Portland Wins NBA Draft Lottery (Greg Oden sweepstakes)

somewhere, a Boston Celtics fan is crying. :D

Nothing more.

Man, Isaiah would have looked like a complete moron (not just a partial one) if the Knicks ended up in the Top 3.

- as

is about on par with him working for the Pacers.

HOF NBA Megastars = bad coaches and GMs

I have a question for you.

What are they saying in Indy about Jermaine O'Neal? I heard that he announced he'd like to be traded to the Knicks in order to work for Thomas again.

You think Bird would go for it? What do the Pacers need that the Knicks could send them?

We got a lot of young'uns that will probably be packed off to Indy in a second if they can make it work - Channing Frye, Jamal Crawford, and probably David Lee (whom I will hate to see go - he's gonna be a solid player for years, but he'll probably be a necessary part of any trade package).

Need a slightly psycho point guard? Here, take Nate Robinson, please! :)

Just wondering what the buzz is out there.

- as

That was lost to Dallas (No surprise there) Most of pacers news in town has been about who is going to be named the new head coach, it seems Stan Van Gundy is going to be the guy. I keep saying they need a familiar face that the fans can trust and rally behind to coach the team, People are screaming for Reggie (HOF/star again) to come out of retirement to play or to become head coach, he’s happy what he’s doing now. I say why not Mark Jackson, he’s was really the emotional leader of the late 90’s pacer teams and the guy was like an having an extra coach on the floor playing point guard.

As far as trades go, I’ve heard the Knicks Mention,
I’ve heard Curry & Jefferies (Indiana native) and 2 more players for O’Neal & Tinsley and a draft pick

I’ve heard even trade with the T-Wolves for Garnett, even trade I guess, T-Wolves get a younger player, Pacers get a slightly better player.

I’ve heard a multiple trade combos involving the clippers to many to count.

I’ve heard O’Neil & 5 future draft pick to Golden State for Al Harrington, joking on that one but it wouldn’t surprise me to them do something that stupid.

Are you a Knicks fan? I just wondered because not all Pacers fans hate the Knicks. Those were some exciting playoff games back in the 90’s. I use to work in the aviation industry and the company I worked for handled the Knicks plane during the 99 playoffs, I often had to deal with the rich and famous and the 99 Knicks team and organization was probably one most respectful groups to me and my coworkers coming in that I had an experience with, they tipped really well, we basically had to unload like 25 pieces of baggage and they tippped the 5 of us a hundred dollars each. Sure they could afford it, but I had a 20 Million Dollar a picture movie star hand me 3 dollars and a coworker once got a pair of shoe strings from a pop-punk band trying to be asses.

As far as trades go, I’ve heard the Knicks Mention, I’ve heard Curry & Jefferies (Indiana native) and 2 more players for O’Neal & Tinsley and a draft pick

I can see them letting Jeffries go, but the Big Idea in NY now is building around Curry, so I don't think you'll be seeing Big Ed in a Pacers uni.

I’ve heard even trade with the T-Wolves for Garnett, even trade I guess, T-Wolves get a younger player, Pacers get a slightly better player.

That could happen. I don't know if Indy is on KG's wish list, but I don't think he'd have a problem working for Bird.

Are you a Knicks fan? I just wondered because not all Pacers fans hate the Knicks. Those were some exciting playoff games back in the 90’s. I use to work in the aviation industry and the company I worked for handled the Knicks plane during the 99 playoffs, I often had to deal with the rich and famous and the 99 Knicks team and organization was probably one most respectful groups to me and my coworkers coming in that I had an experience with, they tipped really well, we basically had to unload like 25 pieces of baggage and they tippped the 5 of us a hundred dollars each.

Those were some great playoff battles we had, eh? Reggie used to drive us nuts, and he kept doing so right up to the very end.

The NYK organization at that time was quite different than it is now. The team had a lot of old-schoolers like Oakley, Ewing and Harper, and they had a connection to a classier time in the NBA.

But I think it's the same throughout the league. Someone on the Knicks' staff (might have been Herb Williams, who may be your next coach, BTW!) explained it this way - when he was part of that 90s Knicks team, his teammates were his friends and that really made the team bond. He says nowadays, they younger players all come in with their entourages, and that's who they hang out with - and as a result, teams aren't as close as they used to be.

Makes sense to me.

Back to Herb for a sec - I'd like to see him coaching the Pacers. He's got history with the team, and he's one of the nicest people in the league. He deserves a high-profile job, and I don't think he'll ever get higher than an assistant in NYC.

- as

He has been outstanding.

And after literally stealing Roy last year, it's all the sweeter! I think the Blazers pick Oden - adding on to a great nucleus of youngsters with a big man. And then the Blazers can get rid of Z-Bo somehow.

How's Telfair working out, Boston? :D
(Sorry, couldn't resist ... you guys will get someone good at pick five ... it's a great draft. ;) )

PTown's pick has to be Oden. Seattle takes Durant, making Rashard Lewis expendable. Sign and trade between PDX and Seattle and maybe a third team, Portland gets Lewis, ships Randolph. Starting 5 for the Blazers? Oden and Aldridge patrolling the paint, Jack/Sergio, Roy and Lewis dealing damage from everywhere.

Return to Rip City.

Then the nba is crappy at fixing stuff. Who the hell wants a potential marketing superstar in mid-market Portland? Compared to Boston? And then to reward a city (Seattle) which has consistently refused to pony up for a new arena? this is the NBA's nightmare scenario, swinging the power even farther west of the Mississippi and out of the ultra-lucrative eastern time zone.

It basically could not have been worse, from the league's standpoint. Heck, I'm in the West and those teams are barely on my radar, other than for betting purposes.

grew up with season tickets, and they are barely on my radar. :)

Basketball in Portland? Phish-Shaw! Who heard of such a thing? Do they even have indoor plumbing or the archmedian screw yet? I can't think of any good basket-ball players who have been in Portland! Especially not centers.

But who stated the NBA is doing the fixing?

The NBA needed Oden or Durant in Boston or Philly or Chicago to offset the balance of power in the West, not to mention for marketing and tv and other reasons.

No knock on Portland, but nobody outside of the Pacific Northwest is going to care about their team.

The Eastern Conference, and NBA in general, needed this year to be the year that reclaimed some parity in the League. That's not going to happen now, save a trade, and it's just horrible for the leage.

Great for Portland and Seattle, horrible for any basketball fan not on the west coast though.

What does this do for the NBA? It keeps the Detroit Pisstons as the only big team in the East (the fix was in on the game tonight) and allows for the culture of "dominance" to grow up around the pistons.

This allows the NBA to grow the culture of Other cities fans "hating" Detroit while making Detroit the Dynasty of the East for the next 3-4 years. It also allows the Heat one more chance at a run with Shaq and Wade.

And anyway big name players move all the time. Not as much as in hockey or baseball but enough for Oden and Durant to blossom and then be snatched away via free agency by the NY Pukerbockers or the Boston Cry Babies.

And to be semi-ironic after this tinfoil rant, People in America fixate to much on sports anyway.

That's laughable. Cleveland got a rebound and a simple 7 foot jump shot for the win. Nice fix.

The NBA is crafty much more so then the NFL. The fix is so subtle it appears as though it is a normal game.

The NBA isn't going to have their fixed game look as clumsy as the Steelers/Seahawks Superbowl a couple years ago.

the NBA's grand plan is to have the cities of Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Detroit and Cleveland in the last four? to quote those Guinness guys: BRILLIANT! who needs Boston, Philly, New York, LA, Chicago when you have those small markets to make your money from?