astroboy

On the TNT telecast:

Barkley: "He wasn't hurt. He might have tweaked his ankle a little bit, but listen—he didn't go to the doctor because he knew it wasn't bad. No guy makes the plays he makes if he's all on his death bed and they read his last rights. Give me a break.”

Ernie Johnson: "So those crutches were for show when he left the arena the other night?"

Barkley: “Yeah, just like the night he went out and shot for another hour after they lost to Miami. Of course. He loves the drama. That guy can't make plays like that with a bad ankle. Stop it y'all!"

So the Lakers have a huge size advantage with two 7fters and Odom going against Okafor at 6ft 10 and Landry at 6ft 8...

Kobe takes 26 shots...Gasol, Bynum + Odom combined take 22 shots. I'm not saying Kobe isn't an amazing player, but really...

I honestly think the Lakers came out on top after this trade deadline, but doing nothing!

They now have the best team chemistry of any contender and will be the only team out of the Celts, Thunder, Magic, Nuggs, Heat, Knicks etc who have a well-established starting 5 who have been together for years.

Their chances of another championship just went up in my opinion (and I'm not a Laker fan, by the way)...

What if the Lakers rang up the Nuggs and offered Odom, Vujacic & Brown (both one year contracts which would come off the books next year) and draft picks, for Carmelo? Or replace Odom with Bynum?

That's a better deal than what the Knicks can offer...

And a line up of Fisher, Kobe, Melo, Gasol and Odom or Bynum (with Barnes and Artest off the bench) would be dynamite. And once Kobe retires, Melo could take over...

What you think?

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine

How about this...Essentially is a Bynum and expiring contracts for Melo trade...should the Lakers (and Nuggs) do it?

Maybe it's time to start thinking of life after Kobe for the Lakers...he aint getting any younger and superstars like Melo don't come around often. Thoughts?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=546887...

Story breaking today that Melo wants out of Denver...What do you think? Where should he go?

Rockets, Knicks, Nets are supposed to be the main candidates...

Cole, Ivanovic, Terry and ?

I'm interested in people talking about Miami's roster...In my opinion, they have the ability to completely reinvent how basketball is played.

By playing a lineup with Wade at PG, or LBJ playing point-forward, Bosh at centre and some combination of Miller, House or Chalmers on the floor at one time, they have the potential to play faster than any other team in the league. They are like the ULTIMATE fast-break team...

And not only will they be incredibly quick, but by sitting Miller in one corner and House in the other (on offense) the entire middle of the court is open for Wade, Lebron and Bosh, with Wade and LBJ the best penetraters in the league, along with Kobe.

How do you stop them offensively? What possible defensive strategy could you put in place to stop that?

I mean, all they have to do is play decent defense and grab their defensive rebounds, and they're close to unstoppable...I hate what LBJ did, but I'm scared of what these guys are capable of doing in they play as a unit and in sync...agree?

Please Laker fans...take your purple and yellow coloured glasses off...

Theo is a 37 year old man, who was in his prime 10 YEARS AGO!

Honestly, enough with the questions about this guy being a good pick up. Steve Blake was a good pick up, Barnes (if the Lakers get him ) will be a good pick up, but Ratliff can barely get off the ground anymore.

He played 22minutes for the Bobcats last year and averged 4rbs. Any guy how's over 6ft 11 and stood under the basket for 22 minutes a game could grab 4 rbs.

Enough already!

I'm stunned to hear Chris Paul "demanding" a trade today...

So far, Bosh, LBJ, Amare, Paul have all held their teams and their fans to ransom, just so they get what they want. LBJ and Bosh QUIT on their teams, intentionally...

Only Dwight, DWill and Brandon Roy, seem to be superstars who actually care about the team that has fostered their skills and abilities since entering the league.

But the attitude of these guys is kind of disgusting...This morning, Lebron tweeted "Best of luck to my brother @oneandonlycp3. Do what's best for You and your family"...Thanks Lebron. Tell Chris Paul to screw his teammates, screw his fans, screw his franchise and do what's good for himself.

I really hope the Hornets have the guts to MAKE Paul play out his contract for the next 2 years...

Have the Heat taken over the Lakers and Celtics as the most hated team in the NBA?

Who will get the most boos?

I hate Kobe and the Lakers...with a passion. I'm a Bucks fan (I'm an Aussie, so Bogut is my hero), but I have always supported Lebron in the Kobe vs Lebron debate, mainly due to being a proud Laker-hater, but also because I thought LBJ was an amazing talent.

After 'The Decision' though, I don't know what to think. I recognise why LBJ went to Mimai, but to do it on national TV was disgraceful, and from a Basketball perspective, to TEAM up with your greatest opponents, rather than choose to face them, is gutless.

Would Jordan have signed with the Lakers or Celtics? Would Kobe have joined the Wade/Bosh/Heat if he had a chance? Would Reggie Miller have signed with NY to win a championship? Never...

Have you seen some of the contracts on offer or accepted today?

J. Johnson: 119m. Gay: 80m. Amir Johnson: 34m. C. Frye: 30m. Darko: 20m.

Amir Johnson signed a $34 million contract today for the Raptors for 5 years.

This guy averaged 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds a game last year...are you serious?

And Darko!?!?! Impressive stats of 5.6 PPG and 4 rebounds...Has the world gone mad?

Dirk opted out of his final year today...

Think if he teamed up with LBJ in Chicago, that team is unstoppable. LBJ, Rose, Dirk, Noah, Gibson etc...I think this is a better match than with Bosh. Dirk's shooting is a significant advantage and the Bulls have good, young rebounders to let Dirk drift away from the basket.

And this can happen! Bulls need to clear a little more cap space (unless Dirk is willing to take a little less than the max) ... but with Dirk opting out, this is a possibility.

So with the 28th pick, the Grizzlies took Greivis Vasquez.

So Memphis ended up with Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur and Vasquez for the second-best center/PF in basketball and someone who helped the Lakers to three straight Finals and two titles.

Can we all agree this is the worst trade ever. now?

Well done Lakers...I still hate you and always will...

Brilliant! Jordan's kid is all over Kobe Bryant on Twitter...It's on!!!

http://twitter.com/SASBMJ

Seriously bad offensive game from both teams going on...

Just amazing to see how tight this game is, and how tense the players seem...