Real Deal

Yeah, Brown will be back. I don't see us letting him go. We tried to deal Farmar to Houston last year, and he's still not playing the way we need him to, so he's walking if we can't find a suitor. If we keep Powell or Mbenga, it'll be whoever accepts the least amount of money. I'd say DJ will. Powell has been good, but he doesn't play defense, and he can get more money elsewhere. Fisher will retire a Laker, not only for his sake, but for his family's sake...and probably in the best interest of Phil Jackson. Morrison has no future with the team. He'll be dealt or let go, and that's not even something to talk about. Of course, those guys will stay if they take less money, but that's not going to happen with Farmar.

I can't believe I finally fell into the trap, believing that Arenas had what it takes to be a top six point in the NBA. I'll never do that again.

And Stephen Jackson.

Trade Brand for some decent talent, sign Iverson, toss your coach and find one like D'Antoni (who wants to run), start Speights at the four, and go from there. You'll put butts in seats, boost team morale, add scoring, and win more games than you're on pace to winning right now.

Either the Knicks want to shed even more money so they can get about $45 million under the cap this summer (LOL), or they think he can contribute for them, then resign for much less. They could deal Curry and Jeffries. Houston would probably pull the trigger, as this gives them another big man and two player options (which will expire after next season). That way, if the Knicks keep Tracy for just one season, they'll owe a total of $8-9 million for the rest of their team, assuming they don't re-sign anyone (LOL again) and that gives them what...$45-50 million to sign free agents? Then they can see how much money Lee, Harrington, McGrady and Robinson will take, and go from there. Or...it can all backfire in their face, where no player returns, and no big free agent signs, and the Knicks win two games in 2010-11.

What the hell is wrong with Boston? You should still be able to win games convincingly, despite one player having trouble. Al Harrington was picking them apart, and Garnett was more like a pylon than anything else.

At least we're champions spending that kind of money. The Knicks were over $110k (if I remember right) and didn't even make the playoffs.

I believe once you foul out all but five players, the foul-out rule is dropped for the remaining five...but don't quote me on that.

It makes him expendable. He's still a shell of his former self, even if he averages 20/10 throughout the entire season. When he was in LA, he did draw doubles and make passes, was a player everyone worried about. Now, teams just let him have at it, not worrying about a 40-point performance (which is what I would call dominating, not 20-25 points). Kevin Martin's 25 a night looked good for the Kings, until they lost him. Sacramento can now say that K-Mart is expendable, because they have a player that can actually put up the numbers AND play within the offense, while at least trying to play defense (Evans). Elton Brand is a power forward version of Kevin Martin, in that regard. Both are players you'd want to have as second or third options, but neither are players that will lead your team to victories. A Zach Randolph comparison isn't fair, and that's my fault...but he's closer to Randolph than he is someone like Amare, who may not play defense but CAN play within a team-oriented offense.

I took Jessica to see it tonight. I don't really care for the chick flick BS. The action was alright, though...wolves and all that, but the other movie had much more fighting in it, and that's really all I liked. And every single time Jacob (Lautner) shows up, he's missing his shirt. It's stupid. The first time he took his shirt off, every damn female in the theater was like, "Oh, WOW!" So annoying. I'm going to work out, mad crazy, for the next two months...then just go to a basketball game here at the college, stand center court, and take my shirt off and see the reaction, just because of this response tonight.

Yeah, he showed JJ Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas who's boss! Again, it doesn't translate into wins, and his defense sucked. He doesn't fit well in the offense, and that's why Philly is a bad basketball team. If the Sixers wanted Zach Randolph and his 20/10, I guess they got their man.

Wow man, trade CP3 for two all-stars. :o

When did thugs become all black? Should probably do some research on the word, also. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee

I'm really not sure what'll happen. When you could argue that the Hornets certainly look better without CP3, you gotta sit back and tell yourself that's idiotic, because Peja can't play like this forever. With that said, David West needs to step his game up and do something about Marvin Williams (who went off last game), and Okafor will need to crash the glass and prevent Smith from getting easy boards, or else the game is over by the third quarter.

This is another chance for Jennings to go off for at least 30. Bogut is out, the Grizzlies have no backcourt defense, and the Bucks are sitting on Jennings' shoulders until Drew is back in the lineup. I really can't say they'll win, though...but Milwaukee has the best record in their division (yes, even over the Cavaliers), with a couple of impressive wins and big performances by the rook. With it being in Memphis, the tides could turn a bit. Should be interesting.

Cleveland will officially have major problems if they somehow screw this game up tonight. I don't care if it's just one game...Brand has been playing well, but the Sixers are a dysfunctional team with no offense, no defense, and no motivation. This should really be a blowout with the game in Cleveland.

They don't need him to be the 2001 Iverson, they need him to score the ball. And how do you know Iverson on any team is a distraction? He's only played for two since LEADING the Nuggets to a 50-win season just two years ago, and both of those teams (the Pistons and the Grizzlies) are still non-playoff teams without him. They should've started him. EDIT: I really don't consider a 39-win Pistons team to be a playoff team. Yes, in the East they are...but no team should really be considered a good one if they win less than 41.

I haven't seen that much of the Magic just yet to be able to really comment on all of them, but I think the J-Will signing was a good choice (even though I too thought he'd never play again), and I would've been the first to tell you that Barnes was brought in for defensive purposes (replacing what Lee gave you), and nothing more. Barnes was a product of the Suns/Nash system. They turned him into a dangerous open shooter...but as good as he can be, Nelson is no Nash as far as running an offense goes, so you can't expect Barnes to be that effective from beyond the arc. I don't know what to think about Vince yet. I know he's scoring points, but I still don't see him playing much defense out there, and I can't say I like the fact that the ball isn't going into Dwight as much as it should. That has a LOT to do with Carter. The Magic were being built, ground up, around Howard. They were in the Finals last season because of it. I really can't say they took a step forward by signing Vince, but I really don't know if I can say they took one back, either...just not sure at this point.

Wolves, Clippers and Sixers, bro. Clippers, Nuggets, Blazers, Pistons, Rockets...all teams you guys lost to without Iverson playing. In December, you have a stretch of very tough games coming up, although most are at home. vs. Mavs vs. Cavs vs. Thunder @ Heat vs. Celtics @ Hawks If you pull wins out of those, then I'll be impressed...but I'm inclined to believe that you guys would LOVE to have Iverson against some of those defensively-talented teams, such as Boston.

Dude, that's really good.

Nice. I haven't really compared their stats yet, but that's always good to see.

It took 40 from LeBron, but the Cavs pulled it off. Close game all the way through, though.

Good recipe I found back in 2001, figured Charlotte could use it: Allen Iverson + Larry Brown + Defense = Victories

Knicks should've signed Iverson when they had the chance. I wonder how well CDR will do in this one. Could be the Nets' first victory.

The Bucks are just rolling. They need to hit that ugly West swing in their schedule, though. Milwaukee has beaten these teams: Pistons Wolves Knicks Nuggets Warriors Nets Bobcats I can't say they are among the top in the East. They can be a playoff team, though...but I'll hold back on that comment until they play LA, Boston, Orlando, Cleveland, Phoenix and Atlanta at least a couple of times.