While I understand The Suns are in cost-cutting mode to satisfy their tight pocketed owner, I can’t see how trading their weapon against the San Antonio Spurs, aka Kurt Thomas, will move them closer to that coveted championship title. Not to mention, losing two first rounders (2008 and 2010) for a conditional 2nd rounder and a trade exception (reportedly worth 8 million) and Marcus Banks still on their payroll. I understand they shed a lot of salary but all these first rounders they’re giving up has to be a concern for the future outlook of this team. On the other hand, the future looks very bright for both teams from the northwest.

I didn’t watch but a bit of the summer league this season but caught this clip browsing through NBA Broadband. I was high on Rudy Gay and hoped the Raptors took him last year but his ambition/drive is still a big question mark.

Dan Moren, co-editor of MacUser.com and contributer to Macworld, believes he has the first DOA Apple iPhone who’s screen went blank shortly after showing the Apple icon. It turns out he’s not the only one from MacWorld who’s been setback from fully relishing the hyped gadget.

The Toronto Raptors big splash in the draft: Giorgos Printezis… boo-urns. No knock on GP, just that I was hoping the Raps would find a way to get into this deep draft, perhaps in the mid-late first round. I’m sure BC’s got something up his sleeve come free agency period, especially with our newer looking Atlantic Division rivals.

Thumbs up to the following teams:

- Portland Trailblazers: hard to miss by going with Oden, but also nabbing Rudy Fernandez and getting rid of Zack Randolph and his off-court antics. Not to mention grabbing some 2nd round gems.

- Seatle Supersonics: got an absolute stud in Kevin Durrant while obtaining Big East Player of the Year Jeff Green, who I think would compliment KD well, given his versatility and unselfishness. Resigning Rashard Lewis would make for an interesting, and very exciting, team.

- Atlanta Hawks: I think they made the right choice by getting Al Horford at 3 and a point gaurd who can help right away in Acie Law. They’ve also got a lot of peices to really turn this team around.

- Golden State Warriors: got the prospect with possibly the highest potential in the draft (at the cost of J-Rich, of course) while obtaining Italy’s Marco Bellineli who’s shooting should help fuel the Warriors high-octane offence.

The question marks:

- Will Yi Jianlian play for the Bucks?

- The Bulls always go with the winners, but another high energy player?

- Sure he’s talented, but will he help the already dysfunctional Knicks teams?

- Is Ray Allen at 32 the right choice for the Celtics, with an odd arrangement of young and veteran players?

- Did MJ give up too much to immediately help out his Bobcats?

Some people may remember Reggie Theus’ playing days in the NBA for the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings. If you’re like me and grew up watching Saturday morning television, you may remember him as Coach Bill Fuller from the show Hang Time. Yesterday (June 19, 2007) he was named the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

SJ-R.com has a great column about Anthony Parker’s climb back to the NBA. Anthony started his career first being drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1997 (21st overall) then immediately traded to the Sixers. Playing scarce minutes in the NBA, he moved on to the CBA and then overseas where he made great strides with Isreal’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Euroleague title in 2004 as well as the Final Four MVP the same year. In 2005 and 2006 he earned the title of Euroleague MVP back to back before finally returning the NBA with a revamped Toronto Raptors roster assembled by Bryan Colangelo. He had a great season for the Raptors, playing a starting role, counted on as a lock down defender and crafty scorer. He averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting nearly 50% from the field and finished as one of the top 3-point shooters in the league. In the article, Anthony Parker credits his strong faith as the power that carried him through his career and to his successes.

That pass!

“They said his upside and potential were off the charts…Out of all the athletes we’ve profiled, we’ve never seen anything like this.” Bryan Colangelo

Although the Raptors are without a draft pick this offseason and probably won’t see one as busy as last years, they’ve still got a lot to look forward to and one of those things is Andrea Bargnani or “Il Mago” as he’s often called in Italy. I have to admit, I was on the draft Tyrus Thomas/Rudy Gay bandwagon… something about a 3-pt shooting big man did not rub well on me. After this season, Raptor fans got to see a big man with a silky smooth jumper and a ton of potential. He’s shown he’s got the right tools to succeed in this league; namely a high basketball IQ and the ability take criticism to improve his game. Not to mention his Caliper tests which were apparently off the charts as the man himself, Bryan Colangelo, mentions. It’s gonna be a long summer but at least next season is one to look forward to and one of those reasons is Andrea Bargnani.

“I can tell you right now: He will be one of the top eight or ten centers in NBA history.” Dr. Greenberg, president and CEO of Caliper, psychological assessment firm.

I just caught a glimpse of the new Apple iPhone ads while watching Game 1 of the finals last night and I thought they looked pretty impressive. I never was too much of a gadget freak or anticipating it’s arrival like I know a lot of people are (although there are already some critics) so this was my first look at it in action. The higher-res ads are available on Apple’s website.

… ho hum

It’s Ringfinger, baby!
(multimedia blog)