From Sactown to Sin City: How the Kings Became Aces (DDSPB1)

[Izulde]

The Maloof brothers, Joe and Gavin, not only own the Sacramento Kings, but also the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The basketball team hasn't had much luck since their 1951 championship, back when they were the Rochester Royals,although they've had some good teams and players over the years.

Chris Yuscavage suggested in a blog post a few days ago that 7 NBA franchises should consider moving to Sin City. As you can see from the post, the Kings are one of them.

The idea appealed to me, not least because I'm moving to Las Vegas myself on the 30th for the MFA in Creative Writing program at UNLV, as many of you know. I've chosen the Kings on that list for the following reasons:

1. I hate to break up the Clippers/Lakers dynamic.
2. The Maloof brothers moving the team to Vegas made sense.
3. His Airness would be too larger than life and dwarf me if I moved Charlotte. Ditto for Dallas and Cuban.
4. I strongly considered the Warriors, but Sacramento strikes me as more of a tweener team and hence more challenging to take to the top.
5. Moving the Grizzlies for the third time in their too short existence seemed too cruel. Besides, then I'd have to trade Rudy Gay again for the third time, having done it twice in my NLL career.
6. The Miami Heat is one of the coolest names and logos in the NBA. No way I'm going to wreck that.

And so we begin, back to the Oden and Durant draft...

[Izulde]

People said the All-Star brouhaha some years back would kill the NBA's chances of having a franchise in Las Vegas. But then the uproar and negative publicity died down, allowing the Maloof brothers' move of the Kings from Sacramento to Vegas and renaming the team to Aces to be lauded as a triumph rather than a black mark on the league.

New city, new name, new logo, and new GM. I'll save the story of how I was hired for my memoirs.

It's just before the draft and the only two guys worth taking are Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, who will go 1-2 to the Raptors and Knicks, I'm sure. It was a bad season for the Kings last year, so bad they missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years, fired Eric "DUI" Musselman and hired Reggie Theus as the head coach.

I don't like Reggie at all, but the Maloofs tell me it's too soon to fire him. Oh well. That's the price you pay for patient bosses.

We've got a great roster here, one that's playoff worthy with PGMike Bibby (29), SG Kevin Martin (24), and SF Ron Artest (28) as the central pieces. The brothers are a little upset when I tell them we're only a playoff team, but having Vegas casino owners as your team's owners is a great thing, as they authorize me to go $10-15 million over the cap.

Now it's time to remake the roster. Artest is untouchable, because he's one of my favorite players of all time. He's a bit of a firecracker, but then, so am I. And he plays with passion, unlike too damn many of the greedy and/or unambitious guys we have in the league.

Everyone else, however, is fair game, including Bibby, who isn't the prototypical PG for Jestorball.

The problem is, nobody considers Bibby a franchise player. The same is true of Martin, despite his stellar season last year and his youth. But I keep working at it and hit a trade.

Las Vegas Aces receive
SF Peja Stojakovic
New Orleans Hornets 2007 1st round pick (#12 overall)

New Orleans Hornets receive
PG Mike Bibby
SG Francisco Garcia
Las Vegas Aces 2007 2nd round pick (#49 overall)
Las Vegas Aces 2008 2nd round pick

What this means for the Aces
New Vegas GM Jestor strikes with a splash, acquiring 30 year old gunner Stojakovic and a first round pick for Bibby and pieces. The problem is, Stojakovic is on a four year deal that's going to look ugly by the end of the contract and the Aces, who already have Kevin Martin and Ron Artest, don't need another swingman. The first round pick would be nice, except in it's in one of the weakest drafts in recent memory.

What this means for the Hornets
Hello to Chris Paul's new backcourt mate. Yes, New Orleans will have the smallest pair of guards in the league, but Bibby will flourish as the Hornets' #1 option. Better still, a space opens for prospect Cedric Simmons at the 3 to develop. Garcia's a $1.1 mil. expiring roster fodder.

Winner: New Orleans
One can't help but think Jestor made this deal just to make a deal, unless he has another ace up his sleeve.

Heh. Cute pun. Not. Anyway, I have no plans on stopping there.

Las Vegas Aces receive
PG Rajon Rondo
Boston Celtics 2007 1st round pick (#7)
Boston Celtics 2008 2nd round pick

Boston Celtics receive
SG Kevin Martin
Las Vegas Aces 2007 1st round pick (#19)

What this means for the Aces
Jestor strikes again, dealing young All-Star Martin for a raw, second year point guard in Rondo, a Top 10 pick in the weak draft and a second rounder next year. Although Rondo is raw, he has the potential to develop into the sort of pass-first floor general Jestor prefers in his system and the 12 spot jump in the first round could come closer to netting Las Vegas a quality player. Recent pickup Peja Stojakovic can also now move into the starting SG spot.

What this means for the Celtics
Martin gives Boston a young, All-Star talent to pair up with Paul Pierce and allows the Celtics to shift Wally Szczerbiak to a 6th man role. Boston should be able to bolster their weak PG and frontcourt situation with the 19th pick, at least in terms of depth. This move goes a long way to returning the C's to the playoffs.

Advantage: Draw
This works out to a win-win trade for both franchises. Rondo will have every opportunity to develop into the best possible point guard he can be and he'll have two great players to get the ball to in Stojakovic and Ron Artest and the high first should give Vegas more trade room, while Boston gets a great young player.

...And that's when my master plan falls apart. I'd intended on working my way up to the #2 pick, but the teams above me, even for the #4 and #5 picks, won't play, even with the #7 pick offered as part of the package.

I keep trying to land Tyrus Thomas from the Chicago Bulls, but they refuse to even consider dealing him. The same problem happens with Shelden Williams and the Atlanta Hawks. The GMs know the incredibly weak value of first round picks in this draft and it's causing me major headaches.

Andrew Bynum's a no go from the Lakers, too. So, too, LaMarcus Aldridge from the Trailblazers and every damned young big worth even a little.

So I've dealt myself a terrible hand unless I'm willing to go all-in by giving up Artest. I can't do that, though. Unless I get my favorite player ever. ...Maybe I can do that. But no, Denver won't deal Allen Iverson, even for a deal that includes Artest.

I need a drink.

I get close to a deal with the Bobcats that'd give me major cap relief, but then they come back and say it'd make them too weak at forward. What the hell? That's what the draft is for! But at least we've got a line on a move, even if it's pure salary dump.

Since I'm reduced to clearing out salary to try and get Thomas next offseason, I grimly forge ahead.

Mock Draft
We're tabbed to take PG Acie Law at #7 and and SG Morris Almond at #12. ...Yeah, we're going to take a SG when we've got Peja and Artest.

Just have to bite the bullet and see who we draft is all.

[Izulde]

Draft night is supposed to be glitzy and fun, especially when you're a team with two lottery picks. But when it's a class everybody hates on except for two guys, it's hard to be cheery. Oh well, at least we're not the Bobcats, who are stuck at #3.

2007 NBA Draft 1st Round
1. C Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors
2. SF Kevin Durant - New York Knicks
3. SG Rodney Stuckey - Charlotte Bobcats
4. C Spencer Hawes - Portland Trailblazers
5. PG Acie Law - Atlanta Hawks
6. SF Jeff Green - Minnesota Timberwolves

I laugh so hard I nearly cry with fury when the analysts say we've been contacted by a lot of teams about the 7th pick and we might trade it. Damn you to hell, ESPN! You've got it all arsed backwards!

I nearly call the Cavaliers but decide I don't want to give LeBron any help in winning anything.

There's absolutely no post players worth taking #7 as all the damned "PFs" are glorified SFs. So I finally send #7, Boston's 2008 2nd and our own 2009 2nd to the Orlando Magic for their 2008 1st, praying they'll still be a lottery team next year or Dwight Howard tears his ACL or something.

7. SF Julian Wright - Orlando Magic
8. PF Al Horford - Houston Rockets
9. PF Brandan Wright - Golden State Warriors
10. PF Joakim Noah - Seattle Sonics
11. PF Yi Jianlian - Orlando Magic

The analysts are smoking some kiiiind shit. Either that or have they have terrible sources because they said we were high on Jianlian. Uh, no. It's down to Mike Conley and Corey Brewer on our draft board. Brewer looks fantastic according to our scouts, but he'd be in a 6th man role on our team. Conley we didn't work out individually but everyone's gushed about his natural floor generalship and stealing ability, the two attributes we prize most highly in the Jestorball philosophy.

Philosophy wins. Besides, I don't trust Reggie Theus at all, remember.

12. PG Mike Conley - Las Vegas Aces

The experts applaud the pick, calling it the potential steal of the draft. Funny how that makes me feel better.

13. PF Josh McRoberts - Philadelphia 76ers

And there's the first headscratcher selection.

14. C Sean Williams - Utah Jazz
15. PG Javaris Crittenton - Milwaukee Bucks
16. PG Gabe Pruitt - Chicago Bulls
17. SG Brad Newley - Indiana Pacers
18. PF Jason Smith - Boston Celtics

...I can't believe Brewer's fallen this far. If I'd known he'd still be there at 19, I wouldn't have tried to orchestrate the Move to 2 plan.

19. PG Ramon Sessions - Boston Celtics

Boo to the school up north.

20. PG Taurean Green - Denver Nuggets

Reggie Theus is screaming at me to move up and grab Brewer. I ignore him.

21. PF Tiago Splitter - Los Angeles Lakers
22. SF Al Thornton - Los Angeles Clippers

...Ouch. Not only is Brewer not the next SF taken, but it's a Florida State guy drafted.

23. C Marc Gasol - Memphis Grizzlies

Okay this is getting absurd.

24. PG DaShaun Wood - New Jersey Nets

...Who?

I can't take it anymore.

Las Vegas Aces receive
PG Eric Snow
SG David Wesley
Cleveland Cavaliers 2007 1st round pick (#25)

Cleveland Cavaliers receive
SG Quincy Douby
PF Kenny Thomas

What this means for the Aces
Snow may be 34 and greatly overpaid, but he's still one of the league's best perimeter defenders and a mentor for just-drafted Mike Conley and recently traded for Rajon Rondo. Wesley, 37, is a cheap expiring contract and the draft pick will no doubt be used to take a player Jestor has his eye on.

What this means for the Cavaliers
Douby, 23, is extremely raw and expires after this upcoming season, but if he develops and the Cavaliers keep him, he could turn into a valuable 6th man/bench scorer. As is, he's presently the first guard off the bench. Thomas, like Snow, is an overpaid veteran, but the 30 year old is good enough to start at SF as this Cleveland team is currently composed.

Winner: Las Vegas
Finally the Aces deal out a winning hand for themselves. This trade positions them to better make the postseason, while the Cavs have to hope Douby both puts in the work to get better and wants to stay in Cleveland.

25. SF Corey Brewer - Las Vegas Aces

It's rightfully applauded.

26. SG Nick Young - Miami Heat
27. SF Thaddeus Young - Phoenix Suns
28. SG Sammy Meija - Dallas Mavericks
29. SF Glen Davis - San Antonio Spurs
30. SG Morris Almond - Detroit Pistons

Our first look after the draft reveals that Conley could one day become one of the top assist men in the league. Even better, Reggie agrees with me that he should be starting. Much to my shock, he even wants to start Corey at PF as we've got the team right now. That strikes me as crazy talk, although I do think Corey, who has a game rather similar to Artest's in potential, was an absolute steal at 25.

We say goodbye to a bunch of contracts with $2 million and change in cap space before the summer league.

That quickly balloons with the following trade.

Las Vegas Aces receive
Orlando Magic 2009 1st round pick
Orlando Magic 2008 2nd round pick
Boston Celtics 2008 2nd round pick
Orlando Magic 2009 2nd round pick
Orlando Magic 2010 2nd round pick

Orlando Magic receive
C Brad Miller
Las Vegas Aces 2008 1st round pick

What this means for the Aces
Las Vegas GM Jestor really, really wants Chicago's Tyrus Thomas so he's clearing out the cap space to get him in free agency next season by dumping Miller off for a slew of picks. The Aces now own both of Orlando's next two first round picks in 2008 and 2009 and are gambling that their own 2008 1st will be a non-lottery one. Second round picks are frequent trade pieces for Jestor, so he gets more of them in addition to the first and the cap space. But that means a creaky Shareef Abdur-Rahim at center as the roster presently stands.

What this means for the Magic
Orlando now has just 3 picks in the next 3 drafts; Las Vegas's 2008 1st and 2009 2nd and their own 2010 1st. Miller, 31, is the perfect all-around solid complementary piece for Dwight Howard and suddenly with a frontcourt of Howard, Miller and Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando looks much more like a legitimate postseason threat than the Aces do.

Winner: Unclear
This is too dependent on how the teams do over the next couple of seasons to say for sure. Plus, there's reason to believe that Jestor will find a way to get a legitimate starting center for this upcoming season somehow.

Yep I will.

Las Vegas Aces receive
C Alonzo Mourning

Miami Heat receive
Orlando Magic 2008 2nd round pick

What this means for the Aces
Desperate for a center after dealing Brad Miller, the Aces snap up 37 year old Heat legend Mourning. Zo still has enough game lleft to bolster Las Vegas's bench considerably and the price is right for a one year rental.

What this means for the Heat
Huge public relations disaster for this trade, but Miami believes this team is now Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal's and it's time to say goodbye to the Zo Era for a potential high 2nd.

Winner: Las Vegas
The Aces don't miss second round picks and Zo could help them to the playoffs.

I still have some contracts I would love to get rid of, as I'm now $9.8 million under the cap and only have Zo ($2.7 mil.), Wesley ($1.7 mil.) and Rondo ($1.3 mil.) expiring after this season. I'll renounce them all of course, but I don't know if I'll have enough to give Tyrus a max contract. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

It's late now, so time to continue tomorrow.

[Izulde]

Summer League
PG Rajon Rondo
PG Mike Conley
SF Corey Brewer

20 points from Mike Conley, 10 points/10 rebounds from Joel Freeland, 19 points and 10 bench points from Mike Gansey and Andre Barrett and we've a 93-77 Summer League win over the Bucks.

It's Mike Conley again in our 90-74 win over the Wizards with 23 points. Mike Gansey and Vincent Greer chip in 10 and 11 bench points.

The Spurs play us close, but we keep the unbeaten form going 88-82 as Mike Gansey continues his great bench summer play with 11 points, Brandon Hunter the new man with 10 points.

Corey Brewer breaks out with a 26 point game in our 98-70 walloping of the Jazz. Mike Gansey keeps turning heads with 17 bench points, Earl Barron his fellow reserve in double-digits with 10 points.

Toronto spoils our bid for summer perfection, 104-94. At least Mike Conley had his best game of the summer with 26 points and 11 assists, Mike Gansey and Brandon Hunter chipping in 10 bench points each.

Free Agency
This is a very weak free agent class. Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Chauncey Billups, Gerald Wallace and the usual collection of old, faded stars are the highlight. It's an especially weak group for post players. Bad news for us.

So I'll throw all my money at the best center out there, strictly on a one year deal.

Milwaukee's active in FA, signing Smush Parker to a 4 year, $26 million deal and an ancient Chris Webber to a one year $7.2 million deal.

Jamaal Magloire takes the bait and signs a one year, $9.8 mil. contract with us. Gentlemen, we have our legitimate starting center. The next day we sign summer league sensation Mike Gansey to a one year min-sal deal. We complete our free agency by inking 35 year old Alan Henderson for the veteran minimum, giving us 13 players.

Grant Hill reunites with the Pistons on a one year deal and Jerry Stackhouse joins the young frontcourt in Toronto on a two year contract. A few days later, Darko Millic cons the Grizzlies out of $4.8 million for a single season.

We also pick up Rajon Rondo's third year option.

Training Camp
Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo have fantastic training camps, absorbing everything they can from Eric Snow and David Wesley. In fact, Rajon impresses so much, he leaps up the depth chart to become the first PG off the bench.

We didn't see an eye-popping camp from Corey Brewer, but he did show very nice strides on the defensive end as he constantly badgered Snow for advice on how to be an elite defender, which was nice to see.

Celtics are favored to win the East after getting Kevin Martin from us and the Knicks are allegedly #2, Cleveland #3. I call media bias. Phoenix tops in the West I can see, Utah #2, and Golden State #3 okay. But the Aces at 4th worst in the conference? All I can say is, haters gonna hate.

2007-08 Las Vegas Aces Opening Night Lineup
PG Mike Conley
SG Peja Stojakovic
SF Ron Artest
PF Corey Brewer
C Jamaal Magloire
6th Shareef Abdur-Rahim (SF/PF/C)
7th Rajon Rondo (PG/SG)
8th Alonzo Mourning (PF/C)
9th Eric Snow (PG/SG)
10th John Salmons (PG/SG/SF)
11th David Wesley (PG/SG/SF)
12th Mike Gansey (PG/SG/SF)
Inactive
Alan Henderson (SF/PF)

Should be a fun and interesting first season in Vegas. I'm still betting we make the playoffs, even with Reggie Theus's bizarre decision to start Brewer at PF.

[Izulde]

I can't stop myself from tearing into my first season with this team.

We kick off with a Texas road trip, the first two of which are back to back. Dallas hammers us 110-95 despite Jamaal Magloire's 14 points and 13 rebounds and Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 12 bench points. No worries, though, as we win the night after in San Antonio, 92-85 over the Spurs. Peja Stojakovic scores 21 and Jamaal Magloire hauls in an impressive 14 points and 20 rebounds.

Fun game against the Rockets as we storm back for a 95-85 win with a 27-16 fourth quarter. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were great with 25 points and 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks respectively, but no other Houston player even reached 10 points in scoring. Corey Brewer came out with a monster 24 point game, Jamaal Magloire doubled for 16 points, 16 rebounds and Rajon Rondo put up 12 bench points. By the way, Brewer is shooting 65.7% with 18.7 points in his first three games. Small sample size and all that, but holy cow!

Our first home game is a disappointment as the regular season Raptors beat us by the same 104-94 line they did in summer league. It ruins Ron Artest's 25 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals, Mike Conley's first career double-double of 12 points and 11 assists and Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 10 bench points. The very next evening we fly to Seattle and fall 115-90, even with Jamaal Magloire's 22 points and 10 rebounds and Peja Stojakovic's matching 22.

I'm getting really sick of doubleheaders as we have our third one of the season. The Suns have too much firepower, torching us 109-92 in Phoenix. Peja Stojakovic scores 31 and Jamaal Magloire racks up 10 points, 18 rebounds, but that's it. My favorite player drops 44 on us the next night as we lose 97-93 to the Nuggets, still winless in Vegas. I find it hard to care about Peja Stojakovic's 24 points, Jamaal Magloire's 17 points and 11 rebounds or Rajon Rondo's 10 bench points.

We finally win in Sin City and snap the four game losing streak, beating Chicago 99-86 thanks to Ron Artest's 35 points and 10 rebounds and Mike Conley's 11 points and 12 assists.

Of course, it's too much to hope for an actual win streak, no matter how small, and the Grizzlies drop us 93-86. Peja Stojakovic with 30 and Rajon Rondo with 12 points, 11 assists off the bench. Why did I trade our 2008 1st again?

Our most complete game of the year sees Peja Stojakovic score 34, Ron Artest 27 and Mike Conley with 12 points and 14 assists as we knock off the Bucks 108-94.

Win streak time? Why, no! 104-97 loss as [b]Peja Stojakovic (30 points) and Ron Artest (22 points) get no help vs the Rockets.

I suppose I should be at least somewhat happy we're playing .500ish ball now after beating the Lakers 102-91 in LA. Peja Stojakovic scores 21, Mike Conley hands out 10 points and 15 assists, and Rajon Rondo (16 points) and Alonzo Mourning (12 points, 12 rebounds) make huge second team contributions. Bad news is, Corey Brewer goes down with a knee injury and Shareef Abdur-Rahim will be taking his place in the lineup for the next few games.

Halle-lujah! HALLE-LUJAH! A honest to goodness win streak! 101-90 win in Vegas over T-Wolves as Peja Stojakovic goes gonzo for 43 points and Ron Artest tacks on 22 points of his own.

But of course we end the month with yet another damned doubleheader. On the road, no less. Miracle of miracles, we win both! 113-103 over Grizzlies courtesy of Peja Stojakovic's 27 points and 10 rebounds, Jamaal Magloire's 24 points and 14 rebounds and Ron Artest's 20 points. After Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 20 points and 15 rebounds in our 93-71 squash of the Hornets, I'm thinking maybe he should stay the starter. Course, he also got help from Ron Artest's 21 points and Alonzo Mourning's 10 bench rebounds.

Thanks to the four game win streak at the end of the month, we're 8-7 and would be the #8 seed if the playoffs were held today. We're 5 games back of the blistering 13-2 Suns, but second place Golden State is only a half-game in front of us and we're 2 and a half up on the two LA squads.

Orlando's holding their own at 7-7 and are deadlocked with the 8-8 Heat atop the Southeast. Boo.

[Izulde]

Isn't she lovely?
This Hollywood girl
And they say
She's so lucky
She's a star
But she cry, cry cries in her lonely heart

Luck, glamor, tears. The essential Las Vegas experience, in my opinion, or at least the commercialized Sin City. But in my brief time here, I've found the reality is as complex as Britney Spears (okay, stop laughing. I'm serious).

8-7 is certainly nothing to cry about, especially with the boatload of picks we own courtesy of the Orlando Magic insanity. But I don't feel like we're on solid playoff ground.

Do I indulge my usual eagerness to trade?

No. Not yet. I'm just not feeling the urge to make a move, oddly enough.

101-97 loss to the Pacers to open the month, Rajon Rondo's 12 bench points the only talking point in a rally fallen short.

Peja Stojakovic's 33 points and 11 rebounds in a 102-78 Celtics squish makes me happy, as does Ron Artest's 25 points, Mike Conley's 10 points and 13 assists and Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 10 bench points.

What doesn't make me happy - Jamaal Magloire's broken finger. No, make that Magloire's mangled, misshapen, misjointed finger. It's a 61 day injury.

If you think I'm spending the next two months with Shareef Abdur-Rahim as our starting center, you're mad.

Time to hit the phones.

Unfortunately it's not an easy trade market. I think we've got something lined up with the Nuggets and they tell us to fuck off. I want to cry, cry, cry now cuz I'm not lucky and nobody wants our star.

And then a trade I didn't expect to happen did.

Las Vegas Aces receive
PG Leandro Barbosa
PF Kurt Thomas

Phoenix Suns receive
PG Rajon Rondo
PG Eric Snow
PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim

What this means for the Aces
Las Vegas has been trying to clear out cap space for the upcoming offseason for a while now and they get a huge $8 million expiring contract in Thomas and a young sharpshooter as Peja's heir apparent in 25 year old Barbosa, who will start off as the 6th man. Leandro's on a 5 year contract, but Jestor likes him enough that he doesn't care. Thomas fills in as the starting center, bringing in rebounding and defense until Jamaal Magloire recovers from his broken finger.

What this means for the Suns
Phoenix is thrilled to get Rondo, who though raw could be Steve Nash's heir apparent and will push Marcus Banks for playing time. Snow is good insurance at the point and the championship dreaming Suns consider Raheem a 3 position 6th man who greatly deepens their frontcourt despite his bad contract and 37.4% shooting.

Winner: Las Vegas
Although Phoenix is saying this is the type of small move that increases their depth for a ring, we like it better for the Aces, who put themselves in much better position to be major free agent players next offseason.

Left unsaid: The deal cost our PG mentor. So say hello to a legend. Say hello to 39 year old Gary "The Glove" Payton!

We go on the road for a doubleheader, losing a 96-94 nailbiter on the front end in Minnesota. Leandro Barbosa is unexpectedly named the starter and scores 27 in his Aces debut, Kurt Thomas with 10 points, 18 rebounds in his. The next night, we whomp the Pacers 101-89 on Peja Stojakovic's 20 points out of the SF spot, he and Ron Artest switching it up. Alonzo Mourning gets the nod at center and comes through with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks and three bench players break 11+ points: Corey Brewer (14), Mike Conley (13 and 8 assists), and Alan Henderson (11).

Leandro Barbosa puts on a beautiful 33 points and Peja Stojakovic joins him for 26 points. Alonzo Mourning keeps on drinking that youthful energy and goes for 16 points and 19 rebounds as we spank the Bucks 116-88.

Peja Stojakovic unloads for 39 points and we crush the Lakers 103-78 in Las Vegas.

Winning is fun and we keep the streak going against the Hornets. Mike Bibby leads all scorers with 27 points, but Leandro Barbosa is no slouch with 15 points and 13 assists, most gone no doubt to feed Peja Stojakovic's 23 points. Corey Brewer leads the second team with 12 points in our 97-85 victory.

Now I know how Brit Brit felt after she resurrected her career as we whip Washington and I look like a GM wizard in our 103-94 display. Peja Stojakovic scores 28, Kurt Thomas comes out of nowhere for 25 points and 13 rebounds, Ron Artest has 14 points and 10 rebounds and shuts down my boy Caron Butler who I still need to get a ring for the Racine love at some point, Leandro Barbosa fires off 20 points and 11 assists, and as a final kicker, 37 year old David Wesley who I never remember being any good, continues his great shooting form with 10 bench points.

Dwayne Wade crushes us for 28 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds and the Heat beat us 97-87 to end our win streak. Fair play to D-Wade for his triple double and hard luck to Peja Stojakovic's 30 points and Ron Artest's 27 points. Oh Wade also held Leandro Barbosa to 2/8 shooting, his worst outing in an Aces uni. And Shaquille O'Neal's 27 points and 15 rebounds abused Kurt Thomas because Corey Brewer is back in the lineup. Too bad. I'd have loved to see a Shaq/Zo Heat/Aces matchup.

We restore some Christmas cheer by punching out Golden State 103-83 on Peja Stojakovic's 25 points and 4 steals and Ron Artest's 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Next door, we beat the Jazz 94-78 in Utah. Ron Artest scores 23 and it still feels weird to see him at SG by the way, and Kurt Thomas picks up 14 points and 15 rebounds.

But then the Spurs wreck our New Year's Eve by beating us 109-104, spoiling Peja Stojakovic's 27 points, Kurt Thomas's 19 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Conley's 11 bench points.

Still, it's hard to be unhappy with our 17-11 record. We're in second place in the Pacific, 9 games behind 27-3 Phoenix, who by the way, hasn't lost a game since the trade.

Hell, 17-11 would have us tied with Seattle atop the Northwest, the Sonics a game and a game and a half ahead of Denver and Utah respectively. Houston's got the Northwest by a good margin though. 25-6, 6.5 games up on those annoying Spurs.

Oh and we'd be the #5 seed if the playoffs were held today. Just saying.

21-9 gives Boston a 7.5 game lead on a terrible Atlantic, while 18-9 Chicago enjoys a 2 game edge on Detroit in the Central and in a Southeast I'm watching v, v. closely, the 16-16 Heat are AGAIN deadlocked with the 14-14 Magic for the lead. Come on, Miami! Get your asses in gear! You, too, Atlanta. You're only a half-game behind Orlando!

How bad is the East, by the way? There's just 3 teams above .500. I'm getting a serious sense of deja vu here.

And the world is spinning and she keeps on winning
But tell me, what happens when it stops

What happens, indeed, Brit. Here's to hoping we can keep acing our way to a better playoff position and worse draft pick than the Magic.

[Izulde]

One other trade besides ours last month.

Seattle Supersonics receive
SF Ryan Gomes

Boston Celtics receive
SF Mickael Gelabale
Seattle Supersonics 2008 2nd round pick

What this means for the Sonics
Gomes, 27, is a quality defender with good enough all around game to play both forward spots. He becomes Seattle's new 6th man and should strengthen the bench of a Sonics team fighting to win the division.

What this means for the Celtics
Gelabale is a scrub and both he and Gomes are expiring contracts of roughly equal value, so in essence Boston just traded a very good bench player for a late 2nd round pick.

Winner: Seattle
This deal simply doesn't make any sense at all for Boston and it's shocking that they made it.

Nasty four game road trip to start the year, two back-to-backs.

We split the first one, losing to the Knicks and beating the Raptors. New York wins 104-92, Peja Stojakovic's 24 points and Kurt Thomas's 13 points and 15 rebounds not enough. But in our 107-77 win over Toronto, Alonzo Mourning comes off the bench for 11 points, 13 rebounds, 7 blocks, 5 assists and 2 steals. We also got 10 bench points from Alan Henderson.

Another 1-1, in the same order. Atlanta beats us 102-87, with only Peja Stojakovic and Kurt Thomas showing up with 29 points and 15 points, 19 rebounds respectively. Next night in New Orleans, Mike Bibby puts on a 32 point display, but he's shot down by Peja Stojakovic's 21 points, Corey Brewer's first career double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, Mike Conley's 16 bench points, and Alonzo Mourning's 17 bench boards and 5 blocks. It's great to see Zo playing such a valuable role at 37.

We come back home and thoroughly enjoy a 102-68 dusting of the Nuggets, mined by Peja Stojakovic's 31 points, Ron Artest's 20 points and Alonzo Mourning's 10 bench points.

All five starters score 14+ points in our 117-77 pulverizing of the Jazz. Leandro Barbosa has his first great game in a while with 28 points and Peja Stojakovic adds 21 points.

The Clippers rally in the fourth quarter to upset us, 114-103. I hate seeing Peja Stojakovic's 30 points, Leandro Barbosa's 24 points and 12 assists and Alonzo Mourning's 21 points and 13 rebounds off the bench go to waste, but that's how it is.

The month's third doubleheader, and this time we knock 'em both down. Three players carry us in the 106-92 revenge win over the Clippers: Kurt Thomas with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Peja Stojakovic with 20 points and Mike Conley with 12 points and 11 assists. Leandro Barbosa and Peja Stojakovic each score 22 in the 104-80 laugher over the Trailblazers, Mike Conley just missing the bench double with 9 points and 10 assists.

Cleveland holds us to 34.7% shooting and we look lost in Sin City, Peja Stojakovic's 30 points the only highlight of a miserable, miserable 94-74 loss.

We perk back up with a 108-91 win over the Spurs, courtesy of Peja Stojakovic's 28 points, Ron Artest's 23 points, Leandro Barbosa's 20 points, and the fantastic all-around game from Kurt Thomas: 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. It amazes me how well he's done as a 6'9, 235 lbs jump shooter playing at center.

New Jersey's no problem, our 95-83 win keyed by Peja Stojakovic's 30 points.

What is a problem is a two day road trip to Texas where we lose games on consecutive nights. 92-88 loss to the Spurs, Kurt Thomas's 12 points and 12 rebounds and the sprained toe Corey Brewer's 11 bench points our only noteworthy showings. 21 points from Peja Stojakovic, 20 points from Leandro Barbosa and a double-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds from Kurt Thomas can't bail us in a 115-107 loss to the Rockets. It's worth noting that in both games, Alonzo Mourning has started at center because of Brewer's aforementioned sprained toe.

Hell of a meltdown in Minneapolis two nights later. Outscored 32-19 in the final quarter to lose 108-104. Leandro Barbosa scores 43 points, but Kevin Garnett just laughs at him, owning us for 34 points and 25 rebounds. On a lesser note, Peja Stojakovic scores 23, Alonzo Mourning puts up 10 points and 12 rebounds and Mike Conley adds 10 bench points.

It's a doubleheader to end the month and I'm scared, particularly since we're riding a three game losing streak already. But then Leandro Barbosa dishes out 21 points and 14 assists, Peja Stojakovic scores 22 and Kurt Thomas racks up 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 98-87 win vs. the Sonics. Then Ron Artest and Leandro Barbosa play brilliantly in the backcourt, scoring 30 and 24 respectively to carry us to a 104-93 win in Oakland the night after and right the ship.

The Suns actually lost 6 games this month, but at 39-9, they're still 10.5 games in front of our 27-18 selves.

26-18 gives Seattle a single game lead over Denver in the Northwest, while 36-11 Houston is three up on San Antonio.

Boston's running away with the Atlantic at 31-15, 12 games ahead of the Nets and Raptors. Chicago's 3.5 in front of Detroit in the East's best division, the Central hosting a whopping 2 teams over .500 and, most importantly, 26-21 Miami has pulled away to a three game lead over the Magic.

Sad part is, Orlando is a fucking 5 seed with a 22-23 record, while our 27-18 record is the same seeding in the West. Man, that ticks me off.

Stat update can wait until end of February.