Almost everyone has probably already put their two cents in regarding this trade.

The Lakers got Pau Gasol.

The Grizzlies got a whole lot of nothin’!

… at least for right now.

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I’m not sure what to be done about this situation, but if you look at the playoff picture today, this is what you see…

In the Western Conference, 9 teams are above .500. In order of record, you have San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, L.A. Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets. Only 8 of them can get into the playoffs. Which one doesn’t deserve to make it in? I like all of those teams. (If I had to vote out a team, I’d vote that New Orleans chokes again and we have the same 8 teams in the playoffs — and I don’t think that is really a bad thing.)

In the Eastern Conference, 4 teams are above .500.

Only 4!

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I am used to seeing lots and lots of articles where sports analysts complain that the league has been watered down by too many teams.

That’s why I was surprised to see an article the other day on why there aren’t enough teams in the NBA. As evidence of this, the writer supplied the names of young NBA players who were very good, but, as of the writing of the article, had still not found a team. Some of them were restricted free agents and others just didn’t have enough spots on their current team for them AND for the players drafted in the off-season. The writer also noted that there were several retired players looking to make a return to the NBA, taking up roster spots that might have been used by these unrestricted and restricted free agents.

The arguments were persuasive, Read the rest of this entry »

I get annoyed at some sportswriters who think that every team except for the NBA Champion (and sometimes even the NBA Champions themselves) needs to make high profile trades and acquisitions in order to improve their team.

They grade a team on what they did to shake up their team in the off-season, including giving some teams poor grades for ONLY re-signing their free agents and a couple of draft picks.

There are teams that make frequent trades and/or bring on good free agents and they never seem to improve much. There are teams that never seem to make any trades and they are good to great year after year.

That’s not to say that teams shouldn’t EVER make some moves to get markedly better, but I think two things need to be taken into account by every General Manager in the league. (I actually think most of them do, much to the dismay of their local sportswriters and/or fans.)

At the risk of repeating myself, I explain yet again why the boring teams in the offseason are usually the teams playing in the NBA Finals.

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Veterans, who in their prime were a force to be reckoned with, are going to contenders simply to get a ring.

I don’t fault them much for that. But is the ring really that important if it doesn’t have your team’s name written on it? Some might argue that if they are a help to their team then, yes, it means something.

I don’t know.

It seems weird the Gary Payton and Antoine Walker got Miami rings. And that Brent Barry and Michael Finley got Spurs rings.

You also wonder, though, if it is in the best interests of the team to take on these veterans who have lost a step.

This is where I am REALLY going with this article.

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