He didn’t play the 4 for two entire seasons, which is my whole point. He did play some minutes there, especially in the playoffs, but he wasn’t a full-time 4. He played the 3 the large majority of the time.
Here’s Miami’s lineup data for '13-'14. Battier played the 4.
Here it is for '12-'13. Haslem and Battier played the 4.
Here it is for '11-'12. Bosh, with a little Battier and Haslem, played the 4.
I can’t for the life of me understand why OKC won’t amnesty Perkins.
And in other news, the Wizards for the first time in a long time are making off-season moves that actually make me excited.
Same reason they wouldn’t give Harden the max: they are owned by cheapskates.
Yeah, kudos to Washington for putting the pedal down; with the East as bad as it is, they could make at least round two for the next few years. I can’t handle another rebuilding team in the East, so good on Washington and Charlotte for going for broke.
Washington finalizing details on a sign-and-trade for DeJuan Blair. They’re not really making any big splashes, but they are building some really solid depth. I, too am excited about this team for the first time in a long time.
I really like that Pierce signing for Washington. Great veteran pickup for a young up and coming team.
Looks like Cleveland and Washington will be reprising their little rivalry they had, as one-sided as it was. Those games were fun.
Well, they’re not so up and coming now. They’ve got a backcourt with playoff experience, unlike the Cavs.
Carlos Boozer goes to the Lakers, in keeping with their plan to stay flexible for the next year or two. James Jones goes to Cleveland, and it sounds like Ray Allen will either retire or follow him there. Big Baby Davis is staying with the Clippers.
NOOOO!!!
As a long suffering Clipper fan it seems the Clips had another decent offseason but didn’t do enough to really put them in championship contention. And Chris Paul’s window is closing.
On the other hand, if I were an OKC fan I’d be outraged. Ferfuckinoutloud, are they really going to sit on their thumbs another year? Unlike the Clippers, a few minor pickups like Hawes and Farmar could have been enough to put them over the top. Or Caman and McRoberts. Or some Russian coach no one’s ever heard of. Something. ANYTHING. They have maybe the best three year run of drafting in NBA history and risk parlaying it into nothing?
It’s not like either of those teams has a lot of needs, and they can make trades or pick up guys during the season if they need to. Griffin took a big step forward last year while Chris Paul was out, and now maybe he can stay at that level for a full year. The Thunder don’t have Sefolosha and Fisher anymore, but I don’t see those as huge losses. Adams should keep developing and they made two picks in the first round. There’s no question they won’t spend much, but they can argue that they could’ve won the Western Conference finals Ibaka been healthy for the whole series. Both of those teams figure to be in the top four in the conference.
I think the Clippers have done everything they can. They went big for Rivers. They added Reddick, Dudley, and Collison at the beginning of last year, then picked up Davis and Granger for a playoff run. They lost Collison this year, but immediately grabbed Farmar to replace him. Mullins never worked out, so they grabbed Hawes. I don’t think they’re a real contender, but they’re as close as they’ve ever been, and if they fall short it’s not for lack of trying.
OKC on the other hand looked like a fledgling dynasty a few years ago, but instead of adding a big piece or a decent coach to put them over the top, they just keep leaking guys away and hoping the other power teams get old and they get their turn by attrition. And they’re so good that plan might actually work. They drafted an MVP, two 25 points a game scorers, and a defensive player of the year over a three year span. That’s pretty much impossible, except that it happened. How do you not steamroller the league for a decade after that?
What big piece does OKC need? They need some backup at guard and their offense could use more creativity, but that’s about it. In the last four years they’ve lost in the West finals to the Mavs (who won the title), lost in the NBA finals to the Heat, lost in the West semis (without Westbrook) and lost in the West finals (to the Spurs, who won the title, and again, Ibaka missed time). Their key guys are all young and Durant is under contract for two more years and Westbrook and Ibaka for three. There’s a bunch of tough competition around them, but they’re not missing a whole lot.
Depends what you mean by need, I guess. Are they contenders with what they have? No doubt. They’d probably be my favorite going into next year. Cleveland will need time to gel, and San Antonio’s key guys can’t be immortal forever. The rest of the West is good, but hard to see any of them taking a big leap to championship quality next year. The Pacers seem broken. Is OKCs plan to sit on what they have and wait for the rest of the league to regress to them, assuming they’ll just get their turn? That may very well work out. But why not get a decent coach and solidify a spot or two and really kick the door down? Championship windows are a precious commodity.
I think they could use a better center. Not a star, but someone solid. What Perkins used to be and Adams might very well be in a few years. Guys like Lopez, Asik, Caman and Hawes have been floating around the last few years. I think they need a third ball-handler/scorer to help hedge against Durant and Westbrook’s sometimes aimless freelancing in crunch time. They went from Harden to Kevin Martin to Jackson, so they’re going the wrong direction there. When Jackson plays well, they dominate people, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of player that can bring it every night. I think they could use a rangy wing defender who can hit the occasional three like Matt Barnes who can spell Durant defensively sometimes to keep him fresh. Lamb was supposed to be that guy, and it doesn’t look like he is.
If there’s a time to bite the bullet and pay the luxury tax it’s when you have real superstars and can win championships. Or at least hire a coach. Popovich or Carlisle would flat punish the league with the talent OKC has. I’m making the same argument you did about Miller in Miami, except I guess I’m willing to cut Miami some slack because they’ve been dominating the East for a decade, and paying the tax and winning championships, and they were stuck with a roster that was old and expensive. In the last two years I haven’t heard of OKC even flirting with any substantive moves. Chicago, Houston, Cleveland, Golden State, and Charlotte (among others) are making hard runs at all kinds of talent, while OKC is signing Sebastian Telfair, a guy who can be confirmed to have made a jump shot at some point in an NBA game.
Bulls finalizing a deal with Aaron Brooks. So a team that won 48 last year adds to its bench Pau Gasol (3-win player last year), Brooks (a 2-win player), Mirotic (who knows, but probably at least something), and Doug McDermott, plus they’re getting Rose back.
That’s five impact additions to the returning core of Noah, Butler, and Gibson.
This is going to be a very good team.
It’s a team with a shot at the finals if Rose stays healthy. That’s a big if, so as a fan I’ll just go ahead and hold my breath all season.
Rose has zero history of consistent health. No reason to believe he’ll magically start now.
He played 81 games as a rookie, 78 the next year, and 81 the year after that. Granted, that feels like a long time ago and he’s coming off some major injuries.
Thanks Marley! I didn’t realize he started out that durable. A case of: what have you done for me lately.
Yahoo is saying the Kevin Love trade is “done,” although these are the same exact terms everybody’s been talking about for at least a week and the trade can’t be completed for another two weeks-plus. If this is true, it’s Love for Wiggins, Bennett, and a protected first-round pick, and Love will sign a five-year/$120 million deal with Cleveland. There was talk Philadelphia would get into this trade, and they didn’t officially but the idea of trading Thad Young for Bennett still makes sense. The story says Minnesota wants to move some of its expiring contracts, but I think they’re hoping for a short rebuild with Rubio, Pekovic, Deng, Wiggins and Bennett or Young.
Here’s what I hope happens:
Any particular reason you’re hoping for that?
Because I believe karma’s a bitch, and I want Wiggins to show LeBron he should have stuck with him.