whats goin on guys?  im a sixers fan that is desiring change.  we have some nice talent that doesnt fit together.  one piece to our puzzle is Andre Iguodala.

the problem with most of these trades that people concoct on the web is theyre ridiculously one sided.  i think this deal is mutually beneficial. 

Andre Iguodala for Andre Kirilenko and ur first rounder (the knicks pick)

We take on that albatross of a contract in kirilenko and u get a really good player in Iguodala.  hes a great defender and he would fit in ur offense.  imagine ur fast break ability.  especially after boozer is gone after this year, having millsap take over.

were rebuilding (depressing considering all the money we put into brand).  so the knicks pick brings us some fresh blood that could be top 6 pick. and u get talent thats already seasoned for while unloading AK's remaining money this year and like 18 million on the books for another year.  i know owners are looking for ways to save money.  so basically giving it away to AK cant be fun for them.  plus theyd have to pay for a young kid that might not help the team for a couple years.

the variable here is ur perception.  i truly believe this to be a nice deal for both teams but that just could be my bias.  there might be some thinking about john wall...but u have Deron.  and u cant play wall at the 2 or deron at the 2.  and Derrick favors wouldnt make much sense.  and thats only if u get such a high pick.  this deal helps u now and in the future.  it helps us in the future.

wheres the downside?

yes, sometimes Oden makes curious decisions on D.  and they lead to fouls.  but as many, many people have said there are a lot of legitimately horrible calls against him.

this is what i want to see that may or not help anything.  i want to see Oden or Macmillan get tossed for arguing.  someone needs to says something; some kind of anger or frustration needs to be expressed instead this look of defeat they show.  now i dont know if ive missed an incident of Mac passionately arguing being on the brink of getting thrown out...but i havent seen it.  and u certainly havent seen it out of Oden.. but i think other coaches, when egregious errors are made, sometimes go off on refs in support of their players. 

anyway, thats what i want to see once or twice.  i dont know if it will help anything, but it will be better than just exasperated/frustrated reactions every single time with no escalation.   it would be a nice statement from my point of view.

I dont understand why Mr Nate HAS to stick to his minutes plan rather than letting the game flow.  If Oden is having success, with limited or no fouls, why in the first quarter or whenever does he HAVE to take him out?  6 minutes BAM.  cya ur out of the game no matter what.  if the man is playing well with limited fouls...let him stay in the game for a few more minutes.  hey, maybe even try for a whole quarter.  i get it, he might have conditioning issues, but we wont be able to see what he can do playing extended minutes if u dont give the guy a chance.

give GO a chance.

 The Jazz have the Knicks pick for the 2010 nba draft.  How, pray tell?  By way of a Tom Gugliotta trade thru picks received in the Marbury trade.

I just dont like the jazz and the fact that they might luck out getting a top 5 pick irks me.  They can utilize it by taking D Favors or package it cuz they dont want to take John Wall.  This could mean a MAJOR acquisition, and no one wants that to happen, not even Peter Criss (family guy reference).

Ive had just about enough of them winning a lot of games every year in the reg. season and it never amounts to anything, and now that might change.  i hope Greg gets it goin big time as time goes by.

 Theres something i dont understand.  Someone who has had a similar injury history but is now healthy in Andrew Bynum is getting 31 minutes per game in the preseason.  Greg is only getting 24.   I know people might be tired around here about the constant dissection of Oden, but i think this is significant.

What is the plan for Oden this year?  My view was if he is healthy, which he absolutely will be, he should be playing around 30 per game.  But do u guys think that having Przy is still going to get 24 minutes a game?  If not, why not start getting Oden used to those kinds of minutes as soon as possible?  The only reasons i can think of not doing this all stem from the fact that it's preseason.  1, fear of injury in a meaningless game...2, trying to figure rotations...3, i dunno i cant think about it cuz it makes me angry.

I cant imagine this post will get a lot of responses, but im just trying to see if anyone feels kinda the same way.  And am i just being a Nervous Pervis?  Personally, i think Nate feels compelled to use Przy just cuz hes there.  Any sign of trouble, ya got nice warm blanket to cover up.  But the things that will advance Oden's game the most is playing through growing pains.  His overall impact on the game will still be positive, so i just dont get playing him for less than 30 minutes.  could be preseason, but im just worried about this strategy of playing em only lets say 24 minutes or 26 persisting thru the entire season.

its probably just over analysis relating to a desperate yerning of the season finally getting under way.

This will probably not go over well, but not a big deal.

I really think the blazers should trade Lamarcus and outlaw for Amare Stoudemire.  The reason im saying this is because i dont see lamarcus ever becoming the player he can be.  All he does is shoot jumpers (well majority of the time), which hes good at.  But if youre gona have a power forward like that, u might as well have the best versiion of that guy.  Lamarcus is basically a lesser version of amare.  Everyone harps on amares D, but on a team thats capable of winning a title and in a system that actually preaches D, i think he can become adequate.  Its not like LMA is all defensive, hes just passable too.

Im not sayin he'll never get better, but if we dont see something other than the same jump shooting guy again in the first 2 months, i wouldnt say its probable he'll be taking another step any time soon.  Hes only 3 years younger and is up for a new contract.  With all the hype he gets he is probably asking for 12-14 mill per.  undeserved.  Since team salary doesnt matter anymore since roy was resigned, why not get amare for a comparable amount of money (16 this year and his new contract would prob be 16-18 a year) and have a better version of LMA while getting rid of some clutter in outlaw.

I hope LMA improves, but im just not seein it.  Amare and his crazy field goal percentage and nice FT percentage would mean an automatic WCF bid and possible finals appearance regardless of how good greg is.  And if greg is consistently good, thats a championship team.  Obviously the same could be said with LMA this year or in a few years, but in my mind amare would be a an upgrade.

Also after having the eye surgery and thru that ridiculous recovery of 22 hours a day for 10 days of laying prone in a massage table, he claims to have a renewed appreciation for the game.

Well thats all i got.

this could be completely out of left field, but i think it has some degree of validity.

much of what greg oden's strengths are revolve around his defense.  thats what every person talks about him for, and everyone always says "just play defense and rebound."  while i expect to see a much improved greg oden on the offensive end, i think people are selling him short on his offensive potential.  so after workin this summer to get in shape and add some fluidity to his game, he also added in some post moves and a short jumper (so they say, and so i believe 100 percent).  but up until this point i feel like people just wanted him to fit in on offense.  just doing what a big man does by dunking and getting offensive rebounds, then accompanying that with a decent post game.  not anything to write home about..but around maybe 12 to 16 ppg.  people say thats all we need from him.  i think this is hindering his development into what i think can be the best offensive center in basketball.  instead of saying "oh, just be adequate on offense and dominant on D" say "get out there and dominate on BOTH ends."

now i think the advantages of this in the long run are clear.  aldridge right now is our 2nd option on offense, oden being 4th or hopefully third now this year after the productive summer.  but i think he should work hard enough on his offense next summer and however many summers after that to the point where he is either equivalent to roy in priority (kind of like shaq and kobe) or becomes the teams second option.  just seeing how physically intimidating he is combined with some of the rim rattling dunks he has, i think he can emulate Shaq in some areas on that end of the floor.  im not saying he'll be as great as shaq was, but similar.  the variables in this equation are Oden's development of legit moves and the organizations possible plans to consolidate talent (trading some young/talented players for a legit star).  if he coupled those with last season's apparent mentality of "dunk everything," he could exceed predraft expectations if thats possible.

i can easily envision a year or 2 after this one Oden's scoring total increase to around 20 points per game (maybe more) on a ridiculously high field goal percentage of around 58 and a free throw percentage of around 73.  what im getting at here is the difference between a team that is perennial contender to a team that could be a potential dynasty.  because, unfortunately, i think the lakers and celtics (even tho they are up there in age, i still think they have 2 to 4 good years left) are built that way in terms of talent and team philosophy.  so since the lakers are in the west, we should consistently become their WCF opponent in the very near future.  and since kobe/pau/bynum/artest/odom are locked up for the next couple of years it couild become the new rivalry.

but it wont become a happy one unless greg realizes his full potential.  that is, getting past his injuries and foul troubles (linked to his being out of shape) and trending up in terms of rate of development.  the reason im stressing this is because i think the only way to become the class of the league is for Greg to become that kind of player on both ends of the floor.  if he becomes solid on the offensive end, i could see them winning MAYBE (possibly none) 1 or 2 titles depending upon how the rest of the team does.  but if he becomes very good or great on that end, i could see them winning 4 or 5 even if the other youngins dont develop as much as they can.

so what im hoping for is for people to challenge him to become that player.  after getting his mental state more in line, i feel like he is fully capable of handling such expectations.  the man has a very increased awareness, which led to his semi antisocial tendencies last year after not living up to expectations (very unfair expectations after the injuries and his age in basketball years).  this was both good and bad.  being aware of expectations allows you put the work in to live up to them but is coupled with the pressure to do so.  this is where greg has progressed significantly  by knowing how to deal with the expectations by improving and still having fun.

so dont put him in a box.  if what im hoping for does happen, it would be the most challenging path to stardom in a long time in my mind.  all im sayin is that im fully confident in gregs abilities and am hoping that even if he has a successful year, complacency does not set in in either him or those around him.