.

The thing with KD going to the Warrior is they've done it without him AND he and the thunder CHOKED their 3-1 lead to the Warrior literally two months prior. Yeah the dubs are gonna be a lot different than the past two years, but their PROVEN CORE remains of Curry, Klay, Green, AI, plus they still have a couple solid bench dudes in Livingston. Sure they lost the finals, but damn they did set a regular season record last year and they've been consistently or on a game to game average the best team in nba for the past two years.

Roles will have to change and adjustments will be made, but its not hard to make a dank meal once you've got the recipe, but when you find that special family secret ingredient it makes it a lot easier. Things will get interesting though if one of Green, AI, and KD gets hurt

Also Westbrook for MVP next year. FULL FORCE

I don't know much about basketball but it seems like Golden State has had a hell of a transformation over the last 18-21 months. Going from a plucky team everyone liked, to a team everyone rooted against last year (because of the intense media overhype on win record) and now by adding Durant, it feels like outside the Bay Area, they are now the villains of the NBA. It'll be funny as hell if they don't win the title again next year. I'll be rooting for that to happen. No title!

it will be interesting to watch for sure. me--- since the celtics haven't been contenders the past few seasons i've been rooting for gs ever since steve kerr became their coach (i have sentimental ties to the u of a and their alum, especially from the late 80's teams). but damn, it's going to be really tough to root for them now.

yep. this coming season you can count the true championship contenders on one hand.... and then there's everyone else. with a salary cap in place. sad.

I'm on suicide watch.

Current mood.

Wade to the Bulls.........ummmmmm...............wow.........mmmmmmmm...............huh?

Twice Riley played hardball with LeBron and Wade, and both times, he got played. Can't REALLY blame Wade. He's taken so many pay-cuts over the course of his career and was looking for at least one pay day. He showed loyalty, and expected loyalty back. Didn't happen and he gave the Heat every chance to get their shit together. However, I can also see it from the Heat's perspective, Wade is aging, and a smart organization doesn't pay a player for what he's done but what you think he's going to do. The smart play isn't to pay an aging player his demands so you can have the opportunity to get knocked out of the second round of the playoffs. It's the cold move, but on the Heat's end, it's the smart move. They're not beating the Cavs or the Golden State anytime soon. It's the perfect time to rebuild.

The Bulls on the other hand. WTF. When Rose was traded and Noah was let go, Gar and Paxson, said they made those moves to get younger and more athletic. And then they go out and get Rondo and Wade....erm. I don't know what they're doing. I thought they'd be doing the smart thing, the thing the Heat are doing. Don't pay for aging players so you can live in mediocrity, so you can pay for the right to get knocked out of the second round. Rebuild while you have time and an out to do so. Instead, they've cobbled together a bullshit team and an aging superstar to lead it. What makes matters worse, is that one of the purposes of leaving Rose and Noah was to build a roster for your coach's system. I actually think Hoiberg could be a good coach, if given the chance to implement his system. His system is fast paced and outside shooting based. Instead, he has a roster with Rondo, Butler, and Wade. WTF? It makes no sense. The Bulls make no sense. They're a second class organization with no idea how to build a team, and Wade chose them. Can't really blame him. I mean, they gave him the money he wanted. So he ended up with a Heat type of roster with better money. The same old, same old, I guess. But it just pisses me off that once again the Bulls make the dumb and short sighted decision.

Edit: The Bulls traded Mike Dunleavy to the Cavs to clear cap space. That's a fantastic move for them.

The Knicks' signings actually make more sense than the Bulls'. Imagine that. The Knicks make more sense than the Bulls. The Knicks got Rose in the last year of his deal for almost nothing. At least they can hope that Rose catches lightning in a bottle. If he does then the Knicks suddenly elevate to maybe the second best team in the East, and they still have flexibility if he doesn't. They can cut bait after one year without it affecting any future growth. The Courtney Lee signing is a solid deal. They also got Jennings on a one year deal to see if he could re-kindle something, who by the way, is only a year removed from averaging 15 ppg. Their moves make sense. Pick-up shooting, and hope you can have a dynamic guard. The only real head scratcher is the Noah deal.

But the Knicks have made solid cost effective moves. The Bulls just paid an aging veteran 50 mill. and built a zero sum offense.

I'll give the Knicks this much credit. They know they're playing a game called basketball. I'm not sure the Bulls know what sport they're playing.

Don't get me wrong I like the Knicks moves more, but damn the Rose and especially the Noah moves are total "New York" glitz and glammour fools gold. Rose will in the 10-15 range for starting PG's, its not like he's bad but he isn't what he was, and the league is just stacked with better dudes at that spot. He got better last year once he got his vision problem sorted out. Rose is never gonna catch lightning again, unless its something like Linsanity. Sorry that era is 90% over for him. My two favorite players growing up were Grant Hill and T-Mac, and it pains to to see this happen to Rose too, but he'll never be an All NBA guy again, and probably won't be an all star ever again with Kyrie, Wall, Lowry, Thomas, and others in the East. But I am excited to see him run some pick and roll (if Phil lets go of the triangle obesession) with Melo and Porzingis. Really like the Lee signing, that dude just plays hard and plays smart hate to see him leave the Hornets. Jennings, I think is gonna bounce back after his acl deal, its been two years and that dude has shown he can be a nice heat check guy off the bench. Also don't forget the Lance Thomas resigning. Major props to this guy, for working his ass off and making it into the league, sticking in the league, and getting a nice contract. If you told me in 2010 that he'd be the guy from that national championship Duke team that was the best player in the NBA, I'd probably call you crazy. Much respect to his hard work in a environment that doesn't always recognize it.

Bulls will be okay. A playoff team hopefully (look at what happened this year). They've got depth, and some decent pieces, but that's where they've been these past two years. Just disappointing. I think they'll obviously make the playoffs, but they aren't a contender.


Off the big markets I thought the Lakers did the best. I love the Deng signing for them (sorry you lost another good one Heat), and Mozgov had a down year after his surgery maybe he can prove something? Randle will be a nice 6th man, once he learns to control himself. Ingram is gonna be an all star in 3 years, and Russell despite all the off court BS had a decent year for a rookie PG. Maybe they can scratch the playoffs in not this coming year, but the next?