Real Deal

Well, Golden State would do it, as long as they can trade Ellis (instead of Curry).

Knowing the Buss family, there's absolutely no chance he comes here without first agreeing to an extension. I'm 100% sure of it.

No point in this. We have Goudelock draining threes, and he's arguably the best three-point shooter out of the draft.

New Orleans needs to take that Golden State offer. What if David West decided to re-sign? Will they end up keeping Landry? I mean, the Hornets wouldn't be in THAT bad of shape, doing that trade. They weren't that great last season, despite having CP3, Ariza, Landry and Okafor.

To me, that's him basically saying he's going to tank. I just hate that...at least do it behind closed doors. Didn't Colangelo say he wasn't going to use the TPE? I don't get that...it was around $10 million or so. Toronto doesn't need to worry about making room for two max deals, so I'm not sure what the motive is behind all of this, unless he's losing money out the ass.

GREAT. I have to redo the Hornets banner.

He hasn't done anything in 2-3 years, he's already 30, shooting lower percentages, doesn't play defense. I don't see the need for him. Well, that's why we drafted arguably the best three-point shooter in college basketball last season.

Lamar may be able to play as a small forward, but he can't play the position well enough. If he ever had a shot at it, well, it was in the triangle offense. I'd be shocked if Mike Brown went with a Bynum/Gasol/Odom frontcourt for longer than five minutes a game, if that...but, then again, I really have no clue what he's going to do with our offense. I just know Odom at the three has never worked. Maybe the Lakers are going to just let Brown walk, play Barnes as the backup behind Ron, Kapono backing up Bryant...or vice-versa. With that said, this isn't something I want to happen, at all...doesn't matter how cheap we can get him. I'd rather have Adam Morrison back.

Ah, I must have read something in the article wrong. I was under the impression that the Hornets would consider Gasol. Really, it doesn't matter to me. I just want Dwight on this team. The Hornets can keep CP3.

Make no mistake, the Lakers will deal anyone and everyone on the roster, aside from Kobe Bryant, to get Dwight Howard and CP3 on this team, teaming them with KB. It's kind of funny. About three years ago, when some of us were entertaining the idea that Howard would eventually play in Los Angeles, we had talked about CP3 or D-Will getting with him, teaming with Bryant for a huge run of championships. Of course, this was probably around the 2008 loss, if I recall correctly, so while we didn't really know we would win the next two championships, we still had a feeling that LA would do what it takes to get it done. Funny enough, back in 2006 or 2007, we had a topic over at Clublakers, and it was for Ron Artest. I think it was one of the largest topics I've ever seen. We wanted him BADLY, and most of us had this hunch that, someday, we would get him. He seemed to hate Kobe, he thought he was a rap artist, and he loved the city. Basically, he was destined to be here. While I wish we had Ariza back, there's no doubt in my mind that Artest was better for us in 2010. No doubt. Our front office usually makes the right moves, even when they give out contracts that are a bit too large, sometimes...and the fact is, the Buss family will push the buttons on their phones until their fingers bleed, if they truly need a player (or a group of guys). If someone told me that we could trade Gasol for CP3, and Drew for Howard...I'm all in, don't care about our past success with Pau and Drew. Seems unreal, though. I have a hard time believing all of the chips can fall into place, at that magnitude. Maybe one of the two, but not both CP3 and Howard.

Haha, my bad. Leaving aside the Raptors, I'm not sure if Jack or Bayless are ready for a starting point guard position on any team. Nah, I knew you weren't. I figured you assumed I was implying that. And BINGO was his name-o. For me, it depends on if they want to extend Bayless and Barbosa, and give money to Chandler (who is set on a big deal, as if he's Dwight or something). Also, right now, I'm not sure if the Raptors have the cap space to sign Chandler. This guy is wanting $20 million a year. I would be surprised if he did get that, but how long will teams wait until they settle for $13-14 million? If the Raptors want to give him that, they won't have the room.

Haha, no doubt. Horrible trade, by the way. Not because of Rondo, of course...he's an excellent PG, and I like him over Westbrook right now (probably not the most popular decision, but I'd take a prime Kidd over a prime Rose any day), but I wouldn't deal Perkins for two Jeff Greens.

Wouldn't be that bad of a situation for him. He would get minutes behind both Cousins and Hickson, especially the way Cousins plays, and Sacramento would pay him whatever to bring him on board. They need to start winning games, and playing defense will be the key. Hayes isn't Chandler, but with a team that has very limited help on defense (VERY LIMITED, as in...none, because Sammy is gone)...he'll see playing time, and he'll be a significant piece to their playoff run (hahahahaha).

If there are that many teams wanting him, the Clippers will most definitely match. There's no reason not to. If they become big contenders in the Dwight Howard race, they know it will be easy to deal away DeAndre Jordan, simple as that. If it takes Gordon and Kaman to get Dwight, they can trade DeAndre to another team for a pretty good two-guard.

They should've done everything in their power to keep Perk.

Taj Gibson is staying in Chicago, and Thibs likes Asik quite a bit. Watson, Bogans, Brewer...those guys would be dealt before Gibson, especially if Chicago can bring in Lee and find a cheap PG in free agency.

If Miami wants Roy, they will need to cut Wade, LeBron or Bosh. ------ What I would like to see happen is Brandon Roy telling Portland that he won't take the massive player option in 2013, unless he hits certain numbers in his game (conditionals). That way, Portland can give him two years of what...$30 million or so...and then get rid of him on his own terms, the team and player parting ways and being friends for life! But yeah, this is the NBA, and I doubt that would be the case, no matter how nice Roy is. I think Portland should hold out for just one season. They can waive him this summer, and have a shot at Howard (and by that time, Oden will be expired, assuming they will match any offer sheet coming up...giving him a one-year deal and unrestricted free agency afterwards). It would work out better that way, in my opinion.

With a shorter free agency period, and many other SG's to choose from, it's more likely a team won't overpay for Parker, and Cleveland should get him back. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he took off. His numbers have taken a hit since going to Cleveland, he's probably playing a bit less, and I wouldn't assume he'd be too happy about that.

Well, eventually, DeMar will need to create his own shot. That's going to be his forte down the road. He's got enough potential to be a very good player. When I point out Calderon being a detriment to the team, I don't feel he's taking shots away...but he's not on the court as much as he should be, and he's always playing injured (seems that way). Every single time I watched Toronto last season, the guy was either limping around, not playing at all, or getting pulled from the game after about 20-25 minutes...and that is an issue with young teams learning how to play with their point guards. Not to mention he's still horrible on defense, but there's no point in arguing that. I watched Jack and Bayless...and I wasn't sure if they were ready. But, someone will need to step up and take it from Calderon, and I believe Jose has been struggling with his shot AND getting that extra step on his defender, which means it's time. The Raptors are really hard to figure out, at least for me. As the owner, I would honestly use the amnesty on Calderon, try to trade Bargnani (or vice-versa, since Bargs is making far much more in a longer contract), and go from there.

So the Rockets don't have much confidence in Thabeet after all? Denver has to sign and trade him away. They have to get something, and they most certainly can. They won't find much from a team like the Heat or Celtics, even though both teams would love to have Nene...but there are teams in the league (like Houston) that would dish out some decent players. Paul, that would be interesting. There's no way you'd trade Horford, though, correct? I'd have trouble doing that. Denver would have to take back Joe Johnson (no-show Joe), and give me someone else with Nene (Afflalo), for me to consider that.

Otis needs to phone Dwight and simply ask him. I sure the hell would. I'd say, "Hey, Dwight...I want your opinion on Gilly. Cut him, or see how it plays out? I'm going to reconfigure this entire team to keep you around, simple as that, no beating around the bush...so do you think he can be a contributing teammate, or will cutting him mean more playing time for someone better?"

Przybilla is going to be lucky to play 50 more games for the rest of his career, let alone a couple of full seasons. His knee is incredibly bad, and he can barely jump now. Kwame wouldn't be bad, but they should shoot for Dalembert, maybe just so Miami doesn't pick him up instead. Dally would be better than Brown, obviously...maybe not as cheap, but Boston will be able to afford him, unless some desperate team comes in and throws a big amount at him.

I was going to write up a big post, but I remembered that Bargnani and Calderon are on this team. As long as they are around, I can't expect too much from DeRozan, unfortunately. I'm not sure if he'll be let loose. I was talking to another Raptor fan on this board I frequent, and he was basically saying the same thing, more about Bargs than anyone...and I just don't understand why DeRozan isn't being marked as their primary option. Oh, and I have to say...his guy is Kobe. If he works as hard as Kobe, you Raptors fans have to be happy. Anyone that works that hard should get significantly better.

Better now than some other time. I wouldn't have been surprised if Bosh was thrown into a gazillion trade rumors this summer (if we had a summer). I know they just brought him in, but I also don't think the Heat want to wait too long, because Wade is getting old quick (or maybe I'm getting old quickly). I can't say Bosh is a top three PF in the league, but he can bring enough to the Heat, in a trade, that would probably help Miami even more. Wade and James are scary together...just the duo. If they had the pieces around them, and holes were filled in the roster, that team is probably better. The only thing is, for his sake, I hope he doesn't try and adjust his game too much. If he gets this idea that he needs to be a traditional, back-to-the-basket boss in the low post, I think it's going to hurt him when he realizes he'll have to go back to the old Bosh near the end of the season. Truth is, the Heat don't need that kind of offensive player, unless the superstar duo is out of the game, and Bosh isn't skilled enough to cover all of that on his own. Defensively, though, is where he has to improve. If he can stand his ground better, and take into consideration just how important an extra 10-15 pounds of muscle is on that end of the court...that's a bad deal for the East.

Just an FYI - Andrew Bynum is suspended for this game (Barea incident), and he'll miss the first five games of the season.