Real Deal

Nets and Hornets are finished. Thanks.

I just got off the phone with Mitch.

Well, I figured the Knicks would find a way to trade Curry or Jeffries. Curry in any deal is a turn-off to every team in the league, it seems...so Jeffries would be the "consolation prize" for teams wanting to part with players like McGrady and Vujacic.

Yeah, I just read the article about Arison not wanting to deal Beasley. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if it is Haslem packing his bags, even after all of the years he's put in for the Heat. Business is business.

LOL, it's in this forum.

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McGrady seems to be headed to New York. They have a deal in place...but I read somewhere that the Knicks want to throw Curry in that package, and honestly, nobody wants him.

We play Golden State tomorrow, right? Let's sit Kobe again, start Sasha and give him 30 shot attempts. See if we can get him to score 10 points to make him look better.

He says that now, but once he plays 2 months with them without Iguodala, that might be all she wrote.

Boston fans have been ticked off that Perkins didn't make the All-Star team, and even more upset that Rondo didn't get to start in place of Iverson. I guess those Cleveland fans can say the same about Boston fans?

This is what's being reported by two different ESPN guys, and a guy that covers sports for FSN Oklahoma (Thunder TV)...

They are pushing hard to deal Dalembert, but teams won't take him unless Iguodala is included, and those teams are still reluctant to hand over an all-star, which is all Philly will accept for Iggy right now. Something has to give, though.

As far as the three-point contest go, they selected players that are typically heavy three-point shooters (attempts). Gallinari - 326 Frye - 277 Billups - 238 Curry - 205 Pierce - 174 Cook - defending champion From the Cavs, only Mo Williams had more 3PT attempts than 2-3 of those guys, but he was injured and unable to participate. The Sophomore team for Hickson? Michael Beasley Eric Gordon Kevin Love Brook Lopez Danilo Gallinari Russell Westbrook Marc Gasol O.J. Mayo Anthony Morrow Every player on that roster is better.

Trade edited.

I'd give it a D if it were in another stadium. The location, the record-setting crowd, and the All-Star game, balanced it out. Average.

Lakers and Spurs. Playoff series... 2001: Lakers 4, Spurs 0 (WCF, Lakers go on and win the championship) 2002: Lakers 4, Spurs 1 (2nd, Lakers go on and win the championship) 2003: Spurs 4, Lakers 2 (2nd, Spurs go on and win the championship) 2004: Lakers 4, Spurs 2 (2nd, Lakers go to the Finals) 2008: Lakers 4, Spurs 1 (WCF, Lakers go to the Finals) The two teams have seven of the ten championships in the decade. Kobe versus Bruce Bowen, Shaq versus Duncan. The player of the decade versus one of the best defenders of the decade, and the most dominant center versus Mr. Fundamentals. Looks like that rivalry has topped Sacramento, at least in my opinion. Sacramento never beat us when it counted, so technically, they were just a roadblock we continued to kick over.

Yeah, nobody wants Vujacic...but if Portland wants Thomas (and they do, badly), this might be their only way of getting him.

Tyrus Thomas and Sasha Vujacic to Portland Kirk Hinrich to Los Angeles Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Adam Morrison, and a first-round pick (or Juwan Howard) to Chicago

Yeah, I'm thinking if it's not Beasley, the trade will include Wright or Haslem. It may be the reason why a deal hasn't happened yet. You know the Heat need to make one, but I'm not sure WHAT they are thinking at this point. I'm definitely against trading Beasley, though. I think that's a big no-no, especially for a guy who may not stick around after three months of playing.

Artest has been a boost for us, pushing the team to a #2 ranking, defensively...and, just for future reference, Gasol would wreck Ilgauskas in the Finals. If we get there? We'll walk into the Finals. I just have no idea who we'll face. Those 66 wins looked pretty good last season, but the first 12 wins in the playoffs is more important. LeBron says he wants respect (and his team). Maybe he should look in the mirror and ask himself, "Why should I deserve respect, being the leader of this team, when I have trouble giving it?" LeBron has disrespected the Orlando Magic, disrespected the Chicago Bulls (the Noah incident), disrespected the league with his "Check my $tats" shirt, and that's without touching on what Shaq has been doing/saying. O'Neal disrespected Howard just the other day. So, with all of that coming from their team captains...why would any of them expect anything different from the rest of the league? As you can see, the Cavaliers are becoming more hated at every turn. There are guys on OTR who didn't mind rooting for them in 2007 (myself included). I actually considered LeBron my second favorite player for years, and I can say that there were quite a few Lakers fans on TLN that did as well, rooting for him to crush the Spurs, and loving how he put Detroit to rest. Now? There are fans from other teams (teams that shouldn't care what Cleveland does) that don't like LeBron or Shaq, tons on RealGM and on a few other sites I've been on, and on OTR. You gain respect by giving it. Cleveland doesn't give it. Things like that will push other teams to try their hardest against them when it matters most, and to be honest, that's definitely not a good thing for the Cavs.

And him shooting it with those big, silky, muscle-smothered arms?

The Bucks are finished (with a surprise third player, and a new Jennings cut). :o Also, the Wolves are done.

Jazz and Spurs completed. EDIT: And Magic...and the Thunder.

Statistics and awards from 2000-2009: Kobe - 28.0 PPG on 46% FG, 5.9 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.7 SPG 4 NBA championships (25 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.1 APG in first three, by the way) 1 MVP award 1 Finals MVP award 3 All-Star Game MVP awards 10 All-NBA Teams (7 1st Team) 7 All-Defensive 1st Teams 2 All-Defensive 2nd Teams 10 All-Star Games Shaq - 22.6 PPG on 59% FG, 10.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.1 BPG 4 NBA championships 1 MVP award 3 Finals MVP awards 3 All-Star Game MVP awards 8 All-NBA Teams (7 1st Team) 3 All-Defensive 2nd Teams 9 All-Star Games Duncan - 21.4 PPG on 50% FG, 11.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 BPG 3 NBA championships 2 NBA MVP awards 2 Finals MVP awards 1 All-Star Game MVP award 10 All-NBA Teams (7 1st Team) 8 All-Defensive 1st Teams 2 All-Defensive 2nd Teams 10 All-Star Games Include the achievements for Kobe that I listed here... ...and you can't leave out Kobe in this conversation, no matter how much you hate him. Someone also made a good point...