Category: NBA (Page 93 of 595)

2010 Year-End Sports Review: What We Think Will Happen

What do we think will happen in 2011? Ha! We’re glad you asked. As part of our 2010 Year End Sports Review, we see good things ahead for Duke, the Celtics and the Saints. We see cursed days ahead for the Phillies and Giants, and one Florida Gator-sized reunion in Denver. We also like Carmelo to play for the…hey, why are we telling you all this? Read for yourself below, lazy. (And have an open mind – we had some fun with this section.)

Contributors: Anthony Stalter, John Paulsen, Paul Costanzo, Drew Ellis and Mike Farley

You think he’s gone? He’s not gone. He’s never gone!

Brett Favre has duped us before with his retirement talk, so why should we buy what he’s selling now? Lord Favre says 2010 will be his final season, but after spending a couple of months on his ranch next summer, he’ll get the itch to return. And some team will welcome him back. And the media will torture us with their 24-hour Favre watch. And the dreaded cycle of death will continue. So which lucky team will have No. 4 in uniform next season? While we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Favre returning to the Vikings for one more year now that Brad Childress is gone, that’s not a very fun projection. Thus, what about Da Raaaaaaaiders? Huh? Can you see it now? Lord Favre and Al Davis at the podium holding up their pointer fingers and saying, “Just win baby.” No? Ah, you’re no fun.

Carmelo will be a Knickerbocker next year.

Book ‘em, Danno. The writing is on the wall. He hasn’t signed the three-year extension that the Nuggets offered last summer and has reportedly decided that the only team he’ll agree to be traded to is the New York Knicks. This means that if the Nuggets are hoping to get something substantial for him, they’ll have to move him before the February trade deadline. Since there appears to be only one team in the running, the deal isn’t going to be very good. We wouldn’t want to be Nugget fans right now — the rebuilding process is about to begin.
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Magic add Arenas, Turkoglu and J-Rich

Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas warms up prior to playing the Los Angeles Lakers at the Verizon Center in Washington on December 14, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

The Magic were busy on Saturday. Very busy.

The Orlando Magic capped a blockbuster day of wheeling and dealing by trading one franchise cornerstone for another, sending Rashard Lewis to the Washington Wizards for Gilbert Arenas on Saturday.

That trade followed news of a deal that sent Vince Carter to the Phoenix Suns in a six-player swap that returns Hedo Turkoglu to the Magic.

The Magic also get Jason Richardson and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick and cash considerations.

The Magic added Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark and lost Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus and a 2011 first round pick.

Let’s take these deals one-by-one. First, Lewis for Arenas. The Magic had to be disappointed with the production they were getting from Lewis, who is averaging just 12.2 points per game this season, his lowest since his sophomore season. The truth is, Lewis’s production took a nosedive when Carter came to town. Now the Magic have Arenas instead, and Gilbert will have to embrace playing off-guard because Jameer Nelson is still slated to start at the point.

Not a bad deal for the Wizards who get a starter-quality ‘stretch four’ in Lewis, who should thrive spacing the floor for John Wall. Lewis’s contract is ridiculous, but it’s one year shorter than Arenas’s deal, which is just as ridiculous. The real upside is that it’s Wall’s team now and he doesn’t have to deal with Agent Zero stepping on his toes.

Now to the Suns’ deal. The Magic sent a starter-quality center (Gortat), Vince Carter’s expiring contract, Mickael Pietrus and a first round pick to Phoenix for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. J-Rich is the best player of this bunch, but his deal is expiring as well, so there’s little salary relief for either franchise.

The bottom line is that the Magic just traded away four of its rotation players, so it’s going to take some time to work Turkoglu, Richardson and Arenas into the fold. Unless they expect Richardson to play some small forward, one of the three guards (Richardson, Arenas or Nelson) is going to be short on minutes. And let’s not forget that the Magic want to work J.J. Redick in as well.

Arenas to the Magic?

Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas is seen as the Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers at the Verizon Center in Washington on December 14, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

Per Adrian Wojnarowski:

Orlando and Washington are engaged in serious discussions for a trade that would send Gilbert Arenas to the Magic, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Still unclear was whether Orlando would send the expiring contract of Vince Carter as part of the package or build a trade around longer-term contracts, including that of backup center Marcin Gortat, sources said. The Wizards also have been angling to get a first-round pick in return, sources said.

The Magic are currently sitting at 16-9 and in fourth place in the much improved Eastern Conference. They see the writing on the wall, which is why they are willing to roll the dice on Gilbert Arenas in order to improve their talent base and give the team a better shot in the playoffs.

Still, it’s funny how quickly things can change. Just a few short months ago, after Arenas was suspended for bringing a loaded gun to the Wizards’ locker room, the team couldn’t give him away. Now there trying to wrest a first round pick out of the Magic in return. Amazing.

For his part, Arenas is posting decent numbers (17-3-6) this season, but isn’t shooting the ball particularly well (39% from the field, 32% from 3PT). I don’t see how he’d work with Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter in the backcourt, so I suspect that Carter would be the one to go. That means that Arenas would have to play a lot of off guard because Nelson is a better point guard right now, in my opinion.

If the Wizards can get out from under Arenas’s contract and get a first round pick and/or a starter-quality center like Marcin Gortat, it will be a coup. John Wall is the future in Washington and Arenas is superfluous. I don’t think Arenas is a good move for the Magic, but they need to do something, and there’s no doubt now that Vince Carter experiment was a failure.

Manu Ginobili hits game-winner against the Bucks [video]

My beloved Bucks, coming off of a surprising win in Dallas to snap the Mavs’ 12-game winning streak, gave the Spurs one hell of a run before Manu Ginobili hit this game winner at the buzzer.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead, but failed to get a good look at the hoop. It’s a situation where Brandon Jennings has to create his own shot, but he ended up picking up his dribble and giving the ball to Luc Mbah a Moute, who tried to draw the foul on an airborne player.

Ginobili had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts (21 points) and Drew Gooden (20 points) led the Bucks in scoring, but it was Andrew Bogut (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and SEVEN BLOCKS) who was the player of the game for Milwaukee. I sure hope he gets a long, hard look for the All-Star team, but Al Horford, Shaquille O’Neal, Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. None of those players are the defensive presence that Bogut is, however.

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