Kobe Fuels Bulls Fire, Nets Lose....Again

Bill Simmons' yearly trade value piece hit the net today, and as usual it's a great read. Simmons is one of the writers that I try to make a point to read whenever possibly, and this is usually one of his best columns every year, right up there with his annual NBA Draft piece.

Michael Jordan stepped onto the court and practiced with the Bobcats earlier today. He swears his isn't planning another comeback, but fans can still dream. I can't imagine what the Bobcat's youngsters must have felt like playing with the guy generally accepted as the GOAT. On one hand, it's Michael Jordan schooling you. On the other hand, it's a 44 year-old schooling you...

Tonight's Sacramento-New Jersey game had a few interesting story lines in it. First off, the Nets are really in a funk. They are struggling so much that coach Lawrence Frank inserted Sean Williams and Josh Boone into the starting lineup. Williams responded with 8 (!) blocks and will likely be scooped off of waiver wires by tomorrow morning at the latest...I certainly grabbed him in as many leagues as I could.

New Jersey eventually fell to the lowly Kings 106-101. With every loss you have to imagine that the Nets are getting closer and closer to giving in and dealing Kidd and getting what they can for him now. The problem is that they just gave Vince Carter a ton of money, and in order to truly rebuild they would need to deal both VC and Kidd for young talent, expirings, and picks. Not an easy task, especially when GM Rod Thorn is notorious for being cautious when it comes to trade talks.

Much of the first quarter of the Nets TV feed was filled with a rowdy New Jersey fan screaming at Kings forward Ron Artest. On one hand, hearing "Artest! You suck!" for fifteen minutes was annoying, but on the other hand it's not like the Nets themselves have been doing much to keep their fans occupied. Something was bound to happen sooner or later.

Bulls fans, on the other hand, mustered up a few very weak "Beat LA" chants as they watched their Forgetta-Bulls lose to the Lakers. During training camp most were questioning which team Kobe would be playing for when these two sides met up, but now it's looking less and less likely that Kobe will be traded following his public affirmation that he is happy as a Laker. It seems the Lakers feed off the drama though, so Phil Jackson and Bryant himself made sure to keep the story alive with some interesting comments just prior to tipoff.

Oh, and before I go, a quick memo to the Bull's arena staff: the Ben Wallace "Big Ben" gong sound effect needs to go. Playing it when Ben grabs a rebound is one thing, but last night Wallace didn't grab a single rebound until the 3rd quarter. At that point it's more of a desperate plea for the real Ben Wallace to return than anything else.

-unposs


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