The Artesticle

Wow, Z-Bo is destroying the Mavs right now. Memphis right in it.

They have Morrison and Farmar's expirings, which is 7 million total. That can net them something if they want.

Hahaha. Always count on Ron to entertain.

Walton isn't as bad as most fans make him out to be. He was actually solid off the bench last postseason, and early on this season before he got injured. Since LO decided to go MIA, and the rest of the bench doesn't understand the concept of "ball movement," (no pun), I welcome Luke back with open arms to run the second unit offense and stabilize the bench.

Oh boy, I'm shaking in my boots. Cleveland's Finest overrating his own team yet again, what else is new. Anyways, congrats on your December Championship. This will surely make up for June when Cleveland fans starting crying again, when their team fails in the postseason, yet again.

We can make a trade if we want one. We have quite a few assets: expirings in Morrison, Farmar and Fish (doubt Fisher gets traded). We have some picks that can be dealt, all in all, it just depends if the management wants to make a move. I do agree that our bench has been pretty bad this year. Lamar looks like he's sleepwalking again, he must be more aggressive and assertively take the lead role of the second unit. Until he does that, we'll continue to struggle. Farmar sucks and Sasha sucks, we all know that. Shannon is serviceable, but he cannot create his own, which is one of his biggest weaknesses. He is a great role player when he plays within his limits, but once he starts looking for shots he is ineffective. The ball movement in the second unit is piss poor, which is why I'm looking forward to Luke returning. Hate him all you want, but he facilitates the offense and creates ball movement, which is what we're desperately lacking. If I'm Mitch, I look to package Farmar/Morrison with Memphis's 2nd round pick to any team looking to clear salary and pick some useful pieces up to help this team. In all, we're not in bad shape. One game doesn't determine everything, we just came out flat against the Cavs, everyone on the roster. If the bench continues to struggle though when Luke is back, I expect Mitch to start shopping around. Until then, I'm not worried.

Congrats to the Cleveland Cavaliers, your 2010 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

To summarize, Big Chief Triangle hates Lebron. Kobe is king. /endthread

It was reported by John Clayton on Mike and Mike. But yeah, I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about this, hopefully he can still give it another go. I wanna see a trio of Westbrook/Weaver/McCoy. That would be deadly.

But Durant is already being given MVP consideration. That's putting him up there with the Kobes/Lebrons/Wades/Carmelos.

Not all Laker fans are like this Please do not group us all with him. Most of us have common sense and logic.

http://trianglehighschoolfootball.com/enter/images/stories/brian%20westbrook.jpg Reported on ESPN. -_- ugh, he will be missed, but I respect his decision 100% and will never forget what he gave us.

He took less of a role so he has more opportunities to show off his skills. I don't know if that makes sense, but as the primary option in Memphis, he was who the opposing defenses focused on the most. Here in LA, playing with Kobe, he has less to worry about because defenses will focus their attention elsewhere. Thus making him more effective as a second option, he has the ability to do more because there is less attention focused on him. Pau Gasol is a better player now then he was in Memphis simply because he is a better player. The Pau Gasol from last year was a different Pau Gasol from two years ago, when he was first traded to the Lakers. After getting punked and rocked in the Finals, he finally decided to hit the weights and gained muscle in the offseason. Playing with Kobe every single day and feeding off his intensity and work ethic just made him a better player. Plain and simple. Just ask any Laker fan out there and they'd tell you that Pau has grown as a player ever since he was traded here. I don't recall too many people saying Pau is one of the top players in the league after the 2007-2008 season. But he got more acclaim and praise after the 2008-2009 season simply because he got better. Simply because he grew a pair of balls and held his ground against the best center in the league and made major contributions throughout the postseason and Finals. As for the Shannon Brown example, I can say the same for Trevor Ariza. Sometimes, the situation just needs to be right for a player to blossom. Trevor was just an after thought in New York and Orlando. Orlando traded him for scraps. He came to LA as just another "athletic swing man who can dunk" (like Shannon Brown). But he fit the system, worked hard, and as a result became one of the biggest reasons why we won the title last year. Same with Shannon. Shannon didn't have a position in the league, he's a cross between a 1 and a 2. In Cleveland, they preferred Daniel Gibson and Shannon never got the minutes. He got traded to Chicago, nothing. To Charlotte, nothing much. Then he comes to LA and his combo guard type game fits the system perfectly. As a result, he got the minutes and the vote of confidence to play his game and succeed. That could've happened in Cleveland, Chicago, or Charlotte, if they used him a certain way and gave him minutes. More minutes and playing time = more dunks and highlights, which is why he is more known. Him being auditioned in the dunk contest doesn't mean much. If he was making those dunks back with Cleveland, Chicago, or Charlotte he would be in the discussion as well, but he never had the opportunity. I certainly think the market of the team plays into how much attention a certain player will get, but it doesn't determine how great a player is. Like I said before, was Kevin Garnett any less of a player than he is today just because he spent so many years in Minnesota? He was always highly regarded. Is Tim Duncan underrated because he plays for San Antonio? I hear people argue he is the player of the decade, the best PF to ever play the game, so obviously not. Is Lebron underrated just because he plays for Cleveland? Considering so many people think he's the greatest player since Jordan, absolutely not. Chauncey Billups played in four different cities before coming to Detroit and becoming one of the most dangerous PGs in the game. Is it because Detroit is a big market? Not really, it's because his game improved and he finally found a team to fit him (just like Trevor and Shannon). In Bosh and Gasol's cases, neither are true franchise players. And like you said, Chris Bosh should be a 2nd option, not a 1st. Maybe if he played for New York he would get more attention than he's currently getting in Toronto. But would that make him a better player? I doubt it. The market doesn't determine how good you are, if you are a great player, you will be known as a great player. Vince Carter played in Toronto as well and was a franchise player (in his prime and when he tried), and he was one of the most popular players in the league a couple of years ago, playing in the same city as Chris Bosh. Anyways, just my personal opinion. Market doesn't determine how great of a player you are, there are plenty of examples of great players from small markets, who are appreciated for their skill.

ok

Compare Gasol defensively last year in the Finals to the Gasol two years ago against Boston. His defense didn't improve "slightly," it improved tremendously. He really did a great job manning up to Dwight Howard. That being said, he is a good 2nd option, but I do not envision any team going far with him as the 1st option. That's why guys like Duncan and Dirk are ranked ahead of him (and a healthy KG because of his defensive presence alone). I'd probably rank him the 4th best PF in the league. IQ wise, he is one of the smartest players in the league (he understood the triangle better than LO his very first game when LO has been a Laker, for what, 4 years?). He is a great passer for his size, and playing with Kobe has made him a tougher, and better player. Coming to LA and playing with someone like Kobe really helped open up his game and helped him show his skills to the world because teams no longer focused all their attention on him. As for whether or not the market dictates a player's value? I think if you play in a bigger market, you certainly get more attention (take a look at Bynum vs Brook Lopez for an example). But if you're a great player, people will recognize it no matter what. Is Cleveland a big market? No, but many believe Lebron is the best player in the league. Is Minnesota a big market? No, but KG has always been highly regarded his entire career. Is San Antonio a big market? No, but Duncan is considered probably the best PF of all time. A bigger market helps players get more attention, but at the end of the day, their play is what's most important. Pau never was, and never will be a good 1st option. But playing 2nd fiddle? He's perfect.

$53 million is a lot already. How do you know the Wiz front office won't spend though? I'm just wondering... What has been their stance on luxury tax in the past? Because currently they are at 79 million. I guess it's not unfathomable that they'd want to shed some salary, but if they let Miller/Foye walk they basically just gave away the 5th pick of the draft.

lol @ Shaq in Indiana, lottery bound small market team with Danny Granger possibly out for the year I LMAO just thinking about that. He'll weight 500 pounds by the time the season's over.

I dunno, top 5 just seems too high for whatever reason. Just trying to be as non-biased as possible. I'd say top 10. Dude is freaking dangerous, he makes Eagles games so exciting to watch. You don't know what he's gonna do next.

top 10 top 5 whatever He's certainly one of the most dangerous players in the league. I still remember that one play today when he turned a 10 yard gain into 40 yards by one spin. I me some Desean Jackson. Can't believe he fell so low in the draft.

Desean Jackson is a stud. that is all

Adequate defender? The biggest knock against Murphy is his defense. He is a terrible defender. That being said, he does provide them a big who can stretch the floor, and he can rebound the basketball. I wonder what else they can get for Z, but Murphy wouldn't be a terrible option. One problem they may have is if they plan on playing Murphy alongside Shaq. That will be a nightmare defensively for them.

This is like the 20th time you've been way too confident before the game and ended up getting owned. It's almost humorous. Actually it is. lol Cleveland just lost to a Dirkless Mavs team. How pathetic.

This is so sad and unexpected. RIP

I CAN DIG IT!!!!! da thug is back yo http://img.youtube.com/vi/tjkrl5eQXAA/0.jpg http://www.canoe.ca/WrestlingImagesB/bookert.jpg I love everything about Booker T. The way he talks, the way he wrestles, his hair, his entrance, etc. He's just a freaking beast ghetto thug. Too bad WWE idiots ruined him by making him "King Booker" or wtv that crap was. Have him return to his original character. Dude is the rawest wrestler in the history of the biz.