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

This weekend in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao will face Miguel Cotto in what is being described as one of the biggest fights of the year. In the locker room of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, the fight is the talk of the town. In this video, we catch up with Maverick JJ Barea, who tells us why he thinks his good friend Cotto will beat Pacquiao. We also get Mark Cuban's prediction and learn from Kris Humphries which Dallas star would make a great fighter.

Check out the video after the jump.

The Mavericks finally completed a long-rumored deal with Charlotte, but the eventual transaction looks more like an admission of a mistake than a potentially vital move.

Previous rumors placed Dallas in talks to grab Raymond Felton from the Bobcats in a multi-team deal that sent out DeSagana Diop, a player Dallas spent a full five-year mid-level on this past summer.

But the transaction is Diop for Charlotte's Matt Carroll and minor prospect Ryan Hollins. That changes how you have to view the deal.

If you are Adam Morrison, the agent of Adam Morrison, or a fan of Adam Morrison, this Associated Press-culled quote from Larry Brown's first morning in Charlotte bodes poorly.

"I saw Sean (May) when I walked in and Matt (Carroll)," Brown said. "And the kid with the long hair, I didn't know his name. He wasn't dressed like a basketball player."

He can pick out Matt "The Hammer" Carroll ... but not the 2006 #3 pick, who happens to have a rather unforgettable mug?

All the other youngsters on the roster -- Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton, May -- have got to feel like a weight's been lifted off their shoulders: Day 1 and Ammo's already the goat. (It makes perfect sense too, considering Ammo lacks defensive acumen and does not quite fit in the "right way" offensive schema.) Morrison'll be on the trade block by Columbus Day.

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Cup of Coffee
If you don't get the Bad Boys reference, I'm sorry. It appears my time has passed me by. Anywho, Kyle Lowry got the most run of the trio of young Memphis point guards last night, seeing 32 minutes and scoring 24 points with four assists and two steals. Javaris Crittenton had 30 minutes and scored 17 points with four assists and a steal, while Mike Conley, Jr., scored zero points (0 for six shooting) with one assist and a steal in 16 minutes. All of this is important, because for the rest of the season, the Grizzlies are essentially having a tryout for point guard. Whoever is playing well will keep getting the run. I love Conley, and he's legit, but I think people undervalue Lowry. Since it appears he's not going to have a tremendous leash, well, adjust accordingly.

Hot Cakes
Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes are both starters now (do these guys have dirt on a slew of NBA coaches?). Hughes put up eight points with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes while Gooden went nuts, albeit against Memphis, for 21 points and 14 rebounds. It's classic sell high on either guy, although they're certainly doing their best to spite LeBron James at this point.

Mike Miller has been out almost the equivalent of a week in NBA games for the Grizzlies, but is expected to return tonight. Consider holding him out one more game because back injuries = bad field goal percentage.

It's December 15, ladies and germs, and we have a trade. Charlotte swapped out underused but saucy Germanic Argentine Walter Herrmann and defensive workhorse Primoz Brezec for Detroit's one-year-old mistake in Nazr Mohammed. Charlotte gets the big man not named Primoz they need; Detroit loses a contract they've wanted to lose since they drew it up while adding a potent bench threat. Win, win, win...

... except it seems Charlotte could've used Herrmann, too, but didn't. He was brilliant last season as injuries ravaged the Cats. And guess what? Injuries have ravaged Charlotte this year, too. But Jason Richardson's addition at the two has pushed Gerald Wallace into more frontcourt minutes, and Sam Vincent clearly prefers Matt Carroll to Herrmann as the substitute sniper. You'd think with Adam Morrison and Sean May on ice through April we'd have seen more Walter. No, he hasn't been shooting as well as he did last season. But you have to remember he really came on when he was getting big minutes last spring, not in miniature stints... bursts of playing time few players can excel in.

Mohammed's contract is the only major piece of currency in this deal -- both Brezec and Herrmann are unrestricted free agents this July. The move costs Charlotte about an extra $1 million this year -- much less than they would've spent on any replacement big out there anyways. But the real fiscal movement comes over the next three years, as Nazr is allotted another $18 million. No sweat for sane Charlotte; huge news for Detroit. Mohammed's contract has been an albatross for almost a full year. Slipping out of that noose gives Joe Dumars plenty of flexibility heading into the final year of Rasheed Wallace's contract. Joe Dumars with flexibility? Frightening.

How many players could tear their ACL, forcing them to miss the season, and end up with a fair cross-section of the basketball world (not excluding their own fan base) thinking said player's team is better off?

I think Adam Morrison tops that list. He suffered a concerning injury Saturday; initial reports didn't scream bloody murder, but some at the game (against the Lakers) said it would end up more damaging than it looked. Those folks were right: Ammo tore his ACL and will likely miss the entire season, according to the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. Of course, Ammo was the very possibly the worst player receiving major minutes in the entire league last year...

... and add in Charlotte re-signed two studs who ended up behind Morrison in the rotation somehow. Walter Herrmann figured to get a minutes boost by way of Sean May's microfracture surgery anyway; now he'll fit in behind Gerald Wallace at small forward as well. And Matt Carroll (who could very well be a rich man's Jason Kapono) has enough size to slide up a weight class, too. Both Herrmann and Carroll can be considered vast improvements over Morrison (making this injury a net plus for Charlotte); they are older and more finished products, but based on last season it's tough to imagine Ammo ever becoming superior to both.

Obviously, no one wishes ill on Morrison; he's a human like all of us.
But in all seriousness, his team just got better. That's not a joke. The pressure to play the high draft pick is off Sam Vincent.

The Charlotte Bobcats' salary cap situation has long been the envy of every team in the league. Comprised primarily of rookie contracts and other scraps, their payroll has been about as low as it gets. The question was when, if ever, would they realize that wins cost money.

Well, it looks like that hour has arrived. First, they take on Jason Richardson's hefty contract instead of drafting Nick Young or retaining the guy they did choose (Brandan Wright). Now, they've both resigned Matt Carroll and are expected to make an announcement soon on the ever-mysterious Gerald Wallace.

According to the The Charlotte Observer, Carroll will soon ink a deal that pays $27 million over the next six seasons. Not enormous, but impressive for a guy who was in the NBDL three years ago. And who plays the same position as Jason Richardson.

Meanwhile, The Gaston Gazette reports that "officials for both the Bobcats and for Wallace have said recently they are having productive discussions and could be moving closer to a deal." That would be huge for Charlotte, since supposedly there are seven other teams in the running. That and Wallace is an all-defense caliber playmaker who led the team in scoring last season.