Real Deal

Nah, I think he belongs on the team. As a starter, I don't know...but from what I've seen of him this season, he's not a bad back-up at all. He just needs to score like a big man, rather than play Lamar Odom's game.

33 points, 18 rebounds, six blocks. http://www.tshirtwatch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/lucy-pinder-superman-shirt.jpg

Amare to the rescue?

LOL, if Blatche ever had a chance to look like a superstar, this is it. Two months of it.

Duncan shot 4-23 from the floor...but had a MONSTER 26 boards. :o Close game, but the Spurs escape by three.

I actually agree (and practically said the same thing) with most of it, but this... Seems like that's how it's been since the 80's, bro. 80's champs (eight championships): Los Angeles, Boston 90's champs (eight championships): Chicago, Houston 2000's champs (seven championships): Los Angeles, San Antonio Five teams, 23 championships, 30 seasons.

I understand where you're going with it and why you said it, but we already had to go through our share of that stuff when Boston, Cleveland, and Nuggets fans (and, well, pretty much every non-Lakers fan) dove into that Gasol topic (on the old board) to whine about THAT trade. The worst part of it all is that we are STILL hearing about it, despite what Marc is doing in Memphis. Yet, when something like this happens, it's not that big of a deal, and the Lakers fans are now whining about it? It's sort of a double-edged sword, I guess. We do something, and we robbed the league and were handed a title we don't deserve, says the fans that have a right to speak on it. Someone else does something similar, and it's a fantastic trade for that team, and the whiny Lakers fans should shut their mouths.

That trade would've made perfect sense for Golden State. Mayo is a legit combo guard, more a two-guard. That allows Curry to play the point, and it solves the problems the Warriors are having right now (with Curry and Monta). As far as Memphis goes, I don't see why they offer this.

And Marc Gasol is young as well. I'm not comparing Jamison and Pau, I'm saying that the ridiculous comments concerning the Gasol/Gasol deal are unwarranted and annoying. If anything, the Cavaliers got a better player for less, and it's not even debatable. Stats, age, whatever...doesn't matter, unless you think that 30th pick in the draft will be John Wall, for some strange reason.

Probably San Antonio. I know they were rushing to bring in Tyrus, but asking about another player as well.

Wow, will you guys get over that [expletive], seriously? Antawn Jamison (a 20/10 player) was just traded for a first-round pick, likely 30th in the draft. Pau Gasol (17 PPG, 11 RPG, 52% FG) Marc Gasol (15 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 58% FG) If you didn't know he was good, you didn't pay much attention to international basketball. Memphis wasn't even going to make the deal if Marc wasn't included, and it wasn't like he had a big contract, either. It's getting annoying. Just because there are incompetent GM's in the NBA doesn't mean it should be placed on our heads. It's not our fault other GM's don't have the mental capacity to pull off a decent trade, or other owners are spending all of their time trying to drop $30-40 million under the cap and tank for a high pick every season.

By the way, this might be awesome for the Clippers...but only if they land LeBron, Wade or Bosh. They now have a chance at it...and that's what they were shooting for all along.

Right, but you'll have six total players signed if the team exercises Howard's team option this off-season, and altogether, that's $30 million on your payroll. Arenas, Howard, Blatche, Young, McGee and Thornton. Everyone else expires (unless I'm missing out on a player/team option I don't know about). If the cap decreases again, that means the luxury tax threshold decreases slightly, and that gives you guys roughly $25 million to spend for another 6-7 players. Give one of those players (your high pick) $4-5 million. What I'm getting to is this: you'll have $20 million to land a big-name free agent...but obviously, you can't go too big with it. Instead, it looks like you'll be spending small, and this is all without Mike Miller's $10 million, without Foye's $5 million (still assuming you're going to let all of them go to make a run at that big free agent). Otherwise, if you keep Mike and Randy...that's another $15 million added to the books, with the rookie's $4-5 million. At the end of the day, you'll have to start signing minimum contracts to fill your roster. Just enough money to breathe, not enough to make a run for contention. To me, that's what happened here. Any young player, expiring or not. Anyone except Al Thornton. Hickson may not be the ideal starting power forward for most teams, but he would've been a better prize than Thornton, who struggles sharing the ball and has shown his bad attitude in the past.

Washington didn't get anything in this deal. Thornton? Ilgauskas will be bought out. That Cleveland first-rounder will be the last pick in that round, more than likely.

DAMN MAN.

@chadfordinsider http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/category/_/name/truehoop-trade-reports

Probably not. D'Antoni wanted House.

Nate is BYC, so it would have to be just House (and a pick, if thrown in). That's good. I'm sick of Eddie House.

Yeah, with Rondo taking up 35-40 minutes a game, and Ray Allen getting a bit older, I wonder if the Celtics would play Nate at the two a little (as well as the point). That would make my day.

I hope it's for Eddie House and Tony Allen. That would be fantastic.

Yeah, we've talked about this before...I just don't see an all-star in Dorell. He's had six years in the league now, one season where he averaged 25 minutes per game, and the only thing that stood out for me was his rebounding and his shooting percentage, but that was expected given the shots he took. In those first five seasons, he only had one where he played over 45 games...and that was the season prior to the one I mentioned above, and he played 66 games. If he put on more weight, he would be a better defender. Shot-blocking and playing the passing lanes are due to his athleticism, but someone can take him into the post and abuse him, and there have been players blowing past him as well. He doesn't make the best decisions with the basketball, either, which is why he's best in transition or getting most of his shots assisted by teammates. Typically, all-stars have a lot more in their repertoire, especially by their sixth season in the NBA. Dorell hasn't shown to be a legit sixth man in the NBA, let alone at a starter level. The more the Heat wait, the longer they stay in the middle of the pack in the conference, and they'll find less and less teams interested in Wright.

Hickson isn't going anywhere in this deal. The Wizards will get Moon, Ilgauskas and a first-rounder.

Teams giving up early, it's been that way for as long as I can remember, honestly. The Spurs tanking for Duncan? The Sixers waiting for Iverson? But the cap problem is something that will most likely die down next off-season. The free agent class doesn't help at all. When you have LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Johnson and Amare all turning free agents, you'll have teams desperate to get under the cap and offer a max contract. In addition to that, with the new CBA deal up in the air, you'll see much of the same thing until that is signed, either this year or, most likely, in 2011. The Eastern Conference is pathetic from 10-15, average to bad from 6-9. There's really only one dominant team in the conference, also...and ironically, they aren't stacked with superstars. I think that's why you feel like things are at an all-time "ugly" though, because the Sixers and Pistons are stuck in the bottomless pit of the conference, the two teams I've seen you rooting for since you've been posting. With all of the new talent coming in and adjusting, the veteran players, and the 6-7 year guys doing their thing, I really don't see a problem with the league other than the CBA issues they are dealing with at the time.

As a die-hard Jazz fan, you're supposed to keep this hidden from all humans. But seriously, it was nice. I just wish Okur stepped in front of him more. It would've been a sick poster had he done that...maybe Wade/Varejao level, haha.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=TradeTalkRoundup-2010#cavs