FanHouse Arron Afflalo

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

NBA All-Star Paul Pierce and legendary basketball coach John Wooden are two names every basketball fan knows -- each have made their mark on the game in their own way. The two greats recently received high honors from the HAX Gym in Hawthorne during a fund-raising dinner, which helped generate much needed funds for programs that help inner-city kids with academic and athletic scholarships.

In this video we talk to the Pierce, the 2008 Finals MVP, as well as Arron Afflalo about his recent trade to the Nuggets, Lamond Murray on what it takes to make the NBA, and Leila Ali on the state of boxing.

Check out the video after the jump.

LAS VEGAS -- Detroit cleared some salary cap space and increased its roster flexibility by sending guard Arron Afflalo and forward Walter Sharpe to the Nuggets for a 2011 second-round pick. Afflalo, a defensive ace, averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 149 games while Sharpe, played in eight games for Detroit last season.

The Pistons signed Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon to free-agent contracts and drafted Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers and acquired Fabrico Oberto from the Milwaukee Bucks. The move saved $1.8 million in cap for the Pistons, who can fill other needs.

Detroit's retooling is far from complete but the Pistons will be a factor in the Eastern Conference after shedding veterans Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson, and moving Amir Johnson to Milwaukee.

During the second half of Miami's win in Detroit, after a tougher-than-usual bucket from Dwyane Wade, Jeff Van Gundy made a particularly keen observation.

"It's a joke how good this guy is," Van Gundy remarked.

Even though Wade finished with 39 points, it wasn't his offense, but his defense that ended up sealing the victory for the Heat down the stretch.

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Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Another loss during this downturn would have hurt Boston, no matter how much fans deny worry. Orlando lurks, pressing for the No. 2 seed in the East; the Magic desperately, I assume, want to avoid the Pistons ... which makes the Celtics pray the Magic meet the Pistons. (Sorry, playoff fever.) So a loss to Miami hurts. A loss to Miami with Dwyane Wade sitting out? Pain ain't the word.

Rip Hamilton took an absolute beating in the final minutes of Detroit's loss to the Celtics. First he got poked in the eye by Ray Allen with about three minutes left, and because the refs swallowed their whistles, the Pistons were forced to burn a time out they really could have used in the final seconds.

But more of a lasting concern is the sprained elbow he suffered in the final minute (which, to be fair, he may have sustained while illegally clutching Allen on the other end). He was forced out of the game in obvious pain and Flip Saunders still isn't sure about his availability tomorrow night. From A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers:

"It would be different if it was his left arm, but it's his right arm, his shooting arm, the golden arm" Saunders said. "I think he'll need to get it polished up a bit before he can play."

If he has any motor ability whatsoever in the arm, I'd be shocked if he sat out, but if it did come to that, the Pistons have some options. Arron Afflalo has started in place of Rip in the regular season, but Rodney Stuckey, who can play both backcourt positions, seems like the more likely option to start for him now. Stay tuned.

FanHouse is posting the top five current athletes for America's top 25 cities with the following criteria: 1) Who would an LA sports fan say is his/her favorite athlete? 2) Would the player's name (or face) be familiar to locals who don't follow sports?

Find your city's top five: ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DC | DEN | DET | HOU | IND | LA | MIA | MIL | MIN | NO | NY | SF | PHI | PHO | PIT | SD | SEA | STL

Los Angeles is truly devoid of stars at the moment. In reality, there is only one player who should make this list, and everyone else should receive honorable mention. Not having a professional football team hurts the LA area, but what star power they lack in the pro game is usually made up for in the collegiate ranks. Presently however, none of the major collegiate programs has a bonafide star, which makes this list harder to do. Plus, there was the question as to whether or not Anaheim teams should be included. Anyways, here's my list of the top five athletes in LA, with thanks to all my friends who provided assistance.

5. Elton Brand: For the past six seasons, EB has been a 20 and 10 player for the Clippers, quietly establishing himself as one of the best forwards in the league. Sure he plays for the secondary basketball team in town, but his on-court hustle and positive attitude has made him a favorite amongst the LA crowd. The recent emergence of the Clippers as a playoff contender has helped raise Brand's profile as well.

4. Vladimir Guerrero: Vlad makes the cut because he's the lone pure slugger out of the two successful teams in what is a huge baseball town. The fact that he doesn't speak much English or do many interviews hurts his marketability, but his studly numbers speak for themselves. Vlad has been a 30/100 guy since the day he signed with the Angels, hitting over .300 each season, and OPSing over .900. Oh yeah, being named AL MVP in his first year with the team sure didn't hurt his popularity either.
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