NBA Trade, and a Possible Blockbuster

Diddy and Papa will both give their opinions on the reported NBA deals

First the minor, but reportedly done deal

Pacers get: Stephen Jackson
Hawks get: Al Harrington

Diddy: Talent wise I give the edge to the Hawks. I feel Al Harrington is a superstar in the makings. The thing is that he has never been a superstar, and will Jason Terry be willing to give up the role as the team's superstar. Stephen Jackson was a HUGE part of San Antonio's title run in 2003. He should be able to really help the Pacers out in the playoffs. Jackson is the 3 point threat the Pacers were missing against the Pistons. EDGE: Pacers, but slightly.

Big Papa:Great deal for both teams. The Pacers dealt from a strength to pick up another, younger three point threat. The Hawks add a young, athletic Small Forward who is a potential super-star. I give the short term edge to Indy but Atlanta got the better player in this deal.

Now the Blockbuster, that Shaq has OK'd but reportedly the Heat for some ignent reason have not Ok'd

The Heat get:SHAQ
The Lakers get:Brian Grant, Lamar Odom, and either Caron Butler or a 1st rd pick

Diddy:I think the edge is clearly to the Heat. Shaquille Oneal is a mammoth force. He is getting older, and how many years he has left is unknown. But, the Heat were good last year, and the addition of Shaq will make them instant title contenders. I think that the Heat should give up the draft pick and start Butler. Butler has 20 PPG potential, and is still very young. All I know is that if the Lakers do this deal, and Kobe does not resign.... they will look the Clippers of the past next year. EDGE:HEAT

BigPapa:SHAQ SHAQ SHAQ SHAQ. The Heat get the edge. I beleive the choice between the pick or Butler is up to the Lakers. Look for them to take Butler if this deal gets done.

Early Word on Memo's Possible Replacements

Its very early. But, Memo is basically gone. The Pistons will not overpay him. The Pistons refusing to overpay players has been the key to Joe Dumars success in my opinion. Antonio McDyess has been named as a possible replacement for Okur. Today though I heard a name that sounded extremly intriguing to me. Stromile Swift. I read that the Pistons are going to try to land the freakish athletic power forward in an attempt to replace Mehmet Okur. I believe that Stromile would be a perfect fit for the Pistons. His defensive presence would be perfect in efforts to give Ben and 'Sheed minutes on the bench. He would be a crowd favorite, and also would feed off the energy from the Palace fans. I would love to see Stromile in a Piston jersey.

Memo to Pistons fans: Bye

Mehmet Okur is going to be playing for the Utah Jazz next season. The Jazz offered Memo a 6 year 50 million dollar contract. That is a lot of money for someone who could not get off the Piston's bench in the postseason. Maybe, just maybe, the Pistons had a lot more talent than people were saying during last season.

Mehmet is a restricted free agent, but there is no chance of the Pistons matching this deal. We offered Memo about ten million dollars less money. The early word on Memo's possible replacement is Antonio McDyess. I am not sure what I think about that, but he used to be very good. He will not have to do much on the Pistons squad. I believe it would be a good fit for McDyess, but not sure it helps the Pistons team all that much.

Early word is that the initial meeting with Rasheed went well. I will not stop being extremly nervous however until I hear Rasheed accepts our offer. The god damn Knicks possibility really scares me. PLEASE STAY SHEED. PLEASE. Lets prove this is no fluke.