2005-2006 NBA thread

[Whack Arnolds]

no prob, but making fun of u adds to my post count, nothing personal

No doubt. Go ahead with the shots, lol.

 

[Assassin]

who won today, i was at work, pistons or new orleans?

 

[NOFX]

Detroit of course But on a side note the Clips won today against the magic without Brand and Maggette.

 

[Assassin]

27 and 5?

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Yup, 27 and 5 same amount of wins as Spurs and oh no look out the MAVS!

 

[NOFX]

Hmmm recent rumors now have Artest for Maggette I dont want that!!! Keep Maggette in L.A.!!! I dont care if the Clippers are struggling right now.

Quaint idea my pal Professor Hollinger tossed out in a chat the other day, informing his audience that he would happily answer their questions so long as no one asked about Ron Artest.


Maybe it's different in the numbers game, but there's really no such thing as an Artest-free zone on the NBA map.

These days? Every conversation with every executive or coach or scout or agent starts the same. The only uncertainty lies with who asks the question first.

When's this Artest thing going to happen?

Exactly a month has elapsed since Artest decided to tell the local newspaper instead of his Pacer bosses that he wanted to be traded and still we don't know for sure. All I can share, as the calendar flips to Day 32 of the Artest Watch, is the latest info as of Tuesday evening.

In three parts:

A) How can the Pacers be so patient? You are hardly alone in your wonderment, but it really isn't a mystery.

Quite simply, there is no move Indy can make this season that will restore its contender status. This season is already ruined, folks, as far as the Pacers' aspirations to win an Eastern Conference that also houses Detroit, Miami and New Jersey. They're not the same team without Artest and can't acquire anyone who replicates what he did in his lucid moments.

The prudent course, then, is patience. Right up to the Feb. 23 trading deadline if necessary.

The Pacers aren't delusional enough to believe that waiting will eventually bring them equal value for Artest's talents. That's not going to happen under any circumstances, because of his wild side. The goal, though, should be (and is) to make a deal that works best for the reshaping of Indy's future.

That translates to an avoidance of long-term contracts, like Wally Szczerbiak's in Minnesota, and free agents who would be costly to re-sign, such as Denver's Nene and Atlanta's Al Harrington.

B) The frontrunners for actually landing Artest, according to NBA front-office sources, continue to be Golden State and the back-in-it L.A. Clippers.

Indy's Larry Bird has made it clear he prefers a one-to-one trade and the Warriors and Clips are the teams best stocked to complete such a deal . . . unless Memphis, as mentioned many times before, unexpectedly consents to part with Shane Battier.

However . . .

As stated in this cyberspace back in 2005 -- and as the Warriors have re-iterated to the Pacers more than once -- rookie power forward Ike Diogu is an untouchable. Troy Murphy remains a possibility, but both Golden State and Indy would have some reluctance to build a deal around the power forward because the Warriors still like him and because Murphy's five remaining years at $51 million is worrisome for the tax-fearing Pacers.

Which brings us to a package headlined by Mike Dunleavy and Mickael Pietrus.

Enough for the Pacers? You wouldn't think so, especially since Dunleavy has a new long-term deal of his own and doesn't fill the Pacers' on-court needs nearly as well as Murphy. Sources close to the situation, furthermore, suggest that Mullin -- a proven gambler (see Baron Davis) and known Artest fan (who shares St. John's as an alma mater) -- is equally intrigued by the idea of keeping his young core together now that Pietrus is finally healthy enough to rejoin this teetering club.

That must be why multiple suitors who've chased Artest from the start are suddenly calling L.A. "the team." Yet that would almost certainly require the inclusion of Corey Maggette, which the Clippers have steadfastly resisted.

Have they reconsidered?

There is a growing belief around the league that they have, with the Clips' 14-5 start a memory and Mike Dunleavy Sr. perfectly willing to coach the game's foremost problem child. Remember what Dunleavy said in our recent package on the Clippers, before Artest's trade demand was issued: "Give me talent, I'll figure out how to make 'em happy."

Of course, if Maggette were on the table, you'd think we'd be busy breaking down a trade instead of waiting breathlessly for something to dissect. Maggette's left foot, instead, is in a cast with a ligament problem that could keep him sidelined another month. An uncertain recovery timetable, with an injury originally believed to be minor, would figure to give the Pacers some pause even if Donald Sterling is ready to part with one of the only three Clippers he has ever guaranteed long-term millions.

C) Minnesota, Denver and the L.A. Lakers haven't lost interest in Artest but still share the same shortcoming. None of those clubs appears to have the pieces to tempt the Pacers without pulling in a third or fourth team, which Bird, as stated, hopes to avoid.

None of those teams have pulled out of the derby. Yet the Nuggets, for example, have begun to explore their non-Artest trade possibilities, much as they'd love to get a call back from the Pacers and encouragement to refresh their bid.

Not that there is much of an Artest-free world out there, apart from certain chat rooms. The theory that every other trade in this league is being held up by a Ron-Ron deal looks more scientific with each passing day.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060111

 

[Super_Ludacris]

27 and 5?

yeah and San Antonio is coming up on Tommorrow

 

[DarthRekal]

theres not a team i hate more than the san antonio STERNS... whoop that A$$ luda!

 

[NOFX]

theres not a team i hate more than the san antonio STERNS... whoop that A$$ luda!

"San Anotonio Sterns?" I dont get it

 

[DarthRekal]

the spurs...you ever notice the calls...seem to go the SPURS way????

 

[Alpha and Omega]

the spurs...you ever notice the calls...seem to go the SPURS way????

that's been happening for years.

 

[DarthRekal]

that's been happening for years.

exactly ...thats why they are called the STERNS..cause they are sponsored by the commissioner

 

[NOFX]

the spurs...you ever notice the calls...seem to go the SPURS way????

I completly disagree Why would Stern want a small market like San Antonio keep winning championships? No one cares about the Spurs other then us Basketball fanatics. Thats why Lakers, Heat, etc...Always get more attenton than the spurs.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Exactly, Hell Stern is probably behind NYK's 4 game win streak

 

[Alpha and Omega]

I completly disagree Why would Stern want a small market like San Antonio keep winning championships? No one cares about the Spurs other then us Basketball fanatics. Thats why Lakers, Heat, etc...Always get more attenton than the spurs.

Texas isn't a small market. It's not like LA, NY, MIA, or CHI-town, but their are a lot of people who like b-ball in TX.

 

[DarthRekal]

think again the heat and lakers get all the air time.... but they are FAR from model citizens...the dress code ....the appearance...who does he want representing the NBA????

 

[Alpha and Omega]

Stern is oblivious to what is better for the NBA. He supports the league as a business.

 

[NOFX]

Stern is oblivious to what is better for the NBA. He supports the league as a business.

True which is why the Lakers and Heat get the national attention but not only do they sell seats, they get ratings as well!!! You cant say that about the spurs

 

[NOFX]

think again the heat and lakers get all the air time.... but they are FAR from model citizens...the dress code ....the appearance...who does he want representing the NBA????

Stern wants the teams that sells which is Lakers, Heat, Cavs, and even the Rockets. Why do you think Ming gets all this attention??? Its not because he's a great center because there are over a billion potential customers in China

 

[DarthRekal]

you fail to see the point...attention is one thing...shoot why do you think artest was suspended all last season...the pacers are a force with him..and he wanted artest to be forgotten..if artest made it to the finals last year how would that look?????

ask the pistons...i feel they got jobbed in the finals last year...


LUDA!????

 

[Super_Ludacris]

'Sheed will get "Roscoe" back before the end of June 2006!

 

[DarthRekal]

there ya go!....

 

[Alpha and Omega]

True which is why the Lakers and Heat get the national attention but not only do they sell seats, they get ratings as well!!! You cant say that about the spurs

The Lakers and the Heat are shrouded in hype. The Spurs play the best basketball in the Western Conference. I don't care about their ratings. I would rather watch them.

 

[DarthRekal]

let the record show the lakers get more national spots then the heat ......


that is all

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

Top 5 Players in the NBA right NOW according to you!

5) James- Once this kid steps his game up on the defensive end watch out
4) Nash- Yes Nash, people doubting him last year saying amare was the reason, where is Amare and where are the Suns now?
3) Garnett- This may seem odd to most but look at the kids stats hes all alone
2) Duncan- Always in the top 5
1) Kobe- the way he is playing right now how can you argue with that?