DBAHO

Today might be the most depressing day it's ever been as a Magic fan. This team has beaten Chicago, Indiana and Miami all in a row, not too shabby. So we've shown than when Jameer Nelson is playing close to his best, this team can do some damage. And yet with Howard basically holding Rich Devos and Alex Martins to ransom daring em to "roll the dice", the chances of Howard getting moved before the deadline probably went up 20-30%, I can tell you the head honchos weren't pleased at all that Dwight commented publicly on that. Dwight doesn't want a Melo situation where the acquiring team gives up the farm for him (thank you very much James Dolan). And with the Ellis to MIL deal, there goes our leverage in trying to bring in another star to pair with Dwight. As much as I hate to say it, Brook Lopez and MarShawn Brooks are probably going to be Magic uniforms come Thursday, unless some other team such as HOU makes a better offer for a 2 month rental. And if so, 3-4 years of mid 30 win mediocrity await. SVG and Otis will probably both be gone after the season also.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 13, 2012 -> 07:21 PM) I don't know if I'd want Bogut if I was Golden State. In an uptempo system definitely not. But in Mark Jackson's "slowball New York Knicks in the early 90's offense", I think he makes some sense to them. Argubly he's a better 1 on 1 defender than Howard is actually. But Howard's a more effective shot blocker. But Bogut's also very injury prone so it's a risk. The Magic will probably add Hedo and take back Stephen Jackson and maybe one of GSW's bad contracts such as Biedrins in a deal also.

Quite an interesting day in trade rumors. Seems as if there's a bit of focus on a 3 team deal between the Magic, Bucks and Warriors. In short, the Magic get Monta Ellis, the Warriors would get Andrew Bogut, and the Bucks would also get pieces. There's also rumors going around if Bogut is dealt Brandon Jennings is likely to be traded also (as he won't re-sign with the Bucks long - term). Apparently Anderson and Redick would go to MIL, and there's a chance Orlando may get Ilyasova or Dorrell Wright back in a deal also.

You'll also probably get to meet Teddy the PATH Bum (youtube him if you want to see more info). Rex I'm going to definitely try those places in Chinatown when I visit in May, Chinatown was really the one place I didn't eat at much actually, so definitely looking forward to checking those out.

Portland would definitely be sellers at the deadline now you'll feel, down by 35 to Boston at HT. Wonder what it would take to get Gerald Wallace actually. Batum and Aldridge would be the only 2 keepers on that roster currently.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 10, 2012 -> 10:23 AM) That is freaking terrible. No way is that a fair deal. If Lakers pull of that deal, they are the best team in the league. I assume you're referring to Atlanta's offer? The Hawks would probably give up Hinrich instead, but I'm not sure if that'd be enough to get a deal done still. Gasol is a more efficient player than Smith for mine and obviously has the size advantage. All in all, the Lakers probably end up with Sessions to fill their PG need.

Bill Simmons Annual Top 50 Trade Value Column Part 1. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/766449...de-value-part-1

I was thinking maybe the Hawks would jump in with a Josh Smith and Jeff Teague offer, so that they can move Horford to PF. I'd probably take Houston's offer there. Curry is the best player overall, but you'd be taking some pretty bad contracts back along with him.

Someone threw out this trade on a Magic board, and I think it makes a bit of sense. You'll have to add draft picks (going to New Orleans), but if the Magic are going to keep Dwight and not be able to get Ellis or Nash, this is the type of move they need to look at making instead. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7x9b5ke

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 06:29 PM) Having a lot of 3 point shooters doesn't make it any more likely that they'll all fall at the same time. Even the best shooters can only hit it at a 40% clip. Streaky is probably a better way to put it then. Orlando was only around 20% from 3PT territory against the Bobcats a couple of nights ago, that shows how they can get bogged down shooting jumpers (especially when Charlotte had the worst interior defense in the NBA). So when they're not shooting well, they can look pretty bad on offense, especially when they don't get many fast break points either (which they actually out-scored the Bulls on IIRC).

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 06:25 PM) Any team in any league looks good when they shoot 15-20 in a quarter including 6-7 from 3. Hedo played really well for most of the game tonight. Yes, but not many teams in the league can actually do that, Orlando has the 3PT shooters to do so, hence why they can be really dangerous when everything is clicking for them (the 08-09 ECF series against Cleveland being a perfect example).

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 05:31 PM) He doesn't actually watch basketball, I'm now sure of it. I had this epiphany this morning when he said he'd take Kyrie Irving over Derrick Rose. I'm not making this up. Give Irving probably 2 seasons and he'll be the same caliber of player as Rose. Very similiar numbers to Rose's rookie season with better scoring numbers but a worse A/TO ratio. And he already shoots a better 3PT than Rose. I think some experts are just really high on Irving because of the way he's been able to win games at the end on his own shot, which excites a lot of people with him being a rookie and all.

Well a win is a win, we played probably 1 and a half good quarters of basketball all up, but the Bulls weren't very good tonight. The 1st Q showed what we're capable if we get good ball movement on offense and can actually knock down our shots. Orlando is so Jekyll and Hyde though they can blow a 20PT lead to the worst team in basketball one night and then lead by around 20 in the next game against argubly the best team in the NBA currently. The 4th quarter showed how much we need someone who can create their own shot on offense though, hence why Monta Ellis would be such a good acquisiton for us. Hedo filled that role 3-4 seasons ago, but he's certainly not good enough to do that anymore. If Orlando can actually shoot that way come playoff time, they'll make it interesting in a series against Miami or Chicago. The problem is I don't see them playing hard enough over a 7 game series, everything pretty much has to go perfectly on offense and defense for them to win.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Mar 8, 2012 -> 05:36 PM) Mass Effect 3 is hot sex. Yeoman Chambers would approve (probably getting it on with a Rachni as we speak).

Really hoping the Boys can sign Brandon Carr as a FA, but him and Finnegan could be looking at 10M a season contracts. Still for a 26 year old Pro Bowl caliber CB, those guys don't grow on trees, and the Cowboys CB's are probably the worst in the NFL. Luckily they can save $6M by releasing Newman, so paying an extra $4M for Carr looks like pretty good business.

If you need 1 more team still, happy to join.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 8, 2012 -> 02:33 AM) I'm going to go ahead and admit that I've been wrong about Carmelo Anthony. I loved him on the Nuggets, he scored, rebounded, chipped in dimes, and hell, he helped my fantasy teams year-in and year-out. I was jaded by fantasy. How stupid. He's a completely worthless player without the ball in his hands. Watching that game last night, he just stands around, he doesn't set screens, he doesn't run around to get open, it's sad to see a player of such talent seem so lost and/or disinterested. This is obviously the worst he has ever played, and I know there's a super star in him like the guy who carried the 2008 USA Olympic team, but that guy doesn't seem willing to come out with the Knicks just yet. You can't have a superstar who so willingly removes himself from the offense unless it's crunch time. I apologize to all whom I wronged by stated Carmelo Anthony is awesome. He apparently is only awesome when he wants to be, and that's inexcusable. When LINSANTIY was in full bloom, I said there were going to be a lot of question marks when Carmelo returned, in terms of ball movement and so many guys wanting their shots in D'Antoni's offense (not to mention they've got J.R Smith jacking up shots 10 times a game now). Put simply, he's not a good fit in this current situation. Now there's 2 ways the Knicks can go here, they've shown that without Melo they can actually win with D'Antoni's system (6-1 when Melo was out IIRC and 2-5 since he has returned, albeit they have played much tougher opponents). I have said before I wonder how the Knicks would look right now if they had Gallinari instead of Melo, I just thought he was a much better fit in that offense and a better outside shooter. So they need to either fire D'Antoni or seriously think about moving Melo for a better fit, probably a 2 guard who's very good defensively, I think even Andre Igoudala would be a good fit on that team. Otherwise they need to bring in a Jeff Van Gundy or Phil Jackson. Mike Woodson is probably the next guy or would at least be an interim coach but I don't think that would excite anyone much in New York.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 8, 2012 -> 02:24 PM) How is he not in the MVP discussion? damn. Probably because he's missed quite a few games. I don't see how you can go past Durant at this point (and yes I'm very anti LeBron here, which I always have been. ). He's shooting 50% from the field, up 3-4% from last season, and the Thunder are rolling. Time for him to get some much needed recognition, award wise.

Yeah I've been seeing this ALL OVER Social Media for the last few hours. Hopefully some good can come out of it, but they're certainly getting the message out.

Courtney Lee is the guy the Bulls need to target. It comes down to whether the Bulls would be willing to deal Asik for him, although the Rockets probably don't have such a need at center now with Dalembert in the fold.

That'd be some serious luxury tax Reinsdorf would be paying in that scenario next season (with Rose's max deal kicking in also) no?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 3, 2012 -> 01:59 PM) Yeah, that was a pretty inflammatory post to DBAHO, but I don't think he's staying in Orlando either. He's most likely headed to New Jersey, then Dallas. And DBAHO, I can't stand him cause he's a f***ing child and just another "I want to be the best! Oh wait, my team isn't good enough? I want to be the best with my friends from other teams!" superstar. That's prety much what an NBA superstar is nowadays, except for Rose and Durant, I'll give those 2 props. Dwight just wants to be universally loved more than anything, he wants to have a say in the players the team he plays for acquires (hence why Otis Smith made the insane move of giving Big Bay a 4/26 deal). The Nets have been the team everyone thinks he's going to, but to me, a lot of that depends on if they can keep Williams, because can you see Dwight winning a championship there in the next 2-3 years if he bolts? I don't. As for the Mavs, they'll have to trade the likes of Marion and Odom in order to be able to have the cap-room for a Dirk-Dwight-Deron scenario which is easier said than done. I think a scenario which is becoming more plausible is, he opts-in for 1 more season (if he doesn't demand to be traded by March 15), and then he can sign with one of buddies like Josh Smith in the 2013 off-season.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 3, 2012 -> 11:07 AM) It's so cute how you're really hoping Orlando can hold on to Dwight. I suppose I'd be in a similar state of denial. Cute? Yeah that's hilarious. It's not fantasy either (if you read the Deron to Dallas stories post ASB), as much as you want Dwight to be in Chicago, that isn't going to happen and that's why people on here can't stand him.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 3, 2012 -> 01:58 AM) The Warriors would never have to dump Monta. They could absolutely get a quality return for him if they decided they were over him. Everything I've heard regarding the Warriors and Magic involves the Warriors trying to decide if they want to "rent a Dwight" in the hopes that he stays (which he wouldn't, obviously). Yeah the Warriors have been mooting that on their end all season long, shows you how desperate they are for a quality big. But now, Orlando looks to have decided that they want to see if they can add another piece at the deadline, which is obviously going to be very hard with the pieces they have. FWIW, the Josh Smith rumors have started again also, and he was a guy that Dwight wanted to go after.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 2, 2012 -> 01:26 AM) Or more likely a deal netting the Magic Monta Ellis doesn't happen. As much as I'm sure the Warriors are willing to part with a guard of his calibre for a center the Hornets were willing to give away a month ago and some non-lottery draft picks from the Magic... Sorry, DBAHO, I know you are hoping to keep your Dwight. The Magic just have zero outside of Dwight with which to work. Agree that it's going to be difficult, but I'm looking at this from Golden State's perspective here. As currently constructed, that team is going nowhere. Dumping Ellis's contract and bringing in an expiring deal in Kaman gives them lots of options cap - wise for the off-season (with Kwame Brown's 6.75M coming off the books also). Javale McGee is a young big they've been linked with, and trading Ellis opens up the SG spot for Klay Thompson who's actually looked pretty good when he's gotten on the floor. They could end up with Brook Lopez if Dwight bolts to the Nets in this scenario also potentially? New Orleans basically wants a draft pick for Kaman from what I've read. But also, the odds of Dwight not opting out have actually increased since the ASB, and that's mainly down to Deron Williams saying he's more likely than not going to Dallas now (and Dwight's camp not being very happy at all with that).