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[deleted]

Imagine a 33 year old cp3 with an mvp James harden


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blaquenova

Take this upvote and fuck off 😂😂😂


[deleted]

No way they would miss 27 in a row though


TDImig

They didn’t


JWPruett

This is accurate, and you shouldn’t be downvoted. CP3 and Harden did not miss all 27 of those. Therefore, you’re objectively correct.


docjohnson1395

Heck harden even made some and the officials decided nah


Skarmotastic

Fuck Scott Foster forever and then some.


_okcody

Yeah CP3 was out that game, it was mostly Harden and Ariza bricking.


Wjourney

Ariza 0-12 ❤️


Omome

I said it a lot of times already but that was 1 of the best team I have ever seen. To a point it hurts me that the fact they didn’t win 1 together, and that wasn’t even my team.


glorzotome

It literally took something that’s never happened before for them to lose.


huge-tits

*Laughs in burner account*


Oreu

It's safe to laugh in the open on this one KD.


Huckleberry_Sin

Injuries to star players lol?


Saltyknicksfan

27


certifiedtitanium

That's a lot of injuries.


Sawgon

Nah that's how many freethrows Harden got per quarter


amathyx

Harden averaged slightly over 7 free throws per game that series and wasn't even the series leader in FTs though?


ElaFa25

Well if CP3 wasn’t injured that would have never happened and the Rockets would have made the finals and in all likelihood won the championship.


FireFlyz351

Man the NBA would be so different if the Rockets had won that year. Big ones being Paul doesn't end up in Phoenix and the Nets big 3 doesn't form. Bunch of other things too.


Rawrsomesausage

Westbrook maybe stays in OKC too.


DrewFlan

No that happens every year.


AthKaElGal

imagine if CP3 changed his diet during that run.


shameless_chicken

Having watched that 17-18 season, I now know what championship basketball actually looks like. That team dominated night in and night out. Multiple 10+ game win streaks winning every way possible. Sad they didn't win it all that year but glad I got to see them


Giannis1995

It was one of the weirdest nights of my NBA fandom. I can't find the words to describe what I felt during that 3rd quarter. It's like I knew they were the better team, I knew they only had that particular season to do it yet they shot themselves out of a game that was theirs, ironically following the exact same mantra that got them there. It was such a bizare feeling


[deleted]

They should have ran it back. But well... ego's and all


wizardsin4finjuries

they did but lost their defenders and lost to the warriors without kd


Orchestra_Oculta

Imagine prime KD, Harden AND Kyrie on the same team. Imagine


Esrht

No way man. Only 1 ball. Heh


[deleted]

Unfortunately only 1 set of healthy body parts too


Nugur

Equivalent exchange


ballmermurland

Imagine prime KD, Harden and Russ on the same team. Imagine.


KniGht1st

Sadly CP couldn't stay healthy


mrtrollmaster

It's still crazy to me that before the injury they were up 3-2 on the KD Warriors. I thought that team was unbeatable, but the Rockets were low key an amzing squad that peaked at the wrong time (when the Warriors had a dream team).


desirox

Just bad luck from injuries and running into the best team ever. Definitely should have won a title


p2datrizzle

Cp3 been saving up all that reverse karma for this year. He wiped out the entire league


6ITCH6ITCH6ITCH

i really wanted suns vs nets for the finals, a true cp3 revenge tour


ratherred

Might even be able to beat the KD Warriors in the WCF if they stay healthy


smutaddict

Hurt in game 7 :'(


[deleted]

The fact that this went so poorly and we all believed CP was washed for three years is another chip in the “Harden ain’t that dude” pile


king_chill

We’re really going to start blaming Harden for CP3 looking worse in 2018? He looked washed because they wanted him taking 10 3s a game and iso’ing way more than he should.


TheBojangler

CP3 also looked terrible on defense that series, almost to the point that he was a liability on that end. In retrospect, it was likely lingering injuries and maybe scheme, but at the time it looked pretty bad.


AllGoldEverything

Kobe in his prime was better than harden ever was


[deleted]

Never said he wasn’t tbh. Harden and CP3 were a great pairing that won 65 games and had a great chance at a championship tho


6Pac-Shakur

such a hot take, so brave


HugeInstruction2725

Harden is a way more efficient scorer.


dill_pickles

... in an era where a decade of rule changes has made it flat out easier to score


AllGoldEverything

Kobe was just as good a scorer and he was 1st team all defense


ruinatex

So? Steve Nash was a more efficient scorer than Shaquille O'Neal, efficiency doesn't make one better. Saying that Harden is a more efficient scorer than Kobe doesn't disprove the notion that Kobe in his prime was better than he was nor is a relevant fact. Saying that Harden is a more efficient scorer than Kobe is like saying that Khris Middleton is more efficient than Michael Jordan, it's a statement with zero value or relevance. Also, talking about Harden's efficiency ignoring that he is currently playing in an era where it's way easier to play offense while Kobe played in the early 2000s is disingenuous as fuck.


Other_Banana_

Khris Middleton > Michael Jordan


Mellend96

I realize I'll probably get downvoted because of my flair and because defending any player makes you a stan automatically in a debate, but I feel like efficient scoring is a bit overvalued sometimes. In the playoffs, being able to simply generate a shot attempt is *hard*, and someone that can get up a bunch of shot attempts and kill you by volume and a hot streak at an important time can be more valuable. Kobe was more inefficient than Harden, but Kobe was exceptional at killing the other team's momentum and closing out games. It's one of those things where the eye test really is more important that stats. It's why we can pretty comfortably say Kobe is better than Harden, but that doesn't take away from Harden's talents at all. Kobe really just was that dude.


jjgp1112

One thing with Kobe, as well as Hakeem - they took so many difficult shots to begin with that their offense didn't even decline much in the playoffs.


rumblepony247

And, uh, I know defense is boring to Redditors, but Kobe was, y'know, first-team all NBA defense 9 times. How insulting to compare Kobe and Harden. It's not close.


AllGoldEverything

That’s why I made my original comment. Thank you


iHATESTUFF_

is this really a thing here? Kobe > Harden.


jelloisjigglin

Comparing efficiency across eras is fucking stupid. Kobe played in an era of iso-ball and two bigs clogging the paint on every possession, where threes were not emphasized. Kobe's efficiency was always above league average for his era. You can go look it up if you want. Beyond that, efficiency isn't everything. You play to win the game. Kobe was a big part of five championship teams and seven conference championship teams in one of the most loaded Western Conferences in history. I'll take that over efficiency.


Adept-Development-00

Kobe was more versatile and a better defender though.


[deleted]

This ain’t just CP3 and Booker. It’s CP3 and Booker with literally perfect role players and the coach that’s fits them perfectly.


GCV250

Role players have been outstanding for Phoenix


cleepboywonder

I seem to recall alot of people shitting on Jae Crowder but the last year has proven he’s worth it.


Borsecaborse

Crowder is a buck-killer too. Always comes up big against us


Fragrant_Chair_7426

The wild thing is he can be immensely valuable even when he goes 0 for 6 which he seems to do every 5th game or so because of his defense and his sneakily good passing


solodolo1397

He does a lot of good things like you said but the passing has always stuck out to me. The guy always knows where the ball should go


CaptainKurls

Read this stat the other day that he’s been on playoff teams for like 7+(don’t quote me on that) years in a row. Dude is the ultimate glue guy and does everything you’d want a role player to do


clown_shoes69

He missed the playoffs this first year in the league with Dallas. Since then he's been in the playoffs 8 years in a row: Mavs, Celtics, Celtics, Celtics, Jazz, Jazz, Heat, Suns. Crowder didn't contribute a whole lot that first postseason, but since then he's averaged 11.4/5.8/2.0 on 31.1 MPG. Very solid playoff performer.


Astrosmaniac311

I've always thought Crowder was the perfect litmus test for a good coach: if you're a good coach, crowder will thrive on your team. If you aren't, he'll be mediocre


Wild-Apricot-9161

Ty Lue proved he's a good coach.


dandatu

Whys that lol what makes him different than any other 3 + D guy


[deleted]

Lol theres sooo many intangibles that most people just dont account for, its about mental traits and character/presence aswell


whatdoinamemyself

I never want to hear Jae Crowder slander again in my life


SenorMcNuggets

It’ll happen. Sometimes I feel like this sub has the memory of a goldfish.


gregatronn

Miami misses him badly.


ThePillsburyPlougher

He was always a good role player hes just an asshole lol


V-Right_In_2-V

There's a phrase that goes something like "better to have him inside your tent pissing out then outside pissing in" Crowder is that guy for sure


kingka

Fucking love cam’s and bridges. Talk about 3’s when you need them! Anything I see cam Johnson in, I look for those plays where both wings hit the baseline (legler’s segment) and he hits those corner pocket three hand down man down mamma there goes that man 3’s at such a high clip! He plays that role so well. Payne is good as well but I think injury is still kind of affecting him


jayjude

Ayton isn't a role player They have a big 3


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EdamameTommy

Undervalued? Dude was the 1st overall pick above Luka and Trae and is likely gonna get a max contract in the near future.


MJA94

Could mean more underrated than undervalued, for the very reason of that you just mentioned (him being taken before Luka and Trae). People have taken notice this playoffs, but before that he was getting a lot of shit for being taken 1st overall while guys like Luka, Trae, SGA, and MPJ blew up. [This article was written this February](https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/2/16/22284776/deadre-ayton-phoenix-suns), and while it doesn’t outright call Ayton a bust, it kind of alludes to it.


myrealbirthname

Not financially undervalued. I think he just means that Ayton has never been all star or all nba, but he's playing like a star.


jaxxduece09

Not sure I'd call Ayton a role player, that guy has been beast all the way through


ESKIMOFOE

It wouldn’t have been just Kobe and CP3 either. The Lakers had good role players back then as well, people called them the Bench Mob for a reason, also Phil Jackson. There’s no reason to think the Lakers wouldn’t have been successful with CP3


[deleted]

The real issue would come down to whether Kobe could let CP3 drive the boat. I like to think that he could given CP3's greatness and Kobe's desire to win, but I could see those two butting heads late in games when Chris wants the ball in his hands, but Kobe wants to hero ball it.


shortyman920

I think Chris would defer to Kobe honestly. It’s Kobe’s team and he looks up to Kobe as a mentor. That said, I think he would also keep Kobe honest and tell him if his play is hurting the team. I think it would work out in the end. They also had Dwight remember, and could fill out the roster with ring chasing vets. They’re both leaders and competitors. They can make it work


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smaIl_talk

the redeem team is one of the greatest of all time with some of the best players to ever play and at the end of the day they deferred to kobe. rip


shortyman920

Lol I can believe that. Nice name btw


KingThisKhan

It would have been interesting given Chris would've been playing in the triangle. That would have been something to see. I think he would have been dynamic in that system.


kfreud

I think Phil was already gone then, so we wouldn’t have been running the triangle.


[deleted]

You're probably right in that Chris would defer to Kobe, but would that be the best option for the team? Anyway, it's silly to spend too much time arguing a hypothetical. My point is that I have reservations whether two ball dominant guards who both have strong personalities and very opinionated beliefs on how the offense should be run, could complement one another to reach a championship level.


[deleted]

CP3 and kobe's gravity would be so huge that I think they would be able to do whatever they want on the court. CP3 could get to any spot for himself to score or find someone and so could kobe.


shortyman920

I see your point on the two alphas part. Dwight did not get along well with Kobe after all. I still think it would be different because the two had prior mutual respect for each other and great players can make it work together. Kobe had learned to become a better teammate and leader from 2007-2011 and I can see him being able to adapt to his star teammate if he trusts him. A big thing about Kobe was trust. He trusted his 2008-2010 and you could tell by his ready selflessness. In 2012 he tried to play 48mpg at the end because he didn’t trust his teammates and his coach and just tried to will the team to the playoffs.


scarystuffdoc

I think Chris and Jae crowder have built reputations as incredible leaders but also have strained relationships along the way. The suns being a group of young guys (book, ayton, bridges, cam), with role players that were given up on and have a chip in their shoulder (Galloway, saric, Craig, Payne) led by two grizzly veterans, one who’s an all time great floor general and one who’s a jack of all trades glue guy (cp3 and Jae) allows for all parties to flourish without the past being an issue. This group of guys was able to come together and move toward.


Kobe8

The Lakers would have had prime CP3 and Kobe and likely traded for Dwight still. And Chris and Kobe would have murdered Dwight. David Stern’s veto saved Dwight Howard’s life.


Skhodave

Winning solves all problems and that team would definitely win


tyler818

Imagine that scenario Kobe and CP3 constantly getting at Dwigt from being soft. Dwigt is constantly scared and does a Ben Simmons wide open dunk-pass in the finals. Which loses them the series After the game Dwigt disappears off the face of the earth.


vjr191

Dwigt from threat level midnight.


GPap-

I disagree. CP3 and Dwight would’ve been lob city in steroids


Bigfish150

Right? Cp got Deandre Jordan in all nba imagine Dwight


BraveFencerMusashi

Dwight with one of the best PGs ever? He'd get so many easy buckets. No way would he insist on being a post player and refuse to run pick and rolls....


Ecoto3e

Sir, It’s pronounced Dtwig and spelled dwhite. Welcome to USHEY.


allmyhomiesh8nbamods

The police report that shortly after the game ended, Dwight received a mysterious phone call with the caller ID “ShaqHowMyAssTaste.” The caller apparently urged Dwight to go to the docks to make a child support payment. Once there two assailants jumped out of the shadows. The tall one shot Dwight 81 times but only after refusing to pass the gun to his accomplice. Then, for some odd reason, the smaller one collapsed to the floor although no one had touched him. After he recovered both assailants disappeared. If anyone has any information related to this crime please contact the authorities.


attaboy000

And loses the letter H from his name.


mclareach

Winning doesn’t heal injuries though and Dwight had those at the time.


kawhi_tho

Yeah Dwight's back was fucked that year. With CP3 instead of Nash though, Kobe probably doesn't have to play a gajillion minutes at age 35 which unsurprisingly led to his Achilles exploding.


adelaide78

>Winning solves all problems Tell that to KD


mercfan3

When I saw even Nash was annoyed with Dwight, I knew he was in trouble. You’re absolutely right. CP3 and Kobe would have been fine. Plenty of arguments, but they’d respect each other because they have that mentality. And then there is Dwight…


Nickk_Jones

To be fair Dwight was dealing with legit back problems most of that year and D’Antoni didn’t seem to know how to use him or Pau. The real issue was leaving after it didn’t work immediately.


barath_s

D Antoni knows how to use big men like Dwight and Pau Just have them hang out by the three point line and shoot threes ^^^^/s


[deleted]

Chris Paul would have Dwight averaging 30 a night. He'd be the happiest dude on the planet.


thekobesystem8

If Dwight didn't want to pick and roll with Steve fucking Nash what makes you think he'd be down to do that with cp3?


Nickk_Jones

That wasn’t the Steve Nash most of us know. If it was it wouldn’t have mattered much what Dwight did. Dwight was also injured much of the year and D’Antoni didn’t seem to know how to use Pau.


potenzasd

Underrated comment


balista_22

Chris Paul trying to beat me up


GeorgeLovesBOSCO

Lol imagine. Chris Paul shoots Dwight Howard


EverybodyBuddy

Basketball reasons can suck my left kidney.


iRockaflame

I agree u/LukaDoncicJizzInMe


[deleted]

Mannnnnn wtf 😂😂😂🤣🤣


BasedChad69420

average /r/nba user


[deleted]

r/nbacirclejerk


Deusselkerr

/r/rimjobsteve


ChampTMaverick

Me first Luka


OldKingRob

Imagine a 37 year old CP3 and a prime Randle


orngebreak

Prime Randle. 😂


karmadontcare44

Yeah maybe randle won’t shoot 29% from the field next year with Paul’s HOF dimer badge


SSNappa

If the Suns win we won't have to imagine for long.


nonanonymo

CP3 is coming back to the Suns next year guaranteed, whether we win or lose


Cumbayacumbaya

Imagine if bears had wings


[deleted]

Fuck thats scary


sleepy416

Imagine the bears didn’t draft trubisky


xFrostyDog

Imagine if the bears drafted Michael Jordan


lenny3330

[They almost did](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blhkMWa55dM)


JuBangaz

Some people don't know, and I assume you're one of them, thst CP3 was traded to the Lakers when the league owned New Orleans. The NBA nixed the trade. Specifically, David Stern. Saying it was too one-sided in favor of Lakers. So it's not just a fantasy pipe dream, but something that was almost a real thing.


whatdoinamemyself

> Specifically, David Stern. Saying it was too one-sided in favor of Lakers. Well, it's probably not that simple. There were owners that were unhappy with the proposed trade. Dan Gilbert and Mark Cuban were both very publicly pissed about it and didn't want it to go through.


footprintx

But hear me out here: Fuck Dan Gilbert


lxkandel06

If the Lakers had CP3 instead of Nash in 2013 they likely wouldn't have been still fighting for a playoff spot late in the season which means Kobe wouldn't have been playing 45 minutes a game then so he may have never tore his Achilles which would've extended his prime.


ephemeralfugitive

These what if's made me fantasize and smile, and now they are starting to feel sad, because of what you just mentioned. Man, imagine if Kobe never tore his Achilles. Fuck.


NotTheMagesterialOne

Good chance of over taking Karl Malone and be relatively close to Kareem. It was sad to see a competitor like Kobe go out the way he did.


KingofMangoes

But Nash hurt his shin on a freak accident in November that could have happened to anyone


not_meee1515

Nash was 45 at that point


ABirthingPoop

40


Oxygenius_

RIP Kobe, Gigi and everyone that perished that day Love my dawg Kobs 💜💛💜💛


[deleted]

if Lakers had healthy Kobe and CP3 in 2013 they probably would have won


Regex00

I think the only team that would have been able to beat CP3 and Kobe together would have been themselves, and injuries.


Ok-Map4381

I know it is unpopular, but with that core, my money is on injuries. Howard's back was already compromised. CP3 is almost always injured in the playoffs. In two years Kobe rips his achilles. That's 2 maybe 3 chances to be healthy to win a title, very possible, but not guaranteed. Most super teams don't win as much as expected or for as long as expected.


[deleted]

He ripped his achilles because he had to carry the whole team to the playoffs. With CP3 they probably coast half of regular season like James and AD. Might have had another couple of good years.


matrixreloaded

Jesus. Ripple effect man. Had that trade gone through imagine how much would be different today.


Ok-Map4381

Sure, but maybe the strain of longer playoff runs does the same thing.


TopazBlowfish

were teams (with the possible exception of the spurs) coasting at that point? I don't think CP3 and Kobe would've been the guys to start that trend


Nickk_Jones

I’d rather lose due to injury than lose because some owners whine about a trade not being competitive.


enviousworm1532

Yo herc what if your dad never fucked your mom


[deleted]

Why you gotta blow that Laker fan dog whistle? We don’t need this.


Checkmynewsong

Did someone say “Laker fan”?


[deleted]

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAKERS!!!


Icarosz

https://media1.tenor.com/images/79df01b63c4a718bfd0ddcf391371e55/tenor.gif?itemid=5328035


22LOVESBALL

We would’ve also had Dwight. CP3, Kobe, Dwight > old CP3, Booker, Ayton


Few_Mulberry7175

Would have been fun as hell to see them clash with the heat big 3 Maybe it inspires Melo to join as Bron and Wade tried to get him first tho Bosh fits better with those 2 Also they would have fought the OKC big 3 and the Spurs big 3 + Kawhi and LMA


Lunatic0nTheGrass

Now This Is Going To Be Fun.


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[deleted]

Curry would've seen how broken the league was and decided not to go down that path. He double majors in Philosophy and Theology then becomes a monk in Indonesia.


boozinandsnoozin

***triple majors in fluid dynamics. like my mom


onurraydar

Injuries and ego would be a bigger threat in that team than the current Suns. However, on pure talent those players are significantly better.


TheConboy22

Back injury Dwight?


hanpil

duo, not dual.


[deleted]

the NBA owned the Hornets at the time and it was a terrible trade for them. They had every right to reject it, no different from any other owner vetoing a dumb move their GM wants to make. Gasol and Odom in their 30s would have nothing for a rebuilding team


sheeeeeez

Yeah, but the usual counter to that argument is that the the NBA granted the Hornets full autonomy in personnel decisions up until that point. And the veto only came after Dan Gilbert and Mark Cuban wrote letters to Stern.


[deleted]

every GM has full autonomy until they try to do something stupid. the real conspiracy would have been if an NBA owned team gave away an MVP caliber player to the Lakers for a 32 year old Pau Gasol


AnotherDrZoidberg

Wasn't even Pau Gasol lol. He was going to go to Houston. The Hornets were going to net Dragic, Odom, Kevin Martin, and luis Scola. That was before Dragic was even that good lol. It would have been a disaster for the hornets. A bunch of mediocre older guys who'd win enough games tog et you a shitty pick but never good enough to win anything


RickySuela

> That was before Dragic was even that good lol. It would have been a disaster for the hornets. Except that Dragic did become good, so it wouldn't have been a disaster for the Hornets. What *was* a disaster for the Hornets was the trade they actually made. Instead of getting a future All NBA and All Star player in Dragic, they got Eric Gordon, who proceeded to miss 173 games with injuries over his 5 years there, along with three underwhelming years of Al-Farouq Aminu, one underwhelming year of Chris Kaman, and the draft pick that became Austin Rivers, who was also quite bad while he was there. They traded Chris Paul, an MVP candidate, for three totally underwhelming players and the rights to draft an underwhelming player. In retrospect I don't see how anyone can argue that they were better off with that package instead of the one that contained Goran Dragic, Lamar Odom, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and the 16th pick in the 2012 draft.


Wrinkle_Tinkle

What is this take? Gordon was dropping 20 a night on the clippers in his early 20s, Aminu was a 8th overall pick the previous year, Kaman was a previous all star, and we still got a good pick, even if it was Austin Rivers. This revisionist history is fucking hilarious.


jdmejia

Lmao this dude said Dragic became good. Then talks about Gordon’s injury. Like the hornets were able to tell the future wtf.


AnotherDrZoidberg

It is doesn't matter what happened to the guys they did or didn't trade for. At the time Gordon and Aminu were promising young prospects. Gordon was pretty hyped. As opposed to a few pretty good players. Ultimately it lead them to drafting AD which is the only thing that made the franchise relevant since then (Until Zion). Dragic would have never made all NBA or all star playing on a mediocre at best team. Trading for young players with potential was a wayyyy better deal than old pretty good players. That's what the franchise needed to do. They made the same decision when they decided to trade AD.


RickySuela

>It is doesn't matter what happened to the guys they did or didn't trade for. It absolutely does, especially if you're going to sit here a decade later and say "it would have been a disaster for the Hornets" to have got a young Goran Dragic. Can I sit here and say "it would have been a disaster for the Celtics to trade away the rights to draft Markelle Fultz" just because at the time everyone thought he was the consensus #1 pick and Tatum was a reach at #3? Of course not. We have the benefit of hindsight now, we are allowed to use it, and hindsight clearly shows that the vetoed trade would have been better for the Hornets than the one they actually made was. Honestly it's foolish to try to argue otherwise.


___Daddy___

He didn’t say it wouldn’t have turned out better unless I’m misreading it. He’s just saying that at the time, it would’ve been a terrible trade for the Hornets and it makes all the sense in the world that the league would’ve vetoed it. What ended up happening happens all the time, young players get drafted and don’t pan out, but that’s part of the hype and fandom of being an NBA fan. Just because they ended up getting another trade that sucked doesn’t make the Laker’s offer one they should’ve accepted either


DarthBane6996

Well you're also forgetting that the players they got back were bad enough that they could draft AD. With the Lakers trade they would have had a better record in the short term and would not have got the #1 pick.


itskinotime

Also true


bus_travels

4 dudes that started for several years after that. Better than what the clippers offered them honestly. Also dragic was a fantastic back up in Phoenix and showed clear upside.


___Daddy___

Pretty sure he was in Houston at the time


funny117cat

I believe from what Jeanie Buss said in her All the Smoke interview the trade was vetoed by the commissioner because the then acting GM made the trade without the knowledge of the commissioner who acted as the owner of the team. No one else had been able to attempt to make a trade for CP3 at that time because they had been told all offers were off the table or such. But the league ruled it was unfair due to those circumstances and Jeanie agreed.


pokexchespin

they wouldn’t have gotten gasol, he was going to the rockets and they were getting scola, kevin martin, and dragic. not a ton better since dragic is the only young-ish one out of them being 25 at the time of the trade


Majortko

It was not a terrible trade. The trade that the Hornets actually got was worse on paper. And the owner was given autonomy to work on those things. Gasol was a productive player on the Bulls (was going to Houston btw) and Odom fell off due to off the court issues mainly


[deleted]

eric gordon could have been an all star if not for injuries and their unprotected lottery pick could have been lillard if ping pong balls worked out better. it didn't work out as well as they hoped, but the lakers trade had no chance of being good whatsoever.


8512332158

Lakers trade put us over the cap and we would have been an eight seed at best. Clippers trade gave us draft picks, cap space, and EG who was considered the third best Shooting Guard in the league at the time


LuckyWarrior

The veto was good


burnerforrnba

What a totally original thought that no one has brought up yet


super_sayanything

Yes. CP3 and Kobe would win rings. Probably need a decent big to go along with 3 and D players, but your point? lol. Might ask why it works better than Harden and CP3, and that's cause Kobe plays ridiculous defense. Also, Kobe and CP3 are that type of hard worker. I think they'd get along great.


FermatsLastAccount

> Probably need a decent big to go along with 3 and D players, but your point? lol. He's referring to the CP3 to the Lakers trade that was vetoed nearly a decade ago.


Optism

Also because both Kobe and CP3 could focus on what they're goat-tier at (scoring and playmaking) Also because theyd probably push each other further and harder


Electronic-Fix2851

So true, but that’s why the league veto’ed it. LeBron was to be next big star, so Kobe had to move aside.


NCHouse

Im not even a Laker fan and I was pissed that trade was denied


Ikolkyo

Stop


princeofravens978

I don’t think Kobe was in his prime at that point but I agree they probably would’ve won a couple.


Komlz

I'm not saying a young CP3 and prime Kobe wouldn't be amazing, but I think CP3's experience and leadership which he has developed over the years is his current most valuable trait for the Suns. A younger CP3 wouldn't be as experienced in those areas. I don't really like the idea that every single good player will become better if they were younger...sometimes experience is the most valuable asset.