The NBA is back, the NBA is back! Christmas day is definitely going to be a wonderful day. In all honesty I don't think I have missed the league as much as I probably should. There have been plenty of other sports that have kept me occupied. Through the lockout, Sundays have become a sacred day of watching football and doing nothing at all but regretting dropping Andy Dalton from my fantasy team after the week 1... I'd say my love for the NFL hasn't been this strong since the beginning years of high school. College football still needs a playoff system, but it has still been a solid year (Bayou Bengals!), and college basketball is filled with a bunch of Anthony Davis's unibrow and extra talent this year thanks to the lockout. With that being said, it doesn't mean I didn't miss the league. I miss Monta throwing up 25 shots a game en route to another Warriors loss. I miss Kevin Love gobbling up them double-doubles. I miss the Blake Show. I miss Doc Rivers's in-game huddles. I miss Delonte West. I miss and will continue to miss J.R. Smith until March. I miss hating Kobe Bryant, but having him make me respect his game and understand he has been the greatest basketball player in my lifetime since Michael Jordan. I miss Rondoooooooo and Kevin Durant. I miss watching LeBrick James choking when it matters the most. I just missing watching basketball played at the highest level.
What do I anticipate? I'll expand on that in future posts, but I do expect an entertaining season. Momentum left from the ending of last season will be lessened because of the lockout and players will probably be rusty with quality of play not being great until February-March. Some good players like Wilson Chandler may not be on an NBA roster until March, but this year will still be great, like every year. Here are a couple of things to look forward to when the season tips off:
5) Collective Bargaining & Rambling About My Ideal League: I don't really care to talk about the collective bargaining agreement, and all I know is that the players pretty much still got screwed in terms of revenue sharing, the owners also did not get everything they wanted either, both sides lost, but the fans won. Small market teams will still be unable to keep up with big market teams, star players have a greater incentive to stay with the team that drafted them, but they can still go wherever they please, which they will do and it is wonderful. I despise the creation of superteams, but they're great for the league and fun to watch, and I could care less about the small market teams. Their owners are stingy (yes, Michael Jordan that includes you, Robert Sarver, etc.) and even if they have money to spend on elite players, they don't do it anyways. Currently, only two small market teams matter to the league, the Spurs (Once Duncan retires, will they still matter though?) and the Thunder. My plan: eliminate the small market teams like the Raptors, Bobcats, Bucks, and it pains me to say it...the Kings, and two other useless franchises in the future too. Have a 24 team league, have a draft of those players with a lottery system similar to the NBA draft, worst team has best odds of acquiring Brandon Jennings or Tyreke Evans?? Which equates to less crappy owners, no DJ Mnebga's on rosters, more mid-level teams acquiring good players, more fans for their market, and an ability to compete against the bigger market teams like the Knicks, Heat, Lakers, etc. It's wishful thinking and definitely not happening, but wouldn't that be great?
4) Trade Winds: I'm pretty sure for any NBA fan, you already know that the summer of 2012 is going to have a pretty good free agency class. That is if these potential free agents are not traded by this year's deadline. Everyone already knows the three big names: Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul, and trade rumors have already been swirling about two of them. Deron Williams opting out does not mean anything, it's only a more lucrative move for him and I expect him to re-sign with the Nets once the season is over. If you're expecting Dwight Howard to get traded early this season or anytime during the season, don't get your hopes up. Even though Dwight does not want to be a Magic, the Magic still want Dwight. There is no way they will trade him at least until after the all-star break (this year's game is in Orlando). There are plenty of potential suitors for Dwight: Clippers, Knicks, Nets, and Lakers, but I do not see the Magic dealing Dwight until they have no choice but to sign and trade him to a team in the summer. The Magic's plan is to make some more roster adjustments (amnesty Gilbert Arenas or Hedo Turkoglu? Sign Jared Dudley, Arron Afflalo?) and make a run at a title to show Dwight that they're a franchise trying to put the pieces around him to succeed. I don't believe they will convince him to stay, but in any circumstance, the Magic will lose because it is only a matter of time before Dwight leaves Orlando.
The one guy who will likely be traded this season however, is Chris Paul. The Hornets are not competing for a title this year, David West should pack his bags for Indiana if he knows what's best, and Paul has made his intentions clear, he wants to play for the Knicks. Dell Demps understands the situation and he has been working hard to find a good deal. If I'm the Hornets, I do what I told the Nuggets to do last year with Carmelo (which they did not do), and trade Paul to wherever they please. Excuse my French, but fuck where Chris Paul wants to go. If a team wants to risk acquiring him without a guaranteed extension and they still offer a package of young talent and draft picks, do it. The Hornets do not owe Chris Paul anything anymore and their main concern should be to do anything possible to build a young roster appealing enough to keep the team in New Orleans when they are sold.
I'm fed up with these superstars all being best friends and wanting to play with each other instead of competing against each other, and it's sad to see Chris Paul become one of them. It's understandable that CP3 wants to play with a better supporting cast and he deserves it, but I've played this scenario enough in 2K to know, CP3, Melo, and Amare together still won't win them a championship until they learn how to play team defense and not until Mike D'Antoni coaches a team other than the Knickerbockers. We saw it last year, three superstars on one team is very fun to watch, but it does not make chemistry and everyone else on the team better. Paul choosing the Knicks is not a bad decision and I do not knock him for wanting to play in the mecca of basketball with two of the top 10 players in the league, but I believe there is one team who has been inquiring about Paul's services that would suit him best for the situation now, the Boston Celtics.The one aspect making Paul difficult to trade will be the same with Melo last year. He won't sign an extension unless it's the Knicks or Lakers. The Knicks have nothing to offer this season, and would actually be much better suited to wait and sign Paul for a discounted contract in the summer and the Lakers would seem like the most logical trading partner for the Hornets to acquire Andrew Bynum, but would the Lakers be willing to give up a franchise center (which comes about every 5 years) in return for a franchise point guard (which comes about every 2 years)? If I'm LA, I will only trade Bynum for Howard and acquire a serviceable point guard in that deal as well...Jameer Nelson. Which makes the Boston Celtics the most fitting team to acquire CP3. I know Paul said he will not sign an extension with Boston, and the C's are hesitant to trade for him unless he does sign an extension, but why not make the move? There is also no way if the C's acquire him he would quit playing and be lackadaisical for a year. KG, Allen, and Pierce would not let that happen. I love Rajon Rondo and he is the second-most important player to the Celtics behind Kevin Garnett, but If the Celtics have the opportunity to have Paul lead the team for just one season they have to take that chance.This team has one last run in them this season, and after that it's time to blow up the team and rebuild anyways. There's nothing to lose and three scenarios can happen if this trade is made:
Best-Case Scenario - Paul wins a championship with the Celtics, loves the tradition and culture of the team and decides to stay. Rebuilding is not as necessary with Paul Pierce and Jeff Green back, possibly one more year of KG, and Paul being the new franchise player.
OK Scenario - Paul wins a championship with the Celtics, but decides to leave. In the end they still won a title which is the ultimate goal. Rebuilding begins and Celtics feature Jeff Green and Paul Pierce as their best players the following season.
Worst-Case Scenario - Paul leads the team to a loss in the playoffs or finals, and decides to leave. Rebuilding begins and Celtics feature Jeff Green and Paul Pierce as their best players the following season.
Of course the C's would love to avoid the worst-case scenario with Paul, but with Rondo running the team that worst-case scenario will most likely happen and rebuilding with Rondo, Pierce, and Green is still not ideal. If the Celtics are going to lose in the playoffs, they might as well start everything over, keeping only Paul Pierce if he wants to stay and having Rondo on the team would make things more difficult. Chris Paul will make the Celtics a true championship contender, and it certainly means throwing all your chips in for ONE CHAMPIONSHIP. Rondo will be good for New Orleans. He'll still attract fans, he'll get to be the star player of a franchise and get the recognition that comes with it (which he does not get in Boston), and the Hornets can probably acquire some good young prospects in the trade as well (most likely a 3-team deal). I think that everyone involved can benefit from this trade. The Celtics have a legitimate title shot which is all they should be looking for. Rajon Rondo loses the most, but can become a star in New Orleans. The Hornets will have Rondo to lead their young team in the future. Lastly, Chris Paul can possibly win a title with the C's or leave and join the Knicks or whichever team he pleases after.
I would love to talk more about trades like Rudy Gay for Monta Ellis?? But I'll save it for another time. I know 5 things in 2 parts is pretty ridiculous, but I know attention span is lacking and the trade portion of this post was pretty long. Check back tomorrow for Part 2!
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