[Izulde]

With the very real possibility of unemployment looming, I decide not to go vacationing outside the country like I usually do after a disappointing end to a season. If I'm forced to go back to the D-Leagues, I'm going to have to be careful with my money and reduce my lifestyle somewhat.

So I stay home and watch some exciting second round playoff basketball over the next week or so. Toronto looks sharp in dismantling the Cavaliers in five games, the Mavericks beat the Clippers in six and the veteran duo of Kenny Graham and Jonte Jones beats a valiant effort by Kelvin Moody to oust the Timberwolves in six as well. Chicago's forced to a second straight Game 7 and they once again get out of the upset trap, sending home the Nets after an excellent showing in Chitown.

The conference finals are intense, back and forth battles, each series going all seven games, but in the end, Toronto's playoff-tested, multi-championship team knocks the Bulls' lucky run out and not even the three headed trio of Kenny Graham, Justin Barnes and Jonte Jones can deliver a Game 7 miracle for the Kings.

So it's a repeat Finals, a trend that's been quite common in recent years, ever since Toronto and I started the whole thing with our epic rounds. The Raptors vs the defending champion Mavericks. Toronto gives themselves a better accounting than last season, but Marcelino Augusto will not be denied his second straight championship in a Mavericks uniform, his fourth ring in six seasons of play, and Dallas repeats in six games.

NBA Lottery

I don't know that I'll even have a job after this year, which makes our projected #2 pick all the more frustrating.

14. Milwaukee Bucks
13. Philadelphia 76ers
12. Boston Celtics
11. Atlanta Hawks
10. Detroit Pistons
9. Golden State Warriors
8. Los Angeles Lakers
7. Houston Rockets
6. Seattle Supersonics
5. San Antonio Spurs (-1)

For a moment there, I didn't think we were going to see any changeups in the lottery.

4. Denver Nuggets (-2)

Ouch. Now that hurts. Maybe it won't be such a bad thing if I get fired.

3. Indiana Pacers (+2)
2. Phoenix Suns (+1)
1. Miami Heat

Only two teams get hosed by the lottery and we're one of them. So much for the rich getting richer, eh? Of course, the last couple years, we haven't exactly been the rich, so, yeah. I'm not sure where I was going with that. Things have been pretty tense the last few weeks here, as you can imagine, with everyone on eggshells.

NBA Awards
MVP
Marcelino Augusto - Dallas Mavericks - 23.8 PPG 10.0 RPG 2.9 APG 2.5 BPG 1.0 SPG
Defensive Player of the Year
Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors - 14.2 PPG 15.5 RPG 2.5 APG 2.7 BPG 0.8 SPG
Rookie of the Year
John Walker - Boston Celtics - 10.7 PPG 6.5 RPG 1.9 APG 1.0 BPG 0.6 SPG
6th Man of the Year
Shannon Drayton - Chicago Bulls - 15.4 PPG 4.7 RPG 3.3 APG 0.9 BPG 1.2 SPG
Coach of the Year
Sam Mitchell - Toronto Raptors

Heh. Augusto's star is certainly ascendant. After the announcement of his MVP victory, our offices are flooded with angry letters and e-mails about how if I'd never traded away Marcelino, we'd still be winning championships. It does seem a lot longer than just two years since our third straight title; I have to give them that much.

All-NBA 1st Team
PG Corey Neal - New Jersey Nets
SG Justin Richler - Toronto Raptors
SF Devone Allen - Dallas Mavericks
PF Marcelino Augusto - Dallas Mavericks
C Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors

All-NBA 2nd Team
PG Kenny Graham - Sacramento Kings
SG Mateen Yeaton - Denver Nuggets
SF David Anyan - Toronto Raptors
PF Kelvin Moody - Minnesota Timberwolves
C Terrence Howard - Portland Trailblazers

All-NBA 3rd Team
PG Bernard Kelly - Memphis Grizzlies
SG Charles Seegars - Chicago Bulls
SF Buddy Bracey - Cleveland Cavaliers
PF Federico Gomez - Minnesota Timberwolves
C Narcyz Malinomowski - Memphis Grizzlies

Just how the hell Memphis managed to be a sub-.500 team with 2 All-NBA 3rd Teamers on their roster, I'll never know. I attribute that to bad coaching.

All-Defense 1st Team
PG Kueth Hill - Los Angeles Clippers
SG Walter Hicks - New Jersey Nets
SF Devone Allen - Dallas Mavericks
PF Marcelino Augusto - Dallas Mavericks
C Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors

All-Defense 2nd Team
PG Leland Peterson - Washington Wizards
SG Charles Seegars - Chicago Bulls
SF David Anyan - Toronto Raptors
PF Federico Gomez - Minnesota Timberwolves
C Dontay Williamson - Los Angeles Clippers

Heh. Talk about a Mavericks dynasty. Not only do they have two All-NBA 1st Teamers, but those same two guys are All-Defense 1st Teamers to boot. That trade is definitely going to live in infamy.

All-Rookie 1st Team
PG Tom Singletary - New Orleans Hornets
SG Teddy Harriman - New Orleans Hornets
SF Brad Randle - Phoenix Suns
PF John Walker - Boston Celtics
C Kevin Bradford - Indiana Pacers

All-Rookie 2nd Team
PG Andre Harper - Cleveland Cavaliers
SG Joem Layne - Denver Nuggets
SF Prokopios Vadeki - Seattle Supersonics
PF Mark Vlasto - Los Angeles Lakers
C Connor Augustus - New York Knicks

Layne was a pleasant surprise nomination to the Rookie second team, but it's a minor consolation prize.

Now comes the dreaded phone call.

Bob Neal rips into me, shouting that we underdelivered on the court and we spent more than the $10 million maximum over budget he authorized. I point out that I did what I could to reduce the wage bill and $13 million is only $3 million more than what he wanted.

He snorts at that and asks why in the world he should keep me on. His condescending attitude really pisses me off, so I tell him if he thinks he's so fucking great, he should be the GM.

Much to my amazement, he replies that he admires me for my balls and that he'll give me one more opportunity, but that's it..

I toss $50 on the table for supper, tell him to go to hell and walk out. Screw working for a nutjob, egotistical ass of an owner like that.

It isn't until I walk out the doors that I realize I just quit my job in the heat of the moment.

I look back in the restaurant and Bob's laughing, obviously expecting that it's some kind of a joke and I'll come back in, we'll share the laugh, have a drink and go back to talking about next season.

But you know what?

I'm tired of it. I'm tired of the bull he puts me through, the irate posts from angry fans who can't get over that Marcelino Augusto didn't want to play here when the Nuggets were Mateen's team.

I also just don't like Denver. Yes, the mountains are beautiful, but the city itself has never struck me as being so and I'm not a fan of cold and snow.

But on the other hand, I love Mateen and Timmy B and I really enjoy our coaching staff, especially Jim O'Brien, our head coach. Our fans, despite the anger they're showing about the Augusto trade again, are fantastic. They sell out our arena every year and bear with my constant reshuffling of the team.

It's a difficult choice. I'm 45 years old, which is still young for the profession, but on the other hand, I'm still single and I'm wanting year-round warmth, the sun, a beautiful young woman and at least one child before I die. These aren't things I'll have in Denver.

And it's the quality of my own personal life issue that has me marching back in the restaurant, staring Bob down and saying frostily, "I meant everything I said. You're an asshole to work for and the fans are going to hate you when you ruin this team. Fuck you, kiss my ass and goodbye. You'll have my formal resignation in the mail tomorrow. Go ahead and call it a firing if you want."

I don't even wait for his answer. I just turn around and walk right back out, feeling freer than I have a long time.

Bob's ego won't allow for me to resign of course, so the papers play it up as a firing and the nation goes into heated debate over whether or not it was the right move for the Nuggets owner to make.

As for me, I don't care. I even take some of the money I have put away to go visit some friends in Jamaica and just relax for a few weeks and get away from it all.

Unfortunately, the only jobs open are in the D-League. Mateen Yeaton, when he finds out the news and the current employment situation, launches a massive drive to get me re-hired by the Nuggets. The rest of the players, the coaching staff and the fans rally around the cause, which dominates the sports pages and supersedes baseball for a good week and a half.

At first, Bob Neal stands firm on his decision, but when the organization starts getting swamped with season ticket cancellations in protest and Mateen demands to be traded or he'll refuse to report if I'm not hired, his love of money makes him listen.

In the end, the overwhelming pressure makes him cave and he calls me, asking me to please come back. I'm still given a one-season leash, but it's something I can work with and so I accept.

When we meet next to discuss the season, I lay it out on the table for him. I'll meet his demands to keep us under $10 million over the cap, but in return, the most I can guarantee is a playoff appearance, which the greedy bastard is fine with.

Patrick Ewing refuses to re-up with us because of the instability of our situation right now and he accepts the security of a 5 year deal for much less money with the perpetually rebuilding Hornets. We sign Phil Weber as a stopgap 1st assistant.

Eric Snow finally gets the head coaching gig he's deserved for so damned long, getting a 5 year deal worth just over a million a year from the Rockets. Great steal by Houston there, especially since Snow should've had an opportunity before he turned 50.

Mock Draft

We're projected to take 20 year old SF Eric Hooper from Syracuse, who has some interesting skills and intrigues me, but I'm honestly initally much more attracted to SG Wendel King, a 21 year old out of UCLA. It's not a superb class by any means, with no prospects considered 5* players. The best is probably Bulgarian SG Georgi Dimov. And then there's the guy they call the second coming of Mateen Yeaton, 6'8, 188 lbs SG Justin Cherry, an senior from Mateen's alma mater of Indiana. It's that conection that has the mocks saying we'll take him with the 29th pick.

And they're right. If he's there, I don't care how bad his scouting report is, he'll be wearing a Nuggets uniform. There's no way he's going to last that long, though. I see him as more of a late lottery pick in this class, possibly even a Top 10 pick, depending on how his workouts look.

We still need to cut salary though and so I pump the phones, searching for the right deal. The Bulls refuse to give up Andre Moore for anything, so I dig around and eventually come up with a deal that clears salary and gives us an interesting new makeup.

Denver Nuggets receive
SF Jeremy Leach
C Andrew Bynum
SF Jason Tackett
PG Aaron Brennan

New York Knicks receive
PG Paulinho Buboltz
C Winston Smith
PF Jonathan Hill
SG Darren Hare

What this means for the Nuggets
Brennan is extremely raw, but the 21 year old has the kind of potential and game as a passer, shooter and ball-thief that could make him the next great GM Jestor PG find, as he projects as the starter after this deal. Bynum may be 37, but he's still good enough that he'll produce solid game and challenge for the Nuggets' starting C spot, if not win it outright. The front office became a little wary of Deon Sterley after the rookie bombed in the shocking opening round loss to the Jazz last year, so Leach, a much more capable and proven offensive player, will step in as the new starting small forward, even if he's short at 6'5, 230 lbs. Tackett's a lockdown defender and team chemistry guy thrown in to make salaries work.

What this means for the Knicks
Jonathan Willias is a better passer and has been the Knicks' starting PG since halfway through his rookie season (6th overall, 2009), but he's only averaged more than 12 points a game once in his career and is a classic underachiever. Buboltz is three years younger and even with the Nuggets, who emphasize passing out of their point guards, he still averaged 16.3 points a game, along with 10.2 assists. He's also a superior defender to Willias in every way. Smith was the highlight surprise in Denver last year, a big man who showed newfound scoring touch and rebounding aggressiveness to go with his lockdown defense. Hill has upside as an all-around defensive presence and shot an impressive 60.9% with the Colorado Timberjacks last year as an every game starter. Hare showed glimmers of filling as a role scorer last season, but not much else.

Winner: Denver
The Nuggets wanted Andre Moore from Chicago, but Brennan is an excellent consolation prize and Bynum will stabilize the post and move David Jackson to a much more effective role as a 6th man. Deon Sterley also now becomes a possible bargaining chip, as Jestor is notorious for little patience with unclutch players, especially those that cost the team a playof series like Sterley did. More importantly, the deal slashes $4 million and change from Denver's payroll. Nuggets owner Bob Neal announced after Jestor's initial firing and before his re-hiring that the team would no longer pay large salaries for the kind of results they got in last year's opening round loss. Given Paulinho Buboltz's inconsistency and his $18.7 million salary, the largest on the team, his departure became almost inevitable. The beautiful thing is, Jestor manages to not only shed payroll, but he improves the team's starting lineup, injecting enough more talent that they could very well see a deeper playoff run next year without adding any more players.

Buboltz dramatically bolsters the Knicks at the PG spot, but the rest of the players in this deal are role men at best and New York must now try and replace two starters. Tim Duncan, who left for the New Jersey Nets a few years ago, is seeing all his hard work come undone. Little surprise that the Knicks appear to be starting to decline after reviving on Duncan's watch, while the Nets turned in an impressive playoff run this past season, their first in years. They gave up too much to get Buboltz.

I'm thrilled to steal Brennan from the Knicks. Bynum and Leach come up with some semi-ugly contracts, but I need to build this team to both be under budget and exceed expectations -this- season or none of it's going to matter.

I pick up Brennan's fourth year and Joem Layne's third season the same day I make the trade, just to give us some more security in terms of bodies for the season following this upcoming one. I'm happy with what I managed to get for Buboltz. Trying to unload a 5'11, somewhat inconsistent 31 year old PG with an obscene contract is -not- an easy task.

The fans are somewhat upset about the Buboltz deal, because Buboltz and Yeaton were a very popular backcourt, but my reputation for finding underrated point guards is legendary, so they're willing to take a wait and see approach with Brennan.

Now comes our chance to add another piece of the puzzle in the draft. The class is weak and has been mighty poor the last few seasons, but hopefully one of the guys we're eying will drop to us at #4. If not, then we're probably either make a reach or trade down or... who knows what we'll do?

All I know is, I'm now fighting to keep my career in Denver afloat and prove to the rest of the NBA that I never should have been chewed out by our asshat owner in the first place.