Who Got The Better End Of The Key NBA Deals?

Thanks to the trade deadline, the NBA has a new theme with a line borrowed from “The Jefferson’s”:

“Movin’ on up, to the eastside…”

Carmelo Anthony is now a New York Knick, playing in the city that he grew up in and has been dying to play for since the Lakers ended the 2009-10 season. Not to be shown up with that move, the New Jersey Nets pulled off a stunning swap and nabbed Utah Jazz franchise star, Deron Williams.

These changes illustrates both teams need to improve quickly and become a squad that must be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.

Yet, did both teams come out their deals smelling like roses or could these transactions make them wilt in a year or two?

Here’s the complete breakdown of the Anthony trade (this was a three team trade involving the Minnesota Timberwolves):

Knicks Get:

F Carmelo Anthony
G Chauncey Billups
F Corey Brewer
F/G Renaldo Balkman
F/C Shelden Williams
G Anthony Carter

Nuggets Get:

F Danilo Gallinari
G Raymond Felton
C Timofey Mozgov
F//G Wilson Chandler
Knicks 2014 1st Rounder
Two Second Round Picks
$3 Million Cash

Timberwolves Get:

C Eddy Curry
F/C Anthony Randolph
$3 Million Cash

For now, the Timberwolves will be excluded from this discussion (along with the fact that they receive little to nothing in the trade except money, an underdeveloped, big man in Randolph and the expiring contract of Curry).

The Knicks gave up most of their youth to get proven commodities. Anthony is a top ten player in the league who believes nothing can stop him from putting the ball in the hoop. He accomplishes this in multiple ways on the offensive end, a unique ability that no one on the New York team has. The attention he garners from the opposition will give Amar’e Stoudemire more space in the middle to flush dunks.

Billups is a battle-tested point guard who thrives off late game situations. While Felton will have more upside and continue to improve with more years in the league (he’s 26), he will never reach the merits that Billups has gotten throughout his career. With Anthony and Stoudemire monopolizing all the attention, the 34-year-old point guard won’t have to work hard to get open shots in Madison Square Garden.

Where the Knicks will hurt more is with their role players and their bench. Brewer will be a spark off the bench, but after him the options are thin. Balkman, Williams, and Carter are all averaging less than 17 minutes per game this season and will be asked to do more in New York.

The Nuggets will lose a cornerstone piece and his sidekick in Anthony and Billups, but now have a nice foundation to reconstruct their future. Felton (26), Mozgov (24), Chandler (23), and Gallinari (22) will be key components within that outlook. They will team up with many of their current young prospects (Aaron Afflalo and J.R. Smith are both 25 and Ty Lawson is 23) and their established stars (Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin), making this one of the deepest teams in the West.

Despite that, nine role players will not win you a championship. Not to mention that having a player of Anthony’s caliber comes around once every ten to fifteen years, that’s if you are lucky (google the Nuggets history and check their star players). New York has been praying for redemption of historic greatness, and now have that in Stoudemire and Anthony.

Advantage: New York

Here’s the deal between the Nets and the Jazz:

New Jersey Gets:

G Deron Williams
F Brandan Wright
C Dan Gadzuric

Utah Gets:

G Devin Harris
PF Derrick Favors
Nets 2011 1st Rounder
Warriors 2012 1st Rounder

Golden State Gets:

F Troy Murphy

(Similar to the Anthony trade, this discussion will not include the Golden State Warriors.)

Williams joins a situation that is different from Anthony; he is now on a team that is nine games out of the playoff hunt. He does have a potent weapon in C Brook Lopez, who is only 22 and could develop into a counterpart that resembles the old Utah years with Carlos Boozer for a post option.

The Nets get a superstar who is third in the category of best all-around point guards (behind Chris Paul and Derrick Rose). They also finally acquire that centerpiece to build a team around in Williams. Since their last appearance in the 2003 NBA Finals with their Jason Kidd-led team, the Nets have been in need of a first tier player to return to greatness.

If Wright can ever stay healthy, get consistent playing time and regain the supreme talent that made him a top prospect at North Carolina, he could be the steal of this trade for the Nets. The Warriors were skeptical about keeping a player on board with so much promise in F Ekpe Udoh, but their loss is the Nets gain. Gadzuric is picked up because of his expiring contract.

Utah understood that when Jerry Sloan left, their franchise would have to detour in a new direction. Getting rid of Williams was in their future scheme, but premature in its timing.

Harris is a speedy point guard who can zip around the court, as if he’s built with light speed. Utah will most likely pattern their offense into an uptempo, up-and-down style team that fits the way their new point guard plays. While he doesn’t have the size or the range that Williams is armed with, he does have a great feel for the game and can distribute the ball just as well as the top point guards in the league.

Like Wright, Favors could end up being the jackpot of this move for the Jazz. At the age of nineteen, this forward has the body type and raw talent that could make him an impact big man within the next five years. Surrounding him with the likes of Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, and Andrei Kirilenko will help him fine tune his game steadily instead of stunting his growth by playing him big minutes as an under-developed post player.

The other possible big payoff down the road may be the two first round picks. New Jersey’s will most likely remain a lottery pick in the 2011 Draft. They will also have their pick, which could possibly also get lottery draw, giving them a chance to land two top ten picks this year. They may have that same situation in 2012, with the Warriors pick in hand with their own next season.

New Jersey will love having Williams be the face of the team, but with the length of his tenure in doubt(he could become a free agent after next season), it’s hard to imagine a player of that caliber sticking around if he doesn’t have the right parts around him. The promise of Favors and the two picks in the next two years is too appetizing to not like if you are the Jazz, but getting Harris in the deal is the cherry that tops the cake.

Advantage: Utah Jazz

Despite the contradiction of who won and lost in these moves, the Nets and the Knicks are as happy as Kenny Smith when Blake Griffin won the NBA Slam Dunk contest. Both teams get a significant star that are icons in the NBA.

Owners James Dolan and Mikhail Prokhorov have got to be dancing like George Jefferson with their new acquisitions and singing a new tune in their mind…

“We’re movin’ on up…”

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New York Knicks Placed in Middle of Carmelo Anthony Trade Spat

After reports surfaced that the Denver Nuggets, the Detroit Pistons, and the New Jersey Jets were on the verge of consummating a 13-player deal that would have sent Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony, point guard Chauncey Billups and Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton to New Jersey, a new twist developed in the ongoing Car-Melodrama.

According to Yahoo.com, the Nuggets organization delivered a warning to the Nets by threatening to trade Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks if the trade discussions remain subject to public consumption.

The proposed trade would send Anthony, Hamilton, Billups, Nuggets guard Anthony Carter and forward Shelden Williams to the Nets.

In turn, the Nuggets would receive two first-round draft picks from the Nets, All-Star point guard Devin Harris, rookie power forward Derrick Favors, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, guard Ben Uzoh, and small forwards Stephen Graham and Quinton Ross.

Meanwhile, the Pistons would add Nets power forward Troy Murphy and center Johan Petro to their roster.

Did the Nuggets really expect the details of this blockbuster trade to be kept quiet?

If this is indeed the case, not only were their expectations unrealistic, but their threat to trade Anthony to the Knicks is blatantly immature, sophomoric and a bluff the Nets should call to remind Denver of an extremely harsh reality.

In no uncertain terms, Anthony, a three-time All-Star, has made it abundantly clear he would prefer to take his talents to New York.

Therefore, the Knicks, or any other NBA team for that matter, are under no obligation to lend the Nuggets a helping hand by compensating them for the loss for their franchise player.

And if the Nuggets did make an overture to New York in an attempt to make good on their threat, it would be prudent of Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh to immediately take Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler off the table.

Within the next two seasons, Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler, Denver Nuggets center Nene Hilario, Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love, New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez, New Orleans Hornets power forward David West, Orlando Magic shooting guard Jason Richardson, power forward Brandon Bass, and center Dwight Howard are on track to become free agents.

So although Carmelo Anthony remains the Knicks’ primary target, they’re no longer the desperate franchise they once were before the signings of Raymond Felton and Amar’e Stoudemire.

This much is also clear, the Knicks, one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, aren’t a bargaining chip for the Denver Nuggets.

Click here to read the original article at SportsHaze.com.

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Independence Week: July 101

As with real time experience, nothing is regular and...OtB brings you a long-form joint re: NBA and its ontological extension unto all of sport. Epochrypha: writings or statements of questionable authorship or authenticity, but always impassioned and always with an eye on the times we're spectating in. Enjoy.

Huge.  This is huge.  But you know that already, O! imagined reader o' mine.  Today is July 1st, the day basketball fans have been waiting for since...well, for the truly initiated, since LeBron and fellow c/o 2003 names Wade and Bosh signed those shorter deals three years ago.  It was a revolutionary move by this age's luminaries of the game.  It gave them leverage over their teams and, more importantly, over their own futures that free agents who've signed six or seven year deals haven't traditionally held.  It allowed them to hold this sway over the league as they move into their primes rather than as they move out of said golden years.  It allows us to have basketball dominate ESPN instead of being relegated to the bottom-line ticker. (I know this is an all sport blog, but I have always been an unabashed and unapologetic basketball-over-all-else enthusiast.  Thanks for enthusing with me.)

James said he'd make a decision by next week.  Thus, with July 4th coming up, we at OtB celebrate the biggest NBA free agency summer ever with Independence Week 101.  Now, in e-mails with Thatchmo, my erstwhile college roomie, the question came up: If you were one of the most powerful men in your field, in your mid-twenties, and you had maneuvered yourself into a position where an entire association was prepared to tremble in your wake, what would you do?  Thatchmo inevitably said Chicago if he was James, because it makes the most basketball sense.  I like that.  The idea of playing with Derrick and the ineffable Joachim Noah is certainly an enticing one.  However, I wonder if there are other elements that would dissuade me and, potentially, the real LeBron.  J.A. Adande is on the same tip as I was a month and a half ago (I'm not saying people be stealing from me, but damn!), when I said LeBron leaving Cleveland is less like KG leaving Minnie as it is like Shaq leaving Orlando.  Adande, being credentialed and all, went and got an interview with Shaq's agent at the time Leonard Armato.  Here's the key line for me: "...he sold the history of the Lakers, and it’s undeniably a storied franchise...He sold owner Jerry Buss."  That's Armato speaking on how Jerry West sold the idea of coming to the Lakers to the Big Precedent.

When I first wrote on this topic, hoping that LeBron would stay with the Cavs, I based my opinion primarily on the fans and the impact his leaving would have on them.  Lately, I'm feeling the need to change my tune.  Armato makes a good point, and half of it is that which New York would like to make.  The history matters.  The organization matters.  I think a free agent's decision should be broken down into five components, at least from an objective standpoint (since we're etching our flames on Plato's walls).  It comes down to teammates (potential or extant), coach, franchise (which includes history and owner/management), cash, and city.  Here's a breakdown of how James' potential suitors stack up in terms of the five components.

Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full, originally uploaded by dcancel.

Cash: Let's just get this out of the way.  King James isn't worrying about cash unless it's an issue of respect.  He goes to the bank as a global advertising power, so the salary's really just symbolic, though you'd expect any team to give him whatever he wanted.  Thus, no cash considerations here.  We'll go through these in the order LeBron's meeting with them.

New Jersey Nets:
Teammates: The Nets sport two promising players in Devin Harris and Brooks Lopez.  Beyond that, the question is who could James bring with him.
Coach: Avery Johnson fits the bill LeBron is charging teams with (former player), and he has the highest winning percentage of any coach ever, but he didn't leave the Mavs on the greatest of terms.  The Lil General comes off as a bit of a death's head screamer.  Pluses and minuses here.
Franchise: The Nets have been bogged down in The "Meadow"lands lately, but there are glory days here in several Finals appearances and Dr. J.  The new owner and Jay-Z are cool, flashy even, but how much trust can you put in them with Rod Thorn a step out the door?
City: Brooklyn is waiting.  Can LeBron bide his time?  Would The Nets still be NYC's B-team even with the King?  The Nets got the first meeting, but that may mean they have the smallest chance.

New York Knickerbockers:
Teammates: There's not much here.  David Lee is on the way out.  The only player of note would be Danilo Gallinari.  Maybe they can trade Eddy Curry for someone useful.
Coach: Mike D'Antoni is the real selling point here.  Definite positive, though D'Antoni isn't always the most tender of ego stokers.
Franchise: The Knicks had been mired in shame through the Isaiah Thomas years.  Then came D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh.  Bottom line, though?  James Dolan sucks.  End of story.
City:This is the other selling point.  Bring a championship to New York and claim divinity forever.  The thing is that the franchise often gets in the way of the city, though the city has traditionally loved the franchise.  Knicks people have always said the city expects winning now.  That's what James wants too, but I'd be worried that the franchise worries too much about the city.  D'Antoni sounded optimistic, but the resources just seem too slim.

The Flaming Lips, originally uploaded by Kyle Dean Reinford.

Miami Heat:
Teammates: Dwyane Wade. Lots of roster space yet to be filled.  Lots of question marks, which could be good or bad.
Coach: Pat Riley?  It's yet to be seen.  But Riles is the coach with the best pedigree among James' options.
Franchise: The Heat don't have the longest of histories, but since Riley came to town it's been pedal to the metal.  The owner?  In conversations, it's not even an issue, since everything goes through the man with the perfect coif.
City: Miami is a nice town.  I live in Hawai'i.  You tell me what I'm supposed to say here.

LA Clippers:
Teammates: This could actually be the strongest team James is looking at.  This group sports TWO all-stars in Chris Kaman and Baron Davis and two up-and-comers in Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon.  Slot in James at the SF and you've got a HUGE starting five.
Coach: It's still unclear, which is not a good sign.
Franchise: It's the Clippers, the biggest joke in sports.  They're owned by Donald Sterling, who makes Dolan look balanced.  This is the reason there's no way this is happening.
City: You get to play in LA with bright lights, and you get to take a direct stab at Kobe's empire.  But it's the same idea as with The Nets.  You're the B-team.  People like to root for the underdog, but that's not quite LeBron's M.O., is it?

Chicago Bulls
Teammates: James would have Derrick Rose and Joachim Noah, which is a small step up from The Nets' duo of youngsters.  Noah's great, but he's butted heads with James a bit.  The Bulls also have Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, and would potentially look to bring in a big like Bosh or Stoudemire.  Personally, I'd like to see LeBron paired with Nowitzki...
Coach: The Bulls signed much coveted Tom Thibodeau, which is a great pick up if you want to improve your D.  This is a team that's not very far from hounding the D with Scott Skiles (okay, Vinny Del Negro's kind of far).  James just finished playing with a defensive minded coach with Mike Brown, and again he's expressed desire to play with a former NBA player, which is not something Thibodeau can boast.
Franchise: Yeah, there's six championships there.  But before that? A lot of nothing.  After that?  Dismality.  Horrific losing that begs made up words.  Respectability.  The first sweep of a defending champ ever.  Hope.  And then flame outs.  One name counts here.  Jerry Reinsdorf.  Traditionally a penny pincher.  He's said he'll pay to keep LeBron happy.  But Rose is still on his rookie contract.  Can Reinsdorf realistically bring in a third star to play with James and Rose, and then pay Rose when it's time?  Maybe, but I just don't trust that man.
City: The fans are great.  We know that.  There's a statue of Jordan out front that James would be chasing.  We know that.  It's the third biggest market in the U.S., and I guess it's close to Akron.  This is where it gets personal and only James can provide answers.

Welcome Home, originally uploaded by karenmeyere.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Teammates: Anderson Varejao, a host of guards like Boobie Gibson, Delonte West, Mo Williams, newcomers Antawn Jamison, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, and Leon Powe.  Big Z.  Maybe Shaq.  These are known quantities.  It's unclear if James could bring in another free agent to bolster this almost there roster.
Coach: Byron Scott is exactly what James has asked for in a coach, but I wonder about how he hasn't lasted in either NJ or NOLA.  I think Scott is actually better suited to coach this team without James.
Franchise: Cleveland has been solid for awhile, and it'd be a true accomplishment for James to bring a championship to this team and this city.  Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert have not been stellar in any respect, but at least Ferry's been solid and with a longer term commitment from James, he could grow into a strong GM.
City: Cleveland is home.  Again, the question in this week is how big this remains for James.  They already worship him in Cleveland.  Can you imagine what it would be like if he decided to stay and brought a championship to the city?  Chills.  (I guess I'm still feeling this)

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The Summer of 2010 will see LeBron James sign with the New Jersey Nets

In light of the elimination of the Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics, speculation has become even more rampant about where LeBron James will choose to call home this summer. That being said, let's take a look back at my take on where James will sign when he becomes a free agent on July 1st. Bear in mind that this article was published in December of 2009 and, although many factors have changed, the New Jersey Nets will remain my pick. Just remember that you heard it here first.
___________________________________________________________________

And why not? Despite all the maneuvering by team president Donnie Walsh to place the New York Knicks in the best position to sign arguably the most coveted free agent-to-be in NBA history, inking a deal with the New Jersey Nets would be the most attractive option for LeBron James if making the tri-state area his basketball home is under serious consideration.

According to an ESPN.com report, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings, Forest City Ratner Cos., which is led by Nets majority owner Bruce Ratner, and Nets Sports and Entertainment announced last week they completed their agreement to create a partnership that would own the NBA team and develop the Atlantic Yards project in New York City. The NBA Board of Governors is expected to rule on the sale and relocation by early next year.

The agreement is a significant step toward Prokhorov becoming the majority owner of the Nets and subsequently moving the team to Brooklyn, New York by 2012.

Brooklyn native Shawn Corey Carter, better known as hip hop mogul and entrepreneur Jay-Z, is a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets and has been a staunch supporter of the project to relocate the team to Brooklyn. Coincidentally, LeBron James has been good friends with Jay-Z since his sophomore year in high school. In fact, during an interview, James referred to Jay-Z as "a big brother, a mentor, and a role model" and stated that he "would support Jay-Z in whatever he did throughout his career."

The plot thickens.

More compelling evidence for the increasing likelihood that James will sign with the Nets can be found in the make-up of the team itself.

Despite having the worst record in the league at 2-23, the Nets have a solid core of young talent that, with the addition of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and/or Amare Stoudemire, will only continue to flourish.

Center Brook Lopez is quietly having an All-Star season, averaging 19.5 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Point guard Devin Harris is averaging 16.9 points per game, 1.7 steals per game, and 5.2 assists per game, a total that will dramatically rise with the acquisition of finishers like Bosh, James, Stoudemire or Wade. Small forward Chris Douglas-Roberts is averaging 16.2 points per game and Courtney Lee is averaging 11.2 points per game and 1.9 steals per game. In addition, power forward Yi Jianlian, despite a season plagued by injuries, will form a formidable front court duo with Lopez upon his return to action.

Not one of the aforementioned core players will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010.

Let’s also not forget the fact that, in all likelihood, the Nets are going to finish with the worst record in the league, giving them the best chance to win the NBA Draft Lottery and potentially ending up with the number one pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, which will undoubtedly be the freshman phenom point guard from the University of Kentucky, John Wall.

One more thing. The Nets will have at least $20 million to spend in the summer of 2010 so team president Rod Thorn has the team brilliantly poised to make a big splash in the free agent market this coming offseason.

The Knicks, on the other hand, don’t present a viable alternative for last year’s NBA Most Valuable Player. Don’t allow the fact that the team’s play has dramatically improved over the past couple of weeks fool you. Unless Donnie Walsh makes a trade, the Knicks won’t have a first round pick in next year’s draft, lost in the trade for Stephon Marbury, their core group of talent (Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, David Lee, and Eddy Curry) will all become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, they will have a little less money to spend than the Nets in the free agent market, and they don’t have someone as influential as Jay-Z to convince James to bring his services to Madison Square Garden.

Bottom line here, LeBron James is not signing with the New York Knicks. However, don’t be at all surprised to see LeBron James AND Dwayne Wade in Nets’ uniforms next season. As blasphemous as this may sound, check out some of the lyrics to Jay-Z’s ‘Empire State of Mind’:

“Eight million stories out there, and they’re naked
Cities is a pity, half of ya’ll won’t make it
Me, I gotta plug, Special Ed ‘I Got It Made’
If Jesus payin’ LeBron, I’m paying Dwayne Wade”

James and Wade have talked about the possibility of playing together on the same team. The 2010 offseason may present the perfect opportunity to do exactly that, which would represent a key step in the ‘Blueprint’ toward the resurgence of the New Jersey Nets.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes a link to video where LeBron James talks about his relationship with Jay-Z, additional revelant links and a special video.

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Mikhail Prokhorov's First Press Conference

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov held his first news conference as owner of the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday. The new owner says he expects a championship team within five years.

Courtesy of (AssociatedPress)

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Dwayne Wade's Buzzer Beater beats the Nets

The New Jersey Nets finally appeared to be in the winners circle against the Miami Heat leading by two points with about 4 seconds to play.

Then the classic theatrics of one Dwayne Wade stole the show as he hit a game-winning three point shot with 0.1 seconds to spare.

On some level, you have to feel bad for the Nets. The team started out 0-9 and they appeared to finally play a game where they deserved a win and Wade steals it away from them.

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NBA Off Season Rankings: The Worst of the Worst!

It was an exciting off season, and almost the entire league made significant moves. These last ten teams just missed par for the course. Some, like the Nets and Suns, look to improve on last season despite losing a big name, and Portland should be better even if they didn't make the best of moves. And then there's our number 30 team, who have continually been abysmal. There was talk of some good moves, but instead they opted for the questionable and, I guess, cost cutting. Was there really ever any doubt?

21. New Jersey Nets: They lost Half-Man-Half-Amazing and gained a prospect in Courtney Lee. I don’t see Rafer Alston or Tony Battie staying with the team for long. Carter was playing a nice second fiddle to Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez looked solid. Let’s hope this team can continue to grow, and perhaps move to Brooklyn.

22. Phoenix Suns: Yes, the Suns got rid of the Big Contract, but they didn’t do much else. Matt Barnes gone. Grant Hill re-signed, and Steve Nash extended. Channing Frye is a nice pick up. But the hope here is really that a restoring of fleet footed, D’Antoni-like (dis)order will bring good things. And a healthy Ama’re.

and so it ends. 365:365!!, originally uploaded by sungazing.

23. Utah Jazz: The Jazz lost no players this off season, the only team to hold that distinction. However, it’s not the positive it would initially seem. Utah successfully retained Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Kyle Korver, and Paul Millsap, which is basically their core after Deron Williams. The problem is how much salary that translates to for a smaller market team. There are consequences for desperate acts like that, and they come in eight or nine digits. Furthermore, it leaves the roster bloated at PF. Boozer should be gone by the trade deadline or sooner, but what damage will he cause on his way out? And what room for growth does this pay load offer as the Jazz go forth?

24. Portland Trailblazers: The Blazers acquired a whole slew of draft picks, and then they went out and got Andre Miller. It doesn’t seem like the best of fits, but I guess the idea is for him to handle the ball when Brandon Roy needs a rest. The Blazers were set on getting a point guard, and they did. It’s just that the whole philosophy was questionable to begin with. This team looks as if it won’t get better except through internal growth.

25. Philadelphia 76ers: I firmly believe Andre Miller was making this work. He’s gone now, and Reggie Evans is too. Perhaps it’ll be an instance of letting the young guys play. Can they make something out of the Elton Brand debacle? With newbie Jrue Holiday running the show instead of Miller, I can’t confidently say the Sixers will make the playoffs again, although they had a good showing this past post-season.

Thunder, originally uploaded by chris tuite.

26. Golden State Warriors: Just a weird, bad off season. The Warriors went into the draft looking like they were going to be major players. Then they got Stephen Curry and that was that. I mean, they picked up a lot of players, but inexplicably. I mean, Mikki Moore, Acie Law, Speedy Claxton, and Devean George? At least the young Anthonys had strong summer league showings.

27. Chicago Bulls: The acquisition of Jannero Pargo is the only thing keeping the Bulls off the bottom of this list. I guess losing Tim Thomas is addition by subtraction, but losing Ben Gordon without compensation is pitiful. Looks like Derrick Rose is captain of a mostly condemned ship once again.

28. New York Knicks: The Big Apple scored Darko Milicic. They stand to lose Nate “Krypto-nate” Robinson and possibly even David Lee. Not a good summer, but with 50 days perhaps they can still make it a passable effort.

29. Miami Heat: The big story out of Miami this summer was it could be the stopping point for Mr. Quentin Richardson’s wild ride. And the regrettable stuff about Beasley, though taking care of his problems now is much better than something bad happening down the line. Y’know, something like Dwayne Wade leaving town.

z-bo-arbys, originally uploaded by luke.huckins.

30. Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet looks like he could be good, if people could just get over the rhythmic properties of that surname. Oh wait, they got Zach Randolph? Never mind.

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Playing It Close: Griffin and the NBA taking the Sub

There are signs all over that money is tight even for organizations that cut million dollar contracts regularly. Wednesday, New York was singing, "Five Dollar Six-Foot-Nine Long!" as Blake Griffin played a Subway version of H-O-R-S-E. We kid, but perhaps someday down the line, we'll see NBA players dining at Subway more often than they do at the Cheesecake Factory, taking the sub to work, or even riding a bike like Lou. Okay, that's also a shot at giggles, but seriously, NBA teams are skimping on scouting opponents. The New Jersey Nets released Paul Cormier last week. The Spurs and Wizards are trying the same thing. Other teams are cutting back on the number of assistant coaches they carry. The idea is that teams are paying for the ridiculously huge contracts they're giving head coaches...or players.

(big mahalo to NBA Fanhouse for the Griffin sighting)

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Spurs Take Wrong Flyer on Jefferson?

Remember this commercial? Kinda? Me too. From the fringes of your NBA memory, summon up the images of Jason Kidd surrounded by a plethora of high flyers and quick hitters. Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and Vince Carter were the main culprits. Now, all but Carter are gone from the New Jersey Nets, but Jefferson and Carter seem fated to continue to wait in the same wings. In February, around the trade deadline, there were trade rumors going around that the Spurs were taking a long, hard look at Carter. Now, with the draft only days away, the Spurs are swinging for the fences (and perhaps missing), and getting the other ex-Net still playing in the Eastern Conference.

This commercial highlights the two players' athletic abilities and slam- dunk predispositions. What it doesn't show is Carter's progression into elderstatesman status, and Jeffors slow sink into mediocrity. Stories go that Carter was a calm influence on an up-and-coming Meadowlands team that featured Devin Harris' breakout season. Jefferson, on the other hand, underachieved in Milwaukee, and the Bucks were better off with him on the bench. So, with this trade all but completed, I'm left wondering: are the Spurs getting the wrong wing-man? Keep in mind, this kills their cap space for 2010.

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Devin Harris pulls out a miracle

The game last night between the New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers appeared to be a road win for the 76ers by the score of 96-95. They also appeared well on there way to snapping a three game losing streak. However Nets point guard Devin Harris pulled out a half-court buzzer-beater for the ages.

Harris ended the game with 39 points in the Nets 98-96 victory. The shot itself looked damn near impossible in less than two seconds but the replays all show that the ball is out of Harris's hands after the shot.

That play is almost reminisce of Milt Pilacio in 2001. Unbelievable.

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