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QUOTE (chw42 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:10 PM) Cavs also have Varejao, who before his injury was one of the best centers in the NBA last year. The same center who people actually thought he finally figure it out at age 30, who would be 31 years old by the start of next season, and who only played 81 games combined the past 3 seasons?

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:06 PM) I really would not like having to pick Noel if I had the #1 pick...he has a chance to be a nice defensive player, but probably not going to do much offensively...that's sort of setting your sights low with the numero uno... Defense wins championships, and center is still the most importantly position in the game. A supreme defensive player, with his size and athleticism, is still a pretty special player, even if he has an offensive game of Marcus Camby or Tyson Chandler. This is a weak draft, and the only other player worthy of the top pick is McLemore, but I don't see Cavs drafting him with Waiter as their 2 guard of the future. Noel probably won't be a superstar, but it fits them very well, and potentially set up for Decision Part Deux next year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:29 PM) If you go back to the day of the acquisition, I don't even think ANYONE knew what to make of it. He's one of, if not, the first, Colombian pitcher to make it successfully. Orlando Cabrera and the Renteria brothers were the others, but were all position players/hitters. I just meant he was in the Yankees' system at the A Level of lower for a good six years. That doesn't scream someone who's going to spend a month in AA, skip AAA and pitch like an All-Star for 3+ months in the majors. In fact, I would guess that has never happened before that someone spent most of the previous year in A ball before being claimed by another team and making that jump all the way to the majors the following season. Maybe Liriano, but he was part of a trade, not a roster claim. What does it have to do anything at all? You pull the most random things out sometimes. Is there anything against Colombian pitchers we don't know about? 6 years, hell, two of those years he didn't do anything. He was only 19 years old when he pitched his first full season in DSL. The fact that he made such a smooth transition to the majors can even tell you the Yankees were too safe with him. I would like to pull up some old posts, because I am positive people were surprised Yankees released Q, and he has some potential in him. No one expected the quick promotion and success that he has had, but you made it sound like he was some over aged scrub who struggled to make it out of A ball.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:06 PM) I'll trade for their payroll and 26 or 27 or whatever number of World Series titles, lol. I'm sure it rankled Cashman that Contreras won a World Series for us, too...but it's just a blip on the radar for Yankees' fans, like Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa. Keep in mind, Quintana was in his 6th minor league season and still in A ball. BTW, trade Reed and Crain, NOW. 75% joking. Way to skew the statistics. He only pitched like 5 innings in 06, got injured and didn't pitch in 07, 2008 was his first year legitimately pitching. He only spent 4 years below Double A, and two of which are in DSL. He was on his way to Double A at age 23, nothing wrong with that. There were plenty of people, this board included, puzzled by the Yankees move to release Quintana, because he had some potential. I am glad it worked out for us. BTW, Reed with 16 saves in 21 wins for us. Baseball has been pretty fun this year.

Cavs will most likely draft Nerlens Noel and their starting lineup would look something like this. Hm Irving Waiters SF Thompson Noel.

LOL @ Bobcats/Hornets

I wouldn't read too much into the AFL invite. Nevin Griffin and Brandon Kloess were invited as well in recently. They weren't highly touted guys by any mean. Thompson is a 26 year old reliever, being in his first year above A ball, and average about half a strikeout per inning. His good stats could be attributed to him always too old for every level he was in. He'd be extremely fortunate to make it to the majors, let alone be a closer.

Sanchez's hitting tool is a tad overrated. His average last year was skewed by his unsustainable .370 avg in a 30 game stint in Double A. Other than that, he hasn't shown he's a consistent .300 hitter even in the minor league level. Also, he's a bit rushed to the Triple A last year, with only 30 games under his belt in Double A. If he continues to hit around the Mendoza line in Triple A, I would like to see him go back to Double A to continue to work on his hitting and promote a guy like Semien or Saladino.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ May 16, 2013 -> 05:49 PM) he said he'd decide after the season was over, and he might not even need it. haven't heard anything mentioned yet. I really hope he does. He needs to fix the wrist and the broken thumb he has been dealing with. His shooting has been pretty bad ever since he broke that wrist last year. I think he skipped out on surgery last year mainly because he wanted to play for the British national team badly, and with Rose out this season, having him out as well is basically throwing in the towel. We have proven we are still a pretty good team without him in the playoffs, and with Rose back (can't imagine), he can take all the time he needs to finally get healthy.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 16, 2013 -> 04:28 PM) Well, to be fair, a lot of deals for good players have gone down recently with s*** going back. And they do have that Charlotte pick. I mean, Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and some bad picks for James Harden! Totally different scenarios. Harden was the third banana and the sixth man on that team. They were close to a point where they couldn't afford him. Trading a third banana for some picks/young talent and a guy who can replace some of his scoring is a logical move. A team won't trade its superstar and best player unless it's in a rebuilding mode, or the said superstar is unhappy with his situation. Both of which is not the case for Love and the TWolves. I feel that a lot of your scenarios are too much of a pipe dream, ever since your "Derrick Rose to return against Nuggets" stunt just because Thib said Rose is "likely out" against the Warriors the previous game, and, well mostly just your constant Rose return speculations.

Who's speaking of Trayce and Klay? Not sure why you highlighted the last paragrah, the article has one brief mention of Trayce, it's an NBA article more than anything, lol

He was rated the best prospect during a 1/16 Dominican showcase. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key...9YaW4yelE#gid=0

Good read. What's your take on Michael Earley in this game

Like Balta said, he can play both LF and RF. He was an RF in college and even as recent as last year, but making the transition to LF this year in favor of Thompson. I read that he's a good fielder in college, but not a plus by any means. If he's to make it to the big leagues, it will be because of his bat.

I am going to make a bold prediction that Michael Earley will make it to the majors before Thompson, Walker and Mitchell (it's depressing, but I could see it happening). He is not going to be a starter, but he can be a solid fourth outfielder for our team. I've followed him a bit for the better part of the past two years, he looks like he has a good bat, make solid contact with the ball, and doesn't strike out often. We can definitely use such a player off the bench. If he keeps hitting, he could very well get a spring training invite, and make it to the majors as early as next year.

This is a quote from a Brian Windhorst article today. I was at the game last night, and we got an up close view on the bulls*** calls at the very end of the game. We saw the Belinelli foul on Lebron at least 3 times, no way in hell was that a foul. We were in the game until the fourth, I give Heat the credit for turning up their defense the last quarter. Norris Cole came up big offensively and defensively. But we were still very much in the game until the bulls*** calls happened. There were so many calls made in favor of the Heat, especially late in the game, I can only watch in disgust. The Heat did not beat us alone, the Heat and Joe Crawford did. If David Stern keep tolerating (should I say promoting) these bulls*** from the refs, he should be kicked off from the league. That should not be what the league is about.

I like how the other two series gets the night off while the two series from last night go back at it tomorrow night. The Pacer-Knicks series will basically play 1 game in a 6 day span. If any team needs a break, it would be the Bulls, but the league is just not cutting us any slack.

I would like to see the professional scouts start to taking a serious look at Micah Johnson soon. We know he's pretty fast, but not this fast. It would be good to know if he is doing this with the right techniques or just taking advantage of inexperienced pitchers down in low A.

If we somehow win this series, even if we don't win the championship, this is the narrative for one of the best sports movies ever. We have a matchup of two teams that share one philosophy, defense. But that's about where the similarities end. We have on one hand the scariest and the most talented team in the past 15 years, who is absolutely steamrolling into the playoffs, led by the best player, yet one of the most polarizing players of this generation. On the other hand, we have a team who is the severe underdog, missing its superstar who mysterious gave up on the season, playing third string players after their starters were forced out of action, led by a center who is playing on one leg, who plays his heart out every possession. Together they believe that with tough defense, heart, and hustle, they can somehow slay the giant they are going up against, even if no one else gave them a chance. In a sport that is historically dominated by teams with the most superstars, this is the intangible oriented version of Money Ball. Build a team with character, heart, hustle and plays though defense, they will keep fighting till they are the last one standing. Gentlemen, that is your 2012-2013 Chicago Bulls. Those images of players puking during timeout, bleeding mouths, players lying on the floor, players struggling to stand up after giving all they got for 60 minutes define who this team is. We believe.

Chicago Bulls. We Believe.

Rose coming back at this point is sort of anticlimactic. He has became a villain in most Bulls fans' eyes, at least for the time being. With him coming back now against what he's preaching all along, the fans actually get what they wish for. All the bashing and the hate comments will stop and people will treat him like the golden boy again. I just can't picture the scenario.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 5, 2013 -> 06:56 PM) I really hope that Nate and Marco don't price themselves out of the Bulls range. If comes between them, take Nate, but still I like this... PG: Rose/Hinrich/Teague SG: Butler/Nate SF: Deng/Bellinelli/Draft Pick PF: Boozer/Taj/Thomas C : Noah/Nazr/Draft Pick Having both back is really asking for a lot. And with the way Thibs rides his starters, I doubt they will have much of a role coming off the bench. You are basically giving three pseudo starters this year - Nate, Kirk and Maro, 10-15 minutes a game barring any injuries. I doubt they are satisfy with that role. And Teague figures to play a bigger role next year, given the logical progression.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 4, 2013 -> 10:10 PM) Reggie and Derrick both talked about possible Round 2 return. Far from it. Rose just hasn't rule out a return, as usual. According to him, things remain the same.

Come on fellas, our plan is executing to perfection. Derrick is going to announce his unexpected return 2 hours before game 1 against the Heat fully healthy, and better than ever. This totally catches the Heat off guard, and leads to a series win and a trip to the finals. After all, this IS the only way anyone can stop the Heat.

One of the less underrated aspect of Jimmy Butler's game is he is a smart basketball player. He rarely makes mistakes on offense and defense. He is doing a fine job of slowing down D Will on defense right now and taking it strong to the hole on offense and making all the right passes. If he keeps on working that jump shot in the off season, he will be the best 2 guard option we can possibly have