[Izulde]

San Antonio Spurs receive
C Mark Wilson

New Orleans Hornets receive
SG Beau King
San Antonio Spurs 2026 2nd round pick

What this means for the Spurs
Wilson is a 27 year old, 6'11, 275 lbs shot blocking specialist whose greatest asset is an expiring $3.7 million contract, $600k more than King's. Although a big body, he doesn't seem like he should be the first big man off the bench, but he is.

What this means for the Hornets
King is an average all-around 33 year old journeyman guard, one properly situated towards the end of the bench. Nothing exciting about him here.

Winner: New Orleans
The move gives the Hornets more playing time for Rick Harris and absurdly raw rookie Michael Havens, their two young frontcourt players, whereas Wilson will likely have a negative impact on the Spurs' development of their own frontcourt youth. That alone is enough to make the difference in an otherwise bland, equl deal.

Houston Rockets receive
PG Ron Morant
Detroit Pistons 2026 2nd round pick

Detroit Pistons receive
SF Greg Hill

What this means for the Rockets
Morant's a pass-first PG with some defensive skills, but it seems to overkill, as Houston already has a glut of youngerish guards and not enough time to distribute to all of them.

What this means for the Pistons
Hill is a body and a complete waste of roster space. He can't even cut it in the D-Leagues.

Winner: Houston
Despite the overload, improved talent on the roster plus an extra second around pick equals easy winner in this trade for the Rockets.

I'm hoping we'll be able to turn things around now that we've got Greg Oden back in the starting lineup, but we'll just have to see what happens. Certainly our big man depth on the bench just got that much better.

We split the opening doubleheader of the short month, beating the Knicks and losing to the Trailblazers. New York got smoked all four quarters as we whip them 124-75, David Anyan and William Tackett leading the way with 23 points and 19 points and 22 assists respectively. Ronald King and Jim Johnson came off the bench for 17 and 10 points. Although we lost to Portland on the road the next night, we made it competitive at 106-96 and would've won, if not for getting scorched 32-16 in the fourth quarter. 20 points from David Anyan, a pair of doubles from Antonio Sarchet (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Greg Oden (13 points, 12 rebounds), 16 bench points and 12 bench rebounds from Ronald King and Brandon Edmond respectively round out our highlights.

A key divisional game against the Suns goes our way as we prevail 112-102. David Anyan gets his second straight 20 point game, Mateen Yeaton scores 25, Greg Oden bulldozes for 19 points and 12 rebounds and Brandon Edmond comes up with a surprise 16 points off the bench.

I'm extremely pleased when we sweep the following back-to-back, not the least because one of the games is against the Mavericks. 112-97's the final against Seattle, Mateen Yeaton replicating his 25 points from last game, David Anyan scoring 24, Greg Oden putting up 19 points and 12 rebounds, Ronald King scoring 17 bench points and Brandon Edmond just missing a bench double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Our 121-114 victory over Dallas is keyed by Marcelino Augusto's foul trouble, Antonio Sarchet's 30 points and 9 rebounds, David Anyan's 26 points and 11 rebounds, all our starters reaching double-digit scoring, the lowest point total of which goes to 12 point, 16 assist William Tackett and 15 bench points from Ronald King.

The Celtics show why they're one of the best young teams in the league by demolishing us 113-96 in Boston. Nice efforts by our big men - David Anyan with 22 points, Antonio Sarchet with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Edmond with a terrific reserve performance of 12 points and 11 rebounds, but those showings aren't enough, not even when paired with Ronald King's 16 points.

We help our other first round pick out a little bit and win both away games of a doubleheader going into the All-Star Break. The Bulls, whose first rounder we own, fall 108-100 as Greg Oden has a magnificient game of 18 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. Antonio Sarchet scores 22, William Tackett doubles for 15 points and 13 assists and Ronald King stays hot with 15 bench points. It's a nailbiter against the Nets, but we do just enough to come out on top 104-99. Antonio Sarchet leads the charge with 27 points, William Tackett issues 17 points and 15 assists and our bench is highlighted by Ron King's 12 points and Brandon Edmond's 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Everybody's expecting the Rookies to slaughter the Sophomores and that's precisely what happens in a 98-73 laugher. #1 overall pick Damian Thomas builds on his growing legacy, winning Player of the Game with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But what confounds me is that Dondrell Wilder, who's averaging 6.6 points and 8.5 assists goes to the game and is named the starter over William Tackett, who's averaging 14.3 points and 12.1 assists and doesn't even get an invite to the game.

I'm up in arms, the national press is outraged and the blogosphere calls it evidence of a growing anti-Jestor conspiracy on the part of the league. William's as angry as I am and Ronald King privately advocates the storming and torching of the NBA's offices for the insult.

Thrilling All-Star Game that goes to the East 115-110 in OT. Despite the loss, Filip Mikulic is unquestionably the best player on the floor that night, with 26 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds and a steal. David Anyan makes it as a reserve, scoring 12 points with 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. I'm a little irked that Antonio Sarchet got snubbed, as he's been a key part of our season and proven the naysayers about the trade wrong, but at least it's nowhere near the level of injustice as Tackett's omission.

David Anyan scores 27, Antonio Sarchet doubles for 21 points and 10 rebounds and Ronald King adds 15 points off the bench as we come out angry after the All-Star break, beating Atlanta 106-97.

I've got a decision to make about whether or not to make another trade. There's a slew of great playes on the block, including a few guys I'd love to have on the team, but ultimately, when it comes right down to it, it's just not worth disrupting what we've got going on here and so I pass.

I'm rewarded for my gut instinct when we win all four quarters and destroy Dallas 114-88 on their own home court. Mateen Yeaton scores 22, David Anyan adds 21, Greg Oden picks up 17 points and 12 rebounds, William Tackett distributes 10 points and 16 assists and Ronald King and Brandon Edmond guide the second unit with 20 points and 11 rebounds respectively.

That game is the start of a 6 game road trip, the last of which takes place next month. 1-0 becomes 3-0 after a back-to-back. We spank the 76ers 114-84 behind a balanced offense captained by Antonio Sarchet's 26 points and assisted by William Tackett's 14 points and 19 assists, Brandon Edmond's 10 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and Ronald King's 11 bench points. The 105-79 dismantling of the Wizards comes courtesy of David Anyan and Antonio Sarchet each scoring 20, Greg Oden's 16 points and 14 rebounds and Brandon Edmond's renewed reserve life with 15 points.

In a refreshing departure from what I experienced my last few seasons in Denver, we actually look good on the road, taking 3-0 to 5-0 after the second doubleheader. Charlotte can't answer David Anyan's 31 points in our 116-100 win, not when Greg Oden has 18 points and 11 rebounds to pair with our only named All-Star and Ronald King and Jim Johnson are scoring 13 and 10 points a piece. As for the Magic, we beat them 109-87 on the strength of Antonio Sarchet's 24 points, Greg Oden's 21 points and 15 rebounds, William Tackett's 13 points and 19 assists and Jim Johnson's 10 bench points. Johnson's been filling in for Edmond, who's been dealing with a concussion.

Great run to end February and as a result, we're on top of the West at 39-20, 5 games ahead of the Suns. Despite Dallas's two losses to us, 34-22 still situates them atop the Southwest at 34-22, 4.5 ahead of the Grizzlies, while 36-22 Minnesota stands 2.5 in front of the Jazz. Denver continues to wallow in last in the Northwest at 20-37.

The East is continuing its dominant season as 43-13 Cleveland holds the top seed over 43-15 Toronto, who in turn are a game and a half up on 41-16 Boston in the Atlantic. The Cavaliers are sitting on a 9 game advantage over the Bulls and Atlanta still enjoys the league's weakest division, 31-26 good enough for a 2 game lead on the Bobcats.

NBA Leaders

Points
1. Justin Richler (TOR) - 33.2
2. Filip Mikulic (HOU) - 27.4
3. Galen Drayton (DET) - 25.8
4. Marcelino Augusto (DAL) - 24.2
7. David Anyan (SAC) - 22.2

Richler's trying to become the first 30+ point per game scorer since... either Nigel Abel or Lebron James way back in the early years of my Denver tenure, maybe even before that. I hope he does it.

Assists
1. Bernard Kelly (MEM) - 13.7
T2. William Tackett (SAC) - 12.3
T2. Ameirin Qipani (SA) - 12.3

Now tell me again why, when this rookie of ours is tied for second in the whole frigging league in assists, he doesn't even go to the Rookie-Sophs game, let alone start?.

Rebounds
1. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 14.1
2. Oswaldo Apolonario (ATL) - 13.6
3. Scott Palmer (UTA) - 13.0
4. Greg Oden (SAC) - 12.3
5. Jonte Jones (DEN) - 12.1

Blocks
1. Patrick Riley (NO) - 3.4
2. Sonny Boxler (POR) - 3.3
3. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 3.1
4. Charles Seegars (CHI) - 3.0

Steals
1. Mark Johnson (MIL) - 2.5
T2. Vinston Henry (NO) - 2.1
T2. Curtis Wilkerson (ATL) - 2.1

Been a long time since we've had this many guys averaging over 2 steals a game. Nice to see.

Rookies Leaders

Points
1. Damian Thomas (SA) - 20.4
2. Nochimas Eliashov (GS) - 16.8
3. William Tackett (SAC) - 13.9

The scary thing about Thomas is he's just 19. If he can keep this up, his #18 jersey is going to hang in the rafters in San Antonio after his career's done. No rookie has ever averaged 20 points a game or better since I joined the league. I really, really hope he pulls it off. I'm not even going to mention the Tackett thing again.

Assists
1. William Tackett (SAC) - 12.3
2. Dondrell Wilder (DEN) - 8.8
T3. Russell Sims (SEA) - 3.8
T3. Nochimas Eliashov (GS) - 3.8

Rebounds
1. Chris Moss (DET) - 6.9
2. Kenneth Towns (MIN) - 6.8
T3. Russell Sims (SEA) - 6.3
T3. Sigiswald Eckert (ORL) - 6.3

Blocks
1. Chris Moss (DET) - 1.2
2. Ryan Crews (MEM) - 1.0
T3. Russell Sims (SEA) - 0.9
T3. Damian Thomas (SA) - 0.9
5. William Tackett (SAC) - 0.8

Steals
1. Nochimas Eliashov (GS) - 1.3
T2. Russell Sims (SEA) - 1.2
T2. Damian Thomas (SA) - 1.2
4. William Tackett (SAC) - 1.1

Easily the best rookie class we've had in ages. In fact, I'd say you have to go all the way back to 2010 to find a draft class this good (Jonte Jones, Mateen Yeaton, Nigel Abel, Paulinho Buboltz, Mike Vines). There are a couple other draft classes you might be able to make an argument for, but in terms of a starting five, the 2010 class would kick the snot out of everyone else.

PG Paulinho Buboltz
SG Nigel Abel
SF Mateen Yeaton
PF Mike Vines
C Jonte Jones

You want to argue with that one? 2018 might be a little deeper (Will Baron, Andre Moore, Dontay Williamson, Sonny Boxler, Tim Butler, Shane Holliway, Andy Sola, Freddie Tackett) and 2017 could field a decent five in Marcelino Augusto, Scott Palmer, Charles Arnold, Bernard Kelly and Michael Johnson, but it's not even close in my opinion. Of course, it's worth noting that all 5 2010 draftees have pulled on a Nuggets uniform, which may play a little into my bias, but I don't think by much.

2011's class is pretty good too: Georghiois Kairis, Chris Gearheart, Kyle Hoiberg, Tim Davis, A.J. Dunkley, Kenny Graham, Durko Jagr, but they strike me as a diluted version of 2018.

If I had to rate the classes, I'd break it down like this.

1. 2010
2. 2025
3. 2018
4. 2017
5. 2011

That's awfully high to rate the 2025 class I know, but I just have this feeling they're going to be the ones that redeem the talent level in the NBA. Then again, not all the classes have been horrible in recent years in hindsight.

2019 produced Filip Mikulic, Keith Attaway, Oliwjer Rosiak, Devone Allen and Corey Westbrooks, which is a damned fine group and I'd actually rate them somewhere around the class of 2017. The only reason I don't put them higher is because they had no centers worth mentioning.

The jury's still out on some 2020 members, but Mark Johnson, Jon Ward and Oswaldo Apolonario isn't a bad foundation at all. That's not to say I'd call this a great class or even a very good one. It's just pointing out that not all the recent drafts were god awful.