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From the Miami Herald (Herald.com):

The Garnett trade left Minnesota with a surplus of shooting guards and small forwards — two positions where the Heat has been looking to add depth throughout the offseason.

The Heat’s interest likely centers on swingmen Ricky Davis and Trenton Hassell, veterans who apparently don’t fit in Minnesota’s plans to rebuild around a youthful nucleus of Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and former University of Florida star Corey Brewer.

Davis, 28, averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds last season and is due $6.8 million in the final year of his expiring contract. Hassell, 28, started 68 games last season as the Timberwolves’ top perimeter defender and has three seasons and $13 million left on his contract.

The Heat is in need of a perimeter scorer to fill in early for Dwyane Wade, who is expected to miss camp and at least the first two weeks of the regular season while he recovers from knee and shoulder surgeries.

For more info on Ricky Davis I recommend the following links:

Ricky Davis Is a Drinking Champion… - Fanhouse

Tricky Ricky in Miami? - Slam Online (Read the comments, they paint a better picture)

Amerikaz Most Hated - unlimited.nba.free.fr

Whatever Happened to Ricky Davis? - Sport Swag

 By the way, these were all found by simply going to Google and typing “Ricky Davis” and “Crazy”.

Tags: NBA, Miami Heat, 2007 Offseason, Minnesota Timberwolves, Ben Ellingsworth, Trades, Rumors by Ben Ellingsworth
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The Saints and Titans will be mixing it up tonight on Monday Night Football from the Louisiana Superdome. New Orleans is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and that will undoubtedly be mentioned repeatedly (and rightfully) throughout the broadcast. If anyone reading this has the means to give a little something toward that effort, Habitat for Humanityhas done some outstanding work in the ongoing relief effort. They are in partnership with the New Orleans Hornets in a program called Hoops For Homes.

We don’t have any association with Habitat for Humanity but there charity work in the Gulf Coast relief effort has been amazing. If you get a minute and can spare a few bucks, check it out and do some good. Your Halo 3 party isn’t till later anyway so you’ve got some time!

 http://www.habitat.org/

http://www.habitat.org/gulfrecoveryeffort/

Tags: New Orleans Hornets, Non Basketball, Off The Court, NBA, News, Ben Ellingsworth, Uncategorized by Ben Ellingsworth
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In lue of the bucks matching our offer sheet for point guard Charlie Bell, let’s look at their off season moves:

They draft a Chinese guy, Jianlian Yi who wants to play in a city with a large Chinese population.

They overpay Mo Williams to the tune of 6 years $51M dollars.

They re-sign Desmond Mason, who “felt angry and betrayed when he left Milwaukee less than two years ago.”

Refuse to offer Charlie Bell a $3M a year contract until the Heat offers him $18.5M over five years. Since he is a restricted free agent however, they have the right to match the Heat’s over and thus retained him. All of this done after Bell states he does not want to play in Milwaukee and they signed Royal Ivey to fill his postion.

Oh, it’s not over. Here are some comments the GM, Larry Harris made after matching our offer:

“It’s going to sound funny saying this, but some things that Mo Williams did with his contract, (he) made a great sacrifice for Charlie Bell. I think that says a lot without going into too much detail,” Harris said. “I give Mo a lot of credit. He did some things to help us do what we needed to today.”

 “The sun will shine here just as it does in Miami,” Harris said.

Tags: NBA, Milwaukee Bucks, Off The Court, 2007 Offseason, The Groves Report!, Free Agency, News, Uncategorized by Groves
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With the addition of Charlie Bell we will be overstocked at the point. A lot of people feel we should go after Michael Pietrus sending the Warriors J-Will’s expiring contract.

I don’t feel comfortable with this unless they throw Matt Barnes in the deal. I also have another solution…..

 AK-47. Andrei Kirilenko is not happy in Utah anymore and is asking for a trade. Is there another player in the league who is a more ideal fit for Riley’s system that this guy? Under the tutelage of Riley and Askins, wouldn’t his defense become even more locked-down? I think he would be a perfect fit for the hole we have at the 3 spot. If your gonna trade white chocolate, get an AK for ‘em.

Tags: Miami Heat, Utah Jazz, NBA, 2007 Offseason, The Groves Report!, Trades, News by Groves
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When you sign a free agent guard, and the biggest criticism about the move is that you might have overcrowded your backcourt, then you know you’ve done something right. Charlie Bell may not be a franchise player or even a starter at this point, but the Heat have added a solid rotation player and given themselves more flexibility in their backcourt. By adding Bell, they have added perimeter shooting, defense, and enough depth at guard to explore any trade where Jason Williams’ expiring contract could be the Heat’s biggest bargaining chip.

In looking at Charlie Bell’s stats last year, there’s one number that immediately jumped out at me: 82. Thats in, 82 games played. You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Bell was pretty healthy last year. The same can’t be said for Miami’s group of guards who missed over 60 games combined (Wade, Williams, Gary Payton) due to injury.

 Of course, all of this could be a moot point if the Bucks decide to match the Heat’s offer sheet. If that happens, then Charlie Bell sucks and we never wanted him anyway.

Tags: Miami Heat, NBA, 2007 Offseason, Ben Ellingsworth, Free Agency by Ben Ellingsworth
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From Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Restricted free agent guard Charlie Bell has received a five-year, $18 million offer from the Miami Heat, according to National Basketball Association sources.

The Milwaukee Bucks will have one week to match the offer or relinquish the rights to Bell.

Bell said on Saturday that he did not wish to return to the Bucks. Milwaukee had offered a three-year, $9 million contract to the former Michigan State player.

Bell’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the Miami offer sheet and said Bell had visited with Heat officials in Miami on Friday and Saturday. Bell met with Heat president and head coach Pat Riley.

“I think he’s excited about it,” Bartelstein said. “He had a real good visit. Now it’s obvious the Bucks have to make a hard decision. I’m frustrated it came to this point, but it did.”

Click here for the full article.

The Bell story is also being reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In extending an offer sheet Monday to outside-shooting Bucks guard Charlie Bell, the Heat showed it is willing to invest more than $18 million on an already crowded backcourt.

After losing out on Bucks point guard Mo Williams earlier this offseason in free agency, the Heat on Monday put in a bid for his frequent 2006-07 Milwaukee backcourt partner.

However, because Bell is a restricted free agent, the Bucks now have until next Monday to decide whether to match the five-year, $18.3 million offer.

Click here for the full Sun-Sentinel article.

We’ll have our take on this soon enough. I’ll go on the record right now by saying that I love this move, if it actually happens. There’s no telling what the Bucks are going to do. Until then, enjoy the articles and check back soon to hear our what we think about this.

Tags: Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, 2007 Offseason, News, Ben Ellingsworth, Free Agency by Ben Ellingsworth
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I don’t know why I ever thought to pollute this website with anything regarding the Miami Dolphins. As a season ticket holder for the last 14 years, I should have know better. I would like to forget about Sunday’s game against the Cowboy’s, but instead, I will be reminded by the previous post not only that I had misguided illusions about a victory, but by the actual score which is nicely displayed in the “Game Tracker”.

The Dolphins might end up being the worst team in the NFL this season. They can’t run. They cant pass. The defense can’t stop the run. The defense can’t pressure the quarterback. And I’m not too sure about their coaching either. I really don’t know who they are going to beat. They suck.

We need the Heat. Basketball season can’t come soon enough.

Tags: Non Basketball, Ben Ellingsworth by Ben Ellingsworth
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The masses don’t think the Dolphins have a chance today. They’re probably right, but f#%K them anyway! “Hype Up” the Dolphins (see below) and pile on as much good karma as possible. They need all the help they can get.

Tags: Non Basketball, Ben Ellingsworth by Ben Ellingsworth
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This is obviously from the time right around the 2006 Finals. Hadn’t seen this picture before and I thought it was pretty cool.

Here’s the original link to the picture: http://farlane.files.wordpress.com/2006/06/blog-maverick-where-are-you.jpg.

Tags: 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, NBA, Ben Ellingsworth by Ben Ellingsworth
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Have you ever been hit in the balls? You know that god-awful feeling that you get throughout the entire midsection of your body when it happens? If so, then that’s how I would imagine the entire Blazers fanbase feels about right now. The number 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft, Greg Oden, is probably going to miss the entire season with a knee injury. From FoxSports.com:

Blazers fans may have to wait a little longer to see Greg Oden in action.

According to a release on the team’s web site, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft is likely to miss the 2007-08 season after exploratory arthroscopic surgery revealed cartilage damage to the Ohio State star’s right knee.

“Greg had an arthroscopy and a micro fracture surgery today,” said team physician Dr. Don Roberts, who performed the surgery. “He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee. The area of injury was not large and we were able to treat it with micro fracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage. There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from micro fracture surgery.”

According to the release, Oden is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. Recovery for micro fracture surgery generally takes between six and 12 months for full recovery.

“Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright,” said Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be.”

“We know this discouraging news for all of our fans, however, the people of Portland are very enthusiastic and compassionate about their Trail Blazers and I know they will stand behind Greg and the team during his recovery,” said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. “We believe our fans and sponsors are going to continue to support us because they know we’re headed in the right direction.”

A setback in Oden’s career, maybe. But this is devastating to the psyche of Portland fans who are now having Sam Bowie Redux nightmares. When you factor in the wrist injury that Oden had to play through in his only year at Ohio State, the fears of Greg Oden potentially being injury prone are gaining more credibility.

Tags: Portland Trail Blazers, NBA, 2007 Offseason, Ben Ellingsworth by Ben Ellingsworth
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