Breaking Down Both Sides of the Artest Trade

With the Rockets getting Ron Artest, along with Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing, Houston looks like they're ready to launch a deep playoff run. With the Kings getting Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, next year's 1st round pick and $1 million cash, they're speeding up the youth movement. Either way, it's a win-win for both teams.

ROCKETS

There is no reason whatsoever that the Rockets cannot get out of the first round this year, unless Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming are both hurt at the same time, and yes H-Town you got a steal. Looking at a team of Yao, T-Mac, Artest, Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Dikembe Mutombo if they come back, a developing Luther Head, and sharp shooer Brent Barry, there is no reason that they can't get past the first round of the playoffs. Houston has the potential to be a top 3 team in the West and a potential 60-win team.

There's no reason they can't give the Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Suns or Hornets a run for their money in the West. On that roster, you have every position filled, including 2 of the best defenders in the NBA, the 2nd best center in the league who is a 20-10 2 BPG player, 3 of the best scorers in the league, two great 3-point shooters.

A starting line-up of Alston, AKA Skip to my Lou, T-Mac, Artest, Scola and Yao is dangerous to play for any team in the league. Add the supporting cast of Battier, another great defender, Landry who's shown his potential, Head, a young combo guard, and reliable veterans in Deke and Barry and you have a deep bench.

The Rockets deserve to be seen as contenders with their All-Star line-up and at the end of the year, I want to see coach Rick Aldelman's team with an NBA Championship.

KINGS

Trading Artest means kissing a 40-win season goodbye. Now rebuilding and the youth movement is really underway. Going into next season they have 4 of the top players from summer league in #12 pick Jason Thompson, recently signed Bobby Brown, #3 scorer in the SL Quincy Douby and #2 scorer Donte Greene. Not only that, the Kings are working to trade veteran Brad Miller back to the Bulls for Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons/Joakim Noah. If the Bulls trade did happen and the Kings landed Noah, Nocioni will be seen as a valuable trade piece to other teams. There's no way they keep him for 5 years with 2010 coming up.

Jackson, who's 35 years old, will probably retire after this year, and what other way could he go out than finish with the team that embraced him the most. The fans would love to see the former 6th Man of the Year play here again, he was my 2nd favorite player on the team next to Chris Webber. He has a special place in Sactown and if he plays, it will bring more fans into the stands.

For the future, their line-up would be C- Spencer Hawes, PF- Jason Thompson, SF- John Salmons, SG- Kevin Martin and PG- Beno Udrih and their bench, C- Joakim Noah, PF- Shelden Williams (if he proves himself) SF- Donte Greene SG- Francisco Garcia and PG- Bobby Brown. Looks like a pretty good core of young players. All they need to do is give the rookies playing time throughout the season and these players could develop into some good roles.

For both teams, this is a good move. The Rockets have a solid team for a championship run, while the Kings get some cap space and more young talent. All we have to do is wait for tip-off this fall.

Kings-Blazers in OT Grab Vegas Spotlight Day 5

Kings (2-0) v. Blazers(1-1)

The Kings and the Blazers battled it out in OT, and in the end, Jason Thompson drive to the basket to make the game-winning 3 point play to win the game 75-74, the second game winner in summer league in 5 days of play. Thompson came off the bench for 17 points, 9 rebounds and a block, while Quincy Douby added 24 points and 6 steals. Shelden Williams posted 9 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks and Spencer Hawes had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Jerryd Bayless had 26 points (13-16 FTs) including the tough jumper that sent the game to OT. Bayless also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Petteri Koponen continued to shine with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists and while Josh Davis had 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Nicolas Batum had 6 points, 4 rebounds and a block.

I couldn't watch the game, but it was exciting to watch the boxscore update to the end.

Warriors (3-0) v. Bobcats (1-2)

Even with Anthony Randolph taking the day off, the Warriors are the hottest team in Vegas after winning 99-93 and getting a 3-0 record. Marco Belinelli went off for 30 points with 2 rebounds and a steal. C.J. Watson had 23 points, with the help of sinking 13 free throws, while Brandan Wright had 11 points 5 boards and 2 steals for the day. Georgia Tech's Anthony Morrow had 11 points and 3 rebounds off the bench and Louis Amundson had 6 points, 4 rebounds and the team's only 2 blocks.

D.J. Augustin knows how to score it up, but hasn't shown the ability to distribute as a point guard. He scored 30 points and a steal but had no assists and 5 TOs. The bench play wasn't bad for the Bobcats. In fact, they did more work than the other 4 starters alongside Augustin as Kyle Hines finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and a steal, Marcus Slaughter had 10 points and 3 rebounds in less than 12 minutes and James Mays put up 12 points, 4 rebounds. Orien Greene had 9 points, 2 boards and 2 steals.

Sixers (1-2) v. Lakers (1-2)

Thanks to triple 16s, the Sixers got their first summer league win, 81-73. Rookie Marreese Speights led the team with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jason Smith also finished with 16 points, along with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Thaddeus Young had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Junior Harrington came off the bench for 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while Jamont Gordon finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Coby Karl led the Lakers with 18 points, 2 assists and a steal, and got some help from Joe Crawford with 16 points 3 rebounds and a steal. Bryant Dunston had 10 points, 8 rebounds (4 off.) and 2 blocks while Cedric Bozeman finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Bucks (1-1) v. Pistons (2-1)

The Bucks ran away with a win, outscoring the Pistons 23-9 in the 4th quarter, winning 73-59. Ramon Sessions continues to lead his team with 21 points, 6 points and 4 rebounds. Unknown Olumide Oyedeji finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds (4 off.) and a steal while second round pick Luc Mbah a Moute had 7 points, 6 boards, 2 assists and a steal. "Average" Joe Alexander had a better than his average game with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. He hasn't lived up to the expectations around him, but he still has a few more games.

Arron Affalo continues to take charge with the Pistons with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Will Bynum filled in with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Deron Washington had 7 points and 4 rebounds off the bench while Walter Sharpe had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Rodney Stuckey did not play.

Hornets (2-1) v. Spurs (2-1)

Bobby Brown continues to impress playing for the Hornets, leading them to a 76-68 win over the Spurs. Brown had 15 points and 8 assists, while sophomore Julian Wright added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Hilton Armstrong had 11 points, 4 rebounds and a block and Brandon Bowman had 12 points, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block. Derrick Byars had 8 points, 2 rebounds and a steal off the bench.

The Spurs' James Gist came out with a double double off the bench with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals in the loss. Ian Mahinmi has no signs of slowing his play, finishing with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, and Anthony Tolliver finished with 14 points and 2 rebounds that night. George Hill couldn't score but 3 points, but grabbed 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Donte Greene Goes off for 40 on Day 4

Rockets (1-0) v. Suns (0-1)

We got our first 40 point performance, thanks to Donte Greene leading the Rockets past the Suns 100-97, the highest scoring game yet. Greene, who also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, shot 12-20 from the field, 5-10 beyond the arc, 11-12 free throws and 36 of his points came from the first 3 quarters. Mike Harris also played big with 21 points on 9-14 shooting and 13 rebounds while Maarty (with 2 A's) Leunen had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench. Aaron Brooks had 13 points and 4 rebounds.

D.J. Strawberry, son of former baseball player Darryl Strawberry, put up 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and a steal. Alando Tucker also posted 22 points and 6 rebounds, along with 2 assists. In his debut, Robin Lopez, twin brother of Brook had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks while Iowa State's Jiri Hubalek had 10 points and 3 rebounds off the bench.

Knicks (1-0) v. Cavaliers (0-1)

In another thriller, Wilson Chandler led the Knicks to a 97-94 win, putting up 26 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Alan Roberson had a great night with 22 points, 2 assists and a block while Mardy Collins had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Danillo Gallinari made his debut with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

Rookie J.J. Hickson also had a solid debut with 26 points and 9 rebounds for the Cavs, and Clay Tucker had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks off the bench. Darnell Jackson 10 points and 8 rebounds, Mike Green had 4 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal, and Robert "Tractor" Traylor had 8 points 3 rebounds and a block after spending some time out of the NBA recovering from heart surgery.

Blazers (1-0) v. Wizards (0-1)

Jerryd Bayless scored 28 points (with the help of 18 free throws made) and 4 rebounds in his debut to help the Blazers edge the Wizards 78-73. Finland's Petteri Koponen pitched in 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal, while Josh Davis added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks and Bernard Robinson had 7 points, 7 rebounds and a block.

Andray Blatche came in and dropped 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and a block for the Wizards and Nick Young chipped in 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Wake Forest's Frank Elegar had 10 points and 4 rebounds while both Dominique McGuire and Vladimir Veremeenko each had 6 points 5 boards and a block. JaVale McGee had 11 points and 3 blocks.

Nuggets (2-0) v. Raptors (0-2)

Taurean Green led his team with 17 points on 3-3 shooting and hitting 9 free throws, along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists, leading his team to a 90-79 win over the Raps. Elton Brown had a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Dhantay Jones posted 16 points and 3 rebounds. Bobby Jones, Mike Hall and Curtis Sumpter, all had 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Joey Graham had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists for the Raptors and John Lucas had 11 points 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Coleman Collins 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. C.J. Giles put up 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks and a steal.

Mavericks (1-2) v. (0-1) Timberwolves

Reyshawn Terry starred off the bench with 15 points, 4 rebounds and a block in the Mavs first summer league win 88-74. Jajuan Smith had 19 points and a steal while Shan Foster had 17 points and 3 rebounds. Pape Sow had 6 points, 6 rebounds and a block and James Singleton had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Gerald Green did not play.

Kevin Love debuted in the T'Wolves first games, with 18 points, 13 rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Corey Brewer had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Blake Ahearn had 17 points off the bench. Chris Richard had 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal and Pooh Jeter had 9 points and 5 assists.

Spurs (1-0) v. Grizzlies (2-1)

Ian Mahinmi helped the Spurs fend off a late Grizzlies rally to win 78-76 in their summer league debut. Mahinmi led the team with 18 points and 8 rebounds and George Hill put in 17 points and 8 rebounds. Anthony Tolliver had 13 points and 4 rebounds and Devin Green had 12 points, 4 rebounds and a steal.

Darrell Arthur had a bounce back game and led the Grizzlies with 23 points, 6 rebounds and a block while O.J. Mayo had 18 points on 5-17 shooting, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. He also hit a 67 foot shot. P.J. Tucker 12 points, 9 rebounds off the bench, 2 steals and a block while Ebi Ere had 11 points and a block off the bench. Javaris Crittenton had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Day 4 had the best performance yet from Donte Greene. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.