Couldn't believe this when I saw it

[isaacthompson]

if JV becomes an allstar centre and demar improves his 3pt shot then the raps will be a contender . I Predict the raps will win a championship in 5 years

That's a bold prediction. I hope you're right.

[Miekenstien]

if JV becomes an allstar centre and demar improves his 3pt shot then the raps will be a contender . I Predict the raps will win a championship in 5 years

Can't really see lebron retiring in the next 5 years

[thead]

Can't really see lebron retiring in the next 5 years

could get bored and play football

[Miekenstien]

could get bored and play football

Haha. Ok there is a possibility we can win a championship in the next 5 years.

[alex_elstone]

I would most definitely be complaining right now about DeRozan's extension.

DD is an average to below average NBA starter. The average NBA player makes around $5M per season. The median NBA salary is something like $2.5M. He is overpaid somewhere in the range of 2-4 times his production. In the new CBA with ridiculous penalties every dollar below the cap counts because the ability to take other team's money presents itself. We are already seeing a lot of teams making financial versus basketball trades.

DD will be 24 this upcoming season with 9700 NBA minutes under his belt. He has already equaled the length of an average NBA career. He has been a 1st or 2nd option for nearly 3 seasons. Nearly 100% of players with that much experience and opportunity have shown what they are. If there was still natural talent left to be tapped, a man of his work ethic would have extracted it by now. Unfortunately it seems quite likely the following statement while harsh is true: he is what he is. All the potential talk is a sad sequel to a recently departed Raptor who had all the talent but just lacked the work ethic and desire - of if we could only make a Raptor Hybrid.

Here is a fun game that illustrates the frustration with DD's extension. Player A is just signed to a new 4 year, $38M contract. Player B is signed to a one year veteran minimum. And now......

GUESS THAT PLAYA!

(all stats are per48 minutes)

Playa A:

WP48: .054
PoP: -1.4
PTS: 23.7
REB: 5.1
AST: 3.2
STL: 1.2
TO: 2.4
eFG%: 45.9%
TS%: 52.3%
FGA: 19.6
3ptFGA: 1.9
FTA: 6.8
PPP: 1.20


Playa B:

WP48: .056
PoP: -1.4
PTS: 21.4
REB: 4.4
AST: 2.9
STL: 1.2
TO: 1.7
eFG%: 48.2%
TS%: 52.5%
FGA: 18.4
3ptFGA: 7.1
FTA: 4.4
PPP: 1.16



This is not to say that player A and B should be paid equally - hardly. Player A is younger and is known for strong character unlike player B. However, when you get past subjective intangibles and look strictly at individual on court production, is the difference worth $8.3M per season?

... So who's player b

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I remember the opposite happening a lot though as well ... dig ourselves a 10-15 point deficit by the end of the first quarter, and spend the rest of the game fighting our way back, only to lose by 2 points. UGH. Lol.

Or the start of the 3rd quarter, again with our starting unit on the floor. I seem to recall many close games the past couple seasons, where it seems as though we were badly outcoached over halftime. Half on coaching, half on the starters. That's the difference between good starters and elite starters, I suppose.

[isaacthompson]

... So who's player b

My gut feeling is Nick Young, just signed with the Lakers.. too lazy to look up the stats though.

[mcHAPPY]

... So who's player b

Isaac nailed it.

Nick Young.