Teletopez

Somewhat disappointed in Von for the frustration hit near the end. There were probably some words exchanged in previous plays, and it was a legal hit, but it was an ugly way to close the season's end. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

Not sure how this makes any sense, but okay. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

D-Will's best game in a Nets uniform, and maybe even the best performance in his NBA career.

...

D-Will making his return to Utah. I'm expecting a mixed reception at worst. In other news...

http://assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/michael_scott/The-Office-gifs-the-office-14948948-240-196.gif

Stefan Bondy

After a shocking night in which I just could not believe that Montero was no longer a Yankee, I've done some more reading today, and I feel great about this team. The offense should, for the most part, take care of itself for at least some time. Meanwhile, it was wrong of me to criticize the Yankees' emphasis on pitching. The last two years, maybe more than that, our rotation looked brilliant for a good part of the season. But when the final two months of the season would hit, problems would suddenly enter from left and right. We've established an incredible rotation for 2012, and its future looks more than promising, with Betances and Banuelos still working their way up. http://oi42.tinypic.com/1o6jbs.jpg Go Yankees!

Whoops, my bad. Mixed up this scenario with the one in the Knicks' forum. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

Yeah, maybe I'm just devastated to see Montero go. And don't forget Nova in that rotation. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

Almost forgot to address Noesi and Campos. I liked Noesi and felt like we didn't give him the role he deserved, but Campos has the potential to be a better fourth or fifth man in a rotation.

As long as we have a shot at Dwight, not happening.

The pursuit of Dwight is the main reason I can guarantee you there's no Deron deal happening until Dwight is settled somewhere... and even after that, I don't see King being immediately interested. To address your point, motivation is one of the huge concerns with Melo. Obviously, the Knicks are still in an early stage of this superteam status, but after seeing the ugly slump last season and the short ugly one last week, I feel like Anthony, as long as he is in New York, will frequently be facing a lot of criticism for the motivation issue.

Here's why I disagree with the trade... 1) I agree that pitching wins championships. But whether or not that's truly the case, I wasn't thrilled that pitching was our primary concern heading into this offseason. Our pitching is fine. Sabathia, Nova, and Garcia were in there. Burnett pitched extremely well in his final three or four games last season, and unless he gets dealt, he's in the rotation. The remaining one or two are open for Hughes, Phelps, and Warren. Down the road, you have Betances and Banuelos. Why address something that is basically covered? 2) Pineda is a monster... #2 starter in his rookie year. That doesn't eliminate all risk involved, though. He's moving from a pitcher-friendly ballpark in Seattle to a hitter-friendly one in New York. 3) I'm sure you know this about our offense (the playoffs summarized it perfectly), but we had some monstrous offensive performances, and then we also had games where we were just awful trying to get runs across. I still view that as a concern, and I felt like Montero was key to us in that DH slot. It's now a vacancy (signing Fielder suddenly became a possibility, though you can start questioning if he want to spend much more than we already are). Tex, A-Rod, and Jeter will be in the slot more frequently, but I basically feel like having Montero in our lineup was more crucial than Pineda down the stretch. I would not have done this deal, but at the same time, I believe we can very well be thrilled with it down the road. I am heartbroken to see Jesus go, but hey, Sabathia, Kuroda, Pineda, and Nova sounds amazing. So maybe I'm overreacting.

Not happening. In terms of success down the road, it may just be Dwight or bust for the Nets plus those two individuals (unless they team up). I think the two guys are aware that they're basically the only remaining top ten players not settled somewhere, and there best chance at beating the top flight teams is teaming up. In the case that Dwight is traded elsewhere and is still looking to team up with Deron, I believe Brooklyn would be the best option. If Dwight lands in L.A. and changes in mind and settles there, I still like our chances of keeping Deron.

He certainly won't end up in Dallas via trade, but in the case that he ends up in L.A., DO NOT trade Deron for the following reasons: 1) There have been clues here and there that Dwight would not want to stick in L.A. after getting traded there. I'm skeptical about him not changing his mind, but whatever happens, he's going to be a free agent, in which case you get the opportunity to try and sign him straight-up. 2) If Dwight does sign that new contract with L.A., I don't rule out the chance of Deron staying. Deron and Dwight are looking to play alongside each other, but if Dwight eliminates that option by staying with the Lakers, Deron still has reason to stick with this club. We've basically made him assistant GM and assistant coach... much of what we brought over was done with some level of his input. We've catered to his will (maybe a bit too much, but that's a separate discussion). The scenario would basically be that Lopez and Brooks are still here, plus we draft at least one great player out of this draft class, and that would equate to a team with a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Basically, Dwight will be a free agent whether or not he gets dealt, meaning the Nets will talk to him and try and bring him over.

Can't play defense, certainly not an ideal leader, doesn't make the players around him better the way Deron does. Any superstar pure point guard would attract Dwight more than Melo could, of course, and we're talking about Deron, who is good friends with Dwight and who has been looking to play alongside him for a while now. And I apologize for my annoyed tone in my previous post post. Not that it's an excuse, but I've become somewhat irritable the last couple of weeks talking with some Nets fans (not on here), and it's translating over here.

He was playing with wrist injuries in either hand last year, he wasn't turning the ball over like he is now, and while his shooting was affected, he was killing it with the point guard role. You're right, I know nothing about my team. "Hey, Dwight wants to come to the Nets primarily because of Deron, so let's trade Deron away for someone else who is one of the league's best scorers but is horrible in so many other aspects." Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

I will never understand this idiotic emphasis on pitching every year. I'm heartbroken, but who knows how this will turn out value-wise. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

Unless Deron's struggles somehow continue, and there's no reason to expect that, I would not even consider Melo for Deron alone. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint.

I hope you stuck around until the end. First quarter really threw us in a hole. Nice effort, though. Many more positives in today's game. Deron's turnovers are probably one of the biggest issues at the moment.

Eric Decker is day-to-day with an ankle sprain. Thank God it was nothing worse.

Just an idea... if we want to go for an epic sort of promo, maybe have a compilation of the most memorable NBA moments in recent years, and as a caption to each of those clips, quote what a member wrote on the corresponding thread here (sort of like how you see movie critics' quotes on a trailer). It would take a lot of work, but it could be pretty neat. We could also go for that idea we had a while back with a bunch of members submitting their own video/audio that would be compiled into one video promo.

... did you want him to come in shirtless?

I sort of skimmed through the rest of it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but there wasn't much mention about creating the supporting cast with the exception of acquiring draft picks. The whole money thing is an aspect on its own. If Deron and Dwight are able to join the Mavs without taking paycuts (plus Texas' tax-friendly situation), then Dallas beats New York in that aspect. But in response to this: I'll leave it to you guys to judge the credibility of this, but a member on a Magic forum exchanged DMs with Dwight back in October in which some new things were said. He posted the screenshots of the DMs but took them down because he felt he was jeopardizing future interactions with him. But other members confirm that they saw the messages. Here's his summary of it. Link Also, if it holds any importance, Deron was in the Mavs' locker room for one, maybe two games (not throughout their title run): http://www.netsdaily.com/2012/1/7/2689199/deron-and-the-mavs-during-last-nba-finals