Nitro

Kevin Martin or Aaron Brooks alone is not better than the Knicks package, and if Melo tells Morey he will not sign an extension there, then there is a possibility Morey won't put either in a deal. Maybe some cap relief, but he won't be giving up prime young talent for a possible run to the 2nd round of the playoffs...he's way too smart for that. And Melo WILL tell Morey he won't sign the extension, if for no other reason than to force the Nuggets' hand to trade him to where he wants.

Why would Melo want to go there after 2 of their 3 best players (young ones, at that) are traded? Melo would arrive to a team with Scola, an aging Battier, and not a whole lot else. He'd be better off in Denver, where there is a better team and better fan support. He's going to the Knicks, or maybe the Bulls if they can put together a lucrative package. Rockets have no chance to keep him long-term, so if they trade for him then you guys will not be getting both Brooks and Martin.

Do you seriously believe that for a half year rental that the Rockets will give up a good, young PG in Brooks AND a 20PPG scorer in his prime in Martin??? Here's what will happen... Denver: "Yeah, if you guys want Carmelo, we'll want Brooks, Martin and a draft picks." Morey: "Ok, let me crunch some numbers." *enters numbers* "Oh, ok, well here is what my computer is telling me..." *Shows them computer which says "[expletive] off"*

You guys have no leverage. Either get a crappy package from a team willing to take on Melo as a rental, take a decent package from the Knicks, or get a TPE in the offseason. And you should get excited about Fields. He may not have star potential, but glue guys that can produce are a rarity. And it's not like he'll be the centerpiece of the trade, but he's a damn good throw-in.

Basketball is a different ballgame from his other business ventures, and he's no expert on the NBA. That's what you hire GM's and coaches for. He already made a questionable hire by signing King, and if Prokhorov had strong influence by what happened this past offseason, then that should be all the proof you need. If this deal went through 2 weeks ago, like Prokhorov was pushing for and NOT the GM or coach, then it would have been a fatal mistake. I think he just got fed up by Denver's unwillingness to finalize a deal, and didn't want the franchise to look any worse than it was to the media and fans. Also, if people like you and me are getting updates by the minute of the details of the proposed trade, how the hell would he not have knowledge of the specifics? Either that's untrue, which it is, or he's not the perfect owner you think he is.

The Suns had the best record in the league when Charles won the MVP, while putting up awesome numbers. Nash was a similar case, and in 2005-2006 he was without Amare the entire season and still led that team farther than these Bulls will go. Right now the Bulls have the 5th best record in the league; it's not like the Bulls are on pace for 60+ wins. If Rose wins, it will be a mini-Iverson situation, which was a disgrace. It won't be as bad as the year Iverson won, but I think it'd still be a mistake. I worded it wrong. By that I meant the 2 best players in the game are not a PG, they are at SG (Kobe or Wade) and SF (LeBron). CP3 is at best the 4th best player in the league, and Rose is not a better player than him either. So, that would mean that a non-top 5 player, who didn't win his team 60+ games, will get the MVP award...does that seem right to you?

Having billions of dollars doesn't make you a great owner. For all of the hype going into the 2010 FA, he came out with an overpaid Travis Outlaw and Jordan Farmar. And, King and Avery wanted this deal dead for weeks, but Prokhorov's persistence almost destroyed the Nets future. I am still happy he's the Nets owner, but he has shown nothing yet to believe he's going to turn this team into a championship contender anytime soon.

That's my issue, I do think they are relative. If you aren't even the best player at your position, which isn't the strongest position in the league, then I can't see how you can award that person the MVP (especially since the best player in the NBA is still putting up stellar numbers on a top 3 team in the league).

It's a 7-9PPG difference, though, and he's not carrying the same load they are. He's not been as assertive and overall dominant as they have been. I never said I didn't consider Williams. But Rose pops into everyone's head immediately because of the blistering pace he's been playing at lately, but if you look at overall body of work, he's not the MVP. I think he's been getting a little more hype than he deserves. Personally, as I acknowledged before, I think LeBron is the MVP. He's the best player in the league playing on one of the best teams, he's still putting up stellar numbers, his defense has been suffocating, etc...

Williams gets to the line better than Rose, and is more efficient from 2 and 3pt range, so he has a TS% that's 6% better than Rose's. That does hold significance. I agree CP3 is the best player of the 3, but individually he hasn't been as impressive this season as they have. In the Hornets offense he has taken a backseat. He's still ultra-efficient when it comes to scoring and playmaking, but the volume just isn't on the same level as Rose and Williams. And, for what it's worth, Williams is running a top 6 offense, while the Bulls and Hornets are 19th and 23rd, respectively.

Bro...it's over. Done. Finished.

I agree he's been better than Paul, but not Williams. Both are playing exceptional, but Williams has put up overall better numbers, is the better pure PG, and even though he probably has had more help than Rose, look at the schedule the Bulls have had the last 5 weeks (where they've piled up the wins): vs. Min vs. Ind @ Tor vs. LAC vs. Phi @ Was @ NY @ Det vs. Mil vs. NJ vs. Cle vs. Tor @ NJ @ Phi vs. Bos (no KG) vs. Det @ Cha @ Ind vs. Mia (without LeBron, and without Bosh for a quarter) @ Mem @Cha I mean, that's a ridiculously easy schedule. So, even though the Jazz and Bulls have basically the same record, and Rose has had less help, the Jazz's more difficult schedule closes that gap.

Happy to hear that. Hopefully the Nets can make a run at CP3 if he become available.

See, that's my problem with calling Derrick Rose the MVP; I was on the fence about putting him as MVP, but when I got to the First Team selection, I couldn't put him over Williams. So, how can Rose be MVP if he's not a First Teamer? That doesn't make sense, especially since the Jazz and Hornets both have comparable records to the Bulls.

I didn't get to see it live. I was out that night, and turned on Sportscenter just as they were about to repeat the episode. As the screen was going black I thought I saw 'Kobe: 81pts' underneath video of him walking off the court with his finger pointed to the sky, but I thought I was mistaken. Once the next SC came on directly after that, I saw what happened and was stunned. I NEVER thought a player would score over 80pts ever again. Definitely the greatest scoring achievement in NBA history IMO, and one of the top 5 performances of all-time.

MVP: LeBron James Coach of the Year: Gregg Popavich Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard Most Improved: Michael Beasley 6th man: Jamal Crawford Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin Biggest Disappointment (player or team): Tryeke Evans Biggest Surprise (player or team): San Antonio Spurs First League All-Team: C: Dwight Howard PF: Amare Stoudemire SF: LeBron James SG: Dwyane Wade PG: Deron Williams (tossup between him, Paul and Rose, could go any way) Finals Guess: Celtics vs. Lakers (Celtics win in 6)

Perfectly stated, not much more to add regarding the Frye comparison. Fields may only have decent athleticism, and doesn't have superstar potential, but he's a perfect role player for the Knicks. He has a very high IQ, is an exceptional rebounder for his position, doesn't shoot the team in the foot by forcing the issue, and he does still have a lot of room for improvement (which I am fully confident that he will succeed in doing with time). Finding role players as good as Fields that are so young is extremely rare, and do have high value.

True, but Duncan, Dirk, KG, Randolph, Amare, Bosh, Gasol and Boozer have all been around for awhile now. Rose, Rondo, Felton, Paul, Wall, Williams, Westbrook, Jennings, Brooks, and Collison all have 5 years or less of experience, with a bunch of them coming in the last 2-3 years. I think the PF wave started to fade out a bit in the mid-'00's, while the PG wave is still going strong. That's not to say that the league isn't saturated with strong PF play, because it is, but I think the PG craze is bigger at the moment.

I haven't seen all of them, but TESB and the Watchmen are my favorites of the bunch.

VC was insanely good that season. I always really liked him in NJ, and VC and Kidd always tended to have monster games when I was in attendance. But, unfortunately besides them and Jefferson, those Nets teams were a joke.

I disagree, I think Westbrook is actually a decent passing PG. He's good off the pick-and-roll (he actually looks for the roller, which Rose doesn't always do, which was on display at the FIBA's) , and of course very good off dribble penetration. He can't run an offense like Williams, Paul, or Rondo do, but he's adequate. He's a more willing passer than a guy like Brooks, and Brooks can't play defense or rebound, which is why I didn't include him in that particular group of PG's (same with Rondo, who I didn't include because he can't score at volume).

At the moment, yes. Right now the league is saturated with strong PG play like never before. They aren't even prototypical PG's, but they are a new breed with crazy athleticism and all-around ability. Guys like Paul, Williams, Rose and Westbrook all are very well-rounded players that can run an offense, score at elite volume, rebound the ball and defend well. We are witnessing a revolution in that regard, just like the '90's with big men, and the early '00's with explosive, well-rounded wing players. Eventually we will see a new wave of players that revolutionize a certain area of the game, but I don't think it will be in an old-fashioned sense; meaning, we will continue to see players of all positions becoming more well-rounded, and being developed in ways that players of the past weren't. But, these waves happen, so let's enjoy this current crop of PG talent.

...and that's where you [expletive]ed up.

Did you actually watch the Heat-Hawks game? Because if you did, you'd notice LeBron and Wade really started attacking the rim, and by my own observations, the calls were legit fouls for Wade and LeBron. Usually every game they will get a few calls that are phantom fouls, but tonight they were getting hit pretty good. Meanwhile, the Hawks stuck to the perimeter, and rarely were attacking the rim at full force. Joe Johnson got into the paint a few times, but he was taking little floaters about 5ft out. It wasn't one of those games where the reffing is what caused the foul discrepancy. It was fair. And I have a feeling you didn't even watch the game, so please stop.

Funny, I don't think I heard you say a peep about the ref'ing in Game 7 of the Finals last year against the Celtics when Kobe, by himself, took two less free throws than the entire Celtics team, and the Lakers as a whole took over twice as many free throws for the game. Hmm...