Built Ford Tough

White only ripped on Fedor because of the fact that he was not apart of the UFC. He isn't going to go around calling Fedor the greatest fighter on the planet when you consider the fact that he was under contract and fighting for a rival company in Affliction. Dana knew damn well that Fedor was the best fighter in the world but it would be terrible business if he went around annointing Fedor as the greatest fighter in the world (or heavyweight at least) because it would take away credability from the UFC's heavyweight division. And, yes, Fedor would've got an immediate title shot. It was one of the major stipulations of the contract that was offered to him. I just came across this and, well, read it lol: http://sherdog.com/news/news/m-1-fedor-not-offered-30-million-18816 The bottom line though is that I don't think we will ever see Fedor in the UFC because the UFC is not willing to co-promote with M-1 and it just so happens that Fedor is a part owner of M-1 and his manager is the majority owner (I think) of M-1 as well. The only way that Fedor would join the UFC is if they were willing to co-promote with M-1 and I just don't see Zuffa and the UFC ever be willing to do that. As a result of this, I doubt we ever see Fedor in the UFC. It is looking more and more likely that Fedor is either going to sign with Strikeforce or head to Japan or something.

Nah, I don't think that they figure George is more valuable, I just think that the Warriors were clearing up space/minutes in their backcourt. Either that or they are just ridiculously stupid because this trade is straight up robbery on the Raptors behalf.

This is a minor trade that has massive potential reward, and realistically, even if Belinelli never really pans out, he'll give us more then George would have ever given us this year. At 23 years old, hopefully Toronto will be the place for Belinelli to put it all together. This was a really nice pickup by Colangelo, we essentially add a young, former first rounder who was basically cast off because of Don Nelson not liking him, a massive steal in my opinion and something that will help our roster alot this season. This is a classic example of a trade that is low-risk, high-reward. Hell, this trade is a no risk situation. I mean, Belinelli can completely [expletive] the bed in Toronto and it wouldn't even matter because he is a low paid player and its not like George would be getting any minutes this upcoming season anyways. They can give Marco some minutes and if he doesn't do anything with them they can simply just wait out the season and not excercise the team option that they have on him for next season but I do think that Belinelli will be able to give the Raptors some good minutes this upcoming season. Belinelli is a very accurate shooter, and will make up for the loss in shooting prowess that they lost in Jason Kapono. However, the great thing is that unlike Kapono, Belinelli can actually do things other than shoot the three pointer and contribute to the team in other ways. He can create his own shot of fof the dribble, or he is very adapt at running his defender off of screens and getting open in that way. He is a creative ball handler and you can give him the rock and let him create with it if you have to, which is a luxury that the Raptors have not had in their shooting guard since Vince Carter was with the team. Belinelli isn't extremely quick off of the bounce, but much like a lot of his European counterparts, he is very crafty with the rock in his hands. He can get into the paint and finish or look to dish it to a teammate out on the perimeter as he is a capable passer as well. Having Marco out on the floor is going to give the Raptors another player on the perimeter that, if they need him to, can create plays during various stretches of the game. Defensively, he isn't anything special. He is a pesky defender that likes to get up on people, but he really isn't quick enough laterally to be able to afford to play this aggressive style of defense because whoever he is guarding is capable of blowing right by him. He isn't a liability and can get under his check's skin though, which can result in a couple of unforced errors or mental lapses during the course of the game. I don't think that the Raptors plan on starting Belinelli and will most likely utilize him off of the bench, but if he does see some significant time with the starting lineup, I think that Bosh is going to love this move. Having Belinelli on the floor gives the Raptors another knock down shooter and opens the floor up more for Bosh inside. If the Raptors have a lineup of Calderon/Belinelli/Turkoglu/Bosh/Bargnani on the floor, they could put Jose, Marco, Hedo and Andrea all outside around the perimeter and have Bosh down low. Then they could dump the ball down low to Bosh and let him go to work. If teams don't double him he can simply take his man one on one and more often than not he will put the ball in the basket with his excellent offensive repertoire. If teams do send a second defender at Bosh, they will pay by giving up an excellent three point look to any one of the Raptors other 4 players on the floor, all of whom would be legitimate, knock down shooters from deep. Obviously they shouldn't do this all the time, but I definitely think that it is something that they should look into as it could prove to be an incrediably effective and potent offense. It also gives Andrea Bargnani a fellow Italian and one of his good friends which is definitely another plus. Another benefit of this trade is that the Raptors have some serious leverage when it comes to Carlos Delfino. If Delfino doesn't want to lower his ridiculous demands of a $5M contract, the Raptors can now afford not to sign him as they added some depth at the 2 guard position in Marco. Delfino is the better player than Belinelli is and I would rather have his superior defense and rebounding over Marco's more offensive oriented game just because the Raptors aren't going to have any troubles scoring the ball next season, but there is not a chance in hell that the Raptors should cave into Delfino's ridiculous demands and having Belinelli on the roster allows them to afford to not sign Delfino. I love this trade on the Raptors behalf. Even if Belinelli completely sucks and doesn't do anything, its not like he is an expensive contract nor did they have to give anything up in order to acquire his services. It is a no-risk, high-reward trade for the Raptors.

Outside of the top three, the East is a going to be a giant cluster[expletive] next season. I do think that Atlanta will hold onto that 4th seed, but I can honestly see any of Atlanta, Washington, Toronto, Miami, Philly (if Brand plays like he is capable of and Louis Williams can be a reliable point guard) and Chicago all competing for the 4th seed. It is going to be a wild race for the 4-8 seeds between these teams and you can maybe even throw Detroit into that mix as well (but they would fight for a lower seed like 7-8 at best in my opinion). I do believe that Atlanta will finish 4th in the East, but it is definitely not a guarntee as all of the teams around them have either gotten better or at the very least, stayed the same.

The deal is further away than this article suggests though. They are in discussion with each other but the catch is that Fedor's manager is also the owner of M-1 and he is trying to make it so that the the UFC would co-promote with M-1 or something. Here are details from a press conference that was held dearlier today: http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/07/29/fedor-emelianenko-on-twitter-live-tweeting-the-m-1-conference-c/ Like I said, I wasn't going to buy this until I heard it from a legit, official source like Dana White or Fedor theirselves. And B4KED, Fedor would definitely fight Lesnar in his first fight in the UFC. That fight would be the biggest fight in MMA history and would gross a ridiculous amount of cash for the company. I don't think that the UFC would risk having Fedor lose a fight before fighting Lensar because if that were to happen it would be harder for the UFC to promote the fight. Then there is also the little tidbit about how Fedor is the greatest Heavyweight fighter as of right now and of all time and all that minor details. If Fedor signs with the UFC, he would definitely fight Lesnar right away, at least in my opinion.

More HERE Good god, if this turns out to be true, I am going to be so pumped. I am not going to get my hopes up until I actually here it from Dana White or Fedor Emelianenko's mouthes, but damn, this is some great news. Also, if they do fight at UFC 103, that card is going to be absolutely STACKED. Just look at the potential card for UFC 103 if this does prove to be legit: Fedor vs. Lesnar for UFC Heavyweight Championship Franklin vs. Henderson Swick vs. Kammpmann with the winner getting a Welterweight Championship fight against GSP Koscheck vs. Trigg Sherk vs. Franca Escuredo vs. Miller Hot damn, that is an amazing card right there. There has also been rumors about a possibility of having Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort (if they join the company) fight at this event as well. The rumor is Franklin vs. Ortiz and Belfort vs. Hendo which only adds two more main even caliber fights to this already stacked card. Personally I don't buy into the rumors of Tito and Vitor because it would seem to be too soon and I think it is all talk, but damn, could you imagine if it was true? Anyways, its like I said above, I'm not going to believe anything until it is officially announced by a legit source, but this would be awsome if it is true. Fedor vs. Lesnar would definitely be the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, that is for damn sure.

Well we must not read the same kinds of things on Bosh then (which is definitely very plausible). At basically every single forum I post at/read Bosh is one of the players that gets the most heat on him and is a player that is constantly being picked apart. People at the majority of forums that I go to are constantly saying that Bosh is not a franchise player and people will ridicule everything about his game. They say that all he ever does is shoot jumpers, is a liability on the defensive end, is a terrible rebounder, is the softest player in the NBA (which are all definitely not the case) and things of that nature. Other than his fantastic start last season, I honestly don't even remember the last time that I read a post or something from a non Raptor fan that was complimentary of Bosh. It really depends on the types of people that you are reading/discussing with on an everyday basis that ultimately will make your stance on him change. He is one of the best power forwards at facing his man up from about 15 feet away and blowing by them. He isn't an elite athlete, but he is very lanky and has a very good first step which allows him to cover distance in a hurry when driving by players. He is also very good at utilizing fakes to get his defenders up in the air and drawing contact to get to the line. He is one of the better offensive big men in the game, but I agree with you when you say that his jumper is definitely his biggest strength and he is average at most things outside of scoring the ball (although I do think that he is a good rebounder, not great and certainly not elite, but good). All in all though, I agree with the general idea of what you are saying but I would definitely add facing his man up and utilizing his quick first step and speed advantage over most of the bigs in the game and getting to the line as other things that he does good. One thing though, if Bosh were to be a third option on a team, that team would be unbelievably stacked. Bosh would make a fantastic second option on any team in the NBA. If he was the 3rd best offensive player on a team, that would be one scary team if you ask me. The Thomas analogy was the main point that I made, I just threw Iverson's name in there because he was another little man that led his team to the Finals despite the fact that he is an undersized player. I completely agree with you that the Sixers were never legitimate threat to the Lakers and most years they do not even make the Finals, but when push comes to shove, he is another little man that has led his team to the Finals. Thomas was the main comparision though, that is for sure. I completely agree with you about how some people glorify him as an elite defensive player which is not the case, but he is an MVP caliber offensive player despite some of the flaws that he has in his game. I agree with you about him having a limited off hand and can somewhat agree with you about him not being a good shooter off of the dribble (his floater is fantastic though) but he does actually do a very good job at scoring from mid range and a pretty good job at converting his inside opportunities. He shot 47.8% and scored 9.2 points per game on mid range shots which was good for 4th and 5th respectively last season but most of these came from that excellent floater that I mentioned earlier instead of a prototypical pull up jumper. He shot 63.1% in the paint last season as well which is pretty good for a player of his stature, but those numbers can get inflated off of open layups and things like that. He isn't great at finishing in trafic but its not like he is unreliable at finishing either. I wouldn't really consider it a negative, but to each their own. Defensively, I can definitely agree with you. He gets hype because of his ability to steal the ball but he is not a great defender by any means. He is good at playing passing lanes but he tends to gamble too much. He reaches too often and sags off of whoever he is guarding giving them ample room for getting off their shot (like what happened in the playoffs against Denver and Billups). He is great at stealing the ball whether it be stripping the ball carrier or jumping the passing lanes, but he is not a great defender. He is a notch below Kobe, LeBron and Wade, but honestly, is there any player in the NBA that is on their level? I don't think so. I think that he is on the same level of impact as Dwight Howard is though. Although Dwight can dominate a game on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass, he is definitely a flawed offensive player. Basically, he is the opposite of Paul in my mind. Paul will dominate a game on the offensive end with his passing and vision while Howard will dominate it with his defense and vision. Both of them are at the top of their position and both of them are below the big three of Bryant, James and Wade, but are fantastic players in their own right. I'll admit that I felt Paul had a legit case for winning the MVP back in 07/08 (if it were up to me I would have to flip a coin between him and Kobe for it, but would lean slightly more towards Kobe) because of what he managed to do in a very tough Western Conference with his Hornets team that was definitely not expected to do what they did. Chris Paul is a second tier star along with guys like Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and a healthy Yao Ming, and I agree with you that if you consider him to be on the same level as Kobe, LeBron or Wade then he would be overrated, but most people that I talk to don't consider him to be on that level so I don't consider him to be overrated. He is a great player, but very few people that I know nor the media put him on the level of Kobe, Bron and Wade. Really though, it all depends on who you talk to when it comes to who is overrated and underrated and things like that. One person can think that Chris Bosh or Chris Paul are vastly overrated and one can think that they are vastly underrated (I think both are rated just fine as Paul is on that second tier of stars while Bosh is on the third tier) and I can see both sides of the coin as it all depends on the kinds of people that you are around the most. I have no problem with people calling Bosh or Paul overrated players as long as they have good reasoning and are coming from a respectable angle.

Lol. Bosh does shoot more jumpers than he does attack the paint, but the reason for that is because of the fact that he is a very good jump shooting big man (one of the best in the league). 60% of Bosh's field goal attempts were from mid range, but is that really a bad thing when you consider the fact that the only players that got more mid range points than Bosh last season was Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, David West, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul? Out of those 5 players, only Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul shot a better percentage from mid range than Bosh did. I fail to see how it is considered a negative on a player when they score the 6th most points from mid range (around 9 a game) in the entire NBA, and convert his mid range jumpers at a 45% clip. If Bosh was a player that did nothing other than shoot mid range jumpers, yeah, I would agree with the fact that this would be considered a knock on him, but seeing how he also managed to score 7 points a night inside the paint and also manage to get to the line 8 times a night (making 6.5 of them) it is laughable that people constantly try to claim that Bosh is nothing more than a soft, passive jump shooter on the offensive end of the floor. Can somebody explain to me why Bosh is considered to do nothing but shoot jumpers, yet somebody like Elton Brand isn't knocked for shooting jumpers despite the fact that he has had seasons in which 70% of his total field goal attempts were jump shots (in 05/06) and, for the most part, has had more than 60% of his entire field goal attempts been jump shots? Give me the so called soft jump shooting big man that gets you 23 points a night on 49%, finishes 7th in the entire NBA in And 1 opportunities (78) and gets to the line 8 times a night any day of the week. As for Bosh being this terrible rebounder, that is another completely ignorant statement. Bosh is not a great rebounder and I will never try to say that he is, but at the very least, he has to be considered an average rebounder. If you exclude his rookie season in which he average 7.4 rebounds a game as a 6'10, 215 pound (and that is being generous) 19 year old rookie playing out of position, he has a career average of 9.6 rebounds per game. Is that great? No it is not, but it is pretty good for a player that supposedly can't grab anything other than finesse rebounds. He was one of only 3 players that averaged 20/10 last season and finished 6th in the NBA in rebounds per game and 7th in total rebounds. He grabbed 555 defensive boards (7th highest total) and 214 offensive rebounds (T-14th in the NBA). He averaged 2.8 offensive rebounds a game which was good for 11th in the NBA (only 0.1 away from being 8th) and averaged 7.2 defensive boards a game which was good for 8th in the NBA. Yeah it helps that Bosh played on a poor rebounding team and there were more boards to grab, but you can't possibly say that Bosh is anything worse than an average rebounder (and even that may be underrating his rebounding). I will agree with anybody that says he isn't a very good defensive player, but he is not as bad as some people try to make it seem either. People always try to use the fact that he can't guard Dwight Howard and Howard abused Bosh in the playoffs or how Shaquille O'Neal lit Bosh and the Raptors up for 45 or something points, but honestly, do you expect the 6'10, 230 pound Bosh to be able to stop the 6'11, 265 pound Dwight Howard in the post? Should he be locking down the 7'1 330 pound Shaquille O'Neal on the block? Of course Bosh is going to struggle against players that he is giving up 100 pounds to. For the most part, since Bosh has came into the NBA, the Raptors have been forced to put Bosh on opposing centers and players that are simply much too big for him to be able to handle. He is not a good defensive player, but when you add to the fact that he is forced to guard opposing teams centers and is constantly outweighed by a considerable margin, do you expect him to lock players down? When he is able to guard his natural position of power forward and isn't giving up a considerable amount of weight, Bosh plays slightly below average defense and is sure as hell not a liability like some people make him out to be. The funniest thing about this article is that Rosen is basing his opinion on Bosh being overrated due to the fact that he is not a bona-fide franchise player. Does anybody even consider Bosh to be a bona-fide franchise player? I am a huge Raptor fan and not once have I ever tried to say that Bosh is a legit franchise guy. I have stated numerous times that he would be much better suited if he were to be able to play second fiddle to a superstar wing player, or even a dominant, low post big man. Basically, Rosen is saying that Bosh is overrated because he is not a bona-fide franchise player, yet how many people actually consider Bosh to be a bona-fide franchise player? I think everybody realizes that Bosh is an All Star caliber power forward that is best off playing second fiddle to one of the bona-fide franchise players in the NBA. Another thing that I found funny is how Bosh is constantly ridiculed and scrutinized for being soft, a liability on defense, a bad rebounder and nothing but a jump shooter on offense, so how exactly is he overrated when people are constantly bagging on the guy and tearing apart his game? If anything, Bosh is more underrated than he is overrated (I don't think he is either underrated or overrated for the record). I also enjoyed this comment about Chris Paul: Has Rosen heard of a guy named Isiah Thomas? Last I checked Zeke was like 6'1 (if that) and 180 pounds which is only 1 inch and 5 pounds more than what Paul is listed at. The Bad Boy Pistons won the Championship what, 19 years ago? There also is a guy by the name of Allen Iverson that led a Philly Sixers team to the NBA Finals in this decade and he is just as small, if not smaller than Paul is (I know AI wasn't a point guard but it is still the general idea of an undersized player leading his team to a Championship [i realize Iverson never won, but he still got them there]). Chris Paul led a very average Hornets team that struggled with depth and injuries to a 49-33 record while putting up 22.8/11 on 50%. If that is overrated, then god damn, Rosen must have some high [expletive]ing expectations for players. Yeah, Paul has his flaws and Denver did a fantastic job of exploting them and shutting Paul down, but god damn, the Hornets were horribly outmatched heading into that series and it took one of the greatest statistical point guard seasons ever to even make it into the playoffs as 7th seed. I'll take Paul and his overrated game any day of the week. Arenas I can't agree with because nobody even talks about him as a great player anymore and the only times that Gil is brought up is when people are mocking his salary or the fact that he hasn't played for the better part of 2 years now. I fail to see how a player is overrated when they are barely even talked about anymore, let alone being talked about as an elite player. Garnett isn't the same player that he used to be and has dropped off in the last few seasons, but he is still an elite power forward and that is good enough for me. You want to call him overrated, fine, but he is still a premier power forward in the game today and an elite defensive player. This also got me chuckling: Dirk Nowitzki has led the Mavs to 9 straight 50 win seasons, 4 semi finals apperances, 1 Western Conference Finals and an NBA Finals apperance during the past 9 seasons. That is pretty damn good to me. Yeah, he hasn't won a Championship but the fact that the Mavs have advanced in the playoffs 6 out of the last 9 seasons is pretty damn impressive when you consider that they haven't always been the most stacked team in the league. Half of the players he has mentioned are straight up laughable. Everybody knows that Marbury is a cancer and a headcase, nobody has gave two [expletive]s about Stojakovic since he left the Kings, Jermaine O'Neal hasn't been considered anything more than an injury prone player for the last 4 years or so, nobody even talks about Szcerbiak anymore, McGrady was still an elite player up until last season, Vince Carter has become one of the more underrated stars in his time in Jersey, and when was the last time that anybody even considered Corey Maggette, Shawn Marion and Kenyon Martin anything more than overpaid role players? This entire article that he wrote was [expletive]ing horrible. Like 90% of the people he claims to be overrated are players that people either don't talk about anymore and haven't for the past 5 years, or are players that are hated on more than they are praised. The only thing good about this article is that I will never have to read it again.

I wouldn't say that the Hornets save much money on this deal. Yeah, as of right now Chandler makes more money than Okafor does, but his contract runs out after this upcoming season (although he does have a player option that I would be shocked if he doesn't excercise) but Okafor is on the books long term and, if I am not mistaken, he will be making something like $13.5 and $14.5 million in the final years of his deal. For the next two years the Hornets save about $1-2M (not sure of the exact numbers) but in the long haul, the Bobcats are the team that is actually saving money as they get out from under the 6 year $72M extension that they gave Okafor before the beginning of last season. Unless the Hornets are able to dump some salary before the season starts, they will still be paying the luxury tax anyways. They save a bit of money short term, but take on more salary long term. I do agree with you about Okafor being the better player. He is a better defender and the better offensive player (which isn't saying much as neither have that good of a post game). Playing with Chris Paul may help out Okafor on the offensive end of the floor a lot though. Good deal for the Hornets and I can see why the Cats make the deal as well. They are losing money and Okafor was due to make some serious coin and they needed to get out from under that deal and at the same time they acquired a pretty good center.

Do you really think that the Heat would be able to get Boozer from the Jazz without giving up Beasley? I just fail to see who the Jazz would want in exchange for Boozer if Beasley isn't involved. If Miami doesn't part with Beasley, they are not getting Boozer if you ask me. Then again, I don't follow the Heat too much so you are obviously more qualified to talk about the Heat than I am, but I just don't see how the Heat could get Boozer without giving up B-Easy.

Go ahead and switch Davis with Maxiell, I have not once claimed that Maxiell is at starting caliber power forward in the NBA and that was the entire point of listing those teams. Yeah, I completely agree with you that Maxiell wouldn't start on any team in the NBA, hence the reason why I NEVER SAID THAT HE WOULD. I also admitted that it was an understatement when I said that Davis was only slightly better than Maxiell was, hence the reason why I said: Do you want me to say it again? Fine I will, saying that Davis is slightly better than Maxiell was an understatement on my part, but you saying that Davis is 5x the player that Maxiell was is a gross overstatement on your part. I guess we are even then. In case you didn't realize, but every single post that anybody makes on a message board is nothing more than personal opinion, or a "gut feeling". Obviously everything that gets posted on a message board by every single member of that board is nothing more than a personal opinion or, as you call it, a "gut feeling". I stated my opinion, just like you stated yours, and everybody else stats theirs. We are all doing nothing but stating our opinions. Did I ever say that he didn't earn his playing time? I said that he took advantage of a positive circumstance on his part and he deserves props for that. All I simply said was that I am not going to get too caught up in the hype of a player that played in a limited number of games because he produced. I have seen it too many times to actually get worked up about it and think that the guy is the real deal and can do it on a consistent basis. All I am saying is that forgive me if I don't go parading around the forum acting like Baby Davis is one of the better power forwards in the game off of a 14 game stretch in which he played well. I will say that made the most of what was given to him, but until he does it on a CONSISTENT basis, I am not going to get caught up in him. If Davis goes out next season, wherever it may be, and proves that he can play at the same level that he did in the playoffs for a significant stretch of games, then I will have absolutely no problem in admitting that I was wrong about Davis and that he is the real deal. However, until he proves to me that he is not just another flash in the pan, I am going to continue to be skeptical of a player that has done nothing in his entire career aside from a very good playoff run. Davis is the superior scorer, and I have no problems admitting that, and have not tried to state otherwise. I was simply stating that Davis had a significantly larger role on the Celtics than Maxiell had on the Pistons and the field goal attempts were a way of showing that. Yes, I know there is a reason why Davis had a larger role on offense than Maxiell did (aside from injuries) and that is because of the fact that I have already agreed with and never tried to dispute, which is Davis is the superior offensive player. I could've made it more clearer why my intention was by bringing up the number of shot attempts, and for that I am sorry, but it was not me trying to say that Maxiell was the better offensive player or anything of that nature. Why shouldn't I tell you that? It is the truth. The Bulls were more worried about Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo than they were about Glen Davis. I am not saying that the Bulls were just leaving Davis open time and time again, but the fact of the matter is that the Bulls were more concerned with Allen, Pierce and Rondo on offense and that allowed Davis more room to operate. That isn't a knock against Davis by any means because he took advantage of the opportunities that were given to him and I condone him for that, but, once again, the fact of the matter is that the Bulls were more focused on Pierce, Rondo and Allen which gave Davis more room, space and time to operate. Again, show me where I implied that Maxiell is a superior scorer to Davis is? Not one time have I ever tried to imply that Maxiell is more dangerous on the offensive end so if I were you I would stop trying to make it seem like I did. Also, its pretty laughable that you neglect to mention Rajon Rondo as a player that the Bulls had to worry about but you mention Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince who both were non factors that entire series. Yeah maybe heading into the series the Cavs were worried about them hurting them, but it was quickly established that Sheed was more interested in where he would go on his summer vacation and that Prince was way too busy on the defensive end of the floor trying to contain LeBron to have much of role on the offense. Sheed and Prince averaged 6.5/6 and 3.5/3 on disguisting percentages respectively during that series and were not any sort of factor in that series. So you mentioning two players that when you combine their offensive output in their series doesn't even equate to what Rondo put up in the Bulls series is laughable. You are dismissing Rondo like he was a scrub in the series yet he was playing incrediable basketball and almost averaged a triple double throughout the playoffs. You can try to spin it any way that you like, but the Bulls and Magic had 3 players that they were undoubtedly more worried about stopping while I can argue that the Cavs only really had two players that they had to worry about because of the circumstances (Wallace not giving a [expletive] and Prince having the gigantic task of guarding James). Again, show me where the hell I even implied that Maxiell was an offensive threat and was out on the floor because of his vast array of offensive abilities? There is more to the damn game than offense and that is why Maxiell is out there. All you are mentioning is that Davis is the superior scorer, WHICH I HAVE NOT EVEN ATTEMPTED TO DISPUTE. No it is not. Both players were players that were, for all intesnive purposes, buried on the bench (James more so than Davis as Davis actually played 20 minutes or so a game before Garnett got hurt) and got to see an increase in their minutes as a result of circumstance and they played productively. Both just happened to come out of nowhere and both just happened to be in a contract year. The situations are nearly identical and it is not ridiculous to compare the SITUATIONS (not the players but the situations) at all. I'm not denying that their games are different, I was simply using Jerome James as an example of a big man that sees an increase in his minutes during the end of a season and into the playoffs who happened to play well and just happened to be in a contract year. He happened to cash in on a big pay day as a result of his limited number of productive games (which is what Davis is looking to do now) and teams were suckered into giving him that contract. I used James as an example because he was the first player that came to mind. I was simply comparing the situations and if you think that it ridiculous to do, then I am beginning to think that I just may be wasting my time if you can't see something as simple as the fact that the two situations are very, very similar. And, don't overrate Davis on the offensive end of the floor. He is an above average offensive player, but he is, for the most part, a catch and shoot player from mid range. His post game is hardly anything to talk about and he does not have the ability to create for himself off of the dribble. Davis is a catch and shoot player with an average at best post game and a below average player at creating for himself. And all I am saying is that it completely absurd. I agree with you that Davis is worth more than Maxiell, but your example of rather giving him $10M over the vets minimum to Maxiell is just taking it too far. I wouldn't have had a problem if you said that you would rather give him $3-5M because he is the better player (although not as much as you are making it out to be) and is more of a scorer which generally nets you more money. I have no problem with you exaggerating to make a point, I do it all the time and if I read through my posts in this thread I would be willing to bet that I would find more than a couple of examples in this thread alone, but there is a line between exaggerating to make a point and sounding completely absurd. In my opinion, you crossed that line and I stated my opinion on it. "All I'm saying I got a feeling Davis will be a very good player, and you got a feeling he is just another Jerome James. Fine I respect that, but you can't say, "you know what I have a feeling my feeling is right and your feeling is wrong." It's just a damn feeling!" No, I am saying that until Davis proves that his 14 games during the playoffs was not a flash in the pan and a hot streak that NBA caliber players are capable of getting on, I am not going to run around singing his praises. I give him props for his production in the playoffs and if he shows that he is able to do that over a much larger sample size, I will admit that he is a better player than I anticipated he would become. As of right now though, he is, in my opinion, nothing more than a backup power forward that shouldn't be getting significant minutes unless your teams starting power forward goes down. And give me a break, if I have made it seem like my opinion is right and yours is wrong, you have done it just as badly as I have. We both have opinions on this matter and we are simply stating our opinions and discussing about our contrasting views. Obviously I am going to try and make my point, just like you are trying to make yours, so get off of your damn high horse and realize that you have done the whole "my feeling/opinion is right and yours is wrong" just as much as I have. "All I'm saying I got a feeling Davis will be a very good player, and you got a feeling he is just another Jerome James. Fine I respect that, but you can't say, "you know what I have a feeling my feeling is right and your feeling is wrong." It's just a damn feeling! What is Davis supposed to do? Play in summer league too because he "didn't play in enough games" to convince it wasn't just a fluke. The season is over... he is a second round pick and he only had two years to prove he can play and deserve another contract. Jerome James had been in the L since 1998-99 and a sudden spike in his stats that so happened in his contract year... and only Isiah and now you couldn't see it? Maxiell has been in the L for four years and if he only took 10 shots in 4 playoffs games, I think it's a pretty good indication of your skills when you have been in the L for 4 years and his teammates and coaches, who know him best, say "you know what you're taking 10 shots in this series". Davis on the other hand has proven during the season too when KG went down that he can contribute given the opportunity." What is Davis supposed to do? Prove that his great 14 playoff games was not yet another case of a player getting on a hot streak and playing out of his mind. Simple as that. I have no problems admitting that if Davis plays like he did during the playoffs for an extended period of time that he is significantly better than Maxiell and it would be absurd to compare the two. Also, would you stop putting words in my mouth? It is really getting old. Not one [expletive]ing time have I mentioned anything about James deserving his contract nor that how he played in the 04/05 playoff series was a true indication of the player that he is. Having you constantly putting words in my mouth (like that, Maxiell being the superior scorer and other things in this thread) is really getting annoying. I have no problem discussing this with you, but if you are going to constantly put words in my mouth to try and make me seem less credible and boost yourself up, I am done with this. On second though, I am done with this discussion anyways. The fact of that matter is that until Davis proves that his excellent playoff stretch was not just a flash in the pan and is a true indication of the player that he is, I am not going to hop all over his nuts and overrate him. Until he shows the ability to play like that consistently, he is, in my opinion, just another example of a player having a great stretch towards the end of his contract season. Don't like my opinion on that, fine, I don't care otherwise. If Davis comes out next season and balls like he did in the playoffs, I will admit that I am wrong. Until then, forgive me for not hopping on the Glen Davis bandwagon like you have. Nothing that I can say will change your opinion on this, and I know that nothing you can say will change mine, so you can respond if you want, but anything else that either of us say will basically just be us going around in around in circles. Next season this will be resolved and if I am proven wrong, I will admit to it.

No surprise here, but I still am glad to hear that the move is basically done. I've always been a fan of Rasho since he was a member of the T'Wolves. I just love the way that he approaches the game and think that he is going to be a very good backup center for this team. He could be a great role model for Bargnani.

I'm not denying that Davis had a very productive playoffs, but aside from two good playoff series, the guy has done nothing note worthy in his career aside from that. He stepped his game up big time, no doubt about that and I give him props for that, but the fact of the matter is that we have seen plenty of times that a player can play out of his mind during the course of a series or two during the playoffs during a contract season, but it is just a case of them having a stretch of games in which he simply played out of his mind. An example of this is Jerome James for Seattle back in 04/05. During the course of the regular season he averaged 5/3 in 16 minutes per game but in the playoffs he saw an increase in his minutes and he played very well and put up 12.5/7 in 26 minutes per game. This was during a contract season and he was nothing more than a backup power forward that played limited minutes per game during the course of the season. Then he got a chance during the playoffs and played out of his mind for two series and then went into free agency and got a fat contract as a result. So can you please explain to me how these two situations are any different? Both of these two are backup big men on playoff teams and as a result of circumstance, they were given a shot in the playoffs and saw an increase in their minutes and role. Both of them were in contract years and both had extremely productive playoffs (by their standards) and went into free agency looking to cash in on a good stretch of two series. The fact of the matter is that Glen Davis, aside from two good playoff series, has proven that he is nothing more than a backup power forward in the NBA that is good for 20-24 minutes a night, much like Jerome James did in 04/05. So you are comparing Maxiell, who played 16 minutes a game and had a much lesser role on his team (took 10 shots in 4 games), to Glen Davis, who played 36 minutes per game and had a significant role on his team (took 175 shots in 14 games)? Right, they are identical situations... Yeah, Davis stepped up his game, but again, how many times have we seen players play well for stretches of the season or in a playoff series just because of a lucky circumstance? It happens plenty of times when players play out of their mind for a stretch of games but ultimately come back down to earth and play like the real player that they are. Let me ask you a question, do you honestly think that Davis is capable of playing that way during the course of an entire season? Or do you think that he would ultimately go back to the player that he really is, a good backup power forward that will give you 7/4 like he did for 76 games during the course of the regular season? If you ask me, 14 good playoff games in which he played out of his mind does not make up for the fact that in the 145 regular season games that he has played in he has averages of 6/3. Realistically, what do you think is a more telling sign of what type of player Davis is, the 15/6 averages in 14 games during last seasons playoffs or the 6/3 averages in his 165 regular season games? Ok, maybe slightly better is a bit of an understatment, but you acting like Davis is an All Star compared to Maxiell is a straight up joke. I hate to break it to you but 14 games does not make up for a career of mediocrity. As of right now, both of these players are energy big men off of the bench and until Davis can show that he is capable of putting up the kind of numbers that he had in the playoffs on a consistent basis, and not just over the course of 14 games, I am not going to hop all over his nuts and act like he is a starting caliber power forward on a playoff team. Sorry if I don't get caught up in the hype of a player having a good 14 game stretch when in his career up until then he had never done anything other than what you would expect from a backup power forward. Quick question for you, if Maxiell is a small time player because he puts up measly stats, then wouldn't Davis be considered to be a small time player as well when you consider the fact that Maxiell has career averages of 6/4 on 53% shooting and Davis has career averages of 6/3.5 on 45% shooting? Oh wait, Davis had one productive post season in which defenses were focused in on stopping Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo and as a result Davis was given countless amounts of open jumpers, so that must mean that he is a big time player, despite what the previous 165 games of his career. Lol, because Davis contributes so much and has such a monumental impact on every game that he is a part of right? Sorry if I don't overrate a player because of 14 playoff games in which he played well when defenses weren't even worried about stopping him. Sorry if I have seen players like Davis do this time and time again in contract seasons only to go back to their normal self once they get their payday. Good god, thank the lord that you are not in charge of any type of roster decisions then. If you would rather pay Davis $10M than Maxiell the vets minimum, then well, no offense, but you are completely delusional. You must've loved it when the Knicks game Jerome James a fat deal after one good playoff series and thought it was such a fantastic deal. Davis can prove me completely wrong and shut me the hell up if he manages to play like you think he is capable of for an entire NBA season. Until he manages to play consistent, productive basketball for more than 14 [expletive]ing games, forgive me if I am not going to hop all over his nuts. Why because you say he is? Oh well, if the Celtic fans thinks that Davis is a starting caliber power forward, it must mean its true then. Lets see, lets look at the starting power forwards from last season and see how many teams he would've started for: Atlanta - Josh Smith - Nope Boston - Kevin Garnett - Not a chance in hell Charlotte - Boris Diaw - No Chicago - Tyrus Thomas - Probably Cleveland - Ben Wallace/Anderson Varejao - Wallace, definitely; Varejao, toss up Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki - Hell no Denver - Kenyon Martin - No Detroit - Rasheed Wallace/Antonio McDyess - Wallace, no; McDyess, probably not, but maybe Golden State - Randolph/Wright/whoever else - Yes, but not in Nellies system because Davis would die of a heart attack Houston - Luis Scola - No Indiana - Troy Murphey - No LA Clippers - Zach Randolph - No LA Lakers - Gasol/Odom - Not a chance Memphis - Darrell Aruther - Yes Miami - Udonis Haslem - Maybe Milwaukee - Charlie Villanueva - No Minnesota - Ryan Gomes - Yes New Jersey - Yi - Yes New Orleans - David West - No way New York - Al Harrington - Nope Oklahoma City - Jeff Green - Nope Orlando - Rashard Lewis - No Philadelphia - Elton Brand/Thaddeus Young - Nope Phoenix - Amare toudemire - Not a chance Portland - LaMarcus Aldridge - No Sacreamento - Jason Thompson - Probably San Antonio - Tim Duncan - Not a chance in hell Toronto - Chris Bosh - Not a chance in hell Utah - Carlos Boozer/Paul Millsap - not at all Wasthington - Antwan Jamison - Nope So 22 out of the 30 teams are a definitive no. About 3-5 teams are a definitive yes and the other teams are a maybe. So no, Glen Davis is not a starting caliber power forward. Honestly, its not even close.

I think that the Celtics would be better off starting Perkins as well (although I doubt that they will) because ever since Garnett joined the team, Perkins has made tremendous strides in his defensive game and is one of the best post defenders in the league. The thing is though, adding Wallace just gives them more depth though. He is definitely not the player that he used to be and he has regressed quite a bit but he is still a better player than Mikki Moore, Leon Powe or Glen Davis. Whether or not they bring Perkins off of the bench or Sheed (I would bring Sheed off of the bench for an offensive punch), the C's have definitely gotten better with this move because it just gives them yet another good role player off of the bench and a guy, that when motivated and at his best, can significantly impact a game (although not as much as he used to be able to). The biggest thing about the Celtics though is the fact that they will have Garnett back healthy (from what I have heard), and with Garnett in the lineup they are a very dangerous team. Without Garnett in the lineup the Celtics are a good team, but when they have Garnett in the lineup they are elite, and that is the reason why I think so highly of them (despite the fact that they are probably my least favourite team in the league along with the Knicks). I just think that a Celtics team that has added Sheed and Daniels to the team as well as having Garnett back are a very dangerous team.

Even if it is true and Odom is going back to the Lakers, I wouldn't call them the heavy favourites. Yeah they are definitely the favourites in my eyes, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a team like San Antonio or Boston beating them in the playoffs if they are healthy. I would expect the Lakers to win, for sure, but it wouldn't be a huge shock to see the Spurs or C's knock em off in a 7 game series.

Lol. Davis is hardly 5x better than Maxiell is. I do agree with you that Davis is probably the better player, but it is not by a significant margin or anything like that. These two are very close in terms of what type of impact they are going to have on a game. Neither of them are ever going to be startng caliber power forwards in the game and to be perfectly honest, neither of them should really play much more than 24ish minutes during a game either. They are average, run of the mill back up power forwards that will give you hustle, energy and everything that they have when they are on the basketball floor. Davis is the better jump shooter and more fundamentally sound, but Maxiell is the far superior athlete and brings a toughness and tenacity to the floor that Big Baby doesn't. I do agree that if it were just Davis for Maxiell straight up that Detroit would most likely accept the trade because Davis is the slightly superior player. However, considering the fact that the Celtics wanted the Pistons to throw in a 1st round pick is completely absurd. A trade of Davis for Maxiell straight up would be a pretty fair trade, maybe the Pistons would need to throw in a 2nd rounder to make it equal value, but having them throw in a 1st rounder is absolutely insane especially when you consider the fact that there is a very distinct possibility that the Pistons do not make it into the playoffs this upcoming season which would make that draft pick a lottery pick (assuming that it would be a 2010 1st rounder). Even if the Pistons do make the playoffs, they will be an 8th seed most likely and a 7th seed at best which would make their pick around the 15-17 range. Yes I know that the C's would also have traded J.R. Giddens and Gabe Pruit to the Pistons as well, but to put it simply, those players are scrubs. In all likely hood, neither of these two players are ever going to play any sort of role for any playoff caliber team. These two players are the types of players that you have on your roster just to fill it out. Yeah they are young, but I would be shocked if either of these two ever amounted to anything other than a 10th man off of the bench. So you think that Joe Dumars is an idiot for turning down a trade in which he would be giving up Jason Maxiell and a 1st round draft pick that would fall in the 10-17 range for Glen Davis and two scrubs? Good thing for Pistons fans that you aren't running the show over there .

I was just curious, but what is the latest news about Marvin Williams? I've always liked his game and he has been my favourite player on the Hawks since they drafted him. I know that he will never live up to the expectations that he originally had when he was draft and the Hawks will always be kicking theirselves for taking him over Paul or Williams, but none the less, I still think that if Williams puts it all together and gets a more prominent role with a team that he could become a good player in the league. Anyways, what is the latest new about Williams? I have literally heard nothing about him all offseason and I actually figured that somebody might try to take a chance and pry Marvin away from the Hawks.

Having Von Wafer at 4 and not having Flip Murray on the list at all seems a little strange to me when you consider the fact that they are very, very similar players. Both of them are guys that will bring instant offense off of the bench and can fill it up in a hurry. They are both combo guards that can run the point at times (although Flip is a little better at this than Wafer is). Neither of them give you much outside of scoring either so its not like Wafer is giving you any sort of little things or what experts like to call intangibles (is it just me or does this word get thrown around too often?). I don't know, it just might be me, but I don't understand how you can have Wafer at 4 but exclude Murray all together. The two are almost identical players in what they will give a team if you ask me. So unless I have missed Flip signing with a team, that is definitely something that I am having a hard time understanding. Ike Diogu is definitely too high in my opinion as well. I would take Drew Gooden over Diogu any day of the week regardless of his inconsistencies. Gooden is quite simply the superior player to Diogu. I know that Diogu is younger and has more potential (although I have never seen it to be perfectly honest), but the fact of the matter is that Gooden is a hell of a lot more capable than Diogu is. In fact, if this was my list I would've had Gooden, Rasho, Powe and Smith all of ahead of Ike. It may just be me, but I have never really understood why some people are so high on Diogu. Whenever I have watched him play he hardly did anything that made me think he was anything more than a 3rd power forward off of the bench and a guy that will see the majority of his time in garbage minutes.

Welcome to OTR man. Glad you joined.

That probably is the case, but the question isn't about potential when it comes to May. Everybody knows that May is a fairly talented basketball player but the question with him is whether or not he has the heart, work ethic and ambition to be able to showcase that talent. May has done nothing ever since being drafted by the Bobcats after a good run with UNC and this is because the man has come into camp year after year completely out of shape, and as a result, he has missed plenty of games thus far in his young career. May will never be more than a back up 4 in the NBA and I think that if he puts it all together he could actually become a pretty good back up 4, but the question is whether or not he will put in the necessary time and effort and thus far in his young career, that is a test that he has failed.

Holy [expletive], Griffin is out for 3-4 thousand weeks? Damn, so that is what, like 8 years? The Clippers horrible luck strikes again. I noticed that typo there and just had to make a smart [expletive] remark lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkWiPDHnaBY&feature=related (Bosh and BC 1) (Bosh and BC 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FAmGZjSPcg&NR=1 (Swirsky Interviews Devlin) They are older but seeing how there isn't much to discuss in Raptor land right now, I thought I would post them anyways. My favourite would definitely be the first Bosh and BC one.

I've never really liked the Celtics, but what the hell. 1. Ray Allen 2. Antoine Walker 3. Al Jefferson 4. Larry Bird 5. Ryan Gomes (he was apart of the KG deal wasn't he?) This is in no particular order.

OMGEZZ GREAT ATRIKAL!!!! Seriously though, I don't really know where I stand on the age limit thing. Personally, I think that going to college for even one season is greatly beneficial to everybody and is a great experience for players. I have always been a big fan of players going to college and developing their game so that when they come to the NBA they are immediately ready to contribute rather then sitting on the bench for 2 years getting sporadic minutes because they weren't ready physically and, more importantly, mentally for the NBA. However, I also think that the decision should ultimately be the players. If a player doesn't want to go to college and would rather just immediately go into the NBA draft then they should have that right as well. If I had to choose one, I would probably say that they should just scrap the age limit all together because the decision should ultimately come from the players.

It all depends on what kind of fan support they get, and judging from what I have seen when the Hornets spent time in OKC and this past season with the Thunder, I don't think that there is too much to worry about. As long as the team continues to get the proper fan support they will stay in OKC.