So That's Why The Kings Never Won...

I was a huge fan of that Kings team. Mike Bibby and Chris Webber were two of my favorite players in the league, and Vlade Divac was always good for a laugh due to his tendency to have the world's most hysterical flops.

This whole thing with former referee has to be troubling for the NBA. Many media people who were at the sixth game of the Kings-Lakers series where the Lake Show took something like 25 foul shots in the final quarter of play to win the game are going on TV and saying that everyone thought something was a little weird following the game. That's bad.

However, would anyone really be shocked if this was true? The rumors that have flown around the NBA since the Knicks getting Patrick Ewing and the "frozen envelope" have to come from somewhere. They don't exist in any other sports. It's only the NBA.

It's such a shame too because it's taking away the attention from a pretty good year for the league. The Finals have been fairly entertaining so far and with the amount of talent currently in the association, things were definitely looking up.

While I don't believe Tim Donaghy, the fact that anyone might is very troubling for the NBA.

Switching Gears For A Second

Lots of news today! Here's an interesting NBA note.

Draft Express is reporting that the Pacers are offering the #11 pick and Jermaine O'Neal to the Cavaliers. The Pacers would get expiring contracts such as Wally Szczerbiak and Eric Snow in return. The Pacers don't want to give O'Neal away, but with not much to play for currently, losing his $23 million contract from their cap figure is priority No. 1 [via Rotoworld.com]

Isn't this trade a no brainier for the Cavs? I know O'Neal has been hurt but he really has so little value that the Pacers would have to trade their first round pick just to rid themselves of O'Neal?

Furthermore, wouldn't it make sense for the Knicks to make a similar trade with Marbury? O'Neal only has two years left on his mammoth contract and it would expire before the LBJ year, plus they would pick up another lottery pick.

Detroit Basketball

I'm always fired up for the NBA Off-Season. Generally there's more trades made in the NBA than another sports. This off season a lot of teams are going to look to make major moves. We've already covered the Knicks so let's look at another NBA team who is going to be shaking things up.

Joe Dumars, Pistons president pulled no punches during Tuesday's press conference, saying that he intends to shake up the team's core this off season. "Everybody is in play," Dumars said. "You lose that sacred-cow status when you lose three straight years."

Dumars started his house cleaning by firing Flip Saunders. One of the main complaints about Flip was that he waited to long to play Detroits youngsters. Joe Dumars is definitely looking for the new coach to find minutes for Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell. Stuckey, of that group, esepcially is in line for a much bigger role next year. He really came on at the end of last season and has the size and talent to start at either PG or SG. The obstacle in the way of getting Stuckey more minutes is that Billups and Hamtilon are entrenched at their respective postions.

If Dumars is truly intent on shaking up his core one of the Hamilton, Prince, Billups trio will have to go. It's surprising that Billups would even be a consideration in a trade scneario but he certainly is starting to look a step slower, especially on the defensive end. By the time his contract expires he's going to be a 36 year old making 13 million dollars.

Of all the players on the team Rasheed Wallace is the most likely to be dealt. Dumars prefaced comments about Wallace by saying, "If he's here next year. That's pretty strong language. When Wallace came over in Detroit he was a "malcontent" however, on Detroit he became an intense player and team leader. Wallaces antics though seem to have their course. Wallace should have a lot of trade value. He's still got good basketball in him, it's rare to find a big man who can play with his back to the basket and defend in the post.

So what moves can the Pistons make to shake up their core?

Jermaine O'Neal still can still be one of the most dominating big man in the NBA. He has a giant sized contract but it only has two years remaining on it. It would be hard to match up contracts to make this work under the salary cap but an interesting trade would be Wallace and Prince for O'Neal and Danny Granger.

Josh Howard may have worn out his welcome in Dallas with his marijuana habit and his openness about smoking. However, he's still a very talented player and would be an upgrade at SF over Tayshuan Prince. Their contracts are similar and a straight up swap with draft picks and cash potentially moving to Dallas to make it more appealing would make sense.

Detroit could move Wallace to Charlotte who needs a low post scorer. Wallace would pair nicely with Emeka Okafor. The Bobcats are also under the cap and could send back some salary filler and their first round pick, 9th overall for Wallace. Wallace and new coach Larry Brown have a great relationship and the Pistons would also acquire a valuable trade exemption in such a trade.

Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are players that have fallen out favor in the post D'Antoni era. Diaw and Barbosa for Prince and salary filler would make sense for both teams. Prince would give the Suns the athletic swing defender they desperately need. Barbosa and Diaw would give the pistons depth athleticism and youth. Interestingly enough with a starting 5 of Wallace, Diaw, Hamilton, Stuckey and Billups with Barbosa, Johnson and Maxiell off the bench the Pistons could go to a run and gun style.

I love the NBA Off-Season.

Galapogos

I spend way too much time speaking about sports.

In particular dreaming up trade scenarios for almost every professional sport (except Hockey...that's why you have The Rivalry! [Shameless plug])

Anyway on the eve of the draft lottery here are some Knick thoughts:

-If N.Y. lands the number one pick, rejoice and go buy your Derrick Rose jersey now. One man alone could speed up our rebuilding process by two years.

-If N.Y. lands number two, cross your fingers that Minnesota, Memphis or a team with an already established point guard lands the number one pick.

Speaking of Memphis here's an interesting scenario that ran through my head today.

If Memphis lands the top spot in the draft it'd only seem logical they take Beasley right?

I mean they have Conley, Lowry and Crittenton at point and need a down low scorer.

In fact Conley, Gay, Miller and Beasley is a pretty solid core.

However, as we learned with the Gasol trade this is a team that cares more about the bottom line than winning.

Derrick Rose (local hero) puts more butts in the seats and viewers in front of the T.V. than Beasley does.

So if they take Rose they'd have to move Conley, this is where the Knicks come into play.

We could offer our number one pick (in the 3-5 range) and Malik Rose (expiring contract) for Conley and Brian Cardinal (who has 2 years left on his ugly contract but it expires before LeBron James enters free agency)

Why would Memphis do it:

They can take Rose at one and than whatever big man they choose (Lopez, Jordan, Love, Koufus.) They also save money by dumping Cardinal's contact.

Why would N.Y. do it:

Assuming Rose is off the board when we pick no one in this draft can really gives us a true All Star Caliber PG. Mayo and Bayless are more two-guards than point. Westbrook and Augustine have question marks about them and aren't as good as Conley. Taking back Cardinals contract isn't terrible for the Knicks as it expires just in time for the Free Agency Class of 2010.

Tuesday is the first step in what should be an active off-season for the Knicks

Consistent Lack of Vision from Children Claiming They're Listening...

Great Line from P.O.S.'s Half Cocked Concepts.

Anyway, There's an article over at ESPN.com comparing the top rookies to certain veterans and saying who they should emulate. Now, I disagree with most of them. However, there is one that I agree with whole heartedly.

Kevin Durant needs to be more like Allen Iverson.

It's not the skills of A.I. that need Durant needs, it's his heart. Iverson will eat his man up on every single play until he has them screaming for him to stop. Durant has only done that on a handful of occasions so far this season. I know, he's on a terrible team and that it's hard to play with a team like that for 82 games. However, A.I. singlehandedly led the Sixers to the finals when they had no business being there.

Plainly put, I want to see Durant destroy someone for 55 and flash a little attitude over the next year. There's your summer assignment KD.

I Love Technology...

I made two of my fantasy picks via Xbox Live headset. I need to get a life.

A lot of stuff going on here at the site, some of which include:

- Never ending continuance of NFL analysis, including team reviews, draft profiles, Mock Draft Wars and of course, our wit and wisdom. Not to mention Live blogging of the NFL Draft, pick by pick, the whole way through.

- I want to start reviewing stuff again. Movies, CDs, Video Games, TV shows, we're gonna start it up again.

- A new year of How to Fix Madden! I've played more Madden this year than any in the past 4-6 years, so I have a lot to say.

- Analysis of the upcoming Baseball season, and the inevitable Yankee Dominance that follows.

- Much like Jason did toward the beginning of this endeavor, I want to start doing Lists. Top 10's and the such.

Stay Tuned................

Uhhh...What?

Apparently, Sleeping until 10 o'clock makes you miss crazy absurd news stories, who knew?

It seems that Shaq is on his way out of Miami and headed back to the western conference. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

Wow, No one in this deal makes any sense.

The Diesel is clearly a shadow of his former self. While clearly he won't be the focal point of the offense in Phoenix with Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire, but I can't help but wonder what he is bringing to the table for the Suns. Is he going to be able to run the floor? Doubt it. Is he going to be a dominant defensive force? Don't really see that happening. In reality, he may steal minutes from Amare, which is just silly.

As far as Miami goes, I've never been a fan of Marion. I think that he is a great fantasy player, but doesn't bring a whole lot of value to the court. He's the NBA version of Ricky Williams. Remember, when Williams used to be the king of garbage yardage for Miami? He would always brake off a 40 yard run after the game was out of hand. It made his stats look great. That's Marion.

Putting Marion next to Wade looks great on paper, but I question how effective it will be.

C.W. Post Column 12: Twas the Night Before Winter Break...

Twas the night before winter break,
and all throughout Post,
Sports fans are wishing for more than most,
For it doesn’t matter what they find under their tree,
Unless their team wins a title for all to see.

One look at the Knicks throws that thought away,
But it’s not the fans fault, no matter what Isaiah might say.
Randolph and Curry look lost on the block,
but one thing’s a lock,
There’s not a forward in the league that either can stop.

Crawford takes shots that you can’t defend,
The rift between Marbury and Coach they can’t seem to mend.
There’s got to be some positive about these 12 men,
Hey, they’ll be under the cap in 2010.

At least in the Garden,
Hockey is played.
The Rangers continue to win,
The fact that no one ever watches is a sin.
Even the three fans in the stands have to sigh,
because watching the NHL is about as joyous as watching paint dry.

The Jet fan’s misery is well stated,
This not the era for which they waited.
They hoped Mangini would bring them the playoffs as a gift,
And on that front he certainly whiffed.

Pennington’s out as the team’s quarterback,
For funny looking beards Clemens has a knack.
The offensive line is full of holes,
The defense’s poor tackling has taken it’s toll.

While 3-10 is enough to make most fans laugh,
The Green and White can’t wait for the Draft.
If their Front office is wise,
Run DMC could be the big prize.

The Giants fan is happy as can be,
For this is something he didn’t think he would see.
At 9-4, the playoffs are near,
And he’d be loving it dear,
If he didn’t have to listen to others complaints about Eli in his ear.

He doesn’t have “it”,
Is what they say,
But he certainly seems to find a way.
Intangibles they say he lacks,
And every single game can give you a heart attack.

Burress ankle is giving him fits,
but’s he still got great mitts.
Even if he walks with a limp,
Jeremy Shockey still is a pimp.

The defense is strong enough to make LT proud,
Ask Winston Justice whom Osi wowed.
Aaron Ross, a difference has made,
Making memories of Seahorn finally fade.

To win a playoff game,
That is the goal,
If they lose they’ll be hurting every fans soul.

Coughlin will be out as coach of the team,
And maybe he’ll go back to being real mean.

For the baseball fan, there’s not much to say.
Pitchers and Catchers are still months away.
The hot stove has come,
The hot stove has go,
And Mets and Yankees faithful are left wanting mo’.

While the Tigers got Miggy,
And Santana stayed home,
There’s not much about the Yankees to write in this poem.
Unless you look at the latest ESPN text,
And let the cover tell you that Joba is NEXT.

Mets fans are filled with caution and dread,
As they wonder what going on in Omar’s head.
Milledge is gone and nothing of value came back,
Ryan Church as a starter is a disappointing fact.
No pitcher has caught the GM’s eye,
Except Livan Hernandez, don’t ask me why.

As for the winter, fans hunker down,
It’s a simple fact that I’ve found.
As Christmas brings joy and hope,
Even the New York fan can’t sit and mope.

Yet, As the snow begins to fall,
You won’t find the Pioneer sports writers at mall,
We work each Monday and Tuesday night away,
Just for you to read sports, our way.

So, for one last phrase that we have to say,
Be clichéd as it may,
We know that it may sound lame,
But Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good game!

WOW....

Bill Simmons in NBA Live '08:

I've Got A Conundrum!! News & Notes

-So I've pointed out that since I wrote my Cano Conundrum blog, Peter Abraham had a similar blog about Kyle Farnsworth. Now the conundrum has gotten out of hand. Jay Maroitti used the word conundrum on around the horn. Not only that but Ken Rosenthal describing the Adam Dunn situation refered to it as the "co-Dunn-drum".

Iv'e started a revolution. The word conundrum is so now.

-This whole NBA Ref scandal is going to be disastrous for the NBA. This is so much worse than Pete Rose. When Pete Rose bet on baseball he was betting on his own team. While immoral at least you know he was trying to win. Another aspect of this that major news publications haven't mentinoed is that apparently, Phil Jackson had filed a complaint in previous years about bizzare calls from Tim Donaghy. I don't know the validity of this, I heard it on WFAN 660 in New York.

-Speaking of basketball. I'd like to pat myself on the back for a second. About a week or so ago I wrote about how smart is was for the Sonics to sign and trade Rashard Lewis to the Magic. I mentioned how they acquired a trade exemption and suggested they should use it to trade for Kurt Thomas and draft picks to alleviate the Suns luxuary tax woes. Sam Presciti hook me up with a job!

-I'm playing Anthony in fantasy baseball this week. Not looking to good for him it's 9-1 right now. I'm the juggernaut bitch!!

-Speaking of fantasy baseball. Fantasy pickup of the week Billy Butler.

-Speaking of baseball. Let's hope Shelly Duncan is the new Shane Spencer. (EDIT: Wow I wrote Shawn Spencer...as always i'm an idiot)

-To follow up on my steriods in MMA article. Sherdog.com has wrote an open letter to Dana White about the issue.

-Vh1's Rock of Love and Scott Baio is 45 and single are both amazing. Watch them now. I plan on keeping a very long Sunday Night TV Blog. So look forward to that.

Stealing Anthony's thunder...it's what I do best!

My thoughts on everything from T.V. to Video games.

Let's start with T.V.

-Entourage. Am I the only one finding the show getting stale? It sometimes feels like plots are forced just to have the show continue and for the show to have a purpose. Some subplots with promise are just 86'd all together. Sloan and E are "on a break", glad they showed us the break up. Wouldn't it make more sense to show the viewer that than some of the other garbage plots were subjected to? What happened to Turtle and his girlfriend, it seemed like Turtle was on the verge of breaking out. Eric's character is the only one that seems to have any depth. His character has actually developed from the beginning of the series till now. Vince on the other hand seems to be regressing into the annoying, helpless, spoiled character that I hated in season one. The show still has it's moments and it's still funny and better than most of the crap on television, but, it seems to have lost the magic it once had.

-24. Did anyone see this article. Thats right the entire plot of Season 7 of 24 has been scrapped at the last minute...I just threw up in my mouth. Season 6 sucked. Don't try to defend it. It sucked from start to finish. The good news was the 24 higher ups realized that it sucked and the show had gotten stale. They promised big changes, necessary changes for Season 7. I was excited. 24 needed a shot in the arm. This news is horrifying though. For one they were going to be filming in Africa, that's totally bad ass. What was going on in Africa? Was Jack in Africa? Were never going to know now. Secondly there was going to be a female president. Was it going to be someone we know? What happened to Wayne Palmer and Noah Daniels? Sigh. I don't know what the hell they were going to shoot in Africa but having several episodes shot in Africa would have certainly been an intriguing direction for the series. Now the producers set everything back 3 weeks and start from scratch. Do they have a backup plan? Is it going to be rushed? I'm officially worried about 24 Season 7.

-WSOPC. That's right WSOPC....World Series of Pop Culture. Airing on VH1 on Monday Nights. Fun show, especially for a Pop Culture whore like myself. Check it out, scream answers at your TV and look for me to be on WSOPC '08

Video game update

-MGS 4 is still PS3 exclusive. Booooo.

-Boo unexpected MGS exclusivity hurray Resident Evil 5 trailer!

-Madden anyone Madden? Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?

In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" economics.

Horray unexpected Feris Buller quote!



Baseball News and Notes

-Yanks willing to negotiate with A-Rod mid season. Smart move, we need to either lock him up or trade him at the deadline. Don't tell me that I am crazy. Look if we can't sign him now he's bound to get a blank check from someone else(like the Angels). If he leaves and we don't get any compensation, besides draft picks, it will be disastrous. If the deadline comes and the Yanks haven't made significant progress in this standings we need to sell. A-Rod, Farnsworth, Abreu, Pettite, Clemens?? All have value and can be shopped.

-All Star game disaster. Athony already wrote about why the game sucks in general so let me touch on something else. Tony LaRussa is an idiot. How do you not pinch hit for Rowand in that situaton. One the point of the game is that everyone plays. Secondly Poo-Holes is his guy. HIS GUY. He made sure he was on the roster and in the biggest situation in the game he elects to go with Rowand, a good hitter, but clearly a guy not on the level of Albert. Just a totally unthinkable decision. In our fantasy football leauge we had a guy like Tony. He over thought everything. In the end it came up biting him in the ass, he lost in the playoffs. Tony is going to be lucky if he makes the playoffs. Enjoy the clubhouse awkwardness for the rest of the year.

NBA

-I love what Seattle is doing. The managed to sucker the Orlando Magic into a sign and trade when they could have singed Lewis outright. Now the Sonic's have a 9-9.5 million dollar trade exception. Since they are rebuilding I doubt they will trade for an aging star with a loaded contract. However what they can do is, either trade with a team needing to slash payroll, ie the Suns. They can trade for Kurt Thomas's expiring contract and receive future draft picks in return. Or they can trade for a player with two years left on his deal, like say Eric Snow. In return they can get young players or picks. Than in the summer of 2009 they would have a boatload of money coming off the books.

-Here's 30 million now go home. Steve Francis is a blessed man. He really is. A team just paid him 30 million dollars not to play. Are you freaking kidding me?!? I know the Blazers were eager to deal Randolph but I think they could have gotten better value for him.


That's all for now. I'm outtie 5,000 take it sleazy.

A Good Trade By The Knicks!! Is that allowed?

Wow I'm stunned. When I heard reports earlier of the Knicks acquiring Randolph I assumed they were bunk. How could we get a guy who averaged 25 and 10 last season for Stevey Franchise and Frye? Well it happened. I really assumed that if this trade went down (usually awful) GM Isiah Thomas would be suckered into taking a bad contract back also, like that of Darius Miles. However we are acquiring Randolph and got decent spare parts in Dickau and Fred Jones, both who have expiring contracts anyway.

Wow

I am thrilled. Randolph is probably legitimately crazy. In most cases I wouldn't be in favor of taking such a shitty character guy but we really didn't give up much of anything for him. Francis was useless and Frye only averaged 10pts a game. This trade gives Knicks fans some hope for the upcoming season and the future.

In theory we know have a potentially dominant low post tandem for the next 10 years. Curry and Randolph are going to be tough to stop down low. When you add in Lee it's downright filthy.

I'm pumped.

Now I know what it's like to have a competent GM for your basketball team.

Who cares who we draft now!!

In Zach and Eddy we trust!

I love the NBA….off-season!

I consider myself a draftnkick. I can watch enough NFL draft coverage to make most peoples eyes bleed. The drama of Brady Quinn dropping, seeing who your favorite team drafts/where your favorite college players go. I could go on and on gushing about the NFL Draft.

As much as I love the NFL off-season nothing in sports is as captivating as the NBA off-season.

It’s the penalty shot of off-season’s

This Thursday the NBA off-season kicks off with the draft. I think it’s an appropriate time to explain why I find the off-season so captivating.

(In no particular order)

The expiring contract

The soft cap in the NBA really kills parity. Sure everyone has to be “under the cap”, but a team like the Knicks can have a 140 million dollar payroll. The Bobcats on the other hand have a payroll of only 40 million dollars. That’s a 100 million dollar difference! So how do teams over the cap stay over the cap?

Because of the expiring contract

Theo Ratliff is going to be a key trading chip this off-season. That’s 34 year old Boston Celtics Forward/Center Theo Ratliff. He played in all of two games last year.

So how does such a useless player become a key barging chip?

Because of the expiring contract

Ratliff’s 12 million dollar contract expires after this season, so whatever team acquires him is acquiring him not to contribute to their team but to provide salary/luxury cap relief in the future. Also because the NBA cap rules state that teams over the cap making a trade must match salaries almost identically a player like Ratliff, without any long term commitment becomes important.

I love the expiring contract because players who are so irrelevant/useless are the key to blockbuster trades.

P.J Brown (sign and trade) is also in line for a big one year contract that he doesn’t deserve. Brown and Andres Nociono are going to be key contracts in a Kobe or KG trade.

Expiring contracts, or the lack there of, are also the reason the Knicks can’t acquire Kobe Bryant.

Speaking of Kobe and KG

Start Powered Trades

You really won’t see this in any other sport. LaDanian Tomlinson is getting traded, either is Peyton Manning or Albert Pujols. However this NBA off-season there’s a real possibility that the best player in the league could be wearing a different uniform come opening day.

KG and Kobe are just the “mega” stars that can be dealt this off-season.

Rashard Lewis, Shawn Marion, AK-47, Jermaine O’Neal and Zach Randolph are just some of the other big names that are likely to be moved this off-season.

The Draft

The NBA Draft contains more subplots than a bad episode of LOST

-Unlike other sports one player really makes a team in the NBA.

The Blazers can go from doghouse to penthouse in one off-season

If They take Oden, trade Randolph for a small forward (Jamison/Jefferson type) all of a sudden they can trot out this lineup

Oden
Aldridge
SF acquired by trade
Roy
Jack

That can be a devastating core for years to come.

Jamarcus Russell (unless he can play all five O-Line Positions) isn’t turning the Raiders around. In fact he won’t start by the day one starter!

-His name is Kevin Durant…His name is Kevin Durant

Durant is a phenomenon. We haven’t seen a player like him, his upside is limitless.

He might also be the most fun to watch player in the NBA immediately.

I don’t watch college basketball but I made sure to watch as much Durant as I possible kid. What’s not to love about the kid?

Durant and Oden are also putting their teams in the National Spotlight. The Sonics are going to get infinitely more prime time games than in years past.

-The Atlanta Hawks

Every year the Hawks pass on a point guard in the draft. They could have had Chris Paul or Deron Williams. This year their poised to once again pass on a promising point guard (Mike Connelly) for another swing forward like Al Hoford.

-The New York Knicks

If Isaiah Thomas has one positive quality it’s his ability to draft. Lee, Robison, Fyre all look like solid prospects. Even Rolando Blackman and Mardy Collins did much more than anyone expected. I can’t wait to see what random ass player he takes with our pick.

-The Foreign Players

Yi Jinlain…this doesn’t need an explanation.


It’s a shame that the NBA off-season is better than both the NBA regular season and post season.


But hey look on the bright side, at least after a horrible postseason the 3 NBA fan’s left in the world have something even better to look forward to.

"How To Fix the Kobe Bryant Mess"

So once again we have reports that Bryant met in Spain with Jerry Buss and reiterated his demands for a trade. The Lakers have very little around Kobe, but they have tradeable assets. Bynum, Brown and Odom are all players most teams in the league would be interested in. However the Lakers, who were on the verge of trading for Jermaine O'Neal, seem to have cooled off in their pursuit in light of Bryant's trade demand. Why would they trade for a aging borderline superstar with a big contract when you might be in re-building mode.


The T-Wolves have a similar problem with Kevin Garnett. They have very little around him, very little tradeable assets, and one unhappy superstar. Much like the Lakers they refuse to trade KG because it's impossible to find equal value for such a mega-star. However the team is in quicksand right now because they simple don't have the ability to build a good enough team around KG to be a threat in the West.

Or do they?

Since I should rule the free world I have come up with a completely insane/sane 3-Way or if you want to go crazy 4 way Trade that solves all of the problems for the Knicks, Wolves, Lakers and Suns!

Ok, Now Here's the 3-way version of the trade, courtesy of ESPN.com's trade checker


Here's the 4 way version including the Suns

Let's break it down for each team:

Why would the Lakers do it

The Lakers need to get a mega star back for Bryant, in this case they get back KG. Also they are getting Curry and Crawford from the Knicks back in the deal. Crawford in the Lakers triangle offense could even play the point. KG and Curry would give the Lakers the most dominant post presence in the entire league. They would cause mismatches with every team. Also an added benefit of this trade is cap relief. They get rid of dead weight Vladimir Rodmanavic in the trade and really don't take back any bad contracts in the deal. In fact if you look at the Laker's roster after this trade they are a team completely devoid of bad contracts.

After this trade they could send out this starting lineup

Eddy Curry
Kevin Garnett
Luke Walton
Jamal Crawford
Smush Parker

Plus they would have money to use the mid-level exception if they choose, they also have the 19th pick in a deep draft. Where they can add someone like Nick Young or Acie Law. I think this is a championship caliber lineup. I don't know how you stop them down low, it's perfect for Walton, and Crawford is a dangerous enough scorer to benefit from double teams down low. Add in the benefit of cap flexibility and I think this is a no brainier.

Why the T-Wolves do it.

The T-Wolves are a mess. They have one promising young player; Foye, An aging mega-star in KG and not much else. They have a plethora of awful horrible contracts and in this deal they get to fix all there problems. They dump Jaric and Hudson's awful contracts, they also swap Blount for James's contract (even though Blount is more useful his contract runs a year longer than James's). In the deal they also acquire Odom, who's a very solid player and Bynum and Brown who both have immense potential. Acquiring Francis's contract is negated by the fact that they get to dump Jaric and Hudson, Francis's contract only has 2 more years left on it. Plus a change of scenery may bring him back to life.

With this trade they can trot out this starting lineup;

Andrew Bynum
Kwame Brown
Lamar Odom
Randy Foye/Rick Davis
Steven Francis/Randy Foye

They also hold the 7th pick in the draft. Now they have alot of options with that pick, they can add another big man to rotate in with Bynum and Brown. They can add a point guard like Mike Connely, they can add a SF/SG Like Brewer and play Foye at point. They can take a flier on Yi if he falls. The fact is they have options, a ton of options in fact.

Another crazy scenario for them could be packaging Kwame Brown, Ricky Davis (expiring contract) and the number 7 pick to the Suns for Shawn Marion. They then could put a small, athletic, quick lineup to run with the best of them.

Bynum
Odom
Marion
McCants
Foye

That's a fun team.

Once again the team acquires more flexible salary, an established player and young players with massive upsides. It's a package that gets great value back for KG.

The Suns would do that trade because it provides them cap relief, both Brown and Davis's contracts are expiring as well as acquiring the number 7 pick. In fact Brown might blow up in their offense and Davis could certainly be a serviceable role player.

Why the Knicks would do it

Kobe sells out MSG every night. As I have written before if Bron Bron James and a cast of misfits can make the NBA Finals Kobe and company should run through the East. Look at the lineup the Knicks would put out

Blount
Fyre
Q-Richardson/Jared Jefferies
Bryant
Marbury

That sounds pretty good to me. We'd have some depth off the bench, with Lee and Q-Rich or Jeffereis. We'd keep some of our other young developing players like Balkman and Robinson. Yes we'd be taking on a ton of longterm contracts but when has that stopped us before. Were never going to be under the cap anyway, we have money to spend...so let's spend it. Plus we can use the Allan Huston rule to eventually get the players off the books at least in terms of luxury tax.

I don't see why with that lineup and decent depth we can't make the east finals right away.

Unfortunately this trade will never happen...but it should. It fixes all 4 team's problems.

I need to be an NBA GM.

Hindsight Makes Me Look Dumb

UFC Recap

-Well as we all know all ready…I’m an idiot. I was wrong on a couple of my UFC picks. Belcher made short work Sean Salmon. Salmon has no business being in the UFC if he can’t beat a smaller fighter who’s coming in on short notice. I was right about Leben vs. Starnes, It was a close fight but Leben should be relegated to under card status, he simply isn’t that good. Karo looked amazing against Burkman. I honestly thought Burkman would put up a good fight, he’s a tough dude. Karo just outclasses him standing, cardio and with his judo. If Karo’s in top shape he’s going to be a force for a long time. With that being said I think the UFC totally screwed up the welterweight division by not having the title be defended till December (till the end of TUF6). In terms of the main event…wow. All I can say is wow. Rampage looked awesome. Stylistically he’s a nightmare for Liddell. Rampage is patient and his good boxing, he’s not going to chase Chuck around the ring and wait for him to counterpunch. Plus when Rampage gets inside he can dirty box/slam Chuck on his head. It was interesting how Rampage was in counter punch mode also, even putting his hands up at one point to say “C’mon Chuck.” I hate to say it was a fluke punch that ended the fight but I don’t think that fight ends the same way every time. Kudos to Rampage, he gives the UFC a great poster boy and he is insanely charismatic /marketable.

Around The Sports World

-The 49ers and Bears are making the most headway signing draft picks. The Niners have already locked up Jay Moore, Joe Cohen and Terrell Brown. According to rotoworld.com they have began negotiations with both first round picks, Joe Staley and Patrick Willis.

I’m a big fan of getting everyone into camp on time. I don’t get why holdouts occur so often. Look draft your guys, get them into camp. If you have a high draft pick and don’t want to pay a guy that much money than trade down. Not only do these players need to adjust to the speed and rigors of the NFL season but they need to adjust mentally as well. Learn the playbook, bond with teammates, create chemistry. I don’t think it will be a coincidence if the teams who have trouble getting everyone signed on time also struggle out of the gate this year.

-Vick in the clear?

It doesn’t look like Vick will get suspended this year since he hasn’t been charged with anything yet. If anything he’ll be suspended in 2008. Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Pac-Man Jones not technically charged with anything stemming from his Vegas incidents? Speaking of which the ruling on Pac-Man’s appeal comes in soon, I expect his penalty to be shortened.

I think stronger conduct polices needed to be adapted in the Sports World. Take Elijah Dukes, who threatened to kill his wife. C’mon…like that’s so disturbing. I’m going to be a school teacher soon. Do you think I would have my job still if I threatened to kill my wife?

-All Kneel Before the King

Ok, Anyone who bashes La Bron Bron from here on out should be spayed or neutered (We’ll miss you Bob Barker.) Seriously though he has a supporting casts of misfits and rejects. Drew Gooden and whatever creature is growing on the back of his head is probably the 2nd option on this team. Larry Hughes and Big Z are overrated and overpaid. This is the worst team in the NBA without LaBron. With him however they are tied 2-2 with the best team in the East. I know it’s the “L-Eastern” conference and in the West the Cav’s probably get bounced a lot sooner but with a player of James’s stature they are in every single game. Could you imagine James playing with a real team, or even one All-Star teammate, let’s say Carlos Boozer for example. Besides drafting James the Cav’s team has been so mismanaged, I’m surprised heads haven’t rolled. I reiterate NBA GM’s are the dumbest in sports. I think I could run an NBA team.

- (To the tune of Jose Jose Jose) Kobaaayyy-Kobaaayyy-Kobaayyyy

Dear Isaiah Thomas,

Please do whatever you can to get Kobe Bryant on the Knicks. No one on our team should be untouchable. Let me explain my logic. Kobe is better than LaBron James at this point in his career. LaBron is single-handedly carrying his team into the Eastern Conference finals and maybe into the NBA Finals. I’m positive Kobe could do the same on the Knicks. While you have made some awful decisions in the past Mr. Thomas now is your time to rectify every mistake you made. James Dolan has empty pockets, the Knicks have the type of big name market Kobe would love to play for, and the Knicks have the right amount of young talent and big contracts to work a trade for Kobe. Don’t hesitate to trade Eddy Curry or Jamal Crawford. They aren’t franchise players. Kobe Bryant is a franchise player.

Sincerely,
Everyone in New York.

I know tons of Knicks fans that would balk at trading Eddy Curry. I say why? Sure he’s a young developing center, but he isn’t a dominant franchise player yet. In fact he might never be. The way this team is shaped right now there is no way the make any headway in the playoffs, if they even make the playoffs. We don’t have any draft picks and we are cashed strapped. With Kobe, for starters it re-energies Knick basketball, it makes us relevant again even if we lose. However, I don’t think we would lose. If we traded Curry we’d be able to hold on to other players and actually given Kobe a decent supporting cast. Yes it’d be an overrated and overpaid supporting cast but it’d still be better than anything LaBron has scene, and Dolan has the empty pockets to make it happen. If we trade say Marbury, Crawford, Frye and so on we’d still have Curry, Jefferies, Lee, and Q and so on. Isaiah for the love of god make it happen.

-Are The Yankees Done?

Anthony has done a lot of writing about the Yankees lately but I must throw in my opinion. The Yankees have been doomed since they signed Jason Giambi; it marked the trend of signing over the hill veterans to huge contracts. Also it began the era of trading away blue chip prospects for spare parts. Dioneer Navaro could have been the heir apparent to Jorge Posada. Instead we don’t have one, and the player Navarro was traded for isn’t even on the team anymore. This is the most poorly put together team in years. They don’t run, bunt, hit for contact or even hit for power apparently. It’s depressing to look at the standings at see the Yankees in the cellar.

How do we salvage this?

Well I would love to see Cashman convince the Boss to give up this year to better help us in the future. I’m talking about full fire sale mode. That’s not going to happen though. With Clemens on board we need to win this year or else all that money spent on Clemens is a waste.

Since a sale is out of the question we need to be buyers. We need bullpen help and offensive help. We need to make a trade with the Rockies. Todd Helton has a pretty much untradeable contract it’s also killing the small market Rockies financially. The Yanks never shy away from spending money and Helton is a perfect fit for their offense. He’s an OBP machine and can fit in the 3 spot much like Abreu did last year. The Yanks with their financial flexibility can also convince the Rockies to give up closer Brian Fuentes. If they throw in Fuentes the Yanks would simply just agree to pay for more of Helton’s contract. In turn the Yanks can give the Rockies Farnsworth and a bunch of mid level small upside prospects (much like the Abreu trade last year) and a truck full of cash.

In theory…on paper we might have the best team ever assembled when everyone is healthy.

Damon
Jeter
Helton
A-Rod
Matsui
Giambi
Posada
Abreu
Cano

Wow…and the staff would be

Wang
Pettite
Clemens
Moose
Hughes

Staying put shouldn’t be an option for this team. Either give this year up or make a big move to inject some life into this team.

Annnnnndddddd Good Afternoon Everybudddddddyyyyy

Thoughts while watching Mike and the Mad Dog.

-Did you know that the radio Mike and the Mad Dog is on a delay. I'm watching it on YES while my dad is listening to it on radio. It's like a Mike and the Mad Dog echo. I think I'm going deaf.

-Ok So Elijah Dukes threatened to kill his wife. Seriously this isn't even funny. He actually sent her a picture text message of the gun. I'm really sick of athletes getting a free pass. If I did this...I would probably be in jail right now.

-Are the Falcons planning a post Vick life? They are attempting to jump into the Trent Green sweep steaks late. I think it's safe to assume Godell has to suspended Vick if this dog fighting thing continues it's current course. It's certainly looking like Vick had an active role/knowledge of the dog fighting. He shouldn't be held to a different standard just cause he's Mike Vick. Remember Antonio Bryant was cut by the Niners primarily because of a 4 game suspension following a DUI. So if your a Falcon Fan I suggest pre-ordering your Brian Brohm jersey.

-Save us King James! I was actually going to devout a whole blog about how desperately the NBA needs to have Le Bron Bron in the NBA Finals but than I realized that I don't really care about basketball. The truth is as good of a team as the Suprs are there boring. You can compare a Pistons Spurs NBA Finals to the Mayweather De La Hoya fight...except without the interesting story lines. It's going to be a technical slow, methodical..boring NBA Final. But put King James in there and all of a sudden theres a story. NBA writers get to write the same "Can Le Bron step up" column 50,000 times. Look here's the thing the Spurs are going to win and no ones going to care. If Bron Bron makes it into the NBA Finals and loses he's going to be unfairly bashed all summer for not "stepping up". If he doesn't get into the NBA Finals he's going to be bashed all summer for not stepping up. Here's the thing...his supporting cast is awful. Take away King James and they are a lottery team. So if your gonna hate on James for something don't bash him for passing the ball and the end of the game (anyone who bashed him for passing to Marshall for the wide open 3 is an idiot) bash him for mailing in some games. And for the loved of god pray he gets a half decent player on that team so we can see his true potential.

-What's New In The TV World: The Lost Finale was absolutely ridiculous. For those who don't want spoilers I suggest you skip ahead. A flash forward? Are you kidding me? Of course while this answers the biggest question of do they get rescued? There are still so many things left unanswered. I really think the creators had a plan all along, even though many have doubted this and claimed they were making things up as they went along. Though I'm not sure if they always had this vision of doing Flash Forwards all along. They might have rushed this plot line to get it into the finale to appease viewers. Remember the ratings were down all season and even long time viewers were giving up.

Unfortunately since I don't have my DVR anymore I missed the real world reunion special. However I did catch the Real World Vegas Reunion Preview. Ecstatic isn't even a strong enough word to describe my excitement. Also on the MTV Front Timmy annoucned his retirment from the Inferno. :(, I didn't know my Timmy Needs to Retire Blog would have such far reaching ramications. One last MTV note everyone needs to chek out the show Adventures In Hollyhood. You'll thank me later.

-That's all for now. Things to look foward to; The Continuing Chick Flick Countdown as well as Since I'm A Betting Man, breaking down this weekends big UFC PPV.

If I sound drunk...It's cause I've been Listening to Glenn Bedell...

- I agree with what Jason is saying about the Yankees somewhat. I just wish that our team wasn't get old all at the same time. Personally, I think we need a good Robinson Cano hitting streak to cheer us all up.

-I witnessed a 3 run walk-off Home Run by one of my favorite players in the game I umpired tonight. I got goosebumps. Is is bad if I think I'm having more fun the kids who playing the game?

- Funny Things that I forgot existed.

- Fun things. Look a these absurd screenshots of NBA 2k8 for PS3. I know that the things is way too expensive and pretty much doesn't have any exclusive games, but damn, the thing looks so damn good to the naked eye!

- I was having a conversation about bands in the 90s. My boss tried to make the case that the only band that will have a real legacy from the era is The Dave Matthews Band. I disagree strongly, but discuss amongst yourselves.

- Steiny is suddenly obsessed with paintball. Everyone give him reasons why this is a bad idea.

- In other news, You have no idea how pumped I am to play "I wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister in Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's. I <3 Dee Snider.

- I personally think that entire movie industry has gone to hell. Quick, name one original movie that is coming out this summer. You Can't everything is suddenly one sequel after another. There is another Pirates movie coming out in like a week. There was just one last year! Come on people.

- Seriously, we need people to start leaving comments. The point of the blog is to be somewhat interactive. Stop being Lazy.

- I'm going to get serious for a second to end this post. I went to out to a club last weekend with a bunch of people. Now, I hate clubs, but that isn't what this about. I''ve realized something about these places though. The goal is to go out, get drunk, and have sex with someone you are probably never going to talk to again. The music is too loud to even talk to anyone. People are literally going out in order to grind up against the opposite sex for a few hours. Is this what I am supposed to be doing at age 21? I think that it is absurd. I think it's sickening. I've been thinking about this alot recently. I don't really know why.

-

Links, Hodgepodge and Whatnot.

- I was going to do a whole rant on how bad Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight is, but Jason stole my thunder. Every point he made, I agree with wholeheartedly. A piece of me has died.

- The situation with the Suns/Spurs series is regrettable. I love the Suns and I actually sat down and watched game 2. I hate NBA Basketball for the most part so that should tell you how good the Suns are for the Sport. Anyway, Now without Stoudamire, Phoenix is done and the Spurs will then roll over the Jazz. The NBA Sucks.

- On another note, aren’t the Spurs getting less likable by the day? I mean Duncan is ok, but everyone else is just horrible. Bruce Bowen should be jettisoned into space. Is anyone against this? Manu Ginobili looks like a weasel. Tony Parker is not nearly good looking enough for his wife.

- In Today’s “Wait, did that just really happen on Long Island?” moment, A Syosset couple was caught keep SLAVES in their basement. That’s right they kept two Indonesian women in their house, made them work and beat them. How does that get any worse? They happen to be members of the gym I work at! YES! I knew someone in that place had to be evil!

- Just in case you haven’t hears, Padres SP Jake Peavy is flat out absurd.

- In other baseball news, Everybody should have already seen this video, but if you haven’t, Here’s a reason to love Royals OF Joey Gathright.

- Everyone stop panicking about the Yankees. The pitching is going to be fine. More importantly, No one the team is hitting. Here’s some fun and interesting stats:

- Bobby Abreu: .239 Avg, .311 OBP, 20 RBI

- Robinson Cano: .235 Avg, .279 OBP, 1 HR, 16 RBI

- Johnny Damon: .256 Avg, .2 HR, 13 RBI

- Do you think that these guys are gonna hit this way all year? I didn’t think so. The team will be fine.

- Solid New Songs Report (AKA What to listen to when you are not listening to Minutes to Midnight!)

Paramore – “Misery Business”

Over It – “Caught in a Rundown”

Patrick Park – “Life is a Song”

- Even as a casual MMA fan, I’m pumped for Rampage v. Lidell on 5/26. Here’s hoping Rampage stomps Lidell. Probably won’t happen.

- Guitar Hero: 80’s edition. Oh Baby.

- Really Funny Commerical.

- Going to Subway Series! Yankees v. Mets on 5/20 with Stein and Glenn. Drunken Photos/ Drunken Recap to Follow.

Timmy needs to retire

Here's some quick hits

-Linkin Park album drops on Tuesday. First impressions are eh, I feel like it can never be as good as the debut album. The song Bleed it Out is amazingly catchy and definitely has driving blaring it with the windows open potential

-I had to comment on the suspensions stemming from the Suns Spurs game. I was going to devote a whole blog to it and than i realized that I don't really care about basketball.

Here's loyal reader and all around good guy Dave Bamdad's take.

David Stern and the rest of the front office must review the current rule of suspending players for walking onto the court during an altercation. If Stoudamire and Diaw are going to be suspended for getting up after their player is basically hip checked into the scorer's table, Duncan should be suspended for walking onto the court when his player decided to fall on a Sun's player and therefore onto the floor. Just because an altercation did not brew after that incident doesn't make what Duncan did any better. David Stern may have just handed the Western Conference Championship and maybe NBA Championship to the Spurs because of a flagrant foul they committed.

Seriously Robert Horry tries to kill Steve Nash by elbowing him into the scorers table right by the Suns bench and their not suppose to react? I know the rule is there protect things like Artestgate from happening but this is absurd. Way to ruin a great series David.

P.S. This wouldn't have happened if the NBA made any sense and reseeded playoff teams.

-We had a Jenn V Collie Inferno. Jenn won, I <3 Watch this now, thank me later

-Brock Lesnar and Jhonnie Morton are fighting on the next Showtime MMA card...I'm speechless thats former WWE Champ Brock Lesnar, and washed up former NFL Wide Out Jhonnie Motorn...
Thats all for today