that's just mean, simmons

Been a while between any news in the hoop world. I totally delved into football and a poss baseball run (not saying anything, don't jinx Philly, move along) but finally we have some news. And not all of it is good.

Boy, it sure is easy to jump on the Kevin Durant bandwagon now, isn't it? You knew he was the better pick, didn't you? Right. Lots of people are covering their tracks. I actually wanted Oden on the Sonics because they need a big man and he could potentially save basketball in Seattle. Durant might be great, but I don't know if he will translate to a franchise player or a winning one. I had him penciled in for top rookie even before Oden did anything, because he'll get plenty of shots, more than any other rookie by far (including Oden if he was healthy).

So now Portland has to hear the names of Sam Bowie and Bill Walton all over again and it's just not fair. Come on, leave them alone. Bill Simmons needs to let the pride of Lebanon, PA rest in peace just like he needs to let his estranged half-brother Lionel go. Bowie, from what I remember, didn't have a great college career like Oden, and Durant is not Jordan. Don't start that again. Portland is on a much brighter path than they were two years ago.

I wasn't going to buy into the Blazers playoff hype before Oden went down, so I don't think much of their chances. They were not going to win 40 games in this loaded conference yet. People who have been making the, "Well, at least they can get another lottery pick now," silver-lining excuse shouldn't have been so optimistic in the first place. Remember, they lost a lot of scoring with Randolph gone, and Oden was not going to replace that. I figured their wins wouldn't go up that much, but they'd be better off in the long run. Now, they have to hope for that.

I put them at 37 or so wins before this, and maybe 30 now. At least the conference is getting easier to figure out: we know they, Sacramento, the Clippers, Seattle, and Minnesota will NOT make the playoffs without some sort of miracle. We can divide the west into four sections:

The lottery certainties (just mentioned)

The gold standard trio (San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix)

Could sneak into the conference finals with luck and health (Utah, Houston, Denver)

Fighting hard for the last two playoff spots (Lakers, Golden State, Memphis, New Orleans)

They can pick up a small forward or point next year. In the meantime, they still have Aldridge, Pryzbilla, Frye, and McRoberts, so they at least retain some big man depth and can give those guys some minutes. This roster is okay (what to do with these point men?) but it's not going to be much better in output than last year.

%%%%

And just when nothing was happening for a long time, we have a trade! And it involves the hometowners!

Denver sends Reggie Evans and the rights to Ricky Sanchez

to Philly for Steven Hunter and Bobby Jones

LOOK OUT, SAN ANTONIO! THE SIXERS HAVE REGGIE EVANS!!!!!!

You know, actually, I've been begging the Sixers to get a hard-nosed, defensive, rebound-first four man to help out Dalembert for years. Evans is the guy to fill in that Tyrone Hill mold, right down to the spot on the all-ugly team. He's not glamorous in any way. Unfortunately, I was begging for that while they still had Iverson. Now they have some defense but not nearly enough scoring. Alas.

I like the post rotation a little bit better now, but it's not much different over the last few months. Dalembert and Evans will stop people down low, while Jason Smith can score off the bench, and hopefully Louis Amudson actually can do something after a good summer league. It's not much, but with another solid front court performer, I like how they're moving. They need someone to score besides Iguadala, and Andre Miller and Kyle Korver are not multi-dimensional enough as second options. The stage is set for Thaddeous Young to get shots, but we'll see if he's ready.

Anyway, decent move for the Sixers, and I hope the rookies can play... because they'll have to.

For Denver, this was a nice move. They had a bunch of power forwards and one center, and no real shot blockers besides that center, Camby. They're looking good, and if they can get a full year or even a decent span out of Nene and K Mart, they might be in the top 4.

BB

Also, after Mo Williams teased them, the Heat signed Charlie Bell. Didn't they already pull this trick with Elton Brand and Lamar Odom? Actually, I really like Bell going to the Heat. He's not a real point (which Milwaukee needs on their bench), but he shoots and plays D, and he'll be a nice compliment to Wade. This makes sense on both sides - he's a cheaper and safer alternative to Jason Williams, and Milwaukee has no room.

RETRO: ripping the tv out

If you've been watching the NBA finals (not a good series to see if you don't truly love basketball), you might've noticed these sappy halftime segments on the players and the rough situations they grew up in. It was one thing to see Ginobli and his family struggling in the streets of Argentina, now so famous in his own country that they have to hire bodyguards to prevent constant kidnapping. But tonight, they had a segment on Rip Hamilton and Coatesville.

Coatesville is, if you don't know, next to Lancaster on the train route to Philly. I spent half a summer working there. It's got some rough parts, but ........ it's not the bane of existence they made it out to be. Even better, they had Jamie Foxx narrate these things. "Coatesville is a humble town. Here, they respect Rip and his work ethic." I guess, even thoguh he's not the only person to ever come out of there. You wouldn't know that from watching this. They then had pseudo-interviews with old white guys who worked in the steel mill, which they kept showing over and over again. They were all really, really, really proud of him.

Anyway, it was funny to see them play up the town as a third-world wasteland. It's not NEARLY that bad. And a lot of towns in Pennsylvania, and other places, are reeling from the steel mill industry heading overseas. This isn't the worst. If they wanted a better local angle, they could've gone with Rasheed, who grew up in North Philly, which makes Coatesville look pretty damn nice. Maybe they're saving that for game 4. Sigh........