By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

After weeks of negotiating, Jackson has agreed to a two-year extension with the Lakers that will keep him under contract through the 2009-2010 season. Reportedly, Jackson will make $24 million over those two seasons.

Jackson, 62-years-old, has nine championship rings as a coach and if he would have left the Lakers, that would have been a devastating blow to the franchise. Kobe Bryant is already not on the greatest of terms with the organization and if Jackson had decided to leave the Lakers, Bryant likely would have followed him out the door.

Can Jackson add to his championship collection over the next two seasons? Probably not. The team is playing well this season but they aren’t considered a true championship contender. Kobe and company are good enough to make the playoffs and maybe make it to the second round, but that’s the ceiling for the Lakers.

The only way that changes in the next couple of seasons is if Andrew Bynum can continue improving to the point to where he’s a legitimate star. Right now, Bynum is a very promising 20-year-old center. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for the Lakers in 25.6 minutes per game. For the Lakers to truly become contenders again, Bynum is going to have to take the next step and be co-star on the Lakers next to Bryant.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

While it’s a bit early to be talking MVP, here’s an early look at the current leaders in the race for the 2007-08 NBA MVP award:

1) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
James built on a very good playoff run last year and this year he’s been fantastic. In fact, he’s on pace to have one of the best seasons in NBA history. He’s averaging 31.7 points, 8.5 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.6 blocks. Those numbers make him the clear cut MVP favorite.

2) Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Coming into this season, the MVP award was basically Garnett’s to lose. He’s held up his part of the bargain but so far LeBron has just been too good. If LeBron cools off, Garnett is the next in line to take home the MVP award.

3) Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Howard is simply a beast. He’s so big and strong that he’s no almost impossible to keep off the boards. His scoring touch has improved to the point that he’s now a capable go-to scorer. 22.5 points and 14.4 rebounds per game isn’t bad for a 21-year-old.

4) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
When it comes to MVP talk, Nash has to be in the conversation. The Suns are yet again off to a good start and Nash is playing as well as ever. He’s shooting the ball great and his passing is fantastic, as expected.

5) Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are playing really well to start off the season and surprisingly enough, arguably the best player on the team has been Ginobili to date. His per minute stats are off the charts and he deserves to be listed as a candidate at this early point of the season.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

As most of you probably know, Anderson Varejao is an unsigned restricted free agent of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played a vital role last year in the Cavaliers reaching the NBA Finals as the team’s rebounding, defending and flopping master.

Varejao went into the summer wanting to get paid big bucks (reports indicate he wanted between $8-10M per year) but the Cavs wanted to retain him for a more reasonable amount. Since he was a restricted free agent, no other team was able to outright sign him without the Cavs potentially matching the deal.

A month into the season and there has been limited progress. However, in a recent report, Varejao has now stated that he doesn’t want to return to the Cavaliers. Instead, he says, he wants to be traded to another team.

Since there is virtually no money out there for Varejao to make, he’d have to accept a small deal if he were to be traded. Don’t count on that happening unless he goes to a team with the unwritten agreement of a new deal at the end of the season.

What do I think will happen? I think that eventually Varejao will come off of his demands and will settle with Cleveland for a shorter contract than he originally wanted. The Cavaliers are doing decently without him so Varejao’s leverage is slim. And even if he were to holdout all season, he’d still be property of the Cavs. Basically, Varejao is between and rock and a hard place and his only real out is to re-sign in Cleveland.

Anderson Varejao Mix …

Post from: NBA Obsessed

By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

If you hadn’t watched an NBA game since June of 2006 and you watched the Heat game on Friday night, you would’ve thought nothing had changed. The Heat, who won the 2005-06 NBA championship, had Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal dominating like they did on their championship run.

Wade had 31 points, five assists, three rebounds and two blocks in 41 minutes of action. Shaquille O’Neal had a season-high 26 points to go along with a season-high 14 rebounds. O’Neal also had three blocks, two steals and two assists as Miami rolled to a 98-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Last season, the Heat battled injuries and had chemistry issues. Ultimately, Miami got swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. The Heat lost all of their preseason game this year and then their first five regular season games. However, Wade returned from injury and O’Neal began to start playing better, which has produced a Heat squad that has won two out of their last three games.

Do the Heat, who stand at 3-9 on the season, have a chance to regain their championship glory this season? It’s a long shot but it’s not impossible. The most important thing that must happen is that Wade and O’Neal must remain healthy. Without those two players healthy and playing well, the Heat aren’t a very good team.

Another thing the Heat need to do is figure out a rotation that best maximizes the talent of the team’s role players. Miami has talented players such as the newly-acquired Ricky Davis, Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams, Alonzo Mourning and the rejuvenated Penny Hardaway. A couple of those players need to step up for the Heat and produce on a nightly basis.

It’s a difficult task for the Heat but with two of the best players in the league and a coach in Pat Riley who knows what it takes to win championships, don’t count Miami out just yet.

Post from: NBA Obsessed