Today in a deal with the Denver Nuggets, Joe Dumars sent Aaron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe packing to free up salary cap money in search of signing a big man.

Sharpe had hardly played at all and Aaron Afflalo played a little bit more, but not even enough for us to remember how to spell his name. Afflalo came to the Pistons and surprised everyone with his strong defense, but strong defense does not get you on the court when you have offensive liabilities and Rip Hamilton is ahead of you.

So who is Joe D after?

The team is reportedly interested in Celtics restricted free agent Glen Davis, a second-year power forward who is coming off a breakout postseason run when he replaced an injured Kevin Garnett.

Davis, who is listed at 6-foot-9 and 289 pounds, is considered a little short for the power forward but is able to compensate with his size and bulk. He has a good midrange jumper and is a good rebounder.

If the Pistons make Davis an offer, the Celtics would have seven days to match.

Other free agents that could fit the bill are Knicks center Chris Wilcox, Spurs power forward Drew Gooden and Cavs power forward Joe Smith.

source

This begs the question, will the Pistons try to make a move on Carlos Boozer or is there something wrong with him? It has been rumored that Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince would have to be involved in the deal and the Pistons were not ready to go that route.

Tayshaun Prince for Carlos Boozer?

Hmm, why not? Boozer is a career double double man and by the time the Pistons can go for the NBA title Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince will be all used up.

Hamilton is going into his 11th year and Prince is going into his 8th year, just like Boozer.

Photo source Newscom

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LeBron James is partying at the thought of all the NBA players available in 2009

Even with all the big name free agents in 2010, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the group, the year 2009 could still be the year of the free agent.

Try this out for 2009.

Some of the Restricted Free Agents: Andrew Bynum, Marvin Williams, Jason Maxiell

Some of the players that can opt out of contracts: Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Rip Hamilton, Hedo Turkoglu

True Free Agents: Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Rasheed Wallace

So what about money?
Some teams are loaded depending on what happens.

Thunder 25 – 30 million
Trail Blazers 15 – 32 million
Grizzlies 18 – 24 million
Pacers 11 million
Heat 10 million
Bobcats 10 million

Plain and Simple, there will be lots of player movement in 2009 in the NBA.

story source espn

Photo source newscom

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Check out this list of free agents.

Now you can see why the Pistons, Nets and other teams are clearing off salary cap room for next year:

PLAYER	TM	TYPE
LeBron James	CLE	player option
Dirk Nowitzki	DAL	player option
Josh Howard	DAL	player option
Dwyane Wade	MIA	player option
Michael Redd	MIL	player option
Amare Stoudemire	PHX	player option
Joe Johnson	ATL	unrestricted
Ben Wallace	CLE	unrestricted
Marcus Camby	DEN	unrestricted
Richard Hamilton	DET	unrestricted
Amir Johnson	DET	unrestricted
Antonio McDyess	DET	unrestricted
Tracy McGrady	HOU	unrestricted
Jermaine O’Neal	IND	unrestricted
Darko Milicic	MEM	unrestricted
Steve Nash	PHX	unrestricted
Shaquille O’Neal	PHX	unrestricted
Manu Ginobili	S.A.	unrestricted
Carlos Boozer	UTA	unrestricted
Mehmet Okur	UTA	unrestricted

Player option: Player has right to opt out of contract if he wants.

It is just amazing to even think about it.

It could become the most talented free agency class ever in professional sports in that there will be five players — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson — with already one NBA championship, two NBA Finals, four U.S. Olympic team invitations and 16 All-Star appearances among them and not one of them will be older than 30 in 2010.

If that doesn’t whet the appetite, then there will be an available 32-year-old former league MVP (Dirk Nowitzki) and a just-turned-31 Michael Redd, one of the game’s deadliest perimeter sharp shooters.

source

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Superbad Superman has a stress fracture, but not to worry. It will heal in time for the next set of practices on July 21. That is when training camp resumes.

“It’s a six to eight week recovery time, and this is the sixth week,” said Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, who expects Howard to be fully healed by the time the team reconvenes for training camp July 21.

Still, the injury is worrisome for the Americans, who are planning to go to Beijing with just three big men — Howard, Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer. If Howard were to aggravate the injury, that lack of front-line depth could become a major issue.
source

Dwight Howard has some serious guns for a hoop player

Image details: Philadelphia 76ers v Orlando Magic served by picapp.com

Something just does not seem right here. The USA has come right out and said that they planned this to win the Olympics. Then went out and put Tayshaun Prince on the team as proof that a non-superstar great defender clutch player could make the team.

But…They still did not stock the team with big guys and took too many guys that just like to score. Do you really need Carmelo Anthony and Michael Redd, when you have Kobe Bryant and LeBron James? And why are there no Celtics on this team?

My good friend RonB wonders why we don’t just take the NBA Champion team and send them to the Olympics. My addition would be to add a few players to their bench like Kobe and LeBron. Can you imagine the announcers getting all over Rondo in the Olympics? Ok, add Chris Paul as well.

Let’s say Howard reinjures his sternum. Just a hypothetical.

That leaves Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer as your big guys.

Chris is 6′ 10″ tall and weighs 230.

Carlos Boozer is 6′ 9″ and weighs 266.

Now Dwight Howard is a little taller at 6′ 11″ and weighs 265.

Wait a minute, no 7 footers at all? Howard sits and we go to a thin 6′ 10″ or a heavier 6′ 9″?

Check out the rest of the roster, no big guys there.

Joining Williams and Boozer on the ‘08 Olympic team are fellow NBA stars Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Tayshaun Prince.
source

Yes, yes, the trend lately in college and NBA is to be more mobile, less defense and more offense. Boston’s center was only 6′ 10″ Kendrick Perkins, but he weighed 280 and had 6′ 11″ Kevin Garnett right beside him.

The Pistons had 6′ 11″ Rasheed Wallace. The Lakers had 7′ Pau Gasol. The Spurs had 6′ 11″ Tim Duncan. Maybe all that small ball is not working.

On the bright side, when Dwight Howard is healthy, he is a beast of a player and even without polished moves down on the blocks, he often commands a double team.

Go USA! Take the Gold in the Olympics.

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Paul Pierce is out and Tayshaun Prince is in. Who would have thought?

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics – Game Five served by picapp.com

No official announcement of all the positions on the team has been announced, but we do know some things.

Take my Pistons. Tayshaun Prince is in. Tayshaun has a balanced game and has never made the All Star team. This pick is a departure from the past and a good one. Chauncey Billups is out. Chauncey opted out due to family reasons. There was talk he would not make the team anyway.

Dwyane Wade is in with Chris Paul and Jason Kidd. Good picks all of them.

Carmelo Anthony is in. Must be looking for scoring punch with no D.

Paul Pierce is out. Don’t get that at all. This guy is at the peak of his game.

Michael Redd is in, again like Carmelo, all O and no D.

Amare Stoudemire is out. After a healthy year following two injury years, Amare did not want to risk damage to the knees.

Beyond that?

it’d be hard to imagine Kobe, Dwight and LeBron not making the roster. In fact, it’d be impossible to imagine. They’re in. So that brings us up to nine guys, with just three spots left.

Of the remaining 18 names, I think Colangelo will pick Bosh and the two Jazzies — Deron and Boozer. Billups withdrawal opens the door up for that third, physical point guard, while Bosh and Boozer help in the size department. Also, their ability to operate in low-post sets when the game slows down could be key.

source

That is a lot of talent, but is it me or are they missing the big man underneath?

And what is with no Celtics? Not even Kevin Garnett?

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Kobe Bryant – from back spasms in game 4 to greatness in game 5

Image details: Los Angeles Lakers v Utah Jazz, Game 4 served by picapp.com

Kobe Bryant could not be stopped.

From passing that is.

Kobe had a sore back and was going to make Utah pay for it.

And they did.

The last 7 or 8 minutes of this game showed why Los Angeles is so dangerous as a team. The ball was moving all over the court, finally settling in Kobe’s hands sucking in the defense. Kobe would then drive to the hole and distribute the ball for a dunk or 3 pointer or easy jump shot.

If Utah tried to stop Kobe they fouled him and sent him to the line, where Kobe lived for his 4th quarter points. Kobe Bryant has beautiful foul shooting form and showed it once again with the game on the line.

The Los Angeles Lakers led the Utah Jazz all the way through the 4th quarter, but the margin was slim and the game was in doubt until the very end. Every time Memo Okur or Deron Williams would make a good play, Kobe had the answer. The answer was the Laker’s team and Kobe was the captain of that ship.

This time it was Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom leading the Lakers down the home stretch.

The two combined for 13 fourth-quarter points and the Lakers never trailed in a 111-104 victory over the Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinal series at the Staples Center on Wednesday.

Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 26 points, but it was Gasol and Odom nailing clutch shots in the final minutes to give the Lakers a 3-2 series lead.
source

Kobe played in this game after suffering severe back spasms in the last game. It was doubtful he would be at full strength. Heck, it was doubtful he would be able to even play. Maybe that is why he took so few shots, but play he did.

They huddled in a tunnel here at the Staples Center early Wednesday evening, waiting to run onto the court, their season having reached a crossroads. Bryant nodded.

“I’m good,” he said.

Did anyone doubt he wouldn’t be? Isn’t this what the great ones, the MVPs, do? Bryant once jetted in from a Colorado courtroom to hang 42 points on the San Antonio Spurs in a playoff game, and back spasms were going to stop him?

Not on Wednesday. Bryant stepped onto the stage and starred yet again, fighting off the Jazz in a tense 111-104 victory that left the Lakers within one win of the Western Conference finals.

Bryant’s teammates saw all they needed to see 18 seconds into the game. With the fans having barely settled into their seats, Bryant raised up and buried a long three-pointer. He followed with a 14-foot jumper. Already, his teammates on the bench began to laugh. Lamar Odom had predicted Bryant’s “gun to be blazing,” and it certainly looked like that’s how the evening was heading.

source

The Lakers needed the game to maintain home court and gain a 3 – 2 series lead.

The next game is in Utah and Kobe will once again be called upon to shake off the effects of coming back from the back spasms. Once again, we will have to wait and see, but one thing is for sure, this time we all expect him back and expect him to be great!

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The Utah Jazz used a 41 point quarter to blow out the Phoenix Suns.

This is the 3rd straight home loss for the Suns, in spite of Amare Stoudemire’s 37 points.

– Carlos Boozer scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, including a tough eight-foot bank shot with 31.1 seconds to play, and the Utah Jazz handed the Phoenix Suns their third consecutive home loss, 126-118 on Friday night.

Deron Williams had 25 points and 15 assists and Mehmet Okur had 25 points, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, and grabbed 14 rebounds to give the Jazz their fourth win in a row and just their 14th in 33 games on the road this season. source

Utah 126 Phoenix 118

The questions on the Miami Heat to Phoenix Suns trade of Shaq for the Matrix are getting louder. Is Shaq relevant? Can he fit into a full court running team?

Mark D’Antoni, the Suns Coach, is excited about changing the team’s face with the addition of Shaq.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” D’Antoni said. “Not play-wise, but on paper and what we see. We can be a better team than we could ever be with the little guys running all over the place. We may not be as pretty, but we’re going to be much more efficient.”

He said defensive improvement will determine whether Phoenix reaches its goal of becoming a championship contender. O’Neal has been what the Suns expected. source

Right now that defense was not apparent in the 4th quarter of the Jazz game.

The Kyle Korver pick up by the Jazz actually looks better on the court right now than the Shaq trade.

Shaq time

But you have to give this time. The Suns are a team trying to trade their stripes in the heat of battle.

“It’s going to take a toughness, and we sometimes don’t have it,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe that’s because the last three years, we haven’t had it because we didn’t need it. Now we need it, so it might take a little bit.” source

The Suns have been plagued with turnovers and poor perimeter defense since the addition of Shaq. The game itself has changed with the big guy in the middle. Shawn Marion was often on the perimeter or slashing through the land. Shaq remains at the post.

“All of that I believe is a byproduct of just guys trying to get accustomed to what we’re doing now, the different personnel and different spacing on the court,” Bell said. “You know Shawn was a guy who was definitely a spacer. That allowed Steve (Nash) and the guys who make a lot of plays to have a lot of room to make those plays. When you add a big body like Shaq, plus his defender, that space that was wide open isn’t there.” source

In the end, the Suns will be there with a better opportunity to play the half court game needed in the playoffs.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Suns turn it around with Shaq and start winning?

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Who are these guys?

Deron Williams? All everyone talks about is Chris Paul of the Hornets, or the arrival of Jason Kidd in Dallas, but Deron Williams is off to a great career with that hidden team, the Utah Jazz. Deron had 14 assists by half time. Half time!

Mehmet Okur? All everyone talks about is Shaq going to the Suns, or Dirk Nowitzki lighting it up for the Mavs, or the return of Andrew Bynum, or Pau Gasol gaining new life with the Lakers, but Mehmet has some of those European style components to his game, learned in Turkey, that make him tough to guard and he rebounds well in a crowd. Just ask Joe Dumars, he wanted to keep him a Piston, but the price was too high.

Carlos Boozer? Hey, what is he doing on the Jazz? Carlos is a 20/10 guy that weighs 266 pounds. 20 points and 10 rebound season average that is and the 266 pounds on his 6′ 9″ frame makes him tough to handle inside.

Andrei Kirilenko? He may not be a 20/10 guy, but he does everything else with steals, blocked shots, rebounds, points, and just plain excellent defense. In 2005-06 he was on the NBA all defensive team. This year he has suffered a lot of injuries and did not play most of this most recent game.

Utah played most of the game without forward Andrei Kirilenko, who was knocked out of the game with 7:04 left in the first quarter after taking a flagrant foul from Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. Kirilenko went crashing to the floor and bruised his right hip bad enough that he was taken to the hospital for X-rays, which showed no break. source

NBA Basketball Andrei Kirilenko factoid – Became just 4th player in NBA history, and first since 1993-94, to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ blocks in single season (Abdul-Jabbar six times, Bob Lanier – 1973-74, David Robinson – 1993-94) source

Kyle Korver? The least heard about trade this side of Golden State picking up old timer Chris Weber. Kyle gives them the big time bench scorer they needed and had 17 points in this game.

Utah won over Dallas 116 – 110.

The Jazz went on a momentum-changing fourth-quarter run in a 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, coming back after blowing a 21-point lead. Utah made all 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and stayed near the top of the congested standings in the Western Conference. source

Dallas

Josh Howard scored 25 points and Nowitzki finished with 23 for Dallas, which fell to 4-4 since acquiring Jason Kidd.

Kidd finished with nine assists and 19 points — 10 of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry scored 21 for the Mavericks.

It appears the Jason Kidd experiment will take a little time to get going.

Anyway, Utah is fighting for their life in the tough Western Conference.

Back to Utah

“It was a playoff atmosphere,” Boozer said. “You had people diving for loose balls, scrapping for rebounds. That’s what the playoffs are about. That’s what the last 20 games are going to be like as we try to position ourselves for the playoffs.”

So who is Utah and why aren’t the New Orleans Hornets called the Jazz? Hmm, that does seem a bit strange.

Utah is the hidden team loaded with talent and a good record. Look out Western Conference!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Were you aware of how good the Jazz are looking?

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Sometimes they do not get into your house.

Who?

The robbers.

What are you talking about?

Sometimes they steal something inside of you.

Like what?

Your pride, confidence, or self worth can be stolen. That leaves you with only two things to do.

What two things? How do you steal someone’s pride, confidence, or self worth?

Deron Williams was left off the All Star team. It hurt. The All Star game will be held in New Orleans and Chris Paul made the team. That hurt even more.

Deron made sure that Utah would beat New Orleans last night.

Utah Jazz 110 New Orleans Hornets 88

Deron was left off, mostly because he plays for Utah.

Most of us in the Midwest or East know about the Suns, Mavericks, Lakers, even the Nuggets, but Utah? Hey, doesn’t that former Piston, Ochre, Ogre, …Okur, that is his name. Doesn’t he play for Utah?

And that one guy named for an alcohol, Boozer. Yeah, he is built like a fullback, only 6 foot nine.

Meanwhile one of the hottest teams in the NBA, New Orleans, has Chris Paul at point guard. That would be Deron’s position.

Utah just happened to be playing New Orleans.

The two things

Basic caveman, limbic system, type things. Fight or Flight.

The game was at home, so Deron did not have to take a flight, so he went with the fight.

Williams, who went with the No. 3 pick to Utah in that draft, scored 29 points and had 11 assists in Utah’s 110-88 victory over New Orleans on Monday night that extended the Jazz’s winning streak to nine games.

“People are going to compare them as long as they’re in the league,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “There’s nothing you can do about that. But we’re looking for him to be Deron Williams.”

Paul went to the Hornets with fourth pick and the two have been compared ever since. source

Revenge

Think there was any revenge going on here?

“He came out tonight to send a message and I think that message got sent across,” said Carlos Boozer, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz and is going to the All-Star game in New Orleans.

Williams had his eighth straight double-double and hit three 3-pointers as the Jazz set a team record by making 14 from beyond the arc. He finished 11-for-13 from the floor, but his defense was just as big as the Jazz turned the meeting of division leaders into a route. source

This was no personal vendetta for Deron Williams. He is not that kind of guy, but some of that sting of that All Star vote had to be let out and Chris just happened to be there.

Williams got Hornets guard Chris Paul — selected for the All-Star game last week while Williams was not — into early foul trouble and held him to just six points and six assists.

Williams said it was nothing personal against Paul.

Your intrepid author has heaped praise on Deron Williams before.

Deron Williams is underdog

Kenny Smith listed Deron above Chris by only one position in rating the point guards. Both of them highly regarded as rookies.

Top 10 NBA point guards

So Deron will be at home for this All Star game, but don’t expect him to miss very many.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did you vote for Chris Paul or Deron Williams?

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And he shall come from the East and lead them…

Denver is all set up to win the Northwest.

Think about this division. Greg Oden is out for the season at Portland and they let their other big man, Zach Randolph, go to the Knicks.

Seattle is playing for the future with young Rookie of the Year front runner Kevin Durant. They are young and inexperienced.

The Timberwolves are starting the Al Jefferson show and have yet to move up town with their supporting cast of castaways.

This leaves only Utah. Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur present a solid core, but an unhappy Kirilenko really hurts them.

Carmelo is set to lead the Nuggets out of the Northwest.

He’s not the all-around threat James is, but he does exude greatness, able to put the ball in the basket as well as anyone in the game. All that has been missing are key ingredients like maturity and help. He feels he has both now. Excuses are out the window.

CBSSports.com believes in Anthony and the Nuggets, predicting they’ll overcome Utah in the Northwest Division. If they fail, it had better be a result of the scenario Karl believes possible, where Utah simply outperforms them and wins more than 60 games. That’s unlikely, but if it happens, Denver has every right to shake off the disappointment and feel good about its season. source

Introducing the Champions of the Northwest to be, the Denver Nuggets with an aging but still hungry Allen Iverson, a shoot happy Carmelo, a block happy Camby, and perhaps the key in Kenyon Martin.

Kenyon is coming off microfracture surgery and a lot depends on his recovery. Without Kenyon Martin they are not a very tough team on the offensive blocks.

Camby is counted on more for defense. Did you know he was the defensive player of the year? Came as a shock to me.

It appears any kind of chemistry on offense between The Truth and Melo should produce close to 50 victories and be good enough to win the division.

Hard to believe they have the horses to march through the playoffs, but we believed that about Cleveland and LeBron last year.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who do you pick in the Northwest Division?

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