NBA Playoffs Western Conference First Round

Though the Eastern Conference will be pretty straight forward for the First Round, the Western Conference offers a bunch of excitement. Every single match-up will be a interesting, and no top seed is truly safe.

Once again, let us begin with the First Seed, the San Antonio Spurs. They have the unfortunate task of taking on one of the hottest teams in basketball who actually made Lionel Hollins look like a legitimate coach. The Memphis Grizzles have been winning games without Rudy Gay and having Orange Juice Mayo come off the bench. In fact, guys like Sam Young and Darrell Arthur have been propelling their recent success. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs could not look older (once again).

Now I am not buying into the fact that the Spurs are about to literally drop dead on the court in the Playoffs, but I do think they will have some trouble with the Grizzlies (I never thought I would say that sentence). In fact, I am boldly predicting the Grizzlies to win Game 1, with Manu Ginobili out. I think that the media will have a field day and everyone will say that the Spurs are done. Then, the Spurs will go to work.

Tony Parker will absolutely torch Mike Conley Jr. and Manu will come back and give the Spurs that added dimension of scoring and crazy finishes at the basket. But, I don't think the Grizzlies will go quietly. I say they win one more at home before the Spurs take the series. The only reason why I am not picking the Griz to win this thing is because you can't bet against the Spurs. On paper they are a million years old and it doesn't even make sense how they are winning games. The reason is the crazy old white man pictured below:

Gregg Popovich is consistently one, if not the best coach in the league. He is the reason why the Spurs will school the young Memphis Grizzlies despite all of their talent. 

The 2 vs. 7 matchup is the defending Champions the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the New Orleans Hornets. Personally, I think that the Lakers are still the top team in the Western Conference and have the skill to win it all again. But, they will be challenged every step of the way, including this series. Now usually I would count out the Hornets a long time ago, but there is a reason why they pose problems for the Lakers: Chris Paul. One of the best, if not the best Point Guard in the league, Chris Paul will have his way with the Laker point guards. 

Chances are, they put Kobe's foul mouth on him (full story here: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90045130?Kobe%20apologizes%3B%20GLAAD%2C%20Lakers%20unite%20against%20gay%20slurs) and that will help contain Paul a bit. But the Hornets have themselves a solid roster, with talent at every position. Unfortunately, their leading scorer David West is out for the season. 

 

Even if West was on the Hornets I would not have picked them to win the series, but they may have won one more game. I think that Chris Paul will pose too many problems for the Lakers to sweep, and the Hornets will get one, maybe even two games. Unfortunately for the Hornets, the Lakers are just too good and deep at every position. 

The 3 vs. 6 match-up where things get really interesting. The Dallas Mavericks have to play a team that got exponentially better after the trade-deadline by picking up Gerald Wallace for peanuts. This adds a whole dimension of toughness to their roster and makes them a legitimate contender. Though former All-Star Brandon Roy has been struggling with injuries all season, the Trail Blazers have added enough guys to make up for the lack of Roy. Roy was so busy carrying the entire team for the past few years, its no wonder he broke down, and there is even talk of his career being over: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/611837-brandon-roys-injury-leaves-career-in-jeopardy

Guys like Wesley Matthews and Rudy Fernandez can pick up the slack. And Andre Miller always goes off in the playoffs. He could really pose a problem for the Mavericks. Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge, possibly the most under-rated player in the NBA will dominate the Mavs inside, especially with Camby on the other side. 

I think that this is the year that the Trail Blazers finally make it through. The Mavericks are essentially the exact same team, except without a Shooting Guard. If Caron Butler were healthy, this series would be a different story, but the Mavs got bad luck in the match-up against the Trail Blazers. I think this series will go to seven and the Trail Blazers will pull it out in the end. The Gerald Wallace deal truly made them a tough contender, and I think they can compete at a high level. 

 

The final series is going to be the most fun to watch: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets. Denver has gotten so much better after the 'Melo trade and guys like Kenyon Martin are excelling without Carmelo's 40 shots a night. The Nuggets are so deep and all of them seem to be able to play well together. 

Unfortunately, the Thunder seem to have their number. They beat them twice in the last two weeks of the season. Even Coach George Karl said he would rather play the Mavericks:

"If we had to pick and choose on it, we would probably say 55 percent Dallas, 45 percent Oklahoma City, only because Oklahoma City is athletic like we are and they have two great players," Karl said. "They have two All-Stars that I think are really in their prime and never won on the playoff stage.
"I just think right now our speed might have more effect against Dallas than it will have on Oklahoma City."

Really George Karl? You are gonna say you don't want to play the team that you will probably end up playing in the playoffs? But everything he said is true. Russell Westbrook will take advantage of the smaller Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton. Kevin Durant can score on anyone and they added some toughness with Kendrick Perkins (even if I think Jeff Green is a better player).

Though I really want to say that the Nuggets will win this series due to their great depth and team game, I think that Westbrook and Durant may be too much for them. When it comes down to it, I don't think the Nuggets will have someone to get the ball to down the stretch. Danilo Gallinari is not a prime-time player and in the end, I think this series will go to seven, with Westbrook knocking down the game winner in game seven.

NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round

Well the time is finally upon us...the NBA Playoffs. This is what everyone was waiting for after the huge free agency shake-ups and trade deadline deals. And it may be something NBA fans need to savor due to the possibility of a whole year of no basketball. So without further adieu lets get to the 1st Round of the Eastern Conference.

I think we all know the matchups by now, so lets start with the No. 1 seed: the Chicago Bulls going up against the Indiana Pacers. Though the Pacers are a young talented ball club that will probably see the playoffs for many years to come, this year is not the year they shock people. The Bulls are too strong, especially for the Pacers. Darren Collison (or any other guard on the Pacers) will get absolutely punished by Derrick Rose, he might even put up Oscar Robertson numbers in the first round.

Keeping that in mind, and the fact that Psycho T (Tyler Hansborough) will be the main defender against Carlos Boozer, I think it is fair to say that the Pacers might squeak out one at home, or just get swept.

As for the first look at the controversial Miami Heatles in the playoffs, they have to take on a bit more of a challenge against the Philadelphia 76ers. Doug Collins has really got this team playing hard and they have surprised some people with their record and the reemergence (sort-of) of Elton Brand. But, this is a team that struggled down the stretch and could not even pull together a winning season after losing 5 of their last 6, causing a .500 season.

The 76ers are not a high caliber team that can rest starters and just coast before the playoffs, they legitimately struggled down the stretch. The Miami Heat also swept the season series, and they will be looking to make a statement in the first round. Unfortunately the 76ers will suffer, and the Heat will almost definitely sweep.

The 3 vs. 6 seeds is where the matchups get a bit more interesting. But not as interesting as many pundits are saying. It is the extremely popular opinion to pick the Knickerbockers over the senior-citizens in Boston. Boston has looked tired and beat-down after the Kendrick Perkins trade and everyone is counting them out this season. Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, LAST YEAR when the Celtics ran train on the entire Eastern Conference before pushing the Lakers to 7 games.

I do think that it will be a more competitive series, but I think the Celtics will handle the Knicks pretty easily. The Knicks haven't come together well and they are worse off after the 'Melo trade. They look like they basically just waiting on Chris Paul in 2012 so they can finally compete. With this roster they will never succeed, and I think that the Knicks might win one or two at home but that is being generous. If it would have been their former roster, I may have said otherwise. Lets face it, if Garnett snarls at Amare once, Amare will probably poop his pants.

The last first round matchup is the Magic vs. the Hawks. No one is really talking about the Hawks winning this series except maybe in Atlanta barbershops (and even then, they are not sure). On paper, I think the Hawks have one of the better starting lineups in the East. In fact, that group can definitely compete against the Magic.

They have Al Horford and Josh Smith as one of the best defensive tandems in the NBA, and they should be able to handle Superman (Dwight Howard) better than a lot of teams can. The Hawks also have some scoring power with Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, while Kirk Hinrich is a good defender. Their only problem is the complete lack of depth. If Horford gets in foul trouble for example, a guy with the first name Zaza is the next best thing. And he is behind Jason Collins, who is an absolute bum. They have no second stringers at all, which is what they should have went after in the off-season instead of giving Joe Johnson huge contracts.

At the same time, the Magic have a nice variety of guys coming off the bench. They have a guy at every position that can burn you for a solid 25 points off the bench. This series will come down to how well Jameer Nelson plays. If he steps it up in the playoffs like he usually does, the Magic will dominate. And if Gilbert Arenas is on his game, the Magic could even sweep. But Arenas will definitely not show up every night, and Nelson is bound to have an off-game or two, that's why I am saying the Hawks will get two wins before bowing out.

BIBBY BUYOUT

Well would ya look at the Wizards!!!...I know most of you don't want to because they suck right now, but their future is extra bright now. Without Bibby's contract next year (an extra $6 million) the Wiz can use that money for more leverage. Let's look at who is under contract next year shall we?

John Wall ($5 mil/2 years), Andray Blatche ($6 mil/5 years), Trevor Booker ($1.2/2 years), Jordan Crawford ($1 mil/2 years), Javale McGee ($1.6 mil/2 years), Kevin Seraphin ($1.5 mil/2 years)...all good young players...and last but not least: Rashard Lewis's crazy big contract ($20 mil/3 years).

So you are looking at close to $37 mil next year...over $20 mil for other players. You will have to give Nick Young at least $4 to $5 mil a year, but after that its $15 mil. Then the draft picks...its still probably over $10 million. Why not go get guys like Shannon Brown, Nenad Krstic or Louis Amundson (hey he hustles, I really like him as a player)?

There are plenty of decent young players in this free agent class...they won't be game-changers but they can still help a rebuilding roster. And you don't need to pay extravagant sums of money for these kids. Build around John Wall. DRAFT SCORERS! Unfortunately the free agent class is ripe with role players but no guys that can put up 20 points a night.

So, go after some guys that can put up some numbers in the scoring column, just don't make the mistake of going after JJ Redick II: Jimmer Fredette. With all the money the Wiz have, the future is there, I just hope they keep making the right moves.

WILL LEBRON EVER BE CLUTCH?

Well the Heat dropped another one against a top team...and in the final minutes. Bron Bron, proving more and more that he may be the least clutch best player in the NBA. Confused by that wordage? Me too. Let me explain. Basically, I have never seen a player who could be considered the best player in the NBA to be so un-clutch.

In fact, in many cases, like Jordan or Kobe, the clutchness factor helps make them the best player in the NBA. There is almost no doubt that just based on physical ability, Lebron James is the best player in the game right now. Even if he did team up with two all-stars and become the villain of the NBA. Speaking of which, he seems to be reveling in that role...starting beef with Boobie Gibson because Gibson yelled that he was the King of Cleveland at his birthday? Come on man...check out the story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=6162858

On a slight side note, since when have Lebron and Wade become the Ambiguously Gay Duo? Please tell me someone else saw their gay little matching outfits during the post game conference...

A little disclaimer here: I really loved Lebron when he was on Cleveland, and I respected his decision to go to Miami, but the more and more I hear about him outside of the basketball court the more I dislike him. This could be the NBA trying to spin his image into the bad-guy role, but whatever they are doing, its working.

Now, back to his game. If Bron does not step up in the clutch or pass the ball to Eddie House in order to hit a game-winner:

Clearly Eddie House has the balls Lebron does not...but if Bron Bron can't do it, you have another guy on your team who has proven some clutchness:

Even Brad Miller knows that Dwyane Wade has some clutch ability. The Heat have lost game after game against good teams in the waning minutes. Instead of having Lebron James jacking up threes (which I have seen twice now in clutch situations) give the ball to Mr. Wade.

THE NUGGETS PLAYING DEFENSE????

Watching the Nuggets beat down the short-handed Celtics last night was great to see. I thought they were a better team after the 'Melo deal, but not this good. Ok, before I get too ahead of myself, I realize that this is just one game...but I saw Danilo Gallinari playing defense. Let me repeat that: Danilo Gallinari was playing defense. And well too.

Finally his 6-10 frame was used for something else than having the height to shoot spot up jumpers on shorter players. Kenyon Martin looked like he was back at Cincinnati. The team looked like a bunch of guys hungry (which they should have been after all the trade talk). I like this Nuggets squad, I hope they go far.

MY HOMETOWN WIZ-KIDS: MAKING ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

Almost everyday I see the Wizards getting bashed in the Washington Post. It's tough being fans of a rebuilding team, believe me I understand. But the Wiz management have been making the right moves for the first time since maybe the Wes Unseld era.

With a little bit of luck landing John Wall, the Wizards have pieced together a young roster with flashes of brilliance. The flashes also include fighting with coaches and hitting each other in night clubs...(why do you insist on being a thug Andre Blatche?) But they have build a roster around young as well as veteran guys with one-year contracts that they can see how they develop in this system. Sort of like a trial run to find good pieces to build around their future: John Wall (I mean the guy has his own song already)

The deal of the century was getting Gilbert Arenas off the team for a guy that is extremely mild-mannered but also has a mammoth contract (hey you can't have it all right?) in Rashard Lewis. Being honest, Gilbert wasn't going to go anywhere else, even if I thought you might be able to coax the Bucks to take him for Michael Redd's expiring contract and sweeten the pot with one other guy not named John Wall.

Nonetheless, this deal gets a huge distraction off their team and adds a nice guy in the locker-room. So, you add in the trade deadline deal of acquiring Jordan Crawford (everyone thinks Mike Bibby was the reason for this trade it was actually this kid outta Xavier), Mike Bibby, and Maurice Evans plus the always coveted first-round draft pick (too bad this draft class sucks and everyone was making it rain with their draft picks during the trade deadline).

Nonetheless, you get a draft pick and three guys that can score...finally. The Wizards have some nice pieces but they needed someone to put up some points. The reason why they suck so bad away from home is because Nick Young does not show up when he isn't at the Verizon Center. That's why they need a consistent set of scorers along with Young to put up points for them.

Hopefully Crawford can add some points and Bibby will definitely add some points. Evans is another guy who plays solid D but can also put up the points. Evans contract is ending after this year anyways (another trial run) and Bibby's contract may get bought out after this season. Now its a matter of drafting some more young guys and then hitting the free agent market hard.

Unfortunately it is a bad free agent class as well, but you can acquire some deals out there, maybe even bring Caron Butler back to DC (almost definitely not happening, Mark Cuban is not giving him up). Either way, salary cap is useful in trades...look at the Nets getting Sasha Vujacic for nothing. So I think that the future is bright in DC, so columnists please take it easy on these Wiz-kids.

MVP DEBATE

Watching last night's Heat/Bulls or Lebron/Derrick Rose showdown made me realize one thing: Derrick Rose is the more VALUABLE player to his team. Even though Lebron had better numbers, Rose proves that without him on the Bulls they would be nothing.

For these same reasons I think Chris Paul should be in the discussion over Bron Bron. Both Paul and Rose mean everything to their teams. So instead of talking about Durant and Lebron, people should really be arguing Paul or Rose.

If you take Lebron off the Heat you still have a Championship-caliber ball club with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Take Durant off the Thunder and you still have an MVP candidate in Russell Westbrook, and before yesterday's bad trade, a talented Jeff Green. What would happen if you took Rose or Paul off of their rosters? Their teams fall apart.

EVERYTHING goes through these two guys. Watching Paul the night before yesterday against the Clippers and yesterday having Rose take on the Heat...it proved that everything has to go through these guys. For some reason Paul isn't getting the recognition this year (maybe because he is headed for New York next year) but I am not really sure why.

Even if Paul does not win the MVP (which he won't) he should at least be in the running. He has New Orleans back in contention and he has carried them. But, watching Derrick Rose and looking at his numbers, there is no way that you cannot give the MVP to this young man. He carried this team by himself without a front-court for much of the start of the season (Boozer and Noah were both out at the beginning). Hell, look at his team...Taj Gibson's goofy ass is getting extended minutes. So this year's MVP is going to Derrick Rose.

BIGGEST WINNERS OF THE TRADE DEADLINE: CAVALIERS? THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT...

Yep, the Cavaliers. A close second may be the Memphis Grizzlies for luckily being unable to trade OJ Mayo away. But the Cavaliers quietly gave themselves a future they did not have.

Now, this is a disclaimer, because if I were really honest with myself I would say that the Trail Blazers were the biggest winners for giving up two late 1st-round draft picks for Gerald Wallace...but it feels so much better to say the Cavaliers are good at something.

Let's face it, the Cavaliers were really hopeless once Lebron left. They had EVERYTHING invested in the kid from Akron. At least Toronto had Bargnani, the Cavs had a bunch of aging veteran role-players. I truly feel bad for Antawn Jamison, one of the classiest guys to step on the basketball court. Nonetheless, he is the perfect role player on a good team...and he's the best the Cavs got.

The Cavs dealt Mo Williams for a high first round draft pick and the huge contract of Baron Davis. Honestly, that contract does not even really mean anything in the grand scheme of Cleveland's rebuilding. It will take a lot of time for them to rebuild. By the time they have the talent to compete again, Davis will be long gone.

Meanwhile, Williams was not going to be a guy to build your team around. He is a solid point-guard but he is getting up in the years and he will never be elite. So, this just made sense. Now you have two draft picks in the top ten this year, almost guaranteed. You can't miss that badly to not get at least some talent out of this year's draft.

At the same time, the Cavs got two young talented post players for basically nothing. Semin Erden and Luke Harangody are guys that have spent time in the Celtics system and knows what it takes to win. They can bring some of that intensity to Cleveland.

And with a lot of money coming off the books this season, they can utilize their cap room to make trades, because let's face it, no free agents wanna go to Cleveland. After today, the future looks a little brighter in Cleveland.

DUMBEST TRADE OF THE PAST WEEK

Now I am sure that you are going over all of the deals over the past week, thinking about all of the big names that were dealt, but you are probably not thinking about the trade I am talking about: the Boston Celtics trading Semin Erden and Luke Hoosurmama uh...Harangody for the Cavaliers second round pick.

I don't get to say this often, maybe ever, but great move by the Cleveland Cavaliers. You get two young decently talented big men with two year contracts of half a million each for absolutely nothing. As for the Celtics, especially with the deal of Perkins, you could have Erden playing your starting center right now with Harangody helping out...even if he does look like he belongs on the special bus:

Instead you deal them for a future second round pick? Its not even for this year! Not like it matters. But I was baffled by this deal and searching for a possible reasoning. The only one I could find is the available free agents after the dust settles.

Troy Murphy may be on the market after a buyout, and maybe some other guys, but come on, you could develop these young guys under Garnett and make them "real" players like Glen Davis. I mean he is a grown man that is called "Big Baby" but that's beside the point. I like the way Erden played and Harangody was a hustle machine. Its unfortunate to see these guys go...especially to Cleveland.

D-WILL TRADE

By now I think everyone has heard about how Deron Williams learned about his own trade watching Sportscenter. A pretty bad way to treat a player, but the old school franchise of the Utah Jazz were not a team that was going to let a player dominate their franchise. So, without any warning they dealt him.

Well, clearly they are coming away as the loser of this deal, as most teams are when they give away a superstar. Even if Derrick Favors has all the potential in the world (I keep hearing it, I don't see it on the floor) it won't really help, because they have two young guys in the post that I don't see Utah giving up anytime soon.

Those two players are Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson (who they stole from the Timberwolves). Both of these guys are talented big men of the future. So, I think that if Favors does eventually improve, he may even leave Utah in a deal before his career is done.

At the same time, the ray of hope is Devin Harris. This poor kid is not wanted anywhere. First in Washington, they immediately trade him to Dallas, where he was essentially trade bait for his entire career there. Finally he lands in Jersey where he becomes an All-Star and then suffers an entire year of hearing that he is going to Denver. I hope he suddenly goes off in Utah (which I think could easily be the case).

Unfortunately Utah is in complete disarray after Sloan left. The draft picks will help rebuild but honestly I thought that D-Will would be a staple in Salt Lake City for his entire career. I do wish him luck in Jersey though, I really enjoy watching him play and I think he was by far the best player dealt in the past week.

FULL STORY ON THE 'MELO SAGA

So I know everyone is probably done with hearing about Carmelo Anthony...but here is how I think it all went down. I think the Knicks got tricked into giving all those players up for 'Melo. Anthony was not going anywhere else but NY and not Brooklyn.

This was obvious right when Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the Nets said he did not want to meet with 'Melo and he wanted his team to focus on playing about a month ago. This was said a day before he had to meet with Mr. Anthony. So you are telling me your team could not wait one more day to see if an amazing player like Carmelo Anthony would come to your team? Come on, Anthony probably sent him a text saying there is no way in hell he was playing for Jersey.

So, this is where the Knicks offered Wilson Chandler and a bunch of bums for Anthony. Clearly that was unacceptable and only a trade that would be made by the Memphis Grizzles (see: Pau Gasol trade). Once that happened, Denver had to be creative. They had to start talking about dealing him to the Lakers of all teams in order to stir up a solid deal from NY. In fact, they had to even agree in principle with Jersey about a deal.

All this with the knowledge that the only team 'Melo was playing for next season was the Knickerbockers. Finally, they coaxed a very substantial deal out of NY, basically stealing an entire team for one player. In fact, I think that Denver may be better off. You open up the floor for guys like JR Smith, Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo, while bringing in three solid players.

I think that Ty Lawson is an explosive young PG who is ready to shine, but Felton can come in there when Lawson is getting abused on defense. Gallinari and Chandler are guys that can fit in right away, substituting for Anthony. Honestly, I think that Denver is a better, younger team that has some extra draft picks now.

CELTICS/THUNDER DEAL

Today the Boston Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate "Shrek's Donkey" Robinson for emerging star Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. I looked on ESPN today and I saw that 70% of the people thought the Thunder got the better deal. Well, Nate Robinson must have jumped and kneed 70% of the Sports Nation in the head...

Because this deal was worse for the Thunder.

Now clearly I see the benefit here for the Thunder. You get a big man you finally wanted in Kendrick Perkins. And, you don't have to worry about Jeff Green leaving at the end of the season. BUT, Jeff Green was part of your big three...the future that you were looking to build around those three guys to compete against the likes of Miami or Boston (the team you just made better). He is a young extremely talented player that can play almost any position. He reminds me of Lamar Odom, who by the way, is helping the Lakers stay on top this season.

For Boston this deal was amazing. You get the backup for Paul Pierce after it was announced that Marquis Daniels is out for the season. Then, Green can also backup Kevin Garnett. At the same time, you get Nenad Krstic who is a solid center. They solidified their front court for years to come.

Kendrick Perkins is just coming off an injury that caused him to be out for an extended period of time. He will NEVER put up the same kind of numbers that Jeff Green will. Sure the Thunder are getting a big man, but at what cost?

Some argue that Jeff Green was gone after this season. But he was a RESTRICTED free agent, whatever contract is offered just match it! He is pivotal to your lineup.

I think that if it was just Green for Perkins it may not have been such a bad trade. But throwing in Krstic just throws salt into the wound, you are already depleted in the front court, why add him in the deal to make the money work?

I think that once again, the Celtics made a phenomenal deal that just further solidifies their place as the best team in the NBA right now.

THE CHARLOTTE BOBCATS MESS

I feel extreme remorse as I write this, but the Charlotte Bobcats may be one of the most mismanaged ball clubs in the NBA. The reason I feel remorse is because my favorite basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan is running this team...unfortunately into the ground.

Now before I go bashing my icon I must argue that there have been a lot of other people that are probably to blame before Michael Jordan, but being the owner and being part of this team for many years, he has to get at least some of the blame.

Today the Bobcats made another blunder, dealing the only real talent they have on their roster, Gerald Wallace. This guy is a potential all-star every year and he does not cause any problems in the locker-room. In fact, he quietly goes about his great numbers while teams don't see the value in him (first Sacramento, now Charlotte).

Ok, from the owner perspective, the Bobcats wanted to shed some salaries...which is fine, but everyone but Wallace and D.J. Augustin should have been on the table. Even though I am sure they tried hard, there had to at least have been ONE team that wanted Stephen Jackson and his contract. He is a talented loud-mouth who is older than Wallace by around 4 years. He has gotta be the first to go.

But even before that, let's look at the bonehead deals that got the Bobcats into this situation in the first place. Emeka Okafor. Then his trade partner Tyson Chandler. Emeka Okafor just did not make any sense at all in my mind. Ok Larry Brown may not have liked him, but at the time he was the building block of your team. I was done being a Bobcats fan after that deal.

Then you trade Tyson Chandler for Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera? Really? Those guys had smaller contracts but they went on for an eternity. Carroll still has 3 years while Najera has 2. It made absolutely no sense because Chandler's contract was coming off the books after this year.

So, if they would have kept Chandler and his almost $13 million expiring contract, then they would have been under the salary cap after this year. It didn't help that they overpaid for Tyrus Thomas. I have completely given up on this team...they have some cap room now going into the next year, but they have guys under contract like Desagana Diop, Matt Carroll, Eduardo Najera and Shaun Livingston...good luck building on that roster.

NBA CONTRACTION

So after spending a good amount of the past few days yelling at my computer in disbelief at the trades that have gone down in the NBA, the deals have added value to my theory that the NBA is moving towards a contraction. This belief gained its roots with the mass migration of talent down to South Beach, leaving two small-market teams with hopeless rosters (really Toronto, that kind of money for Amir Johnson?).


The theory snow-balled with the trade-deadline deals, where once again small-market teams were left in the dust of superstars heading out. In both the 'Melo and D-Will deals the other team did not get devastated, in fact in Denver's case they may have even gotten better. Nonetheless, the players on those teams are now expendable, which Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams were not (more info in other posts about these trades).

Even as the trade deadline has passed, there are a few deals that may have just gone before the deadline that could once again make smaller markets weaker. The Oklahoma City Thunder dealt Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to the Celtics for creepy-looking Kendrick Perkins and his little sidekick Nate Robinson. The only way this deal makes sense is because the Thunder probably thought Green was leaving in free agency this year, despite being a restricted free agent (there will be more insight in another post about this trade).

Another deal that may go through that was recently reported is the OJ Mayo for Josh McRoberts deal. Though there is a first-round draft pick in the mix, this year's draft class is nothing to make deals over. Once again, you take a young talented player from one of the smaller markets and send him to well...another smaller market. Ok the only reason I bring this deal up is because there is no way Indiana is getting kicked out of the league. Indiana is the basketball Mecca of the United States, so the Pacers are sticking around. Having OJ Mayo on there squad suddenly makes them a contender (just found out that this deal isn't going through, but it still would have been BS)


I just found out about this deal...Gerald Wallace to Portland for basically draft picks? Deeper analysis on a different post but this also proves my theory. Portland is another team that is not going anywhere because after Seattle left the NBA needs some coverage in the Northwest, but Charlotte gave up their ONLY young(ish) talented player. This seems like an eerie flashback to when they dealt Emeka Okafor.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a move today getting rid of Mo Williams for a possible top-ten draft pick and the un-tradeable contract of Baron Davis. Mo Williams was the only guy left on that roster with any value, andddd he's outta there! (There will be more analysis in other posts)

So what is my final conclusion? Teams like Cleveland, Toronto, Charlotte, maybe Memphis and Oklahoma City in the future, are all going to be victims of an NBA contraction. Think about it, out of all the teams, these five are probably the smallest in the NBA. The first three have really no future in store for themselves. They could really eliminate these three teams right after this season.

Now how would that get done? Good question. Honestly, you could set up one team in a major city, how about San Diego? Its the 8th largest city in the US. It would also give the cast of Sportscenter endless Anchorman references during highlights.

Then just have an expansion draft from those three teams. From three really bad teams you could make one solid team. Andrea Bargnani, Stephen Jackson, Antawn Jamison...ok even with those three teams you cannot even build a great team (those three really suck), but at least they have a chance. And give 'em all the draft picks those three teams should have had. Whatta ya know, I am a San Diego fan already.