Who's winning the NBA's offseason?

What I really like is that nobody is mentioning the Raptors - they are quietly going to surprise a LOT of people this season.

They have added Turkoglu as a bonafide second option which should improve Bosh's productivity as well. The way Colangelo arranged this deal leaves the raps with tons of cap room for 2010 as well.
Calderon might make the all-star team this year, they've just signed Bargnani to 5 more years, and DeRozan will provide the flash that Carter once did. Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu, Calderon, and DeRozan is a SOLID starting 5.

The bench was absolutely afwul about a week ago, but with the Turk 4-way masterpeice and other action, they now have a second unit of Jarrett Jack, (former teammate of Bosh and coming off a career year), Antoine Wright, Reggie Evans, Devean George, and Patrick O'Bryant

Add this to a new coaching staff that cares about Xs and Os, and you've got a top 5 team in the East - potentially even first round home court advantage.

Take this new look team, a winning season, and cap space creation for 2010, and Bosh might actually want to stick around (or at least become good trade bait).

This team has made significant improvements, all while flying under the radar - they will surprise a lot of teams this season, and have a good shot at being 10 games over .500 by season's end.

File this comment under "You heard it here first"...

I wonder how much Shaq impact Cleveland considering he's in his wanning years as a player. How many minutescan he manage to play and still have something in the tank for a play-off run?

Boston aquiring Rasheed is interesting. That probably make the Celtics the oldest team in the league if they weren't already. Does Gatorade make a product that glucousemine in it for all those aging leg joints?

For all the hype Vince Carter has had throughout his career how many rings does he have and how many team mates has he made better? Oh yea that's right NONE! Add Vince, lose Hedo, Alston and Lee, Orlando took a step backwards.

Lakers sign Artest and lose Ariza and possibly Odom. I'd say they're no better than they were but no worse off either.

San Antone adding Jefferson and McDyees I would say is the winner to this point.

The Bulls losing BG is not necessarily a bad thing except that they didn't get anything in return.

Detroit may have picked up a little more scoring with Gordon but lost more on defense with Rasheed gone and the fact Gordon knows how to spell defense but doesn't play any.

So Stu I disagree with you and mainly because I don't see Garnett being the same as he has been in the past making the Spurs the winner of the off-season so far.

If Rasheed behaves himself, Garnett is healthy, and the Celtics point guard play is steady as usual, it will be hard to beat them for the the title.

For a basketball player Rasheed acts more like a football player, this is what I don't understand about him. Seventy percent of the time I don't even know what the guy is upset about.

Miami would have also been a top choice of mine going into the 2010 season but they lost Turkoglu and Alston. Superman can't fly alone unless Carter is flying too. Do Carter still have the legs?

I am surprised the Lakers let Trevor Ariza go. Ron Artest & Kobe Bryant playing together...hhhmmm...Doe everyone think Kobe has matured to the point of giving up the ball when both of these guys are on the court at the same time? If times become tense, can Kobe walk away while still knowing the Lakers are his team when Artest explodes? And come back and be on the same page?

If Shaquille can hold up during the playoffs, King James will have his first ring. I am not taking anything away from Shaq's playoff experience and the fact he and Kobe are now tied at four championships apiece, I believe that is enough for Shaq to bring it this season.

Friendly rivaly can bring out the best in a person.

The Bulls are the Bulls. I will root for the hometown team, but I know they are not going that far into the playoffs. In the previous blog entry people were talking about getting rid of Kirk and Tyrus for a injury prone Boozer. Keep Gordon and pay a luxury tax. All of it is non-sense.

What we have presently is a few players who need to play up to their potential and seek getting out of the first round of the playoffs. Progress a couple of steps every year, make the games exciting and I am okay with that.

Chicago, we had our Michael Jordan!

D.Rose need his Scottie Pippen and one of these players must step it up.

Until we find that golden nugget again, we are going to be striving to simply make the playoffs every year. I am going to critique be it both pro and con, but I am not thinking any Bulls' team we have now is going to the NBA Finals soon.

I think the Raptors could be the sleeper team of the East. With a decent frontcourt that can shoot, one of the better PGs in the league when healthy and an ability to shoot the three, they will be able to stretch defenders like nobody else in the east.

The big question for them is whether Bargniani will start to drive the hoop. That is their missing piece. Everyone else can play their role, but if Bargniani can establish a bona-fide inside game, opponents are going to be smoked. If they play him off the dribble he will burn them with perimeter shooting, and if they play him to launch the ball he will drive the lane.

The big bonus the Raptors have is Brian Colangelo, who made some pretty amazing moves this off season....and he still has $12 million to spend!

The Carter to Orlando move is overrated. He isn't nearly the playmaker Hedo is, and the Magic will miss that severely.

That Chad Ford article was written before the 4-team trade of Shawn Marion to the Mavs, so likely the Raptors finish near the top of the list. Bad news for teams that have a Chris Bosh crush.

First of all, let me just say first that I’ll be SHOCKED if none of the 5 teams Stu mentioned will be the NBA champ next season. My favorite acquisition for the contending teams on that list is also Rasheed Wallace to the Celtics, especially if Garnett is healthy. We all know Sheed’s uncontrollable temper tantrums at times, but he’s actually been decent in that area for the last couple of years now and going on a physical & tough-minded but star-studded team like the Celts just seems to be a good fit for another year or two run for them until their old legs finally catch up for good. Adding Sheed just gave the Celts ANOTHER 4th proven clutch performer with Championship experience in that starting lineup which will be awfully hard to contend with for any team on any given night. Artest is the media-driven favorite acquisition for the Lakers, but even with Phil Jackson able to place his “zen hex” on him like he supposedly did with Dennis Rodman, I still think Michael Jordan and Pippen were the real factors in keeping Rodman under control. And for the Lakers, I just think Kobe Bryant is just a different type of animal than Jordan was in helping keep teammates with troubled personalities in check. I’m not sold on Artest and Kobe in the backcourt or switching off on the 2 and 3 slots as a marriage match made in heaven.

As for the Bulls, let’s say they even miraculously make the deal for Bosh this Summer, that still won’t be enough contend. It’s going to have to take at least Wade in addition to Bosh for this team to stand a chance. It’s really no mystery that the bulls are posturing for 2010 and I understand if they intend to take that “step backward first in order to move forward” philosophy, but they have to show a lot better effort than this to recruit the guys they really feel will help Rose take this team to the next level. It’s going to take money, vast improvement and an accelerated development process of the younger players and coaching staff to get this done. Unfortunately, the money aspect seems to be hopeless; the coaching staff still appears to be too green to garner any sense of respectibility (losing Del Harris and gaining Randy Brown is not what I call impressive) and as for accelerated development, that will have to come from Rose stepping up along with Noah and the 2 draft picks. I still like Tyrus, but Vinny doesn’t play him and he’s obviously being shopped in the trade market. Maybe if those 2 can get over their stubborn personality conflicts and figure out a way to work together as true professionals rather than this stupid game of playing bench and playing time as a learning tool method, then we can have a functional TEAM for once without the soap opera. John Salmons and Brad Miller are fine, but to expect spectacular numbers is unrealistic. Luol Deng is the key, but even when healthy, he hasn’t shown me any marked improvement to his game at all in the 7 years he’s been a Bull. 7 freakin years and he still can’t shoot the NBA 3 pt line well. The team still literally lacks muscle on the court and in the front office which seems to be more enamored with drafting versatility over true size and pure power in the front court, something that hey guess what?, the Lakers and Celtics have.

By the way, Stu, I don't think fans were generally 50/50 on Boozer coming here. I think the majority pretty much said "no thanks".

Edgar is once again correct! If i counted right there were 19 posts opposed to the trade, 9 for it and 11 that were either indifferent or had more to say about the front office ineptness or wanted in on my fantasy LOL.
Now as far as Edgar's assessment of the Celtics is concerned the big question is Garnett's health and I'm betting against his knees holding up and also betting Sheed maintains an aloof attitude and won't show up night in and night out. In the begining he'll look like that awesome piece the Celtics needed last year but as Garnett's knees begin to wear Sheed will lose focus and disappear at crucial times as he has done in Detroit the last few years. Just my opinion Edgar.

I can't believe how low Ford ranked the Laker's move. How can Artest for Ariza not be up in the top 10?

Main point: Ariza was always considered an "X-factor" and Artest already is a factor.

Artest is a better on the ball defender. Artest is one of the best 2/3 defenders. Ariza may be better defending off the ball, as he plays passing lanes well with his speed.
Artest shoots a better 3-PT percentage in the regular season. Ariza just got hot in the playoffs and will most likely not do much in the 2009-10 regular season. If you look at how Ariza shoots his 3-ptrs (he leans his upper body forward), he needs the open space that Kobe and Gasol provided; he won't get that at Houston.
The most significant factor: Artest adds instant "toughness." The Lakers were lucky they were matched up with Orlando, a team not known for its grit or toughness because they were either Dwight Howard or shooting 3s. If it was the Boston Celtics with Garnett, things might have been different.

Everyone is also big on Lamar Odom, but prior to the Denver series, he was still called "No-Show" Lamar. Of course that has quickly escaped many people's minds because LA won the championship.

Hedo is kinda overrated...he can make plays but he tries too hard sometimes leading to a lot of turnovers. Not worth 5 years/55 million

Toronto will win like 40 games tops.

Fred, good points about the Raptors, but you can also include that team along with Atlanta (again) and Philadelphia as the other up and coming teams left out of the Championship conversation. The one problem I have with the Raptors is that they have built that team too much like an all-star Euro League team rather than an elite NBA team, which isn’t really bad considering there are plenty of nice International players in the NBA these days, but physical defense and star power win NBA Championships and the Raptors are just too finesse and an offensive-oriented team to really beat the real contenders in a playoff series. I expect them to have a nice regular season, but come playoff time, they’ll come up short. Jose Calderon’s a punk on the court, but he’s a good player and he does get injured a lot which makes him unreliable in any given season. The real key for the Raptors is signing Bosh to an extension because they’re not going to win it all this coming season. I just don’t see it. A sleeper team? Yes, but not a Championship team.

Tim, yes, the health of Garnett is a big question mark and I also to eluded to that as well in my last post, but it seemed to me that he was closer to being healthy than Luol Deng is, especially when KG was already rumored to have returned on the court as early as the Bulls playoff series. I know he had surgery already and well, the NBA season doesn’t really start until November so that’s still a long way to go for recovery. It looks like KG will be fine, but if not, yes ‘Sheed tends to lose focus and disappear at times on the court, although for a player with his overall skills, smarts and his size, his career numbers should be A LOT better than it is. Bottom line Tim, ‘Sheed still has his Championship rings from Detroit that proves his worth. I expect the Celts to just take it easy early on for the most part and trying to stay healthy and then really pick up steam and momentum going into the Playoffs. If Garnett is ruled 100% healthy by the preseason games, then the Celts should be the odds-on favorite to win the title regardless of whatever their regular season record turns out to be.

Chad Ford is right about the BULLS. I rank them LAST. Of course um biased. Somthing about a guy stepping up in the 4th that just does it for me. Him I cherish. 90% of NBA games come down to the 4th quarter. And the Bulls let a guy walk that was one of the best in the business.

How can you not rank LA #1. They went out and got one of the most skilled players and best defenders in the game. Ron is unstable as a broken table, but when it comes to hoopin he's quite able! The lights are on in his dome, but aint nobody home and its ON in LA to the break of dawn. Ron is crazy, but he is the kind of player that makes a good team better. And with Professor X - AKA PHIL JACKSON, Wolverine will be held in check (until needed). LA has gotten someone to deal with Labron, Pierce, Mellow and Ginoblee should any of them decide to show up in the finals. And I am not a Kobe fan, but know when to give props. Kobe probably cried tears of joy just knowing LA went out and brought him a RON-Weiler. And Ron will not back down from ANYONE. Odom better resign, or someone else is going to take his place.

And Boston is right there behind them. Rasheed is going to give Boston the defender and scorer they have been looking for to spell KG. And when they both get on the floor together its going to be pick your poison.

I know a lot of people are going to get on me, but um not high on Chris Bosh. He is a Dirk Novitski type player (also part of the 2010 class). And I would take Dirk over him. Bosh is ok, but he is not LABRON, KOBE, WADE. But the Bulls probably have all of their eggs in him basket. In order for the Bulls to win for me in free agency, they would have to come back with two cant miss allstars. Minimum. That is what would make me forgive them for allowing a talent like Gordon to go for nothing. They treated him like JR Smith. Regretted that one too.

Bulls #1...

We got 2 guys who couldn't play much in college and we got Janero Pargo back (not many people know that in Portuguese it means "little Jamal Crawford")

Keith, I'm with you on Chris Bosh also. I'm actually not THAT high on him either, but for the sake of discussion on the best available post player free agent in 2010, Bosh heads that list over Boozer and Stoudemire. If Stoudemire didn't have his microfracture knee issues, then I'd prefer Stoudemire by a mile, but he's almost as big a risk as Boozer is. We'll see what happens this season with these soon-to-be free agents as they enter their respective contract season. I didn't like that JR Smith phantom trade a few years back either. I swear, it's really amazing the amount of blunder decisions that the Bulls have made the last several years.

And of course I forgot to include Cleveland and their Shaqisition. They are still missing another guy for me to go all in with them. Perhaps he is there already??? Last year Cleveland's lil team that could was exposed by STAR power or lack thereof in the playoffs. The East is going to come down to Cleveland, Boston and Orlando. If the Shaq from last year shows up - nobody will be able to stop them. The pieces are there. That coach was exposed last year also. Brown looked like dude from The Green Mile with some glasses on. All he needed was some overalls. Probably eating some cornbread right now!

Anonymous, if Rose was that good (Pippen or Jordan good), Boston would NOT have advanced. Thats for sure. Actually Rose is like Isaiah on steroids. And that is terrific, but even Isaiah could not prevail until the right weapons were added to the team. Isaiah had Joe Dumars, Rodman, Sally, Edwards, Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Mark Aquire - and last but not least CHUCK DALEY. COACHING alone puts Rose waaaay way way off. Michael and Scottie had Phil Action Jackson. Rose has Skinny DelNegro. Rose isn't even a great point guard yet. He has to work on those turnovers and that defense. Rose's progression will take a MAJOR step backwards this year. This is a young man that is used to WINNING and will NOT do well this upcoming season. 2010 free agency sweepstakes have given the Bulls a License-To-Suck for at least two more years. By the time the Bulls make their "big move", it will be right at the moment its time to resign Rose in hopes that he doesn't walk. And management will not care as long as they fill up seats.

Your points about Rodman are right on the money. Although I do believe that Jackson had a big influence on keeping him in check, it was Jordan, and Pippen who were the real "enforcers".

Funny thing is that although I don't know much about the X's and O's of the game, I enjoy watching basketball, and there are players I either like or detest, regardless of their stats. This would make me a lousy GM.

For instance, Rasheed Wallace is a force of nature on the court, but I wouldn't want him in any locker room that I was in charge of. On the other hand, I always liked Rodman, and would take that goofball in a heartbeat. I think the difference is that Rodman was an unselfish player, and although he could get down and dirty with the best of them, I never got that sense of outright nastiness that I pick up from Sheed when I see him on the court. Dennis was a squirrel, but there was something likeable about him. He practiced hard, played hard, and was obviously very coachable. And when things didn't go his way, he didn't become a cry baby like many of todays prima donnas.

On the court, he took his lumps like a man, then after the game was over with, put on a nice dress and heels, and enjoyed being his outrageous self. He could still shut down a few top level players today, just out of pure tenacity.

i love how the raptors can go from being pre-season contenders last year to pre-season sleepers this year

Sorry to burst anyone bubble but Toronto will be a contender. Even Dwight Howard thinks that. (Here is the link. I don't make stuff up like other people do) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/howard-ready-to-battle-improving-east-rivals/article1217266/

Toronto is not going anywhere. Dwight Howard let shawty jump over him in the dunk contest wearing Kryptonite green. He also let a player that looks like a woman dominate him in the finals. Thought I was watching Fast Break!!!! Howard is a great guy, but not the brightest crayon in the box. And he is the real reason the Orlando Magic didn't have a shot. I KNOW I am going to get a lot of flack on this comment, but I stand on it - "The Bulls would have fared better than the Magic".

Raptors don't impress me because Godzilla and King Kong are in LA, Cleveland, Boston and Orlando. And that picture of Rasheed above tells everything you need to know. A maniacal twisted, mischeivious, wry, grinchlike expression from an individual with a villanous plan like the Joker. You need Batman to stop that kind of individual. Him, KGEE aka mean-mugg, Paul Fierce, big Baby Huey, Kia Rondo (aka Tigger) and sweet baby Ray Allen will be a force to reckoned with. All those skinny, finesse players in Toronto remind me of the players in Indiana - good size and formidable, but not enough "musty muscular armpit git down and derty" for me. (you have to say it with that Ray Charles lean)

Who said the Raptors were preseason contenders last year? Show me the link or article to that prediction. I stand by my prediction about the Raptors... good regular season record (probably even better than the Bulls), but will lose in playoffs in the first or second round depending on the matchup. I'm not sure what bubble will be burst, Bru. We'll see and I have a good memory to come back to this post just like I did with Hitman and the Chicago Bears.

Shaqisition?
Damn Keith!
You are on a roll.

The Celtics are definitely better with Rasheed. The cavs have the experience now with Shaq. Orlando lost Turkoglu, and now have Vince, they'll still be a force. The Spurs worry me. With Jefferson, they'll have 4 stars like the lakers.

Bryant 30 ppg 5 rpg
Artest 15 ppg 5 rpg
Gasol 15 ppg 9 rpg
Odom 14 ppg 9 rpg
Bynum 14 ppg 9 rpg

Tell me what team can keep pace with that!

I am so confused when people say Vince to orlando is overrated. He is going to be one of our top FOUR options on offense. He is one of FOUR all stars, it's not like the magic need him to go out and score 30 a game. He's clearly more efficient than Turk on offense, and while Turk was a pretty good playmaker, and lee was an up and coming player, just imagine what Vince will do with Dwight demanding double teams 82 games. If you look at it this way, the Magic lost turk, lee, rafer alston, and battie, and gained vince, ryan anderson, and brandon bass. However, Alston was useless since Jameer is back, battie is worse than Bass, considerably I would say, and the magic gained significant amount of flexibility with this trade. If they want to have four shooters on the floor, Ryan Anderson is a PF who shoots the 3 great. If they want to go very big, Dwight and Marcin. If they want to go still quite big, Dwight and Bass. Or they could go Small and play Rashard at the 4 and Pietrus at the 3. Just way too many possibilities...matchup problem galore.

As far as Shaq is concerned; IMO there are far too many miles on that old land yacht, and not much left in the gas tank.

He can still do ok in the post, clog up the middle, and pass fairly well. But all he's going to do is slow down the game and limit fast break / full court transitions because he can't put the ball on the floor, and lumbers from one end of the court to the other like a giant three toed sloth.

And his free throw shooting percentage remains horrendous.

He's never been known to put in a lot of extra effort training during the off-season, and I don't see him as being an impact player in Cleveland. His best days are in the rear view mirror, and I'm guessing he'll probably miss almost half of the games due to a combination injury, and fatigue.

There's only so much that a 37 year old, 7 foot-one inch, 340 pound body can take before the wheels eventually fall off. They better keep a tow truck handy near the sidelines.

Let's be real for a sec here, it was MJ that kept Rodman in line on the court and Kobe is no MJ. If Artest explodes no way is he gonna grab Artest by the jersey and get in his face, he doesn't have the cajones.
Sheed is a force only when he wants to be which is way less than 100% of the time and in my opinion isn't worthy of picking Rodman's gown up from the dry cleaners. Sure Sheed mouths off and draws as many if not more T's than Rodman did but he does it while back peddling unlike Dennis who got in the face of ref's. Sheed likes to act crazy, Rodman was the real deal.
The Cleveland Shaquisition (notice the spelling Keith lol) sounds like something out of the history books kinds like the Louisiana Purchase.
John Jackson is now talking about picking up Boozer for less than Tyrus and Kirk but he still puts Tyrus upfront. I say if you're gonna get an injury prone Dukie why not give another injury prone Dukie in return? The salaries would pretty much work out and if need be toss in a second round pick. Deng and Bozzer together on the Bulls could possibly drive me to drink.
You have to hand it to Tim Thomas he has managed to pocket a ton of JR's money for doing nothing for a second time. Makes a lot of sense to me to pay Tim Thomas to go away for a second time but for god's sake don't get into luxury tax territory. Pargo is now officially signed, I'm so elated about that I just may need to go back to sleep.
We've got the makings of a good horror movie going here now I can just picture the trailer airing on WGN.... coming on Nov 1st Nightmare on West Madison Ave staring Anthony Hopkins as Jerry Reinsdorf, Collin Ferrel as John Paxson, Bill Engvall as Gar Foreman and Larry the Cable Guy as Vinny Del Negro! Git er done fellas!!

Question for everyone:

Why is it that Tim Thomas is a decent player for everyone else, but can't play AT ALL for the Bulls? Please, someone, explain that mystery to me. Is it because of the massive degree of talent of our beloved versus all these other teams? Yeah, that's probably it. That's why everyone's talking championship.

So I actually caught the Bulls' first Summerleague game last night on nba.com because I wanted to catch some of the top NBA rookies and 2nd year guys competing in the league, including our very own James Johnson and Taj Gibson, and you know what? I was actually impressed with James Johnson, go figure. He has a sweet shooting stroke (not NBA 3-point range yet, but it looks like he can get better at it quicker than Luol Deng) and he can handle the ball and drive to the rim and kick the ball out to a teammate or finish scoring at the rim very well. The only knocks I have on him so far is that he definitely plays more the 3 position and not the 4. That's not good especially when he'll obviously be behind Deng, Tyrus and Salmons in the depth chart. Plus, JJ has a nice NBA body to bang inside, but he's not a banger and he cannot inside post at all (what else is new with Bulls front court players). As for defense... hoo boy, he had no-name guys burning him left and right for most of the game. Overall though, I was impressed and I already like his shooting stroke over Deng. Taj Gibson, on the other hand, will succeed as a role player specialist, but nothing further than that, I can already tell that much. He has a place in the NBA though, but I still would have preferred pure power like DeJaun Blair. We'll see. I'll be watching some more games this week. And before anyone starts giving me flak about "it's only Summer League worthless competition" and all that, I can only say, hey, they all gotta start somewhere and if Summer League competition is really all that weak and worthless, then I'd definitely would have been more concerned if none of our draft picks were NOT able to put up decent numbers in any of the games then. I know, Keith, proven veterans veterans veterans are your preference, but like I said, I'm hardcore Bulls basketball fan so I'm still hoping that we have a diamond in the rough somewhere. Besides, we can only whine for so long before we start watching them again.

By the way... Blake Griffin - BEAST. Stephen Curry - he's got that set shooting form down to an exact science. Tyreke Evans - He's going to be a better pro than College player, an OJ Mayo clone right there. Anthony Randolph - breakout player in the NBA this season. This is what Tyrus Thomas should have been for us by now if he had better coaches. James Johnson needs to play this season if he's going to get any better quickly. Another forward has to go from the Bulls roster sooner than later.

Edgar, don't let anyone tell you that it's only the summer league or whatever. Some people like yourself simply have a scouting talent and it doesn't matter what environment that particular player is in. There are intrinsic talents that can be gleaned by a skilled set of eyes. It's a basic necessity for most scouts no matter the sport.

Gig I thought Tim Thomas would shine for the Bulls for sure last year, but he just didnt jive with us. He can still play and will be back to his old self with another veteran club. He is going to get picked up by someone like Cleveland. Sometimes thats what it is. The player is just smarter than the club and see no reason why they should play hard because they have already done the chess moves and can see check mate in 3 moves.

Edgar - I am glad you are hopeful. But that is a bad report. I will not be happy until the Bulls improve better than they were with Gordon.

Spot on Tim, regarding MJ, Kobe, Rodman, Artest, and Sheed.

And the thing is, I believe that Rodman actually earned Jordan's respect, whereas Sheed has nothing but the disrespect of everyone, including the officials who love to fine the living daylights out of him for acting like a jerk.

IMHO -

Artest is a TEAMMATE first. He is that guy that is down and willing to knuckle-up and go to war with you. That's the guy you want on your wing and in your foxhole. Ron has been a fierce competitor and great teammate everywhere he has played including Chicago. He can shoot the midrange and 3pter, post up on the block, and finish on the break. But he is a physical, in-your-face defender that can guard any 2 or 3 guard in the league. Ron is smart, but Clinically Unstable FOR REAL, and he will cross any an all lines when off his medication. People walking up in his face don't know they are in real danger. Ron is a stone cold street soldier. He is the kind of guy that will give his all - mind, soul, body and finances to someone that he really cares about. And Phil is going to bridge the relationship between Ron and Kobe. Phil is the MASTER of personality management and Ron will be puddy in his hands.

Rasheed is a boisterous, passionate, emotional, outspoken player. He wants to win and help the team. Rasheed is a true 6-10 player with incredible physical gifts. He has an array of cat-quick post-power moves and a mid-range game that is Tim-Duncanish. But Rasheed can also shoot from almost anywhere on the court. He is wirery and deceptively strong and fast. When focussed he can defend at the 5, 4 and 3 spots with the best of them. He is extremely competitive. And he knows the game. He is amped up so high emotionally that his responses don't come out right. Rasheed major flaw is that he rarely plays up to his ability because of the afformentioned, but mainly because he is just lazy. He will play to his competition. Rasheed is still a baller, and being in Boston will re-awaken the fierce competitor in him. He and Garnett are going to feed off of eachother like lightening and thunder.

Dennis Rodman - was a physical freak of nature. He worked and willed himself into the NBA. His work-outs are off the charts and he was ALWAYS in the best shape of anyone stepping on the court. You might beat Dennis Rodman, but you were NEVER going to outwork him. His sheer physical determination made him the ultimate competitor, rebounder and defender. Rodman was also incredibly cerebral. He learned the game from Chuck Daley, and honed his skills playing with Isaiah, Dumars, et al. Rodman out-thought his opponents as much as he out-worked them. Players could not understand, how a guy 6/8 could beat them to the glass or make a key play when needed. Rodman once face-guarded Shaq in his prime - and held his own. Because Rodman was physically gifted and smarter than most players on the court. When Rodman joined Michael and Scottie in Chicago - it was like adding rocket fuel. The most gifted self-willed player in the game and the best defender and all-around player now got the hardest worker - all coached by the Zen Master. It was unfair. They posted the best regular season record in the NBA which should stand for a LONG time. Rodman's achilles was that he grew up with a lot of emotional scars. And these things manifested on and off the court a lot of the time. Rodman wanted attention in the worst way. Everything he was doing was calculated to draw more attention. People like that rarely find what it is they are looking for. They last as long as the attention lasts.

MJ and Scottie were pivotal in controlling Rodman, but so was Phil. Talented players like Ron and Rasheed will not be the reason the team loses. They will create disturbances, but 95% of the time be the driving force behind every win. My belief is that Ron and Kobe will click and so will Rasheed and Garnett. But neither of these players will thrive in losing situations like the Bulls.

Gig:

In answer to your question about Thomas, I don't het that one either.

I believe that he's a very talented player, and could never figure out why a man with his size and skills spent so much time on the bench.

It has to be personal issues with his coaches, or perhaps they don't think he puts in enough effort during practices. Who knows?

Regardless, I do think they could have made much better use of him during the season, especially when you consider the size of the check they have to cut for him each and every week.

You know ... Skiles was a lot like that too. That arrogant tool would have had Jordan sitting on the bench if Michael didn't kiss his posterior in tha manner that he liked.

Sometimes coaches just need to get the Hell out of the way, and get their best players on the court.

Gig, I just caught your question in here about Tim Thomas just now, so let me try to answer with my thoughts... Here's the deal about him, the guy was only acquired by the Bulls because he was a throw-in on that Larry Hughes trade to match salaries (In the NBA only, you have to match salaries in order for a trade to be approved), that's pretty much it. Because the Bulls organization is so dead set on "character" personalities like they're some religious monastery, they pretty much did their best to continue piling on the character flaws of Tim Thomas instead of giving him any opportunity to produce on the basketball court. Bottom line, we'll never know what went on behind the scenes if Tim Thomas continued his bad practice habits or if he was indeed late for team meetings and such, but all I know is that he wasn't given any meaningful minutes at all to prove anyone wrong and at least he had that track record of being a decent playoff performer on other teams which is why I question how much are these guys committed to winning at all costs?

Keith is spot on about about Artest, Rasheed and especially Rodman. Gents, I don't know how many of the regular Bulls bloggers here were still around enough to really pay attention closely to the Bulls' Championship teams of the 90's, but fans like Keith and myself remember those days like it was yesterday. Rodman was definitely a physical workout marvel. This is a guy, during a game, who basically pioneered the stationary bike exercises WHILE HE WAS BENCHED and during timeouts! Unreal workout habits, underrated pure basketball IQ on the court and rebounding talents that were even much better than Ben Wallace or Moses Malone in their primes. He would even face up a young Shaquille O'Neal in his prime and more than hold his own outworking the big man and everyone else on the opposing team even though he gave up more than 150 pounds of muscle and mass. To me, he was easily the clear exception to the rule when it came to character flaws away from the game. Frankly, I think his jersey should be retired in Chicago for his efforts in the Championship years and I would even rank him in the NBA top 50 players of all time.

While I've made it no secret that I'm little more than a fair weather Bulls fan, the weather couldn't have been nicer throughout the nineties. I was glued to that franchise's wondrous exploits while returning to Chicago for that decade after having lived in Colorado for five years. What a team! Dennis Rodman's abilities and superhuman conditioning were not lost on this spectator. I agree that he belongs in the Top 50 even though he breaks the mold in at least one regard--lack of scoring. I think he could have scored more if he wanted to even though it would have been virtually all inside.

While he was a carnival act off the court, I never really was angry with him until he kicked that camera guy after going out of bounds. I was irate, but it was about the only time I felt that way towards him. I agree with Keith that he was a prime example of an attention-seeker, but even there, he had a quality within that capsule that I thought was likable, forgivable or even somewhat endearing. I never that that Dennis Rodman was a bad guy.

Gig, I can't count the number of times i watched the replay of Rodman allegedly kicking that camera man. I say allegedly because no matter how many times i watched it it appeared to me that Rodman Kicked at the camera on the floor between the camera man's legs and I believe the fact that the cameraman never received any of the money he was awarded when his girlfriend sued him for domestic abuse and took every penny of it was poetic justice for the camera man's greed. If that had been anyone other than Rodman it would not have been blown up to the point it had been. Face it Dennis's rep caused him problems on and off the court to the point that during one play-off game he was on the floor and Malone was about to step on him and he covered his face with his arms, Malone tripped and Rodman was called for a "T".
Edgar not only could Rodman defend against guys giving away 150 pounds he got in their heads and disrupted their game. I recall one game when Dennis turned his back to the basket and stared Alonzo Mourning down on the bench when a Miami team mate was at the stripe. It so un-nerved Mourning that the next time he and Rodman were lined up next to each other for more free throws that Mourning grabbed him and pushed him out of bounds and was given a second "T".

Just read an interesting article in the Times written by Pat Disabato about Craig Hodges.

He won two championships with the Bulls, and the All Star 3 Point Contest three times during his career. Larry Bird is the only other player to win the three pointer that many times. Not bad company.

But after showing up at the White House for the 1992 championship celebration visit wearing a dashiki, and handing the president a respectful letter asking him to put as much effort into helping poor disadvantaged children, as he did into working on foreign policy, he Never played another game in the NBA.

In this Q & A quote, he was asked:

"Q: Knowing what you do now, do you still think you were blackballed by the NBA after the Bulls visited the White House?

A: Absolutely. It was ugly to a lot of degrees. I was 32 years old, and I never got a single invitation or offer from another team. Come on. I never had one technical foul, never was fined, never missed a practice, never missed a bus or a plane. I had strong character. I often wonder what my game would have been like at 32 or 36 years old."

He was also a 40% three point shooter during his ten year career, and he never even got an invitation to try out for another team after the Bulls abruptly released him.

If that wasn't collusion, than I don't know the meaning of the word, and why he didn't sue the entire league for a bazillion dollars baffles me, because he could have won that case, hands down.

Read the entire article, and tell me if you can name another player in any professional sport that's been screwed more than this guy.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1670753,CST-SPT-hodges17.article

Thanks Villy - that was real. I never knew about this one. Craig stood on his principles and it cost him. It was not the right time to do that because it brought unnecessary pressure on the NBA and others who were just there for the experience.

Phil is a standup guy - just moved up on my list. Bush is an idiot for going after that man for something like that - a numbskull. Had this got out to the right people, it would have been Armageddon. I can see Jesse Jackson going off right now. All parties burried that story quickly. I am getting mad so I am going to let it go.

EDGAR - for folks like me, those were the days. League was saturated with Superstars and great teams. And the NBA had the rules they way they SHOULD have been. MJ and the Bulls changed the rules and I wish they would not have. Detroit and the Bulls epic battles were 10 times as great as that Boston/Chicago playoff series. Now we get overtime and all of these points. But back in the day we got fights, skirmishes, hard fouls, bench-clearing brawls, and tension so thick you could break yourself off a piece of it. Everyone was emotionally spent after one of those games: Players, Coaches, Refs, Announcers, Fans. It was awesome.

And Craig Hodges was right about his assessment of Jordan. Mike would tear through this current league with no hand checking so badly, that he would probably make the league change the rules BACK. I don't even think there is a current front line that could step to Mike. Yall think Labron is a beast. Me and every other fan who have witness the wrath of MJ knows that he would have torn threw Hedo and the Majic like they were wet tissue. And then he would have hurt Kobe REAL bad. Expletive laden, cover your kids ears bad.

Villano, that Craig Hodges story is a VERY touchy subject that I haven't discussed in a forum for a very long time. This story is actually very old because Hodges DID FILE A LAWSUIT against the NBA in 1996. Unfortunately, he lost the case. Not only did he basically call out President Bush Sr. in the form of a hand-written letter, but he also publicly called out Michael Jordan and even Jim Cleamons in criticism. This was a big story back then when political activist Louis Farrakhan was a huge topic of controversial discussion, so I'm a bit surprised that the Sun-Times writing a story about this again as if it was first time reading, but then again, this is the first sports article I have ever read from a Pat Disabato. Bottom line, it's difficult to formulate an opinion because there's no concrete evidence that he was blackballed by ALL the NBA teams who were apparently working in collusion to keep him out of the league. Do I think this is or was possible though? Yes, you betcha, but I've gotta tell ya, 9.99 times out of ten, you're almost NEVER going to win that battle against the Government, against a global crowned celebrity like MJ and big corporations like the NBA and franchise teams. You're basically asking to get yourself screwed, my man. I applaud and I respect Hodges for trying, but in this case, he fought a battle that he should have known that he would never win. However, Hodges does say in quotes that he has no regrets so if anything, hopefully he's at peace of mind today. As for Hodges the player... man, could he shoot the NBA trey lights out, but he was limited everywhere else down to defense, handling the ball, etc. and strange as it sounds, but his mid-range game stunk for a guy with such an adept 3-point shooting range. Yes, even at a veteran's minimum salary, I was surprised he was never picked up by an NBA team after the Bulls. Perhaps it was political after all. Man, do I hate mixing government politics with sports.

Glad you brought this up though, Villano. Maybe guys like Keith, WRD and Culzie can shed more light and more spirited comments on this topic than I can.

Oh man, you better believe it, Keith. Those were the days of compelling basketball, rich with genuine suspense and drama. These wern't just regular games with sportsmanship handshakes and hug fests. These were real rivalries and a genuine dislike for each other. Keith, not only Detroit and Boston, how about the pre-Championship years against the Knicks with Ewing, Charles Smith, John Starks (everyone's favorite punk-a**) and "X-Man" Xavier McDaniel?? How about the Cavs with Larry Nance, Craig Ehlo, Mark Price and Ron Harper pre-Bulls? It's competition like these which made Jordan a legend and the best ever. You can't even put Kobe in this conversation unless you were there to witness Jordan's entire playing career. I'm sorry, and maybe we sound old school, but many of the players in that era can still play ball better than most of the star players in the NBA today. Great memories.

I had read the story before I read your post Villano and I was not aware the Hodges had filed a law suit but what Edgar said is very true. It's almost impossible at any level to prove collusion and conspiracy regardless of how simple Law & Order may make it seem on TV. Without any concrete evidence in the form of recorded conversations or intercepted memos it would take at the very least 2 or more of the conspirators to make a deal with a prosecutor for their testimony about the conspiracy. That's never gonna happen. Hodges put his livelyhood at risk and lost but you have to admire his conviction to his principles.
Edgar I totally agree with your assessment of Hodges' game and that alone may have raised doubts in a jury's mind of why he had not been picked by another team as opposed to a conspiracy. had he been an allstar caliber player it may have been a different outcome.

Tim Thomas is hot garbage. He's had a couple decent season and got a huge contract based on one good year he had in PHX like 5 years ago. top 10 pick who never got close to living up to his talent. All he does is camp out at the 3pt line...not a useful player. Bulls look like fools for TWICE paying him just to go away

Thanks to Edgar, I remember this now. The media spun it as a Hodges attacks Jordan story and that was the end of him. NOTHING could stick to Jordan at that time. He could have the gun in his hand, video, pictures, the DNA matched, and 20 eyewitnesses, but NOTHING would have mattered at that time. Mike was a god and impervious to scrutiny and guilt. The answer was always - "Mike didn't do that "S" " And if you really wanted to get in an argument - say something about Mike or his game. YOU STILL might get cussed out. Hodges was right as rain, but not even Johnny Cochran could have helped him after he called out Mike. I remember that ERA. I called it the "Mike" era. We had:

Michael Jackson (before allegations)
Michael Jordan
Mike Tyson (before marriage)
Michael J. Fox (before disease)
Michael Douglas (was the man in wallstreet)
Mike Myers (the one from SNL)
Michael Keaton (he fizzled out)

EDGAR - I will NEVER forget that John Starks baseline dunk. It was a left handed baseline game winner - in Chicago on national TV on Michael Jordan, Horace Grant and John Paxson. THANK WHOEVER BLESSED US WITH YOU-TUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCTfxOrX4k8. You see, back in the day - a dunk was hard to come by because post player were trained to slam you on your back. And Bill Cartwright had the sharpest elbows in the league. Almost every team was set up for HALFCOURT ball and they had some hardened penitentary looking MEN. Not skinny boys from a choir like they do today. Back then someone would physically choke your kneck with two hands in those days - ask PJ Carlisimo. Rasheed was just a little puppy back in those days fresh out of North Carolina. Ron Artest is probably one of a few guys that could play back then. Every team had an enforcer. Chief, Rodman, Thorpe, Cartwright, Oakley, Rambis, Jones, Davis Boys, McDaniels, etc, etc. Like Stacey King always says today "if you are affraid, buy a dog"; well you needed a gun in those days. It was serious and mean. Not all nice like it is today with hugs after the game and prayer. And I am a praying man, but back in those days. You prayed at the hospital.

Just sittin here digesting what you and Keith posted Edgar. Can you imagine Kobe trying to go the hole against the likes of Lambier, Rodman, Malone, Magic,Byrd, Parrish,Ewing or any of the old school players(under old school rules) that would take you down before letting you get to the rim? I can see Lambier with his arms raised asking the ref..."what'd I do I never touched him"...LMAO, Rodman would be in his head so bad Kobe would have nightmares about him. Kobe is shakin an bakin thru players only half as good as those in the 80's & 90's. Of all the ball handling skills Kobe has shown he stil pales compared to MJ, Magic and Dr. J who played against THE BEST players in the world. Like everyother pro sport in the country expansion has diluted the talent we see today.

Boston, Orlando and Cleveland would be styling if this were 1993.

Laimbeer!!! LOL!!! Tim, you so reminded me of that guy. He could have just committed aggravated assault in front of 20,000 fans and 20,000,000 viewers. Still, he'd give the ref that classic reaction as though Bill was on the other end of the court the whole time! He's like "Wha, wha, what did I do? Are you for real?" That face! Classic stuff...oh, and who would forget Chuck Daly's "Jordan Rules" in which the Pistons were instructed basically to put MJ in a body bag before they would let him beat Detroit. Those were the days.

Thank you all for your responses, Edgar, Keith, etal:

I was not aware of the fact that he did file a law suit, and after your explanation, I can understand how hard his case was to prove.

But there is no doubt in my mind that he was indeed blackballed, and that there was a league wide collusion to end his career after his visit to the White House.

I agree that he wasn't a top tier talent, but he did have a slightly better than mediocre skill set. I've seen garbage that wouldn't even belong on the same court with him extend their careers far beyond the age of 32, collecting millions of dollars, while his was prematurely terminated for no just cause.

I understand the difficulties of actually proving collusion, but his case should have been a slam dunk. His three point shooting percentage, work ethic, and overall stellar character should have gotten him at least a tryout with another team after that pile of crap J.R cut him loose.

What he did wasn't the brightest move, but it should not have cost him his lively hood.

He got screwed.

He was a classic wasn't he Gig? He'd be standing over a body holding the murder weapon and covered in blood and try to convince everyone he was set up LOL!! Kobe never would have survived that Piston's team. He'd be in a wheel cahir on the corner tryin to sell pencils LOL

Anyone remember when MJ and Xavier McDaniel went head to head cussin each other out after X-Man kept punking Scottie. Classic.

I wonder though if the Celtics winning mentality and defensive mind set will rub off on Wallace. Wallace is known as an underachiever, posting up only when he feels like it and electing to stand by the 3-point line and launch three’s. If anyone can set any professionalism into Wallace’s game its Garnett and the Celtics.

I don't see how Wallace will be too much of a problem with the Celts. Not only Garnett, but Pierce and Allen are also respected enough veteran star players to help keep him in check. Rasheed's temper tantrums haven't been headline grabbers for quite a while now. If you even think about it, Rasheed is not a dirty player like Laimbeer overall. He just whines a ton on the court, but he still has the rings and he has a hit a lot of big shots in the 4th quarter of many games in his career. He's still a good player despite his overall underachieving stats for a man with his size and skill.

Yep, of course I remember MJ and X-Man practically butting heads against each other at one point. That just added to MJ's competitive legacy. Agree on Lame-Beer also. That guy was such a dirty player. I remember him trying to screen chasing defenders by blatantly sticking out his leg to trip the guy and then still whine to the officials with that stupid look on his face that he didn't commit a foul! It was sooo bad that it was almost comical at the same time. Not just Laimbeer, but don't forget Rick Mahorn also. I agree Tim, Kobe Bryant would never be able to handle those Pistons. He would have retaliated and get himself thrown out of the game instead of retaliating with big shots and big victories under composure like Jordan did. And I also agree about Dennis Rodman again, Tim... you bet he played the mind games right down to the tee. Not only did he outwork his opponents with superior conditioning (he was also the best tip rebounder ever- a lost rebounding art of basketball just like George Gervin's finger roll), but he also got not only into the heads of Alonzo Mourning like you mentioned, also Shaq, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, etc... everyone really. CAn you even picture Rodman going up against the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Yao, Milsap, Okafor, Zach Randolph, Boozer... I'm telling you, NONE of those guys would be able to handle Rodman's defense, rebounding and head games. The only guy maybe who could match up and keep his composure would be a prime Tim Duncan, but even then, he'd lose out the conditioning battle and Duncan has been known to flip his lid once in a while as well, so head games still goes to Rodman.

Edgar I agree Rasheed's not a dirty player but in a 7 game series I think Artest could get in his head and take him out of his game. Not that I think Artest is anywhere as good at mind games as Rodman was as much as I think Rasheed's mind can be played with. Rodman would have had a field day with Rasheed's mind.

Just read the interview with JR. I'm proabaly jumping the gun posting on this thread instead of waiting to see if Stu is going to start one about that interview but what the heck right? First off does anyone actually believe JR could ever see any situation where paying the luxury tax was worth it? I also could not believe how he down played MJ's role in the creation of the UC. Without MJ's popularity and profitablity would United have ponied up to build the UC? I have my doubts on that. Instead it might be the Big Lots Closeout Center LMAO. When asked how far away the Bulls are from another championship, JR's answer told me that as long as he make the team interesting enough to sell out the UC and make him richer he didn't care if they ever won another championship and he has no intention of stepping down from being chairman til he's buried. Anyone think there will ever be a bust of JR alongside Red Kerr's?

Granted I am a pistons fan but you cannot over look JOE D's move. All these other teams that made moves may be good for a year but there are too many old farts involved to make them #1 on the list. Pistons get a 26yr old Ben Gorden and a 24 yr old Villinuava for 5 year deals. Not at one time of these contracts will these guys be on the down side of their career. If neither of these guys improve ( which I would bet my dog that they increase their #'s) they are still averaging 37 points a game. Joe D just made that getting old pistons starting 5 to a good looking young starting 5.... I loved sheed and Dice but you are talking two 35 year old men.... Billups did us wonders but his tank is getting low. I know RIP is getting up there but I think he has Reggie miller syndrome.....Play solid for another 3-4yrs.

Ohhh..>Edgar....now you have me thinking...

all time greatest matchups..

I would like to see Artest (in prime) have to go up against Rodman (in his prime).

That would be a classic battle...

what other all time matchups would you like to see?

Eaton vs. Ming?

Jordan vs. Dr. J

Oscar vs. Tim

Tim, I'm not so sure about Artest getting into 'Sheed's head like that in a 7-game series. First of all, the matchup isn't there as both guys play much different positions on the court. Now of course I'm sure you're talking about Artest and someone else doubling up on Sheed or starting a fight and reenacting that classic brawl at the Palace that basically put Artest on the goon list hall of fame, but today's NBA refs are control freaks and it'll probably never get that far again. Even then, like I said earlier, the Celts have too many other weapons and clutch performers to worry about other than Sheed so if anything, Artest and Kobe will be on Pierce or Allen more. It should be an interesting NBA Finals next season, assuming it's the Lakers and Celtics again which is probably expected despite Chris Bosh or Boozer going to the Bulls at the 2010 February trade deadline. ;) (yeah right)

I read the Reinsdorf interview also, Tim. I don't really see that article as Stu-worthy of starting up a blog thread, so I'll comment here as well... First of all, "NO" to answer your question about JR and the luxury tax unless Rose becomes the next Michael Jordan which we know he isn't. Oh I believe it when JR downplayed MJ's role with the building of the United Center because he still basically kicked him, Pippen and PJ out of town. Bottom line, JR answered the questions pretty much the way I expected him to. Like JR said, he's the "prototypical CEO" of a big corporation. I love the part in the interview where he explained "... I hire great people and let them do their jobs." Huh?? let them do their jobs?? Hmm, didn't Paxson want D'Antoni only to be overturned by JR to hire Vinny instead? Didn't Gar say that re-signing Ben Gordon was top priority a couple of months ago, only for JR to now say that they made their decision to not commit to BG long term since last year? I also love the part where he said that Luol Deng, when healthy, will be an all-star player. Just great, now he's having delusions again. And of course, the worst part of the interview where JR says that he has no plans in the near future to resign or quit as Chairman of the Bulls. Talk about disheartening.

Tim says "When asked how far away the Bulls are from another championship, JR's answer told me that as long as he make the team interesting enough to sell out the UC and make him richer he didn't care if they ever won another championship and he has no intention of stepping down from being chairman til he's buried." If what you're saying is true--and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised as we've been talking about it for some time--that's sad beyond belief.

It's a rip-off for the fans who truly require a legitimate quest for the championship. If that's true, I don't know how even die hard Bulls fans could follow a team like that and I say that with every ounce of respect for those fans.

Hey Gig - the same fans who go religiously are the same Bears and Cubs fans. Going to the UC is a for the big timers. You have to give away the upper decks for the real fans to support bad basketball. And most only come because its their first time.

Rose is nothing more than a ticket draw. A freakshow carnie spectacle. And Chris Bosh and Boozer will do nothing but make it worse. Then they will be just like the Cubs!!! Chicago has become a soft vanilla cone that Labron and others are going to enjoy for years to come! Make all the players wear marine jarhead cuts and invite Scott Skiles back to coach.

And give Ronnie Woo Woo a job in the winter right after the Cubs annual choke going: Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!! Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!! Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!! Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!! Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!! Bulls-Woo! Bulls-Woo!! Bulls-Woo!!!

Right next to Stacey King who would be openly weeping on air!!!

Edgar I was glad that I had already finished eating my steak and eggs when I got to that quote or I might have choked and I knew you wouldn't let it get passed you which is why I didn't comment on it. I did however spit coffee all over my monitor whan i read it LOL.

The Bulls will never win another championship with JR as owner. He obviously sees the Bulls as only a cash cow. He's a baseball fan and doesn't even like basketball. This is terrible to say but our only hope is that he sells the team or has a stroke and needs to go to a rest home. He is a terrible owner, it's all bottom line while other teams like the Magic and Lakers will go over the tax to field a winner. The Bulls are in one of the biggest markets and are 3rd in making money but we refuse to spend any.

I think Deng will bounce back and be a nice player but he will never ever ever be an All-star.

the cleveland cavliers in my eyes won the offeseason or seem to be winning it so far. shaq to the cavs? stellar move. and they got rid of nobody for him. pavolic and a broken down ben wallace? shaq and z in the front line...imagine all the rebounds along with lbj, varejao, and moon. shaq's only going to bring more interior defense guarding the likes of tim duncan, yao, and d. howard. he's going to add at least 15 ppg. then you got the acquistion of jamario moon. a solid wingman who has insane hops and good defense. speaking of solid wingmen, you can't forget the pick up of anthony parker from the raptors. dude has a sweet stroke from the 3-point line. sweet stroke from anywhere really. a really underrated player, imo, and along with moon, they have much more length now. something they didn't have in the playoffs against orlando. cleveland 10' champs.

why is toronto never mentioned in this stuff? Buncha snobs

Yo Ike (Diogu), Fred and I have already covered the Raptors in this blog thread about 3 weeks ago when we first discussed this topic. Who's the real snob taking this long to write his first comment here? Keep working on your game, Ike. Perhaps one day, you may finally get your chance to start an NBA game in your career. Good luck.