Espn First Take 8/24

[BallSoHard]

ESPN first Take is about to begin. Once again, we ask for the respect of all of the GMs to Not respond until the show closes

Jay Crawford: Good morning everybody, It's a beautiful Friday morning here in Bristol, Ct. Today I am your host for ESPN First Take, where we embrace debate. Today is going to be a special show and it seems Skip Bayless and Stephan A.'s comments have created quite the buzz around the league.

Skip Bayless: Thank you Jay. We're excited about the show today, and Jay as I promised with my open invite: We have the Soncis GM here to discuss the trade deadline the moves he made, and their rivalry with the Lakers after, just a few weeks ago he made some bold comments about the Lakers General Manager in the Sim League Times.

Stephen A. Smith: Skip, I know how you like to be disrespectful about my connections, but Beeball Reasons wouldn't be here if I wasn't at his son's bar mitzvahlast weekend, and congratulations to your son on the introduction to manhood. I'm sure Skip could show him the ropes at a couple of massage parlors around these parts.

Skip Bayless: That's not even true. Earnstine loves you Stephan A. you've had dinner with us before and I know you don't mean that!

Jay Crawford: Very nice you two, but we have a show to do. On the line now, we have the Sonics trade happy owner Beeball Resons. Good morning Beeball.

Beeball Reasons:Good morning Jay, and thanks for having me today.

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: We all know you and the Lakers don't get along, so let's hear it from you, first reactions from the Lakers trade?

BeeBall Reasons: Well Stephen, our traditional rivalry is the I-5 rivalry with the neighboring Trailblazers. The bad blood is overblown by media hotshots just because we are two of the league’s most active and competitive franchises in the same division. However, it’s nice for the young Seattle fans and the NBA to see new rivalries like Sonics/Lakers and Sonics/Kings who knocked us out of the playoffs last year. I’m not going to lie the initial reaction to the Lakers trade among the Sonics brass, like the rest of the league, was one of panic. The consensus mindset was that we really needed to make some moves now that the Lakers have two All NBA players. Shaq is a magnificent player. He leads the league in field goal percentage and could really help to improve the Lakers field goal percentage as a team, which was one of their few weaknesses. And of course, should make what was an already good Lakers defense into a dominant one.

Stephen A. Smith: I completely agree with that. Shaq is flawless. I've seen his practice, and I think its a thing of pure beauty.

BeeBall Reasons: Well actually, the more I thought about it the more I realized that there are some potential drawbacks. One of the things that made the Lakers a tough team to beat is that between Marbury and Hill they really protected the ball well, in fact, they were the best in the league at it but Shaq has a bad habit of giving the ball away, partly because the ball ran through him in Minnesota. Hopefully their coach can fix that turnover bug. It will be interesting to see who the Lakers go to scorer will be. Los Angeles has a lot to be excited about but of course the scarier outcome would be the Lakers landing the number one pick and drafting that big guy from China everyone was buzzing about to pair with what was an already strong core.

Stephen A. Smith: So let me as--

[BallSoHard]

Skip Bayless:Whoah whoah whoah, let me interrupt here. First of all, I'd like to note your tone towards the Lakers is much more respectful than it has been in weeks past, and let me tell you that I'm shocked and let me commend you for the level of respect you have for the Lakers in person. I hope you two have made up and are on more respectful terms. I think this rivalry is going to be one of the best in the NBA.

Skip Bayless:I think you hit the nail on the head about the Lakers and I think they should start Grant Hill at point guard...

Stephen A. Smith: Grant Hill, the league's best Small forward..The Joker has arrived.

Skip Bayless:Hear me out... and let him do what he does best to cut down on the turnovers and score the ball and let all of those perimter defenders do work and hit open shots. Now Beeball, I respect your opinion a lot, but the Lakers have 2 ALL NBAers now and you think you can beat them now?

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: So the real question here, BeeBall Reasons. Do you really think you have the players in place to take the Lakers in the playoffs?

BeeBall Reasons: Man Stephen, I thought Skip was bad. But you might want to take off your “purple and yellow” colored glasses just for a minute and take a good look at the West. I really think the Spurs are going to be hard to pass up in the West during the regular season, I fully expect them to lock up the top spot in the conference just like last year. Where it really will count is in the playoffs where dominant players begin to will their teams to win, and with two of those guys on their roster, I think the Lakers will go pretty deep.

Stephen A. Smith: Winning a NBA Championship is pretty deep, I suppose.

BeeBall Reasons: Anyway... as I was saying. As far as matching up with them, it’s all pretty hypothetical at this point. Game plans are a work in progress by both teams with their new trade and the fact that our team hasn’t had a lot of luck with injuries this year. I’ll take a shot in the dark and say that we match-up pretty well. Marbury has given us the most problems in the past and the frontcourt is where our defensive minded players lie. Shaq gets to the line often, putting opposing centers in foul trouble. But we have a very deep team across the front line and multiple defensive centers to throw at him. Shareef also really enjoys matching up with Hill, taking on the best offensive small forward in the league is the type of challenge that he looks forward to. Hopefully if we meet them in the playoffs, it will lead to some exciting basketball.

Stephen A. Smith: Definitely a matchup that would be a thriller to watch. I'll have to admit the Sonics a front court that could challenge the Lakers' front court defensively. And I'm not even sure you'll have to worry much about Shareef on Hill. Especially if the Lakers play Hill at the 1, as the Joker alluded to.

[BallSoHard]

Skip Bayless: Yeah again we agree, and I want to commend you again for not breaking up your team. You have maybe the only team to stop LA in the playoffs with Robinson and Ratliff and made a good move get Jim Jackson as insurance, but I still don’t think you can get through the gauntlet that is the Western conference. And if my Pick to win the East, the ‘Toronto Raptors’ were in the West, I wouldn’t have them getting past the second round.

Stephen A. Smith: WHAT?!?!

Stephen A.: WHAT?! YOU THINK THE TORONTO RAPTORS WHO HAVE NICK THE QUICK, JERRY STACKHOUSE, JAMAL MONSTER MASH, AND NOW RASHEED WALLACE WOULDN’T MAKE IT PAST THE SECOND ROUND. TO EVEN ARGUE HOW GOOD THE RAPTORS WILL BE IS ASININE ASITEN ASIELEVEL ASITWELVE!!!!
Jay Crawford: Ok the, on to our last question for the Sonic’s GM. Skip…

Skip Bayless: So, why didn’t you make a big splash after everyone in the league did something to improve? With your history and reputation, I was utterly shocker. Can you give us some insider information on any players you were after or moves you were close to making?

BeeBall Reason: Well we were looking to get younger. Being the oldest team in the NBA with the average player age over 30, we wanted some youth. Most of the young guys we were looking were inquiring about were star guys that we felt fit the team direction. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors were that we were looking at two deals that would bring Mike Bibby and Paul Pierce to join Ray Allen and yes there were talks going on, but it never materialized. Ultimately the reason we didn’t make any deals was because unless we could bring back serious young talent that could become contenders next season and way beyond, we weren’t going to sacrifice our already very realistic shot at a championship this year.

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: If you would have made either of those moves, I might have had to jump off the Laker Train in favor of the SuperSonic Express in terms of championship.

Skip Bayless: This wouldn't be the first time you would've jumped ship for a better ride.

Stephen A. Smith: OH PLEASE. Skip, you wish your hometown of Oklahoma City had a team of that calibur. Or just a team at all.

Skip Bayless: Be careful what you wish for, Stephen A.

Stephen A. Smith: Moving along, again we would like to thank BeeBall Reasons for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us this morning. It was great having you, and good luck the rest of the season!

BeeBall Reasons: Thank you, gentlemen.

Stephen A. Smith: And with that, we will take a quick commercial break, but when we get back, Skip and I will go at it about the best young teams in the NBA Sim League. Stay tuned!

[IamQuailman]

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: And we're back. And I'm kind of thirsty now for some reason... But we are diving right into our next topic:

BEST YOUNG TEAMS IN THE NBA SIM LEAGUE

Stephen A. Smith: And I'm going to go with the team that has made a lot of progress in just the past week or so. And I'm talking about the Miami Heat. Before anything, let's breakdown the 2 big trades he made: Desmond Mason and Cliff Robinson for Andre Miller AND Stromile Swift and Rafer Alston for Larry Hughes and Darius Miles. Losing Andre Miller is a tough pill to swallow, but the Miami Heat GM is confident that Antonio Daniels and Rafer Alston can hold down the fort for the time being. But what the Heat have done is solidified their front court with the young defensive center Tyson Chandler and now Stromile Swift. Talk about hard to score on. That's not even considering the fact that PF Maurice Taylor and center Jahidi White are still on this team and are only 25 years old.

Stephen A. Smith: On top of that the Heat managed to bring in Cliff Robinson, who can play both 3 and 4, to provide even more depth behind the incumbent SF Tim Thomas. Losing Larry Hughes may hurt, but it clears up more playing time for Mike Miller, who can be plugged in at any position between the 1 and the 3. Lastly, my slam dunk extraordinaire Desmond Mason brings excitement and defense off the bench. You know, I taught him a thing or two about dunking, Skip. Needless to say, this team has A LOT of youth on it and will only grow better as they play together for years to come.

[BallSoHard]

Skip Bayless: You know Stephen A. I do like the Miami Heat’s roster but I’m not sold on the trades like you are. When you look at it on paper it looks solid, and by solid I mean a solid 5-8 seed for the next 8 years. Hear me out Stephen A. because I’m not sure if they’re building for the future or right now? It’s baffling.


Skip Bayless: They’re going to hope Tyson Chandler will become their defensive presence. Which I think he has a good shot at becoming, and I like the kid a lot if he can put on some pounds. I question his offensive instincts and don’t think the Heat’s coach is giving him enough PT to develop him. Stromile Swift, who’s another good defensive guy but his basketball IQ has always been a huge question mark.



Skip Bayless: Then they have a few young pieces in Mike Miller who I think will be a very good NBA pro maybe make the all-star game once and Desmond Mason who is a good defensive player, but leaves a lot to be desired on offense. If the Heat had a Jason Kidd or someone to command the offense then I’d feel good about them getting say a 4 seed, but that’s with one of the best floor generals in the league. This team is missing a primary scorer, a ball distributor, and an alpha player on this team and I think those are the three hardest things to get in this league outside of a dominant Center.


Jay Crawford: Ok on to our next team, The Milwakee Bucks who famously blew up they’re pretty good team that made it to the second round and now have a core of Brenadon Haywood, Lamar Odom, Gerald Wallace, Jason Terry and Gilbert Arenas.


Stephen A.: Age before beauty, go ahead Skip.


Skip Bayless: What is it’s beauty and age? Anyways, This is a team I can buy. I think they have a solid core and rebuilt the team fast. Let me first say I was very skeptical of their team plan, but I think they’ve done a good job.


Skip Bayless: They have solid roles for their guys, Arenas seems to be an explosive scorer and a decent ball handler. He will have to work on his turnovers. Jason Terry , who they HAVE to resign,is some skill overlap with Arenas but works well for his team. Terry is the Sniper Arenas is the slasher. Gerald Wallace looks like he’s the next version of Shawn Marion, don’t think he will ever live up to him, but will be very close and Lamar Odom despite being a disappointment on both LA teams has his own renaissance and seems to be a do it all and approaches a triple double every night. Like Gerald Wallace doesn’t really need the ball to do his thing and is a great passer which is great with a scoring PG like Arenas.

Skip Bayless: The only player I’m not sold on is Haywood who could be serviceable in a platoon of sorts at the Center Position.

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: I'm just not sold on it. That GM, Ian Quailmen, he's put some good pieces there, but he's just too trigger happy for me. Every GM is looking to put the right pieces in their puzzle, but he just looks too much sometimes. I think he has established an, as he claims, "immovable" core, but I wouldn't put it past him to trade one of those guys if something came along and tickled his fancy. Outside of the 5 you mentioned, the only other player on their roster for next year is Michael Bradley. They will have to retool through FA, which isn't a bad thing. But they will probably have to overpay to get some talent. We'll see how they proceed, but I'll watch catiously before investing too much love into the Bucks and their players.

Stephen A. Smith: We are running short on time, but we will touch on a few more teams rapidfire style before we close out. First up, the Nets. I think the Nets are primed for good things. They have 2 2002 1st round picks that very well could be lottery picks and a solid core of Jermaine O'Neal and Baron Davis. They could be 1 trade away (of players/picks not named Davis or O'Neal) from being an Eastern Conference contender.

[BallSoHard]

Skip Bayless: The Nets are another team I can buy and I thought were big winner at the trade deadline by not trading their two young core guys in O’Neal and Davis. Add that to the fact that they WILL HAVE most likely have 2 top 5 picks, not just lottery picks; Stephen A. I’m disappointed that you missed that, and this team could go from the sewer, because that’s where they’ve been for two seasons now, to Main Street. I completely disagree they should trade any of those picks or pieces Stephen A. but this GM has had a roller coaster ride and I think he’s getting a lot more shrewd. And for what it’s worth I CAN’T BELIEVE the Magic traded that pick to the Net’s for what’s a surefire top 5 pick to a team who you’ve just improved with a pretty good talent for what I think are going to be 2 late lotto picks. I think the Magic set their rebuilding effort back 3 years with that move.


Skip Bayless: Then another team I think is on the rise but a little bit slower pace is the Clippers. This is a team was a team without an identity and was stacked at the 4 spot, and they got rid of Stromile who put up decent numbers but as I said earlier doesn’t have the best basketball IQ and made room for Zach Randolph who I think is going to be an 18 and 12 guy in this league one day. They also STOLE a new face of their franchise in Steve Nash who obviously hated the situation in Denver and I think will play much more inspired ball now with the bright lights on him.

[IamQuailman]

Stephen A. Smith: I need to check myself into a mental institution, because this is 2 weeks in a row that Skip and I agree on something. I think the Clippers pulled out one of the best trades at the deadline getting a young Steve Nash to pair with his young PF and C. Great move, PrepP.

Stephen A. Smith: A couple teams I'm going to just touch on briefly, but do not need to be forgotten are the Bulls and the Blazers. The Bulls are experienced beyond their years. 4 of their starters are 25 years old or younger (all 5 of their starters are under 30), yet they are competing hard for the Eastern crown. Do not sleep on them as being a dominant young team for a few more years.

Stephen A. Smith: And that brings me to the last team we'll talk about today, the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers suffered an unlucky turn of events losing Michael Finley to an ACL injury, but they have a very solid young core of players to build around in Richard Jefferson, Steve Francis, and Vladimir Radmanovic. If they can resign Erick Dampier or Scott Pollard and Michael Finley can rehab his injury properly, they will bounce back nicely.

Jay Crawford: ...And we are out of time for today. From Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, and myself, thanks for tuning in and see you next week for the Playoff Edition of ESPN First Take!

ALL COMMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISMS ARE WELCOME! THANKS FOR READING!

[wuggie]

That was great guys. I died laughing at the commercial break lol

[IamQuailman]

Lol, I saw! Haha and then it disappeared hahahaha

[Soundwave]

I thought I had finally seen the last of that commercial.



And what's with Skip being so DISREPESCTFUL!
2nd Round????

[Pelicans78]

It was pretty good.

I agree with Skip about the Heat.

[speedyG]

This is cool but you guys are sleeping on the Knicks, Tony-Rip-Magette-Kenyon and the picks of the 2 worst teams

[BallSoHard]

We talked about the knicks internally about that but thought you were better for a draft day special. We struggle with balancing mentioning everyone and making sure its not too long where people will only gloss over the final product instead of reading into the detail.

[ohnosono]

This is cool but you guys are sleeping on the Knicks, Tony-Rip-Magette-Kenyon and the picks of the 2 worst teams

You look good for the future but two years of having the worst record will have people sleeping on you.

[LoCo89]

Very fun again guys, good job

[BeeBall Reasons]

OKC foreshadowing sighting! Good job guys

[IamQuailman]

This is cool but you guys are sleeping on the Knicks, Tony-Rip-Magette-Kenyon and the picks of the 2 worst teams

Trust me bro. As balls said, it came up. Hell, I brought it up. But I figure it would work better if we saved you for a draft edition. Get ready for the biggest Stephen A. Homer-b***r lol

[The JNR]

The Heat are pretty clearly building for the future. Cliff expires after this year, freeing up space. That's why I unloaded Miller.

[ohnosono]

The Heat are pretty clearly building for the future. Cliff expires after this year, freeing up space. That's why I unloaded Miller.

*building for the future with Gasol,Marbury, potential top 5 pick & cap space*

GET AT ME!

[bojangles837]

76ers never get any love


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