Well, I guess you'll just continue to be wrong about Butler like you have been since you started posting here. Not much more to say. Your last sentence is ridiculous.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Actually weren't you against Butler before you were for him? I was good with him until he started showing his ass about 2 years ago.

It was also ridiculous when I suggested that his value wasn't really that high too. It was also ridiculous when I stated that Irving had a higher value because he was the better player. When I see ridiculous next to a post it only further validates it.

Butler will have a difficult time making an All Star team going forward. Myriad of reasons. We shall see.

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I don't think the Cavs got a better return. It all depends on that Brooklyn pick. If it's not too 3 it's not a great return. It's a 1 year return at that point. Bulls got guys to potentially rebuild around.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You hate the Bulls draft pick. Absolutely hate it. Thomas as it stands now is the best guy in the trade. Don't like him but consensus is that he is the best guy. Crowder is arguably the second best as it stands now. Lavine may turnout to be the best but you can't say that now. Don't know what the pick will be but if it's top 3 then that's a good haul. It also allows Cleveland to be competitive this year. Dunn has to prove he isn't a bust.

Cleveland got a better return though I'm not disappointed with what Paxson did because I didn't think he was as valuable as some people. Again we will see.

As far as All Star game goes he is probably not going to be able to make it in the West. debunks the whole top 10 thing with that alone.

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Crowder isn't that good anymore. He's ok. He's not better than LaVine. The Bulls draft pick being bad has no relevance in regard to the value the Bulls got back. They drafted him after completing the trade. It's a separate transaction.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The Cavs should still try to trade Love to create some more cap flexibility next year. I imagine the Suns are still interested. The Celtics gave up a glue guy in Crowder and a team player in Thomas for a spoiled brat that only cares about how he looks. This trade makes the Cavs better in the short term.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Are you saying that The Bulls got more for Butler than Cleveland received for Irving?

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Disagree. Word on the street is that Thomas really isn't a team guy either.

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Celtics got a sure thing. Kyrie is a stud. The Bulls got lottery tickets. We know 1 will be slightly above average at worst. It's possible that we can look back in 3 years and say that the Bulls robbed the Wolves for a player they really didn't want to give max money to.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I haven't heard that but I can't say you're wrong. I imagine that he'll be okay with playing next to the best player in the league. He'll likely get easier baskets because of it.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Could be. Couldn t pay all 3 in Minny. I'm holding out hope for Dunn but the early returns weren't good. Hoping Rookie Killer Thibs was the reason. Dunn is the key to the trade. If he turns out it would off set the kid from Arizona possibly flopping. 2 of the 3 have to turnout.

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He and LeBron are a bad fit. Thomas needs the ball a lot. He doesn't create much for others either. His numbers will go down and they'd better find someone to guard offensively minded guards. He has no chance against them.

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I don't know. It's way too early to say. It's gonna largely depend on who they get from that Brooklyn pick.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

He's a scorer. I imagine that he won't have to work as hard to score now. Crowder is going to be great on and off the court for this team too. The Celtics are really going to miss him and Bradley.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Thomas will be a great fit with LeBron offensively. He's a better spot up shooter than Kyrie. Backcourt defense will be an issue but it's always been an issue for them the last three years.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Thomas is another of the cover duckers. Going to be a lot tougher without Bradley and Smart picking up the slack. Irving's stellar defense on Curry in the 2016 finals is evidence that he can play defense when engaged. Not possible with Thomas no matter the circumstances.

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The Celtics clearly got the best player but I think that overall the Cavs made their team better in the short term and they got a lottery ticket.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Sounds like a great team 7 years ago!!!

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I'm sure they would love to team up in.... Cleveland

Whatever. They all have Lakers written on their foreheads.

Pretty much everyone acknowledges Curry was hurt that series. He was getting open shots and missing. There was a significant difference in his play between that year and last.

You're underselling Thomas. There's a reason he got more All NBA votes than Kyrie last year. He's really good. His age and contract and to a lesser extent his hip injury are the reason the value isn't great. If he's healthy this year he will be very good again.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I think it's roughly a wash next year. Cavs might be slightly better. We know Kyrie can go toe to toe with the best players in the league on the biggest stage. Can't say the same about Thomas. I still think the Cavs make it back to the Finals but this year could actually be interesting now.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Nah I'm not. I've watched him his entire career. He had a career year. Boston was better in the playoffs with Bradley and Smart in the game. Ainge probably took note of that too.

He is still the guy that not too long ago backed up Knight. He isn't an elite guard. Phoenix gave him away for basically nothing. He is better than what I thought when he first entered the league. That is only because I really didn't think he was shit. As far as he and Irving being the same player not even close. Boston will be much better than last year and they are definitely built to be more competitive for the playoffs now. No more simply penciling LeBron into the Finals. He is going to have to lace them up now in order to get out of the East.

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Phoenix has been terrible for almost a decade. They're horribly managed. That was one of the worst trades in the last 10 years. You're really that far gone where you're gonna use that as an indicator he's not good?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Kyrie is a bitch - check
Kyrie went to the playoffs because of LBJ - check
Thomas made second team all NBA, Kyrie made the third team - check

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

During Irving's first 3 years in the league there was no more mismanaged franchise than Cleveland. Not even close. D League roster 2 coaches 2 or 3 different Gms Terrible owner. Vegan and MANY others used that as A way of assessing his ability to win. Can t win with him or so it went.

I watched a lot of Cleveland back then. Kyrie Irving was the only reason they won 33 games that year. That team stunk. It's the reason James came back. He knew the kid's talent.

Isaiah Thomas has to be accountable too. He was a chronic loser before he got with Boston. Boston was an up and coming team prior to his arrival. Shoot first no defense playing guard. That was his M.O in Sacramento.

Another aspect of this trade that hurts Cleveland with Thomas. No way will he be on the floor much if they get to G.S. With Curry Thompson and Durant there is no way for him to be in the game.

He'd have to check one of them. He can't. Another reason that you can't play him is because they set multiple picks on offense. He gets buried on picks. There is no way he'd be able to stay with Curry coming off picks. He can't guard screen roll and with G.S. s top 3 offensive guys playing 1-3 where do you play him?

Derrick Rose is going to get a lot of burn that series.

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Let's see what happens now.

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You are not exactly the most objective voice on this. According to you Dwayne Wade owes his entire career to LeBron James also.

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after digesting the trade...Boston needs 1 thing to get them over the hump.........LeBron

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Another thing I like about this trade is how Boston did a great job acknowledging that as long as Lebron is on Cleveland and Golden State is in its prime Boston's window for winning will not be open. By making this trade they essentially closed their window which was already closed, but extended their window to a few years down the road when maybe Lebron and GS won't be as potent.

Very smart move by Ainge.

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Yep. He is almost there now. Depends on how soon Tatum comes along in addition to whichever big time move he makes. With the draft picks that he has he can make it real interesting for G.S. this season if he chooses. I think Ainge is going to wait and see how this team looks on the floor first. If he thinks they are one player away this season he is going to pull the trigger on another major trade.

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