[Izulde]

Minnesota Timberwolves receive
PF Billy Cullen
Atlanta Hawks 2025 2nd round pick

Atlanta Hawks receive
C Patrick Weston

What this means for the Timberwolves
Cullen's a run of the mill 24 year old backup combo forward/center. Nothing remarkable about him, though he is admittedly more developed than Weston.

What this means for the Hawks
The 19 year old rookie Weston might one day be a good reserve C, but he saw almost no time in Minnesota and he's liable to see even less with the Hawks as the 12th man. His upside isn't great, but it's respectable enough that he'd be worth a flyer on a bad team. Atlanta's 22-22, which doesn't exactly qualify them as bad.

Winner: Minnesota
The T-Wolves are hellbent on a division title and no doubt fear a move by GM Jestor raise the Nuggets back up. Thus, the second trade for an improved player at the cost of scrub youth. Great deal.

Toronto Raptors receive
PG Ron Morant
San Antonio Spurs 2025 2nd round pick

San Antonio Spurs receive
PF Mike Wise

What this means for the Raptors
Morant's 26 and a very good passer and ballhandler, with great technical defense. If he had better scoring instincts, he'd be capable of starting at the point. Key pickup for Toronto, who have 3 PGs, all 35 years old. While Ron's buried as the 11th man, if he comes back to the Raptors next summer, he should see increased playing time.

What this means for the Spurs
Strange move by San Antonio, as Wise has little upside and the 21 year old isn't anywhere near as good as Ian McClinton, who's both more developed and getting more seasoning in the D-Leagues. In fact, Wise is so bad, he's an inactive on a woeful Spurs squad.

Winner: Toronto
Even if the Raptors don't return Morant, he gives them a good pass-first safety blanket PG on the bench and even a half-year of that is worth far more than anything Wise will ever offer.

Portland Trailblazers receive
PG Mark Martin
Toronto Raptors 2025 2nd round pick

Toronto Raptors receive
SG Aaron Smylie

What this means for the Traiblazers
Martin became expendable for the Raptors after Morant's acquisition and he's a decent floor general off the bench, but terrible on defense and not a scorer either. His managing to hang on in the league is a bit of a mystery, but the real shock is that he's actually starting for Portland at PG.

What this means for the Raptors
Smylie is a big (6'7, 209) guard, with great handling skills for a two, rather like a certain Denver Nuggets SG in that regard, but he doesn't have great scoring instincts. However, the 23 year old third year pro has potential to develop into a defensive specialist and score some points as a reserve.

Winner: Toronto
While we normally applaud the acquistion of a new starter, Martin simply isn't a legitimate NBA starting PG and we see the move imperiling Portland's season.

Dallas Mavericks receive
PG Jeremy Steele
Philadelphia 76ers 2025 2nd round pick

Philadelphia 76ers receive
PG Joe Gordon

What this means for the Mavericks
Steele joins his 6th team in 3 seasons and it's easy to see why he's often so used as trade bait. He's a solid all-around veteran, who while not as good as a passer as he used to be, still plays good ball security and very good defense. In short, the perfect benchbacker, especially for a Dallas team who still insists on the lunacy of Jeremy Leach at PG.

What this means for the 76ers
Gordon may be a rookie, but he's a 23 year old one with no upside and talents outside of some basketball smarts and ball thievery. Not worth the price of admission and 11th on the 76ers' bench who already have Charles Diggs and Corey Westbrooks at 24 and 25 respectively.

Winner: Dallas
In short, a foolish trade for Philadelphia. While a youth movement wouldn't hurt, Gordon is the wrong piece of the puzzle for far too many reasons.

Six losses in seven games after Golden State beats us 120-113 in OT. Tim Butler bursts through for 35 points, A.J. Dunkley double-doubles for 15 points and 12 assists before fouling out, Andrew Bynum scrapes together 10 points and 10 rebounds and Carlton Goree scores 18 off the bench. But when Mateen Yeaton has a 2 for 10 night, our chances of winning just aren't very good.

Fast forward to the 5th and our stunning trade to counter the moves by Minnesota and Portland last month.

Denver Nuggets receive
C Greg Oden
Toronto Raptors 2027 1st round pick

Toronto Raptors receive
PF Andy Sola
SG Eric Bass
C Dan Jacobson

What this means for the Nuggets
GM Jestor pulls off another surprise move, shuffling Sola, the lynchpin to the team's late run success last year and the heart of their stellar start this season, to the Raptors for a 36 year old Oden, still a fearsome warrior on defense and rebounding and one of the smartest, most universally popular and hardest working players in the league. Needless to say, he immediately takes over at C for the Nuggets. The first round pick should be worth more in a couple years than it is now.

What this means for the Raptors
Jacobson got cut immediately after the trade, so this becomes Sola and Bass for Oden. Sola is a very good all-around player, somewhat underrated and as mentioned, he's out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. But he's also under contract for next season and figures to step in at PF then for the Raptors. Bass is roster filler who's on the inactive list.

Winner: Denver
We call this one the "Save Mateen Yeaton's Last Dance" trade. Center was Denver's most glaring weakness and Jestor goes out and gets a rental to try and propel the Nuggets back to the playoffs. While it's not certain to happen, this just improved their chances immensely.

The deal comes just in time for a divisional doubleheader.and while Utah beats us 107-89 for our third loss in a row, because our new idiot head coach has Mateen Yeaton at SF and our only highlight is new reserve Andrew Bynum's 12 points, we rebound for a thrilling 107-104 win against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis the next night. All five starters score 13 points or more, led by Tim Butler's 26 points and 10 rebounds. Greg Oden gets his first double-double in a Nuggets uniform with 16 points and 14 rebounds, A.J. Dunkley tacks on 16 points and 10 assists and Carlton Goree leads the bench with 10 points.

But even switching Mateen Yeaton back to SG can't prevent a 106-100 fourth quarter collapse against Cleveland. Not when Tim Butler's double-double is an anemic 10 points and 12 rebounds and A.J. Dunkley isn't much better with 14 points and 10 assists. At least Andrew Bynum is playing decently with 9 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

And so, in the sort of grandiose move that's borderline stupidity and nine-tenths desparation that's characterized our season, I pull the trigger on another trade.

Denver Nuggets receive
SG Charles Arnold
SG Ronald King

Philadelphia 76ers receive
PG A.J. Dunkley
SG Hayletts Dennis

What this means for the Nuggets
Desparation strikes again as GM Jestor acquires the 26 year old Arnold, who once swore he would never again play for the Nuggets after he was traded before ever donning a uniform when he signed with Denver in free agency. Now he's back in and a guarantee to play. He can play better score-denying defense than Mateen Yeaton, is 6'7, 188 lbs and is also averaging a sizzling 24.5 points a game. The 27 year old King is a great locker room guy who can score a little and defend a little.

What this means for the 76ers
So much for Corey Westbrooks returning to the starting PG role any time this year. Dunkley's a savvy, pass-first PG who needed a change of scenery after shooting an anemic 40.8% in Denver. The rookie Dennis, he of the 39.3% shooting with the Nuggets and angry about his lack of playing time, comes in as the starting SF for the 76ers, where he can hopefully fulfill his scoring potential.

Winner: Denver
If he has to, Teddy Harriman can run the point okay and the Nuggets just made a huge upgrade to their starting lineup at the price of two players who were major disappointments in their short tenure in Denver. The extra second rounders make nice trade bait.

Eh, what the hell? I'll try Harriman out at the one and see how he does.

Terrible debut for Charles Arnold (5 for 19/10 points)1 and we fall 107-96 to New Jersey. Teddy Harriman scores 24, Tim Butler double-doubles for 18 points and 13 rebounds and Carlton Goree scores 14 off the bench.

Enraged at our sloppy play, I make another trade.

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Zelipe Gama
Miami Heat 2025 1st round pick
Miami Heat 2027 1st round pick

Miami Heat receive
SG Teddy Harriman
C Luke Smith
C Lindsey Williamson
Toronto Raptors 2027 1st round pick

What this means for the Nuggets
For the third time in his career, the Spainard Gama comes to Denver and he'll once again seek to rescue the Nuggets by manning the starting PG spot. If anyone can do it, he can.

What this means for the Heat
The 23 year old Harriman was just starting to warm up in Denver when he's sent packing. Very good to great player in all facets of the offensive game, but admittedly just as weak on defense. He slots in as the starting SG. Smith is a project and a very intriguing one. Even better for the Heat, he'll be the 6th man and get the playing time he needs to develop his supreme rebounding, defensive and shotblocking potentials. Williamson's an inactive.

Winner: Miami
GM Jestor's hunger to keep the Nuggets' playoff streak going is going to cost him his job and ruin Denver for future years, draft picks aside. Meanwhile, Miami picks up two terrific building blocks in Harriman and Smith. If the Heat implode after this, so what? They've already won 24 games this season, more than they've won this early in a long, long time.

I don't care... I don't care. Mateen Yeaton must make the playoffs again.

We've also exceeded our budget of $10 million that's not really $10 million and need to sign two players. Enter former Nugget Darren Davis and 33 year old rebounding monster Changa Diarra, a former second round pick of the Supersonics (10th pick, 2nd round, 2013 draft).

So I get fired at the end of the year. Big deal.

Back-to-back road games before the All-Star break and a split. 110-103 win over Atlanta, narrowly losing in the fourth quarter. Mateen Yeaton and Charles Arnold combine for 27 and 29 points a piece and Zelipe Gama issues 15 points and 14 assists. 112-93 loss to Charlotte as we never get it going, though Zelipe Gama has a nice 18 points and 14 assists and Greg Oden pulls in 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Darren Davis gets to the finals of the Slam Dunk competition before losing to James White.

The Sophs crush the Rooks in a game I don't watch, though there's a few former Nuggets on the first years. Whatever. I don't care.

Tim Butler makes the All-Star game and scores 3 points in a very forgetable 14 minutes. Still, every point counted in the West's 97-96 barnburner win. MVP Rashard Ferguson was just ridiculous for the East. 20 point and 23 rebound ridiculous. Got 5 assists and 2 steals, too.

It's ugly, but I'll take the 102-97 comeback win over the Celtics. Mateen Yeaton is adjusting fine to SF, scoring 28 points. Charles Arnold adds 25, Tim Butler puts up 19 points and 16 rebounds and Zelipe Gama garners 12 points and 12 assists.

But then we lose 97-86 to Memphis, despite Greg Oden's impressive 12 points, 23 rebounds and 5 blocks, Mateen Yeaton's 23 points and Zelipe Gama's 18 points and 10 assists because our bench blows.

Our first dominant win in forever comes at the hands of the horrid Hornets, 108-84. Tim Butler breaks loose for 30 points, Mateen Yeaton adds 20, Greg Oden yanks down 23 boards and Zelipe Gama repeats for 18 points and 10 assists.

Fucking Atlanta beats us by one frigging point to ruin our hopes of ending on a tiny win streak. 26 points a piece from Mateen Yeaton and Charles Arnold just miss the mark, and Greg Oden's 12 points and 11 rebounds were one layup short in the 103-102 loss.

So we're 26-31 and if the playoffs were held today, we wouldn't make it.

We're going to have to bust ass over the remaining games in the season and I'm not sure we can do it.

Hell, I can't bring myself to write anything but a quick listing of the division leaders.

Southwest
Memphis - 35-22 (3 GB - Dallas)

Northwest
Portland - 33-23 (5.5 GB - Utah)

Pacific
L.A. Clippers - 40-17 (1 GB - Phoenix)

Atlantic
Toronto - 42-14 (4.5 GB - Boston)

Central
Milwaukee - 29-26 (2.5 GB - Chicago)

Southeast
Charlotte - 35-19 (7 GB - Atlanta)