| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 12/16/2011 12:43:06 PM |
The Chris Paul fiasco is ridiculous. I am not a fan of the Lakers. I am not a fan of the owners since they didn't fix the issue of big stars leaving for bigger cities. Since they didn't fix it though, why were the Lakers stopped from making a deal? The Celtics weren't stopped from making a trade for Kevin Garnett a few years ago. The league didn't stop the Deron Williams trade from Utah. The league didn't step in and stop Miami from signing James and Bosh. The Heat also seemed to find money and be able to sign whoever else they wanted. So much for a salary cap.
Forgetting all that. The Clippers finally brought Paul to LA. They paid a steep price to get Paul when he isn't going to stay after year two. Paul, who is injury prone, is as good as it gets. But the Clippers have given up a ton to get him. If history stands the Minnesota pick is going to be a very high pick. In a season where the draft should be extremely deep this pick is much more valuable than the same pick in last year's draft.
Besides that pick, look at what the Hornets received. They received a true post player in Chris Kaman who has averaged 12 and 7 during his career. When healthy he is a possible 18 and nine guy and potential all star. They get a 21 year old 6'9" small forward who has yet to come into his own. Once he learns to shoot he should blossom. Their star of the future will be Eric Gordon. Only 22 years old, he dropped 22 points per game last season. Health and learning to win are all that stand between Gordon and being recognized as one of the league's best players.
So in total they received 4 top 10 picks for Paul. Name another deal that is better than that.
The Hornets may be a lot better than people think. Of course health is the key to any team but assuming that happens. Okafor can concentrate on protecting the rim but gets a little more help than he has had now that Kaman is in town. Their inside game should be much improved. Kaman should improve the defense over David West while providing almost as much offense. Their PG play will be a lot worse but Jarrett Jack isn't horrible. They get a much better scoring guard than they have had in recent years with Eric Gordon. They have a much better inside outside mix and their lineup should be bigger, stronger and better defensively. Add in 2 picks next season and this team could be set to be at the top of the West in a couple years.
Kudos to the Hornets for spinning this situation in their favor.
Lamar Odom in Dallas will be part of an outstanding frontcourt with Dirk. I question if they still have the defense and toughness inside to repeat. Losing Chandler was devastating.
Atlanta needs to make a move soon if they are going to make a move with their current window. They lack inside size to compete with some teams and now with the loss of Crawford they will find it difficult to score against teams.
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| Brad Mathews |
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| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 12/2/2011 12:24:14 PM |
It's great that the lockout is over and a couple of the major issues that should have been resolved were not. What was the point of the lockout if it wasn't to make the game better?
It hasn't even ended yet and we are already hearing stars try to force their teams to trade them. They won't resign so the organization has no choice than to trade them and get something for them. The problem is, have a couple nice players like Marvin Williams, and maybe Al Horford won't win you a title. Havin |
| Brad Mathews |
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| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 11/23/2011 12:51:18 PM |
Finally the NBA players realize how bad they look and decide to do something that sits well with the fans. LeBron and his clan will have a four game tour where all the money going to charity instead of their pockets. I do wonder how these guys will make it this year with no money coming in. I am sure the $15M they made last year isn't enough to make it through this season.
I would like to see the NBA fold with the owners forming a new NBL. There will be no unions. No negotiat |
| Brad Mathews |
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| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 11/11/2011 1:28:45 PM |
News is that during the labor talks it has been discussed how the 2012 draft would be run if the 2011 season were to be cancelled.
Why are they discussing that instead of talking about working out a current deal. Once the season is officially cancelled, with no chance of actually having a season, they can start talking about the draft. This is a discussion that sounds like many have already given up.
There is no way to do it to be fair to every team in the league. If you go by la |
| Brad Mathews |
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| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 8/30/2011 12:13:25 PM |
How far people crash in life and in basketball. At one point, Javaris Crittenton was a first round pick by the Lakers. He had it all. Big city, money, a winning organization, and all the potential and talent in the world. Then somewhere along the way, he seemed to stop caring about basketball and cared more about being a punk. Now he is wanted by the FBI for potentially taking part in a murder last week in Atlanta. What could he have been thinking? Why is it so hard to enjoy the good life an |
| Brad Mathews |
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| NBA Smack |
| Posted: 8/22/2011 3:19:49 PM |
Twinsburg, Ohio - There is a lot of speculation that the Orlando Magic may have to move Dwight Howard before the star leaves the franchise. That is a possibility. Or they can do the complete opposite and try to gather a team worthy of keeping him.
This is a team that is three years removed from the NBA Finals. Yes the cast is different but the core remains the same. Van Gundy, Howard, Nelson, Turkoglu, and Reddick. they have talent. I believe there may only be a couple moves that should |
| Brad Mathews |
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