[Izulde]

Utah Jazz receive
SF Jason Tackett
San Antonio Spurs 2020 2nd round pick

San Antonio Spurs receive
PG eric Kostov
SG Gedeon Ljujic
C Eddy Curry

What this means for the Jazz
Tackett's a smart, perfect team player and a lockdown defender. Won't score much, but he bolsters the Jazz's bench defense, enhance the locker room atmosophere and perhaps best of all, return one of the many former Utes in the league back to their college state.

What this means for the Spurs
What a tumble it's been for the Bulgarian Kostov, who's gone from starter for the East Conference champion Raptors to bench guard for the Jazz to end-bench player for the Spurs. He's not a bad player, but neither is he good. On the other hand, if he re-signs with the team in the offseason, he's 24 and all the other PG-worthy candidates on the roster are in their 30s. At 37, Curry's a turnover waiting to happen every time he gets the ball, but he still can provide some adequate scoring and defense. Ljujic was a 2nd round pick last year (3rd pick in round) and a career D-leaguer, if that.

Winner: Utah
The Jazz shed a bunch of junk for a player who helps them out in a number of small, but significant ways. Not to mention a bonus 2nd round pick. Great pickup by Utah.

Houston Rockets receive
SF Ben Larson

San Antonio Spurs receive
SG Mike Townsend

What this means for the Rockets
Larson, 30, taken 30th overall by the Lakers in 2012, can play both guard spots and provide some offense and defense off the bench. But Townsend can do the same thing and provide more offense, better passing and ballhandling skills and defense. The difference between then? Larson is an intelligent player who can better utilize his gifts than the more physically talented Townsend.

What this means for the Spurs
Townsend, selected with the 2nd pick in the 2nd round in 2015, may be not as cerebral as Larson, but he's also three years younger. Also, unlike Larson, who's under contract for three seasons, Townsend's contract expires after this year. That's another $3 million off the books and the Spurs are already $2.1 million -under- the cap.

Winner: San Antonio
Although they're the same player in a lot of ways, the Rockets are 12-17, whereas the Spurs are 17-15. If the records were reversed, it'd make a little more sense for Houston. But then again, with all those studly young swingmen who are going to demand big contracts soon, attaching more financial dead weight just doesn't make sense.

Boston Celtics receive
SG Dale Stukes

Toronto Raptors receive
SF Jerrance Newman

What this means for the Celtics
Stukes isn't much of a ballhandler, especially for a guard, but he brings nice scoring productivity to the C's bench, something they really needed. Unfortunately, that's Stukes's only oustanding attribute and worse yet, he's blocking playing time for raw, but very promising 19 year old rookie Jon Costello, Boston's 1st round pick.

What this means for the Raptors
Newman's an average all-around player with a little bit of talent at scoring and defending. He's an end-bench guy in Toronto and it makes his acquistion a little suspect until you consider that it may resulting in freeing up another couple minutes of game time for Jon Freeman.

Winner: Boston
The Celtics just missed out on the playoffs last year and they're hoping to avoid that fate this season. Stukes gives them the offensive upgrade they need off the bench to try and sneak into the postseason. But they're doing so at the risk of angering Costello, who needs PT to develop more.

Washington Wizards receive
C Ryan Sweetwyne

Indiana Pacers receive
PF Sean Bergmann

What this means for the Wizards
Sweetwyne's a virtual clone of Chris Washington and Ashley Davis, the other reserve centers on the roster. The only difference is that Ryan's a better rebounder than the other two, so he improves Washington a little in that area. Very little.

What this means for the Pacers
Bergmann's a nice fit for Indiana, as he brings defensive prowess and a little bit of scoring to complement Rudy Braun, who's all offense and nothing else. He's also a small expiring contract, rather than Sweetwyne, who's signed through next season.

Winner: Indiana
Another small deal in a year of tiny trades, but the Pacers get something they needed in a major way and put a little bit more financial flexibility in their pockets. This of course isn't going to solve their frontcourt problems or turn them into key free agent players, but every little bit helps.

I'm intrigued by Costello, but not intrigued enough to want the king's ransom Boston wants for him. Still, I'm open to the possibility of making a move if it seems right. Then again, I'm always open to that.

We kick off the month's game with a blowout doubleheader. Marcelino Augusto unloads on San Antonio for 31 points and 13 rebounds in our 101-85 smashing of the Spurs. I've decided I'm no longer going to shop him. Sure he's undersized, but he's so beautiful to watch play, I'm just going to enjoy what he does for us. Andrew Bogut doubles for 12 points and 18 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 22 and Zelipe Gama nets 16 points and 15 assists. Mateen Yeaton leads us over the Rockets 120-97 with 31 points, Marcelino Augusto adding 23. Rico Wolfe has a fantastic game off the bench, scoring 21.

Another back-to-back, another sensational pair of wins. Mateen Yeaton and Marcelino Augusto both score 22 points and Rico Wolfe and Louis Mertens put in 10 and 11 points off the bench respectively in our 100-86 lockdown of the Kings. It's Mateen Yeaton and Marcelino Augusto again looking Geminiac against the Rockets, scoring 33 and 34 points a piece as we hammer the Lakers 115-91. Zelipe Gama chimes in with 14 points and 16 assists and he's looking a lot more like the old Gama we're used to, which is a good thing to see.

Our hot streak comes to an end with a thrilling, heartbreaking 118-116 OT loss to the Timberwolves. Mateen Yeaton and Marcelino Augusto tried their best with 30 and 21 points, but neither they not Rico Wolfe's 14 bench points could bail us out.

It takes just one game to get back on track as we bludgeon Golden State 110-85 on Marcelino Augusto's 32 points, Mateen Yeaton's 25 points and 10 rebounds and Rico Wolfe's 11 bench points. We just barely get the doubleheader sweep, riding a torrid second half to come back and nip the Sonics 116-114 in Seattle. Marcelino Augusto rises to the occasion with 33 points and 10 rebounds, Andrew Bogut hauls in 15 points and 18 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton chips in 20 points and Zelipe Gama is on fire with 19 points and 17 assists.

The fire goes out of our offense and our bench gets whipped by Memphis's reserves in an icy 85-74 loss to the Grizzlies. Marcelino Augusto's 23 points were our lone consolation prize.

Five game road trip up next, including four against the Central. Things start off right with a 123-116 OT victory against Dallas. Mateen Yeaton scorches the Mavericks for 42 points, Marcelino Augusto adds to the conflagration with 34 points, as do double-doubles from Andrew Bogut (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (11 points, 15 assists). Victor Gipson tops it off with 12 points to lead the reserves.

And then we get the boom lowered on us, dropping two straight games in a doubleheader. The Bulls trample us 106-89 as we can't conjure up anything more than Marcelino Augusto's 28 points and 10 rebounds and Zelipe Gama's 18 points and 13 assists. Then Detroit beats us soundly, 103-92, another 28 points from Marcelino Augusto not enough when his only support is 10 bench points from Rico Wolfe.

I'm fearing a repeat of last year's nightmare 7 of 8 stretch here until we snap back to roll the Bucks and the Pacers. It's 30 point scorer night again for the Powder Blue Boys as Marcelino Augusto and Mateen Yeaton score 36 and 30 respectively. Andrew Bynum hangs 14 points and 15 rebounds on his former team and Zelipe Gama is the distribution maestro with 21 assists in our 115-103 vanquish of Milwaukee. Great duel between Paulinho Buboltz and Mateen Yeaton in our 113-102 victory over the Pacers. Buboltz is everywhere for 27 points and 14 assists, but Yeaton counters with 35 points and Marcelino Augusto's got his back with 33 points. What an absolutely incredible combination those two are. It's beautiful. Andrew Bogut puts up 10 points and 14 rebounds, Victor Gipson the leading reserve with 10 points.

January ends how it began, with a pair of excellent victories. Marcelino Augusto rampages for 37 points and 14 rebounds as we embarass the Knicks 113-95. Mateen Yeaton chimes in with 20 points, the same 20 points that Rico Wolfe slam dunks from the bench. Wolfe had some struggles early this season, but he's also shown up for quite a few games where he's illustrated why I traded to get him back to the team. It's Mateen Yeaton's turn to play monster warrior against the Trailblazers, dropping 38 points on Portland in the 108-92 win. Marcelino Augusto adds a role-reversal 20 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Bogut doubles for 10 points and 18 rebounds and Rico Wolfe adds 10 bench points.

Sensational month as our 34-12 record shows. We're 7 games ahead of the Timberwolves for the division and have the top seed in the West by the same margin. 6 teams with winning records thus far, including the 26-18 Southwest leading Dallas Mavericks (3.5 ahead of the Grizzlies, who have come down to earth) and the 24-21 Sacramento Kings, leading the Pacific by 3 games over Golden State. The Lakers are 18-25.

Toronto's naturally leading the East at 36-10, but Atlanta continues to amaze at 34-10. I don't get it, I really don't. Why are the Hawks so good?

Well, looking over their roster, I can see why. They're a ridiculously balanced team who play that way. No standout superstar, just a bunch of good players who know their role and execute the gameplan. 2nd year 6th man Kelvin Johnson, taken 6th overall last year, is a rising star. He's moody as all hell and reportedly can be difficult to deal with, but if he keeps developing, he's got franchise player writ over him. The Hawks also have an absolutely sick coaching staff, all of them master strategists. Kurt Thomas is going to have his name rumored for a lot of head coaching vacancies next year and while I don't know if Gary Hampton will ever be top man material, he's a perfect 1st assistant right now... and he's a 2nd assistant on this dynamite staff.

The Central race is loosening up. Milwaukee's somehow got themselves back on top at 27-16, a game and a half ahead of Detroit, 3.5 ahead of the fading Cavaliers, who are turning into the 2010s version of what the Trailblazers have been for most of the time I've been in the NBA: phenomenal talent, but can't produce the winning formula. In other words, the anti-Hawks.

Boston's improved to 25-21, by the way and the Heat are still thankfully sinking below the Lakers at 17-30, but Fabian Kruger will be back next month and Miami can make up that difference in a hurry. I have to say though, I really like the Heat. Charles Arnold and rookie Steven Feaster are raw, but absolutely dripping with potential and the Heat's bad enough this year that they're starting both players.

Denver Attitude Report
Now that he's the starter, David Jackson is perfectly happy and content and everybody else on the team is feeling great too, with one exception. Emeka Okafor, our team captain, is growing more and more unhappy with his lack of playing time and he's asked me to trade him to a team that will give more minutes. It's a request I'd hate to grant, so I'm going to avoid it if at all possible.

I call Jim O'Brien and talk to him about the situation. We privately agree to increase Okafor's minutes and monitor things through February. I don't think giving him the extra time will hurt our overall team; we don't rely too heavily on our bench bigs anyway. Not with Jackson in the lineup, so more time for Emeka is a good thing.

D-League Report
Tzvetan Kishishev cooled off this month and is down to 4th in the D-League in scoring at 16.2 points a game. His other numbers are 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.7 steals.

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: 44 games/44 starts - 21.8 PPG 8.2 APG 3.5 RPG 0.9 BPG 1.8 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: 46 games/46 starts - 24.3 PPG 2.5 APG 5.0 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.7 SPG

Oh, yes. One other thing.

I don't normally note the leaders until the end of next month, but I just have to share this:

NBA Scoring Leaders
1. Marcelino Augusto (DEN) - 25.4
2. Nigel Abel (MIA) - 25.2
3. Mateen Yeaton (DEN) - 24.3
4. Corey Neal (NJ) - 23.6

That's right. We have the #1 and #3 scorers in the entire NBA.

Take that, Toronto!