McGarnagle,

I know. It's pretty amazing how I made that issue disappear in one fell swoop. haha

AK

How bout Sasha for KG, and then on the side, get Yi for some future picks and Kwame? Hold on, lemme check the link, I'll be back next season...

haha, thanks AK, a little light reading before bed.

JOREMA,
"Kobe doesn't need this farse. Let the lebrones, the A-rods or the Saratovas get the plaques. If they want to promote Lebron as the last coke in a dessert and give him another 3 awards for playing that well in just one game of the CLEVELAND-Detroit series, fine."

THE DIARRHEA IS STILL FLOWING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!

IS THAT THE BEST ANALYSIS YOU CAN GIVE FOR YOUR KOBIATCH.

FACE IT! HE'S NOT AS POPULAR AS YOUR SO-CALLED 1999 FORBES MAGAZINES MISGUIDED YOU.

THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN. "- -" KOBE!

YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS

Here's a spillover from the last thread, in case anyone's interested:

In the same sentence, Lautréamont wrote,

"beau comme la rétractilité des serres des oiseaux rapaces"

This seems to me more appropriate to the blog. It translates:

"Beautiful like the retractability of raptors' claws"

Nothing to do with Toronto, of course, a raptor being a carnivorous bird like a hawk (nothing to do with Atlanta).

We seem to be witnessing the beautiful retraction of KL's claws.

I discovered the Larry Coon FAQ maybe a year or so ago and the message board on www.realgm.com , wow is that an informed bunch of people. The recent Kurt Thomas trade is a good example of the use of a trade exemption and how valuable they are (how trade exemptions work is the number one topic).

I'll concede that there's a chance I misunderstood something in the article, but I think it means that we can essentially get Garnett and Kidd straight up for Kwame, Cook and a Family Pak of Mrs. Paul's Breaded Fish Sticks.

To make this work, we'll move Lamar to the 3 and start Bynum at 5. Of course, as a rookies, Crittenden will have to make a run for more fish sticks before snack time.

Hello Blog, Mambas, AK,BK and all the others...

Guys some of you probably read this already, but check this out and imagine that every place that said Miami was replace by LA. Imagine the kind of field day we woud be having on this blog today. Here it is:

"Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Point guard Mo Williams said he considered his free-agent trip to Miami a "mini-vacation" and that he always was fairly certain he would return to the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams was resplendent in a light gray suit as he addressed reporters on Tuesday, moments after signing a six-year, $52 million contract. The deal includes player options after the fourth and fifth seasons and will make the 24-year-old Williams a critical part of the Bucks' immediate future. Although Miami president and coach Pat Riley made his best recruiting pitch to Williams, the 6-foot-1 guard said he had to be pushed to even make the visit to South Beach. "The funny thing about it, I didn't want to go in the first place," Williams said. "I was saying, 'Let's get it done with Milwaukee.'" But agent Mark Bartelstein convinced Williams to at least consider the Heat, which desperately wanted to add a point guard to a lineup featuring Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. Miami was over the salary cap and could offer a maximum of $31.4 million on a five-year deal."

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Asked about bypassing the opportunity to play for Pat Riley and alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, Williams offered the type of response that gave pause. "I mean, we all see Miami from the outside looking in and say, 'OK, they've got Pat Riley in Miami,' " Williams said. "But people don't know, everything that looks good on the outside, everything is not peaches and cream on the other side of the field." A way of re-ingratiating himself in Milwaukee? Possibly. But he did re-sign with the Bucks after talking with Riley, the only coach in the NBA yet to commit to next season. And Williams also is represented by agent Mark Bartelstein, who also represents Antoine Walker and James Posey, players suspended last season by Riley for failing to meet his seemingly draconian conditioning standards. Perhaps Williams' comment is much ado about nothing. Or perhaps the cynics have a point, that the luster is gone from a franchise where the coach waffles and South Beach no longer seduces."

ciao!

Mamba from the eastcoast

what a boring off season for free agents and trades. i think we will see the same guys in uniform in october. woe is me. another 1st round knock out.

If Stern wanted to "FIX" the NBA, he would have started with somehow getting New York the number one pick. His desperation before this scandal was in dealing with the laughable imabalance in the conferences and lack of major market fan base.

As Donaghy squeals, names and dates are revealed, about a sport where a foul could be called on every posession, "FIX" will replace "Tacos" as a 4th quarter chant at Staples. I'm betting that will get booed down. The slogan is right: fans love the game.

hobbit

thanks for the response. we'll have to disagree on shaq's so-called lazyiness. i have already conceded that shaq's time is passing (or has passed) as a dominant figure. the torch was passed in 2006 when MIAMI WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP notwithstanding the "crooked refs". I refuse to call anybody in pro sports (even amature) "lazy" because when i think of lazy, i think of the 20-something who has a 75% body fat content and uses a rascal (you know those scooters that old people use when their legs give out?) to get around. Oh, one more thing, i'm assuming your in your early 20s, but something myserious happens when one hits 30, the body slows down. Go back an look at every player (jordan, horry, shaq, kobe, etc) over the years, the body changes as one ages.

sonnybelfast

thanks for the post. some of my stuff was schtick, but in all seriousness, cheating is part of gambling, always has been and alwasy will be. as a math guy, i figure the cost of cheating is "baked in" (finance jargon "priced in") to the odds. i really hope this is an isolated incident and believe the truth will be revealed since the Feds are investigating (as oppose to the NBA conducting an internal investigation). Have faith brother.

KL,

much props for the kobe-less post. pretty funny take, actually. see, it can be done.

Gunner,

same ol same ol. maybe i overestimated your ability to write something that you haven't already written 50 times.

"Is "Jorema" some kind of prophet spewing forth the true secrets of humanity in little tidbits between rants about Kobe and idiotic conspiracy theories" Taoshum

MR Taoshum...

Even a English as second language and shakerean look a like bimbo's like me , knows what is a context in any text.

Regarding that zip a lip, and medicine for "the lebronaire" it was in the context of answering one of KLBEAST" rants.

Hey...don't get me wrong....I understand you, and you are one of those guys who come here using three of 4 nicks, but those actions can cause sometimes a "brain mental lapse".

If you think you are that emeritus prophet with the mission to lecture everybody in their peccadilloes and little faults, don't take your job too seriously, specially if in that process your zealousness come across as simple stupidity.

Hail to you , Maestro!

Andrew Z,

I agree it was the money.

"Just watch as Kobe realizes it and doesn't opt out."

I wouldn't guarantee this though. He will still be young enough to make the same or more money if he opts out and signs with a contender. Depending on the team, he might get more money and have a chance to win.

Mamba24fan4life,

Lets not go the way of the haters and try and pin this on something being wrong in miami. Milwaukee offered 6 years at 52mil compared with 5 years at 31mil that miaimi was offering.

Seems like he had over 20 million good reasons to pick milwaukee :)

AK:

Yep! Those are pretty handy. It's a lot easier to use them instead of manually calculating salaries and how they balance out. They keep track of BYC and other trade stipulations which are huge factors in coming up with viable trade scenarios. I wonder if GM's around the league use them. That'd be kind of funny.

Hoopshype is generally correct with their salaries, but they're sometimes off with what type of options players have in a given year. Also, when those salaries are viewed, one has to keep in mind that the total amount on the bottom for any given year is without any salaries for players that have options.

I think that you may have linked the ESPN checker and Real GM checker together. Hovering the mouse over either shows the link as going to ESPN.

kobe apologist

"hal9000 - KL cannot squeeze water from a rock. What KL would do is squeeze the rock for about 5 hours, a drop of sweat would come out from his hands and he would tell you it's water."

very funny my mortal enemies.

We are done trading. We just have one spot open for signing someone. So link is too late...though we knew all along trade machine link..
Anyways guys post something new, like why did Andrew did not play in summer league. or what's going on with Brian Cook or Vlad, are they shooting something or just enjoying vacation. or What's up with Kwame or Sasha...
we heard about Chris and Luke and obviously we know about Kobe everyday...

|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|_____________ OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL BALLOT__________________|
|______________ 2007-2008 KOBE HATERS CLUB___________________|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

NOMINEES FOR PRESIDENT:

(1) KL (also known as KLBeast, KLYeast)

Bio: KL's repuation as a Kobe Hater has made him a club favorite, and his creativity in finding ways to bash Kobe is second to none. He is also famous for coining the phrase "F-U Kobe".

(2) GUNNER (also known as gunner5, gunner24)

Bio: Gunner's "all caps" style of hating has brought him a lot of attention, and his unwavering hatred has gained him many fans in the Anti-Kobe community. His tendency to drench Kobe supporters in Haterade has helped to elevate his status as one of the fiercest Kobe Haters around.

VOTERS:

Ballots are open to all Laker Fans, regardless of Kobe preference.
All ballots must be in by 9:00PM PST on Thursday, July 25, 2007.
Please vote by indicating your preference in one post before the deadline.

Once the ballots have been counted, the winner will take office immediately and the loser will become vice president.

In the case of a tie, the candidates will duel in a mud-wrestling competition. The candidate who comes out with the most mud on their face will be declared the winner. Good luck and may the best hater win.

hal9000

"In the case of a tie, the candidates will duel in a mud-wrestling competition."

please arrange to have the Hooter girls attend the mud-wrestling contest. I like like Gunner, but not that much.

zen,

"I wouldn't guarantee this though. He will still be young enough to make the same or more money if he opts out and signs with a contender. Depending on the team, he might get more money and have a chance to win."

Sorry, I disagree. Kobe is slated to make $23 and $24.8 million a year in the last two of his contract. There isn't one team in the league who could give him that much in salary let alone a contender (who is more than likely paying their own top players top dollar). He would more than likely be opting out and signing for the MLE if it's truly a contender he would want to go to. AND, at the point he opts out he'll be an "old" 31 with lots of miles on those legs, paying big money on a long term deal would be quite risky for any team. So, just in the first two years of his new contract Kobe would be leaving $35-$37 million on the table. I don't care how much money he's made to date, that would be a tough pill to swallow.

His only hope is to try and force a trade if he still wishes to leave, guaranteeing he keeps his salary.

Zen,

You said: Lets be honest, your talking about Mo Williams here! He stayed with Milwaukee because they offered 20 million dollars more! He is going to take it and run. If all salary was equal, he would have chose Miami. It was ALL about the money.

I understand that your *opinion* says it's all about money. Mo Williams,
James Posey & Antoine Walker all share the same agent. This should
mean that he would have a working relationship with the Miami Heat.
He would already have known the interest level for him and a ballpark
figure for what they would pay. Why would his agent force him to get
on a plane when he had an offer in hand from the Bucks?

My *opinion* is that his agent is trying to get him to a place where he
has a chance to be successful and get paid very well. His statements
seem to indicate that he didn't think Miami has a chance. Other basketball
people feel the same way. Oddly enough the Heat got swept in the
first round. This was a very poor showing for the defending champions.

Do you have any evidence to support your opinion or is this one of those
things that I'm supposed to take on faith [ not the hottie who posts on the blog. :) ] because it's soooo obvious?

Kl,

1. early 40's baby. still giving pain. still receiving pain. I will not go gently
into the night!

2. We have different definitions of Lazy. When I'm paying you $20 million per year ..... Get you big fat backside into the gym. You have *NOTHING*
else to do, but devote yourself to the game!!! MJ playing for the wizards
was in better shape than Shaq his last year in LA. If your playing for
superstar $$ you'd better have a superstar's desire to win. Shaq doesn't.
Kareem worked harder for less $$. Ewing worked harder for less $$.
Sebalius worked harder for less $$.

3. Did you really mean to include Kobe in that list? The one who dropped
19 lbs and hasn't been this light since 1998 because he's so *HUNGRY*
to play and WIN with team usa? Is that the one you're trying to say has
a changed body type? You could make the argument: Why didn't he
drop the 19 lbs. earlier? That's a good question. My answer is:

I don't know, but he gets a pass from me because of an 81 pt. game,
62 pts. vs. 61 pts by the spurs, averaging 40 pts for the month of
March, 6 or 7 50 pts games in a row, 2 scoring titles & 2 roster spots
on 1st team NBA offense and 1st team NBA defense. [ Don't forget
the knee surgery in the off season. ] Sorry. Forgot about MVP
at the all-star game. And the winning shot at the scrimmage. Sorry
making the last 6 or 7 pts to lead his team over LeBron's.

Be honest: He flat out wants it more and works harder to get it than
anybody else in the NBA. Shaq is a lazy buffoon in comparison.
The porky, celebrity police officer does have a nice trophy case
though ... Hey! Another nickname for Shaq: Porky Pig!

hal9000:

Though I understand what you're trying to do and how frustrating it can be at times, are you sure that a vote like that isn't going to just lead to more polarization? I think it'll just add more fuel to gunner's fuego.

KL:

"'inadequacy' is my middle name........oops, i'm thinking out loud again"

I don't like to think of myself as inadequate. "Partially able" is a term I'm much more endeared to.

KLBeast:

"please arrange to have the Hooter girls attend the mud-wrestling contest."

I already asked them, but they said they'd rather watch you and gunner duke it out on pay-per-view... and the mud is deing generously donated by the Sacramento Manure Factory -- wait, did I say manure? Oh well, its all the same to you guys, right?

KLBeast:

"I like like Gunner, but not that much."

I don't know what you mean by "like like"... but maybe it's best if i didn't know...