So this probably could be a quick FanShot so im sorry for the length, but scanning through the ESPN Insider Rumors for the NBA is saw the title that said the Knicks man not be ready for Lebron in 2010 and may be turning their attention to Carmelo in 2011.  Now a Knicks buddy of mine has been pumping that idea to me now for 3 some years seeing as Melo was born in New York and its the arguably the biggest market in all of sports.  So my question is A.) can anyone fill me in on the ESPN story, and do you think that if the Nuggets dont win a title or come very very very closein the closing years of his deal, would melo be lured away be the attractive NY market.

Personally i think the Nuggets will offer him a max extension within the next few years so this is not an issue.  But my favorite player of all time, on my favorite team, i have to bring it up now.

Ok, so I am a lair, to all of my fellow Nuggets fans I'm sorry.  But im not going to do it any more.  For the past 4 plus years I have been a Ty Lawson hater.  Not passionately like my deep seeded hatred for Kobe or the Lakers, but just a dislike for some parts of his game and the love that he got from the media.  And like most fans, the minute he gets drafted to my team all that goes out the window.  But let me voice my true feelings.  

I like him as a fit for our team, and at the pick that we got him at hes a fit for a need, but I see alot of flaws.  First and formost is his jumpshot.  Now i have watched this kid shoot the rock, he is inconsisitant.  He puts his damn palm on the ball, and you cant be a good shooter in my book when you do that.  Summer League stats meen nothing i know this, but he is 0-7 and 1-8 from the field in hiis first two games.  Another thing, and im going to keep it to this for the time being, his defense is very questionable.  Now just becasue he averaged alot of steals in college means nothing.  HE is an Allen Iverson defender, he jumps passing lanes and gets alot of steals, which is good.  But his overall defense is questionable.

I'm sorry, I love the Nuggets I do, been my fav team since I could walk.  But i can't sleep at night! The lie is off my back. Please feel free to tell me how stupid I am and that I will see.  That I am wrong, and Dickey V knows all, and he is right that Lawon is going to be a stud. I want to be wrong!

Im definitely not the only one here to think this, but since the post's are slow this week i thought i would chime in and share my prayers that Odom stays firm on his desire for 10 million a year from the Lakers.  With all the retooling around the Western Conference and the NBA as a whole this offseason, and how much better the Lakers got with signing  the Queens Bridge Legend, I can only hope that Odom takes his services to the East and back to South Beach.  Come on Candyman, think about it LA is nice, but South Beach, just turn on some Will Smith Miami and jam out becasue thats where you should be.  Get your money, selfishness is the key here.  Odom was the key to that team, alot of the things I here say he was the one who kept that locker room together, and on the court the numbers dont lie, when he played well the Lakers just straight won.  The lakers are still the best team on paper in the west, with or without Odom, but without odom the Nuggets are right on there heels and can compete very strongy for a title.  SOUTH BEACH BRINGIN THE HEAT

As sweet as our first playoff season was, im greedy.  I want another, and now that we are on the path of the cup, let's look at what we have to do to get further next season.  Now what sucks for me is that im not from the area so i don;t get to watch them every night.  But where do you think we will be next year.  With the young talent really coming into it's own this year, i really don't see a let down next season.  Mason is a monster, who can stand on his head, do a backflip, and carry a team in the post season.  I really think the kid is that good.  One problem area down, next the offense.  Nash will have alot of help next year, Filatov (a.k.a Ivan Drago) is a beast and made a little splash this year, and with Jakub Voracek on the other side, our offensie will be ok. The blueline wins cup's though thats where i think we are missing the last peice.  If we get one more defensive stud we are right there.

Projection

Regular Season Record-46-26-10

Seed- 5th

Western Conference Semi's Eliminated

I just hate him more then anyone else in the world.  No punch line here, i gotta sit there in MSG tonight at the draft and listen to him say everyone in this draft has All-Star potential.  Words to Jay Bilas Eat A Sandwich you stiff. Now im just stretching to make this thing fit but i could go on for days about this guy, i mean there is a reason he hasn't been offered any kind of GM or coaching job. Charles Barkley got offered a GM job, and he still hasn't thats just bad

All the spec about getting a back-up point guard through FA, for once we should look to the draft.  Looking at some boards here Patty Mills is right there for us to take at 34. Now i dont want to put the weight of the back up spot on a Finals contender on the back of Mills, but anybody who watched this kid play knows hes got skills.  We have drafted poorly since Mr. Anthony and looking at the guys there at Number 34 we can get a solid role player.  Ill be at the MSG on Thursday reppin the West Coast 

With a birth in the Western Conference Finals, and for the first time in a long time confident with the way the Nuggets match up with the Lakers I have just one question.  That question is this rest that the Nuggets are getting right now.  Seeing Melo in alittle bit of pain in Game 5, and just my general thoughts on the game of basketball, I am happy that the Nuggets are at home watching both teams, getting ready in the film room and getting healthy.  But one can't lie that if they go into Staples Center on Wednesday and are flat, the question will be raised was the rest bad for the teams groove. Get at me

The Lakers are at the point now where to motivate them to win a Championship, they need Jack Nicholson to suit up in an old school number 44, and try his hand on the defensive end.  Now I don't know if Jack will be a liability on offense but with Kobe there to shoot 40 shots a game I don't think that will be an issue.  I can picture it now, Jack getting furious on the defensive end because Pau is getting flushed on by Kenyon in the post, slapping him across the face and asking him if he understands English. 

I mean once the Nuggets dismantle the Lakers in the Conference Final (that's if they make it there) Phil Jackson may have another book with this team.   Phil Jackson-Doin' Work a Spike Lee Joint.  That's got best seller written all over it.  Kobe trying to act calm to the media as the whole team falls apart behind the curtain, Josh Powell doing steroids, stories of what a bad tipper Adam Morrison is. Classic!

When the 1st round of the NFL draft began, I had a calm sense about me, and the way I thought that the Bucs were going to go with their pick.  After signing Byron Left to a deal and obviously going young on both sides of the ball, I had assumed that like always we would be destined for a defensive stud.  The blueprint was set, and Raheem Morris had a chance to build this Bucs team the same way that our Super Bowl team was built and that was through defense.  There were five players on the defensive side of the ball in 2002 that set the tone defensively and brought our team to the promise land, John Lynch (S), Ronde Barber (CB), Derrick Brooks (LB), Warren Sapp (DT), and Simeon Rice (DE).  With that said these are not the only pieces you need to bring home a world championship, but they are the building blocks that brought us there.

Now what I see in this roster that we have now are similar pieces in place,  a strong safety prospect in Tanard Jackson, an elite pass rusher in Gaines Adams, and a on the rise coverage corner in Aqib Talib.  These three pieces show that this team can be built the same way that the 2002 team was built.  Now the 15th pick comes and I know Houston is going Cushing (who was my number one guy for the Bucs) so I start to look for other linebackers who can fit the mold, and Clay Mathews III was who I ended up with.  This kid has all the makings of stud coverage and pass rushing linebacker.  A self-made player with good genes, Mathews isn't the perfect pick at number 19 but he is exactly what this team needed to get back to the Bucs of old.  The minute I saw they traded up I knew what was coming, the 6 foot 6 QB with a rocket arm.  Now I'm not saying that Freeman has no chance of being the Franchise Quarterback that everyone (including myself) wants him to be, but I don't like giving this kid the keys to my franchise. 

I understand that we are going in a completely different direction of old, and I have wanting to go young for a few years now, the past few years we had no shot so why not just go young, but there is a right way to do it.  So needless to say I'm not looking forward to getting crushed in Madden 2010.