Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The Anticipation for "The Last Jedi" Edition

New week, same 2017 NFL countdown here at SeedSing. This week we will finally get to the cream of the crop. The teams I will talk about this week all have a legit shot to make the playoffs, and about 60 to 70 percent of them could make a real case for going to, and winning, the Super Bowl. Lets go.

At number 16 I have Washington. I will not say or write the team name because it is offensive, so henceforth they will only be known as Washington. Washington has a QB problem. They cannot decide what to do with Kirk Cousins. Cousins is not a bad QB, but a 20 million plus a year QB? No way. He is not nearly that good. Off the top of my head there are many other QB's I'd want before Cousins name would even come up. Give me Brady, Rodgers, Newton, Wilson, Matt Ryan, hell, I'd even take Ryan Tannehill before Cousins. But, Washington is, by mistake I believe, doing the smart thing in franchising him. Make him continue to prove himself, then let someone like the Browns or 49ers throw way, way too much money at him when he has already played his best football for you. They have done it ass backwards, but it has been the "smart" move. The skill players are fine, but they did lose Desean Jackson this offseason. That is going to hurt, and hurt a lot. He was their deep threat. They do have Jordan Reed, and when he is healthy, he is good. They signed Terelle Pryor, and if last season is any indication, he is becoming a legit NFL wide out, just not a number one receiver. I like Josh Doctson, but he was seemingly injured all last season. Jamison Crowder is okay. That is the best way to describe the receivers, okay. Matt Jones was a revelation for the first half of last year, but then the NFL figured him out. Same thing can be said of Robert Kelly. Big runner, but can't really separate, and even though he is big, he gets tackled fairly easily. Their O-Line is rarely talked about, but that is good. That means they are doing their jobs. Washington's defense is, quietly, kind of good. Ryan Kerrigan is a very good pass rusher. Josh Norman, who kind of took a step back last year, is still a very good corner. He guarded the best receiver on the opposition every game last year, expect for the Giants games. That was very much publicized. Trent Williams is a very good defensive tackle. Su'a Cravens seems to be coming along nice. And Junior Gallette is still producing. Washington has a pretty decent defense that can stop teams. Their offense is what keeps them back I feel. They rely on Cousins, and he just isn't elite. He is more Joe Flacco than Aaron Rodgers, and he will continue to take them to the first round of the playoffs, and get beaten like a drum.

Coming in at number 15 I have the Houston Texans. Okay, Houston has the best defense in the NFL right now. Better than Denver, Seattle, anyone, in my opinion. They are so good on that side of the ball. JJ Watt, even though he never gets any criticism for some weird reason, is great. He is awesome, when he is healthy. I just wished he got the same judgement for his celebrations like Cam Newton gets. Jadeveon Clowney is awesome, but he is another guy that cannot stay healthy. But, when he is out there, he is great. Brian Cushing, who loves his steroids, is a tackling machine. As long as he isn't suspended for violating the NFL's drug policy, he produces. They lost AJ Bouye, but they have guys that can step in. Johnathan Joseph immediately comes to mind. Oh, I forgot about Whitney Mercilus on the D-Line. He is inconsistent, but when he is on he is dominant. This defense is awesome. Now, we must address the offense. First thing, I love that they moved up to take Deshaun Watson. I think he is going to be great and I think he can be the franchise guy they are looking for. I also love how they fleeced both Brock Osweiler and the Browns. Both brilliant moves by their front office. I also really like DeAndre Hopkins. He may be the most underrated receiver in the NFL. He is a legit number one. After that though, the Texans offense kind of falls off. Will Fuller, Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong are not top level guys. At running back they have Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue. Miller was supposed to be Arian Foster's replacement, but he never really played out last year. And when Blue got his shot, he wasn't much better. The O-Line is okay, but not great. The tight ends are old school tight ends, and that doesn't work in the modern NFL. Houston is helped out by their atrocious division and their incredible defense. If Watson is the player I think he can be, this team could be a real threat. But that means counting on a rookie in the NFL. That is a scary proposition. The Texans will be in the playoffs, but the development of Watson throughout the year will be the factor in how far they go.

At number 14 I have the Philadelphia Eagles. Some may think this is too high, but I think the Eagles will surprise a lot of people this year. They could beat out both the Cowboys and the Giants in their division this year. I think a lot of people are sleeping on this offense. I think Carson Wentz is a decent QB. He is a hell of a lot better than Jared Goff, the guy taken before him last year. He performed much better than I expected last year. Add the fact that he has a legit receiver now in Alshon Jeffrey, and I think he will make the leap this year. Nelson Agholor is also an underrated, decent receiver. Don't sleep on the Torrey Smith signing either. He may have looked bad last year, but the 49ers offense was a mess. He will look much better this year. Zach Ertz is like a poor man's Greg Olsen or Martellus Bennett. He's a decent blocker but a much better pass catcher. He is reliable. I know they cut Ryan Matthews, but they still have Darren Sproles, and this is his last season. He has said he is done after this year. I feel like he is going to completely ball out. They also signed Legarette Blount. This backfield is filled with experience and winning. I like this backfield. Also, I forgot to mention the signing of Chris Long on defense. He has been great everywhere he has played. And Brandon Graham, a Michigan man, has gotten better every year. The Eagles are a good football team. They can, and probably will, surprise a lot of people. I know most people are penciling in the Cowboys in that division, but do not sleep on the Eagles. I like this team.

The final team for today, number 13, is the Denver Broncos. Last year many people thought was an aberration. I do not agree with that. The Broncos still have an incredible defense. Von Miller may be the best linebacker since LT. I'm not kidding. This guy is amazing. He recently said that he thinks 30 sacks in one season is attainable, and I bought it. He is the one guy that can do it. Aqib Talib, even with all the headaches he brings, is one of the better corners in the league, and if he gets his hands on the ball, he is housing it. Brandon Marshall is an incredible linebacker. One of the best in the league. Chris Harris Jr is lockdown as the other corner. Bradley Robey and TJ Ward are amazing safeties. Their D-Line is very good too. The defense is not the problem. The problem is the offense, and more importantly, it is the QB. Trevor Siemian is not a starting NFL QB. He was barely a Big Ten starting caliber QB in college. Paxton Lynch looks scared and slow out there. He may be a career backup. Those are guys they are counting on to run the offense. That is unsettling. Demayrius Thomas may have already played his best football. He is still good, but he hasn't been the same the past 2 years. He drops way too many easy passes too. I like Thomas, but I feel like he may not be an elite receiver anymore. Emmanuel Sanders is a great receiver that will go over the middle of the field, but that looks to be taking its toll on him. He is still a legit deep threat, but with Siemian and Lynch throwing the ball to him, does his downfield speed really matter? I don't think so. The Broncos do have a lot of options at running back, but none of them are great. CJ Anderson was supposed to take a big step last year, he did not. He barely got 3 yards a carry. Devontae Booker may be the future, but he doesn't get enough touches. They signed Jamaal Charles, but can he stay healthy and will he even be on the team when the season starts? Both are reasonable questions. The Broncos have an incredible defense, but the offense is very far behind due to the lack of a quality QB. They also play in a very, very good division. Wins will be hard to come by, but the defense will keep them in every single game.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He enjoyed being on the path of totality for the great eclipse of 2017. He thought his regular sunglasses would be sufficient to see the show. He is now unable to read this sick burn. (Just kidding, he watched it all through his homemade space toy).

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Return of the Jedi" Edition

Day 4 of my 2017 NFL countdown has some teams that have been great recently and playoff teams as recent as last year. The reason they fall here on my list is either due to the age of their stars, how far I feel they will fall off due to departures and, honestly, I just don't see in them what I may have seen a year or 2 ago. All 4 of these teams could make me look very dumb, they all could win 10 plus games, but I think they will all fall right around .500 or lower. Lets go.

Coming in at number 20, I have the Baltimore Ravens. Right off the bat, why did they not sign Colin Kapernick? If you all are sick of me talking about Kaerpernick, get used to it until he is rightfully on an NFL roster. With the injury to the highly overrated Joe Flacco, this team needs a backup. Pardon me, a reliable backup QB. Ryan Mallett is not reliable. He hasn't been good since college. And Flacco, I feel like he is a worse version of Phillip Rivers. You may say, "he won a Super Bowl Ty", so did Trent Dilfer. They were both the benefit of a great Ravens defense. Joe Flacco has done nothing to prove to me that he deserves to be paid what he is currently getting paid. Their starting receivers are guys that are better suited as backups, second or third options, or guys that had one good season and cashed in. Mike Williams, Breshad Perriman and Jeremy Maclin all fall into one of those categories. At running back, they have Danny Woodhead, Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West. Very blah. Also, why is Danny Woodhead still in the league and Kaepernick can't get a job? That is a shame. As far as their O-Line, who cares. They are middle of the road and will continue to be with the guys they have. The Ravens defense has always been their strength, but they are getting old. I love Terrell Suggs, but his best days are far behind him. He is still good, but he was great at one point. Jimmy Smith is a fine corner, but he is not a lock down corner. Eric Weddle is a hard hitting safety, but he can't really cover. CJ Mosley is one of the younger guys, but he is inconsistent. Brandon Williams is an okay defensive lineman, but just okay. They don't really have anyone that jumps off the paper to me. I think John Harbaugh is a good NFL head coach, but he has done all he can do with this Ravens team. They may fight their way to 7 or 8 wins, but that's it.

At number 19 I have the Detroit Lions. Matthew Stafford is about to become the highest paid NFL player ever. Does he really deserve it? Do Lions fans even think he deserves it? This team walked ass backwards in the playoffs last year, and an undermanned, super injured Seahawks team crushed them. They were not prepared at all. A lot of that has to do with the staff, although I do think Jim Caldwell gets an unfair shake sometimes, but some of that is on their franchise QB. Stafford is a fine starter, but he will never lead any team far in the playoffs. While I think Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah are okay running backs, they each has glaring weaknesses. Riddick is a decent fantasy player, but he is not worthy of starter status. Abdullah has blazing speed and decent hands out of the backfield, but he fumbles way, way too much. Eric Ebron is an okay tight end, but he doesn't strike fear like some other tight ends do. Golden Tate is a worse version of T.Y. Hilton. He should not be the number one option on any team. Marvin Jones was the third guy in Cincinnati, and now he is the second guy in Detroit. Yeesh. The O-Line is fine. Their defense is mediocre. Ezekial Ansah finally showed flashes of his potential last year, and I think bigger things will be coming from him. A'Shawn Robinson has potential on the D-Line. I love Haloti Ngata, but his best days were with the Ravens. Their secondary is going to be relying on Teez Tabor, and he is a rookie. That is frightening. The Lions had their magical run last year, but I feel like they will come crashing back to Earth this season. Sorry to my family that are Lions fans, but this team is going to take a step back this season.

At number 18 I have the Arizona Cardinals. I struggled mightily with where to put the Cardinals. Two years ago they were the talk of the NFC, and someone around here thought they were going to the Super Bowl. Then last season happened. Carson Palmer reverted back to his Oakland days, either playing very average, or getting hurt. I don't know which Palmer we will get this year, but I tend to lean towards the one we saw last year. He is only getting older and older. Larry Fitzgerald is still there though, and he is still producing. I feel like he may be my generation's Jerry Rice. He is reliable, usually healthy and produces every year. He is an all timer. Other outside guys they have, John Brown, JJ Nelson and Jermaine Gresham, I like, but they don't really move the needle either way for the Cardinals. Their O-Line does their job. They keep Palmer up, and open up holes for their best player, and one of the best players in the NFL, David Johnson. Johnson is the modern day Marshall Faulk. That is not a hot take, that is truth. This guy does anything and everything for this team. He is a great running back, going for 1,000 plus yards the past 2 years. He puts the ball in the end zone too. He is also exceptional at catching passes out of the backfield. David Johnson does it all, and he could single handidly win games for the Cardinals this year. The Cardinals defense is good too, but not great. Chandler Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, the best corner in the league Patrick Patterson, Robert Nkemdiche, Karlos Dansby and their first round pick Hasson Reddick are all very good. They should, and could, be better. Mathieu always gets hurt, Dansby has bounced around a bit too much and Reddick is a rookie, Nkemdiche is in only his second season and Chandler Jones is wildly inconsistent. Patterson, in my opinion, is the best corner in the league right now, and he is the most consistent guy they have on defense. As I said, I could be very wrong on Arizona, but I feel like they may rely a bit too heavily on Johnson, and I think Palmer is in the twilight of his inconsistent career. Prove me wrong Arizona.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 17, I have RD's team, the Minnesota Vikings. Their defense is awesome. One of the best in the league without question. They are incredibly talented on that side of the ball. Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith, Shariff Floyd, Erick Kendricks, Everson Griffen, Andrew Sendejo and Marcus Sherels are some of the most underrated players in the league. This unit produces and does their job every week. They are awesome. What holds this team back is their extremely inept offense. The O-Line does the best they can, but when they have to protect for Sam Bradford, nothing is ever enough. I remember last year when they started 5-0 and people thought it was due to Bradford's "resurgence", I laughed. It was due to the defense, and after that 5-0 start, they crumbled because of the lack of any type of offensive production. Bradford is the king of the check down pass, and he is most definitely a bust in my opinion. They lost Adrian Peterson, no big deal, but the backups and new guys aren't world beaters at all. Bishop Sankey, Latavius Murray and rookie Dalvin Cook are next in line. Cook is, by far, the best option. He may be the only threat they have on offense this year. Murray had his best days in Oakland, and he got replaced, and Sankey, he hasn't been good since day one in the NFL. Their receivers are average due to talent and Sam Bradford. Laquon Treadwell was a beast in college, in his rookie year, he was hardly heard from. Kyle Rudolph is Bradford's favorite target, but he is an average tight end. They signed Michael Floyd, but I would be more worried about his ability to stay on the field, what with all the drunk driving. Stefon Diggs is fine, but he is a third option at best. The Vikings have an incredible defense, but it is not like the Broncos of recent, the Ravens of the early 2000's or the 85 Bears. Not even close. And their offense, oof, it is rough. This team should win 10 or 11 games, but with Bradford at QB, they will be .500 at best.

Come back next week when we get to the cream of the crop.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is once again mistaken on his picks today. The Minnesota Vikings will be the darlings of the NFL. 19-0. Nothing is impossible.

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Revenge of the Sith" Edition

On to day 3 of my 2017 NFL countdown. We are still talking about some miserable teams, but it is getting better. In fact, none of the teams I talk about this week will be playoff teams, unless they have incredibly magical seasons, but I promise, next week, we will get to the good teams. You've got to suffer through the worst to get to the best. Enough preamble, lets get to it.

At number 24 I have the Los Angeles Chargers. Again, I almost wrote San Diego. The fact that LA has 2 pro football, basketball and a million baseball teams is just crazy to me. But, that's commerce for you I suppose. Anyway, some people seem to think that the Chargers will be a sleeper this year. That is nuts to me. I do not know what these "experts" see that I don't see. I think the Chargers would play way over their heads if they won 7 games this year. First off, they still have Phillip Rivers as their QB. How long does his career have to go before we see him as the player he truly is, which is average. Rivers has never struck me as a QB that you can build around. He is fine. He goes for 4,000 yards a year and 25 to 30 touchdowns, but what has he done to earn his "big time" status? Why is he talked about as one of the top QB's? I don't see it. The Chargers do have a few decent skill players. I like Melvin Gordon. He really rebounded after a tough rookie year and was great last year. He looks like the guy that the Chargers should build around, not Phillip Rivers. Antonio Gates is still there, and he is still consistent. He is getting old though. Keenan Allen is back, and he is a good receiver, but he can never stay healthy. He has been more injured than healthy his whole career. Their first round pick, Mike Williams, is also already hurt. As far as their O-Line, they are okay. Not great, but not bad. The defense seems to be the reason that the "experts" think they will be better, but I still don't see it. Yes, Joey Bosa is good, but he is no JJ Watt or Gerald McCoy or really any of the other top tier pass rushers. He could reach that status, but he is not there yet. They have okay corners, led by Jason Verrett. The linebacker core is just okay as well. I like Melvin Ingram and Denzel Perryman, but they don't really jump out as super stars. Their D-Line, again, is just okay. Not great, okay. I don't get all the talk about this team being a sleeper. I just don't see it, especially since they still have Phillip Rivers as their QB and cornerstone.

At number 23 I have the New Orleans Saints. This team just cannot put it together enough on defense to get back to that contender level. Their defense is atrocious. When your big free agent signings are Manti Teo and Nick Fairley that does not make for a great turnaround for that side of the ball. They can't cover anyone, they can't get to the QB, they struggle to stop the run, they are flat out bad. What makes them a team worth watching is their offense. Drew Brees is still there and he is still slinging 5,000 yards a year and 35 touchdowns. He is still putting up video game numbers, even at his advanced age. They lost Brandin Cooks, which will hurt, but they have some decent, young receivers. Michael Thomas is good. Willie Snead can get yards. Coby Fleener is a great option at tight end. And if anyone can make Ted Ginn Jr look good, it is Drew Brees. They also have Mark Ingram and they signed Adrian Peterson. First off, Peterson is done as an elite runner, and that will be even more glaring behind a porous O-Line. He will either get hurt or not gain many yards because of the need to split time between himself and Ingram. I like Mark Ingram, but he is not a top tier running back. He is good at grinding out yards, and has some decent hands out of the backfield. Ingram is a fine third down back in the NFL. And while you night think that the signing of Peterson may help the line, due to play action, I don't think it will matter. I think Peterson will make zero difference for the Saints. The Saints will score a ton of points and be in games late against good competition, but their defense is so bad, that will be their downfall. I feel like 6 or 7 wins is the ceiling.

At number 22 I have the Cincinnati Bengals. Look, the Bengals are the Clippers of the NFL. This team has done nothing of note since the late 80's, yet they feel like an entitled bunch. They also keep rolling out the same team and they expect different results. Again, just like the Clippers. How much longer does Marvin Lewis have as a head coach? If he were anywhere else, he would be gone by now. But, with the Bengals franchise, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave him another extension this season. Andy Dalton is still the QB there. Andy Dalton is mediocre at best. This has to be league wide knowledge by now. He is never going to win a Super Bowl, and probably not even a playoff game. AJ Green is incredible, but he is stuck in a purgatory of sorts, playing for the Bengals and having Andy Dalton throw him the ball. He, much like Todd Gurley and LeSean McCoy, deserves much, much better. Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard were supposed to be one of the better duos at running back last year. That didn't happen. They were both incredibly average. This team also went out and drafted Joe Mixon, who hits women, so I have no respect for that at all. Tyler Eifert is only getting older, and he seems to get hurt more often now than he ever did. This offense is below average, with Green being the exception. The defense shoots themselves in the foot so often, it is not even funny anymore. Guys like Vontaze Burfit, Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick are awesome, but they are constantly doing things to get penalties that are crushing. And for the most part, the penalties are self inflicted. They would have won a playoff game 2 years ago if not for Burfict and Jones being selfish. The defense should be one of the better ones in the league, but the constant penalties are a nuisance that keeps holding them back. I do like the pick of John Ross, but I don't think it will matter when Andy Dalton is throwing the ball to him. Sorry RD, but the Bengals are fading back into the mediocrity that I grew up watching in the late 90's and early 2000's.

The final team for today, at number 21, I have the Indianapolis Colts. This team is the definition of average. They are going to win 7 or 8 games. You can write that in pen. They are so average. Andrew Luck is a fine QB, but he is not the world beater that many expected, myself included, when he was taken first overall in his draft. He also gets hurt a whole lot. Some of that is due to his terrible O-Line, constructed by an awful front office, and some of that is his fault. He does hold the ball too much, and he does run it a bit too much. At running back they are still counting on Frank Gore. Bless Frank Gore, I like Frank Gore, but he is well past his prime. He never really had the wheels, and being a grinder, his specialty, that is going away too. That is what happens to running backs when they get "older". I like T.Y. Hilton, but he should not be a number one option on a contender. He is great, but think of how great he'd be if he were teamed up with an AJ Green. That would be an amazing duo. That is what Hilton should be, a second option. I like Phillip Dorsett, but he is a third or fourth option at best. And they still have Adam Vinatieri. He is a good kicker, but when your kicker is one of your most important players, that is rough. The Colts defense may be as bad as the Saints. They have no one, and I mean no one of any consequence. Looking at their roster, names like Malik Hooker, Clayton Geathers, Vontae Davis,  and David Parry show up. These guys are not big names, and they will strike zero fear in opposing offenses. They cannot stop anything, and that is a problem. The Colts are the AFC's version of the Saints, except Drew Brees is much better than Andrew Luck. Like I said, they play in a horrific division, so they will get some cheap wins, and they will end somewhere between 5-11 or 8-8. Put it down in pen.

That's it for today. Come back for the next 4 teams tomorrow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not understand the awesomeness that the Bengals will bring to the NFL this year. Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton have been hustling the league for years, and now they are going to show their real face. 19-0. This looks like destiny.

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Phantom Menance" Edition

Continuing my 2017 NFL countdown I have my next 4 teams. These teams still are pretty awful, but not as bad as the teams I did yesterday. Lets get to it.

Coming in at number 28 I have the Los Angeles Rams. I accidentally almost wrote Saint Louis. I am still a little annoyed that Kroenke moved the team. Regardless, this team is still pretty awful. What they do have is a great defense, especially if they can get Aaron Donald to end his holdout.(they need to pay the man) They have a very good pass rush and D-Line. Their secondary, while young, can make plays here and there. And their linebackers, they are just fine. The defense is good enough to keep this team in, if they are stout enough, 6 games. They will most definitely play Seattle tough, they always do. What holds this team back is their atrocious offense. They have a great, otherworldly running back in Todd Gurley. But, he has no O-Line to open holes for him. The receiving corps, even with the addition of Sammy Watkins, is truly bad. Maybe second only to the Jets as the worst in the league. And their QB, Jared Goff, is a bust. I am already saying it. I know they have said that he has been "lights out" in camp, but everyone has, with the exception of Christian Hackenberg. Goff is not a good QB. He isn't even a starting QB in my opinion. The Rams have a new head coach too. He is younger than me. He is supposed to be some QB guru, but I don't think anyone can work with Goff. Unfortunately, at least for the Rams defense, this team will continue to be a 4 or 5 win team. Todd Gurley deserves better than this.

At number 27 I have the Jacksonville Jaguars. Again, this team has a something that looks like a real NFL defense. They have made some big free agent signings, and I really like Jalen Ramsey as their top corner, but they need a better D-Line and some accountable linebackers. They can be great, but right now, they are average. This is another team where the problem lies with the offense. They have good receivers. Allen Robinson is good. Allen Hurns is good. Hell, Dede Westbrook may even be able to contribute right away. They took my favorite player in the draft, Leonard Fournette, but he is already injured. Hopefully they play it safe with him. But, they do have Chris Ivory, who stunk last year, but I think that has to do with a mediocre line. He could have a bounce back year. They also still have TJ Yeldon too. They have some backs. The problem here is with Blake Bortles. He is bad. I mean, real bad. He is the worst garbage time QB I have ever watched. He doesn't win games for this team, but he sure as hell loses them. Bortles is done, toast, finito. They need to get rid of him. I know their backup is Chad Henne, but at least he has been on decent teams before. Blake Bortles is the second worst starter in the entire NFL, behind only Hackenberg, and he will continue to hold this team back from winning anything of importance.

At number 26 I have the Miami Dolphins. Some may see that and think that is way too far down for this team. They were in the playoffs last year. They have a good run game, good D-Line and some good receivers. Why are they so low on your list? Well, one name, Jay Cutler. The Dolphins would have been in the early teens on my list if Ryan Tannehill didn't get hurt. He did, and instead of reaching out to Tony Romo or giving Colin Kaepernick his much due contract, they went out and signed Jay god damn Cutler. I hope Miami fans like to watch a guy that will throw crushing pick sixes, then walk to the sideline like he did nothing wrong. I hope they like watching a guy that will quit on them the moment he gets one knick or bruise or hit. I hope they enjoy watching a guy that doesn't even want to be there. He is going to be a nightmare. He is going to waste a year of Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker. He is going to waste a year of Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake. He is going to yell at, and waste a year of a pretty decent O-Line. And Jay god damn Cutler is going to waste a defense with guys like Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, Kiko Alonso and Michael Thomas because he just doesn't give a damn. The Dolphins should have stuck with Matt Moore, as I wrote awhile back, but no, they signed Jay Cutler. What a waste. That is the best word I can use to describe this upcoming year for the Dolphins, waste.

My final team for today, coming in at number 25, I have the Buffalo Bills. This is the same team that just traded their best receiver, and I know that Watkins gets hurt a lot, but he was their best outside threat. This team is also over using LeSean McCoy. They make him carry and catch the ball way too much, and it is catching up with him. As much as I might like Tyrod Taylor, he just isn't a viable starter in the NFL. He tucks and runs too much. He is a tremendous athlete, but he needs to throw more. Their O-Line is good, but I actively root against them because they signed Richie Incognito, and that guy is the worst. I despise him and everything he stands for. And now that they traded Watkins, they do not have any wide receiver threats. Do guys like Charles Clay, Andre Holmes, Zay Jones(he's a rookie) and Rashard Ross really strike fear into any opposing secondary? No way. Besides McCoy, none of the backup running backs are any good. But, the Bills do have a pretty stout defense. Marcell Dareus as been as good as advertised. Shaq Lawson is coming along fine. Reggie Ragland is a good linebacker. They did lose Stephon Gilmore, and while Micah Hyde may not be as good as Gilmore is, it helps cushion the blow a bit. The Bills do have a defense that will not only keep them in games, but could even win them a game or 2. Still, the Bills will lucky to win 6 games this year. Their offense is so far behind. As I said with Gurley, I will say with McCoy, he deserves better.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will be happy once we get past the teams that are only watchable on the Red Zone channel. Just  few more days.

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Attack of the Clones" Edition

Football is almost here. We are about 2 and a half weeks from the college football season and about 3 weeks from the NFL kickoff to the 2017 season. The next 2 weeks are going to be all football from me. I did my politics yesterday and I will still do mini recaps of "Bar Rescue", and any movie or music I may hear the next couple weeks, but for the most part, it is going to be football all day, everyday. As I did last year, I'm going to count down the teams from 32-1. I will give a few sentences as to why I put the teams where I put them, and move on to the next one. At the end of my countdown, I will do predictions and award winners. The next day, I will do my NCAA football preview. Alright, lets get to it.

Coming in at number 32, the worst team in the NFL will be the New York Jets. The Jets are an absolute train wreck, and it has nothing to do with Todd Bowles. I actually think he is a decent coach, but that front office has left him with nothing to work with. They let Eric Decker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, David Harris, Darelle Revis and Brandon Marshall leave and got nothing in return. Their receiving core is a joke. They have no one of any importance. Bilal Powell is a good running back, but when teams load the box every down, he will be lucky to average 3 yards a carry. The line is older, and worse. Their QB is Christian Hackenberg. That should strike fear in all Jets fans across the country. As far as all accounts from preseason training camps, where everyone is supposedly doing great, he couldn't even break a huddle properly. The 7 year olds I coach in flag football know how to break a huddle. He is going to stink. As far as their defense, they still have Sheldon Richardson, but he may get suspended like he has the past 2 years, and I don't think he is 100 percent engaged in football. They got rid of David Harris, their mainstay middle linebacker, without telling the coach. Their secondary is a joke too. This team is a disaster. I wouldn't be surprised if they go 0-16.

Coming in at number 31, I have the Chicago Bears. How can a team that finally got rid of Jay Cutler get worse? They can trade a bunch of picks to move up one spot and take Mitch Trubisky. Also, enough of this, "he looked great in their preseason opener against Denver". Denver was playing fourth string guys and were running completely vanilla coverages. Blake Bortles did this same thing as a rookie in preseason. Anyone still on the Blake Bortles bandwagon? I didn't think so. The Bears also went out and gave Mike Glennon a 3 year 45 million dollar contract. That was not a typo, you read that right. Oh, and they also signed Mark Sanchez. Yeesh. As far as the O Line, does it really matter with this team. They are going to be awful no matter what. They let Alshon Jeffrey walk, and their "top" receiver, Kevin White, has played in maybe 4 or 5 total games his NFL career. They have a decent run game with Jordan Howard and Jeremy Langford, but how much good will that do when they are always playing from behind. The run game will be moot. Their defense is not much better. They can't stop the run or the pass. You need to be able to stop both of those to win a good amount of football games. This once great franchise is at a very low point right now, and I don't think Trubisky or Glennon or Sanchez are the guys to dig them out. They will be cellar dwellers for awhile.

Coming in at number 30, I have the San Francisco 49ers. This is the team that fleeced the Bears, hence why they are one spot ahead of them in my countdown. Look, I actually like their defense a little bit. They made a great pick, when they had to move down one spot, and got Soloman Thomas. He is a great D-Lineman to build their run stop and pass rush around. They also have decent, young players in the secondary and at linebacker. The problem with this team is their offense. I think Carlos Hyde is one of the more overrated players in the NFL. People always mention him as a good fantasy player, or as a sleeper that can have a big year. I don't buy it. Their line is weak. Their receivers are worse than what the Rams have. And they wouldn't even try and resign Colin Kaepernick, who led them to a Super Bowl. They instead decided to sign Brian Hoyer. Why does Brian Hoyer keep getting jobs? He is not that good of a QB. I wouldn't even want him as a backup. They also hired Kyle Shanahan as their head coach after letting Chip Kelly go. Shanahan is a great coordinator, but how will he do as the top guy, and how will he recover from that epic collapse in the Super Bowl? Time will tell. And if they give Kirk Cousins an enormous contract after this season I will lose my god damn mind. Cousins is not some great QB that people, including Kyle Shanahan, keep saying he is. The 49ers are in the midst of a deep rebuilding project. At least they got one over on the Bears at the draft. That may be their biggest win of the 2017 season.

Coming in at number 29 I have the Cleveland Browns. I really can't grasp what this team is trying to do. They went out and signed some good O-Lineman this offseason, but does it really matter when Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler or Deshone Kizer are the QB? Also, who is their running back? I have no idea. That is not a good sign. They also let Terelle Pryor walk, and he was their best receiving threat since Josh Gordon. I cannot figure out what they are trying to establish as their identity on offense. It is maddening, and I do not even like this team. And on defense, I know they gave former Patriot, who was traded in the middle of the season, Jamie Collins big time money, but is he really a cornerstone for any defense? They also reached big time for Jabrill Peppers in the late first round. I love Peppers, he was electrifying for Michigan, but I do not see how that translates to the pros. He is too small to play linebacker and not a good enough cover to play corner. I hope he proves me wrong because I want all Michigan players to succeed, but I do not see it yet. As far as their D-Line, it is very ho hum. They do not have any single pass rusher or run stopper that really excels. Same thing for their secondary. It is incredibly average. Hue Jackson deserves better than this, but he willingly took this job. The Browns will continue to be irrelevant until they get some competent players.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will always root for a former Wolverine int he NFL, unless they play for the Rams. Screw that team and their terrible owner.

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Jay Cutler Signing with the Dolphins is Terrible on Every Level

Artist depiction of the 2017 Miami Dolphins season

I'm going to be doing a very big, 2 week long NFL and college football preview, but that is all starting next week. Today though, I will be talking about the NFL. I need to address the signing of Jay Cutler by the Dolphins at 1 year, 10 million dollars.

WHAT THE HELL ARE THE DOLPHINS THINKING?!

This signing is absolutely ludicrous. This may be the worst free agent signing I have ever seen in my time as a sports fan. I'm not joking or trying to put a hot take out there either. I have sat and thought about that very thing since I heard the news yesterday at around noon. I cannot think of a more atrocious signing.

Honestly.

I looked back at basketball and the best comparison I could come up with was what the Lakers gave Timofey Mozgov last year, and I still think Cutler is worse. Mozgov is not great, but he is a better basketball player than Cutler is a football player, and it is not even close. Mozgov, while barely playing, does at least have a ring, and was a minimal part in the Cavs getting there. Other NBA signings I thought of were Evan Tuner to Portland, Al Horford to Boston, Reggie Jackson getting a max contract in Detroit and Greg Monroe to the Bucks, but none of those sniff the terribleness that is the Cutler signing. Hell, I think both Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to the Knicks were "better" decisions than this one.

I then thought about baseball, and the best I could come up with is David Price's current Red Sox contract. He is a choker in the playoffs, just like Cutler, but he is lights out in the regular season. Cutler is dreadful all season long. Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees a few years back was another, but he was a multiple World Series winner, and he is still a contributor there.

Then I started to scour other NFL signings. Darelle Revis going back to the Jets immediately popped into my head, but he had one decent season with them before he declined. He has also had a pretty good career in the NFL. Much better than Cutler's for sure. Tavon Austin got a decent contract recently from the Rams, but he is still considered a "threat" by some as a returner and slot receiver. Wes Welker to the Broncos was pretty bad, but he was still productive when he was able to play. Darren McFadden to the Cowboys struck me as bad, but he may become a whole hell of a lot more important to that team as a backup now, what with the news that Ezekial Elliot may have destroyed evidence in his current assault case. Even when the Patriots gave Chad Johnson a chance, it wasn't deemed as bad as this signing. People legitimately thought that the Patriots could turn him into a useful player. When they realized he didn't have it anymore, they cut him. The Dolphins will not do that to Cutler.

As I thought more and more about it, and I even had a chat with a buddy of mine that is a Dolphins fan prior to this signing, we both think that Matt Moore would have been perfectly serviceable as the main guy this year. First off, the Patriots are going to win that division. Write that down in pen. But, Moore could lead that team to a Wild Card spot pretty easily. He was pretty good in his 5 starts last year, winning 3 of them. He even helped the Dolphins hang around until he got exploded by a hit from a Steelers defender. Besides Jimmy Garroppolo, Matt Moore is the only other backup QB I could name. I had to look up the Packers backup, and that is my team. The Dolphins have a very fine backup, and they just shit all over him by signing that dipshit Jay Cutler.

Which brings me to my final thought on this signing. Why did they pick Cutler over Colin Kaepernick? In fact, why is Kaepernick still unsigned? Don't feed me that, "he would be a locker room problem and we don't want the media circus that comes with him" nonsense either. He is ten times the QB that Cutler is. He is a more mobile Ryan Tannehill in fact. He would have fit into the Dolphins system with ease. He is friends with the skill players on that team already. He is younger. He cares more. He has been to a Super Bowl. He wants to win. He wants to play. I do not care, in fact I fully agree with him that America is a screwed up place, especially when talking about the police. He spoke his mind, and now he is paying for it. That is insane. People need to look at his ability. Like I said, he is a more mobile Tannehill. He has great arm strength. Sure, his passer rating and interception to TD ratio was out of whack last year, but I don't think anyone, save for maybe Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton or Tom Brady, could have played any better for the dreadful 49ers.

I didn't want to say it, but I now fully believe that Colin Kaeprnick is being blackballed by the NFL and Roger Goodell. By all accounts from last year, he was a great teammate and not a distraction. But, anytime I turn on ESPN and they talk about Kaepernick, or I listen to one of the any NFL podcasts I listen to, they all say that he would be a problem for the front office and any team that may sign him. Some say it is due to deteriorated play, others say it is due to his outspoken nature. To all those people I say, bull shit. Colin Kaepernick belongs on an NFL roster more than a lot of current QB's, and much, much more than Jay Cutler belongs anywhere.

This is going to be a disaster for the Dolphins, and they are going to waste a season where they could have made the playoffs with Matt Moore. Jay Cutler is TERRIBLE, and they whiffed big time on not signing Colin Kaepernick. What a bunch of bozos.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is very impressed with the NFL's stand against free thought. Maybe the league can start to tackle minor issues facing the league like domestic violence and brain injuries.

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Sorry Jordan, LeBron is Way Better than Kobe

This past week Michael Jordan has been talking a whole lot to the media. Over the last week, Jordan has talked to the media more than he did for the majority of his professional career. I've got to say, I love that he is finally being outspoken, especially when it comes to all things basketball. He is the GOAT, so his knowledge and criticism and "hot takes" on the game, I believe and agree with mostly.

For instance, that dumbass Lavar Ball being the typical blowhard that he is, claimed he could beat MJ in one on one. He has said this about other former players, most notable Charles Barkley, and of course he is extremely out of his lane. If he thinks he could score one single point against Jordan, he is clearly crazy. I love that Jordan came back and said that he could beat him one legged. I would go so far as to say that Jordan could beat him even if he had no use in his legs, had his right arm tied behind his back and he gave Ball a 10-0 advantage in a game to 11. Jordan would not only beat him, he would physically and emotionally hurt him. It would be a massacre. And for Ball to say that he and his son Lonzo could beat Jordan and one of his sons in 2 on 2, again I say, shut your god damn mouth. Jordan would again own the elder Ball, and because they are Michael Jordan's kids, they have that killer instinct, and while they may not be as talented as Lonzo, they would get in his and his father's head, and they would win easily. As Omar said, "you come at the king, you best not miss". Michael Jordan would own him, and I'm glad he let that be known to the world.

Jordan did say something else this week that I have to say, I disagree with him. This is a very rare thing for me, because, as I stated earlier, I agree with pretty much everything MJ does and says. He was asked in some interview earlier this week if he thought Kobe Bryant was a better player than LeBron James. He thought about it and said that he thinks Kobe is the better player because, "there is something about 5 rings compared to 3".

Now, right off the bat, I disagreed with him. If we are going strictly off championships, and I have been on record many, many times saying that I think Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever, and one of the greatest athletes ever, then that makes Bill Russell the best basketball player ever. He has 11 titles. No one is even close to that, including Jordan. Also, again going on rings, that would mean that Robert Horry is just as good as Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Now, I love Bill Russell, and he is maybe the 3rd or 4th greatest player ever, but he is nowhere near the player that Jordan was, and I think, if they played in the same era, Jordan would have smoked him. And with Robert Horry, come on. He is a great clutch shooter, the best in my opinion, but he is not even on Kobe or even guys like Russ, KD and Kawhi's level. But, he has those rings.

Looking at other sports too, does Jordan's comments mean that he thinks Eli Manning and Peyton Manning are better QB's because they have 2 Super Bowl rings as opposed to Aaron Rodgers one? Or, is Trent Dilfer a better QB than Dan Marino because he has a ring and Marino doesn't? Does this mean that Paul O'Neill is a better baseball player than Chipper Jones? Does this make David Freese better than Adrian Beltre? You cannot compare championships to how good a player is. I'd much rather have MJ than any other basketball player. I'll take Aaron Rodgers any day over any QB, including Tom Brady. Give me Chipper Jones and Adrian Beltre if I'm going to start a baseball team with those players in their primes.

Going back to the main reason for this blog, lets compare Bryant to James. For me, LeBron is the far superior player in every facet of the game. LeBron, while being uncoachable at times, and a hard guy to play with, when you gain his trust, he believes in you no matter what. This is a dude that will put his full faith in someone with championships on the line. He doesn't always have to be the reason the team is a winner. The same cannot be said about Bryant. It always had to be about him. The Lakers were only good when he was good if you ask him. Never mind how badly he crippled that team 3 years ago, he still felt that he was great, even though his game clearly deteriorated. As a distributor and "point guard" of the team and focal point of the offense, again, James by a landslide. He is so good at finding the open player, attacking the rim and running the offense. The only thing Kobe has on LeBron here is a jump shot, but I'd rather have a 6'9 280 lb force attacking the rim than a 6'6 200 lb pound jump shooter any day. The only players that I think "see" the game the way LeBron does is Jordan and Magic. As far as defense, LeBron is way, way, way better on that end of the floor. He is one of the better chase down shot blockers ever, and he usually guards the opponents best player, or at least their best offensive player. Kobe Bryant was a fake All Defense performer. They just put him on the team to pet his ego. He is, in my opinion, one of the most overrated defenders to ever play in the NBA. LeBron, when locked in, is one of the better defensive players in the NBA. Finally, when it comes to durability, LeBron wins this one again by a landslide. He NEVER gets hurt. It is amazing how healthy he has ben his whole career. He has never, ever had a horrible injury. Some say it may be PED's, I just think he keeps himself in tremendous shape. We all saw how Kobe Bryant's career ended. Two torn ACL's, and many ankle sprains and bruised ego's throughout his whole career.

When you really break it all down, LeBron James is far and away the better player between the 2. I think Jordan is the greatest ever, obviously. LeBron is somewhere in my top 5, possibly top 3. Bryant, he is outside my personal top 10. He is very far behind MJ, LeBron, and even guys like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. I also think guys like KD, Steph, Kawhi, Russ and even someone like Giannis Antentekoumpo are going to surpass him in the very near future. So while MJ is right on almost everything, he is wrong about the Kobe vs LeBron debate. LeBron is much, much better.

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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We Need to Continue and Celebrate Adrian Beltre's 3000th Hit

This one, plus 2999 more, makes for a lot of balls hit off Beltre's bats

This past week, Adrian Beltre got his 3,000 hit as a Major League Baseball player. There was some fanfare, he had a little coverage on ESPN and I think the MLB Network aired his 3,000th hit live. He got some TV time that night, and maybe a day or 2 afterward, but since then, not much else has been said about him. That is not right.

Let us not forget that 3,000 hits is an incredible milestone. Only 31 players, in the history of the MLB, have done this. Most of the names on the list are big time, Hall of Fame players. And the more recent players that have reached 3,000 hits, the coverage usually lasts for about a week. I remember when it was a big deal that Rafeal Palmiero got 3,000 hits. ESPN and the like were all over it. Then it was found out that he was/is a cheater, and everyone forgot. When Ichiro Suzuki got 3,000, after getting about 2,500 in Japan, ESPN covered it for what seemed like a month, which was well deserved. When most players do finally get to 3,000, they are covered so much more than Beltre was.

I have always been a fan of Adrian Beltre's. I'm not a big baseball fan, but something about Beltre has always made me like him. He is like a more lively Vlad Guerreo, and Vlad is one of my all time favorite players. Beltre had the same type of approach at the plate, and while he is not the hitter that Vlad was, he still can hold his own. I even remember when he first got into the majors, at 19 years old, and being shocked at how great he was, at such a young age, the moment he stepped on a baseball field. He was awesome while he was in LA. He won a Silver Slugger award and was the NL's homerun champ in 2004, his last year in LA. He left after 7 seasons, and signed a very big deal with Seattle. He was one of the many signings that was going to turn around Seattle. While Seattle was never great, Beltre was. He became an excellent defensive third baseman, winning 2 Gold Gloves while playing there. He was part of the All World Baseball Classic team in 2006. He was constantly in the top 10 or 20 in batting average, homeruns and RBI's each and every year. He then had a little sojourn in Boston before moving on to his current team, the Texas Rangers. He has been nothing short of exceptional since signing on with the Rangers. He's added 3 more Gold Glove awards. He's made the All Star team 4 times. He was the AL hits leader in 2013. And he's won 3 more Silver Slugger awards.

Beltre has been an all around excellent baseball player, yet no one brings his name up when talking about current greats. That is ridiculous to me. I remember in 2011, when the Cardinals faced the Rangers in the World Series, the one guy that made me nervous whenever he stepped to the plate was Beltre. He could always come away with a big hit, or even a soul crushing homerun. He has always been a threat at the plate, but to turn himself into an awesome third baseman, that is amazing. The fact that he had the hitting down, then focused on fielding, so much so that he became a multiple Gold Glove winner, shows me that he is the consummate professional. He would work on something until he had it down to perfection, and then he would work on some other holes in his game. That is the type of player I would take on my team any day. He was always trying to find a way to make himself better. He is also a hot tempered, passionate player. I love that. I love that he hates to have his head touched, and when players do touch his head, he loses his god damn mind. His mind and head are so into his profession, that if anyone even touches him, he loses his shit. I want a team full of players who are that obsessed with their craft.

The point is that Adrian Beltre is an amazing baseball player, who I think may be one of the most underrated players to ever play in the MLB. Like I already said, when people talk about all time greats, or current greats, his name never comes up. But, he has a career batting average of .286, has surpassed 3,000 hits, has 460 homeruns, 1,600 plus RBI's and over 100 stolen bases. If that doesn't scream first ballot Hall of Famer, I do not know what does. He has also been to a World Series and had multiple playoff runs. Adrian Beltre is remarkable and I am stoked that he got his 3,000th hit. It was well deserved for such a great baseball player, and I could not be happier for him. Hopefully he sticks around longer and gets near 3,500 hits, because, when I do watch baseball, he is the type of player I want to see. Congrats Adrian Beltre. Keep up the great work.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He recorded his 30,000 wiffle ball hit last weekend joining an elite list of 100,000 Midwest dads who have reached such a milestone.

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The Derrick Rose "Bidding War" is the Dumbest Story of the NBA Offseason

With the Kyrie Irving news last Friday, I wasn't able to comment on the supposed "bidding war" for Derrick Rose between the Cavs and Lakers. Well that changes today. I need to talk about this, and I want to talk about this.

The fact that people have said that there is a "bidding war" for Derrick Rose literally shocked me. Why on Earth would anyone want to fight over Derrick Rose? I'm not going to sugar coat it today. Derrick Rose is washed up. He is not the "great" player he once was. In fact, I never thought he was great, I thought he was a whirling diversh and a ton of fun to watch, but I never considered him great. I thought he was good, just not great. His MVP trophy was just so they didn't have to give it to LeBron once again, even though both he and Dwight Howard, yes that same Dwight Howard, had a much better season the year he won it. The Bulls just played way over their heads, and the voters figured they'd better give it to someone that was on a one seed. LeBron should have won it that year.

Also, while in Chicago, yes he was fine, but stories already started to come out about his attitude, his penchant for hogging the ball, his willingness to ice teammates out on the floor and he was seemingly becoming un coachable. He was like Russell Westbrook, except Russell Westbrook is a better player than Derrick Rose, by far. He also had much better teammates than Westbrook had last year. And in that MVP year, Rose and the Bulls got their asses kicked by LeBron, as we all expected.

Then the injuries started. The very next season Rose tore his ACL and missed the majority of the year. The next season he rushed himself back too soon and tore his other ACL. He was becoming incredibly injury prone due to his style of play. That is the thing with Rose. He was very good at getting to the rim, but he could never ever shoot and he is a horrific defender. Great rim attacker, but everything else, very mediocre.

While the injuries piled up in Chicago, everyone who watches basketball could see that he was either unhappy or uninterested in being in Chicago, or even playing basketball for that matter. He looked truly miserable. He was probably tired of being the face of the city, he is a Chicago kid. He does seem like the kind of player that is better suited at being a second or third option. I do not think he was ever comfortable being "the man" on an NBA team. He may have never said it, but that has always been the vibe I have gotten from Derrick Rose.

Then we had last year's offseason. Rose finally got moved. The Bulls decided to finally pull the plug, much to both theirs and Rose's delight. The Bulls traded him and his one year left on his monster contract to the New York Knicks. This was supposed to be one of Phil Jackson's best moves early on as a GM. When he was traded to the Knicks and then Joakim Noah signed there, I vividly remember many people, RD included, saying this Knicks team could go to the playoffs. Hell, Derrick Rose said in his introductory press conference that the Knicks and the Warriors were both "super teams". I didn't buy any of that. This team on paper looked truly awful to me. While the Knicks should have started the youth movement and build around Porzingis, they decided to sign 2 oft injured vets and let go of a true center in Robin Lopez.

Well, we all saw how the Knicks, and Derrick Rose, played last year. Sure, he averaged 18 ppg and about 4 or 5 rebounds a game. But, he was non existent on defense, and he seemed to be more of a ball hog than Carmelo Anthony. His fit was a total disaster. When he was on the court, he either bricked jumpers, iced out Porzingis and Carmelo and it seemed like if Carmelo did a good thing on offense, Rose felt he had to do something better. He rarely ever did something better.

Let us not forget that he also just disappeared in the middle of the year. He was just gone without any explanation. Everyone seems to have just forgotten this. That he just up and left the team without any notice. He was gone, and when he came back, he acted like he did nothing wrong. He acted like the media made up some stories about him. That whole situation was completely bizarre, and just reaffirmed that he is not a franchise player.

Rose also told reporters after his "leave of absence", that he expected a max contract this offseason. That shit was laughable. How god damn full of himself. He is nowhere near a max player. And what team is going to give an oft injured player that comes and goes as they please a max deal. Not even the Kings or 76ers would do some dumb shit like that.

And then we got the report last week of the "bidding war".First off, the most money the Cavs can offer him is 2 million a year, or the veteran minimum. They could clear a bit more space if they move Irving, but it is still not that much more. The Lakers can give him a lot more money, but they are clearly going youthful, and they are clearly handing the keys to the team to Lonzo Ball. Does Derrick Rose really want to go and be a rookie's backup? How in the hell would he handle something like that? Not very well I would imagine. Also, if he signs with Cleveland, and they keep Kyrie, he is going to most assuredly be the backup point guard there. How does he handle that? Will he be happy playing the Deron Williams role from this past season? He is a better player than Williams, but not that much better. Then there is the Kyrie Irving trade scenario. If the Cavs do find someone to trade for Irving, depending on the return, how will LeBron feel having Derrick Rose as his starting point guard as opposed to Irving? He may say he likes it better, but Rose is more of a ball hog than Irving will ever be. Rose will also want to take many more big shots than Irving did, and that LeBron should. I just don't like his fit with either team.

Rose still thinks he is a great player, I never thought he was, so he should go to a team that will give him the keys. The problem with Rose being "the guy", he would have to go to a team that has no future at all. Rose is at a turning point in his career. He needs to decide if he wants money or a chance at titles. If I had to guess, he will take the money because he thinks he is still great. He is not. If I were a GM of any team, I'd stay very, very far away from Derrick Rose. I'd rather have a player like Kay Felder or Vander Blue than Derrick Rose. That is how far Rose has fallen off.

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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Where Should Kyrie Irving Play Next Season?

I was going to write about the supposed "bidding war" going on between the Cavs and Lakers for Derrick Rose today, but some bigger NBA news just showed up on my phone. Apparently Kyrie Irving is "displeased with his role on the Cavs", and "doesn't like playing with LeBron James".

This news may shock a lot of people, but for some odd reasons, I find it not shocking at all. Kyrie Irving is a ball dominant guard that wants to score 25-27 points per game. He cannot do that type of stuff when he is on the same team with the best player in the world. He also apparently said that he wants to "go to a team where he can be the focal point". I get this as well.

Irving is the type of player that should, and might be able to be, the alpha dog. I do not think that team would be a contender, but I think Irving would be a ton of fun to watch on a sub .500 team as the alpha. He had a chance, albeit very early in his career, to be the man in Cleveland. His first couple of years there, when LeBron was using his talents in South Beach, he was the new guy that the Cavs were going to build around. We all saw how that turned out. While he put up great stats offensively, the Cavs were atrocious. Sure, the roster was dreadful around him, but he was the leader, and if he wants to be a LeBron type leader, those Cavs teams would have at least been a lower seeded playoff team. They were lucky to win 30 games back then.

Then LeBron came back home, got Kevin Love to come there, and for all intents and purposes, LeBron was the GM and coach, as expected. Kyrie Irving should have known what he was getting into. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh molded and changed their games to fit around LeBron, so why now does Kyrie come out and complain and say he wants to be traded? He has been to 3 straight Finals. They won one on his shot and his tremendous efforts in games 4,5, 6 and 7 2 years ago. He was decent in the Finals last year. What is the problem?

Well, as I said earlier, he is sick of being second fiddle to LeBron. He is clearly the second guy, but that is not what Kyrie wants to be. He wants to be "the guy". Now, I just read on my phone that one of his preferred teams to go to is the Spurs. That would not work out for him like he wants it to. One, he does not seem like a Spurs type player. Those guys leave their egos at the door and play system basketball. Kyrie is not a system guy and he has no interest in playing defense. This would be almost exactly like LaMarcus Aldridge's time in San Antonio so far. Kyrie is more of a make something out of nothing player. The Spurs like to whip the ball around for the best possible shot. Also, the Spurs already have an alpha. Kawhi Leonard is clearly the new face of the Spurs. He is the perfect Spur and the perfect guy to be the face of that team for the next decade plus. If Kyrie were to go to San Antonio, it would be nearly the same as playing for the Cavs. Popppovich will not change his offense to tailor to Kyrie. I'm sure he is working on more stuff for Kawhi right now as I write this. He is moving forward with Kawhi as the focal point.

So about 20 minutes after hearing this story, and immediately eschewing the Spurs idea, I started to think of some teams he could go to that would benefit both him and the Cavs. Lets get this straight right off the bat, the Cavs will not give up Kyrie for a bag of beans, a la the Paul George to OKC trade. I first thought about some contenders. He wants out of Cleveland, Golden State is set, I already mentioned all the problems with the Spurs, the Rockets have Harden and Paul, the Celtics have Isaish Thomas and a great group of young players, the Raptors have Lowry and DeRozan and the Timberwolves have Butler and Jeff Teague. All those teams are off the table in my opinion.

I dug a little deeper. I thought about Miami. I think he would hate it there. They have a point guard in Goran Dragic, and they just gave Dion Waiters big time money. He has already played with Waiters and that was a train wreck. Memphis came to mind, but then I remembered they have an awesome point guard in Mike Conley Jr, and he just got a max contract. Philly popped into my mind, but I feel like he would be a disaster with that young roster, and I want them to build around Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.

We are now left with basically the bottom of the barrel. He can go to Chicago and be the guy, but that team is not going anywhere anytime soon. Brooklyn needs a point guard, but that team also needs a 2 guard, a couple of good forwards and a modern big man. They also need a bench. Phoenix was my next thought, but they are another one of the teams going to the youth movement. They don't need Kyrie. New Orleans was another team, but they would have to give up Boogie, and they just gave Jrue Holiday a ton of money.

When I sat down, right before writing this, the one team that I thought this would maybe work out best for is the Knicks. But, they would have to give up Porzingis for this to fully work. The Cavs would take that, and then Kyrie would definitely be the man in one of the biggest markets. The Knicks would still be atrocious, but Kyrie would get his wish, and ESPN and TNT would put them on all the time. It is almost too perfect because of how terrible it would be.

Kyrie should stay in Cleveland if he values titles. But, he has one already, and maybe he just wants to get his now. Maybe he doesn't care so much about being one of the greatest point guards ever. Maybe he just wants to get paid. Whatever in may be, the Cavs should grant him his wish as long as they get a proper return. LeBron may say that he is "blindsided" by this, but imagine how happy he would be if he got to play with Porzingis, or his lifetime buddy Carmelo. I'm pretty sure he'd get over it rather quick.

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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It is Time for the St. Louis Cardinals to Move on from the Mike Matheny Era

Time for the Cards to dust off the plate.

I've been sitting on today's topic for while, and I'm ready to put it out there. I think the time is right for the Cardinals to let Mike Matheny go.

Now don't get me wrong, he has been a very good to great coach for Saint Louis. He's been to the World Series, the playoffs and always seems to have this team in contention late into the season. But, the Cardinals have been, at least for them, pretty bad this year. They are a game below .500 right now, and if they lose to the Mets this afternoon, they will be even worse.

The current St. Louis baseball squad, while it doesn't have the star power of past Cardinals teams, does not have anyone that truly strikes fear into the heart of their opponents. They have names, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina and Dexter Fowler to name a few, but those guys are either washed up, Wainwright, old, Molina and have not lived up to the potential, Fowler. In my mind though, a lot of that has to do with coaching. I feel like the coaches, and mostly Matheny, have just thought that the big time players would continue to be big time players. But, father time always wins. I love Molina and Wainwright, but they are not the players they once were. That is a fact. Dexter Fowler is my new favorite baseball player, but he has had a very inconsistent year, and he's been hurt a lot. But that lineup, other than those guys, is littered with names like Matt Carpenter, Stephen Piscotty, Kolten Wong, hell, that is all I can think of. That is part front office, part manager putting together this team. Yes the front office hasn't done much, but I don't think Matheny has really pushed to add big time, good players. Josh Donaldson's name has popped up in trade rumors for the Cardinals, but I feel like it is just talk. I would bet a lot of money that Matheny still believes he can win with Matt Carpenter playing third base. They can't. I'd do much rather have Donaldson at third. He is a better hitter and fielder. He is just an all around better baseball player.

It doesn't stop with the current squad. The Cardinals have had chances to add David Price, keep Jason Heyward, trade for Chris Sale, keep Carlos Beltran, get good young up and coming players for older vets, but John Mozeliak, the GM, and Matheny have said no. They didn't want to pay for or give up young prospects for proven veterans. That is the "Cardinal way", but it is getting pretty tedious to keep believing in the "Cardinal way". So many wasted chances to add top players because they don't want to pay them is very, very frustrating.

I know this is a front office thing, but I would be willing to say that Matheny doesn't know how to deal with stars. He's never had anyone bigger to manage than Molina, to the best of my knowledge, and Molina is a very subdued super star. I don't think he thinks he can deal with a big ego, even if that ego would help them win. That is a big problem for me. Other than that, he is too forgiving to his pitching staff. It seems like Wainwright, Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn have been the core of the Cardinals rotation. Why in the hell did it take until this season to put Carlos Martinez in the starting rotation? Personally, I think that he is the best pitcher the Cardinals have. Sure he can be inconsistent, but he throws heat and has a very live arm. With young pitchers you should expect things like that. What I didn't expect was the amount of time in took for Matheny to finally put Martinez in the rotation. I'm sick of watching Wainwright get older and worse. Wacha had his moment, then fell apart against the Red Sox in the World Series and when I'm shocked to see Lance Lynn get a win, that is a big problem.

Beyond the pitching though, this team cannot hit and cannot score runs. They seem to get beat 3-2 or 2-1 or 3-0 all the time. I will look at the stats, I do not watch the game, and see that the Cardinals got 0 runs on 3 or 4 hits. That is atrocious. They either need to find a new hitting coach, or a whole new staff. Same thing for the pitching coaches staff.

Look, I am actually all in favor of trashing the whole coaching staff except for Jose Oquendo. He is the only coach I rely on, and he deserves his shot to be the head coach of the Cardinals. He has paid his dues, the current players love him and I think he would be a lot more willing and able to take chances with the lineups and on acquiring big time stars. If the front office were to fire Matheny and hire Oquendo, there would be no big hub bub. As I said, the players already love him, and I'd let him hire his own staff.

Mike Matheny has done all he could do with his time with the Cardinals. He is toast. Give Jose Oquendo the chance he rightfully deserves. Do the right thing Saint Louis.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He dreams of the days when Oquendo is the head man, and Willie McGee is the hitting coach. Could we somehow get Vince Coleman to come in and be the third base coach?

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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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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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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