NBA Draft Blog

I've always wanted to be a professional basketball player.

OK, that is not entirely true. I hate the sport and have never had any inspirations of playing basketball, professionally, recreationally or as part of a drug-induced hallucination. In fact, I am a truly atrocious basketball player. There is little question that Jon, Kate and any of those 8 could school me on the court. However, this did not stop me from sending a letter to the NBA in 1993, making myself eligible for the upcoming draft.

Even among street variety NBA fans, it is often forgotten that in ’95, Kevin Garnett became the first kid drafted directly out of high school since the ABA’s Utah Stars drafted Moses Malone in ’74.

As the industry deadline neared this season, Steve Nash stated that he desired to stay loyal toward the Phoenix Suns organization.

“S*** you are good.”

—DeMarcus Cousins, 21, to Tim Duncan, 35, quote by making use of the Sacramento Bee.

Yes, without a doubt he is. I could inform you how you can uncover a whole great offer from Duncan, but if I need to inform you….

In fairness, Cousins is actively playing nicely lately, now that Paul Westphal is gone and Keith sensible is operating the Kings. Yet, who among the us could not uncover something from Tim Duncan? He is normally a Jedi master.

This is about as close as you can get to having someone play against themselves in a one-on-one game. Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett are nearly identically sized, and both play basketball in a very similar way.

They are both physical and athletic defenders. They both can play physical in the post, yet they both still have the ability to hit mid-range jumpers when needed.

The difference maker in this mirror-image matchup will be the extra polish that Hakeem has on his post game. Hakeem will go shot for shot with Garnett when it comes to the perimeter, but in the post, Olajuwon will be able to pull away with his mini-hook in the paint.

Garnett will keep it close, but his emotion will wear off and Olajuwon will block one or two of Garnett's late chances. "The dream" starts off strong with a win against Garnett.

Here's quite a matchup. The two dominant centers that helped Kobe get all his rings pitted against one another. This matchup looks lopsided on paper; Gasol weighs in at a healthy 250 pounds, whereas Shaq weighs in at a whopping 325 pounds.

While his weight gives O'Neal a decisive advantage in the paint, it also will be his downfall when it comes to defending Gasol outside of the paint. The moment that Gasol steps out of the paint is the moment when Shaq gets put on his heels and is out of his comfort zone.

Shaq will have a difficult time being able to defend Gasol's jumper, but ultimately will be able to force him to win the game in the paint, and that is where Shaq will take over. I have a hard time believing that Gasol could out-play Shaq any day of the week in the paint, and that is what will be his downfall. Gasol will keep the game close until he misses his first shot and Shaq gets the ball.

Once Shaq gets the ball, he will take the ball to the post and will use his drop-step to show Gasol who's boss. Shaq will show Gasol who is the better Lakers center that played during the Kobe era.

While most fans are viewing for just about any blockbuster industry to go comfortably involving large names like Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol, there are pretty a few game fanatics who really are a complete great offer extra possibly for getting near to the proceed than possibly inside the two large men.

Minor trades can ordinarily have substantial impacts with regards to contending teams, and it's vital to consider that most contenders aren't searching for to shake factors up in dramatic fashion.

These 6 game fanatics may possibly not shake up the NBA landscape, but all of them could possibly be difference-makers within probably the most ideal situation.