Saturday, January 8, 2011
Trade Exception Follow Up
Great article by Brian Windhorst of ESPN talking about the state of the league's trade exceptions with a summary of the biggest available. Nice follow up to my Carmelo Rumors article from last night.
100% Knicks Post
Ok folks, I managed to go through the first week of January without dedicating a single post to my Knicks. Yes, I've mentioned them numerous times, but haven't really talked about any of the games I've been at or what I think of the season so far.
I'll start by talking about the games I've been at so far this season. I've seen the Wizards, Warriors, Celtics, Heat, Thunder, and Spurs, the last four of which were AMAZING games to be at. The atmosphere at the Garden is unlike anything I've been seen in going the past four seasons. Everything I read has said MSG has been at near-playoff levels in terms of buzz and crowd noise and believe me I've been apart of that!
Obviously, the Heat game was by far the biggest party atmosphere game, with Drake taking the best celebrity row seat for that one. The first half of that game was just amazing with both teams shooting the lights out. Unfortunately, the Heat turned up the defense in the third quarter, held us to 17 points and the fourth quarter was just a showcase for LeBron to get his triple double.
By far the two best games from start to finish have been the Celtics and Spurs games. Both of them had amazing energy in the building and both games were shootouts. The C's and Knicks went punch for punch for the entire game right down to the buzzer when Amare's potential game winner was waved off. It was the type of game that you weren't even mad or disappointed about the outcome. You could tell you had just witnessed something incredible, the type of game that's the reason you pay so much to go to games. When Amare's three went in just after the buzzer the entire crowd stood and cheered at the exact same time. It instantly reminded me of this. Of course the stakes were MUCH bigger back then, but look at the replays that clip shows and watch how all the fans react at the exact same moment... that's how it was on Amare's shot.
The Spurs game was exactly like the Celtics game in terms of pace and scoring. The Knicks led 71-68 at halftime! Chandler had 31 points, Amare and Felton both had 28 apiece. But again, both teams went punch for punch the entire game with leads not getting to more than 6-7 points for New York. Then with under four minutes to go in the game they stretched it out to 10, then 11 on a series of amazing plays by Felton and Stoudemire. With just over 3 minutes left in the game the Spurs pulled their starters and the celebration was on. The rest of the game was spent standing and cheering as the Knicks handed the Spurs just their fifth loss of the season.
There's no more talk of 'if' this team can make the playoffs. It's a given that barring catastrophe, the worst the Knicks will finish is 6th in the weak Eastern Conference. The question now is if they can add some more impressive wins over the league upper echelon and truly contend in the Eastern playoffs this season. Yes, the Heat and Celtics seem to be a collision course in the East Finals, but an opening series win over the Magic or Bulls doesn't seem so far off, and certainly is a far cry from the expectations set at the beginning of the season. While the Knicks have had one of the easiest schedules in the league so far, they do have two signature wins over the Bulls, plus wins over the Thunder and Spurs. They played the Celtics down the last second and other than the awful third quarter against the Heat were very much in that game.
January will continue to test the Knicks as they hit the road for a four game Western Conference road trip that started tonight with Amare's return to Phoenix (I'm watching on DVR while typing this). After tonight they have games at the Lakers, Blazers and Jazz before coming home for the Kings and a return game with the Suns. Then they hit the road again for the Rockets, Spurs and Thunder. The end of the month softens a bit but is highlighted by LeBron's second and last trip to the Garden this season on January 27th.
If they can get through the road trips with a 4-3 or 3-4 record, then take care of very winnable home games against the Kings, Suns, and Wizards, they should be in great position heading to the last few months of the season. Plus who knows... maybe they'll add that Carmelo guy sometime between now and then too!
LET'S GO KNICKS!
I'll start by talking about the games I've been at so far this season. I've seen the Wizards, Warriors, Celtics, Heat, Thunder, and Spurs, the last four of which were AMAZING games to be at. The atmosphere at the Garden is unlike anything I've been seen in going the past four seasons. Everything I read has said MSG has been at near-playoff levels in terms of buzz and crowd noise and believe me I've been apart of that!
Obviously, the Heat game was by far the biggest party atmosphere game, with Drake taking the best celebrity row seat for that one. The first half of that game was just amazing with both teams shooting the lights out. Unfortunately, the Heat turned up the defense in the third quarter, held us to 17 points and the fourth quarter was just a showcase for LeBron to get his triple double.
By far the two best games from start to finish have been the Celtics and Spurs games. Both of them had amazing energy in the building and both games were shootouts. The C's and Knicks went punch for punch for the entire game right down to the buzzer when Amare's potential game winner was waved off. It was the type of game that you weren't even mad or disappointed about the outcome. You could tell you had just witnessed something incredible, the type of game that's the reason you pay so much to go to games. When Amare's three went in just after the buzzer the entire crowd stood and cheered at the exact same time. It instantly reminded me of this. Of course the stakes were MUCH bigger back then, but look at the replays that clip shows and watch how all the fans react at the exact same moment... that's how it was on Amare's shot.
The Spurs game was exactly like the Celtics game in terms of pace and scoring. The Knicks led 71-68 at halftime! Chandler had 31 points, Amare and Felton both had 28 apiece. But again, both teams went punch for punch the entire game with leads not getting to more than 6-7 points for New York. Then with under four minutes to go in the game they stretched it out to 10, then 11 on a series of amazing plays by Felton and Stoudemire. With just over 3 minutes left in the game the Spurs pulled their starters and the celebration was on. The rest of the game was spent standing and cheering as the Knicks handed the Spurs just their fifth loss of the season.
There's no more talk of 'if' this team can make the playoffs. It's a given that barring catastrophe, the worst the Knicks will finish is 6th in the weak Eastern Conference. The question now is if they can add some more impressive wins over the league upper echelon and truly contend in the Eastern playoffs this season. Yes, the Heat and Celtics seem to be a collision course in the East Finals, but an opening series win over the Magic or Bulls doesn't seem so far off, and certainly is a far cry from the expectations set at the beginning of the season. While the Knicks have had one of the easiest schedules in the league so far, they do have two signature wins over the Bulls, plus wins over the Thunder and Spurs. They played the Celtics down the last second and other than the awful third quarter against the Heat were very much in that game.
January will continue to test the Knicks as they hit the road for a four game Western Conference road trip that started tonight with Amare's return to Phoenix (I'm watching on DVR while typing this). After tonight they have games at the Lakers, Blazers and Jazz before coming home for the Kings and a return game with the Suns. Then they hit the road again for the Rockets, Spurs and Thunder. The end of the month softens a bit but is highlighted by LeBron's second and last trip to the Garden this season on January 27th.
If they can get through the road trips with a 4-3 or 3-4 record, then take care of very winnable home games against the Kings, Suns, and Wizards, they should be in great position heading to the last few months of the season. Plus who knows... maybe they'll add that Carmelo guy sometime between now and then too!
LET'S GO KNICKS!
Addressing the Melo Rumors
I finally have enough to time to really kick out another long post. Apologies for the delay but between the holidays, watching and attending games, and bowl season, I've been glued to the TV for the past three weeks or so. Time to take a Friday night in and catch up on all the Carmelo Anthony rumors that have surfaces as of late.
Things have been pretty quiet until this week with Melo. And I have to stay I'm really going to be devastated if he agrees to an extension and ends up with the Nets. In case you missed them, here are the details behind the last two deals to be reported. They all really suck if you ask me, and not just because they mean Melo ends up in Jersey/Brooklyn instead of MSG, but because the third team being included isn't really getting anything significant for participating.
According to ESPN, there was a potential deal with Cleveland joining the mix as the third cog to help facilitate the Denver-New Jersey swap. Here's the ESPN Trade Machine breakdown with details below also.
Nets receive: Carmelo Anthony, Al Harrington, and the Cavaliers' trade exception they received from the sign and trade of LeBron James this summer
Nuggets receive: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and three first round draft picks
Cavs receive: Troy Murphy's $12 million expiring contract with about $8 million still owed, and one or two first round draft picks
There were some sticking points that kept the trade from coming to fruition, but I'd rather focus on the assets involved in the deal.
First some background. In the original LeBron sign and trade Cleveland received two first round picks, two second round picks and the massive $14.5 million trade exception. I'll explain briefly without getting too in depth and boring you with all the rules behind a trade exception. A trade exception is like a credit that a team has one year to use in another trade to acquire a player so that it doesn't have to send matching salaries back to the team its trading with.
In essence by making this trade, the total worth of LeBron for Cleveland would be the two first rounders and two second rounders in the original deal with Miami, and then Troy Murphy's expiring $8 million contract, and another one or two first rounders. In total, 3-4 first round picks, 2 second round picks, and $8 million off their salary cap. There's no better way in the NBA to rebuild than in the draft, and there's certainly a premium on first round draft picks (second rounders don't really matter). So in using their trade exception to help send Melo to the Nets, the Cavs essentially receive one or two additional first rounders. I could understand if it was 100% two first round picks, but if it was really just one I think this deal is pretty crazy for Cleveland. The haul from the original deal with Miami was pretty decent for the Cavs, but I think they can do much more in terms of player acquisition with that large of a trade exception. With Cleveland looking to totally rebuild and no untouchables on the roster, I think they could use this trade exception in combination with other assets to maximize its value. It just seems like Cleveland is making the deal to get another draft pick which it can get in any other trade down the line anyhow.
The second trade that was just reported tonight involves the Pistons. I researched as much as I could but these were all the details I could get. Obviously, this can't be the whole picture because the Nets are taking way too much money in this scenario according to my trade machine work.
Nets receive: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and Richard Hamilton (more on this in a minute)
Nuggets receive: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first round picks
Pistons receive: Troy's Murphy's expiring contract and Johan Petro (for salary matching purposes)
Yes, Hamilton has one of the worst contracts in the league for a team trying to rebuild such as the Pistons. But there are A LOT of teams in desperate need of a veteran two guard (see: Dallas, Chicago, to name two) that would be willing to take on that contract to try and win a title in the next few years. According to the reports, this deal is still being worked through and I can understand why. The Pistons can't be happy to unload Hamilton for an expiring deal, a back up center and some sort of draft compensation (assumed). It would also require the Nets to move more pieces in the $7 million range, which would then further require movement for the other teams. I'd be very surprised if this one went through.
On a side note, the trio of players the Nets would receive in this deal is exactly the same core the Pistons could've built around starting in 2003 if they would've just drafted Carmelo instead of Darko Milicic.
In the end, of course I'm ridiculously biased when it comes to Melo coming to the Knicks. Even if the teams above do come to some sort of agreement no deal will be finalized until Melo agrees to sign an extension with the Nets, which all sources indicate he isn't willing to do. If an agreement can be put in place, then Nets' owners Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-z will have a chance to wooo Melo on the merits of coming to Jersey for a couple years before heading to Brooklyn. Hopefully, it doesn't even get to that point and Melo continues to say he'll on sign an extension with the Knicks.
Things have been pretty quiet until this week with Melo. And I have to stay I'm really going to be devastated if he agrees to an extension and ends up with the Nets. In case you missed them, here are the details behind the last two deals to be reported. They all really suck if you ask me, and not just because they mean Melo ends up in Jersey/Brooklyn instead of MSG, but because the third team being included isn't really getting anything significant for participating.
According to ESPN, there was a potential deal with Cleveland joining the mix as the third cog to help facilitate the Denver-New Jersey swap. Here's the ESPN Trade Machine breakdown with details below also.
Nets receive: Carmelo Anthony, Al Harrington, and the Cavaliers' trade exception they received from the sign and trade of LeBron James this summer
Nuggets receive: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and three first round draft picks
Cavs receive: Troy Murphy's $12 million expiring contract with about $8 million still owed, and one or two first round draft picks
There were some sticking points that kept the trade from coming to fruition, but I'd rather focus on the assets involved in the deal.
First some background. In the original LeBron sign and trade Cleveland received two first round picks, two second round picks and the massive $14.5 million trade exception. I'll explain briefly without getting too in depth and boring you with all the rules behind a trade exception. A trade exception is like a credit that a team has one year to use in another trade to acquire a player so that it doesn't have to send matching salaries back to the team its trading with.
In essence by making this trade, the total worth of LeBron for Cleveland would be the two first rounders and two second rounders in the original deal with Miami, and then Troy Murphy's expiring $8 million contract, and another one or two first rounders. In total, 3-4 first round picks, 2 second round picks, and $8 million off their salary cap. There's no better way in the NBA to rebuild than in the draft, and there's certainly a premium on first round draft picks (second rounders don't really matter). So in using their trade exception to help send Melo to the Nets, the Cavs essentially receive one or two additional first rounders. I could understand if it was 100% two first round picks, but if it was really just one I think this deal is pretty crazy for Cleveland. The haul from the original deal with Miami was pretty decent for the Cavs, but I think they can do much more in terms of player acquisition with that large of a trade exception. With Cleveland looking to totally rebuild and no untouchables on the roster, I think they could use this trade exception in combination with other assets to maximize its value. It just seems like Cleveland is making the deal to get another draft pick which it can get in any other trade down the line anyhow.
The second trade that was just reported tonight involves the Pistons. I researched as much as I could but these were all the details I could get. Obviously, this can't be the whole picture because the Nets are taking way too much money in this scenario according to my trade machine work.
Nets receive: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and Richard Hamilton (more on this in a minute)
Nuggets receive: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first round picks
Pistons receive: Troy's Murphy's expiring contract and Johan Petro (for salary matching purposes)
Yes, Hamilton has one of the worst contracts in the league for a team trying to rebuild such as the Pistons. But there are A LOT of teams in desperate need of a veteran two guard (see: Dallas, Chicago, to name two) that would be willing to take on that contract to try and win a title in the next few years. According to the reports, this deal is still being worked through and I can understand why. The Pistons can't be happy to unload Hamilton for an expiring deal, a back up center and some sort of draft compensation (assumed). It would also require the Nets to move more pieces in the $7 million range, which would then further require movement for the other teams. I'd be very surprised if this one went through.
On a side note, the trio of players the Nets would receive in this deal is exactly the same core the Pistons could've built around starting in 2003 if they would've just drafted Carmelo instead of Darko Milicic.
In the end, of course I'm ridiculously biased when it comes to Melo coming to the Knicks. Even if the teams above do come to some sort of agreement no deal will be finalized until Melo agrees to sign an extension with the Nets, which all sources indicate he isn't willing to do. If an agreement can be put in place, then Nets' owners Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-z will have a chance to wooo Melo on the merits of coming to Jersey for a couple years before heading to Brooklyn. Hopefully, it doesn't even get to that point and Melo continues to say he'll on sign an extension with the Knicks.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Errrrbody Dougie
This is more pop culture related than NBA, but John Wall does make an appearance and if you click through the links in this article you get an awesome string of insults from Colin Cowherd and a Dougie Dance-Off between John Wall and Chris Brown from New Year's Eve.
Aside from that it's just an amazing video altogether, especially when you consider it's from ABC News!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Birdman Tats
The Birdman is getting more and more nuts! I hadn't seen the new 'Free Bird' tat across his neck before, must've gotten that one this off season. Either way, here's a pretty cool look at the evolution of the Birdman.
(Shoutout to Scotty Nems)
Monday, January 3, 2011
This Is Getting Scary
Check out the lovefest between Wade and LeBron in this summary of tonight's win over the Bobcats in front of MJ himself. I normally don't post recaps like this but it's worth the read trust me. Lot's of awesome sound bites from both Wade and James including this awesome one from LeBron... "I guess ESPN needs to make a show with me and D-Wade now, 30 for 30."
Blake Griffin TV
For all my talk about dunks of the year, I've failed somehow to mention that Blake Griffin by far leads the league in dunks and by far leads the rest of the league combined in amazing, rim shaking throw downs. Fear not, there's an entire Youtube channel devoted to Blake's best highlights. This is the type of thing you sat back and enjoy when bored at work...
Celebrity Row
Now that the Knicks are relevant again (say what you want haters but they basically have a six seed locked up which is a FAR cry from anywhere this team has been in nearly a decade), Celebrity Row is also becoming more relevant. Beyond the stalwarts like Spike Lee, Chris Rock and a few others, the big name celebs were only showing up when Lebron or Kobe were in town. Here's a cool look at who attended during the Knicks December games. And for those of you that don't want to click through here's the full list:
Drake, Tracy Morgan, Whoopi Goldberg, Trey Songz, Amber Rose, Donald Trump, Liam Neeson, Joe Jonas (I saw the picture and said to 'who' to myself), Craig Robinson, CC Sabathia, Kenan Thompson, Fabolous, Michelle Trachtenberg, John Slattery, Brandy, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Dylan McDermott, Evan Lysacek, Vera Wang, Spike Lee (obviously), Matthew Modine, Lance Bass, Mike D, Seth Myers, Nicole Powell, Padma Lakshmi, The Miz (complete with WWE title belt), and Elmo (not sure why this is included)
Drake, Tracy Morgan, Whoopi Goldberg, Trey Songz, Amber Rose, Donald Trump, Liam Neeson, Joe Jonas (I saw the picture and said to 'who' to myself), Craig Robinson, CC Sabathia, Kenan Thompson, Fabolous, Michelle Trachtenberg, John Slattery, Brandy, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Dylan McDermott, Evan Lysacek, Vera Wang, Spike Lee (obviously), Matthew Modine, Lance Bass, Mike D, Seth Myers, Nicole Powell, Padma Lakshmi, The Miz (complete with WWE title belt), and Elmo (not sure why this is included)
Birthday Cake
I showed you LeBron's Vegas celebration cake but that was nothing compared to his birthday cake! I mean really, this is what the internet and Twitter is all about right? Knowing what kind of birthday cakes our favorite athletes have? Does it get any better?
Another Dunk of the Year Candidate
Took some time off for the holidays but will be back and posting regularly again, especially as we move into the second half of the season. To start off, another dunk of the year candidate from Trevor Ariza...
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