[Izulde]

Indiana Pacers receive
SG Rob Robinson

Chicago Bulls receive
PF Leroy Wright
Indiana Pacers 2020 2nd round pick

What this means for the Pacers
Somewhat strange move for Indiana, as Robinson is a bland 30 year old guard who brings absolutely nothing worthy to the table and doesn't really improve the team in any way. On top of it, they give up a likely high 2nd rounder.

What this means for the Bulls
Wright hasn't been the overachieving supersub he was known for in Denver and Indiana since 2016 and he's rooted to the end of the bench, but at least he can provide some defensive help in a pinch. He's also an expiring $4.8 million contract in addition to the 2nd rounder.

Winner: Chicago
The Pacers deplete an already weak frontcourt and get back someone who doesn't improve their bench. Meanwhile, the Bulls get financial flexibility and a high 2nd rounder in a trade of trash for trash.

Indiana Pacers receive
PF Lance Purnell

New Jersey Nets receive
C Deon Keams

What this means for the Pacers
Indiana gets a new starter out of the deal at PF, but it's telling that Purnell, who can provide some offense and is a decent ballhandler for a big man, has no outstanding attributes and is a black hole on defense. Such is the plight of the Pacers' bigs situation. Oh where have you gone, Rik Smits and Jermaine O'Neal?

What this means for the Nets
The Pacers give up on Keams after just one season and they're right to do. He can rebound some and he's a good shotblocker, but the league's loaded with guys like this, the Lindsey Williamson type. The $1.5 million off next season coupon is a real yawner, but every little bit helps.

Winner: Draw
Improves each team by an increment so tiny, the deal wasn't really worth making. Just what's going on with the Pacers' front office?

Strange tidings with the Pacers indeed. Then again, if they're being that dunderheaded, perhaps they're worth talking with. But then a quick review of Indiana's roster reveals there's nobody worth trading for. Paulinho Buboltz's return to Indiana isn't going to happen, given his bloated $18.6 million salary and I'd only take on one of the others if it meant a 1st round pick.

One thing to note about the David Jackson situation: he's in the last year of his rookie contract, so we could gamble that if we trade him, the receiving team won't sign him to an extension and he'll hit free agency. But I don't want to trade him unless it looks certain his morale's going to hit rock bottom.

I'm pissed as Miami beats us 116-103 to worsen our draft position as we start December. Marcelino Augusto's 20 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, Mateen Yeaton's 22 points and David Jackson's 12 bench points don't mean squat when Luol Deng's off an 1 for 9 night.

Deng's got to go. I love what he did for us last year and I hate to send off his huge expiring contract, but he's playing like shit, shooting 36.3% and he's angering David Jackson, who's a hell of a lot more valuable than Deng is.

It's surprisingly easy to find a trade.

Denver Nuggets receive
C Andrew Bogut

Milwaukee Bucks receive
SF Luol Deng

What this means for the Nuggets
This trade originally was intended to make David Jackson the starting SF, which it did, but it also gives Denver a smart, savvy new starter at C in Bogut. The 35 year old's skills have sharply eroded from his prime, but he'll make more intelligent plays than Victor Gipson and greatly enhances the Nuggets in the frontcourt.

What this means for the Bucks
Milwaukee welcomes Deng back into the fold as the starting SF, but given Deng's poor start and the weakness this puts the Bucks at C, this is a potentially dangerous trade for the Central leaders.

Winner: Denver
They're both expiring contracts and if Bogut doesn't work out, GM Jestor's the type who's not afraid to cut him (see Lamar Odom, Lannce Dudley. The key to this trade for the Nuggets, as we noted above, is to put the discontented Jackson in the starting lineup.

Fantastic defensive outing in our first game with the new look. We crush the Magic 98-69 as Mateen Yeaton produces 28 points and 9 rebounds, Andrew Bogut has a smashing Denver debut with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Marcelino Augusto generates 22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks.

Marcelino Augusto and Zelipe Gama break out for 39 points and 27 points, 18 assists and 5 steals respectively as we roll up the Wizards 108-92. Bogut's proving to really improve our interior defense and it's great to see. I'll admit, I had my concerns when Jim O'Brien said he was starting Bogut, but if these first two games are any indication, it was the right move.

But then we go up against the Raptors in Toronto and can't hit a shot to save our lives, getting blown out 102-77. Marcelino Augusto struggled his way to 15 points and 12 rebounds and Rico Wolfe scored 12 off the bench, but we were on ice all night long.

So that makes us 1-1 thus far for the 7-game East Conference road trip. Marcelino Augusto tears into the Knicks for 43 points and 10 rebounds to take us to 2-1 after a 109-96 win. Rico Wolfe adds 15 points off the bench. As much as I get tempted to trade Augusto, he's only 21 years old and he's capable of putting up huge numbers despite being undersized.

We split the ensuing back-to-back. Philadelphia hammers us 113-81 despite 26 points from Mateen Yeaton, 13 points and 10 rebounds from Andrew Bogut and Rico Wolfe's 10 bench points. Mateen Yeaton ensures we don't drop two in a row in scoring 37 against the Celtics to give us the 105-84 win. Also credit Zelipe Gama's 13 points and 14 assists and Victor Gipson's 13 bench points.

Sweet revenge against the Heat on the front end as we win 116-96. Mateen Yeaton rips Miami for 35 points, Marcelino Augusto adds 30 and Zelipe Gama distributes 17 points and 10 assists. Andrew Bogut double-doubled as well, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Unfortunately we can't connect on the sweep, losing 111-92 to the Magic. Andrew Bogut did his part with 14 points and 16 rebounds, but that's it.

4-3 road trip. Nowhere near as good as we do in some years, but on the other hand, a hell of a lot better than a losing record. The schizophenic nature of the team is disturbing me somewhat, but I'm not going to make any moves... yet.

Home's a welcome place to be as Mateen Yeaton scores 32 and we get double-doubles out of Marcelino Augusto (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (11 points, 11 assists) in a 113-91 pounding of Phoenix.

But then Bad Denver shows up and not even Marcelino Augusto's 30 points and 9 rebounds can spare us a 111-85 smackdown by Seattle. It's really starting to drive me crazy how damned inconsistent we are all of a sudden.

At least it's a happy Christmas as we sweep the holiday doubleheader. 114-105 the final over Dallas, keyed by Mateen Yeaton's 27 points, 26 points and 14 rebounds from Marcelino Augusto and great reserve performances by Rico Wolfe (13 points) and Steven Caspers (10 points). We win 95-87 over Golden State on the strength of Marcelino Augusto's 23 points and 11 rebounds and Rico Wolfe's 13 bench points.

Balanced offense led by Marcelino Augusto's 22 points and Rico Wolfe's 11 bench points, combined with smothering team defense, carries us to a 105-72 revenge whipping of the 76ers. At this point, I just don't think I can bring myself to trade Augusto, small-sized or no. He's just too consistent, too valuable, too good a shielding option for Mateen Yeaton. And he was my #1 pick, after all.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day go even better than the Christmas holidays as we look dominant in sweeping both L.A. teams. The Lakers fall 108-90, helpless against Marcelino Augusto's 28 points and 9 rebounds and Mateen Yeaton's 21 points. Supporting actors are Andrew Bogut with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Zelipe Gama with 16 points and 11 assists. Rico Wolfe's the surprise star of our 103-75 smash hitting of the Clippers, scoring 25 points off the bench, the same 25 scored by Mateen Yeaton.

Our 23-8 mark has well in command of the West's top seed and with five winning teams in the conference, it's looking we might finally be starting to get over the hump in terms of our league's respectability. Much to my disbelief, Memphis is still ruling the Southwest at 19-14, although the Mavericks and Spurs are hot on their heels. Sacramento's reasserted itself in the Pacific at 14-14, while the Lakers are dawdling along at 11-17.

Meanwhile, in the East, Toronto looms large at 26-6, but the Southeast leading Hawks are gunning for the top seed as well at 22-7. The Central is still an absurdly tight race. Cleveland's in front at 18-12, but the Bucks are a half-game off and the Bulls and Pistons are a game back of the lead. It's worth noting that Milwaukee's 6-5 since the Bogut for Deng trade.
As for the Heat? 11-22, so I'm hoping the Purple and Gold win some of the five games that separate the two, especially since Fabian Kruger is due back in two more months.

Attitude Report
David Jackson's mood hasn't really improved, but no means has it worsened since he became the starting SF. But much to my disappointment, we've got a new malcontent on our hands and it's a surprising one. Emeka Okafor's unhappy about his end of the bench role, because our team captain feels like he can still make more of a contribution. It's one of those things where it's tough to know what to do. I wish he'd retired when he finally got his ring last year, but he's convinced he can still play.

D-League Report
Tzvetan Kishishhev is tearing up the D-League, averaging 18.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.8 steals. He leads the D-League in scoring and the Timberjacks are 9-4, leading the West. I'd call him up, but that would mean even less time for Okafor and I don't want to do that.

Paulinho Buboltz/Mateen Yeaton Comparison

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: 28 games/28 starts - 19.7 PPG 7.6 APG 3.2 RPG 0.9 BPG 1.6 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: 31 games/31 starts - 23.5 PPG 2.4 APG 5.0 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.7 SPG

Look who's back. Last season was a fluke.

I hope the same isn't true for our defending title hopes.