1. www.cheapjerseysnflchina.us . Lou Williams & Lucas Nogueira (Raptors): I like this deal by general manager Masai Ujiri. I have always been a fan of Williams, who fell out of favor in Atlanta. In the final year of his contract, the Raptors will be getting a player who can score in bunches off the bench and give his team a lift on many nights. He plays with energy and can run the point for a possession or two but is definitely more of a scoring two guard. Nogueira is a guy that is under contract overseas for another year, which is a good thing because there is no rush to bring him over and start his NBA Contractual Clock. The Raptors want to be getting him when hes more mature and prepared to give them a greater return on their yearly investment. I like the move, though. Hes a young man who can make things happen in the lane with his rebounding and shot blocking potential. His offence is a bit raw yet but in time he should be a sound pickup. John Salmons was a good pro, but as we could all see in the playoffs, hes clearly on the downside of his career. For Salmons, this is a nice trade particularly with the fact that Williams is off the books after this upcoming season. Helps you, yet doesnt damage your salary cap long term. 2. Jason Kidd (Bucks): How about this for a Machiavellian Move on the part of J-Kidd?! You literally cant make this nonsense up. He tries to back-door GM Billy King in Brooklyn and gets shown the door for two second-round picks. I guess you beat the Raptors in Round 1 and win one playoff game against the Heat and youre a genius with the NBAs Highest Payroll. No one else in the league would have given him the shot he got last year to coach and this is the appreciation. I feel bad for coach Larry Drew, he gets one year and then the door from his new owners. This is a tough business and theres very little honour and respect left anymore in the coaching profession, thats for sure in this case. 3. Derrick Rose (Bulls): Rose is catching a lot of flak for saying that its not his job to recruit Carmelo Anthony. He is correct; its ownership, management and the coaches jobs to do the work. When you evaluate what he said after that about Melos skills, its pretty evident to me that hes impressed with Melos game and how it would help the Bulls. In defence of him, Im sure if management asked him to publicly make comments about Melo or behind the scenes recruit him, hed assist them. Hes a team guy. On the other hand, maybe he just deep down in his heart knows that Melo wouldnt be a great fit in their system/team identity. Well all know in the next few days if this has any impact on Melos decision with Chicago. Usually guys with the ego the size of Melo want to be recruited by everyone involved. 4. Nets coach: Youll hear the names of Lionel Hollins, George Karl & Mark Jackson among many for this job, as their agents cash in favours with media members to float their clients names to increase their profile and possibilities. In a market like New York, with such a high profile and a small window of opportunity with this older team thats got the huge payroll, it actually makes lots of sense to consider each of these guys for the job. The Nets will need both a strong and capable personality/coach to handle this job. GM Billy King knows that and the fact that he was supported by ownership in the coup attempt doesnt mean hes not under tremendous pressure to win big right now. Kings has got to get the right guy and he better win lots of games next year or they might actually need a new GM next spring. I like Lionel Hollins for this job. 5. July 1: Here we go! Always a fun few days when free agency begins. The Big 3 and Melo set the tone and other movement will follow from a decent free agent class, when you look at the Top 10. Theres quite a drop off once you get past the Top 15 names. For Raptors fans, its very important to balance the desire to build on the 48 win season last year with the long term understanding that the Raptors as currently constructed (Even if Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson & Greivis Vasquez return) are still a ways away from being a legit contender to go to the NBA Finals out of the East. Particularly if the Big 3 stay in Miami, Chicago gets healthy and adds a guy like Melo and the Pacers improve and take a good look around. Other teams in the East added some pieces in the early part of the Draft that will make each win a little harder to get within the Conference. Remember back to Bryan Colangelos first season as GM with a 47 win season? You can win too early. As crazy as that sounds, its true. Truly be honest with your team and organization and always try to evaluate yourself vs. the top four and top eight in the East as well as the top four and top eight in the West this past season. How did you stand up vs. those teams and vs. the non-playoff teams? Obviously, a nice season in the NBA is when you beat who youre capable of beating and the Raps did that with some other fun wins sprinkled in along the way to make it a neat experience. Lots and lots of work still needs to be done for this team/organization to be a contender. Slow and steady wins the Race. Im quite confident in the patience and long-term view of Ujiri, that he wont get sucked in to believing that theyre close and try to build on a foundation that isnt there yet. Manage the cap properly, improve internally and be patient. The right defining move will present itself to you in the near future, youve got to be properly positioned when it shows up at your doorstep to be able to consummate the transaction. Yes, I love making the playoffs, but we all want more. So build with the idea of long term/organization vs. the 2014-15 team. You want to be in the playoffs on a yearly basis as well as - and this is what really matters - being a team with a legitimate chance to play in the Eastern Conference Finals & possibly get to the NBA Finals. Those are really hard steps to take. Obviously, if the Big Three break up, Melo goes to the Western Conference instead of the Bulls, etc. Then you reconsider that because you do have greater opportunity. But for now, big picture. It will be a fun few days to watch and follow. cheap nfl jerseys china . 7 Cincinnati, ending the Bearcats 15-game winning streak. SMU (19-5, 8-3 American Athletic Conference) has already beaten three Top 25 opponents in seven games since moving into the renovated Moody Coliseum on campus five weeks ago.cheap jerseys from china . No. 1-ranked Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in his first-round match on Tuesday night, his first in more than three weeks after losing the Australian Open final to Stanislaw Wawrinka.NEW YORK -- Kemba Walker just loves playing at Madison Square Garden. Walker scored 25 points despite suffering a shoulder injury midway through the third quarter and not returning until the middle of the fourth and the Charlotte Bobcats held off a late New York rally to beat the Knicks 102-97 on Tuesday night. "It didnt feel too good at the time. A little pop real quick, but Im fine. I had x-rays and Im fine," Walker said. "I always like winning, especially here against the Knicks. Its always fun." Walker led UConn to the 2011 Big East tournament championship at MSG as the Huskies won five games in five nights. He averaged 21 points against New York last year. Gerald Henderson scored 18 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 16 for the Bobcats. After falling behind 2-0, the Bobcats took the lead on Walkers 3-pointer and never trailed again. They took their biggest lead of the game, 69-56, on Kidd-Gilchrists two free throws with 9:50 left in the third quarter. But, the Knicks whittled the lead to four, 76-72, on Raymond Feltons jumper with 3:11 left in the third. Charlotte got its lead back up to eight points before settling for an 82-76 advantage after three quarters. Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points to lead the Knicks, but was only 10 for 28 from the field. His back-to-back baskets late in the fourth quarter twice brought the Knicks within two, but every attempt that the Knicks had to take the lead failed. "We dig ourselves these big holes and then we want to fight back and by that time it was a little bit too late," Anthony said. "Tonight was one of those nights." With 16 seconds left, Anthony hit a 3-pointer to get the Knicks within three, 99-96. After a Bobcats turnover, Iman Shumpert was fouled but made only one of two. Henderson then hit his two free throwws with 13 seconds left and the Knicks never got closer. cheap nfl jerseys. "The last four or five minutes wasnt easy," said Bobcats coach Steve Clifford. "We had a lot of guys step up and make plays. To me, those are the best kind of games to win." The Bobcats (2-2) are off to their best start since the 2009-10 season when they began 3-2, while the Knicks (1-3) are off to their worst start since that same season when they started off 1-9. "Were happy with it (the record). Its not fun to come out here and lose every night. We put a lot of work into it just like every other team," Henderson said. "So 2-2 is cool now." Walker hit his first three shots of the game, including two 3-pointers, and finished with 10 in the first quarter. He finished the first half with 17 on 7-9 shooting as the Bobcats took a 64-54 halftime lead. The Knicks also suffered a loss in the game, as starting centre Tyson Chandler left midway through the first quarter and never returned with a right knee injury. "We dont know the severity yet," said Knicks Coach Mike Woodson. "We will know more tomorrow morning, but he is a big piece of what we do." The Bobcats opened a 10-point lead, 49-39, on two Ramon Session free throws with 7:10 left in the first half. However, Metta World Peace, who finished with 18 points, scored the Knicks next seven points. Felton and Shumpert each had 14 for the Knicks. NOTES: Felton also left the floor in the first quarter due to a nose bleed, but returned in the second quarter. ... Felton was drafted fifth overall by Charlotte in the 2005 NBA Draft. ... Bobcats Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing is the Knicks all-time leader in points (23,665), rebounds (1,039), blocks (2,758), steals (1,061), and minutes (37,586). "This is home," Ewing said. ' ' '
