Nitro

So the Magic didn't want to give him that contract last year, he went on to have one of his worst seasons in the league, and now the Magic want to bring him and his contract back while giving up two important role players in the process??? Ummm....ok....

Depends on how old the role player is. I don't see LA being a dominant force for more than another 2-3 years without significant roster adjustments. Fisher's going on 36, Kobe on 32, Odom and Artest going on 31, and Gasol is turning 30 on Tuesday. Their window of oppertunity is kind of slim, but if I'm an older FA looking for 2-3 years and a ring, LA is an already established championship team. Meanwhile, if a super-team ever came to be, that's where I'd go if I were a younger role player looking to be on a contender for many, many years. With a core of LeBron (25!!), Wade (28), and either Bosh (26) or Amare (27) you got 3 star players who will all being playing in their absolute prime for the next 3-5 years. Even if you don't win the first season, that is fine because they'll have more oppertunity to really fill out the roster next off-season. And if this super-group ever happened, there will be veterans lined up looking for a ring and willing to take a very low salary.

Horrible move. It's not like the guys even 10 years into the league, and he just turned 30. I really think last year was an abberation, and that it can only go up from there until he hits a steep physical decline. His value has never been so low as it is now. I don't understand why he wouldn't just play out this last year of his contract, get his money, likely get his value up a bit, and then hit a less-crowded FA market next season. And it's not like San Antonio is some bottom-feeder team...they will still be in the WC hunt next season.

Love the trade for the Lakers...if they sign/trade for at least another reliable big and a FA wing that can either create his own shot or defend very well. Odom, per minute, is a better rebounder than Bosh, and Bynum is about the same and is also a more intimidating defender. Losing both of those guys without getting another big is going to be a problem. And since they would also lose Odom's versatility and Bynum's ability to finish around the rim, they would need to fill up the already weak wing positions with some good talent.

Not a fan of the blue in each of the shoes. I'm sure they'll come out with a bunch of different variations of this shoe with different colors, so I'll with-hold my judgement 'till then.

I wouldn't say it's a drag album musically at all. It certainly has a lot of latin flavor, that's where the influence. If it was poorly done I'd agree with you, but I think it meshes perfectly with his style. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but the production is well-done. And who ever listens to that skits?

Eh...he literally is the only option they are gonna have to sign a 20PPG scorer in at least the next few years. No one wants to go to Minny, especially with the team as crappy as it has been the last few seasons. The only type of All-Star talent that would ever sign there is a young one looking for his first big paycheck. Rudy Gay is their guy.

Well, no one really knew the Bulls would have the cap space to sign two big-name FA's, and that surely change the landscape of things. Coaching/GM changes as well will affect things. Also, even if they have a strong indication of where they're going, the presentations these teams will give to these players might have a significant influence as well (especially for the guys who want to buy stock in the teams and other off-court stuff).

Since I missed the OTR battle thing, I decided I would post some of my stuff here. I am a beginner, still learning flow and overall musical ability. That's why some of it is very robotic and simple, but it's a start. Anyway, here's something I wrote last night that was kind of a freestyle that I spruced up a bit. Needs a beginning/bridge: Check it, I got white widow and haze, rhymes so chronic you blazed This step 1 of my phase, lyrics hit and you dazed So I circle the ring of fire like Johnny Cash Framed my own death in a kamikaze crash Flash forward 2010 I’m rehearsed to win Stay immersed in sin then reverse my skin Son I shoot to kill, don’t step toe to toe I’ll slice off ya feet till you calm and still Then feed ya pills till you breath more slow Eyelids go low as I still steal your dough Rappers spew [expletive] over lame-[expletive] hooks My style’s Mobb Deep, [expletive] you halfway crooks Who can’t read a book, stand broke and shook You can’t see me rook, don’t even try to look I’ll strangle ya DJ with his own damn braids Cuz I’m loco mofo, nah mean, hombre? I’m on a daily operation to conduct runs Iller than corrupt nuns who bust guns and lust funds This white skin is simply pigmentation I can speak in ebonics with concentration I’ll tell you where happiness can be found In tiny pressed pills like the Earth they round Give me three blues and I’ll blow them thru Holdin snow flakes? Yeah, I’ll blow them too So go ahead, give me ya best trick hunny I spit that chocolate, call me the Nesquik Bunny And here is a diss I wrote going at my ex-gf. I was rolling on E the night before I was supposed to record this and got all sentimental and made up with her so it was never recorded. It was going to be layed on the Ice Cream instrumental by RZA, hence the ice cream reference. Yo the ice cream man’s here and Imma set my sight You’ll never see me bark but like hell I’ll bite And this beat’s so tight, couldn’t help but write A diss to miss Kristy, now I’m on the mic let’s fight She always under pressure and vast amounts of stress With the body of a child, got no [expletive] or breasts Then she failed the tests, up at U-C-C Can she even spell “R-E-T-A-R-D?” Now she styles hair, is this a truth or dare? Customer turns to victim despite the prayer Please tell me where, you find the female fools The sluts that use [expletive] as their only tool The ones that you ask “how can you be so cruel?” God’s bloody stools attend the beauty schools And she in that pool, near about to drown Cuz she’ll look like a clown 10 years from now I’ll give her the red nose to complete the cause She always needing makeup to hide her flaws Beneath the caked up mask and that clever shield She popped too many pimples and they never healed Or maybe she can sing, what a crappy choice Sounds like Louis Armstrong with that raspy voice She’ll sing to the choir ‘bout her daddy issues But no one will care or spare a tissue Cuz no one gives a [expletive] about a stupid slut A liar, whore, an entitled [expletive] Call her cupid’s mutt that hops dick to dick Like a magic trick, she [expletive]in makes me sick And can make me tick, like so few can do When she touched my prick, I screamed “Scooby Doo!” And busted my nut right up in her too Without a [expletive]in rubber, “I’m so sorry boo!” Then back in November I had a motel room With 3 chicks and much vodka to consume The sips turned to gulps, and right before I knew I was standing in my boxers with a raging clue! And holding a camera, pictures now erased Cuz Kristy and company tried to save their face So I’ll play along nice and be their saving grace But New Year’s Eve? Ha that’s a different case Once again my girley was drunk as [expletive] We’re sitting in my car, just hooking up When we spot a girl around ten yards away In only bra and panties, Kristy yells out, “Hey!” The stranger looks up and falls to the floor Then stumbles to the car, opens up the door Kristy hops in the back, a straight on attack Stripping her down, feeling up her rack Soon both are nude, pussies wet with joy Scissor me Timbers! Ha I’m a lucky boy When the fun had ceased the girl dropped a dime “I’m just a virgin, that was my very first time!” Kristy I’m talking to you straight, I [expletive]in hate you [expletive] Cuz you’re an evil witch from the depths of hell And your [expletive] smells, give it a mint and tell All your close friends about my drug addictions Or how under the sheets I swung and came up missin Go tell ‘em all your lies and false superstitions Cuz ho I’m on a mission to open up your eyes You’re the dirty skank that everyone despise I’m rapping these bars to tell ‘em all the truth That your soul is rotted black like an unbrushed tooth This song was too easy like your slut-whore self You’d probably [expletive] a goblin or a Cyclops elf And you should be the poster-child for abortion Cuz you took away my happiness by extortion So I’ll match you wit for wit, take you blow for blow Cradle to the grave, I’ll tell you so ya know Your end has come and I’ll say it soft like fleece Princess (her last name), may you rot in peace

"Dance With the Devil" wasn't supposed to make him look hard or tough. It's supposed to tell a very realistic story of a kid wanting respect and to have it all, and while the ending is over-the-top, it's supposed to show how tragic things can be if you devote yourself to evil and such. He tells the story amazingly well, and the point he's trying to make definitely makes you think. As for IT's overall ability...he's a tremendous lyracist, period. I love his metaphores and his techniques to relate things to real life. Sometimes he's outrageous as you mentioned, but his talent and ability as not only an MC, but as a poet/person who creates social awareness is undeniable. And whether you like him or not, saying Revolutionary Vol. 2 isn't at the very least on the same level as Operation:Doomsday in regards to its influence and critical acclaim is completely unfounded.

Yeah, because I am sure a Knicks executive would say anything else... That's not to say I believe James going to Chicago is a done deal, because I doubt he even knows where he's going yet. But what else would he say? "Yeah, we have no shot at the guy we've made almost every decision in the last 2 years to lure. It's Joe Johnson time!"

I'm going to just quote your actual "points" and then sum up the other stuff in the end. Who do you think the 3 most knowledgable basketball people are on here besides me? Blasco? Real Deal? Even though you'll just dismiss them as ignorant as well, let's take a look at what they said... Blasco didn't say that because you gave a half-hearted effort in your post, as neither of our points have changed since that post. He said that because I keep refuting your points, and you have no answer but to say I'm ignorant. I said this before, and I'll say it again- Using worst case scenario injruies is pointless. Talking about injuries that happen once every maybe dozen or more games in a soccer team's schedule has NO BEARING ON ANY OF MY POINTS. The more relevant point to this topic which I made is the consistency of the physicality. That's the one thing you have not refuted once and has a huge impact on this topic. This doesn't happen during some in-bounds plays/jump-balls in the NBA? When players are called for defensive/offensive fouls fighting in the post? Did you watch Fisher/Allen pushing and shoving almost every single Celtics possession in the Finals? C'mon... And again, there are only so many corner/free kicks in a game in soccer. Let's say for kicks that soccer players get more physical in those situations of the game than NBA players ever do...that's still only a few minutes worth (if that) of physicality in a 90min game in off-ball situations. In the NBA there's a sustained physical element the ENTIRE GAME, especially in off-ball situations. In soccer, there isn't. Major difference that is completely relevant to the flopping situations and how refs control it. Apples and oranges. And honest to god that is fine...but you can't say, "The NBA should do this because FIFA does that, or FIFA should do this because the NBA does that." Apples and oranges. I mentioned in one line in my first post that it's the hardest to ref because there is so much going on every single possession, basically to show that refs should not get so much of the blame for the flopping. And I only said to stop comparing NBA to soccer because you analyzed my first post, which was strictly devoted to the NBA's issue with flopping, and compared certain aspects to FIFA. I refuted your points, didn't just say, "STOP COMPARING THE NBA TO SOCCER!" If I didn't refute your points, Blasco wouldn't have said that directly after that post. Once again, you're not getting the point. When did I ever say stars in soccer don't get fouled? I said that it doesn't happen nearly as often as in the NBA, and the rewards for getting fouled are so much different. Most star players in the NBA have the ball in their hands most of the time they are in the game, and they usually get fouled on 4-5 shot attempts per game, not including all the non-shooting fouls. They get directly rewarded with points when they get fouled on those shot attempts, and those non-shooting fouls can put a team in the penalty which once again directly awards his team with points. You can fill in how star players in soccer are affected by fouls and see just how different the sports are and why they shouldn't be compared. The ability to give "superstar" calls that affect the game is vastly different. That's my point. Not that soccer stars don't get fouled. Show me how a referee in soccer could directly affect a superstar's impact on the game with fouls nearly as much as they do in the NBA, and then you finally can make an arguement. I used a random game. I could go through all the box scores of the entire World Cup and the fouls are always going to be roughly between 10-30 per game. That's in 90min (and more) of game-time. In the NBA it's usually between 30-50 per game, and that's in roughly half the game-time. Why is that relevent? It's not to diss soccer, or necessarily even to say NBA is more physical...if you want to call soccer more physical, fine, that doesn't even affect my point. The point is that because refs have to call so many more fouls in the NBA game per minute, there is a lot more to referee regarding physicality and foul calls. When you mix in all the other penalties NBA refs have to enforce each and every possession, it makes judging what is and isn't a flop on the spot that much harder. In other words? Apples and oranges, once again. Do NBA refs have to enforce any rules besides in the 48min of gameplay? No. Making what you just said completely irrelevant. As for the rest of your post...PROVE TO ME WHY MY POINTS ARE INVALID! Instead of just saying I'm ignorant, actually refute my points. You haven't done that the entire thread, and when you have tried you took a stance that's completely irrelvant to my point at hand. Read my posts more carefully, look at what I am actually arguing, take in my actual arguement, and then refute it. If you back me into a corner and the points I am making are completely irrelevant and unfounded, then you've won this debate.

Same reason Joe Johnson will likely be getting a max contract.

Eh...way too much has to happen before I can definitively say that. I have a feeling the East will continue to be very top-heavy, and the West will be more balanced with 6-7 50+ win teams. Because even though Chicago, Miami and likely NY/NJ will be vastly improved, the Cavs and Celtics will both go the way of old yeller.

The only thing I'll say about pre-Illmatic Nas is that while it was unbelievable lyrically, it just wasn't quite focused. A lot of it was battle rap, and while I love that style, Nas is best when he gets creative and tries to get a point across. What a lot of people don't know is that some verses off his demo can be found in songs later on. His famous verse on Verbal Intercourse was on his demo in the song Deja Vu.

My bad, volume 2. And yes, it's one of my favorite albums of all-time, and Immortal Technique is one of the most highly acclaimed underground artists ever. Lyrically it doesn't get much better than IT, and the production on that album is also very different with its heavy latin influence. Obnoxious, Point of No Return, Harlem Streets, Leaving the Past, Freedom of Speech, Peruvian Cocaine...all tremendous songs.

Wow, didn't realize it's from 2000. That's pretty fascinating as even though things started to decline around then, there were still a ton of classic rap albums from 1997-2003 (putting 2000 in the middle). Speaking of which, when was the last time an album came out that could seriously be considered a classic? I haven't taken a listen to a few of the new 2010 albums, but I think Distant Relatives could be looked back on as a classic. But besides that, it's been many, many years.

As I said, I love that album, but wouldn't claim it to be one of the most groundbreaking underground albums of all-time. Revolutionary Pt. II, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous (I consider it underground, it was mad slept on until he died, and it's still slept on), and a few others I would consider to be ahead of Operation: Doomsday.

I'm PRETTY sure Purple was made after Illmatic. Supposedly many of the track on 'The Lost Tapes' were originally meant for 'I Am..' but when some songs off that leaked he re-tooled the album. Either way it's a brilliant song.

What's funny to me is he listed Operation: Doomsday as a benchmark classic album. I love MF Doom and that's my favorite of his albums (of any of his personas), but that's an example of personal preference at its best. We could resort to his game of calling him a moron and unknowledgable because very few people consider that a classic rap album, but we're better and smarter than that.

It IS my favorite song off The Lost Tapes. One of my favorite Nas songs all-time, actually. Flow, topic and production are all top-notch.

Good question. I'm sure LeBron is wondering as well

On basketball-reference he's listed at 6'10'', 230lbs. The 230lbs part is the bigger issue playing at Center. It isn't like he's Dennis Rodman or Charles Barkley on the boards, either. A major issue if you're playing LA or Orlando.

Here's the article link- http://www.popculturecorn.com/music/issues/feb00/article-hatehiphop.html I like the article, and agree with how many rappers create characters of what they are to get $ instead of staying true. Even Nas did that around the start of The Firm when he was playing off the Escobar crap, and it is the main reason his music kind of died from '96-'01. When he got back to spitting about real [expletive] and feelings, and also using some really creative narratives (I Gave You Power, Rewind), he was once again considered an elite rapper. Sometimes making up a persona is good if it parallells real life feelings and experiences (like old Eminem...see- Brain Damage), but overall I like to hear things spit from the heart. But good read. Don't agree with all of it, but enjoyed reading it.

Head and shoulders above Wade? You're oblivious. And the point of bringing LBJ to town is to WIN. You can win with Wade, and that's been proven. Even though LeBron is the slightly better player, and he will certainly have the bigger hype and publicity, you can do wonders with Wade. I haven't been reading the last few posts, but the Knicks aren't getting Wade IMO. They have a much better chance with LeBron. Getting neither will be a major kick in the groin to the Knicks orginization and fans because in all likelihood you ain't winning a ring without either.