Fandom Free Agency - #16 Indiana Pacers

Starting to get into the really tough decisions in this process. I look at every team I have remaining and see some redeemable quality that would make me want to be a fan of theirs. I couldn't say that for a lot of the earlier teams.

So now, as the playoffs loom closely it's time to really start putting the non-playoff teams under the microscope. Any team that's in the playoffs I will still have a few more weeks to evaluate and really see how I feel about the team in the playoffs. But for the teams that are still remaining and aren't eliminated, it's time to take a real close look. Those teams are:

New Orleans and Houston - Solid chances of surviving to the offseason

Minnesota - The original culprit, but they'll survive

Chicago - Interesting capabilities this offseason

Philadelphia - Surviving merely on 2k10 playing ability

And then there's Indiana. There are certainly some things I like about Indiana. Danny Granger is very solid and of course Brandon Rush will always have a certain value for me, but when I compare the Pacers to the other teams left on the list they just don't have the same appeal.

First off, as much as I love me some B Rush, I can't exactly look past what he did last Sunday. If I'm going to throw Matt Barnes under the bus then Brandon deserves some criticism as well for his 0 point output in a game where he played 19 minutes and his team scored 133.

Also, Brandon is dangerously close to earning a distinction that he doesn't really want. Brandon is about to become (according to John Hollinger's rankings) the worst player in NBA history to lead his team in minutes played. Now, that sounds really bad, but it's not really Brandon's fault that the other main players on his team have all been injured and missed significant time.

That's been a big problem for the Pacers, a ton of injuries. They're currently playing very good basketball to close out the season with a healthy roster so it could be said that they're unlucky. However, it could also be said that they are full of injuries because they continue to sign and draft high risk players.

T.J. Ford has spent of of his career on the injured list. Troy Murphy is injured just about every season. Roy Hibbert is going to miss some time every year and his knees will probably just give up and some point and even Rush has had injury problems in college and in the pros.

I want to feel sorry for the Pacers and give them the benefit of the doubt, but I also root for a MLB team in the Royals that is plagued by injuries mainly because of the people they sign and not just luck. At some point you create your own luck.

Intentionally left out of the discussion...

Fandom Free Agency - #17 Orlando Magic

Big mistake Orlando. You should have never signed Matt Barnes.

Sure, at the time it seemed innocent enough. He's a solid defender and 3-point shooter, and as Kobe Bryant can attest, he gives the Magic a little bit of a needed edge. I respect Dwight Howard put he doesn't exactly have a tough guy persona.

I actually liked Matt Barnes enough to add him to my fantasy team during my championship game. I was especially impressed with his ability to go a clean looking UCLA bruin to someone who covered his upper body in tattoos. I remember the first time I saw Barnes resurface in the NBA after a few non-distinct years, I had to do a double-take and a "Wait? That's the same guy."

Ultimately though, Barnes and the Magic played 4 games last week and that's why Barnes warranted a spot on my team for the most important week of the season.

That's when it all started going terribly wrong. Barnes averaged just over 3 points a game during the week and struggled shooting the ball. Then Sunday I think the frustration set in over his terrible week and Barnes decided it was a good idea to get tossed from the game.

What you have to understand is that our league includes ejections as a category and this ejection put what was once a blowout matchup into some serious question. It's a silly category, but one that was included in anticipation of something like this. The incredible amount of frustration that comes when one of your players gets tossed at an important time. I never considered that it would happen to me, and with a player who had only been on my team for a week.

In a way I probably deserved it for trying to force 4 worthless games out of a journeyman NBA player. And thankfully for Mr. Barnes I did end up winning the championship after all was said and done.

But I put that ejection as the 2nd worst moment in Orlando Magic history. Normally I'd say worst, but even I'll admit that this doesn't surpass Nick Anderson inexplicably losing the ability to shoot a free throw.

I recognize that Matt Barnes may not even be playing for Orlando after this season, but I just can't root for the team after Barnes caused me so much frustration last Sunday. I blame the Magic for putting him in.

The first man to single-handedly eliminate a team.

Fandom Free Agency - #18 Sacramento Kings

Prior to last night the Kings were teetering on the edge. As much as I liked and cheered for the Kings of the early 2000s the lasting memory of that team for me is Shaq continuously, and I mean continuously putting them in their place.

Then after spending this past weekend surrounded by happy K-State and Northern Iowa fans I wanted to punch out anything purple. I couldn't root for the Kings after a weekend like that.

Then last night happened. On the very same night that I wrote of the Nets for being a pathetic excuse for a basketball team, they went out and beat the Kings for their 8th win of the season.

The Kings started off this season as one of the league's surprise teams. Since then, they've dismantled the team, started looking like a team that will have a Top 5 pick again next year and then topped it off by losing to the Nets last night.

I've watched the Kings play a number of times this year in both the real world and the video game world and no matter where they're playing they really only have player who teams have to plan around.

Tyreke Evans has the ability to turn any game into his own personal lay-up line at any time but the players who usually surround him are Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia, Andres Nocioni, Spencer Hawes and Carl Landry. If you looked at that list and wondered why you didn't recognize those name, it's because you shouldn't.

Carl Landry is a nice player, but he went from being a potential 6th man of the year in Sacramento to being the #2 option in Sacramento. The rest of the guys are nice role players, but hardly anybody that you have to game plan around.

And then there's the fact that Sacramento took the team away from Kansas City. Now, I'm not really bitter about that. I wasn't alive during any of the Kings years in Kansas City and I have no attachment to the team. But out of respect for my city I have to stand up for this sort of heist.

The name Kings still lingers as a Kansas City team name, along with the Royals and Chiefs, and the team does still choose to taunt KC by occasionally wearing throwbacks like these.

In the end, the Kings have just insulted me in two many ways. They wear purple, the left Kansas City and they made Scot Pollard go all the way to Boston to win an NBA title.

Just imagine what Pollard would do with his Kings ring.

Fandom Free Agency - #19 New Jersey Nets

It really shouldn't have ever gone this far. This is one of those deals where I looked at the remaining teams and then immedeatly said, "Wait a minute? How did New Jersey make it this far."

I of course remember that the New Jersey Nets won a dramatic game of NBA 2k10 to keep them alive not long ago. But that win has apparently given the real life Nets absolutely no momentum at all.

The Nets are currently sitting at a historically bad 7-63 record and have already set an NBA record for most consecutive losses to start a season.

They're bad. Really bad. Historically bad. And for that there is really no reason for me to keep them around any longer.

I've been a Kansas City Royals fan all my life, and because of that I've seem some really bad sports teams. But a winning percentage of .100 is just beyond belief. Even more so, I see no redeemable qualities with this Nets team.

Former all-star Devin Harris is now a shell of his former self and a constant reminder that the Nets got way to little in return for Jason Kidd, who is now in Dallas making every player on their team better.

The teams best player right now is probably Brook Lopez, but have you ever heard Brook Lopez talk? Is there any way that you can take someone who wore a storm-trooper mask and said, "I feel like a 3-year old right now," and then trust that person to win in late game situations?

The answer is no, you can't, and that's why the Nets have won 7 games and have lost an unacceptably large amount of close games this season.

(This isn't even mentioning Chris Douglas-Roberts whose late game heroics I'm very familiar with.)

The Nets aren't completely hopeless though. They're getting a new owner who has been described as "The Russian Mark Cuban" and if nothing else they're young. Of their top 6 scorers the oldest one is Devin Harris who is only 27 and each of their top 10 scorers are all under the age of 30.

There's also hope for the future because they're terrible record makes them a strong favorite to win the John Wall lottery at about 25%. Add to that number that the NBA lottery is rigged and I'll go ahead and bump that number up to about 60%.

But if you think I'm hitching my fandom wagon to a team that only wins 10% of it's games, then you're about as crazy as Brook Lopez.

Confused Brook? I thought you might be.

Fandom Free Agency - #20 Detroit Pistons

I've rooted for the Detroit Pistons one time in my life. The 2004 NBA Finals against the team listed right below them in this post.

As you can imagine I'm not a big fan of veteran players going to title bound teams just so they can win a ring late in their career. So as much as I (and unexplainably every other teenager) of the early 2000s loved Gary Payton and his Los Angeles Laker running mate Karl Malone. I could not root for them to find their way onto the 3-time champion Lakers just to win a championship.

So, in 2004 I became a Detroit Pistons fan for about a month a rooted hard for Mr. Big Shot, Rip Hamilton and Mr. Ball Don't Lie.

With those players the Pistons could have been a very attractive team for my fandom free agency. But sadly those players are all either gone or beyond their prime. Really the only redeemable quality from those Pistons that still remains is their P.A. announcer Mason.

I respect Mason for almost single-handedly changing the game for NBA P.A. announcers, but he will not be able to single-handedly make me a fan of the Pistons.

The real kicker for Detroit Basketball is that Joe Dumars apparently doesn't know what year it is, and that's a real problem for a man who's in charge of a sports franchise.

For almost 2 1/2 years now everyone has been talking about the 2010 free agent class. I'm convinced that Joe Dumars misheard and thought that everyone was talking about the 2009 free agent class.

So then when last offseason came Dumars frantically tried to sign the two top free agents on the market and didn't realize until after it was all said and done that he had signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva instead of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. In all reality, a simple mistake to make.

I also wanted to again give Dumars the benefit of the doubt (I mean he did assemble a championship at one point in time) and say that maybe his plan was just to assemble an All-NBA team of UConn Huskies. He brought in Gordon and Villanueva to join Rip Hamilton but unfortunately I knew this wasn't his plan when after the trade deadline he failed to trade Tayshaun Prince for either Ray Allen or Caron Butler.

So, as is, Dumars seems to be just a very confused GM. He traded an All-Star player, and more importantly a winner, in Chauncey Billups for one half season of Allen Iverson. And has now spent well over 100 million dollars for a sixth-man type guard who does nothing away from the ball in Gordon and a big man who refuses to play down low in Villanueva.

I'm sorry Piston fans, but I can't be a part of this upcoming disaster.

UCONN TEAM, ASSEMBLE!!

Fandom Free Agency - #21 Los Angeles Lakers

Ah heck, while I'm at it I might as well just eliminate an entire city.

I think anyone who knows me knew that I wasn't going to end up picking the Lakers as my team when this was all said and done. However, the least I could do was give the Lakers the respect of letting them survive past the Clippers. So now that the Clippers are gone, I feel free to eliminate the team that shares the Staples Center with them.

The reason I knew I wouldn't end up a Laker fan? I hate frontrunners.

I think the worst thing about sports are people who just cheer for the teams that win championships. Sure I don't get nearly the joy out of winning all the time, but trust me, the victory is oh so much sweeter when you have to wait and you can claim you've been cheering for a while.

During All-Star weekend I heard an interview with LeBron talking about how he was honored to play in Cowboy Stadium because "he loved" the Cowboys while growing up. The interview made me sick. We already know that LeBron is a Yankee fan so he's frontrunning in baseball and we now know that he did it for football as well.

Really LeBron? Were the Browns and the Indians just not on TV in Cleveland growing up?

I'll make a leap here and say this has something to do with why LeBron hasn't won a championship yet. The guy doesn't know how rare championship opportunities really are. All of his championships came often and he never really had to wait for them. So while I respect the heck out of LeBron, I can't respect his choices for sports teams.

So therefore, you will not find me rooting for the Lakers. In fact, in almost any situation I end up rooting against teams like the Lakers, Yankees and Cowboys. It's not really a knock on their teams, I really respect any players and team management that can continuously win championships. It's the fans of these teams that make me root against them.

From my experience fans of teams like this seem to think they are entitled to things. I don't know any Laker fans, but I've heard stories and I think I can easily compare them to teams like the Yankees and even St. Louis Cardinals who's fans can never fathom rooting for a team like the Royals.

Losing sucks. Anyone will tell you that, but it also makes you stronger and often a better fan for it. I can appreciate a good struggle. I can appreciate a good underdog. I can't appreciate bandwagoners.

Be a Laker fan! Everyone's doing it!

Fandom Free Agency - #22 Los Angeles Clippers

Almost a week late on my trade deadline reaction but if this year's trade deadline proved anything to me it's that there is no possible way to root for the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers made 2 different trades in the week leading up to the trade deadline and both gave me the obvious impression that the team has quit and as usual is just trying to save money for their owner Donald Sterling (a noted cheapskate and racist.)

The first trade, swapping Marcus Camby for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. On the face of it, it's not a terrible deal... Camby is an expiring contract and Steve "The Eliminator" Blake and Outlaw aren't terrible players. But Outlaw has been hurt most of the season and will likely never play a minute for the Clippers.

Because of that the trade brought out some serious emotion from the Clippers players. Camby was actually upset to leave LA, presumably because of the town not his team, and one Clipper rightfully pointed out, "All the guys are upset because our best defensive player got traded for basically a backup point guard and some money."

The Clippers then completed the trade deadline by moving Bassy Telfair (a former favorite T-Wolf of mine) and Al Thornton for Drew Gooden. Drew is one of my all-time favorite Jayhawks, but even I can't see him having any positive impact for the Clip Show and the got rid of two young pieces to get him.

The team did make one good move prior to the deadline though when GM Mike Dunleavy relieved himself of his coaching duties. I won't get into Dunleavy's coaching downfalls, they're well documented. But when Mike Dunleavy showed up at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday I wasn't happy to see an NBA executive in the building, I was just hoping to God he would stay away from the Jayhawks.

I understand what the Clippers are doing. They've cleared cap space and now have an open coaching position that they can use to lure new players for next season. But if the Clippers think the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh are coming to play for them they're dreaming. I'll throw out the prediction right now that during this upcoming offseason the Clippers will give out a max contract to Rudy Gay after their turned down by everyone else. Just way too predictable.

The Clippers have some good young talent, but honestly what team that has been in the lottery the last 4 years doesn't have talent. I actually hope that the likes of Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon can turn them into contenders in the near future. A good Clippers team is always an intriguing story.

However, if this past trade deadline has proven anything to me it's that there is no reason you can ever root for the Clippers. Year after year they continue to make moves that infuriate both their fans and their own players.

Maybe someday he'll even wear the jersey!

Fandom Free Agency - #23 Charlotte Bobcats

First off, let me say this decision was reached on two nights ago. So please don't read anything into Charlotte's home loss tonight to the New Jersey Nets as a reason for their elimination. New Jersey's 2nd road win of the season is an embarrassing loss for the Bobcats, but it is not the reason for the elimination.

As you may or may not have noticed two nights ago was the NBA All-Star Game, or as Kobe Bryant rightly coined it, "The World's Greatest Pickup Game." The All-Star Game in my mind accomplishes two good things for the NBA: 1) It gives a great spotlight for the games greatest players, 2) It proves that the NBA is actually capable of playing defense.

Stick with me here, I'm not saying the NBA All-Star Game is a great spokesperson for NBA defense. In fact there is little to no defense played at all. But what it does prove is that on any given night a team filled with NBA players can go out and score 150 points if they're faced with the All-Star Game type defense. In reality NBA teams average a little under 100 points a night and this is a testament to the type of D the NBA has. To keep these supremely talented players under 100 in 48 minutes is actually quite a defensive accomplishment and shows just how hard these teams do play.

Which brings me to the Bobcats... Charlotte was represented this All-Star weekend by one man, Gerald Wallace. Wallace was scheduled to compete in both the All-Star game and the dunk contest, and although I watched most of both events, I'm still not sure whether Wallace made it through the snow in Dallas in time for those events.

Wallace was a no-show during the dunk contest. Putting up uninspired dunk attempts and eventually getting eliminated in the first round. Say what you will about the dunk contest (and it was terrible) but at least the young kids they have in it appear to care. DeMar DeRozan had the best creativity of any dunker this year and even a young Gerald Wallace came up with great dunks when he was in it 8 years ago.

LeBron, Kobe and D Howard would be great in the dunk contest. I would watch and they'd get great ratings but really the young kids are they ones who will come up with the more creative dunks. Give me the players who have something to prove when they get to the dunk contest and if you need an example just look at the difference between 2002 Gerald Wallace and 2010 Gerald Wallace.

Now on to the actual All-Star Game. I made the decree on Sunday night that the player with the worst All-Star Game performance would have his team eliminated. Gerald Wallace was again scheduled to appear but showed up with only 2 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. He was also a depressing -12 on +/- for the game but I'm not going to use All-Star +/- as a statistic to judge someone. It probably just means that Wallace didn't get to play with LeBron on the court at the same time. Heck Dwayne Wade won the MVP but finished with a -2.

The point is, I'm eliminating the Bobcats because Gerald Wallace is the first All-Star they've ever had and he showed up like he didn't understand why he was in Dallas. Bill Simmons made the joke earlier today that Wallace should claim he got roofie'd on Friday night after his All-Star performace. I'd have to agree with him.

If I'm going to follow a team it's because there star player shows up on the biggest stage. I want a player who shines the lights are bright and doesn't act like he's there just to enjoy the after parties.

I don't dislike the Bobcats. I sang the praises of Captain Jack in a previous post. Raymond Felton is solid contributor on my fantasy team. D.J. Augustin while at Texas was kind enough to treat me to two of my favorite games as a KU fan.

Lots of potential for the Bobcats, and I think they're a big time bandwagon team when this year's playoffs come. But Gerald Wallace's performance this weekend has kept me off of that bandwagon.

Obviously giving Dallas casino advice and not dunk contest tips.

Player Profile - Latrell Sprewell

New feature here on The Blingdom, player profiles. We'll start off with a good one, Latrell Sprewell.

Note: This post is a mixture of opinions and facts, I'll leave it up to you to find the difference.

Fast Facts:

- Latrell was drafted 24th overall in the 1992 draft by Golden State.

- Latrell made his first All-Star game in just his 3rd year in the league.

- Latrell averaged 18.8 ppg for his career with a high-water mark of 24.2 ppg in 1996-97.

- Latrell still holds the record for most 3 ptrs in a game without a miss (9)

- Latrell rarely ever dunked with one-hand. Almost any Spree dunk you can find is a two-handed throwdown.

- Latrell went to Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, MO.

- Poplar Bluff only has one river that runs through it.

The Teams

- Golden State (traded away for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings)

- New York (traded away for Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon)

- Minnesota (not re-signed)

The Story

Just saying that Spree moved along from Golden State, New York and Minnesota really doesn't do the man any justice. Spree had a real knack for wearing out his welcome on the teams he played for, and each time his exit begins with a one of a kind story.

In Golden State, Spree infamously tried to choke his coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice. The alleged story is that Carlesimo told Sprewell to put "a little more mustard" on his passes, Sprewell was not in the mood for criticism, told his coach he would kill him and then dragged him to the ground.

A subsequent suspension cost Spree $6.4 million but it appeared to change him as a man. Sprewell remorsefully told 60 minutes "I wasn't choking P.J. that hard. I mean, he could breathe."

In New York, things went a little better for Spree, he led the team to an NBA finals and appeared to have rewarded the Knicks for taking a chance on him. Then in 2002, Spree proceeded to break his wrist and then lie to the Knicks by telling them he did it by slipping and falling on his yacht. The real story... he was in a fight on his yacht. We'll get to more on the yacht later on though.

In Minnesota, Spree performed well and led the team to a Western Conference Final. He averaged nearly 20 ppg and was understandably upset when the team offered him only $7 million a year for his services after the season. What wasn't understandable however was Spree's claim that he turned down the deal because, "He has kids to feed." Certainly a guy could feed his kids on $7 mil per season.

Which leads us to Latrell's life after basketball. Latrell had chances to sign with several teams after he was spurned by the T-Wolves but never accepted a contract. His agent told Sports Illustrated that Spree had turned down all of his offers because "Latrell doesn't need the money that badly." Not only does that directly contradict Spree saying that "He has kids to feed," but it's also a downright lie.

You see, Spree really, really needed the money. In August 2006, Spree was having a grand old time on the lakes of Wisconsin, riding around on his 70-foot yacht named "Milwaukee's Best." Yes, the same yacht that he was fighting on when he got in trouble with the Knicks.

So, as the story goes Spree reportedly tried to combine two of his favorite activities (yacht fighting and choking) when he choked a woman he was reportedly getting it on with on his yacht. No charges were filed against Spree in the incident but it was apparently enough to put a strain on his relationship with his "life companion" who later sued Latrell for a reported $200 million.

But the curse on "Milwaukee's Best" didn't end there. Latrell also once accidentally grounded the yacht in shallow waters. It eventually took several boats to help get the gigantic yacht back into the water after Spree refused to call to get the boat professionally salvaged.

The yacht was obviously only causing problems for Sprewell at this point. So he did what any honest man would do in the situation. He stopped making payments on it and had it repo'd.

Spree's boat was auctioned off to the highest bidder and soon afterwards his Milwaukee home was foreclosed and sold to the highest bidder as well. You see people, Latrell not only had kids to feed, he also had a lavish lifestyle to live and $7 million a year just wasn't going to make that work.

Let's by honest though, Latrell going bankrupt doesn't make him all that different from other professional basketball players. He's not the first and won't be the last to do it. NBA players typically live well beyond their means and do so while supporting just about everyone else around them. But Spree's bankruptcy story isn't just about "boats and hoes." It's a story of failed investment ideas as well.

You may remember that Latrell became famous for more than just his time on the basketball court during his prime. Latrell was also a businessman, and his business venture centered on selling "Spinners."

Times were good for Spree's Spinning Rims. They were shouted out in rap songs, appeared on numerous MTV Cribs episodes, and put Spree on the cover of magazines. But in the end "Spinners" passed out of consciousness faster than any of Spree's choking victims and this failed investment has to have led to Spree's current financial problems.

Latrell Sprewell: An all-Star, a businessman, a father and above all a choke artist.

Please tell me he's not gambling now... Wait?! Is that KG and Sam Cassell next to him?

Fandom Free Agency - #24 Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are the first team that I actually had to be convinced to eliminate. Don't get me wrong, they probably would have been eliminated eventually but I actually had no intentions of doing it this early until I heard a couple of compelling arguments for why I shouldn't root for Golden State.

The reason I wanted to keep them around is selfishly I kind of like the Warriors. Even if you haven't ever played NBA 2k10 you can probably imagine what it's like to play with Steph Curry in a video game.

Also, Monta Ellis is a big time player for my fantasy team. Say what you will about Monta playing basketball (and I will say some things later on...) but fantasy wise his 25.8 ppg, 5.5 assists and 2 steals translate very well. It doesn't much mater to me if he's shooting 30% from 3, I want him to keep shooting and he does.

Lastly, I have some great memories of the 2007 Warriors and their run in the playoffs. Those Warriors were must see TV and even though the players who dominated that series in Captain Jack, Al Harrington, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus (back when his name was pronounced Mic-KAY-ul), and of course Baron Davis have moved on I still have a soft spot for that team.

(Because I have to, a quick side note on that Baron Davis dunk I just linked... That is an unbelievably underrated moment in sports. It's a fantastic dunk but the reaction to it is just as fantastic. The roof almost comes off at Oracle Arena which you rarely see in the NBA, Adonal Foyle's face is priceless at the end, Captain Jack's natural reaction is to start brushing the dirt of Baron's shoulders and then there's Baron's reaction to it.

For some unknown reason Baron's first reaction was to untuck his shirt in celebration. It's a rarely seen reaction and it's just pure excitement from Baron at what he had just done. The only other time we see the shirt untuck move is in baseball after a walk-off home run. Just a great celebration in my book.)

Now, onto the reasons I will not be rooting for the Warriors at any point in the future.

Currently, my other professional sports teams are the Royals and Chiefs. These are two teams that have coaches who can be described as shaky at best. However, there can't be a coach in professional sports who is worse right now than Don Nelson of the Warriors.

Nelly has always had an odd coaching style. Sure, he has won in a few places but he basically did it by throwing a bunch of talented guys out on the floor and just letting chaos reign supreme. That 2007 Warriors team was a lot of things, but well-coached was not one of them.

Nowadays, it's a wonder if the most talented players even make it out on the floor for the Warriors. Captain Jack demanded out. Anthony Randolph may have more potential than anyone in the NBA, but Nelly has almost brought the kid to tears a couple of times. Then, when I watched a good portion of the Warriors vs. Thunder game on Sunday night I noticed just how absurd the Warriors rotations are this season. I wasn't the only one who noticed either, you have to watch this rant about the Warriors from NBA.com (Thanks to John Krenger for the assist on this one.)

I won't rehash everything in that rant but basically the Warriors have a guy in Andres Biedrins who once looked like an all-star and is now sharing time with former D-league players and the disgrace that is Ronny Turiaf.

While watching the Warriors vs. Thunder I actually witnessed on multiple occasions where Ronny Turiaf would hand the ball of to Monta Ellis and then just stand still with his hands on his hips. No attempt at a rebound, no picks or movement for him. Just hands on his hips watching Monta work. Turiaf isn't completely to blame for this. Monta had no intention of giving up the ball to anyone else so it really may have been a waste of Turiaf's time to continue working.

That's the biggest problem with the Warriors, they represent everything stereotypical of the NBA. The league really isn't all about selfish players who don't play D. There are several teams who thrive on great ball movement and defense, but you would never know it if you only watched the Warriors. He's some recent performances they had:

1/31 @ Thunder - Monta Ellis 9/24 for 24 pts, 2 asts, 5 TOs.

1/26 @ Kings - Corey Maggette 3/22, 13/16 fts for 19 pts, 4 TOs.

1/24 vs. Suns - Maggette and Ellis combined 20/48 for 52 pts.

1/20 vs. Nuggets - Ellis and Steph Curry combined 18/45 for 54 pts.

There's no arguing that those are a lot of points but it's really not that effective when you take so many shots. Also, that last game I listed against the Nuggets is the most worrisome of them all. I fear that Steph Curry could be catching on to how Monta plays ball. Curry could be a fantastic player some day but he has a high potential to be poisoned by Monta before that happens.

Monta is obviously playing for himself. Nelly has either lost his mind or this team is trying to tank and get John Wall. One can only imagine what Monta Ellis would do if he had to play with John Wall next season. I suggested on twitter that he may try to steal the ball from him on offense, but fighting him isn't out of the question either.

The Warriors are just a disfunctional team on too many levels. There's no reason to keep them around in my quest any longer.

Yes, that is a set of praying hands holding a gun on Jack's chest.

He's just one of the many big guns that voted himself off the Warriors.

Fandom Free Agency - #25 Utah Jazz

This is what my fandom free agency is all about. Teams battling it out and not letting me down on expectations. The New Jersey Nets have let a lot of people down this season, but as of today, I'm not one of them.

The Nets fail to meet just about every guideline I picked out for selecting a team. They aren't good, they don't have many players I like and let's face it, they also have a dumb team name. But before I wrote them off I had to test their NBA 2k10 playability.

This set up the first ever double fandom elimination game between the video game Nets and Jazz. Simple rules really, 12 minute quarters to decide who gets eliminated. The Nets lose and I deem them unplayable. The Jazz lose and I eliminate them because they're unable to beat the woeful Nets.

From the title of this post you can already see how the game went. A 132-127 Nets victory that left the Jazz fans in stunned and upset that I would not be joining them in the crowd at EnergySolutions Arena.

Now, without further adieu, I will attempt to break a record for the most in-depth coverage of a NBA video game.

LAWRENCE, KS| Times have been tough for Sean Williams. The troubled third-year power forward has battled injuries, and various personal problems since arriving at Boston College and then to the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

Williams, however, has always had talent and superb athleticism and there was no better time for Williams to show off that talent than in what was quite possibly the most meaningful game the Nets will play this year.

Williams and the Nets walked into EnergySolutions Arena knowing they're fandom free agency spot was on the line if they couldn't overcome a the Utah Jazz and a raucous home crowd. Everyone in the building knew it was a big game, it always is when Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg are in the building. The stars were out in force with Devin Harris scoring 31 with 18 assists and Deron Williams (no relation to Sean) having 19 and 21. But nobody shined brighter than Sean Williams who finished with 28-9-8 and had a beautiful foray of dunks that sucked the air right out of Utah.

Williams did his best work in the 2nd quarter, scoring 14 points on 6 dunks including an alley-oop from Devin Harris that may give Mehmet Okur nightmares for years to come.

The barrage of dunks had the Nets up by 11 at halftime, but the Jazz came storming back in the 3rd to take a 1 point lead going into the 4th thanks the Deron Williams and fellow Utah guard Ronnie Brewer who finished with 36.

Then came one of the most tightly contested 4th quarters the NBA has ever seen. Both teams exchanging buckets and neither team having a bigger lead than 5 until Terrence Williams (again, no relation to Sean) took the game over in the final 3 minutes.

The rookie scored 9 points in the final 3 minutes including two dunks and a dagger of a 3-pointer in the final minute to lock up the game for the Nets.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock the Nets celebrated as if they'd won a NBA title (and really, this may be as close as they get to one) as the Jazz hung their heads knowing they had lost a potential fan because of their loss to the woeful Nets.

But really Utah, you should have seen this coming like the Knicks. You can't build a roster of players from Duke, Illinois, Arkansas and a russian who occasionally cries during press conferences. The loss to the Nets was merely the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sorry Deron, but #1 you are not.

Fandom Free Agency - #26 New York Knicks

We have our second elimination via an elimination game.

Tonight, I gave the Knicks a chance to knock off the Lakers and a save themselves from fandom elimination. A tall task, no doubt, but it's no secret I don't like the Knicks and they needed a big time showing to stay alive.

The Knicks put up a fight holding Kobe to 14 points through the first 3 quarters and actually taking a 1 point lead into the 4th. But eventually fell to the Lake Show 114-104.

It would have taken a lot for me to pick the Knicks as my team. I view the Knicks as the Yankees of the NBA, the only difference is, the Knicks have a salary cap to deal with. Imagine how cash strapped the Yankees would be if they had to keep their high-paid, terrible players like Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano the way the Knicks had to keep Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry.

The Knicks are far from the young team I want to grow with, and they don't even have a #1 pick this season. In fact, the Knicks are a perfect example of why it's odd for my to be doing this selecting during this season. Come next season the Knicks, like many teams, will look completely different from the team they have this year.

I like guys like Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and David Lee, but really there's no guarantee that any of those guys will be on the team next season.

Sure, the Knicks may end up with LeBron or D Wade after this season, but that's what I'm picking on right now. I'm forced to look at their roster and see guys Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and Toney Douglas. Little hope for the future as far as I can see.

The Knicks have a ton of history, I'm not eliminating them because of their weak team name like the Raptors and Grizzlies. There's a lot to respect about the Knicks. I truly believe Donnie Walsh will turn them around one day, but I will not be rooting for them when that happens.

And the Knicks, like the Raptors, have the Isiah Thomas Era to thank for that.

Fandom Free Agency - #27 Memphis Grizzlies

This one was actually a little tough. I debated quite a few teams to be the next eliminated. The Jazz, Nets, Knicks and my eventual choice the Grizzlies were all up for consideration. All of those teams are officially on notice.

Then, I almost made tonight's Suns v. Hawks game on ESPN an elimination game for the Suns. I wanted a team that would do my bidding and if the Suns couldn't come through tonight and knock off the Hawks I was going to eliminate them. I decided not to do it.

The Suns would have been the first team I eliminated that had a member of my fantasy team on it, and my newfound love for Channing Frye helped move them off the chopping block. But the biggest reason the Suns were sparred from the guillotine was this video found on YouTube. How could I eliminate a team after watching that? That's a team to root for.

So, my string of not eliminating fantasy players continued but this elimination does come with a first. The Grizzlies are the first team I'm axing that have a former KU player on their team, Darrell Arthur.

DA is a tough guy to sacrifice too. A quick trip to Darrell's facebook Fan Page will surprise you when you look at who created the group. Yep, that's me.

This year though, Darrell hasn't even played a game for a surprisingly good Grizzlies team. Overall, I think it's fair to say Darrell has done more harm than good for the city of Memphis.

The elimination isn't Darrell's fault. It's his teammate's fault. I don't see one player on their active roster I'd like to root for except Rudy Gay, who won't even be around after this season. As for DeMarre Carroll, don't even go there.

Most of all though, I can't root for their GM Chris Wallace. I'll give some credit for putting together an OK team this season but this is the guy who screwed up the Iverson signing this offseason, drafted Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall and literally gave Pau Gasol to the Lakers a few years back.

Also, I said in the original post that I want a team I can root for in the playoffs and while the Grizz are doing OK this year, I don't think they'll make it. Even if they did, they would assuredly be swept in the first round. Little known fact is that the Grizzlies franchise has never won a playoff game, 3 appearances and they're 0-12.

Lastly though, I'd be a hypocrite for rooting for the Grizzlies after eliminating the Raptors. Obviously the Grizz aren't in Canada anymore, but their team nickname is just silly and has a lot of similarities to the Raptors silly team name. Like Toronto, Vancouver gave the Grizz a team color of Naismith Blue which, like Naismith Silver has an equal amount of dumb.

Also, when the original naming was being done one of the options was the Vancouver Mounties which obviously would have been incredible. Instead the team was named the Grizzlies and it stuck through their move to Memphis.

Obviously, there are no grizzly bears in Memphis barring an exhibit at what is apparently America's #1 Zoo. I just can't understand what prevents teams from changing their team name when they move to a new city. Apparently when the team was moving to Memphis, FedEx made a strong push to name the team the Memphis Express after their company but the NBA overruled the decision and they decided to stick with Grizzlies. Weak.

But don't be too down Memphis, you've still got that Zoo.

An even rarer sighting in Memphis than an actual bear.

Good, Better, Best, Bestest - 1/12/10

Bringing to you the best of the Internet in a very particular order:

Good - Mike Tyson still has it. The man who once said he would "eat your children" gave some more great threats to Hornswoggle from the WWE.

Better - Always been a fan of Baron Davis. Here's a very well put together video of Boom Dizzle dribbling around the streets of New York City.

Best - Very underrated moment from the weekend in sports was Steve Breaston oozing machismo and imitating Razor Ramon in this TD celebration. I sent a text to a few friends as soon as I saw it, but I have to add this to the many reasons I don't like Joe Buck. As soon as I saw the celebration I knew there was no chance Buck would recognize it's greatness during the game.

Bestest - I really don't know how to describe the electric glide from LT. But I love every second of it.

Fandom Free Agency - #28 Atlanta Hawks

I don't like Joe Johnson.

And as the wise ATL prophet Ludacris once said, "You disagree, take the Tyson approach and bite me!"

Joe and I started off on the wrong foot. I liked the Spurs teams that he insisted on torturing while with the Suns and nowadays the lasting image of Joe in my mind is his video game self hitting contested 3 after contested 3 over me in a playoff series against my buddy CJ. 

Because of this I had a biased opinion of Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks, but in fairness to my free agency fandom I needed to give the Hawks a shot (a contested, over multiple defenders, long Joe Johnson shot.)

CJ is a recently baptized Hawks fan who found the Hawks after he was wowed by a half-filled Phillips Arena a few nights ago. I'm a little weary of his sudden fandom because it's the 4th different team CJ has said he's a fan of this season following the Knicks, Wizards and Pacers. So, needless to say, I'm a little weary to accept his opinions.

But when CJ extended the Joe Johnson olive branch a few nights ago, I had to give him a chance. I made the stipulation the JoJohn had to go for 30 tonight against the Celtics or the Hawks were gone for good. CJ agreed that this was fair.

So, that made tonight the first of what will hopefully be many elimination style games. Hawks vs. Celtics on ESPN with my fandom resting firmly in Joe Johnson's hands.

My thinking behind this? I need a star player I can count on. The Celtics were a big game for the Hawks and if I couldn't count on Joe getting 30 for me tonight, then I could never count on him.

What did Joe do tonight?

He choked. Straight up choked with the fate of one potential fan in the balance. 5-16 for 12 points in a Hawks victory.

But let's be honest, I don't just hate the Hawks because of their star player. There were many other things keeping me away. 

Mike Bibby, maybe the biggest reason that the greatest KU team of all time didn't make it past the Sweet 16. Joe Smith. Cost my T-Wolves multiple 1st round picks. Marvin Williams. Don't go there.

I liked the old Hawks, the Dominique Wilkins Era, the Dikembe Mutumbo Era, heck they even traded for Danny Manning from the Clippers one time. But then the Hawks made one big mistake.

Yep, they got rid of the Pacman logo. I'm a huge fan of Pacman. As far as I know, I still own the all-time high score at The Wheel. I've been called the Emmitt Smith of Pacman, nothing flashy, just slowly matriculating points until I own the record.

Growing up I always thought the Hawks were using Pacman as their logo. I swear to you, today was the first time in my life that I actually saw the Hawk silhouette in that logo. It was like this picture where you either see an old lady or a young lady depending how you look at it. I refused to see the Hawk in that picture. I only saw Pacman.

Well then the Hawks decided to change their logo to an actual picture of a Hawk. That started their downfall and ultimately started sealing their fandom fate. Until Joe Johnson officially sealed it tonight.

Fandom Free Agency - #29 Toronto Raptors

Who am I kidding? I wasn't going to root for a team from Canada, simple as that.

I'm the type of person who loves hearing and singing along to the national anthem before games. Not only would I miss this as a Raptors fan but I only know 2 words to the Canadian national anthem.

I respect Raptors basketball. I once went to a game in Phoenix and saw Vince Carter drop 50 points back when he was still known as Air Canada.

But I couldn't pull myself to root for them. They're too far away, never on TV and I don't know any Raptor fans. I'm sure they're out there though, they have an entire country to themselves for God's sake.

As far as the players go, there are some good ones: I like Jose Calderon, he's fun to watch. Chris Bosh is one of the most fan friendly guys in the league, but he'll likely be gone after this season. DeMar DeRozan is a player I wanted the T-Wolves to take in the draft last year. However, none of these players could overcome the single biggest reason I won't root for the team.

The biggest reason I won't root for the Raptors is that "The Raptors" is just a dumb excuse for a team name. Los Angeles Lakers is also dumb but there could potentially be a lake in LA. I think it goes without saying that their are no actual Raptors in Toronto.

Also, the Lakers were once in Minnesota so they just moved to LA with that name. The Raptors have no excuse for their name, but here's the excuses they tried to come up with.

First, something I already knew... The Raptors chose their name partially because of the popularity of Jurassic Park at the time. Apparently in 1994, dinosaurs were to Canadians what vampires are to teenage girls nowadays. They saw them in movies and just couldn't take their minds off of them.

Teenage girls cope with vampire obsession by putting up posters in their rooms. Canadians coped with dinosaur obsession by naming their basketball team after them.

Some other things I learned during research... Sports teams have a funny way of making up colors. The Oregon Ducks like to refer to their colors as "Lightning Yellow and Thunder Green." When the Toronto unveiled the teams official colors they named them red, purple, black, and "Naismith silver."

Yep, Naismith silver, after the inventor of the game James Naismith, who apparently is a native Canadian. As a Kansas fan, this almost swayed me into not eliminating them. Then I realized that silver actually has no connection to James Naismith and it was just another step in a lot of bad decisions made while branding the Raptors.

Oddly enough, the original team name Toronto wanted was the Toronto Huskies. The name of the last pro basketball team in Toronto that folded in 1947. However, the name was scrapped because they decided the logo would make them look too much like the Timberwolves. Ironic, because not wanting to associate myself with the T-wolves is what brought me to this little tidbit.

Next, Toronto opened the naming up to public entries. Lots of names were submitted and considered, including the Raptors (which I'm guessing was written in Crayon on the back of a coloring book page) and the Hogs. Yes, that's right, the Raptors could have potentially been named the Toronto Hogs.

Not only would I have loved to root for the Toronto Hogs, but it would have made for hours upon hours of fun. The arena could be called The Sty. The fans could have squealed like pigs after every basket. Miss Piggy could have been used as a team mascot. Instead of "Air Canada" Vince Carter could have simply had the name "Ball Hog."

But instead Toronto chose the Raptors, and now they've lost a potential fan because of it.


This picture is full of mistakes.

Fandom Free Agency - #30 Washington Wizards

And so it begins. After crunching a few numbers today I have deemed the Washington Wizards as the hardest team for me to root for in the NBA. I'll even say that the recent allegations against Gilbert Arenas have very little to do with this decision, because the more things that come out the less of a big deal it seems.

I won't do this for every team but let's run through the criteria I laid out and use it to break down the Wizards.

1. Winning team - Nope, not at all.

2. Players I like - None. Jamison and Haywood - Two old UNC players, Butler - Once claimed he was the next Paul Pierce, Stevenson - Failed his SAT or he would have followed Paul Pierce at KU, Foye and Miller - Just remind me of the horrendous trade for the #5 pick last season, Arenas and Crittenton - Could be convicted felons by weeks end.

3. Youth - Not really, Nick Young is an OK player, but other than that nobody.

4. NBA 2k10 playability - Not the worst team here but nobody I'd love to play with.

5. TV time - None

6. Proximity - Nope, and even if I did go to Washington I'd probably prefer to go to a Capitals game.

7. Fantasy team - Nobody, thank god.

8. Financial situation - Could get better if Arenas is convicted, but currently the worst contract in the league.

9. Olive branches - I don't know any Wizards fans.

This wasn't really even all that hard, and like I said before, the recent gun allegations have little to do with it.

However, I will say this about it. I don't think the original altercation was a big deal, seems like Agent 0 was just joking around and the whole thing got blown out of proportion. I buy that it was a joke.

But, since the story came out Arenas behavior has been unexplainable. I already thought the guy was a lunatic, but now he's under investigation by the police and he's joking around about it?

His twitter rant made it seem like Stephon Marbury had hacked his account. (I'd link it, but he smartly took it down.)

His press conference arguments were childish.

And his stupid gun shooting pregame dance was like he was just asking David Stern to suspend him.

Truthfully though, I wouldn't have blamed Arenas if he did want to get suspended. That's why I'm writing this. I don't want to be associated with the Wizards either.

Fandom Free Agency - The Breakdown

It's officially underway. I've spent the last few days constantly looking for clues and reasons to root for one team or another. The Cavs are on TV all the time. My fantasy team is filled with Nuggets and Hornets. The first NBA 2k10 game I played was with the Warriors (don't ask.)

There's a hundred different reasons that I will or won't root for a team. In this post I'm going to lay out my basic criteria for choosing my new NBA team. This list is in no particular order...

1. Winning team - I'm not saying I want the Lakers but I would love to have a playoff team. The NBA playoffs are 2 months of non-stop action and I would love to have a dog in the fight. So, the team's record will certainly be a factor.

2. Players I like - KU players are a bonus. Guys like Ray Allen are fun to root for. MU players are a negative (although they're limited in appearances.) Guys like Stephen Jackson aren't as fun to root for.

3. Youth - I don't want a team that's old and going to change. I want a team that will be around for a while.

4. NBA 2k10 playability - I made the word up I think, but if I pick a team, I'm going to want to play with them on a video game. Trust me, it's important.

5. TV time - I haven't seen the T-Wolves play on TV since 2 years ago on KG's homecoming to Minnesota. I want a team that I can watch and evaluate for myself.

6. Proximity to home - This will have some factor. I'd like to root for a team close to KC so it's easier to watch a home game.

7. Fantasy team - Earlier this season I picked up Ryan Gomes just so I could have a Wolves player on my team. I'd like to be able to have a player on my team that I don't have to stretch for.

8. Financial situation - Money is very important in today's NBA. Especially with the upcoming free agency extravaganza. I want a team that will improve themselves. Not sell off players.

9. Olive branches - I've gotten a few already. Friends of mine want me to come over to their team. You want to bribe me, then go ahead. I'll accept it.

10. To be determined - I also feel free to add another distinction at any time. It's my fandom for heaven's sake.

So, tomorrow the elimination process will begin. We'll start to narrow down the field in hopes of finding the team for me.

Does anybody know if there's an e-harmony site for this sort of thing?

Fandom Free Agency - The Intro

It's time for me to do something for myself. 

To stop and look around a little bit.

I'm not talking so much about a life changing overhaul and searching for the greater meaning of life. I'm talking about taking a hard look at one aspect of my life and giving it a little more thought. 

In this case, my current NBA fandom for the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Doing something for myself should come as nothing strange for anyone associated with the T-wolves. The front office in Minnesota hasn't thought of anyone but themselves for 3 seasons now and hasn't thought of their fans, like me, in even longer. (The KG trade could be seen as some sort of a selfless act because they allowed KG to go somewhere else to win a title. But that did nothing for fans.)

KG was the reason I was a Minnesota fan. The guy went hard year-after-year and game-after-game, often time for a team that really had no shot at winning anything. You had to admire the intensity the guy played with, even if that intensity brought about a foul mouth that made you hide the women and children. 



I liked the KG trade when it happened 3 seasons ago. I was happy for KG for moving on, and I was happy with the T-Wolves getting players like Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Bassy Telfair in return. Those three players were guys I wouldn't mind rooting for. I already had a bunch of T-Wolves gear and continuing to root for them would just be much easier than moving on to the Celtics with KG.

But in reality, he KG trade should have been the last straw for me. It was the easy thing to do, but it signified where the team was going. The title shots - gone, the playoffs - an afterthought, the lottery - insulting.

But being in the lottery can be a good thing, it gives the team the best chance to rebuild and with the young players from the KG trade I didn't mind rebuilding for a year or two. However, I should have given a closer look at what the Wolves would do with those lottery picks:

2005 lottery pick - Rashad McCants (a player I never liked in college who would go on to date Khloe Kardashian.)

2006 lottery pick - Brandon Roy (loved Brandon Roy in the draft... traded to Portland for Randy Foye within minutes of the pick)

2007 lottery pick - Corey Brewer (more on Mr. Brewer later on)

2008 lottery pick - Kevin Love (a good player, but he's playing on a team that already has a player exactly like him)

2009 lottery pick - Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn (the debacle off all debacles)

Sure, Minnesota was getting lottery picks, but they pretty obviously had no idea what to do with them. And this doesn't even mention the 2008 2nd round selection and immediate trading of my hero Mario Chalmers. If Mario was on this team there is no chance I would be looking elsewhere. Even if they went winless.

So now, with those drafts in the book I'll take a quick look at the Timberwolves roster.

Players I like:

Al Jefferson

Kevin Love

Ryan Gomes

Alando Tucker (He's one clean Mother Tucker)

I dislike everyone else. Some of them because their irrelevant and will never play, but among the regulars here are the reasons...

Jonny Flynn - Part of the great 2009 point guard draft debacle. I see him as the main reason Rubio isn't currently on the team and I was in attendance at the Sprint Center last year when he tried to punch Tyrel Reed.

Ramon Sessions - An obvious back up plan for Rubio not coming to Minnesota and he's overpaid.

Wayne Ellington - MOP of the Final Four last year for a team I don't like.

And of course...

Corey Brewer - .416/.204/.660 Those are Corey Brewer's shooting percentages of FG/3PT/FT. All of them are pitiful. Yet Brewer continues to keep shooting, he's not shy about it. If Corey would cool it and just play defense, something he's at least average at, I wouldn't mind. But as is the guy can't play and he's on the list of failed lottery picks above.

So, with that, I would like to announce that my NBA fandom is now up for free agency. I'll be looking around at all options and narrowing the process down. Similar to what Bill Simmons did with his Premier League fandom back in 2006.

I'm going all out and I'm going to break down all options. I hope to have a team picked out by the start of this season's playoffs and ideally it will be a team in those playoffs.

I'm not saying I'm done with the T-Wolves. I could very well end up back in their arms when all is said and done. But I'm putting them on notice and if I leave the blood will be left on Corey Brewer hands.