
@ those NOH guys!
Man, it feels great to talk about basketball again after that bloody f'n lockout!
Haven't been here for a while so I'll post a few notes on some hot topics:
The "Pauldrama": David Stern shocked the World when he decided to nix Paul's trade to LA last week. For the very first time in the NBA a commissioner called off a trade. I'm used to watch American sports so I wasn't surprised at all, I remember a few other deals called off in the NFL and in the NHL. IMO, Stern did the right thing. Let me explain: the New Orleans Hornets are owned by the league which means the commissioner is responsible for the franchise. Basically, Stern runs the show. Consequently, he represents NOH interests. So, if he thinks a trade isn’t good for the franchise he simply vetoes it. That’s what he did. In the end of the day, Stern found a better deal to NOH. Aminu, Kaman, Gordon and a pick from Minnesota are far better than Odom, Scola and Dragic, decent players albeit old and overpaid. Had this deal went thorugh and the Hornets would have stuck into mediocrity like forever (

I’m exaggerating of course but I think you got my point). Now they have good young and cheap players like Aminu and Gordon, potential high picks and cap relief (Kaman’s huge expiring contract). Waaaay better imo. That’s “basketball reasons” I suppose.
Besides, it was also been said that Stern vetoed the trade because of some kind of a “master plan” by the Lakers. The whole league feared another superteam in the making. C’mon, you can’t deny the obvious – the Los Angels Lakers were on the verge of acquiring both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard - Mitch" Kupchak is arguably the cleverest GM in the NBA. I won’t moan about this, as I said before in this thread, small market teams cannot blame when a superstar left town through a big city. Management is the key word (look at the Thunder). Did the owners block the trade because of it? Knowing Dan Gilbert...
That said, I prefer to believe in the first reason I’ve pointed out.
The New York Knickerbockers: I'm very happy with the signing of Tyson Chandler. I guess I all remember me having his avatar during the finals last season. From my point of view, Chandler was the piece that turned the Mavs into legit contenders. He is a top five C in this league, full of the defensive resources which makes him in one of the most valuable players in the game. Yes, it's important to have a LeBron or a Kobe in your team but is also crucial to have such a defensive anchor down low. Once again, I'm very very happy with him. My only concern is Mike D'Antoni and the way he's expectable to use Tyson. Thanks God we signed Mike Woodson, hopefully he will instill some D-E-F-E-N-C-E in our game!
I'm also amazed by the way we signed some good players like Baron Davis and Shumpert. Shump looks like the steal of the draft. Yeah, I know it's a bit early to say this but his first signs are amazing. I've been watching him since the workouts before the draft and now at the training camp, man, this kid looks the real deal! Very athletic, good defender, great positing, just needs to improve his shoot to be top guard in the game. About Davis, he could be a great add if (big IF, btw) he's motivated and healthy. Those Knicks are arguably the best team Davis ever played so I'm expecting Davis to bring all of his effort and commitment to NYC. I love those type of signings: low risk, high reward.
That said, I'll give a straight B grade to Glen Grunwald and the whole Knicks' Front Office. Had they signed Paul and I would have given them an A. You know, CP3 was plan A, although you can't complain when your plan B is Tyson, Davis and Shumpert. Moreover, we have the best court in whole NBA. Sounds good, right? Looking forward to season opener against Boston. I'm confident, I'm very confident. Eastern Conference Finals - is that asking too much?
Brandon Roy: huge loss. We'll miss him. Fantastic player, better person. I wish him all the best to his life. Sad.
Contenders: Miami,
OKC,
Bulls, then Lakers, Knicks, Mavs, Boston, Clips (?)
Hey, you gotta reckon, you missed those long post didn't you?
