NBA Offseason Thread.

[Socnorb11]

Anybody who thinks that they know where Lebron is headed with any certainty is kidding themselves.

It's all speculation, at this point.

[jim]

He's coming to Chicago.

[thrill]

Yeah, definitely.

[Faceman]

It may not be official, but he is going to Chicago. You can bank on it.

[lukethedrifter]

No way. There's no way he wants to compete with Michael's legacy.

[Faceman]

He's doing that anyway, regardless of where he plays.

He wants to win. There is no better setup out there.

[stlouie_lipp]

Anybody who thinks that they know where Lebron is headed with any certainty is kidding themselves.

It's all speculation, at this point.

Of course nobody knows for certain where he's going, but I think the information the Bulls are operating under is more than just speculation for them to do what they did. Giving up a 17th pick buster and trading Kirk is obviously worth the risk to them.

I also think this legacy stuff gets overblown. Hasn't affected Kobe, didn't affect Bird, etc.

[lukethedrifter]

He's doing that anyway, regardless of where he plays.

He wants to win. There is no better setup out there.

I think the proximity to Gary, Indiana will really draw out the MJ comps.

[stlouie_lipp]

He's doing that anyway, regardless of where he plays.

He wants to win. There is no better setup out there.

I think the proximity to Gary, Indiana will really draw out the MJ comps.

ha

[Maclowery]

Quality, established stars are much more important in the NBA compared to non-lottery draft picks, compared to MLB. It's partially just a result of such a smaller roster - baseball has 25 guys in the majors, multiple minor league teams for development. NBA, you draft a guy 18th hoping he does well, he sits on your bench or immediately gets minutes. the Developmental League is nothing near as important as baseball's minor league system.

Basically, I'm saying that signing two major free agents is much, much, much, much more important to the Bulls winning both immediately and over the next couple years than keeping Heinrich and hoping a tall French dude becomes a 15 minute a game guy.

Look at the Finals. Those two teams were there directly due to the acquisition of seasoned All-Star Vets through free agency or absurdly lopsided trades like Gasol's. Teams developing young talent are exciting - the Thunder and Portland come to mind - but neither is nearly as likely to win a final as a team with three major stars, which is what Chicago most likely will be next season.

tldr: I'm excited as hell, dudes