LeBron and Carmelo are Once Again the Talk of the NBA Offseason, and it is Not Good

Today I want to talk about 2 NBA players. I know that Summer League is over, free agency is over and all the biggest trades have already happened, but for some reason, these 2 guys have kept my interest in the NBA offseason. I'm always interested in all things basketball, but this is usually a dead period. Well, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James will not let it stay too quiet.

Lets first talk about LeBron. This seems to be the time of year, especially since he went back to the Cavs, when he perks up and complains about "the lack of moves" by the front office. I feel like this is just a way to keep his name at, or near, the top of the list when talking about NBA players. But, this constant whining has got to stop. First off, he constructed this team. I saw a bunch of people saying on Twitter and NBA message boards yesterday that he constructed this team, and it is true. What assets do they have that they can give up for a big time star? What young players do they have that they can throw into crucial games at crucial times so they get experience? No one, and I mean NO ONE, wants Kevin Love. So, I ask again, why is LeBron whining once again? He is currently the best player in the world, and if he stays in the East, he will go to the Finals again, and lose to the Warriors again. There is no way the Cavs could have signed any big time free agent. They gave a boat load of money to Love per James' request after winning the title last year. They are going to have to pay Kyrie if they want to continue to stay relevant. They inexplicably gave Kyle Korver a decent sized contract this offseason. They paid JR Smith a bundle after last year. The season before, they maxed out Tristan Thompson. They have also signed a few foreign players. So, what do they have that the Bulls would have wanted for Butler, or how much could they have given Gordon Hayward or how about KD or Steph who were both free agents? What could they have given Indiana for Paul George? There are too many questions with no real answers. I have read and heard that Love was in all these deals,  but no team wants him. He is now damaged goods. So for James to come out and complain about the front office, stop it. He constructed this team. He chose to have them trade for Korver. He wanted his buddy Thompson to get the max. He told the front office to pay Love after last year. He had them go out and sign Deron Williams, James Jones and Mike Dunleavy Jr. These are his buddies, but they are old and well past their prime. Also, no one wants those players for stars. They want assets or another star. And I'm sorry, but Love for Butler or George would have been almost as bad as what the Pacers got for George from OKC.

One final thought on James also, why does he care or feel the need to comment on this? Dan Gilbert gave him an out when he, out of nowhere, fired David Griffin. This was a terrible move by Gilbert, one of many, and now James can leave and not be the scapegoat. He won them a title, and Gilbert made a horrific front office choice. James can go anywhere next year and his jersey won't get burned and he won't get booed when he comes back to play in Cleveland. All his whining just needs to stop.

Lets look at Carmelo now. By all accounts, he wants to go to Houston. I hope this happens so I can snicker at how ridiculous that offense would look if he played there. I have already been on record saying that I think the Chris Paul-James Harden pairing is going to be a nightmare. Throw Carmelo into that mix, man it would be a disaster.  First off, both Carmelo and Mike D'Antoni have a mutual hatred of each other. D'Antoni went on a radio show 2 years ago and said as much. Do you really think that he wants to coach him again? Also, do you think that Carmelo really wants to play for D'Antoni? Carmelo likes to slow things down and go one on one. D'Antoni likes to run, run, run. This would also make their defense worse. Harden doesn't play any defense, neither does Carmelo. Ariza used to be a good defender, but he is not what he once was on that end of the floor. Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson don't even try on defense. That is not why they are there. Chris Paul is the only good defender, and he got outplayed by George Hill in the playoffs last year, and he is older. They lost their best defender when they traded away Patrick Beverly for Paul. Carmelo to the Rockets is a terrible idea.

Carmelo to the Cavs, almost as bad. It would be a similar situation in Cleveland like Houston. There are already 2 ball dominant guys, Kyrie and LeBron, and while they play more half court offense, does Carmelo really do anything more, or different, than Kevin Love does for them? Love is just as bad on defense, but he is a much better rebounder and throws excellent outlet passes. Carmelo doesn't do either of those. Also, Cleveland is already dreadful on defense, so throwing Anthony in the mix only makes them worse. Portland has been the other team mentioned, and while I like that fit best, it doesn't really matter, they will be lucky to be the 7th or 8th seed in the West next year.

Look, I do like both these guys. I know I'm being hard on them, but LeBron is clearly the best player in the world, and I used to love watching Carmelo play when he was in Denver. But, all this recent news has gotten under my skin. LeBron continues to whine, even though he is forever playing basketball into late June, and Carmelo is toast as an elite player. I'm thankful for the summer NBA news, but I'm just bummed about the particular noise that is being made.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Let Me Explain Why Roger Federer is the Best Athlete of All Time

Time for some real talk about tennis

THESIS:  Roger Federer is the greatest athlete of ALL TIME in ANY SPORT anywhere.  I dare anyone to prove me wrong.

Point #1:  Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time.  He is inarguably the greatest male tennis player of all time.  Now, people will argue for Serena Williams, and I will grant that they have a point (ed note: check out our podcast where I make that point).  However, my thoughts on Serena’s lack of quality competition are well documented, and I will not bore everyone by repeating them here.  During Fed’s record shattering run of 19 major titles, he has been challenged by two of the very best players to ever play the game (Nadal & Djokovic each have over 10 majors).  With due respect to Chris Evert, the only other candidates for best tennis player ever are Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova.  Graf retired at 29, and longevity has to count for something.  Martina had a long career, in both singles and doubles, but most people think that singles is where it counts, and Fed now has Martina beat by 1. 

Point #2:  Unlike bowling/poker/billiards/Nintendo, tennis is a real sport.  You can be an overweight smoker and still win at those other activities in the modern age.  Tennis requires peak physical conditioning to perform at the highest levels.

Point #3:  I’m ruling out athletes in sports like running and swimming.  In those sports, you are playing against the clock, not against your opponents.  If your opponent cannot DIRECTLY affect your performance, I’m not counting you in the greatest athlete race.

Point #4:  What about Tiger Woods?  He doesn’t have the longevity.  Also, see point #2: overweight smokers have won major golf titles. 

Point #5:  What about cycling?  See Ty’s piece on “Tour de Pharmacy.”  There has never been a whiff of cheating or PED’s with Federer.  I’ll retract this point if it’s ever proven with him.

Point #6:  Tennis is an individual sport with no coaching permitted during matches.  You only win if you, individually, are better than the guy across the net.  In other sports, you have teammates to help you carry the load.  As great as an individual basketball player is, there are 4 other guys on the court to help him, and he can talk to his coach.  A great quarterback needs a good offensive line and some other skill players.  Great pitchers aren’t getting you anywhere unless the other guys can field cleanly and score runs.  Federer, by contrast, has to switch from offense to defense and back, often during the same point.  He has to work through the strategy, keep himself mentally sharp and engaged, notice his opponent’s strategy, and adjust on the fly, all without talking to another person.  And he might have to do that for 4 hours or longer, seven matches in a row in order to win a major title.

Point #7:  Federer has been in the very top echelons of his sport for FIFTEEN YEARS.  He has played a full schedule for 14 of those years, and the tennis season is ridiculously long, going from early January to mid-November with a grueling travel schedule.  The fact that he has remained healthy for nearly that entire time is remarkable.  He took his first major injury layoff in 2016, after racking up 17 majors.

Point #8:  Show me an athlete in a non-judged sport that shows the supreme physical grace of Federer.  At his best, he never even looks like he’s running.  To quote our friends at Deadspin, “…Federer’s desperation looks a little better than the other people’s very best.”

Point #9:  What about Secretariat?  Uh, let’s restrict this conversation to bipeds.  Also, see point #3 above.

Point #10:  The guy is committed to getting better.  After 19 majors, so many weeks at number 1, gallons of ink spilled, thousands of inane questions from the sports press, and 4 kids, he STILL seems to be enjoying himself.  And after missing the last half of 2016, he came back with a new and improved backhand.

Bonus Point:  For all Fed’s arrogance, he’s never a huge ass to his opponents.  He doesn’t whine.  He doesn’t discredit.  He doesn’t stink of violence against women or animal cruelty or drunk driving or being a bigot.  In short, in addition to being a the greatest athlete ever, he is not a garbage person.

Game, set, match:  Federer.

Tina S

Tina is a sometime contributor to SeedSing and occasional guest on the X Millennial Man Podcast. She is unaware of the grueling toll it takes on a person's body to drink that much Mountain Dew and eat that many Doritos while competing in online video game competitions.

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Being a Star of the NBA Summer League Does Not Make One a Real NBA Star

I have been watching a ton of the NBA summer league because, as I have stated many times, I'm a hoops junky. I love seeing all the rookies, the high picks, the mid to late first rounders, the second rounders, the undrafted guys and the foreign prospects. I love watching all the guys that are still hanging on to their NBA dreams, hoping for a contract or a chance in the D League. I love that the assistants coach. Remember last year, Becky Hammond won one of the Summer League titles as the Spurs coach. But what it all really boils down to, I'm obsessed with basketball, and any chance to watch it, I'll grab it like a loose ball.

All this being said, the basketball is not great. There are many hangers on that just shoot and shoot and shoot again. The defense is abysmal. The shooting is wildly inconsistent. Some, most of the guys there in fact, need to stop chasing the dream. Most of the rookies, I'm looking at you "one and done" guys, are still teenagers, and they're still growing. This makes them sloppy.

Summer League is a mess, but that doesn't stop the commentators at ESPN telling us how stellar all the youngsters are. Every time Phoenix is on, Josh Jackson is the second coming of KG. When the Celtics play, Jayson Tatum is the best Celtic since Paul Pierce. I was watching the Bucks the other day and they were saying that DJ Wilson can take some minutes from Giannis. Dennis Smith Jr is the greatest point guard the Mavericks have had since Steve Nash. DeAaron Fox is going to turn around the Kings. Lonzo Ball is the second coming of Magic. Hell, even before Fultz got hurt, he was the key to the 76ers run to the playoffs this season. All this stuff sounds great, and it's wonderful to look ahead, but these commentators need to pump the brakes. After all, it's Summer League.

At the top of this I laid out the types of players that fill up Summer League rosters. You didn't notice names like KD, Klay, Draymond, Steph, LeBron, Kawhi, Giannis, Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony Towns, Russ, Paul George, and so on and so forth. All the stars do not play in Summer League because they don't need to. So all the accolades being handed out, wait until these rookies have to face real NBA players. Wait to call Josh Jackson the next KG unless he explodes on a player like Klay or Kawhi. I like Jackson, but that's not happening for awhile. Before christening Tatum as the next Pierce, I want to see him hit clutch three after clutch three in a critical game against the Cavs and LeBron. Before claiming DJ Wilson will steal minutes from Giannis, remember that people are saying Giannis is a future MVP. Dennis Smith Jr could be great, but the Mavs are going to be mediocre next year, and he will have bumps along the way. He's also going to have a tough time in the West against the likes of Chris Paul and Russ. DeAaron Fox is lightening quick, but he needs to learn to shoot and the Kings stink. He will not, at least not right away, be the savior for that franchise. Lonzo Ball has great court vision, but his jumper is disgusting, he looks disinterested at times, especially on defense, and wait to give him top line status until he faces the same guys Dennis Smith Jr has to face. His dad is also an arrogant asshole. And Fultz, who knows. He has a sprained ankle, and while that's a 2 to 3 week healing process, the 76ers might make him sit all year. He may not be the greatest point guard to put on a Philly uniform since Allen Iverson. The commentators need to tamp it all way, way down.

I remember last year that D'Angelo Russell and Larry Nance were Summer League stars. How'd that work out for them? Ben Simmons didn't play in Summer League. Jaylen Brown was a non factor but dominated Summer League. People need to realize the level of basketball they are watching and wait to assess these guys until they play real meaningful NBA minutes and games. This is the Summer League, not real, important NBA games. Take the expectations WAY down.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Gordon Hayward Joining the Celtics Does Not Change A Thing in the NBA

Gordon Hayward officially signed with the Boston Celtics yesterday for 4 years and around 120 million dollars. This surprised me, as many of you may have already read, I thought he was going back to Utah, but I guess it shouldn't have. He was rumored to be going there all season, they had the most money outside of Utah to offer and his college coach, who he has known since 9th grade, is the coach of the Celtics now. And after a whole day of back and forth, it was nice to get a final decision from him before I went to bed.

As I watched some talking heads sports shows, many people were very happy with the signing and talked about how it made the Celtics so much better, and a real threat to the Cavs, or whatever team LeBron ends up on if he stays in the East. People also praised his decision to head out East since it seems all the good free agents signed with Western Conference teams. They claimed that playing for Boston will give him deeper playoff runs than anything he could have done had he stayed in Utah. No matter the fact that the Jazz were/are an up and coming team, he now, at least on paper, has a much easier path to a conference finals, and perhaps one day, the NBA Finals.

The initial reactions I heard and watched and read the more I disagreed with what most of what these people were saying. I was watching Summer League basketball because I'm a hoops junkie, and during halftime of a Jazz-Spurs game, the commentators were talking about the signing and how it shapes up going into next season for Boston. They continually showed their starting 5, with some key reserves. The 5 presumable starters were Isiah Thomas at guard, Avery Bradley at guard, Gordon Hayward and Jae Crowder as the 3 and 4, and Al Horford as their center. The key reserves were Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Kelly Olynk and rookie Jayson Tatum. That was another thing people praised, Danny Ainge didn't have to give up any "assets" to acquire Hayward.

The more NBA TV showed this roster the more I just kind of shrugged. Sure, it looks okay, but they were still the one seed last year with Amir Johnson, Olynk and Brown in Hayward's place. Yes, Hayward does give them an additional threat alongside Thomas, but is that good enough to beat the true title contending teams? I don't think so. Hayward made the right choice, since he left, to go to a team filled with role players, but I just do not see this current Celtics roster as any real threat. I already mentioned how they were the one seed in the East this most recent playoffs, but that didn't matter. The Cavs still destroyed them in five games. You may read that and say, but they didn't have Thomas. Okay, add Hayward and maybe they win one more game. There is no way that they will beat the Cavs as long as LeBron and Kyrie are there.

Also, Thomas, who I love, is coming off of hip surgery, he is getting older and he is listed generously at 5'9. Adding Hayward may take some pressure off Thomas, as far as needing to go to the rim, but he is not the greatest outside shooter. He is a decent outside shooter, but he makes his living hitting floaters and going to the basket to either draw contact or make circus layups. Hayward is a better outside shooter, but not as much a threat as some sports media would have you believe. Outside of those 2 guys, the only other outside threat they have is Avery Bradley, and I say that very loosely. Marcus Smart can't shoot. Jaylen Brown could be good, but he seems more like an explosive player. I know people are fawning over Tatum's early summer league performances, but remember when D'Angelo Russell was the star of summer league last year? How'd that work out for him and the Lakers? He is also a 19 year old rookie. Teams won't take him seriously, at least not the important teams.

It is a nice story that Hayword is going back to play for his college coach, but I had heard that he and Quinn Snyder had gotten real close, so why leave him now, one season after winning 51 games? I don't deny that he wants to play for Brad Stevens due to knowing him since he was 15, but I think his decision was much more based on the competition level in the East compared to the West. The West got so much better this offseason, while the East, well, it is like the JV version of the NBA, with the Cavs being the lone exception. Hell, if everyone can stay healthy for 65 games, the 76ers could push for an 8 seed. The only real decent teams in the East not named the Cavs are, the Celtics, Wizards, Bucks and Raptors. Every other team is a toss up. That means that of the 11 teams left in the East, if they can win anywhere between 38-41 games, they could get into the playoffs. We will have some West teams with 45 or more wins that may not make the playoffs. So don't tell me the decision was almost solely based on playing for your college coach.

Anyway, I do not think this signing tips the scales in any meaningful way for the Celtics. They were already a playoff ready team, who made the East Finals last year. But I don't think Gordon Hayward is ever going to be the answer to who can you get to beat LeBron. And lets just say that they somehow beat the Cavs and the Celtics make the Finals. I'd still take the Warriors, obviously, but I'd also take the Rockets, Spurs and Thunder to beat them in 6 games or less. I believe in my NBA preseason preview for this most recent season I had the Celtics somewhere in the top ten, maybe 7th or 8th (ed note - it was 4th best in the league). I will not be putting them any higher when I do my preseason preview for this upcoming season. Just off the top of my head, I know the Cavs, Warriors and Spurs are better than them. I also think the Rockets, Thunder, Wizards and maybe even the Raptors might be better than them too, which puts them as my 8th best team right now.

I'm sure Celtics fans will call me a "hater" or something stupid like that, but Gordon Hayward does not move the needle like a Jimmy Butler or Paul George would have for this team. Those 2 guys are far superior players. We will have to wait and see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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The Insane NBA Off-Season is Looking for it's Dramatic Gordon Hayward Conclusion

We are now firmly entrenched in NBA free agency, and it has been wild.

First off, more things happened before midnight eastern time on July 1st, the "official" start of free agency. In fact, most of the big stuff happened before free agency started. It all began on draft night when the Bulls inexplicably traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves for nothing. The Bulls got fleeced, and I thought it wasn't going to get any crazier from there. And, for awhile, that was the case. Nothing too major happened prior to July 1st. Small things like Ricky Rubio being traded to the Jazz, which I think is a very good move by the Jazz, Rajon Rondo and Gerald Henderson being released, John Wall got offered a mega extension, he has yet to sign and Blake Griffin got the max from the Clippers after they traded Chris Paul, the other big move.

Then at about 8:30pm on June 30th my phone blew up. I thought the Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler trades were going to be the biggest deals, but the Thunder, you read that right, acquired Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantos Sabonis. I mean, WOW! The Thunder got Paul George for a second year player and a guy that hasn't lived up to the hype yet. They didn't even have to trade any future picks for Paul George! I don't care if it is just a one year thing, this is crazy.

I like this trade so much more than the Chris Paul to the Rockets trade. This is a much, much better pairing than Paul and Harden. Paul George is an excellent sidekick to Russell Westbrook. He plays excellent defense, can hit the open shot and he will take a ton of offensive pressure off Westbrook for one season. This could catapult the Thunder to the same level as the Spurs and Rockets. This doesn't make them a true threat to the Warriors, but no one in the NBA is a threat to them. I love this trade for the Thunder so very much. This makes them instantly better. I'm pretty sure it will only be for one season, I think that both George and Westbrook may bolt for LA next season, but for one year, they will make OKC almost as good as they were with KD. This trade shocked me. Especially for what Indiana got in return. They had to have had better offers, but they pulled the trigger on the trade to the Thunder. I'm sure Boston, Philadelphia or even the Rockets could have made a better offer, but we may never know. The fact that the Celtics, once again, did not do anything keeps me thinking that Danny Ainge is the boy who cried wolf, and he will continue to sit on assets forever. I'll get to more of that later.

After the shockwave of the Paul George trade, I did not know what to expect next. I woke up the next day and saw that Steph Curry got the super max from Golden State. This was well deserved and he is finally being paid like the super star that he is. The Warriors also got Shaun Livingston on a cheaper deal. David West resigned for the veterans minimum for his last season and after "flirting" with free agency, Andre Iguodala signed a three year deal to stay with the Warriors. The Warriors pretty much stayed put, as they should. They are the best team in all of basketball, and as soon as KD re signs, they are set.

I have a few thoughts on some "minor" moves. I was a little surprised to see Patty Mills re up with San Antonio, but then I saw the deal pays him almost 15 million a year for the next 4 years, and he will be a much bigger part of that team next season. Jeff Teague left Indiana after one disastrous season, and he is now a Timberwolf. The T'Wolves are making some really good moves, and I think they are preparing to be a playoff team next year. They also went out and got a veteran leader, who previously played for Thibodeau, in Taj Gibson. That is another solid signing. Taj Gibson was the only guy that helped Westbrook in the playoffs for the Thunder last year. He is not afraid of big time games. Some smaller named guys like Tony Snell, Cristiano Felicio, Nene and Kyle Korver all re signed with their current teams for average deals. Jrue Holiday signed an enormous deal to stay with the Pelicans, but I was not a fan of the move. The Pelicans need so much more help. I know they were much better with him on the floor last year, but is he really going to put this team over teams like the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Timberwolves and Warriors? No way. I don't even think this move makes them a lock playoff team. They are fringe at best, even with Holiday. Langston Galloway got overpaid by Detroit. They must have serious buyers remorse in the deal they gave Reggie Jackson last year, because of they are giving Galloway 7 million dollars a year to back him up, yeesh. That shows no faith in their point guard if you ask me. JJ Redick joined "The Process" on a 1 year 23 million dollar deal. That is an insane amount of money for one year for a guy that only shoots threes. I do not think JJ Redick puts the 76ers over the top. Sure, it will be nice for the young guys to have a vet around, but I'd rather have Taj Gibson than JJ Redick. Especially at the deal each was given. Amir Johnson also signed a one year deal with Philly. Ho hum. Michael Carter-Williams is on the move again. This dude can't seem to get it right after winning rookie of the year awhile back. He was a disaster in Milwaukee, and he was even worse in Chicago. He seems to be the 8th or 9th guy off the bench for Charlotte as long as he is there. Joe Ingles got overpaid by Utah, but they seem to keep doing anything they can to keep Gordon Hayward. Ingles had a decent playoff run, but almost 9 million a year is way too much money for him. Houston did get a good, tough vet to team up with Nene in the front court in PJ Tucker. I like what Tucker brings to this team as far as toughness goes, but I don't know how he will fit into their offensive scheme. He's a good rebounder and defender, but he may not have the skill set to run like the Rockets, and Harden, like to.

One of the biggest surprises, especially when I saw the deals, was when Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry both re upped with Toronto. Both signed three year deals, and the contracts seem to be easy to get rid of if it doesn't work out for Toronto. I thought that Lowry was going to go to Philly, but they drafted Fultz, so then I thought Minnesota was his next stop, but they signed Teague. No one else really needed a point guard, so he chose to stay. He got a great big contract, which was deserved, now lets see if he can help put the Raptors over the top. Ibaka got the same years but 35 million dollars less. I think the market was very thin for him and he took the best deal he got. This is perfect for him and the Raptors. He needs to be surrounded by great offensive guys, which he has in Lowry and DeRozan, and he can flourish. I watched him do it for about 4 years in OKC. Serge Ibaka will be just fine in Toronto.

A hidden gem of a move is the Ben McLemore deal. McLemore is finally out of the hell hole that is Sacramento, and he is now a member of the Grizzlies. I love this fit. He gives them much needed scoring from the perimeter, and it always seems when a high draft pick leaves Sacramento lately, they do much better on their new teams.

The biggest news of today, July 3rd, so far, is Paul Milsap signing with Denver for 90 million over 3 years, with a team option for the third year. That means, to the layman, that Denver can release him after the second year there if they don't like what they have seen out of him. This deal is great for both Milsap and Denver. Milsap and Nikola Jokic will make a very good front court, and Denver has basically nothing at stake. This is a win win.

The only big names really left on the market are Rondo, if you still think he is a big name, George Hill, who I hope goes to San Antonio and finally get to play for the team that drafted him, Leandro Barbosa, who is 35, and Gordon Hayward, the white whale. I personally think, and hope, that he will stay in Utah. That is a very good, up and coming team. They won a playoff series last year, they have a great young, modern NBA center in Rudy Gobert, they traded for a pass first point guard and they have a very good bench and a very good coach.

Take Utah out of the Hayward picture, there are only two other teams that seem like viable options. Does he go to Miami or Boston? If he goes to Miami, he will be "the man", and I don't think Hayward is ready for that. He is a good basketball player, but he doesn't seem like the kind of player you build around. Also, I like what the Heat are doing with youth, and taking on guys like Dion Waiters and letting them play as freely as they want. Gordon Hayward should not be the focal point of a team, and I do not think he will ever be the best player on a title contender. He needs to be part of a group of great players. He can't be THE player.

This brings up to Boston. The Celtics, and Danny Ainge, seem to think he is coming to them wrapped in a bow. His college coach is the coach there now. They have a good group of role players that are all very good at their specific set of skills. They have a good amount of money/assets to throw around. They were the one seed in the East in the most recent playoffs. Everything seems to be written in stone.

But, this is where I go back to Danny Ainge being the boy who cried wolf. Every year the Celtics are going to get some big time player. Every year they are just on the precipice of signing one of the hot free agents. Every year is the year they get guy or guys that will help them dethrone whatever team LeBron is on. And every year, they do nothing. I cannot take that team seriously anymore. This year they were going to get either Paul George, he is on the Thunder now, Jimmy Butler, he's a T'Wolve and Blake Griffin, who chose to stay in LA. So why now would they get Hayward? Nothing they have done the past three years proves to me that they can sign a big time free agent. I also think that Hayward would be better off staying put in Utah. I will believe it when I see it with Boston, but for now, I do not see Boston signing Hayward. They keep saying they are going to do things like this, they had "deals" for George, Butler and Griffin and nothing happened. They had deals in place for Kevin Love and others before him and nothing happened. So why would anything happen now?

Now that free agency has officially started,Gordon Hayward is the last big name left. Unfortunately for Boston and their fans, I think he will stay put in Utah. Now lets get a decision Mr. Hayward.

Oh, and keep on bringing the surprises NBA off-season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Don't Believe the Chris Paul to the Rockets Hype

This still may not be enough balls for Harden and Paul.

Today I'm going to be talking NBA, but no I will not be talking about the mercy firing of Phil Jackson. That was a long time coming. He may have been worse than Isiah Thomas, minus the sexual assault stuff, and he will go down as one of the worst executives in NBA history. He was a great coach, but a horrific evaluator of players, and his decisions on players was awful. Good riddance.

Instead, I want to talk about the Chris Paul trade to the Rockets. On paper this looks great. On paper you need more than one star to win, or even compete, for titles. On paper this makes the Rockets the second best team in the West, and maybe in all of the NBA. On paper this could catapult the Rockets to a place they have not been since the early to mid nineties.

But, the games are not played on paper. In fact, I see this trade as one of the biggest paper tigers in all of pro sports. Now, to get it out of the way immediately, both Chris Paul and James Harden are 2 of the best players to play the game. Harden attacks and scores and gets to the free throw line like almost no other 2 guard I have seen. He also became an excellent facilitator in Mike D'Antoni's offense last year. And Chris Paul is one of the greatest point guards to ever step on a basketball court. He knows all the tricks, setting illegal screens, getting away with multiple fouls and running a team, and he is, maybe a better word is was, a great defender. So yes, these 2 guys are great basketball players. But, unless this team adds Paul George, I do not care one way or another about them getting Carmelo Anthony possibly, he is beyond useless now, I do not think this will work out for the Rockets and blowhard Daryl Morey.

I remember 2 years ago, when the Rockets signed Ty Lawson, I loved that move. I thought he would pair perfectly with Harden and Beverly in the back court. Well, that famously did not work out, and about halfway through that season, Lawson was let go, and now, he is a ghost. Chris Paul is much, much, much better than Ty Lawson, but, he is also more ball dominant. James Harden is also very ball dominant. We have seen this from both for the majority of their careers. Harden wasn't as ball dominant while in OKC, but since he was traded to Houston, he has needed the ball in his hands. He needs to run the offense. He wants to be the face of that team, and for the most part, it has worked for them. They haven't won, or even made a Finals appearance, but they did get to the conference finals a few years back, and they regularly win 50 plus games.

Chris Paul also needs the ball in his hands. He is the epitome of what a point guard is. He needs the ball in his hands to see the floor and run the offense. It has been like this for him, I'd feel safe to say, since he was in high school. He also ran the offense and always had the ball in his hands in his 2 years at Wake Forest. And since he has been in the NBA, at both of his stops, he has been giving the keys to the offense, thus putting the basketball in his hands and letting him dictate how the offense runs.

So, how will the fact that there is only one ball work for this team? I have heard people say that they will stagger minutes, these 2 guys won't be on the floor together all the time and maybe they will buy into what the Warriors do, and be happy sharing the ball. I don't think any of this will work. Why not have your 2 best players on the floor together as much as possible? Why stagger their minutes? Why is this okay with some sports writers when they lambasted the Thunder for doing this when they had KD and Westbrook? Your 2 best players need to be on the floor together whenever possible. That is how you win. Also, I don't see either Chris Paul or James Harden being okay with sharing the ball. These 2 guys have been the guy on their main teams, and they have made it well known that they want to be the one that their teams count on. I don't think they will be okay spreading the ball around like the Warriors. The Warriors, and mainly Steph, Klay and KD, did not care who was the guy to get the last shot or bring it up the court during crucial moments of important games. They all trusted each other, and they can all shoot and handle the ball. Harden can shoot and handle the ball, but he is quick to just hold the ball for 20 seconds of the shot clock and either jack up a three or try to get to the rim for a layup or floor. Chris Paul is a good mid range shooter, but he can't get to rim that well, he is not a great three point shooter, and the Rockets don't like shooting mid range shots.

I know that these guys played well on the Olympic team together, but the NBA is a whole different monster. One of these guys needs to be the guy to come up big in the playoffs. I ask, which one of these has had any big time moments in big time playoff games. Harden is the consummate choker. He may be the Dan Marino of the NBA. He has had ample opportunity and he has choked each and every opportunity away. Chris Paul, what has he done since college? I don't think Wake Forest ever got passed the Sweet Sixteen while he was there, and we all know about the lack of success with the Clippers. They never made it out of the second round with him running the team. So yeah, good luck Daryl Morey and Mike D'Antoni. You got 2 guys that have proven to be very unclutch in their NBA careers.

Also, how will Harden deal with Paul's aggressive approach to running a team? Harden seems like a very loose, laidback dude, and Chris Paul may be the most intense player in the NBA. Chris Paul is famous for his tirades against teammates. It is never his fault when his team doesn't make it passed the second round. It is always the ref, the coach or his teammates. He is never to blame. How will Harden handle that? I'd guess, not that well.

The one thing I do agree with Paul on with this trade is his relationship with Doc and Austin Rivers. I do think that Doc the GM is atrocious, and if he really held back a trade that would have made the Clippers better because his son was involved, that is real shitty.

I will say, the Clippers did get something in return for someone who seemed to be out the door in a few days. Free agency starts at 12:00 AM July 1st. The Clippers were able to sign and trade Paul for Patrick Beverly, Sam Dekker, Montrez Harrell and some picks. They did not walk away empty handed.

With all this being said, I do not like this trade at all. The Rockets got a great point guard, but they already had a great point guard that just happens to be a little too soft. Harden needs to be coddled, and Chris Paul will not coddle him. He will verbally abuse the shit out of him. And the Clippers, while realizing that they weren't going anywhere with their "Big 3" of Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, unfortunately traded the most reliable one of the group. Now Griffin, who is always hurt, and might leave too, has no one to throw him alley oops or get him open jumpers, and what on Earth is Jordan going to do without a guy that consistently got him open lobs. I feel worst for him. He was locked in a house 2 years ago by Chris Paul, among others, to re up with the Clippers, and now, Paul has left him high and dry.

While this trade may look good on paper, I don't see it making a real difference. I actually think it will blow up in their faces. Also, I don't think adding Chris Paul really makes them a threat to the Warriors, but I also think the Spurs are still better, and whatever team LeBron James is on will beat them. This trade is not as great as some may have you believe. Prove me wrong Houston, but I'm just waiting for this to be a total disaster for them, and for Paul to leave in free agency after the 2017-18 season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Some Thoughts on the Dumb NBA Awards Show, and the Awesome Big 3

The NBA finally handed out their regular season awards last night because who doesn't want to know who the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player are a couple of weeks after the season has already ended. The whole ceremony was stupid and pointless, and I didn't watch a single second of it. Whenever an award was announced, my phone buzzed and told me who the winner was. I didn't have to sit through any monotonous Drake monologues or sketches to find out that Eric Gordon was going to win 6th man of the Year. In fact, the only thing I watched, which I watched this morning, was Russell Westbrook's MVP acceptance speech. That was the only good thing about the whole proceedings last night. Go watch his speech because it is remarkable.

But, as I said, the awards went as everyone thought. Of course Eric Gordon was going to win 6th man. He was great all year off the bench for Houston. Of course D'Antoni was going to win Coach of the Year. Sure, his team faltered in the playoffs, but these are regular season awards, and the Rockets were great inhe regular season. Giannis was definitely Most Improved. The dude has gotten better every season, and now, he is on the precipice of being an MVP caliber player. I could argue Kawhi over Draymond for Defensive Player of the Year, but honestly, Draymond was incredible on defense this year. He truly did guard all five positions, and at a very high rate.

The MVP, god damn right is was Russ. He deserved it more than anyone else that was up for the award. He had the least amount of talent around him, lost Serge Ibaka and KD, averaged a triple double and led a very undermanned team to 45 wins. He was far and away the best player, and the most fun, to watch this season.

I also did not care about any of the new awards. That was a lame attempt at making this stupid awards show 2 hours long. Who cares about best dunk game winner or fashion moment? It was a complete waste of time. So, no, the NBA awards show is not what I want to talk about today.

I was getting my daughter ready for bed last night and RD texted me to ask if I was watching the Big 3. I had totally spaced out and forgot that it was on. So after my daughter had her PJ's on and her teeth brushed, I immediately turned it to Fox Sports 1 and watched the Big 3. It was sloppy. The guys looked winded. No one was trying the 4 point shot. Most of the players looked their age. They looked gassed playing only half court. And Jason Williams, AKA "white Chocolate", might be done playing basketball forever after his gruesome injury.

All that being said, I loved every second that I watched. It was so awesome to see former NBA players playing 3 on 3 basketball like I do almost every week. I wrote a couple weeks back about how excited I am for the 2020 Olympics because they will have 3 on 3 basketball. Last night was a glimpse into the future for me, and I have to say, it was tremendous. Yeah it was sloppy, but, when the guys did make a play, it brought me back to what made them so much fun to watch when they were in the NBA. White Chocolate, before his injury, had this great hesitation move to beat a bigger man to the hoop and I was flooded with memories of him doing that to great defensive NBA guys in his heyday. Kwame Brown, never a star but had a decent career, could barely get above the rim, but he was grabbing rebounds and swatting smaller guys shots with ease. Rashard Lewis looked best of the early games I saw. He was creating shots, making jumpers and playing some decent defense. He looked like he could still be a bench player for someone in the NBA. It was also oddly comforting to see a guy like Ricky Davis shoot 4 of 14. He was always a spotty shooter but kept shooting, and last night was no different. Mike Bibby looked a bit bigger than I remember, but he was fighting for rebounds and dropping some dimes here and there. Hell, even DeShawn Stevenson hit a game winner, and I was excited to see that outcome. I know Allen Iverson didn't play much in his first game, but it was still fantastic to see AI playing basketball with 15,000 people watching him. He was still rocking the cornrows, the shooting sleeve and the headband. Yeah he wasn't driving to the hoop as much, but he was making jumpers. I can't wait to see Kenyon Martin when I get the chance to watch this again. There are so many other players I want to watch.

The game I got to see the most of was the team that had White Chocolate and Rashard Lewis playing the Ricky David "led" team. And I will say it again, it was a total blast. I didn't see too many 4 point shot attempts, but as the season goes on, I'm sure more guys will start to try it. I also loved that they play to 60, counting by 2's, 3's and sometimes a 4 pointer here and there, and that halftime is when one of the teams gets to 30. The Big 3 has potential to be enormous. The stadium, for what the event was, was packed. I know that RD and I were watching, but I also know that a lot of people I play basketball with and coach with were watching too. I'm sure a lot of other people tuned in out of pure curiosity. We also got Michael Rappaport as the sideline reporter and Gus Johnson as the play by play guy.

Look everything started out wonderfully. I just hope it keeps up because I want the Big 3 to stay. This is the perfect thing to fill that sports void for me right now. Baseball is boring, I don't watch tennis or soccer, the NBA is done, Summer League is right around the corner though, and football is still a few months away. The Big 3 filled that need for watching sports that I had last night. I hope the Big 3 continues to grow and continues to get better. This could be the next big thing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Are the Chicago Bulls Incompetent, or Just Plain Stupid?

The Bulls front office plans for next season

Around this same time last year I was praising the Bulls for offloading Derrick Rose and letting Joakim Noah leave in free agency. These were tough moves, but they needed to be done. Rose was well past his best playing days, and Noah, well he cannot stay healthy at all. That was all proven last season. Well, I'm here today, almost one year to the date, to eviscerate the Bulls.

What the Bulls did last night, with their draft day moves, was some the dumbest front office decisions I have ever witnessed. Bill Simmons said it on his podcast this morning, an I will reiterate it right now. Everyone involved with the Bulls needs to be let go. The moves they made last night made absolutely no sense whatsoever. They looked even worse than the Kings, who had a decent draft, and, dare I say, the Knicks. The draft itself went pretty much as expected. The top 5 guys were the top five guys, and other than what the Bulls did, every team stayed pat.

When my phone buzzed and said that the Timberwolves were trying to make a move to acquire Jimmy Butler, I thought it was just going to be talk. Then, I shit you not, 2 minutes later the trade was announced that the Bulls traded away Jimmy Butler and the 16th pick to the Timberwolves for Zach Lavine, Kriss Dunn and the 7th overall pick.

I was floored.

This move made absolutely no sense to me at all. I love it for the Timberwolves, as many of you might remember, I became a T'Wolves fan the moment KD signed with the Warriors. So, to see my new team get one of the top 15 NBA players to pair up with Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, that made me ecstatic. I kept saying to my wife, "I can't believe the T'Wolves got Butler for basically nothing". I said it so much she told me that I needed to chill out on the NBA draft talk. She doesn't care about this stuff like I do.

So, while still in awe of what the T'Wolves had done, and getting excited that they will most likely be a playoff team next year, and a tough out at that, I started to think about it from the Bulls perspective. Why would they do this deal? Was there not a better offer out there? Are the front office people morons? Why give up on Jimmy Butler so soon? Did they just want him out of the East? I had a lot of questions.

I already answered the one about the front office. They are either trying to tear this team about and rebuild from the bottom up, or they are stupid and think a guy coming off one of the worst rookie years ever and the other guy coming off a torn ACL were good enough replacements for Butler. That is patently false. I thought the Bulls might make up for it by taking someone like Malik Monk or Donovan Mitchell or even Justin Jackson, but nope. They used the 7th overall pick on Lauri god damn Markkenan. What a waste. I was hyper critical of him in my mock draft yesterday. He is way too soft. He is not a big time rebounder or rim protector. He can barely even finish at the rim, even though he is 7 feet tall. All he can do is hit the open three. This dude is destined to be a bench player, maybe the 9th or 10th guy off the bench, and the Bulls took him in the lottery.

To once again answer the question about the front office in Chicago, it seems to be filled with incompetent morons. What a stupid, stupid draft and an even worse pick. As far as why would they do this deal, I still have no idea. It still makes no sense, from the Bulls point of view. They got nothing near equal value for Butler, and they also gave away a first round pick. Both of those gone to acquire Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine and a lottery pick? It is mind boggling.

This leads me to my next question I asked. Where there not better deals? I'm sure Boston could have sent a much better package to get Butler. I know Cleveland wanted him, so why not trade Love for Butler straight up. That is much better than what Minnesota gave them. Or maybe gauge what kind of young talent they could've gotten from the Lakers or the Suns if they really wanted a lottery pick. there had to be better deals on the table, I just think they jumped on the first offer so they could offload a disgruntled player.

As far as giving up on him, I don't think they did that, I just think his time in Chicago was up, and they knew that, so they traded him away. It was a poor offer, but they pulled the trigger anyway. And with getting him out of the East, I do not think that was taken into account at all. No team in the East is going to beat Cleveland, even if they don't acquire Paul George at some point, because LeBron is still going to be there at least one more season. Like I've said time and time again, I just think they jumped on one of the first offers they were given.

Finally, just when I didn't think their night could get any worse, they made another very bad choice in the second round. It was announced that they had drafted Jordan Bell from Oregon, and I thought, okay, at least they will get something decent out of this draft. Then, inexplicably, they traded him away to the Warriors for cash. That is such a terrible, horrible, atrocious deal. Bell is the perfect player for the Warriors, who did not have pick in this draft, and the Bulls gift wrapped him for cash. What the hell! Again, I was shocked at the stupidity I was witnessing. They had a great second round value pick, to make up for the awful trade from round one, and they gave him away for nothing.

The Bulls are going to be so dreadful next year. They're going to be trotting out a starting five of Dwayne Wade, Robin Lopez, Rajon Rondo and 2 dudes that no one has ever heard of. They will be lucky to win 30 games next season. Fred Hoiberg will, and should, be gone mid season. Wade will probably demand a trade. I'm sure Rondo will become annoyed and want out as well. The Bulls will be a Knicks level joke, but at least the Knicks have Porzingis, for now, and drafted the big and gifted point guard from France. The Bulls might be as bad as the Nets next year due to what they did last night. This was a horrific decision, and it will haunt them as much as when Jordan and Pippen left the team and they were winning 20 to 25 games a year for about 5 straight seasons. The Bulls, by far, had the worst draft night that I have seen since the Grizzlies took Hasheem Tabheet with the second overall pick years ago. This was a train wreck.

To end it on a happy note though, good job by the T'Wolves. This instantly makes them a playoff team, and I think putting Butler in the back court with Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins is going to go over swimmingly. I love this move for Minnesota.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2017 NBA Mock Draft

As I did with the NFL draft this year, I'm going to do a mock draft for the NBA draft tonight. I've waited so long because there has been a ton of movement prior to the draft and I wanted to make sure nothing else happened before I went about picking players. This is a loaded draft and I'm going on what the draft order looks like today. If stuff changes before tonight, a lot may change, but, we will have to wait and see. For the record, I think there is going to be some more crazy stuff that happens during the draft tonight, but that will not affect my mock today. Enough with the preamble, lets get to it.

1. 76ers-Markelle Fultz. This was written in stone the moment the Celtics and 76ers swapped picks. This is the best thing that the 76ers could've wished for, and it seems like, if all the guys stay healthy, a big, big if, this could be a fringe playoff team in 3 or 4 years. They will be a ton of fun to watch, especially when they add Fultz.

2. Lakers-Lonzo Ball. I've been on record saying all the talk is just talk and the Lakers, especially after trading Russell this week, are taking Ball. He has great court vision and is an exceptional passer, but I do think he will be a bust. I do not have the faith in him that other do. He is a bench player at best. 

3. Celtics-Jayson Tatum. Here is another guy that I do not think is going to be as great as some other scouts do. Yes he can create and score, but, he is a ball hog that ices out teammates. That will not mesh well with this Celtics team. He is also a very average defender. He also could not lead Duke like some thought he could. I have almost as many doubts about him as I do with Lonzo Ball. But, the Celtics seem pretty set on picking this kid.

4. Suns-DeAaron Fox. The Suns are going to snatch the top point guard, in my opinion, in the draft. Eric Bledsoe is going to be moved, and the Suns are going towards a youth movement, especially with Kentucky players. They already have Devin Booker, Tyler Ullis and Bledsoe, but Fox will take his place. He is super fast, a great defender and will learn to shoot. Fox is probably my favorite player in this draft, and if the Suns are smart, they will snap him up at 4.

5. Kings-Johnathan Issac. The Kings will miss out on the guy they wanted in Fox, so they will panic and take the long and athletic forward. They already have a lot of these guys, but that hasn't stopped them in prior drafts. I do like Issac's game though. He is a good stretch 4 that just needs to gain some weight. I think he will be a very, very poor man's KD when he is in the league. If that happens with the Kings, only time will tell. But, they will panic pick Issac a few spots too early for him.

6. Magic-Malik Monk. Monk is probably the best shooter in this draft and the Magic need shooters. They have some pieces, I like Aaron Gordon, but they don't have many good outside shooters. Monk scored 40 plus in a college game, and while he may not be an elite NBA scorer, I see a lot of Dion Waiters in him. He is the type of scorer that can go off at any time. He will be a great heat check type shooter in the league.

7. Timberwolves-Josh Jackson. This will be the guy that "falls" in the lottery. He has made some questionable decisions leading up to the draft, and I think that will make him drop 3 or 4 spots. But, I actually feel like this will be a great spot for hi. He's already a great defender, and that is what the T'Wolves need. He can become an offensive threat in the league, but he won't need to be that guy on this time right away. They already have Towns and Wiggins for that. So Jackson can be plugged in to play defense and eventually he will become some kind of offensive threat.

8. Knicks-Frank Ntilikina. Ntilikina is the big time foreign prospect in this draft. He is a tall and athletic point guard. I do not know a whole bunch about him, but I feel like this is exactly what the Knicks will do. They do need a guard, but who knows with this guy. Also, if they inexplicably trade Porzingis, I will immediately feel bad for this kid because he will have no one to play with. This kid could be good to great, but time will tell. I hope if he is taken here that he comes to the NBA right away instead of staying in France for another year or two.

9. Mavericks-Dennis Smith Jr. I really like Smith Jr. This dude is built like a linebacker and he is an all around good point guard. He can really do a lot of things, and I love the fit with the Mavs. He can become the first of any young guys that Cuban and Carlisle can build around. He plays with a tenacity like no other prospect and the guy just wants to win. I am higher on Smith Jr than others, and I think he is going to be great. This is the second best fit, behind only Fultz, in the lottery. I really, really like Smith Jr.

10. Kings-Donovan Mitchell. After missing out on Fox and panic picking Issac, the Kings will finally do something right and grab their future point guard at 10 with Mitchell. I watched this guy very closely in the tournament when Michigan faced Louisville in round 2 of the tournament. He didn't have the best game ever, but he controlled the Louisville offense, and when he was hot in the first half, he was a scoring machine. The Kings really need a point guard, and I think they will get a steal at 10 with Mitchell. He will be a long time starter in the NBA.

11. Hornets-Lauri Markkenan. This is a reach of epic proportions in my opinion. Markkenan keeps getting compared to Porzingis, and that is so unfair to Porzingis. Markkenan is not near the level that Porzingis was at this point in his career. Markkenan is soft and will get battered in the low post. Again, I watched him in the tournament, and yes, he can shoot from outside, but he was a poor rebounder, and like I said, he looked soft. He is young, so he can get tougher, but he just doesn't look to be as great as some think. He is a very poor man's Kevin Love, minus the rebounding and outlet passing prowess. I do not like Markkenan, but Michael Jordan has made poor draft choices in the past, and I thin he will do that tonight.

12. Pistons-Zach Collins. This kid should have stayed in school, but since the NBA is obsessed with "one and done" players, Collins will be taken in the late lottery. He did play well in the tournament, but he needed some more time to refine his game. The Pistons do have a center, Andre Drummond, but Collins bring that floor spacing to that offense. He is still a bit too thin, but can, and will, gain weight. He is an okay rebounder, and if he isn't pushed into early playing time, he could turn out to be a decent rotational player.

13. Nuggets-OG Anuouby. Anuouby is coming off a bad injury and may miss a lot of the year, but he is talented and the Nuggets will take a chance on him. When healthy, he is super athletic and can play some defense. The Nuggets are continuing with the youth movement, and Anuouby adds to that. There is no in between with him. He is either going to be great or going to be a journeyman. I hope he is great because he is from Missouri.

14. Heat-Luke Kennard. The Heat don't really need much, so they will draft a floor spacing guard. Kennard isn't great, but he isn't terrible. He can shoot, plays hard and will be just fine as the 8th or 9th guy off the bench. He was the best player on Duke last year, but that isn't saying much. I don't think he will be any kind of starter in the NBA, but he can shoot, and teams want guys that can shoot.

15. Trailblazers-Jarret Allen. The Trailblazers need a real center for the modern NBA, and Allen is immediately better than Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh. Allen can run the floor, can rebound and protect the rim. Sure, Texas wasn't that good last year, but Allen was. He can become a better Andre Drummond in my opinion. He is a bit faster and will fit in better in the modern game. He's young too, and pairing him with McCollum and Lillard could be great.

16. Bulls-Terrance Ferguson. Young, athletic and played professionally in Australia instead of wasting 6 months in college. He has already played with grown men and he did okay. The Bulls need to get some guys that can replace Jimmy Butler, I'm almost certain he will be traded, and Ferguson can come in and try to be the scorer and playmaker they will need. He is a fine young player and I do like the fact that he played professionally overseas. Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay did the same thing, and while they are not great, they have solid pro careers. I see the same with Ferguson.

17. Bucks-Justin Jackson. The Bucks need a legit point guard, but since most are gone, they will settle for another long and athletic, defensive minded 2 guard. Jackson guarded the best layer on the other team every tournament game, and he did great. He also proved that he can create his own shot and hit the open three. He made the right choice coming back for his junior year, and he will reap the benefits by going to a very good, very young team.

18. Pacers-Justin Patton. The Pacers are about to get blown up, Paul George is all but gone, and they will rebuild around 2 young and athletic big men. They already have Myles Turner and Patton will be the next piece. He is young, athletic, can stretch the floor and rebound. They will have a good, young front court, the it will be time to rebuild their back court. Patton is raw, but so was Turner and Turner is only getting better. This pick might not make sense right now, but in a year or 2, it will look good.

19. Hawks-John Collins. Now that they have traded away Dwight Howard, and seem to be blowing it up, the Hawks will take a good, young center. Collins got so much better from his freshman to sophomore years at Wake Forest, and I see him as a day one starter with the Hawks. They are going the youth movement like a lot of other teams, and Collins is going to be very good. I love his game and I am glad he went back for another season to get better in college. He's going to be a good pro.

20. Trailblazers-TJ Leaf. Again, they need guys in the front court to get better, and just like their earlier pick of Jarret Allen, they will add another big man in TJ Leaf. He doesn't have the rebounding ability like Allen does, and Allen is a better defender, but Leaf can shoot. He was a decent knock down shooter at UCLA, and maybe that will translate to the NBA. I don't like that he left UCLA after one year, but that is what the NBA and college basketball is now. He could have gotten bigger and better, but he will still be a first round pick. These guys that get picked later in the first round are specialist that will be bench guys, and Leaf will be a big three point shooter off the bench.

21. Thunder-Ike Anigobu. The Thunder, and Russell Westbrook for that matter, need scoring everywhere, and picking this late, they will grab Anigobu. He is a power forward that can score in the post and outside, and he could possibly help out Westbrook. He can run and shoot and Westbrook needs all the help he can get, especially in the post. Steven Adams is the only viable low post option, and he is not the runner that Anigobu already is.

22. Nets-Tyler Lydon. The Nets don't matter, and neither do their picks. Lydon didn't really do much at Syracuse, but he is a big guy that can shoot, so the Nets will take a shot. They are so bad, it doesn't matter who they pick. This might be the most pointless pick of the first round, and the Nets will make it even more pointless by taking a random big.

23. Raptors-Semi Ojeleye. Ojeleye will be a younger PJ Tucker replacement. He is big, strong, a good defender, rebounder and a very good scorer. He is very underrated in my opinion, and I think he will be a great fit in Toronto. He was the man at SMU, and I think he fits in great with the Raptors. They won't be able to retain Tucker, he is going to get overpaid by someone, so Ojeleye, to me, seems like the perfect replacement.

24. Jazz-Jawun Evans. The Jazz will probably need a new point guard, so they will take Evans from Oklahoma State. He may be short, but he is a great creator and can shoot from outside. This is another guy I watched closely in the tournament, they were Michigan's first round opponent, and he was incredible. He's so fast, yet plays under control. He can step in right away and start from day one, especially if they lose George Hill.

25. Magic-Bam Adebayo. The Magic need a lot, and after taking Monk in the lottery, they will draft his college teammate late first round. Adebayo is a great, modern big man. He is a decent pick and roll player and a decent rim protector. He can rebound and he doesn't need the ball in his hands all the time. He is big and strong too. I think he will turn out to be a good, low post big man in the NBA. The Magic will bet a steal late in the first round.

26. Trailblazers-Isaish Hartenstein. Hartenstein is the big man from Germany, and the Blazers will draft and stash him. This will be their third big man, but this guy will go back to play professionally in Germany for a year or 2 before the Blazers bring him back to the NBA. He is big, but needs to develop his game. The Blazers will take a flier on him because of potential, but like I said, we won't see him for a couple years in the NBA.

27. Nets-Harry Giles. Giles needed to stay in college for one more year, at least. He may have been the top high school player last year, but he was either injured or inconsistent in his one season at Duke. He will get picked based on potential, but he is very, very raw. almost too raw. The Nets don't matter, like I said, so neither does this pick. But, Giles needs time to develop, so don't count on him to be any kind of big time player in the NBA, maybe ever.

28. Lakers-Ivan Rabb. Continuing the youth movement, the Lakers will take the other local kid, Rabb, late in the first round. He is a decent power forward that is coachable. He will hustle and try hard every night. He could have been a higher pick if he left last year, but he went back to Cal and built some muscle and added to his game. He is a very decent player and I think he can become a bench guy in years to come. He should have an okay NBA career.

29. Spurs-Caleb Swanigan. This is my favorite pick of the first round. Swaningan is a great player that tries hard and works ta his game. There is no better team than San Antonio for him. He will get the best coaching and get to learn behind some great players. He won't have to start right away and he will be put in the best NBA system. This kid deserves the best, and I love, love, love the fit with the Spurs.

30. Jazz-DJ Wilson. With the last pick, the Jazz will take the big man from Michigan. He is a bit too skinny right now, but he can rebound and shoot the three. He had a great tournament and that will be why he is taken as the last pick of the first round. He will have to sit for awhile, but in his limited minutes, he will score, run and rebound. It may take some years, but he could be the 7th or 8th guy off the bench for 10 plus years in the NBA.

There you have it, my first NBA mock draft. Like I said there will probably be some movement, but this is how I see the first round if nothing changes. This will be a fun draft and I can' wait to see where a lot of these good players end up. Enjoy the draft.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. He also spent one semester at a D 1 college like most of the players in the first round. When will his name be called?

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There are Only Winners in the Celtics - 76ers Draft Pick Swap

I know I said last week was NBA week for me, but there was a big trade this weekend, that will become official today, and I have some thoughts.

As most of you know by now, the Celtics traded the number pick in this Thursday's draft to the 76ers for the 3rd pick in this draft, and a first rounder in 2018 and 2019. On paper, and when I first heard about it, I was not moved either way. I know that a lot of Celtics fans were up in arms. They were furious is more like it. People all over the internet were talking about how, "the Celtics got fleeced", "what did they get in return of any value", "has Danny Ainge finally lost his mind", "why do this now". Basically, it was all doom and gloom.

I wish that Celtics fans would remember that they were just in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, and they already have a very good team. Getting the number one overall pick was just icing on the cake after they fleeced the Nets so many years ago. This is a team that doesn't truly need to build through the draft, they just need a true star. And I love Isaiah Thomas, but he is not a superstar that can be the guy on a title contending team.

That being said, with a real superstar, they could compete with whatever team LeBron is on in the East. They need a Jimmy Butler, Paul George or Anthony Davis, and they instantly become a threat. I don't necessarily think that Markelle Fultz, who I think is going to be really good, is the player to put the Celtics over the top. He would have helped, but they can get an almost equal value player at number 3. It's not like they completely traded out of the first round to acquire Jahlil Okafor or Robert Covington. They got a lottery pick, and more than likely, they got 2 more over the next 2 drafts.

Now, I do think that Danny Ainge's stock piling of picks is getting a little to Sam Hinkie-ish for my taste. But maybe he is finally, actually going to try and trade for that superstar I mentioned earlier. Maybe they are going to package all these picks to go after an Anthony Davis, Boogie Cousins, Jimmy Butler or Paul George. Also, they have a real shot at signing Gordon Hayward this offseason. If they add Hayward, then trade these picks for any of the guys I just mentioned, or even Blake Griffin, they would instantly become the best team in the East. Yes, all of that would make them better than the Cavs to me. Sure, they might lose an Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart or Jae Crowder, but to replace them with Gordon Hayward and an Anthony Davis or Jimmy Butler, that is an absolute homerun. Also, like I said earlier, they can get a pretty good player at number 3 if they choose to keep the pick.

The 76ers are going to take Fultz with the number one pick. They have already made it well known. Hell, Joel Embiid put a picture out there of him and Dario Saric in the 76ers locker room next to an empty locker with Fultz's name on it. That means, if the Celtics don't trade the pick, the Lakers are going to take Lonzo Ball second. That leaves guys like Josh Jackson, DeAron Fox, Johnathan Issac, Jayson Tatum, Dennis Smith Jr, any of the big time foreign prospects. The Celtics options are endless. If they want length and athleticism, they could grab Jackson or Issac. If they want a pass first point guard to pair with Thomas, Fox is right there. If they want a bull dogesque point guard that can score and distribute, Dennis Smith Jr is flying up draft boards. If they want a younger Carmelo Anthony, Tatum is there. They will be just fine if they keep the pick. I'm not all up in arms is what I'm trying to get at, like some Celtics fans I have seen on social media. They seem to have a plan, and they have a lot of second and third and even fourth options if their first plan falls through. The Celtics will be just fine.

Now, the 76ers. They struck up a hell of a deal. I feel like, even though I just laid out why I think the Celtics will be fine, the 76ers definitely won this trade because of how they are building their team. They want youth and to build around that youth. This is what "trusting the process" is all about. Yes, they got rid of Nerlens Noel last year, but they have Okafor, and if he can stay healthy for 75 percent of the season, Joel Embiid is going to be a star. He is so god damn good at basketball, he just needs to stay on the court. Ben Simmons will be at full strength next year, and he looks to have great court vision, he is a very good passer and he can get to the rim. He has no jump shot, but he can learn to shoot. Russell Westbrook didn't have a jump shot, and he should be getting the MVP here in a week or so. Same thing with Kawhi. He didn't have a jump shot, but he had everything else, then learned how to shoot a proper jump shot. These guys are professionals, and their job is to get better at basketball. Ben Simmons can, at least, become a halfway decent threat from outside. And the role players they have, guys like Covington, Nik Stauskas, Dario Saric, even TJ McConnell are good enough bench players to be in the NBA. Add Markelle Fultz to this bunch and they will be a fun team to watch this season, and in a year or two, or maybe three, they could become a fringe playoff team. They have coveted Fultz all along, and they did what they had to do to get the player that is looked at as, not only the best player in this draft, but the surest thing in the draft.

Something else not many people are saying is that Fultz will be a good NBA player. He was very good on a very poorly coached Washington Huskies team last year. Yes, they only won 9 games, but every team game planned simply for him, and he still scored 20 plus a game, handed out assists and did what he had to do on that awful, awful team. I really like Fultz's game, and I like him on the 76ers more than on the Celtics or Lakers or Mavericks or any other team picking in the lottery. He fits in so perfectly with the core players on the 76ers.

So, while some see the sky falling, Bill Simmons, and others think this is the greatest thing ever, Stephen A Smith, I think both teams come out of this trade just fine. Each team is going to get what they want, or try to, and both teams will be just fine. And, in the 76ers case, this could turn out to be the best thing that has happened to them since they drafted Allen Iverson. I like this trade for both teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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A Very Early Preview of the 2020 Olympics 3 on 3 Basketball Contest

The playground game is getting the gold, and silver, and bronze, medal treatment

It was announced about a week or so ago that the 2020 Summer Olympics were going to add 3 on 3 basketball. I love love love this idea. I'm so fully on board. I'm beyond giddy that the prospect of this.

3 on 3 is what I play every week when I go play pickup basketball with my friends. Sometimes it may be 4 on 4, if we get 7 or 8 dudes, but usually there is only 6 of us, and we play some good 3 on 3. I hope they do it the same way me and my friends have always done it as well. We play to 11 by 1's and 2's, everything beyond the three point line is worth 2, anything else is 1, we call our own fouls and other stuff, we don't call charges or blocks or anything small like that and you have to win by 2. We also play outside sometimes, and I think it would be cool if they adopt the street ball aspect of 3 on 3, but I'm assuming they will play it indoors on the same floor as they play the 5 on 5 full on basketball in the Olympics.

Now, before I really dig deep into the teams, and who I think will win the gold, silver and bronze, a few ground rules. One, I am assuming that this will be filled with professional basketball players. I'd love if they do it with college players, or even street ball legends, but I'm going to go ahead and just imagine it with the super stars of the current NBA. Second, I'm going to do a USA vs the World type situation, kind of like what they do in the rookies vs sophomores game during the NBA's All Star game festivities. Third, I'm going to try as hard as I can to make these teams fair and try to find some country that could win a medal outside of the US. I'm not saying that the US has the only good players, but they have the most quality players when I was doing research. Some of the best players in the game right now are foreign players, but their countries don't have many other guys that could fill out an entire 3 on 3 team that could truly compete. Finally, lots of players from bordering countries will be lumped together. For example, New Zealand and Australia is just going to be one team. Hence my USA vs the World thing I was talking about. Now, let's get to it.

Lets look at the US first. While doing research, I was thinking of players off the top of my head from the US that could make up a 3 on 3 team. The first players that popped into my head were LeBron, KD, Klay, Steph, Draymond and Kyrie Irving. Yes, I just finished watching the Finals, so of course the players from the 2 teams were filling my brain. Then, I started to think a bit more about some other players that would make up a bunch of Team USA 3 on 3 teams. Guys like Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Boogie, Gordon Hayward, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Jimmy Butler, John Wall, Brad Beal and Hassan Whiteside, just to name a few. My next mission was breaking these teams up into 3 man tandems.

My "first" squad for Team USA is KD, Steph and Kawhi. They would be the perfect 3 on 3 team. KD is 7 feet tall, so he has length to defend bigger guys, and he can space the court. Steph is a wizard with the ball, a good passer and the greatest shooter ever. And Kawhi, he is one of the best all around players in the league, and he is the best defender in all of basketball. This is my gold standard team. Now I had to break up the other guys to make more 3 on 3 teams.

Next up I have to have LeBron, and he'd team up with Paul George and Anthony Davis. This is a great, scary good 3 on 3 team. They don't have the shooters my first team has, but they have some big dudes that play defense and can score at the rim with ease. They'd be a tough out, possibly a gold medal winner with ease.

The next USA team I'd put out there has Kyrie, Klay and Draymond. I like to lump the Warriors guys together obviously. This team would be very good. Draymond can guard everyone, Kyrie can score at the rim at will and Klay is almost on Kawhi's level with defense and he's a better shooter. 

Another USA team would have Harden, Boogie and DeRozan. This team isn't on the level of the other teams, but Harden is a great shooter and passer, DeRozan is a great mid range shooter and Boogie is the best center in the game right now. They would be tough and physical and get into other teams heads.

I have to put Westbrook on a team, so I'd pair him with Hassan Whiteside, for the defense and rebounding, and Gordon Hayward, because he can hit the open shot when given the opportunity. Westbrook needs to be on a team where he controls the ball, and I feel like this is the perfect squad for him.

My final 3 man squad for the US is small, but feisty. I'd put Chris Paul, a natural leader and a tough guy with Jimmy Butler, great defender and great creator and John Wall, who might be the most explosive, and definitely fastest player in the NBA. This is a smaller team but they'd put up a fight.

See what I'm saying about USA and all these 3 man squads. I left a lot of guys out, and this is still a completely loaded group of players. These are the best of the best. Before I get into medals though, let's look at the teams the World could put out there.

First off, let's look at Team USA's biggest competition the past few Olympics, Spain. They have some good, great players, but they are getting older. You'd have to pair up the Gasol brothers, then you could put Serge Ibaka and Ricky Rubio on this team. It's a good squad, I just don't think it is medal worthy. Pau is old, Marc is great, but not as great as say a Anthony Davis or Boogie Cousins, Ibaka looks to be past his prime and Rubio is great with the ball, but he cannot shoot.

Then I thought maybe we could pair up Argentina with the Dominican and they could compete. These 2 places give us guys like Manu Ginobli, Luis Scola, Al Horford, Karl Anthony-Towns, Carlos Delfino and Charlie Villanueva. Towns and Horford are awesome, and I love Ginobli, but there is no way these guys are beating any of the top three USA squads. They'd fight, and Towns could win a game himself, but I just don't see the Argentine-Dominican team having a shot at a medal.

Then we get to Brazil. They have some players. Guys like Nene, Anderson Varajeo, Leandro Barbosa, Tiago Splitter and Lucas Nogueira. These are some good guys, but they have no ball handlers and no real shooters. Barbosa would be the point guard, and he can sometimes get his own shot, but he is so much better as a role player than the focal point. Every other player is a big man, and they would be easily neutralized in a 3 on 3 tournament.

Team Italy has Danillo Gallinari, but he would team up with one of the biggest busts ever in Andrea Bargnani, and journey man Marco Bellinelli. They have shooting, and guys that can get to the rim, but they have no ball handler, so they are screwed from the start.

Next up, I'm going to glomb together Slovenia, Serbia, Latvia, Turkey and Russia, a neo athletic Eastern Bloc. These 4 countries provide us with some good players. The powers that be would have a pool of guys to choose from like, Timofey Mozgov, Alex Len, Enes Kanter, Zaza Pachulia, Ersan Illiyasova, Nikola Jokic, Goran Dragic and Kristaps Porzingis. First off, they need to build this team around Porzingis. He has the length and the shot to make it tough for other teams. Then, I'd take Nikola Jokic, great passer, rebounder and scorer and Goran Dragic, perfect point guard. This team could cause some problems, but in the long run, I think they would place 5th, at best.

Team Germany could be good. You have Dirk, Dennis Schroder, but then you have to pick between Paul Zipser and Chris Kaman. Those are not all timers that can cause problems for other teams. Also, Dirk is getting older and older. Schroder could cause problems, but he is not on the level of some of the other point guards I have mentioned.

Lithuania, Team USA's old rival, is not near the level of a lot of other teams. Sure, you have Jonas Valenciunas, Donatas Montejunas, Linas Kleiza and Domantos Sabonis. No ball handlers and no shooters. They'd be dead in the water.

Unfortunately for Greece, the only guy they have is Giannis Antetekoumpo, and while he is incredibly awesome, and the possible face of the NBA in the future, he would get no help from his country.

The final three teams I have, I think could possibly medal, if put in the right situation.

First we have France. They have a point guard in Tony Parker, thy have length in Rudy Gobert, they have passing in Boris Diaw and they have guys that can create in Nic Batum and Evan Fournier. They'd have to have Gobert and Parker as their main guys, then I'd probably put Batum out there. This is a decent team that could medal. Unfortunately for France, Tony Parker is old and coming off injury. He'd get exposed on defense.

Team Canada can field a very good, pretty young team as well. They have guys like Andrew Wiggins, Nik Stauskas, Tristan Thompson, Jamal Murray, Corey Joseph and Trey Lyles. These are some good guys that can form a pretty good 3 on 3 team. Wiggins is the center piece, then I'd put Tristan Thompson and Corey Joseph out there. Wiggins is an explosive athlete who's jump shot is only getting better. Tristan Thompson is the perfect "dirty work" player and Corey Joseph learned in the Spurs system, so he is a very decent, smart basketball player. They could cause a lot of problems.

Finally, I think the combination of Australia and New Zealand would have the best chance to medal of all the other countries not name USA. They could put Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Ben Simmons, Dante Exum and Steven Adams. Those are some good players, if healthy. Bogut has the rim protection, so does Adams. Ben Simmons is an excellent passer and attacks the rim with ease. Patty Mils is a great outside shooter. Dante Exum is a tall point guard that is only getting better. Dellavedova is the only guy that doesn't bear mentioning. If I were in charge of this team, I'd put Simmons, Steven Adams and Patty Mills out there. They give them the best shot at a medal.

With all this being said, I still think, no matter how much I tried, that the US would win all three medals. I laid out the best case for Canada, France and New Zealand/Australia, but they just don't have the star power that the US teams have. The other countries I mentioned, they have no shot, not even the 4 country grouping I had that had Porzingis as the main guy. So, my Bronze medal would go to the squad of Kyrie, Klay and Draymond. The silver I'd give to LeBron, Anthony Davis and Paul George. Yes LeBron is the runner-up once again. And the Gold, that goes to Steph, KD and Kawhi. They are just too good everywhere to get beaten.

I am so excited to watch this in 3 years, and hopefully they go with NBA players. This 3 on 3 tournament is going to be loads of fun, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Some Final Thoughts on the 2016-2017 Golden State Warriors

These are the only rings left for teams that are not called the Warriors

During my week of NBA talk, I have been pretty hard on the Cavs, and LeBron. It is deserving, but I've kind of ripped them apart as much as I feel necessary. I'm also researching a very big basketball story that I will put out tomorrow. Today I'm going to turn my views over to the Warriors. I have some quick thoughts on this super team.

First off, they are a super, super team. They have 3 of the best 5 five shooters to ever play the game. They have length all over the back court. They spread teams out like no one I have ever seen. They have 2 recent MVP winners. They have the most versatile defender I have ever watched. They have a great coach.

The Warriors literally have it all. Their role players and bench leave a bit to be desired, but they have Steph, KD, Klay and Draymond, so their role players don't change the outcome too much. Yes, Iguodala has been great, but he is 32 and he looks older. Shaun Livingston is great, and has come back from brutal injuries, but now that he has 2 titles, I think he might bolt for a bigger contract, and the opportunity to be a starter. Ian Clark and Patrick McCaw are so young, but they look to be developing within the Warriors system, so maybe they are the heir apparent to Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguoldala for this team. Other than that, it is very mediocre. David West has his title and I would not be surprised if he retires. He doesn't seem to fit in the new NBA. I love David West, his toughness is unparalleled, but he is playing a style of basketball that doesn't fit in the modern game. Javale McGee brings a ton of energy, but he gets a little to hyped up at times, and unless he is in the right system, like the Warriors, he is more of a headache that a spark plug. Ask any Wizards or 76ers fans their thoughts on Javale McGee. That being said, I thought he was great for this particular team. Zaza Pachulia, who is their starting center, is trash. This dude just fouls and misses layups and sets moving screens all the time. When he was in the game, the Warriors always seemed to lose big leads due to him fouling a Cav or missing a wide open layup. He is a liability and I'm pretty sure he will not be heard from much anymore in the NBA. This series proved that he is a waste of a roster space. Other than that, the Warriors have guys like James Michael McAdoo, Matt Barnes, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones. I'm pretty sure McAdoo is more known for his lineage than his game. Matt Barnes is better known as the dude that beat the shit out of Derek Fisher than any contribution he made to the Warriors this year. I'm pretty sure Kevon Looney is in the D League. And as far as Damian Jones, I didn't even know he was an NBA player until I looked it up a second ago. All this being said, I don't think it matters with this Warriors team. As long as they keep their core four together, you could plug in me and my buddies that I play pick up with and they'd still win 60 plus games and the Finals every year. This team is that good.

Another thing I have read recently about this team is their hesitancy to visit the current White House. I hope that none of them go. This would set a great precedent for title winning teams in the near future. This team, and Steve Kerr, have been very outspoken as far as their political leanings, and if they skip that trip, I would be so happy. That would piss off this whiny, childish "administration" so much, and I would just love it. Steph came out recently, or it was reported, that he said he would probably not visit the White House. KD and Klay are quieter dudes, but I don't think they'd go. Draymond isn't going to go. He doesn't have to say anything, I just know he won't go. And their coach, Steve Kerr, while he has said that they haven't made a decision yet, I'd bet a lot of money that he will not visit those monsters. I'm not a Warriors fan, but they are incredibly forward thinking in all matters, and if they skip the White House visit, which I think they will, I will have so much respect for them. That would be so awesome, and a big slap in the face to the douchebags that work in DC right now. If they do visit, I hope they only go see senators like Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and the like. To go there and only see Democratic senators would be such a baller move, and the Warriors have the guys that would do that. The only thing that would make it better is if they went and visited the Clinton's instead. That would be incredible. Anything to make the current "government" more unhappy is alright with me.

Finally, all of what I've written about this team, minus the possible visit, doesn't matter as long as they stay together. I've already said this, but it bares repeating. They are video game cheat code good, and no one, no matter who LeBron tries to get to replace Kevin Love, will beat them if they are fully healthy. The Warriors will lose guys like David West, Matt Barnes and possibly Shaun Livingston, but they will just replace them with some other ring chasers. I've heard that Zach Randolph has an interest in signing with them. I wouldn't be shocked if someone like Al Jefferson or even a Paul Milsap replace guys like Zaza and West and McGee. And, they have Ian Clark and Patrick McCaw, who looked decent in their small minutes in the Finals. This team is poised to be the champs for, at least, the next 3 years.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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LeBron James is Saying Super Dumb Stuff about Super Teams

What in the hell did he just say?

In my NBA Finals recap yesterday I forgot to mention one thing that has really been eating at me since I first heard it last night while listening to the Ringer's "NBA Show" podcast. That is why this did not make my piece yesterday because I was not made aware of LeBron James asinine comment that "he has never played on a super team". This threw me for a loop. I literally yelled out loud in disgust in my car on the way to play basketball last night.

As I'm sure a lot of people did, I turned the game off after it was over Monday night. I knew who the MVP was going to be, I knew what all the interviews would be like, I knew what everyone was going to say, so I felt there was no need for me to watch all the post game stuff. Well, apparently during his final presser, LeBron was asked what it was like to face a super team, or something along those lines, and that was when he gave this dumbass response. Hell, it was only a few weeks ago that KD himself said that LeBron was the one guy that made forming super teams possible when he bolted Cleveland for Miami to team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. So, for LeBron to be this sore of a loser and this arrogant took be by surprise.

LeBron James is a guy that has always said and done the right things ever since he has been in the spotlight, which has been pretty much his whole life. He has never really come off this ridiculous, at least not to me, before. He has always won like a champ, and taken defeat like a champ. He has always been the good guy. Even when he left Cleveland the first time, I never viewed him as a villain, I viewed him as a ring chaser, much like I do with KD now. But for him to be this holier than thou because his team, that he formed, got their ass beat by a far, far superior team, I mean, come on man. He played great. He was virtually unstoppable on offense throughout all five games, but it wasn't enough. Maybe that is why he gave such a moronic answer to this very reasonable, and truthful question.

These are the facts, when LeBron left Cleveland 7 years ago, he formed the first of this new era of "super teams". Some may say the Celtics did in 2008, but they traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The Heat signed both Bosh and LeBron to pair up with Wade, thus forming the first real super team of the 21st century. I remember when he had that stupid little television special, then a concert to announce his decision. Those days were the first time I ever really heard the term "super team" used. And, it was true. To pair him up with Bosh and Wade was deemed unfair at the time, and it started to take the parity away in the NBA, at least in the East. These were 3 All Stars in their prime coming together to try and win a title. This was, and always will be, the first super team that I remember being pissed off about because it started to water down the competition.

Since his decision to "take his talents to South Beach", all anyone wants to do now is form "super teams". After LeBron signed on in Miami and they had their run to 4 straight Finals appearances, winning 2, other players started to join forces to try and dethrone the Heat. The Lakers tried by acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. That didn't work. The Rockets then tried, after they acquired Howard to pair up with Harden. They made the conference Finals, but that was it. The Mavericks tried to do this by offering DeAndre Jordan a contract. He decided to return to LA instead. Hell, even the Spurs tried when they signed LaMarcus Aldridge 2 years ago when he was the prize free agent. It hasn't worked for them either. Even LeBron formed a second super team when he returned to Cleveland and all but demanded they trade away Wiggins and Bennett for Kevin Love.  

LeBron needs to get the hell out of here with a quote or comment like that. He is far too good a player to have to say some stupid shit like this. He is, and always will be, the godfather of forming a super team. He had to in order for him to win a title. There was no way he was going to win a title in his first go round with Cleveland, and he knew that, and he knew that teaming up with a couple other All Stars was his only chance, thus creating the "super team".

Make no mistake, LeBron is an all time great. He is the type of player kids should strive to be, he is a total class act and seems like a good guy. But, this comment, I don't know if it was made out of frustration, anger or if he actually believes it, was one of his biggest oversights, if not his biggest, that he has ever made. He needs to take this loss like he took his 4 other losses in the Finals. I didn't hear anyone on the Warriors last year say they weren't a super team after Cleveland won the title. LeBron shouldn't have, and more importantly, didn't need to say this the other night. It was way out of his context and character.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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The Warriors are Exactly Who We Thought They Were

To the surprise of no one, the Warriors won the NBA title last night. This game felt more like a formality than an actual competitive game. Sure, the Cavs had a lead at halftime, they led by 8 points at one time, the refs missed a big call on KD that could have upped the lead to 9, but did any of us really think that the Warriors, with KD and Draymond, were going to lose another game 5 at home? I don't even think LeBron James believed his team was going to win last night.

Credit due to the Cavs for coming out strong, but they made the same mistake they made all series, and that was trying to run with the Warriors. The Cavs are not built that way, and when you try and run with a historically great offense, you are going to get burned. This was a terrible decision by LeBron, or to people who have no clue and think he is the coach, Ty Lue. To think that you can outscore a great offense, that plays great defense as well, is insane. There was no way the Cavs were going to win more than one game playing like they did. Those guys are not in that type of basketball shape. Sure, LeBron, Kyrie, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, who was dreadful in the Finals, may have looked like they could keep pace for a half, but, by the second half, they all had their hands on their head or hips, they were huffing and puffing, tugging on their shorts and neglected to play defense, figuring they'd save their energy for offense.

LeBron looked so gassed, he basically treated defense as an option. This was the worst defense I have ever seen him play. Sure, he put up great offensive numbers, averaging a triple double, but he was getting torched all series long by KD, Steph and even Andre Iguodala. He looked James Harden bad on defense this series. But, did the announcers ever say anything bad about his effort? Of course not. They kept talking about how he was carrying the Cavs and how he "has the heart of a champion". That is so god damn ridiculous. I love LeBron. I think he is probably the second or third best player to ever play the game. He is like no one I have ever watched. But man did he looked just terrible on defense. And, every time he got beat by a back door cut or got beat by a jumper or got beat to the hoop, he never took the blame, instead, always glaring at teammates, or just straight up committing a foul. He was just as bad on defense as he was good on offense.

As for the other Cavs stars, Kyrie was electric in games 3 and 4, but last night he looked hobbled, slower than normal and just as bad as he always does on defense. He's a great ball handler and awesome at getting to the hoop, but he is a ball hog and his jumper is mediocre. Kyrie has a long way to go before he is considered an all timer. Kevin Love played okay, but not great, and last night, he stunk. He came and went throughout the Finals. He would rebound a lot one game, but shoot horribly. Then the next game, it was the other way around. He has become way too inconsistent. I would be surprised if he was still a Cav next year. Tristan Thompson was awful. JR Smith had a good game last night, but he was horrific on defense and a no show for the first three games. Iman Shumpert was dreadful everywhere. Kyle Korver couldn't hit the ocean, and was a total liability on defense. And then we have Deron Williams. Let us please have a moment of silence for Deron Williams, as it seems his career is now over. In fact, the only Cav that looked legitimately interested in winning was Richard Jefferson. That is not the guy you want to hang your hat on. The Cavs were outmatched.

The Warriors are a legit "super team". They got rid of Harrison Barnes, who they won a title with 2 years ago, and got KD in return. That is just not fair. I'm sure there are a thousand pieces today either condemning or congratulating the Warriors on what they did this offseason. I think it just waters down the game that much more. I was looking at Twitter after the game, and a lot of people were saying things that I have been thinking about all throughout these playoffs. These 2 teams, and more importantly, the Warriors, get to play teams like the Magic, 76ers, Lakers and Nets, among many others. Those teams do not belong in the same league as the Cavs, and definitely not the Warriors. It is fact. The Warriors have 3 of the best 5 shooters in the game right now. They have one of the best defenders in all of basketball. They have a great coach that has surrounded himself with other great coaches. They have it all.

The Warriors, at least to me, are what the Yankees were in the 90's. They bought this title. Sure, they earned it on the floor, and I know that 3 of their main guys they drafted, but they got KD. I have no problem with this either. I have sat and thought about it all year. I thought it was a cowards way to a title, and I still do, but he definitely earned that Finals MVP. He was awesome. I just wish he stuck it out in OKC one more year because I think he could have won with Russ. But, he wanted out, and he went to a team that won 73 games a year ago. Like I said, this is just like when the Yankees acquired Alex Rodriguez. They didn't need him, but they wanted him, and they got what they wanted because they had the means to do it. I know this may sound like sour grapes, but it is not meant that way. But, just as I HATED the Yankees, and still do, I do not like the Warriors. In fact, I'd venture to say that the majority of the country, outside of the Bay Area, actively roots against them now. They didn't need KD, but they got him, and they reaped those benefits last night, and all throughout the Finals. KD was awesome. I don't think the title is tainted, but I do not look at this like I did when the Spurs beat up on the Heat a few years ago, or when the Mavericks won, or even back when the Bulls were winning multiple titles in the 90's.

This Warriors title was a forgone conclusion on July 4th 2016. Yes, KD was great. So was Steph. Draymond was everywhere on the floor. Shaun Livingston and Patrick McCaw played great in their limited roles. David West brought a toughness this team needed. Klay's shot may have been off, but he played some of the best defense I have ever witnessed in the Finals. Javale McGee brought energy. In fact, the only liability for the Warriors that I saw was Zaza Pachulia. He was just awful. He is so bad at setting screens. He grabs and fouls on every play. People thought Steven Adams was dirty, but Zaza makes him look like a soft player. Zaza is terrible. The Warriors went out and bought this title in the offseason, and it all came to fruition last night.

The Finals, and the whole playoffs for that matter, left me with a hollow feeling. After the game last night all I thought was, "okay, 4 months until the Warriors start their repeat". That is how I, and a lot of other people, are going to feel for the next 4 or 5 seasons too, as long as the Warriors keep this nucleus in tact. They are all young and in their primes. I do not see anyone beating them.

I don't know who LeBron thinks he can go out and get to, lets face it, someone, Kevin Love, is going to be traded this offseason, try and help the Cavs return and compete with the Warriors. He may try Dwayne Wade or Carmelo Anthony or Boogie Cousins, but I do not see any of those three being able to play with the Warriors. Boogie, who I love, is too slow and more fit for a half court offense. Carmelo is old, his shot is worse and he plays no defense. And Dwayne Wade, see Carmelo Anthony, but shorter.

The NBA is going to be owned by the Warriors for a long time now, so get used to it. The regular seasons and the first 3 rounds of the playoffs will not matter anymore. The only thing that will matter is how many games it will take the Warriors to beat whatever East team LeBron is on. No one is going to challenge either of these teams, and that is the upsetting thing to me as a rabid NBA fan. There is no suspense, and suspense is what makes sports so great.

Well, I guess, congratulations Golden State. You signed a former MVP in his prime and beat an out of shape, careless defensive team to win your third title in 2 years. Hooray. (I'm being sarcastic if you can't tell by my tone) Maybe next season you guys will win 75 plus games and go undefeated in the playoffs. That would sure be a lot of fun. (Again, sarcasm) There is no parity in the NBA anymore. At least not for the next 4 or 5 years. Get used to the Warriors winning non Warriors fans. That's what's going to happen every year until Klay or KD or Steph retire or leave in free agency. That is the only way the Warriors dynasty will end.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Like the Lakers, I am not Very High on Lonzo Ball

I've got a bunch of basketball stuff lined up for this week, and today, I'm going to start off with my take on the whole Lonzo Ball work out for the Lakers, and what has come out since then. Side note, I'll do a mock draft like I did for the NFL as we get closer to the NBA draft. First let's talk about Lonzo.  

About a week or so ago, Lonzo Ball had his solo workout for the Lakers. This has been very much talked about leading up to the draft in a few weeks. Apparently, the Lakers are the only team the Ball family said he would work out for. In fact, the ever annoying Lavar Ball has come out recently and said he wants all of his sons to go to UCLA for one year, leave and get drafted by the Lakers. This dude is out of his god damn mind. All three kids will not be that good. It's the law of averages. Anyway, there was some talk that Ball may work out for the 76ers, but that died pretty quickly the closer we got to the Lakers workout.

Lonzo had his workout, and at first, all seemed well. He went by himself, no Lavar around, to his workout, dinner and interview. I don't remember who exactly it was, either Uproxx Sports or the AV Club, possibly maybe even Deadspin, but they headlined this news by comparing Lonzo Ball to a sixth grader who says stuff like, "I did this all by myself". I found that very funny. But, as I dug a little deeper on these stories, I found out some interesting news.

First off, the Lakers and Luke Walton said that they did not want Lavar Ball anywhere near his workout and the Lakers facility. This was the exact right decision the powers that be made. Lavar Ball is a cancer, and his son is going into the adult world of professional basketball, and he should not be allowed anywhere near his possible future employer. My father never came by the lab I worked in and talked about my greatness as a dental lab technician. This I am very grateful for.

By all accounts the dinner went well. How could it not? This is a dinner where the prospective prospect talks about how great they are and tells the franchise that is taking him out how much he wants to play for that team. These dinners and interviews are designed to be easy and fun for all parties involved. It helps the franchise get to know the prospect, and the prospect gets to know the franchise. It is all good. But, it had to be stated again by everyone involved that Lavar Ball was not allowed to be a part of this.

The fact that everyone has to keep saying that Lavar is not welcome is a big red flag for me. It's like when someone keeps saying that everything is great, but nothing is really great. These people have to keep saying Lavar is not around, but maybe he is there some way, some how. Maybe he is texting his son constantly throughout the whole meal and interview, telling him what to demand and what to say. Lavar Ball is trying every possible way to stay involved because he does not look at his son as his child, but as a money maker. That is pretty awful.

Then, this weekend and today, news came out that the Lakers were "not blown away" by Ball's workout. First off, this is nonsense. The Lakers are going to draft Ball, unless the Celtics, or whoever gets the first pick, passes on Markelle Fultz, then the Lakers will take him. That won't happen, and I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that Ball is going second to the Lakers unless something really crazy happens prior to, or on draft night. Whenever a team talks about a prospect while they are still in college, and it is made known that they want to draft that position, they will take that kid, unless they get hurt. It happens 99.9 percent of the time.

So no, I do not buy the talk coming from everyone in Laker land saying that they weren't blown away. It is all a smoke screen to see if someone gives them a crazy offer for the second pick that immediately makes the Lakers relevant again. I do not see that happening. I don't think any of the teams in the lottery will do that. I think Ball would be a great fit in Phoenix, but they do not have anyone that will immediately turn the Lakers into a playoff team. The 76ers already have a point guard. The Kings want DeAaron Fox, who completely outplayed Ball in the tournament. The Celtics are either taking Fultz or trading the pick for an established star. Everyone else in the lottery seems set with where they are. so no, I do not see the Lakers pulling off some big time deal, and passing up on Ball.

Then today, or maybe yesterday, dumbass Lavar Ball had to open his mouth again and say that "the Lakers are starving for a leader". I do not think Lonzo Ball is any type of leader. He is still a teenager for one. Second, I already mentioned him getting outplayed by Fox in a big time game. Ball quit halfway through the second half of that game. That is not a leader. Third, his shot is trash. There is no way he can take over a game if he has to be the primary scorer. Fourth, the Lakers have players like D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson that have been there for at least 2 years, so they know the system and they know the players on the team. Fifth, no rookie since LeBron has come in and been the leader immediately. Lonzo Ball is no LeBron. Not in a million years.

I think Ball is going to be a bust. I think his ceiling is being the 7th or 8th guy off the bench for a fringe playoff team. All this talk recently, the way he finished his college season and his "poor" workout have me very skeptical of him being a good professional basketball player. He does have good court vision, and he is a tall point guard, but when he has to go against the Russell Westbrook's, Kawhi Leonard's, Kyrie Irving's, Steph Curry's and Chris Paul's of the world, he is going to get torched. Lonzo Ball is going to be a Ryan Leaf level bust in the pros, and it will make me so happy to see Lavar Ball fade into his much needed obscurity after that happens. That is my prediction on Lonzo Ball's NBA career.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Bob Stoops Retirement Comes with a lot of Unanswered Questions

There is a new sign on Bob Stoops Old Office

Because Ty is the most boss of all internet writers he refuses to stop creating awesome content, even when he is on a family vacation. His loquaciousness will be blunted while he enjoys his undisclosed tropical getaway. Each piece will be some quick thoughts on some current things going on, nothing political of course.

Yesterday, in very shocking news, Bob Stoops suddenly retired. That makes 2 pretty famous coaches this week that have either walked away or "resigned" from high profile jobs. You can read my Thad Matta thoughts from earlier this week. But, this whole Bob Stoops thing really threw me for a loop.

Stoops had a very, very good team coming back from a decent season last year. Yeah, he lost Semaji Perine and Dede Westbrook, but they still have Baker Mayfield, a Heisman front runner, and it's Oklahoma, they are one of the "reload, not rebuild" teams I always talk about. Oklahoma was also, as they have been for about a decade now, the odds on favorites to win the Big 12, and possibly go to the College Football Playoff this season. They are to the Big 12 in football what Kansas is to basketball. If they do not win the Big 12, I am always shocked.

For Stoops to just walk away, at only 56 years old, after 18 years of some really good football, I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Sure, his family has past heart issues, and the Oklahoma fan base can be rabid and unforgiving, and, no matter how good you may look in the preseason, there is always the Alabama monster out there, but why so sudden? Does he have heart issues? Is there a possible violation that we may not know about? Was he giving a Thad Matta ultimatum? Does he truly want to "live a life"? Or, is there some other high profile job he may be angling for in a year or 2, a la what Urban Meyer did after he left Florida due to "health concerns", only to take one year off and jump on the University of Ohio State board. I feel like it is the last question, but I will quickly answer the others first.

I do not think he has any type of health concerns. He has been at Oklahoma for almost 2 decades, so if he did truly have a health scare, we would have heard about it already. The violation thing, who knows. Every big time team bends the rules to get some of the best players in the country to constantly go there. I am not aware of any possible violations at Oklahoma, but they did have the whole Joe Mixon thing last year, so I wonder if there is more of that horrible stuff going on that they are trying to cover up. That would be truly awful. I do not think he was given an ultimatum because, as I have already stated, his team is stacked this year. They are going to be lights out on offense, and I feel like they will be much improved on defense. They are the clear cut favorites in the Big 12, and he has won 10 plus games 14 of his 18 years there. He's earned the right to leave when he wants. Oklahoma was nothing when Stoops took over and look at them now. There is no way he was told he has to win the title this year or he was going to be let go.

As far as the "live a life" thing that he said, I feel like this is the only life he knows. He comes from a family of coaches, and he has basically been around football as a player and a coach his entire life. I fully understand if he wants to go be with his family, but to say that now, going into a season where Oklahoma will be a real threat, I don't buy it. Also, his family seems to fully understand and not mind being the wife and kids of a coach. That is a taxing job, and they have stood by his side his whole career.

Now, the last question, the big question. Is there another, possibly higher profile job out there that he may want in a year or two, if that school doesn't vastly improve? I read it on 247sports.com, and I think it may be true, that if the Notre Dame job opens up, Stoops and the people there would want to hire him. I feel like it is setting up exactly like the Urban Meyer situation. I don't think Notre Dame will be any real threat, and I feel like the higher ups at Notre Dame have grown weary of Brian Kelly's demeanor and the way he grates on players and fans. The team has gotten worse every year since Alabama crushed them in the title game, and Kelly is throwing everyone under the bus, blaming anyone in earshot, except himself. I feel like they want Bob Stoops there real bad, and his sudden retirement sets that up very nicely. I also think Stoops kind of wants a big time job like Notre Dame as well. Oklahoma is great now, due to Stoops, but they are not historic, like Notre Dame. I feel like Stoops wants to go to a school like that to build up his personal resume. He is a great coach, and if he can go to Notre Dame and win as big there as he did at Oklahoma, he'd become legendary. That is where I feel like all this is headed.

Time will tell, but for Stoops to leave Oklahoma so abruptly, that just doesn't sit right with me. We'll see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is thinking about taking a detour to Norman after his vacation. Do they still need a coach? Oh, somebody has that job. Is the Buckeye job still available?

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Stupid Ohio State Makes a Stupid Basketball Decision

Because Ty is the most boss of all internet writers he refuses to stop creating awesome content, even when he is on a family vacation. His loquaciousness will be blunted while he enjoys his undisclosed tropical getaway. Each piece will be some quick thoughts on some current things going on, nothing political of course.

Before I get into today's topic, I need to say a very happy anniversary to my very beautiful, smart and wonderful wife. It's been 8 great years as a married couple, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. I love you.

Okay, today's topic is the "resignation" of the University of Ohio State's basketball coach, Thad Matta. I have very complicated feelings on this. As you all know, I HATE HATE HATE that school. They are the WORST. But, was this really the proper timing to make Matta "resign"? I don't think so. Sure, they haven't been that great at basketball lately, but they still post a winning record every year, for the most part. And, don't forget that this team was going to title games and multiple final four's just a few years back. Hell, they were one of the Big Ten's best team, and a top team in the country.

We all know that the University of Ohio State is a football school, their players say that much when interviewed for nationally televised games, or say that, "people don't come here to watch me play school", but Matta turned them into a basketball power. Before he got there, they were a pretty mediocre team. They hovered around .500 and were lucky to get an NIT invite. Then, Matta came in, recruited like a mad man, either legally or, more likely, illegally, and had some great teams. Remember, at one time they had a team led by Mike Conley Jr and anchored in the middle by Greg Oden. A few years after that, they had the top player in the NCAA in Evan Turner. The University of Ohio State was a national power due to the players that Matta was bringing in.

But, as of late, they have "fallen on hard times" so to say. They don't have as great players as they once did. They are getting out recruited by other Big Ten teams like Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and even Indiana, who just hired a new head coach. But, I remember a few years back, when Michigan was going to be led by Caris Levert, he got hurt and Michigan limped to a 15-17 finish. I heard some rumblings from people saying that Belein may not be the guy to coach Michigan back to relevance. Never mind that they were only a few years removed from a title game appearance and an elite eight showing. Even during this season, when Michigan struggled mightily in the middle of the year, a lot of people were calling out the team, and Belein as well, myself included, although I was much harder on the team. Then, Michigan had a magical run in the Big Ten tournament and a great run to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA tournament. All the talk of getting rid of Belein was done. This should be the case with Matta. Coaches who have had major success at major universities should get a few bad seasons here and there. It is bound to happen. Look at Tom Izzo and Michigan State recently. They aren't the dominant force that they have been, but no one, and I mean no one is calling for Izzo to be fired. Matta got a raw deal from a shady university. That is what all this "resignation" means to me.

What makes me conflicted the most is, as I mentioned, I HATE the team, but I think Matta is a very good basketball coach. He will land on is feet somewhere, and I would bet a lot of money that he will succeed. Also, who does the University of Ohio State think they can get? Do they really expect Billy Donovan, who I read was their top candidate, to just leave a playoff team to go back to college? That is wishful thinking. They can't even get Archie Miller because he left Dayton for Indiana. They would be lucky to get a guy like John Groce, who was fired by Illinois this offseason, but I think he already got another head coaching job.

This was a stupid, holier than thou, quick reaction to one bad season. I hope this makes them even worse for the next couple of years because this was too rash and too quick. Matta should land on his feet, the University of Ohio State, I hope they have a lot more bad seasons ahead of them. That is what they deserve.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

It Would Be Nice to Have a Competitive NBA Finals

Because Ty is the most boss of all internet writers he refuses to stop creating awesome content, even when he is on a family vacation. His loquaciousness will be blunted while he enjoys his undisclosed tropical getaway. Each piece will be some quick thoughts on some current things going on, nothing political of course.

Today, I have some quick thoughts on the first 2 games of the NBA Finals. So far, Golden State has dominated. In game one, they were all over the Cavs and they could not be stopped. They scored at will, and after the first quarter, basically, it was pretty clear that the Warriors were going to win going away. The first quarter was great though. It was fantastic basketball, with the best players in the game, currently, playing their best. LeBron was awesome, as always. Kyrie looked great in bursts. Steph looked like Steph from 2 years ago. KD was on a whole other level from everyone else that night though. He looked unstoppable, reigning threes and dunking the ball with authority any time the lane was open, which was often. The Cavs tried to play the Warriors game, and by the third quarter, they were tired and they looked beat. LeBron can only do so much, and his only teammate that helped even a little bit was Kyrie. Love rebounded a ton, but only scored about 15 points. Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, they were all useless. They might as well not even suited up.

I figured, much like everyone else, that the Cavs would come out with a better game plan in game 2, and they did, but only for the first half. The game was a ton of fun for 24 minutes. LeBron was attacking the rim, Kyrie was going to the rim as well. They were both going hard and either getting lay ups or getting fouled and going to the free throw line. Kevin Love was on fire too. He was making all his open jumpers, he was rebounding like he did when he was in Minnesota and he looked halfway decent on defense, which is all you can really ask of him. Golden State was just as good. Better, actually. KD quietly scored 17 in the first half, and was an absolute monster on defense. Draymond was in early foul trouble, but that didn't stop him from making crisp passes, guarding multiple positions and starting fast breaks. Klay Thompson looked to be getting out of his slump, making a lot more shots than he has all of the 2017 playoffs. Most importantly, Steph was otherworldly. He was matching LeBron's layups with threes, or free throws. He wasn't hitting the three like he usually does, and he was a bit careless with the ball, but he shot 10 free throws in the first quarter, and when he did hang on to the ball, he was dropping dimes. The Warriors led by 3 at the half. Both teams looked really good, and the Cavs looked like they may have figured something out on defense. 

Then the second half happened. The Cavs, once again unable to play Tristan Thompson at all, tried to play small and fast, and the Warriors destroyed them. They had almost 40 points in the third, taking an almost 20 point lead into the fourth. Steph was dominant. KD started to hit threes and blocked any shot that came near him. Klay was hitting jumpers again. David West was even contributing, as was Zaza Pachulia. The scariest thing about their third quarter, Draymond barely played and the Warriors still gained an enormous lead.

The Cavs need to make a big change. They were in this same spot last year, but Steph was hurt, Klay was starting to go cold and they did not have KD, they had Harrison Barnes. This looks a whole lot different. Two games in, two blow outs, and I don't know what the Cavs can do to even it up, or even win one game for that matter. LeBron is playing out of his mind, but it just doesn't seem to matter, and he has not been good on defense. The Cavs can't play small because that is what the Warriors want, and they can't play their bigs together, so I don't know what the solution is. I'm still a bit hopeful that this series can get better. I know I picked a sweep, but come on, the Cavs have LeBron. But after 2 games, the Warriors have looked absolutely dominant, and I do not know what the Cavs can do. LeBron is playing great, Kyrie and Love have both had really good games, and the Warriors have still blown them out in the first 2 games.

We will see what happens Wednesday night back in Cleveland. A win by the Cavs can completely turn this series around, but I do not know if that will happen. The Cavs have played pretty decent, the Warriors are just a far superior team. LeBron cannot do it all alone, and the Warriors have 4 of the top 15 players in the game, 2 of which are top 5 players, and they look unbeatable right now. We will see if something changes in a few days, or if the Warriors are going to cruise to a title.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2017 NBA Finals Preview

Tomorrow we finally, mercifully, get a return to some real basketball. It will have been 9 full days before the NBA Finals finally tips off. I remember when I was younger, the Finals would have been over by now, but money talks, and I guess, even though the NBA is more popular than ever, they need to make as much as they can by spreading this out over an almost 3 month stretch. The NBA playoffs really needs a retooling because this is ridiculous. There are too many teams, games and time off in between these games. I cannot believe that they will not have played the first game of the Finals until June 1st. That is utterly ridiculous.

Anyway, I'm here to break down the Finals and give my prediction, as I do every year. We have a trilogy upon us. This is the matchup that pretty much everyone was expecting when KD signed with the Warriors almost a year ago. I know in my 2017 playoff preview I picked the Warriors to face the Wizards, and I was wrong. But every other time I did some kind of talk and a piece I wrote on the NBA, I said that it would inevitably be the Warriors and Cavs. We all knew it was coming down to this. They are clearly the 2 best teams in all of the NBA.

Combined the two teams have 7 guys that were All Stars this year. I saw a thing the other day that said, between the 2 teams, there are 11 guys that have been to at least one All Star game. We have the best player in the game right now, and probably the third or fourth best player ever in LeBron. We have the best pure shooter I have ever seen in Steph. KD, who is incredible offensively, has decided that defense is important, and he has become a force on both ends of the floor. Draymond Green is, far and away, the most versatile player in the NBA. Kyrie Irving can get ridiculously hot at any time, and he may have the best handles in the game. Kevin Love has found his niche with the Cavs, and it seems to be finally coming together for him. Tristan Thompson does all the dirty work for the Cavs, and he does it better than anyone else. But, what I think should be the scariest thing to the Cavs chances at a repeat is the fact that Klay hasn't really started to make his shots yet. It is going to happen soon, and that should frighten everyone involved with the Cleveland organization.

This is a very star studded Finals that, on paper, could be as competitive as last seasons championship series. I sure hope it is at least mildly competitive because, as I have stated before, these NBA playoffs have been incredibly mediocre. They have been filled with blowouts and stupid skirmishes and it has all just been one long and boring wait for the Warriors and Cavs to finally meet up. We got that, and it starts tomorrow night.

When looking at the rosters, I think the Warriors is much better than the Cavs. Yes, the Cavs have LeBron, and Kyrie Irving loves to play the Warriors, but that is about it. I have no faith in guys like Deron Williams, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Kyle Korver and anyone else that starts or plays meaningful minutes. In all seriousness, the Cavs defense is horrendous, and it is because they have a roster of super old vets that are only good offensive players, and Kyrie and Kevin Love are liabilities on the defensive end of the floor. They can score a whole of points, but they give up a whole lot of points as well. That is all well and good when you are playing the Raptors, Pacers and Celtics, but that won't work against the Warriors. With that being said, the Warriors do have flaws of their own. Steph and Klay have been virtually non existent in the last 2 Finals appearances for the Warriors. they have missed a ton of open shots. Draymond has played great, but he needs to keep his temper in check. If he gets suspended again, that could spell doom. LeBron owns KD on the court. I think, both with the Warriors and Thunder, KD has only won 5 games against him, and he will have to guard LeBron, and LeBron will guard him. Then we have guys like Patrick McCaw and James Michael McAdoo who have not been in very high pressure situations because they are young. Also, the Warriors front court is very mediocre. Zaza Pachulia and David West are fine players, but they are no match for Tristan Thompson. Thompson will crush them on the boards.

Then when I look at coaching, honestly, neither of these teams need a coach. First of all, LeBron is the coach of the Cavs. Ty Lue may have the title of coach, but he is just a figure head. LeBron calls every play, tells the front office who to sign and makes all the important decisions in important games. That is the truth. Steve Kerr is a very good coach, but he has some crazy illness, and he will not be able to coach in the Finals, according to recent reports. That leaves the Warriors with Mike Brown. Yes, he has been fired by three different times, and he has coached LeBron, but, while the Warriors do not have an alpha like LeBron, they have a great core group that feed off each other. It is pretty simple to draw up a play that gets Steph, Klay or KD an open three. Then, there is Draymond, who is just a bad matchup everywhere. So, while Lue was the coach of the Cavs last year when they won, I don't see him as giving Cleveland any advantage. And Mike Brown, well, Luke Walton won a ton of games when he stepped in for Kerr last year, and this is just more of the same. Kerr surrounds himself with smart basketball people, but again, he has 3 of the best 5 shooters in the game right now on his team.

With all this being said, I really, really want a good, hard fought, competitive series. I want this to go 7 games. I want these teams and their super stars to trade blows and make it fun. I want it to go long so I do have some basketball to watch while I'm on vacation next week. I want all these things, but I do not think it will happen. I think the Cavs are a bit too mouthy right now and a little too big for their britches. They are laughing off the fact that they're the underdog when they are unequivocally the underdog. Some anonymous player on the Cavs, who is clearly a coward, is saying that Javale McGee is not "smart enough to play in the Finals". LeBron's teammates, mainly Richard Jefferson, are making excuses for him as to why he played so poorly in game 3 of the East Finals. They are just popping off a bit too much. They almost have too much swagger. Where with the Warriors, I have not heard anything except Mike Brown commenting on what Ty Lue said about the fact that Celtics are harder to prepare for than the Warriors. Everyone involved with Golden State has been pretty quiet leading up to these Finals. Also, Steph seems to have his mojo back, KD is engaged at both ends of the floor and Draymond is being Draymond, without all the dick punching and whining. And, as I stated earlier, Klay is gong to break out of this slump at any time now, and this Warriors team will be unguardable then. As much as I'd personally love to see KD get denied a ring after choosing to join the Warriors, instead of trying to beat them, I just do not see any way that the Cavs can beat them. They're a horrendous defensive team. They are talking way too much shit. I don't think Kyrie will be able to replicate what he did last year. Kevin Love is a horrible defender, and he will be tasked with guarding one of the Warriors many shooters. It just doesn't seem to be in the cards for a Cavs repeat this year. In fact, I think the Warriors will finish this postseason off undefeated and sweep their way to a Finals victory. They have too many shooters on the floor, they play just as good defense as they do offense and they will crush the Cavs. The Cavs have LeBron, but I don't think it will matter this year. The Warriors have Steph, Klay, Draymond, and they basically traded Harrison Barnes for KD. They are just too good. If they do lose this Finals, I think it will be a bigger upset than blowing a 3-1 lead last year.

As far as Finals MVP, I think Steph and KD will cancel each other out, and if Klay finds his stroke, I think he will win it. If he doesn't find his shot, I think Draymond, with his all around play, will win it.

Anyway, the Finals will probably be just as rough as this whole playoffs has been, and I think the Warriors will sweep their way to a title. They look like a team on a mission right now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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The Missouri Tigers are Assembling an Incredibly Talented Basketball Team. Will it Work?

Are you questioning my talent basketball writer guy?

The University of Missouri basketball program is putting together a recruiting class on the same level as a Kentucky, Duke or any other program that has bought into the "one and done" culture. This comes a few seasons after Missouri basketball has been downright dreadful. Last year they won 8 games total. That is abysmal.

The tigers did the right thing and fired the coach and brought in a great coach in Cuonzo Martin. They rid themselves of a guy that should be a D-2 coach, which he was before he took the Missouri job after Frank Haith left. Cuonzo Martin has won everywhere that he has been, and I think he will do the same at Missouri. He is a very, very good coach.

Then, this class that he has brought in with him so far is amazing. He has the top player in the state, and one of the top 5 players in the country in Michael Porter Jr. This was a big, big get for Martin. Missouri was finally able to get the best in state player to stay home. This wasn't the case a few months ago though. Porter Jr was originally committed to Washington, but they have been a trash program, and Lorenzo Romar finally got the axe this offseason.

Being a smart coach, Martin brought Romar on as an assistant once he took the Missouri job. This happens all the time in college, and it is not illegal. It is shady, but not illegal. My man, Jim Harbaugh, has done this same stuff since he took the job at Michigan three years ago. So, the hiring of Romar got Porter Jr's attention.

Martin then went out and hired Michael Porter SR as an assistant as well. Again, shady, but not illegal. Porter SR was a respected high school coach, and the next logical step was to move up to the college ranks. After Missouri hired Porter SR, it was a done deal that Porter Jr would be wearing black and gold next year.

Martin and company have been reeling in 4 and 5 star guys left and right. They have some great player from East Saint Louis coming in, some of Porter Jr's buddies who he is openly recruiting, and recently, they got Porter Jr's brother reclassified, and he is now eligible to play at Missouri next year. I will say it again, it is all shady, but it happens all the time in college athletics, especially in college basketball. Anyone who thinks that schools like Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State or any other blue blood that recruits "one and done" guys doesn't do the same stuff that Martin is doing right now, you're an idiot. This is the world we live in for college basketball right now.

What I hope does not happen for Missouri and Cuonzo Martin is, either an LSU and Washington scenario where these guys don't mesh and the team wins between 15-18 games and misses all tournaments, or what happened at Michigan after the Fab Five split and all the accusations came. Those accusations, which were found to be true, crippled the Michigan basketball program for over a decade. I am not a fan of any of the University of Missouri sports, hell, I have written a whole thing about how I hate their football program, but I do not wish what happened to Michigan basketball to happen to anyone.

Michigan cheated to get the guys they got, and they paid for it. When they signed Juwan Howard then Jimmy King then Ray Jackson then Jalen Rose and finally the cherry on top, Chris Webber, I couldn't believe it. Sure, I was a naïve pre teen that just loved to see these guys play together, but the older I got, the more curious I became as to how they got all this great talent in one single recruiting class. It was boosters and money and homes and jobs being given illegally to family members and friends of these elite athletes.

College sports has become a win at all costs game, and it can get sickening at times. These are young kids, going to play a sport for which they receive no financial incentive, and they seem to cannot wait to get out of there. Webber was known for openly complaining that he couldn't buy himself a meal, but the University was selling a jersey with his number on it for 40 plus dollars. It is a common and relatable gripe. These players do not see the benefits until they leave for the pros. The college coaches will continue to do anything and everything to bring in top talent. All they have to do is win games, and the boosters and fans are happy. They don't really care about these kids. The same can be said for Calipari and Coach K. They may say they care, but they don't. They bring in new kids every year, and they could care less about their well being. They just want them for basketball.

I hope this doesn't happen at Missouri. I also hope, for the fans sake, mainly my two brothers, Ross and RD, that this actually works. It worked for Michigan. They went to 2 straight Final Fours and 2 straight title games. These kids, luckily, meshed and played well together. But, look at what happened at LSU 2 years ago when Ben Simmons committed there. He was supposed to be the best thing to happen to that program since Shaq was there. Well, he was an inconsistent shooter, got hurt here and there and checked out when it was clear they wouldn't be a tournament team. LSU won 18 games with an incredible recruiting class. Or, look at Markelle Fultz and Washington last year. Fultz was one of the best point guards in the country, and will most likely be the first pick in the upcoming draft, and Washington won 9 games. One more than Missouri did last year. Fultz was in a crummy situation with a coach that didn't use him properly. The same thing happened the year before with Washington when they had Marquess Chriss. Chriss is an other worldly athlete, and Washington couldn't even make the NIT. Arizona is another example. They are a little better, they are a tournament team, but they always flame out. A few years ago they had Rondae Hollis Jefferson and Stanley Johnson, and I think they were bounced in the second round. California is another team that just couldn't do much with a few great recruits. Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb came there 2 years ago with super high expectations, and in year one, they got beat in the first round and Brown left for the draft. And last year, with Rabb as the guy, they were marginal at best.

So yeah, in the 90's it worked for Michigan. Sure, Duke won the title a few years ago with 4 freshman being the core. Calipari has won one title with a mostly freshman laden squad, but great recruits does not make for great teams all the time. All these kids are the stars at their school, and they expect to be the star in college. We have way more examples of freshman led teams flaming out than we do of them going deep in the NCAA tournament.

I hope it works out, not so much for Missouri, but for Cuonzo Martin. I think he is a really good coach, and I hope these 18 and 19 year olds listen to him. And, I hope Martin and Missouri do not get hit with the same type punishment Michigan got after the Fab Five was gone. I hope he is doing his recruiting as fairly and properly as possible. Time will only tell. Until then though, holy cow does Missouri have the kids to turn this team back around. Let's see them do it on the court now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.