Let's jump right into it. I'm a longtime soccer fan without an MLS team, who happens to be relocating to within reasonable driving distance of Chicago, and unreasonable driving distance of every other MLS city save for Columbus. Additionally, I have family in Chicago who I plan to visit regularly. For those reasons, The Men in Red have a huge leg up on winning my allegiance, but will I be making a huge mistake? And if so, will it be a huge mistake I stand proudly by for decades or one that I pretend never happened in a year or two?

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Let's assume the worst for a second.  Let's say Luka is gone to Chelsea, for an exorbitant sum.  It can't be less than exorbitant because I refuse to accept the possibility of Luka in a Chelsea shirt if it does not result in at least 45M in the transfer coffers.  It can't happen, I'm plugging my ears, you can't tell me otherwise, please, please don't.  Now what?  Who are your ideal transfer targets?

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Welcome to the next installment of "Cap'n Hack's Not Necessarily Wolves Specific Basketball Thoughts." Though, this one is pretty important to Wolves related news, what with Rubio coming over and all, so maybe I should have waited on that title, but since "not necessarily" does not mean "never ever," I'm sticking with it. ANYWAY, let's begin.

Fact:  Creating a shot for yourself is less valuable that creating shots for yourself and the four other guys on the floor with you.

Opinion:  Ball movement is way more fun to watch than Iso basketball.

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Or, maybe more accurately, why I can't read or watch any coverage of this year's finals without being terribly disappointed and why the result (regardless of what it is) will leave me feeling empty and/or bored.

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Just watched Barcelona demolish French side Asvel Basket (the game was Thursday, but NBAtv aired it today).  Rubio looked very impressive.  The fact that he slipped to 5 makes at least two of the four teams that passed on him look sillier by the day.

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(An OT discussion of statistical analysis to follow, tune out now if you are uninterested)

It is an oft repeated catchphrase here on GSoM, and likely on many other blogs, "Stats don't tell the whole story."  This is a true statement, and one that I don't see a good reason to refute, but it's not true in the way people seem to think that it is.  A statistical breakdown of a season, a game, or a quarter will give you a very close to complete picture of what went well, who played poorly and how teams won or lost.  What they don't give us is a reason to care about that.  In this way, basketball-reference.com, Wages of Wins and other analytic sources are the CliffsNotes of the NBA.

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Let’s get this out of the way.  Brandon Jennings appears to have very good playmaking skills, is very quick, and an excellent athlete.  He also appears to be an inefficient scorer, who can’t hit a three to save his life, with rebounding and defense issues (though there have been conflicting reports on his defense).  We know this; we’ve heard it before, many times.  Mcwalter44 made any sort of real scouting report here almost completely unnecessary.  If you are interested in a more standard scouting report on Jennings, previous fanposts should be able to help you out.  From here on out, we are leaving any semblance of a traditional scouting report behind and moving into a “cap’n hack feels ways about stuff, particularly Brandon Jennings” extravaganza.  You’ve been warned.

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What does it really mean to be a fan?  Is it throwing yourself in wholeheartedly to a team you care about?  Is it about dedicating yourself to that particular team's wins and losses and letting that be a large part of your life?  I'm not really sure that either of those are the case.  I am absolutely devoted to the Warriors, moreso than any team I've ever followed, but I don't think that whether or not they win games is central to either my existence, or my fanhood.  It sounds sort of weird, but hear me out.

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We hear a lot about the "logjam" at the 1-3 on the Warriors, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this is the area of the team that needs the most work.  The Biedrins/Turiaf and Randolph/Wright situation for our bigs seems to be one that can be very respectable for the coming years.  Randolph and Wright still have some work to do (please stay out of foul trouble Randolph! Please!), but the makings are there now for a very good front court.  The main issue we seem to have is at our guards and swingmen, something that probably requires a bit of explanation.

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Okay, so I'm a Warriors fan, and normally I do my posting on GSoM, but I think that Phoenix has potentially the most interesting team as far as range of possibilities go, for next season, so here I am.  Where do you folks see the Suns next year?

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Think about it, of the eight teams that finished above us at least four of them will probably be worse next year.  Denver has to have the highest likelihood of any one team having a one team Artest-brawl at their practice facility of any team in NBA history (or if no one goes to those, any random home game).  Have you seen a Nuggets game?  They don't speak to each other under any circumstances, it's creepy.  The odds of them staying cohesive enough to compete are slim. 

The Mavs are trotting out Jason Kidd's lifeless body (as much as it hurts me to say that about the guy) at the point every night, Erick Dampier at center and Dirk who hasn't had any heart since the Dubs ripped it from his chest in '07.  No playoffs are a possibility for them too. 

The Suns are counting on Steve Nash's back,  Grant Hill's general health and Shaq not collapsing on the court after every time he jumps.  Doesn't sound like a team that is winning as many games as they did last year to me. 

The Rockets need Yao to stay healthy and T-Mac to pull it together and have plenty of question marks themselves. 

Almost every supporting guy on the Spurs is the winning combination of old, unathletic and a potential free agent.  I think they'll reload properly, but maybe not fast enough for next year. 

The Hornets and Jazz should be about as good as they were this year, accounting for CP3 and Deron getting a little better, but having some aging pieces around them.  

The Lakers are the only really terrifying team for next year, if Bynum is healthy.  That team could win 70 next year, thanks to the grand theft Gasol trade and Farmar improving a little.

Right now, that leaves us as a 6-8 seed in my estimation, accounting for Portland probably getting into the mix as well.  If we add another all-star caliber or at least close to it talent, we shoot up to the 4-6 if everything plays out right.  That's why I am so concerned when Nellie says that he wants to spend a lot of time developing young guys at the expense of a few wins.  I don't think he will, when has he ever, but that is a sign that management isn't going to make much of a splash in the off-season.  Let's make a trade that makes us more than just a scary first round matchup.  A lot of good names are being floated right now and I want to see something done.  I've been hearing Marion is available along with Sheed and all those restricted free agents who could be brought in with the right sign and trade.  There is no reason for us not to go all in this year instead of developing young guys to be good when the traditional powerhouse teams get ready to win again. 

Please Mullin, get someone this year, we need it.