Good Riddance to Jason Kidd in New Jersey posted by jason
i am not a j kidd fan. he has always struck ( no pun intended ) this blogger as a phony and a front runner. he faked a migraine and skipped a game vs. the knicks this season to pout over a perceived insult of not being extended on the 40 million he has left to collect from the netsa...this after the nets have paid him over 50 million dollars already, during his stay in the meadowlands...for all his passing skills on the court he is still the self centered immature baby as he was when he rolled his 4 runner in college and when he jammed fries down his wifes throat! good riddance to this brilliant player, i will be rooting hard against the mavs if they pick up this guy, but he could be the piece they need to free up jason  terry to produce points from the 2 spot without point guard pressures and ball handling and distributing responsibilities.... [read more]

Another Big Western Conference Trade posted by The Sports Point

http://thesportspoint.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-big-western-conference-trade.html

For the third time this month, a Western Conference title contender in the NBA has made a move to strengthen its team. This time, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed in principle to acquire point guard Jason Kidd, returning him to the team that he began his career.

Both the Mavericks and Jason Kidd publicly said they didn't feel the deal would happen, but the Mavericks and Nets reached an agreement Wednesday. New Jersey will get Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager, a first round pick in 2008 and 2010, and $3 million in return. The Nets are also giving up veteran Malik Allen along with Kidd.

This trade looks good for the Mavs in the short term, and the Nets have invested well in their future. It's not surprising that Dallas Owner Mark Cuban could not remain complacent while multiple teams around him made changes to their rosters. Hopefully all of these teams from the West don't forget about the two favorites to win it all: Eastern Conference powers Detroit and Boston.... [read more]

My Name Is KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDD! posted by Gus Johnson's Whisper

ESPN is reporting that Jason Kidd is going to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3244102

I love this trade.  I do.  I am so thankful that New Jersey is freeing J Kidd from his prison sentence as the team wallows in the ever awkward: 'we could compete for a 7th seed if everone was healthy' phase.  I hate when teams do this.  They settle.  What's the point of having a team?  It's to try and win a championship.  It's not to try and make the playoffs every year.  Win a championship; that's your goal.  The Nets needed to punt on this season and begin anew.  This trade will help them start over and build.

Here's the trade:

Jason Kidd and THE Malik Allen (should we call this the Malik Allen deal?)

for

Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse (who will be bought out faster than 10 cent ocean front property), Maurice Ager, Desagana Diop, and Devean George.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com, who I usally love, hates this trade.  He usues a fancy calculation and metrics to tell you that he wouldn't trade Devin Harris for Jason Kidd.  That's what this trade is about.  He crows about the loss of Diop and Stackhouse like they are Magic and Barkley.

The Mavs are better now because of this deal.  I don't know how you can argue this.   Kidd gives them flexibility (he can defend bigger guards so you can play him and Jason Terry at the same time), he gives them easy buckets (the Mavs play slowly and can go through stagnant times... [read more]

Video Revisit 1: Carl Lewis Destroys National Anthem posted by kellex

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/video-revisit-1-carl-lewis-destroys.html

On January 21, 1993, Carl Lewis dropped a bomb of a national anthem on the world. Those poor New Jersey Nets...

"UH OH! I'll make up for it now" -Carl Lewis.



This one does rival it.

... [read more]

I Love Rumors 6! posted by kellex

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-love-rumors-6.html

We're back again with your 6th installment of "I Love Rumors!" Let's see what we have brewing around the league this week!

The New Jersey Nets finally admit to shopping Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. It's about freakin' time Mr. Thorn! Is it too late after the two blockbusters we've already had?Why so many haters on this Shaq deal? The Suns seem to have made some pretty good decisions over time. My guess, is Shaq needed some fresh motivation and he'll surely get that by being back in the West. Poor D-Wade...Garnett is likely done until the All-Star break and we're all going to have a ton of pissed off fantasy owners if he decides to suit up it New Orleans! Abdominal strains tend to be one of those nagging injuries that can hamper a player longer than expected. Were we too quick to fall in love with the Celtics?Chris Webber is starting! I keep thinking he is much older than he actually is; 34 years of age really isn't that old is it? Then why has he been gimping for the last 3 years? Oh yeah, microfracture...good luck with that Portland.The Nuggets have concerns about the Shaq deal. Most are not so sure he will be helping, but slowing.Sam Cassell is approaching buyout time with the Clippers. When was the last time you remember all this whining and buyout talk in the NBA? Anyway, he wants to rejoin Garnett if it happens!The NBA 3-Point Contest at this year's NBA All-Star game will be fan-lovin-tastic! Kobe headlines a stellar crew and my money is on Dr. Nash and that sweet stroke.M... [read more]

Pau! Blam! Zarff! posted by Gus Johnson's Whisper

Only one of those 3 was not an exclamation of a big punch on the old Batman series with Adam West (before he became mayor of Quohog) and Burt Ward (before he.......well he hasn't done anything).  We're talking about Pau in this blog. 

I've mentioned before that I live in New York.  Well, one of the privileges/curses is the YES network.  I watched the Nets play the Lakers last night in Pau's Laker debut.  Here are my thoughts:

1) The Nets play inspired basketball...inspiring like a movie about how a billionaire made another couple million by firing 1000 factory workers and destroying the town where the factory is as thousands of puppies become homeless.  Please trade Jason Kidd.  

2)  The Lakers are a complete team now.  Gasol gives them the biggest front court in the league.  Odom, Pau, and Andrew Bynum (when he returns).  I like this.  I like it because it bucks a trend around the league.  The latest thing is people going small.  Not the Lakers.  They'll start 2 guys who could play center.  More on this later.

3) The key to that team is Odom.  He needs to be a Pippen-type player on that team.  When he is involved, rebounding, running the court, distributing and being the versatile player he can be, the Lakers are nasty.  When it's the Bryant show, they are beatable.  Odom tends to disappear at times and he can't if the Lakers want to win a title (a real possibility for the first time since Kobe forced Sha-quay out of town).

As ... [read more]

PAU GASOL'S DEBUT A RESOUNDING SUCCESS posted by Peace Wilson

Much awaited Pau Gasol debut against New Jersey? Simply mah-velous!

Looked pretty sound on a few scores, boards, passes, right away. Had to sit a bit, early foul trouble.

Defensive game early against Nets, 47-47 at the half.

Kobe dislocated a lower pinkie joint, which may affect his shooting.

Pau's delivering nicely, even in his first game as a Laker, 20 pts./10 rebounds with 5+ mins. left in game.

93-83 Lakers, with 3+ mins. left.

Kobe had an off night shooting, maybe it's the finger -- but yo, D-Fish scored 28!

Pau Gasol: 24 pts., 12 rebounds.

Re the Odom-eter: 15 big rebounds, 14 pts. I get it; he likes to feed others a bit more than score over 20. With Pau Gasol around, he won't have to. It's already a fun upgrade, from Pau's day one. Downright packed with championship potential when Bynum returns too.

Lakers 105, Nets 90. Lakers 3-1 on road trip.

Yeah!

>>

And just a note on the Super Bowl. My Indy Colts stumbled in the playoffs, but how 'bout "All in the Family" for a thoroughly wild-card scenario? When Eli Manning almost supernaturally shook off the Patriots' massive rush and completed that crucial high pass to Tyree, who held on for dear life, to keep the winning drive going, Manning Jr. was coming of age right before everyone's eyes. As for the Patriots, man does it suck to save your only effin' loss for the Big Show. They won ONE MORE game undefeated, when they were 18-0, than the fabled '72 Dolphins, who went 17-0. Unfortunately, there was one more game to play, and while the... [read more]

Mark Cuban Takes on the Hornets posted by kellex

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-cuban-takes-on-hornets.html

Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks is opening his mouth about the horrible situation in New Orleans. The Hornets are on the verge of moving for the second time in a decade and Cuban is not happy about it. In fact, he's taking direct aim at New Orleans owner George Shinn. The Hornets need to average over 14000 fans a night through the 2008-09 season or they may be leaving New Orleans. "Somebody's got to get off their ass and sell tickets," Cuban said earlier this month. "They've got the best record in the Western Conference and they can't get people to come? That's not New Orleans, that's effort. There's enough people. There's enough basketball fans to get 16, 17,000 people to come, even if they're weekend games. So they have bad nights Monday and Tuesday." Cuban turned around the Dallas Mavericks by working his tail off and thinks that the Hornets can be saved if someone down in the bayou actually took control. I got to think when Cuban speaks his mind, he's usually got a great point to make. You might want to pay attention New Orleans fans!

The rest of the article can be read here.

... [read more]

The 2008 NBA Oscars posted by kellex

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/2008-nba-oscars.html

Don’t you just love the Oscars? And wouldn’t you be livid if they cancelled them? Well, we answered with an emphatic “YES!” to both of those questions! The NBA season is half over and there have been some amazing storylines up to this point. As the All-Star break approaches, we will all have time to reflect on the first half and start handing out those mid-season awards. Rather than doing another snooze-able “mid-season review” post, we decided to spice it up a little bit with a tribute to awards season and to the 80th Annual Academy Awards!

And the NBA Oscar goes to…

Best Picture: New Orleans Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets led by Best Actor nominee Chris Paul and Best Directing nominee Byron Scott have had a remarkable season to this point. They may not be the best team in the NBA, but once playoff time rolls around expect to find them as a fixture in our Western Conference top 3. Chris Paul has emerged from “really good” point guard to “almost great” and has possibly bridged the gap with Steve Nash as the best in the game. Coach Byron Scott has proven to be the great motivator we all thought he could be by driving this young team to perform at a level we imagined possible, just not for another 3-4 years.

We’ve seen other great stories with the return to greatness by the Boston Celtics who racked up 5 NBA Oscar nominations, the return of the Portland Trail Blazers who pulled in 2 NBA Oscar nods, and the quick matura... [read more]

New York Knicks v. Los Angeles Lakers Tonight, Does Anybody Care? posted by jason

In New York City right now there is general sports euphoria, what with the Giants on their way to a sure big time Super Bowl  defeat in Arizona. Forgotten as a big time franchise, the New York Knickerbockers are still playing National Basketball Association games. Unfortunately, no one cares about the Knicks in New York. The team that was the hottest ticket in the country in the mid 90's is playing to empty seats and GM / Coach Isiah Thomas has driven this team into salary cap oblivion and more shockingly, general apathy and disinterest from fans.

Tonight the Knicks take on the world's #1 basketball virtuoso, Laker forward Kobe Bryant. Hey folks you better recognize that when Kobe steps on the hardwood every night he is your best chance to get a feel for what MJ , His Airness, looked like in his late 80's early 90's prime. #24 is an assassin, this guy constantly hits 3 pt. backbreakers and his ability to finish at the orange ring is immense. All young NBA guys should also take note that he plays hard every night, which, after you lay out $125 for a ticket, is the least you could hope for at a NBA game.

The above paragraph is a sad statement on what the Knicks have become. When I first moved to NY I bought New Jersey Nets tickets and the entire Nets sales pitch was come see Jordan and the Bulls, get a good seat for the Knicks / Nets at then Continental Airlines Arena, in other words all attention was on the other team, the other team was the reason you might attend a Nets game, not to co... [read more] (1 comment)

Nets sign draft picks Lopez, Anderson (AP)

The New Jersey Nets have signed their two first-round draft picks. Team president Rod Thorn announced the signings of Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson on Wednesday. The Nets selected Lopez with their top pick at No. 10. He led Stanford in scoring at 19 points per game last season. Anderson was selected with the 21st pick, which New Jersey received as part of the trade that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas. [read full article]

Posted Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:13:05 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

76ers name former GM Nash scout (AP)

The Philadelphia 76ers hired former general manager John Nash as a pro personnel scout Tuesday. Nash was working as a basketball analyst on local cable, and will now provide analysis and reports on players and teams throughout the NBA for the Sixers. Nash was a general manager with the 76ers, the Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets and Portland Trail Blazers. [read full article]

Posted Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:51:22 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Nets decide to make wholesale changes (AP)

After the New Jersey Nets missed the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, club president Rod Thorn took a long, hard look at the team and decided it was time for wholesale changes. The tinkering that started in February with the deal that sent perennial All-Star guard Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks became a full-scale overhaul Thursday when the Nets shipped Richard Jefferson to... [read full article]

Posted Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:48:03 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Prosecutors: Donaghy downplaying role (AP)

[read full article]

Posted Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:41:05 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Nets extend qualifying offer to C Krstic (AP)

The New Jersey Nets extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent center Nenad Krstic on Friday, allowing them to match any contract proposal from another team. Krstic had major knee surgery during the 2006-07 season. The injury limited him to 45 games last season, when he averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds. [read full article]

Posted Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:22:15 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports