Kyrie Irving Trade Countdown

[Split T]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

[Indy]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

Name a coach that is going to get Cousins to play at an up and down pace.

[In2ition]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

Name a coach that is going to get Cousins to play at an up and down pace.

That's a good point. Reports are that Cousins is in the best shape of his life, and working hard this off-season and has slimmed down to the point that he's moving much quicker and should have a higher stamina. Maybe we'll see if he can get up and down the court in an uptempo mode this year. I'm curious.

[Superbone]

Why would you hate it? Cuz of cousins?

I wouldn't like the style that team would play, and I wouldn't feel like we had a real chance at the championship. Plus, we would still have a mismatched roster, with role players who are great on the move and stars who are great in the halfcourt.

Yeah, but can't you imagine how great it would be to see Cousins and Chriss pout together?

[Split T]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

Name a coach that is going to get Cousins to play at an up and down pace.

That's a good point. Reports are that Cousins is in the best shape of his life, and working hard this off-season and has slimmed down to the point that he's moving much quicker and should have a higher stamina. Maybe we'll see if he can get up and down the court in an uptempo mode this year. I'm curious.

Ya, early reports are he's buying into Gentry's system and putting in the work so he'll be more effective. His game also lends itself very well to an up tempo system. He's big, mobile, can shoot, and is a good passer. He could both spread the floor with his shooting allowing more driving lanes for Bledsoe and Booker and demand double teams down low which would create open shots on the perimeter. I think Bledsoe and Booker would greatly benefit from playing with him.

Warren and Bender seem to fit well too. Warren with his off bball cutting and Bender could get some nice high low big to big passing going.

[O_Gardino]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

Name a coach that is going to get Cousins to play at an up and down pace.

Or get the ball moving when Bled is on the court. So many coaches have been fired for not getting players to do things they cannot do.

For me, it's not about speed as much as it is ball movement (although fast is fun). I'm not opposed to Cousins, but I think Bled / Booker / Cousins could degenerate into taking turns playing 1 on 5.

[O_Gardino]

Why would you hate it? Cuz of cousins?

I wouldn't like the style that team would play, and I wouldn't feel like we had a real chance at the championship. Plus, we would still have a mismatched roster, with role players who are great on the move and stars who are great in the halfcourt.

Yeah, but can't you imagine how great it would be to see Cousins and Chriss pout together?

[O_Gardino]

If you want the style to change, that's on the coach, not the players.

Name a coach that is going to get Cousins to play at an up and down pace.

That's a good point. Reports are that Cousins is in the best shape of his life, and working hard this off-season and has slimmed down to the point that he's moving much quicker and should have a higher stamina. Maybe we'll see if he can get up and down the court in an uptempo mode this year. I'm curious.

Ya, early reports are he's buying into Gentry's system and putting in the work so he'll be more effective. His game also lends itself very well to an up tempo system. He's big, mobile, can shoot, and is a good passer. He could both spread the floor with his shooting allowing more driving lanes for Bledsoe and Booker and demand double teams down low which would create open shots on the perimeter. I think Bledsoe and Booker would greatly benefit from playing with him.

Warren and Bender seem to fit well too. Warren with his off bball cutting and Bender could get some nice high low big to big passing going.

I def think Cousins can be good in a role similar to Webber or Divac back in the day. I just don't like him with Bled.

[Indy]

Oh I know he is capable of it. I just doubt if he is willing to do it. It takes a lot of conditioning to keep that up for a quarter, much less an entire season and playoffs.

[In2ition]

Why would you hate it? Cuz of cousins?

I wouldn't like the style that team would play, and I wouldn't feel like we had a real chance at the championship. Plus, we would still have a mismatched roster, with role players who are great on the move and stars who are great in the halfcourt.

Yeah, but can't you imagine how great it would be to see Cousins and Chriss pout together?

I wonder if Chriss' pouting is a learned behavior from watching Cousins while growing up in Sacramento. I don't know about Cousins.

[Split T]

I guess I don't really understand the dislike of pairing Bled and Cousins and thinking they won't pass. Cousins averaged over 4 assists a game last year, he's one of the best passing big men in the game. He has never played with a perimeter talent as good as Bledsoe or Booker. We didn't pay lot last year for a few reasons. Mostly though, we don't have great shooters and our best scorers are our ball handlers. Jackson gives us another ball handler/creator and cousins would do the same. I think cousins would actually create more ball movement than less.

Guys like Warren, Chriss, Tucker, Len, and Chandler hurt us in the passing department because they don't shoot and don't handle the ball and create for others. Put too many on the court at once and the guys who do handle the ball (Knight, Bledsoe, Booker, ulis) are left to create all the scoring opportunities and 3 of those guys, while capable of creating for others, are better at creating for themselves.

[Split T]

Oh I know he is capable of it. I just doubt if he is willing to do it. It takes a lot of conditioning to keep that up for a quarter, much less an entire season and playoffs.

Interesting fact: Sacramento has twice played at the fastest pace in the NBA while cousins was on the team and only once were they not in the top 10.

[O_Gardino]

I guess I don't really understand the dislike of pairing Bled and Cousins and thinking they won't pass. Cousins averaged over 4 assists a game last year, he's one of the best passing big men in the game. He has never played with a perimeter talent as good as Bledsoe or Booker. We didn't pay lot last year for a few reasons. Mostly though, we don't have great shooters and our best scorers are our ball handlers. Jackson gives us another ball handler/creator and cousins would do the same. I think cousins would actually create more ball movement than less.

Guys like Warren, Chriss, Tucker, Len, and Chandler hurt us in the passing department because they don't shoot and don't handle the ball and create for others. Put too many on the court at once and the guys who do handle the ball (Knight, Bledsoe, Booker, ulis) are left to create all the scoring opportunities and 3 of those guys, while capable of creating for others, are better at creating for themselves.

Cousins is a good passer, but doesn't have the best attitude. Bled seems to have a good attitude, but he's a bad passer. Bled cannot pass toward the basket, or to a teammate who is engaged with a defender. He can only pass toward a wide open teammate on the perimeter. Cousins would have to come out to the 3pt line to get the ball from Bled, just like Diaw and Barbosa back in the day. And from Eric's perspective, he would be significant;y hampered by having a big guy taking up space in the lane. So Cousins either needs to get his but out to the 3pt line (again), or Bled has to become just a spot up shooter who lets Booker and Cousins run the offense.

As for talent, don't forget that cousins played with IT, and did not appreciate the pairing. I don't think Cousins is going to become a spotup shooter while Bled drives the lane. So if you bring in Cousins, you are asking Bled to be Derek Fisher, and in that role I would like a more vocal leader who is injured less.

I don't like the fit, and it really comes down to just not liking Bledsoe for the future of this team.

[O_Gardino]

How about Bled + Len + Miami for Cousins.

[Split T]

He had IT as a rookie. And Bledsoe is better than you give him credit for. Even if he's not, cousins doesn't make things worse. Your issue is with Bledsoe, not cousins. Cousins would take the ball out of Bledsoe's hands. Still, Bled is how we get cousins, they're good friends and played together at Kentucky. We're not getting him without bled here.

[Mori Chu]

I can't wait until it is the season to really speculate about trading for Boogie or signing Boogie as an FA. Of course 90% of people here will nitpick Boogie's game and find reasons why we shouldn't trade a modest haul of assets for him. It seems like nobody here wants a flawed star on the team. Would you even have wanted to trade for Barkley back in '92-93?

[In2ition]

I'm going to laugh my @$$ off if the IT Irving trade gets voided.

[carey]

I'm going to laugh my @$$ off if the IT Irving trade gets voided.

Now you guys know why I was suggesting Bledsoe to the Cavs. Not that I can see the future but I did hear that his hip is really bad. Some are predicting even if he comes back he will be much less explosive too.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Would you jump into this to save the trade, by taking Thomas, Zizic and Crowder and sending out Bledsoe?
At what price tag?

Boston gets Irving
Cleveland gets Bledsoe and the Nets' pick
Phoenix gets Thomas, Zizic, Crowder and what else to make it worthy? The Lakers pick???

[Mori Chu]

Wow.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2046 ... -next-move

"After All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas underwent a physical examination in Cleveland on Friday, uncertainty over the fitness of his injured hip has Cavaliers officials evaluating the results and considering possible ramifications to the blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics earlier this week, league sources said."

"One source involved in the process said on Friday night, "It's a very sensitive situation.""