Larry, I ithought for sure you'd start your post with a Fish story. Congratulations to you and the Lakers. According to realgm.com, Fish and the Lakers have agreed on a 3 year/$14M contract. Fish is a huge upgrade over Farmar and Smush, and he knows the system, but Derek won't be enough to get you an NBA championship. You guys need another big scorer (KG?) to do that.

More news from realgm.com: Jerry Stackhouse is set to sign a three year/$21M contract with the Mavs. Said last year's 1st rd loss to the Warriors was a fluke; not the real Mavs. I've been real hard on Nowitzski, but Stackhouse disappeared in that series too, so I don't think it was a fluke at all. T ime will tell.

Yeah, I've been hearing different numbers all day associated with that Rashard Lewis sign and trade. Nice to see that at least you and I have retained some financial sense. How much will Mo Williams get? Ever noticed that when a player like Rashard Lewis gets $110M (?), other players immediaely start holding out for more? Matt Barnes fired his agent today in hope of getting a big contract. I hope the move doesn't blow up in his face. Matt is a Nellie clone; a gazelle; too skinny for contact basketball; the MLE is about right for him; generous, actually.

The Magic couldn't sign and trade Darko since they literally forced him into free agency. Once a free agent, Darko was so mad at the Magic he'd never allow a sign-and-trade to take place. The Magic gambled on Darko's loyalty, but once it became obvious they were using him as a pawn in the Rashard Lewis tug-of-war with the Sonics, he felt used, got mad, and left the Magic high and dry. This is actually a common theme in contract negotiations; the reason players need veteran agents. Darko probably would have received $7-8M from the Magic had he kept his wits about him until the Rashard Lewis deal was consumated. But he let his emotiosn get the better of him.....unless that $8M figure is accurate; then his decision to thumb his nose at the Magic won't look bad at all. Darko at $8M is as laughable as Rashard Lewis at $126M, $118M, or even $110M. Both are stealing money from desperate GMs out to improve their teams.

Larry, you'll love this one: a neighboring parish just passed a law banning baggy pants, or sagging pants, i guess. Young dudes (old ones too, I suppose, who can't keep their pants up) can now be hauled off to jail for being caught in public with baggy pants. The defniton of baggy/sagging pants? It goes something like this: any clothing that exposes genitalia, buttocks, or private parts; or, exposes your underwear. Its not limited to men either; wouldn't halter tops qualify? What about swim wear? Won't they need an exception to the law for those lounging on or near a beach, pond, or river? Buddy, stay the hell out of this friggin town. Visit Nawlins instead. This is the second Louisiana parish to adopt such a law in as many years. Might as well strip us of constitutional rights and individual freedoms.

I'm having a miserable day. Temp has been near 100 degress for a week now, with 95% humididty; it's like breathing in lockerroo sweat. I'm used to this stuff but this year is unusally hot and humid. I'm sweating all day; I'm hot; and I'm pissed. Wanna know something else? I can't even take nothing off for fear of getting arrested, charged with violation of the saggy pants law, and taken off to jail. Could be one of those world-is-too-much-with-me moments I guess; or, maybe I just horny and need to get laid.



Canmark, it makes no basketball sense at all, not to me anyway, but financially, the deal actually does provide some limited cap relief for the Blazers (with the buyout); even moreso two years from now. If I had a say in this, I would have waited a year until Oden/Alrdidge found some chemistry. Watching Zabo work from the bench might have helped Oden more than anything, and allowed them to bring him along slowly. Now Oden must hit the ground running. Swim or sink. Blazers have the talent; no denying that; so lets just hope they know what they're doing.

This won't make you happy. Zo is planning to play one more year. Unless the Heat can work a sign-and-trade for Mo Williams, or get Steve Blake, I don't see things changing very much in Miami. Heat have some serious PG problems.

The spin the Raps - and media - are putting on the 4 year $24 million signing of 3 point shooting league leader Jason Kapono is that he will be given every opportunity to start at small forward. The feeling is that he should help spread the floor because of his long range shooting threat, which should help create more room for point guard TJ Ford and for Bosh too.

Rap fans seem to be reacting positively to the signing with polls indicating over 80% support for the signing.

I agree with the sense of the criticism of Dirk. My objection was the "manhood". Ever seen Cheryl Ford or Courtney Parris clear space? Seen Ivory Latta drive? They could give Dirk lessons. Maybe he needs a pair of ovaries? Breasts?

The Blazers got not only Channing Frye but James Jones and Rudy Fernandez (although Rudy won't be here for a year). Zach would not want to come off the bench. There had been some subdued rumblings in the locker room about lack of defense and passing from ZBo. Apparently the Blazers really wanted Rudy.

Sure, Francis made out like a bandit but it "only" cost money, not a player or a pick, to dump him.

As to Mags, he is a free agent so if the Blazers wanted to keep him they'd have to use of their mid level and I don't think that's how they want to spend it. Joel seems OK with being a backup. There is also a rumor that a deal of Joel for Hedo Turkoglu is in the works. Turkoglu is hardly great but he's a good outside shooter which the team badly needs. Joel's Base Year Compensation expires on the 17th so the team can trade him at that time without penalties.

Turns out they got 3 docs to confirm Oden's tonsillectomy.

The Blazers players are now saying the team has the healthiest locker room atmosphere in the NBA. Even if that is a tad exaggerated, what a change from just 2 years ago.

All will have a chance to see Greg Oden on the ESPY's, filmed before he went to surgery.

BTW, we really need to start a new thread!

Knicks owe $45 million in luxury tax.

Joe in Philly said that too, so I guess one of you guys should start a new thread. Who knows how to do that?

Ms deBlazer, I wouldn't doubt it. Agression, talent, and a fighting spirit is not limited to male sports figures. Larry already pointed to the Williams sisters. I haven't been keeping up with the WNBA, so I don't know if this description still applies, but the only knock against LSU's Simone Augustus was that she took too many ill-advised outside shots, rather than drive the lane and force her defender to play defense. Dirk takes very few, if any, ill-advised shots; his problem is he doesn't shoot enough; but he and Simone share a similar result; a team loss. Both players need to get more aggressive. "Grow a pair" is an expression men use sometimes as a euphemism for courage, so, yes, it could be interpreted as a sexist remarks, but if I said those words to female athlete not playing hard enough, I'd probably get punched in the nose. The PC stuff is hard to figure out sometimes. And you're right; some players in the WNBA probably could teach Dirk a thing or two about how to beat his defender.

The rumored Hedo Turkoglu for Joel Pryzbilla trade makes sense to me; especially since the Magic just lost their best backup big man, Darko Milicic to the Grizzlies. I like Joel, but, in my opinion, the move would be a step backwards for the Magic, but might just work for the Blazers. Turkoglu does have a good outside shot, but is not a good defender, but with Aldridge and Oden protecting the middle, the Blazers won't need Turkoglu to play lock down perimeter defense anyway. That's why I think the trade, if it happens, helps the Blazers more than it does the Magic. Of course, who wins is ultimately affected by the final dollar figures. Right?




Well, I watched Kapono in Miami, and he shot lights out from the perimeter one night but couldn't buy a basket the next. He's a defensive liability as well; big enough, but not aggressive. I don't live in Toronto, so my opinion doesn't matter. Plus, if what you say is true (no reason to doubt you); Raptor fans like the move. That's really all that matters. But I can't help but wonder. With Kapono at SF, wouldn't he have to guard superstars like LBJ, DWade, and Luol Deng? And don't forget, Rashard Lewis just joined the East. Defending Shard is a headache for any defender. There will a lot of tense moments for Raptor fans when Kapono has to defend those guys. Just my opinion, but the Raptors need another athletic big man to help CB4. Kapono has better numbers, but Parker is more relaxed, confident, poised, and athletic; so more likely to hit the big perimeter shot than Kapono. If Kapono starts at SF, wouldn't that force Bargnani to PF, and consequently, CB4 to center? We saw in the playoffs that CB4 is much better in the #4 hole, because he's too skinny to defend the giant centers in the East. Also, the only way Kapono at SF opens up the middle for TJ is if BOTH Parker and Kapono are on the floor at the same time. But in that lineup, Bargnani and CB4, or, Nesterovic and CB4 woud be left to defend the middle on the other end. That puts an awful lot fo pressure on Bargnani and CB4, especially when asked to defend very physical giants like Shaq and Dwight Howard. Sure, Bargnani/CB4 or Nesterovic/CB4 could rise to the challenge, but both will get pushed around under the basket and both will be very sore the next few days.

Here you go hoops fans. A new thread for all the offseason stuff!

http://www.outsports.com/forums/index.php?...c=38364&hl=

I think Bargnani will start at center, Bosh at power forward (as in those final playoff games vs. the Nets), Gabajosa at small forward (or Kapono), Parker at shooting guard and Ford at point guard.

That leaves a second unit of Nesterovic at center, Humphries at power forward, Kapono at small forward, Delfino at shooting guard and Calderone at point guard.

There are also Joey Graham, Juan Dixon, and possibly Uros Slokar, Luke Jackson and Maceo Baston.

True, very thin in the front court, but I think Colangelo is building a team of perimeter shooters, opening the floor Ford and Calderon to use their quickness and ability to distribute, and clearing space for Bosh to work one-on-one.

It would have been nice if the Raptors could have picked up an active rebounder like Anderson Varejao, but you've got to take what you can get.

It's sad that Mo Pete was painted out of this picture, but that's the way it goes...