andalusian

Sure. And Juan Manuel Fangio did not start racing in Europe until he was 39. Maybe I should be a Formula 1 star.

Was Bosh a better prospect than Roy? Sure. Is he still a better prospect than Roy? I would still say yes. But this does not make Roy the role player that some would paint him as.

Wade came into the league after 3 years in college. Roy came after 4 - and their rookie years are very similar. Some players need the college experience more than others, like, for example - Roy. Obviously, Roy did not have the physical gift that Bosh has - so it was harder for him to be effective right out of the starting line.

bigbabyjesus

As much as I'm looking forward to a Bargnani-Bosh frontcourt.. I'd be even more excited about a Durant-Bosh frontcourt with a legit centre to put beside them.

Durant is pretty much Bargnani as a SF, with better defense, rebounding and athleticism.

ballocks

i don't know. maybe. but you have to understand (you probably agree already) that "the best" is a relative term. it makes sense when we're talking to/about a large group of people, when there's little personal contact involved, and less when we're talking to each other one-on-one in private. put yourself in the position: let's say you were an actor. the "best" place to go for your career would be hollywood, right? you'd probably tell everyone yourself, "that's where actors go." but when you go to bed at night, chances are that other issues creep into the equation before you make up your mind- hollywood is the "best" on the most massive scale, but it always comes down to individual preference at the end of the day. the individual preference is often what determines how you make your decision, not the popular belief.

it'd be great if you were right. but you've never heard it? never? i've probably heard it suggested to andrea by the media on more occasions than i can count on my hands. and i'm not saying the media's doing it as a 'conspiracy' or anything along those lines: i think it's just a reflection on us as a people in this culture. we do it- but it's not as readily seen by us because we "can't see the forest from the trees." we say it as a force of habit when the opportunity arises. not all of us, and not intentionally. but some of us, sometimes. it's a symptom of another issue when we deal with people we don't know, who have backgrounds we're not familiar with. it's small talk, for lack of a better term, and small talk is not as common around the world as north americans would be led to believe (imo). i think that could very well irritate people like andrea, especially: athletes thrown into the fire of the north american media gallery. they're often unprepared.

i mean, the guy's still learning to speak english, you know? i bet he's got a different perspective on the things we see every day than we do. that's natural.

generalizations are always offensive. sorry. i try to preface mine by acknowledging it, but i guess i didn't do a good job here. peace.

listen, seriously, believe what you do. for real. everyone can, that's beautiful. but i'm not going to go pretend that i don't feel the way i do. i won't do that, man. likewise, don't do that with me. am i going on gut feel? you better believe it! and i'm not even saying it will happen. i'm merely suggesting that it can and that it wouldn't totally shock me- not that you should believe me, not that anyone should. only that that's how i feel about it right now.

if it bothers you that it could happen, don't blame me. i'm the messenger. but you seem to be saying that it bothers you because i think it could happen- that shouldn't bother you. mine is a wild guess on the basis of gut feel, and it's meaningless. i know.

peace

chocolove

Hes not in the game is he?

Junkyard Dog13

Bosh for Durant never

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Jizzy

Kevin Durant....easily.

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butr

Bargnani. For more reasons than on the court. He's proven more at this point in his career. He will be a new type of C that will open up the game for us. Durant would not have the same effect. Durant as a 3 is not a rare commodity. Look at lebron, on his own, he got shut down, so will KD. Bargnani in the scope of the Raps, with CB and some other additions to make up for rebounding and D, the matchups will be more in our favour.

Just for the record, I have not read the complete back and forth, I'm not Italian, and I have some opinions, not all positive.

Toronto has the largest Italian population of ANY city outside Italy. (Not NYC).

speedythief

No, Mago is the man. He is going to be a big star.

shookem

Hey, we're both working on gut feelings, neither is more correct than the other in a traditional black and white sense.

Lots of things could happen right? Bargs could go back to Italy, Bosh could pull a Keon Clark, Sam could turn out to be the next Red Auerbach. Are they likely to happen? Well, that's where we just don't know. In Andrea's case, I would look at all the world's athlete's and see how many of them left NA to go back to Europe. I look at hockey, baseball, soccer or cricket and it seems like the best almost always go to the best part of the world to apply their trade. If I were a soccer player and was able to play in England, France, etc I probably would. My desire as an athlete would drive me to want to compete against the best around. However, I would concede that if after playing in Europe (as a soccer player) I may have the desire to bring my celebrity and profile back to my home country.

I guess my main stumbling point would be the timing of it all? Would Andrea go back before signing his 'big' contract, I doubt it but maybe after 10 or 15 years in the NBA that possibility would increase.

I agree that perceptions get crammed down our throat all the time, many of them exiting only in the hearts of those using them for their advantage but I do believe that Andrea's 'personality' was carefully examined before he was drafted.


Anyways, as always I appreciate your take on the situation, and as usual I disagree. I'm going to have to come on with a uniform ending to my post similar to your peace. I'm thinking of something like;

Never mind the ballocks (always in good natured jest my friend),

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ballocks

peace, shook. i never mean to offend. never.

shookem

Ballocks, I'm thinking about a Pardon the Interruption style show, where you and I go back and forth on the issues. We'll never run out of things to disagree on that's for sure. It's pitch week in Banff for Canadian television. I'm sure it would in great TV as everyone waits for the moment when I finally melt down and bite your neck after another anti-media/contheory. I'll write the pitch and see if anyone wants to give us a boatload of cash to do it.

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TRON

Re: Durrant for Bargs

this isn't putting down Bargs, cause he will have a stellar career, but Durrant will probably be the more dynamic player, star......but not by much

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Porn_Player

Come on the blazers thread has aniliated ours there on 10+ pages with over a hundred votes.. we must beat them

Bargs slowly catchin up with durant in the poll..

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