AboveLegit

I know using the amnesty is the logical way of going about things, but you can't help but to look at how thin Miami is depth wise. James Jones is an unrestricted FA as well, and you gotta believe that him getting benched in the Finals is haunting him. Spo rarely used him properly, and his minutes have always fluctuated. I can definitely see him leaving too. Heat will use their MLE on a big man, but what's after that?

I'd be shocked if the Magic accepted the Lakers deal over the Clippers deal (should Sterling extend an offer to them). I don't see the appeal in the Lakers' offer, Bogut or not. If you ship out your MVP caliber franchise player, the obvious move is to begin your rebuild. And what better way to start that rebuild by receiving high picks in a stacked 2012 draft and quality young talent? Lakers have very little to offer, Bynum has a problem with injuries, I'd much rather build around an Anthony Davis.

http://twitter.com/#!/DeronWilliams/status/142336840505106432 Look, I won't be completely shocked if he left, he was caught off guard when New Jersey traded for him, this wasn't exactly where he wanted to be dealt to. But, I do have faith in Billy King, I think he will convince Deron to stay, not to mention playing in Brooklyn is enticing.

So much for the lockout creating parity.... Anyways, I'll stick by my original comment, CP3 isn't going to the Knicks. It doesn't seem feasible at this point despite Paul's desire to play in New York. No assets to trade for him, and no, expecting Shumpert to breakout when he's playing behind Billups is just irrational. Best bet is CP3 going to one of the LA teams... and don't rule out Boston just yet.. Remember, KG said he had no intentions of going to Boston back in '07, Ainge can convince Chris.

Not surprised, we're not going to sign any big FA's this year and let Lewis' contract expire.

Yeah which is why I don't think much of Marshall's pro potential, because he severely lacking in three major categories, athleticism, scoring, and defense. He's fundamentally sound, he knows the game, but he's pretty much one dimensional. In order for this team to make a deep run in March, Roy's going to need to work with his rotations. On the other hand, Wisconsin's offense is abysmal at times. It's basically everyone standing on the three point line, passing it off to each other, and dancing around with the ball. There's no fluidity to it at all. Taylor has been shut down this half, Strickland is doing an excellent job on him.

Well if that's the case, Brook would be forced to guard 4's, which would be a disaster.

Barnes has no room to operate with this lineup, Roy Williams needs to spread the floor out. I love McAdoo's motor, he's always active around the paint.

Yeah I understand the idea behind Tyson mentoring Valanciunas, but at the price people are projecting, it doesn't appear to be reasonable. Not to mention I've always figured Toronto to be in the same position as the Wizards, whereas they're trying to build through the draft, and won't bother signing any big FA's till their foundation is set.

Why would Toronto go after Chandler? Valanciunas is only a year away from making his debut. Also having a tough time seeing New Jersey going after him seeing as how they have their heart set on Dwight Howard.

That drive by Harrison Barnes with about a minute left in the half is exactly what we need to see more of. He needs to step away from that one dribble one shot mindset and start creating more for himself.

Big reason why I'm not particularly confident with UNC moving forward is their rebounding issues. Wisconsin needs to start working Jordan Taylor off more pick and rolls, and he needs to do a better job of finding his cutters. Offense is way too stagnant right now.

I've heard that the Clippers GM really wants a guy like Prince, he's the ideal fit at SF with championship experience. Butler is more of a risk anyway. However, given Gordon's injury history, they might prefer Caron because he's the more dynamic scorer of the two.

The logic for NBA players are much different, their salary obviously matters a lot to them, and CP3 knows he is able to receive a max contract. I just cannot see a superstar taking a $40 million paycut just to play in MSG. Honestly, if you were CP3, would you rather play in MSG on that paycut, or play alongside Blake Griffin in LA on a max contract? If salaries played no role in all of this, the obvious answer is MSG, but that's just not the case here. Any endorsement CP3 can potentially make in New York can be accomplished playing alongside NBA's poster boy in one of the largest markets in the league.

LeBron was offered $126mill to stay in Cleveland, and opted for a 6yr/110mill in Miami. That's no where near what CP3 would be sacrificing. That's a big IF in regards to Shumpert and Fields showing enough promise that would warrant them as being considered legitimate assets in a trade for the best PG in the game. Fields in particular struggled a lot after the Melo trade, and while I do believe he will bounce back and find his comfort zone, I don't think he will particularly shine in his limited role. I liked the Shumpert pick, he's a good defender that will benefit from playing in Dantoni's uptempo offense, but he's still going to be behind Billups the whole season. And New Orleans will definitely want some picks in return for CP3 to accelerate the rebuilding process, and the Knicks have none. I understand the interest is there on the part of Chris Paul, but this is a pipe dream.

Knicks are not getting Chris Paul. Just read what Hollinger said.. No way Chris is willing to sacrifice 40 million to play for the Knicks, and they don't have the assets to do a sign and trade. Only reason we keep hearing this is because it's NYC.

Definitely not enough, that deal is laughable compared to what the Clippers can offer. The Rockets pick is top-14 protected until 2016, and if the Nets do get that dream duo of Deron and Dwight, their pick would be in the late teens/20's. Brook Lopez, while a quality center, isn't exactly what I want as the key piece in a deal. He had a good year scoring the ball, but was inefficient doing so, and only grabbed 6RPG. Orlando can probably squeeze out Eric Gordon and a Minnesota unprotected 2012 pick which can turn out to be Anthony Davis. Not to mention they have the pieces to help Orlando's financial situation.

Would be a terrible move for Memphis. Gay is not the problem in Memphis, nor did him going down with an injury allow Memphis to "upset" the Spurs. That first round match up against San Antonio came at the perfect timing. Ginobili was banged up, and Duncan wasn't in his best form. After game 7 against the Thunder, I remember hearing a lot of people saying if Memphis had Rudy, they would have won the series. Fact is, that roster is set to make the playoffs, but there's always going to be a need for that wing scorer like Rudy Gay. He had a career year before being hit with the injury, you don't trade a player like that.

Agreed, and let's remember, Kevin Garnett once upon a time said he didn't want to go to Boston. Ainge can convince CP3 to join, it's just going to take a another move for it to work.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7296934/sources-boston-celtics-deal-rajon-rondo-land-chris-paul Wow.

Really makes me wonder why draft sites have him ranked so high.. I guess they assume because he's a great rebounder at this level, that he can turn into the next Kevin Love. Difference is, Love's motor never stops running, he's relentless on the boards and has a very solid shot that extends to the NBA three.

Another thing I've noticed, when Sullinger is deep in the post and one of the guards give him the ball, he takes an awful long time going up for the shot.

Completely agree, the more I watch him, the more I come away unimpressed. He takes plays off, despite being a talented rebounder he forgets to box out, and a lot of his points come off simple put backs. I like his potential, but I think it will take a while for him to adjust to the NBA game.

That's the problem I had with Rivers going to Duke, his style of play doesn't fit in with Coach K. Ultimately it will benefit his game playing under Coach K because he has some maturing to do, but he won't be able to showcase his full skillset. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RCL-BgLBss&feature=youtu.be Sick.

Yeah, finishing off drives has been a problem for him all year, but if he can pair that crossover up with the ability to pass out to shooters on the perimeter, he can lead this team in March.