Monta Ellis is Staying Put

Feel free to put Monta Ellis firmly in your early rounds for any cheatsheets you may be putting together.  If there was any doubt that Ellis could be playing elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors put the kibosh on it in the ways of a six-year, $66 million deal.

Ellis wanted to stay in the Bay Area, and he got his wish.  Oh, and he’ll be making a bit more money in the meantime.  The addition of Marcus Williams may worry a few people in terms of a time share, but after shelling out $11 million a year, you better believe that Ellis will get his burn.  He’s 22-years old, and could easily find himself in the late first round in keeper formats.  Redrafts can feel comfortable taking him any time after Steve Nash is off of the board - which is looking like the mid-to-late second round at this point. 

Warriors Give Ellis six-year contract [SJ Mercury News]

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The NBA Draft: What I Learned

The NBA Draft came and went quicker than a Vegas night’s sleep.  All of the mocks that preceded, and all of the commentary that followed seemed to roll right along with what most of us felt prior to the “big day”: No one has any idea what is going to happen.

Yes, the Rose-Beasley combo was at the top of many lists.  But who in the world thought that a top guard would fall to Indiana, and then they would trade him away?  Who thought that Darrell Arthur would fall into Brady Quinn territory?  Who knew that the Lopez brothers both sounded like they took turns playing South Park’s Ned?

While we were blindsided by several different events of the evening, the clay has been shaped for what will likely be yet another interesting season.  And the best part?  The roster moves are far from done. 

Click to continue reading The NBA Draft: What I Learned

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Dropping Dimes Two-on-Two Tourney: Round 1, Games 9 and 10

To the three voters for the All-NBA team that did not name Chris Paul to the first team; you need to seriously have your head examined. Two voters picked Steve Nash instead and one vote went to Tracy McGrady. Come on, people! To pick Nash ahead of Paul means you have not watched ball since last season. The Hornets had a better record, Paul did more with less established talent around him, not to mention he had superior overall stats. As for McGrady, I guess it was a nod to the Rockets’ winning streak.

Nash was in action last week. Does he get to move on? Paul suits up this week, so check out who we have him partnered with? And the picture gives you a preview of who else is part of our hype match-ups this week!

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Two-on-Two Tourney: Round 1, Games 9 and 10

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Dropping Dimes Two-on-Two Tourney: Round 1, Games 7 and 8

The Fig Cap: Hey, where are you watching the second round?

Man, do I have some big shoes to fill or what?  Pinch-hitting for Alvin today, I get to break down what could be two of the best match-ups we’ve seen thus far. 

While we get to see who won last week’s battles, this week brings us a few big-named bigs against two big-named guards as well as a match-up that features the recently crowned Rookie of the Year facing a former two-time MVP.  While you will likely be able guess at least two of the eight from these clues alone, let’s check out the rest of the field. 

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Two-on-Two Tourney: Round 1, Games 7 and 8

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Magazine League Winner: Brandon Haraway!

The Dropping Dimes team, along with some of our blogging friends, contributed to a pre-season magazine put out by Sports Eye Publications. Part of the magazine was a mock draft, which was done through e-mail. Momentum quickly swelled to make this draft a league, and I was the only one that suggested not to, voicing concerns about how much people would contribute to a league that was not one of their main ones. People wanted it to happen to the point that there was mention of finding someone else to manage my team.

Somewhat reluctantly I joined since we were already doing the draft. Plus, it was a chance to check out a league from by NBA.com and their Ultimate Fantasy Commisioner. Well, good thing I stuck around because the finals featured a match-up between myself and fellow Dime dropper, Brandon Haraway.

Click to continue reading Magazine League Winner: Brandon Haraway!

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Prospect Pro Specs: O. J. Mayo

The NBA crowd did not get much of a chance to see O. J. Mayo in March as his USC Trojans lost in the first round to Michael Beasley and Kansas State. The hype around Mayo has been noticeable for a couple of years now. If not for the NBA’s age-related draft eligibility rule, chances are Mayo would have skpped out on the college experience to head straight for the pros.

Cue all the condiment jokes/references e.g. hold the mayo and all that. This guy’s gonna make a GM, a franchise and their fan base pretty excited for next year.

Click to continue reading Prospect Pro Specs: O. J. Mayo

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Playoff Primer 2008: Western Conference

The shoot-out in the wild Western Conference has been great to follow, has it not? The top nine teams are separated by only 6.5 games. Every day the standings shift. Right now Phoenix sits in sixth while Dallas ranks seventh! This bodes well for fantasy owners as the best teams in the West should all be playing meaningful games down the stretch. Here’s a rundown of each team’s fantasy playoff schedule.

Click to continue reading Playoff Primer 2008: Western Conference

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Dropping Dimes Staff Rankings: Week 13

It isn’t often that we have ourselves a five-game week for any team.  It also isn’t often that you would rather own Andrew Bogut than Chris Bosh.  Yes, you read that right.  As always, the Dropping Dimes staff is here for the lowdown on the rest of the Association.

Here’s a breakdown of this week’s games: 

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Beyond the Arc: Week 12

I dunno if anyone’s been following REAL basketball (I know, I know, we aren’t supposed to care about that) but maybe you should take a look at the standings.  Some weird stuff is going on.  Washington a four seed?  What?  Portland a three seed?  Utah and Houston out of the playoffs?  I know it’s early, but wow.  Nobody called that in September and October.  But good for those up and coming teams (although I’m not so sure you can call the Wizards that). 

Anyways, I’m done ranting, here’s the slate of games for next week: (1/14-1/20)

The Fig Cap: How old are you anyway?

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Dropping Dimes Staff Rankings: Holiday Edition

Happy Holidays, all.  With the NBA turning Christmas into what the NFL has done with Thanksgiving, we have ourselves quite the set of games on the dockett for week nine.

A look at the number of games for each team:

Four Games: Boston, Miami, Phoenix
Three Games: Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Seattle, Utah, Washington
Two Games: Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers, New York, Toronto Raptors

Its looking like it’s going to be a nice week to own a member of the Phoenix Suns.  In the meantime, have a safe and enjoyable holiday, and make sure to get your lineups set nice and early in case you become vicitim to some egg nog. 

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Staff Rankings: Holiday Edition

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