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Official 2011-2012 NBA Season Thread

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I'm not an NBA fan anymore (I blame George Shinn) but this article hit me hard. It's from the Orlando Sentinel, by Mike Bianchi.

What happened to you, Dwight Howard?

Where have you gone?

Where is that God-fearing, fun-loving teenager who came to Orlando and said he would not only win championships here, he would elevate the city, make us forget Shaq and do his best to convert as many NBA players as possible to Christianity?

Instead, you are poised to leave Orlando with zero championships. And we are not elevated but devastated as one of the most economically depressed cities in the country. And your Christian values seem to have faded and been replaced by your quest to become a movie star, a superhero, a walking, talking sneaker endorsement .

You were going to make us forget Shaq; instead you are making us relive him. We thought you would be unique; we thought maybe just maybe you would be a different type of superstar. Instead, it seems, you are just like LeBron and all the rest. Just another self-absorbed NBA player who has been tainted by fame and a quest not for basketball greatness but for even more Twitter followers and global icon status.

2nd part in post below.
 
?Agents, shoe companies, and his advisers have turned him into someone else,? accurately wrote one Magic fan on Saturday, the depressing day in which the Magic informed Orlando that Dwight has requested a trade.

You used to be humble and accommodating and good-natured. Now, you are brooding, aloof and full of yourself. You used to smile and laugh on the court. Now you frown and whine.

And you think you should be an even bigger deal than you already are. You think you?ve outgrown Orlando. You listen to your sycophants and hangers-on more than you listen to your coach and your GM.

What happened to you, Dwight?

Where have you gone?

Don?t you realize you can be bigger here than you can ever be anywhere else? If you go to L.A. and win championships, you?re just another hired gun; another rent-a-superstar the Lakers have pillaged from another team to help them win their umpteenth title. And if you go to New York and play for the Nets, you are on the fifth- or sixth-most popular team in town behind the Yankees, Giants, Jets, Mets, Knicks and Rangers.

But if you stay here and win a championship, you own this town forever and ever. Hell, if you stay here and don?t win a championship, you own this town forever and ever.

Why not dare to be different, Dwight?

Why do you have to be like LeBron and Shaq?

Why do you have to cut and run to go join other stars somewhere else? The truly great ones stay where they?re at and have other stars come join them.

And, another thing, why do you have to leave us holding the bag (and the debt) on a brand new $500 million arena we built for you? In tough economic times, the fans and the city put their faith in you, Dwight. They thought you were serious about ?loving the City of Orlando? and ?bringing a championship to Orlando.? Even though the money wasn?t in the coffers, we built the arena anyway because we trusted and believed in you. Why do you think we nicknamed the new arena ?The Dwight House?? Now, when you leave, we might as well call it ?The Blight House.?

What happened to you, Dwight?

Where have you gone?

Don?t you know you?ll be much more universally admired and respected if you stay and win a championship here? And in today?s digitially and electronicaly compressed world, you can be a global icon right here, too.

You set an NBA record last year with more than 3 million All-Star votes right here. You were MVP runnerup last season right here. You have national endorsements with Gatorade, Adidas, McDonald?s, T-Mobile and Call of Duty (video game) right here. You?ve made movies right here. You?ve been on Leno and Letterman right here. You?ve got 2.5 million Twitter followers right here. You?ve been NBA Defensive Player of the year three straight times right here.

And you know what else? You can win championships right here, too.

All you have to do is announce that you?re staying in Orlando and other superstars will come and join you. Fans always blame GM Otis Smith for not going out and getting you another superstar. I don?t. I blame you, Dwight, more than Otis. Why haven?t you actively gone out and recruited another superstar? Dwyane Wade recruited LeBron to Miami. During the lockout, Carmelo Anthony went on Twitter and tried to recruit other stars to come join him with the Knicks.

What about you, Dwight? You?re on Twitter all the time and I don?t remember you once tweeting a request for Chris Paul or Deron Williams to come join you in Orlando. Why, Dwight? Why is that? The fact is no other superstar was going to come to Orlando until you committed Orlando. And that just never happened.

I know, I know, Dwight, it?s your life and you have a right to do with it what you want. And it may sound like I?m angry, but I?m not.

I?m just sad.

Very sad.

And I?ve gotten tons of e-mail in the last couple of days from loyal Magic fans who are sad, too. They?re sad because they poured their hearts and their wallets into you, thinking that maybe you were different.

Wrote one fan: ?This is about loyalty and a sense of responsibility. In an age when short sales and bankruptcy bail people out of their own foolish mistakes, it would be good to see someone with the backbone to stay with the task at hand and not turn and run because of the adversity. I guess that is probably too much to ask of a modern NBA superstar.?

I guess so.

I guess so.

What happened to you, Dwight?

Where have you gone?

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tapatalk
 
Thats a great article. Its kind of funny because they drafted him instead of trading the picks because he was "different" and was so committed to building something.
 
I think the Magic had their chance with him. They never made any legitimate moves to make them a serious title contender. Same with the Cavs and Lebron. I'm also a biased Nets fan so that could be something, but that's what I think.
 
Players have a choice, that is the basis of free agency. Owners have a choice too, they can choose to build a contender or they can sit tight and minimize every expenditure to maximize profit from the franchise. I don't think star players are doing anything wrong by going where the money is or moving to where they believe they have the best opportunity to be successful.
 
I think its a great point that Steroids for players and Cash for management is one in the same. I think a Hard Cap in all sports is necessary IMO. I dont know much about the nfl, nba or mlb but Im learning a ton on THP, and this thread is no different!





Wait wha? JB said NHL? haha
 
CP3 to the...Clippers?
 
pjcedog said:
Assuming that all wealthy people did anything to earn their money is a misconception. A few did and some are geniuses but many are just lucky to have been born into the right situation.
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Could you provide an example of an NBA owner who has not been successful in other ventures besides basketball?
 
JB said:
Dwight Howard is not a free agent.
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Not this year but he will be at some point. It is only a matter of time as to when he leaves Orlando not if. They may as well make the most of it and get what they can for him.
 
ripper said:
Could you provide an example of an NBA owner who has not been successful in other ventures besides basketball?
Click to expand...

We have one right here in Dallas, if Mark Cuban does not make the deal to sell Broadcast.com to Yahoo when he did- if that deal is delayed even by a few months- the stock he sold is worth much less, pennies on the dollar, and he never sees billions of dollars from Yahoo. I like Mark Cuban I think he is one of the best owners in all of sports.
 
pjcedog said:
We have one right here in Dallas, if Mark Cuban does not make the deal to sell Broadcast.com to Yahoo when he did- if that deal is delayed even by a few months- the stock he sold is worth much less, pennies on the dollar, and he never sees billions of dollars from Yahoo. I like Mark Cuban I think he is one of the best owners in all of sports.
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That is timing not lack of hard work. Cuban has successfully built up brands including his own, through hard work which is hardly what was said in your previous post.
 
JB said:
That is timing not lack of hard work. Cuban has successfully built up brands including his own, through hard work which is hardly what was said in your previous post.
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I never said he didn't work hard but luck plays a huge part here, he will tell you himself that he was very lucky to have made that deal. Not all wealthy people have worked hard and not all poor people are lazy. Those are both myths.
 
pjcedog said:
Assuming that all wealthy people did anything to earn their money is a misconception. A few did and some are geniuses but many are just lucky to have been born into the right situation.
Click to expand...

ripper said:
Could you provide an example of an NBA owner who has not been successful in other ventures besides basketball?
Click to expand...

pjcedog said:
We have one right here in Dallas, if Mark Cuban does not make the deal to sell Broadcast.com to Yahoo when he did- if that deal is delayed even by a few months- the stock he sold is worth much less, pennies on the dollar, and he never sees billions of dollars from Yahoo. I like Mark Cuban I think he is one of the best owners in all of sports.
Click to expand...

pjcedog said:
I never said he didn't work hard but luck plays a huge part here, he will tell you himself that he was very lucky to have made that deal. Not all wealthy people have worked hard and not all poor people are lazy. Those are both myths.
Click to expand...

I guess you could see the confusion.
 
Paul to the Clippers for so many players and pics I don't want to write them all down.
 
coolbreeze said:
Paul to the Clippers for so many players and pics I don't want to write them all down.
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Did that just happen? Good for the Clips. They might be the best team in Staples Center now
 
Damaikis said:
Did that just happen? Good for the Clips. They might be the best team in Staples Center now
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From ESPN:

The Clippers, sources said, will send guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota's unprotected 2012 first-round pick to the Hornets for Paul.
The Clippers will also receive two future second-round picks, according to sources.
 
The Hornets got an absolute haul for CP3. 2 potential first round picks as well, depending on how their season goes.
 
bahester said:
The Hornets got an absolute haul for CP3. 2 potential first round picks as well, depending on how their season goes.
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Yea this is great for the hornets, eric gordon is a stud, kaman can play at an all-star level when healthy and they might have two lottery picks next year in what is going to be a really solid draft class. If there ever was a time for someone to step in and buy the hornets this would be it...

on the otherside, cp3 throwing oops to griffin? yikes. lets just hope cp3 likes it enough there to sign an extension, otherwise the clips just shot themselves in the foot.
 
Looking at the rosters of the Lakers and the Clippers as they stand right now, and the Clippers are better. I never thought I would say that.
 
coolbreeze said:
Looking at the rosters of the Lakers and the Clippers as they stand right now, and the Clippers are better. I never thought I would say that.
Click to expand...

Crazy to think that the Lakers may not be the best team in their own arena anymore. But the Clippers are going to be tough out west this year.
 
I doubt they can beat the Heat. Rip is washed up and D-Rose will still take more shots than he should. The Bulls have a few flaws that will keep them from winning IMO.
 
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