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Warriors

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Celtics

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Total Members Voted: 3

Voting closed: June 13, 2022, 11:38:11 PM

[bodiddley]

I don't know how much you folks pay for basketball shoes, but I was hoping for $75 or under for a good pair. 

Last time I bought sneakers was about 8 years ago.  I hit the Li Ning flagship store on a major pedestrian street, the store long since moved.  And they had a 2-for-1 sale, so I picked up two pair for about $70.  A friend at hoops asked me where I got my new hightops and when I told him about the sale, he went and bought 2 pair also.  But they had dropped down the sale price to 2 for $55.  So I went back and snapped up another two pair.  So oddly bought 4 pairs, for roughly $125, which lasted me these last 8 years.

So today I strolled down the main shopping avenue, and Shanghai's sneaker row, just a few blocks from where I live.  Puma was the first stop, and while I didn't see any Clyde's (disappointing) they had a whole series of Ralph Sampson shoes.  Billed as Ralph Sampson MVP shoes.  Huh?  Seems he was the All-Star game MVP in 1985.  I guess that's what they are referencing.  Anyway quite a time warp. 

Nest up, I wanted to buy some TMac Adidas for about $70.  A purple and silver number was somewhat snazzy, but they fit oddly.  Shaped oddly too.  Shoes in China are often not as wide as my feet.  Tried to buy some Derrick Rose 10 year anniversary shoes that looked very much like Air Jordans but they didn't have my size.  One size up was nearly okay but my heels slipped around too much for hoops.
Can't recall ever having a shoe fit well except the heel too wide.  Odd.  Those were $65 which seems about as low as any of the flagship stores go.  Which is fine if I get 2 years out of them.

Under Armour had a nice smell, like someone just finished taking as shower, and they were playing James Brown.  It didn't smell like they were playign James Brown, they just were playing The Godfather when I entered.  The seating to try on  shoes were raised and funky-comfortable.  Pretty nice set-up.  Unfortunately UA was also the priciest store, and the nice looking Curry's were going for nearly $200.  And I'd expect a couple pairs of sweatpants to come free with the shoes for such coin.

Next in line was Nike, where not much was under $100.  There were these Jordan Jumpman sneaks that went for $75 and looked nice but felt like they were made out of recycled cardboard.  Lightweight but flimsy.  Couldn't imagine those holding up to 2 or 3 nights a week of halfcourt hoops.  Most of the rest was $150-$200 which isn't what I pay for footwear.

I probably should try the Li Ning store and maybe another Chinese brand such as Anta.  I don't really care as long as they fit, look nice enough, and last close to 2 years.

[Kam]

For those keeping score at home, scuttlebutt says the work stoppage means most teams will go through the draft process with coaching staff and management in place if the draft occurs before other activities resume which seems increasingly likely. This includes the Knicks with Perry and Miller.

The Bulls have fired longtime general manager Gar Forman, the team announced Monday.

Forman first joined the Bulls as a scout in 1998 and performed a variety of roles throughout his two decades before being named GM in 2009. He was named the 2011 NBA Executive of the Year and led the Bulls to the playoffs in seven of his 10 years as general manager.

Forman's firing comes after Arturas Karnisovas took over as the team's new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations on Monday.

[lesterluv]

I don't know how much you folks pay for basketball shoes, but I was hoping for $75 or under for a good pair. 

So I paid $15 for the last pair of basketball shoes I bought, and will likely ever buy, at Steve & Barry's.

The knees, sadly, forced me to give up the game and find different athletic pursuits, save for some shooting around and fun with little ones. Try not to even do that to much, lest I get tempted to get silly.

But the $15, on first gen original Starbury's, orange & blue model, was very well spent.

Nice and comfortable, exceedingly light, kinda like putting on a pair of old school canvas Cons. Yeah, flimsy, probably not good for your feet nor would they hold up for any long stretches of serious play, but they served every purpose including one last gasp season of winter indoor back in 09/10 or thereabouts and will hopefully still do so for my annual outdoor halfcourt game that's been  postponed on account of the Rona.

Was a cool shoe and gesture on Marbury's part to make prices accessible though I think a $25 price point rather than $15 might have allowed for a bit better quality.

[kiidcarter8]

You get half price EVERYTHING here in the outlets - just have to look around - and be OK with last year's models.

Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Converse, Reebok.......

Best deal I can recall was on the AND1 Iversons (AI3, I think it was) way back in the late 90s.  I wish I had bought more pairs.

AND1 was a solid company.  (Now a licensed name only, I think)

[bodiddley]

You get half price EVERYTHING here in the outlets - just have to look around - and be OK with last year's models.

Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Converse, Reebok.......

Interesting.  That'd do me well.  I could care less what brand I'm wearing, just want something that looks reasonably good and can hold up all right.  Chinese used to think it was funny that I had Li Nings and they'd be wearing Nikes.  It confused them.  But this is Shanghai where people like to be fashionable and show off.

I often tell Chinese that America has a lot of price points and if you look around you can find bargains on many things.  They think it's all upscale expensive.  I inform them it's not.  Plenty of poor and frugal folks in the US.

There used to be cheap knock off Air Jordans here that looked nice but might hold up for 6 months of actual play.  Shoe repair is pretty cheap here, but it got ridiculous getting them sewed up and glued back together every few months to get a year out of them.

As I said, it's been at least 8 years, so I don't even know where to buy sneakers now.  Which is why I started with the big flagship stores on the fancy avenue.

I was reasonably impressed that each pair of Li Nings lasted roughly two years.  I play a lot, all year round, though just half court.

I never saw a pair of Marburys.  That was an interesting idea.  Didn't Shaq have a pair running like $40 or whatever?

[facilitatorn]

I loved the idea of Starburys, but the product didn’t work that well as a shoe. I play and fence in the new jack Puma Clydes. They were online at $80 a pair in certain colorways a few months back, so I laid in for a spare pair. They have great durable soles, a rubberized ankle sleeve and the lace mounts are near the sole so when you tighten the laces you are binding the whole sneaker to your foot, not just tightening up by the tongue. It makes a huge difference and feet and ankles feel much better the days after competition than they did in prior Addidas Cons or Nikes.

My head coaching field is down to Miller and Atkinson, full stop.

[bodiddley]

Fuck.
KAT's mom died from coronavirus.
https://abc14news.com/2020/04/13/nba-star-karl-anthony-towns-mom-dies-from-coronavirus/

Not sure what the hell is up with that article.  I got another like that last week, where everything seems to have been translated to another language and then back to English by a computer.  So the family name Towns becomes Cities and such.

The article last week was about the Buffalo Bills, and the team kept being referred to as the Payments.

Anyway, sad stuff for Towns.
He played his high school hoops in Metuchen NJ just down the road from where I grew up.

[chipstern]

This is a manifestly troubled, embittered man.

A major asshole....a one man pandemic.

A LOSER.

Hasta La Vista, you BIG BABY

[kiidcarter8]

More response than it's worth.

[Kam]

Thew article last week was about the Buffalo Bills, and the team kept being referred to as the Payments.

Ha!

[bodiddley]

Here you go:

https://www.sportzet.com/2019/07/13/josh-allen-spent-the-offseason-watching-his-dumb-plays-as-a-rookie/

It's fun to guess which original words have been substituted with incorrect synonyms.

I like the phrase "playoff recreation"

And this quote:
"Why did I try this? What was I pondering?"

I've been trying to use that in life: "What was I pondering?"

[chipstern]

If I had my druthers.

* Thibs as coach.  Retain MM as an assistant.

* Sign Van Vleet as a free agent.  Great shooter, solid point who can D up and penetrate.  Better than any of the kids who might be a reach in the draft class.   Think Fran F. has the right idea there.  Don't REACH for a PG out of desperation but maybe make a roll of the dice with the Clippers pick

* Draft best available player in the draft.  A stretch four who can shoot and defend would be nice.

* Or...OR...See if we could tempt the Bulls to give us the big Finn Laura (Porzingis Light) for our #1 or the Mavs picks.

* If we could pull that off, then my man Julius could be trade bait or pull time at center with Mitchell. He was starring to take significant teps forward the last 10 games or so, and I am a Randle enthusiast, but not sure he is an ideal fit going forward, particularly if Thibs is our coach.

* Frankie a keeper.  Elfrid and Dennis, Hasta La vista.

* RJ, Kevin, Mitchell, Iggie keepers.  And that big PF what's his name, the shot blocker who got hurt before he could get face time with the big club....Wooten.

* DD or Trier or Bullock?   

* Portis and Ellington money for Van Vleet in the unlikely event he'll leave Raptors.  And I like Portis, but not at $15 million.

* See if Taj would come back for less dough to be a player coach for Thibs.

Otherwise...the Donovan Mitchell projections are insane, and I love him. 

Don't see much which tempts me in free agency other than Van Vleet.  That Wood kid from the Pistons has serious upside...so does the Wizard's Bertrans.  Not sure how realistic they are.

Anyway, not much in the way of low hanging fruit, nor expectations that progress next year is ripe.  This year's free agent plan, as per Mills, which I cosigned, was a fucking disaster that completely set us back from our youth movement of 2018-2019.  We need to recommit to that and fill in around them. 

Anyway, who knows what Leon Rose has stashed in his panty hose. 

[kiidcarter8]

* Frankie a keeper.  Elfrid and Dennis, Hasta La vista.


The only option is on Payton

If FVV will come here - sure - I take him.  But be warned he is playing with a great coach and an ideal cast of teammates in Toronto. 

What does Frank become?  I take the ball out of his hands entirely (no play at the 1) - see if we might have an interesting unique wing guy who causes havoc in coverage/team D and limits offensive mistakes (have to also get him to be a bit more of a gambler at D end as well - and of course hitting the J is the other key)

[kiidcarter8]

As for coaches, I am not recommending another one.  Whoever it is - a bit of a crap shoot.

[Kam]

David Blatt is now a Knicks basketball operations consultant.

European coaching legend David Blatt won’t be retained in new Knicks president Leon Rose’s administration, according to an NBA source.

Blatt’s removal does not bode well for Knicks player developmental director Craig Robinson, who also was a Princeton teammate of Mills. With the uncertainty of the lost revenues from the NBA’s suspension of the season, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there could be a league-wide trend of not renewing contracts.

-per the Post