Lamar Odom Re-Signs with Lakers

After about a month of rumors about the Miami Heat Lamar Odom has re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The deal is a 4 year\40 Million Dollar deal, 27 of which is guaranteed. Lamar staying with the Lakers is pivatol for the Lake show to repeat as NBA Champions. Maybe the Miami Heat should have thrown in a bucket of gummy worms to help persuade Odom.

David Ortiz Linked to PEDs

I am well aware that this has absolutely no relevance to the NBA whatsoever but I feel like I need to sound off on it anyway. Big Papi has been reported by the New York Times to be on the list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003, along with teammate and friend Manny Ramirez.

In Boston Papi is a legend, but now after being linked to steroids writers all over Boston are calling him a fraud. And while you could make the argument that that's true, I won't.

David is linked to 104 players who also tested positive...104! If that many people are guilty than in my opinion it isn't cheating. Also, and this is an extremely important thing to know, steroids while illegal in the United States, were NOT punishable in Major League Baseball. Therefore anyone who tested positive before 2005 should be considered innocent because at the time they weren't breaking the rules.

Another very interesting note is something that Jose Canseco said on Thursday in an interview with an ESPN reporter; "If you were in the game in the last 20 years, there’s a 95 percent chance you were knowingly using something,’’ Canseco said. “I said 80 percent back then because that was the number of players that I knew were on. But that number was greater.’’ As much as he was hated when his book came out, all his revelations have proven true so far. He went on to say that the MLB will have their hands full when they find out that a Hall of Famer has used.

Taking into consideration what Canseco says I arrive at the conclusion that David Ortiz is just another player who was persuaded by his era. If it wasn't illegal then he should not be punished now. That's just like saying that because now, being intoxicated during a game is illegal, we should go and asterisk Babe Ruth's entire career.

ERA's change, it's that simple. If you want to talk about asterisks then let's talk about the receivers gloves in football. Those things are unbelievable, the players in the 1960's didn't have those. My point is that times change, in 20 years im sure athletes will have even more advantages over the guys now. That doesn't mean what they do is not valid.

Trading Places

The Charlotte Bobcats have traded center Emeka Okafor to the New Orleans Hornets for Tyson Chandler.

The Hornets made an attempt to move Chandler at the trade deadline but a failed physical landed him back in New Orleans for the remainder of the season.

Now I love Michael Jordan (Bobcats GM), his influence has changed my life along with many others. But I have absolutely no idea what he is thinking with this one. To me Okafor and Chandler are virtually the same player, and in my opinion sideways moves are never good.

The Hornets are the winner of this trade only because Chandler has had health problems and now those problems lie in charlotte where the Hornets once resided.

Biggest Rivalries Heading into the 2009-2010 Season

Here are the biggest rivalries with bad blood between them heading into next season.

 

1. Bulls vs. Celtics

After the classic seven game series in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs the Bulls and Celtics are undoubtedly the two teams with the most bad blood between them. Rajon Rondo will be booed for the rest of his career in the United Center and likewise for Kirk Hinrich in the TD Banknorth Garden. By game 5 during their epic series a flagrant foul had become a normality, that's when you know that these two teams are hot for each other. There are emotional players on each side, KG for the Celtics and Joakim Noah for the Bulls. And don't think that Brad Miller has forgotten about Rondo's bitch slap in game 5. Don't be surprised to see Rajon hitting the floor hard at the hands of Brad Miller.

 

2. Celtics vs. Lakers

The Celtics and Lakers have been bitter rivals going all the way back to the Russell\Chamberlain era. The players have changed but the rivalry has remained the same. It is my personal opinion along with many others that if the Celtics didn't lose KG to injury they would have repeated as NBA champions. Going into the season the Celtics are going to be eager to show that they are still the powerhouse of the Eastern Conference. And God knows they have re-loaded themselves with talent, adding Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to go along with their already star studded lineup. Assuming that there are no injuries to major players on either teams it is my prediction that they will meet in the championship again and once again the Celtics will come out victorious. A major reason for this is because right now KG is like a land mine ready to explode, he had to watch his team get knocked out in the second round of the playoffs while he could do nothing. Expect Kevin to enter this season hungrier than ever and hitting his head even harder off the Basket support before games. 

 

3. Nuggets vs. Hornets

After the New Orleans Hornets got trounced by 58 points on their home floor I expect them to come into this season eager to show that they are a contender. Once Denver makes their first trip to New Orleans I expect a very physical and emotional game on the Hornets part. If they don't have any different attitude towards Denver then they have no soul and don't deserve to even take the floor. 

 

4. Detroit vs. Cleveland

This rivalry won't attract as much attention as the others but I still believe that there is a strong motivation in the Pistons' mind to disassemble the Cavs this season. Detroit has added the very dangerous and streaky scorer Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. For the whole decade the Pistons have been at the top of the Eastern Conference and for 8 seasons in a row they were in the Conference Finals. Detroit is going to be looking to enter into the Eastern Conference hierarchy, which consists of the Celtics, Magic, and Cavs. 

 

I love bad blood between teams, it makes for a more interesting and emotional game. And at the same time, the level of competition is unquestionably raised. I look forward to seeing these rivalries develop this season. 

Andre Miller signs with Portland

Put to rest the Hinrich to Portland rumors. Today veteran point guard Andre Miller signed a three year deal with the Blazers. Now having a veteran guard in place there is no need to add the services of Kirk Hinrich. There was some speculation that a deal was imminent when Kirk's house in deerfield was put up for sale. However it turns out that Hinrich hasn't been living there for about two years now.

As of now there is every indication that he will be staying put in Chi-town. Majority Owner Jerry Reinsdorf cited Kirk's leadership as a main reason why the Bulls decided to go with him over the streaky scoring Ben Gordon. Specifically saying that even when out with a wrist injury Kirk still did all he could to work with rookie phenom Derrick Rose. Apparently Gordon had no interest in that.

LeBron James' poor publicist

I do not envy LeBron James' publicist right now, this past summer has not treated King James like you would expect an NBA MVP be treated. After Losing in the Eastern Conference finals LeBron as many people know refused to shake hands with the Orlando Magic and stormed off to the locker room with his head down. The second fiasco is when LeBron was dunked on by Xavier's Jordan Crawford, shortly after Nike executives came along and confiscated the video. If this video were released immediately, nobody would have even cared. If you've never been dunked on then you've never played against great competition. Also, I don't know if any of you have seen the video, but you can't even see what's happening. And finally it has surfaced that LeBron admits to using Marijuana during his High School years.

         As far as leaving the court without shaking hands I give James a pass for that. It's important to keep in mind that his "Championship caliber team" was just bounced from the playoffs in five games. He was furious, and for good reason, I don't blame LeBron at all for walking off before he inevitably lost his temper and then what. Something terrible could have happened. This brings me to the subject of the mandatory shaking hands after games, which is prevalent at the High School and College levels. This rule is very dangerous, Basketball is an emotional game and after games I can guarantee you that at least one team is very aggravated. After these men have gone at each other for the last 32 or 40 minutes they should just walk back to their respective locker rooms and cool down. If they want to shake hands then fine but to force it upon them is dangerous, also take into account the environment around them. What happens when a fight breaks out in a bad neighborhood between two teams with bad blood between them? It would be a nightmare for everyone involved. By the time a kid reaches 15 he will know the sportsmanship rules and will either choose to abide by them or not, end of story. 

         LeBron James has probably dunked on over 500 people in his lifetime, and I'm sure if you asked any hall of fame basketball player if they were ever dunked on they would have to say yes. It's part of the game, and in the end it’s only worth two points. If you go down and hit a three while the other guy is celebrating then it will be you who gets the glory and the other guy will be heading to the bench and will most likely be making a long stay there. Out of LeBron's three major blunders this is by far the biggest, this will not touch his legacy. By the time September rolls around nobody will even remember it happened other than Crawford whose basketball career was headlined when he dunked over King James. 

I will go out on a limb and say that 99% of the NBA has experimented with Marijuana at least once in their lifetime. So because of this I think that LeBron coming out on his use of weed is a top headline on a slow news day. Flat out nobody except mothers with 3rd grade children will care. You got to love the timing though, right now LeBron needs to do something to change his public perception. A big donation to the children with AIDS should do well, or of course he could go and win another MVP and maybe a title. Yup, in the society we live in today that will undoubtedly clear his name.  

Here is the Link of the video of LeBron being "Posterized" :

http://ebaumnation.com/2009/07/22/jordan-crawford-dunks-on-lebron-james

Carlos Boozer

Carlos Boozer is on the move, that much is certain but where he will land is still very much in the air. According to reports by ESPN's Chris Broussard a deal was almost struck between Utah, Portland and Chicago. This deal was to send Tyrus Thomas to Utah, Kirk Hinrich to Portland, and Carlos Boozer to Chicago. Now that that deal has crashed and burned worse than Kwame Brown's career two likely destinations come to my mind. Number one is the Chicago Bulls; it is no secret that the Bulls have been seeking an inside presence for the majority of the decade and Carlos Boozer fits the bill perfectly, also Chicago has a trade piece in Tyrus Thomas. Trade destination number two is the Miami Heat, the main reason why Miami is a top scenario is because Carlos Boozer has expressed his interest in saying that his "Paradise" is in Miami. However the whole point of the Jazz trading Boozer is to shed salary so that they can be in better shape for the free agent class of 2010, I'm not sure how they'll be able to do that dealing with Miami unless another team steps in to help the deal go through. 

Personally I believe that Boozer will be going to the Windy City when all is said and done, there is a rumored trade out there which in short would send Boozer to Chicago and Tyrus Thomas to the Jazz. I think that the Jazz are waiting and hoping that some miraculous offer comes along before they pull the trigger on a deal. It would benefit the Bulls immensely to land Boozer because they would essentially be renting him for one season. His contract is up after the season. If he worked out playing alongside Derrick Rose then they could re-sign him or they could use his 12.7 million that would be coming off the books to go and get Chicago native Dwyane Wade if they so choose.

We don't know what the future holds for Carlos Boozer but what we do know is that he has most likely played his last game as a Utah Jazz.