Around the League: Week of 4/7 - 4/13

[Mori Chu]

Here's a thread for happenings in the NBA this week.

It looks like the NBA is about to announce this year's Hall of Fame inductees, and that Mitch Richmond and Alonzo Mourning were inducted.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... smith-hall

Bill Simmons had a fun NBA mailbag the other day, and among other things, he talks about the playoff picture and how he'd fix tanking:

http://grantland.com/features/fixing-the-nba-playoffs/

[carey]

The Starters year in memoriam. We lost a lot of good memes: CLICK

[Mori Chu]

I love The Starters. I listen to their podcast every weekday. A little formulaic now that they are on NBA TV, but I still love those guys and they keep cranking out good content 5 days a week.

http://thestarters.libsyn.com

[Ring_Wanted]

Ha! Cliff Robinson was on the survivors show?

[Superbone]

The Starters year in memoriam. We lost a lot of good memes: CLICK

Please just never let the Australian dude sing again! And maybe next time tune the guitar to the recorder.

[Superbone]

I love LeBron's crying at the end of this video after Mason Plumlee blocks his potential game winner:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nets-finis ... --nba.html

[carey]

I love LeBron's crying at the end of this video after Mason Plumlee blocks his potential game winner:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nets-finis ... --nba.html

Not sure what's up with him, but this constant bitching & moaning version of LeBron is not a good look for him. Great play by the rookie. Pretty sure the hand is still part of the ball in the NBA, right? It's bellow the wrist?

[Ring_Wanted]

I think it's a foul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F9EzL46r7A

[carey]

MSU star Adreian Payne's best friend, 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth has died of cancer (Free Press photo.)

[Superbone]

MSU star Adreian Payne's best friend, 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth has died of cancer (Free Press photo.)

[ Image ]

That's so sad! Didn't they just show her in the crowd recently during March Madness?

[TOO]

MSU star Adreian Payne's best friend, 8-year-old Lacey Holsworth has died of cancer (Free Press photo.)

[ Image ]

That's so sad! Didn't they just show her in the crowd recently during March Madness?

She was there and at the dunk contest Payne participated in. Sad story.

[Mori Chu]

Memphis just beat Miami. Darn. And Lebron and Bosh even played and everything. Miami "tried." It's too bad. So we are still only 1 game up on them, hmm.

[carey]

Yeah, hard to believe we couldn't count on King James, huh?

[SwingMan]

In other news, Washington lost to Charlotte earlier this evening.

Significance? Washington's pick just got bumped up from #17 to #16.....

[m1chal]

In other news, Washington lost to Charlotte earlier this evening.

Gortat has been playing well lately. He had 27/14/3/2 against Big Al last night. Although he let Al score at the end of regulation to force the OT.

I wonder what contract he gets and who's going to pay him.

[Phoenix219]

Gortat would have been a really useful big to bolster our roster this season. I hope that pick turns into something useful.

[Ring_Wanted]

I don't know if they'll keep him, but they'll have space and I guess at least they'll have to consider giving him relevant money, given his play and the asset invested.

He's been quite solid for the Wizards, and his pick and roll with Wall has worked well. His defense has not been as bad as last year, but still not 2011-12 either.

Also, the Mavs could make a play for him (remember they were the ones who signed him to his current contract, and Orlando matched), but he won't be the first domino to fall. I guess Monroe, Bledsoe and others will have to be solved first.

[Mori Chu]

I do wonder how well we would have done this year if we'd kept Gortat. That is the one trade I question. The league seems to pretty much unanimously agree that we "won" the deal because we got a first-rounder which are coveted, but I don't know. If we're trying to succeed and win in the playoffs, do we need a fourth 1st-rounder? I still support the trade since we didn't know we'd be this good at the time.

[Ring_Wanted]

I do wonder how well we would have done this year if we'd kept Gortat. That is the one trade I question. The league seems to pretty much unanimously agree that we "won" the deal because we got a first-rounder which are coveted, but I don't know. If we're trying to succeed and win in the playoffs, do we need a fourth 1st-rounder? I still support the trade since we didn't know we'd be this good at the time.

We weren't trying to make the playoffs when the move was done, as simple as that. This success has been totally unexpected and bizarringly enough, a ton has to do with the performance provided by the bantha fodder sent our way from the Pacers. Plumlee in particular was spectacular protecting the ring, and was quite useful on the boards and in certain situations on offense, but that's gone for some time now.

2011-12 Gortat helps any team, especially if it is pick and roll heavy, but the version we saw last season was far from that player.

I do believe that we've been one contributing big man short this year, in the sense that we didn't have post scoring and lately neither defense nor rebounding, so if Shavlik Randolph can make an impact the few minutes he gets, that tells you how badly we've struggled after the allstar break or so.

[INFORMER]

I do wonder how well we would have done this year if we'd kept Gortat. That is the one trade I question. The league seems to pretty much unanimously agree that we "won" the deal because we got a first-rounder which are coveted, but I don't know. If we're trying to succeed and win in the playoffs, do we need a fourth 1st-rounder? I still support the trade since we didn't know we'd be this good at the time.

That Wizards pick could quite possibly be the Suns' earliest pick. And we won't be getting the Minnesota pick. So yeah, we do need that pick.