Random News Shit: NBA Doom & Gloom Edition

1) Orlando Adds Gilbert Arenas, Re-swaps Vince Carter For Hedo Turkoglu
Wow, wow, wow!

Now, before I give my opinion, let's go through all the trades: In the first trade, Orlando got Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark, and Phoenix got Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mikael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick, and cash consideration. The next trade with the Wizards was a straight up swap of Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas.

The biggest winner from all these transactions: the Miami Heat (no Wall or Arenas for the Wizards tonight, plus the new-look Suns Thursday). The biggest losers: Steve Nash (obvious reasons).

Who is Orlando's GM? I don't think he's getting enough flack for trading for Vince, letting Hedo go, and then trading Vince for Hedo a year later. Hedo is due $10,215,850 for this season, Vince is due $17,522,375, so why didn't they just pay Hedo to begin with?? That was essentially a waste of the entire 09-10 season.

And then there's Gilbert Arenas. Can someone please explain to me which of Orlando's problems does he solve? Why not wait and see if Hedo coming back could revive Rashard's career? It's not like teams were beating down Washington's door to take on Gilbert's huge contract and 39% shooting. That trade would've been there in January or February.

I will give Orlando credit for bringing in Jason Richardson though. Can you believe he's only 29?? Seems like he's been around for like 12 years. Regardless, he's shooting 42% from 3 this season, so he's definitely an upgrade over Vince.

2) Yao Ming Done For The Season Again
When I heard this news, I felt horrible for Yao...then I read his comments on the subject:

"I haven't died. Right now I'm drinking a beer and eating fried chicken. What were you expecting, a funeral?"

LMAO! The niggas have finally corrupted Yao! He's still in Houston too, so let's just hope he doesn't get a grill and start sippin' sizzurp.

...On second thought, let's hope he does.

3) Blazers Give Brandon Roy 3 Games Off
They could give Roy 3 years off, and I'm not sure it'd make much of a difference. His knees are gone, and it's just a matter of time before his career is over. Very sad. Somebody get this man a beer and some fried chicken.

4) Joakim Noah Out 8-10 Weeks After Thumb Surgery
Tough break for the Bulls. They have more than enough pieces to get this through this though, so they'll be fine.

5) Rajon Rondo Sidelined 1-2 Weeks With Ankle Injury
Ultimately he's only gonna end up missing about 4 or 5 more games. Boston's next 5 games: Indiana, Philly, @Orlando, @Indiana, and @Detroit. Something tells me they're gonna be fine.

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Random News Shit: NBA Free Agency Edition Pt. III

1) Hedo To The Blazers Raptors
The busy 2009 offseason continues with Hedo Turkoglu jetting on the Magic for the Blazers and then jetting on the Blazers for the Raptors all in the same day. Remarkable! On that video above Ric Bucher says it wasn't about the money, but its HAAAARD to believe a player would give up a chance to play with a conference championship team AND a playoff contender to play for a 33 win team with a disgrutled superstar who is going to leave after next season just because the city is nicer. It was about the money, and that's fine.

Anyway, the deal with Toronto is 5-years, $53 million. Maybe Drake is just making is cool to be in or around Toronto lol.

2) Phil Jackson Will Return To The Bench Next Season
Phil couldn't turn down the opportunity to coach this team that's gonna take the floor for the Lakers next season. I ain't mad at him.

3) Iverson Interested In The Grizzlies??
Like Bucher said, who says they're interested in playing for the Grizzlies?? It CAN'T be this bad for Iverson out there. It just can't be!

4) Avery Johnson May Be Piston's Top Pick
Awww, does this mean we won't be able to hear his voice on ESPN breaking game anymore?? Well that sucks balls, because hearing Avery speak is the best part about some of those Friday night games lol. I'm glad to see Avery get another coaching look though, but I'm not sure if this is the best situation to go into. Maybe its just me, but I know I wouldn't wanna coach this team.

5) Marbury Doesn't Foresee Return To Boston
I don't think the C's really want him back either though. Hell, they might need him if they keep pissing off Rondo and acting like he's on the block.

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Random News Shit: NBA Free Agency Edition

1) Pistons Snag Ben Gordon & Charlie Villanueva
After firing coach Michael Curry, the Detroit Pistons have picked up 2 free agents in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. They both are getting 5-year deals, but Gordon's is worth $55 million while Villanueva's is worth $40 million.

Now, I'm not sure how good or bad this makes them, but it should be interesting to see what the 09-10 Pistons look like come November.

2) Turkoglu Meets With Blazers
He just better go whenever the money is because the Magic have already made their move and basically told him it didn't matter if he stays or goes. Good luck to Turk, but I think that was the last time we'll see him in the Finals.

3) Ariza Leans Toward Leaving Lakers
Well can't say I didn't see this coming. Trevor Ariza will be the 2008 James Posey to the Lakers 2008 Celtics. That meaning Ariza will come to some team that looks to be on the raise...and suck. While the Lakers will start out hot and then struggle and ultimately not repeat. That's my prediction for next season.

4) Kidd Meets With Knicks, Mavs Offer 3-Year Deal
Why would you want to sign Jason Kidd to a 3-year deal?? Mark Cuban does know Kidd is 36 years-old, right?? I'd think long and hard about giving him a 1 or 2 year deal, let alone one for 3! That's just insane.

5) Clippers Trade Randolph For Richardson
Damn, what the fuck happened to Quentin Richardson's career?? Homie went from the Knicks to the Grizzlies to the Clippers in one week! They couldn't at least trade him to a contender and let them trade him away so he could at least have said he was with a winning team??

On another note, where is Zach Randolph's career when he's seen basically as the equivalent to Darko Milicic?? Shit is depressing lol.

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Random News Shit: NBA Edition

1) Magic Land Vince Carter From Nets For Alston, Lee
At first I thought this didn't make sense, but then I remembered Hedo was opting out of his contract, and I'm guessing Orlando is expect him to come back. Then again, with Carter's contract, I don't think they can afford to bring Hedo back. Its a shame they had to give up Courtney Lee though, he had tons of potential and Vince Carter is semi-washed up. The Magic just made themselves a lot more beatable because 2009 Vince Carter is not 2009 Hedo Turkoglu.

2) Yao Ming's Foot Not Healing, Out Indefinitely
This is HUGE! What if the foot never heals and he has to retire?? That would be devastating to the Rockets franchise, especially with T-Mac on his last limbs in the league. Remember, this is the same foot that Yao has hurt the past few seasons so it not healing is definitely a bad sign. Good luck to Yao.

3) Rondo's Agent Strikes Back At Ainge
Yeah I agree, Danny Ainge should pick his words wisely because he's literally one Kevin McHale gift away from being fired. It makes no sense to disrespect one of the best players on your team in public. None whatsoever.

4) Darko Headed To The Knicks
Darko Milicic will be asked to start over again as he's been shipped off to the Knicks for Quentin Richarson and some cash considerations. We'll see if he can work in D'Antoni's system...but probably not. He's Darko! lol.

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Turkoglu Plans To Opt Out Of Magic Contract

That didn't take long. After laying down and rolling out the carpet for a Lakers championship Sunday, Magic point forward Hedo Turkoglu has decided he wants to opt out of his contract this offseason.

Now, there's still a possibility he stays with the Magic, but Hedo is looking for the money. You know what though?? I don't even blame him. These organizations don't care about you, so why take less money than you think you're worth?? I mean Hedo was a huge piece of why Orlando made it to the Finals this year. Not to mention him being hurt was a major reason why they struggled with Philly in the first round. If the Magic wanna compete again next year they're gonna need Hedo on board.

SOURCE

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FiyahMuZik.com's NBA Finals Preview & Pick

Welp, tonight is the night! Lakers vs. Magic. L.A. vs. Orlando. The Black Mamba vs. Superman 2.0. Kobe's puppet vs. Dwight's still-under-construction-puppet. Disneyland vs. Disney World. Shaq's first team vs. Shaq's second team. Adam Morrison vs. J.J. Redick! That's right, the 2009 NBA Finals is finally upon us! (Its about time too because its so fuckin' boring with no basketball on to watch at night. Do you know I actually sat and watched a baseball game the other night?? Yeah, its that boring.)

Anyway, my little playoff bracket was fucked by Nike, Vitamin Water, and ESPN's insistence on crowning LeBron king before the Eastern Conference Finals even started. That's okay though, because this match up should be VERY interesting.

With that being said, I want to go ahead and give a warning to all Lakers fans and the general public who are automatically assuming this will be a cake walk now that LeBron isn't around. While the Lakers beat the Cavs both times they played during the regular season (both times by double digits, once when Kobe dislocated his finger and once when Kobe was sick and LeBron was coming off his 50 point triple-double against the Knicks), they also lost to the Magic both times they played (the first time Kobe hit a then season high 41, and the second time Kobe had a triple-double). Let me simplify that for you: Laker 2-0 vs. Cavs, Lakers 0-2 vs. Magic. And, as was proven by the Magic's continued ownership of the Cavs, the regular season does matter. Go ahead and process that.

Now of course there's a bit of a difference between now and then: 1) the Lakers had a healthy Andrew Bynum 2) the Magic had a healthy Jameer Nelson. Lakers faithful can find solace in the fact that Orlando needed every bit of Nelson's 27, 4, and 5 from the first meeting (11-16 from the field, 4-6 from three) and 28, 6, and 8 in from the second meeting (9-18 from the field, 3-6 from three) to take them out, seeing that if Nelson does play he'll be nowhere near that level. BUT at the same time, if Andrew Bynum got bodied by Dwight Howard on a healthy knee (including a 25 point, 20 rebound, 3 block in the second match-up), what can you expect with him playing on a sore knee?? Look for Dwight to be dominant in the paint.

The X-factor in this whole series will be Lamar Odom and what he decides to bring to the table. If the Lakers can get 18, 10, and 6 from him per game off the bench then they should be sitting pretty. If he doesn't show up and gives them 4, 5, and 2 then the Lakers will be in trouble. Odom will also need to show up on the defensive end. He and Trevor Ariza are better match-ups for Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis than Anderson Varejao and Delonte West (seeing that LeBron wanted no part of guarding either) were in the Magic-Cavs series. Hedo and 'Shard won't have as many wide open looks with faster defenders on them... that is, if Odom decides to show up.

At the end of the day, I just don't see Kobe letting another ring pass him by like in his last 2 trips to the Finals. The Magic have already won by just reaching the Finals, but its definitely Kobe's to lose. I'm gonna go with Lakers in 6. (Side note: What's up with people predicting Magic in 7?? Does anyone actually think the Magic would be capable of going into the Staples Center for a game 7 against Kobe and win?? You've GOT to be joking.)

Now, I'll leave you with Kobe Bryant's blatant disrespect of Dwight Howard's existence from wight's rookie year in 2004.

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Hedo Left One Second Too Many

Hedo Turkoglu hits a 2-point jumper to give his team the 95-93 lead. Game over, right?? Wrong! Hedo left one second for the LeBrons to work with and the ringleader made them pay, burying a 23-foot (yeah I know, crazy coincidence lol) three-point shot at the buzzer.

I'll be honest with you, when I saw Mo Williams was inbounding the ball I automatically had a flash back to the Trevor Ariza steal from Game 1 of the Lakers/Nuggets series. But it all worked out and instead of going down 0-2 heading to Orlando this Sunday, they even up the series 1-1. Makes you wonder what would've happened had he not passed the shot up in Game 1? Oh well.

Anyway, I'm glad the Magic lost because I now fuckin' hate Hedo Turkoglu. I play ESPN's Streak For The Cash and tonights 8:30pm bet was "More Points: Hedo vs. Mo Williams." I did a bunch of research and number crunching and finally decided to go with Mo despite Hedo averaging more points in the playoffs because I figured Mo would have a huge bounce back game after Wednesday's dud (not to mention even with that dud in the first game he still outscored Hedo 17-15). Wrong! He started out strong scoring 9 to Hedo's 0 in the first quarter, but after that he went ice cold. In the 2nd half, not only did Hedo catch him, but he even passed him at one point before that last shot.

Mo hits a runner in the lane with about 1 or 2 minutes left to take a 19-17 lead. Hedo comes down and hits a shot to match him at 19. Just when I thought the bet would end up being a push, the Magic get the ball to Hedo with 13.7 left for the last shot. He nails it leaving just one sec to take a 21-19 lead and break my streak. I felt dead. Matter of fact, I am dead. Bye.

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