Heat Should Send Marion to the Knicks

Why not?

It makes sense.

The Knicks (mainly Mike D'Antoni) have a lot of pieces that either don't fit or they don't like.

Namely every player not named Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari.

Without a doubt one of the worst rosters in NBA history.

What's so nice if you are the Miami Heat is that a lot of those pieces, this team could actually use.

Center? Check. Eddy Curry while an underachiever is an upgrade over Mark Blount.

PG? Check. Stephon Marbury....yes, even with his crazy ass. He should be able to give you some good minutes on an expiring deal. If he doesn't pan out you haven't lost anything and you still have Chalmers/Quinn on the bench.

Shawn Marion isn't a long-term fit for the Heat and they could make better use of his expiring in a deal such as this one without too much affecting their cap situation.

So here's my trade thought.

Miami sends:

Shawn Marion
Mark Blount
Marcus Banks and multiple second round picks.

New York sends:

Eddy Curry
Stephon Marbury
David Lee to the Heat.

I think the value is there for both teams. David Lee will just have to be charged to the Knicks cost of moving undesireable assets. Same can be said for the Heat and their picks.

I like it for both teams in terms of balancing out their rosters. It keeps the Knicks 2010 plans of having cap space in tact as Blount expires next summer.

Miami gets a center and a PG.

I say take the risk if you are the Heat.

You aren't going to have the money to pay Boozer in the offseason the way they are currently setup financially. Go get some assets that can help you win now.

Early Blockbuster Sends Iverson to Detroit

In what is the very first blockbuster deal of the 2008-2009 season, the Denver Nuggets have offered up and agreed to trade Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons in return for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and project bigman Cheikh Samb.

In the NBA there are very few trades (particularly when dealing big name, All-Star level players) where both teams have the potential to make out good immediately in the deal. In my opinion this is one of them.

The Nuggets have long wanted a PG with 3pt. range that could be more of a facilitator for the other players on their roster. Chauncey Billups is one of the best PG's in the NBA as well as being a clutch shooter. With J.R. Smith having been re-signed in the offseason and now making his way into the starting lineup at SG, Billups, Smith and Anthony will form a nice trio in the Nuggets backcourt.

McDyess however currently has no intention on staying with the Nuggets although they could use the help downlow, so Denver will most likely negotiate a buyout with Dice and he will either go back to the Pistons after the mandatory 30-day waiting period or to some other team before or after that. The latest rumor has the Boston Celtics expressing interest if a buyout does go down. He would be a great addition to their ball club to spell KG at the center position.

This deal also gets the Nuggets below the luxury tax threshold which they have been trying to do. But what's so cool about their deals as of late is that although they gave Marcus Camby up to clear out cap and have now dealt Allen Iverson to get below the tax, they may have done all of that and become a better TEAM. We won't know for sure until probably mid-season but as of now, Mark Warkentien and company look to be doing a pretty solid GM'ing job in Colorado.

From the Pistons perspective, Joe Dumars has apparently seen the writing on the wall. After two straight blah blah post-season performances by an aging team with no legit #1 option, he finally gets that in Allen Iverson. And his deal is cool too because Allen is sitting on one of the fattest expiring contracts in the league this year. Pair that with Rasheed Wallace's expiring contract of over 13 million then the Pistons look good capwise for the future. So good in fact that they extended the contract of Richard Hamilton immediately following the trade. They can be major players in free agency as soon as next year or wait until 2010. Many feel that Chris Bosh is their target in 2010.

As far as this year, I think Iverson gives them as good a shot at beating the powerhouses of the East (Cleveland, Boston) as does Billups so there is no real loss in competitiveness here. Perhaps a slight gain. I wouldn't underestimate a motivated Wallace and a dynamic finisher like Iverson on the same team surrounded by THE BEST ROLE PLAYERS in the NBA in Hamilton and Tay Prince. Not to mention good young players like Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell (whom they also re-signed) and Amir Johnson.

Yep. This is one deal I like for both teams.

After the Nuggets' slow start they wanted a change. The Pistons needed a change.

As a fan I know that I cannot wait to see AI in a Pistons uni. Especially come playoff time.

Nuggets Shed Some Weight

Via the Denver Post, six Denver Nuggets - Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Anthony Carter, Nene and Chris Andersen - lost a combined 76 pounds during the summer.

The hope by George Karl and the coaching staff is that they will be a faster and quicker basketball team this upcoming season.

It has to be encouraging that almost everyone on the team is on-board with the new 'sleeker' basketball scheme.

For a team that finished the 2007-2008 season second in scoring averaging over 110 pts. per contest, this 'new look' will only help to ensure that they at least maintain their status as one of the highest scoring teams in the league.

K-Mart, Melo, Iverson, Smith...Kleiza....all these guys can put the ball in the bucket.

And with the Phoenix Suns, who have long been known for being the most uptempo team in the league, now moving towards a more traditional NBA style having acquired Shaquille O'Neal from Miami before last year's trade deadline and having an aging All-Star PG in Steve Nash, the Nuggets look poised to take the place of the Phoenix Suns alongside the Golden State Warriors as the NBA's most fun and gun teams.

For a team that was also second in the most points given up per game (106.95) last season, there is something to be said about doing what you can to maintain a level of high scoring.

Having Nene back in the lineup should also help decrease the scoring of the opposition this year as well.

It should be an interesting mix. One that if executed properly could make the Nuggets one of the NBA's more fascinating teams to watch this season.

We shall see.

I Might be Moving to Portland

It's official.

I just watched highlights of what is surely to be the most exciting and most intriguing team in the NBA this season in the Portland Trailblazers.

No it wasn't because of Greg Oden (who looked ok by the way) although his debut helped build up the hype.

It was everybody else in addition to Oden.

LaMarcus Aldridge is looking like a potential Hall of Fame player forward.

Rudy Fernandez is sharp and NBA ready. He will have a huge impact for the Blazers this season.

All of their youngsters are crisp and you can immediately see on display the high Basketball IQ's that every player on their roster has.

I know it was supposed to be just a pre-season game against the Sacramento Kings but you couldn't tell by the attendance. Over 19,000 fans turned out to see an exhibition game in Portland.

Sacramento was playing some good ball too.

It was a competitive game all the way into the second half when the Blazers began to dominate.

I got to tell you...the thought of being able to watch one of the best young teams in the NBA over the next 5-7 years has me entertaining the thought of moving to Portland.

Seriously.

I'd be willing to bet the city of Chicago saw a population increase thanks to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

I wonder if there are any good IT jobs in Oregon.

Livingston Joins the Heat

After days of speculation that Shaun Livingston was on the verge of making an NBA comeback, the Miami Heat made it official by signing the PG to a two-year contract.

For those of you that remember him, not too long ago Livingston was poised to become one of the best young point guards in the NBA before suffering one of the most horrific in-game knee injuries the NBA has ever seen.



You can actually see the bone sticking out from his knee in this picture....

Wow.

That's very manly.

It would take a lot of guts and heart for any professional athlete to comeback from an injury that devastating. A lot of people thought (and probably still do) that it would be career-ending for the youngster.

Well he now at least gets an opportunity to show the world that he can bounce back from this and still play, which might allow him to resume a career in the league on some level, although I do not anticipate it being on quite the level it COULD have been had this injury not happened.

I mean how much better would Chris Webber, Grant Hill, and Antonio McDyess have been if not for serious injuries?

Livingston obviously has the desire to get back like these guys did. I mean rehab ain't fun.

He also has a lot of physical advantages working for him. He just turned 23 years old so his youth is a bonus.

He's tall.

At 6'7" his height has always been a big advantage to him as a point guard.

Prior to the injury, he had some quickness, but I would expect that to be a bit diminished and he will have to depend even more on his height and size on the defensive end of the ball.

At best I can see him as a 3rd string option for the Heat who are desperate for players at that position.

But with Miami already having Marcus Banks, Chris Quinn, and Mario Chalmers in the rotation, another move is likely in the works for the Heat as they are almost at the luxury-tax threshold for this season and are vowing not to exceed that.

Even if he doesn't make the final roster I commend the guy for attempting to make it back to the game.

Good luck this season Shaun.

Tinsley to Denver? Not Yet

In another example of just how much the New York Post, and in particular Peter Vescey, has reached the ultimate level of suck-dom when it comes to reporting FACTUAL information, their earlier report of a Pacers/Nuggets deal sending Jamaal Tinsley to the Nuggets for Chucky Atkins and Steven Hunter has been refuted by Mike Wells of the Indy Star.

According to the New York Post, the Denver Nuggets - who themselves just traded their relatively low paid all-star defensive center Marcus Camby to the Clippers in a salary dump - were going to exchange the expiring contract of Chucky Atkins and a relatively small one in Steven Hunter that expires next summer, for Jamaal Tinsley who (while a decent talent when on the court) has all but been dismissed by the Pacer's organization amid buyout talks over the summer, would require Denver to take on an additional $11 million in long-term salary, has a contract that the Nuggets would be on the hook for through the 2010-2011 season, does nothing to help them get below the luxury tax penalty, and has played in less than 70% of his games throughout his NBA career earning him the label of injury prone?

I do not see the Nuggets doing that deal as rumored.

Not saying they would never acquire Jamaal Tinsley. It just does not seem likely that they wouldn't require some other benefit from the deal in addition to Tinsley himself.

They'd be better off letting Atkins expire.

And being that the Pacers are rebuilding and themselves are at the luxury tax threshold, it's not like Indiana would be willing to part with future picks or can provide them any additional financial relief.

Right now if I had to speculate I would say that this deal will stay a rumor for the mean time as each team is limited in their ability to provide the other what they would be looking for in a deal.

Beware the Beast that Slumbers

It's been a pretty quiet second half to the offseason for the Orlando Magic.

That's because GM Otis Smith pretty much accomplished everything he wanted to do early on.

They got the player they wanted in the draft in Courtney Lee.

Smith wasted no time in acquiring Mickael Pietrus, their #1 free agent target this offseason, signing him to the full MLE. Pietrus will serve as the versatile player the Magic have needed on the wing that can do a bit of everything. Most importantly DEFEND.

They have Tony Battie back from injury.

Have solidified their bench with veterans, bringing in Anthony Johnson and re-signing Adonal Foyle.

None of their players have disparaged the National Anthem.

J.J. Redick is still unhappy and wants to be traded.

Yep. It's been a great offseason for Orlando.

They have accomplished so much in such a short time that the significance of some of these moves gets overlooked.

Turkoglu is playing for a new contract, Shard will be trying to show that he deserved the one he got last year, Howard and Nelson are a year older and more experienced, and Stan Van Gundy is the MAN.

They will be a force in the East this year in my opinion.

Beware the Beast that Slumbers.....

And I ain't talkin' about little cute 'Stuff the Mascot'.

Kevin O'Connor Has a Job to Do

Not nearly as hyped, but possibly just as likely, as Lebron's impending breakaway from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, is Carlos Boozer's departure from the Utah Jazz a season before.

The Desert News is reporting that Carlos Boozer won't talk contract extension with Kevin O'Connor and Utah until after the 2008-2009 season is complete.

There have been rumors and hints up to this point that Boozer would opt out of his current contract with Utah. A contract that would pay him $12.6 million in it's final year.

With teams like Memphis, Miami, Oklahoma City, Atlanta, and Minnesota primed to have the cap room to offer a hefty contract to Boozer next season, he and his agent seemingly feel it would be in Carlos's best interest to see what the market has to offer after this season.

There have been reports in the past of him bolting Utah. Most of those reports have Miami as his destination.

Minnesota already has their PF of the future in Al Jefferson so while they may have the money to offer, it's not likely that they would spend it on Carlos Boozer.

Atlanta I suppose could sign Boozer and move J Smoove to SF on a permanent basis, becoming something like the Utah Jazz of the East with Smoove playing the role of Andrei Kirilenko in Atlanta. But as with anything involving the Hawks the past few years, what they are likely to do is unpredictable.

Memphis though has the most immediate need for a player like Boozer. With Hakim Warrick as their starting PF they could use a more traditional frontcourt player in the starting role. Not a tweener (although Warrick is a very good player) that has a hard time holding his position on the block.

There were talks of them trying to acquire Zach Randolph in the summer, however they were only willing to deal for Randolph if they were permitted to unload some dead weight of their own in the form of Marko Jaric and Darko Milicic. And according to different reports, they wanted the Knicks to both pay some of Randolph's deferred money on his contract AND they also wanted a first round pick as compensation.

So it would seem that unless the Grizzlies are getting absolute maximum value in any deal they do these days, they may balk at signing him outright. Especially if it takes a max type deal to get him to commit.

Oklahoma City would like to move away from Chris Wilcox but I'm not sure if they would be in the market for a Carlos Boozer. Their team defense is already lacking. He doesn't do much to help that. Kevin Durant, while a very good offensive player, is not a good defender. Boozer isn't regarded as a good defender either. The Thunder still have no center to play next to Boozer. The key players on the team are young, they are in rebuild mode, and have just relocated to a new market. It's very unlikely that they would sign a significant free agent so soon given their circumstances.

These are things a free agent would consider in making a decision to sign with a team.

If you are the Thunder and the objective is to improve the overall level of talent on the team then Carlos Boozer would do that.

Clay Bennett is not shy with his spending. We know this much.

However, if you consider everything else I'm not sure if OKC or Boozer would think the other a good move going forward.

In the end, it will come down to the same thing that gets most free agents to sign with any team and what got Boozer to Utah in the first place. Money.

Whatever team extends the best offer to Boozer will most likely get his services for the next 4-6 years.

The Jazz do have the edge in that regard as they can offer him an extra year more than any other team on a new contract. But given their current cap situation and also facing a similar situtation with center Mehmet Okur (although on a lesser level) the Jazz almost certainly would need to move some contracts in order to be able to retain the two, with Boozer being the priority.

Andrei Kirilenko is the name bandied about most in potential trade scenarios to allow the Jazz to get the job done.

Kirilenko's contract limits the Jazz at this point as he is widely viewed as overpaid for what he brings to the team.

This will be a very restless time period for Utah GM Kevin O'Connor as how he handles these upcoming decisions will be crucial for a Utah Jazz organization that has elevated fan expectations after returning to eliteness rather quickly post the departure of their long-time Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton.

Are the Hornets Title Contenders?

This morning on my drive into work.....(ok I was actually still laying in the bed..but saying driving into work makes me sounds soooo much more productive!) I was listening to local sports radio and one of the guests on the show listed his NBA title contenders for the 2008-2009 season.

They were as follows (in no particular order):

1) Boston Celtics
2) Los Angeles Lakers
3) San Antonio Spurs
4) New Orleans Hornets

Now the Celtics we can understand. They are the current champions and handled the Lakers with ease this past year in the NBA Finals. Despite them being a year older and not doing much with their roster in the offseason, I suppose it's fair to lump them in as a threat to repeat. However I also think it would be an injustice to overlook their loss of James Posey to free agency. This will be huge for them as Posey was a key player during their title run this past season.

The Spurs are the chic pick because of Tim Duncan. But they too are old and didn't do much to bolster their roster unless we expect Roger Mason, George Hill and Salim Stoudamire to have championship caliber impacts for San Antonio.

The Lakers have been thinking NBA title ever since acquiring Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies. With Andrew Bynum returning from injury I don't see why they would not be the favorites in my opinion. I surely hope not because I absolutely HATE the Lakers. So screw them.

This is about the Hornets.

Can New Orleans win the title this year? Do they have all the necessary pieces?

CP3, David West and Tyson Chandler are their big 3.

Those three have the right mix of talent and veteran playoff experience to get the job done. But as with any championship NBA team you also need the intangibles to go with them.

Coach? Byron Scott. That's a check. Scott could get the job done. He's taken a team (the New Jersey Nets) to the NBA Finals twice early in his career and is widely heralded as one of the finer coaches in the NBA.

Enough defense? Check. Chandler is one of the best frontcourt defending NBA bigs. In the offseason they acquired James Posey, formerly of the 2007-2008 Champion Boston Celtics, for perimeter defense and veteran leadership. David West is no slouch at the PF spot and Peja can hold his own at the 3, despite not being a superb defender. Stojakovic's question marks surroud his health and mental toughness.

Bench?...Ur uh. Here is where we might still have a problem.

That was a problem for them last year and it might still be for 2008-2009.

Signing Posey was a huge boost to their bench, however they also lost Bonzi Wells (whom Posey replaces) and Jannero Pargo got PAAAID on a one year deal worth around $4 million to go play overseas for Moscow Dynamo. There was no way a team in the NBA was going to pay him that amount over here so it was an easy decision for Pargo to leave.

That departure would leave Mike James as the number one backup off the bench behind Chris Paul at PG.

And we all know the black hole that is Mike James is not Championship Caliber. So they will still need help here by the time the playoffs roll around.

They still could use depth and more veteran experience off the bench in their frontcourt as well. Hilton Armstrong is a good player but I'm not sure he will help much in beating the Lakers or Spurs. I don't know how or why Sean Marks keeps getting NBA contracts and Melvin Ely sucks.

With small forward being their strongest position (Peja, Posey, Julian Wright and Rasual Butler all manning that spot) they have a piece or two that they could use in trade to address at least one of these areas. It will probably involve them taking on some more long-term salary as Butler has little value throughout the league. And I don't think they want to part with Wright unless it's a no-brainer deal.

Any move though will have to be via trade as I don't see any significant minimum salary guys out there that would help them at this stage in their chase for the title and they spent all of their MLE money bringing in James Posey.

So I suppose while they do LOOK to be Contenders for the most part, in my opinon they are still one or two small pieces away from being able to dethrone a healthy Spur or Laker team...and we haven't even mentioned what the Houston Rockets could do if Yao and McGrady are healthy (now that they have Ron Artest).

Either way New Orleans fans should be all smiles in October at the prospect of their very own team hoisting the Larry O'Brien Championship trophy in June.

The NBA Needs More Jerome Kersey's

NBA players of the current era don't respond well to constructive criticism and must be "babied".

More or less (at one point) those words summed up Jerome Kersey's thoughts on today's NBA athletes.

I'm not sure if Jerome still feels this way today but if you talk to many players from Kersey's era they would probably agree with him.

Talk to many fans, like myself, who watched players like Kersey ball back in the day, then go and watch an NBA game tomorrow (particularly one with Tim Duncan whining the entire game) and you might agree with him as well.

The NBA of today IS a bit different than it was when Jerome Kersey played.

Having watched the game for some time now, I would argue that there is more 'talent' in today's NBA than back then. However that talent is either under-developed or the players don't have the right mental composition to be able to build on that talent.

Jerome Kersey wasn't the most talented player to play in the NBA.

But that didn't stop him from becoming one of the most productive Forwards to ever play in the NBA.

Why?

Because he had HEART.

Maybe it was the Jordan effect.

Kersey was drafted in the same 1984 Draft that produced probably the greatest NBA competitor of all time in Michael Jordan. Not far behind in that draft (in the area of competitiveness) you also had guys like Charles Barkley and John Stockton.

While I know that the NBA was a different beast back then in terms of its competitive fire, in 1984 Michael Jordan introduced a new level of 'mean' to the NBA. And more importatnly, he had the unique talent to back it up.

People always credit MJ for changing the league. This is one way he did.

MJ being in this league made EVERYBODY step up their game and their level of competition.

For a while you couldn't make it in the NBA if you didn't have.......HEART.

Jerome Kersey had heart. That's what got him inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and that's what recently got him inducted into the Oregon Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008.

And he's not even from Oregon.



Sure he will never make the Basketball Hall of Fame. That's reserved for the basketball elite. The players with the most talent that have the numbers as well as the wins to get into the Hall.

He didn't give you much on the perimeter in terms of scoring. He had zero 3pt. range. His game was more physical. He could handle the ball, rebound and play some defense. His game was a lot like mine. Maybe that's why I liked Kersey so much.

For his career, he finished with decent numbers averaging over 10 points a game to go along with 5.6 rebounds and almost 2 assists. There are players in the Basketball Hall of Fame with similar numbers. However he didn't win enough or made a significant enough impact on games to be Basketball Hall of Fame worthy.

But I will take a less talented player that gives you his all for his career over a slightly more talented player that needs to be 'babied'. It helped Jerome Kersey hang around for 11 years.

The NBA could use a few more Jerome Kersey's.

Small Market Love in Winston Salem

Last weekend, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets held his third Winston-Salem Charity weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The purpose of the charity event is to raise money for Chris Paul's foundation and of course to spend some time giving back to the community. You see Winston-Salem is Chris Paul's hometown.

Why couldn't he be from Bolivar, Tennessee? I would have loved to have something like this happen in my hometown.

Paul's charity event was kicked off with a concert featuring rapper/actor Ludacris on Thursday and followed up by the dedication of a learning center and the unveiling of 10 new computers at the local Boys and Girls Club on Friday.



On Saturday there was a charity pro-am bowling tournament, a sanctioned PBA event that teamed up some of the biggest names in small market NBA with actual professional bowlers.

Participating in the bowling event was none other than Paul himself, Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma Thunder. That's a heavy hitting lineup.

According to Sean Deveney/Tom Ziller of 'The Sporting Blog', the full event will be shown on ESPN in October so be on the lookout for that.

It's good to see people giving back to their communities.

It's even better to see these kinds of things happening in small towns like Winston-Salem and more importantly to the Jungle, involving our own small market NBA heroes.

Big ups to Chris Paul, Lebron James and everyone else involved in helping Paul make his event successful.

Title Talk in Cleveland

From what I've been reading via the web and other outlets, many think that the Cleveland Cavaliers could be legitimate threats to win the NBA title this year.

Of course any team with Lebron James on it has a chance to do something special each and every time they make it to the post-season. And we know they can win the Eastern Conference. They proved that back in 2007. With a lesser roster. But assuming this team does make it out of the East, are its newly acquired pieces strong enough to beat a Western Conference opponent?

I mean they did get swept by the Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals in 2007.

Keyword. Swept. Memphis Grizzlie fans could tell you how important that word is when it comes to letting you know exactly where your team stands in terms of its legitimacy.

You see Memphis is 0-12 in NBA playoff history. That's the worst post-season record in all of Pro sports. That basically means they never belonged there in the first place. If you can't win games once you get to the playoffs you should stay home.

Of course Cleveland had to have a great team just to be able to beat the Detroit Pistons and to represent the East against the Spurs, but being swept by San Antonio to me is proof that they were not REAL 'threats' to win the NBA title that season.

Yes they were contenders in the sense that if Duncan, Parker or Ginobili had gotten injured in the Finals, they very well could have been in that series and possibly even won it.

But I don't think anyone believed the Cavaliers would beat a healthy San Antonio Spur team in the NBA finals.

Which brings us back to this year's team.

They have the majority of players returning from last season's team that took the NBA Champion Boston Celtics to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For years they have wanted to add a starting PG that could score, play off the ball (allowing Lebron to dominate it) and show consistency from 3pt. range.

For the past couple of seasons they have gotten huge play at this position from the surprising and possibly overachieving Daniel Gibson, their second round draft pick in 2006.

Still wanting to upgrade the position they have in the past tried to swing a deal for Mike Bibby only to last season settle for a player that would help serve as a one-two punch along with Gibson in Delonte West. The addition of West would pay off as the Cavs would make it all the way to the NBA Finals, an improvement on the previous season's outcome where they lost in the second round to the Detroit Pistons.

While Gibson and West are both very solid players, they are not ideal for the full-time starting PG position on a championship team so still wanting to upgrade the PG position, the Cavs this offseason swung a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for Mo Williams.

On paper this should be a big upgrade for Cleveland.

They also signed a veteran big in Lorenzen Wright to provide leadership in the locker room and to help off bench. They still have their inside scoring big man Illgauskas, an old but still effective front court defender in Ben Wallace and one of the best bench bigs in the NBA in Anderson Varejao.

While their roster is much improved, I still think they will need to boost their SG position in order to be thinking title in Cleveland.

Right now they only have Sasha Pavlovic and Tarence Kinsey at that position.

While they are both good young players, they won't be winning any titles giving those guys the majority of the minutes at shooting guard.

They really only need a slight improvement at this position to be taken serious OUTSIDE of the Eastern Conference.

It's a given they can beat the Washington Wizards come playoff time. I mean they do every year.

Their roster has improved from last year after having taken an aged Boston team to 7 games so it's possible they could even dethrone the Celtics.

But what will happen when they have to face San Antonio, Houston, or the Lakers in the NBA finals?

If they don't want to become the victims of another Finals let down, then they will need to address the SG spot.

Because in order to be a CHAMPIONSHIP team you have to be built for the entire journey.

You can't scream victory unless you are at the very top of the mountain.

Bobcats Lose out on Landry

It took the Houston Rockets less than 24 hours to match the offer sheet outstanding on restricted free agent forward Carl Landry.

The offer sheet had been extended to him by the Charlotte Bobcats the day before.

Worth approximately 9 million dollars over the next 3 seasons, the offer from the Bobcats was right at the assumed market value for the free agent.

A second round pick in 2007 out of Purdue, Landry burst onto the NBA scene as a rookie last season averaging over 8 ppg and nearly 5 rebounds per game in 17 mpg. Shooting a very impressive 61% from the field.

He was able to seize on an opportunity provided to him when the Rockets lost Yao Ming for the remainder of the season back in February and proved to be a very serviceable frontcourt player.
With the NBA salary cap for the 2008-2009 season set at $58.68 million, the offer signed by Landry from the Bobcats would seem to be the most they could have offered under the current NBA cap restriction as Charlotte's current salary cap figure is right around $55 million according to Hoopshype (which has the most up to date salary numbers I can find for the Bobcats).

Extending the offer to Landry made alot of sense for Bobcats management as the Rockets are currently over the luxury tax with their current salary and there stood a very good chance that they would not match because of the implications.

Having matched the Rockets will now not only pay Landry an average of 3 million dollars over the next 3 seasons but, for at least this upcoming season, they will have to pay an additional 3 million dollars in luxury tax penalties as a consequence of retaining Landry's services.

I applaud the Bobcats for seizing on an opportunity to snag a good player and doing as much as they thought prudent (spending up to the cap) to try and add another serviceable player for Larry Brown to work with next season.

Unfortunately, this big catch was snatched off the hook by Rockets GM Daryl Morey.

Bucks SHOULD Get In

Yep.

I'm gonna do something I don't normally do. Make a prediction.

You see to me making predictions are a waste of time. Especially those made by people who aren't skilled or use some kind of system to make them or get paid to tell them to you. People like myself.

If my prediction is right, then so what. If I'm wrong. Then so what to the Nth power.

But since this is a blog and that's what 90% of blogs are constructed to do (waste time), I will make a prediction here today.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that the Milwaukee Bucks will make the post-season this year.

Earlier today, while wondering if the trade of Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian to New Jersey for Richard Jefferson would ultimately be looked at as more than just a blah trade for the Bucks, I also began to take note of their other roster moves AFTER that trade.

Don't get me wrong, RJ is a good player who puts up good solid numbers at probably the 3rd most important position in basketball (behind PG and C), SF. He runs the floor and finishes as well as any player in the league. He plays defense, can handle the ball and from all indications seems to be a very good teammate.

But he does not come without his weaknesses. Of these probably his outside shot is his biggest. He's only a career 33% shooter from downtown. You would ideally want your SF to have better numbers than that from long range.

He has played his entire career with Jason Kidd. How will he play with another PG that maybe doesn't lead the break as well as the Hall of Famer which really helps to emphasize RJ's strengths?

RJ has also been given the tag of 'injury prone' due to missing significant chunks of games 2 out of the last 4 seasons. His most recent stint was during the 2006-2007 season where he missed 27 games following ankle surgery. RJ did however show that he was completely back by playing in all 82 games last year and having one of his best statistical seasons of his career averaging 22, 4 and 3.

But even this also emphasized another one of his potential weaknesses. Does he help your team win ball games?

Despite having one of his best seasons in 2007-2008, the New Jersey Nets finished 34-48 and that Nets team was not devoid of talent.

Now this is as much an indictment against his then teammate Vince Carter as it is RJ, but right now if you ask some whether RJ can take a team to the next level, they will tell you no.

I do not fully believe that to be the case. He will need help to do it but I think he can be a piece.

To me he has firmly cemented his value in the NBA as a premium 3rd option on a very very good basketball team. A team capable of winning a championship.

What I like most for Milwaukee is what they have done SINCE trading for Jefferson. They gave up a very good young scoring PG in Maurice Williams opting for a PG with lesser talent in Luke Ridnour but that is more team oriented and will defer the scoring to Jefferson, Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut (who both look to be borderline number 2 options themselves).

In addition to acquiring Adrian Griffin in the deal for Ridnour, this offseason they signed Tyronn Lue, Francisco Elson, and Malik Allen. These would seemingly represent the veterans that any and all playoff teams need both in the locker room and on the floor.

They have the bench for the job.

A re-focused Charlie Villanueva (who is also in a contract year) and solid role players like Charlie Bell and Ramon Sessions will play a huge factor in the level of the team's success.

They definitely have the coaching staff.

HUGE huge fan of both Scott Skiles and Lionel Hollins as coaches.

So why not the Bucks right?

Here is my prediction:

Pencil in the following teams in the East for the playoffs -

Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, Washington, *Toronto, Philadelphia and Orlando

That leaves one spot open (potentially two as I see Toronto needing to be completely healthy all season long to make it, thus the asterisk) and it can and will be Milwaukee's. If Toronto is out..slide in the Heat. But the Bucks will finish in the top 8.

The Atlanta Hawks have done nothing with their roster to make me think that they will be strong enough to make a return trip to the playoffs.

The Bobcats don't have enough pieces and the Heat still have no PG or center in addition to there being too many question marks as to how they will mesh. Both of these teams are at least one year away from being playoff contenders in my opinion.

So there you have it. Prediction made. Your time wasted.

That last playoff spot is yours for the taking Milwaukee.

Go out and play your game and you should get in this year.

A Bench Fit for a King

As I combed through the roster of the Sacramento Kings (nothing else to do at work today), slotting players based on where they project in the lineup this year....starter or bench player, I could not help but wonder if the Sacramento Kings have not assembled one of the best young benches in the NBA.

Projected starters for Sactown.

PG - Beno Udrih
SG - Kevin Martin
SF - John Salmons
PF - Mikki Moore
C - Brad Miller

With a trade having sent Ron Artest to Houston, John Salmons becomes the full-time starter at small forward for the Kings.

Starting the more defensive-minded Mikki Moore alongside your best center, Brad Miller makes the most sense for your frontcourt if you are head coach Reggie Theus. Moore's strengths as a decent shot-blocking PF that runs the floor well and is an active defender can be emphasized alongside the I-Can-Do-Summa-Everything-Including-Shoot-3s game of the King's number one big man Brad Miller.

Sacramento's biggest problem in their frontcourt though will be that their starters are too old and their bench is either too young right now or they suck.

It's no secret they would STILL love to move Kenny Thomas (not as desperate now though as in the past) and that Shelden Williams....just has little to no NBA game. So when I refer to the quality of Sacramento's bench, please, do not think that I am referring to these two.

I am moreso referring to their newly acquired young talent in Jason Thompson, who they drafted seemingly out of nowhere in June, and Donte Green, who they officially acquired in August from the Rockets in the Ron Artest deal.

Jason Thompson, whom the Kings selected with the 12th overall pick, is relatively unkown having played at Rider during his college years but has all the tools you would want in an NBA PF and the college stats to back it up. The size, the length, the versatility. The double-doubles. As a late bloomer and despite being a Senior when drafted he still exudes enough tangibles and talent that would hint at the potential to show much improvement down the line.

He was a bit of a risky pick because of all of that but from what I've seen it's a good risk by the Kings as they are looking towards rebuilding and Thompson will have time to develop his game there. Even with his limited experience, I could see him supplanting Shelden Williams off the bench behind Mikki Moore by season's end. Because Shelden Williams sucks.

The standout of the Kings bench however would be non other than Donte Green.



Green is your prototypical small forward with a scoring ability on a level of Tracy McGrady's in my opinion. That's who he reminds me of. He's almost unguardable. He has also drawn comparisons to Rashard Lewis or Marvin Williams. I do think he can be better than those two if he so chooses. He will however have to work on a few weaknesses. Mainly his defensive focus and his feel for the game. Offensively there is nothing this kid cannot do. Sky is the limit for Mr. Green.

You factor in the returning bench play of Francisco Garcia (who will be playing for a new contract), a great pickup at the PG position in Bobby Brown, and another year of NBA experience for Spencer Hawes and Quincy Douby and I would not be surprised at all to see Sacramento's bench perform extremely well and make a statement in the league as soon as this year.

Spurs Finally Sign Hill

Ok so the Spurs signed 1st round pick George Hill to his contract yesterday.

That's only 12 days before the season starts.

All I can say is...about time.

Now here's to hoping that I can get this blog up and running by the start of the season.