Official 2K8 NBA Draft Thread

[StriderKyo]

Training camp has started, and all is well unless you're a Knick fan, in which case your coach is in court with a sexual harassment case and facing suspension from the league.

So what happened in the offseason? Not much, except for the biggest influx of talent since the Lebron draft and the balance of power shifting with the East getting way strong with Garnett & Ray Allen joining Paul Pierce on the Celts, Jason Richardson going to Charlotte, & Rashard Lewis getting paid about twice what he's worth to go to Orlando.

The Sonics' new forward Kevin Durant might actually be better than Lebron (not this year, though); after Greg Oden had to get microfracture surgery everyone's already making comparisons to the Bowie/Jordan draft. Does that make Al Horford Hakeem?

Oh yeah, it was trade demand-mania this summer too. Kobe, Shawn Marion & Kirilenko all demanded trades. Nothing's happened yet. Juwan Howard demanded one too after getting sent to the post-Garnett T-Wolves, but everybody just laughed.

Some bad news too - Eddie Griffin died, apparently suicide. And some ref getting caught fixing games, but if you watch the NBA you've known about that since 1994 Jordan/Lakers/Wade.

[b]Predictions:[b] Denver will figure out how to get AI, Melo & K-Mart to play together and be a sleeper in the West.

Toronto's addition of Jason Kapono gives them two of last year's top five 3 point shooters, and Bargnani ain't chopped liver outside the arc either. They're going to spread the floor like nobody else in the league and Bosh & TJ Ford are going to go ballistic with that much room to run around in.

The Z-Bo thing in New York won't work, and the Knicks are going to be hilarious for yet another season.

Gilbert Arenas is going to go OFF - contract year.

The Rockets & T-Mac FINALLY get out of the first round this year. They added so much talent, I mean they have to, right?

[Scourge]

Houston definitely deserves to make some headway. I've been waiting the last 2 or 3 seasons for them to get over the hump. Hopefully it will be this year.

[BioMechanic]

I hope Gilbert goes off, but his knee is a worry.

Boston could be awesome, and I hope they are.

Really interested in what Orlando and Houston do, as well as the Knicks for different than usual reasons.

I really like Seattle to surprise people. Yeah, they lost a ton of scoring, but they made some smart moves to fill the holes for the future.

Go Raptors! What an exciting lineup they've got.

I don't see Denver happening right now. They need someone inside (Nene?).

Living in L.A. means I'm already sick of Kobe and the Lakers. I hope the Clippers finish ahead of them again.

[StriderKyo]

I hope Gilbert goes off, but his knee is a worry.

Boston could be awesome, and I hope they are.

Really interested in what Orlando and Houston do, as well as the Knicks for different than usual reasons.

I don't know about Orlando. Battie's out so they're talking about playing Lewis at the 4 - the guy's like 220 lbs.! I basically hate everything they did in the offseason except for getting Van Gundy - and even then they had to give up a draft pick to do it. But the coaching change alone should mean they're better than last year.

The Knicks are going to be awesome this year. Marbury's off his rocker, and I have the over/under for Randolph getting in trouble with the law in New York at January. Also, Curry is way overdue for some kind of injury.

I really like Seattle to surprise people. Yeah, they lost a ton of scoring, but they made some smart moves to fill the holes for the future.

Durant's going to be awesome in his first year like Chris Paul was. I'll be shocked if he drops 20 like Bron did though. As for the Sonics, there are too many things i don't like about them as a team - no dominant front court guy, nobody special at PG, and two rooks on the wing. I think this is a team like the Cats or Hawks who have to spend a couple of seasons getting it together.

Go Raptors! What an exciting lineup they've got.

The only real issue they have is rebounding. Other than that, I really like the way the team's put together - the parts fit, and they've got enough depth to resist serious injuries. I might be delusional, but I think they can hang with Boston in the regular season. Now the playoffs...

I don't see Denver happening right now. They need someone inside (Nene?).

They've got Nene up front & are getting K-Mart back, and they actually went 9-1 in April last year. They might have too many me-first players to really be elite, but I think they can be solid.

Living in L.A. means I'm already sick of Kobe and the Lakers. I hope the Clippers finish ahead of them again.

No Brand, no Livingston? No chance. ET's like 40 and Magette's only half-interested.

The Lakers are going to be fun though. Kobe's too competitive to pull a VC and suck his way out of town, but no doubt he's going to bite one of his teammates' heads off. I can totally see him taking all his frustrations out on Bynum.

[BioMechanic]

No Brand, no Livingston? No chance. ET's like 40 and Magette's only half-interested.

Er, what happened to Brand?

edit: nm, I just checked. That sucks. You can basically write off his season. The Clips still might finish in front of the Drama Lakers though!

[mannerbot]

Didn't realize that this was Gil's contract year. This is gonna be awesome.

Also, Wade is going to be out until at least mid-November apparently.

[The_Meach]

On the SuperSonics front:

As excited as we all are for Durant (MJ comparisons should be outlawed, btw), nothing deflates all of that like King Douchebag, Clay Bennett and the Middle-America Mother Fuckers.

Seriously. Oklahoma City? Although Durant would enjoy being closer to home (TX is home, right?), good luck getting a team of non-Battier, non-Timmy Duncan Indoor Kitties to sign with you. They'll be Utah East.

King Douchebag waited until halfway through the legislative session to make a ham-handed proposal for $300 million dollars of public money, knowing, KNOWING, the public backlash that would result. Then he threw up his hands in a, "What, I've done everything possible to court the fans?!" manner and shut his fucking mouth ALL SUMMER...except when he decided to rip the Mayor and the City and whine about how KeyArena blows (it does).

Stating the Truth isn't a problem (the Sonics need a new home). How you make your case is the most important thing. And instead of coming to the area and explaining how he WILL keep the team in Seattle, it's been one arrogant "Give me money bitches, or else!" statement after another.

He hasn't been lobbying (AT ALL) for a new arena.

And then he gives a deadline, Oct 31, for getting the new arena. Great idea, King Douchebag! The best way to get Seattle to sign off on a new deal? Show us Durant's untapped awesomeness and we'd probably come around.

But if what King Douchebag REALLY wants is to take his NBA product to fucking OK, there's no way you showcase that guy...you make demands and set deadlines so that he can say, "Hey, I tried."

Well, now the City's gonna sue him (and they will win; the lease is ironclad, and King Douchebag's sewn so much discontent the City wants to win for no other reason than to stick it to him).

I saw the first SuperSonics season tix commercial and I gave the TV the finger. Fuck you, King Douchebag! Good luck selling tickets!

Anyways.

Things I'm looking fwd to this season:

Agent Zero

KG in Boston (I wish him well, but if Boston gets ANOTHER championship-caliber team, I'm going to puke from Baw-ston sports overload)

AI and Melo gelling

Steve Nash's last chance

I'm seriously considering League Pass. What does TNL think of this service?

Also: Fuck you, King Douchebag!

[youandwhosearmy]

Celtics win the superbowl.

[The_Meach]

If the Sox, Pats, and Celts win it all, my head's going to explode.

[mannerbot]

A couple of my friends got league pass last year. It was awesome, but at times there really is way too much to watch (which is probably a good thing). Some of the feeds like the local channel broadcasts are really crappy though.