NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

It was discussed so what happened? Phoenix thought Amare Stoudemire would be sent packing to Golden State with other players and considerations and in return Golden State would ship back Stephen Curry with other players and considerations. You know how that stuff works.

The secret part of the deal that may not have been discussed from Golden State’s point of view was that Golden State was sure Curry would be off the board by pick number 7. When he was there, they did not want to part with him.

Amare Stoudemire will be a reach for the Warriors without Curry in the deal

So is the Stoudemire trade off the board?

The teams will continue talking about how a trade involving Stoudemire could be worked out but it is now just among several conversations the Suns are having. Such a deal is far less likely without Curry and Golden State’s unwillingness to part with forward Anthony Randolph.
source

Image: Zuma Press

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Brad Miller to New York?

Mike D’Antoni has got it going on. The Knicks have been cleaning house and adding new players to fit the D’Antoni system.

The latest trade rumor, as reported by Eric Pincus of the most excellent hoop site Hoopsworld, has Sacramento trading Brad Miller for Stephon Marbury.

While this has yet to be confirmed, the Kings might be an ideal suitor for exiled point guard Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks.

In addition to bolstering one of the Kings’ weaker positions, a Marbury trade could provide Sacramento with enormous salary cap flexibility this summer.

The Knicks would prefer to trade Stephon and are looking for players with two-year deals to field a somewhat competitive roster for the 2009/10 season - but more importantly have as much cap space as possible to go shopping for a banner crop of free agents.

Miller’s passing ability and face up game would be a nice fit in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system. The Knicks would be able to cash out a disgruntled player for a very workable center.

Based on simple economics - can the Kings even refuse an offer of Marbury for Kenny Thomas and Miller?

Thomas has been languishing on the Kings bench for years. His contract finally runs out conveniently before the summer of 2010.

source

Last week against the Pistons, with Rasheed Wallace on the bench, Brad Miller manhandled the Pistons. He is for real and still has a lot of hoops left in him.

Photo source Newscom

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Man, today there was this crazy thought rolling through my head. What if the Pistons had kept Chauncey Billups and Iverson had stayed on the Nuggets?

Nowhere to go with that thought, so how about taking a look at how some of this player movement and coaching movement is working out?

Chauncey Billups from Detroit to Denver
Denver is 7 - 3 in their last 10 games and in 1st place

Allen Iverson from Denver to Detroit
Detroit is 4 - 6 and in second place.

Ron Artest from everywhere to Houston
Houston is 7 - 3 and in 1st place

Jermaine O’Neal from Indiana to Toronto
Toronto is 3 - 7 and dead last in the Atlantic Division

Rick Carlisle to coach Dallas
Dallas is 8 - 2 but only in 4th place in the Southwest

Terry Porter to coach Phoenix
Phoenix is 5 -5 and in second place behind the Lakers

Mike D’Antoni to coach the Knicks
3 - 7 and 4th place in the same division as the Celtics

Mo Williams to Cleveland
9 - 1 in the last 10 and first place over the Pistons

This is a fun one
Elton Brand from L.A. Clippers to Philadelphia
Baron Davis from Golden State to L.A. Clippers
Corey Maggette from L.A. Clippers to Golden State

76er’s 4 -6 3rd place
Clip’s 2 - 8 5th place
Warriors 1 - 9 but still in 3rd place

Which just begs the question, what if Chauncey Billups had never left the Pistons?
Photo source Newscom

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Andris Biedrins, far right, won’t have Baron Davis, front, passing him the ball anymore

Biedrins has game.

Who?

Andris Biedrins. He just signed a huge contract with the Golden State Warriors for 62 million bucks.

62 million bucks for Bee runs?

No, Biedrins. Andris Biedrins. They also signed Monta Ellis for 66 million bucks.

Monta Ellis?

Golden State wanted to lock up some young talent and they did.

“We’re extremely happy to have Andris under contract for many years to come,” said Chris Mullin, the Warriors’ top basketball executive. “He is clearly one of the top young centers in the NBA, and much like (Ellis), he has continued to improve every season. It’s not easy to find quality young big men in this league, but we certainly think we have one of them, and he’s only 22 years old.”

Biedrins has improved his scoring average in each of his seasons with Golden State, developing from a skinny rebounding specialist into an all-around player and a low-post scorer for the uptempo Warriors.

source

Did you know Andris led the league in field goal percentage at 62.6 %? He is a 6′ 11″ center and brings what you would call a 10 10 game to the NBA, 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. Andre is young and getting better.

As for Monta Ellis, he averaged over 20 points per game last year and will take over for Baron Davis. Baron left for the Clippers.

Should be fun to watch Golden State in their high speed offense with Monta Ellis bringing up the ball and Biedrins as a reliable scorer and rebounder.

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Ronny Turiaf says “Oh yeah, no more purple outfits”

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The Lakers reluctantly did not match the offer of the Golden State Warriors for Ronny Turiaf. He was a restricted free agent and the Lakers had the rights to match any offer.

The Warriors signed Turiaf, a restricted free agent, to a four-year, $17 million offer sheet last week. By rule, the Lakers had seven days to decide whether to match it. The three-year veteran from Gonzaga averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 78 games with the Western Conference champions last season, making 21 starts.

The Lakers played much of last season without starting center Andrew Bynum, giving Turiaf the opportunity for more playing time than he would have had otherwise. But, Kupchak said, Bynum is expected to be healthy when training camp begins in early October, and Turiaf’s opportunities figured to be diminished significantly.

source

Even without Ronny Turiaf, with Andrew Bynum coming back the Lakers are loaded, including Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.

The Golden State Warriors lost Baron Davis to the San Diego Clippers, but signed Corey Maggette from the Clippers for what many are calling a draw.

Turiaf should see a lot of playing time with the Warriors.

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Joe Dumars opened the doors to all trade offers. The Pistons are slightly over the salary cap, so a trade of one of their veteran starters appears to be very doable.

So what are the rumors?

The two strongest deal with the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.

Tracy McGrady can’t believe he could go to a winning team like the Pistons!

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Houston Rockets

Let’s start with the Rockets. Tracy McGrady said he wanted to win, so going to the Pistons would be fine with him. Let’s be clear though, Tracy was just speaking off handedly, he has no problem returning to the Rockets to play with Yao Ming.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported on ESPN late Tuesday night that he spoke with McGrady and that McGrady wouldn’t mind a trade to Detroit.

Said Smith: “It’s certainly not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not as if Houston and Detroit has even talked yet. But is Detroit interested? Definitely.

“Is Tracy McGrady interested? Yes he is. I spoke to Tracy McGrady earlier. His basic thing is he’s very happy in Houston but he wants to win. So whatever is a winning situation for him is something he is more than willing to entertain.”

source

Golden State Warriors

The other deal being talked about is picking up the Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins. This could happen if Ronny Turief does end up with Golden State. The deal would involve Chauncey Billups.

The 6-11 Biedrins was the No. 11 overall pick in 2004. The 22-year-old started 59 of 76 games last season, averaging 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.24 blocks, shooting 62.6 percent from the floor.

The Warriors might be willing to make a trade once their deal for Ronny Turiaf has been completed. Golden State made a four-year, $17 million offer to the restricted free agent Turiaf of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have until Thursday to match the offer or they will lose Turiaf, a 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.
source

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It is the Clippers.

It is the Clippers, still.

Yes, Baron Davis, one of my favorite players to watch has come to town, but it is still the Clippers.

Baron Davis shooting over Andrew Bynum of the Lakers

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Clippers fans have to be bumming. They lost Elton Brand to the 76ers, because the Clippers upset his manager, David Falk. They lost Corey Maggette to the Golden State Warriors, can’t remember why. Maybe money.

Anyway, even with the signing of Baron Davis the Clippers will suck. Baron cannot carry them on his back all by himself.

It sucks to be a Clippers fan when the Lakers are just across town. Just off the top of my head the Lakers in my lifetime have had Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

The Clippers in my lifetime have had…the Clippers have had…well, uhh..oh..Elgin Baylor! Not as a player, though, but it still counts doesn’t it? Elgin is vice-president of basketball operations and very good at his job.

NBA Elgin Baylor factoid - From the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. His 38.3 point per game season average is the highest for any player other than Wilt Chamberlain. Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during that season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. However, despite playing only 48 games on the season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points.

The 71 points Baylor scored on November 15, 1960 was a record at the time. The 61 points he scored in game 5 of the NBA Finals in 1962 is still an NBA Finals record. An underrated rebounder, Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game during his career, including a remarkable 19.8 rebounds per game during the 1960-61 season — a season average exceeded by only five other players in NBA history. Baylor was a 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and went to the NBA All-Star Game 11 times.source

Baron Davis

Baron is one of the great penetrating guards of today. Somehow he can muscle inside or move fluidly inside for easy baskets, but he will miss big Elton Brand.

“Before you ask, there was never an underground handshake with Baron Davis,” Brand said Wednesday, addressing speculation that he’d given Davis some kind of commitment to return to the Clippers.

Today, we’ll find out if Davis feels the same way.

Davis is a two-time NBA All-Star (2002 and 2004). He averaged 21.8 points (12th in the NBA), 7.6 assists (6th in the NBA), 4.7 rebounds and 2.33 steals (3rd in the NBA) while playing in all 82 games for the Golden State Warriors during the 2007-08 season. Davis was just one of four players in the league last season to average 20+ points and seven+ assists (Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Chris Paul) per game.

Entering his tenth NBA season, Davis brings career averages of 17.1 points, 7.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.95 steals and 35.5 minutes per game.

source

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While perusing the USA Today over my mid afternoon, really my morning, but your mid afternoon coffee, some surprising stats popped up.

Scoring Average: While no surprise that LeBron James leads with 30 and Kobe Bryant is second with 28.4, there are some surprises. Did you know that Denver has the next two with Iverson and Carmelo don’t smell my breath Anthony? Did you know Al Jefferson is averaging a pretty heady 23 points a game for Minnesota? He is the forgotten man in the Kevin Garnett trade. Kevin Garnett is not on the list.

Kevin Garnett not in the NBA stats for scoring average and Al Jefferson is

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Field Goal Percentage: Beidrins of Golden State is the leader at .623. Who? That is what came out of my mouth too. He is the Center for the Golden State Warriors and averages 10 points and almost 10 rebounds per game. This is Andris Beidrins 4th year and he really upped his stats.

Three Point field goal percentage: This one took me really by surprise. Toronto has the leader and two others on a list of the top ten. The leader is Kapono. Oh, not that deadly “Who?” again? It is Jason Kopono from UCLA. Oh, that Kapono. Like we know a whole bunch of Kapono’s.

Toronto also checks in with Jose Calderon and Parker. Not Tony Parker, but Anthony Parker. Which is kind of like Tony Parker, isn’t it? But not the one from the San Antonio Spurs with the cute girlfriend. Not that Anthony Parker may not have a cute girlfriend, but…arrrgghh. The Toronto Parker, leave it at that.

Better end this now, it is getting too confusing.

NBA Basketball special comment Don’t you love the NBA stats?

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The Nuggets are upset, because they just lost to the Utah Jazz in Utah.

They shouldn’t be.

As your intrepid author predicted two days ago, Denver would lose to Utah, while Golden State would probably beat the Clippers at home. Denver is still safe. Denver has the tie breaker.

Golden State is on the road with the Suns and home with the Supersonics. Call that one loss and one victory.

Denver has two home games remaining. One with the Rockets and one with the Grizzlies. Most likely they only need to beat the Grizzlies to limp into the playoffs.

Over in the East

Meanwhile, Atlanta failed to beat Boston due to a hot Sam Cassell and thus failed to clinch a playoff spot.

Atlanta would have ended the NBA’s longest playoff drought with a victory, because Indiana lost to Charlotte earlier Saturday. The Hawks remained two games ahead of the Pacers with two to play, lowering their magic number to one for the right to face the Celtics in a first-round series.

source

Even is Atlanta clinches, they are nothing more than mince meat to the Celtics.

Here are the Eastern Standings.

Eastern Conference
Team GB
1. z-Boston —
2. y-Detroit 7.5
3. y-Orlando 14.5
4. x-Cleveland 20.5
5. x-Washington 22.0
6. x-Toronto 23.5
7. x-Philadelphia 24.0
8. Atlanta 27.0
9. Indiana 29.0

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Good Luck, Atlanta. At least you will be in the playoffs, which is a big step.

NBA Basketball special comment Don’t these last few games just seem to drag on?

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The Warriors suffer the consequences of Dirk Nowitzki’s early return.

After being declared unfit to face the Golden State Warriors, Dirk played anyway.

Johnson used another “s” word—steel—to describe Nowitzki. The big German had 18 points and five rebounds in nearly 27 minutes, but there’s not a stat sheet anywhere that describes how the reigning MVP was most valuable against the Warriors.

A dejected-looking Nowitzki told reporters hours before the Golden State game that he didn’t think he’d be ready to go. Maybe he was sandbagging. Or maybe he had time to realize that a loss to the Warriors would have been the sixth loss in eight games with visits to the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix up next.

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From street clothes to uniform, Dirk Nowitzki gets it done

With this victory by the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors dropped to the 9th spot in the Western Conference behind Denver.

This was a huge game for both clubs. Dirk Nowitzki came back to life, just in time.

NBA Basketball special comment Why is it some players like Dirk Nowitzki have a way of being larger than life?

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