Top 5 Story Lines of this NBA Season

With the NBA season right around the corner, there is definitely something to be said about every single team in the league, but I've managed to narrow it down to the top 5 in my mind. Here are the most intriguing story lines of this NBA season.

#5: Boston's Aging Big 3

Has the window officially shut? Rajon Rondo is obviously offended and disgruntled that he was dangled in front of New Orleans during the Chris Paul saga. He's the glue to that team. It has to play a role in the way that team comes together this season. With a veteran lineup and leadership, I imagine they will be professionals and continue moving forward with the offseason as a distant memory. It's also going to be interesting to see how Doc Rivers manages all of the minutes for this team. KG also has a massive salary this year, and the Boston faithful will be hoping he can live up to it.

#4: The Entire Western Conference

The West is as wide open as it has been in a long time. There are a

few teams that can compete for a Finals spot this year. The Lakers, Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, and Mavs are contenders for a spot, but the gap between those teams is not as wide as it has been. The Lakers and Mavs both downgraded this offseason, the Clippers upgraded, the Spurs are almost unchanged, and the Thunder have another year of experience under their belt. The offseason in the Western Conference (Chris Paul) is a forecast for the season.

#3: Dwight Howard

The Nets, Lakers, and Mavs are on

Howard's short list. The Nets seem to have been taken out of the running for Howard as of now because Lopez went down today. Without a third team in the mix, don't expect any of these teams to be able to make a deal straight up. We'll hear it every single time he steps on the court in front of a national audience. I feel for the Orlando fans and organization because until something definitive happens, Howard's future will overshadow anything that happens with the Magic.

#2: Moves the Lakers will make

All the Laker faithful are still shell-shocked from the "Stern-Gate" episode we just experienced. They are stuck looking across the hallway at the Clippers, and their prized target is standing in Red and White. The Lakers gave up Lamar Odom for essentially nothing, and replaced him with a Troy Murphy who hasn't been relevant since his last season as a Pacer in 2009-2010. They signed a fringe NBA player in Josh McRoberts and they have 2nd round draft picks that would have already made plans with their agent to go to Europe when the NBA season started any season prior to this one. They passed on signing Baron Davis and Chauncey Billups to upgrade the point guard spot, and a Dwight Howard trade looks far-fetched at this point. A major trade

involving the Lakers would shake things up significantly. Lakers fans are cross-armed and tapping their feet looking at Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss.

#1: The Heat's Championship Run

The Heat are the clear favorite to win the 2012 championship. They have a steady veteran leader with Shane Battier who will give them an incredible defensive presence and outside threat. They still have the same needs at the Center and Point Guard spot, but that doesn't seem to be a concern for anyone at this point. The house fell down on Lebron in the Finals last year, and the whole world watched. The pressure on Miami's Big 3 will be incredible this year, with the spotlight being brightest on #6. If they come up short this year, the criticism will be harsher than he's ever felt in his life. It's a task that Lebron signed up for when he made 'The Decision', and it's one that he will have to complete before his legacy as one of the Game's Greatest is solidified. There is no question that it's their year to lose at this point.

It's great to pick up right where we left off last season. Enjoy it.

Izzy

Top 5 Story Lines of this NBA Season

With the NBA season right around the corner, there is definitely something to be said about every single team in the league, but I've managed to narrow it down to the top 5 in my mind. Here are the most intriguing story lines of this NBA season.

#5: Boston's Aging Big 3

Has the window officially shut? Rajon Rondo is obviously offended and disgruntled that he was dangled in front of New Orleans during the Chris Paul saga. He's the glue to that team. It has to play a role in the way that team comes together this season. With a veteran lineup and leadership, I imagine they will be professionals and continue moving forward with the offseason as a distant memory. It's also going to be interesting to see how Doc Rivers manages all of the minutes for this team. KG also has a massive salary this year, and the Boston faithful will be hoping he can live up to it.

#4: The Entire Western Conference

The West is as wide open as it has been in a long time. There are a

few teams that can compete for a Finals spot this year. The Lakers, Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, and Mavs are contenders for a spot, but the gap between those teams is not as wide as it has been. The Lakers and Mavs both downgraded this offseason, the Clippers upgraded, the Spurs are almost unchanged, and the Thunder have another year of experience under their belt. The offseason in the Western Conference (Chris Paul) is a forecast for the season.

#3: Dwight Howard

The Nets, Lakers, and Mavs are on

Howard's short list. The Nets seem to have been taken out of the running for Howard as of now because Lopez went down today. Without a third team in the mix, don't expect any of these teams to be able to make a deal straight up. We'll hear it every single time he steps on the court in front of a national audience. I feel for the Orlando fans and organization because until something definitive happens, Howard's future will overshadow anything that happens with the Magic.

#2: Moves the Lakers will make

All the Laker faithful are still shell-shocked from the "Stern-Gate" episode we just experienced. They are stuck looking across the hallway at the Clippers, and their prized target is standing in Red and White. The Lakers gave up Lamar Odom for essentially nothing, and replaced him with a Troy Murphy who hasn't been relevant since his last season as a Pacer in 2009-2010. They signed a fringe NBA player in Josh McRoberts and they have 2nd round draft picks that would have already made plans with their agent to go to Europe when the NBA season started any season prior to this one. They passed on signing Baron Davis and Chauncey Billups to upgrade the point guard spot, and a Dwight Howard trade looks far-fetched at this point. A major trade

involving the Lakers would shake things up significantly. Lakers fans are cross-armed and tapping their feet looking at Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss.

#1: The Heat's Championship Run

The Heat are the clear favorite to win the 2012 championship. They have a steady veteran leader with Shane Battier who will give them an incredible defensive presence and outside threat. They still have the same needs at the Center and Point Guard spot, but that doesn't seem to be a concern for anyone at this point. The house fell down on Lebron in the Finals last year, and the whole world watched. The pressure on Miami's Big 3 will be incredible this year, with the spotlight being brightest on #6. If they come up short this year, the criticism will be harsher than he's ever felt in his life. It's a task that Lebron signed up for when he made 'The Decision', and it's one that he will have to complete before his legacy as one of the Game's Greatest is solidified. There is no question that it's their year to lose at this point.

It's great to pick up right where we left off last season. Enjoy it.

Izzy

Chris Paul to the Clippers Analysis

The saga is finally over, and Chris Paul is actually moving to LA this time, except he'll be in a Clippers uniform. Here are my quick thoughts on the trade.

Any time you can add a superstar alongside one of the most exciting/promising young players in the league, you've done a good thing. They gave up some good assets, but I think that the Clippers made a step forward in this trade overall. Chris Paul's impact is understood by everyone, but together with the recent Billups and Caron Butler signing, they look dangerous. DeAndre Jordan has a bright future in the league, and he was obviously overpaid (different story for a different post), but the Clippers spent big because they probably anticipated that they were going to trade Kaman. This is a playoff team without a doubt. Championship caliber? Not yet. They are one player away.

One move that I really think was talked about extensively was about giving Eric Gordon up in the trade. I've never really been completely sold on Gordon dating back to his days in Indiana. He's a great scorer, no doubt about that, but he's a very one-dimensional player. A shoot-first guy that hasn't reached his potential in the passing game. Playing alongsi

de Jarrett Jack, another natural scorer may not be an ideal fit.

Ironically, Al-Farouq Aminu was part of this deal as well. Aminu was a guy that Chris Paul mentored and spent a lot of time with on his trips back to Wake to train with the team while Aminu was at the school. I think Aminu has a tremendous potential to be a top flight rebounder in the league, but he's not going to be a premier scorer. There is probably more hype around him than real substance to his game. I'm sure it is PR for New Orleans fans. Either way, there will be an increase in his stats from his rookie year (5.6ppg and 3.3rebs) due to his increased playing time.

The Chris Kaman and unprotected 1st round Minnesota pick were great moves. Kaman is a good "bandaid Center" while the team looks to rebuild. The former All-Star has battled injuries his entire career, but that isn't much of an issue. Considering there are only 66 games, and he has averaged about 50 games over the course of his career, I think the Hornets can get their worth. The real value of Kaman will be when his massive $11 million salary comes off their books at the end of the year. That will give the Hornets added cap room to make legitimate signings. Couple that with one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, and you've got yourself a solid starting point. Imagine if that Minnesota pick turns out to be a #1 pick?

Chris Paul will be revitalized with this trade. It's going to be an incredible combo to see Griffin and Paul play off each other. Management has a pretty big window to grab another star to pair with both players in their prime. Lakers fans have always laughed and brushed the Clippers off, but as soon as the trade was announced, everyone stopped laughing as if the principal had just walked in. Suddenly, not just Lakers fans, but the entire league is taking this team seriously. We'll see them nightly on SportsCenter, and we'll move definitely see them beyond 66 games this year.

Izzy

NBA Chaos and Chris Paul Trade Veto Reactions

I've contemplated bringing back the blog for a while now. The recent NBA developments have shown me that I have too many opinions to vent to too many different people, that it's easier to put it all on this forum. With that said, DishingDimes is back!

Has there ever been a situation like this in pro sports? Has there ever been a situation like thisat your work? School organization? Fantasy League? The answer is probably 'No'. This doesn't happen in legitimate organizations.

I'm going to quickly try and dissect 3 interesting issues that are in this Chris Paul situation.

1) Dan Gilbert leading a group of owners to lobby David Stern to veto the trade.

This has ruined David Stern's legacy. He let a group of owners tell him what to do, and when to do it. What trade can go through now? We've found out that the league can veto any trade they don't feel "makes basketball sense"? They lost their purpose and role in the league when they stepped in to buy the Hornets, and now they've showed why. From what we understand, the owners were upset that the Lakers were saving upwards of $57 million in cap space. Really? Is that what this comes down to? We just got out of a lockout where we touched up the system to discourage big spending (this should have been called the LA/Miami/NY/Dallas Clause), and the Lakers try to get their books in order only to be smashed by the league. This was a win-win for all parties involved, and a deal that would have spared the Hornets a Melo-Nuggets fate. What kind of partnership would ever crush their associates for saving money? The example I've been using with everyone I've talked to is if you bought a company-owned car, and your colleagues looked at you and said, "No, don't think you can do that. You're getting way too great of a deal!" That type of thing doesn't happen, and if it did, you'd probably be pretty close to having an Office Freakout.

Bottom line: The only way this gets resolved and the NBA can salvage any sense of reputation is to reverse this trade. If Dwight gets traded to the Nets later today, I think everyone will be raising an eyebrow.

2) The reality that players and teams involved will have to go through an incredibly awkward period.

This will undoubtedly effect play in an overwhelmingly negative way. Lamar's already tweeted that he doesn't feel comfortable coming to training camp. An unhappy team behind closed doors already looks out of sync on the court. I can't imagine what a publicly unhappy team will look like on a court. Did we already forget when the Hornets traded Chandler to the Thunder only to to be turned down by the OKC training staff, and sent back to the Hornets? Don't think anyone was comfortable with that.

This also sets an awful precedent for future players like Chris Paul. He went through this whole process with incredible class and respect to the Hornets and the city of New Orleans. If he dragged his team and city through the mud, would the outcome have been the same?

What about Dell Demps? Everyone thought he was at the helm of the Hornets, and he just got smacked in the face by the league. Undermining someone's position of power is one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to someone, and it just happened very publicly. Not sure how he recovers from this without resigning and going elsewhere.

3) Still holding out hope that the league will respond appropriately.

I still have one ounce of hope that the league will come to their senses, and reverse their decisions before we go down a treacherous road. It doesn't even need to come with any explanation. The general consensus among basketball fans seems to be outrage that an administration would intervene to stop movement. It undermines business to an incredible extent, and with all of the backlash, I think the league might take a step back and change their stance. If you're an NBA fan, it's understandable that you take this as a slap in the face. Lets just hope that they'll give us some ice to heal from the wounds.

Good to be back,

Izzy