The 2013 NBA offseason had major implications on the fate of the league in the coming years. This offseason brought fans many unusual moves. Big-name players switched teams, the “bad” teams got better, and some of the most historic teams in history look as they are going to fall off the map for awhile. Clearly, the league is going through some changes both in players and perception.

Can LeBron and the Heat win a third straight NBA title or will another team de-throne them? By Steve Jurvetson (Flickr: LeBron James), via Wikimedia Commons

Josh Smith joined the Pistons, Andre Igoudala joined Golden State (this one happened before Howard), Al Jefferson joined the Bobcats, Chris Kaman and Nick Young went to the Lakers, Metta World Peace joined the Knicks, Paul Millsap went to Atlanta, Brandon Knight and Brandon Jennings were traded for each other, Monta Ellis went to Dallas, Greg Oden and Michael Beasley joined Miami, Chauncey Billups went back to Detroit and Andrew Bynum and his hair move to Cleveland, where (of course) a bank is located.

Within all the madness, there were a few retirements and coaching moves too. Doc Rivers left Boston to become the Clippers coach, and Jason Kidd became the Nets coach. George Karl and Lionel Hollins lost their jobs despite the Nuggets and Grizzlies having great seasons. In addition to Jason Kidd retiring, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady also decided it was time to hang it up.

For me, one move made me feel sick to my stomach and I’m a Lakers fan. Longtime Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were dealt to the Nets and for some reason that makes me mad. It has recently come out that LeBron and the Miami Heat are critical of the move since both Pierce and Garnett criticized Ray Allen last season for leaving Boston and joining Miami. Unlike Allen, Pierce and Garnett were traded away, and although Garnett waived his no trade clause he did it because he wanted to keep playing alongside Pierce. The move of Pierce and Garnett means the Celtics (like the Lakers) will probably have less than spectacular seasons ahead.

The NBA looks as it is shaping up to be great in the next ten or so years and I for one, am very excited. There is so much young talent in the league and it will only get better. The 2013-14 season tips off in a couple weeks and I will be glued to my TV all season long.

Who do you think was the biggest NBA move of the summer? Comment below!

The New York Yankees of the hardwood have met and exceeded off-season expectations. Should we be so surprised? Since moving to Los Angeles in 1960, the Lakers have once again done what they are known for doing — perpetually adding to the list of all-time acquisitions in the history of the NBA, year after year.

The Lakers have brought into the fold the star power of the biggest off-season prize in big man Dwight Howard, as well as one of the most respected and decorated point guards in the history of the game in Steve Nash. Los Angeles has once again struck big and has made the biggest series of offseason splashes in recent NBA history.

Moreover, when you add in bench-strengthening additions like Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks and Chris Duhon, this off-season could be graded even higher than all-time great Laker off-seasons, meeting or exceeding when they brought in the likes of Wilt Chamberlain in 1968, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar in 1975 or Shaquille O’Neal in 1996.

When you take into consideration this year’s epic additions, and then throw into the recipe mainstays like Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Metta-World Peace, Jordan Hill and Steve Blake, what do you expect the overall dish to taste like? Some are saying an NBA championship favorite, others are saying a huge chemistry problem. I argue as objectively as I can that it is honestly someplace in-between.

While Dwight Howard not seeing a lot of preseason game action due to his recovery from a minor back procedure and Kobe missing the last week of practice and games in the preseason obviously isn’t going to help to build early-season chemistry, don’t think for a second that this team not gelling early means that they won’t end up gelling at some point in the new year, when games start to matter.

Howard recovering from surgery at the outset will predictably stunt the growth process, but let’s take a look at what will ultimately make that process flourish.

Point primarily to the Princeton offense. The first cousin of the Triangle, both are based in similar principles: spacing, ball movement, movement without the ball and player versatility. Both feature many series of 2-man and 3-man games and like the triangle, the post is the hub of the offense. This is and will be the perfect compliment to a roster that includes above average passing big men like Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, as well as Hall-of-Fame-level facilitators like Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. The main benefit to consider is that the Princeton system brings structure to an offensive gameplan that last year, looked like a complete mess.

How will it all come together? How will each piece fit and what can we expect from each separate personality in the process of building what is paramount – team chemistry? Below is an in-depth look at each player who looks to contribute this upcoming season:

Kobe Bryant

The addition of more high-end stars leaves the door wide open for Kobe to trust his teammates at a new and unprecedented level. Steve Nash now being in the back-court means Kobe doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time when it matters most — namely, at the end of the shot clock and at the end of quarters and games.

Kobe Bryant hits another clutch fadeaway jumper. By Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA (AAAA9080) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Kobe won’t have to hoist as many bad shots as he has had to in the recent past. Steve Nash will get him better shots. And if Bryant can be assisted by Nash within the confines of the Princeton offense by cutting to the basket on rubs and back-cuts for easy lay-ups, as well as get more open shots on the perimeter, his ego will hopefully be satisfied.

All of us Lakers fans and haters alike can at least agree on that simple fact: Bryant does have a huge ego to satisfy, no matter how his overall skills may have eroded (or not eroded at all in his mind) from their peak some five years ago.

All of this considered, Kobe’s minutes will more-than-likely be curbed and managed with the addition of the most capable scoring backup he has ever had behind him at shooting guard in Jodie Meeks. Less wear and tear during the season means more energy come playoff time. In Lakerland, having the most available to you come playoff time is all that matters.

Dwight Howard

Finally, Dwight doesn’t have to be the man. And although the public and media’s perception during his holdout/re-sign/holdout might suggest that he feels like he needs to be the man, I argue that his loose and playful personality points to something different. It points to a level of humility and that he has no problem being ‘one of the guys’ and contributing to a champion in any way, shape or form that he can to help the team reach the ultimate goal.

He has learned in failures past that it takes more than himself to win it all. This is the reason he came to Los Angeles. Yes, his offensive game in the post needs further development. Yes, his free throw percentage needs to improve. But one needs to also consider that the man will turn only 27 years old in December. There is plenty of room and time to improve over the next few years. We may have yet to see Howard’s peak.

There is no question in any argument that could be presented that his presence as a defensive force in the middle is a factor the Lakers haven’t had since Wilt many eras ago. Yea, you heard me Kareem and Shaq. Howard will be a strong anchor in the middle for a defense that has lacked one basic element in recent years past…. a strong anchor in the middle. There will be no more free layups lines for guys like Durant and Westbrook. Dwight will have opportunities for defensive and offensive rebounds galore.

His calling card on this squad will be limiting the opposition to one-and-done’s on the defensive end and feasting on put-backs around the basket on the offensive end. The size of his impact in the paint on both ends of the floor will be just as big as the smile you will see on his face all season long. Dwight and Hollywood will be a great match for years to come.

Steve Nash

Quick, go back to “The Showtime Era.” How long ago was Magic dishing out dimes like nobody’s business? 20-plus years ago? This was the last time the Lakers had an ultimate facilitator. And now they have one again, finally.

Nick Van Exel, Sedale Threatt, Ron Harper, Derek Fisher, Smush Parker or even Ramon Sessions you could never honestly tag as great or even good ‘facilitators.’ Not only is Steve Nash this, but he is one of the best facilitators this league has ever seen.

While he is getting up there in age, his conditioning and ability have not diminished much at all. Nash is one of those rare athletes where body is even more of the ultimate temple come the late 30’s towards the end of his career. His ability to retain his conditioning and skill given his growing age is at the same hall-of-fame level that his uncanny passing acumen and dead-eye shooting ability has always been.

So what is Nash’s outlook with this group? Simple – to get everyone theirs. The Princeton offense is predicated on reading the defense and taking what they give you. This charge, along with managing what is truly a juggernaut offense is the task that Nash has been chosen to achieve. Who better than the most unselfish point guard the NBA has seen in the last decade-plus to tackle this assignment? With all the offensive talent that surrounds him, Nash could eclipse an assists per game average of 12 and beyond.

Pau Gasol

Gasol’s role looks to be very similar to what it was last year. While both Pau and Howard are in the game, Gasol’s 15-20 foot game will be his primary niche. A lot of those shots, when missed, will be followed in by Howard around the rim. When Howard leaves the floor and Pau remains, look for Gasol to take his game down low. This becomes the perfect, simplistic inside-outside game plan for the game’s most diverse big man.

Pau Gasol blocks a shot as Metta World-Peace looks on. By Keith Allison (Flickr: Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Metta World-Peace

While World-Peace isn’t what he once was on the offensive end, his defensive prowess remains. Metta’s role on this roster should be one main focus night-in, night-out — lock down the opposition’s best wing player defensively. Period. One goal. A tunnel assignment.

I believe a personality like World-Peace can thrive in a simplified situation such as this. And as long as the voices of Kobe Bryant and Mike Brown keep him focused, his toughness will be irreplaceable, given that Bryant, Nash and Gasol are average to only above-average defenders at best at this point in their careers.

If his team needs him to hit an outside shot or contribute garbage points around the basket, we all know Metta can do that in spurts, but I truly believe a simplified approach to Metta’s game and role on this team will get the most out of his unique talent.

Oops, I forgot to mention regular therapy sessions once a week, if not more. Toss that in there. Stay in your shoes Ron-Ron.

The Bench

Scoring off the bench was one of the biggest holes the Lakers had to fill this off-season to get back to a championship level. Antawn Jamison highlights a much-improved bench in 2012-13. Jamison is one of those swing forwards that can replace Metta World-Peace at the 3 in certain situations or Pau Gasol at the 4 in other particular situations. Defensively he may be a liability, but that’s not why Los Angeles brought him in. They brought him in to score. And score he can. In many ways. Those who haven’t seen Jamison’s game will be thrilled with his go-to move – a sneaky, almost strange-looking finger-roll game around the basket. Jamison is instantly a 6th man of the year candidate.

Jordan Hill is returning from a herniated disc injury and should be ready to go for opening night. Last season he surprisingly emerged from the bench as the go-to replacement at power forward when Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum needed a rest. The Lakers wisely re-signed the hustling garbageman for less than a mid-level exception — two more years and a reasonable total of only 7 million dollars. Hill’s knack and fast-twitch muscle fibers that slither and leverage both defensive and offensive rebounds cannot be understated. And if his most recent ailment doesn’t nag, there is nothing that says he can’t duplicate and even improve upon his key role off the bench from last year’s campaign.

Jodie Meeks looks to be the 8th man behind Kobe, and as Bryant’s minutes slowly diminish, Meeks appears to be more than capable as an ideal second team scorer at the off-guard position. A product of the lottery farm known as the University of Kentucky, Jodie comes over to Tinseltown from Philadelphia where over the last two seasons, the now 25-year-old averaged a solid 9.5 points in 26.5 minutes a game off the Sixers bench.

The Lakers scoring in the late 1st and 3rd quarter – early 2nd and 4th quarter portions of the game will be made or broken by how consistently Jodie can put the ball in the hole. For what Meeks can potentially bring to the table for only $1.5 million a year over the next two years, Mitch Kupchak has a lot of pats on the back to come. And I’m not even kidding here – #20 might end up being my favorite Laker this season when its all said and done. I love these types of key role players.

All through camp Steve Blake and Chris Duhon have battled for the 9th man spot backing up Steve Nash at the point guard position. Blake began camp recovering from a foot injury where he punctured his foot walking over one-way tire spikes in a parking lot (Clint Barmes breaking his collarbone “lugging deer meat” thinks that is one of the most ridiculous non-field injuries in recent memory).

Steve Blake whips the ball around the perimeter. By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (Steve Blake  Uploaded by JoeJohnson2) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Hailing from the floor-slapping defensive juggernaut of Duke, Duhon’s defense gives the Lakers something they haven’t had in a very long time – a force that can potentially check and keep up with the elite offensive point guards the NBA now glorifies. Look for Duhon to slowly steal minutes from Blake at this position as the season matures.

Devin Ebanks and Chris Douglas-Roberts will compete for the 11th man position on the roster. Major injuries aside, best-case scenario for these two backup wing players will be limited contributions, aside from pushing starters in practice and trying to impress coaches for future opportunities. Both will be able to dress for the game, unless there in an injury on the front line and rookie Robert Sacre needs to fill a hole.

Guards Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, as well as aforementioned rookie 7-footer that was drafted this past April out of Gonzaga, Robert Sacre, look to begin this season as the 13th, 14th and 15th men. Joining them on the practice squad could be Darius Johnson-Odom, Reeves Nelson and an injured Earl Clark, who they also acquired in the Dwight Howard trade.

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All opinions considered, detractors will point to a preseason that is without a win for the Lakers. Are we actually giving credence to a preseason record, and are we willing to speak it in the same sentence with postseason chances 6 months down the road?

Since when did what happens in October have anything to do with what happens in April and June given a roster loaded with playoff veterans such as this? One thing I can say about preseason Lakers talk – I’m utterly amazed at the naivete of the notion that a preseason record of a team that is made up like this one matters.

Given the infancy of the group as a new team, this new offense, the feeling-out process that needs to take place, and how the elite talent this team possesses played literally a fraction of the minutes in the preseason that they are going to play in the regular season and playoffs makes the idea that the preseason record matters down right silly and fundamentally empty. You’d think the Lakers were the Charlotte Bobcats! They must be in for a season in which their win total will tally only in the teens!

These things are for sure – for this loaded group, zero preseason wins equals exactly this: 50-55-plus wins, a Pacific Division title, a top 3 playoff seed or higher, and a barometer of the Western Conference Finals. Anyone who reads more into a preseason record in the NBA, where the final score means close to ultimately nothing, is only fancying him or herself as a glass-half-empty contrarian.

As far as the Lakers on-television issue is unfolding, the whole Time Warner Sportsnet dilemma on the precipice of the regular season is now partly resolved for San Luis Obispo-County fans. Those of us that are Charter subscribers now have access to the network that will carry every single one of the Lakers’ non-nationally televised games. Those of us that are Direct TV subscribers are still unfortunately out of luck at this time – but keep the faith, these two sides will ultimately come to a compromise and the Lakers will be live and in color for all local fans in the very near future.

As the excitement builds, the story of the 2012-2013 NBA season will be a must-see, be you Laker-fan or Laker-hater. And that is the beauty of a team like the Los Angeles Lakers – the polarization. You either love them or hate them. There is no in-between. They are always a topic of conversation no matter what side of the fence you may dig your heels into, because the majority of NBA fans strongly stand on one side of the barbed wire or the other.

Talking time is over. Watching time is now!

I idolize/d Byron Scott and Magic Johnson. Loved the 39-win team in 1993 that nearly knocked off the all-mighty Charles Barkley-led Suns. At the age of 12, I loved Sedale Threatt. Embraced Cedric “the Garbage Man” Ceballos as the most underrated swing man of the 90’s and still root for the grinning spin doctor of humor with a dominate unrelenting game and a personality to match it: Shaquille O’Neal.

You see….I like me some Lakers. But I just don’t love the maniacally self obsessed Kobe Bryant. That’s it.   

That was in my opinion (key word there…pay attention), the worst move in franchise history, when the team opted to send Shaq packing to Miami in favor of Kobe. It set a precedent that anyone and everyone was/is recyclable. And Shaq, the man who made Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant is not ever, for one second, recyclable. 

So I began asking the question: Why do I have to go down with the ship if I hate the captain? Why don’t I get to be a free agent with my fansmanship? Why do I have to keep rooting for a team whose face I no longer support? Little did I know just how common my Central-Coast -swing-state perspective was.

A perfect example of this was documented by our own Owen Main in the Spring of 2011. Main asked the question in this article: Is the Central Coast a Giants or Dodgers country? And the answer was neither. What we discovered about ourselves was that we just don’t take sports that serious here. We have beautiful women, concerts in the plaza, an electric farmers market, beautiful downtown’s, stunning antique architecture, award-winning wine country, great bars, rolling Irish-like hillsides, hiking, rugged beaches, pines by the sea, clean air, low crime, abundance of restaurants, wonderful school systems, plentiful tourism, fishing, lakes and according to Oprah, one of the happiest environments in the world. 

Hakuna Matata.

Here, we embrace the many shades of grey and not the childish infatuations or irrelevant loyalty to organizations that have no grip whatsoever on our SLO life.

So here is my short opinion on the Dwight Howard landing in Los Angeles:

I think the move to land Dwight Howard was the second worst decision in team history. He’s a malcontent disconnected character with a lust for Hollywood stardom. And though I agree that Andrew Bynum was a glass kneed fool with a cheap and uninspired heart, he was, for the time-being locked up longer than one freaking year.

One year. 

In the Summer of 2013 when Howard is an unrestricted free agent, he will do as he’s promised all along by signing an enormous contract with the Brooklyn Nets to become the billboard face of Jay-Z’s franchise. And then what? Steve Nash is 40, Bryant a crippled 35 and Meta World is off in India learning to braid hair and meditate. 

The Lakers now have one year to win Bryant his sixth ring and are still only the third best team in the Western Conference. Not to mention I give them only a smidgen of a shot against the deep defensive minded Bulls and no shot whatsoever against the steam-rolling, LeBron-led Heat. I can name four teams right now with a deeper rotation: the Thunder, Spurs, Bulls and Heat.  And the upstart Pacers are on the fringes.    

So just remember this article when Dwight Howard is an underachieving underwear model with his low seeded Nets teams and you’re stuck watching pick and rolls between Steve Blake and Jordan Hill.  Learn to stop throwing rocks and sticking your tongue out at pragmatic realists with a fair take on things. It’s getting tiring and old and I would like to have a mature conversation.  

We differed in our opinions. Some of us thought he’d land in LA LA, to stake his claim to an acting career and play the Superman savior role for the dwindling career of Kobe Bryant. Others of us thought he would go to the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, or even stay with the Orlando Magic. I hoped he’d flounder in a miracle sign-and-trade to the New Orleans Hornets or Charlotte Bobcats. And I’ll tell you why.

For one: I didn’t really care. I was more interested in the winding down of the NFL.

For two: I was anticipating the return of baseball and salivating over an Albert Pujols’ new beginning with my beloved Angels.

For three: I was gearing up for the NBA playoffs, that so far have been brilliant with the performances of Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

A sign-and-trade to one of the above two teams made for good news and even better conversations. Can you imagine swinging a club with a few cronies, drinking beer, talking about Dwight Howard in a Bobcat uniform?

“Billy did you see where Howard went to?”

“Nope.”

“The Charlotte Bobcats, dude.”

“The who?”

“The Bobcats, they started from scratch when the Hornets moved.”

“Never heard of em.’ You gonna swing or not?”

The irony behind that trade would have made sense to every one of us who resent Howard for one ridiculous reason: He stole the “Superman” name from Shaquille O’Neal and hadn’t the decency to think of anything else. Just because he jumped nine inches in a superman cape to win a dunk contest, doesn’t mean he can stake claim to a mantle only real superstars can carry.

What has Howard ever won? A dunk contest. Oh, and Defensive Player of the Year, a rebound title and I’m sure, somewhere someplace, a body building competition. But besides that? Best Smile his senior year in high school?

Look, I’m not denying the man is gifted with incredible height and an athletic intangible to go along with it. But Howard has never and never will be, a franchise player. He will always be the raw inefficient offensive player who needs three other scorers to make him relevant.

Case in point: 2009. Howard and the Magic propelled passed LeBron James and the Cavs en route to their first Finals appearance since Penny and Shaq in 1996. They were manhandled by a superior Laker team in five games, a series during which Howard never scored more than 21 points and shot just 39% from the floor. Instead of Howard, it was Hedo Turkoglu who made a name for himself in the previous series against the Cavs, leading the team in scoring and hitting clutch jump shot, one after another, in the closing minutes of the fourth quarters.

Dwight Howard has been lucky enough to be a big partly skilled man in a moment in NBA History so parched for big men it makes Ron Jeramy’s addiction to sex look geriatric. In fact, Howard hasn’t, technically, been the best big of his generation.

Had not, Yao Ming broken a femur every time he stepped forward, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. We would be discussing the monumental career of Yao Ming, the man who bridged the basketball gap between two hemispheres. Instead we all know the unfortunate end to Yao Ming. A stoic soul with a keen, sensible, personality, and a meek humility, not to mention a 15-foot bank shot better than most guards and the body of a giant. It ended prematurely short, as all good people do, according to Bill Joel.

But Howard on the other hand, has had a relatively painless career. Until this year, Howard had played in 90% of his games. This is the only dividing factor critics use in discussing another big of his generation, Andrew Bynum, who like Yao, has been brushed off with injury woes. This year Bynum played an injury free year and equaled Howard in most categories (considering he shared rebounds and points with two other stars: Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol).

2011-2012 season

Andrew Bynum             Dwight Howard

Games Played: 60              Games Played: 54

Points: 18.7                          Points: 20.6

Rebounds: 11.8                   Rebounds: 14.5

Blocks: 1.9                             Blocks: 2.1

Field Goal %: 55.8              Field Goal %: 57.3

Free Throw %: 69.2           Free Throw %: 49.1

MPG: 35.2                             MPG: 38.3

When I originally heard the Lakers wouldn’t part with Bynum for Howard, I though they were absolutely crazy (And they still might be)! Bynum was a spoiled-brat, pampered by Laker ownership since he entered the league as an unproven and awkwardly lanky nonathletic 18-year old. He’s been injured often and shown little to any drive at using his god-gifted frame. Howard was the proven somewhat likable and consistent veteran. And then this year happened and my philosophy went to horse manure.

Howard flaunted his egotism all year with a round about approach to answering one god damned question: Dwight, would you like to be in Orlando or not? And while his teammates concocted a decent year swirled with media malaise, Howard embarrassed his coach in live interviews and bowed out early with what some critics describe as a makeshift snot nosed injury.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzORXMDvJzQ

Dwight, clearly, is not Shquille O’Neal. Shoot! He isn’t even the quiet gamer Al Jefferson is. I am beginning to think Bynum has more upside because of his offensive skill set and now for certain, Yao Ming with a dose of good health would trump him in ever major statistical category. You just can’t like a guy who flaunts himself around like a two-dollar hooker in a mismatched set of heels.

Howard fooled us all into thinking he was the funny charismatic star with a humbled determination to make his teammates better. Howard can’t even make himself better.

He shoots free throws wore, yes WORSE than Shaquille O’Neal.

He is outspoken a’ la bridal-gowned Dennis Rodman.

He is a quitter.

Dwight Howard is a quitter.

Dwight Howard is Baron Davis with a better body. You can blame God for that one. He is wielding a shredded cape, and shooting straight to Hollywood, collecting endorsement money and what will soon be one of the largest contracts in league history. But the O’Brien trophy will never be his if he wins one. It will belong to guys like Turkoglu, with the ability to hit a big shot and knock down free throws. Howard will be the face of the project but the men beneath him, the glue that holds his bloated self-ego together. If I were Magic owner Rick DeVos I would approach the Hornets and ask for the rights to Anthony Davis and a montage of role guys, and wash my hands clean of him.

O! But if only the world worked that perfectas. If only the world was just that damn ironically poetic it would be too good for words. Damn.

And while Mitch Kupchak bluffs his way through media montages on “foreseen” megadeals on the “near” horizon, the league moves on without Hollyweird and the boy wonder, Bryant.

Last season, clearly his worst in years, Bryant looked human.

His 25.0 points per game were impressive enough to encourage the kingdom to think he’s got another two or three years in the tank. But his paltry 33.2 minutes per game were his lowest since his sophomore season, begging whether or not the heir apparent’s brittle knees can withstand another 164 to 246.

In a recent interview at the Lakers media day, the brash guard admitted his disappointments with the team’s direction. A day or two since the sudden brush off of reigning sixth man of the year, Lamar Odom to Dallas, Bryant clamored, “I don’t like it.”

He continued with a small jab to Kupchak, acknowledging Odom’s worth: “He played lights out. I don’t understand the criticism of reality shows and this, that and the other. I don’t get it. I don’t understand that. He had his best season last season, clearly wasn’t a distraction, and he played his ass off. I don’t get where that comes from.”

And while media members continued to push Bryant in a defensive corner in regards to the sometimes aloof and silly minded forward, Kobe shot back, ” Now I’m just getting pissed off.”

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmYKB5S3nlE

And so should you.

If you find yourself in the thrust of Laker’ fandom, get really pissed off. Lose the admiration and begin your own occupy Staples movement, calling for the heads of upper management. Because either Jerry Buss is losing his mind, or Mitch Kupchak is the modern day Brutus, aiming to ax Bryant’s career into oblivion.

Without Odom you can kiss a shot at Dwight Howard or Chris Paul goodbye.

Odom’s 14 points and 11 rebounds last season off the bench were his cleanest numbers in his decade-long career. And for the first time the do-it-all swing man played with passion on both sides of the ball.

He seemed to be clicking. His becoming attitude was a motivator for the young Andrew Bynum, whose burgeoning attitude and work ethic are constantly in question.

Without Lamar Odom, the Lakers lack that invaluable one-of-a-kind trade chip to tack on the back end of a blockbuster trade with either Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum. And now, as the team collects their paltry 2nd round draft choice and $8.9 million chunk of change in exchange for Odom, the rest of the league moves proactively forward.

Currently, talks for CP3 have re-landed in Los Angeles, this time with the Clippers. Dwight Howard has turned his attentions back onto a New Jersey- Orlando deal. Even former spark plug Shannon Brown opted for the sunny hot gunning country of Phoenix, Arizona.

Back on the Odom deal, Kobe smarted, “I’m sure Mark Cuban isn’t nixing that trade,” with his usual head nod.

The deal to get rid of Odom was a trade that ultimately made the Lakers worse, stunted their growth in the near future and strengthened the Mavericks with “the best forward trio in the league,” according to Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.

It makes you wonder what this season will look like.

Remember, it was just four days ago that Pau Gasol’s name was typed out in a three-way deal sending him to Houston.

Whether or not the soft-tempered Spaniard can bounce back is yet to be seen as well. “This is a league that’s becoming more of a business than a sport unfortunately,” Gasol said shyly in a camera interview (below). His beard and baby face averting the obvious insecurity: Where is this team heading?

For Kobe Bryant it is quickly moving backwards while everyone else, including past teammate Lamar Odom, move at least step or two in a positive direction.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqWDrZbMg8E

The short list of elite talent undoubtedly begins and ends with Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. While both would be exceptional homerun additions, acquiring both is for the most part an extremely unlikely prospect due to the amount of swapping chips the Lakers’ current roster possesses. So which superstar would be a better fit for the Lakers’ needs? Which player would fit the best based on what L.A. would be left with after what they would trade away?

Los Angeles’s finest professional franchise has always been about one thing, winning championships and doing it with a dominant big man. Down through the years legends the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal have lead the Lakers to numerous rings. This makes Dwight Howard an obvious first target for the purple and gold.

Yes, they need help at point guard and yes, an aging Derek Fisher and a meek Steve Blake are not the ultimate answer. But what separates the ideas of trading for Howard or trading for Paul?

First and foremost, Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol would certainly frontline a package of players going to either Orlando or New Orleans for the services of Howard or Paul.

If you give up Bynum, you need a centerpiece in return. If you give up Gasol for Paul, you will probably be parting ways with Lamar Odom as well, and that scenario would leave a gaping hole at the forward position, a hole that no team with any real championship aspirations could weather and still be considered contenders. That is, of course, unless they got some frontline help in return with Paul.

If the Lakers were to deal a Bynum package for Paul, they would be left with a gaping hole in the middle. Pau Gasol would be left to hold down the middle alone, night in and night out, and let’s face it, that’s not Pau’s game. You would be leaving your only semblance of a big man susceptible to injury or fatigue, especially considering this year’s condensed schedule. Not to mention, this scenario would also go directly against what new coach Mike Brown’s system is based on, not running and gunning and ballet lay-ups, but hard-nosed defense and power offense.

While it is understood that the addition of Paul could do a great deal ignite new coach Mike Brown’s San Antonio Spurs-like high screen-roll and high-post offensive sets, having an all-time great guard like Kobe Bryant makes obtaining Paul all that much less necessary when compared to the prospect of bringing in Howard.

Bryant has showed throughout his career that he can play any role that is needed for an offense to be successful, including ball-handler and facilitator. Just look what Brown was able to do with LeBron James in Cleveland? LeBron is no 6’ 0” jitterbug and he was able to distribute like Magic Johnson. Much could be the same with Kobe Bryant, especially in his aging years.

And while offense racks up win after win in the regular season, anyone with any sense of basketball history understands that defense ultimately wins in the playoffs. We all know Paul can dribble circles around anyone and can get a teammate an open shot as good as anyone in the league. We all know Paul can swipe away a few steals a game. But to compare that idea with the idea of the most dominant inside presence in the league and perpetual defensive player of the year is not even a debate.

The true trump card in the argument however is position scarcity. There are a few point guards in the league with equal or near equal talent level when compared to Chris Paul. Deron Williams may be a better overall point guard. Derrick Rose is the next big thing in the league and can finish better than anyone his size. Rajon Rondo still has upside and can create for others just as well as Paul can. Steve Nash still does everything a point guard is expected to do well and has a few elite years left. John Wall has mount Everest-esqe upside and will rival Derrick Rose as the best point guard in the league in the coming years.

The bottom line – there IS no one in the league like Dwight Howard. And to have that type of advantage at the most scarce position in the league is a fact the Lakers cannot overlook.

So I say roll out the red carpet for Superman 2.0. And CP3, while it would be great for you to join the fold, and any other year a once-in-a-generation type of talent like Dwight Howard wouldn’t be in the picture you would undoubtedly be first on the list.

Don’t settle for courting Mercury when you can lasso Jupiter. But who knows, if there is anyone who can corral an entire solar system, it’s the Lakers.

That is not a typo, and I am sure you are now hyperventilating. Someone call the paramedics!

In fact, that number is so outrageous, you probably think you are reading an article written by Jerry Springer. And maybe Jerry is to blame. Springer and the baby-face of Zac Efron have gotten to the Lakers heads. Add in some saucy Justin Beiber, and the half-naked, Megan Fox, and the Lakers have gone down in the flames of Hollyweird.

Weird, is the perfect word.

With the champs down 3-0 to a hungry Mavericks team, one would expect the survival mechanism to kick in. These are the Los Angeles Lakers, two time defending champs, deeper than anyone in the league, with a nest of proven title warriors. But instead, the fans have been abandoned with the pretty, bop haircut of Drew Barrymore, and are left to fend off the snakes of reality–too old; Kobe not the same; Pau soft; Bynum’s glass knees; No heart; Defensively poor; Fisher needs to fish elsewhere.

Weird, weirdness, weirder, weirdest, weirdizzle.

And while I’m on the topic, Barrymore is a perfect example. One of her first films, Firestarter, an alt-classic with a cultish’ following, features the young Barrymore blazing through American streets with an ability to start fires. She doesn’t know why she does it, accept that she gets enormously pissed off, and bad things happen to really good people.

So get out the gasoline, and start this here barbecue, because a massive roast is about’ to ensue.

Kobe IS FAR passed his prime. It was obvious in today’s game, that the fifteen years on  his thin, lengthy frame, have worn his once spry knees to ancient nubs. He came out red hot, as to be expected, shooting 6-8 in the 1st quarter. But 2-12 for the remainder, with little lift or drive, beckons the question..has his window of dominance closed?

Bynum, a guy getting paid fourteen million dollars on knees of a sixty year old’s, has reasons to smile. He is the most overrated big man in the league, with an ego the size of Texas.

I vote trade his ass to the South Dakota Greg Oden’s.

Pau is shaken by a recent breakup. Wait, a BREAKUP! Can we now consider Vanessa Bryant the new Yoko?

Fisher is now officially crowned with clownsmanship. I am positive Phil had him out there as comic relief, as everytime he threw Terry, Barrea, or Kidd to the ground, he still had it in him to somehow argue the foul call.

The problem with Artest is he is now Sir’ Ronald Artest, and no longer is going by his thug name Ron Ron “Stab a Juggler Vein.”

I think the basketball God hates Steve Blake because he no longer wears a birca.

LO is also the nickname of a former star on the Teeny Bop MTV series The Hills. And we wonder why Lamar is not a star….?

Kloe Kardashian is the 2nd woman in world history to experience immaculate conception. This occured after Luke Walton used the force during a game of Star Wars.

Walton prefers the name Yoda. Kobe prefers to call him Chewy.

Bring Mark”Mad Dog” Madsen” back, and before every game have the guy dance in a tassle embroidered thong.

Maybe this will turn Jeanie Buss on. Either that, or Phil needs to enhance his libido with viagra. Dude is so impartial, he makes a mute begger look like Chatty Kathy.

Flames.

Like Dante’s hell burning up the gloried, the Heat is on, literally.

And Barrymore, who never learns how to gauge her violent skill, is burning down the house (no pun intended).

Everything in the world of history is a mystical equation. And every equation has a variable. We are trained to solve the variable X-factor through basic deduction, arithmetic, and logic. Take away the numeric value to its right or left and divide the sum total by X. The answered NOW breathes in life, becoming more and more tangible, as the ability to solve the paradigm reveals itself.

Like a spring flower, our answered world grows in its vibrancy.

Life’s dominoes begin to fall one by one, aligning into our new normal. All interpretation becomes a reflection of what Quantum Physicists call a mirrored image–our new normals interpretation of current circumstance: time and space. But according to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, time is boundless and void of the boundary points of mathematics: X, Y and Z.

So where are we and why? We don’t really know.

This is where imagination becomes crucial and comes into play. Our emporium of memories are the elements that drive us into Einstein’s boundless dream-like state. The world tips, lilts, rocks, and the fathomable presence of NOW is lost in the surreal.

So we float.

Everything became surreal in the NBA after last summer’s shopping spree, and I believe we are in the most confusing shift between superpowers. In the midst of this all, the media has sounded like quaking tabloid writers spewing asinine hot topics.

Were not the Spurs too physical and too potent for the defending champion Lakers? Not if a 99-83 blowout at the hands of the Lakers two nights ago has anything to say about it.

So what NOW?

We know that we are top heavy with teams like the Bulls, Mavs, Thunder, Heat, Magic, and Knicks.

The Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs are still the elite of the elite. But what does that mean in an upside-down environment? It means I would abstain from betting the house, boat, or wife in Las Vegas.

A blockbuster trade involving Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks made things, shall we say, interesting. All of a sudden the Knicks have become a serious contender; a team that could knock off an over confident one, two, or three.

Even smaller trades can shift time’s mirrored world. When the Celtics rid themselves of Kendrick Perkins in a deal to Oklahoma City for an underachieving swing in Jeff Green, questions arose. Are the Celtics tough enough NOW? A team who had lived on its brutal team defense now has to rely upon a thirty-eight year old Shaquille O’Neal to anchor them defensively.

Most critics believe Perkins will act as the cog defensively that will help the Thunder deal with Western bigs like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Tim Duncan, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Yet can we really have faith in a team relying upon two teenagers in the world of stardom? It has yet to be seen if Kevin Durant or Russel Westbrook can hit the big shot.

Who really knows? Still twenty games away from the most talked about postseason in recent history, die-hard fans are feeling more insecure and unsure than ever before.

…

Security is a gift, and boy do I miss it.

It was mortgaged last Summer when the NBA’s star faces tip-toed elsewhere like dancing ballerinas, creating what scholar Malcolm Gladwell calls a tipping point: A tipping point is the moment when an idea created by either a large corporal entity or an individual, spreads to the masses. It’s a non-discriminatory personality that can be better understood by humanities need for evolution because everything “new” at some point becomes old and stagnant. Humanity tires of the old.

I guess the NBA God was sick of Lakers vs. Celtics, and so he decided to blow our minds and flip us off in the process.

If LeBron James had stayed a Cleveland Cavalier, it is fair to say much of this shift would not have happened. Whether you like the guy or you don’t, LeBron James is a very powerful athlete on and off the court. He is the association’s fault-line star, with the power to change the league.

On the court, the 6’8, two-hundred-sixty pound point-forward is athletically in a world of his own. His developed jump-shot has made him nearly impossible to guard. Blend in his power-forward like strength, his explosive speed, forty inch vertical, and you have a machine that cannot be stopped.

Well, you do; just ask him to deliver in the clutch…

LeBron is a fan favorite. He is the highest paid player off the court with various endorsement deals. He interviews well, which is something lacking in today’s athlete, giving him a like-ability that is a key component to a tipping point. This is what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as stickiness in his book The Tipping Point, making the evolution taking place as painless as possible. There is no tipping point without the stickiness (like-ability) of an emerging idea.

Does not a fad proceed what was at one point stylistically original?

****

It is hard to believe Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did not know about LeBron’s desire to complete the ‘trifecta’ in South Beach. Wade and LeBron have been close friends since splashing on the scene together in 2003. And I don’t know about you, but my friends and I talk. Also, considering LeBron had a more than a productive situation in Cleveland, it would be hard to believe he went into the South Beach Experiment without knowing first that Wade and Bosh would join forces with him there.

Whether or not Wade is the better of the two (he is), he played second fiddle to LeBron in last season’s free agent fray. For most of the 09-10 season, Wade had hinted he would like to go back home to Chicago, joining a potent squad with the talent that has now become Derick Rose. His situation was average in Miami, and at twenty-eight, Wade with a lot of miles on his smaller 6’5 frame, was in need of making a decision that would alter his hall of fame career forever.

Chicago made an offer right away. Bosh had already made it known that he would leave Toronto.  Who would blame the guy?  He also made it known he would be comfortable as a secondary role alongside either LeBron or Wade. Spending seven years in the wasteland of Toronto, the lengthy perimeter-oriented forward had learned life the hard way in the NBA, that he was nothing but a second rate star.

Now he is nothing but a Horace Grant. Ouch.

Just because Bosh and Wade co-mingled their visits with Chicago together, does not mean they were intending to couple on the same team. I think it is fair to say that the league was awaiting LeBron’s decision before big names like Wade, Bosh, Amare, and Boozer landed elsewhere. If you notice the trend, every time LeBron visited one of his top picks–New York, Jersey, Miami, or Chicago; Wade and Bosh setup meetings a couple days afterward. It was almost as if they were gauging LeBron’s visits. It’s like a high-roller shop-around for a lap dance at a club. His first pick decides she wants to ride his richer, better looking friend, so he goes after her slightly less attractive twin.

The South Beach Experiment was the biggest heist in league history, a three headed Godzilla in the making, one that has ended up in lack of the “balls” needed to win big games. As of today the Heat are 1-9 against the top five teams in the NBA. And yet somehow it was LeBron who not only altered careers forever but changed our perception of the league with a trend as cheesy as an eighties horror flick.

“Attack of the Sporting Threesomes!” coming to a theater near you.

Everything from this point on fell into place. LeBron to Wade to Bosh to Amare to Boozer.

Amare signing with the New York Knicks for max dollars before the LeBron signing was like the Knicks dangling a piece of raw beef in front of a starving dog. The Knicks wanted LeBron and had made that known all along. So signing a dynamic piece like Amare gave them the thundering bargaining chip they needed when wooing the King.

Woo all you want. According to Andy Stevens on fansmanship.com, when you are wooing the King, you are wooing a “kingdom of clutch bricks.” Over the last week LeBron has wilted under the pressure. His Heat blew a twenty four point lead to the Orlando Magic, and lost numerous close games in which LeBron, like a pizza delivery boy in training, was unable to deliver on time.

It is interesting that Chicago never really made headlines when it came to signing LeBron. Though they were one of LeBron’s top choices, they courted Wade and Bosh as a duo. It makes me wonder if LeBron made it clear early on that he did not want to play with the Bulls. If so, the Bulls were trying to dismantle a powerful menage a twa. A triage that would be impossible to beat.

Uncertain and in need of a scoring big man, the Bulls did the smart thing, ditching the sweepstakes by signing Carlos Boozer; a guy who had toyed with the idea of signing in Miami with Wade early on. Boozer has solidified the Bulls, a group of team players who have the gel, firepower, and defense to terr Miami and many other elites a new one. They are the victors in this all, losing out on Bron, Wade, and Bosh, but as of today, with a core of Rose, Boozer, Noah, and Deng, are 3-0 against the Miami “Meat”.

Had LeBron stayed in Cleveland, I believe either Amare or Bosh would of paired with him there. This would have made the Cavs a bigger threat in the postseason and kept them at the top of the Eastern Conference food chain. Wade would of signed alone in Chicago, becoming the face of a fresh franchise. Bosh or Amare sign with the Knicks for top dollars. Boozer stays in the Western Conference and signs with his third choice, the Thunder.

Boozer in Oklahoma City voids the trade for Perkins because the Thunder as a small market team would be unable to take on his large contract extension. Therefore he stays in Boston, making our lives a lot easier because the Celtics are still, well, the tough-nosed Celtics.

…

Humanity relies on our greater purpose. We purport to have control over our circumstances, but life would say otherwise. Natural disasters, life decisions: good or bad, death, commerce, and history, creates a difficult and unsolvable equation. In the world of sports, things are the same. One player, just ONE, has the power to gamble away everything we knew or know. So let it take you, and dangle upside down. The dizzying merry-go-round of the world will, like a magician, continue to fool you.

Just because LeBron James has the power to shake the entire league, does not mean he is worthy of mention in the talk of all-time greats. Weren’t the Backstreet Boys a mentionable name in music in the late nineties? In and of the same, as of now LeBron, like Dominique Wilkins or Vince Carter, is a living highlight reel. Nothing more. His significance as a player took a nose-dive when he cowered as the face of a franchise and jumped ship to be a fellow juggler in a circus parade.

And as of now he can only juggle one, losing.

When trying to capture the overall implications of this most recent trade deadline, one needs to realize that there were a lot of risks taken and futures mortgaged. There hasn’t been a deadline similar to this in recent memory where so many superstars were swapped. Some trades could be honestly questioned. Some made complete sense. Some teams made out and some teams got taken for the proverbial ride. Let’s go ahead and delve into “who, to where, for what and why?”

The headline for months was the much hyped “Melo-drama,” as it was so cleverly described. We couldn’t see that one coming, could we? While ESPN’s Chris Broussard basically conjured the validity of a Carmelo Anthony for Andrew Bynum trade out of thin air, the real competition in the waning days for Anthony’s services was between New Jersey and New York.

It was much publicised that New Jersey was having significant talks with Denver up to about a month ago, when in a display of impatience, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov nixed all talks between the two. They became the New Jersey “Nyets.” Most thought this was due to Denver simply needing more in return for an Anthony package than New Jersey was willing to give up. The truth of the matter may have been that Prokhorov finally saw the light and realized what was truly going on.

It had been blatantly obvious from day one of all trade discussion that Carmelo wanted to be a New York Knick. He is from New York and saw playing in the Mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden, as a life-long dream. While the Nets have particular fan strongholds in the New York/New Jersey area, and even though they started vertical construction on their new Brooklyn Barclays Center three months ago, they are no competition for the Knicks as far as the brightly lit stage of the big city of dreams is concerned.

Prokhorov is no idiot. He is the 89th richest man in the world. You don’t find yourself at that level of wealth by getting played by 30-year old team presidents and general managers like Josh Kroenke and Masai Ujiri. He finally came to the realization that the Nuggets were only using trade discussions with his Nets as a leverage play against New York. If New York thought New Jersey was a player and had a legit shot to score Anthony, Denver could trade him to New York, where he was inevitably going to go anyway, for much less than they would have had New Jersey not been in the picture.

All of this front-office analysis aside, what does this trade do for the bottom line of buckets?

The Nuggets parted with a superstar in Anthony, as well as a serviceable point guard, albeit in the sunset of his career, in Chauncey Billups. The less newsworthy of these two players was a significant part of this deal. Billups still can hit big shots, is one of the best veteran leaders in the league, and will mesh with Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni’s run-and-gun system almost instantly. New York also got throw-in forwards; Renaldo Balkman, who was originally drafted by New York in 2006, and Shelden Williams, whose only note of significance in his meager NBA career has been being the husband of WNBA superstar Candice Parker.  Quite a resume.

The Knicks parted with a young and improving point guard in Raymond Felton, as well as New York sociological attraction, Italian forward Danilo Gallanari. Also headed to the Rocky Mountains are roundly-skilled forward Wilson Chandler and big-man project Timofey Mozgov.

The Nuggets got a full hockey line, but the Knicks got a superstar, a championship-seasoned veteran and two expiring and insignificant contracts. While each team got a lot of what they needed for the point each franchise currently is in their overall process, the advantage still has to go to the Big Apple. A top five superstar is a top five superstar, especially packaged with a solid veteran point guard.  You trade what is needed to be able to acquire these two if you are the Knicks, even if you have to give up your right arm and your first-born to get them.

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A cornerstone and respected leader in this league, Jerry Sloan, retires? The longest tenured coach in the NBA just walks away after twenty-two seasons right in the middle of his twenty-third? Now that all-star point guard Deron Williams has been traded to New Jersey two weeks after this unpredicted turn of events, popular and reasonable belief can only consider two options as to why Sloan walked away. Either Williams did what he could to push Sloan out the door through open defiance simply out of his own choice, or the “bling” in his left ear that should belong on Kate Middleton’s finger whispered to do the same because old man Sloan was cramping his style. Either way, Williams played a part, and I have a feeling Jazz management and ownership saw the writing on the wall. The fact that Williams was going to become a free agent in 2012 only had something to do with his ousting. His attitude and arrogance is what ultimately got him shoved out the door and banished to one of the league’s worst situations.

Not only did Utah get to unload an egotistical malcontent, but they made out with the biggest trade deadline steal in recent memory. Williams may be arguably the most complete point guard in the NBA today, but he is still only one player. Last I checked, Deron Williams can’t pass the ball to Deron Williams.

In return for Williams, the Jazz received a solid point guard replacement in Devin Harris. They also acquired last year’s number two overall pick in the draft, twenty year-old potential-phenom forward, Derrick Favors. Giving up on this kid so soon is seemingly a display of impatient haste by the Nets, is it not?

What a great deal for the Jazz, given there was no way Williams was going to resign with Utah after next season, right? Well, that’s not all they got. Let’s toss in two first-round draft picks, one from the Nets and one from the Golden State Warriors.  Both of these picks could very well be lottery picks, given the foreseeable ineptitude of New Jersey and Golden State in the coming years. Wait, that’s not all? How bout three million in cash for the pocket as icing on the cake? A top ten to fifteen point guard, a number two overall pick who is twenty, two potential lottery picks, and cash?  For one player?  Feliz Navidad, Utah.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

In the most questionable move made when considering the implications of the real race for the ultimate prize this season, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge sent stalwart center Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City along with jitter-bug guard Nate Robinson. Wait, I thought Perkins getting hurt during last year’s finals was the sole reason you guys couldn’t get over on the Lakers, Danny?  He is supposedly that important to your team in crunch-time, yet he is this movable less than a year later? Sounds like that excuse back then was just a cry for a crutch, reminiscent of the squeaking from Paul Pierce’s wheelchair brakes. Yes, this trade has now proven that was in fact cow excrement you were smelling from the mouths of New Englanders after the Lakers were celebrating the spoils last year. How does your excuse look now, crybabies?

On the red-eye to the land of “chowdah” comes former Thunder forwards Nenad Kristic and Jeff Green. Green was originally drafted by the Celtics, and was then subsequently traded on a draft-day deal to the then Seattle Supersonics for Ray Allen. Ainge was obviously high on Green that draft, but when given the opportunity to add a sharpshooter like Allen to the centerpiece of Paul Pierce and at the time, recently signed free agent Kevin Garnett, he sold out.

While that move then ended up helping bring a championship to Boston in 2008, Ainge now making the deal for Green reeks of desperation, ego, and a chance at some sort of twisted “I told you so.” When you consider the thought-process of the idea behind the trade, Ainge claiming Green could be the heir-apparent to Kevin Garnett, what he gave up to be able to claim this possibility is borderline comical.  Ainge trading Perkins for Green because he kind of ‘reminds’ him of Garnett is the equivalent of Mitch Kupchak trading Andrew Bynum for Thaddeus Young because he kind of ‘reminds’ him of Lamar Odom. Way to go, Danny. This is the move that people will point to when you are forced out the door in a few seasons.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

As the schedule continues, unflappable to the time needed to digest all the recent changes in the league-wide chemistry, the positioning for playoff seeding will obviously become more heated than it has been to this point. Now comes this very segment we have all been debating for months, and with the shock of these recent moves, questions instantly arise:

Can the Lakers ‘flip the switch’ and make child’s play of the Western Conference like in recent years past?

Is the Spurs’ chase-rabbit record really who they are?  Did regular season records do anything for the Cavaliers the past two seasons? Can unproven playoff role-players like George Hill, Dejuan Blair and Gary Neal become championship-level counterparts?

Does Dallas still even have a seat at the Western Conference table?  Are they to be taken as a serious threat?

Is the addition of Kendrick Perkins the much needed ingredient of inside presence the Thunder need to be an actual and legitimate player in the Western Conference shakedown?

Can the defensive blockade Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls are displaying carry them up to the level of the Eastern Conference elite, and most importantly, carry them in a seven-game series?

Are Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy’s mess of wing players even relevant as we come down the finish line?

Will Danny’s Ainge’s ego in trying to prove he was right about Jeff Green cost the Celtics a realistic chance at the title in their now dwindling years near the top? I know this much for sure, Laker and Heat fans are ecstatic about the loss of Kendrick Perkins. The Lakers now hold a distinct size advantage and the Heat now don’t have such a size discrepancy against Boston.

And lastly, as far as the Heat, will the most gravy-trained collection of elite stars in recent memory topple the naysayers? Will they reach The NBA Finals in their first try at conceived and orchestrated glory? Good luck big three. You’re going to have to drag your dirty-dozen along with you en route to a title. The bricks of Mike Miller and James Jones are building a structure of mediocrity thus far for the level of overall talent you have boasted. The Heatles? Give me a break, “King.” Win something, then talk. I’ve never heard of a King who doesn’t have a crown, you paper champ.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

Questions and vemon aside, when all is said and done, the choices made and paths sought at this deadline will effect these upcoming moves as much as they will effect numerous moves down the road. Some teams played for now and some teams played for later.  Playoff-time reveals destiny, and the free will of the trade deadline move-makers plays a major role in the fate of the actual move-makers on the court.  Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the time to really make your move is upon us.

In today’s cotton candy world, both hollywood and sports stars are interchangable. The incestuous relationship between the two has tainted the NBA’s mid-classic, one filled with amazing memories of the leagues true stars battling it out for supremacy and the right to call themselves not only stars but superstars.

Which according to Andy Stevensfrom fansmanship.com, is the reason the “boring” though best power forward in hoops Kevin Love, nearly missed out.  20 and 10 for Love is like tying his shoes. He’s the first player to go for 30 and 30 (that is not a typo) in 28 years. And yet had it not been for the blessing of Yao’s injury prone career; curse rather if you are talking to the Rockets front office, K-Love would of better known as a christian radio station.  The guy is so methodical in his approach toward the game that he rebounds without jumping. Why? He is smarter than any other forward in hoops, and knows that 80% of the time the ball will carom to the opposite side in which it was shot from. Not only has this approach made him the best rebounder in basketball (15.5 per), but wisely conserves his energy and his knees, which in the end increases his longevity.

“BUT HE IS NOT FLASHY OR PRETTY ENOUGH!” Pretty? Since when do NBA stars have to be pretty or hollywood made? And since when did Paris Hilton have a say in things anyways?

Unfortunately a player like Love is too Beethoven. His ability to out-think individuals is boring, like watching Bobby Fischer dominate a 70- something Russian man at a game of chess. Where are the Jay-Z’s? T.I’s? Lil Weezy’s? Why listen to the abrupt pause and finishes of a Beethoven, when we can stimulate our cultures sub-par brain with cheep beats and kindergarten hooks?

Which is exactly the reason our pop culture is to blame for everything; we are insightfully deaf and dumb. Like Dumbo we sail with our ears instead of slicing skies with intellectual jet-planes. We’re more intrigued when candy chewing L.O.blows a kiss to Khloe Kardashian than we are when Love records another twenty rebound night on an over-hyped big, i.e. Andrew Bynum.

“But Andrew, your dimples remind us of an innocent school boy.” Really pop world?

Love is the better version of our eras Kevin McHale, a guy who won three titles in the 80’s with the Celtics, on a team of forgettable- boring- athletes.  McHale and the Celtics were self-less back country farm boys who graced sports with less one dimensional athleticism, than they did a team oriented intellectualism.

Instead we get Lamar Odom because his swag aloofness is adorable. Or Yao, because he’s the face of an entire nation (which by the way is ridiculous, if this is the case, vote in Eduardo Najera.) Next thing you know, Lil Bow Wow, who currently plays ball at USC, will be the first college athlete voted into a professional mid-classic.

In the end, who gives? It is only the game of some-stars. Kobe? Of course. LeBron, Wade, Durant? Without a doubt deserve it. Let them steal the show, literally, percolate desire from fans with about as much intelligence as Sarah Palin’s economic plan. When the game ends, K- Love will go back to shutting up every critic on the planet. You can count on that.

–Luke Johnson