To kick off our NBA season preview, we talked about the Atlantic Division, home of the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics. With the Big Three finally getting rings, will we see Boston rule the Eastern Conference again? Or can the Raptors and 76ers, backed by big-time acquisitions, chase them in the division? Also, we talk about the New York Knicks and Mike D’Antoni’s impact on the team.

 

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Sure, we’re not going to know the true winners and losers of tonight’s NBA Draft for another couple years. After all, even the can’t-miss guys like Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley have yet to dribble a basketball in an NBA game. But before the dust is settled, here’s who I feel came out on top in tonight’s craziness.

Portland Trail Blazers: On the last three NBA Draft nights, I’ve watched the Trail Blazers build what will eventually become an NBA Champion. Tonight was no exception, as the Blazers dealt and dealt their way into some favorable spots in the draft. The Blazers made four initial selections in the draft and just a couple of hours later, they had a completely different list of players to show for it. Brandon Rush, Joey Dorsey, Omer Asik and Mike Taylor have transformed into the talented Jerryd Bayless, Donte Green, Sonny Weems, Nicolas Batum and even more picks for next year’s draft. General Manager Kevin Pritchard has worked the draft so well, he could probably assemble two competent NBA rosters.

New Jersey Nets: Since the Jason Kidd deal, this franchise has gone a long way in reinventing itself. While losing the scoring prowess of Richard Jefferson will hurt, the Nets can finally say they have the makings of a very good frontcourt in newly acquired Yi Jianlian and Stanford’s Brook Lopez, whom the Nets stole with the 10th overall pick. I had Lopez going 4th overall, so for the Nets to get him at #10, they must be happy. With another 1st round pick from Dallas (Thanks Cuban!), Jersey landed California’s Ryan Anderson, who can score from anywhere on the court. In the 2nd round, they found some more value in Memphis legend Chris Douglas-Roberts. One of the more complete scorers in college basketball, CDR should compliment Vince Carter nicely out on the perimeter. Hell, he might even compliment Mr. LeBron James in a few years…

Memphis Grizzlies: The night started in typical Grizzlies fashion, with a couple of uninspiring picks. But it ended with a bang, as the Grizz shipped off Kevin Love and Mike Miller for O.J. Mayo, considered the 3rd best player in the draft. Lets be real, here. Love is a solid prospect, but he doesn’t have the superstar potential you look for with a top five pick. Mayo does. And yes, the Grizzlies now inherit a couple of Minnesota’s god-awful contracts. But Mayo is a far better player than the combination of Love and Miller. The Grizz also appear to have won the Darrell Arthur sweepstakes.

I don’t think this is what Mark Cuban had in mind when he resigned Devean George in the offseason. Yesterday, news of a blockbuster trade involving Jason Kidd going back to Dallas spread like wildfire. And then, in an instant, it was gone. The reason? Devean Freakin’ George, who vetoed the trade that would have sent him and a handful of Mavericks to New Jersey.

Imagine that. Here’s a guy that’s averaging just over three points a game and barely sees the court for much more than a quarter. The Mavericks, desperate to match blockbuster deals by the Lakers and Suns, thought they had another piece for a run to the NBA Championship. Instead, George nixed the deal. And to top of it off, the bastard went 0-11 last night

Perhaps George did the Mavs a favor. After all, they’d be trading four contributing players and two future draft picks to acquire the services of an old point guard for, at the most, a couple seasons. If this trade would have gone through, their frontcourt defense would begin and end with fatass Erick Dampier (I don’t consider Dirk Nowitzki a part of any discussion involving defense). That doesn’t sound like a winning formula in the playoffs against guys like Andrew Bynum, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan.

Maybe this is just a sign that George still loves the Lakers. He won three NBA Championships in Tinseltown, earning quality minutes off the bench behind manwhore Rick Fox. And now, with the Mavs desperately trying to match the Lakers in the blockbuster trade department, George managed to screw it all up. Thanks Devean!

As the NBA Playoffs continue towards the finals, the Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company has unleashed a few NBA Throwback jackets that capture the good ‘ole days. Currently, Mitchell and Ness have only created back four jackets. But with the quality of the apparel and design, the company might have to chalk up more jackets for fans of other teams.

My favorite jacket of all four is the Chicago Bulls throwback. Even though the colors gray and ash have nothing to do with the Bulls logo, the jacket has a charcoal colored tone that looks awesome. The jacket is trimmed with a three inch thick black lining that includes two pockets. The Bulls logo is placed on the right side of the jacket and the team name appears on the back in the standard “Bulls” font.

The next jacket that caught my eye was the New Jersey Nets throwback. The bottom half of the jacket is blue with a thick red line that runs through the middle, finished off by white in the top half of the jacket. The jacket reminds me of the 1986 Hardwood Classic worn by the Nets. The away uni from that year was also very similar. I think the best part of the jacket is the multi-color look with the Nets font on the front. Plus, you have to dig the red, white, and blue sleeves. Read the rest of this entry »

Game one of the Cavaliers vs Nets series is underway today. This series showcases two of the finest dunkers in the league in LeBron and Vince Carter. So, in honor of VC, enjoy this video of Vince’s top 10 jams. Dude can fly.

Not only does Jason Kidd have to play his home games in New Jersey, he’s also having some more marital problems. This breakup saga has gotten a bit more heated recently, with Kidd’s wife Joumana telling her side of the story. Allegations of “serial infidelity” and physical/verbal abuse makes this story one to watch.

Kidd apparently gets kicks out of a few things in life. One of them is those constant 4/15 shooting nights, which only look good because he squeaked out a bare minimum triple double of 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists.

He also likes beating the crap out of Joumana. There was a conflict six years ago over domestic abuse and apparently, J-Kidd has kept up the beating. He pressed his forearm against her neck as recent as December 28th, over a month after the divorce.

She said he has admitted to affairs with numerous women “including strippers in Arizona, Sacramento, Miami, Dallas and Indiana,” as well as a Nets season-ticket holder, a Nets employee, a cheerleader in New Orleans, and women named “Petra” and “Lisa,” according to her filing.

The 27-page document related a series of alleged attacks in which Jason Kidd punched, kicked or choked her, once giving her a concussion by striking her with a candlestick.

Here’s to hoping we see Joumana courtside on Sunday, letting her ex hear it from the seats. Candlesticks Jason? Wow.