Dash

Surprisingly the show did a good of making it as close to the book as possible. At least that is what I have gathered from the first episode and what I've heard from my brother. I'm actually reading the book now (halfway through it), much better than the show although you can say the same thing for every book turned movie/tv show. I might watch the show later once I get to A Clash of Kings.

The Blazers have a tendency to draft players the Rockets reportedly love so that wouldn't surprise me in the least. If they're still sitting at the 21st pick on draft night, he would be a solid pick for them.

Chad Ford just said in a podcast that he would be very surprised if Houston was still picking at #14 on draft night. Edit: someone at Clutchfans went ahead and typed out everything Ford said: After all these reports of the Rockets activity, you'd think that there would be a few deals that could potentially be in the works by draft night. Also I don't want Fredette, hope he's not the guy that we could be moving up for (if Jonas is not on the board) but I've learned never to doubt Morey (still would prefer center/sf).

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 Fredette? I can't think of any other prospect they could move up for unless they can somehow get into the top 5-6 and get Kemba Walker or Knight.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205

Samaki Walker is about to go 9th. And FYI the 1998 draft is next followed by the draft of Kwame.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 Makes sense from a financial standpoint. Who is going to draw more, Kawhi Leonard or college basketball's golden boy, Jimmer Fredette? I still think they need to go with Leonard, he fits perfectly in their lineup and lord knows the Kings need some defense, and personally I'm not that big a fan of a Fredette/Evans backcourt.

I think they should still go for it. If Irving slips past the Cavs then the 2nd pick is suddenly very, very appealing and the Wizards could get much value for it then they would for McGee.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 I guess it would depend who Milwaukee would be getting back but if Alec Burks, someone who fills a need and has high upside, is available I don't see why you deal the pick. We saw what happened last time Bucks management went out and tried to get veterans.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 That would be a pretty terrible trade for Minnesota, Gortat is a decent center but how in the world is he worth the 2nd pick?

Rockets still in mix for #2 pick: More word on Rockets' trade activity: Rockets linked to Biyombo: Possibility with #23 or #36? Bojan Bogdanovic: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 Interesting...if he's worth a mid-first round pick then to grab him with our 2nd round would be a huge steal. However, if he's rising on the board then we might have use our 23rd pick on him. It all depends how his other workouts go and who is on the board.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6672205&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d6672205 Bad move. McGee has a ton of talent but with his immaturity and low basketball IQ, I wouldn't bank on talent alone especially when you could move him for Derrick Williams and form one of the best young tandems with Wall.

This.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2011/06/15/2533467/cesc-fabregas-barcelona-is-the-worlds-best-club-but-i-wont Don't buy it. As someone who has said time and time again that Arsenal won't ever let go of Fabregas, I think by this time next year he'll be gone.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/86/italy/2011/06/16/2534609/inters-samuel-etoo-contemplating-move-to-premier-league

Small jab but I wouldn't make too much of it, feud with Rambis was like last year unless they're at it again, and I doubt Love doesn't accept the extension especially with the new CBA. Anyways I think the Wolves are hoping for a #2 pick (not sure how the Love rumor started) for Pau deal, which I really doubt the Lakers would even take.

I don't see why Minnesota would do that, you don't trade away a 22 year old All-Star who was just setting records this past season.

From Ford's chat: VERY interesting bit from Ford...everyone and everything is on the table, we're not committed to one direction, we just want the most input for our output in a trade. Ford's Rockets board for the 14 pick is pretty much the same as mine except I would scratch out Jimmer for Jordan Hamilton, still believe he's a darkhorse. Speaking of Jimmer, there is a recent report that he will skip his final workout (with the Rockets) because he believes he'll be gone by the 12th pick.

David Aldridge mock draft 2.0 http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/david_aldridge/06/13/mock-draft-2/index.html Aldridge makes a good point, McHale's well known pedigree with big men could almost certainly mean we'll be taking a big man with one of our two first round picks. Although this isn't anything new, it makes me wonder if the Rockets will opt to take a project (Motiejunas, Biyombo) over a sure thing (Vucevic). Anyways I think this would be an excellent haul, we would get two very raw projects with a boatload of potential. Also an interesting tweet from Lowry: Doesn't come as much of a surprise, it was said that Morey barely got any sleep during the week leading up to the trade deadline. Sounds like the same thing is going on here. I've said it a million times already (just in the post above actually) but I love the intensity of our front office.

Draftexpress mock draft 3.0 I haven't given much thought to Thompson because I figured he would be gone long before our pick. Jerry West apparently loves him and will likely take him with the 11th pick unless someone drops, which in this mock's case, someone did (Bismack Biyombo). Anyways I would be ecstatic about this pick, love Thompson's size and shooting ability although he might be a bit redundant to Bud (more complete player though imo). I would be perfectly fine with taking Vucevic with the 14th pick but if he were to slip all the way to #23 AND we got Klay Thompson? Talk about a dream draft. I do doubt that he falls this low though. If we were going to move up, I don't doubt that Valanciunas would be the guy we're going after. The problem is that he might be going to #4 to Cavs (as he does in Givony's and Ford's mocks) so that would mean that we need to move up to somewhere between the 2nd-4th picks. I can't see us getting that high without losing Kevin Martin and possibly other pieces. Anyways its always good to hear about the activity of our front office. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-8648301

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6664021 Only took him 3 days.

Chad Ford mock draft 5.0 The bolded part is what caught my eye, no doubt that I would much rather have Kanter but Vucevic is looking more impressive by the day. I was actually thinking of having the Rockets take him with the 14th pick yesterday for my upcoming mock draft. Not sure about his upside but I really like his skill-set. Like Amick, Ford has the Rockets taking Darius Morris with the 2nd first round draft pick. I wouldn't mind this pick at all since Dragic could leave next season and get a big deal, but I would much rather go with a small forward.

http://lebronjames.com/#/en/Basketball/Miami-Heat/Welcome-to-Miami/Message-from-LeBron.aspx

http://twitter.com/#!/darrenwolfson Doubt that we are able to pull a deal off but its always great to hear about how aggressive our front office is.

Altidore.