It’s Time for Allen Iverson to Retire

I never thought a story like this would come from me, and for good reason. Allen Iverson has been my favorite player ever since the Georgetown days. Once he got drafted by Sixers in 1996, he instantly became my favorite player in the league, surpassing even The G.O.A.T. Even to this day, nothing has changed. I say all that, so you will see this is a story coming from a fan of Iverson, not someone who can’t stand the sight of him, or someone who is just a plain hater. This is coming from someone who wants him to leave the game with his dignity intact, while he’s still a very productive player, and someone who doesn’t want to see him reduced to a jersey-seller, a seat-filler, but with no chance of winning the championship. Simply put, I don’t want my favorite player of all-time to be reduced to a basketball version of the UniverSoul Circus.

When people look at Allen Iverson, they see someone who is a team-wrecker, a diva, and someone who doesn’t care about winning. People choose to forget he has carried teams on his back for years, and was dealt the short end of the deck in others. Last season was a nightmare in Detroit, as everyone who witnessed was aware of. He was reduced to coming off the bench, publicly complained about the role, and was then deactivated for the rest of the season with a back injury. Last season also marked the end of his contract, which now makes him a free agent. This is where things really get interesting.

There’s no denying that Allen Iverson can still be productive. He can go somewhere and get his starting job, minutes, shots, get 20 points a night, and remind people why he’s still one of the best players in basketball. However, it will be on a team who has no earthly chance in hell of winning a championship, and even I, as an Allen Iverson fan, will be the first to admit that. I hear teams like Charlotte and Memphis, and all I can do is laugh. Charlotte is on the verge of being a playoff team with a mix of young players, a couple of veterans, and with Larry Brown running the show. Sure, Iverson could go there, but what will that really accomplish? They’re going to make the playoffs whether he’s there or not, so that scenario is out. Memphis is a million years away from being a contender, so that move does nothing either. The only thing he can gain from going to those places is a nice payday, and he’s had plenty of those. The primary objective should be to win a championship, period.

The only team I can see him playing for, while being a productive player, and having a chance to win a championship, is the Boston Celtics. Even with that, it’s about a big a pipe dream as can be had, simply because (a) he wouldn’t start, (b) he would have to become a true role player, and (c) he won’t get big money from them. For something like this to happen, he would have to completely buy into what Boston is doing. Granted, I think he’s better than Ray Allen, but I know he’s not a better fit than Ray for Boston’s system, so there would be, and should be, no change in the starting line-up. When I ask people why he couldn’t be a Ginobili, why he couldn’t become the best sixth-man in basketball, and simply be instant offense off the bench, they say the pride factor will keep him from doing so.

No other real contender (San Antonio, LA Lakers, Cleveland, Orlando, Houston) needs him, so it’s either time to swallow some pride, or charge it to the game. He’s someone who knows he’s better than a lot of players at his position, but unlike those players, they know what their roles are, and there’s no extreme circumstance that will make them have to swallow their pride. With that said, if he chooses to retire now, not only will his legacy remain intact, he’ll be remembered as one of the best players of our generation. His fans, such as me, won’t be mad at him for it one bit. However, if he does choose to stick around for the payday, for the starting job, for the points, but with no realistic chance of winning a championship, that will be something that even I will no longer be able to defend.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

Who Was Luckier? Us or Shaq

**Today's post is from our featured guest writer Phillip Barnett aka I'm So Hideous, check him out as a regular contributor at Talk Hoops**

You may have already read 7,635,425 blogs and articles answering the pressing question of: Will the Shaq for Cracker Jacks trade work for the Cavaliers. The short answer: No. And that's all you're getting out of me on that one. I'm here to answer a more interesting question: Is Shaq the luckiest big man of all time - or are we the lucky ones?

With Shaq moving to Cleveland, he is paired up with Lebron James, the fifth time the Big Something or Other (© Celia Kelly) has been paired up with a great parameter player. It started in Orlando with Penny Hardaway, he moved to Los Angeles to play with Kobe Bryant, moved back to Florida to play with Dwyane Wade, shifted his weight to Arizona and played with Steve Nash and is now with one of the most freakish athletes we've ever seen? Again, I ask, who has been luckier, Shaq or us?

NBA: FEB 26 Suns at Lakers

Off top, it seems like this answer would undeniably be Shaq. However, we've got to see the greatest center of this era, and one of the most candid athletes of all time, play with some of the most exciting basketball players of the last decade, and we're just months away from seeing him team up with the most exciting in the game now.

Has a center ever been more blessed to play with more future Hall of Famers than Shaq? Kareem got to play with Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. Wilt played with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. Russell played with Bob Cousy. Olajuwon played with Clyde Drexler, but that was at the end of his career. The most exciting perimeter player Robinson played with was Rod Strickland, and had Ginobili as a rookie as he was leaving the league. Ewing had John Starks, Xavier McDaniel and Larry Johnson. None of those lists jump out at you like Penny, Kobe, Wade, Nash and Lebron - no second name needed for any of them.


Was Shaq lucky when Orlando drafted the crafty, ultra athletic Penny Hardaway from Memphis in 1993? Shaq was drafted in '92 to bring life to a franchise that had been dead since its beginning and Hardaway was brought in to play Jake Hoyt to Shaq's Alonzo and tear through the league. Young Shaq and Penny made the NBA Finals in their second year together, establishing Shaq as one of the most dominate young centers the league had ever seen despite getting swept in the Finals. In Penny's first season, Shaq saw his scoring increase by six points per game, but again, maybe we were the lucky ones. Hardaway was one of those point guards who wasn't afraid to get in the lane and try and dunk on someone. It seemed like he made one ridiculous no-look pass every game and just had swag beyond his years. How could you top watching what some thought may have been the center position evolving with a 7'1'', 300 pound man who could run the floor and had a post game for half court sets? Sadly, just like Alonzo and Jake in "Training Day," Shaq and Penny had different views on the way things were supposed to operate and that made a disgruntled big man pick up his things and leave Orlando for Los Angeles to get paired with what would go on to be the best duo of the first half of the next decade.

Shaq's move to Los Angeles proved to be a huge one indeed. Was he lucky to be traded to a team that just drafted Kobe Bryant, the young wonder kid and the newest "Next Michael Jordan?" When they were on the court together it posed problems never seen before in the NBA. We had never seen a problem like the problem the Kobe-Shaq problem posed for NBA teams before they got together in '96. If you double-teamed Shaq, Kobe went to work, if you double-teamed Kobe, Shaq went to work. There was now way to double team them AND defend three other professional basketball players. With Kobe, Shaq earned an MVP, three titles and a Finals MVP for each title he won with Kobe. With Kobe as his partner in crime, he solidified his spot as a top three center of all time. Not only that, when they went to work it was exciting. So, maybe we were the lucky ones? You remember that lob Kobe threw to Shaq against Portland they have in those "Where Amazing Happens" commercials or when Shaq was shooting technical free throws against Sacramento or when Kobe took over in overtime against Indiana in the finals when Shaq fouled out. Then Kobe pissed him off and he moved on (we all know that story, so I'll move on).

Was Shaq lucky to be paired with Dwyane Wade after leaving Los Angeles? Wade came into the league and instantly took Tracy McGrady's spot as the best natural shooting guard in the NBA. Wade was relentless in his attack of the basket and Shaq was still dominant, yet willing to play second fiddle. He averaged 22 and 10 his first season there and won a title in his second, basically getting his revenge against Kobe with the new Kobe. Wade helped resurrect Shaq's career after it looked like he was aging after the Lakers' Finals loss to Detroit. However, the fans got much from Shaq going to Miami too. For those who loved drama, the networks fed that hunger with Christmas day meetings, documented accounts of those Kobe-Shaq handshakes, sound bytes from each player with commentary, each completely over-blowing the situation. Most importantly, the world was exposed to the greatness that is Dwyane Wade. I remember gushing over him while he was at Marquette. Shaq moving to Miami really brought Wade's unique game to the forefront. After Wade, did anyone think Shaq's career could be resurrected again?

Maybe Steve Nash did. Maybe Shaq was lucky enough to play with one of the three best point guards of the past decade. If you don't remember, Shaq's last season in Miami (07-08) he was looking ridiculously old. He had lost 309 steps, he couldn't get on the boards and he didn't have a healthy Wade to take the heat off of him (no pun intended). Fast forward to this season and he averaged 17.8 ppg (most since the '05-'06 season) and 8.4 boards. Once Nash learned how to play with someone who clogged the middle as much as Shaq did, Shaq's numbers became surprisingly good for a 37 year-old who had been carrying over 300 pounds for almost two decades (Shaq averaged 18.7 and 7.7 during their last 25 games as they made a push for the playoffs, which seemed unfathomable just a year and a half before that). While Shaq was in Phoenix, were we ever blessed with a better year and a half chalk full of memorable Shaq quotes?

-"The Big Shaqtus."
-"Kobe, tell me how my ass taste."
-"I know for a fact that he's a master of panic, and when it gets time for his team to go in the postseason and do certain things, he will let them down because of his panic."
-"I figured out a long time ago that the reason I'm a great athlete is because I'm a great dancer."

Speaking of dancing, what about that dance performance he had before the All-Star game? And speaking of the All-Star game, what about the co-MVP performance which included that gorgeous between the legs of Dwight Howard pass to Chris Paul that turned into a give and go with a classic Shaq dunk finish.

And speaking of finishing, is Shaq lucky that he may be able to finish his career in Cleveland with the best finisher (at the basket, not at the end of the game just to be clear) in the game? Should we have expected anything different in considering how his career has gone? We may be witnessing some highly entertaining basketball, especially with the team camaraderie they already have - which brings me to where the fans may be lucky. Remember when Shaq and LeBron were battling for the best pre-game performances? Now, we have the two best in the game working together, the possibilities are endless. It's already a fun loving team, and now they're bringing in the most fun loving big man of all time. Even though this is not going to turn into a championship for Cleveland (unless they sign a bigger defensive minded swing man, in which case this team is really scary), at least we'll have a season of very entertaining Cavaliers games.

I don't know who has been luckier, but it's safe to say that Shaq and the fans alike should be excited for what next season could potentially be.

-P. Barnett
www.edthesportsfan.com

The National Fútbol League (Its Soccer People...)

About 3pm yesterday, I was sitting in my room watching the Confederations Cup final between our beloved (yeah right) United States soccer team go up against the equivalent of the Yankees, USC, or The Dream Team of soccer in Brazil, I witnessed Texas-bred midfielder Clint (Deuce) Dempsey put in the first goal of the game my blackberry went into spaz mode.

*BUZZZZZZ*

"GOOOOOOOOOOAL"

*BUZZZZZZ*

"Dempsey is the man!!!"

*BUZZZZZZ*

"Can we really win this game?"

*RING RING RING*

"Yes, this is Andy with your Platinum Visa Credit Card..."

*CLICK*

Anyway, the point is that I was getting text messages from folks that I had no idea even knew what soccer was, much less were that passionate about it. I am a HUGE soccer fan. I'm a GOONER, or for the common folk, a fan of Arsenal who are also known as the Gunners. I'm a big time fan of Thierry Henry (the other black dude in the Gillette commercial with Tiger and Federer) and of the Netherlands international squad. I've been known to fall asleep to soccer matches too. (Don't ask weird, it sounded weird even when I wrote it) Generally, I have about 2-3 friends that are big fans of soccer like me, now I had about 15-20 folks hitting me up about the game was almost overwhelming.

This is a good thing.

I'm going to tell you something, if you are not watching soccer then you are missing out. I've said this a million times, sports is the greatest reality show you could ever watch. If you want to see drama, comedy (ask Kenny how he feels when he sees a Brazilian player flop), action, and intensity...watch a soccer match between two teams with something on the line. There's nothing like it, and every goal matters SO much, its a pleasure (and pain) to enjoy.

Let's put what we watched last night into perspective. The US finishing 2nd in the Confederations Cup is the equivalent of a team like Cornell, SMU, Oral Roberts, or Pepperdine playing in the Preseason NIT against Duke, UNC, UCLA, UConn, and Kentucky. The Preseason NIT is a big deal, because you know some of the best teams in the nation are going to gear up and test themselves early and see how well they stack up against other great teams. Usually there are a couple of scrappy, feeder teams for the good teams to warm up on. What happened on Sunday was Bowling Green getting to the Preseason NIT final and losing to North Carolina after being up 15 at the half, and losing by 3 at the end.

US Soccer is on the map, now the casual fan will be paying attention. "But Ed, who should I be looking for?" Good question my loyal reader, let me help you out.

This team is about as scrappy as they come. You know how some folks love a scrappy, hard-nosed team. Well this team fits the bill. I'll help compare some of these folks to other athletes you might know.


#10, Landon Donovan - The leader of this squad. He's got the attitude of J.J. Redick back at Duke, cocky as hell and very very good. He's been known to urinate on Mexico's field aka take a "Dallas Knee". (Get on one knee and whiz, making a shield for no one to see you) For this team however, he is a faciliator first, scorer second. Steve Nash might be too lofty of a comparison, but his role is similar.

#17, Jozy Altidore - Think about how Amare Stoudemire was when he first came into the league; raw, strong, and instinctive. That's Jozy for you, one of the first attacking players the US has had who could probably go out and play wideout for a D-1 program. He's only 19, and he's currently playing overseas in Spain, but marketers are banking him becoming a star. He's got a long ways to go, but he's the truth and is only gonna get better.

#8, Clint Dempsey - Deuce! Probably my favorite player on this team, dude fits the description of "mercurial" and is probably one of the most skilled players on the team. Dude raps, breakdances, after he scores goals, and talks a lot of sh*t. He plays like a... brotha. How about that? LOL...Dempsey plays in the English Premier League (the best league in the world) and plays for the equivalent of the Grizzlies in the EPL (Fulham). He even did a video with Big Hawk representing that Texas mayne. DON'T TREAD!

#5, Oguchi Onyewu - Gooch, as he's more informally known, is probably the only dude on the team who could play D-Line for a D-1 program. Dude is 6'5", 230 lbs., and his mean as hell. You gotta understand, 6'5" in soccer is like 7'1" in basketball. Dude elbows folks in the ribs for fun but is a great athlete. As the United States' best defender, he generally defends the other teams best strikers. Think of Sean Taylor (RIP) hawking the middle of the secondary and cracking cats coming over the middle.

#1, Tim Howard - The Goalie, the one position where we are 2nd to none on the pitch (soccer field). Howard is one of the best goalies in the world, period.

This team is diverse, funny, and charismatic. Don't do anything drastic, but just read up on some of these guys. YouTube 'em. Know who they are, or as Ken would say, invest yourself. (I've made Kenny a soccer fan, ask him about it.) And when August 12th rolls around and they have to play their arch rival in Mexico...in Mexico City in La Azteca (think of Ohio State's horseshoe) which will not be an easy place to play. I challenge you, have a watch party. Enjoy watching something new and different, it could be fun.

DID YOU WATCH THE UNITED STATES VS. BRAZIL? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT ALL? LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The 2009 NBA Draft - Where It Begins At Pick #2 Happens...

(Booing from the crowd towards NBA commissioner David Stern)

The 2009 NBA Draft has begun!

David Stern's kinda snarky tonight...lol. While watching David Stern give his commissioner's address, hearing him speak about the Lakers made me realize that it is a supremely love/hate relationship with the Lakers. Either you LOVE them or you supremely hate them. Its good to know where I stand lol...

ESPN's Bill Simmons went into extremely fine detail to mention this but I'll bring it up again. They've had what...two ever successful draft picks since they've been in the league. TWO! Danny Manning in '88 out of Kansas (lets not bring up the '88 National Championship between Oklahoma and Kansas. lets just leave it alone) and probably Chris Kaman a couple of years ago. That's it! Will Blake make a difference? They've got to make it official first...

Clippers select Blake Griffin.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! Was hoping somehow someway that OKC could get the hometown kid. Happy for Blake though, holding it down for the Sooner State (and my homestate) and for an up and coming program at OU. However, dude is really rocking that purple. Maybe someone tricked him into thinking he's going to the Lakers, not the Clippers.

NOW THE REAL DRAFT BEGINS...Memphis is on the clock.

I'm going to say they draft Thabeet, but they have a decent center in Marky Marc Gasol. Maybe surprise pick Jordan Hill? Nahhhh....

Memphis takes Hasheem Thabeet...Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania stand up!

By the way, that suit is shiny but pretty damn fly. Ok could he go down as the worst #2 pick of all-time? Maybe...I mean at this point his ceiling is what...Samuel Dalembert? I dunno.

Now the fun begins, my Oklahoma City Thunder are on the clock...I've flip-flopped on this pick three times. I've went from Harden, to Curry, to Rubio, and finally settled on a two-way split on Curry and Rubio. How good does either one of those two players make Kevin Durant? An elite shotmaker in Curry who has 30-foot range, along with Durant's 30-foot range would be incredible. Rubio would live to make Durant better. Decisions...

OKC takes...James Harden.

Wow. I'm going to get kicked out of my building because I just let out a 100-decibel four-letter curse word when I heard that. Wow.

Sigh...okay, here's his best-case scenario. This isn't the worst pick in the world, not even a bad pick, but Curry and Rubio were the only other players I thought that were on the board that I thought could be great. However, after watching Harden enough, his college game reminds me of Brandon Roy. They both played within themselves and have an old-school game. Neither are overly athletic and don't have great measurables, but they know how to play the game. I'm going to pray that James Harden turns into something like Brandon Roy.

(Making a drink. Where is the vodka?)

Sacramento will take Ricky Rubio or they will be irrelevant for the next 10 years.

(Sidenote, why is Jay Bilas sucking Tyreke Evans so much. Jeez-us.)

Sacramento takes Tyreke Evans.

(Scratching my head...)

Ok, I'm going to say it. If a 17-year old kid can hold their own and not only NOT fold under pressure against the 3 of the greatest PG's in the NBA (CP3, Deron, and JKidd) but excel under maybe the greatest stage in the world (2008 Olympics) then you are special. Tyreke's probably going to be a great player, but maybe I'm just ultra-intrigued by the possiblities of Ricky Rubio.

Minnesota should take Rubio and Curry back-to-back. How ill would that be...



Pick 1 of 2 is in. Minny takes Rubio. If they could get the best passer and the best shooter in Curry? They'd have a great slasher in Brewer, cerebral post player in Kevin Love, and a monster post in Al Jefferson. I dunno...Minnesota, make me proud!

Great line #1 of the night - Marc: "Who in the NBA are you most like?" Ricky: "I'm only like Ricky Rubio, I'm not like anyone else."

Minnesota's up again, TAKE STEPHEN CURRY!!!!

Minnesota takes Jonny Flynn??? Ok, I'm extremely confused. They must be trading one of them. (Side note - Watched an interview of Flynn last night, he said his name in 3rd person at least 12 times in an interview with the great Lisa Salters. I'm like dude for real? You primetime now? LOL, okay lets find out)

Golden State is up...I will go on record as saying that I have no clue who they will take.

G-State takes Stephen Curry. The Knicks fans wanted Curry pretty bad I see. Should be interesting to see how Curry works with Monta Ellis. A 6'3 shooting guard who they want to handle the rock. Doesn't that sound familiar?

ESPN's crack reporter Ric Bucher informs us that Minnesota will plan on keeping Flynn and Rubio, and that they will be able to play together. How do you know this? Not really sure how this is going to work out. They better trade Sebastian Telfair asap before he does a documentary on being the 12th man for Minny.

Stephen Curry's momma and sister are bad as hell. Yep.

Isn't the West supposed to be the better conference? They just had the first 7 picks in the draft! Jeez-us.

I'm going with Jordan Hill here for the Knicks.

Knicks take Jordan Hill. LOL...a whole bunch of boos, F words, and "I need two more thumbs so I can give that a 4 thumbs down!!!" lol...but I'm going to say it right now, Jordan Hill will make the All-Rookie team. In the Knicks offense with Mike D'Antoni coaching? You see what other Arizona product did last season. Should be interesting.

You have to wonder when the Psycho-T watch comes up and have all the announcers start gushing all over him. I'd love to see OKC trade back up to get him, the problem is I think someone's gonna reach for him too high and then it's going to look dumb.

Toronto takes Demar Derozan. Where the hell is Lil Romeo????!?!??!

We're already at pick #10? Damn this is fast compared to the NFL, we'd be on pick #3 maybe at this point. Something to ask yourself at this point...has any of these teams made themselves significantly better outside of the Clippers? I mean none of these picks are making me feel like, "Ok, they might be a playoff contender now!" We saw the impact players like Derrick Rose had on that team, could anyone else? I'm thinking maybe OKC and Minnesota has a slim chance.

Milwaukee takes Brandon Jennings, hmmmmmmmm.....maybe Milwaukee don't feel that strong at about Ramon Sessions.

Ok, its official. All high school players, if you are a top 5 player in the nation and you do not want to go to college. Go overseas and make it happen for one year and get some bread, and as long as you don't F up, you still could be a top-10 selection. Plus, if you're a big man, I'd say probably top-5. Way to go Brandon, bad on the hood to the NBA for having a stupid age-limit requirement.

My boy Phil just texted me say Terrance Williams is the pick. With the recent news of the Vince Carter to Orlando trade, T-Will could play the 3. However, I see them going with Earl Clark who could play the 3 or the 4. Even though you don't like trading your best player, but they have a really nice young core of players with Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Brook Lopez, and maybe even Chairman Yi. Let's see who they take...

New Jersey takes Terrence Williams. Guess my boy Phil knows what he's talking about. Another great Seattle product, he immediately starts at the 3. Wow. Harris, Lee, Williams, Yi, and Lopez? Not bad...probably need a better post player than Yi, but I really like their young nucleus.

And my frat brother just tried way too hard to make a funny joke about Terrence Williams watching ESPN...thanks Stuart.

Charlotte's on the clock. Seriously, I think they could go Psycho-T here...

The Bobcats take Gerald Henderson. Safe pick, really like him. The Dookie gets to play close to campus in Charlotte. Love that dunk he did on Maryland, nasty.

Indiana's on the clock, one of the few teams I've always liked. Heard they're not happy with where they are at PG, I say they go either Maynor, Holiday, or Teague...

Yep, clearly I have no clue what I'm talking about. Indiana takes Psycho-T. You know, bad on the hood for the Madison Square Garden tenants for booing him and yelling Overrated! at him. I've said this A LONG TIME ago, he is the next David West. Yeah, I said it. Its not that hard to figure out, he's a pretty decent athlete, knows how to score, and busts his ass on the court. Should be interesting in Indianapolis this fall.

Phoenix is on the clock...they just threw up a major trade rumor with Golden State where Amare would go to G-State and Phoenix would get Brandan Wright, Andris Biedrins, and Marco Belinelli. Wow. They said they can't do it until the free agent period begins. They've gotta pick a PG here if they plan on letting Amare go, go get a replacement for Nash. If they get a PG, they're blowing up the team.

Phoenix takes........Earl Clark from Louisville. Stern advises us that he's not here, but BRANDON JENNINGS is. WTF...I'm confused. I really like Earl Clark, except for the fact that the two players he's most compared to are Lamar Odom and Tim Thomas. aren't those the two players YOU WOULDN'T want to be compared to? LOL...jeez-us. Phoenix, just blow up the team, for real. We won't be mad at you.

Brandon Jennings just big upped going overseas. Lance Stephenson is boarding a flight to Spain asap.

Detroit Pistons take Austin Daye from Gonzaga. Hmmmmm...with Tayshaun Prince there they now have the two tallest, skinniest, super yella dudes of all-time. I heard he likes to play Madden. Get at me PS3 Gamertag - CoolBreeze5. He actually reminds me of Tayshaun Prince, most people forget that Tayshaun was soft as charmin back in Kentucky, now he's a lockdown defender. We'll see what happens.

Folks the lottery is over. If you're a rookie now, I wouldn't even be mad because now your going to a playoff team, and you have a chance to get some major success. (Dickie V just yelled at all of us for 2 minutes, what did he say?) Looking forward to seeing where DaJuan Summers (Kenny's guy), Jrue Holiday, and Eric Maynor (My guy) go to. I think all 3 players will be starting or getting major minutes for a playoff team in 2009-10.

Chicago's up, shout out to Celia out in Cali as this is her squad. She roasted OJ Mayo something terrible on here awhile back, lets see if she roasts this pick now...

Chicago takes James Johnson from Wake Forest. Hmmmm....I guess. Looking forward to seeing Celia's reaction on him...

Philadelphia's up, they need a PG. I'm going to say Ty Lawson...I'm probably going to be wrong.

Yep, I was wrong. Philly takes Jrue Holiday. This might be a great pickup for Philly, however, I think they should try and resign Andre Miller for a year or two so he can learn from someone. I've gotta say my guesses on draft picks have sucked horribly (pause) so I guess I'm not going to be the Mel Kiper/Todd McShay of the NBA Draft.

Minnesota takes a 3rd point guard in Ty Lawson. Is Matt Millen drafting for them? Does he think they can all play wide receiver? News is that they'll trade Lawson to the Denver Nuggets. He'll get to learn from Chauncey Billups? Oh boy...

Atlanta's up, they just traded for Jamal Crawford...they need a point guard bad.

Atlanta takes Jeff Teague, I like it. Thinking that if they could bring back Bibby to play for 1-2 years, it could be very influential on Teague's game.

Utah takes Eric Maynor. The Jazz have the best PG duo in the league.

Phil says NO should take Sam Young. NO takes Darren Collison instead. Shows what you know Phil. (This is "Chico" Phil, not "Spaz" Phil who writes at I'm So Hideous however unfortunately they are both Lakers fans. I now do not like anyone named Phil ever again.

I'm done with the draft diary, but here are the highlights from the rest of the draft and other things to consider:

Wasn't Dejuan Blair a "niche" pick in this draft? How bad did his medical records look? Someone told me they must've looked worse than OJ's background check.

All 4 North Carolina draft entrants (Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington, and Green) all landed in great positions for them to succeed. Man, I hate North Carolina...

The Griffin Brothers might play against each other a bit, Taylor landed in Phoenix and I'm pretty sure he makes their roster.

Who had the best draft last night? Let us know your thoughts! Easy.

RIP Michael Jackson. The End.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

ETSF NBA All-Decade Rookie Team

The saga continues…LOL.

First off, I’d like to give a shout-out to Philip Barnett and Brandon Lewis for their contributions and insight to this particular post. This was definitely one of the most challenging (yet fun) posts we’ve ever done at ETSF. Once again, we’ve decided to keep the party going, and in honor of the draft, we’ve compiled every pick that was made in the past ten drafts, and constructed three teams. In order to avoid any confusion on how this was put together, this is how it has been broken down:

This list is similar to your typical All-Rookie Team. In essence, you hardly see five rookies on the first-team who were actually on championship-caliber teams in their given season. That is the format we have decided to follow, as it pertains to this list. It is strictly the best fifteen players (three point guards, three shooting guards, three small forwards, three power forwards, and three centers). It is strictly their “how good are you/how raw are you” individual game. There will be no preferential treatment for players who may have been drafted earlier in the decade over players who were drafted later. For example, Tony Parker was drafted in 2001, while Chris Paul was drafted in 2005. While Tony Parker has three rings this decade, he’s also had a much better team and better coach, so we didn’t hold that against Paul (same with Deron Williams). So while he’s had a better career (given his selection on our All-Decade team), Chris Paul’s a better player. Another thing, there are no undrafted players; we’re simply using players that were drafted.

First Team

Center – Yao Ming (2002 Draft) – In my opinion, Yao is the best center in basketball, injury-prone or not. His offensive skills are unlimited, he’s an underrated defender, good passer, as well as a solid rebounder. He won’t make many Sportscenter plays, but he does make the right plays, hence his spot on the top of this list.

Power Forward – Pau Gasol (2001 Draft) – Pau Gasol is one of the most consistent power forwards in the league, and easily the most consistent of his draft class this decade. He came in averaging 18/9/3 in 2001, and at the end of the decade, his averages were 19/10/4.

Small Forward – LeBron James (2003 Draft) – Top-three player in the league = best of your draft class in the decade.

Shooting Guard – Dwayne Wade (2003 Draft) – Best two-guard in the league, not named Kobe. This is a no-brainer.

Point Guard – Chris Paul (2005 Draft) – The consensus among experts and fans is that Chris Paul is the best point guard in the NBA (I disagree, but that’s another story for another day). Honestly, it’s hard to dispute it when the man has put up over 20 points, 11 assists, and three steals in consecutive seasons. If he’s not the best, he’s no lower than number two.


Second Team

C – Dwight Howard, PF – Amare` Stoudemire, SF – Carmelo Anthony, SG – Gilbert Arenas, PG – Deron Williams

Third Team

C – Al Jefferson, PF – Elton Brand, SF – Kevin Durant, SG – Brandon Roy, PG – Tony Parker

Notes:

I was extremely close to putting Rondo on this list over Tony Parker, simply because I see them as damn near the same player, except Parker has played longer. After comparing Rondo’s first three seasons to Parker’s first three years, it’s pretty much a wash. Parker had better regular seasons and post-seasons, with the exception of Rondo’s play in the 2009 Playoffs. Another thing I noticed is how many raw dudes have been drafted this decade. A case can be made for plenty of players to be moved around, or cats who were left off, altogether, to be included.

Let the debate begin…

-K. Masenda
http://www.edthesportsfan.com/