The Wright Way - Straight, No Chaser #6

By: Sharone Wright
Sharone Wright was an All-state performer at Macon's Southwest high school as a McDonald's All-American. He played basketball for 3 years in the prestigious ACC conference at Clemson University where he is one of it's top 10 all-time players. Sharone was drafted 6th overall by Philadelphia in 1994 and also played for the Toronto Raptors. After 5 years in the NBA, he went to Europe as a player for 7 years and now coaches.

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Since you been goneeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! I love that Song by Kelly Clarkson and that’s how I’m feeling today after not posting anything for a while.


See it’s been way too long. I’m sorry folks but I’m not a professional writer and my real job says that I spend lots of time coaching and scouting.

Maybe I can ask my boss to let me have some time to write since there is soo much to talk about.

I have to tell you guys that I really enjoyed the NBA All-Star game and weekend.

It never ceases to amaze me how much the NBA league office does to make this event be a hit each year. They do a good job of mixing entertainment and sports. It’s like the Oscars and a The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh all wrapped in one weekend.

I can’t say that the I'm impressed with the selection process. I'm sick and tired of guys not making the All -Star game that deserve it. It’s as if there are about 20 million idiots voting and they are only voting for the players that they either see on Sportscenter or on commercials. If they don’t see a player on ESPN then the fans know nothing about it.

That’s why I think a portion of the voting or most of it should be done by the players and coaches.

Case in point.

China has like 6789 billion people there and on any given chance, will always vote for Yao Ming.

OK, that’s cool when Yao was really balling but hey lets face it, the Great Wall hasn’t done jack crap in 3 years. And how about the fact that he didn’t even play this year and was voted a starter.

I guess they figure he might have been ready for the game? NOT!!!!!!!

How about watch the games people and do your homework. That’s what's wrong with the game.

There’s soo much voting for guys that are so called superstars even if they aren’t having superstar seasons. Tim Duncan was voted as an All -Star despite the fact that he's played like nothing this year. So why stop settling for a well known player and give that spot to NENE who has played not great this year and certainly better than Duncan.

Oh ok, you’re probably saying the Spurs have the best record. That doesn’t mean anything when this is an individual honour.

You know something is wrong when they had to force the issue to get Kevin Love on the team and this kid has like 4000 double doubles already in a first half of a season.

Incredible!!!!

Yet he had to make a rap video With Lil Wayne in order to get noticed for what he has done. Crazy crap! Lets reward these players for their games and their hard work and not their cameos appearances...

I'm venting because that’s kind of what I do well. See I have the ability to see things before they happen. Like for instance I could see the tension with Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams brewing like the Labatt’s Beer company. It was happening all of the time and it boiled over!

The reports are saying that Sloan was growing ever so pissed at Williams and vice versa. My question is why didn’t the GM and team officials step in and police the matter before it boiled over?

Maybe then we wouldn’t be where we are today and asking why a Hall of Fame coach and one of the most respected coaches of all time abruptly just quit in the middle of the season.

It's mind boggling to say the least but what is known all over the NBA is that Sloan himself isn’t always easy to get along with. So the blame can't all go towards Williams. I’ve personally talked to guys that played for Sloan on many occasions and while they all respect and admire him for his career, they all didn’t want to play for him all of the time either.

You know the story. Something like this happens and every person that has played for him starts talking about how great Sloan was and how they learned from him. But they forget to say how some of them hated him.

I know the scenario too.

Not every player will get along with a coach and vice versa but those things should stay in the locker room. That’s the NBA code of silence. Too much is leaked out these days.

The Ric Buchers and the Chris Broussards of the world pester the players too much and when they don’t get what they want, they make up things, I think.

Especially if there are problems in the locker rooms.

When I played we didn’t talk to guys in the media like this. We had leaders who ironed things out and stepped in to mash out anything that could detour our team from winning.

That’s what good leaders do.

Ever get wind of a problem in the Celtics locker room? Wonder why? It’s because the big three plus Shaq have combined years that are older than Robert Parrish and Morgan Freeman put together. Nowadays a rookie comes in to the league and 2 years later this guy is the captain wearing the C on his shirt.

That’s crazy!!

Deron is in Jersey now as we know and they say they hope to build the team around him which would be great but what if he doesn’t want to stay? What then Jersey? I know you guys think because the new owner has 3449 billion dollars (something like that) so you think its ok.

But he and Jay-z will have a Hard Knock life if they don’t get Williams to sign and score a better roster.

That’s why I love the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Knicks.

I had doubts that it would ever get done but it did only because James Dolan the owner has the cake to do it with.

Melo is one of my favorite players because he has a mentality that he can score on anyone. He has that scorer’s mindset, he brings 27 points per game and lots of rebounds to match it with Amare's 25ppg.

So you could argue that it’s on and popping but Chauncey Billups will also contribute. Some say that NYC gave up too much. Well let’s look at that. Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timovfey Mozgov and Raymond Felton. Three of these guys were starters yet the Knicks were a basic .500 team and not really playing that great lately.

The comparison of Felton and Billups is a wash to me but honestly Billups has soo much more playoffs experience. Gallinari has been too inconsistent to pinpoint which way is up or down with him.

Erratic shooting and no defence plague him.

Wilson Chandler is a player that I felt they should have tried to keep. He’s a very high energy defender and his offence has really come around since coming out of college. But they kept Landry Fields and he has been a steal in the draft for them.

He has been a starter all year. Great scouting will do that for ya. But when you have a chance to get a player of Melo's calibre, you have to jump on that.

He’s a once in a lifetime player. Don’t ask George Karl though. He sounded like he was glad Melo was gone in a recent interview and really made a case that he only would miss Billups and not Melo.

Saying that Melo has a personality that is hard to deal with. Woww talk about waiting until the guy leaves to throw him under the bus?

Beep beeeeep.

Seriously though Melo will be a monster in the Garden and with Amare in tow, this should be interesting once all of the Knick pieces are put on the chess board. BTW I love the way they added Corey Brewer. Talk about defence? This kid can do it. Some where I hope Glen Grunwald had some thing to do with the Knicks getting Melo. I'm also looking forward to the new LALA and Carmelo realty show. Hey it beats the hell out of watching Glee...

Baron Davis to Cleveland, Bibby to the Wizards, Mo Williams to the Clippers, Devin Harris to Utah for Deron Williams, Landry to the Hornets, Battier back to Memphis. Wowwww soo many deals that made sense and a lot of them made none. It’s like that game show Deal or no Deal. Only this time there seem to be no real prizes after Deron Williams and Melo.

The state of the NBA continues to be up for grabs. It seems that every day that the NFL gets closer to what both sides want in that league, our CBA is getting further and further away. I feel that this is not going to get it done. There must be more meetings and more attention must be paid to the demands of both sides.

My sources tell me that if it is to be done, the owners say they are not going to budge. Let’s hope the demand of the game and the fans yelling for the game that they love will halt this pending Lockout. If not, it’ll be harder to look at than those Black Mamba commercials with Kobe and Kanye West. Ouch!!

I can certainly understand some of the teams in the NBA that are losing their superstar players and getting nothing in return for them. It’s not an easy thing to see. Toronto losing Mcgrady, Carter and Bosh. Cleveland losing Lebron, Denver losing Carmelo.

The feeling now is that certain players force their way out of town and I'm not for that. But I am for the rights of the player to do what he wishes if he has played and played hard and given all that he has.

In your contract year it is your decision to make.

It was Lebron's and it was Bosh's, it was Melo's and for sure it will be Dwight Howard's and Chris Paul's very soon. Let’s not forget that this is their life and they cannot live it for fans, owners and common folk who only get to see them on the court for 2 hours a night.

This is most always a family issue and you have to do whets best for yourself and your family. The owners at the end of the day will do whets best for their teams.

Remember my blog post about the Clippers owner making fun of Baron Davis and mocking him at games? Well Davis started balling after he got healthy. And what happened then?

The Clippers trade him to the worst team in the NBA.

See what I mean about loyalty?? There is none... To some owners you’re just a piece of meat at the market.

Let’s see how things pan out with the newly structured teams.

Straight From The Rook #15

Mat MacDonald AKA The Rook The Rook is currently enrolled in Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. A frequent contributor to all NBA and Raptors debates along with other sports. Witty, quick and never afraid of a challenge, Mat's here to talk hoops with you and dish out his two cents whenever!

Click here to follow him on Twitter!

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Breaking Down The Deadline

Itʼs that time of the year again, folks. The point in the NBA season where basketball fans get their 48 hours of trade talk and hoopla that NHL fans thrive on. Itʼs the time of the season where pretenders make moves to become contenders, and the top of the pack laugh at the idea of trading away valuable pieces to the Cavaliers. Yes, itʼs the NBA trade deadline week.

Breaking down the big deals, we take a closer look at whatʼs transpired and how it looks for each team moving forward in the second half of the season.

The Deals

NYK: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups

DEN: The world

Yes, thatʼs what went down. An NBA franchise was shipped off to Denver in order to bring in one superstar player. Is it worth it? Depends who you are. Are you Spike Lee and the rest of the New York faithful whoʼve been waiting for a contender since the days of Houston and Ewing? Or are you another Hollywood buzz who made their way down to the Big Apple for some R&R and enjoy the flashing lights and big stars?

Regardless of who/what you are, the dealʼs a good one for both teams. The Knicks get a chance to pick up their real face of the franchise. Sure, Amarʼe was great, but at some point you had to realize that he wasnʼt going to be the leader the Knicks needed come playoff time. With Carmelo Anthony you have a scorer. A big scorer. A man who can give you double figures in two categories on any given night.

In his debut with the Knicks, Melo went off for 27 points and 10 rebounds. Mind you, it took 25 shots to net all 27 points, but Iʼm sure the New York faithful can turn their shoulder to that. With less of a leading role, Amarʼe still had a decent game and that may be how the rest of the season unwinds with him taking a second role. Thereʼs no doubt that the two of them combined plus Landry Fields and Chauncey Billups make a dangerous group to guard on the floor.

Perhaps the biggest addition to the Knicks is Billups. A proven winner, the Knicks now have a floor general whoʼs been in big situations and lead his team to the NBA Finals. No disrespect to Raymond Felton, because he deserves zero, but the Knicks making the playoffs wasnʼt all that they planned on doing, and besides signing him in the offseason, it was clear that New York was looking to upgrade. The job that Felton did was hands down better than any other PG in the past few years for New York, but in the end, itʼs a business, and with business comes change.

The Nuggets pick up some good pieces in this trade. Taking four starters - if you include Wilson Chandler - the Nuggets donʼt find themselves in the rebuilding phase that Cleveland and Toronto do. Gallinari, Chandler, Felton and Mozgov should provide stability to a now young Nuggets team fighting for the playoffs. If they could do it in New York, thereʼs no doubt that thereʼs a chance they can still do it in Denver. Are the NBA Finals in the picture for the Nuggets? Absolutely not. But if you think those four players are going to consider themselves loose change and fold for the rest of the season, youʼre way off.

The grade for NY: A
The grade for DEN: B

NJ: Deron Williams

UTA: Devon Harris, Derrick Favors, 2 1st Rd. Picks

Ok, so you donʼt get the man you want, you believe you run an empire and you still struggle to comprehend a classic high-five. Thatʼs the life of a Netsʼ manager right now. But still youʼre out there to prove that you mean business and that youʼre going to keep throwing Jay-Zʼs name out there for a reason. So, what do you do? You make a trade to shake up the world - or at least Utah and New Jersey.

Deron Williams obviously takes the role of star in New Jersey now and becomes the new face of the franchise. But was it the right move? Thereʼs been no signal that Williams is going to re-sign in New Jersey when his contract expires, nor is there any sort of idea that Williams ever wanted to go to Jersey in the first place. That being said, the Nets have a lot of work to do. Being traded from a playoff team to a non-contender overnight isnʼt exactly something many players enjoy, but can the Nets swing Deronʼs views?

For Utah, the deal works out great. You get something instead of waiting around and losing your All-Star for nothing. Favors is a bright rookie with tons of potential. Thereʼs no doubt that heʼll be a solid double-double player in Utah, but with all the depth up front you have to wonder where he fits in? Harris is another big name player for Utah that can score. But really, why him? The reason: Dallas. The Mavs have had him on their radar for a long, long time. With his contract coming up, Utah knows that they can use him as leverage and make a move that will give them something good in return.

The logistics of this deal baffle me. It was something no one really expected, but needless to say was an unbelievable steal for either team. The question is, who really lucked out?

The grade for UTA: B+
The grade for NJ: B

CLE: Baron Davis
LAC: Jamario Moon, Mo Williams

One night youʼre throwing balls of out a Kia, the next youʼre in Cleveland. That sounds like it should be a line from the movie The Hangover. What a situation. Baron Davis may have just fallen off the map with this one. In a season that started with him on the bench out of shape, and then throwing lobs to the most athletic big in the NBA, Baron Davis now finds himself as the lone ranger in the depleted Cavaliers back court. One can only hope Dan Gilbert didnʼt introduce him to the media in comic sans.

As for the Clippers, they get a solid guard in Mo Williams and an journey man in Moon. With another option to fly above the rim, the Clippers certainly have an exciting team to watch, but do dunks and highlight-reel plays win games? Again, time will tell. This trade should be swept under the rug, thereʼs no reason for anyone to talk about it. Itʼs clear Baron Davis is very, very sad.

The Clippers and Cavs grade? Let's just say...Kia?

POR: Gerald Wallace
CHA: Dante Cunningham, Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, 2 first-round picks

Honestly, Charlotte stays the same with this deal. They donʼt really get better, and if anything they get a bit worse, but the reason that they stay ʻthe sameʼ is because this sheds money from their franchise and helps them look ahead at signing a big name free-agent in the future. Draft picks are always helpful for a team looking to add young faces, and without a doubt you can bet Michael Jordan will be on his high horse trying to make deals to get his team to his expectations.
Portland lucks out. If Wallace can stay healthy, the Blazers have that wing scorer back that theyʼve been missing from Brandon Roy - even when heʼs been on the floor.

Wallace is healthy, a vet, and can get the job done. Playing for a good playoff position is an even bigger incentive for Wallace to play at a high level. Heʼs known as a hard worker and a strong player on both ends of the floor which is exactly what the Blazers need. Now they have to make sure he doesnʼt drink the water thatʼs loomed the injury bug over the heads of every Blazer.

Portlandʼs grade: A Charlotteʼs grade: MJ

HOU: Gorgan Dragic, 1st Rd. Pick
PHX: Aaron Brooks

Great deal for the suns...if youʼre an Aaron Brooks fan. This can only mean that the timetable for Steve Nash is ticking down by the second. Sure, heʼll stay for the rest of the season and play out the year, but past 2011, who knows? All signs point to Nash being traded in the off-season if the Suns donʼt make a dramatic push at becoming a team that can win a championship. Playing year after year at such a high level, fans have to expect that at some point the man has to win a championship, no matter where heʼs at. That being said, who knows what the future holds for the Suns.

Houston sent Shane Battier away, shopped Aaron Brooks and found a seller, and now have Gorgan Dragic as their point-guard. One things for sure; Houston needs to make sure Dragic sweeps his floors after his big house parties. In Houstonʼs other “deal” for the day, it saw their best perimeter defender Shane Battier go to the Grizzlies for Hasheem Thabeet and a bag of chips.

Terrible deal for Houston, because honestly, Thabeet is a less sculpted Mutombo. Iʼll hold my judgement back since he is a big man and heʼs young. But god, Iʼll tell you right now that the Grizzlies just got a lot better, and for sure O.J. Mayoʼs going to punch someone in the face.

Houstonʼs rating: C
Phoenixʼs rating: B
Memphisʼ rating: A+

Now, the biggest deal of the day...

BOS: Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, 1st Rd. Pick
OKC: Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson

Wow. Can you win without a center? Sure. But can you beat the elite? Maybe. Itʼs been a head scratcher that the Celtics would move their biggest piece of their defensive puzzle in Perkins, but holy smokes the Thunder just got a lot better. Finally OKC has the big man in the middle that theyʼve always wanted. An enforcer who will grab rebounds and not demand the ball, Perkins fits perfectly into the Thunderʼs system. Will he bring that swagger and anger all the way to the west? Yeah, heʼll bring it.

As for the Celtics and picking up Jeff Green, itʼs great. Heʼs an athletic tweener that can play the three and four. The Celtics need someone that can move on the perimeter, and with Green they have those young legs. Now, will that mess up the chemistry of the Celts core, or will they let Green into their circle?

Thatʼs another story.

As for the others...

Nate Robinson is a spark off the bench, and Iʼm sure the Thunder faithful will love him. Krstic was on the cover of SI and used to play a big role in a playoff team. That being said, maybe heʼll get the time to revive his career, but once again, who knows?

With that, the biggest deals are broken down right here on The Breakdown. Oh boy, what a day.

A Word From Ryan #4

Ryan Ward is a passionate and opinionated sports writer that has dedicated himself to his craft over the past five years writing about all the sports he loves from the US and overseas, from International soccer to NFL football, but with an especially passionate interest in NBA basketball and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Follow Ryan on Twitter

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The MELO-drama continues

Ever since All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony declined to sign the three-year $65 million dollar contract extension with the Denver Nuggets, the trade rumors surrounding the superstar have been circulating around the entire league. Even though almost every team in the league would love to get their hands on arguably one of the best scorers in the NBA, only three teams have surfaced as possible destinations for the rising star.

Once the news of the contract extension being declined by Carmelo Anthony came out, the one team that seemed to be the frontrunner for Melo was the New York Knicks. Considering that Melo’s wife Lala Vasquez works in the Big Apple and the superstar forward played his college ball with Syracuse, New York was the perfect fit for Melo, but trade talks between the Nuggets and the Knicks have come up short as the two teams are finding it hard to agree upon a deal.

Unlike in years past, the New York Knicks are finally a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern
Conference once again. With the addition of All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire and point guard
Raymond Felton, this storied franchise is starting to get back on track as they seem to be playoff bound.
If the Knicks were able to bring Melo to the Big Apple they would get what many people believe as the final piece to the puzzle. With Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, the New York Knicks might be able to contend with the likes of the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat in the East.

Unfortunately, the Knicks and the Nuggets just can’t seem to agree on a deal as Denver is asking too much and New York is unwilling to part with their promising young talent. With the Knicks failing to get a deal done with the Nuggets with the NBA trade deadline rapidly approaching, the New Jersey Nets have gotten back into the running for the All-Star forward as reportedly talks between the two teams have started up once again.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the New Jersey Nets new owner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokorov called off trade talks with the Denver Nuggets as he believed a deal just couldn’t be done. Not only were the Nuggets asking too much of the Nets, but the trade talks and rumors had become a big distraction for the team.

Ironically enough, the Nets are seemingly back in the mix for Carmelo Anthony as the two teams have begun talking once again. If a deal does get done between Denver and New Jersey, a third team like the Detroit Pistons might have to get involved. Otherwise, a deal including rookie Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy and draft picks for Carmelo Anthony would be the most likely proposal by the Nets.

Even though the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets are the frontrunners in the Melo
sweepstakes, the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers may be the dark horse as they can offer players like Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown.

Despite still being in the Mile High City after months of trade rumors, Carmelo Anthony could ultimately end up staying with the Denver Nuggets, but my best guess is that he is headed to the Eastern Conference before the NBA trade deadline on Thurs. Feb. 24, 2011.

A Word From Ryan #3

Ryan Ward is a passionate and opinionated sports writer that has dedicated himself to his craft over the past five years writing about all the sports he loves from the US and overseas, from International soccer to NFL football, but with an especially passionate interest in NBA basketball and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Follow Ryan on Twitter

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NBA Trade Rumor: Is Carmelo Anthony headed to Los Angeles?

Every single year around this time in the NBA regular season, trade rumors start swirling around the league as teams consider wheeling and dealing before the NBA trade deadline. Usually during this time the best teams in the league stay away from making deals as they are normally content with their squads and don’t want to mess with the team chemistry at the halfway point in the season.

When the best teams in the league do make moves it usually is to pick up a veteran before the playoffs as an insurance policy, but heading towards the Feb. 24 NBA trade deadline, the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers seem like the one team in the league that are destined make a deal.

The one big-name that has been circulating around the NBA as a player that wants out of his current situation is the Denver Nuggets superstar forward Carmelo Anthony. At just 26 years old, Carmelo is a bright young star in this league with a promising future if he can get on the right team.

A few years ago, the Denver Nuggets were arguably one of the best teams in the league after they made a trade before the deadline to acquire Chauncey Billups in exchange for former NBA MVP Allen Iverson. When the deal went down a lot of people wondered why they would get rid of Iverson for Billups, but the trade completely turned the franchise as they finally had a solid floor general at the point guard position.

With Billups running the point and Melo shouldering the offense, the Nuggets made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, but lost to the eventual NBA champion Lakers. Since then, the Nuggets haven’t really been able to repeat their success in the playoffs and have gotten progressively worse over time.

This season the Denver Nuggets will most likely be playoff bound once again as they currently would have the seventh seed in the West and still have a shot to win the Northwest division title, but it is highly unlikely that Carmelo Anthony will be on the team as he will almost certainly be traded before the deadline.

The one team that has been mentioned as Melo’s likely destination is with the New York Knicks, but he has also been linked to the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. Even though Melo could still be headed to the Big Apple, the Los Angeles Lakers have gotten in the mix as they have started talking with the Denver Nuggets about a deal involving their superstar.

The deal would send Lakers center Andrew Bynum and possibly some other players to the Nuggets in exchange for Carmelo Anthony. With Bynum being just 23 years old and a two-time champ, the Nuggets feel they can build around this young kid, but the Lakers seem ready to ship him out of town as they are tired of dealing with his injury problems.

At first glance, this seems to be too good to be true for the Los Angeles Lakers as their starting lineup would be extremely talented to say the least. With Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Carmelo Anthony, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol this team would be close to unstoppable. They would definitely have to strike some team chemistry like the Miami Heat had to with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, but if they can do just that, a three-peat might be around the corner.

Whether or not this blockbuster trade goes down remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see what happens if Melo and Kobe end up teaming up in Los Angeles.

Are You Feeling the Summertime Blues?

I don't know about anyone else but the NBA off season is usually about the time that I experience the case of the summertime blues.

It typically lasts from mid June around to the start of pre-season.

Which is why I'm always disappointed when an NBA Finals doesn't go 7 games.

The idea of waiting almost 4 months for any kind of quality basketball is painful.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't watch summer league, I do.

Although it gives me a chance to check out the sleeper guys trying to make a roster spot and some of the top rookies in action.

It's still not the same.

The idea of having unlimited fouls doesn't work for me.

That's not real NBA ball!

If unlimited fouls were a part of the game then maybe my new favourite player, Mickael Pietrus, AKA The Kobe Stopper (hehe) would have been able to stay in Game 2 of the Finals and give Orlando a chance to even up the series.



But I digress.

I'm still crossing out dates on my calendar waiting for the season to start but there's a different feeling these days.

It has to do with the bevy of player movement that's re-energized me and I find myself Xing out dates with much more vigor.

As my Twitter compadre, The Human Highlight Blog put it "this is an interesting off season---an appetizer for the flurry next summer"

But let's stay in the present and breakdown (pun intended) SOME of the action we've seen to date:

The Soft Spot Moves

It was nice to see a couple of retired players added to the coaching staff of their former teams.

The Raptors brought back fan favourite, Alvin Williams as an assistant coach to work with players on skill development.

I remember where I was the night he hit a deciding-game jumpshot clinched the only playoff series Toronto has ever won against the New York Knicks in 2000.

Thanks for the memories Alvin.

It was also good to see the Chicago Bulls give their former defensive minded back-up point guard, Randy Brown a job. The guy desperately needed it.

He recently filed for bankruptcy and was forced to auction off his three NBA championship rings. Ouch.



I'm Going To Disney World

Here's a skill testing question for you. What's the one thing Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Tony Battie, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and Alonzo Mourning all have in common?

At some point in their careers, these guys were involved in some kind of package deal for some dude named Vince Carter. For the second time in his career, the guy formerly known as ACC (I ain't madatcha) was the centre piece of trade.

This time we saw the 8 time all star him head off to the Orlando Magic on draft day deal in an attempts to bolster their squad. Everybody knows that back in the Finals, the Magic were offensively challenged in the Lakers close-out game for the title.

We also know that although he ain't jumping over people anymore, VC can still score a ton of buckets in a hurry.



Having said that, I don't believe this move has necessarily made the Magic a better team. They basically lost four rotation guys in the deal if you include Turkoglu who all contributed to the squad in a variety of ways.

So now the Magic are forced to make a more moves to fill in a bunch of holes. Their starting squad is definitely talented and if they all play up to their potential, they'll give Mickey Mouse a reason to smile. (like he needs one)

However, if they have to go their bench because of injury or foul trouble, I'm not sure who SVG can turn to.

Stay tuned - More moves to be made.

A Shot In The Arm

RJ got his prayers answered and now has a serious shot at a title.



I'm a big fan of the Richard Jefferson trade for the Spurs. He immediately injects energy into an aging offense that sorely needed it. I kept seeing images of Sean Elliot hitting a corner 3 throughout the presser.

He'll make a big difference and immediately take the scoring load off of Parker and Timmy D. This move puts them back into the title conversation where they belong.

Sure, they lost some role players in the rebounding and defence department but Coach Popp has some good young talent that can contribute and I'm pretty certain he'll find a way to make-up.

Ron-Ron is on the Move

I'm sure most people chuckled when they heard Ron Artest was heading to the Lakers. We know that Artest and KB24 have had some pretty physical on court battles and now people are wondering if they can co-exist.



Don't waste valuable mental energy on this one folks. It can and will work.

These guys will do just fine together.

Ron will fall in line and play for whatever team he's on and Kobe will focus in solidifying his legacy as the best ever. Despite Barack Obama saying that he's still nowhere near a guy named MJ.

By the way, with that comment. Obama becomes the most quoted US president on NBA related matters, ever.

Congrats!

Artest essentially takes Ariza's spot and can admiraly do most of the things that Trevor did, minus the athletcism. Ron will also throw in a bit more offence despite the fact that his low post game is reminiscent of a bull in a china shop on roller blades.

I like the move.

So-So

I'm lukewarm on the moves Detroit made by picking up Ben Gordon and Charlie V. I'm not convinced that these pick ups improved the team dramatically. Both these guys remind me of younger versions of Iverson and Rasheed. These are good moves for the Pistons who quite frankly had to do something but again, I don't think they have catapulted themselves to the top of the Eastern conference standings.

We'll have to wait and see.

The Turkish Raptor
The acquisition of Vince Carter pretty much spelled the end of Hedo's career in Orlando. This was a strange one because initial reports suggested that the Trailblazers had the versatile power forward all but locked up. But then something amazing happened and the Hedo had a change of heart and verbally committed to the Raptors.



I've been tweeting how much I'm on the fence on this once ever since I heard the reports. It's supposed to be making somewhere in the vicinity of $60 million according to TNT Analyst David Aldridge but that's not where my real struggle lies.

In the process of making room for Hedo, the Raptors had to renounce the rights of Shawn Marion and guards Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino.

It's not so much Marion because I never believed he'd be a long term Raptor. In fact there were rumours that when he arrived to TO in a mid season trade, the only thing he brought with him was his tooth brush.

I'm in the opinion that the Raps paid a heavy price to get Hedo by saying good-bye to Delfino and Parker.

But the deal breaker for me all depends who they get to fill one or both of those positions. So, it's a wait and see for now.

The Big Witness

So now that we've run through this once, let's try another skill testing question. What do Caron Butler,Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks, Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic (whew) all have in common?

You got it.

They were all part of deals that saw the Big Diesel, the Big Aristotle and now the Big Witness change zip codes. He's already intimately familiar with Cavs GM Danny Ferry so he shouldn't have a problem fitting in.



Shaq joins his fourth team of his illustrious career and can also boast that he's played alongside some of the best players.

First there was Penny Hardaway (say what you want but this guy was good before injury), Kobe Bryant (nuff said), D-Wade (Shaq nicknamed him The Flash), Steve Nash (nothing wrong with a little Canadian content) and finally, the most intriguing match-up, LeBron James.

He of course in typical Shaq-like fashion is talking about winning a title and why not, that's why this move was made. Despite Shaq claiming that he'll play until he's 40, the Cavs want to win now and not the future. I thought this was a great move for the Cavs particularly since they didn't have to give up as much as the Magic did. Wallace was contemplating retirement and Pavs days as a Cav were numbered anyways.

The Big Z (pronounced ZED in Canada) will be moved to the bench or it could be vice versa. Whichever one it is, you've got a pretty expensive back-up centre.

I think it could work because Shaq understands the stage of his career he's in.

For years, he referred to himself as the MDE (Most Dominant Ever) and now he's not. But he's OK with that. We saw him concede to Wade in Miami and that translated into a championship.

So I fully expect him to allow James to continue to run the show and he'll play second or even third fiddle depending if the Cavs can pick another perimeter player.

His new motto year is "Win a Ring For The King"

That's it for now...

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm pretty excited about all the new scenarios created because of player movement. If you want proof of it, check my Twitter account. I've had more updates in the last few weeks then I've had in the prior 6 months.

There's no question that next summer should be even more delectable with all the big names but I've always been the kind of guy that likes to enjoy the moment and this one is pretty good so far.