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Just trying to get you NBA expert's opinion on how the draft and this off-season have gone so far.

I know the local papers were practically creaming themselves over the Warriors getting Barnes, since he wasn't expected to be there.

How about some of the other big moves that even a non-NBA fan like me has heard about, like Nash going to the Lakers despite a huge push (including a highlight video narrated by Wayne Gretzky, apparently) from the Raptors, or the Dwight Howard saga?

-Arlos

Nash would have been cool for financial reasons, but he'll be 39 years old at the start of the season next year. Not the smartest move for a rebuilding franchise. It would have been a huge boon for the cable companies that just bought MLSE though, since they care more about marketing the team accross canada rather then gate revenue.

Dwight, ugh. Bad for the league. Kind of happy BKN didn't lose everything in trading for a rented Deron, but these super teams are out of control.

Barnes was huge. A couple of things that make it even huger. GSW owed there pick to another team if it was above 7. They tanked hard. Like disgracefully bad, put your star players on IL with phoney injuries, shut the team down in mid-january, the league should probably investigate this, bad. In doing so they entered a tie with the Raptors. The tie breaker was determined with a coin flip. GSW won, so they get to keep their pick. Then, Barnes slips, a guy the raps were huge on, and GSW gets to draft him. I'm hoping career ending injury or huge bust, or karmaic reasons. GSW stinks perennially though, so no biggie. I'm sure they'll blunder some trade back into irrelevance in no time. Although I love Bogut and will be rooting for him.

How well do you think Nash and Kobe will get along, or how do you see that combo working out? Neither are as good as they used to be, but neither exactly suck, too. (and hey, I go to Grad school at Santa Clara, where Nash went, so I think it's legally required for me to care about him. Though, I must admit, he's always been someone I liked, at least from afar.)

As for the GSW, rofl, glad to hear Barnes was a good pickup. I know the local papers were saying West wanted that guy Waiters that went 4th, though how much of that was because Barnes and MKG were both supposed to be gone by then or not I dunno.

Speaking of super teams, what'd you think about Miami signing Allen?

Allen will be good for Miami, just because they need bench scoring. Still a wonky roster. They'll continue to win if LeBon plays the way he did in the playoffs this year. Pretty much unstoppable now that he's developed a post game. I don't think Ray Allen does that much more for the team that, say, a healthy Mike Miller doesn't. But they need shooters.

Nash. The way the lakers used to play in the triangle meant they didn't need nash, since they didn't play with a traditional PG. Now with Mike Brown? Maybe. The one thing that Nash does very well that doesn't get a lot of credit is score, and score very efficiently. It's there that I think he'll help the Lakers the most.

Waiters and Lillard were the two guys that jumped on all the mock drafts (and the reason why Barnes and Dummond slipped). TOR was hopping he'd slip to them, but that never happened. It was pretty much a shit storm for us, since all the guys we wanted went early and we had the option of either reaching for the highest guy on our draft board (Ross) or picking a talentless big man with a lot of potential with the hopes that someone else would take him in a trade (Drummond). Time will tell I guess. I would have liked Lamb though.

I think Nash has a good two years left in him. He makes sense for the Lakers.

Allen to Miami is a great move for them. I think with the Celts getting a year older, it'll be that much tougher to beat Miami. Especially if Lebron goes berserk in the playoffs again. It's a shame he didn't play that way in Cleveland.

I'd be concerned about Barnes. He was really inconsistent in college. The dude can score, but from what I've seen his D is lacking.

Nash
Kobe
Metta / Jamison
Pau
Howard

what the flying fuck

that's like, a combined 35 all-nba selections

Sometimes I hate this league...

how can that possibly be the best deal they were offered. It's nuts, hell the raps could have easily beaten that offer.

They just traded one of the best players in the league, for... nothing, not even significant cap space