[Izulde]

"All right, so justify to me why you're starting Beerbohm at center and not Gipson."

Jim O'Brien and I are sitting in my office to discuss the state of the team in the wake of Jonte Jones's injury. I've just asked him to tell me why he's gone with the new lineup he has.

"Beerbohm can drive inside, pick up enough fouls to get opposing big men in trouble and convert the free points. Besides, I know you're planning on trading him at the deadline. He hasn't done very well at either of the forward spots, so I thought we could showcase him at center to enhance his trade value."

I'm not entirely sold on that reasoning, but I nod in agreement to it.

"All right. But then why aren't you putting Gipson at the four least?"

Jim smiles, tapping his finger on my desk.

"Because there's a hell of a lot more high scoring threes than fours in this league. Victor gives a size advantage there and his shotblocking ability can pay significance dividends. I'd also point out that he did a pretty good job of containing Durant in last year's playoffs."

"Fair enough. But I'm going to be making another change."

"Oh? What's that?"

I grin and indicate my cell phone.

"We have two franchise player shooting guards on this team. That's one too many, especially when neither one is a legitimate point guard. Fortunately, I have a certain player on a certain team who I'm very much interested in bringing in."

Jim leans forward, curiosity in his eyes, "Oh? And who's that?"

"You'll find out later today."

After some good natured grumbling at my refusal to give up the name, our head coach leaves, leaving me free to call the GM of the specific team in question.

"Hello, Pete? Jestor here."

"Ah! Hello, Mr. Jestor! How can I help you today?"

Pete Lebraggio. Won a championship with Chicago in 2008 and has bounced around the league working different GM jobs since then. This year he took over a team in need of a major rebuilding.

"How would you like a franchise shooting guard?"

I hear the sound of a phone dropping with a clatter, before a breathless Pete picks it up.

"What?! You mean to say you're willing to trade Mateen Yeaton?!"

"Well.... it's like this..."

Five minutes later, we have a deal.

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Paulinho Buboltz

Indiana Pacers receive
SG Nigel Abel

What this means for the Nuggets
The fates of Buboltz and Mateen Yeaton were forever linked following the blockbuster trade in the 2013 offseason that saw Buboltz to Indiana, Yeaton to Denver, but now they'll be playing together in the same backcourt. Buboltz is more of a shoot-first PG, but he's a legitimate point man. More importantly, he allows Yeaton to move back to the two spot, his natural position and the Nuggets signficantly reduce their cap number for next season. Buboltz can fill up the stat sheet with points and steals and generate a fair number of assists. Not a great defender overall, though.

What this means for the Pacers
Indiana had the reverse problem of Denver, holding two elite level point guards in Buboltz and 22 year old Keith Attaway, who's blossomed into a franchise player in just his third season. Acquiring Abel enables the Pacers to shift Attaway to PG, where his devastatingly gorgeous passing and ballhandling can be put to maximum effect. Abel's also a very good defender who's won quite a few scoring titles since joining the league and even at 31, he can still win them.

Winner: Both
The move drastically benefits each team. Denver now has the type of high-octane backcourt with capable point guard that should carry them until Jonte Jones comes back from his broken toe and the storyline of Buboltz and Yeaton in the same backcourt is a merchandising and ratings bonanza. Indiana will sell a ton more tickets from fans wanting to see Abel put on dazzling shooting displays and the Pacers will be improved on court as well, probably winning some more games than they otherwise wold.

It was a gutsy move, but the right one to make for both our teams, I think. Now on to the other trades, the ones that happened in January proper.

Los Angeles Lakers receive
SG Jeff Culuko
New Orleans Hornets 2022 2nd round pick

New Orleans Hornets receive
SG Ronald King

What this means for the Lakers
Culuko has a decent outside shot and scoring instincts, but he's horrible everywhere else. On the other hand, trading King frees up playing time for Marcus Harrell, whom the Purple and Gold believe can be a special kind of player.

What this means for the Hornets
King, an extremely raw 24 year old, in his second season. He has an absolutely filthy 3 point shot and considerable potential as a scorer and defender. Still developing his understanding of the game and won't ever be even an average ballhandler or rebounder, but he could become a valuable 6th man/possible SG in the future.

Winner: New Orleans
We aren't convinced as the Lakers are about Harrell's potential and King at least can provide instant offense right now. He'll have time to develop the other areas of his game.

Minnesota Timberwolves receive
SG Mike Townsend
Phoenix Suns 2022 2nd round pick

Phoenix Suns receive
SG Jason Pettaway

What this means for the Timberwolves
Townsend is of so little value, he doesn't even rate an active roster spot. This is about Minnesota getting a high 2nd round pick in next year's draft.

What this means for the Suns
Pettaway's a pretty good shooter and the 25 year old former 1st round pick (17th overall - Timberwolves - 2018), can play some D and grab some rebounds. But there's a slew of guards on the Suns roster and he'll struggle to find minutes.

Winner: Draw
If Pettaway was actually getting playing time, this would be a no-brainer for the Suns. But since he's not, it becomes a complete wash in a frankly boring trade.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
PG Jack McKnight

Miami Heat receive
SF Saul Carstensen
Los Angeles Clippers 2022 1st round pick

What this means for the Clippers
The 19 year old McKnight has excellent potential as a scorer and could become an acceptable passer, though he seems more suited as two-guard rather than a legit one. He'll never be even an average defender, but with McKnight, Kueth Hill, Austin Forte and Rasheed Wheeler, the Clippers have a sensational set of four young guards in the making.

What this means for the Heat
Yet -another- trade by Miami gives padding of a 1st round pick, but it's essentially worthless given how late it's likely to be. Carstensen is 34, a complete non-entity and a mediocre $3.9 million expiring contract.

Winner: Clippers
The Red and White are rapidly assembling the pieces to become a new dynasty, if not in the West, then at least in the Pacific. Not only do they have those four, they also have Andre Davis and Dontay Williamson, who are quickly becoming star players and Bill Townsend still has game at 30 years old. Meanwhile, the Heat continue to sink to ever lower depths.

Man, the Clippers are just insane with the team they've put together. In fact, I'd call them the most serious challenge to our Rings Quest, both now and in the projected future. They've got a fantastic starting five and only the lack of a quality big man on the bench could stop them from achieving great things.

Paulinho Buboltz and Victor Gipson both have successful games upon their return to Denver. Buboltz scores 25 and Gipson gets 12 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in our 103-92 win over Golden State. Mateen Yeaton scores 30 and Martin Beerbohm does surprisingly well with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

A divisional doubleheader's delightful as we beat both teams. Vinston Henry scores 20 in our 99-87 win versus the Jazz after getting moved to the three and in the same game, Tzvetan Kishishev scores 16 off the bench and Louis Mertens gets a reserve double-double of 12 points and 10 assists. We run roughshod over the Timberwolves 111-79 as Mateen Yeaton scores 21, Paulinho Buboltz plays like a real, live PG with 19 points and 18 assists and Martin Beerbohm actually looks good with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks. Tzvetan Kishishev has his second straight 16 point game and fellow reserve Chezley McCleary comes out of nowhere to surpass him with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

It takes OT to do it, but we stay unbeaten for the mnth by beating Cleveland 127-122. Mateen Yeaton scores 35, Vinston Henry adds 21 points, Martin Beerbohm picks up a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out and we get another game of fantastic bench play. Louis Mertens shines with 18 ponts and 13 assists, Chezley McCleary pulls down 14 rebounds and Tzvetan Kishishev continues his white-hot streak with 14 points on a 6 of 7 night.

New Jersey pounds us 113-100 on the road to hand us our first February loss. We couldn't play defense to save our lives and Martin Beerbohm's 11 points and 12 rebounds can't cut it against that, not even with the help of 15 points a piece from Carlton Goree and Tzvetan Kishishev to lead the second team.

But we're in a great frame of mind heading into the All-Star break, thanks to a doubleheader sweep. We smash Atlanta 105-77 as Mateen Yeaton scores 28, Martin Beerbohm nets 12 points and 17 rebounds and Carlton Goree shoots for an electrifying 21 points off the bench. Our 100-82 victory the next night in Charlotte is keyed by Mateen Yeaton's 30 points and Paulinho Buboltz's 28 points.

Darren Davis, despite being a D-Leaguer, gets invited to the Slam Dunk competition and stuns everyone by winning the whole gosh darn thing, the first time I've ever had a player participate, much less win it. It's an exciting accomplishment and I could see Davis developing a role and career path similiar to Tzvetan Kishishev's.

The Sophomores thump the Rookies 95-80 and Jon Ward looks like a man among boys in scoring 23 points for the game's MVP award. I still can't believe he wasn't the first pick.

East destroys West 96-79 and yet for some bizzare reason, Paulinho Buboltz is named MVP. Yes, our starting PG scored 19 points as the starter for the West, but when the margin's that large for the final scoreboard, you don't give the MVP to the losing team in my opinion. Mateen Yeaton made it back to the All-Star game but got the Ben Gordon treatment, snubbed for even a minute of playing time. The Pacers landed both Nigel Abel (starter) and Keith Attaway (reserve) on the East. Great to see that backcourt out there.

We play our last card at the trade deadline.

Denver Nuggets receive
PF Tyrus Thomas
C Teofil Shubinsky
Boston Celtics 2024 2nd round pick

Boston Celtics receive
C Martin Beerbohm

What this means for the Nuggets
Thomas may be 36, but he can still score and play very good to excellent defense. He's disciplined, he's smart and he takes over the starting PF role. But what may be most attractive about him from the Nuggets standpoint is his expiring $8.1 million expiring contract. Shubinsky is a good passer for a big man and has some defensive instincts, but the 24 year old Pole and former 1st round pick of the Rockets (16th overall - 2017) is an end of the bench player. Victor Gipson takes over at C.

What this means for the Celtics
The C's aren't going to turn into winners any time soon and Beerbohm gives them a player for the future. He'll step in at Thomas's old spot at PF, but the shotblocking genius with the uncanny ability to draw fouls and convert FTs is really Spencer Hawes's heir apparent at C.

Winner: Draw
Good trade for both teams. Thomas shores up the Nuggets' weakest area and gives Denver financial flexibility, while Beerbohm is another piece of the rebuilding puzzle to add to Will Baron, Jermaine Butler and Jon Costello.

I almost took Costello as well, since Boston was quite eager to acquire Louis Mertens and I love Costello's defense and upside, but retaining him would've made paying out money that I simply can't tie up in a PG when Paulinho Buboltz is on the roster.

Ironically enough, it's those same Celtics we play that very night after the trade goes through. We demolish them 113-74. Mateen Yeaton scores 23, Paulinho Buboltz issues 19 points and 14 assists, Victor Gipson grabs 18 points and 12 rebounds and Tzvetan Kishishev scores 10 off the bench. I'm very happy with the result, because not only did Gipson prove me right about making him C, but Martin Beerbohm shoots a weak 2 for 10 on the night, continuing his anemic floor conversion that was one of the reasons why I was so eager to trade him. Yeah, he was getting those double-doubles for us, but most of his points were coming on free throws, as he simply can't hit a shot from the floor to save his life. I'd also like to gleefully point out that only one Celtics starter scored in double-digit figures. That was Jon Costello with 10.

The Grizzlies are clawless against us and we romp 113-93 on three players with 20+ points--Mateen Yeaton (25 points), Paulinho Buboltz (24 points) and Victor Gipson (23 points). It's a neat staircase sequence that has me grinning the whole game.

I've such a good feeling about this team now that not even our fourth quarter meltdown against the Hornets in New Orleans, where we're outscored 35-21 to squander a lead and lose 107-99, can faze me. Mateen Yeaton scores 33 in that game, Victor Gipson gets 11 points and 17 rebounds and Louis Mertens has 13 points and 9 assists off the bench.

The month ends with a terrific 110-90 victory over the Hawks. Paulinho Buboltz scores 27, Carlton Goree adds 14 points off the bench, Louis Mertens does even better with 24 points and Tzvetan Kishishev makes it three reserves with 10+ points, scoring 11.

But the victory comes at a terrible price, the biggest blow we've experienced yet this season.

Mateen Yeaton - Broken Leg - Out 50 days

Thus, while we're 41-16 and have a narrow lead for the top seed in the conference over 40-15 Dallas and 39-19 Sacramento and a 3 game lead on the Trailblazers for the division, the next month is going to very tricky to try and navigate. By the way, the Mavericks are up 15.5 games on the Spurs, the Kings barely fending off the Clippers by half a game.

Orlando has the lead in the East at 37-18, but the Knicks are 37-20 and the Raptors are only a half-game back of New York. The Magic have a 4.5 game lead over the Hawks in the Southeast while the Chicago Bulls have taken control of the Central at 34-20, but Cleveland's a half-game back, Milwaukee 1.5.

Miami's still hanging on to that worst team mark with 10-48. That's a 17.2% winning percentage for those of you keeping score at home. Indiana's 11-45, winning 19.6% of their games to be the #2 team.

So what does our lineup look like now?

PG Paulinho Buboltz
SG Louis Mertens
SF Vinston Henry
PF Tyrus Thomas
C Victor Gipson

...Yeah. We're in big trouble.

Halfway Leaders

Scoring
1. Galen Drayton (DET) - 29.1
2. Nigel Abel (IND) - 24.7
3. Antonio Sarchet (PHX) - 24.6
7. Mateen Yeaton (DEN) - 23.3
8. Marcelino Augusto (DAL) - 22.2
14. Paulinho Buboltz (DEN) - 21.1

Assists
1. Corey Neal (NJ) - 10.9
2. Bernard Kelly(MEM) - 10.7
3. Kenny Graham (SAC) - 10.6
8 players overall averaging double-digit assists so far.

Rebounds
1. Greg Oden (TOR) - 15.4
2. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 15.0
3. Jonte Jones (DEN) - 13.2

Blocks
1. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 3.6
T2. Walter Hicks (NJ) - 3.3
T2. Patrick Riley (SAC) - 3.3

Rookie Leaders

Points
1. Bernard Legans (WAS) - 16.2
2. Rasheed Wheeler (LAC) - 14.4
3. Jamarcus Wilson (PHI) - 13.3
4. Ronnie Fry (MEM) - 11.2

Assists
1. Jason Griffin (HOU) - 5.6
2. David Cormier (NO) - 4.7
3. Ameirin Qipiani (SA) - 4.4

Rebounds
1. Ronnie Fry (MEM) - 6.4
2. Jarrod Hill (SEA) - 6.2
3. Jamarcus Wilson (PHI) - 5.1

Bocks
1. Mark Wilson (NO) - 1.1
2. Jamarcus Wilson (PHI) - 0.7
T3. Ameirin Qipani (SA) - 0.5
T3. Marcus Harrell (LAL) - 0.5

Speaking of rookies, Darren Davis is averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.5 steals for the Colorado Timberjacks, who are 19-16, better than most predicted before the season started.

Paulinho Buboltz
2013 Stats: 82 games/77 starts - 17.0 PPG 9.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.7 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.4 SPG
2015 Stats: 55 games/48 starts - 14.1 PPG 8.3 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.2 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 18.3 PPG 8.1 APG 3.3 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.5 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2018 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 20.5 PPG 8.3 APG 3.2 RPG 0.8 BPG 1.5 SPG
2019 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 20.6 PPG 8.1 APG 3.5 RPG 0.8 BPG 1.5 SPG
2020 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.8 PPG 7.5 APG 3.3 RPG 0.6 BPG 1.3 SPG
2021 Stats: 55 games/55 starts - 21.1 PPG 7.2 APG 3.4 RPG 0.9 BPG 1.5 SPG

Mateen Yeaton
2013 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.3 PPG 2.4 APG 5.2 RPG 1.8 BPG 1.6 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/80 starts - 23.2 PPG 3.6 APG 5.2 RPG 1.7 BPG 1.3 SPG
2015 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.6 PPG 2.4 APG 4.5 RPG 1.6 BPG 1.5 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 25.0 PPG 3.1 APG 4.5 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.8 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 24.4 PPG 3.2 APG 4.9 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.6 SPG
2018 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.8 PPG 2.4 APG 4.2 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.2 SPG
2019 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 23.3 PPG 2.5 APG 4.7 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.6 SPG
2020 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 23.0 PPG 2.7 APG 4.6 RPG 1.8 BPG 1.4 SPG
2021 Stats: 57 games/57 starts - 23.3 PPG 2.8 APG 4.3 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.4 SPG

Ironically, we're going to need Buboltz to step up and be The Man in point scoring. I just don't see it coming out of our other starters on a consistent basis, nor out of our bench.

Marcelino Augusto
2020 Stats: 63 games/63 starts - 26.7 PPG 9.1 RPG 3.1 APG 2.1 BPG 1.0 SPG
2021 Stats: 55 games/55 starts - 22.2 PPG 10.1 RPG 2.7 APG 2.5 BPG 0.8 SPG

Jonte Jones
2020 Stats: 66 games/66 starts - 22.2 PPG 12.2 RPG 2.7 APG 1.3 BPG 1.4 SPG
2021 Stats: 46 games/46 starts - 20.2 PPG 13.2 RPG 2.6 APG 1.5 BPG 1.2 SPG

The next month is going to be really rough as you can imagine. No Yeaton, No Jones. At least we get Jonte back after that and we should get Yeaton back just before the playoffs start.

I'm not looking forward to the next 33 days, I can tell you that much.