I can’t for the life of me remember why we went to Walmart on a Sunday. It was probably for something pretty important but me and JB can get sidetracked pretty easily. Anyway, I don’t want to be there any longer than necessary so when we go I insist we shop by the method we have fondly been calling The Heely Derby. It’s just like the 80’s style Roller Derby, daisy dukes and all, only with Heelys instead of roller skates so we are slightly less conspicuous. I remember it was early in the race, we were gaining speed still, weaving around the blockers when out of nowhere I was caught with a forearm shiver that sent me flying. When I was able to finally free myself from the shirt rack and locate my adversary I was astounded by what I saw. She couldn’t have been more than 8 years old, decked out in Hello Kitty paraphernalia and still locked in her Kung Fu like pose. Even in my shock I could tell something was wrong. Her kitty doll which no doubt was her most prized possession had been knocked to the ground. Still locked in her pose she slowly turned her head toward me and calmly demanded, “Say you’re sorry”.
I looked for JB, the actual culprit, but he was long gone. “What the f… “, I cleared my throat, “Little girl, I didn’t make you drop your doll.” I shook my head and started to roll past her when she blindsided me again. This time sending me head first into the wall of blue jeans. “Say you’re sorry”, she calmly repeated. Now I expect some nicks and bruises when playing Heely Derby and I think of myself as a pretty tough guy from growing up in da bush but after the beating she gave me I was broken. There’s no way she could understand me through my sobbing but she knew she had won and as long as I was able to manage a few sounds she seemed satisfied. I crawled to the car broken and defeated. I knew a lesson needed to be learned from this horrific experience. The lesson I learned was this – I can’t make anyone apologize for their actions. I can however apologize for them and avoid the pain that comes from being egotistical. For me that means I won’t be tracking down Larry Sanders and forcing him to apologize to his fantasy owners, at least not today. Instead I will apologize for endorsing him, avoid another beating, and move on. Sadly to say, this is my mea culpa.
Raymond Felton – PG – NYK – There is no trade scenerio that favors Felton and if he stays put then he won’t put up top 100 numbers and more than likely will break down again with over 30 minutes nightly. This was doomed from the beginning. I’m sure we endorsed him at some point though.
Patrick Beverley – PG – Hou – Wha? No!!! I thought he would be a top 50 player without any issue. Well he had an issue and that issue is usage. Perhaps we should have forseen that there was only going to be one ball on the court. PBev is by no means a total loss, consistently top 100, but not quite reaching my lofty expectations.
Trey Burke – PG – Uta – He still has a long way to go to be an NBA calibur starting PG. The 3s are nice but low end steals and altogether bench worthy play makes his endorsement look questionable at best. Top 100? There’s no way, it’s not going to click, It’s going to take time.
Alec Burks – PG/SG – Uta – One of my favorites and although useful at times with his scoring there is no where near enough to warrant a permanent roster spot on any 12 team roster. Spoiler Alert: I might just be a year early with Burks.
Aaron Afflalo – SG/SF – Orl – It’s getting bad. Predictably bad. If you missed the sell high moment that’s OK, he still has value. Looks at watch, yep still has value.
Terrence Ross – SG/SF – Tor – I had much loftier expectations of Ross. The inconsistency is obvious due to his age and change of rolls. Will he find consistency with Toronto pushing for the playoffs? If he starts off shooting poorly then he’s going to get benched so I guess that answers that question.
Paul George – SG/SF – Ind – Settle down, I’m just seeing if your still paying attention. He’s fine. Shooting slump, whatever. Go get him for less than face value if you can.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – SG/SF – Mil – I like Alphabet Soup. Both the nickname and the player but the Bucks don’t appear to be in any hurry to develop him so the consistency of minutes and consequently play will waiver.
Terrence Jones – SF/PF – Hou – What a run he had when he first got the job. Now that he’s settled in it kind of makes sense why they are so active to replace him. I still think his ceiling is high but for the rest of this year top 100 probably isn’t going to happen.
Ersan Ilyasova – SF/PF – Mil – Wait I recomended him? Did you JB? I’m sure we said wait and see to someone at some point. Well we waited, we saw, we are now moving on.
Larry Sanders – PF/C – Mil – That’s right Larry you don’t deserve a nickname any more. That has to be earned. Larry.
Derrick Favors – PF/C – Uta – Favors poor play is more attributable to his injury than anything else but I’m not sure it’s going to get better this year and he is a prime candidate to be shut down given all the factors.
J.J. Hickson – PF/C – Den – It’s almost to the point where he’s hurting more than he’s helping. The FT% is very hurtful. The turnovers are far to high. Not enough steals or blocks. I need more from Hickson to justify his deficiencies. I’m not seeing it happening.
Tristray Blapson -PF/C – Cle/Bkn – We aren’t really recommending either Tristan Thompson or Andray Blatche in a 12 team league or smaller. They both have far too many issues to be relied on and neither has much upside for more.
Jordan Hill – PF/C – LAL – As of right now he’s on the Lakers at least. D’Antoni won’t play him. Under apparently any circumstance. Wait what? Rumors of a trade? Add Jordan Hill drop… not yet… We don’t make moves based off rumors.
Nikola Pekovic – C – Min – I here by dub thee – Pekovic, Injury Prone.
Robin Lopez – C – Por – Why is he on this list? Did you put him here JB? I still like RoLo. JB is nuts on this one. I forsee a 5 game week in the playoffs for Portland in which the lowly Robin Lopez is going to have a monster week.
Jonas Valanciunas – C – Tor – If you can sell him you should. I can’t imagine he is going to find consistent playing time with Toronto making a playoff push. All of us here had high hopes for JV but he’s still just that, not yet ready for varsity.
