Real Deal

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Granger had to find SOME way to get noticed, I guess.

They are discussing trade possibilities with the Raiders, Giants and Bills, as reported on ESPN a few seconds ago.

Thinking of just hitting mute on my remote.

Bigger picture for Denver: they are losing him anyway. The longer they keep him, the less patience he has. Denver shows their leverage by keeping him until the deadline, and Melo breaks and tells the Nuggets he wants dealt to ANY team. OR, they can keep him PAST the deadline, and force him to sign the extension before he becomes a free agent, and agree that, if he does, they will sign and trade him to any team he wishes (which gives Denver much, much more in a trade). Today, or in February, Melo doesn't have to have a say in where he goes. There are teams that want him right now, no extension necessary, so Denver could just opt to deal him for what they want (expirings and picks) and move on, even if it's to a team Melo does not want to be on. In Melo's world, he gets traded to the Knicks today, and then he signs his extension immediately after. Gets his team, gets his money. Denver holds those cards. If Melo was looking forward to free agency, he would be willing to play for his team this season, but he knows what's on the line. Anthony is crossing his fingers and hoping the Nuggets give him the chance to go East, to the Knicks or Nets, because at the end of the day, ANY trade is up to Denver, and it's Melo that wants traded.

Sound is worse. You hear them whining and hitting the water. She needs to be thrown into a river with a ton of water moccasins.

Because he covers a TON of international players in the NBA Draft, and he's a college basketball analyst, so he probably thinks less of the NBA as a whole.

Sean, I know you saw this.

You're welcome, cutie.

1a) Peyton Manning 1b) Tom Brady 3) Drew Brees 4) Aaron Rodgers 5) Ben Roethlisberger 6) Brett Favre 7) Phillip Rivers 8) Tony Romo 9) Eli Manning 10) Matt Schaub I think Carson Palmer will look halfway decent this season, with TO, Ocho, Shipley and Gresham to throw to...not sure if he's going to rack up 4,000 yards, but it's possible as long as he stays healthy the entire year. Can't stick him above Schaub, though. Flacco and Ryan can be considered for the next two, I think, but I can't stick them in the ten, either. Pretty difficult list to put together, honestly. Peyton is the best QB in the NFL, in my opinion...but I get this itch that it'll be Brady by the end of the season. Coin-flips for Rodgers, Big Ben and Favre...and I stuck Favre below both because of the picks he throws (and has been notorious for throwing his entire career). Most of you know more football than I do, though, so you're welcome to chew up the list, haha.

New contracts (the player salaries) could drop 25-30% after July 1st (new CBA), and that's more than a couple million. Say Melo signs an extension right now, six years (max years for extensions, including current season of contract) and...$110 million. If player salaries decrease and restrictions are added, those contracts could be maximized at just five years, and the max player salary would drop as well. Five years, $87 million? Now take 30% of that ($26 million) and drop it from the table. Instead of a six-year, $110 million contract (similar to LeBron and Wade's deals), Melo gets a five-year, $61 million deal...if he waits and becomes a free agent and the new CBA decreases salaries (which is likely). There's a reason why Melo wants out of Denver so quickly. He wants a new team, so he can sign that extension and not be locked up. Otherwise, he would just wait until July and keep his mouth shut.

Durability and consistency...it makes a lot of sense. Might as well group "NBA longetivity" in there with it, or life span, or duration...whatever you want to call it. You can be durable, but you also have to run off a long NBA career. Durability does help with that, but it's not always tied in. Look at Michael Jordan...could've played much longer in the league, but he decided not to, retired three times. All of that, put together, speaks volumes about players lasting what seems forever, playing 75-80+ games a year, and putting up 25-30 PPG consistently. You want another example? Look at who's #2 on that list.

You forgot what you and I were saying in our first posts. The likelihood of this happening...really? It's slim to none, and that's being generous. I will have to keep this topic in mind, and come back to it 15 years later and see where Durant is at, just for kicks. Yes, OTR will be up.

http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/132-football-media/

I'm thankful for Rolando McClain and Richard Seymour. Makes life a bit easier for Aso and Huff, having to keep an eye on the run every play. And, well, Russell is gone. Any QB is an upgrade, and if Campbell can stay on the field, it would be nice. Oakland will go 7-9, two wins more than last season. If I list the games and which ones we'll win, I'll get caught up in Raiderland and say 9-7. Happens every season, so I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment this time.

I'm thinking Rubio is hurt. Did anyone see him in that last game? His play wasn't the same, at all, and it wasn't like he was being defended THAT well. He didn't even want the ball in his hands half of the time. Pietrus may have really screwed up his neck with that nasty screen.

ESPN at 12:00 PM ET ESPN2 re-air at 11:00 PM EST

Bryant has 25,790 points. He needs 12,598 to surpass Kareem. That's a little over six more seasons of 24 PPG, ending that six or seventh season at age...37 or 38. That's one of the greatest scorers of all-time. Durant is definitely climbing one hell of a mountain.

Unlikely. If Durant averaged 30 PPG (2,460 points in 82 games) for the next 10 seasons, it would give him 24,600 points to add to his 6,000 already. Then he'd need 8,400 more, which is about 3 1/2 more seasons of 30 PPG. So...you're basically expecting Kevin Durant to average 30 PPG every season for the next 14 years, which means he'll be a 17-year player showing no decline. Can he average 35 a game? Sure, probably...but that would be 2,870 points in an 82-game season, not really much more. But let's pretend he did. It would take over 11 seasons of 35 PPG to come up with 32,400 points (what he needs to surpass Kareem). I'll change my "unlikely" to "not a chance."

Three of the four teams you named are out West, and I think Denver wants to avoid trading Melo to a West team. The Knicks COULD send Gallinari, but they are so dead-set on keeping him, they may refuse to and hope that Melo comes to New York in July. And I don't see why the writer is downgrading Hinrich. Denver would be interested. For one, the contract is just two years long, and not in double-digit millions. Two, Hinrich is still one of the best defensive players in the league, and injuries (and playing on the bench and not running the point) only hurt his game in Chicago. Not to mention the rumor about Billups, and even JR Smith. That opens up opportunities for Hinrich, and, well...the Wizards, also. Going to be tough defeating the Nets' offer of Favors, Harris and a pick, though.

Denver will surely want Landry or Thompson (probably Landry) because of the status of K-Mart and the lack of fours they have. Plus, they have to get SOME talent in the trade. Dalembert, Landry and picks should be the offer. Going to be hard to counter the Nets' offer of Harris, Favors and picks, though (if that's even true).