As everyone knows, the Lakers made it to the Finals last year only to lose to the Celtics in 6 games.  Everyone wants major changes like trading Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and some people even want Derek Fisher gone!?!?!?!  Most Lakers fans don't think of the fact that if it wasn't for Odom and especially Gasol the Lakers wouldn't have made it to the Finals, but who knows if they can win with them.  The Lakers don't necessarily need to trade anyone unless it is the only way to acquire a certain player that will propel them to the championship.  James Posey could be that player.  He has proved that he is good under pressure and at every aspect of the game.  He can defend, shoot, pass, and drive in and dunk it.  James Posey and Shane Battier are sort of the same in what they do except for Battier doesn't flagrantly foul people as often as Posey.  The Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers have shown a lot of interest in keeping Posey on their team (Celtics) or signing him as a free agent (Lakers and Pistons).  That just proved how much Posey helps, because those were the 3 best teams last season according to record.  If the Lakers offer James Posey a 6-8 million dollar a year contract and promise him a starting spot for a team that will probably be in the Finals again next year with him then that just might make him want to come.  With a starting lineup of Fisher, MVP, Posey, Pau, and Bynum, along with Odom, Sasha, Farmar, and Ronny of the bench the Lakers will be a lot better.  Odom would have a good chance of winning 6th man of the year and would have even less pressure than he already has, so he would probably avg about 11 ppg, 8 rpg, and 3 apg off the bench and be an even bigger matchup problem for other teams.  With the maturation of Farmar, Ronny and Sasha the Lakers bench will be even better than it was last year and if Odom is on it, than their bench could be a starting lineup in the league and still be able to compete with other teams.  The Lakers also really need a backup center who can play defense and isn't Kwame Brown.  The best person available that fits that description is Desagana Diop, who won't want too much money, but will be a big help to the team.  The addition of those 2 players would make the team a lot better, and if they decided to trade Odom for Marion, they would have better defense and a better starting lineup, but their bench would be worse because Marion wouldn't come off the bench and Posey would.  The lineups without the Marion trade would be:

 Starting:

PG- Fisher SG- Kobe SF- Posey PF- Pau C- Bynum

Bench:

PG- Farmar SG- Sasha SF- Odom PF- Turiaf C- Diop

The lineups with Marion would be:

Starting:

PG- Fisher SG- Kobe SF- Marion PF- Pau C- Bynum

Bench:

PG- Farmar SG- Sasha SF- Posey PF- Turiaf C- Diop

The Lakers don't really need to change anything, they just need to get better at defense and under pressure, but these trades and signings sure wouldn't hurt them.

There is all this talk about Shaq's rap song that is trashing on Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Patrick Ewing, but does that make everyone hate Shaq?  I know it doesn't and I don't think it should just because its just one of the many stupid things he does to get attention.  There are many players in the NBA that have the personality's and attitudes that make people Love to Hate them.  Some people think that Kobe Bryant is someone to hate because of his rape allegations, but other people love him and don't believe he raped the girl.  So the question is, "Who other than Shaq and Kobe does everyone Love to Hate?".

Stephon Marbury:  People hate Marbury because he his attitude and because he is one of the biggest reasons for the Knicks problems.  He was a poison to any team he has been on in his career, even though some of the teams he has been on have been good.

Paul Pierce:  No one in Boston, except for a few fans of outside teams would hate Paul Pierce, but for a lot of people like me, they hate Paul Pierce.  His attitude is bad, because he trashes on other teams like the Heat that were just like the Celtics last year, but now that he has 2 future hall of famers on his team he pretends like he was never at the bottom and never will be at the bottom again.

Carmelo Anthony:  'Melo has added himself to this list with his recent problems with the law (DUI, speeding).  Many people that want the NBA to be a game instead of a bunch of "tatted" up thugs who make millions to have bad attitudes and dunk.  I personally like Carmelo, because I think that he just needs to mature to become an idol again.

Lebron James:  He is like a younger Kobe Bryant without the championships or all-star caliber players on his team.  He is starting to get a selfish attitude and believes everything good that is being said about him.  He seems to play for stats because he only makes assist passes instead of promoting ball movement.  He has a tattoo on his back that says "Chosen One", and that is one of the reasons that I don't really like him and he gave a fan tickets to a game because he ran onto the court and shook his hand during a game before being dragged off by police.  That could make some kids think that they will get free tickets if they break the law and disrupt an NBA game, even if it means spending the night in jail.

Kevin Garnett:  This choice may be a surprise to many NBA fans who believe that KG is one of the classiest players in the NBA, but I have some reason why some people may love to hate him.  Garnett always beats on his chest after he wins a game, which is just like poppin' your jersey.  At the beginning of the season after he won a game he would run around screaming and popping his jersey and pointing to the number "5" on his jersey, even though Celtics fans would like to think that he was pointing to the "Celtics" on the jersey because he was so happy to be on the team.  He also advertised Adidas, who he is sponsored by, after he won the finals by saying, "Anything is Possible".  Adidas' basketball motto right now is "Impossible is Nothing", so it makes a connection.

David Stern:  He seems to not care about the poor state of refereeing in the NBA right now, and that really annoys fans like me.  Last summer when he found out that half of the refs in the league had broken the rules of their job and gambled, he didn't punish them, he changed the rule.  David Stern was also rumored to have made the Lakers and Celtics meet in the Finals, that might be true as much as I don't want to admit it (I'm a Laker fan) though.  My problem is that I don't think he made it a priority for the reffing to be fair in certain games of the finals or playoffs though.

USA TEAM:

The USA team this year is looking like the best one since the Dream Teams with Jordan, Magic, Barkley, and Bird.  With Kobe and Kidd to lead the team along with young superstars like Lebron, Melo, Wade, and Paul  the team has the potential to win the gold medal.  If I was making the USA team roster though, I would have it a little bit different.  Right now the players trying out for the team are Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Gilbert Arenas (Washington Wizards), Shane Battier (Houston Rockets), Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons), Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Bruce Bowen (San Antonio Spurs), Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets), Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics), Kevin Durant (Seattle SuperSonics), Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Antawn Jamison (Washington Wizards), Shawn Marion (Miami Heat), Brad Miller (Sacramento Kings), Mike Miller (Memphis Grizzlies), Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats), Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers), Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons), Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks), J.J. Redick (Orlando Magic), Luke Ridnour (Seattle SuperSonics), Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns), Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).  From that list I would automatically eliminate J.J. Redick, Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier, Adam Morrison, Nick Collison, Kevin Durant, Mike Miller, Brad Miller, Luke Ridnour, Greg Oden and Tyson Chandler.  Those players are good, but compared to the rest of the people on this list they are not that good.  The players that I would have automatically making it are Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.  So that leaves 3 spots left for Lamar Odom, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, Deron Williams, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison, Paul Pierce and Kirk Hinrich to compete for.  Michael Redd is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA so I would put him on the team.  The defensive people already on the team are Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade, so we don't really need to add more.  For the last 2 spots I would take Deron Williams and Lamar Odom on the team.  The reason I would take Lamar Odom over Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison, Shawn Marion, and Joe Johnson is because he doesn't have the ego of Paul Pierce and Shawn Marion, he is more of a passer than Joe Johnson, and can take the ball up the court unlike Antawn Jamison.  I also think that Lamar would do good being the only non-allstar on the team and I think he is to unique for international players to guard.  Lamar Odom is a poor man's Magic Johnson.  The starting lineup would be:

PG - Jason Kidd

SG - Kobe Bryant

SF - Lebron James

PF - Carmelo Anthony

C - Dwight Howard

And the bench would be:

Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade, Lamar Odom, Deron Williams, and Michael Redd.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS:

The Lakers made is to the Finals last season, even though they weren't expected to until later in the season.  Next year they will have their starting center back, their young players with be more experienced, and they will have added some new players.  Many people are saying that Lamar and Pau should be traded, and that Phil Jackson should be fired.  But the problem is that why would you fire the greatest coach ever, a poor man's Magic Johnson, and a big man perfect for the triangle offense who is also the reason they made the finals?  It doesn't make sense to me to get rid of all 3 of them.  No way should Phil Jackson be fired.  Odom is a player that would be very easy to trade because of his expiring contract, and he is an all round player.  Here is a trade scenario that might work and it would make the Lakers have the best starting lineup in the NBA (I don't know if I would do this trade though).

LAKERS TRADE:

Lamar Odom (to Warriors), Derek Fisher (to Kings), Trevor Ariza (to Kings), Vladimir Radmanovic (to Warriors), Luke Walton (to Kings), Sun Yue (to Warriors), Cash (to Kings)

KINGS TRADE:

Ron Artest (to Lakers), Quincy Douby (to Warriors), Francisco Garcia (to Warriors)

WARRIORS TRADE:

Baron Davis (to Lakers), Kosta Perovic (to Lakers)

If that trade were to happen (I don't think it would unless the Lakers wanted to do what the Celtics did and if Baron Davis and Ron Artest told their teams they weren't going to resign with them.)

The new starting lineups would be:

LAKERS:

PG - Baron Davis

SG - Kobe Bryant

SF - Ron Artest

PF - Pau Gasol

C - Andrew Bynum

WARRIORS:

PG - Monta Ellis

SG - Stephen Jackson

SF - Lamar Odom

PF - Al Harrington

C - Andris Biedrins

KINGS:

PG - Derek Fisher

SG - Kevin Martin

SF - Trevor Ariza

PF - Mikki Moore or Spencer Hawes

C - Brad Miller

In the past few days I have been writing a lot of blogs because there has been a lot of stuff I want to write about.  So now I am going to write about the rumors that are surrounding the Lakers.  Many people are talking about all the trades that the Lakers need to make to win the NBA championship next year, but with just getting Bynum back they will have a really good chance.  Some of the rumors are about the Lakers acquiring a big name player like Baron Davis, Ron Artest, and Gilbert Arenas.  If the Lakers got any one of those without having to give up any of their core (Big 4), then they would be almost unstoppable.  I would think that the Lakers would rather have Baron Davis or Ron Artest instead of Gilbert Arenas, because he likes to score 30 points a night and only hand out like 5 assists as a point guard.  Those stats are good stats for a shooting guard (Kobe), but not for a pointguard on a team that has Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol.  With Baron Davis in the lineup they would have the best backcourt in the NBA, and one of the top 3 front courts in the NBA (if not the best).  Phil Jackson has considered having Odom come off the bench next season and starting Ariza.  If the Lakers had Baron Davis on the team then Lamar coming off the bench would be perfect.  They would have a star player coming off the bench along with Derek Fisher to lead the young players like Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, and Ronny Turiaf so that they don't make stupid young-player mistakes.  With Artest on the Lakers, it would give them a tough defensive minded player who can guard 4 positons and shoot the ball.  If they decided to have Lamar coming off the bench (which would be the smarter decision I think.) to lead the young players, it would not screw up the triangle (the small forward in the triangle needs to be able to shoot the ball from three.) and make them have someone who can play both forward positions coming off the bench so that they have a lot of options for what they want to do.  Gilbert Arenas on the Lakers would probably screw up chemistry because he would want to score points and shoot a lot of shots.  It wouldn't be good for the Lakers, except for the fact that he can play well under pressure and in the clutch.  If the Lakers somehow got Artest and Davis in a 3-team deal including Odom then I would say that they should start both of them.  I would rather the Lakers got Baron Davis because it wouldn't make lineup problems and they would have the best starting lineup in the NBA to go along with their bench which is already one of the best in the NBA.  If they decide to not make a blockbuster acquisition then they should get some tough, defensive minded players to come off the bench, or start.

This 07-08 season ended on the 17th of June with the Celtics beating the Lakers in 6 games to get their first NBA championship in over 20 years.  I will make my predictions for who will make the playoffs, win the championship, , who will be traded or sign with another team and who will win the awards.

PLAYOFFS:

EAST

First Round

1 - Boston Celtics

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

4 - Chicago Bulls

5 - Miami Heat

6 - Cleveland Cavaliers

7 - New Jersey Nets

8 - Charlotte Bobcats

Second Round

1 - Boston Celtics

5 - Miami Heat

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

Conference Finals

1 - Boston Celtics

3 - Orlando Magic

WEST

First Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

4 - San Antonio Spurs

5 - Portland Trailblazers

6 - Houston Rockets

7 - Dallas Mavericks

8 - Phoenix Suns

Second Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

5 -  Portland Trailblazers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

Conference Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

NBA Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

1 - Boston Celtics

Winner - Los Angeles Lakers in 6 Games

Finals MVP - Kobe Bryant

WORST TEAM IN LEAGUE - Minnesota Timberwolves

AWARDS

MVP - Lebron James, Cavaliers

Defensive Player of the Year - Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose / Michael Beasley, Bulls/ Heat

Coach of the Year - Doc Rivers, Celtics

Executative of the Year - Mitch Kupchak, Lakers

Most Improved Player - Andrew Bynum, Lakers

All-NBA First Team - Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard

All-NBA First Defensive Team - Kobe Bryant, Shane Battier, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard

PEOPLE WHO WILL BE TRADED OR WILL SIGN WITH A DIFFERENT TEAM OR WILL RETIRE

Ron Artest

Rasheed Wallace

Baron Davis

Lamar Odom

Ronny Turiaf

Robert Horry

Brent Barry

Gilbert Arenas

Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson

Those are my predictions for the 2008-2009 Season.

I saw that sign on TV last night when I was watching the game.  I don't think that Paul Pierce should have been the Finals MVP.  Pierce had the first 9 season's of his career with his own team, and they did nothing except for the conference finals 1 time when he had another all-star on the team.  He was the leader of a team that had the same talent as last year's Lakers team, but they only won 24 games in the L'eastern Conference (worst record in NBA) and the Lakers won 42 games and made the playoffs in the Western Conference.  Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are the reason the Celtics team this year was good.  Kevin Garnett should have been Finals MVP without a doubt.  Paul Pierce might have been the leaging scorer and captain, but KG was the defensive anchor (defense won them the championship) and emotional leader.  I hate the Celtics more than any other sports-related thing.  Paul Pierce I hate the most and next is a tie of Ray Allen, Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Brian Scalabrine, Sam Cassell, and James Posey.  I think Garnett and Ray deserved the championship, but I think the rest of the team didn't.  Paul Pierce has always been a big ballhog who has led his team nowhere.  Sam Cassell made his team pay him money to that he could go to a better team and get a free ring.  Kevin Garnett was never shut down in the Finals like Pierce was.  Without Garnett the Celtics might not have made it to the Conference Finals and definetely not the Finals.  Without Pierce though, they could have still made it to the Conference Finals and if really lucky, the Finals.  I don't know if the Celtics will have another chance to make it back to the Finals since they are an old team, so I think that added to their willpower to get a championship which was too strong for just Kobe's willpower.  The rest of the Lakers didn't seem that motivated to win, while the Celtics best 3 players were going crazy for a championship.  The Lakers will be around for a long time unless they make some major trades to assure a championship next year.  The Lakers just gave up in game 6 after they got down by 16.  The Celtics came back from 24 down because they wanted to win a championship more than anything, while the Lakers rolled over and died.  Kobe tried to make his team win, but his teammates were too soft and they weren't making shots so he had to try and keep them in the game.  Even if he could score, his teammates couldn't play good enough defense.  The people who are saying that Kobe is no Michael Jordan are right and wrong.  Kobe is a different player so that is why he is no MJ, but he is like MJ because he fought hard to win.  The problem for Kobe was that his team was soft and not defensively strong while Jordan had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman along with other strong role players.  Kobe is just like Jordan in the way that they both were high scoring 2-guards who were just winning scoring titles and losing in the first round of the playoffs, until they got some help and learned to pass the ball more.  Michael Jordan had a better supporting cast and wasn't facing as good of defenses that there are today.  Michael Jordan is no Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan.

The Lakers should become a more defensive oriented team, so I have a trade scenario that if it works should be every Laker fans dream trade.

LAKERS TRADE:

Lamar Odom (to Kings), Pau Gasol (to Spurs), Jordan Farmar (to Spurs), Vladimir Radmanovic (to Kings)

KINGS TRADE:

Ron Artest (to Lakers), Brad Miller (to Blazers), John Salmons (to Spurs), 1st round draft pick (to Blazers)

SPURS TRADE:

Tim Duncan (to Lakers), Ime Udoka (to Lakers), Matt Bonner (to Kings), Fabricio Oberto (to Kings)

BLAZERS TRADE:

Travis Outlaw (to Lakers), Joel Przybilla (to Spurs), Sergio Rodriguez (to Kings)

The New Starting Lineups would be:

Los Angeles Lakers

PG: Derek Fisher SG: Kobe Bryant SF: Ron Artest PF: Tim Duncan C: Andrew Bynum

San Antonio Spurs

PG: Tony Parker SG: Manu Ginobili SF: Bruce Bowen PF: Pau Gasol C: Joel Przybilla

Portland Trailblazers

PG: Steve Blake SG: Brandon  Roy SF: James Jones PF: LaMarcus Aldridge C: Brad Miller

Sacramento Kings

PG: Beno Udrih SG: Kevin Martin SF: Lamar Odom PF: Spencer Hawes C: Mikki Moore

This trade would make the Lakers a much better team, because they would have good defenders and mentally tough players on the frontline.  The Kings would get a playmaker in Lamar along with a good shooter and some other role players.  The Blazers would get Brad Miller's contract which, when it expires in 3 years and Raef's in 2 years they would have 22 million dollars to spend.  The Spurs would make their team younger so they can build for the future with Ginobili and Parker.

The Celtics won the NBA Finals by blowing out the Lakers in game 6 in Boston. But this article is about how the Lakers can get better and not about how I think the Finals was fixed (which it was).

1) Trade Lamar Odom - I really like Lamar and during the regular season he was playing so good that I thought he shouldn't ever be traded; I was wrong.  Lamar is way to soft to play power forward and can't shoot good enough to be a small forward (even Lebron can shoot better than him).  He plays decent defense, but not good enough to stop the other power forwards in the league like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, David West, Rashard Lewis, etc.

Here are a few Lamar Odom trade scenarios:

LAKERS TRADE: Lamar Odom

MAGIC TRADE: Hedo Turkoglu

________________________________

LAKERS TRADE: Lamar Odom

HEAT TRADE: Shawn Marion

________________________________

LAKERS TRADE: Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jordan Farmar, Chris Mihm

HEAT TRADE: Dwyane Wade, Mark Blount, Udonis Haslem

________________________________

LAKERS TRADE: Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm

KINGS TRADE: Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Beno Udrih

________________________________

2) Get Defensive stoppers - They need to acquire someone like Ron Artest or Shawn Marion.  They can't defend players like Paul Pierce, Lebron James, Hedo Turkoglu, Carmelo Anthony, etc. with the small forwards they have on their team right now (except for Ariza when healthy).

3) Develop a Killer Instinct - Kobe is the only person on the Lakers that wanted the Finals more than anything else, but the combined will of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen was too much for just Kobe's willpower.  The other Lakers need to want it just as much as Kobe does.

4) Get a backup center - They have no center coming off the bench right now except for Chris Mihm, and unless he gets back to how he was before the injury I don't want to see him play meaningful minutes.

That was all I have to say for now about the Lakers.  And also, Sam Cassell is so annoying.  He made his team pay him money so he could go to the Celtics to get another ring.  I just saw him on TV jumping up and down really happily and it annoys me, because he doesn't deserve it.

Also - congratulations refs and the NBA, the Celtics won just like you made sure of.

In this blog I will write down the biggest events of the year and what I thought and know of them.

August 15, 2007 - Tim Donaghy found guilty of betting on games.

He was accused of fixing NBA games.  There was a lot of controversy around a game in the Spurs-Suns series in which he reffereed.  It sucks that NBA refs would bet on games, because it makes the NBA less fun to watch because you know that no matter what some games might already be decided.

Wednesday, May 30 - Kobe Bryant asks to be traded from the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant was frustrated with the Lakers organization because they hadn't built a good team around him.  He trashed his teammates in public and told the Lakers to do something and to do it now or else he would leave.  When I heard this I was surprised and mad that it happened.  I think it ended up helping the Lakers though, because it mailny put pressure on Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic, but also put pressure on the rest of the team.

June 28 - Sonics trade Ray Allen and Glen Davis to the Celtics for Wally Szcerbiak, Delonte West, and the #5 pick.

This trade made the Celtics a team that would compete for the 4th-8th seed in the playoffs.  The Sonics got more youth to go along with Kevin Durant.  The Celtics made Paul Pierce happier because he got another all-star on the team.

August 1, 2007 - Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and 2 first round draft picks.

This trade makes Boston instant favorites to win the East, and maybe even the championship.  In the long run though the Timberwolves got a way lopsided trade in their favor.  But in the idea of getting a championship in the next few years, it is definitely lopsided favoring the Celtics.

February 1, 2008 - Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, and Aaron Mckie.

This trade made the Lakers instant title contenders halfway through the season.  They were already good, but Bynum had just gone down with an injury and they weren't going good.  The Grizzlies got a big expiring contract and a young prospect for Gasol.

February 7, 2008 - Suns trade Shawn Marion and Marucs Banks to the Heat for Shaquille O'Neal

This was a very surprising trade to anyone that watches basketball.  The Suns traded their best fastbreaker and defender for an old, lazy center who has a long and huge contract.  The Heat got the best part of this deal without a doubt.  The Heat got a person with a big expiring contract that happens to be an all-star.  The Suns got an old center who has a 20 million a year contract for a couple more years.  They probably could have gotten Pau Gasol for Shawn Marion. HAHA

February 19, 2008 - Mavericks trade Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Desagna Diop, Trenton Hassell, 2 first round draft picks, and Maurice Ager for Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, and Malik Allen.

This trade sounds good, but it didn't help the Mavericks.  You would think that a triple-double hall of famer point guard would make a team with Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse a championship caliber team, but it didn't.  The Nets get a good, young point guard and a center with a lot of potential.

June 5, 2008 - The NBA Finals begin. 

It is the biggest Finals matchup in over 20 years.  The 2 most storied franchises in the NBA face off against each other on the NBA's biggest stage.  It is between the two #1 seeds in te NBA.  The best player in the league/MVP and his big 3 against the defensive player of the year and his big 3.

That is my NBA year in review.  There will be more to add to it once the Finals are over and once more refs are found guilt of cheating.

1. Paul Pierce needs to stop acting like he is the best basketball player in the world.  He is overly cocky because Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen saved the Celtics franchise from sucking even more than it already did because he wasn't a good leader of the team.  KG and Ray Allen are the reason for the Celtics being good, not Pierce.  Also, after the Celtics beat the Heat, Pierce was saying they sucked even though he was in that same position last year. The difference is that his team had all their best players, while the Heat didn't have their top 4 players playing for most of the season.

2. NBA needs to investigate the refs.  They screwed the Lakers over in games 1 and 2 of the finals which led to them being down 3-1 not up 3-1 which is what they should be.  I am 95% sure that Bob Delaney is betting on games.

3. The NBA Finals is rigged.  The refs gave the Celtics the first 2 games by giving them every call, but once it got back to L.A. they decided to be fair for 1 game and then give Boston some favorable calls to help them come back from being blown out in game 4.

4. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol need to step up, because they are way to soft and are worthless in the Finals so far.  They either need to both step up and finish out the series strong so that they will not be traded when they lose.

5. Lakers need to prepare for the offseason because their sucky play and the refs have made them lose this years finals.  They should add someone like Ron Artest or Hedo Turkoglu to make them better on defense and in crunch time.

6. The Cavaliers need to get a better coach and someone to be the distributor, because Lebron isn't a good passer.  They should try and get Flip Saunders as a coach and a point guard like Jamal Tinsley or Jose Calderon.

7. The New York Knicks need to do something to save their franchise from themselves.  They need to trade Zach Randolph, Stephon Marbury, and Nate Robinson if they can.

8. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen deserve to win a ring so I am happy for them because their team has pretty much won the finals (see 3 and 5).  Paul Pierce does not deserve to win a ring though, so I wish he wasn't on the team with 2 future HOF's to get him a ring.

9. Congratulations to all the true Celtics fans.  You guys have waited over 20 years if your one of the older fans, or only a couple of years in you're a fan since a couple of years ago to win a championship, and now you are going to probably on Tuesday in Boston.

Those are some of my Random Thoughts and Notes for this week.

Also a Note to Lakers Fans: Don't completely hate the bandwagon Celtics fans, because they will be Lakers fans next year.

It is random that I would write a blog about who is the best basketball player ever is when there is the controversy of the reffing and the NBA Finals going on, but I thought I had a good point in this blog.  Many people think that Michael Jordan is the best ever because of his MVP's, his championships, his stats, and the main one, the NBA wanted you to.  Some other people think it is Bill Russell because he has 11 rings.  There are the other people who think it is either Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar or Kobe Bryant.  Then there are the small amounts of people who think the G.O.A.T is someone else.  I don't think that the greatest of all time can be someone from before the 80's because of the terrible defense.  If Kobe or Jordan went back on time and played in the 50's or 60's they would dominate.  No one can/could guard them when they were/are playing in their era, so why would someone back then in the crappy defensive age be able to guard them?  I don't think Wilt Chamberlain would average 50 ppg now or Oscar Robertson a triple double, and I definetely know that Bill Russell and his Celtics wouldn't win 11 championships, I would be surprised if they were able to make it to the Finals (maybe even the playoffs) in the modern era of basketball.  Now for the 80's-90's, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan ruled the 80's and 90's world of basketball.  They could make teammates better (Johnson), score 50 on anyone (Jordan), and make huge steals to advance in the playoffs (Bird), but nowadays they wouldn't be able to do those things as easily.  If they were in their prime in the league today they would still be one of the best in the league, but they wouldn't be the top 3 in the league.  One of them might be able to make it into the top 3, but not all 3 of them.  Michael Jordan, whether you want to admit it or not, had help from the refs and from all star teammates in order to win 6 rings.  Michael Jordan was a ballhog, just like Kobe was a couple of years ago.  It took Phil Jackson's zen master approach to make Jordan share the ball more.  The defense wasn't that good when they were playing, I was watching some of the games on hardwood classics and all the players did was put their hands straight up and when they were defending on the perimeter they were about 3 feet away from the person they were guarding.  It is hard to say that player's like Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Chris Paul are better than the players from years past that everyone loves, but they might be.  I don't know the order below him, but I know that Kobe Bryant probably will be the greatest basketball player of all time by the time he retires, if he isn't already.

This is my version of the 2008 NBA Mock Draft.

First Round

1. Chicago Bulls - Michael Beasley - PF - 6-8

2. Miami Heat - Derrick Rose - PG - 6-3

3. Minnesota Timberwolves - Brook Lopez - C - 7-0

4. Seattle Supersonics - Jerryd Bayless - PG - 6-2

5. Memphis Grizzlies - Eric Gordon - PG - 6-3

6. New York Knicks - Danilo Gallinari - SF - 6-9

7. Los Angeles Clippers - O.J. Mayo - SG - 6-4

8. Milwaukee Bucks - Joe Alexander - SF - 6-8

9. Charlotte Bobcats - Anthony Randolph - PF - 6-10

10. New Jersey Nets - DeAndre Jordan - C - 6-11

11. Indiana Pacers - Kevin Love - PF - 6-9

12. Sacramento Kings - D.J. Augustin - PG - 5-11

13. Portland Trailblazers - Russell Westbrook - PG - 6-3

14. Golden State Warriors - Darrell Arthur - PF - 6-9

15. Phoenix Suns - Donte Green - SF - 6-9

16. Philadelphia 76ers - Kosta Koufos - C - 7-0

17. Toronto Raptors - Nicholas Batum - SG - 6-8

18. Washington Wizards - Brandon Rush - SG - 6-6

19. Cleveland Cavaliers - Chase Budinger - SG - 6-7

20. Denver Nuggets - Chris Douglas Roberts - SG - 6-7

21. New Jersey Nets - Marreese Speights - PF - 6-10

22. Orlando Magic - JaVale McGee - C - 7-0

23. Utah Jazz - Roy Hibbert - C - 7-0

24. Seattle Supersonics - Robin Lopez - C - 7-0

25. Houston Rockets - Alexis Ajinca - C - 7-1

26. San Antonio Spurs - Serge Ibaka - PF - 6-10

27. New Orleans Hornets - Nathan Jawai - PF - 6-10

28. Memphis Grizzlies - J.J. Hickson - PF - 6-9

29. Detroit Pistons - Courtney Lee - SG - 6-5

30. Boston Celtics - Tywon Lawson - PG - 6-0

In my first "Some Interesting Trade Scenarios" blog I gave some ideas for trades that could help both teams, and some that were just for fun.  Now that there is rumors of the Detroit starting lineup being traded, and more rumors of Dwyane Wade being traded I will have some more ideas for trades.

PISTONS TRADE:

Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, 1st round draft pick (29th pick)

BOBCATS TRADE:

Sean May, Emeka Okafor

Pros: It gives the Bobcats two big men who can shoot and defend on the perimeter.  The Pistons get some young people to go along with their "zzu crew" off the bench.

Cons: The Bobcats trade away some of their young big men for two old big men, including one who has some attitude problems.

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PISTONS TRADE:

Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince

MAGIC TRADE:

Hedo Turkoglu, Maurice Evans (sign and trade), three 1st round draft picks

Pros: Gives the Pistons some youth and one of the best small forwards/ point forwards in the league.  The Magic get a good defender and one of the best point guards in the league to make their backcourt better.

Cons: The Pistons are getting rid of 2 of their big 4 for only 1 "big four" type good player and some draft picks.  The Magic get rid of the most improved player in the league and their starting shooting guard.  They also get rid of a lot of soon-to-be young talent in their draft picks.

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PISTONS TRADE:

Rip Hamilton

HORNETS TRADE:

Peja Stojakovic, Morris Peterson, 1st round draft pick (27th pick)

Pros: The Pistons get a deeper team and one of the best shooters in the game.  The Hornets get a really good shooting guard who will make them have the best backcourt in the league (maybe).

Cons: The Hornets did good this year, so they might not want to trade someone from their nucleas of the team.  The Pistons wouldn't have another good shooting guard and would have 2 really good small forwards that are too tall to play shooting guard.

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HEAT TRADE:

Dwyane Wade

BULLS TRADE:

1st pick in draft, Larry Hughes, 2nd round draft pick (39th pick)

Pros: The Heat get Micheal Beasley and Derrick Rose, and a good perimeter shooting and defending guard.  The Bulls get there first true franchise player since Michael Jordan.

Cons: The Heat get rid of one of the top 5 players in the league (when healthy).  The Bulls get rid of Michael Beasley/ Derrick Rose and their best defender.

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CAVALIERS TRADE:

Wally Sczerbiak, Daniel Gibson, 1st round draft pick (19th pick)

BUCKS TRADE:

Michael Redd

Pros: Gives the Cavaliers another star to form a duo with Lebron.  The Bucks get an expiring contract, and some youth to rebuild the team.

Cons: The Bucks get rid of their best person, and on paper it looks like there getting screwed.  Free agents might not want to come to Milwaukee, so what would be the point of cap space?

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GRIZZLIES TRADE:

Mike Miller, 1st round draft pick (#28 from Lakers), 2nd round draft pick

KNICKS TRADE:

6th pick in draft, David Lee

Pros: The Knicks get a good player to lead the team.  The Grizzlies get more young talent.

Cons: The Knicks might want the 6th pick to get Danilo Gallinari and David Lee is the only bright spot on a team in chaos right now.

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BULLS TRADE:

Kirk Hinrich

BLAZERS TRADE:

13th pick in draft, Jarrett Jack, 2nd round draft pick (33rd pick)

Pros: Gives the Blazers a young point guard to run their offense in a couple of years when they are competing for the championship.  The Bulls get more young talent that will go with the #1 pick if they decide not to trade it.

Cons: The Bulls trade their starting point guard, and unless they don't trade the first pick it wouldn't be a very good trade for them.

Those were some of my ideas for trade and I might make a "Some Interesting Trade Scenarios: Part 3" if I can think of about 10 more good trade ideas.

The Real Reason the Lakers Lost Game 1

Many people think that the Lakers lost because of the Celtics defense and Kobe's poor shooting night, but that is not the case.  The Lakers lost because of a different, bigger reason and I will tell you why the Lakers didn't lost because of Kobe's shooting, their offense, their defense, or the Celtics defense.

LAKERS OFFENSE:

The Lakers had pretty good offense in this game.  They started out the game leading and were up 5 going into halftime.  They shot a lot percentage, but that is because of the second half and because of the 'thing' that lost them the game.  Everyone but Kobe and Luke were doing pretty good in their first finals appearance (except for D-Fish).

LAKERS DEFENSE:

The Lakers defense was better than the Celtics the entire game.  The reason that everyone thinks the Celtics defense was better is because the 'thing' that made the Lakers lose made the Celtics better.

KOBE'S SHOOTING:

Kobe didn't shoot a high percentage, but was missing shots because the rim apparently didn't like the Lakers and he was just off during the game.  He made good plays to score himself or make his teammates score.

CELTICS DEFENSE:

The Celtics league-leading defense wasn't that good even though the Celtics fans would like to think that the Celtics are better than the Lakers.  The Lakers are way better.  Their defense was bad, but luckily for them the rim was on their side, Kobe was off, and the 'thing' that made the Lakers lose was on their side COMPLETELY.

The real reason the Lakers lost game 1 was the

REFS

The refs completely favored the Celtics because the Lakers would have beat them if it was a fair game and the NBA didn't want the Celtics to lose their first Finals game in over 20 years.  The Lakers were winning in the first half when the reffing was pretty fair for both sides.  The Celtics fans shouldn't try to deny it because it's true.  The NBA wants the series to go to 7 games, so they won't let the Lakers win.  NBA REFS SUCK!!!

Just for fun I decided that I am going to write a blog of the all-time teams of a couple of the big franchises in the NBA.

 All-NBA All-Time:

PG: Magic Johnson

SG: Michael Jordan

SF: Kobe Bryant 

PF: Tim Duncan 

C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Los Angeles Lakers:

PG: Magic Johnson

SG: Kobe Bryant 

SF: Elgin Baylor

PF: Wilt Chamberlain

C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Boston Celtics:

PG: Bob Cousy

SG: Paul Pierce

SF: Larry Bird

PF: Kevin Garnett 

C: Bill Russell

Detroit Pistons:

PG: Isiah Thomas 

SG: Rip Hamilton 

SF: Grant Hill 

PF: Rasheed Wallace

C: Bob Lanier

Philadeplia 76ers:

 PG: Allen Iverson 

SG: Julius Erving

SF: Charles Barkley 

PF: Dolph Schayes

C: Wilt Chamberlain

Utah Jazz:

 PG: John Stockton

SG: Deron Williams 

SF: Byron Russell

PF: Carlos Boozer

C: Karl Malone

Milwaukee Bucks:

 PG: Oscar Robertson

SG: Ray Allen

SF: Michael Redd 

PF: Bob Lanier 

C: Kareem Abdul- Jabbar

Phoenix Suns:

 PG: Steve Nash

SG: Grant Hill 

SF: Shawn Marion

PF: Charles Barkley

C: Amare Stoudemire

Chicago Bulls:

 PG: John Paxson

SG: Michael Jordan 

SF: Scottie Pippen

PF: Dennis Rodman

C: Artis Gilmore

 Those are my teams for all-time of a couple of the franchises in the NBA.  There are some teams that had good players, but didn't have enough to make an entire good lineup that would compete with the rest of these in a game.