Having a ball

[Hedonist]

[JULY 21st 2010, Phoenix, AZ]

"I just want to go and have fun out there, do my best you know, like I always have.. and have fun, like I always have."

- Did you have fun in Toronto, Hedo?

"He don't need to worry about Toronto no more, this is a new chapter and over here... We have a lot of fun!"
(Alvin Gentry)

"You are going to eat your heart here my man... I'm telling you now. A LOT of fun! Yeah.. Hahahaha!"



"Seriously though, we're here to do a job of course, Hedo is here to do a job. But that's our game, our playing style and our motto. Play hard and have fun and play together and share the basketball and we feel Hedo is a perfect fit for us."

- Do you also think it's a perfect fit, Hedo?

"Well, ehm, what is perfect you know.. we will have to see on the court. But it's a great team, a lot of good shooters and great passers, so that should be good for me, so I'm excited."

- Is the system similar to the one in Orlando, where you performed so well in?

"Is Dwight here?"

(laughter)

"Did you just trade for Dwight?" (looking at Gentry) (more laughter)

"No, but I know what you mean. Great shooters, and you know, spread the floor. It should be good for me."

- Can you play the 4?

"Who told you he's going to play the 4?"

- Will he?

"Well we will see where he'll play but one thing is for sure he's not the new Amare, okay? We're not going to burden that weight on his shoulders. But you know, Hedo is a versatile player. He is just going to make plays for us. Whether that's from the 2, 3, or 4 or 1 or 5, that doesn't make much difference to me. And you know, Hedo is a long guy. We have a lot of versatile players with good length, and who they'll be guarding is all a matter of match-ups. But on offense, position is not commanding in our offense, so it doesn't matter."

- Hedo.. did you watch the Suns in the playoffs this season, and what did you think?

"Yeah.. saw a few games.. against the Spurs and you know.. Lakers. It was very good, you know, Dragic was great, Dudley, you know, the young guys.. and Steve of course.. so yeah, that's why I am you know, very excited, to go to a great team like this who play a great basketball."

- Was it tough to watch, not being part of it, one year after such a good playoff run?

"Yeah.. for sure. If you go to the Finals then all you want is another chance. So yeah watching the playoffs at home is very tough and you don't always feel like. I watch more Western Conference because of that.." (grins)

- Are you happy to be back in the Western Conference?

"Yeah".

- Why?

"No LeBron James."

"Nah just kidding but.. it is.. true."

"Well you won't have to guard him any more any way now that you're a 4...."

"Okay? Well shall we finish it there guys? It's still vacation you know.."

"Okay... oh.. right, we got to still do the jersey... here we go..."

[Hedonist]

[background]

Association: God mode (control all 30 teams)
Roster: my own (see sig)
Schedule: 82 games
Playoffs: 7-7-7-7
Gameplay: 12 minutes - Superstar


I am not going to play all the games and report on them, instead I'll pick my games through the season, I'll play some fun match-ups, and also to practice (with this team), and hopefully win enough to qualify for the postseason which I'll play every game of.

The games that I'll pick are most likely going to be against the top teams (so it won't hurt too much if I'll lose) and the worst teams (so I can get a good practice in on the jumpers ).

The story will be a narrative rather than a game-by-game report.

I may come up with some transactions around the league too, but to make sure they're fun, legit and not ridiculous I'm not letting the CPU handle this.

[Hedonist]

[Phoenix Suns 2010-2011 Roster]





















Steve Nash - PG (83) C+ A C F A+ F
Grant Hill - SF (80) B- B- B C+ B- D+
Hedo Turkoglu - SF (79) B B+ C C- B+ D+
Jason Richardson - SG (77) B- A- C C C+ D
Robin Lopez - C (75) B- F F B D- B+
Goran Dragic - PG (74) B- B+ B- D- B+ D
Jared Dudley - SF (73) C B+ C+ D+ C- C-
Josh Chilldress - SF (72) C- B- C+ D+ C+ D+
Hakim Warrick - PF (70) B- C D C- D+ C+
Channing Frye - PF (70) B- B+ F C- D- B-

[rise]

You had to get the stupidest pic of Steve nash didn't you?

[Bucket]

Cool start Maybe this helps.....

[Hedonist]

You had to get the stupidest pic of Steve nash didn't you?

No but I did have to get the stupidest pic possible for Channing Frye since you're asking..

if you think that's a stupid pic I don't know if there is any hope for you.

Cool start Maybe this helps.....

No, but the link in your signature certainly does..

[Alejandrov011]

This means war!

[Lamrock]

Loving the banner.

[Hedonist]

This means war!

Sorry man, didn't mean to steal your Sonics. Eh I mean, thunder.

Loving the banner.

Cheers.

[Hedonist]

[disclaimer: the writing is supposed to reflect the intonation]

RATING THE DEAL with RICK KAMLA



WEL-COME Back here on N-B-A-T-V. I'm RICK Kamla, and these are two other Guys.

You know 'm, My Man 3-D and here, On my left, Bones.

Allright let's get right down to business here, our final Trade-Of-the Day.

A THREE Team Trade sending HE-DO Turkoglu And Josh CHILL-dress IN A SIGN AND TRADE To the Phoenix SUNS and LE-AN-DRO Bar-Bosa, The BRA-zilian Blur, sent to the Toronto RAP-TORS, while AT-lanta picks up A Second ROUND pick.



Guys, a surprising trade at first Glance, it wasn't a secret that Turkoglu was on the trading BLOCK, but nobody had him going to the SUNS... Is THIS the change of SCE-nery that can Bring BACK the old Turkoglu, the GUY that basically Lead His Team, his FOR-mer TEAM, the OR-LAN-DO MA-gic, TO THE FINALS! MR. FOURTH QUAR-ter. Now GO-Ing to A Team that was JUST Short of DO-ing the SAME Thing. 3D, what you think, is this a good fit? And can he help the Suns For-GET about AMAR'E???

First of all I have to say I'm as surprised as you Rick, because I didn't expect him to be traded to the Suns either, because they have such a great depth at the 3 position and now even more after the deal for Josh Chilldress, and they have the best point guard, pure point guard, you know on offense, in Steve Nash, so it's hard to see him fitting in there, gelling with those guys and getting a role that he wants.. are they going to put him at the 4, is he supposed to play in Amar'e's place, are they going to get the ball out of Nash's hands to use his passing skills, there's a lot of questions there, so it'll be interesting to follow but eh, it's surprising. From the Raptors side of it, I think it's a good trade, because they lost their main guy and Turkoglu, he has a big contract for some years, he belongs in a winning situation and the Raptors will probably rebuild so, that's a solid move for them. And especially, I admire the GM for making the move, because a lot of times GM's will hold on to their player that they signed, their big signing guys, because to trade them is to say, "I messed up", and the GM of Toronto is showing he is bigger than that. He is doing what's best for his team and you have to respect that.

BAR-Bosa Is a good Pick-up for them? The BLUR, FOR-Mer SIXTH MAN Of-the-YEAR.. He Can Score.

He definitely can, and eh, like Turkoglu he's had a couple of rough seasons, injuries and what not, and he'll probably be seeing more playing time on the Raptors team, and I think he needs that in this stage of his career. He should fit right in, a high tempo offense with quick athletic guys, like himself, getting out on the break, he knows that style so it'll be good for him and for the Raptors.

Do you agree Bones?

I definitely agree with that last part, but Dennis, you make it sound like the Raptors have won this trade and I don't know how you can say that because Turkoglu is the best player in the deal here. You have to feel that the Suns improved their roster dramatically today. Chilldress is a nice pick-up, he's young and experienced, he's coming of a very good year in Europe, and they got Turkoglu here basically for a bargain. His value is at an all-time low after a poor showing last year and with the big contract making him an unattractive target for many teams, but he's still a 6 foot 10 guy with point guard vision and that Finals experience under his belt, I don't believe he's done yet. Barbosa is not a bad player but with the emergence of Dragic and Dudley and signing Chilldress they could afford to let him go. The Suns got a lot better today.

DOES IT Make Up for LOO-sing Ama-R'E though, That Is The Real Question...

Basketball is a funny sport Rick, you never know how teams are going to cope without some key players, and how new guys are going to gell and work together, if they will complement each other.. but the key is that the Suns added talent, and talent is always good to have, no matter what position they play.

That's definitely true but when you add a big contract to your payroll that's a risk you're taking and if that player is going to be redundant in your system because you already got the best passer in the game on your team then you got to ask if that's the right move. I would have expected some other teams before Phoenix to take a chance on Turkoglu.

Like WHO?



I thought Orlando might look back in regret a little, and could-a brought him back, but more than them I would say a team like Atlanta, you know a good defensive team with enough scoring but maybe not enough playmakers, guys who can play the pick and roll really well, Turkoglu would have fit in that team in my mind, and also a team like Detroit, that's another team that don't really have a pure point guard. they have the scoring and penetration with Gordon and Stuckey, but you know, they need somebody to set those guys up, and they could use the length frankly. Could have seen that happen.

If you asked me about the Suns I would have told you they would be getting a big man instead. It's going to be very tough for Turkoglu to guard some of those fours if they're gonna put him at the power forward spot.

You're right Dennis, but it depends on the matchup. The Suns have a lot of length though, Turkoglu is long himself, and they have shown a trend of playing multiple guys out of position, and on different positions offensively and defensively. What I'm saying is they might play Hedo as 4 on the offensive end, but defensively, put him on the 3, depending on the matchups. And on offense, the roles are reversed, because every power forward will have just as much trouble guarding Turkoglu on the perimeter the whole game and on the pick 'n roll.



One more thing that I want to say, is, like talent, you can never have enough passers on your team, Dennis. The true passing game only works when all of your players can pass and shoot.

Hard to disagree with that one, B.

OKAY. THAT WRaps it UP, I hope you EN-JOYed this SEG-ment of N-B-A GAME-TIME, where we Rated The DEAL and well, we AP-PROV-ed OF the Deal, I guess you can say that.

I'M Rick KAMLA, From the NBA Studios, along with BRENT BAR-RY AND DEN-NIS SCOTT, THANKS for WATCHING.

[TheMC5]

Love the NBA TV recap. It's like you secretly are Rick Kamla. Gold.

[George7]

For the NBA TV Show!

Good luck on this!

[kibaxx7]

Lol, where did you find the NBA TV pics?

[George7]

maybe Video caps?

[Hedonist]

nba.com/video + PrintScreen + Paint

in the first pic they were talking about who the Pistons should draft, so I had to change all the icons, and where Brent Barry is sitting was Lawrence Frank.

Good to see some of the humor actually translated through the screen.

[kibaxx7]

nba.com/video + PrintScreen + Paint

At first I thought it was some TV rip, because the pic looked really good Props.

Good to see some of the humor actually translated through the screen.

This frozen face cracks me up.

[Hedonist]

The Arizona Horizon

Phoenix Suns standing pat

Even though the Phoenix Suns organization is talking with many teams about possible deals to improve their roster before the 2010 season but there's nothing concrete on the table that is likely to happen, according to Front Office staff. It's been quiet around the Suns since the free agency signings of Josh Chilldress and Hakim Warrick and the trade for Hedo Turkoglu and that is not a coincidence. The coaching staff feel optimistic about the opportunities of the roster as it is right now and is not actively looking for a trade to upgrade the power forward spot, which would allow the recently acquired Turkoglu to shift to his natural position which is small forward.

Amundson close to a deal



Former Phoenix Suns forward Louis Amundson is expecting to sign a contract with an NBA franchise next week, say league sources. Among the leading candidates for the services of the 27-year old are considered to be the Indiana Pacers, the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards. Amundson held out for several months trying to land an MLE deal for multiple years, but is now leaning to the team on which he could most likely get more playing time than the 15 minutes off the bench that he's used to. In Indiana he could challenge last year's lotto pick Tyler Hansborough for the starting power forward position, in Washington he'd be the steady back up to the unpredictable Andray Blatche, while in Golden State he would be the primary back up at both power forward and center.

No buyers for Hamilton, Calderon

Two of the most prominent names on the trading boards all summer have been Detroit Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton and Toronto Raptors point guard José Calderon, but it is becoming more unlikely that these players will be traded by their current teams before the training camp. Calderon was almost traded to the Bobcats last month but Michael Jordan pulled the plug at 5 minutes to 12. Now he is injured for 1 to 2 months and that is an untimely setback for former Suns GM Bryan Colangelo. Pistons guard Rip Hamilton has been mentioned in talks for over a year now but a deal has never been close since negotiations with Cleveland last year.

More NBA:

- Yao Ming cleared for basketball activity by his doctors
- Tracy McGrady says he still got a lot of game left
- Shaquille O'Neal is happy to come off the bench, re-assures Doc Rivers

[Hedonist]

Turkoglu's Turkey falls in bronze medal game



ISTANBUL - Newly acquired Phoenix Suns forward Hedo Turkoglu has failed to win the bronze medal with his national team at the FIBA World Championships in his home country. In a hard fought game against the tough Brazilian side lead in scoring by that other player in the Turkoglu trade Leandro Barbosa, the Turkish came up on the short end, 79-82. A dramatic fourth quarter run came just too late for the home side.

"I'm very disappointed," Turkoglu said. "You don't get many opportunities to achieve succes on the international stage, especially in your home country. But we did our best and we have to be proud of ourselves."

When asked about Barbosa he said, "Yes, he played very good.. he'll do good for the Raptors." Barbosa scored 23 of Brazil's 82 points and was particualarly hot in the second quarter, when he hit 4 consecutive shots to extend the lead to double digits at half time, 35-46.

Turkoglu took charge in the second half and finished the game with 15 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, but he couldn't tie the score with 1:12 left as the ball was swatted of the rim by Anderson Varejao after it bounced twice of the Turkoglu shot. Brazil then pushed the gap back up to a two possession lead and held off the Turkish despite the incredibly feisty home crowd cheering them on, but they couldn't force another late turnaround like their team did against the Slovenians in the Quarter finals.

The FIBA World Championships will be completed tomorrow when the USA take on defending Champions Spain in the Final.