Minnesota/Portland trade Ideas?

Despite their massive projected payrolls for the next two seasons, the Lakers only have one player in the books for the 2014/15 NBA Season. Assuming they do retain Dwight Howard, LA would have about $32 million invested in just Steve Nash and Howard.

That’s assuming Howard does stay as a long-term Laker. If he did indeed decide to leave after a year, the Lakers could have in the neighborhood of $46.7 million in spending power in 2014 and/or even more in 2015.

Bottom line is that a lot of things have to go right for the Blazers to finish with a postseason berth in 2013, but these expectations aren’t exactly pie-in-the-sky aspirations for an extremely talented squad.

"I think he played real well," Monroe said. "He did all the things coaches asked him to do, run the floor, rebound, blocked a couple shots, finished strong in the paint.

/“Dwight, to be a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, you’ve got to have a little of that dog in you,” Bryant said. “It’s just a matter of him digging deep and just pulling it out. But it’s already there. It’s just a matter of him having it become habit.”lk;898

If anyone would know about how being an a$$hole on the court can benefit your game, it’s Kobe Bryant. Kobe has the reputation of being one of the most competitive, driven and cold-blooded players in the league. That type of attitude has helped Kobe become of the best to ever play the game.ngfh45

Haifa's roster comprises of six players from the United States and five from Israel, and its coach, Brad Greenberg, was in the Trail Blazers' front office when Adelman coached the team. Three of its veteran players have NBA experience: Donta Smith, James Thomas and Cory Carr.

It was a flash of greatness for Ilyasova and the Bucks offense, which has invested a lot in Ilyasova's development. For Ilyasova, it could be the sign that even better performances are on the horizon.

Parallels could be drawn between this season and Aldridge's rookie year in 2006, when the team was trying to crawl out of the Jail Blazers era when it was known for its off-court trouble. But the 6-foot-11 power forward says there's a difference this season.

“It’s something we need to determine and we’re going to let the dust settle here a little bit and then we’ll make that decision. I’ve have a visit with the front office guys and obviously talk to Scott and decide what we want to do there.”

“It is a process for a rookie,” Casey said. “He is not that far behind because the one thing he can do that makes up for a multitude of sins is he can shoot the ball at the end of the day and that’s part of the process too.