Trades, trades galore....

Wizard no more: Antawn Jamison could perhaps boost the Cavaliers'
chances of winning the most coveted prize in the NBA.
(NBAE/Getty Images)

As the NBA trading deadline looms, a lot of teams have already made deals to beef up their roster in the 2nd half of the season. The Dallas Mavericks obviously have made one of the biggest transactions right smack in the middle of the All Star Weekend. Thus giving J-Kidd, Dirk and Co. some boost at the 3 spot.

This is perhaps one of the best moves Mark Cuban has done for his team. Having an All Star like Caron Butler for the Mavs not just an offensive threat but also some length on the defensive end. I think he'll do quite well playing alongside Jason Kidd. The trade will give the LA Lakers, Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs a run for their money in the West.

As for the Washington Wizards, they got a versatile forward in return in the form of Josh Howard. All I can say is, change has already started in DC, so to speak. That's exactly what happened to one Antawn Jamison -- who was traded to Cleveland in a three team deal. Looks like LeBron James finally got some help he needed. Although, Amar'e Stoudemire was expected to land in Cleveland, he's still not out of the woods yet. He knows he won't be staying in Phoenix for long.

The Portland Trailblazers and the LA Clippers are not to be outdone when it comes to beating the trade deadline. Marcus Camby will fit in well with the Blazers -- giving Andre Miller the starting spot at point guard now that Steve Blake will be playing for the Clips.

The clock is ticking as teams around the L have yet to make some trade deals. The Boston Celtics are dead set on pulling the trigger for a Nate Robinson-Eddie House trade. I'm just glad and relieved at the same time that Ray Allen ain't going anywhere for now. Tracy McGrady is a Sacramento King for now, by the way. I kinda feel sorry for John Salmons though. Can't say much about the Knicks-Timberwolves trade.

Things sure are getting rocky in the L.

NBA All Star 2010 Thoughts....

Hey folks! First post for this year. Wasn't able to write something here last January 'coz I had to fix my pc. I'm not gonna get into detail on how I fixed it but the only thing I can say is, everything is working perfectly fine and I have my ultra-fast broadband connection again. That means, I'm back in business and updates will be coming more often -- I hope. I sure have a lot of catching up to do. On that note, time for the update(s)....

All Star Friday

I have rather mixed feelings with this year's NBA All Star Weekend festivities. It's nice that the Rookies dominated the Sophomores in All Star Friday. Glad to see Tyreke Evans getting all the love along with Dejuan Blair as they are co-winners of the Rookies-Sophomores game MVP honor. Evans somehow PWN3D Brandon Jennings in the event although Jennings was impressive in his own right.

All Star Saturday

The second day was very interesting to say the least. Dirk Nowitzki and Co. reppin' Texas winning the Shooting Stars event. I'm sure TNT broadcaster and former NBA player Kenny "The Jet" Smith loved every minute of it. And yes, he can still shoot. Kudos to you Jet. Oh, Kevin Durant defended his title in the H.OR.S.E. game by the way.

Steve Nash made sure he'd win the Skills challenge and that's exactly what he did. D-Rose got schooled (literally) by the Nasty one. Guess, he really wanted that hardware so bad. He may be almost past his prime but his handles are still dope, in my opinion. Nash truly deserves it.

And who'da thought The Truth would win the 3-point Shootout? I guess many underestimated his shooting prowess. The haters were silenced as he became the 3-point shooting king for that event -- giving Chauncey Billups a run for his money. Now the Celtics have another clutch shooter they can rely on (not just Sugar Ray, Sheed and Eddy House), P-Double's got 'em covered, that's for sure.

The Dunk contest this year was a sleeper, literally. A lot of people were disappointed in the main event for that day and I'm obviously one of them. Sure, DeMar DeRozan woke us up with one of his dunks but after that everybody went back to sleep. Congrats to Nate Robinson for winning his 3rd and historical Slam Dunk title nonetheless. No more dunk contests for him next year. Bottomline is, it's like each competitor, including Nate was scared to do something new and different. At least one of them tried. Hope this snooze fest never happens again. Dwight Howard and LeBron James better start thinking about joining the Dunk contest (you too, D-Wade). I wanna see these guys bring the fire back in this event and make people jump from their seats next year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

All Star Sunday

Ah yes. The All Star game was still exciting as ever. Both the East and West teams had fun and brought their A-game to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I have to admit, that I was happy that Kobe Bryant didn't play. For once, it wasn't about Kobe this year. The MVP trophy was up for grabs yet again. Melo, Bron, CB4 were all eyes on the prize but it was Dwyane Wade who won the MVP hardware. The East beat the West 141-139. It sure got close in the 4th quarter especially with only a few ticks left in the game. One of the best I've seen so far. It's rare that a lot of people in attendance were jeering the East All-Stars especially in the trophy presentation -- something that is totally unexpected.

For me, it was a decent All Star event. I pretty much enjoyed watching the events but I can't say the same thing for the Slam Dunk contest. I look forward to next year's All Star and hope it would be even better.

Lastly, y'all gotta love D-Will's breakaway dunk in the All-Star game. Simply dope!