Around the League: Week 11 1/5-1/11

[OE32]

Crazy haul for Mozgov. Desperation will do that.

I still recall how roundly I was lambasted for suggesting we sign him as a free agent.

[Mori Chu]

Cavs giving out draft picks like candy. Throwing away the future for the present. Seemed to work well for the Knicks and Nets!...

[Cap]

They're terrified. If they don't put together a respectable season and postseason run, LeBron and Love might bolt.

What it must be like for a Cavs fan to view their impending free agency, with recent memories of The Decision and Carlos Boozer.

[LazarusLong]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss ...

I remember the crazy owner of the Cavs during the 80s, Ted Stepien, who gave away first round draft choices like they were after-dinner mints. Made Sarver and crew of bygone days look almost professional.

[SDC]

[ Image ]

boner walks into cap's office with a kalishnikov...

[SDC]

the spurs are the manchester united of the nba. and pop is still coaching.

[SDC]

Well I can never take SDC a seriously again.

you're a big bledsoe fan, huh?

[carey]

[ Image ]

boner walks into cap's office with a kalishnikov...

That's weak. Do better, SDC. Those cartoonists deserve our respect.

[carey]

Buried in this article about the Waiters trade is the fact that Raja Bell is the director of player administration under Griffin: LINK

But just as he was preparing to go out, Raja Bell, Cleveland’s director of player administration, tapped Waiters on the shoulder. He wouldn’t be starting. He wouldn’t be playing. He’d just been traded.

[Sunsfan4life]

I like Mozgov and yea those picks will probably be in the high 20's, but I love that trade for Denver.

[Indy]

Buried in this article about the Waiters trade is the fact that Raja Bell is the director of player administration under Griffin: LINK

But just as he was preparing to go out, Raja Bell, Cleveland’s director of player administration, tapped Waiters on the shoulder. He wouldn’t be starting. He wouldn’t be playing. He’d just been traded.

Good for him.

[Indy]

[ Image ]

boner walks into cap's office with a kalishnikov...

That's weak. Do better, SDC. Those cartoonists deserve our respect.

yeah, that was bs sdc.

[Sunsfan4life]

The best thing that can happen for us is for Denver to start selling off parts. Lakers will finish better then Wolves,Knicks and Sixers for sure and have a good shot at Utah and Sacramento. If Denver starts tanking it benefits us in regards to that Laker pk.

[Ring_Wanted]

Everybody wins in this trade, I think. Denver gets their picks and above all open room for Nurkic, and the Cavs grab a piece they were sorely lacking and that is never cheap in the league.

[Wally_West]

Pistons beat the Mavericks. They are only 3 games behind Miami for the 8th spot, I think they can make things interesting.

[Mori Chu]

Glad to see the Pistons doing so well. I like SVG a lot and they have some really interesting pieces like Drummond, Munroe, Jennings, Meeks, etc. I also like seeing a cancer get his just desserts, so I'm happy they are so much better without that idiot Josh Smith.

I wonder if Smith looks at how well the Pistons are now doing and says, "Hmm, maybe I was a negative presence. Maybe I need to change my game, chuck less, play hard," etc.? Or are these guys deluded and unwilling to accept responsibility?

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Glad to see the Pistons doing so well. I like SVG a lot and they have some really interesting pieces like Drummond, Munroe, Jennings, Meeks, etc. I also like seeing a cancer get his just desserts, so I'm happy they are so much better without that idiot Josh Smith.

I wonder if Smith looks at how well the Pistons are now doing and says, "Hmm, maybe I was a negative presence. Maybe I need to change my game, chuck less, play hard," etc.? Or are these guys deluded and unwilling to accept responsibility?

Many times they do, even the average person, problem is the people around you, either over protecting parents, or in this case, Smith's entourage, can easily kill any small seed of accountability growing, and they usually do, because they know that people taking responsability and maturing, usually ends up cutting ties with overprotecting relatives and entouraged friendships.

[Mori Chu]

The league standings are pretty interesting right now:

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

Golden State still has the league's best record at 28-5, with Portland and Atlanta right behind them at 27-8. The East is led by ATL, followed by Toronto, Chicago, Washington, and then Cleveland at 5th. The last three East playoff teams are Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Miami, with Indiana not too far behind Miami in 9th. (Wow, both Eastern Conf finalists from last year are in the 8-9 seeds now... Oof.) I don't think the Pacers will make the playoffs, but we'll see. I like Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, but don't really believe in Toronto or Cleveland. The moves the Cavs are making are interesting, though. At least they're trying to get better. I like Shump and Mozgov, but I think they still need more shooting (Ray Allen?).

In the West, Portland has crept up to #2 in the standings. Wow. Memphis is also scary at #3. (That would be a pretty neat second-round series...!) The Clippers have dropped all the way to #6, and many in the media have said they look unhappy, like they don't like playing together, etc. Their bench is pretty shaky and they haven't gotten good production out of their swingmen. CP3 seems to be having a good season despite it all.

Our Suns are still 8th but only 1 game behind the reeling 7th place Spurs. Wow. Can you imagine if the Spurs fell out of the playoff race? New Orleans and OKC are lurking in 9th and 10th, but both have only won about half of their last 10 games, so they aren't making up much ground. I don't really like New Orleans' chances to get in; love Davis but not the team they have put around him. I could see OKC getting into 8th, but who would fall out? I don't know if OKC could pass our Suns or the Spurs. Maybe the current 8 teams are the 8 we're going to get, barring major injury.

[carey]

The Clippers have dropped all the way to #6, and many in the media have said they look unhappy, like they don't like playing together, etc. Their bench is pretty shaky and they haven't gotten good production out of their swingmen. CP3 seems to be having a good season despite it all.

No one likes playing with CP3, he's a dick. You should listen to the latest BS Report. They talk about the Suns for a bit but quite a bit about the Clippers too. Basically their bench is atrocious and their crunch time line-up of Paul-Reddic-Crawford-Blake-Jordan can't seem to get it done. Doc has been a terrible GM for them is the consensus. That Bledsoe trade was basically Bledsoe & a 1st round pick for Reddick. Whoops.

[Ring_Wanted]

Dudley was such a flop for the Clippers.