Thanks Yardbarker for the photo. With the NBA in it’s dead period, I think it’s fair to give out offseason grades. Putting stock into the draft and offseason additions. We must also subtract points for offseason loses. Here we go, starting in video game order with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Blazers- Grade: C.
The Blazers made some confusing moves. First they fired Kevin Pritchard. Pritchard created that Portland franchise from outhouse to penthouse over the past 4 seasons. Then, they added Luke Babbitt in the draft by trading Martell Webster and Ryan Gomes to Minnesota. With thier draft picks, they made [...]

Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m not reading correctly…Is Carmelo Anthony looking for a out in Denver? Is this a huge story on ESPN? Oh, you betcha.
This morning, sources say to Ric Bucher that Carmelo Anthony is not looking to sign the 3 year/ 65 million dollar extension with Denver and is looking to leave. Really Ric? Some people have been talking about this for 3 years now. Noone is surprised Melo’ is looking to leave Denver.  With LeBron taking his talent to South Beach ( Hey, I got to use this line like EVERY other writer, commentator and podcaster!), Carmelo [...]

Web hosting can be a hassle. There’s no way to precisely project incoming traffic, for starters. Also, if your server gets rocked by an influx of traffic or is for some reason experiencing technical difficulties, you want someone you can get in touch with no matter the time of day. Easier said than done, because even in the age of cell phones, texting, Twitter and Facebook, it can be hard to track down family and friends, let alone the help at your hosting company. Fortunately, we here at FanSided haven’t had those problems [...]

Today, 2 trades were made in the NBA. The First was a 4 team, 5 player deal between Houston, New Jersey, Indiana and New Orleans. Here’s the deals ( former teams in bold
New Orleans gets: Trevor Ariza (Houston)
New Jersey gets: Troy Murphy (Indiana)
Houston gets: Courtney Lee ( New Jersey)
Indiana gets: Darren Collison and James Posey ( New Orleans)
I believe the Pacers won this deal and it’s not even close. The Pacers do give up a great rebounder in Murphy but they gain a young, playmaking point guard in Darren Collison and a bench player in James Posey.
Houston is confusing. They [...]

The Final Lap. Thanks for the reads! Here’s the NBA Rankings 10-1!!!
10. Tim Duncan- It’s tough not to put Tim Duncan in the top 10 for many reasons. One, he’s boring AND old. That’s never a good combo. Duncan cannot defend power forwards anymore either. The best thing about Duncan? He’s doing his damage even though he’s slowing down a little bit. Last season, Duncan averaged 18- 10 and 1.5 for San Antonio while logging 31.3mpg ( the lowest in his career). Duncan has made everything possible for San Antonio last year. Had Duncan missed any amount of time last [...]

20. Al Jefferson- Jefferson is someone who alot of people dislike and it’s arguable that he’s should be lower on the list but a couple things make me believe he should be in this ranking.
1. He was progressing very well pre-injury. Jefferson in 2007 and 2008? 20 and 11. He was becoming one of the the best post players in the NBA. He developed moves that allowed him to score in effective and efficient ways.
2. This will be year 2 off the ACL injury. Last season he averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds last season off the injury. This season [...]

Shaquille O’Neal is a Boston Celtic. Yes, you read that correctly. The three-time Finals MVP for three separate Lakers championship teams is now a member of their most hated rival.
It’s been a little more than six years since Mitch Kupchak, on orders from Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss, traded Shaq to the Miami Heat. Since then, Shaq has been traded twice more. That would make the Celtics the fourth team that Shaq has played for in the last four years and the sixth of his career.
There are a lot of Lakers fans who still feel burnt by Shaq’s departure in 2004—me [...]

Here’s My Rankings 30-21
30. Kevin Garnett- Garnett is in the downside of a Hall Of Fame career. He should have been the 2008 MVP and Finals MVP. This is how I feel. This is what I know: Garnett was the single reason Boston didn’t make it to the Finals in 2009. He clearly went from the #2 to arguably the #4 option on the Celtics. Garnett has mastered the high post jumper and killed Pau Gasol with it when Rondo and Garnett did a pick and roll. He doesn’t have the hops but [...]

Here’s the Rankings 40-31.
40. LaMarcus Aldridge- It’s arguable he doesn’t belong on the list. I feel he’s a good player. He should continue to make the progress he has made. Surprisingly nice numbers last season: 18 points-8 rebounds and 31% from 3, 75% from the line.  Not only that, Aldridge has also shown to maintain his numbers in the playoffs ( 19- 6).  The one question for me is: Is he tough? It’s tough to compare Aldridge to anyone because he plays somewhat of a finesse game at times. I’ve seen him go maybe 4, 5 possessions where he gets [...]

After reading the Honorable Mention, I believe you would like to see the people in the rankings huh? Let’s start part 1 of 5 with the players who just made the cut.
50. Tyreke Evans- Reke Havoc is one of two second year players on this list. I didn’t want to add too many youngin’s on the list but Evans ( and number 49) are two special players in my eyes. Evans could be compared to Dwayne Wade and more comparable to Penny Hardaway. How about Joe Johnson for a comparison? Evans makes me believe he’s good enough to play point [...]