Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

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Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


NBA All-Star Starters Announced
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Feb 1, 2017

The starters for the 2017 NBA All-Star game were announced today by the league and there aren't any surprises. There's only one player starting that will be making his 1st all-star game appearance, and that is 'The Greek Freak' Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Though Giannis is making his 1st appearance, he isn't the only one starting for the 1st time. Former Kentucky Wildcats Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis will be making their first starts as will leading MVP candidate James Harden. Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan will be making his first start as well.

Other notable storylines include Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant playing together for the 1st time since Durant left OKC last summer. The game will also feature another throwback moment as the Thunder's former trio of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook will all start together for the 1st time.

The rest of the starters are below:
EAST
LeBron James - 13th appearance
Giannis Antetokoumpo - 1st appearance
Paul George - 4th appearance
DeMar DeRozan - 4th appearance
John Wall - 4th appearance

WEST
Russell Westbrook - 6th appearance
James Harden - 5th appearance
Kevin Durant - 8th appearance
Anthony Davis - 4th appearance
Demarcus Cousins- 3rd appearance

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Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Lou Moore Chooses Duke

The 2nd overall prospect in the country announced today during halftime of a game between Duke and North Carolina that he will be attending Duke University this fall. Duke continues its excellent run of landing top tier freshmen landing the 2nd overall recruiting class for next season (Kentucky-1). Duke also signed Nigerian born bigman Kamil Sene (#18 overall), among others, a few months ago.

Moore, who is likely a one and done player, will follow in the footsteps of recent Duke players such as Brandon Ingram, Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker, & Kyrie Irving among others. "It's the perfect place for me man. Coach K...being apart of (Duke/UNC rivalry) is something special and I'm ready" Moore said after announcing his decision.

Duke is expected to be the frontrunner for the ACC title and one of the favorites for the national title next year along with Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, and Michigan State.

The top overall recruit for 2017 Andre Dawkins is the last remaining player in the top 25 who hasn't yet declared. He is expected to announce his decision prior to the Nike Hoop Summit later this month.

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Hornets send Hibbert, Hawes to Bucks for Plumlee
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Feb 1, 2017

In an unexpected move, the Charlotte Hornets completed a trade today that will send seldom used big men Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert to the Milwaukee Bucks for Miles Plumlee.

The Hornets signed Hibbert just last summer but used him sparingly after the 1st month of the season due to a glut of big men. Plumlee was just re-signed in the off-season, but Plumlee fell out of the rotation as Thon Maker has emerged as the 2nd backup big behind Greg Monroe. Wanting to get out from under the years of salary owed to him, the Bucks made the deal.

This opens the trading season for the year and with only 2 weeks before the deadline, expect a flurry of moves within a short span.

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Re: The League: Reign of The NBA





This Is War
By John Schuhmann NBA.com
@johnschuhmann
Feb 1, 2017

I thought I had seen it all when it came to MVP races, but boy was I wrong. I don't think anyone has seen an MVP race like this before and the most amazing thing about it is how both Harden and Westbrook seem to try and one up each others performances the night after. We've seen a 53 point career high game by Harden to lead his team back from 23 down. We've seen Westbrook with several 40 point triple double games only to be followed by the same from Harden. It's ridiculous what these two are doing. The craziest thing is LeBron is quietly having an amazing season as well almost averaging a triple double and know one's even talking about it. Then there's John Wall who has the Wizards right on the Cavs' tails and Isaiah Thomas who has used his fourth quarter heroics and penchant for scoring to instill belief that Boston can take down Cleveland as well.

If it wasn't obvious already, this month is still headlined by James Harden and Russell Westbrook who both are having historical seasons:

1. James Harden - 29.4ppg, 7.6rpg, 6.6apg, 1.3spg, 52%, 42% 3pt, PER: 30.2

Team Record: (36-16)

The MVP is almost a lock to end up in H-Town if the Rockets stay this far ahead in the standings over the Thunder. With the way the Rockets are rolling right now, it's pretty much a guarantee at this point, still though, James is gonna have to do just a wee bit more to make his case rock solid so look forward to some more monster performances after All-Star weekend.

2. Russell Westbrook - 26.4ppg, 10.7rpg, 9.5apg, 1.7spg, 45.4%, 36% 3pt, PER: 29.5

Team Record: (26-23)

I still maintain that I think there should be Co-MVP's this year, but we all know there can only be one. With that said, get this man some help! Seriously, watching Russell lose his battle for the MVP solely because his teammates are letting him down is really unfortunate because he's having an absolutely remarkable year.

3. LeBron James - 21.4ppg, 9.8rpg, 8apg, 2.5spg, 53%, 34% 3pt, PER: 28.4

Team Record: (34-13)

Yes his scoring is down, and yes Cleveland isn't really steamrolling people like they were in November, but make no mistake that at any moment this guy can flip the switch. THAT is scary given he's averaging nearly a triple double on a team leading the East while coasting. Don't awaken the beast, you might not like what comes for you.

4. John Wall - 16.4ppg, 4.5rg, 9apg, 3spg, 47% fg, 37% 3pt, PER: 26.8

Team Record: (32-16)

Well look what we have here, a surprise in the top 5. Wall is the true definition of point guard in a league where few true ones exist. What he's done with the Wizards this season is nothing short of amazing and we can only expect it to continue. He might even climb this list by seasons end. Why? He's had 20+ point, 10+ assist games in 6 of his last 7 games, so he's trending up as the season is winding down.

5. Isaiah Thomas - 23.2ppg, 3.2rpg, 6.8apg, 45.5% fg, 38% 3pt, PER: 25.6

Team Record: (26-22)

Isaiah has seemingly turned himself into the clutchest player in the league. He's hit 4 gamewinners this season alone and is leading the league in 4th quarter scoring. The man gets buckets low no other and it's quite astonishing given this mans' stature. Let us not forget that it's not all about buckets. He's also helped the Celtics get back into the race for the 2nd seed as of late and if that continues, don't surprised if he's moving up this list as well.

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2/1/17

2/2/17

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2/5/17

GD's Highlights

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Sixers exchange Ilyasova for Splitter
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Feb 5, 2017

With the trade deadline about 2 weeks away, the Sixers have decided to part ways with forward Ersan Ilyasova by sending him to Atlanta in exchange for former San Antonio Spur Tiago Splitter.

The Sixers have gone with Dario Saric over the last month in the rotation after getting Ben Simmons back from injury. With Ilyasova out of the rotation and not looking like a candidate to stick around after the year it was an expected move. What most will notice is that the Sixers are bringing back a C in this deal when they infamously already have 3 on the roster currently in former lottery picks Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and rookie of the year favorite Joel Embiid.

With Embiid almost a lock to win rookie of the year, this all but guarantees one of Noel or Okafor will be traded, though some believe the Sixers may be eyeing deals for both.

Atlanta meanwhile is receiving a decent backup stretch 4 that can spell Paul Milsap and provide additional bench production to a struggling Hawks squad primed on playoff contention.

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Sources: NBA readying for expansion
Kevin Arnovitz
ESPN.com
Feb 5, 2017

Sources confirm to ESPN that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will make an announcement soon to confirm that the NBA will be expanding to 32 teams in the coming years. While it is not confirmed yet, the sources indicated an official announcement can come as soon as the NBA's All-Star Weekend festivities in New Orleans.

With this, the league is most notably opening the doors for a return of the historic SuperSonics to the great city of Seattle. While it isn't presently clear if Seattle will be the 1st city granted expansion, their hopes are being bolstered by the work of prospective owner Chris Hansen.

Hansen has been diligently working to return NBA basketball to the pacific northwest for years. He became a national story in 2011 when he agreed to purchase the Sacramento Kings from then majority owners the Maloof brothers and was prepared to relocate the franchise to Seattle. He along with his partners the Nordstrom's and ex-Microsoft boss/current Clippers owner Steve Ballmer were voted down by the league in their quest and Sacramento found a solution to stay put. Thanks to Vivek Ranadive and the efforts of former Phoenix Suns star and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Kings begin work on a new arena in downtown Sacramento (Golden1 Center). Since then, Ballmer has gone on to buy the Clippers and Hansen has bought several spaces of land in the SoDo district of Seattle near SafeCo field and CenturyLink Field, homes of the MLB's Mariners and NFL's Seahawks respectively.


Rendering of potential arena in SoDo District of Seattle

The issue for Seattle though remains that there isn't truly an arena for an expansion team to play in as Seattle's political leaders are yet to approve a proposal from Hansen on a completely privately financed arena. The city would have to approve of a street vacation and tax breaks for the arena, but if they pass that final hurdle the arena will then be shovel ready. If this comes to pass, everyone believes Seattle will no doubt receive expansion and may even be allowed to begin play sooner in the former home of the SuperSonics, "Key Arena" until the new stadium is completed.

Sources also indicate that several cities have been making their interest in bringing an NBA franchise well known. The cities aren't all known currently but sources say the NBA has begun accepting bids from several cities including Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Vancouver (all have NBA ready facilities currently). Surprisingly, Las Vegas has been a hot topic for expansion talks for years, but with gambling a staple there most thought it would never become a possibility. With the NHL announcing its plans to expand to "Sin City" with the "Golden Knights" and the NFL approving the move of the Raiders to Vegas, many believe the NBA may want to get in on the ground floor as well, possibly even beating the NFL to the punch by arriving earlier.

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2/6/17

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2/10/17

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Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

HIGHLIGHTS

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Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


All-Star Reserves & Dunk/3pt Contest Participants Announced
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Feb 10, 2017

The reserves for the 2017 NBA All-Star game were announced today by the league and there are a couple notable snubs this year. Unlike the last few seasons, Damian Lillard wasn't snubbed and in fact will be joined by his backcourt mate CJ McCollum who will be making his first appearance.
The Golden State Warriors will surprisingly only be represented by 2 players, Durant & Curry. The Clippers will also send 2 players in Griffin and Paul, while DeAndre Jordan lost out mostly due to the removal of the C position from All-Star voting.

The dunk contest and 3 pt shootout will be as exciting as ever with the return of Aaron Gordon to the high flying spectacle, and 2-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry to the long range duel.

The reserves for both teams are below:
EAST
Dwyane Wade - 13th appearance
Kemba Walker - 1st appearance
Isaiah Thomas - 2nd appearance (will be replaced by Jabari Parker)
Kevin Love - 4th appearance
Andre Drummond- 2nd appearance
Bradley Beal - 1st appearance (will be replaced by Nicolas Batum)
Kyrie Irving - 4th appearance

WEST
Stephen Curry- 4th appearance
Chris Paul- 10th appearance
Gordon Hayward- 1st appearance
CJ McCollum- 1st appearance
Blake Griffin- 6th appearance
Damian Lillard - 3rd appearance
D'Angelo Russell - 1st appearance (will be replaced by Mike Conley)

Slam Dunk Contestants
Aaron Gordon
Derrick Jones Jr.
Andrew Wiggins
Marquise Chriss

3pt Shootout Contestants
Damian Lillard
Stephen Curry
Rodney Hood
Isaiah Thomas
Devin Booker
James Harden

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Nuggets send exiled Nurkic to Portland for Plumlee
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Feb 10, 2017

After months of speculation regarding Jusuf Nurkic's future in Denver, the Nuggets finally shipped the big man off in a swap with the Portland Trailblazers.

The Blazers will be sending big man Mason Plumlee and a 2nd round pick in exchange for the services of Nurkic in addition to a 1st round pick (via Mem). The move seems to be a bit odd considering both are in a fight for the 8th spot out west, though the Nuggets were expected to make a move before the deadline anyhow. Many thought the Blazers would make a move for either of the 76ers centers Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel, but instead were able to nab Nurkic at a discount given his fall out of the rotation.

This comes a week before the trade deadline in what is expected to be a pretty interesting deadline unlike the last few seasons.

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Andre Dawkins Chooses Arizona

The number one overall recruit in the class of 2017 has decided to attend the University of Arizona for what is expected to be his one and only season in the amateur ranks. Dawkins will be joined by fellow top 5 prospect A.J. Finley, a childhood friend and AAU teammate for much of the last few years.

It's close to home man and I love the coaching staff and atmosphere there in Tucson," Dawkins said on why he chose Arizona over other schools such as Kentucky, Duke, & UCLA among others. This decision also has guaranteed Arizona the top recruiting class for the coming season leapfrogging both the likes of Duke and Kentucky who now sit at 3rd and 2nd, respectively.

US Destroys World 128-70

In a display of pure dominance, the U.S. Team absolutely took it to the World team leading by as much as 62 points at one point during their 128-70 win.

In what is considered to be one of the best freshmen classes of all time, the top prospects for this season did not disappoint. The top overall prospect Andre Dawkins and 5th overall prospect A.J. Finley announced their decision to attend Arizona earlier in the day, but they both played a backseat to the other prospects, namely one Dakari Heard. Heard is ranked 20th as a prospect but he may end up higher once the NBA Draft rolls around next summer after his one season at Michigan State is complete.

Another standout was Kentucky bound bigman Kyson Law who showed an array of fascinating moves and athleticism wrapped in a 7 ft frame. It was clear why he may just be the best player from this draft class when it's all said and done.

Below are the players' stats for the game, along with college choice:

21 - Kyson Law (Kentucky) - 22pts, 12reb, 6ast, 2stl
9 - Dakari Heard (Michigan State) - 16pts, 4reb, 3ast, 2stl
1 - King Winter (LSU) - 12pts, 2reb, 2at
23 - Andre Dawkins (Arizona) - 11pts, 3ast, 2stl
3 - Kevin Walker (Villanova) - 10pts, 5ast, 3stl
35 - Kamal Rose (Kansas) - 10pts, 2reb
10 - Coby Erickson (Louisville) - 10pts, 3ast, 3reb
8 - Jay Mack (Kentucky) - 9pts, 2ast, 2reb
12 - Akyel Akwuegbu (Michigan State) - 9pts, 6reb, 3blk
24 - Lou Moore (Duke) - 9pts, 4ast, 6stl
15 - A.J. Finley (Arizona) - 5 pts
25 - Derrick Morris (California) - 3pts, 4ast
41 - Christian Blair (Maryland) - 2pts, 6reb

Media Gallery

Spoiler

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Escape From New York: Vol. 2

New York, NY (AP) - We're another year into the Phil Jackson experiment in New York and still the Knicks are floundering. Somehow, they appear to have gotten worse under Jackson, which is quite the feat to say the least. Remember, this was a team that was expected to make the playoffs the following season after he took over mid way through the prior year. Instead, he cleaned out half the roster and the Knicks ended up with the 2nd worst record in the league but fell to fourth in the lottery (lucking into Kristaps Porzingis, though Phil admits he would've taken Jahlil Okafor had he fell).

Since, the Knicks again missed the playoffs after a slew of off-season moves that used most of the teams cap space. This past summer he traded one of his better acquisitions the summer prior in Robin Lopez for the injury plagued former MVP Derrick Rose and then signed Joakim Noah to an awful contract. So, here we are again. We sit over halfway through another season and the Knicks are well on their way to a 4th consecutive year without reaching the postseason. That isn't the worst news though as Phil Jackson is pretty much intent on shipping out the franchise player to jump start a rebuild. Now, in the normal world of the NBA this would make sense given the state of the team and Carmelo's age, but this is the Knicks and nothing is ever normal for them. What makes this situation so convoluted is that this is the same player he resigned just over 2 years ago and gave a no trade clause to...yeah, welcome to the franchise known as the New York Knicks.

Phil has done his fair share of talking the last few months ramping up in the last couple weeks as the trade deadline approached. Even with this, Carmelo has been pretty adamant about not waiving his no trade clause almost to the point of spite, and can you blame him? Yes, he could have a chance to play for a contender before he's no longer an impact player and have his shot at a ring, but with constant disrespect coming from upstairs maybe being spiteful is a good thing. Fans have already turned on Jackson and Carmelo's commitment to New York is commendable.

At the end of the day though, Carmelo has to see the writing on the wall. Sometimes you have to leave a toxic situation even if it's forcing you from known and comfortable surroundings. He knows it won't work in New York and the clock is ticking on his career. With teams like the Celtics and Clippers (who have one of his banana boat bros in CP3) being in desirable markets, already competing for a title, and having parts to move for him in a trade the time is now to hope for greener pastures.

It may be an unceremonious exit after his arrival, but he's tried to be the hero and save this sinking ship of a franchise. He did all he could but the weight was too much to carry when there were outside forces adding to the plight (*cough*Front Office*cough*). Melo, you were never the hero Gotham wanted, but you were the one they needed. Unfortunately, they also needed the rest of the Justice League to save them from this infinite Doomsday.

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Deadline Day Tracker
Adrian Wojnarowski, The Vertical| Updated 2:57 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2017

Bulls Trade Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, & 18 1st Round Pick
Thunder Trade Cameron Payne, Jofferey Lavergne, & Anthony Morrow

The Thunder complete a move that was pretty much expected for the lst few days acquiring some frontcourt help for Russell Westbrook in Taj Gibson and some shooting in Doug McDermott.
The Bulls on the other hand continue to confuse everyone with their moves but apparently they believe Cameron Payne still has enough potential to be their point guard of the future.

Nets Trade Bojan Bogdanovic, & Chris McCollough
Wizards Trade Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thorton, & 17' 1st round pick (lottery protected)

Brooklyn was able to acquire another 1st round pick in this years draft which is always a positive given their current situation regarding draft picks(Boston can pick swap this year and has their 1st next year as well). They need as much young talent as they can get to start building a foundation that isn't Brook Lopez. They had to take on Andrew Nicholson's contract to get the pick, but maybe he can revive his career here. If not, the Nets are one of the few teams able to absorb a bad deal or two for a pick.
Washington was finally able to get some much needed bench help and shooting for John Wall. After failing in the pursuit of 6th Man of the Year Lou Williams, the Wizards recovered somewhat nicely and even shipped a bad contract from last summer.

Sixers Trade Nerlens Noel
Mavericks Trade Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, 17' 1st round pick (lottery protected)

Dallas finally seems to have found a solution for their revolving door at center the last few years in the young Nerlens Noel. They will have to pay up at the end of the year though with Noel hitting restricted free agency, but it may be worth it to add him to their new young core along with Harrison Barnes.
The Sixers finally shipped out one of their big men and surprisingly it was Noel who found himself to be the odd man out after it seemed almost a lock Jahlil Okafor was the one on the block (though he still will be). Andrew Bogut won't play a minute for the Sixers so the question will be what contender he goes to (he can resign with GS if he so chooses thanks to a CBA loophole). Justin Anderson still is young enough with potential as a 3 and D guy to be worth a shot. The pick more then likely won't convey given the Mavs more than likely won't make the playoffs, but you can never have enough future assets.

Lakers Trade Lou Williams, & Marcelo Huertas
Rockets Trade Corey Brewer, Tyler Ennis, & 17' 1st round pick

The Rockets gain even more offensive firepower for their already offensively heavy team giving James Harden another target to whip the ball to. Lou Williams will join fellow 6th man of the year candidate Eric Gordon off the bench in Houston and they should offset the loss of Trevor Ariza, offensively at least, due to injury.
The Lakers get some insurance for this years draft just in case they don't land in the top 3 of the lottery (which is looking less and less likely by the day). Corey Brewer was a salary matching throw in and Ennis may be able to try and salvage his NBA career these last few months before he finds himself overseas.

Magic Trade Serge Ibaka
Raptors Trade Terrence Ross, 17' 1st round pick via LAC (lottery protected)

The Raptors appear to be going for it this year. In an effort to improve defensively and just in overall talent to compete with Cleveland, Toronto has acquired a solid piece in Ibaka. Whether or not this will actually make them a legit threat to the Cavs is unknown, but Ibaka does make them a better team.
Orlando finally decided to pull the plug on an experiment that was bad from the start. They had too many bigs and had a guy blocking probably their most talented player in Aaron Gordon from playing the position he's best at. Terrence Ross is another athletic and youthful player they can hope develops a bit further and may be a solid piece to add to the core in the Magic Kingdom.

Pelicans Trade Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, 17' 1st round pick (top 5 protected), & 17' 2nd round pick
Kings Trade DeMarcus Cousins, Omri Casspi

In the biggest and most shocking move of the deadline, Sacamento finally pulled the plug on the Boogie era in California's capital. The Kings deciding to trade Cousins isn't all to surprising given all the antics and drama surrounding his time there, the shocking part is what they received for who many believe is the best center in the NBA. Had his stock fallen that much? Apparently, the Kings were asking too much from other teams and Vivek Ranadive is said to believe Buddy Hield is the next Steph Curry....yeah, still the Kings alright.
New Orleans gets some much needed help for superstar Anthony Davis creating probably the best twin towers the league has seen in years. Whether that'll work in this climate of the NBA based on spacing the floor and running remains to be seen. The positive though is that it shows Davis that the Pelicans front office is trying to win and put some serious talent around him. New Orleans is going to need some depth after this trade and it may not work right away, but this is a move that, if it works, can put the Pelicans in the mix out West.

Other Moves

Suns Trade PJ Tucker
Raptors Trade Jared Sullinger, 17' 2nd round pick, & 18' 2nd round pick

Rockets Trade KJ McDaniels
Nets Trade Joe Harris

Hawks Trade Mike Scott
Suns Trade 17' 2nd round pick

Cavaliers Trade Chris Andersen
Hornets Trade 17' 2nd round pick