There is a reason nothing stays the same in the NBA. It's never good enough -- even at the top.
What the Los Angeles Lakers learned from the previous four NBA champs – Detroit, Miami, San Antonio and Boston -- was that the status quo will just get you beat the next season.
It's why there have been no repeats lately.
By landing Ron Artest to replace Trevor Ariza -- a huge upgrade -- the Lakers did what others before them didn't do. They got better after they won.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
San Antonio needed a major infusion of offensive talent this season, and it appears the team has found it. Multiple league reports indicate the Spurs have traded for Milwaukee's Richard Jefferson, sending away only bit players Bruce Bowen (age 38), Kurt Thomas (age 36) and Fabricio Oberto (age 34), according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Jefferson has been in Wisconsin for one year, following last June's draft day trade which sent Yi Jianlian and others to New Jersey. Jefferson has always been a moderately efficient scorer, and he should provide some relief for Tony Parker and Tim Duncan in the Spurs starting line-up. He's not quite an ace defender, but he played hard for Scott Skiles last season and hasn't missed a game in two seasons.
After two putrid drafts, the NBA returned to form in 2001 -- but not right away. This draft will forever be known as the day Michael Jordan transformed from the greatest player on Earth to a below average general manager. With the No. 1 overall pick, Jordan held the fate of the Washington Wizards in the same hands that dunked on many of opponent, and he had a rich variety of players for which to don the savior of the franchise.
And he chose Kwame Brown. It really wasn't Kwame's fault. He was the victim of an amazing workout that impressed Jordan so much -- was this thing on video? -- that Air was convinced Brown would emerge as an All-Star. The brutal truth is that this prep player from Georgia faded into one of the biggest busts in draft history, hanging out in the same club as LaRue Martin, Joe Barry Carroll and Michael Olowokandi.
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
Through the first half of the season, the Bucks rode as one of the great surprises of the NBA. A team sunk in the dead space between truly atrocious and just plain bad in 2007-08, Scott Skiles (and Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut) had Milwaukee back on the map, threatening to crash the postseason and even peeking into one analyst's Top 5 around the New Year.
It's hard to believe now, but once upon a time the Central Division was a powerhouse. As recent as 2006 it sent all five of its teams to the playoffs, and in 2007 it featured the top three records in the East. But last year? Only two made it to the postseason, including the disappointing Cavs, who followed up their NBA Finals appearance by winning five fewer games than the season before and failing to score as many points as they gave up.
Can the Central regain its luster in 2008-09? Well, the Pistons are still the Pistons, which means their ticket to the postseason is already punched, and the Cavs are tagging along for the ride so long as LeBron James is around. The Bulls, Pacers and Bucks will still bring up the rear, but at least there's honest-to-goodness hope they're headed in the right direction after making a series of offseason moves. Let's take a look at the most compelling storylines.
Remember a while back when Gilbert Arenas was thinking about not blogging anymore? Contrary to what we all believed, it appeared that he didn't enjoy all the attention from the media he received when he said something that was perceived to be wacky or downright controversial. Well, after a hiatus of over two months, Gilbert is back with a monster effort that deals mostly with his international tour for adidas. But there are also some gems in there where Gilbert gives his opinions on some of the recent free agent moves that have gone down.
Besides basically saying that he doesn't see the Elton Brand, Baron Davis, or Corey Maggette deals as being the best fit for those respective teams, he also breaks out the laughter when thinking about the deal that sent Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee.
Richard Jefferson going to Milwaukee .... HAHAHA! Oh man, now that is funny. When I heard that, I started laughing. Oh man, did I start laughing. You know why? Because every player hates Milwaukee. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee. I'm sorry, Milwaukee, to come down hard on you, but no one in the NBA wants to play in Milwaukee. From him going from New Jersey, actually from New York (because he lives in New York), from New York to Milwaukee is like going ... let's just say it's not going to sit well with you. That was a funny one when I heard that one.
While this is something we discussed at the time the trade happened, it's pretty hilarious to see Gilbert going LOL on the deal and adding in the part about every player hating Milwaukee. The Bucks and Wizards always seem to play extremelycompetitive games; this recent post from Gilbert will simply add a little something extra to the fire.
This little tidbit comes from the New York Post, so by all means, take it with a grain of salt. But the word on the street is that Richard Jefferson isn't very happy about being traded from the Nets -- a hop-skip from possibly the most happening city in the entire country, NYC -- to the frozen tundra of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Behold:
"He didn't seem very happy," said [Nets team president Rod] Thorn, who emphasized yesterday he had not yet spoken to Jefferson. "I spoke to his agent, I called him, texted him. I like Richard. He was here for a long time and I'm sure he still expected to be here. Unless you are the one pushing for it, it's always difficult when you are traded. You are going to a new place, have new teammates. It's hard at first."
So, Rod Thorn didn't speak to RJ, yet through his telepathic connection with him just knows that he doesn't seem happy. That's fine I guess, because the Post isn't exactly making a huge leap here. To say that Jefferson -- who, after the Kidd trade, was basically the face of the franchise -- wouldn't be pleased to pack up and start things over again in freaking Milwaukee of all places, is really just common sense, isn't it?
I don't think any All-Star caliber player would be happy about leaving the New York area for Wisconsin. But if there's a bright side for RJ, it's of the basketball variety: the Bucks might be pretty decent next season, and if healthy, should contend for a playoff spot. Michael Redd, Mo WIlliams, Andrew Bogut, and (possibly) rookie Joe Alexander could be rounding out the Bucks' opening day starting five. Looks pretty good to me, although I said that last season too. Maybe you should take what I say with a grain of salt as well.
Crystal Ballin'takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.
Rod Thorn's rebuild officially started when he hijacked traded for Devin Harris and the 21st pick from the Mavericks for Jason Kidd, but this draft, with two first rounders, has the potential to be a tremendous springboard for any improvement the Nets make in the immediate and longterm future.
Picks: #10, #21, #40 Needs: The Nets have Harris, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter as their core. So, the big three, only a little younger. Josh Boone has flashed low post potential, but you have to think they're looking a big man that can provide them with a consistent offensive threat in the post, although a scoring point guard or combo wouldn't be a bad fit here either.
Best case scenario: Brook Lopez or Anthony Randolph falls in their lap. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen. Charlotte will likely snag Lopez if he drops and Randolph is primarily projected as a top 7 pick. So instead, they decide to take one of the better players in the draft, and scoop up Randolph to run/gun with their squad at the four.
We've all heard about the SI Cover Jinx. It's slightly less evil and demonic (and real) than the dreaded "Madden Curse". But it turns out that individual athletes are not the only ones affected by the evil powers that inhabit the artificially produced covers of Sports Illustrated.
Who else is affected, you might ask? Let's just say if you are a professional athlete, you do not want to appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue anytime soon with your ladyfriend.
Somebody get Leonard Nimoy on the case, because this is spooky.
Take a quick look at this list, focusing only on the couples featured. A frightening pattern develops.
Quite a few have had what can be described as, depending on your definition, issues.
Now, it would appear that the Swimsuit Couples Jinx takes a little longer to affect those photographed than the normal SI Cover Jinx. But it still gets the job done. Listed on SI's page are a slew of athletes, most of whom have taken a nose dive from grace recently.
Eddie George and Tom Gugliotta come to mind, although most of their downturns were pre-photo shoot, which can only be attributed to some Lostian foreshadowing evil, or something. Really, the only person not affected was Keyshawn Johnson, who, as we all know, is the best dressed man in America.
There is a reason nothing stays the same in the NBA. It's never good enough -- even at the top.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
San Antonio needed a major infusion of offensive talent this season, and it appears the team has found it. Multiple league reports indicate the Spurs have traded for Milwaukee's Richard Jefferson, sending away only bit players Bruce Bowen (age 38), Kurt Thomas (age 36) and Fabricio Oberto (age 34), according to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.
FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in Revisiting the NBA Draft.
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
Remember a while back when Gilbert Arenas was thinking about not blogging anymore? Contrary to what we all believed, it appeared that he didn't enjoy all the attention from the media he received when he said something that was perceived to be wacky or downright controversial. Well, after a hiatus of over two months, Gilbert is back with a monster effort that deals mostly with his international tour for adidas. But there are also some gems in there where Gilbert gives his opinions on some of the recent free agent moves that have gone down.
This little tidbit comes from the New York Post, so by all means, take it with a grain of salt. But the word on the street is that Richard Jefferson isn't very happy about being traded from the Nets -- a hop-skip from possibly the most happening city in the entire country, NYC -- to the frozen tundra of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Behold:
Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.
We've all heard about the SI Cover Jinx. It's slightly less evil and demonic (and real) than the dreaded "Madden Curse". But it turns out that individual athletes are not the only ones affected by the evil powers that inhabit the artificially produced covers of Sports Illustrated. 
