After establishing himself as a potential Hall of Fame guard, with offensive skills never before seen in the league and establishing himself as a perennial winner who's only flaw was that he was surrounded by insufficient backup, the last year has done a lot to tarnish that reputation. After being traded to Detroit he was an outright disaster, unable to find his place in the offense or in the locker room. Meanwhile the guard he was traded for, Chauncey Billups, lead his team to the Conference Finals.
As a free agent this summer, Iverson needs to go somewhere quietly and rebuild his image, much the same way that his old coach Larry Brown has in Charlotte. But it might be another small market team Iverson ends up with. One that now features an... eclectic makeup of personalities.
By theory, the NBA Draft Lottery (Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET) is left to randomness. But what if basketball karma dictated the results? Good triumphs over evil. Fairness and compassion reign. Robert Horry does not exist. It's a wonderful world.
Close your eyes and imagine how the ping pong balls would bounce if karma ruled tonight's lottery ...
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our NBA Awards series. Next up: Coach of the Year.
This turned out to be one of those seasons where it would be hard to be wrong in making a pick for Coach of the Year. Eight different coaches were named by our voters, and it was so close that we ended up with a tie for third place. But the one man that stood out above the rest was the one holding the clipboard to your right.
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
"Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there's really nothing to lose." -Jewel
And really, what says "Charlotte Bobcats" like Jewel?
The Lottery is littered with teams that failed to meet expectations. Their hopes broken, their efforts for naught, they're left with nothing but frustration and depression. They limp towards the offseason with hope for nothing more than pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
If it wasn't for the recent Alex Rodriguez news that has taken over ESPN's airwaves, the Duke and North Carolina game would be getting more hype than the new Eminem CD. For the Worldwide Leader, this game is a perfect storm of sorts. Full coverage, big names that draw two types of emotion and their very own Dicky V!
But it is one of those rare sporting events that mean a lot to just about everyone. I don't get pumped about the Red Sox and Yankees, and I have zero affiliation with Ohio State or Michigan. I grew up in Texas and went to school in Arizona and am as far from excited on a personal level for most of the big game match-ups as one could be.
The thing is, Duke and North Carolina do something for me.
NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.
* "It amazes me how quickly the question 'Who is the best player in the NBA?' has been rendered moot." -- The Painted Area.
* "(Bleep) that guy, he's walking around rubbing everyone's nose in the deals he's made and even with all those lottery players his team is still not in the playoffs." -- The Oregonian, via TSB.
* "[Gerald] Wallace's true talent is much more valuable to the team than [Boris] Diaw's. What scares me about this little brushup is that Larry Brown probably has never understood that because he doesn't like Wallace's style, and this is just a preliminary indication that Brown wants to move him." -- Rufus on Fire.
A clever rumor from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News cites a source who indicates the Bobcats rushed their deal for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell through in order to leave enough cushion before the deadline to flip the new players. The trade deadline is February 19.
Players acquired by trade during the season cannot be packaged with another player in a second trade until 60 days have passed. The Bobcats completed the Diaw/Bell trade last Wednesday, which gave them 70 days until the deadline.
But where on Earth could Diaw and/or Bell be headed? Alan Hahn of Newsday has the predictable suggestion.
The Knicks were very much interested in acquiring both Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, but with Mike D'Antoni now in New York after a bitter divorce from the Suns, they were not going to come directly from Phoenix. [...]
Another source has said the Bobcats have maintained interest in Eddy Curry, who has yet to play this season because of a bone bruise in his left knee.
And scene. If this happens -- any of the old Suns to N.Y. for Curry -- Charlotte's moves begin to make sense and infuriate all the more. Jason Richardson is a phenomenal scorer, the best the Bobcats had by a big margin. Curry's only attribute is scoring. It's just like Larry Brown to prefer a post scorer to a guard gunner.
And while that's good basketball theory, he's ignoring that Curry (who he dealt with in N.Y.) is a huge defensive liability who cannot rebound or block shots, while Richardson was a tough dude with a good spirit and some floor skills. No one on the planet could argue the Bobcats would win a Richardson-for-Curry trade. But then again, no one thought Charlotte won the Diaw-for-Richardson swap either.
B. Edwards told y'all Phoenix shook up its core/corps/corpse by swapping out Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. J-Rich in a Suns jersey will provide all sorts of real basketball fodder over the next few months -- FanHouse's Nate Jones noted that between Rich and Amare Stoudemire, rims across the nation should really fear visits from the Suns.
Bell, while surely disappointed to leave his friend Steve Nash and a winning basketball team, did well under Larry Brown in Philadelphia and fits the Brown prototype exactly.
But the Diaw/Brown pairing -- that's what worriesexcites intrigues me a great deal.
The Bobcats not only play at the second-slowest pace in the league (no surprise there with Larry Brown calling shots) but also rank among the four worst teams in offensive efficiency. In other words, not only do they suck, they suck slowly, which is the least entertaining way.
Well, sure, but an unfortunate side effect is that rookie D.J. Augustin will have to take a backseat. Augustin, ostensibly the team's backup point guard, has played out of his mind in the last four games (starting the last three alongside Raymond Felton) by averaging 21 points and 6.2 assists, including 25 and 11 in last night's win over the Sixers.
Brown said he expects to employ a three-guard rotation, but on a team as bad as Charlotte, it's a shame Augustin can't spend his rookie year playing as many minutes as possible to expedite his development for when the wins and losses actually start to matter. That's not going to happen, though, considering Felton has played too well to justify benching but not good enough for another team to bowl the Bobcats over with a trade offer. So instead, it's back to the bench of Augustin, scratching out 20 minutes a night when he should be playing 30 or more.
All the world's contenders pine for Antonio McDyess. With every passing day, Detroit's position grows stronger. McDyess's agent, Andy Miller, makes Cleveland feel better about its chances today, as it is noted that the Cavaliers can offer more cash than the Pistons or Celtics.
"He would be perfect for this team," Brown said pre-game Tuesday. "He's an underrated defender, he can make a shot and he is the best teammate." [...]
Brown has heard McDyess would like to talk to him about the situation, so there's still time for the Bobcats coach to make his sales pitch.
If the Denver buyout (in which McDyess reportedly gave back more money than any other player in modern league history) is any indication, we aren't dealing with a normal cat here. McDyess values happiness and relationships. He's not a ring chaser. Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette notes that in Detroit McDyess was known as Brown's "second son." Anyone else smelling an upset?
Allen Iverson needs to lay low for a while. 
By theory, the NBA Draft Lottery (Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET) is left to randomness. But what if basketball karma dictated the results? Good triumphs over evil. Fairness and compassion reign. 
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our 
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, 
A clever rumor from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News cites 
B. Edwards told y'all Phoenix 
The Bobcats not only play at the 
All the world's contenders pine for 
