THE 2015 NBA PRE SEASON THREAD: BEST WISHES TO LAMAR ODOM

[rck3sactown]

task force ASSEMBLE! 

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

[Video][/Video]

 

[mister friendly]

Still 19 PPG isn't 38 PPG..in fact its actually half the amount of points per game

kobe murdered the spurs in 2k1 wcf.  it was the best perimeter player playing with the best center in the L . no robin 

I never said he was Robin

Kobe was great that series

 

[sea manup]

 
task force ASSEMBLE! 

 

[mister friendly]

Still 19 PPG isn't 38 PPG..in fact its actually half the amount of points per game

Its a lot easier scoring when you can put minimal defensive effort on centers not known for their offensive skills.

Yes I forgot a NBA centers responsibility consists of just guarding their man

Rim protection doesn't matter

 

[jpzx]

People looking at box scores to make their point is a pet peeve.

Numbers aren't science but they sometimes get in the way of your points huh?

 

[pums]

Spacing was different back then to what it is now Shaq and LeBron would have worked two all time greats and with Phil Jackson coaching them no reason it wouldn't if the reasoning you are using is that LeBron turns "dominant post players'" into stretch 4s and 5 I don't know what to tell you.

 

[spare partz]

Mamba fans go hard for their boy man!

I'll stay out of this one.

they just reaching. this type of talk been going on since forever lol. that AI talk be left alone. that shaq talk be left alone. not even sure..

 

[sea manup]

im worried for this generation of kids, growing up in a world where "what if" is an acceptable form of success 

 

[rck3sactown]

hindsight is 50 50 

 

[sea manup]

if i naturally have 20 20 vision does that mean my regular sight is as good as my hindsight? 

 

[HIM]

Oh goodness. Can we talk about CP0 not getting out of the 2nd round. Anything but the kobe argument.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

#NeverForget

 

[pmatic]

Adidas makes $200M bid to sign Rockets star James Harden

Adidas has made a big play for the biggest basketball sneaker free agent of the summer of 2015.

The company has submitted a bid of $200 million over 13 years to sign Houston Rockets guard James Harden, sources told ESPN.com. Nike, whose deal with Harden recently expired, has until the end of next week to match the deal or lose him.

A $200 million offer is huge, considering it represents half of what the brand paid for 11 seasons as the NBA's official uniform supplier. Earlier this year, Adidas announced that it would not fight to renew that deal, which will see its competitor Nike take over after the 2016-17 season.

With incentives, if the deal is consummated, Harden could very well make more from Adidas in the coming years than the Rockets. Harden signed an $80 million contract extension with Houston in 2012 that goes through the 2017-18 season.

Despite having the NBA deal, Adidas has slipped in recent years due to a lack of individual basketball stars. In 2012, the company signed a massive 14-year deal with Derrick Rose, only to see him miss plenty of action because of knee injuries. Its other star is Damian Lillard, whose Portland Trail Blazers aren't really showing much promise. Endorser John Wall shows plenty of flash, but his first signature Adidas line fell relatively flat this year.

With Stephen Curry locked up by Under Armour and Kevin Durant choosing to stick with Nike last season, Harden is the only veteran that Adidas could poach -- even if it means overpaying. This past year, Adidas fell to the No. 3 best-selling apparel brand in the United States, after being passed by Under Armour.

Harden doesn't have a flashy game, per se, but he certainly is in the upper echelon of marketable stars. His beard speaks for itself, as does his natural sense of fashion. That is big for Adidas, who sells plenty of Originals and could always use a boost to its more expensive Y-3 line.

There's also reality star-type placement, as there's apparently a budding relationship between the Rockets star and Khloe Kardashian. There's an even greater connection with Adidas as rap star Kanye West, who is married to Khloe's sister Kim, moved his Yeezy line from Nike to Adidas last year.

There's also international hope for Harden, as the Rockets already are very popular in China thanks to former player Yao Ming. Sources say part of what Adidas is willing to pay has to do with the potential for the masses to embrace Harden on a even greater scale if the Rockets can make more of a splash in the playoffs in the coming years.

Harden hasn't yet had a signature shoe, but the Nike Hyperchase, which was the shoe that he was most attributed to this past season, sold well certainly because of his wearing of them. In most circumstances, Nike wouldn't match this number from Adidas, but it's said things are hypersensitive inside corporate headquarters after the brand not only gave up Curry to Under Armour -- after not matching an offer for less than $4 million a year -- but also missed at golfer Jordan Spieth, who went with Under Armour as well.

Adidas is under new leadership, which is eager to put its own stamp on a turnaround. Eric Liedtke recently took over to lead global branding for Adidas, as long-time executive Erich Stamminger left in the midst of the company being pressured to bolster its business in North America.

The company hasn't been afraid to pay huge dollars to get big properties in sports. Its deal with Manchester United -- the largest uniform sponsorship in sports, guaranteeing the team $128 million a year for 10 years -- officially kicked off on Aug. 1. But money doesn't always help win deals. Sources said Adidas offered the most money to the University of Michigan to try to keep its deal with the school, but the Wolverines still chose to move on with Nike after this season. In Harden's deal, however, Adidas has to win if Nike can't match the deal offered.

As the basketball shoe business has skyrocketed in recent years, Adidas has mostly been a player on the sideline. Nike and its Jordan-owned brand make up 90 percent of basketball shoes sold in the U.S., while Adidas has less than five percent market share.

From April through June, Harden had the seventh-best selling jersey in the NBA, finishing ahead of the likes of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...0m-bid-sign-houston-rockets-star-james-harden

GAHDAMMIE.

 

[awwsome]

Harden gonna start throwing 100's in the strip club the rest of the summer.

 

[Bert.]

Since harden doesn't have his own sig or even make Nike any money.

Adidas is an idiot. They could have offered $100 mill and got him

 

[Quincy McCall]

Beard 

 

[pmatic]

In HS, we wore adidas for the first two years with James. He was also on an adidas AAU team. Then we started to wear anything in his junior and senior years. That probably means nothing now.

 

[firstclass]

200 million

Adidas really needs this more than Nike if you think about it

Nike has Lebron,Kobe,Kd and Kyrie to replace Kobe when finished.

Adidas has rose,wall,Dame and Wiggins up next.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Smart move by Adidas.

 

[bonez7 back]

People looking at box scores to make their point is a pet peeve.

A few on here literally research and google stats just to be factual in debate that they have no knowledge or personal opinion on,

Well written paragraphs with info they just read online 30seconds ago,

 

[pums]

Harden gon flourish good deal for Adidas Nike has Ad and Kyrie up next

 

[casper90403]

$200M is insane for someone like Harden. I don't think he's all that marketable and desirable

Good for him though

 

[tomdiginson]

$200M is insane for someone like Harden. I don't think he's all that marketable and desirable

Good for him though

The beard got them mesmerized.

 

[awwsome]

Harden is one of the most popular players among kids and he's on the Rockets so the biggest market in the world is already ******* with him.

It's a good deal, yall tripping.