NBA Off-Season

[Blitz]

Ben Wallace - Tyrus Thomas - Loul Deng - Ben Gordan - Kirk Hinrich

P.J. Brown, J.R. Smith, Andres Nocioni

Bulls looked stacked. They could win the Central depending on how Nazr fits in, in Detroit and if Cleveland stays the LeBrons.

[Guest Josef Stallion]

Obviously Nazr is nothing like Ben and you can't compare him to Ben, but I think Nazr will fair well in Detroit alongside Rasheed and Tayshaun up front. Though he doesn't block shots as well as Ben (no one does), he can at least score buckets and finish dunks

Pistons 45-37, out in the 2nd round

[Guest Bosstown Boy]

Celts sign undrafted West Virginia star Pittsnogle

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Free agent Kevin Pittsnogle has signed a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics, his agent said Wednesday.

Pittsnogle, a 6-foot-11 center who is West Virginia's career 3-point leader, was passed over in June's NBA draft along with Mountaineers teammate Mike Gansey. Both played for the Miami Heat in a summer league, and Gansey signed a two-year deal with the Heat.

Pittsnogle led the Mountaineers with 19.3 points per game last season and was named to the All-Big East first team. He led West Virginia to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.

"Clearly, Kevin's strength is extending defenses with his range. He's big enough and he's got a quick trigger," agent Dan Tobin said. "He's a unique player, somewhat of a specialist at this point. We're trying to expand other areas of his game and I think that's what's going to help him make the transition."

Pittsnogle made 253 career 3-pointers and his 41.1 percent 3-point accuracy rate ranks second in school history. He is sixth in career scoring with 1,708 points.

[VerbalPuke]

One thing that killed the Pistons was playing 4 on 5 against teams when we are on offense. Ben Wallace had no offensive game, on top of his piss poor shot blocking. I love what Ben did for this team, but no way could we keep him at that price. Nazr should be a decent stop gap for the time being, and with the addition of Flip Murray off of the bench, I still think the Pistons are viable contender. You still have to like a core of players that boast Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess.

Honestly, I think starting McDyess would be a brilliant idea, the only problem is that his knee's may not hold up to starters minutes. However, McDyess would be a viable replacement for Ben a this stage in each man's career. McDyess is a much more potent offensive threat, and isn't any less of a hustler that Ben is. His defense obviously isn't at an elite level like Ben's is, but he's still no slouch. Of course, Nazr will probably be the starter and we'll go with a three man rotation at the big man spots.

I like the Pistons better when they are underdogs anyway.

As for Ben leaving, good for him. He did what was best for himself, and I don't blame him. I think he'll make Chicago a great team. The defensive player of the year going to the best defensive team in the league? Scary. He's the veteran presence they needed, and they should make a nice run this year.

The East got that much more interesting in one move. Plus you can't count out Indianna, especially if they land Al Harrington.

[Lowerdeck]

Celts sign undrafted West Virginia star Pittsnogle

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Free agent Kevin Pittsnogle has signed a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics, his agent said Wednesday.

Pittsnogle, a 6-foot-11 center who is West Virginia's career 3-point leader, was passed over in June's NBA draft along with Mountaineers teammate Mike Gansey. Both played for the Miami Heat in a summer league, and Gansey signed a two-year deal with the Heat.

Pittsnogle led the Mountaineers with 19.3 points per game last season and was named to the All-Big East first team. He led West Virginia to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.

Wow, I'm surprised he was undrafted

[VerbalPuke]

I'm surprised Boston brought him on for two years to be honest. I heard he had a pretty dissapointing summer league.

[Green Demon]

I really think that anyone can win the Central this year, with the Bucks amd Pacers having a slightly lesser chance then the other teams. The Pistons got a little worse but they are still a team that has been to a couple straight ECF's, the Bulls are looking good altough I think that some people are overating them since I still think that they need a inside scorer since B-Wallace is a monster on D but is lacking on the O side of the ball so he doesnt adress that need, and the Cavs have Lebron and altough some people are overlooking it and it could be some of me being a homer but they got some steals in the draft in Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson. Brown if he moves to PG or even plays off the ball most of the time with Bron and Hughes bringing the ball down could be starting by midseason if thing go right. And both of the picks fill a need in 3 pt shooting that Cleveland was still lacking in last year and they both provide adequete defense(and very good D from Brown). This Cleveland team was a damn rebound from going to the ECF last year so they could be there next year IMO. The Bulls and Pistons could definatly be fighting for a spot in the ECF too, and we may see another playoff with 4 if not possibly 5 of the the central teams making the playoffs again although there are alot of teams in the east getting better.

[phatman]

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks traded center Jamaal Magloire to the Portland Trail Blazers for guard Steve Blake, forward Brian Skinner and center Ha Seung-Jin on Monday.

"This trade allowed us to add depth to both our frontcourt and backcourt," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said.

Blake, 26, played in 68 games for Portland last season and averaged 8.2 points per game, a career high. He ranked third in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and 16th in three-point field goal percentage (.413). The 6-foot-3 guard has career averages of 6.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds in four NBA seasons.

Skinner, 30, has averaged 5.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 405 career games with six teams.

Skinner, who has played in the NBA for eight years, averaged a career-best 10.5 points along with 7.3 rebounds and 1.09 blocks in helping the Bucks reach the playoffs in the 2003-04 season. He split time last season with Sacramento and Portland and averaged 2.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 65 games.

Ha Seung-Jin, a 7-3 center, appeared in 21 games for Portland last season — his third in the NBA — and registered 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Ha, who will turn 21 on Friday, is the first South Korean to play in the NBA. The Trail Blazers chose him in the second round of the 2004 draft.

Magloire, 28, averaged 9.2 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds for Milwaukee last season. He was the only Bucks player to start all 82 games. He was seventh in the NBA in total rebounds (778) and 10th in rebounds per game.

The 2004 All-Star spent five seasons with the Hornets before going to Milwaukee last offseason. He averaged 9.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 425 career games.

"In Steve Blake, we added a talented point guard who had one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the league last season," Harris said. "Brian was a solid contributor to our team two years ago and, along with Ha Seung-Jin, will give us added size up front."

[Blitz]

Devean George signed with the Mavericks. George could start, depending on if Johnson wants to stick with the Terry/Harris combination.

[Mofoticon]

Devean George signed with the Mavericks. George could start, depending on if Johnson wants to stick with the Terry/Harris combination.

[Lowerdeck]

Magloire has been bouncing around quite a lot lately. That kinda sucks.