NBA 2007-2008

[BaconForTheSoul]

I like what the Clippers have done.  Assuming Camby and Kaman can coexist they will crush other teams on the boards.  Davis is obviously a good addition and it's not like they even had Brand last year.  It's a damn shame this team is in the west because I'm fans of all 3 of their big names now, but I just don't know if it'll be enough to compete in the West.

And yes... Denver is stupid.

[Veryslightlymad]

Phoenix signs Matt Barnes
Uh..... good for Matt Barnes. Dunno what Phoenix expects he'll do for them, but he's not terrible. I get the impression Phoenix is going to rapidly fall off the table. I hate to actually say this, but I somehow feel SORRY for Steve Nash.  Oh well. He'll have to settle for his millions of dollars, two MVP awards, national hero status in Canada (Or at least Order of Canada status), healthy twin daughters and Paraguan Wife. On second thought, FUCK Steve Nash.
FUCK YEAH, HORIZONTAL RULE
Golden State acquires Marcus Williams from the New Jersey Nets for a conditional first round pick
Excellent move by Golden State. They definitely needed a backup point-guard, or possibly even a starting point guard, depending on whether or not they could successfully slide Ellis over to the spot.  I remember that, when he came into the league, Williams was touted as a really talented prospect that could turn into a very good point guard, but so far he has not panned out.  At 22 years old, Williams very well could develop into something good when he doesn't have too many guys to play behind, like he did with Jason Kidd and Devin Harris. Despite losing their star player, I have to think that Golden State is still going to be competitive next season, and I really have to give them props for that. After Davis, most of the rest of their core is still really goddamn young, so if they can get some magic going, they'll actually be perennial playoff contenders, which has got to be a breath of fresh-air for the starved fans in Oakland.
EDIT
I somehow forgot to mention that the Warriors ALSO signed Ronnie Turiaf.  This is a good signing for them, although they might be the only team that could get reasonable value from Turiaf at the price they signed him at.  I'm a big fan of Ronnie's. He's got a lot of heart and energy, and they probably need a big personality guy to step in and replace Davis as far as emotional leadership goes.  Furthermore, he's a high-octane power forward who'll definitely be willing to slash HARD to the basket, hit mid-range jumpers, and pass inside to Biedrins for easy dunks. I strongly suspect he'll fit in very well with the Warriors squad and get more minutes here than he did with LA. It's sad to see him leave the Lakers, but it's also quite nice to see him in a situation where he'll be successful. Go Ronnie.
EDIT 2
Ronnie is also unafraid to play a little defense, which is also something the Warriors badly need, especially on the inside. He's not exactly a giant, but his ability to block shots is probably going to be way better than most of the other options the Warriors have here. All-in-all, he's an excellent addition to this club. I think they've turned over a new leaf as far as brain-smarts.

[Veryslightlymad]

Some minor moves:

Denver trades for, of all people, Renaldo fucking Balkman.
What? Well, I guess Balkman is sort of a hustle player and maybe might sort of help fill the gaping void in their big-man depth left from losing Camby and Najera, but this still feels really awkward. No comments in New York picking up Taureen Green, but I have a sneaking suspicion that New York is the team that facilitated this deal. Personally, I don't see what they see in Mr. Green, but whatever, man.

LA finally resigns Sasha Vujacic.
This means I can buy a sweet-ass Vujacic 18 away jersey. Booyah. Vujacic is easily the sixth man of the Lakers, and probably better than some of the starters (Hence... why he finishes games.) I've been a fan of his for years, even when he sucked ass, so seeing him develop into a mighty force of annoyance and get paid makes me happy. Jersey-buying happy. And I don't buy jerseys.

Josh Childress, Boki Nachbar and Carlos Delfino sign with European clubs:
Delfino left after finally having a good enough year to possibly sign with a team? Weird. Nachbar leaving is a bad (good?) sign for New Jersey, because he's one of their top four players. I really feel bad that, of all people like him, Childress is the guy who left, because god-DAMN that was a badass afro he sported. He rocked that baby. Atlanta probably gets a bit worse without him, but may or may not make up for it in other ways. I'm guessing "may not, at least for now" It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, his leaving for Europe does to the rest of the league. I'm happier when the talented Europeans get poached by US. Then I can, you know, watch them.
Dear Oklahoma City:
Name your team the Barons. Please.
Of the six listed names:
Barons > Bison > Marshalls (WHY IS IT SPELLED THIS WAY?! FUCK OKLAHOMA. Ciato, get in here to the topic you don't read and defend your asinine state.) > Wind > Thunder > Energy

The last three seem to fit in more with the WNBA, honestly. Bison is fairly unique and fits with OKC as well as the NBA, but Barons is just a fun sounding name, and it's very easy to stick "Robber" in front of it and remind everyone that they stole their damn team.

[NotMiki]

that they stole their damn team.

and my Wheat.  Dammit, I was saving that for a city!

[Veryslightlymad]

The Houston Rockets apparently agreed a day or so ago that they plan to trade for Ron Artest.

Ron Artest is a nutcase, and can't possibly be what Houston needs to put it over the top. He's a downgrade from Shane Battier, and he's going to take Shane's spot in the rotation, knocking him to the bench. Worse, he's a selfish player that'll take scoring opportunities away from legit threats on the team. On the other hand, he can sort of create his own shot, which no one outside of T-Mac can do. So maybe, just maybe, this isn't a bad deal for Houston.

GREAT deal for Sacremento. There's a chance they might win less games this year than they would without Artest, but so what? They'll secure a better draft pick, and they got rid of the nutcase that somehow thought he was the most important part of the franchise. The future is clearly Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes. Now let's see if we can get a really special player in the next few years to lift those two up. With Mr. Crazypants out of the lineup, it wouldn't be inconceivable for Martin's scoring to go up AGAIN.
The Clippers signed Brian Skinner.
Skinner provides yet more interior defense to the squad, and probably can help the Clippers even more. This has been a very good offseason for the team, even though it lost its two biggest stars. I'm interested to see just how far they can go, and if they can all gel pretty quickly.

Also, the Clippers are now officially "Team Beard"

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Change their logo from a boat to one of those beard-trimmers with the twist-up guard (as a beard-haver myself I find those are the best kind) and you're set, then.

[Veryslightlymad]

A bunch of nonsense signings, some re-signings like Josh Smith (Good price, too), and something finally grabs my eye:

Milwaukee signs Francisco Elson.
Yes, yes, YES. Good for Milwaukee. Elson's not necessarily a godlike player, but he's not afraid to cut to the basket as a big man. He is exactly what they need, and this is a pretty good deal for Elson, because he can probably get more playing time in Milwaukee than he could on another team. This offseason, Milwaukee has made many subtle, but strong moves, and I think the team is really starting to turn itself around. I'm not going to make a prediction just yet and say "playoffs", even in the weak East, but they're going to get there eventually. I'm really digging the new management on this team.

[Scar]

Olympics stuff, but it fits anyways.

I am loving the fact that D. Wade is looking sharp again.

Makes me hopeful for next season.

[NotMiki]

I swear to god, if they lose from lack of shooting, they should never, ever live it down.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Nah, you know they're just fucking around in the prelims.

[Veryslightlymad]

Wade looks like he put on a LOT of muscle this time around. Maybe he's decided that he hates getting injured, because he looks pretty danged bulky. Since he hasn't seemed to lost any of his quickness or athleticism, this is a very good sign for Miami.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Dwayne Wade IS the good news for Miami.

[Veryslightlymad]

To be fair, Beasley is apparently about as good as advertised. That has to help, too.

Remember when we were talking about cities that could support an NBA team, in regards to future expansion? How about Birmingham? It wouldn't really be all that close to the smallest NBA city (It'd be in the bottom... what? Seven? That's not THAT bad given that there's 30 teams) So far as I know, Alabama has ZERO sports teams of any sort outside of college. Could this be plausible, or would it be considered too close to Atlanta?

[NotMiki]

one of my friends from Georgia once said, "Atlanta is what we fought the Civil War to prevent."  From that perspective, the fact there's already a team there would actually be a bonus.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Your friend from Georgia probably fucks his cousin.

I would expect it to have attendance pretty much in line with the Charlotte Bobcats... so it's not exactly a viable option, I don't think.

[NotMiki]

Your friend from Georgia probably fucks his cousin.

How'd you know?!

[Scar]

Because he is the cousin.

USA...3-0

[Veryslightlymad]

Milwaukee continues to say "HEY, WE'RE NOT RUN BY LARRY HARRIS"

In a three-team deal, Milwaukee gets Luke Ridnour, Damon Jones, and Adrian Griffon (You're shitting me. He still plays?!)
Cleveland gets Mo Williams
Oklahoma City gets Desmond Mason and Joe Smith

Milwaukee:
I actually like this trade from the Bucks' perspective. If they really lose that much production from dropping Mo, they get what? A shot at the lottery for a decent point guard? Williams really doesn't fit the Bucks team anymore, and Ridnour is a somewhat underrated pass-first point man. If he can give Milwaukee anywhere near what his potential is, they'll probably IMPROVE from this trade. Jones can still sort of play

Cleveland:
Probably an... OK trade from their perspective. It seems to me that the Cavs are throwing the same players at LeBron again and again, hoping that one of them actually sticks. But ball-hogging point-scoring point guards are probably not the answer. Cleveland has two sensible options, neither of which involve combo guards.
1)Get a pass-first point guard on the team. I know it's crazy. But let Lebron run.
2)In lieu of that, MAKE LeBron your goddamn point guard. Get a good shooting guard, and with LeBron at point, you can afford an undersized shooter like say, Daniel Gibson, get another athletic honest-to-goodness swingman. LeBron is more than heady enough to run the point, and if you couple him with a decent sized shooting guard (if you can't find a big one) and a flexibly sized swingman, they can defend just about anyone but they CANNOT be defended.

Oklahoma City:
Eeeeeeh. They don't really care about building a team. If they were still in Seattle, I could say Mason was coming back home, but I can't even claim that. Both players are OK and can play, but they obviously don't want to use vets right now, so I have no idea what they're trying to do.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3568051

Guess what? Bennet is a cocksucker, but if his team logo had been designed by an actual homosexual, it might not be so goddamn ugly.

[Veryslightlymad]

The actual citizenry of Oklahoma City should be happy they finally got a team, but they're about the only winners here, if you can call them that. The team is really bad, the colors are bad, and the logo looks like it was designed in 30 seconds on photoshop. (I've had a better "Thunder" logo/colors in a custom team on NBA 2K7. I was still the "Thunderblades" though.)

I can't help but think Durant would look better in Green and Yellow, but we'll see what the actual jerseys look like. They might surprise me.

Speaking of, Magic and Hornets have new jerseys this year, not to be confused with "New Jersey" which I'm pretty sure ALSO does. The magic one isn't very good, the Hornets' jerseys are remarkably awesome, possibly my current favs in the league, now. (If I looked good in Teal, I'd get a Chris Paul one to work out in) If I didn't DREAM the New New Jersey Jerseys (Hahaha) I'm pretty sure they were pretty sweet, too.

[Veryslightlymad]

Any of you crumbums interested in starting a fantasy league? They should be opening up soon, if they haven't already.