Don’t have time for a full podcast? Then we’ve got some bite size content for you in the first episode of Drive Time. Are the Knicks really gonna trade Porzingis? Is Danny gonna sell the farm or trade *down* again? Why is the entire NBA losing its collective mind right now? Tune in, its good for you.
Cavs Players Are Now Telling Jimmy Butler to Stay Away from the Dumpster Fire that is Cleveland
Chicago Sun Times – No stranger to organizational dysfunction, Jimmy Butler was warned Tuesday night to stay away from the Cavaliers. According to a Cleveland source close to the situation, several of the Cavaliers who had been prodding Butler to push for a trade from the Bulls the last five days were now warning him to stay away from a suddenly volatile situation.
Jesus. Christ. Cleveland, this is why you can’t have nice things. A live look at the state of the Cavaliers right now:
What a goddamn disaster. You guys were literally JUST in the NBA Finals. Sure, you got smacked down by Golden State, but you are without a doubt the second best team in the NBA. Yet somehow, the Cavs are now in complete disarray. They shitcanned the GM the *same day* he was balls deep in trade talks with other teams. Now there are rumblings that LeBron may be bolting town for Los Angeles sooner than later. Bill Simmons, who knows a thing or two about the NBA, is convinced its going to happen.
“It’s gonna be the Lakers. It’s gonna happen.”@BillSimmons tells @ColinCowherd why LeBron will be a Laker pic.twitter.com/aLNF1vGcr2
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 20, 2017
With that shit storm spiraling around, Cavs players are apparently telling Jimmy Butler to stay the hell away. The GM is out, LeBron could be gone after next year, no one knows what the hell is going on. So Butler reportedly is saying ah nevermind I’ll stay in Chicago. Butler would rather stay on a 41-win team than go to the team that just played in the NBA Finals (and the last 3 years in a row) and has arguably the best player in the world on its roster. Yeesh.
“[Kyrie] Irving has been contacting some of his former Team USA mates, letting them know that he might be willing to push for a trade, especially with the latest drama unfolding in Cleveland..Through back channels, Irving let it be known that he’d be interested in coming to Chicago.”
Oh man it is gonna be FUN watching what happens throughout the NBA today.
The NBA Offseason is the Best in Sports and its Not Even Close
The amount of juice the NBA has provided since the season ended last week is just insane. Its been more entertaining than the NBA playoffs and even more so than the Finals. The NBA offseason is hands down the best in sports as GM’s continue to look around the league, see teams like Golden State, and just say fuck it lets reload.
In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
I think that needs to be the new slogan of the NBA. If you’re not Golden State then your franchise might as well punt on the next 3-5 years. It sounds like a joke, BUT THATS WHAT TEAMS ARE DOING. Sure, there are teams like the Celtics who are technically within striking distance so I applaud Trader Danny’s efforts to improve this team as long as it does so without mortgaging the future. But even LeBron and the Cavs, the team thats been to the NBA Finals the last 3 years IN A ROW, seem to be panicking. Cleveland has been in talks for all the big names like Paul George and Jimmy Butler all sandwiched around kicking their own GM to the bricks.
As much as it sucks there is a goddamn Super Team standing between the Celtics and a title, I’m glad it at least gives the rest of the league the motivation to either completely blow things up and rebuild or just stockpile as many assets and big name players as possible.
It’s like the Elite Four at the end of Victory Road in Pokemon. An absolute nightmare to deal with so don’t even both walking down the road if you’re not ready. Level up, get your shit together and then go after the top dogs.
So yesterday we had Woj Bomb after Woj Bomb. Paul George told the Pacers after next season he’s out so now they’re looking to get whatever they can for PG-13. The Knicks are listening to offers for 21-year old stud Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics are one of the teams in talks with NY. Jimmy Butler saying he’d rather not play in Cleveland so the C’s are still in on that rumor too. Dwight Howard got traded, minutes after dropping some fire jokes about NBA trades on his own Twitter account.
Well thats awkward timing for @DwightHoward #NBA #Hawks #Hornets #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/gBFl88gXRK
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) June 21, 2017
Then we got the Lakers trading D’Angelo Russell, the Clippers looking to deal DeAndre Jordan, all while we still have the NBA fucking Draft on Thursday night. God knows how many more trades there will be and how much more hot, hot heat Woj is going to be dropping on Twitter.
The #NBA offseason right now. pic.twitter.com/VLjFuo78zI
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) June 21, 2017
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The only one drooling more than me right now is probably Ainge. No sleep til Brooklyn.
LeBron Littlefinger James Continues to Pull the Strings and Gets Cavs GM Fired
ESPN – The Cleveland Cavaliers have parted ways with general manager David Griffin, the team announced Monday. Griffin’s contract was up at the end of the month, and after extensive talks with owner Dan Gilbert, no agreement on an extension was reached..Cavs star LeBron James, who sources said was not consulted on the decision, tweeted out support of Griffin.
Jesus christ, ya drop 2 out of 3 NBA Finals and all of a sudden Cleveland is turning into a complete shitshow. Canning the GM days before the draft, while the guy is also balls deep into trade discussions just reeks of an impulse decision. Or who knows, maybe Griffin was sick of hearing shit from both ends, getting badgered by ownership and by LeBron, and just said FUCK THIS I’m out.
Either way, this is classic LeBron “I’m not the GM” James through and through. Griffin built the second best team in the NBA and did just about everything LeBron wanted. He traded Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love. The No. 1 overall pick and LeBron said send that teenager packing I need the white boy who can hit some 3’s and Griffin did it. He gave a max contract to Tristan fucking Thompson.
Tristan Thompson is having a fucking meltdown. #Celtics #Cavs pic.twitter.com/UrGECF0rOE
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 18, 2017
LeBron bitched the team didn’t have enough talent so Griffin traded for Andrew Bogut (who actually got hurt) and brought in guys like Kyle Korver and Derron Williams. Then the Cavs just happened to run into an all-time team in the Warriors and it wasn’t good enough. Instead of sitting down and figuring out, okay how the hell are we gonna beat these guys in Golden State, ya know, like a competitor would do – instead LeBron throws a bitch fit and gets the GM fired.
LeBron is basically the Littlefinger of the NBA. GM’s getting ousted, coaches getting fired, nonsensical trades and deals being made. The guy just loves the chaos.
LeBron’s little buddy Brian Windhorst can report all he wants how LeBron was “surprised” by the move:
If no one appreciated you Griff I did, and hopefully all the people of Cleveland! Thanks for what u did for the team for 3 yrs! We got us 1🏆
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 20, 2017
But everyone knows whats up. Griffin was just LeBron’s latest fall guy. He’s the new Mike Brown. The new David Blatt. I’m not the coach, I’m not the GM, you guys built this shitty team not me so I’m gonna throw a temper tantrum and threaten to leave unless you axe this guy.
And that is why we don’t negotiate with terrorists. You pamper these guys and give them everything they want and then they turn around and throw everyone under the bus for making the exact moves you wanted them to make. Sorry LeBron, the Cavs are literally barren of assets to trade for a guy like Jimmy Butler or Paul George because of all these fucking moves you wanted the Cavs to make over the years.
Welp, godspeed to the next guy who’s got to take that job and get cucked by LeBron every day. Rumors are picking up steam now though that Chauncey Billups may actually take the job, which is probably the best thing for the Cavs despite Chauncey Billups having zero experience in the role. Billups can be the Ty Lue of the front office. Ty Lue, the guy who legit told LeBron to go fuck himself, was the best thing for LeBron. So there’s your blueprint Chauncey, godspeed.
Durant Balled Out to Win MVP, But It’s Hard to Shake the Fact He Joined a 73 Win Team
As much as I will always hate on Kevin Durant for bailing on OKC and taking the easy way out by jumping on the Warriors band wagon, I do have to give him credit for one thing. He. Balled. Out. Guy scored 30+ in every game and was an absolute monster the entire series. He wasn’t just along for the ride. He wasn’t Steph Curry’s little sidekick. He took over games, made big shots and basically made the Cavs quit.
Now, is it pretty fucking easy to be a lethal scorer when arguably the best player in the league is getting wide open looks because he’s on a super team? Yes, yes it is.
But it wasn’t just his offense, as Jackie Mac notes in her column yesterday — it was his stifling D that made the difference.
“Most observers gushed over the 33 points he scored, but Durant also finished with five blocks, three steals and 11 defensive rebounds. Only one other player since 1984, according to Basketball-Reference.com, has matched those numbers: Hall of Fame shoo-in Tim Duncan, who did it in Game 1 of the 2003 NBA Finals. No Hakeem, no Shaq. Just Duncan, one of the finest defensive players of his generation, and Durant.”
He has the speed to stay with LeBron but also the size to swat Kevin Love shots into the rafters. Not to mention he’s quick enough to close on jump shots from guys like Kyrie. Durant has a 7’5″ wingspan for christ’s sake! The Cavs didn’t really have an answer for the Durantula, which Jalen Rose called the worst nickname ever last night. To which Paul Pierce responded like a goddamn boss, “We can’t all be The Truth.”
Which is what makes it kind of sad because any quote from KD like this will always be followed by a “yea…but”
“Nobody comes in and cares about the game or loves the game as much as I do or works as hard as do,” Durant said. “You can talk about whatever happens on the outside, but inside those lines, I come to bring it every day. I work hard, I believe in myself, I believe in the game, I respect the game, I love the game, and I knew at some point in my life that it will come around for me. So I just tried to stay with those principles and keep grinding.”
So Nike can pump the fucking breaks with this commercial.
“Debate This.” Fuck outta here, Nike. I will debate this. Thoroughly. Because he joined a 73 win team. A team that he was up 3-1 on the previous season with a trip to the Finals on the line.
“Hey, thats not fair — KD earned the right to pick his team in free agency and play wherever he wants!”
All true and fair points. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s on easy street. This team was on cruise control to a title all year. Durant, again arguably the best player in the league, missed 20 games and the Warriors still won 67 games. Holy hell they might have won 80 if Durant was healthy. Looking ahead to next season, Golden State is already the most heavily favored team to win a title EVER:
“They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told ESPN.
So I give Durant credit for being a beast in this series, but it’s gonna be hard for me to ever get over him jumping ship to the team that beat him. Guy must fucking HATE Russell Westbrook.
PS – Durant’s mom and Curry’s mom just GET it. So ride or die. Can’t knock that one bit.
Steph Curry’s mom says “What, What” in celebration with Kevin Durant’s mom. pic.twitter.com/jfGdYKpLRP
— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) June 13, 2017
LeBron Paved the Way for Super Teams and is Now Upset He’s Getting Beat by a Super Team
Yahoo – In a sense, if Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is frustrated by the 2017 NBA Finals, his search for how the Golden State Warriors became so darn indestructible should really begin within. Unable on his own to topple the late 2000s Boston Celtics — a contender forged by trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the summer of 2007 — LeBron left the Cavs in 2010 to replicate a super-team blueprint alongside incumbent Dwyane Wade and fellow newcomer Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat…Though Durant says he did not consider James’ precedent, he readily admits, “He paved the way.”
LeBron must have thrown a fucking fit when he saw this quote from Kevin Durant. Recent quotes from LeBron have made it seem like he’s already resigned to his fate because the Warriors are just more talented. Oh you don’t like stacked teams beating up on you? Well you started the trend homie. Its actually pretty funny when you think about it. As much as I hate the trend of AAU buddies teaming up and building super teams, Durant’s right; LeBron set the precedent.
“You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.”
After reading that story, this Alfred quote from the Dark Knight is the first thing that popped into my head. It’s dead on. Like when Batman took down most of the Gotham underworld he set a new precedent for criminals and they kicked it up another level by bringing in the bat shit crazy Joker. LeBron is basically Batman in this situation with the rest of the league being the Gotham mob bosses, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write.
“You spat in the faces of Gotham’s worse criminals. Didn’t you think there might be some casualties? Things were always going to get worse before they got better.”
The NBA is essentially a copy cat league. If you can’t beat em, join em.
Now Durant is basically saying, “Cry me a fucking river. It’s time for KD to get his shine.” I just really hope this doesn’t become a goddamn blueprint for future superstars. Get drafted, make your team title contenders every year without quite winning one, jump to the path of least resistance to win a ring or two, then come back to your original team to play the savior card. Because that, my friends, will get old reallll fast.
And, yes I realize I make far too many Batman references in my ramblings about sports. Deal with it. The Bat Man is the goat.
If the Warriors Sweep the Cavs, Are They the Best Team Ever?
Real talk: A year after winning 73 games, would the Golden State Warriors be the best team ever if they sweep the Cavs and go 16-0 en route to an NBA championship?
Considering no other NBA team has ever done it, then you can definitely make the case. Sure you can bitch about the level of competition in the league and how we all picked these two teams to make the Finals back in October. But, theres always dominant teams in the NBA and there always will be.
The Cavs and LeBron “I’m not the GM” James had the same opportunities the Warriors had to beat up on a weaker league overall; Golden State just benefitted from drafting the majority of their super team. The Warriors put a team together primarily through the draft that just happened to become incredible and win 73 games. AND THEN THEY GOT BETTER.
I don’t like Durant joining the team that knocked him out of the playoffs anymore than you because its a soft move, but thats a conversation for another day.
The Warriors need 2 more wins to become the first team EVER to go undefeated in the NBA playoffs. All while toppling the best player in the world (Paul Pierce disagrees) in LeBron James as the cherry on top.
Considering Steph, Durant, and Dub Nation have dominated LeBron and the Cavs over the first 2 games, its not hard to imagine GSW completing the sweep. And to bring that back to a Celtics fan perspective for a quick minute, that makes me so fucking sad. The Celtics got absolutely waxed by Cleveland, the Cavs were just on another level, and now that same Cavs team is getting dismantled by the Warriors. Trader Danny would be wise to draft Markelle Fultz and keep it moving because unless Durant opts out and signs with the Celtics this summer, we ain’t winning shit with an asset depleting trade for Jimmy Butler or Paul George.
Anyways, enjoy this while its on because this is some rarefied shit we’re watching. Just elite basketball being played by the Warriors as the Cavs try and figure out a way to stop the pain train.
Celtics Nearly Steal Game 4 to Even Series with Cavs. Enter Kyrie Irving.
Not really a big silver lining guy, but the Celtics took the Cavaliers to the absolute brink last night. It took a freaking career game from Kyrie Irving, who literally scored a career playoff high 42 points. On a bum ankle nonetheless. It took all that for the Cavs to hold off the C’s from tying the series, who in the first half played the best basketball they’ve played all year long.
Cleveland wanted NO part of an even series heading back to Boston, Kyrie straight up admitted it in his post-game presser.
“It was one of those games we had to fight through, and we had to earn it.” -Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/dNHuWeZHZ1
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 24, 2017
“In the back of my mind, I thought, ‘They can’t tie up the series,’” he said. “We can’t go back to Boston tied 2-2. We needed everything tonight.”
If the Celtics hold onto their first half lead and finish the job last night the series is a toss up. LeBron had 4 fouls in the first half for the first time in his career and he looked absolutely RATTLED.
When you think its Friday, but its only Thursday. #Celtics #Cavs #NBA #NBAPlayoffs2017 #bosvscle pic.twitter.com/nxnhZY0u5H
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 24, 2017
The entire Cavs team looked shook and then Kyrie started taking over. There’s no shame in it, Kyrie is one of the best players in the world and it took everything he had to hold off the outgunned Celtics.
The one thing that will always bug me though is how LeBron had to sit for the last 6 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble and then had to play the entire second half with 4 fouls and we still couldn’t steal a win.
I’m not going to complain too much about the refs because they ate shit on both ends of the court, but LeBron would have had to hit somebody with a fucking metal chair in the second half to have drawn a 5th foul. Or god forbid a 6th and foul out of an NBA playoff game. The league was having none of that. But hey its hard to beat a team that shoots 60% for the game and nearly 80% in the second half.
Also, how can you not LOVE the balls on Jonas Jerebko. The guy is getting in there and is just going bananas, talking shit, picking fights with everyone on the Cavs. Jerebko has seemingly become the Celtics’ energy guy, a spark plug, an instigator, whatever you wanna call it. There’s always a place for a guy like that on my squad.
Raise your hand if you expected Jonas Jerebko to be the spark plug and enforcer in the #Celtics #Cavs series. pic.twitter.com/dC4IEghPhE
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 24, 2017
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that the Celtics covered the 16 point spread. They covered a yuuuge spread for the second game in a row. Sure they still lost by 13, but winning (the spread) is winning. I would have been ready to smash my TV though with the Cavs piling on garbage time points at the end as I bit my fingernails off. But, man money won is always sweeter than money earned.
#Cavs were 16 point favorites. WHY DIDN’T I TAKE THE #CELTICS pic.twitter.com/HXF1YS7ML7
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 24, 2017
PS – How many water boys you think LeBron fired last night after the shitshow that was the Cleveland parquet. Jae Crowder legit nearly blew his knee out slipping on the court, LeBron slipped under the hoop, Kevin Love slipped getting up too. It was like the pipes were leaking or something.
Clean that shit up before Game 7, Cleveland.
Note to the #Cavs ball boys: Mop. The. Floor. #celtics #nba #NBAPlayoffs2017 pic.twitter.com/qgVJnpTs1G
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) May 24, 2017
It’s refreshing to win games and not have it screw up your draft lottery position
I said the Celtics would win at least a game in the Eastern Conference Finals, and I was right. I just never would have picked it to be game three. I could see them winning game one against a rusty Cleveland, or game two after a tough loss in game one. The only game the Celtics could win in this series that would surprise me more would be a potential game seven.
Game three is usually the statement game for the team coming home. We saw that last series against Washington. With Isaiah Thomas out after two straight blowout losses, the Celtics had to change things up, and had absolutely nothing to lose. That changed the typical game three equation, but maybe it just pushed Cleveland’s statement game back to game four, and we go on our way.
If nothing else, the Celtics and Jeremy Jacobs get at least one more home game to sell some more hot dogs and beer. The bars and parking lots around the Garden will do pretty well for at least one more night too. And the fans get a little more to chew on before The Summer of Danny.
I still don’t expect the Celtics to win this series, and I don’t expect them to win tonight. It’s still fun, though, and I’d love to see them make LeBron sweat it out.
Believeland: 2014-2017
Last night’s ping pong balls won’t have any impact on the Eastern Conference Finals. I fully expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to defeat the Boston Celtics in six games. They won’t sail through the Eastern Conference Playoffs undefeated, but they’ll get back to the NBA Finals in 2017. What last night’s ping pong balls mean is that this trip to the NBA Finals could be the last for LeBron and Co. At least for a little while.
LeBron has brought a team to the NBA Finals six years in a row, and seven times in the last 10 years. Defeating the Celtics in 2017 would make it seven trips in a row to the NBA Finals, and eight trips in the last 11 years. You can say whatever you want about LeBron, that he’s *only* won three titles, but those numbers are Jordanesque. More aptly, those numbers are Russellesque.
The Boston Celtics went to ten straight NBA Finals from 1957-1966. No team since has been to more than four NBA Finals in a row. LeBron’s streak has been dominant. And as a rule, I don’t hold championship losses against athletes. Why should it be held against LeBron that he took teams to the NBA Finals that had no business being there? Would his *legacy* look better with a second round loss in 2007 than a loss in the Finals?
Tom Brady has lost two more Super Bowls than Troy Aikman. I don’t see anyone putting Aikman ahead of Brady because of that.
All that said, the clock is about strike midnight on LeBron and Co. I’m not saying he’ll never go to another NBA Finals, but he might need to work on his entourage after this season. He will soon have legitimate competition in the East for the first time in almost a decade. The Boston Celtics are going to be a wagon.
The Celtics are a pretty good team as is. They are going to add The Number One Overall Pick and Gordon Hayward. They have one of the best, young coaches in the game. The East will be under new management this fall, and I can’t wait.
The 300s 