Real Deal

New Orleans would probably keep CP3 if they can't deal Okafor with him, unless they were getting another superstar in return. That would be a moronic move...to just deal Paul for borderline all-stars or role players? High risk, high reward for Houston. If Yao Ming is healthy for a few more years, you contend. If he's not, you have big problems after trading away so many pieces. Battier doesn't play defense the way he used to, but he is a floor general on the defensive end, and I'm sure his impact during practices is felt as much as his play a few years back. Ariza will learn from him over time as well. You trade Ariza, trade Brooks, a big...I don't know. Plus...will Paul agree to go to Houston if they are dealing so many important pieces? That's basically putting him in a situation he's already boiling in, except today, David West is a better player than Yao Ming only because we don't even know if Ming will be able to put up 20/10 in a season. It might be better to just put the car in drive and don't hit the breaks for any offers involving Paul.

Unfortunately, you can't control the actions of others, so you telling all of us that they should digest what you say and just deal with it...it's pretty worthless. You probably thought the same about Wade's comment, but that was obviously something you were wrong about as well. This isn't The Sims. A poster doesn't like how 3-4 members personally attack everyone here, so they consider leaving. Why not just accept that they all have opinions about others, and move on? Well, because it's wrong for them to act that way. And something like that doesn't even get close to comparing a death to a basketball loss...which is why Wade bounced back with his apology. I didn't go punch Wade in the face for what he said. Looking at this rationally, like you want us to, I see an incorrect comparison. Adding morals (good and bad, right and wrong), I see an ignorant and incorrect comparison. Adding emotion, I see an ignorant, incorrect and offensive comparison. Either way, Wade was wrong for what he said. He knew it, he apologized for it. Notice that he wanted to clarify his statement. Why? Because he knows, like most of us do, that if we all believed he took a basketball loss and made a direct comparison to many deaths, it would be a problem. I don't see where anyone could dodge that.

I'm sure they would, but the Hornets have no reason to want Martin. They have been targeting to replace Peja, and feel as if Thornton is good enough at the two. Ariza would be nice at the three because he's the defender they were seeking when they brought in Posey. Plus, Martin is making too much money for the Hornets to want to take in. Ariza is half the cost and plays defense.

More than likely a joke, though, at least with Boston. He knows there's no way the Celtics will deal for Paul, and they are the ones that have little to trade. Perkins is injured, Pierce and Allen were recently re-signed (three months before BOS can trade them), and Garnett and Rondo are going nowhere. But it's Bill's team, so I'm not surprised he would throw that suggestion out there. Houston has the pieces. While Okafor's contract is ugly (four years left, $10-14 million a year), there's still that big question mark named Yao Ming, and I wonder if Houston would be interested in a Paul/Okafor package. The Rockets would have to part with Hayes or Hill, and I'm sure it would take Brooks and Ariza. The Hornets would really dig into the roster to make a deal work in their favor, but I think it would be worth it for the Rockets at the end of the day.

God really doesn't have anything to do with the conversation. The world doesn't work that way because you'll end up getting your ass beat, eventually. When you're being raised, it's your parents' job to teach you right and wrong, good and bad. Morals. Can I go tell the neighbor how I feel about her staring at me? Sure I can...but it will lead to more trouble, and it also depends on the way I go about it. To drive my foot into the Earth a bit further, I can go to a cancer center and tell one of the young patients how I think they really look without hair and any weight on them. Then I can expect to get hit in the face by a parent in the process because it would make me out to be a pathetic loser who doesn't know when to shut his mouth. Anyone can say or do anything. That doesn't mean it's okay. Even Wade himself knew he screwed up and he apologized, directing it as a misquote, but that's irrelevant because we're discussing what was said in the quote to begin with. Out of respect to those who died, or those who lost loved ones in the tragedy, you do not compare such a horrific and damaging event to a basketball loss. You don't even put those two in a sentence that relates them in any way, shape or form. Maybe someone lost their grandmother yesterday...and I say, "Yeah, I lost my pet cricket not too long ago, so I'm sure it was devastating." Just a stupid thing to say.

Enjoy the rest of them by not posting on OTR anymore.

Haha...you have to be [expletive]ing kidding me.

There's nothing to joke about. And by the way, for those who don't want to read, I made it very clear to stop attacking members in your status updates. The next time, I'm not going to delete the status...I'm going to hand out a 10-day suspension, and also ban your ability to update your status for three months. Do NOT post about other members in your status updates if you're going to attack/ridicule them. Mods are advised to just suspend the member for 10 days, then PM me immediately after the suspension is given, and I'll take care of the rest.

The nameservers changed on me...so for those who are having trouble accessing the site, you should be fine by tomorrow (well, today...haha). Sorry about that.

This is probably going to be the last time I'm going to say it to some of you. Change the way you talk to other members. Don't attack them, don't bypass the word filter, don't post in their topics or reply to them to ridicule them. New members, veteran members, whatever...doesn't matter. Don't do it anymore. I put OTR up in 2005 to get away from that stuff. Other staff members from my previous site (one that I moderated) were attacking three members, with racist, sexist and obscene statements. I went off on them in an AIM chat, ditched the site, and built OTR from the ground up. The last thing I will do is let a member (or a group of members) ruin all of it. So, starting tomorrow, things will change...and it won't be the site. It will be the community. If I don't see the changes immediately, I will start pulling privileges from individual accounts...including status updates (where you should NOT be talking about other members), post privileges, and even browsing abilities. I promise that I will not think twice, no matter who the member is, and those who are on board will continue on.

LMAO, I never said that. For one, Manhattan (K-State) isn't even in Kansas, in my opinion. It's a black hole in the Earth. Beasley can still be a good player, whatever, but I never said I loved him or his game, or the Wildcats. Hate everything about them, their city, and I can't stand most of their fans. Hinrich and Collison, Chalmers, all of those guys...they are Jayhawks. Different planet. I remember saying Derrick Rose had the potential to be an excellent player, and it was evident when Calipari let him go at KU hard for 20 minutes, and he was killing us. What I said to you was that you shouldn't judge him so quickly as a current NBA player, because you were telling us he was already the most athletic player in the history of the game, and that was before he even played a single minute in the league. And, well, you're doing it again...except now, you're really putting your neck out there. While it was easier to say Rose is the most athletic player of all-time (because he ranks up there, but he's not) or to say he's going to be one of the best point guards in the league, you're comparing Cousins (who has yet to play a single pro game) to Nene (who Cousins doesn't really play like). Comparing stats? Okay...you can get away with that. Comparing games? No. Big difference.

How long has it been going on? I haven't been on the site much in the last couple of days (moving into a new house), but when I have, I haven't ran into the problem. Blazing fast for me.

Since Beasley was from K-State, I was defending him? Haha, I absolutely HATE the Kansas Staten Wildcats and everything about them. You're definitely wrong there. I'm not sure why you're bragging about all of that. How did your "fearless prediction" turn out, when the Lakers were supposed to lose to Boston in five games? Please, dude.

Minimum three-year contract in sign-and-trade situations...so if Orlando works up a S&T, you can expect Barnes' contract to be three years or longer.

Haha, yes, because the entire Denver Nuggets team could win a championship...if they wanted to. You've said the same thing about Carmelo, and I believe JR Smith as well. Afflalo could be a 15 PPG scorer, if he wanted to...right? So, basically, if they all wanted to play...they would, and they would be a dynasty. We know.

It must be the "thing" to become the most hated team, players AND fanbase in the NBA these days...and the funny thing is, it has absolutely nothing to do with winning championships, since those guys have yet to even play a single NBA game. Like players, like fans.

Matt, chill out with the attacks and bypassing the censor.

Because both Magic and Bird were drafted to those teams. They didn't go ring-chasing...they stayed where they were and led those teams to championships. LA was a 47-win team before getting Magic. Boston was a 29-win team before Bird. Worthy, McHale and Parish weren't in the mix yet, either. LeBron's situation doesn't even compare.

Loving all of the home runs being drilled in this topic. I'm proud for those showing respect to those who died in one of America's biggest tragedies. Get off the Lakers fans' asses. Take a look back and count the many non-Lakers fans who are against it. There are more of those than there are Lakers fans. Looking back at your posts, I can predict you probably won't be here very much longer.

I wouldn't kill anyone by saying befriending someone is like killing them, either...but it would be a stupid comment, nonetheless. Doesn't make it morally correct. Weird connections? Nah, I expected this, actually. Hey, me closing down OTR would be like an atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima...I wonder how the Japanese would feel reading that. Maybe Wade should've lost someone in that WTC incident. I'm betting he wouldn't be bringing it up, then.

They are nothing alike. Cousins will have a better jumper, already has better positioning on the boards, and...well, there's nothing to compare. As far as what he will be like in a year, that's a big statement considering he hasn't played a single NBA game yet. More people will remember Cousins at the end of his career, versus those remembering Nene.

Yeah, it's morally incorrect to compare a basketball loss to a life lost, let alone two consecutive games lost to thousands of lives. Are you telling us it's good to compare the two? If you aren't saying that, it's morally incorrect. If your statement holds water, I can say befriending someone is like killing them. I stand by what I said earlier. If this was any other player not on the Heat, or if this was LeBron James saying this one year ago (when all of you disliked him), it would be a much different story...and it looks like we all know this.

A year ago, if LeBron had made this comment, he would be looked down on by Heat fans. Fact. That's the only reason why it's funny today. Weird...because the WTC incident was nothing to "blow out of proportion." It was nothing to twist. How does it relate? It doesn't. But of course, there's a reason behind it.

Until he drops the weight, Cousins is an NBA center. Weighing that much, he would get embarrassed by versatile power forwards.