The Existentialist Coffee House of Pau Gasol [Archive]

View Full Version : The Existentialist Coffee House of Pau Gasol

RuffnReadyOzStyle

07-05-2016, 02:44 AM

Clever with excellent footwork, Pau is a great scorer around the basket, a clever cutter and passer, and a decent mid-range shooter. He's a solid rebounder due to smarts more than physicality, and a strong team defender. He's also a better rim protector than usually given credit for.

He'll probably put up a lot of great lines (like 16/9/3/1/2 on 50% shooting) and help the 2016-17 Spurs to another 55+ wins.

I always thought he'd make a great Spur, and even though IMO he's not exactly what the team needs, I'm sure he'll make a great contribution...

...so, welcome Pau Gasol!

cutewizard

07-05-2016, 03:59 AM

Count me in......................

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 04:10 AM

GOAT thread name, OP
Now let's be the second best team in the league!

Kawhi 5-0

07-05-2016, 04:20 AM

Sartre and pa amb tomàquet all around :)

--Paul

SAGirl

07-05-2016, 04:26 AM

DeRozan m8

07-05-2016, 05:00 AM

I'm in

:bobo

Fireball

07-05-2016, 05:03 AM

give us the Eurobasket 2015 Gasol tbh

TheGreatYacht

07-05-2016, 05:14 AM

Sacrificed 5-7M next season to be a Spur, MVPau :worthy:

BillMc

07-05-2016, 05:21 AM

Love the name. Let's all raise a latte with Pau to Spus success. :bobo (Have to use the "Boris Toast" while we still can).

BillMc

07-05-2016, 05:22 AM

give us the Eurobasket 2015 Gasol tbh

That would be awesome.

TheGreatYacht

07-05-2016, 05:22 AM

A front court of Pau Gasol, Lamarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard.... :wow

If Golden State's best rim protector is Zaza fucking Pachulia (0.3bpg) next season, Parker and Manu will torch them too.

DeRozan m8

07-05-2016, 05:35 AM

A front court of Pau Gasol, Lamarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard.... :wow

If Golden State's best rim protector is Zaza fucking Pachulia (0.3bpg) next season, Parker and Manu will torch them too.

Lets hope this is the end of your ungratefulness and unfair Kahwi hate.

From Downtown

07-05-2016, 05:50 AM

I'm in

r0drig0lac

07-05-2016, 05:53 AM

MVPau!!!

benefactor

07-05-2016, 05:56 AM

:wakeup

BillMc

07-05-2016, 06:15 AM

Sacrificed 5-7M next season to be a Spur, MVPau :worthy:

:toastPau wants to win. Only 1 or 2 teams to worry about in the league. The Post-Tim years certainly could have started off more dire.

NikosChelsea7

07-05-2016, 06:21 AM

:bobo

BillMc

07-05-2016, 06:29 AM

I mean we now have the second and third best Euro players ever on our roster (Tony and Pau) even if they're a little past their primes. Come on Dirk, sign for the minimum so we can complete the set. :lol

hsxvvd

07-05-2016, 08:12 AM

Happy to have him on board but I'd like to keep Boris too.

lefty

07-05-2016, 08:18 AM

.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzxFJa6rfsg

Spurtacular

07-05-2016, 08:31 AM

Gasoft should've signed two years ago instead of jacking off in Chicago. Now, both he and the Spurs are down two rings on their legacies; and he's merely nice consolation this time around.

Spurtacular

07-05-2016, 08:33 AM

.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzxFJa6rfsg

Offensive foul on both plays; WWE Basketball.

Spurtacular

07-05-2016, 08:37 AM

:toastPau wants to win. Only 1 or 2 teams to worry about in the league. The Post-Tim years certainly could have started off more dire.

I like your optimism. Pau is 35 and change though. I just think Durant swung the pendulum too far. Though, I'm hopeful their lessened state at center leaves GS beatable.

Buddy Mignon

07-05-2016, 08:53 AM

Lol

NikosChelsea7

07-05-2016, 09:03 AM

750328092682391552

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 09:06 AM

:tu
Kudos to Oz. He made me join the coffee house just cause of the cool name. You made me laugh Mullet as we contemplate the existential aspect of the thread... or something. I wanted to be clever but it didn't come out funny.

Looking forward to Pau. As sad as the news about Timmy retiring were going to be anyways I am glad we got Pau.
:flag:

:toast I'm also glad Pau is here. Excited to see what Pau-LMA combo can do. GSG

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 09:10 AM

give us the Eurobasket 2015 Gasol tbh

That was amazing. He single-handedly won the Eurobasket. Everyone else shit the bed hard that year.

Beaverfuzz

07-05-2016, 09:12 AM

Pau Pau Pau Pau Pau

TheGoldStandard

07-05-2016, 09:14 AM

Not only will he fit into the scheme of things but he will also charm the locker room with his tales of taking Kobe by the hand and walking him through 2 more titles.

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 09:15 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JCUa4lmB30

lefty

07-05-2016, 09:16 AM

750136877093625861

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 09:17 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlFzYF73F3A

lefty

07-05-2016, 09:19 AM

:lol wtf my tweet embed is not working

TheMulletMan3000

07-05-2016, 09:24 AM

Not only will he fit into the scheme of things but he will also charm the locker room with his tales of taking Kobe by the hand and walking him through 2 more titles.

:lol

loveforthegame

07-05-2016, 09:26 AM

:tu

Chinook

07-05-2016, 09:29 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JCUa4lmB30

That guy is jizzing all over himself. It's like, "Calm down, dude. Those are wide open dunks. It's not a big deal."

Keepin' it real

07-05-2016, 10:22 AM

750328092682391552

Your in Amurica, man. Lern the langauge or go bak too Mexico!

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2015/07/34_image/lead_960.jpg?1436463831

Mr. Body

07-05-2016, 10:31 AM

He's some ugly mother. I'm in.

.G.

07-05-2016, 10:33 AM

750328092682391552

Days after thinking bout mah future on da downstrole, I've decided to take mah talents to da 210. Fired up bout dis new chapter in mah career and we gon rang dis mofocka!

NikosChelsea7

07-05-2016, 10:43 AM

Your in Amurica, man. Lern the langauge or go bak too Mexico!

:lol I guess Pau saw this.

750335841898156033

Uriel

07-05-2016, 10:47 AM

I'm not a huge fan of existentialism, tbh. There's too much evidence from physics and neuroscience in favor of hard determinism.

Keepin' it real

07-05-2016, 10:48 AM

:lol I guess Pau saw this.

750335841898156033

:rollin

Chinook

07-05-2016, 10:51 AM

I'm not a huge fan of existentialism, tbh. There's too much evidence from physics and neuroscience in favor of hard determinism.

You're not getting Pau's autograph then.

midnightpulp

07-05-2016, 10:55 AM

I'm not a huge fan of existentialism, tbh. There's too much evidence from physics and neuroscience in favor of hard determinism.

:lol "no."

Kawhitstorm

07-05-2016, 07:26 PM

750481953003040768

Kawhitstorm

07-05-2016, 07:28 PM

That guy is jizzing all over himself. It's like, "Calm down, dude. Those are wide open dunks. It's not a big deal."

Yeah he was howling because it was his first basket of the first quarter in a meaningless game where he did absolutely nothing.

ceperez

07-05-2016, 07:29 PM

Aldridge and Gasol are going to punish that midget lineup that GSW has put together.

Seventyniner

07-05-2016, 08:46 PM

You're not getting Pau's autograph then.

And even if he did, how would he know that the autograph even exists?

z0sa

07-05-2016, 08:48 PM

:wakeup

Leetonidas

07-05-2016, 08:56 PM

I'm not a huge fan of existentialism, tbh. There's too much evidence from physics and neuroscience in favor of hard determinism.

>reads signature

wat

ace3g

07-05-2016, 10:05 PM

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cl4zGY4WgAAxvGa.jpg:large

RuffnReadyOzStyle

07-06-2016, 12:05 AM

GOAT thread name, OP
Now let's be the second best team in the league!

:tu
Kudos to Oz. He made me join the coffee house just cause of the cool name. You made me laugh Mullet as we contemplate the existential aspect of the thread... or something. I wanted to be clever but it didn't come out funny.

Looking forward to Pau. As sad as the news about Timmy retiring were going to be anyways I am glad we got Pau.
:flag:

Thanks. :)

Sartre and pa amb tomàquet all around :)

--Paul

Mais oui!

:wakeup

Definitely the emoji for this thread.

I'm not a huge fan of existentialism, tbh. There's too much evidence from physics and neuroscience in favor of hard determinism.

If anywhere on Spurstalk, I guess this is the place for that discussion!

I studied existentialism at uni many years ago and the main thing I got from it was that there is no intrinsic meaning to anything, including your life, but that realisation gives us the freedom to choose our own meanings. ;)

Ron Swanson

07-06-2016, 12:12 AM

Glad to have Gasol here. Hoping he, Kawhi and Aldridge can do some serious damage.

midnightpulp

07-06-2016, 12:26 AM

Thanks. :)

Mais oui!

Definitely the emoji for this thread.

If anywhere on Spurstalk, I guess this is the place for that discussion!

I studied existentialism at uni many years ago and the main thing I got from it was that there is no intrinsic meaning to anything, including your life, but that realisation gives us the freedom to choose our own meanings. ;)

His claim about there being "too much evidence in favor of hard determinism" is also very wrong. Hard determinism is an antiquated idea that should've died out in antiquity.

RuffnReadyOzStyle

07-06-2016, 12:28 AM

His claim about there being "too much evidence in favor of hard determinism" is also very wrong. Hard determinism is an antiquated idea that should've died out in antiquity.

Don't discuss it with me! It's his claim and this is the coffee house - discuss it with him! ;)

I don't accept hard determinism either, although soft determinism makes some sense.

midnightpulp

07-06-2016, 12:33 AM

Don't discuss it with me! It's his claim and this is the coffee house - discuss it with him! ;)

I don't accept hard determinism either, although soft determinism makes some sense.

Indeed. But he's not on, and I, as you Aussies wold say, "felt like taking the piss" on the horrible and easily debunked idea of hard determinism.

RuffnReadyOzStyle

07-06-2016, 12:36 AM

Indeed. But he's not on, and I, as you Aussies wold say, "felt like taking the piss" on the horrible and easily debunked idea of hard determinism.

All good. ;)

cutewizard

07-06-2016, 01:46 AM

Gasoft should've signed two years ago instead of jacking off in Chicago. Now, both he and the Spurs are down two rings on their legacies; and he's merely nice consolation this time around.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

completely agree with you man, this is also my sentiment.....

we beat the Clippers and repeat, and then GS does not ascend to its present arrogance....

the landscape of the NBA would have been different....

Uriel

07-06-2016, 02:10 AM

If anywhere on Spurstalk, I guess this is the place for that discussion!

I studied existentialism at uni many years ago and the main thing I got from it was that there is no intrinsic meaning to anything, including your life, but that realisation gives us the freedom to choose our own meanings. ;)
There are many variants of existentialism, and that is one variant. But the one thing they all have in common is an underlying belief that existence precedes essence. As such, man has absolute freedom to make of himself what he desires.

Hence the dichotomy being set up between existentialism and determinism.

Uriel

07-06-2016, 02:10 AM

His claim about there being "too much evidence in favor of hard determinism" is also very wrong. Hard determinism is an antiquated idea that should've died out in antiquity.
Then prove it.

midnightpulp

07-06-2016, 02:34 AM

Then prove it.

The burden of proof is actually on you since you're making the claim. And much like the existence of God is an un-falsifiable hypothesis, so is the existence of hard determinism (i.e. the claim that this conversation we're having now was already determined at the moment of the Big Bang, and there was nothing we could've done to change it, because physical laws are immutable.)

So all we can do is take apart hard determinism logically. The hard determinist thinks it a logical idea because since physical laws and the interaction between matter that is governed by physical law is essentially "causally closed," therefore we humans, being matter just like an atom, are beholden to this process. The hard determinist will cite a thought experiment like Laplace's demon ("if a demon knew the movement of every atom in the universe, he could predict with certainty the future.")

Sounds logically solid, right?

Nope. Let's say I invented a Laplace Machine. I ran my calculation and it told me Uriel is going to die in a car accident tomorrow morning. I can easily relate this information to you, and you can freely choose through conscious will to not step into your car that morning. But if I were to tell a domino that its fate is to be knocked down by the domino behind, it couldn't do anything about it because it isn't conscious. Hard determinism assumes that the behavior of physical objects stays consistent from atoms to chemicals to animals to people. Emergence has shown this to be wrong.

Consciousness allows us to step outside of the hard causal chain of cause-and-effect. You can generate multiple (to infinite, if you had the time) possibilities through conscious deliberation for any action you plan on doing (i.e. if I do this, this, this, this, and this may happen). An atom has no such ability.

Even notable physicists don't buy hard determinism.

http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2011/07/13/free-will-is-as-real-as-baseball/

The only hard determinist advocates are hacks like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne (citing the long debunked Libet experiments) who think that disproving free will somehow puts the final nail in the coffin of religion, never mind the fact that determinism is a feature of most of the world's religions.

Now I don't believe in casua sui free will, that you can make yourself into anything you want, but I do believe a healthy mind has power over their decision making. I also think free will is something of a skill that is learned through acquiring more experiences and practicing something like mindfulness.

midnightpulp

07-06-2016, 04:02 AM

More reading for when Uriel gets back:

The foremost Naturalists in the US had a round-table discussing various philosophical and scientific topics, and most of them agreed with the idea of (compatiblist) free will. The only one making a stand was Jerry Coyne, who is more motivated by his new atheist agenda (for him, the verification of hard determinism once and for all disproves the idea of an immaterial soul, which he thinks will lead into the dissolution of religion). And you'll see they were basically shaking their heads at his arguments. I don't cite this as some appeal to authority, but to illustrate that hard determinism is a fringe idea in the scientific and philosophical community. Just like scientists are 85% atheist/15% religious, I would assume about the same ratio for compatiblists/hard determinists.

Free will, for Dennett, is as real as time or, say, colors, but it’s not what some people think it is. And indeed, some views of free will are downright incoherent. He suggested that nothing we have learned from neuroscience shows that we haven’t been wired (by evolution) for free will, which means that we also get to keep the concept of moral responsibility.

Jerry then plunged into his standard worry, the same that motivates authors like Sam Harris: we don’t want to give ground to theologically-informed views of morality, and incompatibilism about free will (“we are the puppets of our genes and our environments”) is the best way to do it. Dennett was visibly shaking his head throughout (so was I, inwardly...).

In the midst of all of this, Jerry mentioned the (in)famous Libbett experiments, even though they have been taken apart both philosophically and, more recently, scientifically, which Dennett, Flanagan, and Goldstein immediately pointed out.

Sean Carroll also objected to Coyne, using an interesting analogy: if Jerry applied his argument about incompatibilism to fundamental physics, he would have to conclude for an incompatibility between statistical mechanics and the second law of thermodynamics. But, Sean suggested, that would be a result of confusing language that is appropriate for one level of analysis with language that is appropriate for another level. (Though he didn’t say that, I would go even further, following up on the previous day’s discussion, and suggest that free will is an emergent property of the brain in a similar sense to which the second law is an emergent property of statistical mechanics — and on the latter even Steven Weinberg agreed!)

http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/10/from-naturalism-workshop-part-ii.html

Uriel

07-09-2016, 11:44 PM

The only hard determinist advocates are hacks like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne (citing the long debunked Libet experiments) who think that disproving free will somehow puts the final nail in the coffin of religion, never mind the fact that determinism is a feature of most of the world's religions.
How could you so summarily dismiss Sam Harris as a "hack?" Did you even bother to read his work? Or did you just read what other people who happen to advocate your viewpoint have already written about him?

midnightpulp

07-10-2016, 12:15 AM

How could you so summarily dismiss Sam Harris as a "hack?" Did you even bother to read his work? Or did you just read what other people who happen to advocate your viewpoint have already written about him?

I've read enough reviews of his work (as well as excerpts) by philosophers and scientists much more respected than he to know all I need to know. I mean, his book How Science Can Determine Human Values is fundamentally flawed from the outset, since the premise is anchored in the naturalistic fallacy. No need to waste my time reading it.

You might considered that close-minded. I just consider it reasonable. I'd rather spend my time reading the work of people who know what they're talking about, like Owen Flanagan, Daniel Dennett, etc. Harris is a Johnny-Come-Lately "thinker" who defined himself more by his criticism of religion (yeah, totally not going after the low hanging fruit there) than any worthwhile ideas.

apalisoc_9

07-10-2016, 12:19 AM

Lets hope this is the end of your ungratefulness and unfair Kahwi hate.

He never hated Kawhi. His schtick was almost anti Manu bit he hoped on the bandwagon of countering the the hottest poster at that time Apalisoc..His quote under his avi when he first started posting was Kawhi-Embiid-Parker :lol

RuffnReadyOzStyle

07-10-2016, 12:20 AM

This is highly appropriate for the coffee house! I'm sure Pau would approve. :tu

apalisoc_9

07-10-2016, 12:23 AM

I've read enough reviews of his work (as well as excerpts) by philosophers and scientists much more respected than he to know all I need to know. I mean, his book How Science Can Determine Human Values is fundamentally flawed from the outset, since the premise is anchored in the naturalistic fallacy. No need to waste my time reading it.

You might considered that close-minded. I just consider it reasonable. I'd rather spend my time reading the work of people who know what they're talking about, like Owen Flanagan, Daniel Dennett, etc. Harris is a Johnny-Come-Lately "thinker" who defined himself more by his criticism of religion (yeah, totally not going after the low hanging fruit there) than any worthwhile ideas.

Brah..Talk basketball bro. Dis aint the place for dat dere religion...

How do you think Aldridge's going to adjust with another talentd post player and a mich mpre talented shot creator? I honestly would rather see Kawhi run pick and rolls and pops with Gasol now.

Gasol can pass and is a much better screener. Way more diversifies offensovely.

midnightpulp

07-10-2016, 12:34 AM

Brah..Talk basketball bro. Dis aint the place for dat dere religion...

How do you think Aldridge's going to adjust with another talentd post player and a mich mpre talented shot creator? I honestly would rather see Kawhi run pick and rolls and pops with Gasol now.

Gasol can pass and is a much better screener. Way more diversifies offensovely.

Yes. Kawhi will work better with Pau in pick-and-pop/roll situations. While Tony will continue to work well with LMA in that regard. If Fat Head has a breakout year (looking good in Summer League), Patty returns to form, and Murray plays above par, we have a shot. Just need a back-up big. Hopefully Tim gives it one more shot off the bench.

Uriel

07-10-2016, 12:34 AM

YGWHI

07-10-2016, 12:48 AM

He never hated Kawhi.
Yeah. That pathetic shiteater calls Kawhi retarded because he loves him. You're being so naive....An embarrassment to our Krew.

DeRozan m8

07-10-2016, 01:01 AM

:claw :claw :claw

apalisoc_9

07-10-2016, 01:04 AM

Yeah. That pathetic shiteater calls Kawhi retarded because he loves him. You're being so naive....An embarrassment to our Krew.

Hes trolling bro. Its his schtick..Harlem can attest to it to..his initial schtick was anti manu :lol

YGWHI

07-10-2016, 01:04 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3ZGkViM2w

Interesting man...And a true Point Center. Not bad.

YGWHI

07-10-2016, 01:16 AM

Hes trolling bro.
Nah. You can piss people off, troll them without insulting a player. He never insulted Parker for some reason.

Harlem can attest to it to..his initial schtick was anti manu :lol
Harlem can what? Of course...

Since this is Pau's thread I won't add anything more to my original post.

midnightpulp

07-10-2016, 01:24 AM

I also take issue with this notion that "hard determinism is a frindge idea in the scientific and philosophical community." Here's an excerpt from an article by The Atlantic on free will released a couple of months ago:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/

Hard determinism is defined as the idea that everything was decided at the moment of the Big Bang. That there's nothing you can do to step outside the hard causal chain set in motion 14 billion years ago. A simple thought experiment proves that idea false.

Also, the Atlantic made quite a hand-waving gesture with that comment and went no further. Most of the "evidence" that free-will deniers cite in support of the idea that "my neurons made me do it," are the long debunked Libet experiments or other such experiments that only test the brain's role in deciding highly intuitive, "autopilot" actions like when to decide to press a button at a certain time. Until an FMRI machine (which can only measure brain activity at the level of gross anatomy) can predict actual deliberative actions, like deciding what college to go to or whom to marry, then I'll continue to dismiss them as an incomplete experiment.

That comment also assumes neurons are hard-wired, and we know this to be completely false.

Behavior, environmental stimuli, thought, and emotions may also cause neuroplastic change,

While the phenomenon of neuroplasticity is not a recent discovery and has been known since the first half of the 20th century, current neuroscientific and neurobiological research into this topic continues to chip away at oversimplified notions of hard genetic determination of cognitive capacities and behavioral traits, which has been dubbed "neurogenetic determinism."[20]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Biological_determinism

You can actually downwardly cause your brain states to change through, for lack of a better term, conscious will. Monks do it all the time, to the point of where they don't even feel pain. And as far as science reaching a consensus. No.

“A person’s decisions are not at the mercy of unconscious and early brain waves,” the lead researcher, Dr. John-Dylan Haynes of Charité - Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, said in the study’s press release. “They are able to actively intervene in the decision-making process and interrupt a movement. Previously people have used the preparatory brain signals to argue against free will. Our study now shows that the freedom is much less limited than previously thought.”

The father of cognitive neuroscience and author of Human offers a provocative argument against the common belief that our lives are wholly determined by physical processes and we are therefore not responsible for our actions

https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Charge-Free-Science-Brain/dp/0061906107/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I deliberately decided that it is sensible, and perfectly rational, to believe in a libertarian conception of free will (more on this in the book I'm currently writing).

http://www.klab.caltech.edu/koch/ (<one of the most respected neuroscientists in the field) And I have an idea how Koch might reconcile the seemingly nonsensical concept of libertarian free-will with "rationality."

In an essay in the May 14 2009 issue of Nature entitled "Is Free Will an Illusion" (the illusion reference is to Daniel Wegner) Heisenberg says that the debate on free will has focused on humans and ‘conscious free will’. Yet when it comes to understanding how we initiate behaviour, we can learn a lot by looking at animals. Although we do not credit animals with anything like the consciousness in humans, researchers have found that animal behaviour is not as involuntary as it may appear. The idea that animals act only in response to external stimuli has long been abandoned, and it is well established that they initiate behaviour on the basis of their internal states, as we do.
(Nature, vol. 459, 2009, p.164)

Heisenberg argues for some randomness even in unicellular bacteria, followed by more lawful behaviors such as moving toward food.

Evidence of randomly generated action — action that is distinct from reaction because it does not depend upon external stimuli — can be found in unicellular organisms. Take the way the bacterium Escherichia coli moves. It has a flagellum that can rotate around its longitudinal axis in either direction: one way drives the bacterium forward, the other causes it to tumble at random so that it ends up facing in a new direction ready for the next phase of forward motion. This ‘random walk’ can be modulated by sensory receptors, enabling the bacterium to find food and the right temperature.

http://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/heisenbergm/

If causation in this case was always "bottom up" it would be impossible to learn a new skill, since the neural pathways that allow for the proliferation of said skill haven't even been created yet. It would be impossible to coordinate an action with an external command (e.g. "I want you to raise your arm when I say when.") Brain activity is pretty much isomorphic to the activity in this case, meaning there's no subconscious "action potential" that precedes the action by 1-5 seconds and can tip someone who is looking at your brain with an FMRI at what is coming.

From an actual white paper:

Data from experimental animals provided crucial information on plausible cellular and molecular substrates contributing to large-scale reorganization underlying skill acquisition in humans. Here, we review findings demonstrating functional and structural plasticity across different spatial and temporal scales that mediate motor skill learning

In addition to reorganization of functional brain networks, slow learning is associated with structural plasticity in gray matter (for review see, Draganski and May, 2008; May and Gaser, 2006). The introduction of new imaging technologies led to remarkable demonstrations of structural plasticity in the human brain. MRI-based morphometric imaging methods, mainly voxel-based morphometry (VBM; Ashburner and Friston, 2000) were used to evaluate gray matter changes linked with experience and learning.

Every article like the Atlantic article always winds up citing the Libet experiments and the few thinkers like Harris, etc who are on the side of the determinism debate because they think it'll lead to the dissolution of religion.

Also, a follow up article from that Atlantic writer:

But neither quantum indeterminacy nor chaos theory give us free will in the sense of a special power to transcend the laws of nature.

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/06/free-will-exists-and-is-measurable/486551/

I would argue that human beings do have a certain ability to transcend physical law (or those laws as they are currently interpreted), which gives a version of free will that is near-libertarian. (I think Koch will come from the same perspective in his new book).

I'll elaborate when you return.

cutewizard

07-10-2016, 10:55 AM

hmmmmm, interesting thread.......

AFMadison

07-10-2016, 10:59 AM

Yeah. That pathetic shiteater calls Kawhi retarded because he loves him. You're being so naive....An embarrassment to our Krew.
The whole krew is an embarrassment tbh

gambit1990

07-10-2016, 11:28 AM

midnightpulp

07-10-2016, 11:41 AM

damn mid, didn't know you were that dumb.

Sam Harris isn't all that respected as a thinker outside of his New Atheist fanboys.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/2014/11/24/glenn-greenwald-takes-apart-sam-harris/

http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/about-sam-harris-claim-that-science-can.html

Yesterday, I brought on the wrath of the defenders of Slippery Sam. Sam Harris has an amazing talent: he can say the most awful things, and a horde of helpful apologists will rise up in righteous fury and simultaneously insist that he didn’t really say that, and yeah, he said that, but it only makes sense.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/09/16/the-saga-of-slippery-sam/

Obstructed_View

07-10-2016, 12:25 PM

This is one of the more interesting player threads I've seen. Well done, guys.

K...

07-10-2016, 01:13 PM

midnightpulp

07-10-2016, 01:44 PM

Sigh, mid is creating a bunch of straw man arguments rather than accepting evidence in both sides.

He's right that Sam Harris is a hack, but not persuasive to say Harris isn't at least 70% right in free will.

The problem is that in the year 2016 no body defined free will before science decided to look at human decision-making and reporting the findings.

Here's where the debate impacts you.. Punishment is based on the rejection of hard determinism. Legal scholars debate the effect of punishment all the time. They understand it's a poor tool.

When mid references leplace understand he created a dumb premise where the machine didn't know it existed. That's kind of big deal. Pretty dishonest here.

When mid says deliberation is proof of free well he doesn't say why. It feels right though doesn't it? But what deliberation is is your brain trying to eliminate stress to get a calm pattern recognition process. The decision whether to react or think Is but another determined variable.

When mid suggests fmri machines prove thinking he's saying a specialist machine can detect patterns of nueron behaviors. This is a truism. The machine is built to see that. The fact that something happens in the brain does not suggest that that activity is meaningful. All machines have parts.

What "straw man" arguments?

Every experiment that tries prove the "neurons made me do it" concept relies on a similar methodology of asking participants to press a button or choose a color when they feel like it. These experiments are flawed for the simple reason that the kind of actions they are examining are actions a person will do thousands of times, meaning the readyness potential of pressing a button will have already been wired into the subconscious a long time ago. And furthermore, we have experiments proving that a person can veto an action in this case.

These experiments also don't have a control in pretty much every case.

Alfred Mele has criticized the interpretation of the Libet results on two grounds. First, the mere appearance of the RP a half-second or more before the action in no way makes the RP the cause of the action. It may simply mark the beginning of forming an intention to act. In the two-stage model, it is the considering of possible options.

I would've liked to see a control subject that was instructed to sit there for 5 minutes without pressing a button. I bet the brain would be constantly forming readyness potentials, but yet it wouldn't have led to an actual action.

Also, the Libet experiment would be easy to beat in theory. You would merely have to set up for yourself a sort of random trigger that you act upon. Perhaps in the control room, the moment you hear a bird sing or car pass by, you would press the button. In that case, as I said, the action would be isomorphic to the brain activity. A researcher would not see a 1 second build up of an intention to act.

And there's nothing wrong with my Laplace example. I don't understand why you believe the machine not knowing that it exists changes anything? I know it exists as its inventor. I'm the demon here. And if hard determinism is true, there would be NOTHING you could do to change your future, despite any information about your future you receive.

The fact you can easily just choose not to get in the car if Laplace's demon informs you that you will die when you drive to work on Tuesday definitively proves the idea of hard determinism as incoherent.

"Well, the fact you don't know what's coming means your future is probably still determined."

That's why you have to use what I call a "weaK" form of the Laplace demon to govern some future decision. We can't perfectly predict the future obviously, but we can make informed decisions using probability about the future. You know driving to work is a relatively safe event a great majority of the time, so the odds are in your favor to not die that day. If you get information that a Tornado is headed inbound to the road you take, you'll make the necessary change.

cutewizard

07-11-2016, 09:33 AM

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2016/7/10/12111484/tim-duncan-hallowed-shadow-pau-gasol

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pau Gasol's tenure with the Spurs begins in Tim Duncan's shadow
Tim Duncan (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21776/tim-duncan) has rewired the way we think as fans.
Through his longevity, financial sacrifices and enduring dedication to a city and its fanbase, he didn't just preclude the need for a rebuild in San Antonio; he ripped the word out of the Spurs (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/san-antonio-spurs) fan dictionary.

Thanks in large part to him, the franchise isn't hitting the reset button as many do when faced with the end of an era. Its front office is still harvesting the overseas prospects it was able to stash away while Tim and Co. chased rings. Its core is still good enough to push for a top-two seed, even after a total rejig of their frontcourt and the biggest roster turnover of recent memory. The revered culture remains, drawing and facilitating the arrival of new talent.
There are few things more sacred to the city of San Antonio than number 21. Watching him over the past two decades has been about more than reveling in wins, accolades and championships, and more than basketball itself: it's been to bask in the banality of greatness. In the wake of Duncan's impending decision, excellence should continue to be the organization's perennial benchmark.
Those expectations will carry into next season---not only because we Spurs fans are spoiled, but because next year's Spurs should still be really good. Forgetting Golden State for a second (try it, it's nice), there are at least 28 teams in the league that should dread playing San Antonio, and Pau Gasol (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21732/pau-gasol) plays a big role in that.
Gasol won't fully take over Duncan's role in the defense, but he will inherit some lofty analogues to last year's historically-great team. When he's late on rotations or botches a pick and roll, people will notice. If his rebounding is notably lacking (http://www.poundingtherock.com/2016/7/5/12063436/pau-gasol-solve-spurs-biggest-needs), people will scrutinize. And if he's unable to negate those shortcomings with his offense, his $30 million contract will be a target of criticism from every egg with an internet connection.
Timmy was on a very team-friendly deal, one that was always going to skew how the Spurs replaced him (and affect how that value would be appraised). When he re-signed for $10.8 million for two years last year, it was rightfully seen as a hometown discount. But as Jeff McDonald has pointed out, (http://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/Spurs-on-hold-for-the-end-of-an-era-8343962.php?t=71a00b506f927fc3fb&cmpid=twitter-premium#photo-10210082) it was also an understanding between the two sides that ensured that, if Duncan decided to retire, he'd have a little extra with him on the way out just by opting in to year two. Either way, $6 million in cap space was never going to replace Duncan, especially in this wild and crazy NBA summer.

That Pau's signing came with the added cost of bidding adieu to Boris Diaw (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21919/boris-diaw) -- and seemed to seal the departures of David West (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21663/david-west) and Boban Marjanovic (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/257504/boban-marjanovic) -- won't go overlooked. But their losses may also be overstated: West proved unreliable against the Thunder's big men; Diaw's exit, one that seemed all the more likely following his benching during the playoffs, could signal more minutes for Kyle Anderson (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/246160/kyle-anderson) as a Boris Light, and there's still time for the team to shore up the rest of its depth chart.
If Duncan retires, he will leave an indelible void, but the center position should be no phantom limb. Even at 36, Gasol brings a handful of elite talents to the offensive side of the ball, elevating an attack that may have improved anyway with Kawhi Leonard (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/132534/kawhi-leonard) andLaMarcus Aldridge (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21819/lamarcus-aldridge) jelling in year two. If Dewayne Dedmon (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/225733/dewayne-dedmon) can learn to keep his fouling down (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dedmode01.html#per_minute::none) and the front office finds one more serviceable big (Bourosis?! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2jR0WXLA48)), the frontcourt rotation should be fine -- and potentially more versatile than last year.
Tim Duncan raised the bar for Spurs basketball in ways that can't be duplicated. In his waning years, his presence became so intangibly venerated that his value seemed to exist in the aether, as a specter of greatness. As such it's understandable for fans to lament the arrival of a familiar face that comes with some well-defined downside. Next season's team may take a step back and it may not, but part of Duncan's legacy is that such a possibility endures, even after he steps away from the game.

Chillen

07-11-2016, 03:29 PM

Is Pau officially signed? I wonder if he knew that Tim was going to retire which is one of the reasons he signed, he will have a bigger role on the team now.

beirmeistr

07-11-2016, 05:00 PM

Is Pau shopping for a house?

cutewizard

07-12-2016, 10:24 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzD-5CX3qY4

cutewizard

07-12-2016, 10:32 AM

i just realized that Pau Gasol...............is the closest I have ever seen to the playing skills and talents of Ramon Fernandez of the Philippines!

Now that Gasol is with the Spurs, i think he will become my favorite player, hmmmmm.......

gambit1990

07-12-2016, 10:58 AM

Sam Harris isn't all that respected as a thinker outside of his New Atheist fanboys.
proves this by citing random ass blogs:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/2014/11/24/glenn-greenwald-takes-apart-sam-harris/

http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/about-sam-harris-claim-that-science-can.html

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/09/16/the-saga-of-slippery-sam/
:lol

citing a blog that says greenwald takes apart sam harris :lmao

shows how little you know tbh.

midnightpulp

07-12-2016, 11:37 AM

proves this by citing random ass blogs:

:lol

citing a blog that says greenwald takes apart sam harris :lmao

shows how little you know tbh.

The writers of those blogs are respected scientists and philosophers in their fields, tenured professors with published papers. Sam Harris never got beyond his BA in philosophy and got his PHD in neuroscience basically to study the effect of religion on the human brain. He's done zero work in the neuroscience field and has a non-existent publication record.

He's a zealot who operates from a singular point-of-view (dislike of religion). He's totally irrelevant as a thinker and scientist in actual academic circles.

I know he gets his New Atheist fanboys going because he appeals to their warped sense of superiority they have over Bible Belters (just like Hitchens and Dawkins), but you'd do better to read Sagan, or any atheist thinker who doesn't lazily define himself in relation to the "other" (believers).

He's a hack.

gambit1990

07-12-2016, 11:43 AM

The writers of those blogs are respected scientists and philosophers in their fields, tenured professors with published papers. Sam Harris never got beyond his BA in philosophy and got his PHD in neuroscience basically to study the effect of religion on the human brain.
trying to discredit him by saying he has PHD in a field he talks/writes about :lol

gambit1990

07-12-2016, 11:46 AM

midnightpulp

07-12-2016, 11:51 AM

trying to discredit him by saying he has PHD in a field he talks/writes about :lol

Just because a person is stamped with a PHD doesn't automatically make them a relevant, accurate, or interesting thinker.

Plenty of those Creationist hacks that Harris loves targeting have PHDs in astrophysics/theoretical physics from respected universities. Is their thinking suddenly sound because "they have PHDs in the fields they talk about?"

Harris has published nothing. Has done nothing in the field. He simply writes polemical diatribes for his pulpit (New Atheists) to eat up and pat themselves on the back whilst reading.

midnightpulp

07-12-2016, 11:57 AM

i'm sure a lot of people on here don't know who sam harris is, what he stands for. how about we hear what he has to say?

people who call sam harris hacks, people like mid are ben affleck in this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vln9D81eO60

Yeah, he stands for Imperialism, while passing himself off as the torch bearer for "reason."

Worse, even in its early stages, Harris casually dismissed the US attack on Iraq as a "red herring"; that war, he said, was simply one in which "civilized human beings [westerners] are now attempting, at considerable cost to themselves, to improve life for the Iraqi people."

Harris's reasoning here was so sound, he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS).

He's a hack.

cutewizard

07-12-2016, 12:07 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btYIRmSsrno

ace3g

07-21-2016, 06:27 PM

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/682030438702018565/2fFqUqj2_bigger.png Eurohoops.net ‏@Eurohoopsnet (https://twitter.com/Eurohoopsnet)

Lithuania makes it 2/2 against Spain in Pau Gasol's summer debut with the NT: http://www.eurohoops.net/featured/285613/lithuania-makes-it-22-vs-spain … (https://t.co/YTCmKP8edY)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cn6wbTmW8AAi6Wr.jpg

Emperor

07-21-2016, 06:54 PM

Really wish Manu, Parker and Gasol would have just taken this summer off. Old tired legs gonna be ruin us in April/May.

cutewizard

07-21-2016, 08:51 PM

Really wish Manu, Parker and Gasol would have just taken this summer off. Old tired legs gonna be ruin us in April/May.

----------------------------------------------------------

At least Kawhi, Lamarcus rested............

Emperor

07-21-2016, 09:00 PM

----------------------------------------------------------

At least Kawhi, Lamarcus rested............

Yes, that's definitely a good thing. Only thing Kawhi has to worry about now is his lack of sleep due to his newborn but that is obviously normal and who knows, with his new found fatherly skills he may use some of that with the Spurs this season and we shall hopefully see some newfound leadership skills from him. Would like to see him more vocal if he has it in him.

tholdren

07-21-2016, 09:06 PM

If pau wins FMVP will he be the 2nd best spur of all time?

Snaq O'Meal

07-21-2016, 09:11 PM

If pau wins FMVP will he be the 2nd best spur of all time?

That will depend on who he plays against.

If it's against some stiff, then it will be like Porker vs Boobie all over again.

cd021

07-22-2016, 10:48 AM

Really hope he comes off the bench next season and only plays around 27mpg and around 72 games (with 10 games off due to rest) next season to help keep him fresh.

T Park

07-22-2016, 02:39 PM

Really wish Manu, Parker and Gasol would have just taken this summer off. Old tired legs gonna be ruin us in April/May.

More myths

look_at_g_shred

07-22-2016, 03:12 PM

Really hope he comes off the bench next season and only plays around 27mpg and around 72 games (with 10 games off due to rest) next season to help keep him fresh.
Don't even think he plays that many. More like 65 or so..

NASpurs

08-05-2016, 12:04 PM

761473779620982788

K...

08-05-2016, 12:10 PM

761473779620982788

It's like he never played for the grizzlies

Darius Bieber

08-05-2016, 01:22 PM

761473779620982788

No love for Marc

Seventyniner

08-05-2016, 02:56 PM

It's like he never played for the grizzlies

Good point. I can see why the Lakers and Bulls would be popular in Spain, but the Spurs?

Chillen

08-05-2016, 04:34 PM

Good point. I can see why the Lakers and Bulls would be popular in Spain, but the Spurs?

Dude, Spurs are a globally known NBA team.

Spur|n|Austin

08-05-2016, 07:07 PM

Good point. I can see why the Lakers and Bulls would be popular in Spain, but the Spurs?

Spurs are very popular in Spain, relatively speaking. I got props several times wearing t-shirts in Madrid and Santander.

BillMc

08-05-2016, 07:31 PM

Good point. I can see why the Lakers and Bulls would be popular in Spain, but the Spurs?

I've seen Spurs jerseys in Latvia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Seventyniner

08-05-2016, 08:16 PM

I stand corrected then. Thanks for the info.

Still, Pau's career accomplishments with the Grizzlies are greater than his with the Bulls. Do the Bulls still carry that international cachet?

jermaine

08-07-2016, 05:17 PM

I'm watching Spain vs Croatia right now..... I'm loving the way moves, his vision, an shot selection. We may miss Tim's leadership, but I'm thinking we'll be alright with everything else. I like this signing..

ace3g

08-21-2016, 09:51 PM

NBA Sunday: The Pau Gasol Gamble

In the most Tim Duncan way possible, the greatest power forward of all-time left the game the same exact way he survived within in. Unassuming, unpretentious, meekly and quietly, Tim Duncan’s announcement was delivered via email (just like I had predicted (https://twitter.com/MokeHamilton/status/720478590345822214)). There would be no season-long retirement tour, no gifts from past competitors and no public softening of the competitive spirit and fire that had many believing that the Spurs would somehow find a way to win the 2016 NBA Finals.

With Duncan stepping out of the picture, all eyes in San Antonio immediately turn to the man who has been employed as his replacement—Pau Gasol.

With Gregg Popovich, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard pushing forward as the franchise’s key figures, what will become of the mighty legacy of the Spurs?

continue reading: http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-sunday-the-pau-gasol-gamble/

cutewizard

08-21-2016, 11:12 PM

Gasol can still play!!

cutewizard

08-21-2016, 11:19 PM

Best frontline in the NBA!

spurs10

08-21-2016, 11:53 PM

Best frontline in the NBA! Hell yeah and without all the hype! If TP, Green, Manu, and Patty can hold the backcourt we will be hard to reckon with!

gambit1990

08-22-2016, 12:18 AM

mid still quoting glenn greenwald :lmao

he used this quote:

Worse, even in its early stages, Harris casually dismissed the US attack on Iraq as a "red herring"; that war, he said, was simply one in which "civilized human beings [westerners] are now attempting, at considerable cost to themselves, to improve life for the Iraqi people."

and then said:

Harris's reasoning here was so sound, he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS).

He's a hack.

harris' quote:

The war in Iraq, while it may be exacerbating the conflict between Islam and the West, is a red herring. However mixed or misguided American intentions were in launching this war, civilized human beings are now attempting, at considerable cost to themselves, to improve life for the Iraqi people. The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children.
:lmao

he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS).

He's a hack.

harris:

The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children.

he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS).

He's a hack.

harris:

The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children.

he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS).

He's a hack.

harris:

The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children.

damn mid, you face planted hard as shit. try reading the original source instead of just what's reported. thought you were smarter than that tbh. my bad, you continue to lower my expectations of you.

quoting grenn greenwald :lmao
mid not reading the next sentence of a quote :lmao
today's mid :lol
mid before today :lol

RuffnReadyOzStyle

08-22-2016, 12:22 AM

Pau was great against the Boomers. He'll be a fine Spur.

Pity the useless refs decided to hand the game to Spain though. Atrocious officiating in the bronze medal game.

BillMc

08-22-2016, 12:42 AM

It's like he never played for the grizzlies
:lol True. Dude's Grizzlies' all time leading scorer but the franchise isn't worth mentioning.

hooperflash

08-22-2016, 12:44 AM

It's like he never played for the grizzlies

Historic franchises only :lol

BillMc

08-22-2016, 12:49 AM

We tried to get Marc last year (though he quickly killed that by re-sigining with Memphis). Even though Pau is significantly older, I think we got the better Gasol brother.

Marc is generally overrated, Pau underrated. (He should really have had one finals MVP for example)

midnightpulp

08-22-2016, 02:09 AM

mid still quoting glenn greenwald :lmao

he used this quote:

and then said:

harris' quote:

:lmao

harris:

harris:

harris:

damn mid, you face planted hard as shit. try reading the original source instead of just what's reported. thought you were smarter than that tbh. my bad, you continue to lower my expectations of you.

quoting grenn greenwald :lmao
mid not reading the next sentence of a quote :lmao
today's mid :lol
mid before today :lol

So Harris is just handwaving away the consequences?

Yeah. Hack.

I never thought you were smart, so my expectations aren't lowered of you, which is why I'm not surprised you follow hacks like Harris.

And :lol bumping this after a month. He must really be an inspiration to you to semen shield like this :lol

timtonymanu

08-22-2016, 05:46 AM

Pau was great against the Boomers. He'll be a fine Spur.

Pity the useless refs decided to hand the game to Spain though. Atrocious officiating in the bronze medal game.

Sorry, mate. You guys got robbed.

RuffnReadyOzStyle

08-22-2016, 10:22 PM

Sorry, mate. You guys got robbed.

Totally fuckin robbed. It was bullshit. :pctoss

cutewizard

08-23-2016, 05:15 AM

lets all move on.......

cutewizard

08-23-2016, 05:16 AM

May Gasol bring that level of passion to the Spurssssssssss!!!!!

cutewizard

08-23-2016, 05:17 AM

Coz he could really bring us to the Promised Land

Chillen

08-23-2016, 07:26 AM

cutewizard

08-23-2016, 07:47 AM

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 11:16 AM

If it wasn't for the Warriors ridiculous superteam, the Spurs with Gasol, Leonard, Aldridge, Parker, Lee, Manu would be the favorites to play Cleveland in the NBA finals. For the Spurs gonna be tough but not impossible to beat the Warriors. So consider the Gasol signing huge! I don't think fans get that excited about it because the Warriors are like that fly on the wall you just can't swat. So Spurs are absolutely NBA title contenders!
I am not expecting a championship this season. Too many new guys and honestly Spurs need to get younger. I consider it a transition season. But one never knows, the team has a lot of talent and Gasol doesn't have a lot of time to contend for titles so I think the team will have urgency (Manu's potential last season too).

BillMc

08-23-2016, 11:24 AM

If it wasn't for the Warriors ridiculous superteam, the Spurs with Gasol, Leonard, Aldridge, Parker, Lee, Manu would be the favorites to play Cleveland in the NBA finals. For the Spurs gonna be tough but not impossible to beat the Warriors. So consider the Gasol signing huge! I don't think fans get that excited about it because the Warriors are like that fly on the wall you just can't swat. So Spurs are absolutely NBA title contenders!

Agree.

I do wonder how the Dubs will handle the Spurs front line: Pau, LMA, Kawhi is a load for the Dubs. Hope Pop can find a way to stay big against them.

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 11:33 AM

Agree.

I do wonder how the Dubs will handle the Spurs front line: Pau, LMA, Kawhi is a load for the Dubs. Hope Pop can find a way to stay big against them.
We never really saw if that was Pop's intention bc Tim injured the knee right b4 that first warriors game and he never really recovered. We just don't know. The one game the team win featured good Bobo and this GSw team is now different. It will be interesting. Isn't the first game if the season against GSW or something?

BillMc

08-23-2016, 12:53 PM

We never really saw if that was Pop's intention bc Tim injured the knee right b4 that first warriors game and he never really recovered. We just don't know. The one game the team win featured good Bobo and this GSw team is now different. It will be interesting. Isn't the first game if the season against GSW or something?

Yep. That will be a very interesting first game indeed. :flag:

BillMc

08-23-2016, 01:02 PM

I am not expecting a championship this season. Too many new guys and honestly Spurs need to get younger. I consider it a transition season. But one never knows, the team has a lot of talent and Gasol doesn't have a lot of time to contend for titles so I think the team will have urgency (Manu's potential last season too).

Did you see this by the way?

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2016/8/23/12600668/watch-kyle-anderson-hit-the-game-winner-in-a-new-york-summer-league

:toast

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 01:52 PM

Did you see this by the way?

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2016/8/23/12600668/watch-kyle-anderson-hit-the-game-winner-in-a-new-york-summer-league

:toast

:flag:I saw it ... not that post specifically, but I posted in his "church" a tweet of that shot... from a different perspective, actually a better camera angle. Off the dribble 3 almost from half court. Kyle is getting comfortable with his 3.... I mean it's a lucky shot, but he's got good aim to bank it in and quicker release. Old Kyle would have had the buzzer go off b4 he unwound his long arms to shoot.

SAGirl

08-23-2016, 06:55 PM

766027437029269505
767468901781209089

gambit1990

08-24-2016, 01:17 AM

So Harris is just handwaving away the consequences?

Yeah. Hack.

I never thought you were smart, so my expectations aren't lowered of you, which is why I'm not surprised you follow hacks like Harris.

And :lol bumping this after a month. He must really be an inspiration to you to semen shield like this :lol
mid on sam harris: "he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS)"

literally, the next sentence of what mid quoted sam harris saying: "The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children."

you're the hack mid. tell us more about how important parker is the spurs offense btw.

gambit1990

08-24-2016, 01:18 AM

Enrique "Turd Option" Porker midnightpulp (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=5430) :lmao
mid :lol

dabom

08-24-2016, 01:20 AM

mid :lol

That's always a good gem. :lol

That dude mid been hanging around downstairs? I rarely go anywhere else on this forum.

gambit1990

08-24-2016, 01:33 AM

That's always a good gem. :lol

That dude mid been hanging around downstairs? I rarely go anywhere else on this forum.
idk where he's been hanging. i just know he's been giving parker rimjobs for a while now.

dabom

08-24-2016, 01:34 AM

idk where he's been hanging. i just know he's been giving parker rimjobs for a while now.

:lol

cutewizard

08-24-2016, 02:57 AM

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/features/david_aldridge/08/22/morning-tip-saying-international-basketball-farewell-to-pau-gasol-manu-ginobili-and-tony-parker-2016-rio-olympics/

ceperez

08-25-2016, 05:03 AM

Spurs need to resurrect the 'foreign legion'.

The new 2nd stringers.... Mills, Manu, Bertans, Jean Charles, Gasol.

cutewizard

08-25-2016, 07:20 AM

Spurs need to resurrect the 'foreign legion'.

The new 2nd stringers.... Mills, Manu, Bertans, Jean Charles, Gasol.

---------------------------------------------

Plus Garino.....!!

UNT Eagles 2016

08-25-2016, 09:28 AM

Best Gasol is a starter, lol.

SAGirl

08-25-2016, 04:13 PM

Spurs need to resurrect the 'foreign legion'.

The new 2nd stringers.... Mills, Manu, Bertans, Jean Charles, Gasol.

Yea, I don't see that happening. Livio needs dleague and Gasol will likely start.

ceperez

08-25-2016, 07:33 PM

Yea, I don't see that happening. Livio needs dleague and Gasol will likely start.

Pop will go easy on Gasol... preserve him for playoffs... so not starting may be a frequent occurrence.

Kawhitstorm

08-25-2016, 11:37 PM

:lol True. Dude's Grizzlies' all time leading scorer but the franchise isn't worth mentioning.

He made the playoffs in '05 when Kirby was in the lotto.:lol

gambit1990

09-01-2016, 09:28 PM

mid on sam harris: "he didn't see how the power vacuum that would be created by Saddam's removal give rise to even more militant and dangerous radical Islamic groups (ISIS)"

literally, the next sentence of what mid quoted sam harris saying: "The terrible truth about our predicament in Iraq is that even if we had invaded with no other purpose than to remove Saddam Hussein from power and make Iraq a paradise on earth, we could still expect tomorrow’s paper to reveal that another jihadi has blown himself up for the sake of killing scores of innocent men, women, and children."

you're the hack mid. tell us more about how important parker is the spurs offense btw.
enjoy your retirement mid.

Emperor

09-01-2016, 11:06 PM

Spurs need to resurrect the 'foreign legion'.

The new 2nd stringers.... Mills, Manu, Bertans, Jean Charles, Gasol.

Livio sucks!

Chillen

09-02-2016, 06:47 PM

cjw

09-02-2016, 10:47 PM

Gasol is definitely gonna start, Pop is more than likely gonna run a Parker/Gasol pick and roll quite alot much like what he did with Parker/Duncan. Which ultimately will leave Pau with the open shot, a Parker/Gasol pick and roll is gonna hurt teams much like a Parker/Duncan one did effectively.

Agree - the uptick in offensive output will need to offset the decline in defense. ORtg was already pretty lofty at 110.3 last year (GS at 114.5, league median around 106), but see the Spurs besting Cleveland for the #2 spot.

Defensively, they were 2.4 pts/100 better than anyone else at 99.0. We'll see how much they fall off there. Think they'll be right there with Utah and a few teams out East who feast on crappier play. Durant is a solid improvement from Barnes defensively, but there will be a huge dropoff without Bogut - GS may fall off defensively like the Spurs. Warriors were league average defensively without him and basically at the Spurs' level with him.

cutewizard

09-04-2016, 12:22 PM

Pau will be fine.....I hope Lamarcus is in the best of shape come starting bell........

SAGirl

09-13-2016, 02:26 AM

772877593011900420

Seventyniner

09-13-2016, 01:17 PM

772877593011900420

What jersey number is that? A two digit number ending in 5? I assumed he would wear #16. Or did I miss a discussion about this?

SAGirl

09-13-2016, 04:07 PM

What jersey number is that? A two digit number ending in 5? I assumed he would wear #16. Or did I miss a discussion about this?
I don't know. Is J.Simms the 16?

YGWHI

09-13-2016, 06:53 PM

Gasol is definitely gonna start, Pop is more than likely gonna run a Parker/Gasol pick and roll quite alot much like what he did with Parker/Duncan. Which ultimately will leave Pau with the open shot, a Parker/Gasol pick and roll is gonna hurt teams much like a Parker/Duncan one did effectively.

Agree.

My Spanish isn't great but I guess they've already talked about that.

Fom SASGirl's article... "el español, quien también confesó lo que habló con Gregg Popovich, entrenador del equipo, cuando llegó. Espera que contribuya y pueda asumir, junto con LaMarcus Aldridge, el papel que tenía Tim Duncan para que seamos la referencia interior", reveló."

It sounds like "to take Tim Duncan's role."

SAGirl

09-13-2016, 08:12 PM

Agree.

My Spanish isn't great but I guess they've already talked about that.

Fom SASGirl's article... "el español, quien también confesó lo que habló con Gregg Popovich, entrenador del equipo, cuando llegó. Espera que contribuya y pueda asumir, junto con LaMarcus Aldridge, el papel que tenía Tim Duncan para que seamos la referencia interior", reveló."

It sounds like "to take Tim Duncan's role."

You got it right. Pop promised him he would lead the frontcourt rotation together with LMA in a role similar to the one TD had.

Seventyniner

09-14-2016, 04:39 PM

I don't know. Is J.Simms the 16?

Nope, he wore #17. Off the top of my head, I think Francisco Elson might be the last rotation player to wear #16.

Mel_13

09-14-2016, 04:48 PM

Nope, he wore #17. Off the top of my head, I think Francisco Elson might be the last rotation player to wear #16.

Baynes.

Seventyniner

09-14-2016, 04:58 PM

Baynes.

Oh right, good catch.

Still, no current Spur wears #16 so I would be surprised if Pau doesn't.

cutewizard

09-16-2016, 11:36 AM

:claw

cutewizard

09-16-2016, 11:37 AM

:lobt2:

Pau is Pau!!!!

Chillen

09-17-2016, 07:18 AM

772877593011900420

That pic it's probably photoshopped. Won't know what # he wears until media day, it's probably gonna be his normal #16.

ace3g

09-22-2016, 07:28 PM

paugasol (https://www.instagram.com/paugasol/)Ya estoy en #SanAntonio (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/sanantonio/)! Primer día en las instalaciones de entrenamiento del equipo preparándome para el inicio de la pretemporada! Qué ganasssssss!!!! Already in San Antonio!! First day at the team's practice facility getting ready for the start of training camp! Can't wait!!!! #GoSpursGo (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/gospursgo/)
https://scontent-ort2-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14280431_345222125822135_6182244138532995072_n.jpg ?ig_cache_key=MTM0NTEzNjI0MTc1MDY1NTEzMg%3D%3D.2

SAGirl

09-23-2016, 05:57 PM

779405110866829312

apalisoc_9

09-23-2016, 06:06 PM

Ten days before the first pre-season game.

SAGirl

09-26-2016, 03:43 AM

779751829777313793

SAGirl

10-01-2016, 08:01 PM

782027359113261056

cutewizard

10-01-2016, 08:44 PM

Lamarcus seems to be in good shape yes??

cutewizard

10-01-2016, 08:45 PM

Hmmmmm, Gasol is enthusiastic!!!!

bad for the rest of the league

cutewizard

10-01-2016, 08:46 PM

my new favorite players:

Gasol

Lamarcus

Bertans, shoot the three!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Claw.....

Manu is my playing coach!!! lol

Proxy

10-04-2016, 06:32 PM

https://i.imgur.com/z5m9G4g.png

tbdog

10-04-2016, 07:04 PM

That doesn't mean much. It is kinda hard to determine except for being low. Gobert is obviously the best in the business. Mejri hasn't played much to gauge.

Hoops Czar

10-04-2016, 07:08 PM

https://i.imgur.com/z5m9G4g.png

Ed Davis is a strong rim protector?

SAGirl

10-18-2016, 12:18 PM

Pau is overweight...
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/spurs/sites/default/files/styles/main_gallery_photo__480_tall/public/10172016_spurs_practice_sobhani0373.jpg?itok=d-lUG3Wn

Spur|n|Austin

10-18-2016, 12:45 PM

Pau is overweight...
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/spurs/sites/default/files/styles/main_gallery_photo__480_tall/public/10172016_spurs_practice_sobhani0373.jpg?itok=d-lUG3Wn

By how many pounds exactly?

SAGirl

10-18-2016, 03:18 PM

By how many pounds exactly?

hhmmmm by his height, can't tell but here are about 5 pounds of fat in that abdomen IMO... lol

SPURt

10-18-2016, 03:28 PM

Edit: wrong thread damn

ace3g

01-19-2017, 08:53 PM

Young Verified account ‏@JabariJYohttps://t.co/eLZ59vc6RUung (https://twitter.com/JabariJYoung)

In-Game read: Get used to seeing Pau Gasol in a #Spurs (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spurs?src=hash) uniform. He intends to opt-in Year 2 of his deal

https://t.co/eLZ59vc6RU

Kawhitstorm

01-19-2017, 09:58 PM

In-Game read: Get used to seeing Pau Gasol in a #Spurs (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spurs?src=hash) uniform. He intends to opt-in Year 2 of his deal

https://t.co/eLZ59vc6RU

He could get a 10 year extension for all I care as long as he's on the Suns.:wakeup

ace3g

04-12-2017, 10:09 PM

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9Qr-XLVoAAo8UE.jpg:large

Thomas82

04-12-2017, 10:51 PM

He's the 4th player to ever score his 20,000th point in a Spurs uniform. Also, he's the 4th player in NBA history with 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists, and 1,500 blocks. The other 3 are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan.

BillMc

04-12-2017, 11:14 PM

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9Qr-XLVoAAo8UE.jpg:large

Well done, Pau.

Saved Kobe's legacy, tbh.

spursistan

04-12-2017, 11:42 PM

At 37, he's been far closer to Aldridge as our 3rd best player this season than LMA has been to Kawhi. And that says something about this team..

apalisoc_9

04-12-2017, 11:44 PM

At 37, he's been far closer to Aldridge as our 3rd best player this season than the LMA has been to Kawhi. And that says something about this team..

He's the better offensive player bro. At least he rolls and knows how to get his teamates in better situations.

TheGreatYacht

04-12-2017, 11:47 PM

At 37, he's been far closer to Aldridge as our 3rd best player this season than LMA has been to Kawhi. And that says something about this team..
Kawhi doesn't make anyone in the starting lineup better. Reason why Gasol has looked great off the bench.

szkorhetz

04-14-2017, 10:41 AM

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2017/4/14/15299384/nba-best-three-point-shooter-pau-gasol

dabom

04-14-2017, 10:48 AM

Kawhi doesn't make anyone in the starting lineup better. Reason why Gasol has looked great off the bench.

Kawhi carrying a bunch of geriatrics and role players along with MVPatty. :lol

TheGreatYacht

04-14-2017, 10:49 AM

Kawhi carrying a bunch of geriatrics and role players along with MVPatty. :lol
Kawhobe and his 2 or 3 assists a night don't make anyone better. Gasol must've seen Kobe nightmares from when he settled for inefficient shots all game while Gasol was open. These are facts.

dabom

04-14-2017, 10:50 AM

Kawhi and his 2 or 3 assists a night don't make anyone better. These are facts.

When the "Beautiful Game" don't work, dump it to kawhi always works. :lmao

TheGreatYacht

04-14-2017, 10:51 AM

When the "Beautiful Game" don't work, dump it to kawhi always works. :lmao
In the regular season or first round of the playoffs, you betcha.

dabom

04-14-2017, 10:52 AM

In the regular season or first round of the playoffs, you betcha.

Kinda hard to win when we have the worst starting pg in the NBA, let alone the playoff teams. :lmao

BillMc

04-14-2017, 10:54 AM

I wonder if Pau and Marc will go out to dinner after every game? Or brotherhood is off until after the series.

TheGreatYacht

04-14-2017, 10:55 AM

Kinda hard to win when we have the worst starting pg in the NBA, let alone the playoff teams. :lmao
Hard to win when Aldridge is the only reliable guy on the team past the first round.

Hopefully Gasol can carry a 6'6/6'7 chucker one last time :worthy:

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 10:58 AM

Kinda hard to win when we have the worst starting pg in the NBA, let alone the playoff teams. :lmao

I was going to make a joke here. I was scrolling down the starting point guards and was going to find someone at 28-30 and say, "Parker's better than xxxxx".
But the reality is that I couldn't find one starting PG that I'd choose Parker over.

TheGreatYacht

04-14-2017, 11:00 AM

I was going to make a joke here. I was scrolling down the starting point guards and was going to find someone at 28-30 and say, "Parker's better than xxxxx".
But the reality is that I couldn't find one starting PG that I'd choose Parker over.
I don't know about that, but for sure we have the worst SG rotation in the league.

dabom

04-14-2017, 11:04 AM

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:09 AM

I don't know about that, but for sure we have the worst SG rotation in the league.

OK...give me a few names. I looked. Some of those near the bottom play solid defense. Just give me a few. Or a couple. Or one.

And Spurs SG rotation is the worst in the league BECAUSE of Parker.

if you're picking a two on two guard team and one of your players is in a wheelchair, I don't care how bad the other team's guards are. Yours will be worse.

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:12 AM

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:13 AM

Fuck. This is the goddamn NBA and the Spurs have the second best record in the league. And we have to be loyal to Tony Parker? More loyal that giving him $15,000,000 per year.
What the fuck man.
Putting loyalty over increasing your odds to win a ring.
Fucked up.

And not just for one year. Let's fucking sign this old dude for multiple years. As a reward for fucking another player's wife and putting out shitty rap songs.

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:14 AM

But hey...thanks for working on your jump shot. TEN YEARS into your career.

dabom

04-14-2017, 11:15 AM

SpursforSix going in. :lol

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:15 AM

And I stand by my "I'd rather have Artest than Parker" thread a couple of years ago. At least Artest retired.

Fuck, I'd still take a hard look at him if he wanted to play.

Hey...what's Rod Strickland up to?

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:19 AM

How many fucking second team point guards would you rather have than Parker.

Hmmm...how many teams are in the league?

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:20 AM

All the other teams in the league seem to be able to find productive point guards wherever...whenever.

Carlisle: hey...what's that Yogi dude doing?

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:23 AM

Let's get down to brass tacks.

Spurs would be infinitely better if they found a point guard who had just one of the following three skills:
1. Plays good defense
2. Passes well
3. Can shoot the three

Give me someone that can just do one of those things.

What does Tony Parker do that is above average than any other point guard in the league.
And don't give me "dribble dribble dribble".

God damn, we're about to start the playoffs.

:pop: sorry Kawhi

BillMc

04-14-2017, 11:24 AM

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2017/4/14/15299384/nba-best-three-point-shooter-pau-gasol
Nice.Thanks for the link;

This is kinda amazing:

His overall shooting percentage was 50.2 percent, and his three-point percentage a stunning 53.8 percent. If you asked anyone outside of San Antonio who led the NBA in three point percentage this season, very few would give the right answer – Pau Gasol.In fact, he blew away the competition. Kyle Korver (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/21579/kyle-korver) was second at 45.1%. And, yes, Pau shot enough threes to qualify. Here’s the complete list of the top shooters in 2016-17 (http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/3-points).

Even more remarkably, Pau set a single season record for three point percentage. The record going into this season was Kyle Korver’s 53.6% in 2009-2010 with the Utah Jazz (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/utah-jazz). Not anymore. And Pau breaking that record is surely something no one predicted.

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:26 AM

I saw a 30 minute ESPN film on Jimmer playing in China. It was plenty enough. Bring him back. What's the worst that could happen.

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:27 AM

Seriously...how long are they going to fuck around while Leonard's in his prime?

BillMc

04-14-2017, 11:27 AM

I saw a 30 minute ESPN film on Jimmer playing in China. It was plenty enough. Bring him back. What's the worst that could happen.

Another unending Jimmer thread. Not worth that hell. :lol

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:31 AM

Another unending Jimmer thread. Not worth that hell. :lol

Fair enough. I digress. But he would not be bad to have on the bench. At least based on the 30 minutes of highlights I saw.

DPG21920

04-14-2017, 11:36 AM

Fair enough. I digress. But he would not be bad to have on the bench. At least based on the 30 minutes of highlights I saw.

Just a thought. How about you watch the years of NBA tape on him that far exceed 30 minutes then make a determination on why he's in China.

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 11:54 AM

Just a thought. How about you watch the years of NBA tape on him that far exceed 30 minutes then make a determination on why he's in China.

I've seen them. I was a huge Parker fan back in the day. But that was a long time ago. My comments are for the most part, directed at the FO.

DPG21920

04-14-2017, 11:59 AM

I've seen them. I was a huge Parker fan back in the day. But that was a long time ago. My comments are for the most part, directed at the FO.

The FO has a team with no Tim Duncan having the 2nd best record in the league. They are doing just fine tbh..

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 12:27 PM

The FO has a team with no Tim Duncan having the 2nd best record in the league. They are doing just fine tbh..

I couldn't care much less about the regular season. It's fun to watch Leonard but there's always that sense of eventual doom watching Parker getting exposed. And we're talking about the playoffs when teams tend to shorten their benches. Make no mistake, Parker is a huge liability.

Joseph Kony

04-14-2017, 12:32 PM

spurfans have been so spoiled with success they forget to enjoy the ride at this point tbh...not surprising that the Lakers and Wovles game the other night draws a bigger crowd than SA vs any non-GS or cleveland opponent

DPG21920

04-14-2017, 12:34 PM

I couldn't care much less about the regular season. It's fun to watch Leonard but there's always that sense of eventual doom watching Parker getting exposed. And we're talking about the playoffs when teams tend to shorten their benches. Make no mistake, Parker is a huge liability.

Forrest for the trees SFS

TheGreatYacht

04-14-2017, 12:41 PM

I saw a 30 minute ESPN film on Jimmer playing in China. It was plenty enough. Bring him back. What's the worst that could happen.
Seriously :lol

There's absolutely no way he's a worse SG than Manure at this point

SpursforSix

04-14-2017, 01:30 PM

Forrest for the trees SFS

IDK. I hope the Phoenix has one more good run in him. But I still think they need to make hay while the sun shines. The sun being Leonard.

ace3g

04-14-2017, 06:16 PM

First playoff series of Pau vs Marc

TheDoctor

04-14-2017, 06:53 PM

I saw a 30 minute ESPN film on Jimmer playing in China. It was plenty enough. Bring him back. What's the worst that could happen.

He getting Kawhi's girlfriend pregnant w/ a Jimmer-piccolino tbh.

cutewizard

04-14-2017, 08:41 PM

Cutewizard Prophecy:

Pau will help us so much in the NBA Finals, book it!

cutewizard

04-14-2017, 08:42 PM

Pau Gasol will be instrumental in the NBA Playoffs this year, for the Spurs.

I predict a massive second round performance from him, he shall be key in the legendary defeat of Houston.

Book it!

skulls138

04-14-2017, 10:52 PM

The most unblockable 3 pt shot in the NBA. Hes not only tall but shoots a rainbow.

SAGirl

03-11-2018, 08:29 PM

972798824539410432

TimDunkem

03-11-2018, 09:49 PM

Burn this bitch down.

DAF86

03-11-2018, 10:26 PM

How awesome would it be if this guy was an expiring right now?

SAGirl

03-11-2018, 10:38 PM

How awesome would it be if this guy was an expiring right now?
CP3 screwed the Spurs over. Ensured a rival got weaker.

Ed Helicopter Jones

03-11-2018, 11:39 PM

972798824539410432

I liked the thought of Pau on the Spurs as a reserve for the vet minimum. His monster contract and insistence on starting makes me regret ever wanting him on the Spurs.

He's awful. He and Mills combine to suck ass.

sasaint

03-11-2018, 11:43 PM

CP3 screwed the Spurs over. Ensured a rival got weaker.

How do you know this?

Snaq O'Meal

03-12-2018, 12:02 AM

CP3 screwed the Spurs over. Ensured a rival got weaker.

PATFO did all the screwing tbh.

Snaq O'Meal

03-12-2018, 12:03 AM

Can we change the thread title from “Existentialist Coffee House” to “Llama Farm” instead?

MultiTroll

03-12-2018, 01:40 AM

How awesome would it be if this guy was an expiring right now?
All kinds of great options.
1. Would be playing harder to get another fat paycheck.
2. Whether Spurs were in contention or not, would be excellent trade bait at deadline.
3. Even if not traded, would have cleared 16 mil off next season.

Just a colossal phuck up by the Spurs combined with Fatty Mills.
Arrogant prick CIA Popped and his Yes Men including Drunkford.

TimDunkem

03-12-2018, 01:58 AM

How do you know this?

PATFO did all the screwing tbh.

Yep. CP3 had a team in mind and he went there. The Spurs having no real backup plan (if he was even a sure target to begin with), and making knee-jerk moves at to sign culture at 12:01, promising an old washed up ostrich big bucks just for chilling in Spain without a paycheck for a few weeks, letting go of depth without adequately replacing it, and still relying on mummies is all on PATFO.

sasaint

03-12-2018, 09:22 AM

Yep. CP3 had a team in mind and he went there. The Spurs having no real backup plan (if he was even a sure target to begin with), and making knee-jerk moves at to sign culture at 12:01, promising an old washed up ostrich big bucks just for chilling in Spain without a paycheck for a few weeks, letting go of depth without adequately replacing it, and still relying on mummies is all on PATFO.

That about sums up my understanding of that whole mess. I have never heard anything authoritative about any tentative deal or handshake or "understanding" between CP3 and PATFO - just speculation on ST (go figure).

SAGirl

03-12-2018, 09:38 AM

That about sums up my understanding of that whole mess. I have never heard anything authoritative about any tentative deal or handshake or "understanding" between CP3 and PATFO - just speculation on ST (go figure).
I thought they asked Pau to opt out of his deal to give them cap space so they could sign a FA, rumored to be CP3. CP3 then got together with buddy Harden and chose to go elsewhere. It's possible Gasol opted out so they could pay up to retain JSimms too. JSimms choosing to play elsewhere also screwed up PATFO.

However, everything else was as Tim Dunkem said.

At least, this is basically my recollection of events. I exaggerated CP3 fault in this. His only "fault" was to change his mind which is his prerogative. PATFO having a backup plan of 12:01 Paddy and just reup Pau after JSImms chose to leave was their own doing.

sasaint

03-12-2018, 09:47 AM

I thought they asked Pau to opt out of his deal to give them cap space so they could sign a FA, rumored to be CP3. CP3 then got together with buddy Harden and chose to go elsewhere. It's possible Gasol opted out so they could pay up to retain JSimms too. JSimms choosing to play elsewhere also screwed up PATFO.

However, everything else was as Tim Dunkem said.

At least, this is basically my recollection of events. I exaggerated CP3 fault in this. His only "fault" was to change his mind which is his prerogative. PATFO having a backup plan of 12:01 Paddy and just reup Pau after JSImms chose to leave was their own doing.

Well, like I implied, I do not believe he had ever made up his mind to come to the Spurs in order for him to "change" it later. I think it was PATFO acting on their own initiative to clear space because the Spurs (among a couple of other teams) were thought or rumored to be in the running for Paul. Nothing more.

SAGirl

03-12-2018, 09:58 AM

Well, like I implied, I do not believe he had ever made up his mind to come to the Spurs in order for him to "change" it later. I think it was PATFO acting on their own initiative to clear space because the Spurs (among a couple of other teams) were thought or rumored to be in the running for Paul. Nothing more.
You are probably right. CP3 was rumored to have interest on the Spurs among other possibilities which could be made up by the media of course.

I don't fault PATFO for making due diligence moves to try to get CP3, but we can fault them for their backup plan. All things considered, my original comment about CP3 was illogical. Kinda wished he was never rumored to come to the Spurs though so Pau would have just picked up his option and then be done. The way PATFO thinks though they would properly sign him back.:bang

SAGirl

03-12-2018, 06:14 PM

https://www.poundingtherock.com/2018/3/11/17106978/bench-gasol-for-spurs-to-compete-for-playoffs
It's a fans article, but wha t caught my eye was

The last 2 games Aldridge was guarded by the other team's center - Adams, McGee. Teams could care less about Gasol. Can Gasol punish the other team's 4 man on the block? No. Aldridge has to roam the perimeter defensively. Can Gasol pump fake a 3 and drive to the basket? No. Can Gasol guard a pick and roll switch? No. Gasol needs to be a 12 minute a game player and on the floor only when Aldridge isn't. Those extra 12 minutes need to go to in some kind of combination to Anderson/Gay/Bertans.