Random News Shit: NBA Free Agency Pre-Today Edition

Finally, my uneducated thoughts on all the wheeling and dealing in the NBA since the free agency period began!

1) Deron Williams Decides To Stay With The Nets
You mean to tell me Deron didn't decide to take $25 million less to play for his hometown team? I'm shocked! Of course a large part of his decision had to do with...

2) Hawks Trade Joe Johnson To The Nets
I never thought I'd see the day the Hawks were able to unload Joe Johnson's atrocious contract, but it really happened. Every Hawks fan in Atlanta should be offering Danny Ferry blowjobs from their wives and/or girlfriends. (Then again knowing Atlanta, I guess should've thrown "boyfriends" in there too.)

Anyway, the trade sends Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow, DeShawn Stevenson, and a 2013 first-round pick (Houston's pick) for Joe Johnson. I hope DeShawn Stevenson's ATM is portable because I'm sure it'll come in handy at the many strip clubs in the ATL.

3) Steve Nash Headed To Lakers In Sign-and-Trade
This move would've been awesome if it was made 5 years ago. The Lakers should be better with Nash, but they still won't be able to beat the Thunder. It'll be interesting seeing Kobe playing with an All-Star point guard for once though.

4) Ray Allen Takes His Talents To South Beach
Honestly, I didn't think this was going to happen, but I'm happy it did, especially if Mike Miller is planning on retiring. I don't know how Pat Riley does it, but I'm glad he does.

And as for everyone saying Ray Allen is a traitor for leaving Boston, SHUT THE FUCK UP! Ray was already in his 30's when he arrived in Boston, Danny Ainge tried to trade him several times, Doc Rivers gave his starting spot to Avery Bradley, the Celtics signed Jason Terry before he made his decision, and he apparently doesn't get along with Rajon Rondo. Loyalty my ass!

5) Jeremy Lin Signs 4-Year Offer Sheet With Rockets
The offer sheet is worth $28.8 million, so whether the Knicks match it (which they will) or not, if millions were games, Lin would be making $2.8 million more than games he's started.

(Yeah, I know that was a long way to go for that.)

6) Lamar Odom Traded To Clippers
Lamar says he only wants to play on the beach and now he's back in L.A., good for him. Sucks for Mo Williams though, he goes from living in L.A. to living in Utah. Oh well, at least he's getting paid.

7) Eric Gordon Signs $58 Million Offer Sheet With Suns
Sadly for Eric, looks like New Orleans is gonna make it and he's gonna be forced to play with Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers instead of Jared Dudley and Hakim Warrick. Wait, what?

Speaking of the Suns...

8) Goran Dragic Returns To Phoenix For $34 Million
I'm not sure why they let him go in the first play, but he was the logical choice to run the show post-Nash.

Also...

9) Suns Sign Michael Beasley For $18 Million
Imagine how different the complexion of the league would be if the Bulls had taken Michael Beasley #1 instead of Derrick Rose? Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose are tearing it up in South Beach, LeBron James and Chris Bosh are playing elsewhere, and Michael Beasley... well, he's still a bust.

10) Nets Re-sign Gerald Wallace
They better had because it would be completely tragic if they traded away the 6th pick in the draft for a guy who bolted after half a season.

11) The Wolves Sign Brandon Roy
Brandon Roy finally gets to play for the team that originally drafted him (and stupidly traded his rights to Portland for Randy Foye on draft day). Hope it works out.

12) Jason Terry Signs With The Celtics
Too bad Celtics fans hate traitors so much and all.

Speaking of former Mavericks...

13) Jason Kidd Signs With Knicks
Damn, does anybody besides Dirk Nowitzki still play for the Mavs? Giving up on the 2011 season to try to get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard this summer is going terribly. Maybe Mark Cuban should quit Shark Tank for a bit and tend to his team.

14) 76ers Release Elton Brand
Damn, I didn't see this coming. If Brand was willing to take the veteran minimum, he's just undersized enough to get signed by the Heat. I'm sure one of the smart teams like the Spurs or Thunder will land him though.

15) Hawks Trade Marvin Williams To Jazz For Devin Harris
How is Danny Ferry doing this?! He just got rid of garbage ass Marvin Williams in exchange of Devin Harris (who had a sneaky good season last year)?? Ferry is well on his way to winning Executive of the Year in my books.

16) Jameer Nelson Re-signs With Magic
Good for him, maybe he can be the new Darrell Armstrong and lead the Magic to just missing the playoffs after they lose their franchise center again.

17) Magic Trade Ryan Anderson To Hornets
I'm not sure what the hell the Magic are doing, but good trade by the Hornets.

18) Marcus Camby Signs With Knicks
I wanted Camby to come down to Miami, but when he signed with the Knicks, I remembered he already played with the Knicks so grew up hating him. Now I hate him again. I mean, we could've used his rebounding, but fuck him.

19) Kirk Hinrich Rejoins Bulls
A lot of players returning back to former teams this year. Weird.

20) Clippers Sign Jamal Crawford
Wait, didn't Crawford just sign a 2-year deal with the Trail Blazers just last year? Yes, yes, I believe he did.

21) Pacers Re-Sign George Hill
Good move by the Pacers, as long as the money is reasonable.

22) Rockets Sign Omer Asik
An $8 million per year deal for a back-up center in a league who hasn't had a dominate center lead a year to a title in 5 years? I guess.

23) Raptors Sign Landry Fields
Hold up, maybe I'm reading this wrong, the Raptors gave Landry Fields $20 million dollars?? And they wonder why Steve Nash didn't want to sign there.

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LeBron James Chooses The Heat

First off, I wanna thank LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the rest of the 2010 NBA free agent class for helping bridge the gap between the NBA Finals and the start of NFL training camp. I truly appreciate it, that week or so with only the World Cup and baseball was truly brutal.

Second, I wanna send a shout out to all the new Miami Heat fans. I saw a lot of people who rooted for the Celtics after they put out the Heat in the playoffs become Heat fans last night. Welcome... but just know you ain't shit lol.

Third, I wanna send another shout out, but this time to all the rapper who plan on using lines like "I'm staying with the Heat... D-Wade" and "I bring in the new Heat like Pat Riley." We all know you're out there.

Now, how about the Miami Heat?? I cannot believe they landed all 3 of the big free agents of the 2011 class. Wade and Bosh was huge, but LeBron just takes this whole thing to a different level. I'm still in shock, I can't believe he's coming to the Heat. I know I said the Heat would be better off if he didn't come, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a little bit of a reserve jinx. It wasn't 100% reserve jinx though, and it will be interesting to see how Pat Riley fills out the rest of this roster.

They've already traded Michael Beasley and his $5 million a year salary to Minnesota (wish they would've got more than a 2nd round pick, but I'll take it), so we'll see who we can use that on. We know the salary cap is going to be higher, and that Wade, LeBron, and Bosh all are gonna take less money to make this happen, so hopefully some good ol' vets will do the same.

(Side note: Now that Minnesota has added 2 former 2nd overall pick draft busts this offseason in Beasley and Darko Milicic, I think David Kahn should just finish the job and bring in the rest of the 2nd overall pick draft busts from the '00s. Stromile Swift, Tyson Chandler, Jay Williams, Emeka Okafor, Marvin Williams, and Hasheem Thabeet would be lovely additions. AND on top of that, they could change their names to the "Minnesota Busts" or the "Minnesota Underachievers." I like it!)

In actuality, all the Heat need at this point is big men and spot up shooters. Brendan Haywood has already re-signed with Dallas, but here are some other free agents I have my eye on if they're willing to play for less (in no particular order):

Brad Miller (7-footer, 34 years old, can hit open shots, plays big)
Shaquille O'Neal (wants to match Kobe in rings, not sure he'd take the huge pay cut though)
Mike Miller (still only 30 years old, great shooter from 3)
J.J. Redick (young guy, excellent spot up shooter, could make a lot more elsewhere)
Allen Iverson (looking for redemption and a pay check, not sure where/how he'd fit)
Kyle Korver (29, incredible shooter, may be willing to take less to win)
Derek Fisher (tons of heart, if he takes less it'll probably be to stay in L.A.)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (veteran 7-shooter who can play with LeBron)
Anthony Morrow (only 24, great shooter, not sure he'd take the small contract)
Roger Mason Jr. (29, nice spot up shooter, gets no PT on current team)

And then there's the guys from last season's team who I'd love to have back like Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, and Quentin Richardson.

Aight, so that handle the roster options, now let's talk about LeBron's decision some more. Some people will say he took the "easy way out" but that is some bullshit. So him staying in Cleveland with scraps would have been more honorable?? I hate that all these "analysts" and "experts" are acting like if he stayed in Cleveland and continued to not win rings he'd somehow be more respectable. Stop with the bullshit! They'd be the first ones ripping him for not living up to his potential and winning rings. Loyalty in sports is a bitch, ask Kevin Garnett. Do you seriously think if KG could do it all over, he wouldn't have left the T'Wolves in his prime when he had the chance?? I mean, thank goodness he was able to finally get a ring, but so many others aren't so lucky (Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, etc.). As far as I'm concerned, LeBron did what Kevin Garnett should have done.

Now let's talk about Cleveland. Why are these people so mad?? Yeah they lost the greatest basketball player to wear a Cavs jersey, but aren't they use to these kinds of gut punches by now?? The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, I mean the list goes on and on. And why are they so shocked and surprised?? I mean, I always thought he was going to stay, but I never said it'd be a good idea. They HAVE to realize it would have been stupid for him to stay, and that's whether he ended up in Miami, New York, Chicago, or New Jersey. Cavs fans knew that, hell, the whole state of Ohio knew that, but still they burned his jersey and are acting like babies.

Oh, and did you get a load of Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert?? His reaction to LeBron leaving was that of a scorn woman, not of a professional businessman (the Comic Sans MS font didn't help either). I'll talk about Danny more later, but after reading his classless response to LeBron's decision, could you really blame him for no longer wanting to play for such a bitch?? I'm sure that helped LBJ regret his decision even less.

You know what?? Fuck it, this is what Cleveland's ass gets for tanking the '02 season to land LeBron in the '03 draft. Man up, the guy took your franchise to heights it has never seen before, and will never see again. Be grateful he wasted 7 years of his career on y'all. Stop worshiping humans and trying to hold them up to these God-like standards. He had to make a decision and any way you slice it (Miami, New York, Chicago, New Jersey), the best option was NOT in Cleveland. So be sad, feel betrayed, fine. But I'm gonna need this to not linger on for forever.

And with that being said, I can't think of any city who deserved this less than Miami lol. Seriously, you know I love South Florida, but we are the fairweather fans of all fairweather fans. We are only around when things are going good. Did you see any Heat home games last year?? That arena was less than half filled on a nightly basis. And lets not even start on the Marlins, they're lucky if they get 1,000 heads for a home game. So no Miami and South Florida didn't deserve this, but I'm sure happy it happened.

The last big question to be answered is can Wade, LeBron, and Bosh play together?? My answer: fuck yeah! It's not like they've never played together before. They were all apart of the 2006 FIBA World Championship squad and 2008 Olympic gold medal team. And that's not to mention the 5 All-Star Games they've all played in together (including 2007 when all 3 started). Wade and LeBron have played on 6 together and started together all but once (2005). In particular, I remember watching the All-Star Game this year and tweeting about how great D-Wade and LeBron looked playing together. I know there isn't much defense played in All-Star Games, but their on-court chemistry was undeniable. So yeah, I definitely think they can play together.

So there you have it, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh are teammates again, but for real this time, and as members of Miami Heat. Now all we need are nicknames. I've heard the "3 Live Crew," "Miami Thrice," and some acronym with all 3 of their initials, but the 1 I like best is "Miami-Wade County, LeBroward County, and Palm Bosh County." It's a bit long-winded, but I love it because this isn't only big for Miami, it's big for South Florida.

(Side note: I like how all the proceeds from the "LeBron's Decision" special going to charity is being completely overlooked.)

(Side side note: How long before Erik Spoelstra "wants to spend more time with his family" and Pat Riley takeover as Heat head coach again??)

(Side side side note: Why was Kanye West there??)

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Random News Shit: Current News Edition

1) Michael Jackson's Death Ruled A Homicide
Uh-oh! Its about to get even uglier for that doctor in a quick second. Its a damn shame he had to be black but oh well, tough break nigga.

Anyway, am I the only one who thinks it still feels weird that Michael Jackson is dead?? Seriously though, I know he wasn't doing much this past decade and that he wasn't gonna live forever but damn, its freakin' Michael Jackson! That doctor needs to know he's going down.

2) Michael Beasley Checks Into Rehab
This story is crazy! When I got off work I tuned into 790 The Ticket and heard Dan Lebatard talking to Charles Barkley about young athletes, lots of money, and drug use. Pure craziness.

Even though we don't really know the details of what kinda rehab he's entered just yet, I can say with all honestly I'm not shocked by this story one bit. Did it catch me off guard?? A little bit, but now that I sit back and think am I shocked, I realize I'm totally not. I mean I love M. Beas, but the dude always came off a bit weird to me. Plus, we already knew he's a poor decision maker (most noticeably for his decision to rock those skinny ass braids in the playoffs).

I hope dude gets the help he needs because we're gonna need his ass to have a real shot at anything this year.

On another note, Twitter takes down another and gives us reason #604 why most rappers/athletes/celebs shouldn't have a fuckin' Twitter.

3) Rivers Gets 6-Year Extension Worth $92 Million
Not quite what Eli got, but its still a damn great time to be a QB from the upper-echelon of the 2004 draft class. Well everyone expect J.P. Losman at #22 lol.

4) Vick To Play This Thursday Vs. Jags
From all accounts Mike Vick has looked pretty sharp since joining the Eagles and now we'll finally get to see what he looks like in his Philly gear in a real game. Ironically, the last time we saw him play was against the Eagles. I'm excited!

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Dwyane Wade To Play In Game 5 Tonight

I knew something was wrong with him from the start the other night because he came out and shot 4 airballs in the first quarter and wasn't even attempting to drive to the basket and draw fouls. It became more obvious as the game wore on and Wade actually having to be helped off the bench to check back into the game. Yet and still the Heat leader is gonna play in tonight's game verses the Hawks in Atlanta. I don't know how much we can expect Wade to give, but this should definitely be a warning call to players like Michael Beasley to step his game up.

I think if Wade can give them anything and M. Beasley can score about 25, the Heat have a good shot at taking the series back to Miami up 3-2.

SOURCE

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Wade's 55 Againt Knicks A New Career High

I was worried about what I was gonna be doing on this Sunday seeing I didn't have to work for the first time since Easter of last year, but once again sports got me through the day. First Tiger and Phil nearly came from behind and took the green jacket at the Masters (shouts to Angel Cabrera, the winner after a 3-way playoff), then LeBron and the Cavs destroyed the Celts, and Dwyane Wade ripped the Knicks for 55 (side note: the Knicks have to be the running for "Most 50 point games given up in a season") while clinching the 5th spot in the playoffs for the Heat. That's a career high for Wade and was just 1 shy of the Heat's franchise record of 56 held by Glenn Rice since 1995.

In addition to the career high in points, he also set a career high in 3's made with 6 while bringing down 9 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Yeah it was against the Knicks, but still quite amazing and now at least the Heat can rest until the playoffs start Saturday (they're gonna need it with all the injuries they have right now).

I also wanna show some love to Heat rookie Michael Beasley who added 28 points and 16 boards in his 2nd consecutive start (he had 23 and 13 in his first). Kinda makes you wonder why he's been coming off the bench for majority of the season.

SOURCE

Related:
Kobe Hits Record 61 Points In The Garden!
No 62 For LeBron...Just 52 & A Triple Double!

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Heat Top Suns In Shaq's Return To South Beach

No happy ending for Shaq and the Suns as D-Wade and the Heat take them down 135-129. Wade had another incredible game and poured in 35 points, 16 assists, and 6 boards while Shaq put up 22 and 8.

It was another good game by Miami, but the big difference between this win and the loss to the Cavs Monday was the help Wade got tonight. Michael Beasley hit 28 and Daequan Cook hit 27, career highs for both. That's 55 points combined! Beasley also chipped in 9 rebounds and reigning 3-point champ Cook went 6-8 for three. If the Heat could get this kinda of effort off the bench on a nightly basis they'd be a real problem come playoff time.

SOURCE

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Rookie-Sophomore Challenge Line-Ups

Here are the teams for the Rook-Soph Challenge which is Feb. 13 at pm! Just looking at the line-ups, I think the rookies have a good chance to snap their 6 year losing streak lol.

Player (Team)	Position
Michael Beasley (Heat)	F
Rudy Fernandez (Trail Blazers)	G-F
Marc Gasol (Grizzlies)	C
Eric Gordon (Clippers)	G
Brook Lopez (Nets)	C
O.J. Mayo (Grizzlies)	G
Greg Oden (Trail Blazers)	C
Derrick Rose (Bulls)	G
Russell Westbrook (Thunder)	G

I feel bad for Greg Oden because he has to play with the c/o 08 instead of his c/o 07...in which he was the 1st player picked! lol. Sophomore team after the jump.

Player (Team)	Position
Aaron Brooks (Rockets)	G
Wilson Chandler (Knicks)	F
Kevin Durant (Thunder)	G-F
Jeff Green (Thunder)	F
Al Horford (Hawks)	F-C
Luis Scola (Rockets)	F-C
Al Thornton (Clippers)	F
Rodney Stuckey (Pistons)	G
Thaddeus Young (Sixers)	F

Should be a good game.

SOURCE

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Random News Shit: NBA Edition

Houston signs on for second comeback with Knicks

All I gotta say is why?? You're 37, haven't played in a NBA game since 2005 because you were forced to retire by injury, when you attempted to come back last year you played in just 1 preseason game before calling it quits, and now you wanna come play in the run-n-gun offense of Mike D'Antoni?? Nigga please, its time to give it up. In my opinion, once you become a sports analyst you should not even be allowed to attempt a comeback because it never works.

Clippers' Jason Williams announces his retirement

I guess he realized how dumb it was to leave the Heat after he saw how great D. Wade looked in the Olympics lol. Oh well, playing for the Clippers would make any man wanna retire lol. But speaking of D. Wade...

Wade ready to lead Heat back to prominence

Now, of course that doesn't mean the Heat are headed back to the Finals, but look out for this team in the East. A healthy Dwyane Wade, plus Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley should at least be able to make it to the playoffs. And having Pat Reilly upstairs just concentrating on putting a solid team together should pay off (don't forget that after Pat went back solely upstairs last time he put together an NBA championship team. Watch out for your job Erik Spoelstra).

Report: Knicks' Walsh had cancer cut from tongue

Aww man that's gross! It also sucks balls, but its better than having it spread.

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Surprise! Rose #1, Beasley #2

I turned NBA Live off just in time to see Derrick Rose sitting on the couch talking to Stephen A. Smith, but it was a no-brainer who the Bulls were picking. Its been a subject of debate if the Heat would take Michael Beasley #2 and they made the right decision and made it happen. I mean O.J. Mayo is nice, but the Heat have enough guards.

BTW, no surprise O.J. went #3 to my former team the Minnesota Timberwolves. I'm sure they'll misuse him and waste away his best years, but best of luck to him anyway.

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Damn Bulls!

Damn, I was hoping the Heat would win the draft lottery tonight and get this #1 overall pick but the punk ass Bulls won. The Heat still got #2 and will still get either Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose so its really not that bad. Plus, the last time the Heat sent a player to represent them (Caron Butler) they ended up with Dwyane Wade so hopefully the same luck will continue come draft time in June. Then again, the last night the Bulls had the #1 overall pick there was a big man and a guard available and as you can well see Elton Brand worked out a lot better than Steve Francis lol. I guess we'll see.

How about those Knicks though?? Damn, them niggas can't catch a break! They had the 2nd most balls behind the Heat (no homo) and they ended up with the 6th pick lol. A 6th pick they'll probably waste on Kevin Love or some shit lol. Oh well!

Oh and it looks like Hovito didn't bring much luck to the Nets as they ended up with the 10th overall pick. Tough break nigga lol.

Source

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