Comments on: Okay, fine. Let’s actually look at this whole KD or LeBron thing

By: Coby

Coby — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:09:10 +0000

I agree. Comparing the 2 NOW is stupid!
5 years from now it won’t be. Lebron has the money and the TV time but what The Kid has is the old school work ethic. We all know the kid will work his butt of to be special and win and grow something BIG. Lebron …. We know how he does it he holds the franchise he SAY’S he love to ransom threatening to destroy everything if he doesn’t get what he wants!

Maybe they should change names…. Lebron can be called the BABY it seems to fit the way he acts.

By: CBear

CBear — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:37:32 +0000

Check Lebron’s $tats

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:50:38 +0000

I think everyone is trying to crown someone else as better than lebron because of the media bias and circus surrounding him and anything to do with him. Don’t be biased against him just because he is the darling of the league; his numbers speak for themselves, and his playoff and regular season winning records considering the team around him speak for themselves too.

By: jokabuye

jokabuye — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:45:39 +0000

lets not forget that the question if lebron is finally better than kobe is still in the air (which i emphatically disagree wit) but lebron is still clearly better than durant neither of them are elite defenders tho lebron is better at that but durants lack of playmaking ability strength is worse than lebrons tho in a yr or two he will be a better offensive player than lebron is

By: Shravan

Shravan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:04:45 +0000

PS I think a big reason for this whole debate is that KD’s shot is about a hundred times more beautiful than LeBron’s. Ditto the kobe lebron debate. I almost wanted to go with KD just because i love his jumper so much.

By: Shravan

Shravan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:01:48 +0000

This question is unreal. KD is for sure one of the most talented players in the league, but despite all the claims that he is an as good or even BETTER scorer than lebron at this juncture is ridiculous. Lebron in his 2nd year put up 27 7 and 7, while being YOUNGER than KD is now. KD had a year of college to refine his game and lord knows he did so, but lebron went straight into the fire, was good enough to flourish in it, and is improving every year. The one year he didn’t improve, his 4th year, he took his team to the finals and had the 48 point game. Durant looks like he will make a major leap for sure, and will get into the discussion as a top 5 player, but I dont think he is better than wade at this point either. “But you could definitely see KD averaging 30 and 8 with 4-5 assists right?” Those are incredible numbers…however lebron james averaged 31 6 and 6 his 3rd year and 30 8 and 7 his 5th year. Last year his PER was amongst the best ever. None of these stats are the end all, but its safe to say that KD will have to improve a LOT every single year to even approach the combination of statistical production, leadership ability, winning play, and total excellence LeBron James exhibits.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:27:00 +0000

@Taebo It's too simplistic to say the number of games won determines how good a given star is. Each team had a completely different roster/coach/system. Plus, remember how ridiculously weak the East was a few years ago? Just Detroit and a bunch scrubs. KD had to compete in one of the toughest, deepest conferences in recent memory. I'm not saying KD is better than Lebron, just that they are different players in different situations, and games won is too crude a measure to do either player justice.

By: Keith

Keith — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:10:46 +0000

@f5alcon Ok, so we basically saved right around his salary in Indiana this year. Our cap space next summer, though, is that same as if we kept his expiring contract (since his contract is still on our books even if we don't pay all of it). @vjm3 @Crow I don't think it's an issue of talent with Sessions, it's an issue of fit. Sessions is a slasher who really can't hit from outside but who has pretty good (not great) passing skills. Assuming Russell has improved his passing and continues to cut down on his turnovers, we already have Sessions in him. Russell is also a considerably better rebounder. We don't need two of the same player at PG, especially two young guys who both deserve to start. The only reason Presti should be looking to spend on Sessions is if he can pry him away from Milwaukee for relatively cheap, then turn around and trade him next year for a player of greater need.

By: vjm3

vjm3 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:35:02 +0000

Crow : I guess he is passing on Sessions. I think a lot of folks will regret that later.

I don't think Sessions is a good fit here right now, but I do think he's a heckuva player and I can't figure out why he's still sitting around loose. A 23 y/o PG who averaged a 12/6 isn't worth anything? Portland would rather have Andre Miller and now the Knicks are talking about taking Iverson instead? This is a tough league to figure out.

By: f5alcon

f5alcon — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:26:59 +0000

@Keith

watson signed a deal with indiana so he counts for less against our cap

” If another team signs a released player who had a guaranteed contract (as long as the player has cleared waivers — see question number 54), the player’s original team is allowed to reduce the amount of money they still owe the player (and lower their team salary) by a commensurate amount (this is called the right of set-off). This is true if the player signs with any professional team — it doesn’t even have to be an NBA team. The amount the original team gets to set off is limited to one-half the difference between the player’s new salary and the minimum salary for a one-year veteran (if the player is a rookie, then the rookie minimum is used instead).

For example, suppose a fifth-year player is waived during the 2005 offseason, with one guaranteed season remaining on his contract. If this player signs a $1 million contract with another NBA team for the 2005-06 season, his original team gets to set off $1 million minus $641,748 (the minimum for a one-year veteran in 2005-06), divided by two, or $179,126. If this player had a $5 million salary with his prior team, then his prior team would be responsible for the remaining $4,820,874. Note that between his prior team and new team the player will earn a combined $5,820,874, which was more than he made prior to being waived. ”

Also the buyout might have been less then his 6.6 million, so it could count for a few million less then before or just a few hundred thousand.