The Antonio Davis trade is good for Toronto as a team but more importantly, it's good for the franchise. Wayne Embry is slowly rebuilding the dignity and respect of the team's management and in doing so has made it possible for the team to make some moves to increase the quality of the roster as well. That kind of move is made by teams moving in the right direction. Read more »

If you look through a recent blog titled 'Can't Compare MJ and Kobe' by Scottie Pippen following Bryant's 81-point performance, Pip writes things like "Kobe's the closest thing to MJ" and "Kobe's more polished than anyone else." There is no opportunity to compare Kobe to the legacy MJ left, only to MJ at a similar stage in his career. Read more »

The Ron Artest trade rumor that makes the most sense is Josh Howard and Keith Van Horn for Artest and Austin Croshere. It benefits both clubs and while Donnie Walsh patiently waits for Chris Mullin to give up one of his power forwards, this deal helps everyone involved. Read more »

All of a sudden, a season that started out looking so promising for Kobe has begun to crash down around him and he didn't even get a chance to enjoy it for a week. Is he at fault for the Lakers' troubles in breaking the offense and returning to the style of play he defaulted to so often last year, or is he being forced into this situation? Read more »

If Denver can get Nene healthy, shore up their defense to at least where it was last year and improve in the halfcourt some, they'll be really nasty. Everything in the halfcourt set should revolve around Anthony on the block. Read more »

Isiah Thomas has gambled a lot on Curry's health but in my opinion, it's a worthwhile gamble because good low-post scorers totally change a team. How much easier will it be for Stephon Marbury to penetrate with Curry drawing attention on the other side of the court? Read more »

By dealing Skip To My Lou, Rob Babcock corrected a mistake. Rafer Alston was not working out in Toronto for a variety of reasons and the Raptors went out and replaced him with someone who should. Read more »

The Atlantic Division was the worst division in the NBA last year, will it be again? Most likely, but that doesn't mean it won't be exciting. Teams from Boston, New York and Philadelphia always prove interesting, no matter what the score and the Raptors always find a way to make noise. Read more »

The long-term outlook is that the Raptors will be a perennial playoff team with a nice mix of youth and veteran leadership in a year or two and will have added a few new pieces to what is quickly turning into a solid core. Are they going to contend for a title anytime soon though? Not a chance. Read more »

Some players, like Michael Jordan, hit the league and everything works out for them. Cue a picture of a scheming David Stern tapping his fingers together like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. Other players, like Kwame Brown, have the exact opposite thing happen to them. Read more »