Stephon Marbury Calls His Airness A Sellout!?!?!?!

Micheal Fake Jordan is a sell out. #Period. He forgot which hole he came out of. I said it "Stephon X Marbury"... MJ went from MJ the black cat to a guy who forgot he was a player. Sell your team if you can't make a profit.. Your just a regular dude now! ... When he rapped the Bulls for 36 million for one year no ones said nothing about that...

He's just a man. I know he's some people's GOd but real is real. Dude forgot he played and demanded millions... he wasn't my idol I just loved his game. He never did nothing that I knew about to change the life off of the court other then hit cats over the head for a 100 150 dollar sneakers and still doing it. Jim Brown said it best. Micky mouse type cat. Wave and break you pocket for as long as he can.

he didn't create nothing. The game was played way before him...

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything about the NBA lockout and I usually stay out of basketball conversations... Until someone brings up His Airness. At that point I usually have to jump in and remind people that he is the standard for greatness when it comes to sports. Tiger could have challenged him but that's another story.

Is His Airness a sellout?
NO! If I'm Michael Jordan I am pissed at the pampered, lazy, anti-competitive, twitter whores who currently reside in the NBA. They have taken everything he made possible and made fans resent it. How many players would have shoe deals without Jordan? How many players would have the contracts they have without the popularity of the 90s, which was driven by Jordan? People forget that Jordan was the first to start wearing long shorts, these fools took that so far that the commissioner had to institute a dress code. Yes, Jordan had a $36M 1 year contract, but did anyone ever question whether he was worth it? How long is the list of players who received max, if not close to max contracts, that cost much more than they were worth? Marbury is at the top of the list! That's why he's playing in China!

Stephon Marbury
Steve Francis (he and Marbury combined to make $32M in the 06-07 season)
Eddie Curry
Chris Webber $21M in 06-07
Michael Finley $19M in 06-07
Eddie Jones $16M in 06-07
Larry Hughes $13M in 06-07
Vin Baker
Gilbert Arenas
Rashard Lewis
Kenyon Martin
Vince Carter
The list goes on and on...

To wrap up, on the surface His Airness does seem hypocritical, but that's what overpaid undereducated former NBA players do. The NBA is no where close to the popularity of the 90s, it's going in the right direction but it's not close. The NFL is king right now. The NBA will not return to 90s popularity until there is real competition. We all know there are only 6 teams who can really win the NBA title. The Lakers, Mavs, Thunder, Heat, Knicks or Bulls. Teams will fall from those 6 and others will join, but are there ever more than 6 teams who have a chance to win? There is a complete lack of parity in the NBA.

Is Jordan being selfish? Maybe, but if you had hundreds of millions on the line wouldn't you be? I would. The Bobcats, the team Jordan owns, aren't competitive today. He needs a hard cap to force the breakup of teams with 3 all-stars. The NBA does not have a sustainable business model. Do the owners need 53% of the revenue vs 50%? I don't know, but I doubt Jordan cares about crushing these players he sees as a joke.

Amare Stoudemire Love for Fashion.....

David Stern has definitely stepped up the overall image of the league since enforcing a swift and compelling/ "controversial" dress code back in 2005. Like Chris Brown sings, "Look At Me Now"!!!!

Shaq's Reaction To Being Fined $35,000

Cleveland Responds Back to LeBron's Nike ad...

I think this "tit for tat" response is lame. Cleveland needs to move on. We don't care about ya'll wanting a championship; get over it, ya'll quit on LeBron James by not surrounding him with reasonable talent.
When a GM or owner decides to trade a player, it's a business move, but when a player decides to take their own destiny by the hand, they are looked at as disloyal or traders/backstabbers you name it. F*** outta here whack ass haters.... Ya'll don't own LeBron!!!

Michael Jordan Amazing Compilation!!!!

Lebron Fires Back at Critics

LeBron James responds to his critics via Nike ad commercial, "What Should I Do?.... Just Do It!!!"

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=9c650643-b80c-4bec-997a-e8e320793ad9&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="LeBron&#39;s latest commercial">Video: LeBron&#39;s latest commercial</a>

WHO YOU WIT?

This will be blown way out of proportion by the media... but enjoy.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Kobe-I-can-beat-LeBron-one-on-one-quot-?urn=nba-274421

Penny Hardway Trying To Get With The Heat...

I'm kind of indifferent to the idea of Penny Hardaway making a come back from retirement to play for the Miami Heat. I don't know how effective he'll be at his age but apparently he made some contributions while there. The Miami Heat right now is a very young team with a young head coach but experienced. My opinion about bringing in Penny Hardaway is a bit skeptical because I don't know how well he'll gel with LeBron/Wade/Bosh considering that he doesn't have a relationship with either. It'll be a dream come true for Penny H. but I personally think it's irrelevent at this point.

Press Conference of a New Era in NBA

The next Big 3?

Amare, CP3 and Mello?

According to a person who spoke with wedding attendee Amar'e Stoudemire(notes), Paul made the reference during a speech of a potential union of himself, Stoudemire and Anthony, saying, "We'll form our own Big 3," Paul allegedly said.

welcome to the haters ball: HATE, HATE, HATE...

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

the majority owner of the cavs is tripping hard. i understand his frustration. he just watched millions of dollars walked thru the door. but c'mon; you as a wealthy gentleman have to be bigger than this... i have never heard an owner behave this way. i think about bret favre stringing folks along, arthur blank and the vick situation, i mean plenty of owners have felt betrayed but you man up and move on... you can't get mad because a grown man made a decision you didn't like.

again i understand the frustration.... Truth be told i think the cavs did surround lebron with good players (or make an attempt to)... they got mo will after he put together two back-to-back 17 pt 6 asts season in milwaukee, they got jamison a 20 and 8 guy for HIS CAREER, they got parker when the needed shooting a guy that avg'd 12 pts shooting 45% outside the paint, they got shaq when big z got old so those lumbering bigs could split time, they got leon powe who trashed the lakers in the postseason, they kept verrajoa whne folks were after him.... these guys are not bums. this is a team that if kobe were on would have competed stronger IN MY OPINION. i place most of the blame for the season's lapse on the coach who never got these guys to gel and play well. they never fully utilized any of the SCORING pickups in jamison and parker. parker should have been used to spread floor and jamison should have gotten way more minutes.... jamison is the kinda guy that they should have played in relief for lebron to rest lebron. there were games where verrajoa and hickson would get more minutes... that's wild to me. basically lebron on five is not a play that works consistently at the playoff level. long story short i do believe the cavs made strides which i guess is why they are upset but GROW UP and don't be delusional talking about carrying curses and winning championships and you just 50% of your scoring, 20% of your rebounding, 25% of your assists, and 50% of your defensive presence.

I MEAN THE GUY IS STILL FROM OHIO.

another thing this is a business... owners and GMs do this all the time.... alter their employees livelihood without consulting them first. please... tim legler mentioned last night he found out about getting traded on a team cruise.... i am sure they excercised decency on every occasion with lebron and consulted with lebron on every decision BECAUSE HE'S LEBRON but don't pretend like they show loyalty to everyone.

King James Is Going To Ocean Drive!!!!!

Well, I predicted that Lebron would be making his next home in the windy city but these articles coming out is suggesting otherwise

Free Agent Media Summit

Bill Simmons, Kornheiser, Wilbon, and Trey's boy Le Batard (BAM!) on NBA Free Agency. It's long, but worth watching when you have several minutes.

Los Suns Ain't Ready for This.... Go Celtics....

The Difference Between Kobe and LeBron...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/366456-the-difference-between-kobe-and-lebron-is-that-kobe-works


The Difference Between Kobe and LeBron Is That Kobe Works

There was a time when Kobe Bryant was a premier athlete in this league. But even in his prime he would never compare to the Paul Bunyan-esque physical attributes of LeBron James. However, physical features aren't the biggest difference between Kobe and LeBron.

In fact, they're similar in many ways. They're both alpha dogs on their conference leading teams. They're the two most popular players in the league. And this marks the fourth year of "Kobe or LeBron" discussions, with LeBron taking the lion's share of the votes this season.

The "greatest player in the world" discussion is saved for a rare few, but Kobe and LeBron have owned it for years. So how did they get here?

Kobe earned it.

LeBron was handed it.

LeBron was last year's MVP and will continue that trend, not just this year, but for many years to come. His team once again leads the league in regular season wins. And if "the best player in the world" means putting up numbers and dunks right out of a video game, he's got that title locked up.

But if it means something more, then has there ever been a player so universally acclaimed that hs done so little? That is LeBron's life. The NBA's golden boy before he ever stepped onto an NBA court. "The King" before attaining his first win.

It's old news that Kobe is the most polarizing figure in sports. Coming out of high school it was love him or hate him, but thirteen-years later those who hated Kobe now respect him. They respect his legendary work ethic. They respect his accomplishments.

Kobe has earned every shred of begrudged respect there is for him.

He had to rebuild himself time and time again. First overcoming aloofness and selfishness early in his career. Then the Colorado sexual-assault case. Then the messy divorce with Shaquille O'Neal that rocked Los Angeles. Then his own trade demand.

He moved past it all. He answered by winning. He started the 2007-08 season by getting boo'd in his own arena. He finished that season with 20,000 fans enthusiastically chanting three letters as he received the MVP award.

No one rises up again and again like Bryant.

He's rebuilt himself throughout his career. When he felt like he was getting pushed around on the court, he put on muscle. When he felt he could be more explosive and quicker, he shed excess weight.

He returns every season, honed and increasingly perfected.

When Kobe was developing his jumper he'd spend his offseason making 2,000 shots a day. Not taking. Making.

With one ball and one rebounder, Kobe can make 500 shots in about 60 minutes. Then he scored 81 points in one game. Or at least 50 in four consecutive games. Or seven game-winning shots this season. The fruit of hundreds of thousands of made jump shots in an empty gym when he's off the clock.

His work ethic and training habits have allowed him to outlast his contemporaries—Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady. Talented players who would have achieved so much more if they had pushed themselves. But no one pushes themselves harder than Kobe.

The Trailblazers came and went. The Kings came and went. The Spurs aren't great. The Celtics were great for one year. Kobe is still great. He's outlasted every rival.

Phil Jackson called him the most skilled player he's ever seen. Even a begrudged Shaquille O'Neal admitted that he never had a teammate that worked as hard as Kobe, who he described as "borderline possessed" about working out each day. It's no wonder that tandem didn't work out. Kobe could never empathize with Shaq's half-hearted efforts. Their relationship had an expiration date from the moment they shook hands.
Kobe never wanted to be a global icon. Just the best ball player. And he became so great that even the coldest skeptics had to love him.

Scoop Jackson summed it up:

"Kobe could give a damn what you think about him. As long as there’s a hardwood court, a rock, and 48 minutes, he’ll go out there and do whatever necessary to win, on both sides of the ball. But LeBron wants to know what you think about him. He needs it, to validate his growing perception of his status among the best players. He feeds off the crowd, and plays to your expectations."

LeBron is an entertainer. Time will tell if he'll have a career like Shaq's, which was good enough to win four championships on talent alone, but never reaching his ceiling. The liquid nitrogen that runs through Kobe's veins is born in the chilling depths of adversity. LeBron mimics it, but that steely determination cannot be taught.

It was Kobe's presence on Team USA that upped the ante. While LeBron "led through his words and actions at practice and on the team bus," Chris Sheridan reported, "Bryant led through his work ethic." Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron got a firsthand view of Kobe's workout. The impression was lasting.

All three of those players have elevated their games. The rest of the league is feeling the ripple effect of that summer together.

And although he had only generated bronze medals, LeBron proclaimed himself the leader of that team. Yet it was Kobe who set the tone and focus that summer. And when it came to crunch time, the rest of the squad looked to the most accomplished player on the court.

Sheridan continues, "So James and Bryant remain rivals in many ways. People close to James say it bothered him that Bryant was the one getting the lion's share of the rock star treatment in China, and it had to come as a surprise to James that the Madison Square Garden crowd did not rally behind him in anything even remotely resembling the way it had showered Bryant with affection [during his 61-point performance]."

Kobe had earned the respect of the Madison Square Garden crowd. He earned the respect of Team USA. He has earned your and my respect.

So let's nix the LeBron talk until he accomplishes something great. He has a fantastic chance of doing it this June. Most likely against Kobe himself. And when he does finally beat the best player in the world, he'll have earned the title for himself.

New thinking on NBA Summer of '10

Read 2 interesting articles on the NBA Free Agency this summer:

Basketball Prospectus Ranking of future production for top players over the next 3 years as follows: http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=945
- The Akron Hammer

- DWade
- Chris Bosh

- Manu Ginobli
- Tyrus Thomas

- Amare'
- David Lee
- Rudy Gay
- Dirk Diggler
- Marcus Camby

with Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson and Ray Allen getting buyer beware flags...Interesting

Bill Simmons' point on the "illusion of regret" creating a chokehold on season-ticket holders is really interesting as well. The paragraph on Summer '10 deserves a quote: "And if the commish doesn't think the NBA is fundamentally screwed up, just look at what happened last week, when the Knicks, Bulls and Clippers all gave away players and/or picks to shave 2010-11 cap space for LeBron, Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire, Gay, Boozer and Wade. Was it the right thing to do? Sadly, tragically, disgustingly ... yes. The illusion of regret was taken to new heights. Only one fan base can end up with the best player alive. A few others will settle for lesser stars, some will come up empty, and in the case of Knicks fans and Cavaliers fans, there's a chance for genuine damage. Like, "I'm never rooting for those guys again" damage. Just know that the players didn't create this do-or-die scenario; the owners did."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100224

a PG???

Nate Robinson Dunks from dotted line

This dude jumps from the dotted line and murders whoever is under the rim. He's under 6 ft. Watch his takeoff starting at 1:09 seconds

Robinson vs. Ewing

Figured we might as well close this out. Trey's says that it's a wrap. Ewing over Robinson. I say it's close, but I take Robinson in his prime over Ewing in his prime. I pulled the article below of NBA/Espn experts. They have the list like this.

Years PPG RPG BPG PER
Abdul-Jabbar 20 24.6 11.2 2.6 24.6
Chamberlain 14 30.1 22.9 N/A 26.2
Russell 13 15.1 22.5 N/A 18.9
O'Neal 14 26.3 11.8 2.5 27.8
Olajuwon 18 21.8 11.1 3.1 23.6
Malone 21 20.3 12.3 1.3 22.0
Walton 10 13.3 10.5 2.2 20.0
Robinson 14 21.1 10.6 3.0 26.2
Mikan 7 23.1 13.4 N/A 27.1
Ewing 17 21.0 9.8 2.4 21.0

Basically Robinson #8 alltime and Ewing #10. Obviously there has to be an * on this list because it has Walton as #9, which is ridiculous.

Anyway, let the debate begin.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestCenters

One Man's NBA Preview: 2009/10 Edition

Folks,

The NBA season kicks off tonight… While this may not be a big deal to those still firmly entrenched in the NFL season, there are still some die hard NBA fans such as myself in the world and of course there are those poor Raiders and Redskins fans, who have no reason to watch the NFL anymore, so must turn their attention to the NBA. For those folks, I present the annual, One Man's NBA Preview.

10 Questions prior to the upcoming NBA season:

Will the Celtics or Lakers win 72 games?

So Rasheed says that the Celtics can do it. Phillip says that a coastal team would never be able to do it because of the travel times. Frankly, I don't see a team being able to put together 82 games of hard core competitive basketball every night. Especially hated teams like the Celtics and the Lakers. Basically every time the Lakers or Celtics come to town, the games are sold out locally and the home team is pumped up to give their best effort. Basically, every game is a big game for your opponent. The 1996 Bulls were a perfect storm. MJ was coming off his suspension for gambling (don't believe otherwise) , and it was his first full season back, so teams were just in awe of getting to play against MJ again (so not exactly giving their full competitive effort). MJ, perhaps the most competitive person ever, had to reclaim his crown as the league's best player in the game after getting stripped by Nick Anderson in the deciding game of the Orlando series the year before. So MJ was pushing everyone is practice everyday and he had the team to respond because… Rodman was on his best behavior after being booted from the Spurs, Kukoc was excited to be playing with MJ and Pippen was just happy to not have all the pressure on him again. Basically, it all fell into place fort he Bulls and they won 72. I don't see veteran teams like the Celtics or Lakers being able to pull it off.

Can Shaq put together one more season?
I think he has one last good season left in him. Shaq was rock solid last year in carrying a mess of a Suns team. And we all know he's motivated, so he should be in shape and ready to go. Lebron has the personality and the game to mesh well with Shaq. They will put together a solid season and battle the Celtics for the eastern conference championship obviously… the question is whether Lebron and Shaq will be enough. Sadly, the real problem in is Coach Mike Brown. Someone needs to pull his play calling duties like the Redskins did to Jim Zorn. Barring that, I think they fall short to the Celtics.

Crazy summer of free agency… Which title contender added the best new piece? Orlando, Boston, San Antonio, Cleveland, or Lakers?
Vince doesn't play D, so I'm sure he'll bump heads with Coach Ron Jeremy at some point, but he gets to play 4th fiddle to Dwight, Jameer, and Rashard… so no pressure. Rasheed is 35 years old and is a shadow of his under-achieving self. The Spurs added a 29 year old RJ, who is right in his prime, a good fit, but not the shooter that the Spurs need. Cleveland added a 37 year old Shaq, previously discussed. And the Lakers added a 29 year old Ron Artest, who is the wild card in all of this mess. I like all the pick ups with the exception of Vincanity. RJ is the safest pickup. Solid defensively, a nice guy, soft, Spurs-like player. Should fit in well. Artest has the most upside. Gives the Lakers front court toughness, another scorer, takes the defensive pressure off Kobe, allowing him to gamble in the passing lanes more (not necessarily a good thing), but might be create chemistry issues. Artest will need a few more shots than Ariza did, and with Bynum's return, he will need a few shots. The key is can Kobe sacrifice a few shots and drop his average to 24-25 ppg to accommodate his teammates. We'll see if Phil can use his Zen Jedi mind tricks to get everyone to buy in.

Is Portland ready to make the leap?
My guess says no. Bill Simmons doesn’t think that Andre Miller is a good fit. I'm not sure I agree with him. Miller does like the ball, but I think his game can adjust to the talent that he is surrounded with. The real key is Oden. He has looked good in the pre-season and if he stays healthy, then they are dangerous. I'm not sold on Aldridge either. I like my power forwards to dominate the glass… Aldridge thinks he's a small forward. Plus, I’m not sure that Brandon Roy hasn’t already peaked. He’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but I think we are close to his ceiling.

This rookie class is not getting a lot of hype... Anyone for real?
The best player in the draft is playing in Barcelona. Yes, Rubio would have emerged as the best player in this draft in 4 years. He still may… Does a couple of seasons overseas help him? We'll see. Griffin is the truth… a beast, an athlete, good motor; unfortunately he's just stuck in Clipperland. And like most Clipper draft picks (Manning (knee), Harper (knee), Kandi-man (heart))… he’s already injured. Poor kid. Other rookies I like… Jonny Flynn in Minnesota… and the steal of the draft is probably Dujuan Blair for the damn Spurs. Questions about his knees made him a 2nd round pick, but he is a beast and the Spurs once again prove that their front office knows what they are doing.

What player will have the breakout seasons in 2009/10?
Kevin Durant is going to explode this season. Stuck in Oklahoma City unfortunately, but the talented scorer will put up huge numbers this year. Look for him to take the best SF in the league spot away from Melo this season and he will challenge ‘Bron for league scoring leader in 2009/10. He could carry his team to the playoffs with some luck. Also looking forward to year 2 of the Derrick Rose era. Rose is special.

Who are this year's award winners?
RoY: Griffin, though he’s missing 6 weeks. Jonny Flynn perhaps.
CoY: Rick Carlyle… Yeah I said it.
DPoY: Dwight Howard
6th Man: Manu (unfortunately, he’s back)
MVP: Lebron… it's his league. Maybe CP58.

Who will make the playoffs?
West:
1. Lakers (68 wins is possible)
2. Spurs (damn, they are back)
3. Dallas (my sleeper)
4. Nuggets (I think Chauncey has one more run in him, before handing it to Ty Lawson)
5. Utah (Deron Williams is the truth)
6. Portland (not the leap that they were hoping for)
7. New Orleans (CP58 has something to prove… maybe by not having your team lose playoff games by 58)
8. Oklahoma City (I believe in Durant)


East:
1. Boston (Big 3 plus Sheed)
2. Cleveland (underrated pickup is Leon Powe)
3. Orlando (Vince doesn’t have the pressure with Dwight, Jameer and Rashard)
4. Chicago (Rose raises his game)
5. ATL (too much talent here)
6. Washington (Agent 0 has something to prove)
7. Miami (DWade can’t wait to join Rose in Chicago)
8. Toronto (Hedo, Bosh, Calderon, Bargnani… there is something here)

First to 5? Duncan, Shaq, or Kobe? Or does Boston win #19.
We know if comes down to these 4 in the conference finals… unless Orlando crashes the party, which I doubt. I have the Lakers over the Spurs in 6 and the Celtics over the Cavs in 7. Which gives me the rematch that every Laker fan and Kobe himself have been waiting for. Lakers vs. Celtics baby!!! This is where the addition of Ron artest pays off. He’ll make life miserable for Paul “The Wheelchair” Pierce. Jesus is just about done and I think the Lakers big men Lamar/Gasol/Bynum will be too much for KG/Rasheed/ Perkins. Plus Phil Jackson will outcoach Doc in critical moments. Too much firepower in purple and gold… Lakers in 6. Back to Back!!!!

Any predictions for the summer of Lebron?
Lebron stays put… though the Clippers would be sick with him. Dwade to Chicago. Bosh to the Knicks as a consolation prize. Joe Johnson to Miami to replace DWade. Amare to Golden State finally. And my huge call of the year… Rajon Rondo to the Blazers! Just what a young Portland squad needs.

How long did this take?
Time stands still when talking about the NBA… enjoy the ride my friends.