With all this CP3 drama going on – which is a total mess – a lot of people have failed to notice one of the biggest acquisitions of this off season, Shane Battier. As Chris rightfully mentioned yesterday, Shane Battier will be the “biggest role player in the league this year.” I think that he hit the nail on the head with this assumption. The 33 year old defensive veteran is the final piece of the Heat Puzzle. That team doesn’t need scorers, we get that, but this signing will allow each of the Big 3 to specialize. First, you’re taking some weight off of Lebron, who normally has the duty of guarding the opposing top scorer. This will further allow him to focus on creating on the offensive side and dropping for help-D down low. Second, he is a perfect fit for the clubhouse. This guy is a total gamer, loves to win, and is a veteran presence amongst superstar egos. This move also bolsters the Heat bench a bit, too. A stronger presence on the defensive side will also allow the Heat to ramp up their transition game. The list goes on and on. I really think that this could be the biggest off season acquisition, and it could be a catalyst to a dynasty…
With Christmas right around the corner, the NBA is definitely back. You can’t change the channel or put on the news without hearing something about basketball. It’s great. Unfortunately, as we wait for training camps to open, most of the news has been just rumors. Regardless, it keeps everyone on their toes so here’s some more.
Let’s start off close to home. It looks like the C’s have sent Big Baby to Orlando for Brandon Bass in a sign-and-trade. I liked Baby because of the vibes he brought, but let’s be honest. The guy is not a great player. He’s far too inconsistent. I hate to say it but I remember times where I’d find myself yelling “NOOO” when he went to shoot. On the other hand, Bass is young, up and coming threat that can shoot the ball better, rebound, and is all around more athletic than Baby. The Celts definitely came out on top of this deal.
With all the hype of the Lakers wanting Howard once the Paul deal was finished, this one kind of slipped through the cracks. Last night, Dwight Howard met with the Nets without the Magic knowing. Because his current team did not know, the meeting was in violation of the NBA’s tampering rules. Results of the meeting were to have Howard ask Orlando to trade him to the Nets Friday morning. We’ll see how that works out for Superman. The Magic, instead, may be filing tampering charges against the Nets and Rockets. Whoops.
How awesome is the ScoreCenter app? An absolute must have for any smartphone. Anyways, last night I got a notification that Chris Paul was heading to LA. Not exactly what Boston fans wanted to hear. Not to mention they made it happen without getting rid of Bynum. Lookout Howard. Within 20 minutes, I got another notification saying the trade had hit a snag. Come to find out, big bad David Stern stepped in after several NBA owners complained vigorously about the trade. The cause of the problem: The NBA-owned Hornets presenting a conflict of interest. After all, did we not just miss two months of basketball due to issues of “making teams more equal”?
Well today is a new day. And with this new day comes an appeal from all three teams involved in the Chris Paul trade to reverse Sterns decision. One of the NBA’s spokesman said that the deal was blocked for “basketball reasons”. Sure…and the Indianapolis Colts will make the playoffs. The NBA found themselves in a sticky situation and Stern’s just trying to cover the tracks. Good try. The league is making a mockery of itself right now and it’s getting pretty pathetic. Either way, if the trade does end up going through, I’m not concerned. The Lakers are giving up two big names and the hopes of Howard following suit are getting slim. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see how things turn out in the next week or so.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported earlier today that the Celtics are still in the running for Hornets point guard Chris Paul. Reportedly the Celtics have offered Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and two future first-round picks.
First off, I am all for the Celtics making a run at Paul but this trade makes absolutely no sense to me unless one thing comes from it; and that is if they are able to get Dwight Howard to join up with Paul here in Boston. I am content with trading away Rondo for Paul, and even including one or two draft picks.
Yes, Paul is better than Rondo, not by a landslide, but he is better. How can you also throw Jeff Green into the deal along with two first-round picks though? Let’s reverse back to last season. The Celtics gave up Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to land Jeff Green, so they must have some faith in him. I was one of the few who were not very upset when that deal went down. Jeff Green is a quality player who has averaged just less than 16 PPG as a starter in the NBA. Then you are also going to throw in two first-round picks? I think the Hornets would be stupid not to take the offer, but that’s not the argument here.
Lets just say that trade does happen. How do the Celtics get Dwight Howard? Does anyone actually think Orlando would deal Howard to the Celtics in exchange for what is left on this roster? Obviously they wont trade Pierce. So what is left? You have no draft picks to trade, and no young talent without Green. Orlando doesn’t want Allen or Garnett. They would much rather ship him to L.A. for a Bynum/Gasol combination. Not only do they get more value for Howard, they also keep him out of the conference. So assuming they can’t land Howard this is what their future will look like in three years or so. Chris Paul. That’s it. Allen, Pierce and Garnett are all on their way out and the Celtics would have no picks to draft a quality player, and no Jeff Green to help build around Paul.
The fact that they are willing to trade Rajon Rondo and his underpaid $11 million a year contract, along with the only other player on the team with some upside, and include two first round picks just to have a somewhat minor upgrade from Rondo to Paul just doesn’t make any sense to me. Not to mention they will have to sign Paul to a deal paying him almost double of what Rondo makes.
Some people will try to say if we get Paul, Howard will follow here next season when he is a free agent. The only issue is that Howard won’t be a free agent. If he won’t resign in Orlando they will trade him. There is no way they take the chance Cleveland took and just let their star player walk away and get nothing in return.
December 7th… a date most notable for the events that took place at Pearl Harbor that gloomy day in 1941. I hope everyone can take a moment today to honor this tragic event. But with all due respect to our country, this post is not going to focus on December 7th for that reason. Instead, as Celtics fever approaches, I’d like to wish Larry Bird a Happy Birthday! On this day, 1956, one of the greatest Celtics basketball players…scratch that, one of the greatest basketball players in history, was born. Nons, you can enjoy him with the Pacers, we’re content with the time he spent in Boston.
According to sources, there is a good chance that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul could be wearing Purple and Yellow this season. Yes, both of them. This story popped up on my news feed at like 2AM last night and I couldn’t believe it. I was sold on CP3 heading to NY to join Amarie and Melo seeing how that’s the only thing he’s been saying. I also think that it would be ridiculous to match those three guys up. But if Dwight and Paul head over to the Lakers, the whole league is in trouble. I know everybody is against Kobe, but we have seen what he can do with a quality big man. Sprinkle Paul (who would be better Derek Fisher) into the mix and you can pretty much say that LA has the West on lockdown. Now, the Lakers would definitely have to dish out Odom, Bynum and Gasol in a deal like this, but I think the return would be incredible. Then again, we have seen how Mike Brown coaches superstars, and no Phil Jackson on the sideline could create some trouble. Nonetheless, the defensive player of the year paired with one of the most dynamic point guards in the league and one of the most clutch players of time? Uh oh…
It’s a few years old, but with the Celts season quickly approaching, I figured it’d be a good flashback. Check below the video for lyrics and props to @CelticsFans for the tip.
My Celtics baby. #17 yo we got another banner. Gonna put it in the rafters. LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. [Chorus] Kobe Bryant sucks, Boston tears it up, We the champions there ain’t no stopping us see now we #1. Kobe really sucks, Celtics tear it up, we the champions there ain’t no stopping us see now we #1. [Verse 1] Ok the Celtics we the champs right now. We got the Big 3 beat LA to the ground. Ray-Ray, P, KG getting down. Best record in the league but the haters still doubt. Perk doing work. Rondo so thur. House in your mouth. Posey that’s murder. Three’s raining down like unh-unh, Pierce driving through the lane like dunk-dunk. [Hook] Mr. MVP I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop, I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. I say the LL-Lakers got the molliwhop. [Chorus] Kobe Bryant sucks. Boston tears it up. We the champions there ain’t no stopping us see now we #1. Kobe really sucks, Celtics tear it up, we the champions there ain’t no stopping us see now we #1. [Verse 2] What you gon’ do when the Celtics get hot and they’re dropping them, we hittin’ every shot. Ohhh the Lakers try to stop us. They got rocked. Kobe said the team that he with can’t win. Kobe want a trade ’cause the Lakers ain’t ****. Got a couple players but you still ain’t ****. (Pau Gasol?) Kobe crying, crying like a little *****.
So, after much buildup and a few tweets back and forth, Kevin Durant matched up against LeBron James last night in Akron Ohio for the much anticipated Flag Football game between the two. First off, I am absolutely shocked that the Heat and Oke City were okay with this. Now, I know the CBA isn’t “official” yet, but if I am either organization’s owner and I know the season is starting on December 25, and I know how much money that I have already lost, you better believe that I would have these superstars on 24 hour lockdown. God forbid KD comes down awkwardly and rips up an ACL (cause honestly I know half the country was hoping LeBron got lit up coming across the middle) and Oke City is legit done for the year. That being said, the athleticism that was in this game was insane (except Durant’s brother who could have been the worst quarterback ever). I was rather upset that ESPN (as usual) put the entire spotlight on LeBron. The highlights only showed Durant when he was making a play on Lebron. All of this aside, I don’t think there is a doubt in the world that Lebron could not play in the NFL. You think Deon “Prime Time” was nice for playing baseball and football? Imagine playing – and dominating – in the NBA and NFL. Holy hell. Just saying, Lebron as a 6’8” wide receiver with speed and strength? Hate if you want, but this guy would make Calvin Johnson look like Muggsy Bogues.
Dwight Howard may be following in Shaq’s footsteps by leaving Orlando. It does not look like the Magic are in the running for any big name players thus far. This means that Howard will probably not sign an extension with them beyond this shortened season. That’s how Shaq felt after the 1996 season, when he left the Magic to play for the Lakers. The Magic didn’t get anything for him because they decided to let him become a free agent rather than trying to trade him and get some sort of compensation before it was too late. The next season, their record dropped to almost .500 and their head coach was fired. I can only pray that this is the case next season so that Stan Van Gundy is out of the league forever! (and hopefully he takes his idiot announcer brother with him)
However they do not want to end up being like the Cavaliers last season and losing 26 games straight because they were too proud to trade their franchise player before it was too late. They need to go out and get someone. The Lakers have Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol to trade if they needed to if he wanted to play with Kobe. They could also send him to the New Jersey Nets to play with Deron Williams. That would probably be the best scenario because they would receive rising star Brook Lopez and 2 first round picks. Howard needs a guard that can get him the ball anywhere on the court, Nelson just isn’t cutting it.
One of the most famed rivalries in sports….Celtics vs. Lakers. With promises of the NBA season back in action, who could wait to see these two teams go at it again? Well C’s fans, you didn’t have to wait long. The East Coast, West Coast rivalry is already at battle, this time, off the court.
Two of the NBA’s biggest names being talked about are Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Rumors have been lingering for months now regarding the C’s interest in Howard. It’s highly unlikely that even getting Howard alone could happen without getting rid of Rondo. But with the cap space and reality of putting Rondo on the trading block, it is possible to go after both. Likely? Maybe a stretch. Rondo does a great job running the offense but Ainge is looking for someone to put up points along side Pierce, which Rondo has never been able to do on a consistent basis. Fast forward a few months to present day and now the Lakers have entered the mix, and their not stopping at Howard. The Lakers want to and are in a decent shape to acquire both Howard and Chris Paul. This idea doesn’t sit well in my stomach. Sure it’s just speculation, but if the Lakers were to trade Bynum and Gasol, for these two stars, you can sure put the seemingly unraveling Lakers of last season back on the map.
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